OMAN DAILY

Editor-in-chiefAbdullah bin Salim al Shueili

Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and AdvertisingPO Box 974, Postal Code 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

editor@omanobserver.om www.omanobserver.om

TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 20, 2018 | RABEE AL AWWAL 12, 1440 AH VOL. 38 NO. 6 | PAGES 16 | BAISAS 200

POLLUTION CUTS AVERAGE INDIAN’S LIFE EXPECTANCY

UNDERSEA GAS FIRES EGYPT’S REGIONAL ENERGY DREAMS P5

P8

INSIDESTORIES

MUSCAT: On behalf of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, HH Sayyid Shihab bin Tareq al Said presided over the recital of the Prophet’s (PBUH) Biography organised on the occasion of the birthday of the Prophet (PBUH) at Al Mawlid Hall at Al Alam Palace. It was attended by their highnesses, ministers, advisers, and others. May Allah return this occasion and similar occasions on His Majesty while he enjoys good health, happiness, long life, and the Omani people enjoy more progress and prosperity under the wise leadership of His Majesty.

BRUSSELS: European ministers signed off on Britain’s draft divorce deal on Monday as they launched a “painful” final week of negotiations on future cross-Channel ties. Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and the Union’s Austrian rotating presidency said the negotiated text would be presented to EU leaders at a signing summit on Sunday. “The first, difficult step is done,” said Austrian European affairs minister Gernot Bluemel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, after the ministers’ meeting. DETAILS ON P8

OMAN

Recital of Prophet’s biography held

EU agrees terms of ‘painful’ Brexit

follow us @omanobserver

P11NISSAN CHAIRMAN GHOSN ARRESTED OVER FINANCIAL MISCONDUCT

P16 P14KANE STUNNER SINKS CROATIA

EGYPTIANS CELEBRATE FALCONRY HERITAGE

Editor-in-chiefAbdullah bin Salim al Shueili

PRAYER TIMINGS

WEATHER TODAY

MUSCATMAX: 290CMIN: 240C

SALALAHMAX: 320CMIN: 230C

NIZWAMAX: 310CMIN: 190C

SUNRISE 06.24 AM

FAJR: 05:06DHUHR: 11:57ASR: 15:04MAGHRIB: 17:25ISHA: 18:39

WORLD

Assigned by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, His Highness

Sayyid Asaad bin Tareq al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for

International Relations and Cooperation Affairs, Personal

Representative of His Majesty the Sultan, received at his

office on Monday Mohammad Sadiq Sanjrani, Chairman of the Pakistani

Senate, currently visiting the Sultanate. The meeting exchanged cordial

conversations and discussed aspects of the existing cooperation between

the two countries in various fields of common concern. The meeting was

attended by Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh al Mantheri, Chairman of the State

Council, the Secretary-General and the two Advisers at the Office of

HH Sayyid Asaad, Ali Javed, Ambassador of Pakistani to the Sultanate,

and the delegation accompanying the guest. — ONA SEE ALSO P3

SULTANATE, PAKISTAN REVIEW RELATIONS

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos

has received more cables of greetings

on the occasion of the 48th Glorious

National Day from leaders of the sisterly

and friendly countries, as well as heirs

apparent and heads of governments.

