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omandailyobserver
MONDAY | JUNE 20, 2016 | RAMADHAN 14, 1437 AH VOL. 35 NO. 219 | PAGES 32 | BAISAS 200 Editor-in-Chief ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI www.omanobserver.om [email protected] Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising PO Box 974, Postal Code 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman IRAN REACHES DEAL TO PURCHASE 100 BOEING PLANES P20 OMAN Last date to submit works for HM Award MUSCAT: The Sultan Qaboos Higher Centre for Culture and Science, represented by the Office of His Majesty the Sultan Award for Culture, Arts and Literature, announced that July 4 will be the last date for receiving works participating in the fifth version of the Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Arts and Literature in three areas namely Culture in Translation Field, Arts in Omani Traditional Arts and Literature in Novel. A winner in each field will be honoured and granted a medal and a cash prize of RO 50,000. No annual bonus for top officials MUSCAT: The Ministry of Finance said that due to the current financial conditions being witnessed by the Sultanate and within the precautionary measures taken by the government in response to fall in oil prices, the annual bonuses for ministers, under-secretaries and their equivalent have been stopped. The ministry said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Oman News Agency, that it continues its revision of the expenditure and that it works hard to activate the non-oil revenues to reduce deficit resulting from the sharp decline in oil revenues and reduce reliance on oil as the major source of revenue. A WORD GROWTH VITAL FOR WELFARE OF CITIZENS VISION FOR THE NATION: Council of Ministers emphasises on the need to facilitate investments and economic diversification MUSCAT: The Council of Ministers on Sunday issued a statement on the outcome of its meetings during which it studied topics which contribute to maintaining growth rates in the country and safeguarding the living standards of citizens. The Council of Ministers agreed that the number of seats in higher education institutions should remain the same, and that the number of students sent to study technical specialisations should be increased. The Council updated itself about steps taken to ensure sustainability of food security, and urged the departments concerned to tighten monitoring of food supplies and to benefit from Oman’s location and make the Sultanate a centre for import and re-export of livestock. The Council of Ministers laid emphasis on the need to facilitate investment and economic diversification, OF CAUTION Beware while sharing content on WhatsApp KABEER YOUSUF MUSCAT June 19: WhatsApp administrators, beware. You are equally responsible for any malicious content, including photographs, being spread online. And the cyber police are keeping tabs on you. The Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) and the Royal Oman Police (ROP) have urged WhatsApp users to refrain from spreading canards through this medium and asked the administrators to be vigilant about such messages. “The WhatsApp group administrators have a responsibility when sharing the messages,” says an official at the TRA. “WhatsApp groups are formed for a purpose. Chances are people may forward illegal content. The administrators MESSI EQUALS RECORD AS ARGENTINA CRUISE P30 or those who have formed the groups have a moral responsibility to stick to the lawful purpose for which they were formed,” he said. A message is considered harmful, objectionable or distasteful based on its content, location, purpose and motive. Each individual is responsible for the messages he/ she sends to the receiver, but he/she should be more responsible when sending the same to a group. “A message is considered objectionable depending upon its content. A sender can face legal action for sending a message that can cause harm. Although individuals are responsible for the messages they send, an administrator or the sender is equally responsible for the consequences such messages might have,” he added. TURN TO P5 Measures to be taken to ensure food security Investment in the field of health services Emphasis on investments and diversification Military education programmes in schools All departments to use ‘Invest Easy’ system Oman Tourism Strategy gets approval Panel to study challenges to information 84,000 Iraqis fled war in Fallujah FALLUJAH: Aid workers scrambled on Sunday to cope with a massive influx of Iraqi civilians who fled Fallujah after government forces retook much of the city from the IS group. Tens of thousands of civilians escaped the city, just 50 km west of Baghdad, on the back of a major advance that saw Iraqi forces thrust into central Fallujah in recent days. The humanitarian community has been struggling to cope, with thousands of people already suffering from hunger and trauma now stranded in the scorching summer heat with no shelter. “The estimated total number of displaced from Fallujah in just the last three days is now at a staggering 30,000 people,” the Norwegian Refugee Council said. The UN refugee agency said up to 84,000 people had been forced to flee their homes since the start of the government offensive against the IS bastion nearly a month ago. REPORT ON P13 Brexit could have domino effect BERLIN: A British exit from the European Union could trigger similar moves by other member states in Eastern Europe, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said in a German newspaper interview published on Sunday. Britain votes on June 23 on whether to stay in the 28-member bloc, a choice with far-reaching consequences for politics, the economy, defence and diplomacy on the continent. “It cannot be ruled out that Brexit leads to a domino effect in Eastern Europe,” Asselborn told Tagesspiegel am Sonntag. It had been a “historic mistake” from Prime Minister David Cameron to even think about calling a referendum People wave Union flags as they attend a rally for ‘Britain Stronger in Europe’ in Hyde Park in London on Sunday. — Reuters about Britain’s membership of the European Union, Asselborn added. Even if Britain should decide to stay in the EU, “this would not solve the problem that results from the negative attitude of the British towards the European Union”, Asselborn said. Asselborn said he sometimes had the impression that Cameron and the head of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), Jaroslaw Kaczynski, had a silent agreement on rolling back European integration. “Both seem do have the same agenda regarding their critical stance towards the EU,” he added. Since winning elections last year, Poland’s conservative and eurosceptic government has clashed with EU regulators on a range of issues, including freedom of speech and democracy as well as energy and environment issues. MORE REPORTS ON P15 urging all government departments to use the one-stop-shop system ‘Invest Easy.’ Oman Tourism Strategy was approved and investment in the field of health services was considered, and the private sector was asked to play a greater role in serving the economy, according to the statement. The Council also stressed the importance of efforts to upgrade education system in Oman and approved introduction of military education programmes in schools. The Council of Ministers hailed the efforts of the media, approved the formation of a media committee to study challenges to information in the Sultanate. The Council also approved the establishment of an Information Training Centre and a Social Media Centre. TURN TO P2 SUSPENSION OF SOHAR FLIGHTS WILL HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECT DETAILS ON P3 Deal to train 400 Omanis MUSCAT: The Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and Oman Air on Sunday joined forces to generate 400 jobs for young Omanis at the new Muscat International Airport. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) committing PDO to support the training of the job-seekers in a variety of cabin and ground staff positions, along with the up-skilling of a further 100 existing Oman Air customer service staff. The successful completion of the internationally accredited vocational courses will lead to guaranteed full-time positions with the national carrier in customer relations and ramp services. The agreement, which was signed by PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci and Oman Air Chief Executive Officer Paul Gregorowitsch, was part of the drive to support His Majesty’s call for sustainable jobs. Restucci said: “As part of our National Objectives programme to generate job and training opportunities for Omanis, PDO is going beyond our natural boundaries of the oil and gas sector to support economic diversification and development. DETAILS ON P4 inside s deoman o a 2 OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 Economic growth vital for welfare of citizens FROM PAGE 1 The statement said that the Council supports the fact that efforts should be combined in monitoring the implementation of service projects. It asked the departments concerned to coordinate with municipal councils in this regard. The full text of the statement reads as follows. “Within the context of the keenness of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos on the continuation of growth rates in the Sultanate and the stability of living standards of citizens and, in pursuance of the efforts exerted in this field, the Council of Ministers has studied a number of topics which contribute to achieving those objectives, as follows: Number of seats in higher education to remain the same: Based on the Royal attention of His Majesty the Sultan to support to the education sector, to develop national human resources, to encourage youth by opening up opportunities for them in the field of higher education and other areas and providing all requirements for grooming generations of enlightened citizens capable of obtaining the highest academic qualifications to bring about a qualitative shift forward in educational outputs, it has been reaffirmed that the number of study seats dedicated for the General Education Diploma (Academic Year 2016-2017) shall remain the same for all government and private higher education institutions within the Sultanate, as well as scholarships abroad. Technical specialisations and entrepreneurship to be boosted: In its study on the quality of higher education, the Council of Ministers reached a conclusion that it is necessary to upgrade the active national programmes and promote them to improve quality by increasing the number of students sent to study technical, technological, medical and industrial specialisations and encouraging major private sector establishments to contribute to the programme of scholarships abroad. The Council also urged the departments concerned to assist youths in launching their own businesses and facilitate their mission by streamlining procedures of financing through standard programmes applicable at these establishments. The Council underscored the need to train these youth and transfer knowledge to them in a manner commensurate with all their requirements. Food Security: In implementation of the Royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos to accord top importance to food security during the Council of Ministers’ follow-up of plans, the Council of Ministers viewed a visual presentation which covered the basic components of the system of food production, the percentage of self-sufficiency and the expected outcome of foodstuff produce after the completion of the main investment projects. The Council valued the visions and recommendations of the Majlis Ash’shura and the studies it forwarded to the Council of Ministers about mechanisms for achieving security in food and water and about the ground reality of Najd area and dams in the Sultanate. The Council discussed the result of two food security reports about the Sultanate that were drafted by a global house of expertise. The reports showed that the Sultanate is fairly secure in terms of food security and due to the country’s potentials and strategic location. In this respect, the Council of Ministers underlined the significant role of the private sector in undertaking plant, animal and fishery investment projects. Promoting Sultanate as import and re-export gateway: Due to the importance of the livestock sector in supporting the national economy and achieving food security and, to make the Sultanate an attractive centre of import and re-export, the Council of Ministers gave directives to the departments concerned to speed up the upgrading of animal production projects and to set up central livestock markets, while at the same time supporting small and medium enterprises to help them contribute to live stock growth and transport. This also envisages establishing value added industries related to livestock and utilising the economic and commercial facilities of the Sultanate, including seaports. In this context, the Council of Ministers urged the authorities concerned to take all necessary steps to promote foodstuff monitoring services in all border checkpoints, as well as seaports and airports of the Sultanate. The Council also called for expedient action to complete the electronic link between these departments and border checkpoints to ensure the effectiveness of monitoring services and facilitate them. Call to upgrade institutional capabilities and facilitate investment procedures: As part of continuous action to promote the Sultanate’s economy and support infrastructure so as to increase stability and safeguard the living standards of citizens, the Council of Ministers emphasised the need for concerted action to upgrade the capabilities of government institutions and draft suitable policies for this measure to take shape. The Council also gave directives to streamline procedures and remove obstacles facing local and foreign investments. It called for action to raise competitiveness in the business sector and to develop related sectors. It also stressed the importance of expanding the role of the private sector and enabling it to better contribute to the national economic and investment in projects, notably value added projects. Collaboration to overcome the financial crisis hailed: The Council of Ministers is closely following up the precautionary measures undertaken by institutions of the state for sake of ensuring the sustainability of economic conditions. It highly appreciates and hails the efforts of Oman Council, the State’s Financial and Audit Institution, government departments and other establishments for the studies, recommendations and proposals they make on economic affairs. The Council also appreciates the commitment of all for the success of the plan designed to overcome the current global financial and economic crisis. The Council of Ministers commends the understanding of citizens and their participation to achieve the desired goals of the current plan towards attaining a sustainable economic status for the sake of Oman and its future generations. The Council of Ministers underscored the importance of enhancing the partnership between the government, the private sector and the civil community towards the realisation of the overall developmental and social objectives. Facilitation of Trade and Transport: The Council of Ministers reviewed the report of the National Committee for the Facilitation of Trade and Transport. It approved the preparation of a comprehensive study to plan the transportation of goods in the Sultanate, to provide periodic solutions for the existing problems of truck transport, as well as long-term solutions. It called for the establishment of database for this sector and urged the private sector to take the initiative by establishing land transport companies. E-government: The Council of Ministers studied the process of electronic government transformation and its priorities. It reviewed the ‘executive situation’ of the National Broadband Strategy. It laid emphasis on the continuity, conformity and complimentation of efforts aimed to expedite the propagation of the broadband network. Call to upgrade educational sector, overcome its challenges and introduce military education programmes in schools: The Council of Ministers viewed the future vision of the education sector in the Sultanate. It commended the Education Council and other ministries and departments concerned for their efforts to secure the future of education in the Sultanate. The Council underlined the significance of collaboration of government establishments in their endeavour to upgrade the educational sector, address its challenges and contribute to the success of its strategies and programmes. In the same context, it was agreed that the Ministry of Education would coordinate with other departments concerned to introduce programmes of military education programmes in schools and to expand the base of students enrolled in these programmes. Government departments urged to use one-stop- shop system: Within the context of its follow up of means of providing an investment encouraging climate, the Council of Ministers reviewed the one-stop-shop Invest Easy and the success this system has achieved. It gave directives of all government departments concerned to adopt this system. The Council hailed Invest Easy’s winning awards from international institutions in the caliber of World Trade Organisation. Health: The Council of Ministers approved the charter of the National Policy for Protection against non-communicable diseases. It also viewed a visual presentation on social health insurance titled “For the Introduction of Better Health Services” through the encouragement of foreign investments and maximisation of revenue from the health sector. There exist substitutes to promote and finance health Stocks end flat MUSCAT: The Muscat Securities Market (MSM) general index 30 yesterday lost 0.6 point to close at 5,807.51 points compared to the last session. The trading value stood at RO 1,084,645 comprising a decline of 52.16 per cent compared to the last session which stood at RO 2,866,576. The market value rose by 0.01 per cent to reach about RO 17.02 billion. The value of shares bought by non-Omani investors reached RO 27,000 comprising 2.51 per cent. The value of shares sold by non-Omani investors reached RO 261,000 comprising 24.02 per cent. The net non-Omani investment declined by 21.52 per cent to RO 233,000. — ONA services that cater to all segments of society, the Council learned. Oman Tourism Strategy approved: In pursuance of efforts to make the Sultanate a preferred tourism destination of high competitively and capable of attracting investors, the Council of Ministers approved the general framework of Oman Tourism Strategy, which seeks to foster the Sultanate’s status as a pioneering global example in the field of sustainable economic development. The strategy envisions ways to let the Sultanate advance on the path to transformation into a distinguished international hospitality destination, besides enhancing economic diversification, provision of employment opportunities, promotion of the value of natural and cultural landmarks, achieving a variety of economic and social benefits and the provision of necessary revenues for the protection of heritage and the environment. Support economic diversification: The Council of Ministers underscored the significance of all state institutions’ understanding of the nature of economic diversification, notably tourism, urging these institutions to work to make tourism a success due to its positive implications to trade, the economy, investment opportunities and employment of citizens. Nod for Qalhat Historical City: The Council of Ministers blessed the Heritage and Culture Ministry’s submitting an application to register the Historical City of Qalhat in the list of world heritage due to the city’s historical and strategic importance making it an international cultural park capable of enriching tourism and the national economy at large. Approval given to media commission, training centre, social media centre: In confirmation of the important role of all types of information in the Sultanate, the Council of Ministers approved the formation of a committee to study challenges posed to the Omani media sector within the context of enforced legislative stipulations to regulate the sector, develop it and tackle obstacles that obstruct its course. The Council of Ministers also approved the establishment of an Information Training Centre and a Social Media Centre. It entrusted the Ministry of Information with drafting mechanism for the support of the information sector to enable it to perform its role in the best possible manner. Efforts to be combined to oversee service projects: In consolidation of institutional action, the Council of Ministers approved cooperation between departments concerned and municipal councils in all that relates to the process of implementation of service projects in the wilayats of the Sultanate, each department acting within its prerogatives. The Council stressed the important role of municipal councils. Within the context of its collaboration with the Council of Oman, the Council of Ministers reviewed the proposals of the State Council and Majlis Ash’shura and their views on economic and social aspects. It valued the two councils’ commendable efforts to promote the public interest and took appropriate measures in this regard. Commenting on the meetings held with the State Council Office and the Office of Majlis Ash’shura, His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmood al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, hailed the outcome of these meetings and highlighted their positive and objective vision on various matters of relevance to the current stage which, he said, reflected the keenness of all to intensify consultation and exchange ideas in all that serves the comprehensive march nation building. On the occasion of the holy Month of Ramadhan, the Council of Ministers expressed its heartfelt wishes for His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, praying to the Almighty Allah to grant him continued good health and a long life. The Council of Ministers also prayed to the Almighty Allah to endow the noble people of Oman more prosperity and to grant the Islamic world plenty of bounties and blessings. — ONA inside s deoman o a oman OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 3 Oman Air’s decision to stop Sohar flights will have negative socio-economic impact: Majlis Ash’shura member Articles of disagreement to be put to joint vote MUSCAT: Majlis Ash’shura yesterday discussed 124 articles of disagreement between the State Council and Majlis Ash’shura about the draft Omani Penal Law which was approved at the 13th regular session. The draft law includes 394 articles. Majlis Ash’shura session also reviewed the report of the joint committee of Majlis Ash’shura and the State Council and the conclusion it has reached. The session was held under the chairmanship of Shaikh Khalid bin Hilal al Maawali, Chairman of Majlis Ash’shura. After listening to the views of the joint committee on the articles of disagreements between the State Council and Majlis Ash’shura, it was agreed to refer the articles of disagreement to voting at the joint session of the Council of Oman scheduled to be held on June 21st. Dr Mohammed bin Ibrahim al Zadjali, member of Majlis Ash’shura, delivered an urgent statement about Oman Air’s decision to stop its flights from and to Sohar Port. He pointed out that the decision has negative effects on the social and economic lives of residents of the Governorates of North and South Al Batinah, especially more growth is expected in the coming period due to the opening of Sohar Port and the increase in industrial activities. He added that the airport plays an active role in the development process and is expected to contribute to social, commercial and tourism activities in the area. — ONA 40 to get training in ammunition field No cut in number of seats for GED graduates MUSCAT: The Ministry of Manpower yesterday signed agreements with the Oman Ammunitions Production Company to train 40 Omanis holders of general education diploma in the field of ammunition manufacturing. The two agreements were signed by Shaikh Abdullah bin Nasser al Bakri, Minister of Manpower, and Mohammed bin Nasser al Rasbi, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Defence and Chairman of Oman Ammunitions Production Company. The agreements come within the Ministry’s plans to train and employ national manpower in different professions. The programme will start after the end of Ramadhan. Oman Ammunitions Production Company, through a specialised training institute, implements an internal training programme for trainees on the basic skills and code of ethics for 45 days after which the trainees will join an external training programme for five months. The external training covers the manufacture of ammunition, control of production, field training on light ammunitions equipment and tools, as well as maintenance and operation of equipment. MUSCAT: Dr Rawya bint Saud al Busaidiya, Minister of Higher Education, said that the declaration of the Council of Ministers to retain the number of seats allocated for graduates of the general education diploma (GED) confirms the constant attention of the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos to support the education sector in this generous country, and his belief that the creation of conscious and eligible generations has been always a means and a goal. It should be noted that the Ministry of Manpower has signed an agreement with Oman Ammunitions Production Company in April 2015 for the training and employment of 20 Omanis holders of general education diploma. The trainees have been sent to Pakistan to attend the external training programme. — ONA Workshop held on commercial photography AMAL AL RIYAMI NIZWA June 19: Al Smoud team of Nizwa Club, in cooperation with Al Smoud Civil Theatrical Band, organised a workshop titled ‘commercial photography’ at Falaj Daris Hall on Friday. Organised as part of the third Al Smoud Ramadhan Forum, the workshop was conducted by photographer Mahmoud bin Said al Aghbari. More than 27 photographers attended it. Al Aghbari gave photographers some tips they could use in commercial photography. He spoke about the difference between amateur and professional photographers. Al Aghbari told them about the skills a commercial photographer ought to acquire. “It is important to preserve all your artwork, which speaks about your talent,” he said. He explained the three stages of photography: pre-production, which is the agreement between the photographer and the client, and the way ideas are processed. The agreement should be satisfactory to both parties, he said. The second stage is production, which deals with the implementation process. It includes photographs or videos that have been shot at the site, said Al Aghbari. Dr Abdullah bin Mohammed al Sarmi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education, said that the number of scholarships for the academic year (2016/2017) are 29,359 seats, of them 17,730 seats in government institutions of higher education in the Sultanate, and 9,638 seats in the internal scholarships, along with 1,643 seats in the external scholarships, divided into 143 external scholarships Group A, and 1,500 external scholarships Group B. He added that there are 10 scholarships for the Omani Experts Programme, in addition to 62 external grants from the friendly countries, as well as 174 scholarships for the disabled students, 10 of them at SQU, 158 at the colleges of higher technology, and 6 at the Sharia Sciences College, adding that 50 scholarships have been dedicated to the disabled students at the private higher education institutions within the internal scholarship programs. — ONA inside s deoman o a oman 4 OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 Climate Affairs Ministry, PDO sign MoU PDO, Oman Air partner on job opportunities Crude output in May rises 0.56 per cent MUSCAT: The Sultanate’s total crude oil and condensates production during May 2016 stood at 30,994,904 barrels, a daily average by 999,836 barrels, constituting a rise by 0.56 per cent compared to the daily production during April 2016 when calculating the daily average, according to the monthly report published by the Ministry of Oil and Gas. The total quantities of crude oil exported abroad during May 2016 stood at 26,939,210 barrels, a daily average of 869,007 barrels, comprising a decline by 10.45 per cent compared to April 2016 when calculating the daily average. The report said that while the imported quantities by China still constitute the chunk of the Omani exported crude oil (60 per cent), it still decreased by 4.61 per cent for the second successive month compared to the previous month. In terms of major countries that imported Omani crude oil, China was followed by USA (14.02 per cent), Japan (13.54 per cent), India (3.76 per cent) and Taiwan (3.80 per cent). The report added that the price of crude oil for the reference oil round the world witnessed an increase during May 2016. It continued its upward trend for the settlement price in April 2016; up by more than $4 per barrel compared to the settlement price in April 2016. The average price of West Texas crude grade in New York touched $47.27 per barrel in April 2016, showing a rise with $5.26 a barrel. The average price of North Sea Brent grade reached $47.65 a barrel, an increase of $4.32 per barrel over March 2016. — ONA SUSTAINABLE JOBS: The agreement will help training opportunities for Omanis in cabin and ground staff positions MUSCAT: The Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) for mutual cooperation and exchange of best experiences and practices on services and process development and improvement to aid the achievement of sustainable development. The MoU was signed by Mohammed bin Salim al Toobi, Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs and Raoul Restucci, Managing Director of PDO. Al Toobi stated that the Ministry seeks to develop its services in line with its vision, mission, values and programmes for continuous development through the adoption of best practices for quality management to raise the level of customer satisfaction and achieve the interests of the citizens and residents. He added that the Ministry is doing its utmost to protect the environment, conserve the natural resources and provide all available resources to ensure the provision of high quality services to customers in order to achieve sustainable development. PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci said: “This agreement will consolidate and build on the already excellent working relationship PDO has with the Ministry. PDO is adopting “Lean” management methodology, which centres on the organisation’s ability to reduce waste in its operations and to identify practices that add value for the customer. In this regard, Raoul Restucci said that “Lean has transformed PDO into a more streamlined and productive organisation and sharing our experience and best practice will undoubtedly help MECA in its important and valuable work”. The MoU shall enable the Ministry to embrace “Lean” principles in a comprehensive manner and through the application of a wide range of practices and training programmes for its employees, in addition to the implementation of a number of “Lean”. — ONA MUSCAT: Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and Oman Air yesterday joined forces to create 400 jobs for young Omanis at the new Muscat International Airport. The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) committing PDO to support the training of the job-seekers in a variety of cabin and ground staff positions, along with the upskilling of a further 100 existing Oman Air customer service staff. The successful completion of the internationally accredited vocational courses will lead to guaranteed full-time positions with the National Carrier in customer relations and ramp services. The agreement, which was signed by PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci and Oman Air Chief Executive Officer Paul Gregorowitsch, was forged as part of the drive to support His Majesty’s call for sustainable jobs. Restucci said: “As part of our National Objectives programme to create job and training opportunities for Omanis, PDO is going beyond our natural boundaries of the oil and gas sector to support economic diversification and development. “PDO is proud to support His Majesty’s call to create sustainable jobs and will be working even harder in the future, both on our own and in collaboration with other organisations, to reach that goal. “Despite the oil price environment, ‘Hand-in-Hand’ programme launched as part of Ramadhan MUSCAT: Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa in partnership with Dar Al Atta’a recently launched a Ramadhan programme titled “Hand-in-Hand”. The month-long programme showcases a series of events and activities that would bring together families and friends in the spirit of Ramadhan. Last weekend, the launch activity dubbed ‘Achievement and Corporate Social Responsibility Day’ was a bazaar and exhibition held at the resort’s Al Mazaar Souq. The two-day event was held in partnership with Injaz Oman, a nonprofit, NGO driven by Oman’s private sector. Through strategic partnerships with Oman’s business and education sectors, and with the help of qualified and dedicated volunteers, Injaz delivers educational programmes on entrepreneurial and leadership skills aimed at inspiring and educating future generations. The event featured 52 creative students, entrepreneurs and home businesses showcasing their products and services to the public. This initiative has allowed entrepreneurs to interact with the visitors introducing their products and services. All the nonprofit organisations are supported and sustained by Injaz Oman. “It is a privilege to partner with Dar Al Atta’a during Ramadhan. This is the fourth year that we are hosting such activities and we are truly happy with the attendance. We look forward to more support and participation from visitors for Qaranqashow and the rest of the ‘Hand-in-Hand’ programme series in the next two weekends,” said Mark Kirk, Area General Manager and Hotel Manager of the resort. Today, the featured activity of “Hand-in-Hand” is the traditional Qaranqashow. Children can look forward to an evening of fun games and lots of sweets at the Al Mazaar Souk from 8 pm onwards. The public is cordially invited to attend this traditional occasion to celebrate with their families and children. we continue to ramp up our In-Country Value drive and ensure Omanis are equipped with the skills and talents to forge rewarding careers, either in our industry or other sectors of the economy.” Gregorowitsch said: “Oman Air’s partnership with PDO demonstrates the airline’s continuing commitment to the Sultanate’s policy of Omanisation. The overwhelming response to the programme and the progress made in training have given us very positive feedback. We are pleased and proud to be working together to deliver training that will enable Omani citizens to pursue meaningful and rewarding careers. “Oman Air takes seriously the responsibility to employ as many Omani citizens as possible and provide them with rewarding careers and career development opportunities. Raising the skills and experience bases of the Omani workforce have always been the focal point of our business. Oman Air will increase the percentage of Omani citizens it employs to 63 per cent in 2016, in line with its commitment to the Sultanate’s policy of Omanisation. “Not only will this benefit Oman Air and the broader aviation sector in Oman, but it will also help the trainees make a greater long-term contribution to the Sultanate and its economic growth. We look forward to welcoming the first 120 candidates to their ramp services training very soon.” The courses will last for up to 12 months and include a mixture of technical and on-the-job training. Those who pass customer service and ramp service training will gain an International Air Transport Association (IATA) diplomas and National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) certification. Oman Air and PDO have enjoyed a long and fruitful association and the airline is the official contractor for PDO’s internal flights World-class waterpark planned in Muscat STAFF REPORTER MUSCAT June 19: Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) has announced that it will facilitate the development of Oman’s first world class family waterpark in Muscat; a key project from the outset of the National CEO Programme (NCP). The ground-breaking project, which is set to be a premiere visitor destination, has been developed by six graduates of the NCP – an initiative by the Public Private Partnership taskforce (Sharaka), under the patronage of the Diwan of Royal Court. The all-Omani team consist of six c-suite executives; Aisha al Kharusi, Eng Adnan al Alawi, Dr Ali Mustafa al Lawati, Badar al Hashmi, Ali al Lawati and including former Omran Chief Operating Office, Ali al Rasbi, who is now the CEO of a leading oil and gas company. The team come from a range of Oman’s leading corporate including the financial sector, oil and gas, aviation, telecom and tourism. The team worked on the concept for a year — spending over 5,000 hours on the development of a detailed business plan that included extensive financial modelling and stakeholder research. The findings supported the team’s outcome that the project can generate significant private investment and, on completion, will