His Majesty received cables of

greetings from the Custodian of the

Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin

Abdulaziz al Saud of Saud Arabia,

Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan,

President of the United Arab Emirates,

King Hamad bin Issa al Khalifa of the

Kingdom of Bahrain, Shaikh Tamim

bin Hamad al Thani, Emir of the State

of Qatar, Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmed

Al Jabir al Sabah, Emir of the State of

Kuwait, King Abdallah II of Jordan,

King Mohammed VI of Morocco,

President Beji Caid Essebsi of Tunisia,

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of

Algeria, President Ismail Omar Guelleh

of Djibouti, Omar Hassan Ahmed al

Bashir, President of Sudan, President

Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo of

Somalia, Dr Barham Salih, President

of Iraq, President Mahmoud Abbas of

the State of Palestine, Chairman of the

Executive Committee of the Palestine

Liberation Organization, Gen Michel

Aoun, President of the Lebanese

Republic, President Abdel Fattah el

Sisi of Egypt, Sultan Haji Hassanal

Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam,

President Joko Widodo of Indonesia,

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of

Uzbekistan, President Dr Arif Alvi

of Pakistan, President Mohammad

Abdul Hamid of Bangladesh, President

Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon,

President Sooronbay Jeenbekov of the

Kyrgyz Republic, President Nursultan

Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, King

Felipe VI of Spain, Queen Elizabeth

II of the United Kingdom of Great

Britain and Northern Ireland, Head of

the Commonwealth, King Philippe of

Belgium, King Maha Vajiralongkorn

of Thailand, King Carl XVI Gustaf of

Sweden, King Willem-Alexander of

the Netherlands, Emperor Akihito of

Japan, President Armen Sarkissian of

Armenia, Peter Cosgrove, Governor-

General of the Commonwealth of

Australia, President Kersti Kaljulaid

of Estonia, President Frank-Walter

Steinmeier of Germany, President

Donald Trump of the United States of

America,

His Majesty greeted by world leaders on National Day

TURN TO P2

Tunisia’s Mahir wins gold in Arab Mountain BikingTunisian Mahir al Habouri clinched the gold in the second Arab Mountain Biking Championshiphosted by the Sultanate on Monday. The Oman Cycling Committee organised the event for the first time from November 17 to 19. Shaikh Saad bin Mohammed al Saadi, Minister of Sports Affairs, was the chief guest for the concluding ceremony at the Royal Army of Oman’s (RAO) range.

DETAILS ON P15

LAKSHMI KOTHANETHMUSCAT, NOV 19

The Industrial Innovation

Centre plans to train 1,000

Omani job-seekers on

innovation, especially new

ideas, on business or other

projects, said Ahmed bin

Hassan al Dheeb, Under-

Secretary at the Ministry of

Commerce and Industry. They

will be trained in phases.

A part of the Public

Establishment of Industrial Estates

(Madayn), the centre is currently

training 100 job-seekers. It has

already finished training 100

people.

The centre’s task is to encourage

innovative ideas, especially in the

manufacturing sector, besides

assisting the manufacturing sector

in transferring new technology for

enhancing productivity.

The Industrial Innovation

Centre, currently located at Rusayl

Industrial

Estate, will

move to Knowledge

Oasis Muscat once the new

building is ready. The Ministry of

Commerce and Industry is working

with the University of Sohar as part

of the Tanfeedh.

“We are working with the

University of Sohar to establish

a professional Product Design

Centre, which will function as a

prototype facility as well as advance

manufacturing workshop,”

said Al Dheeb.

“If an individual/

company has a new idea,

they can come to the

centre and see how their

product will ultimately

look like. This is where

they can analyse and

add a new dimension to

the product.”

According to him, the

centre aims at producing

quality products in Oman

and “reducing dependence

on products from outside the

country”.

The ministry registers all forms

of innovation in manufacturing,

information technology and other

services.

A centre has always been there,

but it has been named Industrial

Innovation Centre with a renewed

focus.

INNOVATION CENTRE’S NEW TRAINING TARGET

100 TO 1,000

TURN TO P3

TURN TO P3

MUSCAT: With the noble

blessing of His Majesty Sultan

Qaboos, Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal

al Busaidy, Minister of the Diwan

of Royal Court, announced the

launch of the National Program

for the Development of Executive

Leaderships for both the

government and private sectors.

His Majesty has given instruction

to launch a national programme that

includes the executive leaders from

the public and private sectors and

accommodates rapid developments

in the fields of government work

and business world, and builds on

the gains from the previous national

programmes launched by the Diwan

of Royal Court in order to achieve

the result and the overall returns,

and provide participants with

advanced leadership experiences

with modern methods of joint work

to enhance the competitiveness

and transformation efforts of

the new economy to support the

development orientations of the

Sultanate.

Sayyid Khalid said that the

new national programme reflects

the Royal attention and care for

the importance of partnership

between the public and private

sectors in thought, planning

and implementation methods

in line with modern scientific

developments, which establishes

new shift in the Omni economy

which hosts the outcome of modern

technology, as the success of the

transformation of any economy is

linked to the ability of government

and private institutions to growth

of knowledge and development in a

balanced manner.

National program forleadership launched

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His Majesty greeted by leaders on National DayFROM PAGE 1