generate extremely profitable returns for shareholders. Dr Ali Qassim Jawad al Lawati, Adviser for Studies and Research to the Diwan of Royal Court, Chairman of the Advisory Committee to the National CEO Programme said: “I would like to congratulate the graduates from The National CEO Programme Cohort One team for their exceptional deliverable and commitment to the programme.” James Wilson, CEO of Omran, said: “Omran’s mission is to seek and support projects of national significance that can help position Oman as a leading global visitor destination. In addition, it is one of our key performance objectives to train and develop the future executive leaders in Omran. The conference will be the first of its kind combining Europe, Middle East and North Africa IPA to hold EuroMena dialogue NOUH AL MAMARI MUSCAT June 19: Sayyid Zaki bin Hilal bin Saud Al Busaidy, Chief Executive, Institute of Public Administration, has revealed that the Institute will hold a conference on modernising human resource management and performance of public institutions on in October 24-28. This will be the first of its kind combining three regions: Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (EuroMENA). He said the conference titled Euro-MENA dialogue will review experiences in HR management and public administration, including experiences from the Sultanate. Al Busaidy said that the conference is being organised by the Institute of Public Administration and the University of Aix-Marseille, France, and the Institute of Public Administration in Bahrain. The conference aims to promote the cooperation and the exchange of government agencies in Europe and the Arab region and to provide the opportunity for specialists and experts to discuss the practices of modern management tools. It also aims to promote capabilities of young researchers, academics and managers in the Arab region. “The conference will focus on how to consolidate the process of modernising human resources management in the Arab region, and the role that Euro-MENA policies can play for the development of these human resources”, he mentioned. The conference includes four themes. The first is providing the needed training to the public sector employees to improve government performance to build the human resource policies basis. The second theme discusses issues related to employment and careers, government jobs and skills management. It also addresses the methods of recruitment and the competitive issue for public sector employees. The third theme discusses the human resources and all issues related to this concern like different attitudes that influence the work, team work, etc. The last theme discusses the performance of governmental institutions. Al Busaidy pointed out that the Institute offers two types of programmes: public and private. The private programmes are offered by the request of an authority to organise a conference and the Institute works on the design of frameworks, themes and identifying lecturers. The second type is the programmes offered by the Institute in which many authorities can join in the same conference and this comes according to the requirements of the market. On training programmes for job-seekers, Al Busaidy commented “Previously there was no explicit provision that enables the Institute to organise programmes for jobseekers. However, lately, the Institute was given this permission and there will be some imitative to facilitate the process of job-seeking”. In the current year, there are a lot of challenges including declining financial amounts allocated for training programmes despite the fact that such crises are not supposed to influence the training of human resources as they are entitled to find solutions and alternatives. inside s deoman o a oman OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 5 Diversification plans are yielding good results Taqa-Mirbat b WhatsApp administrators responsible for content road to be ready by March 2018 MUSCAT: The Supreme Council for Planning held a meeting yesterday under the chairmanship of Dr Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry. The Council reviewed His Majesty Sultan Qaboos’ royal blessing for the national programme for enhancing the economic diversification, which comes within the framework of implementing the 9th five-year plan (2016-2020). An ambitious plan for implementation has been developed in cooperation with an international expertise house to follow up the performance, implementation and support provided to enhancing the targeted economic diversification sectors at the 9th five-year plan namely the manufacturing industries, the transport and logistic services, tourism, SALALAH: The road and land transport sector in Dhofar Governorate is endeavoring to facilitate communications by expanding the road networks and linking rural areas with urban centre with the aim of developing the sectors of agriculture, tourism, trade and industry. This was stated by Engineer Said bin Mohammed Tabook, Directorate General of Roads and Land Transport in Dhofar Governorate. Among the most important projects currently under construction is the Taqa-Mirbat dual carriageway, a 36-km dualized road which starts from Madinat Al Haq roundabout in the Wilayat of Taqa and ends at the gateway of Mirbat city. It has five flyovers, an underpass, a bridge to the south of Wadi Darbat and a roundabout at the junction connecting the dual carriageway and the one-lane road, the cost of the project is estimated at RO 40.5 million and expected to be completed in March 2018, the official said. — ONA fisheries, mining and the enablers sectors, such as the labour market and finance sector. The programme will start with a number of intensified seminars in which experts from the public organisations, the private sector, the civil society organisations and all stakeholders will take part. The seminars will cover details and will decide the responsibilities, the resources, and the financial allocation for implementation, the timetable for implementation and the accurate measurement indicators. The Council also reviewed the status of expenditure on the development budget for the ministries and governmental units with relation to implementing the different development projects and compliance with the ceiling for expenditure during the financial year 2016. The Council discussed the restructuring plan for the water and sanitary drainage sector, as well as the solid waste sector in the Sultanate. The plan aims at adopting a national policy based on the shifting to a new organisational structure that enhances the efficiency of the use of natural resources, providing better service to customers and ensuring better response to demand for water. The plan also aims at promoting the management of the solid wastes and preserving environment by involving the private sector in collecting, recycling and treatment of wastes on proper economic bases. The meeting also discussed a number of other issues for which the Council took necessary decisions. — ONA CAS Nizwa, Health Services Directorate sign MoU AMAL AL RIYAMI NIZWA June 19: Within the framework of joint cooperation between the Faculty of Applied Sciences in Nizwa and the Directorate General of Health Services in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate, a memorandum of understanding was signed recently to exchange experiences and gain mutual benefit. The MoU will enable the use of the services and expertise available on both sides bringing a positive impact on everyone’s health, social and educational aspects. Dr Said bin Khalaf al Nabhani, Dean of the College and Dr Saleh bin Saif al Hinai, Director General of Health Services in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate, signed the memorandum at the Faculty of Applied Sciences in Nizwa in the presence of a number of officials from both sides. The memorandum covers several common aspects such as the provision of health services within the college, implementation of awareness and educational programmes, participate in joint educational activities, contribute to the preparation of documentaries films and design of advertising and health posters besides providing possible consultations by the parties. It also includes creating a supportive environment for health within the college. They formed a working group for each side to oversee the implementation of the memorandum and the stages. Following the signing of the memorandum, many of the organisational aspects of the application of this memorandum, dates of regular meetings and ways to evaluate the progress of the MoU were addressed. Everyone assured on the need to prepare a timetable for the implementation of the aspects of cooperation covered by the memorandum. In addition to the importance of holding regular meetings to evaluate the return on educational activities that are carried out. The Faculty of Applied Sciences in Nizwa had previously signed memorandums of understanding with other government institutions in Al Dakhiliyah. FROM PAGE 1 Article 30 and 31 of the basic statute of Oman says any citizen of the country has the freedom of the press, printing and publishing which are within the law. These articles prohibit anything that is slanderous, including gossip or messages that are against national security, human rights and personal freedom. All other related laws fall within these broad categories. The circulation of any message, image or audio clip on the social media, including WhatsApp, is punishable under Section 19 of the Cybercrime Law, which criminalises the publication or possession of any material disturbing public order. The section also covers racism and xenophobia. The number of cyber crimes has dropped in the country. An ROP wing which is alert to incidences of crimes involving ICT devices has helped bring down cyber crimes by 30 per cent last year, according to the statistics released by the authorities. Oman has passed two new legislations to address computer and Internet-related crimes: Electronic Transactions Law and Cybercrime Law. They have helped in checking offences such as the publication of material affecting public order. asia asia Thousands protest US bases on Japan’s Okinawa 6 Pro-democracy singer’s concert cancelled OMANDAILYOBSERVER Hong Kong pro-democracy singer Denise Ho’s concert was cancelled on Sunday. She spoke at the free concert after Lancome, the face-cream company owned by French cosmetics giant L’Oreal, cancelled the concert featuring Ho in Hong Kong. M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 ANGERED BY ATTACKS: About 65,000 people gathered in the Okinawa prefectural capital of Naha to mark the death of a 20-year-old woman TOKYO: Anger against crimes committed by US military personnel prompted tens of thousands of demonstrators to rally on Okinawaa on Sunday to demand that the US Marine Corps withdraw its forces from the Japanese island. About 65,000 people gathered in the Okinawa prefectural capital of Naha to mark the death of a 20-year-old woman, who was allegedly raped and killed by a former US marine in late April. A message from her father was read out at the rally. “Why did it have to be my daughter? Why did she have to be killed?”the father asked. “So as not to have another victim, the people in the [Okinawa] prefecture can unite and make it possible for all bases (on the island) to be removed,” read the letter. Suzuyo Takazato, a leader of Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence, recalled rapes and murders of local women by US soldiers before the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japanese administration from US occupation. “Even after the reversion, similar incidents took place,” Takazato said. “How can we put into action our sentiments that no further incidents like this should occur?” Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga attended the gathering organised by Demonstrators hold placards that read ‘Withdraw Marine Corps’ during a rally against the US military presence in Naha, Okinawa prefecture’ on Sunday. — AFP local political parties and business and citizens groups. Many participants held a sign that read “Our anger has reached the limit,” in reference to a series of crimes committed by US military-linked personnel. In early June, a US sailor was nabbed for suspected drunk driving after driving on the wrong side of the road and colliding with two vehicles, injuring two. In March, a US serviceman was arrested for allegedly raping a Japanese woman at a hotel in Naha, while she was visiting Okinawa. He was later indicted. On Sunday, the protesters also called for Japan and the United States to abandon the construction of a new US military base in northern Okinawa, which would take over the functions of US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, located in the middle of residential areas on the island. In 1996, the US and Japan agreed to Three dead, four missing in Indonesian landslides, floods Soldiers search for landslide victims at Caok village in Purworejo, Central Java province, Indonesia, on Sunday. — Reuters JAKARTA: At least three people died and four were missing after heavy rain and landslides hit parts of Indonesia’s Central Java province on the weekend. A landslide in Kebumen district left three villagers missing, the national disaster agency said. Landslides also occurred in Banjarnegara district after heavy rain since Saturday. Malaysia, China, Australia meeting on MH370 search KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will host a two-day special meeting to discuss the next course of action in the search for the missing flight MH370 that disappeared more than two years ago, state media reported. The meeting of senior officials from Malaysia, China and Australia, is scheduled for Monday at the federal government centre in Putrajaya, the Bernama news agency said. The three countries are conducting the search for the missing aircraft that disappeared on March 8, 2014, nearly an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. “Top in the agenda of the meeting is on the future direction of the search operation for MH370,” deputy transport minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi was quoted by Bernama as saying. The Beijing-bound aircraft with 239 people aboard was believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean. Searchers have yet to find the main wreckage, although several pieces of debris believed to be part of the plane have been recovered during the past year. The search has so far covered 105,000 square kilometres of the 120,000-squarekilometre seafloor search zone. — dpa A resident walks past a car at a flooded area during heavy rain in Huangshan, Anhui Province of China, on Sunday. — Reuters “The villagers were removing soil that blocked a road when another landslide fell and buried three villagers. A landslide in a nearby area also buried two houses and an early school facility,” agency Spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. The rising Bogowonto River in Purworejo district inundated six villages, causing one villager to be dragged away. “A rescue operation is still underway to search for the missing villager and evacuated those affected by the flood,” Nugroho said. Heavy rain is expected to occur in many parts of Indonesia for the next two days. In China, heavy rain caused floods in Huangshan, Anhui Province, on Sunday. — dpa Out on a Lim: Taiwan hard-rocker finds transition to parliament tough LONDON: After two decades in make-up fronting one of Asia’s biggest heavy metal bands, Freddy Lim is finding the transition to the more formal surroundings of the Taiwanese parliament harder than expected. Six months after being elected legislator in Taipei’s 5th District, the long-haired political activist and lead singer of Chthonic is still trying to get his new colleagues to overlook his “weird” appearance in parliament. “It’s not just that I was shocked, I think the entire system and the office and the people in the parliament were shocked,” Lim said of his political arrival before the Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards in London this week. Chthonic’s music often focuses on Taiwan’s identity, with graphic music videos such as 2013 hit ‘Supreme Pain for the Tyrant’. But he told the London crowd after picking up the Global Metal Band award that he now channels “the anger from my metal head and co-founder of the political New Power “strong” and therefore effective at tackling persona into parliament”. Party, said he had found the switch to politics issues, even if they impacted on his music. The human rights campaigner, former more difficult than expected. “I just can’t tour like I used to,” the 40-yearchairman of Taiwan’s Amnesty International However, he believed rock stars were old singer said. — Reuters close Futenma to ease islanders’ anger after a 12-year-old local schoolgirl was raped by three US servicemen. Despite massive local opposition, the two governments have tried to build new US military facilities in exchange for the closure. The project would cost Japanese taxpayers more than 1 trillion yen ($9.6 billion), according to analysts in Tokyo and Okinawa. A recent poll conducted by the island’s Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper showed about 84 per cent of Okinawans opposed the construction in a coastal area of Nago city. Around half of the 53,000 US military personnel in Japan are stationed on Okinawa, 1,600 kilometres south-west of Tokyo, which is less than 1 per cent of the country’s total land mass. Okinawans felt displeased on Sunday after the US Embassy in Tokyo issued a statement, saying, “Even demonstrations [on Okinawa] intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence.” The rally was “precisely opposite to violent behaviour,” MorimasaGoya, a local business leader, was quoted by Ryukyu Shimpo as saying before the event. “The US side failed to understand the gravity of the situation. I want them to come and see it.” — dpa China says Indonesia fired on fishing boats, injuring crewman The foreign ministry in Beijing launched a strong protest over what it termed the Indonesian navy’s harassment of Chinese fishermen. It said several Indonesian naval ships opened fire on the boats in a disputed fishing ground. BEIJING: China accused Indonesia on Sunday of firing on its fishermen and injuring one of them, in the latest flare-up of tensions between the two nations in the South China Sea. The foreign ministry in Beijing launched a strong protest over what it termed the Indonesian navy’s harassment of Chinese fishermen. It said several Indonesian naval ships opened fire on the boats in a disputed fishing ground on Friday. One crew member was injured, it said without giving details, while another fishing boat and seven crew were detained. “China strongly protests and condemns such excessive use of force,” ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying was quoted as saying in a statement carried by the official Xinhua news agency. The agency said the incident took place in a “traditional Chinese fishing ground” where the two countries have overlapping maritime claims. Indonesia’s actions violated international laws, Hua was quoted as saying. “China urges Indonesia to stop taking action that escalates tension, complicates issues or affects peace and stability,” she said. Beijing late last month lodged a strong protest after the Indonesian navy seized a Chinese boat in waters near Indonesia’s Natuna Islands for allegedly fishing illegally. The two sides have clashed before over the islands on the southwestern edge of the South China Sea. In March Chinese coastguards rammed a Chinese boat detained near the Natunas and helped it escape as the Indonesians towed the vessel to shore. Jakarta responded furiously, lodging a protest and summoning China’s top envoy in the country. China asserts authority over almost all the South China Sea despite partial counter-claims from several Southeast Asian nations. Unlike its neighbours Indonesia does not dispute ownership of reefs or islets in the sea. But it objects to Beijing’s claims because they overlap with its own exclusive economic zone around the Natunas. Indonesia has launched a tough crackdown on illegal fishing in recent months, sinking foreign boats after removing the crews. — AFP subcontinent subcontinent i OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 PANAMA LEAK: Parties not convinced as PM not directly involved Oppn may be divided over naming Sharif ISLAMABAD: Unity among opposition parties following the Panama Leaks may be dented if the PPP and PTI continue to insist on including the name of Nawaz Sharif in the ToRs for the judicial probe as at least four political parties are not convinced on insisting on this very point when the premier is not directly named in the Panama Papers. Additionally, the re-appearance of Dr Tahirul Qadri on the political chessboard and growing chances of 2014-like protest and sit-in politics by the PTI after Ramadhan to force Nawaz Sharif to quit on the Panama Papers issue, may also cause cracks among the opposition parties. Sources said that Jamaat-e-Islami, MQM, Awami National Party and Qaumi Watan Party have their reservations about the Nawaz-centric ToRs but for the sake of the joint oppositions’ platform, none of them is making it an issue right now. However, the dissenting voices have started coming out in public. Some of these political parties during the oppositions’ meetings held recently have said that instead of making it a Nawaz Sharif-centric case, focus should be on the principle of probing all those named in the Panama Papers or in other offshore companies or in cases of bank loan write off and ill-gotten foreign wealth. Sources said that it was suggested by one of the political parties’ representatives to leave it to the Judicial Commission to decide if it wants to probe family members of any person named in the Panama Papers including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has not been directly named in the Panama Papers. This suggestion from one of the opposition parties was, however, strongly rejected by the vocal and influential PPP and PTI representatives, who say that Nawaz Sharif ’s name must be included in the ToRs. “For the sake of the oppositions’ unity, we are not making it an issue,” an opposition voice included in the ToRs Some of these political parties during the oppositions’ meetings held recently have said that instead of making it a Nawaz Sharif-centric case, focus should be on the principle of probing all those named committee said, adding that the Panama Papers have become more an issue of political point-scoring than pursuing the agenda of checking corruption. Aftab Sherpao who is though no more a member of the opposition committee, still occasionally interacts with the opposition parties on the issue reportedly also supports the inclusion of only those names in the ToRs which are reflected in the Panama Papers. MQM’s Farooq Sattar, however, opt- ed to express his views in public. In a TV show on Friday, Farooq Sattar said that it should not look like as if the ToRs are being formulated only to target one person. Initially, Aitzaz Ahsan had indicated that the opposition may not insist on including the name of Nawaz Sharif in the ToRs but his statement caused a strong reaction particularly from within the PTI and among some PPP leaders from Punjab. Such a strong reaction from within the PTI and PPP led to their strict stance on the inclusion of Nawaz Sharif ’s name in the ToRs. On Monday, the opposition parties’ representatives will hold a press conference to explain how the government is non-serious in the formulation of consensus ToRs for a judicial commission. The government-opposition parleys on ToRs are facing a deadlock mainly because of the government’s reluctance to include Nawaz Sharif ’s name in the ToRs and the opposition’s insistence that the probe should start from Nawaz Sharif. — Internews Afghan refugees are ‘forgotten’, says UN TEHRAN: Displaced Afghans had already been “forgotten” by the international community before they began arriving in Europe en masse last year, UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said on Saturday in Iran. Grandi, who on Friday began his first regional tour as the new UN High Commissioner ahead of World Refugee Day on Monday, said his trip was focused on Afghan refugees. “I decided that this year, my first year as High Commissioner, I would use that opportunity to highlight the unresolved plight of Afghan refugees,” he said in a joint press conference with Iran’s Deputy Interior Minister Hossein Zolfaghari. “Afghan refugees unfortunately have been forgotten by the international community,” said Grandi, who will mark World Refugee Day in Afghanistan. “It is only when they started arriving in Europe together with many other refugees that the international community suddenly remembered.” A record 1.25 million Syrian, Iraqi, Criminals’ data to go online in KP province PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province police in Pakistan have decided to display data of criminals who are involved in heinous crimes on its website. The move was made to prevent recidivism as the police fear some criminals will resume illegal activities soon after they are released from jails. The step would provide the public with a database of criminals which could be accessed online. In addition, they could also help the police identify the criminals with the help of the database. If people have fallen victim to a crime, they could help the police identify the criminal through the database. On Sunday, IGP Nasir Khan Durrani said they had decided to put the pictures and all relevant information about criminals involved in heinous crimes on their official website to make it easier to identify them. He said the data of those criminals and terrorists, whose name had been published in the police red book, were not included. “In the red book, we have mentioned the names of wanted terrorists and criminals who have a head money on their arrest,” he said. “We are going to place the bio data and pictures of those people who were previously involved in heinous crimes, arrested by the police and sent to jails.” The IGP added, “If these people engaged in criminal activities again then the data available online would help the public identify them and inform police about it.” The official added the decision was taken in a meeting after the murder of trader leader Haji Haleem Jan, who was killed by extortionists in Qissa Khwani Bazaar. — Internews Afghan and other migrants have entered Europe since January 2015. Iran currently hosts more than three million Afghan immigrants, one million of them legally. Grandi urged the international community to increase their support for Tehran’s refugee protection programmes because “unless we help refugees” more they will look elsewhere. “We have seen this happening last year with hundreds of thousands of Afghans moving toward Europe,” he said. — AFP 150 women empowerment centres coming Afghan minister to visit Islamabad for border talks ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information Technology of Pakistan is establishing 150 women empowerment centres at Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal as part of ICTs for Girls project. These centres are being equipped with state of the art computer labs and broadband infrastructure. At these centres thousands of young girls from disadvantaged background will be trained by Microsoft led programme. The Digital Skills programme by Microsoft comprises 4 Cs including computing, coding, and communication and coaching to increase their employability potential. Under this programme first phase of training by Microsoft is completed, through which 100 Master Trainers from all across Pakistan have been trained. As part of Phase I, establishment of computer labs with allied broadband infrastructure for 50 empowerment centres are in process to be placed. Minister for IT, Anusha Rahman said the government is committed to an all-inclusive society with enhanced empowerment of women through a well-structured enabling environment that could guarantee their financial autonomy. “We are conscious of our social responsibility. Through technological capacity building, the women and girls under this programme shall prove to be great asset for the economic engine of the country.” MD PBM Barrister Abid Waheed Sheikh said vsteps have been taken for the up-gradation of Women Empowerment Centres during last three years. — Internews An Afghan military checkpoint on the outskirts of Tarin Kot, the capital of southern Uruzgan province. — AFP ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai, will visit Islamabad on Monday for talks to remove differences over the border management issues, the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said. Clashes had erupted along the Torkham, the busiest border crossing, between the troops of the two countries on June 12 that caused casualties on both sides, Xinhua news agency reported. Both sides have now declared ceasefire and the border was opened on Saturday after its six days closure. However, both countries have deployed troops and tanks along the border. Pakistan Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz had invited Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar, and Foreign Minister Syed Salahuddin Rabbani to visit Pakistan to discuss the border issues and to remove any gaps in communication or understanding. Afghanistan has accepted the talks offer but decided to send an Afghan delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai to Islamabad. The foreign ministry said the Afghan delegation will visit Islamabad on Monday for “discussions on the issues relating to Torkham border crossing as well as other matters pertaining to border management”. “Pakistan welcomes the visit and looks forward to meaningful deliberations through a constructive engagement between the two sides with a view to promote bilateral relations as well as peace and stability of our two countries and the region,” a foreign ministry statement said. Pakistan and Afghanistan have nearly 2,600 km border, mostly porous, and the militants take advantage of the loose control. —IANS Museum of National History home of vast collection ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Museum of National History (PMNH) at Garden Avenue is home to a vast collection of fossils and relics of eons past. A family trip to the museum in Ramazan can be an informative and captivating way to get past the hunger pangs. It presents a great learning experience for children and is enjoyable for adults as well. PMNH was established in 1976 under the patronage of the Pakistan Science Foundation. It has four principal divisions — botanical sciences, earth sciences, zoological sciences and public services. The three science divisions are engaged in collection and identification, and research activities pertaining to plants, animals, fossils and mineral resources of Pakistan while the latter is responsible for mass education and popularisation of natural history through various displays, exhibits and dioramas. There are five display galleries the bio gallery, Tethys gallery, gemstones gallery, eco gallery, and the Palaeo gallery which provide information about unique eras and subjects of the natural history of the area that is now Pakistan. These galleries provide information about flora and fauna of Pakistan, from the seashores to alpine heights of Pakistan, salt range, ocean life, minerals and rocks, fossils and skeletons of Ranking evaluated on the basis of 9 parameters Pakistan 56th among world’s best LAHORE: Pakistan is ranked 56th among the 60 best countries declared by Wharton School, BAV Consulting, and the US News and World Report for the year 2016. The ranking was evaluated on the basis of nine parameters each given a percentage weight to evaluate overall ranking. These parameters include adventure weight 3.24 per cent, citizenship weight 16.95 per cent, cultural influence weight 12.93 per cent, entrepreneurship 17.42 per cent, heritage 3.17 per cent, and movers 10 per cent, open for business 11.99 per cent, power 7.42 per cent and quality of life 16.89 per cent. A set of 65 country attributes — terms that can be used to describe a country and that are also relevant to the success of a modern nation 7 — were identified. Attributes by nation were presented in a survey of more than 16,000 people from across the globe where participants assessed how closely they associated one with the other. Each country was scored on each of the 65 country attributes based on a collection of individual survey responses. The Movers sub-ranking represents a version of BAV’s BrandAsset Valuator Model of Brand Building, a metric developed by BAV that is predictive of a country’s future growth in terms of gross domestic product purchasing power parity per capita. The top ranked country was Germany followed by Canada. India was at number 22 and China at number at 17. Scores are based A set of 65 country attributes — terms that can be used to describe a country and that are also relevant to the success of a modern nation — were identified on scale of 1-10. In adventure Pakistan’s score was 0.1 in fun, 0.4 in scenic beauty, 0.1 in pleasant climate and 0.2 in friendliness. In this parameter it was ranked 58 out of 60 countries. In the parameter about citizenship it was again ranked 58 and its scores in different attributes of citizenship was 0.3 on respect of property rights, 0.3 for progressiveness, 0.3 for trust worthiness, 0.4 for gender equality, 0.3 for well distributed political power, 0.2 for care about environment, 0.3 for care about human rights and 0.2 for religious freedom. On cultural influence it ranked 55 based on its scores on different attributes of cultural influence that included prestigious 0.5 points, culturally significant in terms of entertainment 0.3 points, fashionable 0.2 points, trendy 0.3 points, modern 0.1 points, on influential culture 0.8 points and on happiness 0.1 points. In entrepreneurship the ranking was better at 47 out of 60 based on scores in different attributes of entrepreneurship. — Internews various animals, precious and semiprecious stones, information about earth sciences, zoological and botanical sciences, and prehistoric wildlife. Dinosaurs, ice-age animals, volcanoes, the solar system, whales, elephants, and giraffes are all on display. It is a fascinating journey to go back in time to rediscover. — Internews Myanmar asks ILO to open country office NAY PYI TAW: Myanmar has requested the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to open a country office in the Southeast Asian country, the Confederation of the Trade Union of Myanmar (CTUM) said on Sunday. “Only if the request is granted, can the problems of workers be acted on extensively,” Chairman of the CTUM U Maung Maung said, expecting the appointment of an ILO country director by the end of this year. The ILO currently has a liaison office and an office focusing on the elimination of child soldiers in Myanmar, Xinhua news agency reported. — IANS analysis analysis l 8 OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 XENOPHOBIA CLIMATE WORRYING IN EUROPE STEPHANE BARBIER T he UN’s refugee chief says a worrying “climate of xenophobia” has taken hold in Europe as the continent struggles with the biggest influx of migrants since World War II. Speaking in Tehran at the start of a regional tour, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said European leaders needed to do more to coordinate migration policies and to combat negative stereotypes about refugees. “Refugees don’t bring danger to us, they flee from dangerous places,” said Grandi, who took office in January. National leaders need to better explain that immigration “in fact contributes to the development of societies,” he said. “Those who do the opposite, who stir up public opinion against refugees and migrants, have a responsibility in creating a climate of xenophobia that is very worrying in today’s Europe,” he said. “It provides a negative example to countries further away.” Protracted conflicts — in particular Syria’s five-year civil war — have prompted an unprecedented wave of migration to the continent, with a record 1.25 million Syrian, Iraqi, Afghan and other migrants entering Europe since January 2015. The influx has sparked a backlash in some countries, including in Austria where the anti-immigration Freedom Party nearly won the presidency last month and in Hungary where authorities have sealed the border with Serbia with razor wire and made illegal border crossing a criminal offence punishable by jail. Grandi said it was unfortunate that decisions taken last year by the European Union to better handle the influx “were not implemented”. It was, he said, “a missed opportunity” because “each country made decisions separately. Borders closed.” He called for “a more collective collegial system of managing refugee flows based on solidarity and burden-sharing between the states, as opposed to trying to do it by themselves with the result that only some countries receive a large number of refugees and others close the borders.” Grandi also called for greater efforts to The influx of migrants help those displaced by conflict within their has sparked a backlash own countries. “Two-thirds of the world’s displaced are in some countries, displaced internally,” he said. including in Austria “We have millions of them in Afghanistan, where anti-immigration in Syria, in Iraq, in Yemen... they are the most difficult to reach because they are usually in Freedom Party nearly the midst of wars therefore it’s dangerous to won the presidency bring assistance.” Grandi, an Italian diplomat long active last month and in in UN humanitarian work, was due in Hungary where Afghanistan on Monday to mark World authorities have sealed Refugee Day. He said he wanted to use his first year in office to highlight the plight of the border with Serbia. that country’s refugees. “The Afghan refugee crisis has been unfortunately forgotten repeatedly in its history,” he said. It “only gets remembered when something big happens like September 11 and now the arrival of Afghans in Europe among hundred of thousands others.” The root cause is instability in Afghanistan, he said, adding: “That’s why my first message here is let’s make peace in Afghanistan.” After meeting with Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Grandi praised Tehran’s efforts to assist Afghan refugees. Iran hosts more than three million immigrants from neighbouring Afghanistan, a million of them legally. “The space given to the refugees for assistance, to give them opportunities and protection, is considerable” he said. He pointed to a decree from Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last year allowing all Afghan children to be allowed into schools in the Islamic republic. “There are things that have been done here in Iran that are truly examples for other countries, like giving access for children to the school system,” Grandi said. It was “one of the most important gestures that any country has expressed for refugees anywhere in the world in the past few years.” Mixing business with terror ARUN KUMAR D The Washington Post was quick to interpret the mogul’s onald Trump patted himself on the back for being right remark with an online article headlined “Donald Trump about “radical terrorism”. Hillary Clinton said she would be suggests President Obama was involved with Orlando happy to use the forbidden phrase. shooting”. Trump’s retribution was quicker. She and the man in the White House they both want He simply revoked the influential daily’s credentials to replace said they got Osama bin Laden without calling even as the Post tweaked its headline “on its own” to read him any names. And in far off India, a religious outfit “Donald Trump seems to connect President Obama to celebrated the Manhattan mogul’s birthday as the ‘saviour Orlando shooting”. of humanity’ for taking up the fight against terror. A Post writer, who had literally made a meal of his The would-be Republican standard bearer was the first column predicting that Trump would never be the to inject politics into tragedy with a twitter message hours nominee, suggested a total blackout of the “Punisher-inafter a son of immigrant parents from chief ”, as the New York Times called Afghanistan massacred 49 people in the billionaire, choosing news over cold blood in Orlando in the early ratings. Oh if not total, at least not hours of last Sunday, in the worst mass give him “oodles” of free publicity shooting in American history. Trump was the first to inject already worth over $2 billion by “Appreciate the congrats for being some counts, the Post writer added right on radical terrorism; I don’t politics into tragedy with in the next breath, while the editor want congrats, I want toughness & a twitter message hours insisted they would keep covering vigilance. We must be smart!” Trump the billionaire “vigorously”. after a shooter massacred tweeted, chiding both President An angry Obama himself called 49 people in Orlando in the Trump’s renewed call to temporarily Barack Obama and Clinton. Goaded by Trump, “Crooked early hours of last Sunday, ban minorities as “dangerous” as he Hillary”, as he calls his Democratic uttered the phrase four times but rival, insisted she’s not afraid to say in the worst mass shooting asserted: “So, there’s no magic to the “radical.” “It mattered we got Bin in American history. phrase ‘radical religion’ .It’s a political Laden, not what name we called him.” talking point; it’s not a strategy.” “I have clearly said we — whether While some Republican bigwigs you call it radical militancy or radical decried their nominee’s remarks religion, I’m happy to say either,” said about the minorities and the the former secretary of state in a clear break from her rival president, John McCain, who lost to Obama in the 2008 turned boss for four years. presidential election, suggested Obama was “directly Trump upped the ante a day later in suggesting to Fox responsible” for the mass shooting in Orlando. News that Obama “doesn’t get it or he gets it better than Amid heated criticism from Democrats, McCain later anybody understands — it’s one or the other, and either one issued a statement saying he “misspoke” and that he was is unacceptable.” referring to “Obama’s national security decisions, not the “People cannot, they cannot believe that President president himself ” that led to the rise of IS on his watch. Obama is acting the way he acts and can’t even mention Put in a quandary by Trump, the Republicans who are the words ‘radical terrorism.’ There’s something going on,” opposed to any gun control, agreed to vote in the Senate on he insinuated. Monday on four competing gun control measures. US military on Okinawa fights to check stigma of crime DANIEL LEUSSINK C rimes by US troops based on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa have long angered residents, who for decades have claimed the American military was out of control. Tens of thousands of islanders rallied on Sunday after anger was rekindled by the abuse and murder of a 20-year-old woman in April. A US civilian base worker — a former Marine — has been arrested. In a separate incident earlier this month a US sailor was detained after injuring two people in a drink-driving incident. Statistics do not suggest a major problem with US military crime on the sub-tropical island. But the cases have fuelled persistent irritation at the intrusive American military presence on overcrowded Okinawa. The island hosts about 26,000 US troops, more than half the total Washington keeps in all of Japan under a longstanding security treaty, and residents have long complained at the disproportionately heavy US footprint. Okinawa was the scene of a bloody battle between Japan and the US in the waning months of World War II, followed by a 27-year American occupation that only ended in 1972 with its reversion to Japanese control. The US military has gone all out to condemn the recent incidents and take measures to avoid further trouble, while the vast majority of its troops try to avoid the stigma created by their comrades who break the law. The island hosts about 26,000 US troops, more than half the total Washington keeps in all of Japan under a security treaty, and residents have long complained at the heavy US footprint. Worried that more crimes could jeopardise the alliance, the military has been quick to express sympathy with Okinawans and taken steps to curtail problematic behaviour, such as restricting alcohol consumption and imposing a curfew. “The overwhelming majority of American service members are lawabiding, upstanding members of this shared community,” First Lieutenant George McArthur, a Marine public affairs officer, said in a written response to questions. “There is not an Okinawan and an American way to view horrific crimes — only one view, and that is that we are all repulsed, angry and grieving together.” Troops have been instructed to stay away from the venue of Sunday’s protest in the prefectural capital of Naha out of respect “and to prevent any possible conflict”, McArthur said. “We’re doing everything we can to support the host nation,” said a serviceman at an American-style off-base shopping mall in the beachside town of Chatan near the sprawling Kadena Air Force Base. Flight deck crews seen during joint military exercise called Malabar, with the US, Japan and India participating, off Japan’s southernmost island of Okinawa, Japan. — Reuters a a ys s analysis analysis i Leave campaign holding on to its momentum of gain OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 S ANDY JALIL Foreign Correspondent [email protected] ince prior to the three-day suspension of campaigning on the EU referendum with the shocking murder of the MP Jo Cox, the Leave EU campaign has held its lead in the polls and that gives them an edge going into the voting, while putting the Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne in a tight spot with their strong backing of Remain. After the sad event of last week, campaigning will gradually intensify leading up to Thursday’s landmark referendum with four million voters still undecided. Cameron and Osborne’s defence of the EU is becoming increasingly shrill. While Cameron is showing anxiety in attempting to push people, by his speeches, into voting to Remain, with outlandish claims to spread fear, Osborne has threatened rise in taxes, cuts in public spending and is making predictions about the state of Britain’s economy in 15 years’ time with a precision that takes away any credibility. In order to get the older voters to back Remain, Cameron warned that Brexit would put their state pensions at risk and benefits such as free bus passes and TV licences and National Health Services could also be at risk with the strain caused to public finances. The former work and pensions minister and a supporter of Leave, Iain Duncan Smith said it was a “desperate attempt to bully and frighten the British people.” In response to Cameron’s claim that Britain’s trade will be badly hit on leaving the Union, yet another businessman, billionaire Sir James Dyson commented that was “totally rubbish”. He said: “When the Remain campaign tells us no one will trade with us if we leave the EU, sorry, it’s absolute cobblers.” He added: “Our trade imbalance with Europe is running at nine billion a month and rising. If this trend continues, that is £100 billion a year. If, as David Cameron has suggested, they imposed a tariff of 10 per cent on us, we will do the same in return.” According to Leave, Osborne and Cameron have taken a very high risk strategy backed by the financial power of several multinationals. But equally, there are an increasing number of other large national and international companies and particularly small and medium sized firms giving support to leave the EU. As a result, a June survey showed a six-point lead for Leave. The Leave camp point out that the main issue for the Remain side is simply that the EU is clearly failing. It can only sell abstractions while ignoring the much more serious social disruptions that EU institutions have produced across Europe. At least both camps agree, to a point, that the EU is flawed. The evidence is there with low growth, high unemployment and increasing political instability. The question for those who are undecided is: can the EU be reformed enough to be workable. Going by the past, the answer is not very encouraging. And if it cannot be reformed enough to follow through on its often repeated aims of delivering growth, jobs and stability — with several countries, including Greece, Spain and Italy still deep in their struggles — then those who believe in practicality rather than just in theory to achieve results, ought to have no trouble voting 9 against the unsuccessful institution. Former cabinet minister in Labour government Lord Mandelson issued a warning about the effects of a Brexit vote on London: the effect it would have on the financial district of the capital city. Of course, with his experience of the EU from inside as a Commissioner, he knows what he’s talking about. But for that very reason his views and those of other members of the EU elite do not have an effect on the Leave campaigners. Mandelson’s comments particularly do not bother voters in the north of England for whom immigration is the major issue. People have reasons to be concerned about increasing numbers but the one fact that Remain side should emphasise is that most net immigration — currently running at a third of a million a year — is from outside the EU. Yet, this is a point that the Leave camp do not appear to take much into account. They are more wrapped up in the numbers coming from the EU over which they do not have control because of the free movement. A SPRINKLE OF STARS! SID ASTBURY I US President Barack Obama speaks at the White House Summit in Washington last Tuesday. f celebrity endorsements are what counts, those wanting Britain to stay in the EU will have an easy victory in this week’s referendum. Consumer-friendly actors, pop stars, writers and artists have flocked to the Remain camp. Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch, history writer Hilary Mantel, film director Steve McQueen and fashion icon Vivienne Westwood have joined over 280 other A-listers hitting the campaign trail for the stayers. In the big-name stakes, the Leave camp is overwhelmed. Only Roger Daltry, lead singer with 1960s band The Who, and veteran Hollywood actor Michael Caine are with Leave. But is there any evidence that celebrity endorsements really work when it comes to voting. Or is it a turn-off when the rich and famous step out of character and become politicians themselves? Hobbit film-trilogy star Martin Freeman, Cumberbatch’s Sherlock co-star, is not among the Creative Industries Federation list of the 96 per cent of its members signing a letter on the Remain website. In the lead up to last year’s general election, Freeman defied those who think millionaire film stars should stay out of politics. He appeared in Labour Party television broadcasts. Former Dr Who star David Tennant, who has also fronted Labour Party propaganda, is another no-show in the federation’s 282-member castlist. Labour convincingly lost the last election despite superstar endorsements that included a televised chat between then leader Ed Miliband and popular loud-mouthed comedian Russell Brand. Also conspicuously absent from the federation’s list is former James Bond persona Sean Connery. The 85-year-old Edinburgh-born actor, who has helped fund the Scottish National Party that seeks independence from Britain but is keen for Britain to stay in the EU, has been accused of meddling in the politics of a country he left almost half a century ago. Scottish Labour Party politician Karen Gillon said she was unhappy with his type of activism. “Perhaps we should have actors who are working and are resident in Scotland rather than an actor who lives in Los Angeles,” she told a Scottish newspaper. Susan Douglas, a former police detective, will be voting to leave the EU. She thinks that celebrity endorsements from the “luvvies” might be doing the Remain camp harm because people see them as self-serving. Independent financial adviser Andrew Morrell, who is committed to Britain staying in the EU, also ignores blandishments from people in the entertainment industry. — AFP Mounting pressure unlikely to sway Obama ANDREW BEATTY E xasperated US diplomats are in open revolt over Barack Obama’s Syria policy, but radical change is unlikely in the twilight of his presidency. More than 280,000 people have been killed. Millions more have fled their homes. A relentless drumbeat of cluster bombs, barrel bombs, chemical bombs, murder, abuse and torture has turned swaths of Syria to dust. Humanitarian aid sometimes drips into the beleaguered cities, but when it does, President Bashar al Assad’s government makes sure “punishment” bombings quickly follow. “The government’s actions defy all definitions of human decency,” said one US official. There are ominous signs the regime is moving to strangle food production. In Syria, “you think you’ve reached the bottom and then you hear a faint scratching from below,” another official said. Through it all, the Obama administration has insisted only Assad — and his sponsors — can end the madness. But privately, even senior diplomats admit that their inability to stop five years of violence has challenged their conscience. They say that whatever comes next, Syria will have left an indelible stain on their years in public service. In a deliberately leaked memo, 51 serving US diplomats have now said “enough,” insisting that Obama has a moral obligation to stop the carnage. To force Assad into real peace negotiations, they say the 44th president must launch air strikes against the Syrian regime. Such a policy, they argue, could increase the cost of Assad’s intransigence and perhaps stem the suffering. The White House has quickly signalled it is not ready to embark on such a 180 degree shift. “The president has always been clear that he does not see a military solution to the crisis in Syria and that remains the case,” White House spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman said in response to the memo. The White House has stuck fast to a By leaking the memo, the diplomats would like Obama to reconsider his position on Syria. They might find allies elsewhere in Washington. CIA and Pentagon efforts to keep Syrian opposition afloat are faltering, even as progress is made in the fight against the IS group. credo — borne from the folly of the Iraq war — that the United States should not, indeed cannot, solve all the world’s crises. Above all Obama has tried to avoid entanglements in the Middle East, defining US interests in Syria as part of a counterterrorism effort to dismantle the IS group. That has left his Secretary of State John Kerry with an unenviable — and probably impossible — task of negotiating an end to the broader crisis with little or no leverage. His counterparts in Moscow or Damascus know Obama’s reticence well, and have the upper hand on the ground, so see little incentive to deal. For years, diplomat frustration with this perceived fool’s errand has been building. Frederic Hof, a former Syria adviser resigned from the Obama administration in protest in 2012. Obama’s policy is “morally vacuous and politically bankrupt” he said. It “cruelly and gratuitously leaves innocent civilians at the mercy of a mass murderer.” Today, Assad’s government and it’s Russian allies are running roughshod over a ceasefire that Kerry helped broker. Critics say it is increasingly difficult to tell the difference between an imperfect ceasefire and no ceasefire at all. Similarly, Kerry’s efforts to get Russia to force Assad to step down have run into the sand. Russia remains either unwilling or unable to help. By leaking the memo in an election year, the diplomats would like Obama to reconsider. They might find allies elsewhere in Washington. CIA and Pentagon efforts to keep Syria’s opposition afloat are faltering, even as progress is made in the fight against the IS group. Russian aerial assaults on moderate groups have met no response from Washington, forcing allies to seek the protection of larger, better-armed militant groups, including those linked to Al Qaeda. Might an administration led by Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton be much more willing to push back against Syrian government, check Russian influence and bring America’s vast military power to bear? ESTABLISHED ON 15 NOVEMBER 1981 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Abdullah bin Salim al Shueili HEAD OFFICE ADVERTISING Tel: 24649444, 24649450, 24649451, 24604563, 24699437 Fax: 24699643 AL OMANEYA ADVERTISING & PUBLIC RELATIONS, P.O. Box 3303, P.C. 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman Tel: SWITCHBOARD: 24649444 DIRECT: 24649430/24649437/24649401 Fax: 24649434 SALALAH OFFICE Tel: 23292633 Fax: 23293909 NIZWA OFFICE Tel: 25411099 P.O. Box 955, P.C. 611 Website: omanobserver.om DISTRIBUTION AGENT Al OMANEYA for Distribution & Marketing, P.O. Box 974, P.C. 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman Tel: 24649351/24649360 Fax: 24649379 e-mail: [email protected] PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY: Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising P.O. Box 974, Postal Code 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman [email protected] DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in these pages are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the opinion of the Observer. india iindia d 10 OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 Rajan acted as Congress agent Continuing his tirade against Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy on Sunday said Rajan has been acting as a “Congress agent” ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in May 2014. DU rejects RTI query over Modi degree DOUBTFUL: Why Modi’s degree should be regarded as a private affair since Shah and Jaitley had made it public? NEW DELHI: Citing “privacy” reasons, Delhi University (DU) has rejected another RTI query on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degree, sparking criticism from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The Right to Information query was filed by Delhi-based lawyer Mohd Irsad. “DU, as a matter of policy, seeks to maintain the privacy of every student as it holds the data pertaining to a student in a fiduciary relationship with the student concerned,” the RTI response from the university read. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kejriwal, who had alleged earlier that Modi’s graduation degree was fake, said Delhi University cannot refuse the information sought on the prime This deepens the mystery minister. “This deepens the mystery around around PM’s degree. If DU PM’s degree. If DU feels it is private feels it is private info, then info, then under RTI Act, DU should write to PM and seek his permission,” he under RTI Act, DU should tweeted. write to PM and seek his In April, Kejriwal urged the Central permission Information Commission (CIC) to make public the details of Modi’s educational ARVIND KEJRIWAL qualifications. Modi graduated from Delhi Delhi Chief Minister University and later did a postgraduation course in Gujarat. The slowest police verification office R A K SINGH NEW DELHI June 19: Police of some of the Indian states may well be putting snails to shame by their slow and tardy speed in verifying the antecedents of citizens for issuance of passports. At a time and age when police verification has been dispensed with for certain category of passport seekers, Guwahati Regional Passport office has acquired the dubious distinction of being the slowest in the country in getting the police verification done, taking 144 days on average for the job. Ironically Guwahati RPO has been able to retain its dubious distinction of being the slowest one in police verification year after year, taking 232 days in 2014-15 and 199 days in 2013-14 against a national average of 32 days, reveals an official note of the Ministry of External Affairs examining the RPOs’ speed in police verification. On the brighter side, Hyderabad RPO has emerged as the fastest in conducting police verification for the RPO applicants, doing the job in plain seven days in 201516, improving its own speed of 16 days for the job in 2014-15 and surpassing that of some of the faster RPOs like those of Delhi, Goa and Visakhapatnam. Indian authorities have fixed a desired deadline of three weeks or 21 days for police verification of the passport applicants, but country was able to achieve a national average of 32 days for the crucial stage for issuance of passport in 2015-16, the note revealed adding that on average India got the police verification of passport applicants done in 41 days and 47 days respectively in 2014-15 & 2013-14. As per the prevalent norms, from the police verification point of view, Indian citizens’ passport applications fall under three categories with the first one requiring no police verification on the strength of a certification by senior government officials testifying to his acquaintance with the applicant. The second category of applicants are subjected to police verification at a later stage after issuance of passport if his or her application is accompanied by a general identity document Aadhar card or Income Tax ID PAN card along with an affidavit deposing that he had no criminal antecedents. All other passport applicants have to undergo police verification prior to the issuance of the crucial document, which also doubles as the proof of one’s citizenship Among the RPOs, which stand out for faster processing of police verification are Hydrabad (7 days) Visakhapatnam (10 days), Goa (12 days), Surat (14 days) Delhi and Jalandhar (15 days), Chandigrah (17 days), Thiruvananthpuram (18 days), Jaipur (19) days and Dehradun (20 days). On the darker side of the spectrum are the RPOs like Srinagar which took 109 days on average to conduct the police verification for each applicant. The other RPOs which put the snail to shame by their own slow speed in police verification were Kolkata (77 days), Jammu (71 days), Pune 65 days, Patna (62 days) and Thane (62 days), the note revealed. Following Kejriwal’s letter, the CIC asked the DU to make the graduation degree public. Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley then made public Modi’s degrees. But the AAP immediately alleged that the degrees shown by them were fake. Kejriwal on Sunday sought to know why Modi’s degree should be regarded as a private affair since Shah and Jaitley had made it public. “Didn’t Amit Shah and Jaitleyji say that degree was genuine and anyone cud take it from DU?” he asked. — IANS 13 new ministers inducted in Karnataka BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday inducted 13 new ministers in his threeyear-old government, while dropping an equal number. Governor Vajubhai R Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to nine new cabinet ministers and four ministers of state at a simple ceremony on the lawns of Raj Bhavan here. The nine cabinet ministers are K Thimmappa, K R Ramesh Kumar, Basavaraja Rayareddi, Meti Hullappa Yamanappa, Tanveer Sait, S S Mallikarjuna, M R Seetharam, Santosh S Lad and Ramesh Laxmanrao Jarkiholi. The four ministers of state are Priyank M Kharge, Eshwara Kandre, Pramod Madhwaraj and Rudrappa Manappa Lamani. Their names were cleared by the Congress high command — President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi — over two days of consultations with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and state party president G Parameshwara The cabinet ministers took oath in Kannada in two batches of five and four, followed by the four ministers of state as Chief Secretary Arvind Jadav called them to the dais. Though 14 lawmakers were shortlisted, M Krishnappa, who represents a Bengaluru assembly segment, was left out from the final list without any reason being specified. Thimmappa is currently the assembly speaker while Ramesh Kumar held the same post during the previous Congress rule over a decade ago. Priyank is the son of the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, while Lad returns to cabinet nearly three years after he resigned in November 2013 as minister of state for information and infrastructure development over the mining scam that rocked the state during the then BJP rule. Among the thirteen dropped from the 34-member ministry, including the chief minister, are Srinivas Prasad, Kimmane Ratnakar, Baburao Chinchansur, Qamarul Islam, M H Ambarish, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Sathish Jarkiholi, Shamanur Shivashankarappa, P T Parameshwar Naik, Vinay Kumar Sorake and S R Patil. The major reshuffle comes a week after the Congress won three of the four Rajya Sabha seats and four of the seven legislative council seats in the biennial elections. “The revamp will ensure proportionate representation to all the people across the state, spanning castes and regions,” a party official said. Mallikarjun replaced his father Shivashankarappa from Davangere, while Ramesh replaced his elder brother Sathish from Belagavi district. Karnataka is the only major state where the Congress is in power after the party lost in Assam and Kerala in the recent assembly elections. — IANS Rhino killed in Kaziranga park GUWAHATI: Poachers killed a onehorned rhino inside the Kaziranga National Park in Assam and took away its horn, officials said on Sunday. “The park guards found the carcass of a female rhino in Bagori range today (Sunday) morning. Its horn was missing, indicating it to be a case of poaching,” an official said. The animal was poached on Saturday evening. A manhunt has been launched to trace the poachers. It is the ninth one-horned rhino to be killed this year at the National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, spread over Assam’s Golaghat and Nagaon districts. The poaching incident comes barely one-horned rhino in the park during a week after new Assam Forest Minister Brahma’s visit to review anti-poaching Pramila Rani Brahma’s visit to the park. strategies. Last week, poachers killed another She then suspended the park director and appointed a new one. The minister also instructed the new park director to take stringent steps to stop poaching of one-horned rhinos. — IANS IN BRIEF Gunfight ongoing in Pulwama district SRINAGAR: A gunfight started on Sunday between the security forces and the militants in a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police said. “Following specific information about the presence of some militants in Ladoo village of Pulwama district near Pampore town, security forces started an operation today (Sunday). “When a cordon was being laid around the place where militants were reportedly hiding, security forces were fired upon. The security forces retaliated and a gunfight has now started in the area,” a senior police officer said. “More reinforcements have been rushed to augment the strength of the security forces engaged in the operation,” the officer said. — IANS Tamil Nadu shuts 500 liquor shops NEW DELHI: Five hundred liquor shops were ordered closed from Sunday in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu after its newly re-elected government pledged to ban alcohol to curb violence and other problems. The Tamil Nadu government issued a statement ordering the closures as part of staggered plans to become the latest state in India to introduce prohibition. The statement said 500 TASMAN retail vending liquor shops would be closed, referring to the governmentrun Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation outlets. Operating hours of all others would be reduced. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram and leaders of other political parties promised prohibition during campaigning in last month’s state election. The pledge was popular with women voters, who blame alcohol for much of the state’s domestic violence, and for depleting the income of poor families. — AFP Himachal may get heavy rainfall SHIMLA: The hills of Himachal Pradesh may see heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours, a weather official said here on Sunday. “There are chances of heavy rainfall in some parts of the state between June 20 and 21,” an official of the local meteorological office said. He said most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Kalpa, Kasauli, Chamba, Dharamsala, Palampur and Manali might saw good spells of rain. Meanwhile, Shimla recorded a high of 23.3 degrees, whereas the minimum was 16.9 degrees. Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw the maximum temperature at 25 degrees, while it was 29.8 degrees in Dharamsala, 32.9 degrees in Sundernagar. Una was hottest in the state at 37 degrees Celsius. — IANS Rajan became RBI Governor in 2013 at a time when the rupee had plunged in value on fears of a spiralling current account deficit India Inc lauds Rajan’s ‘outstanding contribution’ NEW DELHI: India Inc on Sunday recalled the “outstanding contribution” of Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan following his decision not to seek the second term, and hoped an able replacement for him will be found. “Contribution made by RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan is exemplary and has been a huge factor in confidence building at a challenging time in the Indian economy,” Harshavardhan Neotia, President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), said in a statement here. “Many structural changes initiated by the RBI Governor, be it in banking regulations, monetary policy or exchange rate, will have positive impact on the economy going forward and he will always be remembered for his outstanding contribution,” he said. “We are sure government will soon find an able hand to continue the good work done by the present RBI governor Given Rajan’s international stature, various policymakers and economists have expressed disappointment at Rajan’s decision not to seek a second term and said it would prove costly for the Indian economy. when his term gets over,” Neotia added. Rajan on Saturday told his colleagues that he is not keen on a second term at the helm of the country’s central bank and will return to the academia when his tenure ends in September. Rajan became RBI Governor in 2013 at a time when the US Federal Reserve had declared its intent to wind down its stimulus programme and the rupee had plunged in value in respect of the US dollar on fears of a spiralling current account deficit. In a series of measures, Rajan managed to stabilise the currency that also brought back investors. Given Rajan’s international stature, various policymakers and economists have expressed disappointment at Rajan’s decision not to seek a second term and said it would prove costly for the Indian economy. “Raghuram Rajan’s decision not to seek second term would be very costly for the economy. Not a good omen,” tweeted Former Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram. “We are losing one of the most skilful financial economic thinkers in the world. It is sad for the country and it is sad for the government of the country too. RBI is not a completely autonomous institution,” Nobel laureate Amartya Sen said in a TV interview on Saturday. “His (Rajan’s) decisive policy actions based on robust analysis and deep understanding of the underlying causes have contributed significantly to changing perceptions about the strength of the Indian economy,” Christopher Jeffery, editor of British magazine Central Banking, said while giving Rajan their ‘Central Banker of the Year’ award last year. Rajan had predicted the 2008 markets crash caused by the housing market crisis in the US that put its economy into deep recession, setting off a global slowdown. In 2011, he published the acclaimed book “Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy”.Rajan’s colleague at Chicago University Booth School of Business, Luigi Zingales termed it is a “huge loss for India”. “Rajan leaves RBI to come back to Booth. A great gain for us, a huge loss for India,” he tweeted. Terming it as unfortunate, business chamber Assocham hoped Rajan could be persuaded to reconsider his decision. It will be the first time in 24 years that the RBI governor has departed after a single three-year term. In this context, it is being felt that the government’s failure to retain Rajan will be seen by the world as India’s nonapproval of his policy against inflation and the huge stressed assets of the banking sector. — IANS india da india i OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 India hopeful of Chinese support on NSG CHIT FUND SCAM COMPLICATED: While bilateral ties are ‘jatil’, New Delhi was firm that talks and terrorism cannot go together NEW DELHI: India on Sunday hoped that China will support its bid to get into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) while stressing that terror and talks cannot go together in its engagement with Pakistan. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said India will not oppose the entry of Pakistan or any other country into the NSG but asserted that the decision on all applications should be decided on merits. “Hum China ko bhi mananey mein kamyabi hasil kar lenge (We will succeed in convincing China too),” she told the media here. Answering media questions, she said China “is not opposed to India’s entry” into the 48-nation NSG but it was “only talking about the criteria procedures” to New Delhi’s entry to the nuclear grouping. Sushma Swaraj’s remarks came close on the heels of External Affairs Secretary S Jaishankar’s visit to Beijing to discuss India’s NSG bid with Chinese government. State-run Chinese media has said that Beijing was opposed to India becoming a member of the NSG when it had not signed the NPT — unless its nuclear State-run Chinese media has said that Beijing was opposed to India becoming a member of the NSG when it had not signed the NPT — unless its nuclear armed rival Pakistan was also taken on board armed rival Pakistan was also taken on board. To a question on Pakistan also trying to get NSG membership, the minister said: “Look, India is not a member in the group. But we will not oppose entry of any other country. What we want is all the applications are decided on their own merits.” However, Sushma Swaraj countered Beijing’s stand over “criteria”, saying: “Instead of talking about criteria in our case, there should be talk about relations.” She insisted that with regard to India, the issue of “criteria” vis-a-vis NSG was addressed in 2008 when the waiver was granted to it. Fielding questions on India-Pakistan relations, she said while bilateral ties are “jatil” (complicated), New Delhi was firm that talks and terrorism cannot go in India. “Earlier whenever there used to be any terrorist activity, Pakistan used to go in denial mood. But after Pathankot attack, Nawaz Sharif himself called our Prime Minister and he said you give me proof, I will definitely take appropriate action.” The minister, however, maintained, it will be erroneous to suggest that “in order to maintain a harmonious relation, we will be either careless or neglect security”. She said India’s approach towards Pakistan was essentially based on three key aspects: all problems should be resolved through talks, no involvement of a third party, and terror and talks cannot go together. “In all these three aspects, our government has been successful.” The external affairs minister denied that South Asia was not getting adequate priority in the Modi government’s foreign policy. “In the last two years, India has emerged as a strong supporter and a friend in crisis to neighbouring countries,” she said, referring to New Delhi’s help to Nepal during the massive earthquake of 2015. — IANS Will show film stars door if charges stick BHUBANESWAR: Odisha’s film stars who are members of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will be shown the door if they are found to have been complicit in the chit fund scam, party Vice President Damodar Rout said on Sunday. “We did not invite them (cine actors) to join our party. They came with somebody else’s recommendation. If we get an iota of proof, they will be shown the door,” said Rout, who is also Odisha’s Excise Minister. They were given membership of the BJD as crowd-pullers during the elections, he added. Industry Minister and BJD leader Debi Prasad Mishra said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has always taken the right decision when it comes to members who bring disgrace to the party. However, the allegations of opposition parties that BJD politicians are involved in the chit fund scam should be based on facts, he said. Actor-turned-BJD MP Anubhav Mohanty said the media had little reason to link his name with the chit fund scam. “You (media) are unnecessarily dragging the issue. This is not based on truth,” Anubhav told reporters here. — IANS Shipment arrives in Tripura under new India-Bangla transit protocol YOGA REHEARSAL Participants perform yoga during full dress rehearsal ahead of World Yoga Day in Chandigarh on Sunday. — Reuters Government chalks out plans to make 35 airports operational BATHINDA: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said the central government would chalk out a plan to make 35 airports operational in smaller cities. Speaking a public rally here to mark completion of two years of the National Democratic Alliance government, he said it has constructed 10,000 km of highways in the past two years besides devising a strategy to redevelop 400 railway stations in the country. Taking a dig at state Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh, he said: “Now Captain is behaving like a cry baby when his family’s foreign accounts have been unearthed.” Jaitley said that NDA government would always help Punjab in every hour of need and the SAD-BJP would make a hattrick in next year’s assembly polls. Training guns at the opposition Congress and the AAP, he said it was crucial to save Punjab from falling prey to the hands of these two political outfits. “The grand old party (Congress) is shrinking whereas the Arvind Kejriwal-led party is busy accusing the centre instead of working for development of Delhi,” he added. together. She said there was “sehejta” (simplicity) in the chemistry involving Prime Ministers Narendra Modi of India and Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan. “This warmth and simplicity in relations between two Prime Ministers were never there in the past,” she said. “To resolve problems, you also need good relationship.” Sushma Swaraj said unlike in the past, there had been a significant change in Pakistan’s policy towards terror strikes 11 Union Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who is also the local MP, said the previous UPA government had never paid any heed to the development of Punjab in general and Bathinda in particular, but the NDA government has selected it amongst the 200 cities where the achievements of the two years of the government would be showcased. She said in the past six months, the foreign direct investment has increased to a great extent in the country whose growth rate has climbed up to 7.9 per cent. Terming the UPA as a government of scandals, she dared the Congress to list a single achievement during its decadelong rule at the centre. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal said during the previous nine years, the SAD-BJP has carried out record development in the state, and exhorted the people to again vote for it in the 2017 assembly elections in order to ensure that the rapid pace of progress initiated in urban, rural, industrial and social sectors continues unhindered. He said this was a golden period for Punjab as alliance partner of the SAD, the BJP is ruling at the centre and thus the SAD-BJP would be able to take Punjab to further heights of glory owing to better coordination with the NDA government. — IANS AGARTALA: A consignment of 1005 tonnes of steel rods arrived on Sunday in Tripura from West Bengal through Bangladesh as part of revised ‘Inland Water Transit and Trade Protocol’ between the two countries. The protocol was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka in June last year. “A Bangladeshi ship from Kolkata carrying 1005 tonnes of steel rods meant for Tripura governemnt’s Rural Development Department reached Ashuganj river port in Bangladesh on June 15,” an Indian custom official said. “Bangladeshi trucks then carried the goods from Ashuganj port to Tripura’s Akhaura checkpost, from where the transporter would arrange to have the goods delivered to six places in Tripura,” the customs official said. Akhaura checkpost, just along Agartala city, is the second largest trading point and land port between India and Bangladesh after the Benapole-Petrapole land port with West Bengal. Ashuganj port on Meghna river in Bangladesh is about 40 km from Tripura’s capital Agartala. “Four Bangladeshi trucks arrived here on Sunday. Then Indian trucks carried the freight to their destinations inside Tripura. More such trucks would carry the goods from Ashuganj port to Tripura in subsequent days,” Sujit Roy, the company’s manager, said. The transit facility with provision of third-country access was formally inaugurated on Thursday at Ashuganj port by Bangladesh Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan in the presence of Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Economic Affairs Adviser Mashiur Rahman. The custom official said KolkataAshuganj-Tripura route cuts the Kolkata-Agartala distance via Siliguri’s ‘chicken neck’ and Assam and Meghalaya from 1,600 km to 500 km. “The reduced distance substantially cuts transportation costs from mainland India to the northeastern region and the time from 15 days to just 10 days.” The revised Inland Water Transit and Trade Protocol also gives India and Bangladesh the right to use each other’s territory for transiting goods to third countries. — IANS Some varieties are selling in retail in cities in the range of Rs 180-200 per kg Crackdown on hoarders, more action to check pulses’ prices NEW DELHI: About 1.30 lakh tonnes of pulses have been seized from hoarders in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi and other parts of northern India in the last few months, official sources said here on Sunday. The crackdown is part of government efforts to rein in the spiralling prices of pulses, of which some varieties are selling in retail in large cities in the range of Rs 180-200 per kg. “Hoarding is a hard fact and this is reported from parts of north India including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. So far, adequate actions have been taken in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu,” an official source said. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told a TV channel in an interview telecast on Saturday that action against hoarders last year helped the government bring the prices of pulses down by about Rs 50 per kg in the retail market. This year the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Income Tax department and local police have been conducting raids on people who are suspected to have been hoarding pulses to take advantage of the high prices, according to sources. The high prices of pulses, however, arise from the long-term issue of supply falling short of demand by “about five million tonnes”, Jaitley said in his TV interview, terming the shortfall a “serious challenge” for the government to tackle. The demand-supply gap could be even wider than five million tonnes. A source in the food ministry said: “As against the average supply of 17 million tonnes of pulses, the national demand is about 24 million tonnes. India is largest producer of pulses but also largest consumer and a very large importer.” The ministry confirms that about 5.5 million tonnes of pulses were imported in the last financial year. This year too the government is looking to import pulses from Myanmar, Mozambique and other countries, the source said. He said pulses are generally imported by private traders as well as public-sector agencies. “But to avoid black-marketing, government-to-government contracts have been planned with countries like Myanmar to import the stuff for enhanced buffer stocks,” the source said. The government decided on June 16 to enhance pulses’ buffer stock from 1.5 lakh tonnes to eight lakh tonnes. At the same time, the government is looking for ways to boost domestic production, especially by better incentivising the farmer to shift to cultivation of pulses. — IANS t eworld the o d world l 12 OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 Rome set to elect first female mayor Voters in the Italian capital headed to the polls on Sunday with all signs indicating that they will elect Virginia Raggi as the first female mayor of the Eternal City. Raggi, a 37-yearold lawyer and local councillor, has leapt from anonymity to become one of the bestknown faces in Italian politics in the space of only a few months on the campaign trail. TERROR HUNT: Belgian prosecutors charge 3 with terrorist offences; overnight searches lead to 12 arrests Brussels central station evacuated amid fears 13 children drown in Russia lake tragedy MOSCOW: At least 13 children and one adult on a summer camp in northeast Russia drowned when their boats capsized in a storm on a lake, investigators said on Sunday. The accident happened overnight on Lake Syamozero, close to the border with Finland, according to Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for Russia’s investigative committee. Updating an earlier toll of 12 dead, a source in the local emergency services said that “two more bodies of adolescents have been found”, taking the number of drowned to 14. The children, who were aged between 12 and 15, were “apparently not wearing life jackets”, Russia’s children’s rights watchdog, Pavel Astakhov, said. The group was taking part in a summer camp close to the lake, The emergencies ministry said that the children were sailing on two boats and a raft when they got caught in a storm after nightfall. Rescuers saved more than 30 people but were still searching for four others, the ministry told RIA Novosti. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Twitter Sunday that 10 of the dead children were from Moscow. Investigators have opened a criminal probe into the incident to determine whether water safety rules were followed. An instructor at the summer camp has been detained for questioning, investigators said. — AFP RALLY AGAINST CRUELTY A soldier stands guard inside the central train station in Brussels on Sunday. — Reuters Belgian soldiers patrol outside the central train station where a suspect package was found, in Brussels on Sunday. — Reuters BRUSSELS: Brussels central train station was evacuated for about an hour on Sunday because of a suspicious suitcase amid heightened security fears in the Belgian capital after a huge antiterror operation led to three men being charged with terrorism offences. The suitcase later turned out to be a false alarm but shows Belgium’s high state of alert as the Euro 2016 soccer tournament is under way in neighbouring France, three months after bombers killed 32 people in Brussels. Investigators say the attackers had links to militants who carried out attacks in Paris in November. Belgian police searched 40 houses and 152 garage lockups between Friday night and Saturday, arresting 12 people following reports of possible attacks targeting soccer fans watching the matches in Brussels. They later released nine after questioning. The three Belgian men charged with “having attempted to commit a terrorist murder and for participation in the activities of a terrorist group” were identified by prosecutors only as 27-year-old Samir C., 40-year-old Moustapha B, and 29-year-old Jawad B. Belgian media reported they had links to the men prosecutors believe carried out the Brussels twin bombings in March, brothers Ibrahim (‘Brahim’) and Khalid El Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui. Without citing sources, RTBF said police listened to phone conversations between the three men in which they said they planned attacks in Brussels over the weekend. Neither prosecutors nor Prime Minister Charles Michel confirmed reports of the arrested suspects planning to attack soccer fans. The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said only that the investigation required immediate action. Michel appealed to the country to stay calm after chairing a meeting of the government’s security council on Saturday. Investigators have found links between the Brussels attackers and militants who killed 130 people in a spate of shootings and suicide bombings in Paris in November. — Reuters The anti-secrecy campaigner walked into embassy on June 18, 2012 People hold a banner reading ‘Collective of the Mantois region Mosques, let’s rally against cruelty’ and a picture of the French police officer Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his partner Jessica Schneider stabbed to death on June 13 by a convicted extremist, as they gather by the Mosque of Mantes-la-Jolie for a silent march in memory of the couple on Sunday. — AFP AROUND THE GLOBE Artist Christo’s fans face disappointment Angry Assange starts 5th year cooped in London embassy LONDON: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange started his fifth year camped out in the Ecuadoran embassy in London on Sunday, an occasion his supporters were to mark with events celebrating whistleblowers. Supporters said they were planning to stage songs, speeches and readings in several cities worldwide at 1830 GMT. Assange was due to speak to his followers on a live video stream from inside the embassy. The 44-year-old is wanted for questioning over a 2010 rape allegation in Sweden but has been inside Ecuador’s UK mission for four full years in a bid to avoid extradition. The anti-secrecy campaigner, who denies the allegation, walked into the embassy of his own free will on June 18, 2012, with Britain on the brink of sending him to Stockholm, and has not left since. His lawyers say he is angry that Swedish prosecutors are still maintaining the European arrest warrant against him. The Australian former computer hacker fears that from Sweden he could be extradited to the United States over WikiLeaks’ release of 500,000 secret military files, and could face a long prison sentence there. WikiLeaks said events were planned for Athens, Belgrade, Berlin, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Milan, Montevideo, Naples, New York, Quito, Paris and Sarajevo. Listed participants in Sunday’s anniversary events include Patti Smith, Brian Eno, PJ Harvey, Noam Chomsky, Yanis Varoufakis, Ai Weiwei, Vivienne Westwood, Michael Moore and Ken Loach. Croatian philosopher Srecko Horvat, Steinmeier favours gradual phasing-out of Russia sanctions This file photo taken on August 18, 2014 shows Julian Assange gesturing during a press conference inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. — AFP an event organiser, said: “We live in a critical time. We are gathering all around the world on June 19 to speak out for Julian, because he has spoken out for all of us.” Veteran leftist film-maker Loach said: “He should be able to leave his place of safety without fear of deportation or being handed over to those who intend him harm.” In a video message, French composer Jean Michel Jarre said: “We have to question the power in place, to improve it. “This is why Julian Assange has to be freed right away.” A hero to supporters and a dangerous egocentric to detractors, Assange founded WikiLeaks in 2006 and has been portrayed in two movies in recent years. Assange has compared living inside the embassy — which has no garden but is in London’s plush Knightsbridge district, near Harrods department store — to life on a space station. His 15 feet by 13 feet room is divided into an office and a living area. He has a treadmill, shower, microwave and sun lamp and spends most of his day at his computer. He got a cat in May to give him some company. Last month a Stockholm district court maintained a European arrest warrant against Assange, rejecting his lawyers’ request to have it lifted. “The court considers that Julian Assange is still suspected of rape... and that there is still a risk that he will abscond or evade justice,” it said in a statement. Assange will appeal the ruling, one of his Swedish lawyers, Per Samuelsson, said. “He is not surprised but very critical and angry,” he said. — AFP BERLIN: The European Union should gradually phase out sanctions imposed against Russia over the Ukraine crisis if there is substantial progress in the peace process, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was quoted on Sunday as saying. His comments reflect divisions within Germany’s ruling right-left coalition over policy towards Russia. Steinmeier’s Social Democrats (SPD) back a more conciliatory stance towards Moscow than Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc. Merkel has repeatedly said that sanctions imposed against Russia can only be lifted once the peace agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine is fully implemented, not only partially. Steinmeier struck a different tone. “Sanctions are not an end in themselves. They should rather give incentives for a change in behaviour,” he told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland, a network of local newspapers. The minister said he was in favour of lifting sanctions gradually if the Russian government showed it was doing its part in implementing the Minsk peace plan for Ukraine, adding: “An all or nothing approach, even if it sounds good, doesn’t work.” Steinmeier rejected criticism that he was acting like an “advocate for the Kremlin”. “We must still be able to have a joint reflection if we want to find solutions for other big conflicts,” Steinmeier added, pointing to the civil war in Syria where Russia is actively backing President Bashar al-Assad against various rebel groups. ROME: Fans of renowned artist Christo faced disappointment for a second day on Sunday after his latest work in northern Italy was partly closed by rain. His ambitious three kilometre-long walkway of 200,000 floating cubes covered in orange fabric floating atop Lake Iseo was evacuated on Saturday evening after wind and rain made it unstable. “Given the influx of people and potentially bad weather, it is advisable to rethink your trip,” said a manager at the installation in a statement. Local authorities have also cancelled train services to the lake to limit the numbers able to reach the project. After being closed throughout Saturday night, the project only partly reopened Sunday morning with one of the two walkways still closed to the public. Crowds of visitors hoping to visit Christo’s “The Floating Piers” have been gathering around the lake since it opened on Saturday, with organisers hoping that 500,000 people will experience it by July 3 when the pontoons close to the public. But the walkways can only hold 11,000 people at any one time — and only if weather conditions allow. More than 55,000 visitors attempted to cross the walkways on Saturday, forcing organisers who had anticipated just 40,000 to ask that they return another day. — AFP Children stretch as hundreds of people take part in a yoga session as part of the International Day of Yoga at the amphitheatre lawns at North Beach in Durban, South Africa, on Sunday. — AFP Bemba to be handed war crimes sentence THE HAGUE: Judges at the world’s only permanent war crimes court will on Tuesday pass sentence on former Congolese leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, with prosecutors calling for a minimum 25-year sentence. If the judges agree with the prosecution, it will be the highest jail term ever imposed by the International Criminal Court in a case that was the first there to focus on rape as a weapon of war. Prosecutors blamed the former vice president of the Democratic Republic of Congo for turning a blind eye to a reign of terror by his troops in the Central African Republic from October 2002 to May 2003. He was found guilty in March of five charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, after sending some 1,500 troops from his private army into CAR to help quash a coup against the then president. Bemba’s Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) carried out a series of rapes and murders as they sought to prop up then president Ange-Felix Patasse. Experts testified that the brutality of the events would have long-term traumatic effects on the victims and their communities. — AFP region o Turkish opposition party meeting Candidates for the leadership of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Umit Ozdag (L) and Koray Aydin talk before the opening of MHP congress in Ankara, on Sunday. region i OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 13 Iraq faces humanitarian disaster after Fallujah breakthrough CRISIS: The number of displaced in the last three days is now at a staggering 30,000 people A convoy of Syrian Red Crescent trucks carrying aid drives amidst destruction in Harasta, a besieged rebel-held suburb of Damascus, on Sunday. — AFP Syrian forces surge towards IS-held Tabqa BEIRUT: Pro-government Syrian fighters backed by Russian air power surged on Sunday towards a key town and adjacent air base held by the IS group, a monitor said. Government forces were now within seven kilometres of the IS-held airport at Tabqa, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “There are fierce clashes now and at least nine pro-government fighters were killed,” said the Observatory’s Rami Abdel Rahman. Abdel Rahman had no immediate toll for the number of IS militants killed. Government fighters had been stuck at about 15 kilometres from the airport for more than one week. But intensifying Russian air strikes on Sunday and reinforcements from the elite Republican Guard unit allowed them to advance, the Observatory said. Earlier this month, government fighters backed by Moscow began pushing north towards Tabqa, whose dam, military air base, and strategic transit town have been held by IS since 2014. The town lies some 50 kilometres west of the militant group’s de facto Syrian capital of Raqa city, and recapturing it would sever the supply road from the west. IS fighters had mounted their own counter-attack last week, bringing in reinforcements of fighters and weapons and briefly blocking the government advance before Sunday’s renewed push. Crashed EgyptAir jet flight recorders severely damaged CAIRO: The memory units of both flight recorders from crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 are severely damaged and will require “lots of time and effort” to fix, Egyptian aircraft accident investigation committee sources said on Sunday. The committee is analysing the memory units from the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) before determining if they can be repaired in Egypt or will need to be sent abroad. Search teams retrieved the CVR on Thursday and said at the time that they found it damaged but that the memory unit was intact. They found the FDR on Friday. The two black box recorders are crucial to explaining what went wrong on the Airbus A320, which crashed early on May 19 on its way from Paris to Cairo killing all 66 people on board. The crash is the third blow since October to Egypt’s travel industry, which is still suffering from the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule. A Russian plane crashed in the Sinai Peninsula last October, killing all 224 people on board in an attack claimed by Islamic State. In March, an EgyptAir plane was hijacked by a man wearing a fake suicide belt. No one was hurt. — Reuters Syrian warplane crashes: A Syrian jet bomber crashed just after take-off from Syria’s Hama airport after it encountered a technical problem, a Syrian military source told state media on Sunday. The military source, quoted by Syrian news agency SANA, did not say when the crash had occurred. A separate statement from a military source on state television said the pilot had deliberately crashed into an empty area to prevent civilian casualties. The city of Hama, in western Syria, is controlled by the Syrian government. Several Russian-manufactured warplanes have crashed since the start of the year, mostly due to technical failures which defence analysts have generally attributed to age. Meanwhile, three people were killed in northeast Syria on Sunday when a suicide bomber attacked an event commemorating the massacre of a section of people more than a century ago, state media and a security source said. A photographer working with AFP and attending the event said he heard the blast and saw pieces of flesh lying next to damaged cars. “The suicide attacker tried to enter the hall where people were gathered but was stopped by local security forces, and he detonated himself among them,” a security source at the scene said. The security forces belonged to the Sotoro, a militia based in Syria’s northeast. — Agencies FALLUJAH: Aid workers scrambled on Sunday to cope with a massive influx of Iraqi civilians who fled Fallujah after government forces retook much of the city from the IS group. Tens of thousands of civilians escaped the city, just 50 kilometres west of Baghdad, on the back of a major advance that saw Iraqi forces thrust into central Fallujah in recent days. The humanitarian community has been struggling to cope, with thousands of people already suffering from hunger and trauma now stranded in the scorching summer heat with no shelter. “The estimated total number of displaced from Fallujah in just the last three days is now at a staggering 30,000 people,” the Norwegian Refugee Council said. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said up to 84,000 people had been forced to flee their homes since the start of the government offensive against the IS bastion nearly a month ago. “Agencies are scrambling to respond to the rapidly evolving situation — and we are bracing ourselves for another large exodus in the next few days as we estimate that thousands more people remain trapped in Fallujah,” the UNHCR said. “We implore the Iraqi government to take charge of this humanitarian disaster unfolding on our watch,” NRC’s Iraq director Nasr Muflahi said. NRC said it could no longer provide the required assistance, with water rations drying up fast. It cited the case of a newly opened camp in Amriyat al Fallujah, south of Fallujah, that houses 1,800 people but has only one latrine for women. “We need the Iraqi government to take a leading role in providing for the A tribal fighter helps civilians, who fled from Fallujah because of IS violence, during a dust storm on the outskirts of Fallujah. — Reuters needs of the most vulnerable civilians who have endured months of trauma and terror,” Muflahi said. An Iraqi aid worker employed by the government at a camp in Amriyat al Fallujah said the resources were inadequate to deal with the scope of the crisis. “Four hundred families have reached my camp in the last four days, they don’t have anything,” said the camp manager, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We were shocked by the number of displaced people and we weren’t prepared to receive them,” he said. “We secured tents for some of them but the rest, including women and children, are sleeping on the ground under the sun,” he said. “Their situation is a tragedy.” The temperature in Baghdad has been hovering above 40 degrees Celsius and it often gets hotter in Anbar province, where inhabited areas along the Euphrates River are flanked by desert. Prime Minister Haider al Abadi has promised to support the displaced. On Friday evening, after Iraqi forces raised the national flag above the main government compound, he declared that Fallujah had been “brought back to the fold.” Yet Iraqi forces have some work Turkish troops ‘kill’ 11 Syrians trying to cross border AMMAN: Turkish border guards shot dead at least 11 Syrians, mostly from one family, as they tried to cross into Turkey from northwestern Syria, activists and a monitoring group said on Sunday. At least two women and four children were among those killed in the shootings overnight as the refugees sought to cross into Turkey from the border village of Khirbet al Jouz, the Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights said in a report backed up by several activists in the area. The monitor, which tracks violence across Syria, said it had documented the deaths of nearly sixty civilians while trying to flee from Syria since the start of the year in shooting incidents by Turkish border guards. Turkish officials were not immediately available for comment. Turkey, a major sponsor of groups fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al Assad, has now closed its borders to Syrian refugees, but it is also hosting some 2.7 million registered Syrian refugees, about 280,000 of whom live in camps. Rockets launched from Syrian territory controlled by IS militants have regularly struck Turkish border towns and have killed at least 20 people in recent months. Humanitarian bodies have urged Turkey to reopen its borders to admit Syrians fleeing the conflict. In May, Human Rights Watch accused Turkish border guards of shooting and beating Syrian asylum PLO leader Saeb Erekata says it is a ‘slap in the face of the international community’ Israel approves $18 million in West Bank settlement spending JERUSALEM: Israel’s government on Sunday approved some $18 million in additional financing for West Bank settlements, calling it a response to security concerns, though the money is to be used in a variety of ways. The decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing cabinet will see some 70 million shekels ($18 million) allocated to settlement-related spending. According to Haaretz newspaper, the amount is in addition to an already allocated $88 million. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law and major stumbling blocks to peace as they are built on land Palestinians view as part of their future state. The United States, the European Union and many others in the international community have called for a halt to settlement building. Netanyahu’s government is however left to do, with hundreds of IS fighters still holed up in the city’s northern neighbourhoods. Despite facing less resistance than expected from IS in Fallujah, an emblematic militant stronghold, sniper fire, car bombs and booby traps remained a risk for Iraq’s forces. “Our forces are cleansing central Fallujah of pockets of Daesh (IS),” federal police chief Raed Shaker Jawdat said, using an Arabic acronym for the militant group. In the Officers neighbourhood of Fallujah, IS snipers shot at an Iraqi flag pole until it broke, a photographer reported. — AFP An Israeli border policeman detains a Palestinian as Israeli troops demolish sheds belonging to Palestinians near the West Bank village of Yatta, south of Hebron, on Sunday. — Reuters considered the most right-wing in IsThe premier faces steady political rael’s history, with key members of his pressure to support settlements and setcabinet strong supporters of settlement tlement building, which receive a range building and opponents of a Palestinian of government assistance. state. The government argued the increase was needed due to security concerns. Speaking at the start of the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu called it “an assistance plan to strengthen communities” in the West Bank, saying it would “strengthen security, assist small businesses and encourage tourism.” Beyond security, it will include spending on tourism infrastructure, sport facilities and cultural events, ministers said. Palestine Liberation Organisation secretary general Saeb Erekat called the move a “slap in the face of the international community.” “Israel is doing everything possible to sabotage every effort to achieve a just and lasting peace,” he said in a statement. Opposition lawmaker Amir Peretz of the Zionist Union accused the government of “wasting money on political settlements” instead of helping families within Israel. — AFP seekers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied the reports, and the Turkish army says it only fires at armed smugglers, not at civilians. But in its statement, the National Coalition expressed its “surprise and condemnation after this terrible tragedy against our brothers fleeing the regime. “The deaths of defenceless Syrians contradicts the hospitality of the Turkish government and the Turkish people,” it said. — Agencies Houthis free 276 loyalists ADEN: Houthis in Yemen announced on Sunday the release of 276 government loyalists who had been held captive for months, in a gesture of good will. The rebels’ sabanews.net website said 200 detainees were set free in Rada, a town in the central province of Baida, and another 76 were let go in nearby Dhamar province. The move was a sign of “good will” on the occasion of Ramadhan, said the website, citing officials. The detainees in Rada had been captured for allegedly “cooperating with the Arab military coalition and being loyal to the government” of UNbacked President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, an official there said. Those freed in Dhamar had been taken in on accusations they had been preparing to join government forces, the official added. The releases come a day after the exchange of 194 prisoners in Taez, in southwestern Yemen, following tribal mediation unconnected to UNbrokered peace talks in Kuwait. Those negotiations, now in their ninth week, have made no major breakthroughs, even on the issue of prisoners. Earlier this month, the Houthis freed 187 captives while Saudi Arabia released 52 children it was holding. Those negotiations, now in their ninth week, have made no major breakthroughs, even on the prisoners issue. — AFP americas americas US to release police calls transcripts of Orlando killer 14 OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 TERROR ALLEGIANCE: The transcripts talk about Mateen’s motivations for why at that time he was committing his horrific act WASHINGTON: US officials will on Monday release partial transcripts of three phone conversations the man who killed 49 people in a Florida gay nightclub last week had with police as the massacre unfolded, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Sunday. Lynch, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” talk show, said the Orlando shooting incident was “an act of terror and an act of hate”, but she declined to say what charges may be filed nor who may be charged in the case. The transcripts of the conversations between deceased gunman Omar Mateen and law enforcement negotiators will “talk about what he told law enforcement on the ground as the events were unfolding,” Lynch said. “As we have said earlier, he talked about his pledges of allegiance to a terrorist group. He talked about his motivations for why he was claiming at that time he was committing his horrific act,” the Attorney General said. Lynch said, however, that the transcripts would be edited to “avoid Lucyvette Padro (C) accompanied by family and friends attends the funeral of her son Angel Candelario, one of the victims of revictimising those who went through the shooting at the Pulse club in Orlando, at his hometown of Guanica. — Reuters this horror, but it will contain the substance of his conversations.” programme the transcripts would not Lynch also said she would travel investigators and meet survivors of the She told ABC’s “This Week” include his pledge of allegiance to IS. to Orlando on Tuesday to confer with worst domestic shooting incident in Car hits funeral procession for Orlando massacre victim WASHINGTON: A Florida driver hit two police officers on Saturday as she tried to cut through a funeral procession for a victim of the mass shooting in Orlando, police said. The two Osceola County Sheriff’s deputies were on motorcycles escorting the funeral procession south of Orlando when they were hit at 11:30 am (1530 GMT), Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Sergeant Kim Montes said. “We think it was impatience,” she said. ”It wasn’t intentional. We see this happening with funeral processions and this was an especially long one,” she added. Both deputies are in the hospital in stable condition, according to Montes. American history. She declined to say whether a federal grand jury was likely to charge Mateen’s second wife, Noor Salman. US officials have said Salman knew of her husband’s plans to carry out the attack. “Because this investigation is open Police identified the driver as Ivonne Robles Morales, 44. Morales “stated that she thought someone waived her out to cross the procession, and she entered the intersection,” a police statement said. Her car then struck a first police car head on, causing the front of a second police car to strike the left rear of