President Sergio Mattarella of

Italy, President Pierre Nkurunziza

of Burundi, President Alexander

Lukashenko of Belarus, President

Vladimir Putin of the Russian

Federation, President Alain Berset of

the Swiss Confederation, President

Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka,

President Xi Jinping of China, President

Emmanuel Macron of France, President

Nicos Anastasiades of Cyprus,

President Moon Jae-in of the Republic

of Korea, President Enrique Pena Nieto

of Mexico, President Khaltmaagiin

Battulga of Mongolia, President

Alexander van der Bellen of Austria,

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari of

Nepal, President Ram Nath Kovind of

India, Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid

al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President, PM

and Ruler of Dubai, Shaikh Sultan bin

Mohammed al Qasmi, Member of the

UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of

Sharjah, Shaikh Humaid bin Rashid al

Nuaimi, Member of the UAE Supreme

Council and Ruler of Ajman, Shaikh

Hamad bin Mohammed al Sharqi,

Member of the UAE Supreme Council

and Ruler of Fujairah, Shaikh Saud

bin Rashid al Mualla, Member of the

UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of

Umm Al Quwain, Shaikh Saud bin

Saqr Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE

Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras

Al Khaimah, Prince Mohammed

bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,

Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister,

Minister of Defence of Saudi Arabia,

Prince Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa,

Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme

Commander and First Deputy Prime

Minister of Bahrain, Shaikh Nawaf

Al Ahmad Al Jaber al Sabah, Crown

Prince of Kuwait, Shaikh Abdullah

bin Hamad al Thani, Deputy Emir of

Qatar, Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed

al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

and Deputy Supreme Commander of

the UAE Armed Forces, Shaikh Sultan

bin Mohammed bin Sultan al Qasimi,

Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of

Sharjah, Shaikh Ammar bin Humaid

al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman,

Shaikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin

Mohammed al Sharqi, Crown Prince

of Fujairah, Shaikh Rashid bin Saud

al Mualla, Crown Prince of Umm Al

Quwain, Shaikh Mohammed bin Saud

al Qasimi, Crown Prince of Ras Al

Khaimah, Shaikh Ahmed bin Sultan

al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah,

Shaikh Abdullah bin Salim al Qasimi,

Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, Shaikh Nasser

bin Rashid al Nuaimi, Deputy Ruler

of Ajman, Emir Khalifa bin Salman

al Khalifa, PM of Bahrain, Shaikh

Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al

Thani, PM and Minister of Interior

in Qatar, Shaikh Jaber al Mubarak al

Hamad al Sabah, PM of Kuwait, Adil

Abdul-Mahdi, PM of Iraq, Shaikha

Hasina Wazed, PM of Bangladesh, Juri

Ratas, PM of Estonia, Narendra Modi,

PM of India, Prayuth Chan-ocha, PM

of Thailand, and Ahmed Aboul Gheit,

Secretary-General of the Arab League.

His Majesty also received greetings

cables from senior international figures,

their highnesses, ministers, advisors,

commanders of the Sultan’s Armed

Forces, Royal Oman Police and other

security units, members of the State

Council and Majlis Ash’shura, under-

secretaries, Omani ambassadors, heads

of the diplomatic corps in the Sultanate,

representatives of the international

organisations and bodies, shaikhs,

dignitaries and citizens.

In their cables, the well-wishers

expressed their sincere greetings

along with best wishes of good health,

happiness and long life to His Majesty

the Sultan, and the Omani people

further progress and growth under His

Majesty’s wise leadership.

His Majesty the Sultan replied

to the well-wishers on this glorious

occasion. His Majesty expressed his

utmost thanks and appreciation for

their sincere greetings, best wishes and

noble feelings.

His Majesty prayed to Allah the

Almighty to perpetuate health and

wellbeing on them, and for the return

of happy occasions on them to achieve

aspirations of progress and prosperity

for peoples of their countries. — ONA

ROYAL COURT AFFAIRS HONOURS EMPLOYEESMUSCAT: The Royal Court Affairs

on Monday honoured many of

its employees and retirees as part

of the 13th annual ceremony

for incentivizing and honouring

employees, at the grand hall of Sultan

Qaboos University (SQU).

The ceremony was presided over

by Nasr bin Hamoud al Kindi, Royal

Court Affairs Secretary-General,

and attended by directors-general

of departments of the Royal Court

Affairs and many employees.

The event is aimed at expressing

gratitude to the employees for

their efforts during their years of

employment as well as honouring

those who have contributed to the

work of the Royal Court Affairs.

Other staff such as those with

outstanding achievements and

projects, officers awarded for long

service and good conduct, and

officers awarded with special medals

were also honoured.

The ceremony began with

the singing of the Royal Anthem

followed by recitation of verses from

the Holy Quran.

The chief guest honoured retirees

as well as employees who have

worked for 25 years at the Royal

Court Affairs.

The chief guest conferred medals

of long service and good conduct on

officers and presented them with a

special medal.

A special YouTube channel

dedicated to the honouring

ceremonies of the Royal Court

Affairs was launched on the occasion.

Yahya bin Salih al Hajri from the

office of the organisation adviser at

the secretary-general’s office, was

named the Best Employee of the

Year.

The event concluded with an

operetta titled ‘Oman, Castle of

Peace’. It reflected Omani people’s

love to the country and His Majesty

Sultan Qaboos.

The operetta’s message was

inspired by His Majesty’s address

to the Council of Oman in 2011 in

which His Majesty thanked all those

who contributed to protecting the

nation, its achievements and stability.

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OBSERVATORY OPENED IN SEEB

An astronomy club and observatory was opened at Ka’ab bin Zaid School in Seeb on Sunday by Ali bin Khalfan al Jabri, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Information. The opening of this club aims at spreading the knowledge about astronomy and science among students and the public. The ceremony included patriotic songs, poems and a short play to commemorate the 48th Glorious National Day. — ONA

AMAL AL RIYAMI NIZWA, NOV 19

Nizwa Hospital has signed a two-

year partnership pact with the

Oman Hereditary Blood Disorders

Association in an attempt to reduce

genetic blood diseases.

An initiative titled ‘Awareness and

Partnership for a Generation Free

from Haematological Haematology’

was inaugurated on the sidelines of

a health seminar at Nizwa Cultural

Center. The seminar was held under

the patronage of Shaikh Majid bin

Khalifa al Harthi, Wali of Samayil,

and attended by specialists from

civil society organisations.

Dr Khalifa bin Hamad al Shaqsi,

Director, Nizwa Hospital, in his

speech, spoke about the problems

faced by patients with genetic

diseases and about His Majesty

Sultan Qaboos’s concerns over the

same. While recommending pre-

marital examination, he said it will

help reduce the spread of hereditary

blood diseases. After the initiative

was launched by Shaikh Al Harthi,

Wali of Samayil, the hospital

director and chairman of the Oman

Haematology Society signed the

partnership agreement.A discussion

was started by Khaled bin Saleh al

Zadjali, media broadcaster, with Prof

Salem bin Salem al Kindi, Professor

and Consultant of Haematology at

Sultan Qaboos University Hospital,

on the importance of pre-marital

clinics in health institutions across

the country.

There are about 1,300 patients

with genetic blood diseases in

Nizwa hospital and about 8,000 in

the Sultanate. “The number is quite

frightening,” he said.

Shaikh Salem bin Ali al Namani,

expert on religious guidance at

Sultan Qaboos University, spoke

about the importance of dealing

with hereditary blood diseases

and the Islamic perspective on this

aspect. He dwelt on old customs and

traditions that make young people

enter wedlock without a pre-marital

examination, resulting in the spread

of genetic diseases.

Prof Sumaya bint Ali Amboali,

an expert on genetic blood diseases,

spoke about the importance of

mental health of such patients.

The seminar concluded with

the inauguration of a mobile expo

for raising awareness on hereditary

blood diseases, role of family

education and educational lectures

in schools and universities.

Bid to curb genetic blood diseases

State Council, Pakistan Senate sign MoU

MUSCAT: A Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) was inked

between the State Council and

the Pakistan Senate on Sunday to

intensify parliamentary cooperation

and build stronger ties. The MoU

was signed between Dr Yahya bin

Mahfoudh al Mantheri, Chairman

of the State Council and Pakistan

Senate Chairman, Muhammad

Sadiq Sanjrani. During the meeting,

the Dr Mantheri said the MoU will

strengthen cooperation and open new

avenues in bilateral relations between

two countries.

He added, the current visit of the

Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan to

Oman coincides with the Sultanate’s

celebrations of the 48th National Day.

The Pakistan delegation viewed a

documentary about the State Council

that showcased the evolution of the

Shura march in the Sultanate and the

role of the State Council in national

action which empowers it to exercise

its powers and competences.

During the meeting, issues of

mutual interest were discussed,

especially in the legislative and

supervisory fields to support

cooperation between the councils of

the two friendly countries.

Sanjrani expressed happiness

regarding the visit to the Sultanate,

and added that Pakistan looks forward

to heightening progress, prosperity

and development in relationships

and praised the Omani parliamentary

experience, development and

uniqueness gained by following the

pragmatic vision of His Majesty Sultan

Qaboos. Sanjrani praised the Oman’s

balanced policies and its stance in the

international arena.

The meeting was attended by

Shaikh Dr Al Khatab bin Ghalib al

Hinai, State Council Vice-Chairman,

Dr Suad Mohamed Ali Sulaiman al

Lawati, State Council Chairperson,

State Council members and Ali Javed,

Ambassador of Pakistan to Oman. At

the conclusion of the visit, the guests

toured the facilities and the premises

of the Council.