Morales’s vehicle. She was ticketed for failing to yield to a funeral procession and has been ordered to appear in court. Police have not identified the police officers involved in the crash. It was not immediately clear whose funeral procession was taking place during the accident. — AFP and ongoing, we’re not commenting on anyone else’s role in it right now, except to say that we are talking to everyone who knew him, and that of course includes his family, to determine what they knew, what they saw in the days and weeks leading up to this,” the attorney added. — Reuters US may take action on Blue Origin conducts fourth rocket booster test state assault weapon bans WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court may weigh in this week on gun control, an issue smouldering again following the June 12 Orlando massacre, with the justices due to decide whether to hear a challenge by gun rights advocates to assault weapon bans in two states. The Connecticut and New York laws prohibit semiautomatic weapons like the one used by the gunman who fatally shot 49 people at a club in Orlando in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. The Supreme Court will announce as soon as Monday whether it will hear the challenge brought by gun rights groups and individual firearms owners asserting that the laws violate the US Constitution’s Second Amendment guarantee of the right to bear arms. The court has not decided a major gun case since 2010. If they take up the matter, the justices would hear arguments in their next term, which begins in October. A decision not to hear the challenge would leave in place lower-court rulings upholding the laws. The court’s action in another recent appeal indicated it may be disinclined to take up the matter. The justices in December opted not to hear a challenge to a Highland Park, Illinois ordinance banning assault weapons and largecapacity magazines. A national assault weapons ban expired in 2004. Congressional Republicans, backed by the influential National Rifle Association gun rights lobby, beat back efforts to restore it. — Reuters Record heat sparks warnings, boosts fires A Hotshots member from the US Forest Department sets a back fire while battling the so-called 'Sherpa Fire'in the hills near Goleta, California. — Reuters CALIFORNIA: Fire warnings were in place across three western US states on Sunday as record-breaking heat threatened to feed wildfires that have blackened thousands of acres (hectares), especially in California and New Mexico. The National Weather Service said temperatures of 120 Fahrenheit (49 Celsius) were possible in southwestern deserts through Wednesday. “Red flag warnings” for potential fires covered an area stretching across southern California, southern Nevada and southern Arizona. “These extreme temperatures can be life-threatening,” the weather service said on its website. The high temperatures have joined with a prolonged dry spell to worsen the fire threat. The agency declared an elevated threat in California’s Santa Barbara County from dry conditions and evening winds. More than 2,000 firefighters there are battling the socalled Sherpa Fire, which had burned 7,811 acres (3,161 hectares) in coastal canyons. Firefighters estimated the fire was 45 per cent contained. The Sherpa Fire broke out on Wednesday and has forced mandatory evacuations in some areas. Another blaze, the Dog Head Fire, southeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has destroyed about two dozen homes and forced evacuations. Almost 1,000 personnel were fighting the blaze that has burned through about 17,615 acres (7,129 hectares) of timber and logging zones. In Alaska, a fire warning was also in place for the eastern part of the Alaska Range, with winds forecast to gust to 60 miles per hour (96 km per hour). Saturday’s high temperature was 112F (44C) at Death Valley, California, the weather service said. — Reuters WASHINGTON: US space firm Blue Origin conducted a successful fourth test Sunday of its reusable New Shepard rocket, which dropped back to Earth for a flawless upright landing seen on a live webcast. Blue Origin, the space travel company founded by Internet entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, is trying to cut the costs of space travel by developing reusable rockets to boost manned capsules into suborbital space. “Careful engineering plus of course the lucky boots, successful mission,” Bezos quipped in a Tweet with a photo of his cowboy boots propped up on a desk. The rocket landed at the Texas launch site at 9:44 am local time (1444 GMT), followed one second later by the capsule, which lofted back to Earth under parachutes. “Amazing,” said the announcer at Blue Origin’s mission control. “Another picture perfect landing for the New Shepard rocket booster.” The rocket rose to 331,500 feet (100,000 metres), clearing the boundary between the Earth’s atmosphere and space and releasing the capsule before dropping back for the controlled landing. It reignited its engines at 5,000 feet, braking its descent to a speed of five miles per hour and then deploying its landing gear. It was the fourth time the rocket has successfully landed upright after soaring into space. The feat was first accomplished in in January and February. November, and repeated in test launches One of the main objectives of this Obama wants to revive his 2014 proposal to protect 4m immigrants Obama immigration policy win could benefit Trump WASHINGTON: If the US Supreme Court in the coming days decides a high-profile immigration case in favour of the Obama administration, the ruling could have an unexpected beneficiary: Republican presidential contender Donald Trump. The Obama administration is asking the high court to revive its 2014 proposal to protect up to 4 million people from deportation, a plan that was blocked by lower courts. The court could rule that a president has broad authority to interpret and enforce federal immigration law. Such a ruling would allow Obama to implement his signature executive action on immigration, aimed at the parents of US citizens’ children, before he leaves office. It could also help Trump, who has put forth his own sweeping and controversial plans on immigration ahead of the November 8 election. “To the extent the court has language about the president’s wide authority in immigration law generally, that would certainly strengthen Trump’s hand,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration law expert at Cornell Law School. The Supreme Court’s ruling will come at a key phase in the presidential election cycle, with candidates Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton trading jabs over immigration policy. Trump has proposed curbing immigration from countries with a history of terrorism and deporting US President Barack Obama speaks while celebrating the 100th anniversary of the US National Parks system at Yosemite National Park. — AFP the estimated 11 million people in the United States who entered the country illegally. If he wins the race for the White House, Trump might need to invoke his own executive authority if the US Congress does not approve his proposals, which have sparked outrage at home and abroad. The current case is unlikely to provide any support for Trump’s proposal to bar immigrants, which legal experts say would face other legal hurdles because it targets people on the basis of religion. But legal experts say it could help Trump if he seeks to block entry from certain countries under a provision of immigration law that gives the president the power to suspend entry of noncitizens whose entry “would be detrimental to the interests of the Trump has proposed curbing immigration from countries with a history of terrorism and deporting the estimated 11 million people in the United States who entered the country illegally. United States.” That provision has previously only been used block entry of small groups of people, such as officials linked with foreign governments hostile to the United States. Applying it to entire countries could prompt a similar lawsuit to the one filed against Obama. Clinton could also seize on an Obama victory in the case, but her own immigration proposals are more modest. She has said that absent action by Congress to reform the system entirely, she would keep Obama’s programme in place and seek to expand on it. Under the US Constitution, Congress passes laws and the executive branch enforces them. Congress has traditionally given the president considerable leeway to interpret how to implement the laws. — Reuters launch was to see whether the capsule could still land safely if one of its three strings of parachutes failed. After the two parachutes deployed, the capsule could be seen rocking like a bell as it came down. A larger chute was released seconds before the capsule landed, stabilizing it. A second before touchdown, rocket thrusters on the capsule were activated to cushion the landing. Blue Origin’s long-term goal is to send people into space, using reusable rockets. Its breakthroughs and parallel efforts by rival Internet mogul Elon Musk’s SpaceX open up the potential for cutting costs for space travel and making rockets as reusable as aeroplanes. — AFP HARSH POLICY ‘US should consider racial profiling’ ARIZONA: Republican Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States should consider more racial profiling in law enforcement, after urging harsher policies following last week’s mass shooting in Orlando. “I think profiling is something that we’re going to have to start thinking about as a country,” Trump said when asked on CBS whether he supported more profiling of immigrants in America. “You look at others, and they do it and they do it successfully. And you know, I hate the concept of profiling, but we have to start using common sense,” he added. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, has drawn criticism from many in his party for his racial comments after the Orlando attack. Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has said the comments show Trump is unfit to be president. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan endorsed Trump but has said a ban is not in US interests. In excerpts of an NBC interview released on Friday, Ryan said Republicans weighing whether to vote for Trump should follow their “conscience.” Trump brushed off the criticism on Sunday and said he would put up his own money for his campaign if needed. “It would be nice if the Republicans stuck together,” Trump said in an ABC interview. “I can win, one way or another.” — Reuters eureferendum eu e e e du europe Hungary wades into Brexit debate OMANDAILYOBSERVER Hungary’s controversial Prime Minister Viktor Orban will publish an open letter in British media this week urging Britons to vote to remain in the European Union, his government said on Sunday. M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 Campaigning resumes after MP’s murder WARNING: Cameron warns there will be no ‘turning back’ for Britons after leaving EU LONDON: Campaigning for Britain’s EU referendum resumed on Sunday following a pause after the shock murder of MP Jo Cox, with the latest opinion poll average putting the rival camps neck-and-neck. Prime Minister David Cameron warned there was no “turning back” if Britons vote to leave the European Union, saying it would be a “humiliation” for the nation. As polls showed the Remain camp gaining ground just four days from Thursday’s critical in-or-out vote, leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage said Cox’s murder had cost the Leave campaign momentum. Her alleged killer, 52-year-old Thomas Mair, shouted “Death to traitors, freedom for Britain”, when he appeared in court on Saturday. “Her humanity was powerful and compelling and we would do well to recognise her as an amazing example: a 21st century Good Samaritan,” Reverend Paul Knight said at the church service. After a three-day pause, political leaders hit the stump again on their final push for votes in a referendum that will shape not only the future of Britain but also the EU. The What UK Thinks website’s average of the last six polls, conducted between June 10 and Saturday, put the HEADQUARTER If you’re not sure, don’t take the risk of leaving. If you don’t know, don’t go. DAVID CAMERON Britain Prime Minister Hand-written notes from British Prime Minister David Cameron (bottom (L), and Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corby, are pictured in a book of condolence at St Peter’s Church in Birstall. — AFP Remain and Leave camps level at 50-50, excluding undecided voters. The Leave camp had been a few percentage points ahead in recent polling, but fresh surveys showing a rise in support for remaining brought the average neck-and-neck. A Survation poll conducted on Friday and Saturday put Remain at 45 per cent and Leave at 42 per cent — the reverse of its findings on Thursday. UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Farage said Cox’s killing had halt- CHANGE EU banking watchdog to leave London in case of exit BERLIN: The European Union’s banking watchdog will move from London to another European capital if Britain decides to quit the bloc in a referendum this week, its chairman said in an interview published on Sunday. The London-based EBA, founded in 2011 as a reaction to the global financial crisis, operates as a pan-EU regulator, writing and coordinating banking rules across the bloc. “If the British should decide to leave the EU, we actually would have to move to another European capital,” Andrea Enria, head of the European Banking Authority (EBA), told the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. While betting odds have consistently indicated a vote to remain in the EU, opinion pollsters have so far painted contradictory pictures of how Britons will vote. The EBA is currently working on an EU single rulebook aimed at ensuring a level playing field for all banks across the 28-country bloc’s capital market. “This work needs to be completed irrespective of the result of the referendum,” said Enria, an Italian national. “We must ensure that there are no different rules between the countries that have the euro and those that do not have it.” Enria said the European banking sector was more stable now than five years ago, but there was still need for consolidation. “If you look at the balance sheets of banks, you could actually ask yourself whether such low profitability and such low return on investment are sustainable in the long term,” he said. Banks should speed up their efforts to deal with nonperforming loans and change their internal business culture in order to avoid future scandals and fines, Enria said. That banks have hardly made any progress in these two areas is the reason why the European Central Bank (ECB) is struggling to boost lending and generate more growth despite its bondpurchase programme, he added. — Reuters ed Leave’s upward trajectory. “We did have momentum until this terrible tragedy,” he told ITV television. The Sunday Mirror newspaper said there was a “dramatic swing in ‘mood’”, calling it “The Jo effect”, citing its own ComRes polling. Cameron said Britain was facing “an existential choice” from which there would be “no turning back”. “If you’re not sure, don’t take the risk of leaving. If you don’t know, don’t go,” he wrote in The Sunday Telegraph newspaper. “It would be a one-off and permanent diminution in our standing in the world; an abject and self-imposed humiliation for a proud and important country like ours.” His Finance Minister George Osborne told ITV television that Britain would be “a lot poorer” outside the EU, saying the economy could shrink by at least five per cent to six per cent. “You can’t predict the enormous uncertainty that exiting the EU means for Britain.” While the Remain camp has tried to focus on the economy, the Leave campaign has made a key issue out of EU mass immigration to Britain in the increasingly divisive campaign. Main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who backs the Remain campaign, hit out at the EU’s “appalling” treatment of Greece and told BBC televi- sion “I don’t think you can have” an upper limit on migration “while you have the free movement of labour”. Osborne said he hoped Cox’s death would lead to “a less divisive political debate in our country” with “less baseless assertion and inflammatory rhetoric and more reasoned argument and facts”. Mair, who has been charged with her murder, was remanded in custody and is due to appear in court again on Monday. A psychiatric report has been requested. Meanwhile, Britain’s Sunday newspapers picked sides in their final editions before the vote. The Mail on Sunday and The Observer gave their support to the Remain camp, while The Sunday Times and The Sunday Telegraph broadsheets backed quitting the EU. The Mail on Sunday warned it was “not the time to risk the peace and prosperity” of the UK. “Those who would have you believe in the plucky Little England of the past are selling a dangerous illusion,” it said. The Observer said: “For an international, liberal and open Britain, we need to be part of the EU.” The Sunday Telegraph however, declared that the EU “belongs to the past”. The Sunday Times said: “Yes, we must be prepared for difficulties, but we should hold our nerve” in voting Leave. — AFP Tracing the thread of Brexit LONDON: If Britons vote to take their country out of the European Union on June 23, no corner of the global financial market complex will emerge unscathed. The invisible thread that links assets as diverse as gold, bank stocks, the Japanese yen and government bonds would be yanked sharply by Brexit, an event the Bank of England said on Thursday risks “adverse spill-overs to the global economy”. With global interest rates and bond yields the lowest on record, central banks running low on crisisfighting tools and the post-2008 economic recovery flagging, that thread could quickly unravel, with serious consequences for all markets. So why will the will of one country’s people in one referendum have such a profound impact on global markets? The answer is partly how interconnected global markets are, and partly timing — the world economic cycle is already very long in the tooth and central banks have far fewer options open to them after nearly a decade of extraordinary policy support. Global interest rates are their lowest for 5,000 years, according to Bank of America, but central banks could still cut them further. That could mean the US Federal Reserve reversing its slowstarting tightening cycle, and European Central Bank and Bank of Japan rates going deeper into negative territory. Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron (C) poses with supporters in the Liberal Democrat Vote Remain campaign bus, in east London. — AFP Lower rates would also depress bond yields even further, tightening the screw on central and commercial banks. Over $8 trillion worth of sovereign bonds already carry a negative yield, according to JPMorgan. This means holders of Japanese, German and Swiss debt are paying these governments for the privilege of lending to them, in some cases out to 20 years. Flat yield curves are bad news for banks, who make money from borrowing short-term at low rates and lending longer-term at higher rates. Financial stocks have been hit hard this year as the curve flattening has accelerated. Euro zone banks are down 30 per cent this year, Japanese banks 35 per cent, UK banks 20 per cent, and US banks 10 per cent. Banks are also being squeezed by negative deposit rates. The ECB, Bank of Japan and Swiss National Bank all charge banks for depositing cash. It may even become cheaper for banks to put billions of yen, euros or francs of their customers’ cash in vaults — a possibility German lender Commerzbank is examining. As for central banks, any move deeper into the uncharted world of negative interest rates would be taken reluctantly. — Reuters 15 IN BRIEF Trump says Britain should leave EU LONDON: Donald Trump told Britons he supported Brexit, repeating just days before the vote on June 23 that he thinks the UK would be better off outside the European Union. As the campaign to decide Britain’s EU membership restarted Trump, the presumptive Republican US presidential candidate, said in a newspaper interview he was backing an “out” vote. “I would personally be more inclined to leave, for a lot of reasons like having a lot less bureaucracy,” he told the Sunday Times. “But I am not a British citizen. This is just my opinion.” The billionaire businessman also told the newspaper that he would seek to have good relationships internationally if he were elected president in November, including with David Cameron. Trump said in May that Britain would be better off outside the EU because of high levels of migration. Trump, whose mother was Scottish, is due to be in Britain the day after the referendum, when he visits two golf courses he owns in Scotland. — Reuters Poles want to stay in UK regardless WARSAW: Eighty per cent of the estimated 800,000 Poles living in Britain want to stay there even if it leaves the EU, while just three per cent want to return home, a poll published on Sunday said. More than half of the Polish migrants surveyed by Poland’s IBRiS pollsters also said they intend to apply for British citizenship. The study conducted on June 1517 is the largest ever involving Polish migrants in Britain, which could vote to leave the EU in a referendum on Thursday. A further 10 per cent of Polish migrants said they would move to another EU state if a Brexit meant they would have to leave Britain. “Almost nobody wants to leave Britain,” IBRiS chief Marcin Duma wrote in a commentary summing up the survey results. As non-citizens, the vast majority of Poles in Britain are not entitled to vote in Thursday’s referendum. Seeking a better life, Poles were the largest group of migrants to head to Britain after the EU’s 2004 ‘Big Bang’ eastern expansion. The IBRiS survey also found that nearly 80 per cent of Polish migrants agreed with reforms pushed through by conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron to limit their child benefits, a hot-button issue in the referendum. — AFP world o dinpictures p ctu es panorama 16 OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 DESIGNER BALCONY: The balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in central London where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has hold up for four years. — AFP OLYMPIC FEVER: A boy plays on the letters that spell the name Olympic City in Portuguese at Maua Plaza in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. — AFP WHALE BREACHES: A humpback whale breaches off the coast at Clovelly Beach in Sydney, Australia. — Reuters FIREFIGHTING: A firefighting DC-10 Air Tanker drops fire retardant at the Sherpa Fire near Santa Barbara, California. — AFP RACE FASHION: Women wearing hats attend the 167th ‘Prix de Diane’, a 2100metre flat horse race, in Chantilly, north of Paris. — AFP 5 RIBBONS: Ukraine’s gymnasts compete during the apparatus final — 5 ribbons during the 32nd Rhythmic Gymnastics European championships at the Holon Toto Hall. — AFP SHIP ON BARGE: Wreckage of trawler ‘Bugaled Breizh’, is installed on a barge, as it is being escorted by military ships towards a French military port of Brest. — AFP MEN’S SLALOM: Deutsch Behling Robert and Becker Thomas compete on their way to win the final of the men slalom of the Worldcup Canoeing biplace championships in Pau. — AFP GHANDHI SELFIE: An African-American visitor poses for a selfie with the statue of Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi at the ashram in Ahmedabad. — AFP MONDAY | JUNE 20, 2016 | RAMADHAN 14, 1437 AH business ORPIC’S ITQAN PROGRAMME GARNERS GOOD RESPONSE P19 QATAR PREDICTS AT LEAST THREE YEARS OF BUDGET DEFICITS P21 www.omanobserver.om [email protected] INDIA BEGINS SEARCH FOR CENTRAL BANK CHIEF P24 Pvt sector credit by banks up 15.1 pc Stay the course despite BORROWERS: Personal loans account for a massive 46 pc followed by non-financial sector SAMUEL KUTTY MUSCAT June 19: Banking sector in Oman has continued the positive growth path so far this year marked by increases in the aggregates including credit, deposits and provision coverage. Of the total assets of the commercial banks, which increased by 7.7 per cent to RO 28.6 billion this year from RO 26.5 billion a year ago, credit disbursement accounted for 67.2 per cent and increased by 9.4 per cent at end April this year to RO 19.2 billion. According to the Central Bank of Oman, (CBO), credit to the private sector registered an increase of 15.1 per cent to RO 18.8 billion as at the end of April 2016. Of this, the share of the household sector, mainly under personal loans, stood at a massive 46 per cent, closely followed by the nonfinancial corporate sector at 45.8 per cent, financial corporations at 5.3 per cent and other sectors the remaining 2.9 per cent. “In the recent period, the Omani economy had to contend with the challenges associated with the global and regional slowdown in economic activity, lower oil prices and fiscal and current oil price rally, says Aufi CONRAD PRABHU MUSCAT Total deposits held with Islamic banks and windows also registered a significant increase to RO 1.72 billion in April 2016 from RO 0.8 billion outstanding as at the end of April 2015 account deficits. Notwithstanding these challenges, the banking sector registered significant growth”, the CBO said in its monthly bulletin for April. The CBO said that there have been major increases in industrial activities such as mining and quarrying, electricity and water supply and construction, which grew by 13.8 per cent 11.0 per cent and 8.6 per cent, respectively, during the period. Islamic banking entities provided financing to the extent of RO 1.95 billion as at the end of April 2016 when compared to RO 1.3 billion a year ago. Total deposits held with Islamic banks and windows also registered a significant increase to RO 1.72 billion in April 2016 from RO 0.8 billion outstanding as at the end of April 2015. The total assets of Islamic banks and windows combined, amounted to RO 2.5 billion as at the end of April 2016 which constituted about 8.3 per cent of the banking system assets. Banks invested RO 368.6 million in government treasury bills as at the end of April 2016. Commercial banks’ investments in foreign securities stood at RO 853.1 million in April 2016, registering an increase of 61.3 per cent over the year. Aggregate deposits held with conventional banks registered a modest increase of 2.8 per cent to RO 18.3 billion in April 2016 from RO 17.8 billion a year ago. Government deposits with conventional banks declined by 8.4 per cent to RO 4.7 billion. Investment in government development bonds and Government Sukuk increased by 37.7 per cent over the year to RO 923.1 million at the end of April 2016. TO PAGE 19 June 19: The recent upswing in international oil prices, which has seen the price of Omani crude more than double to over $46 per barrel since the start of the year, is no cause for celebration just yet, according to a top official of the Ministry of Oil and Gas. Salim bin Nasser al Aufi, UnderSecretary, urged the nation’s energy producers “to stay the course” as they continue to deliver on their production targets while operating in a low oil price environment. “It’s too early to start feeling comfortable now that prices are picking up,” Al Aufi warned. “We have a programme and strategy set for low oil price challenges. We are still in a low oil price scenario. The (recent) improvement in the oil price is shaky.” Cost-containment strategies adopted by oil and gas producers in the wake of the oil price collapse have seen budgets pared to the bone, several capital-intensive mega schemes deferred, workforces downsized, and production costs and wastage significantly reduced, in a far-reaching effort to sustain operations in a low oil price environment. “It’s too early to start celebrating, and even if the price picks up I want the companies to continue to be very resilient and scrutinise every dollar they spend,” the Under-Secretary noted. “Our message to the companies is to stay the course, capture all the benefits gained by scrutinising all our activities and our spends, and building on it to make sure we don’t allow waste to creep back in again into the business. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done, and I think they should continue on that journey. Of course, a lot has been done, but we need to make sure we hold on to it,” Al Aufi stated. TO PAGE 19 insideoman business b i 18 OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 BUSINESS ALERT Alargan Towell participates in Dar Al Atta’a Ramadhan initiative GMC Yukon packages stand unbeaten this Ramadhan MUSCAT: Complementing its efforts towards social responsibility in the local community, Alargan Towell, one of the Sultanate’s leading real estate development companies, extended its support to Dar Al Atta’a for Ramadhan ration packs to families in need. Commenting on the importance of participating in such initiative, Abeer Khamis al Balushi, Head of Marketing at Alargan Towell said: “Providing support to the local community, especially those in need, is at the core of our CSR initiatives. At Alargan Towell we believe that it is our responsibility to support such important initiatives.” Alargan Towell staff in partnership with Dar Al Atta’a volunteered and participated in the distribution of Ramadhan ration packs to families in the Wilayat of Barka. The packs were delivered to the Omani Women Association at Barka. In total 33 families in Barka received the ration packs. Moosa Abdul Rahman, the sole distributer of the premium GMC vehicles in Oman, is all set to spawn a revolution this Ramadhan with the proficient, luxurious and roomy Yukon models at amazing prices starting from RO 16,995. Popular for an array of efficient features from spacious interiors, bold styling and premium materials to inspiring capability, the Yukon, Yukon XL and Yukon Denali are meticulously crafted to enhance style, comfort and durability providing its customers pure joy in driving experience. Across the range, customers have a lot to look forward to while purchasing a Yukon — complimentary installation of 3M sun control film on select models, 500 litres of petrol or RO 77 worth with the purchase of each vehicle, 30,000 km service, five years unlimited km warranty, three years roadside assistance and complimentary registration on all models. To top it, select models will be accompanied with a 40-inch Samsung LED TV and RO 100 Lulu gift vouchers. One of the most coveted vehicles in the GMC profile, Yukon is known for its uncompromising style. The interiors present the perfect blend of craftsmanship and functionality. The details include an authentic aluminium trim, three distinct heating and cooling zones that can keep a car-full of eight passengers through all three rows, cool and comfortable. The pedals in SLT are power adjustable while In celebration of Ramadhan and the heated steering wheel is an optional feature. The experience of travelling is the football season, Bank Sohar has unparalleled to for its customers due to the valved exhaust system that drastically launched its second Facebook contest reduces interior noise and vibration. of the year titled ‘Ramadhan Euro Cup Competition’. The competition will revolve around the recent Euro Cup football season; the competition started in June 12 till June 30 on the Bank’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ excel.banksohar) and boasting a prize pool of RO 1,500 split amongst 15 winners. In order to participate, Bank Sohar Facebook followers need to log into their Facebook accounts and visit Bank Sohar’s Facebook Page. Once the page has been ‘Followed’, they then need to look for the competition related post on Bank Sohar’s wall on each day of the contest, beginning from June 12, and correctly answer the posted multiple choice question. The first correct entry from each user per question will be entered into a computerised draw to be conducted after the competition ends. The draw will see a total of 15 lucky winners, one for The joy and excitement continued at Lulu as the third set of Dream Drive each of the fifteen questions; each receiving a cash prize of RO 100. Commenting on the launch of the contest Munira Abdulnabi Macki, GM campaign winners were announced on last week. The draw took place at the of HR and Corporate Support at Bank Sohar said: “As the national sport of the Nizwa outlet in the presence of the officials from the Ministry of Commerce and country, football holds a special place in the heart of the people and events such Industry and the senior management of Lulu who announced the winners to a group of eager customers. as the Euro Cup football season are always looked forward to.” Bank Sohar announce Ramadhan Euro Cup FB competition Lulu’s third set of Dream Drive winners This time Sara Salim al Halrami was the lucky winner to drive home the grand prize, the third of the 6 brand new Land Rover Discovery Sports SUV cars. The other lucky ones to win a range of useful products from Ikon were Tarteeb Said Zahar who won the 5 Burner Cooking Range, Ahlam bin Thani Khalfan al Amriya who won the Automatic Washing Machine, Shaikh Abdullah who took home the Air Cooler, Sooraj and Ahmed Saeed Salim Al Hinai who won the VIO Smart Phone and 3D Air Fryer, respectively. The next draw will be held on June 26. Rewards time for Nissan Patrol customers As part of Nissan Oman’s ongoing “Season of Rewards” offer, customers of Nissan Patrol can enjoy a host of benefits this Ramadhan. Nissan Oman is offering a plethora of rewards for the patrons of Nissan Patrol, a vehicle that promises an unmatched customer experience. Offering a wide range of attractive value schemes, Nissan Oman, from the house of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles (SBA), has worked out offers that patrons are sure to find appealing. Attractive cash gift, free periodic maintenance service package, fuel card, free registration and extended mileage warranty are among the choice of benefits customers of Nissan Patrol can enjoy. Moreover, they also get a chance to participate in a grand raffle. In addition, there are extra benefits on purchase of second vehicle in family as well as a part of loyalty scheme. Under the “Season of Rewards” offer, customers can avail an assured cash gift of RO 1,000 on buying Nissan Patrol. Customers buying Nissan Patrol will get a scratch and win card which will entitle them to two assured gifts comprising of free periodic maintenance service upto lifetime of the car (minimum assured 1 year/ 10,000 km PMS; offer includes new service intervals of (10,000 km) and free fuel up to RO 1,000 (minimum assured of RO 50). Nissan Patrol buyers can enjoy extra benefits such as free registration, 6 years unlimited mileage extended warranty and loyalty card benefits among others. Loyal customers stand to enjoy additional benefits on purchase of a second Nissan vehicle in the family. To avail additional benefits under the scheme, the second car can be purchased either in the name of existing Nissan owner or his/ her immediate family members (wife/husband/son/daughter/brother/sister). Customers can avail a special EMI rate starting from RO 279 on Nissan Patrol XE VK56 K-0 V8 5AT P16. SBA has designed some easy and convenient financing options to ease the convenience of owning a Nissan Patrol. Flexible EMIs can also be tailor-made for any individual requirement from in-house auto finance team. For test drive options call Nissan Toll free 80050011. For more details on the Nissan Patrol visit their new website: www.nissanoman.com Oman United Exchange celebrates 2 years of operations in Duqm Oman United Exchange Company (OUE), established in 1983 is one of the leading exchange houses in Oman and is celebrating its second anniversary in Duqm. Speaking at the event Syed Faraz Ahmed, the General-Manager of OUE said: “At Oman United Exchange, we were among the pioneers to recognise the potential of Duqm, two years ago. With government’s efforts to develop the Duqm Special Economic Zone combined with the rapid development of the port, upcoming rail network and the huge investments which are pouring in every day, we at Oman United Exchange are confident about the future growth and we wish to be a part of this success story.” With branches spread throughout the Sultanate, Oman United Exchange provides services such as remittances, purchase & sale of foreign currency, instant money transfer, drafts, telegraphic transfer and provides bank account opening facilities for select countries. In addition, when clients remit money from Oman United Exchange to Pakistan, the beneficiaries can instantly collect it from any of the 3,000 bank locations across Pakistan. The company plans to commence a similar service for India and Bangladesh in the near future. AHLIBANK’S RAMADHAN CHARITY Parviz al Balushi, Branch Manager of ahlibank Main Branch, presents a cheque to an official from Oman Cancer Association as part of the bank’s annual Ramadhan campaign. Dreams come true with Chevrolet this Ramadhan It is that time of the year again when Chevrolet makes dreams come true with exciting Ramadhan offers on their exciting range of vehicles. The Ramadhan Promotion Scheme of Chevrolet now makes it even more easy to own your favourite Chevrolet this season. Anil Dua, Managing Director of OTE said: “Chevrolet is a highly aspirational brand and this Ramadhan, we look forward to welcome many more fans of the brand into the Chevrolet family. Our promotional offer from Chevrolet is reflective of the spirit of Ramadhan.” With cash gift up to RO 2,000, customers can choose to add it to the