The Pakistan delegation includes

senators Azam Khan Swati, Moula

Bux Chandio, Dilawar Khan, Kuda

Babar, Gul Bushra, chief secretary Dr

Akhtar Nazir and special secretary

Muhammad Anwar.

Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh al Mantheri, Chairman of the State Council and Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, Pakistan Senate Chairman, signing the MoU at Council of Oman premises on Monday.

Shaikh Khalid bin Hilal al Maawali, Chairman of Majlis Ash’shura, with Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, Pakistan Senate Chairman, in Muscat on Monday.

Proud to celebrate peace, stability of Sultanate, says Sayyid BadrLAKSHMI KOTHANETH MUSCAT, NOV 19

Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidi,

Secretary-General of Ministry of

Foreign Affairs, on Sunday said “we

are proud to celebrate the fact that

our country has enjoyed peace and

stability for many decades”.

The highlight is that Oman enjoys

positive, stable and friendly relations

with all countries, he said on the

occasion of the 48th anniversary of

Oman’s National Day.

“There is more to Oman’s

achievements than stability, security

and excellent foreign relations,”

he said, adding the development

of the Sultanate of Oman over

the past decades has been a

“continuous process, fully recognised

internationally”.

The recent military exercises, he

said, have clearly demonstrated that

Oman’s armed forces are “capable and

highly professional”.

“They (armed forces) provide the

backbone of security that enables us

all to live in peace,” he said.

According to him, the National

Day is a great occasion to reflect and

celebrate Oman’s achievements over

the years.

A few weeks ago, the World

Economic Forum ranked Oman

among the four most peaceful

countries in the world.

“We have very low rate of crime, we

have a very small prison population,

and we enjoy a remarkable degree

of social unity and a degree of social

unity unmatched anywhere else in the

world.”

He said above all, and for all of this,

we offer humble thanks and gratitude

to our beloved Sultan, His Majesty

Sultan Qaboos. “It is his leadership

that has made all this possible, and it is

the greatest privilege of my life to serve

my country under his leadership.” The

people of Oman, even the generations

as yet unborn, will forever be in his

debt.

“Today and every day, we salute

His Majesty. Let us also honour him

by recommitting ourselves to the

values of peace and tolerance that

His Majesty has so wisely fostered for

all these years,” said Sayyid Badr bin

Hamad al Busaidy.

Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidi, Secretary-General of Ministry of Foreign Affairs

FROM PAGE 1

“When we speak of innovation, the

important element is human. We

need to guide people in executing the

idea.”

“We always encourage our staff to

be creative that helps the investor. One

such creative solution is InvestEasy.

All work was done manually earlier

and it was time-consuming. Today

it is online and it is easy. Within

minutes, people are able to register

their companies,” he said.

People can register through the

portal, through sanad offices or legal

offices for a licenc---e. More than 80

services are online.

“Statistics indicate only 20 per

cent of work requires people to come

to the ministry. Everything else is

online.”

Licensing also requires links with

other ministries such as Ministry of

Environment and Climate Affairs,

Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of

Agriculture and Fisheries, Ministry of

Manpower and Royal Oman Police.

“These entities will be joining

the portal. Through this portal,

investors can get direct answers

from the ministry. Six ministries

are connected and others will be

connected within this year and the

following year,” said Al Dheeb.

The Ministry of Commerce

and Industry has eliminated lot of

procedures, he said in regard to small

and medium enterprises (SMEs).

“We have a record of a company

registering in less than two minutes.”

“In terms of guiding SMEs,

Riyada plays the role of showing

them the right way in addition to the

facility of Rafd Fund. We also have

three incubators — one belonging

to Riyada, National Business Centre

with PEIE and the third incubator

in the IT sector under Information

Technology Authority.”

These incubators provide not only

offices but also financial/marketing

advice.

Innovation centre’s new training target

FROM PAGE 1

He stressed that this programme,

which will start during the first

quarter of 2019, establishes a new

stage for the future of business in

the Sultanate as the global changes

in business are becoming more

profound and more dependent

on the means of technology, data

and information, which calls for

building possible executive leaders

to manage digital transformation

required by government or private

entities.

He also pointed out that the

new programme, coupled with the

announcement of the country’s

celebration of the 48th Glorious

National Day, affirms the importance

of moving ahead on the path that His

Majesty wants, and according to the

instructions in his speeches which

stress the importance of continuing

efforts and building, and that what

has been accomplished is a step

that must be followed by steps, and

that this goal can only be achieved

by enlightened thought, which

foreshadows the future, anticipates

its horizons and challenges in

preparation for confronting them

with science, action,different skills

and experiences in various areas of

life.

Dr Ali bin Qasim bin Jawad,

Studies and Research Adviser

at the Royal Court, said that

the new programme, which has

been blessed by His Majesty the

Sultan, the practical content will

represent about 80 per cent of the

programme, where the focus will

fall on real practical situations that

target the enhancement of existing

opportunities and developing

specific ways to use them by help of

modern technologies.

He added that the main

objectives of the program are to

include participants from the public

and private sectors in two-stage

executive development tracks, the

first part of which will focus on the

development of creative capabilities

and joint work between government

and private sector leaders by

learning about experiences, tools

and applications needed by these

leaders to perform their tasks

professionally, and according

to the new economy inputs and

fundamentals of competitiveness.

— ONA

National program forleadership launched

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IN BRIEFTraditional bands to perform in Sur

Fire drill conducted at Bayan College

Narcotics committee meet

Oman-Turkey trade ties get boost

Oman top place for adventure tourism

MUSCAT: The Oman Center for Traditional Music (OCTM) affiliated to the Sultan Qaboos Higher Center for Culture and Science of the Royal Court will organise a performance of traditional music bands on Thursday and Friday in Sur as part 48th National Day celebrations. The event will include Al Midan, Al Shobani and Al Rizha. It will be held on two sessions at Makkah Beach from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

MUSCAT: A fire drill was conducted at Bayan College campus to spread awareness about safe evacuation during emergency situation. Fire drills ensure that people exit the building in a timely fashion and know their team’s designated meeting area, which helps the rescue effort in the event an employee is unaccounted for during an actual emergency. The wardens of each floor actively participated and made sure that all people evacuated safe before they left the premises to the assembly point.

MUSCAT: The National Committee for Narcotics & Psychotropic Substances (NCNPS) meeting on Monday was chaired by Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saeedi, Minister of Health, Head of the committee. The meeting reviewed National Strategy for the Control of Drug and Psychotropic Substances. The meeting discussed Treatment & Rehabilitation Center projects in the wilayats of Suhar and Al Amerat. The meeting also reviewed the committee’s operational plan and its budget for the next year.

MUSCAT: Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), in cooperation and coordination with the Turkish Embassy in the Sultanate, organised meetings between Omani and Turkish businessmen to boost trade relations between the two countries The Turkish trade delegation comprised firms from construction, infrastructure projects, paints, and related sectors.

NEW DELHI: The Sultanate won the Best International Destination Award for Adventure Tourism 2018 at the annual awards’ ceremony hosted by Travel and Leisure magazine. The Sultanate managed to attract 174,000 visitors from India during the first six months of 2018, an increase of 15 per cent compared to the same period last year. Travel and Leisure magazine awards winners based on the votes of its readers over three months. The Sultanate was among the competitors in the voting as it scored the highest points in the category of preferred international destination for adventure tourism.

Sayyid Mohammed bin Sultan al Busaidy, Minister of State and Governor of Dhofar, hosted a reception on 48th National Day at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Salalah on Sunday. The ceremony was attended by a number of their execllencies, officials, shaikhs and dignitaries in the Governorate of Dhofar.

Students, teachers and employees of Sultan Qaboos University celebrated the 48th National Day at the garden near the University’s clock tower in Seeb on Sunday.

The employees of Haya Water celebrated 48th National Day at the company premises on Sunday. The events included a poetry recital by Asilah al Suhailiah, traditional dance Al Azi, and a talk by Maimuna al Sulaimani.

Al Nahdha Hospital celebrated its 45th Anniversary and 48th National Day at its auditorium on Monday. The celebration was inaugurated by Dr Darwish bin Saif al Maharbi, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Health. The hospital’s outstanding employees who have more than 25 years of service were honoured at the event.

Students of Indian School Al Ghubra celebrated the 48th National Day on Sunday. The special assembly held to mark the occasion began with the singing of the National Anthem of Oman led by the Omani Staff of the school. The lilting music of the Arabic choir mesmerised the audience. A short Quiz on the traditional history and culture of Oman saw enthusiastic participation from the students. The Omani folk dance with its vibrant colours and movements added splendor to the event.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) celebrated the 48th National Day in Muscat on Sunday. Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saeedi, Minister of Health, cut the celebration cake in the presence of Dr Akjimal Maktimova, Representative of World Health Organization to the Sultanate, along with officials and staff at the ministry headquarters.

48TH NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS CONTINUE

KABEER YOUSUF MUSCAT, NOV 19

A group of housewives have paid a novel

tribute to Oman and His Majesty Sultan

Qaboos on the 48th National Day: a

100-metre-long handwoven national flag.