down payment thus making the monthly installments lower and even more affordable. The availability of insurance & registration on saloon models further add to the convenience of customers. While purchasing any Chevrolet as part of the promotion scheme, customers will also receive gift shopping vouchers. oman business siness OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 19 VAT, Excise Tax treaties get GCC finance ministers’ nod Pvt sector credit by banks up 15.1 per cent REVENUE STREAM: GCC firms must act now to prepare for VAT and Excise Tax, says PwC According to the CBO, deposits of public enterprises increased by 45.9 per cent to RO 1.2 billion during the same period. Private sector deposits, which constituted 66 per cent of total deposits with conventional banks, increased by 4.7 per cent to RO 12.1 billion in April 2016 from RO 11.5 billion a year ago. The core capital and reserves of conventional banks stood at RO 3.7 billion as at the end of the April 2016, a rise of 17.7 per cent over the previous year. Total deposits also registered a significant growth of 7.4 per cent to RO 20 billion as at the end of April 2016. Private sector deposits of the banking system registered a growth of 7.8 per cent to RO 13 billion as at the end of BUSINESS REPORTER MUSCAT June 19: The GCC Ministers of Finance held an extraordinary meeting on Thursday, June 16, in Jeddah and approved in principle the Value Added Tax (VAT) and Excise Tax treaties. Some administrative matters still need to be resolved, notably with regards to the tax collection mechanism related to intra-GCC trade. The GCC Committee has been tasked to provide its recommendation by the end of summer in view of the formal announcement of the treaties. The Excise Tax and VAT treaties constitute the common framework for the introduction of these taxes in the GCC which is expected to occur by January 1, 2017 and January 1, 2018, respectively. The treaties will form the basis for the issuance of national VAT and Excise Tax legislation by each GCC Member State. Commenting on this Jeanine Daou, Middle East Indirect Taxes Partner, said: “The introduction of VAT and Excise Tax constitute an important policy reform aiming to help GCC Governments achieve medium to long term social and economic policy goals, and reduce reliance on hydrocarbon revenues. Approval of the treaties is an important development as it sets out common principles that will guide the application of VAT and Excise Tax at a national level by each individual Member State. Companies should take action now, if they have not already, to prepare for the implementation of the new tax systems and be ready by go-live date.” Upon the ratification of the treaties, each Member State will need to issue its own national VAT and Excise Tax legislation based on the agreed common principles. This will entail the issuance of national VAT and Excise Tax laws along with the implementing regulations in accordance with each Member State’s national legislative process. This should happen ahead of the expected go live date, allowing sufficient time for businesses to get ready. In any case, businesses need to start preparing in advance to be able to comply with the new tax obligations including charging, collecting and paying VAT and Excise Tax to the Tax Authority in a timely manner. It is the Orpic’s ItQan programme garners good response right time to start creating awareness and increase knowledge throughout the organisation, as well as start assessing the potential impacts of the new taxes on the business, including impact on margins and cash flow. It is also essential to ensure the right systems and processes are in place to apply the tax correctly and generate the required reporting and documentation. The formal announcement of the GCC common VAT and Excise Tax treaties is expected now in the last quarter of this year and this will pave the way for the adoption of the new tax systems by GCC Member States by the expected dates. Businesses should start adopting VAT and excise tax compliant strategies now to ensure a smooth transition at a later stage. FROM PAGE 17 Stay the course despite oil price rally, says Aufi FROM PAGE 17 The theme was also echoed at presentations made by the management of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), which accounts for the bulk of the nation’s oil output as well as almost all of its gas production, to senior company executives recently. Managing Director Raoul Restucci urged company staff to redouble efforts to curb costs and increase cashflow across all areas of PDO’s business. MUSCAT SECURITIES MARKET BUSINESS REPORTER MUSCAT June 19: As a responsible corporate, Orpic firmly believes in bringing the potential of its people by offering training and development opportunities for employees to grow within Orpic. It launched a new initiative to support the development of a competent workforce to run its plants reliably and meet its future growth plans. The ItQan programme aims to build a functional system to expand employee competencies in order to improve operations and maximise the plants’ utilisation. The project has targeted around 870 employees. At a first step, six positions were identified in operations, wherein employees were evaluated and their competencies would be nurtured and developed. Kamil al Shanfari, General Manager, Sohar Operations, Orpic, explained: “When we started the ItQan programme, our objective was to identify gaps and assess training needs in line with the employee’s career path. After intensive sessions with employees, we are happy to note that we engaged with more than 700 employees, certified 124 employees for foundation, 128 employees taking on more complex jobs and a learning culture actively introduced.” He further added: “Not only that, we have on-going engagement and awareness sessions with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. This in turn has led employees to take on more ownership and commitment which is crucial in making Orpic a leading performer in its sector.” Experience Prius on Virtual Reality at Toyota Wattayah showroom MUSCAT: There is something special happening at the WattayahMuscat Toyota showroom. “A thrilla-minute Virtual Reality fantasy ride on the Toyota Prius is waiting for you right here in Muscat — at the iconic Toyota showroom,” says the Toyota spokesperson. “Come and visit the showroom with your family and you’ll be treated to a special ride of a hi-tech platform (as pictured) for an experience you won’t forget!” The ride experience is free and open to all at the Toyota Wattayah showroom until June 30. Visitors who have taken the ride have been extremely thrilled with it: “It was like…like I was driving a Toyota Prius in real life,” exclaimed a visitor while describing the ride, “So real… I looked up and saw the sky, I looked around and there were cars….it totally blew my mind! I really have no more words…wow…what an experience,” said he, with a huge smile. The spokesperson explains: “The moment a visitor steps into the Prius Virtual Drive Zone, he or she is able to explore Hybrid Technology like never before with different units of the set up. To begin with, there is a kiosk “What is a hybrid vehicle?’” that explains how the Prius works with twin-power. There is then an exciting giant 84” Touch-Screen interface, which provides easy answers to 13 Frequently Asked Questions in an interactive manner. There also is a real cutaway of the hybrid battery used in the actual car, showcased for the visitors. Made of a special Nickel Metal Hydride, this original equipment Hybrid battery is covered for a period of whopping 8 years or 160,000 Kilometres (whichever comes first). So in a short glance, one can quickly understand how the Prius works and what hybrid technology really is!” At the ‘Hybrid Virtual Driving’ kiosk, as mentioned earlier, you experience a magical drive in the virtual world, which is one of the most exciting parts. There also is a Prius car at the display to explore the car in detail apart from a Test Drive car that demonstrates the surging experience of twin-power coming to life Regarded by the industry experts as the ‘New Era Hybrid’, the Toyota Prius has a striking, new design that complements its refined interiors. It stands out as a global hybrid icon. Therefore, there is no need to wait, head for the Muscat Toyota showroom with your family and join the joyride! Please log onto www.toyotaoman.com, www.youtube.com/ toyotaoman or www.facebook.com / toyotaoman for test drive requests and the latest press releases. April 2016. Sector-wise, the share of households was 50.6 per cent of the total private sector deposit base, followed by non-financial corporations at 26.1 per cent, financial corporations at 19.2 per cent and the other sectors at 4.1 per cent. In respect of domestic interest rate structure of conventional banks, the weighted average interest rate on rial deposits firmed up from 0.908 per cent in April 2015 to 1.083 per cent in April 2016, while the weighted average rial lending rate decreased from 4.945 per cent to 4.796 per cent during the same period. The overnight rial Omani domestic inter-bank lending rate firmed up to 0.401 per cent in April 2016 from 0.197 per cent a year ago. He also reaffirmed the need for PDO to stay the course on its key objectives, which include early monetisation in exploration, adding more lowcost barrels to PDO inventory, and maintaining world class standards in project delivery, and Well, Reservoir and Facilities Management. Technical Director Amran al Marhubi also emphasised the importance of greater collaboration with contractors in reducing spending. international business 20 AirAsia online systems to close on June 21 OMANDAILYOBSERVER AirAsia will shut down its online systems on June 21 for 27 hours due to maintenance, the Malaysian low-cost airline announced on Sunday. “Self check-in and ‘manage my booking’ will not be available from 12 midnight on June 21 to 3 am on June 22 for scheduled maintenance of our online systems,” the budget carrier said in a statement here. M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 ADEPTIO AGREES TO BUY AMERICANA STAKE AT 26 PC PREMIUM A UAE-based investor group led by Emaar Properties Chairman Mohamed Alabbar said it agreed to buy Kuwait Food Co shares from its majority stockholder for $2.36 billion. Adeptio AD Investments SPC Ltd, the group led by Alabbar, will pay 2.65 Kuwaiti dinars ($8.80) per share to buy a stake in the company known as Americana from Al Khair National for Stocks and Real Estate Co, the companies said in a statement. That represents a 26 per cent premium in a sales process that has stretched back at least two years. Adeptio will launch a mandatory takeover offer for the remaining shares of Americana at the same price, according to the statement. Al Khair owns a 67 per cent stake in the company that operates KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Throughout the years, suitors have included Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte, KKR & Co and CVC Capital Partners Ltd. “We are delighted to have acquired one of the crown jewels of the Middle East,” Alabbar said in the statement. “With its long and successful history as the leading food and restaurants business in MENA, Americana is uniquely positioned in the region.” Adeptio hired Goldman Sachs Group for advice on the transaction. — Bloomberg In crude trade war, S Arabia emerges the next winner S audi Arabia is poised to boost its share of Opec oil production in the coming months, as Iran’s rapid recovery runs out of steam and the kingdom raises output as summer temperatures soar. Opec’s biggest exporter has seen its share of the group’s production chipped away despite its landmark decision in November 2014 to no longer support crude prices by holding back supply. The strategic shift was driven by a desire to protect its own market share, but that’s been restrained by rising production from Iraq, Indonesia’s return to Opec and the easing of sanctions on Iran. Outsiders won’t be too fussed about Riyadh’s share of Opec output, but within the kingdom and the group this matters. Saudi Arabia wants to stay dominant in its biggest export markets, plus it desperately wants to avoid losing ground to Iran. In April, Saudi Arabia’s share of Opec production (excluding recently returned Indonesia) was no higher than before the policy shift. That may be about to change. The circumstances that have eaten into its market share since last summer are changing, while the kingdom holds almost all the world’s readily available spare production capacity, leaving it the only country that can raise output quickly. Iraq, whose daily output has risen by 1 million barrels since November 2014, will struggle to maintain growth. The collapse in oil prices and a costly war against the IS have left the government unable to meet its share of the cost of developing fields in Iraq’s south. It has asked partner companies to cut spending and output is now 140,000 barrels a day lower than January’s peak. More recently, it’s been Iran nibbling away at the Saudi market. Since the easing of sanctions, Iran has surprised analysts with the speed of its recovery. Observed crude exports, monitored by Bloomberg tanker tracking, jumped from 1.3 million barrels a day in January to more than 2 million barrels in April and May. Yet, as Bloomberg News pointed out last week, the spectacular rise may have come to an end already. Further growth will depend on foreign investment that’s far from certain. Bloomberg tanker tracking suggests the situation could be even more serious. Observed crude exports in the first half of June slumped to just 1.37 million barrels a day. This could just be a matter of scheduling tankers, but Iran will need a very strong upturn in the rest of June to match the average sales of the past two months. Of greater concern, the shipment slump could show the surge has been driven, at least in part, by sales of crude from storage tanks. If that’s the case, recent export levels will prove unsustainable. Iran remains an opaque place and official sources assert that May’s daily output reached 3.8 million barrels. The IEA pegged May production at 3.64 million barrels a day, while Bloomberg’s survey put it at 3.53 million. If Iranian exports do keep faltering, don’t be surprised if those of its rival across the Persian Gulf head in the opposite direction. Even as Riyadh eyes a post-oil future through its “Vision 2030” plan to diversify the economy, expect it to seize advantage of any slowing rival. The game is still about grabbing longterm markets for its own crude. — Bloomberg Iran reaches deal to purc TEHRAN: Iran said on Sunday it has reached an agreement with American aerospace giant Boeing to purchase 100 aircraft to renew its ageing fleet, though the deal must still be approved by the US government. The Islamic republic has ordered about 200 planes from three Western manufacturers since mid-January, when economic sanctions were lifted following a deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme. Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran’s civil aviation authority said in remarks published by the daily Iran newspaper that an agreement had been reached with Boeing for the purchase but said the deal was contingent on US Treasury permission. Deputy Transport Minister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan, however, said on Sunday that he hoped the initial accord could be completed within a month. He told the Fars news agency that the deal would be “the largest and most important contract” with the United States — barring military deals — since before Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. A nuclear agreement in July with six world powers, including the US, has lifted some of the economic sanctions on Iran in return for limits on the Islamic republic’s controversial atomic programme. Many of Iran’s ageing civil aviation fleet — 230 planes out of 250 according to Abedzadeh — are in desperate need of replacement. ONLINE SALES Alibaba banking on demand in China for German goods ESSEN: Internet giant Alibaba is banking on a rise in demand for German products in China, thanks to a growing middle class, the head of the Chinese company’s Germany branch said recently. “There is a very high demand for German products in China,” said Terry von Bibra, who since November has been Managing Director of Alibaba Group Germany. The company is still in the development stages in Germany, he said, but Europe plays an important part in Alibaba’s long-term strategy.” Our goal is to make it easier to do business across the world.” One of the strategy’s main points is to expand the number of Germany-produced consumer goods being offered to Chinese customers,especially brand products falling in the medium to high price range. Alibaba’s business model is to offer German companies a platform to enter the growing Chinese online marketplace, which is showing no signs of slowing down, said von Bibra, despite a recent cooling off in China’s overall economic growth. Alibaba began in 1999 when Jack Ma founded the website Alibaba.com, a business-to-business portal to connect Chinese manufacturers with overseas buyers. — dpa Boeing has fallen behind the race to restock Iran because as an American company it has to obtain the greenlight from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control before completing any contracts with Iran. It has requested final authorisation for the sale, according to Abedzadeh. He said the contract’s reported value of $17 billion was not final and that more details will be Marchionne mulls F iat Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne is considering adding full electric vehicles to the carmaker’s line-up including the Maserati Alfieri sportscar and a small city car. “I’ve always thought the economic model that supports Tesla is something that Fiat Chrysler could replicate as we have the brand and the vehicles to do it,” Marchionne told Bloomberg Television in Venice. “I think that to use one of our potential cars as an experiment in this area is interesting.” Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s expansion into the electric car business would follow Volkswagen AG’s plans to accelerate efforts to adapt to the toward self-driving el Earlier this month, Vo out a sweeping strate on electric cars, autom services such as ride-h to emerge from the d scandal that’s weighe for months. Fiat is considering electric city car for the which would be the fi sold in the region, sai who turned 64 on Frid sells an electric versio subcompact only in it international business UAE for greater trade ties with Germany The UAE and Germany are to strengthen economic relations and develop partnerships between their business communities. Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz al Shehhi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy for Economic Affairs, and Felix Neugart, CEO of German Emirati Joint Council for Industry and Commerce, at a meeting held in Dubai. chase 100 Boeing planes provided after further negotiations. Boeing confirmed on Wednesday that it was in talks with Iranian airlines interested in buying its passenger planes. “We have been engaged in discussions with Iranian airlines approved by the (US government) about potential purchases of Boeing commercial passenger aircraft and services,” the company said in an email. In February, the American company was granted approval from the US government to explore resuming sales to Iran after sanctions were partially lifted in January. Iran and the US broke diplomatic ties in 1980 following a hostage crisis at the American embassy in Tehran. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of modern Iran, dubbed the US the “Great Satan” and his s Tesla competitor e industry’s shift ectric vehicles. lkswagen mapped egy overhaul focused mated driving and hailing in an effort diesel-cheating ed on the company producing an e European market, first electric model d the executive, day. Fiat currently on of its iconic 500 ts North American market. Marchionne said in 2014 that the carmaker was losing at least $10,000 on every 500e it sells to comply with California emission rules. Marchionne also said the carmaker will introduce more hybrid vehicles, including the Maserati Levante sportutility vehicles. He expects carmakers to offer hybrid versions on most models to meet emission targets by 2021. Maserati, which showed an Alfieri prototype at the Geneva car show in 2014, doesn’t plan to introduce a full electric version of the model before the end of the company’s five year plan which ends in 2018. — Bloomberg successor supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has kept Tehran on a stridently anti-American path. Despite allowing nuclear negotiations with Washington, Khamenei has repeatedly warned of American and Western “infiltration” in the post-sanctions era. Although the nuclear deal lifted most economic sanctions, the US and the European Union have kept up some measures due to Tehran’s support for certain groups in Lebanon, as well as its ballistic missile programme. This means major international banks, particularly in Europe, are still reluctant to do business with Iran for fear of punitive US measures. Iran in January reached a memorandum of understanding with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus for the purchase of 118 planes. That agreement is also still pending permission from the US Treasury, since more than 10 per cent of Airbus components are of American origin. — AFP AUTOMOBILE SECTOR Volkswagen to phase out 40 car models: Report FRANKFURT: Volkswagen will stop producing more than 40 car models in the coming years as part of a new strategy by Europe’s biggest automaker, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Saturday. Citing company sources, Handelsblatt said the overhaul will involve ceasing production of more than 40 models. Volkswagen currently makes 340 car models across its portfolio, which includes brands such as Audi, Skoda and Seat. A Volkswagen spokesman, however, said the number of models that will be discontinued has not been decided yet. “A decision on how many models will be phased out or ceased has not been taken as yet,” he said. Volkswagen also plans to launch more than 30 all-electric models by 2025 as the scandal-hit auto giant tries to reposition itself as a leading player in environmentally sustainable modes of transport. VW, currently entangled in a global enginerigging scandal, said in a statement that it plans to launch “more than 30 fully electric models” by 2025, which will account for an annual sales of between two and three million vehicles or 2025 per cent of the group’s global sales. — Reuters OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 21 VALE IN TALKS WITH ASIA BUYERS FOR STAKE IN BRAZIL IRON ORE V ale SA is holding discussions with Asian mining companies about a potential sale of a minority stake in its Brazilian ironore assets that could fetch as much as $7 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The world’s top iron-ore producer may also consider streaming deals, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. No agreements have been reached, and the talks may not result in a deal, the people said. The Rio de Janeiro-based company joins other global miners such as FreeportMcMoRan Inc, Glencore Plc and Anglo American Plc who are trying to pay down debt through asset sales. Chief Executive Officer Murilo Ferreira raised the prospect of selling some of the company’s most prized assets in February after Vale reported its first year of losses since 1997. The company has said it wants to raise about $10 billion through next year. A representative for Vale declined to comment. Vale has held early talks with bankers about selling some assets, including all or part of its fertiliser business and partial stakes in its Brazilian copper operations, people familiar with the matter said last month. The company also discussed putting more precious-metal streams on its mines, they said. — Bloomberg Qatar predicts at least 3 years of budget deficits Q atar’s government expects to run a budget deficit for at least three years as low natural gas and oil prices weigh on its revenues, the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics said on Saturday. In a long-term report on the Qatari economy, the ministry forecast a fiscal deficit of 7.8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, which would be the first deficit in 15 years and bigger than the deficit of 4.8 per cent predicted for 2016 in the ministry’s last report published in December. The deficit is expected to total 7.9 per cent of GDP next year before shrinking to 4.2 per cent in 2018, the ministry said. Qatar, the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas exporter, is one of the richest of the Gulf states but like its neighbours, it has been pushed into austerity measures this year in an effort to stabilise its finances. More austerity will be needed to achieve the ministry’s projections, the report said. “This estimate assumes that the government pares recurrent spending and caps growth of capital spending below previously programmed levels; that there are effective cost reductions in the hydrocarbon sector, which support transfers to the budget; and additional non-oil and gas revenues accrue to the budget.” Some of the projected improvement in the fiscal balance depends on a hoped-for rise in energy prices; the ministry assumed the average crude oil price would climb to $48.91 a barrel in 2018 from $45.49 in 2017 and $37.88 this year. The ministry predicted Qatar’s economy would grow 3.9 per cent this year, down from a previous 4.3 per cent forecast. It expects growth of 3.8 per cent next year and 3.2 per cent in 2018. Liquidity in the Qatari banking system has tightened and money market rates have risen because of reduced inflows of gas and oil money. The ministry said the central bank might take several steps to reduce pressure on liquidity. It could cut official interest rates, continue to suspend domestic Treasury bond issuance while resuming its suspension of Treasury bill issues, or adopt unconventional measures used by central banks in other countries such as direct purchases of commercial bonds and extraordinary loans to, or equity injections in, individual banks, the ministry said without specifying which steps were likely to be chosen. In early 2014, the central bank announced a new loan-to-deposit requirement for banks of 100 per cent by the end of 2017. The deposit side of the ratio includes only customer deposits and not long-term wholesale funds, which have recently been the primary source of funding for banks. The banks are still negotiating with regulators to change the loan-to-deposit formula to include long-term wholesale funds, and the deadline for compliance may be postponed until the end of 2018 due to liquidity issues at Qatari banks, the ministry said. — Reuters MONDAY l JUNE 20, 2016 l RAMADHAN 14, 1437 AH [email protected] www.omanobserver.om RENTING & LEASING Tours and Airport Transfer Tel: 24582663 GSM: 95859497, Fax: 24582664, [email protected] ····· RENT a car daily or yearly. 91169990. ····· 4WD Land Cruiser Rent A Car, daily or yearly. 91169990. ····· For Rent NEW villa for rent: Al Hail North next to Ramez, near to main road, 5 bedrooms with bathrooms. Open sitting room with washing area, 3 family hall, 1 dining room, kitchen with store, laundry. More details, contact 99259977, 93387732. Supply of Pesticides, Gel (Cockroaches), Public Health chemicals, Agriculture chemicals, Snake repellent, Rodent baits and other insect repellent from Agropharm Ltd UK. 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All Cartridges also available on UNBEATABLE prices AII HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, Samsung Cartridges also available [email protected] GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! 2 BEDROOM flat in Al Ghubra near Oman Oil 18 November Street, RO 330 monthly. 99333479 or 95215360. ····· ELFAYED for sedative investment in Salalah introduces the best price and utilities, for rent: ϐǡ daily, monthly and yearly. 98035135/ 96177304/ 91788999. ····· SHOWROOM in Al Khoudh Market for rent. 94887300. SEMI furnished 2 & 3 BHK flats at Bausher — near Atlas Hospital. 99348493/ 93200424/ 24502254. ····· 2-STOREY villa in South Al Maabela consists of majlis, 4 bedrooms with toilets for each + 2 sitting rooms and kitchen, located near a public water source. Contact 999700908 NEW villa in Al Khoudh 6 is offered for rent. The premise comprises 6 bedrooms, male majlis, female majlis, a split unit air-conditioned family living room and 8 toilets. 99668686. ǧand ϐ Maabela consists of 3 bedrooms, sitting room and toilets for each room + sitting room and kitchen close to water source. 99700908. A FLAT in North Al Hail consists of 4 bedrooms with toilets for each, sitting room and kitchen. 99700908. VILLA for rent in North Al Hail consists of 4 bedrooms with toilets for each room + majlis. 99760908 NEW building in Maabela Industrial Area available for rent. Corner location for showroom, hypermarket Ǥ ϐǡͳ ʹϐǤ 99323030 2 BEDROOMS with toilets, one sitting room with toilet. Contact. 993803465. ····· A COFFEE shop with all equipment in South Al Hail near Hail Al Awamir School. 99469900. ····· 1BHK & 2 BHK flats for rent at Ruwi and Al Khoudh. 93994402, 93994403, 24834644. FLATS for rent in Salalah European design, farm view, good situation in the centre near the sea, ϐǤ92181524 WhatsApp. ····· TWO ϐǡ one new construction and a second one fully maintained in Wadi al Kabir after Kuwaiti Mosque. 94016100. ····· ····· ····· ····· ····· For Rent ····· ····· ····· ····· AN Ǧ ϐ two bedrooms + majlis + medium sitting room + two toilets and kitchen, close to North Al Ghubrah Health Centre is offered for rent at RO 330. 95548774. ····· A PREMISE consists of a 2-storey villa, 5 rooms, 2 majlis and 2 apartments. ϐ͵ majlis in South Al Maabela. Priority is for companies. 99420140. ····· FURNISHED ϐ Grand Mall for daily rent. 92303481/ 93204595. ····· SINGLEϐǡ Khuwair and Al Ghubra, family only. 92967853. ONE ϐ and 2km from Wave Muscat, contains 4 bedrooms, living room, a kitchen and 2 toilets, RO 300. 99077722. 2 FLOOR house at Al Hail North. Each floor: 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, kitchen, store, 1 sitting room. 92133551, 95067585 ····· ····· ····· CLASSIFIED SECTION: ····· Ruwi: 24792-792 A FLAT in South Al Maabela consists of 3 bedrooms with toilets for each room + sitting room and kitchen with air-condition. The flat is near a public water surce and in excellent location. 99700408. ····· 3 in 1 Printer RO 10.900 only For Rent ····· APARTMENTS for rent: 1. First apartment: four rooms, four toilets, big living room and big kitchen. 2. Second apartment: four rooms, four toilets, big living room and big kitchen. PS: water and electricity bills on the owner charges. Contact 99459204. HP2130 ȍ͵ VILLAS for sale/ rents KABIR/AL ), ȋȀϐ for rent/ Al Khuwair) (Flats for rent/ Wadi Kabir). ͻͷͻ͵ͶͺǤ COMPUTER SUPPLIES ····· FLAT for rent in Maabela 3 master rooms. 96088926. ····· ͳϐ Kabir 99277787. Available on UNBEATABLE prices For Rent FLAT for rent in Al Mawaleh South. 3 bedroom + 3 toilets + 1 family hall + 1 kitchen. Monthly rent RO 270, for family only. Contact. 99882551. ····· AL Hikmani for HAJ and UMRAH — With a host of services including the following: Hiring luxurious coaches, arranging weekly trips, preparing visas for expats at cost-effective price, including transport, housing, meals and visits to shrine locations. Land and air trips weekly. 99311310, 24566016, 99361982, 99707248, 99322124. VILLA in Al Mawaleh (5), 5 rooms + toilets + majlis and family living room. 92880977. For Sale/Rent GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! Umrah/Haj GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! SPECIAL Rates on New Cars & 4 WDs PEST CONTROL OMAN CO. LLC. GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! Rent a Car Ali al Maashari: 99639264 [email protected] Mohammed al Rashdi: 99841230 [email protected] FLAT for rent with air-conditioner, two bedrooms, sitting room, medium-sized sitting room, two toilets and kitchen near the healthcare centre of North Al Ghubra at RO 320. 95548774. ····· TWO ϐ German Embassy, nearer to Al Nadha Hospital. 99203954. ····· Required CERTIFIED Fumigator who can handle all types of fumigation services for a reputed Trading Company in Muscat. Should have relevant educational ϐ ǡ ϐ ǡ in fumigation service, good co-ordination skills and having driving licence. Interested candidates may forward their CV with copies of ϐ and work experience within 10 days to: almarooj@omnatel. net.om ····· SHOP in Seeb market. 95250300/ 99110600/ 24182000. ····· VILLA in Seeb near Dreams Resort and close to the sea. 95250300/ 99110600/ 24182000. ····· FLATS in Al Khuwair, Al Ghubrah, Al Athaiba, Wadi Al Kabir, Darsait, Hamriyah, Al Hail and Seeb. 95250300/ 99110600/ 24182000. ····· FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM If you would like to know more about Islam, please call: Tel : 99425598, 99250777, 99353988, 99253818, 99341395, 99379133, For ladies: 99415818, 99321360, 99730723 Or visit: www.iicoman.om www.islamfact.com 94501166 DIRECT: 24649595 — FAX : 24649590 c ass fieds classi eds CLASSIFIEDS OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 Situation Vacant MEP Engineers and EstimatorsǤ 95229608, 93214092 or ̷Ǥ ····· A Bilingual Sales Executiveǡ͵ to 4 years experience & Ǥ planning sales forecast, Ǥ Ǥ ̷ Ǥ ····· SEEKING female for outdoor sales position, bookselling in ǡ Ǥ ǯǣ̷Ǥ Ǥ ǣͻͷͺͳ͵͵Ͳ ····· REQUIRED Marketing/ PR Manager Ǥ ϐ Ǥ ǡ ǡ ϐǤ Ȁ Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ ʹͲͳ̷Ǥ com ····· Expatriate Heavy Duty Drivers, JCB Operators Ǥ ̷ Ǥ Ǥ ǣ ͻͻͺͻͲͲǡͻ͵ͺͻͶͲͳͺǡ ǣʹͶͷͻͲͺǤ ····· SUBCONTRACTORS ǣ Ȅ Ȅ S Ravi 99424605 or Ǥͻͻ͵ͷͺ͵͵ Ǥ ····· ͻͻ͵͵ʹͶ͵Ǥ ····· Building TechnicianǤ ͻͺͳͳͳ͵͵Ǥ ····· general manager minimum experience of ͳͲϐǤ 91408823 for ····· OMANI public relation manager/ marketing manager ϐ Ǥ Ǥ ϐ or marketing expereince ǣ ̷Ǥ ····· REQUIRED for Ras Al Hamra Rescreation Center (PDO Club) Events Setup Coordinator - Omanis only ǣ arrangement of club events, party venues, ǡ Ǥ ϐ ǡ ǣ ̷ǤǤ om ····· A LEADING international ϐ seeks an Omani female (secretary) ϐ Ǥ Ǥ̷Ǥ ····· For Sale FOR SALE A Medical Centre in Muscat, equipped with all devices in a good location. Dr Abdullah 99432949, Harideck 91720465 A NEW ǣ Ǧ ʹGeneral doctorsǤ Ǧ ͳSpecialist obstetrician and gynaecologistǤ Ǧ ʹPaediatrician and specialistǤ Ǧ ͳDermatologistǤ Ǧ ͳSpec phys otorhinolaryngologyǤ Ǧ ʹX-Ray techniciansǤ Ǧ ʹLAB techniciansǤ Ǧ ʹPharmacistsǤ ͻͶ͵ͷͻͳʹǤ ····· 1. Ǥ 2. ǡ Ǥ 3. Ǥ4. Electrical, ͻͲͳͶʹ͵Ͷǡ ͻͻͶͶʹͷǡʹͶͷͲͶʹͺͳǤ Situation Wanted OMAN ǡȋ͵ͷȌ ǡ ǡǡǤ ǡ Ǥ Looking for suitable ϐ Ǥ ǤǤ ͻ͵ͷͳͶͻǤǦǣ ̷Ǥ ····· ····· ǣͳǤ Maintenance & Servicing; ʹǤǡ Ƭ Ǣ͵Ǥ Ƭ ǢͶǤ Electrical & Plumbing Ǥ ǣ ͻͻͶͶʹͷǡͻͲͳͶʹ͵Ͷǡ ʹͶͷͲͶʹͺͳǤ ····· ǣ of real estate (Out motto ȌǤ Renaissance Development Ǥ ͻͻͲͲͲͻ͵Ǥ ····· ǡǡ ǡ Ǥ Ǥͻ͵ͷͳͶͻǤ ····· Guest House QURUM BEACH HOTEL24564070. ····· INDIAN male, 43 yrs, accountant, presently on tourist visa looking for suitable placement Ǥͳͺ ϐ ƬǤ ͻͲͳͻͲͶͺǤ ····· INDIAN, BE in Computer Ǥ ǡʹΪ Ǥ ǣʹǤ ͻͶͺͻͷͶ͵ͷǤǦǣ ϐǤ̷Ǥ ····· 20 GCC, Electrical Engineer/ Ǥ Experience in GIS ǡǡǡ Ƭ Ǥ Ǥ ȀǤͻͻʹͺͶͶͷǡǤǤ ͳ̷Ǥ Ǥ ····· INDIAN, male, BE in ȋ Ȍǡ Ǥ Ǥ ͻͶͻͻǤǦǣ ̷Ǥ ····· FOR SALE ͲǡʹͲͲͻǤ ͻͻͺͺͷ͵Ǥ ····· SHOP FOR SALE Ƭ ǡ Sanaiya (before ȌǤ ͻͺͶͶͶǡͻͺͶͶͶͶǤ ····· DIESEL ǡͳǡͲͲ ǡͳͻͺǤ ͻʹͺ͵ͶǤ ····· ǣ ǡ ǤͻͻͲͲͳ͵͵ʹǤ Manpower WE ǤMODERN SPARKLE LLC. +968 ͻͷ͵ͷͶͳǤ ····· FRIENDS MANPOWER: Ǥ ʹͶͶͺͻʹͺǣȀǣ ʹͶͶͺͳͷ͵ǡͻʹͶʹͶͻǤ ····· Ǧ Ȅ Ƭ ǡǡ Ǥ Ǥ ʹͳ͵ͷͲͲǡʹͳ͵ͲͲǤ ····· A SHOWROOM in Al Qurum in strategic ʹͺͲ ʹͷǡͲͲͲǤͻʹͶͲͲʹͶǤ in an excellent location Ǥ ͻ͵͵ͻͺͳʹǤ ····· ͳȎ Ǥ ǦǤ 2) A LAND is for sale in ͺǤ ͻͷͻͷͻͳǤ ····· Civil Engineer from Muscat ǡʹ Ȁǡ Ǥ Contact ͻͻ͵ͳͷͳͶǤ ····· INDIAN male, age 25, looking for suitable Ǥʹ Ǥ Contact ͻͻ͵ͻͲͺͶǡ ͻ͵ͷͳͺǤǦǣ ͳʹ̷ Ǥ Ǥ ····· Pakistani male, 22 years, BA, computer ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡǡ presently in Oman, seeks Ǥ94850209 ····· Lost ····· HIGH ǡϐǡ for Accounts Clerk PRO ····· ǣϐ̷Ǥ ····· Services ͳͷʹͳͺͷͲȀͲʹͻʹͺǤ Ǥ ····· RUWI : 24785668 Behind Royal Oman Police, Adjacent to Dhofar Building, Ruwi. LOOKING for suitable ǡǡ Master in computer ͳͳ ǡ looking for suitable Ǥ ͻͳͳͻʹͷͶ͵ǤǦǣ ̷Ǥ ····· B COM + logistics, 2 years experience, looking for a job Ȁ ϐǤ ͻ͵ͺͺͶͻͷͳǤ ····· ǡǤ (ECE) MBA (HR), 2 years of experience CCNA, CCNP LINUX, MCSE, looking for suitable job, presently on employment visa, release Ǥ ǣ ̷Ǥ 95584814 Civil Draftsman, Ǥ ϐǡǧ ǤǦǣ ̴ ͳͲͲ̷Ǥ ͻͶͲ͵ͶͷͶͶǤ ····· ȋ ǡ͵ͲȌǡ ǡǤ accounting packages, presently on family visa, Ǥ ͻͻͲͺͳͷǤ INDIAN male 23, BCom, ȋȌǡͳ ǡ skills, looking for suitable position in cargo/ Ȁ Ȁ ϐ ǤͻͺʹͳͺͲǡ ̷Ǥ com ····· INDIAN male 25, 2 years ǤǤǡ ǡ looking for suitable position INDIAN Commerce ǡ ȀǤ ͻ ǡǡ Ǥ Contact ͲͲͻͺͻ͵ͷͷͲͻǡ ǤǤ ͻͲͻͻͶͺͲͶǤǦǣǤ ͲͲͻͳͻͻͳ͵ͳͻͶ ͷ̷Ǥ ····· ···· INDIAN male, 29 years, engineer from Muscat ʹͲͳͷȀǡ seeks suitable placement ǡ ǡ Ǥ ϐ ͻ͵ͳʹͳͷͲͷǤ Ǥ ····· visa, NOC available, seeking INDIAN ǡ for suitable placement ǤͻͺͻͲͲǤ ȋȌ ϐǤϐ ǣ̷Ǥ Ƭ com Council, looking for suitable Ǥͻ͵ʹͲͲͻǤ ····· ͳͳ̷Ǥ INDIAN 20 years experience ····· in Oman as Personal Ȁϐ Ȁ INDIAN ǡ Ȁ engineer, electrical & Executive, seeks job ǤǤ 5 years of experience in 99168054 Ǥ Looking for suitable ····· Ǥͻ͵ʹͲͲͻǤ ͳͲ ͳͳ̷Ǥ years of sales & marketing ····· ͳǤ years in Oman in electronics 10 years of experience Ƭ Ǥ HR, seeking for a suitable ǡǤ ǤǤ 91298641 ͻͻʹͶʹͺͶͳǤ ····· · · · ·· INDIAN male B Com, ϐ ǡ seeks suitable placement ǡʹͺǡ͵ Ȁ years experience in general Ǥ ǤͻͷͺͳͶ͵ǤǦǣ ϐ ǣǡ ͵ͻ̷Ǥ Ͷͺǡ INDIAN male, 23 years PG Dip in Petroleum Ǥ ǡ seeks suitable placement ǤͻͷͺͺͲͳʹǡ ͻͷͲͺͶͻͲͷǡʹͷ͵Ͷͷͻ̷ Ǥ A company is looking for a Purchase Manager/ ϐ minimum 5 years Ǥ ····· ····· ····· URGENTLY REQUIRED ϐ ǡ Ǥͻ͵ͳͲ͵ͲǤ ͻ͵Ͷ̷Ǥ com ····· E [email protected] MBA, HR Marketing (male 26), 3 years experience in Noor Islamic Bank (UAE), ͳ looking for suitable Ǥ901462412, ̷Ǥ com Ȁ Accountant, for International construction Ǥ Minimum experience 2 ǡϐ ǣ̷ ǦǤ ͻͷͺͳ͵͵ͲǤ ····· ····· ǡ ǡǡ ǡ Ǥͻ͵ͻͶͺǤǡ ǤǤ Ǥ 25 supervisor in plumbing ϐϐǡ Ǥ ͻͷͻͳʹʹͲǤ ····· ǡ ǡ ǡǤ ͻ͵͵ͻͻʹͷȀͻʹͻͶʹʹǤ INDIAN male, 29, B Com, ȋȌ experience in accounts/ D/L seeking for suitable ǤǤ ͻͶͲͻͷͶǤǦǣ ͵͵̷Ǥ ····· ····· Plant Operator, 15 years experience in UAE ǡ Ǥ ǣ99264294 Ǥ INDIAN ȋȌʹ ͷ experience in planning, ǤͻͳͳͶͲ͵ʹǤ ǣǤ̷ Ǥ ····· ····· Institution trainer specialist Ǥ ̴ͳͻͻͲ̷ Ǥ ····· manager, 9 years experience in Oman in Ǥ licence marketing ǤͻͺͺͻͶͳͺǤ ····· ͵ experience in maintenance an engineering serivces Ǥ looking for suitable ǤͻͳͳͲͷǤ Ǧǣͳʹ͵̷ Ǥ ····· 3 Ǥͻͷ͵ʹͲǤ ····· 26ǡ accountant, 5 years ǡǡ ϐ ǡǤΪ Ϊ ǡǤͻǤͻͻͲͳʹȀ ͻͺͶͷ͵Ǥ ····· SEEKING job electrical ȀȀǤ ʹͲ ǯƬ Ǥ ǡ Ȁǡ ǡ Ǥǡ ȀǡǤͻͺͷͺͷͲʹͻǤ ̷Ǥ ····· ȋ Ȍ ǡʹ͵ ····· ͳ INDIAN male (23) ǡͳ ȋ Omani licence, looking ǡ͵ǡ for suitable placement in ǡǡ Pro, Primavera & MS ϐ Ȍ ǤͻͶ͵͵ͳǡ position available on visit ͻͻʹ͵ʹͲǤǣ Ǥ 99552963, ̷Ǥ INDIANȋȌ ͳΪ Ƭ seeking senior position in Accounts (11 years GCC experience ) currently ȋ Ȍ Ǥ Contact 91335026; ̷Ǥ INDIANǡǡ BE (Hons) Systems ʹ ǡ seeks suitable position ····· Ȁ ϐ ǡ ǡ Ǥ ͻͶͶͲͻͳǤ ǡͳͲ ʹͶ̷Ǥ ǡ ····· ǡ INDIAN male, 22 years, management rules in ǡ ǡ currently on visit visa, ϐǤ a placement in any ϐǤ ͻͷͶ͵ͳ͵ͷǤ ͻͷͲʹͲͲͶͶǤ ····· ····· LOOKING Ǥ 23, ǡǤǤ ʹ ͷ ϐǡǡ Ǥ ǡ ȀǤ ͻͶͲ͵ʹͲͶͳǤ ····· Ǥ Currently in Muscat on INDIAN male, 12 years Ǥ experience in printing ǤͻͳͻͳʹͲͺǤ ǦǣͳͷͲͺ̷ Marketing, seeks suitable Ǥ ǤͻʹͻʹͺͻͺǤ ····· ····· INDIAN female, MBA (25) seeking job in marketing, ϐ ǡǡ ͻǡ ͳ Ǥ ͻͷͻͳͲͶʹǤǦǣ ͳͳͳ̷Ǥ INDIAN male, 23 years, ǡ ʹ in accountancy looking for ǡǡ Ǥ ͻͷ͵ͷͷͳʹǤ ····· ····· ····· ····· A SRI LANKAN, ǯ ϐ Hallam University UK, looking for a suitable Ǥ Ǥ ͻͳͳͺͻǡͻ͵ͲͳʹǤ ̷Ǥ ····· CLASSIFIED SECTION Situation Wanted 23 INDIAN, male (28 years) Ǥ single colour , four colour ͻͻͶͲʹͲ ····· ····· ····· INDIAN male, 26 years accountant, 3 years ǡ NOC available seeking Ǥ ͻͶʹͺʹͻͺͲǤǦǣ Ͷͷͺ̷Ǥ ǦǣʹͺͷͲ̷Ǥ ····· ͵ Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ ͻͶͷ͵͵ͺǤ international business b i 24 OMANDAILYOBSERVER McDonald’s may shift some jobs to India M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 Fast food giant McDonald’s may be planning to outsource jobs to India as part of a $500 million cost reduction plan it announced last November, a media report said. A report in the New York Post said the cost reduction plan is being spearheaded by Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook. SUCCESSOR RACE India begins search for central bank chief W ith Indian central bank Governor Raghuram Rajan heading back to academia after his term ends in September, the search for his replacement has begun. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday that a successor would be announced shortly. India’s central bank chiefs are appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the finance minister. Below are potential candidates to succeed Rajan as governor in the world’s fastest growing major economy, according to Ambit Capital Pvt and media reports. Urjit Patel, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Urjit Patel, like Rajan, has spent several years overseas and has about 25 years of experience in economic policy making. With a doctorate in economics from Yale University, Patel has been a key architect of reforms at the Reserve Bank of India, including the establishment of an inflation targeting framework. A panel headed by Patel, 52, had proposed a shift to consumer-price inflation to anchor monetary policy. As part of this, the government agreed last year to adopt a 4 per cent inflation target with a band of plus or minus two percentage points, and to have a monetary policy committee set interest rates. “Urjit Patel appears to be best placed as he possesses the appropriate skills from a macroeconomics perspective besides holding the promise of independence,” Ambit analysts Ritika Mankar Mukherjee and Sumit Shekhar wrote in a report in April. Rajan raised borrowing costs after he took over in 2013, citing the Patel Committee report as a road map to ease one of Asia’s highest inflation rates. Patel joined the central bank in 2013 from The Boston Consulting Group, where he served as an adviser. He worked with the International Monetary Fund for five years until 1995, and also served in India’s finance ministry as a consultant in the economic affairs division. Patel didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, State Bank of India Arundhati Bhattacharya, 60, took over as head of India’s largest lender in 2013 and revamped its operations. If appointed, she would be India’s first female central bank governor. In 2014, Bhattacharya was ranked among the 50 Most Influential people in global finance by Bloomberg Markets magazine. She was also ranked as the fifth-most powerful woman in finance by the Forbes magazine. Bhattacharya has overseen State Bank’s expansion to about 17,000 branches, 330 million customers across 36 countries. It was one of the only two state-controlled banks among 28 that expanded loans by more than 10 percent in the year to March 31, data compiled by the finance ministry shows. She is also credited with ushering in technology in the 200 year-old institution. Bhattacharya has demanded more power for bankers to tackle bad loans, and pushed for the merger of State Bank with five subsidiaries. Urjit Patel, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, State Bank of India. After Rajan’s announcement on Saturday, she said: “Dr Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser, Finance Rajan is a person of very high calibre, who has built ably on Ministry Arvind Subramanian, 57, replaced Rajan as chief economic the reputation of our central bank and given it a very large adviser in the finance ministry in October 2014. The Oxford measure of credibility.” University-educated economist is a proponent of lower Shaktikanta Das, Economic Affairs Secretary, Finance interest rates and has supported an easier budget deficit goal Ministry to boost public expenditure. Shaktikanta Das, 59, is a career bureaucrat with almost four In his current job, Subramanian gives input on the economy decades of service. His job requires him to closely coordinate and authors the Economic Survey, an annual report card of the with the central bank, and he’s involved with discussions on finance ministry. He is also a member of the finance minister’s setting up a new monetary policy committee. As a director on expert group on the Group of 20. He prepared a report on the board of the Reserve Bank of India, he understands how potential rates for India’s long-delayed goods-and-services tax, Shaktikanta Das, Economic Affairs Secretary, Finance Ministry. the institution functions. which is still stuck in parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi initially brought Das into Modi’s appointment of Subramanian was seen as a surprise the finance ministry to head revenue department, which because he was critical of the government’s move to block a was battling perceptions of “tax terrorism.” In that role, Das World Trade Organization deal and called some of its budget proposed lowering the corporate tax rate, and led government numbers “implausible.” After taking up the post, Subramanian efforts in curbing black money by negotiating a deal with said it was a “great honour” to serve in a government that has a Switzerland for more disclosure and announcing an amnesty mandate for “reform and change.” programme. A senior fellow on leave from the Centre for Global Das has been a key figure in putting together India’s budget, Development and the Peterson Institute for International often acting as a crucial link between the finance ministry and Economics, Subramanian has expertise on topics including other departments. He also actively promotes government growth, trade, oil and intellectual property. He has also served initiatives on Twitter, a trait Modi appreciates among his as an assistant director in the International Monetary Fund. ministers and bureaucrats. Das, due to retire in February 2017, He declined to comment when contacted on Saturday. didn’t answer two calls to his mobile phone on Saturday. — Bloomberg Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser, Finance Ministry. Vanke’s $6.9 bn share-sale plan opposed by China Resources C hina Vanke Co Chairman Wang Shi’s bid to fend off a takeover has been thrown into doubt after the property developer’s secondlargest shareholder, China Resources (Holdings) Co, said the proposal failed to get enough votes from the board. Vanke’s 45.6 billion yuan ($6.9 billion) plan to buy assets from Shenzhen Metro by issuing new shares didn’t pass the board because it needs approval from two-thirds, or eight, of the 11 members, China Resources said on Saturday in a statement on its official WeChat account. Shenzhenbased Vanke said on Friday its board voted 7-to-3 in favour of the plan after one director chose to abstain, citing a conflict of interest. The opposition from a long-term major shareholder adds uncertainty to Wang’s effort to counter little-known Baoneng Group, which overtook China Resources as the company’s largest shareholder last year in what Vanke management labelled as a “hostile takeover.” If the current proposal goes ahead, Baoneng’s shareholding in mainland China’s largest listed property developer would be diluted to 19.27 per cent, while Shenzhen Metro would own 20.65 per cent, according to Friday’s exchange filing. “If Vanke doesn’t reconsider the problems in the restructuring proposal and submits the same plan for a vote at board or shareholder meetings in future, China Resources would continue to vote against it in order to protect the interests of all shareholders,” the state-owned conglomerate said in the statement. Vanke has a low debt burden and can use either cash or debt to finance the deal and doesn’t need to sell new shares, said China Resources, which owns 15.24 per cent of Vanke. The proposed price of 15.88 yuan per A share implies a discount of 24 per cent to Vanke’s net assets, and the land being bought, which wouldn’t contribute profit for the next two to three years, would dilute earnings, it said. Zhang Liping, an independent director on Vanke’s board who’s currently employed by Blackstone Group, didn’t vote on the proposal because the two companies are in talks about a commercial property project, according to the exchange filing. Only members directly affiliated with the companies involved in the resolution being voted on — in this case, Shenzhen Metro — should be excluded from voting, China Resources said. The three directors from China Resources voted against the deal, although the company agreed the assets being bought could benefit Vanke’s business, according to its statement. The proposal doesn’t give Vanke ownership in Shenzhen Metro itself and won’t secure cooperation opportunities in other projects with the subway builder, China Resources said. The land price also doesn’t include taxes, which would significantly push up eventual costs for Vanke, it said. Vanke defended the proposal in a separate statement, saying it expected the deal to bring “continuous quality project resources” in key Chinese cities at “reasonable” prices, and that becoming a major Vanke shareholder, was the only consideration Shenzhen Metro would accept. The two projects being acquired were the “best two land sites in Shenzhen” — a city where developers are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain land — and would become an important source of profit for Vanke, board secretary Zhu Xu said in the statement. “Through this transaction, what Vanke is buying is not two land sites, but the future,” Vanke said in the statement, citing the words of an unidentified independent director. — Bloomberg Abu Dhabi banks in talks to form largest Middle East lender N ational Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC and First Gulf Bank PJSC said they’re in talks to merge in a deal that would create the largest lender by assets in the Middle East. A working group of senior executives from each bank is reviewing the commercial, structural and legal aspects of a potential transaction, according to a filing to the Abu Dhabi stock exchange on Sunday. Bloomberg News was first to report the two banks were considering a potential merger on June 16. A deal would create a lender with assets of about $170 billion and mark the first major banking merger in the United Arab Emirates’ since National Bank of Dubai and Emirates Bank International combined to create Emirates NBD PJSC in 2007. The country’s fragmented banking industry is ready for further consolidation and a deal could prompt further mergers among lenders, according to investment bank EFGHermes Holding SAE. “There’s no doubt it will lead to synergies and would give them a competitive edge, considering there are more than 40 banks in the UAE,” Chiradeep Ghosh, a banks’ analyst at Securities & Investment Co in Bahrain, said by phone on Sunday. “The combined entity will have a bigger equity book. That will help them to lend to larger entities and take up a greater share of the syndicated loan book.” First Gulf Bank could pay a premium of as much as 14 per cent to buy National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Arqaam Capital Ltd said in a note to investors on Thursday. NBAD shares surged 15 per cent on Sunday, the maximum allowed in a day, to 9.2 dirhams as of 10:52 am local time. First Gulf Bank also soared, rising 7.8 per cent to 12.7 dirhams. NBAD is the UAE’s second-biggest bank by assets, while FGB is third-ranked. A combination would help them overtake Emirates NBD as the country’s largest lender and represent nearly a quarter of the system’s loans and deposits, according to EFG-Hermes. The UAE is home to about 9 million people and has about 50 banks, including the local units of Citigroup, HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered. Both NBAD and FGB have pushed to expand in other countries to beat the limitations of a small home market and build investment banking businesses to compete with bigger foreign rivals. NBAD was the fifth-biggest arranger of syndicated loans in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council last year, while FGB ranked seventh, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. NBAD was also the second-largest arranger of bonds and sukuk sales last year. The league tables are dominated by foreign lenders including HSBC Holdings Plc, Citigroup Inc and Sumitomo Mitsui. NBAD, with a market value of about $11.3 billion at the end of Thursday, is 69 per cent owned by sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Council. State-owned investment fund Mubadala Development is the biggest shareholder in FGB, whose market capitalization is $14.4 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The news “was a surprise considering, they have a very contrasting style of management and business strategy,” Ghosh at SICO said. “One is a publicsector focused bank, while FGB is an aggressive private sector bank, with reasonable focus in consumer lending. FGB primarily operates within the UAE, while NBAD is looking to expand outside the UAE”. — Bloomberg MONDAY | JUNE 20, 2016 | RAMADHAN 14, 1437 AH www.omanobserver.om [email protected] Qaranqasho: A traditional event to entertain children Bring out the candies! Bring out the sweets! The children are coming, and they will be singing: Qaranqasho yo nas, atoni shwayat halwa. Doos doos fi almandoos, hara hara fi a’sahara. Here’s what you have to know about today’s fun celebration... P26 His Eminence SHAIKH AHMED BIN HAMAD AL KHALILI Grand Mufti of Oman Is using toothpaste in the morning and evening of Ramadhan breaking the fast? Thoughts for the Day with Hatim Al Abdissalaam Check out our videos on Youtube of Hatim Al Abdissalam sharing important and meaningful insights daily regarding the holy month and how you can make your Ramadhan a meaningful one. Enter this link on your search bar to get to our channel: http://bit.ly/1L1GAFK Don’t forget to subscribe! A Toothpaste should not be used either in the morning or evening. Allah knows best. Quran Verse of the Day This is a reminder; so whoever wills, let him take a path to his Lord. Yet you cannot will, unless God wills. God is Knowing and Wise. He admits into His mercy whomever He wills. But as for the wrongdoers, He has prepared for them a painful punishment. (al Insan) insideOman ramadhan 26 OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 celebratingfaith Qaranqasho: A traditional event to entertain children Q MAI AL ABRIA Q Q aranqasho is a timehonoured Omani custom recognized and observed on the 14th and 15th day of Ramadhan and is celebrated in Oman along with other countries in the region. In Oman, this beautiful social event has become a traditional Omani heritage activity with children celebrating by going around the village and singing special songs for sweets or money. They sing Qaranqasho yo nas, atoni shwayat halwa (Hey people, Qaranqasho time, give us some sweets, please). Then they continue singing saying: doos doos fi almandoos, hara hara fi a’sahara. This song roughly translates to the children asking for candies. The neighbours welcome them with open arms and give them the treats or money of which they will sing another song to praise them for their treats. For many Arabs, this is a part of their nostalgic childhood experience. Other names are given to this special event in the Gulf countries. Some call it Graigaan in Kuwait and KSA, Qaranqao in Qatar and Qaraoon in Bahrain. All children wear traditional dresses and all ask for candies when going around the village. In the modern days, most of the corporates and other business houses celebrate this evening event too with colourful activities mainly aimed at children. This Ramadhan, Majid Al Futtaim’s shopping malls in Oman — City Centre Muscat and City Centre Qurum — will host Qaranqasho. The celebrations, which sees families dress their little ones in traditional clothes and receive sweets and treats to take home, will be hosted on June 20-21 from 8 pm to 11 pm. The initiative highlights City Centre malls commitment to fostering the Sultanate’s culture and traditions and reinforcing the company’s vision to creating great moments for everyone every day. Qaranqasho has become an integral part of the Omani heritage and not only marks the middle of the blessed month but is a unique practise to motivate and encourage young children to observe fasting. During the much awaited celebrations, children and families visiting the malls will be able to enjoy special engaging activities and singing special songs for sweets as is traditionally done in neighbourhoods throughout the Sultanate. Muscat Municipality holds the celebration tonight in three locations: The Qurum Park, Al Naseem Park and the Qurayat Park at 8:30 pm. The municipality has finished all the arrangements to make a success out of this annual event that will include different activities and programmes to entertain the children. There will be some traditional music played as well. Have a great Qaranqasho! Questions We reached We reached out to a few people to ask them three questions regarding how they spend the holy month. Najeeb Cheriyakath MD ShipCo What does fasting mean to you? Fasting in Ramadhan is a cleansing process physically, mentally and indeed spiritually. It’s a God-given opportunity to find oneself in re-invention and set straight things, which at ones ability, every Muslim attempt to do. It gives more impetus to do good deeds beyond the regular five time prayers every day in Charity, Community Service, Social Causes and Nation Building which is part of Islamic faith. How do you feel during the fasting period? I feel light and energetic during the fasting period. During fasting, the mind is more sober and soft towards others. What activities do you have during the holy month? I eat light, drink more and feast little. I say a prayer for others who have nothing to eat and also say a prayer for those who fasted to be rewarded abundantly. I also make the ‘eating exercise’ short and sweet. @ sharedthoughts An aspect of dressing that’s often overlooked SHRUTI CHOWDHARY DALWAI [email protected] In general, accessories are what can make or break one’s outfit and if used correctly, they can elevate each and every individual’s lifestyle and look. There is one rule I would want to emphasise on though. Never Over Do It. T oday, we’re going to delve into the magical world of jewellery — an aspect of dressing that’s often overlooked. Arts and crafts has always been one of the most important industries in the Sultanate of Oman. From a very early age, they have always intrigued me that the journey to much loved souqs and different villages was and is such an educational and exciting excursion. There’s so much to see, learn and absorb! The one that has always been imprinted on my mind when I left these places is how culture has played a major role in uplifting the lifestyle of both men and women here. For example, silver! This versatile metal has been used for thousands of years to make eye-catching and stunning ornaments for Oman. Silver in Omani society is practically a gateway into the country’s opulent characteristics — used for adorning oneself and even for religious reasons. Silver is most often used to make the omani khanjars (daggers) worn by men or the exquisite jewellery worn by women which brings me to a subject very dear to me and that is how Accessories are symbolic of dressing here. It’s almost vital! In general, accessories are what can make or break one’s outfit and if used correctly, they can elevate each and every individual’s lifestyle and look. Today with emerging trends within the fashion industry here in the Sultanate — our talented designers have made the use of accessories important and something that is practically indispensable because they’re like the cherry on the cake. Once you’re dressed and looking at yourself in the mirror, the addition of an accessory is what makes your look complete. The versatility of jewellery is what makes it beautiful! It’s almost poetic what a necklace or a ring can do to your outfit. There’s no restrictions here so think pretty and delicate — or statement and striking, this accessory works for everyone’s tastes. Add to that the intricate culture and rich heritage the people of the Sultanate have, and you’ve lifted your outfit to a different level that speaks of elegance and culture and your innate fashion style. And here’s the beauty of it — the inheritance of the Sultanate is so lush in itself that its no surprise as to how the fashion industry has progressed keeping its roots and ethnicity intact. I often admire how the men adorn the khanjar with sophistication and aplomb. “The Omani Khanjar” is the traditional, curved, defensive dagger worn by the centre belt by Omani men as a badge of office and as head of the family. Omani Khanjars are status symbols also worn by civic dignitaries, heads of government, scholars of religion, VIPs and Omani ministers including the leader of the country, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. The Khanjar is truly an “ Iconic “ Omani emblem. The women on the other hand, adorn themselves with striking necklaces, rings, belts and charms that further accentuate their outfits since jewellery has been an essential part of Arabian dress for thousands of years. More than just personal decoration, jewellery epitomizes social and economic status. In the past, it was also an easily transportable form of wealth and security. However, today, traditional jewellery uses stones such as turquoise, garnets and amber from the Sultanate and its neighbouring countries’ rich mines, and pearls and coral from the coastal areas. Tiny bells, coins and chains are also used for embellishment. Designs primarily have evolved from Islamic calligraphy and motifs, and featured intricate patterns of geometric shapes, leaves, crescents and flowers. This is reflected in the souqs and villages where craftsmen work hard on designs and I’m often left wondering about their inspiration. But when you look around it’s easy to see that design has been around for years here. The arch and symmetry of a building, the intricate jaali work and trellises are all indicative of how these design concepts have flowed almost organically to society’s popular culture. Jewellery is often given a gold plating as well to adhere to different looks and outfits worn by women here and they know just how to accessorize correctly. I absolutely love the idea of moulding and creating new pieces in different designs and then seeing them worn at lifestyle events or at work or for a dinner out with the family because this aspect of fashion is versatile enough to take you from work to a dinner. There is one rule I would want to emphasise on though. Never Over Do It. Stick to layering delicate pieces or wear that one statement piece and let it be the centre of attention. I guarantee you that the luxurious feel of that perfect piece of jewellery on you will elevate your confidence level and will help you spread the word on just one more aspect of lifestyle — jewellery as an accessory! Shine on readers and stay well dressed always :) international ramadhan OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 sights&sounds 27 A day that changed the course of South African history June 16, 1976 One image, the photograph of 12-year-old Hector Pieterson being carried away after being shot dead by police, remains an enduring symbol of the Soweto Uprising and a reminder of the sacrifice that schoolchildren made in 1976 towards ending the apartheid regime. J une 16, 2016 is a day of recollection and remembrance in South Africa. It is the 40th anniversary of the Soweto Student Uprisings, a date that marks a significant shift in the struggle against apartheid. June Sixteen is a day violently etched on the South African collective conscience. Commemorated years later as Youth Day, an official holiday, this is the day that honours the deaths of hundreds of Soweto schoolchildren — a day that changed the course of the history of South Africa. On the 16th of June in 1976 a protest, led by high school students, erupted in response to the introduction of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in local schools. They tried a peaceful march but they were stopped and many of them were killed. The police and armed forces responded to the protest violently and the first photographed fatality of the day was Hector Pieterson, a 12-year-old pupil who was shot by the police. It is believed that 175 others were also killed that day. One image, the photograph of 12-yearold Hector Pieterson being carried away after being shot dead by police, remains an enduring symbol of the Soweto Uprising and a reminder of the sacrifice that school children made in 1976 towards ending the apartheid regime. The explosion of protest in Soweto served as a precursor to later historical and political events in South Africa. It drew the attention of the international community to the atrocities of the apartheid regime, began the processes that led to the end of apartheid, and paved the way for the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s first black president This year marks the 40th anniversary of that fateful day which profoundly changed the sociopolitical landscape in South Africa. The South African National Youth Day is a moment of thanksgiving dedicated to the young people of our country for the contribution they made to free South Africa from the tyranny of apartheid. It provides us with the opportunity to salute the courageous actions of our youth, whose struggle made it possible for us to begin the labour of love, to build a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa. The country has embarked on a monthlong programme to commemorate the 40th anniversary of June 16 1976, under the theme ‘Youth Taking South Africa Forward’, coordinated by the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). The programme is dedicated to enabling and encouraging South African youth to take up opportunities across various sectors, so as to better their lives and to effectively contribute to the development of the economy and the country. During Youth Month South Africans from Thailand’s king continues treatment for ‘water on the brain’ - palace T hailand’s 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest reigning monarch, has shown signs of improvement following treatment for “water on the brain”, the Royal Household Bureau said in a statement on Sunday. The king has been treated for various ailments during a year-long hospitalisation in the Thai capital. He was last seen in public in January, when he spent several hours visiting his Bangkok palace. The king, who celebrated 70 years of his reign on June 9, is seen as a unifying figure in a country that has faced decades of often deadly political upheaval. On a few occasions he has stepped in when events threatened to plunge the country into crisis. Nervousness over his health and the succession has formed the backdrop to more than a decade of political crisis in Thailand, where the military took power in a coup more than two years ago. The royal palace said the medical examination of the king showed he had more “water on the brain”, or hydrocephalus, a build-up of the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain. Fluid was drained from the king on Saturday with “satisfactory results”, the palace said in a statement. In a June 12 statement, the palace said the king had shown signs of improvement following surgery for narrowing of the arteries. News about the royal family is tightly controlled in Thailand. Laws protecting the royals from insult make it a crime to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen, heir to the throne or regent. — Reuters all walks of life participate in various rallies to commemorate June 16, to remember the difficult days of struggle that claimed many lives, and to salute the courageous young people who helped to accelerate the pace of our struggle for freedom. Last Saturday hundreds of South Africans of all races walked in the footsteps of the thousands of young heroes and heroines who died, were maimed and persecuted in 1976 as they fought the apartheid forces of repression four decades ago. They gathered in Soweto’s Orlando Stadium, where it all started, to complete, in 2016, the journey the students could not complete in 1976, and to pay homage to the young people who intervened 40 years ago to speed up our advance to freedom. In 1976 the students carried placards that read “Afrikaans stinks” and “To hell with Afrikaans”. This year survivors waved placards reading “Unity in diversity” and “Let’s all stand together as one”. We South Africans remember the youth of 1976 because they have left us a lesson that it is possible for young people to stand up and confront the challenges facing them. We remember them because they have left a legacy of bravery and determination in the face of what appeared to be insurmountable difficulties. We remember them because we would like the youth of today to follow their example of unwavering commitment as they confront modern day challenges of poverty and unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse, AIDS and other diseases, illiteracy, women and child abuse, and other problems that make the lives of the youth difficult. The message from the apartheid government was clear on June 16, 1976: Young people did not matter. They were seen as a threat to the status quo. There was no belief in the inherent worth of young people and their creativity, imagination and resilience. There was no active engagement with young people. There were no programmes to unearth the immense potential possessed by the youth. South Africa is a very different place today. The South African National Youth Policy 2020 clearly portrays the youth as assets whose power must be harnessed for the advancement of society. An important message to the young people of today would be that each one must take responsibility for their own development and for their own path towards economic freedom. While government and business can provide the opportunities, young people themselves must take the initiative to develop themselves and those around them. We, therefore, urge the youth of today to play their role in building a better South Africa and a stronger, united nation. Flavour of the season: Watermelon becomes king of summer R emember how mangoes ruled the menu cards last summer? This year the king of the fruits has been dethroned by refreshing watermelons. Full of health benefits and not burning a hole in your pocket, watermelons are now turning to be a preferred ingredient for restaurants and are used in salads, paired with cheese, juiced or slushed. “Watermelon is a seasonal fruit and has a lot of benefits. During summers it keeps you hydrated as it has a lot of water content. Mango on the other hand is a very traditional choice,” says Ashish Singh, a Corporate Chef. “With its cool appearance and refreshing taste, the watermelon flavour goes best with even in the desserts. This summer watermelon would be crowned as the ruler of the menu. Watermelons are more refreshing and easy to modify and mix with other flavours. Watermelon has become the “flavour of season and is being widely preferred in beverages, salads, appetisers and desserts. “Chilled watermelon dominates the salad section of any buffet — be it a five star hotel or a casual dining restaurant. Watermelon makes a refreshing snack, says Rahis Khan, executive chef. “It can be eaten in many ways. You can skewer it on kebabs, make a salsa, toss it in salads, whiz it to make soup, or juice it for a refreshing cocktail,” Khan added. Watermelon is also cost-effective. “Unlike watermelons, mangoes are highly priced and are available only in summers. Hence, the availabilty and health benefits of watermelon have made it the popular choice this season,” says Rajat Chandna, executive sous chef. “Since most people are getting conscious about healthy eating, I think that’s the primary reason for watermelon taking over as the summer fruit over mangoes. Not to forget most girls also get acne with consumption of mangoes, plus watermelon is cheaper on the pocket in comparison to mangoes.” basketballfootball Russian sports minister wants IAAF disbanded Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Sunday the world athletics’ governing body, IAAF, had unfairly shifted blame for the doping scandal to Russia’s athletics federation and should be disbanded, R-Sport agency reported. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Saturday backed the IAAF’s decision to extend its ban on Russia for systematic doping, ending any slim hopes that Russian athletes might have had of competing. sport OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 29 NBA: James and Curry have won six league MVP Awards between them but that will not help them at Oracle Arena when they clash Curry, LeBron in all-or-nothing Game 7 CLEVELAND: The two best storylines of the National Basketball Association season will produce only one happy ending in Sunday’s all-or-nothing NBA Finals Game Seven between Stephen Curry and the Warriors and LeBron James and the Cavaliers. James and Curry have won six league MVP Awards between them but that will not help them at Oracle Arena when Golden State strive to cap the NBA’s greatest single season and the Cavs set out to end Cleveland’s 52-year title drought. The city of Cleveland has not had a professional team sports title since the NFL Browns in 1964, and James left the Miami Heat to return to his home state two years ago on a mission to deliver a championship. “I’m going to give everything that I got,” four-time MVP James told reporters at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif on Saturday. James has shown what he has to offer in the last two games, when facing elimination trailing 3-1 in the best-ofGolden State Warriors guard seven, twice scoring 41 points. Stephen Curry (left) shoots Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said over Cleveland Cavaliers guard JR Smith (right) during James simply has to be himself. “He’s Game 6 of the NBA Finals in very capable of being special every Cleveland, Ohio. — AFP night.” James, playing in the Finals for a sixth year in a row including four in Miami, did not view Game Seven as pressurepacked. “It’s an opportunity for us to do regular season record (73-9) ever in the in six games last year in the Finals, Thompson that losing the NBA Finals already and haven’t gotten it done,” something special,” said James. NBA. would suck the joy out of an otherwise would make the season a “failure”. Curry said on Saturday. Golden State has already done But failing to crown that achievement wondrous campaign. “That was our goal from the “We have 48 minutes to do it, so if we something special, producing the best with another title, after beating the Cavs Curry agreed with team mate Klay beginning. We had two other chances come up short we’ll all be very, very, very Ronaldo ‘sad’ after night to forget PARIS: Cristiano Ronaldo crashed a penalty against the woodwork, blowing the chance to write his name into European Championship history, as Portugal stumbled to a second draw against Austria. Ronaldo was foiled again in his bid to become the first player to score at four consecutive European Championship finals. He at least set a new national record, making his 128th appearance for Portugal on Saturday to overtake Luis Figo. But the Real Madrid superstar will have bitter memories of the night after missing the 79th-minute spot kick. Austrian goalkeeper Robert Almer went the wrong way, but Ronaldo’s shot came off the post. “Obviously it was a goal to be the most capped international player, and also to be the national team’s top scorer,” Ronaldo said. “But obviously I’m a bit sad, because this wasn’t the way I wanted to break this record. The most beautiful way would have been ...,” he added shaking his head. “Obviously it wasn’t something we wanted,” he said of the result. “We had a lot of chances and we did well, but we weren’t able to finish. “I also missed some chances — a penalty and some other chances. But that’s part of football. We need to continue to believe.” The 0-0 draw at the Parc des Princes leaves Hungary, who gained a point in a 1-1 draw with Iceland, as the surprise Group F leaders with a game to play. Austria must win their final match to avoid going home. While it was a frustrating night for Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after missing an opportunity on goal during the Euro 2016 group F match at the Parc des Princes in Paris. — AFP Ronaldo, Belgium finally clicked after losing their opener to Italy as they crushed the Republic of Ireland 3-0 in Group E. Everton striker Romelu Lukaku scored a classy opener and added a second in Bordeaux while Alex Witsel also netted as Belgium finally showed why some observers have tipped them as outsiders for the title. Despite being outclassed, Ireland and captain John O’Shea expressed confidence they could still beat group winners Italy in their final group game on Thursday to reach the last 16. “We have a big chance now against Italy,” O’Shea said. “With a bit more discipline and control we can get something against Italy. “We dust ourselves down, see how everybody is and go for Italy in Lille.” RONALDO SELFIE In Paris, Portugal coach Fernando Santos refused to say how Ronaldo was feeling after his second disappointing display in the tournament. “I prefer not to talk about this subject,” Santos said. At the end of the match, Ronaldo made a fan who ran onto the pitch happy by allowing him to take a selfie before the man was bundled away by security guards. — AFP disappointed.” It would also brand the Warriors as the first NBA Finals team to squander a 3-1 lead. All 32 other teams that led 3-1 won the title. HOT-AND-COLD SERIES It has been a hot-cold series, with none of the games coming down to the final moments. Yet the aggregate score of the six games could not be closer, 610 points apiece, and the prospect of a compelling finale has reportedly raised the price for premium courtside tickets to nearly $50,000. Last year, the Cavs were decimated by injuries to guard Kyrie Irving and forward Kevin Love. Now the Warriors are wounded, having to soldier on without Australian center Andrew Bogut, out with a knee injury. His loss has allowed the Cavs and James in particular to drive aggressively to the hoop. Golden State forwards Andre Iguodala, last year’s Finals MVP and the Warriors’ choice to defend James, has been hobbled by a back injury. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Iguodala should be ready to go. “It’s Game Seven, and he’s Andre Iguodala so we know he’ll be out there.” Curry said he had to produce his best game of the season, if not his career. “I need to take it up another notch for Game Seven,” he said. “That’s what the greats do.” The prospect of a compelling finale has reportedly raised the price for premium courtside tickets to nearly $50,000. — Reuters ‘Nice’ Iceland fans prefer hugs to hooliganism MARSEILLE: A week after England and Russia supporters clashed and while flare-throwing and fighting have marred games elsewhere, fans of tiny Iceland say they prefer hugs to hooliganism at Euro 2016. Having the time of their lives, Icelanders said in Marseille they have come to their first ever European Championships to have fun and feel part of Europe. “I’m not sure life can get any better, it’s historic, great to be here,” Louise Ragnarsdottir said on the seafront of the southern city. “All my life I watched the tournaments on TV, now we are part of Europe’s party!” said the 28-year-old accountant from Reykjavik. Some 27,000 Iceland fans have travelled to France, almost 10 per cent of the Nordic island’s 330,000-strong population. No smaller country has ever featured at a Euro finals. “We live on a faraway island, just to go abroad at all is an experience,” said Ragnarsdottir. After the Group F tie with Hungary on Saturday pockets of Iceland fans gathered in Marseille’s Vieux Port district to chant “Boom-BoomHoooo!”, leaping in unison on the “Hoooo!”. “It’s our Viking song, synchronised and terrifying,” laughed Arni Gardar, an IT consultant from Reykjavik. “But we don’t mean to be scary, we are good Vikings not marauders, actually very nice, we come in peace,” he said. “Iceland is N-Iceland!” cried another fan, Jonina Unnur Gunnarsdottir. ‘Best fans yet’ “They are the best fans we have seen yet,” said Karim, a cafe owner watching the revelry on the Quai des Belges. “It was different last week,” he recalled. Nearly a week ago England and Russia fans conducted pitched battles in the worst violence at a football tournament since the 1998 World Cup, prompting police to respond with tear gas and baton charges. For fans of the Nordic minnows the Euro 2016 violence has been an eyeopening experience. “We are a peaceful nation, we have no army, no guns, we’re just not into fighting,” Atli Gudmundsson said. “At home families go to football, no-one dreams of ever causing trouble.” The 29-year-old attended the Croatia-Czech Republic tie in Saint Etienne on Friday where Croatian fans fought among themselves and lit flares, forcing a temporary stoppage in play. “Torches on the pitch, fighting in the stands, that kind of thing is new to us, it was quite shocking to see,” he said. ‘Share the love’ “We just want to hug people, I mean come on, just share the love,” said his friend Daniel Ma’sson. Hungary brought some 20,000 fans to the game in Marseille. Some scuffled with security guards before the game and threw flares on the pitch. — AFP Bale ‘over’ England defeat as Wales eye more history DINARD, France: Real Madrid star Gareth Bale insists Wales have overcome the disappointment of losing out to rivals England as he looks to fire his country into the last 16 of Euro 2016 with victory over Russia on Monday. Bale is tied for top scorer at the tournament having scored free-kicks in both Wales’ 2-1 opening win over Slovakia and heart-breaking, lastgasp defeat to neighbours England on Thursday. “Obviously after the game we were very disappointed, especially to lose in that manner, but we have to forget about it. It’s over,” Bale said on Saturday. “Our fate is in our own hands, and if you’d given us this at the start of the tournament we would have taken it.” Wales are appearing in their first ever European Championship, but just need to beat a hugely disappointing Russia side — who have taken a solitary point from their opening two games — to guarantee progression to the knockout stage. Chris Coleman’s side nearly withheld a second-half onslaught from England after Bale had given them the lead in Lens until Daniel Sturridge fired home the winner deep into stoppage time. And Bale wants to have an even more central role against Russia rather than relying on their defence, with a point also likely to be enough to seal qualification as one of the four best third-placed sides. “We’ve spoken about when we’re on the ball. We need to be better, more relaxed, move the ball like we have been in qualifying. “Maybe we haven’t done that as much and that’s an area we need to improve. “We’ve defended amazingly but, if we can get the ball down and play more, hopefully I can influence it a bit more.” Bale was at the Millennium Stadium as a 15-year-old when Russia beat Wales to seal a place in Euro 2004. However, he insists revenge isn’t on a new generation of Welsh players’ minds. “No one’s even thinking of that experience, we want to go in with a fresh mind,” he added. “It would mean everything to us to make the last 16 and hopefully we can grab the chance.” —AFP Iceland’s supporters react as they watch the Euro 2016 group F match between against Hungary in the Paris fan zone. — AFP football sport 30 OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 O’Shea laments lacklustre Irish display Republic of Ireland captain John O’Shea said his side lost their composure as two goals from Romelu Lukaku handed a rampant Belgium a 3-0 Euro 2016 Group E win in Bordeaux. Lukaku’s opener three minutes into the second half put Ireland on the back foot before Axel Witsel and another goal from the Everton striker rounded off a much-improved Belgian performance, after their opening 2-0 defeat to Italy. Vargas stars as Chile thrash Mexico COPA AMERICA: The 7-0 drubbing was Mexico’s worst ever defeat in the finals of a major tournament SANTA CLARA, United States: Eduardo Vargas scored four goals as holders Chile sent Mexico spinning to a historic 7-0 defeat to reach the semifinals of the Copa America Centenario here on Saturday. Hoffenheim forwards Vargas completed a hat-trick in 13 devastating minutes either side of half-time to send Chile into a semi-final against Colombia in Chicago on Wednesday. Vargas later dedicated his performance to his mother, who was earlier this week diagnosed with a heart problem in his homeland. “I’m very happy with the performance, I dedicate it to my mum and my family,” Vargas said. “We started this tournament badly but we’re getting stronger and stronger with every match,” he added. The drubbing was Mexico’s worst ever defeat in the finals of a major tournament. Their previous biggest loss was a 6-0 rout by West Germany at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. The rout was also only one goal away from equalling Mexico’s heaviest ever defeat in any international, an 8-0 thrashing by England in London in 1961. ‘A DISGRACE’ “I offer my sincere apologies to the Mexican fans, to all the Mexican people,” Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio said afterwards. “What we saw today was a disgrace, an accident of football,” he added. “Obviously there are more important things in the world than football, but that was a very poor display. “Chile had a great collective performance and extraordinary performance from its stars,” Osorio added. “But there is not seven goals difference between Chilean and Mexican football.” Vargas grabbed his fourth goal in the 74th minute to give Chile a 6-0 lead. Chile’s Eduardo Vargas shoots to score against Mexico during the Copa America Centenario quarterfinal in Santa Clara, California, United States, on Saturday. — AFP But the punishment did not finish there with Edson Puch adding a seventh in the 88th minute for his second of the match. Chile, winners of last year’s Copa America on home soil, had faced an intimidating atmosphere in front of a crowd of 70,547 people at the Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers. But despite the overwhelmingly pro- Slovakia can beat England, says Weiss DOHA: Slovakia forward Vladimir Weiss is backing his country to beat England in their crucial Euro 2016 Group B game. The teams meet on Monday in SaintEtienne with both sides looking to book a place in the last 16 of the competition. “We have beaten big teams before and if we play at our best we can beat anyone, even England,” said Weiss. England currently top the group with four points, one point ahead of third-placed Slovakia. A draw could be enough for both teams to progress but a defeat for either team in the high-stakes match could see one of them return home. The sides will approach the game with confidence having both won their second group matches 2-1 — England against Wales and Weiss’s Slovakia against Russia. “The win against Russia gives us a lot of confidence going into the last game. “We needed a win and we’re very happy that we got it. “I am sure England have seen our game against Russia and they know we will give it everything to get something from the final game to qualify,” he told the website of Qatar’s World Cup organising committee, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, www.sc.qa. Weiss currently plays his team football in Qatar with Al Gharafa. With the opening goal against Russia, Weiss made history by becoming the first ever player based outside Europe to score at the championships since they were first contested in 1960. The 26-year-old former Rangers and Manchester City player said he knew was going to hit the net before he shot. “Once I turned inside the two defenders, I knew I was going to score. “I was already thinking where I would go to celebrate the goal and I went to my parents. “I dedicated the goal to my mum, she knew I wasn’t happy after the first game. “She said my time will come, and it did,” he said. — AFP Slovakia’s midfielder Vladimir Weiss (right) dribbles past Russia’s Alexander Kokorin during the Euro 2016 group B match at the Pierre-Mauroy Stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, near Lille, on June 15, 2016. — AFP Mexico crowd, Chile were quicker to settle, with Puch opening the scoring on 16 minutes when he steered in a rebound from Marcelo Diaz’s shot after Guillermo Ochoa could only parry away. Vargas grabbed a second a minute before half-time to stun the crowd into silence as the teams headed in for the break. Chile then cut loose early in the second half with slick inter-play ripping apart a feeble Mexican defence at will. Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez made it 3-0 in the 49th minute before two more goals from Vargas in the 52nd and 57th minutes piled on the agony for Mexico. Several Mexican players visibly wilted in the face of the onslaught, and for periods the game resembled a training exercise for Chile as they swept forwards relentlessly. Vargas’s fourth made it 6-0 on the night before Puch then toe-poked home to complete the scoring. Brazilian referee Heber Lopes spared Mexico the possibility of greater humiliation, whistling for full-time almost on the stroke of 90 minutes, with no time added on. — AFP Day surges but Lowry leads as darkness halts US Open OAKMONT, United States: Ireland’s Shane Lowry was clinging to the lead on five-under par when darkness halted play in the third round of the US Open at Oakmont on Saturday. Lowry was holding off a bevy of players pushing for a first major title, starting with 624th-ranked Andrew Landry at three-under. England’s Lee Westwood, Spain’s Sergio Garcia and 36-hole leader Dustin Johnson of the United States three back at two-under on the back nine when night fell. All of the top five are chasing a major breakthrough, as is clubhouse leader Branden Grace of South Africa — who had six birdies in an impressive four-under par 66 for 209. But world number one Jason Day was on their heels, surging up the leaderboard with a 66 that included four birdies in his first five holes and an eagle at the par-five fourth — his 13th of the day. Day moved from 45th at the start of the round to tied for eighth on oneover. World number two and defending champion Jordan Spieth’s bid to make up ground was less successful. Spieth birdied three of his first four holes but made two bogeys and a double-bogey and just one more birdie the rest of the way to reach the clubhouse where he started — on fourover. — AFP Lowry was holding off a bevy of players pushing for a first major title, starting with 624th ranked Andrew Landry at three-under Messi equals record as Argentina cruise FLORIDA: Lionel Messi scored one and created two in his first Copa America Centenario start to lead Argentina to a 4-1 win over Venezuela — and into a semifinal against the United States. Argentina 4-1 Venezuela: Copa América — as it happened Gonzalo Higuain scores two and Lionel Messi gets his 54th international goal as Argentina ease past Venezuela, who played well but missed a penalty. Messi’s goal after an hour gave Argentina a 3-0 lead and was his 54th for the national team, equalling the record set by Gabriel Batistuta. The Barcelona star also became the leading scorer in this year’s Copa America with his fourth goal of the tournament. Argentina now have two days to rest before playing USA in Houston in a mouthwatering semifinal on Tuesday night. The Americans have been off since beating Ecuador on Thursday. With many fans in Gillette Stadium wearing Argentina and Barcelona shirts with “Messi 10” on the back, the five-time Fifa world player of the year started the game after playing a total of just 74 minutes in the three group stage matches. Just eight minutes in, he found Gonzalo Higuain with a brilliant long pass, and the Napoli striker made it 1-0. Messi gathered it in from the right touchline and lofted a beautiful pass to Higuain, who split two defenders and beat Dani Hernandez with a wellstruck low shot. Higuain scored again in the 28th to make it 2-0, picking up an errant backpass by Venezuela midfielder Arquimedes Figuera and sidestepping Hernandez before slotting home. In the 42nd minute, Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero tripped Josef Martinez in the box, but from the resulting penalty, Luis Manuel Seijas got it all wrong: he tried to chip it down the middle, but Romero stood tall and caught it with ease. Salomon Rondon had earlier hit the post with a header. Messi made it 3-0 when he took a pass from Nicolas Gaitan just outside the six-yard box and poked home. It followed another defensive error. Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain celebrates after scoring against Venezuela during the Copa America Centenario quarterfinal in Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States. on Saturday. — AFP Argentina’s Lionel Messi controls the ball during the Copa America Centenario quarterfinal in Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States, on Saturday. — AFP motorsporttennis sport OMANDAILYOBSERVER M O N DAY l J U N E 2 0 l 2 0 1 6 Rosberg on pole in Baku City EUROPEAN GP: Lewis Hamilton suffered a crash damaging the front right tyre Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team’s driver Nico Rosberg (left) and Red Bull Racing’s Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo steer their cars during the European Formula One Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit in Baku. — AFP BAKU: Nico Rosberg will start on pole for the inaugural European Grand Prix in Baku with his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton only 10th after a calamitous qualifying session on the tricky street circuit on Saturday. Hamilton was quickest in all three practice sessions but the world champion had an error-strewn qualifying culminating in him crashing his Mercedes in Q3. Rosberg took full advantage of Hamilton’s misfortune. The championship-leading German clipped the wall on his fastest lap in Q3 on his way to a lap in one minute and 42.758 seconds after Hamilton did the same, but more severely in the track’s narrowest section, damaging his front right tyre. Hamilton was forced to pull up and, as he walked away, the session was red-flagged to a halt with two minutes remaining as marshals cleared the debris. “I couldn’t tell you what the possibilities are for tomorrow,” he said. “It’s damage limitation from here. The team made a change to something overnight, but I just wasn’t was on it today.” Rosberg, understandably, was happier. “It was great,” he said. “That was one of the more challenging sessions out there, but everything worked out well. “All weekend, we have been building towards this and qualifying was really optimum.” When the action resumed, Sergio Perez wound up second fastest for Force India, but the Mexican will start from seventh after picking up a fiveplace penalty for a gearbox change after crashing in the final free practice. This meant that Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who was third for Red Bull, will start Sunday’s race alongside Sri Lanka’s stricken Eranga banned for illegal action LONDON: Hospitalised Sri Lanka paceman Shaminda Eranga has been banned from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect because of an illegal action, the International Cricket Council announced on Sunday. The ICC’s statement came just hours after Eranga had been taken to a Dublin hospital to undergo tests on an elevated heartbeat after he fell ill during Sri Lanka’s 136-run win over Ireland in the second one-day international at Malahide on Saturday. “The International Cricket Council today (Sunday) announced that an independent assessment has found the bowling action of Sri Lanka’s Shaminda Eranga to be illegal and, as such, the fast bowler has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect,” said a statement issued by the global governing body. “The assessment revealed that all deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations,” the statement added of a test carried out at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough, central England, an ICC accredited testing centre, on June 6. “Eranga’s international suspension will also be recognised and enforced by all National Cricket Federations for domestic cricket events played in their own jurisdiction, save that, with the consent of Sri Lanka Cricket, Eranga may be able to play in domestic cricket events played in Sri Lanka under the auspices of Sri Lanka Cricket.” Eranga, who turns 30 on Thursday, will be able to return to international cricket if he passes a fresh test after modifying his bowling action He had his action reported after the second Test against England at Chesterle-Street last month. Eranga opened Sri Lanka’s bowling in the first innings of that match, taking none for 100 in 27 overs during England’s 498 for nine declared. The right-armer then bowled just one over in England’s second innings as they chased down a target of 79 for victory. Under ICC regulations, Eranga was allowed to continue playing until the results of his test were known and he featured in the drawn third Test at Lord’s, a result that saw England to an overall 2-0 series win, where he took one for 94 and three for 58. Saturday saw Eranga, who has now appeared in 19 Tests and the same number of ODIs, come out to face the final ball of Sri Lanka’s innings at Malahide but he did not bowl and instead went to hospital. “Eranga had an elevated heartbeat prior to the innings commencing and was taken to hospital for tests,” Sri Lanka team manager Charith Senanayake told the ESPNcricinfo website. “He’s doing good but in hospital till Monday to complete all tests.” The ICC’s ban means Eranga will take no part in the upcoming five-match one-day international series against England, which starts at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge ground on Tuesday. — AFP Rosberg on the front row. The two Ferraris of four-time champion Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were fourth and fifth ahead of Felipe Massa of Williams, Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso and Valtteri Bottas in the second Williams. Dutch teenager Max Verstappen was ninth in the second Red Bull ahead of Hamilton, who after wins in Monaco and Montreal has trimmed Rosberg’s lead inh the drivers’ title race to nine points. On a hot dry afternoon in the Azerbaijan capital, where the track temperature fell gradually from 41 to 36 degrees Celsius, Jenson Button failed to make it past Q1 in his McLaren. Unhappy about the safety of the circuit, the 2009 champion was eliminated along with Indonesian Rio Haryanto, who was a creditable 17th for Manor and his team-mate Pascal Wehrlein, 18th. Button exited Q1, for the first time this year, in 19th. Behind them, Swede Marcus Ericsson of Sauber was 20th ahead of the two Renaults of Dane Kevin Magnussen and Briton Jolyon Palmer. In Q2, a spectacular spin by Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg at Turn 16 wrecked his lap and, with it, Hamilton’s, as the champion was behind him. Rosberg rammed home his advantage with an impressive lap in 1:42.520, nearly two seconds faster than the rest. This left Hamilton under pressure and it worsened when he locked up at Turn Seven on his next lap, leaving him with only seconds to spare to clock one that counted to lift him back to second amid a spate of yellow flags. Out went Romain Grosjean of Haas, Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz of Toro Rosso, Fernando Alonso of McLaren, Esteban Gutierrez in the second Haas and Felipe Nasr of Sauber. — AFP Hamilton refuses to blame Baku track for qualifying crash BAKU: Lewis Hamilton insisted that it was his own mistake that caused him to crash out of the third session of qualifying for Sunday’s European Grand Prix in Baku. The defending world champion quelled concerns over the track in the Azerbaijani capital on Friday, and refused to blame the set-up after his error gave him just 10th place on the grid, while Mercedes team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg stormed to pole position. Hamilton’s accident happened as he came out of a narrow complex of corners around Baku’s Old City walls, where he clipped a barrier at turn 11. The impact broke his front suspension. “I don’t think Baku bit me, I think I tried to take too much and I tried to bite it — and it didn’t work,” he said. “It’s me, it’s nothing to do with the track and nothing to do with the team. I just wasn’t driving well.” Hamilton had topped all three practice sessions, but admitted he was off-form when it came to qualifying. “I’ve not too much to say,” the Briton said. “I just wasn’t on it. Radwanska has a decent pedigree on grass, winning junior Wimbledon in 2006, taking Eastbourne honours two years later and also playing the 2012 Wimbledon final as well as making two semifinals at the All England Club “It’s a fine line between being on it and not being on it and today was just one of those days. “I don’t have an answer for it, but I will try and make up for it tomorrow. It’s always difficult, but I’ll give it my best shot. “The other times were not my fault, but today was my fault so apologies for the team and I’ll try and make up for it.” He added that overnight changes to his set-up had made him feel uncomfortable with his car. “I wasn’t getting the groove — one corner was good, one corner was bad. It was the most uncomfortable I have been in the car for a long, long time. I can’t really express or understand it exactly. “I just couldn’t get into any rhythm. I’ll try to get away from the hustle and bustle here, as early as possible, and get a good night’s sleep. “Then I’ll come back tomorrow and try and pick it up.” ROSBERG WARY OF HAMILTON Rosberg warned that he still expects a serious challenge for victory from Hamilton, who he leads by nine points in the drivers’ standings. — AFP Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain at the pit lane during the qualifying session. — Reuters Struggling Radwanska seeks seaside tonic EASTBOURNE, United Kingdom: Struggling top seed Agnieszka Radwanska will be searching for her first victory of the pre-Wimbledon grass court season when the Eastbourne International begins on Monday. The world number three has played only one match so far this season on the lawns, going out in Birmingham to CoCo Vandeweghe. “The first match is always tricky pretty much without practice on grass,” Radwanska said. “I need a couple of more days to adjust. Hopefully Eastbourne will be better.” Radwanska has a decent pedigree on grass, winning junior Wimbledon in 2006, taking Eastbourne honours two years later and also playing the 2012 Wimbledon final as well as making two semi-finals at the All England Club. But so far in 2016 results have been modest for the Pole, who lost in the Australian Open semi-finals and went out in the Roland Garros fourth round. Her only title in 2016 came in Shenzhen 31 just after Australia. The field at Devonshire Park features seven former tournament champions -Swiss Belinda Bencic (2015), Madison Keys (2014), Elena Vesnina (2013), Ekaterina Makarova (2010), Caroline Wozniacki (2009), Radwanska (2008) and Svetlana Kuznetsova (2004). The top of the draw is populated by five of the world’s top 10 — Radwanska, US Open finalist Roberta Vinci, Bencic, fellow Swiss Timea Bacsinszky and double Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova who, like Radwanska, is also scratching for form. All 16 seeds have byes into the second round for the final tune-up week prior to the start of Wimbledon on June 27. Italian Vinci takes the second seeding while number three Bencic will be testing her fitness after making a return this month after missing more than two months with back pain. After playing a semi-final in Poland’s Agnieska Radwanska reacts during the first round. — Reuters ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the 19-year-old was unable to complete her first-round match in Birmingham against Irina Begu. Bacsinszky is seeded fourth, ahead of Kvitova and Russia’s two-time Grand Slam winner Kuznetsova (sixth). Australian Samantha Stosur takes the seventh seeding as she works with a temporary coach after parting company for the second time with longtime mentor David Taylor. MONDAY | JUNE 20, 2016 | RAMADHAN 14, 1437 AH sport RONALDO SAD AFTER NIGHT TO FORGET P29 www.omanobserver.om [email protected] VARGAS SCORES FOUR AS CHILE THRASH MEXICO P30 ROSBERG ON POLE IN BAKU AS HAMILTON CRASHES P31 ROMELU ROMP Lukaku scores twice as Belgium batter Ireland Combination of four pictures shows Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo gesturing on the pitch during the Euro 2016 group F match against Austria at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Saturday. — AFP Portugal draw 0-0 with Austria as Ronaldo misses penalty PARIS: Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty as Portugal drew 0-0 with Austria at Euro 2016 on Saturday, leaving both sides winless and in danger of missing the knock-out stages. Ronaldo’s spot kick in the 78th went against the left post as the Real Madrid star’s frustration culminated after several earlier misses in his Portuguese record 128th cap and Euros-record equalling 16th appearance. Nani headed against the left post at the Parc des Princes in front of 44,291 fans as Portugal dominated but were frustrated again after an opening 1-1 against Iceland. Austria, who had lost their first game 2-0 against Hungary, came closest from Martin Harnik’s early header and a second-half drive from Stefan Ilsanker. Both must now finally deliver in the last round in Group F Wednesday if they want to stay in the tournament, with Portugal (two points) up against group leaders Hungary (four) and Austria (one) facing Iceland(two). Austria missed playmaker Zlatko Junuzovic with an ankle injury and defender Aleksandar Dragovic on suspension, with Ilsanker and Sebastian Proedl taking their places. In addition, coach Marcel Koller brought in Marcel Sabitzer for Marc Janko, moving David Alaba further up in midfield and Martin Harnik right up front. Portugal coach Fernando Santos made two changes, with William Carvalho and Ricardo Quaresma on for Joao Mario and Danilo - after he had already said Friday that Ronaldo, Nani and Quaresmo could be fielded together. Portugal earned two early corners but the first chance came on the other end, Sabitzer’s cross from the right a touch too high for the unmarked Harnik to head dangerously towards Rui Patricio’s goal. Austrian goalkeeper Robert Almer then made a crucial double save, first sticking out his left leg to deny Nani from a left angle, and then diving to palm away Vieirinha’s long-range effort on there bound. The first moment of Ronaldo, who had made himself unpopular with some remarks directed against Iceland after the first game, finally arrived in the 22nd but his low shot breezed just wide left off Nani’s cross from the left. Seven minutes later Nani headed against the left post as a goal seemed only a matter of time against a more and more nervous Austrian defence, with Almer then thwarting a header and a tame shot from Ronaldo. The last chance of the half however belonged to Austria as Vieirinha needed to clear away a dangerous free-kick from the otherwise below-par Alaba with Harnik lurking. So did the first after the break as Ilsanker unleashed from long range with Rui Patricio just getting his fingertips on it. — dpa BORDEAUX, France: Belgium rediscovered their most blistering form to batter group E rivals Ireland 3-0 thanks to a brace from Romelu Lukaku and an Axel Witsel header on Saturday. The victory of the world’s second-ranked team was in stark contrast to their limp defeat in their opening Euro 2016 match against Italy. Despite dominating the opening half, it still took until the opening minutes of the second period for Belgium to take the lead when Lukaku finished a counter-attack by rifling a shot into the far corner. Ireland had a brief positive spell but Witsel made it two for Belgium with a pinpoint header after 61 minutes, and Lukaku completed the rout with a simple finish after another counterattack nine minutes later. With Italy having beaten both the Belgians and Sweden to win the group, the victory puts Belgium in second place on three points with the Irish and Sweden stuck on a point apiece. “We were under pressure before today,” Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne, the game’s outstanding player, said. “And we came out with the right reponse.” Belgium’s forward Romelu Lukaku celebrates his team’s Coach Marc Wilmots third goal during the Group E made three changes to match against Ireland. — AFP the Belgium line-up that struggled against Italy, and they immediately appeared more vibrant and cohesive. Their speed and fluidity improved, with the introduction of Thomas Meunier and Yannick Carrasco giving them a menace out wide which had been missing in their opener. De Bruyne kept his place despite a subdued showing against Italy and, vastly improved, he set the tone with a searing 13th-minute corner which Toby Alderweireld headed wide, before finding his range with a free kick. Ireland were not without their own threat, as Meunier’s adventures down the right flank left space for Shane Long to exploit, although Martin O’Neill’s side ultimately failed to register a single shot on target during the entire 90 minutes. — Reuters Late own goal saves Hungary from being frozen out MARSEILLE: An own-goal by Iceland’s Birkir Savarsson in the dying seconds rescued a draw for Hungary in a frenetic Euro 2016 clash that keeps both team’s hopes alive of a second round berth. A first-half penalty by Gylfi Sigurdsson put little Iceland on course for a fairytale win. But the European Championship newcomers succumbed to waves of late Hungarian pressure. With 88 minutes gone, substitute Nemanja Nikolic sent a low ball into the area and the onrushing Savarsson touched the ball into his own net. “It feels like a loss, we were so close, we were going for the three points, but we failed to finish the game off,” said man of the match Iceland striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson. “Any team that concedes a goal that late, we were happy with a point agaist Portugal but we are disaapointed with a draw against Hungary,” said joint Iceland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson. “The dressing room was silent ater the game, we were so close to securing (qualification) but we were Iceland’s defender Birkir Saevarsson (centre) scores an own goal during the Group F match against Hungary at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on Saturday. — AFP playing a very good team, maybe tomorrow we will be happy with a point against Hungary,” he added. The Magyars’ coach Bernd Storck said his side deserved the point against an Iceland side that Portugal also struggled to break down. “We never gave up, we always believed, we had so much possession, my side always tried to play football and create chances,” he said. Prior to the tournament both teams viewed this Marseille tie as their best opportunity to get a win. But unfancied Hungary’s shock 2-0 victory against Austria on Tuesday meant a slot in the last-16 beckoned if they could beat the Scandinavians. Hungary had more of the ball throughout, but, more used to playing a counterattacking game, they failed to craft clearcut openings against a physical Iceland defence. — AFP No time for regrets despite ‘unfair’ draw, says Santos PARIS: Portugal boss Fernando Santos demanded his players keep their spirits high going into their final Group F game at Euro 2016 despite a frustrating 0-0 draw against Austria on Saturday. Portugal fired 23 shots at the Austria goal in Paris, six of which were on target, but again failed to take three points after Cristiano Ronaldo missed a 79th-minute penalty. Nani also hit the post with a header in the first half of a game Portugal dominated throughout, only to find themselves with just two points after two matches. “We’re going through a tough time right now but we need to switch tack immediately. We can’t wallow in despair right now, that cannot happen,” said Santos. “This draw was unfair but it’s useless to discuss it like that,” he said. “We can’t concentrate on what chances we missed and how many chances we missed. “We have to build on the positives and put it all together in the next game. This is our first ‘final’ of the Euros.” Following a 1-1 draw with Iceland in their opening game, Portugal’s wastefulness again proved costly and defeat to surprise leaders Hungary on Wednesday would result in a shock elimination. But Santos believes his side are one good performance away from clicking into gear in France. — AFP
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