The flag, woven by some ten

housewives from Eint village, has been

a major attraction for people visiting the

coastal village just next to Darsait.

The flag, the result of a week-long hard

work, is on display around a building

here. Some children have also chipped in

in making the flag.

“The children helped in flying the

flag on top of the building”, said Amna

Haddad al Qasimi, the key person behind

its making.

Besides Amna, her neighbours —

Fatma Ibrahim al Qasimi, Maryam

Suwaid al Owaisi, Nasra Darwish al

Wuhaibi, Sameera Marhoon al Hasani,

Nadiya Taeb al Yahyai, Khadeeja Juma

al Hamdani, and Haleema Nasser al

Dugaishi —spent hours each day in

making the flag.

Their children, Ikhlas Naser al

Mansoori, Nasra Waleed al Wuhaibi, Saleh

Waleed, Wujood al Siyabi, Gazal, Farha

Abdul Malak al Battashi, Abdurahiman

and Shareefa Mohammed, spared their

evenings in helping their mothers.

While Farha came up with the plan,

Wujood and Haleema designed it. Gazal

and Shareefa selected materials for the

flag.

It was at Ikhlas’ house that the women

discussed the project and assembled the

materials.

“I believe this flag may be the

largest made by housewives from a

neighbourhood to express their gratitude

to His Majesty,” said Fatma. The flag

project has helped them rediscover their

skills, which they had not used so far

because of their familial responsibilities.

“This flag project has helped us brush

up on our skills. We are confident that

together we can take up bigger tasks in

life,” said Maryam.

Housewives’ 100-metre-long tribute to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos THE FLAG, WOVEN BY

HOUSEWIVES FROM EINT VILLAGE, HAS BEEN AN

ATTRACTION FOR PEOPLE VISITING THE VILLAGE

NEAR DARSAIT

OMANDAILYOBSERVERT U E S D A Y l N O V E M B E R 2 0 l 2 0 1 8 5

region

TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

on Monday avoided an early

election for now after a coalition

partner backed away from

toppling a government hanging

on to power with a razor-thin

parliamentary majority.

Education Minister Naftali

Bennett’s U-turn surprised many

pundits who had predicted the

leader of the far-right Jewish

Home party would quit in

protest after Netanyahu rejected

his demand to be named defence

minister and assumed the post

himself.

N e t a n y a h u ,

head of the right-

wing Likud party,

has been making

last-ditch efforts

to prevent the

collapse of the

g o v e r n m e n t ,

which has a

majority of

just one seat in

parliament since

Avigdor Lieberman resigned as

defence chief last week.

Outflanking Netanyahu

on the right, Lieberman, an

ultranationalist, lashed out in

his resignation announcement

at the government’s acceptance

of a ceasefire with Hamas,

amid a surge in cross-border

violence “You win some, you

lose some,” Bennett said in a

televised address, shrugging

off Netanyahu’s rejection of his

bid for the defence post, long

regarded in Israel as its second

most important cabinet portfolio.

Had Bennett pulled his party

out of the weakened coalition,

as Jewish Home officials had

threatened, Netanyahu would

have been left with a minority

government, making an election

likely ahead of a national

ballot that is not due until

November 2019. Bennett

said Jewish Home party was

withdrawing all its political

demands and would stand by the

four-term prime minister.

In a speech late on Sunday

appealing to coalition partners

to remain loyal, Netanyahu cited

unspecified security challenges

ahead and hinted at future action

by Israel against its enemies.

He repeated

that theme

in remarks to

p a r l i a m e n t ’ s

foreign affairs

and defence

committee, in

which he said

that “together we

can surmount

any challenge and

ensure Israel’s

security”.

Such comments have left

political and military affairs

commentators in Israel

pondering whether Netanyahu

is indeed planning new military

action, either in Gaza or possibly

against Hezbollah missile sites in

Lebanon, or engaging in political

spin that would appeal to his

right-wing voter base.

An opinion poll last week

suggested that Israelis were

unhappy with Netanyahu over

the continued threat from the

Israeli-blockaded territory.

It was a rare dip in popularity

for a leader who has been on

course to become Israel’s longest-

serving prime minister. — AFP

ISTANBUL: Turkish authorities fanned out across more than 25 provinces and the capital on Monday after prosecutors issued detention warrants for 89 people over their alleged links to a failed coup two years ago.

State news agency Anadolu reported that prosecutors ordered the detention of 50 soldiers in the north-west province of Tekirdag alone.

On July 15, 2016, a faction in the Turkish military attempted a coup that left more than 200 people dead, which the government blamed on the movement of Fethullah Gulen, a cleric who lives in exile in the US.

A state of emergency declared five days after the failed putsch lasted two years, but those suspected of links to Gulen or his movement are targeted in frequent raids. Anadolu said the authorities were searching for suspects in more than 25 provinces. Seven airforce personnel, six of them on active duty, were detained in Eskisehir province, also in the north-west.

SANAA: Ansarullah fighters in Yemen

said on Monday they were halting

drone and missile attacks on Saudi

Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and

their Yemeni allies, responding to a

demand from the United Nations.

The group, which has been battling

the government for nearly four years,

also said it was ready for a broader

ceasefire if the coalition “wants peace”.

The decision to halt missile attacks

could be a turning point in peace

efforts as it ends a direct threat to

Saudi Arabia. It is by far the biggest

concession from the movement since

it left the southern port city of Aden

in 2015. International pressure has

mounted on Yemen’s warring parties

to end the war that has killed more

than 10,000 people and pushed the

country to the verge of starvation.

The move from the group came

after the coalition ordered a halt in its

offensive against Yemen’s main port

city Hodeidah, which has become the

focus of the war.

“We announce our initiative... to

halt missile and drone strikes on the

countries of aggression,” Mohammed

Ali al Houthi, the head of the

Ansarullah’s Supreme Revolutionary

Committee, said in a statement.

The decision was based on

discussions with UN special envoy

Martin Griffiths to show “good faith”

and support peace efforts, he said.

Griffiths is trying to salvage peace

talks after a round in September

collapsed when the Ansarullah

fighters did not show up. He hopes

to convene talks before the end

of the year in Sweden to agree on

a framework for peace under a

transitional government.

Yemen’s parties have given “firm

assurances” they are committed to

attending peace talks, Griffiths told

the UN Security Council last Friday,

with Britain asking the council

to back a humanitarian truce in Yemen

on Monday.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on

Monday reiterated the kingdom’s

support for UN efforts to end the war.

The Riyadh-backed government also

announced its willingness to take part

in the next round of consultations.

Yemenis cautiously welcomed the

announcement on Monday.

“We pray that this will be the real

beginning of peace in Yemen, we

are all tired of this war,” said Mona

Ibrahim, a teacher in the capital Sanaa,

which has been under Ansarullah

control since September 2014.

“We just want to live like other

humans,” Mohammed al Ahdal, a

resident of Hodeidah said. — AFP

CAIRO: Egypt is looking to use

its vast, newly tapped undersea

gas reserves to establish itself as a

key energy exporter and revive its

flagging economy. Encouraged by the

discovery of huge natural gas fields

in the Mediterranean, Cairo has in

recent months signed gas deals with

neighbouring Israel as well as Cyprus

and Greece.

Former oil minister Osama Kamal

said Egypt has a “plan to become a

regional energy hub”.

In the past year, gas has started

flowing from four major fields off

Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, including

the vast Zohr field, inaugurated with

great ceremony by President Abdel

Fattah El Sisi. Discovered in 2015

by Italian energy giant Eni, Zohr is

the biggest gas field so far found in

Egyptian waters.

The immediate upshot has been

that since September, the Arab world’s

most populous country has been able

to halt imports of liquified natural

gas, which last year cost it some $220

million per month. Coming after a

financial crisis that pushed Cairo in

2016 to take a $12 billion loan from

the International Monetary Fund, the

gas has been a lifeline.

Egypt’s budget deficit, which hit

10.9 per cent of GDP in the financial

year 2016-17, has since fallen to 9.8

per cent. Gas production has now hit

184 million cubic metres a day.

Having met its own needs, Cairo

is looking to kickstart exports and

extend its regional influence.

It has signed deals to import gas

from neighbouring countries for

liquefaction at installations on its

Mediterranean coast, ready for re-

export to Europe.

In September, Egypt signed a

deal with Cyprus to build a pipeline

to pump Cypriot gas hundreds of

kilometres to Egypt for processing

before being exported to Europe.

That came amid tensions between

Egypt and Turkey.

In February, Egypt, the only Arab

state apart from Jordan to have a peace

deal with Israel, inked an agreement

to import gas from the Jewish state’s

Tamar and Leviathan reservoirs.

A US-Israeli consortium leading

the development of Israel’s offshore

gas reserves in September announced

it would buy part of a disused pipeline

connecting the Israeli coastal city of

Ashkelon with the northern Sinai

peninsula. That would bypass a land

pipeline across the Sinai that was

repeatedly targeted by militants in

2011 and 2012.

The $15-billion deal will see some

64 billion cubic metres of gas pumped

in from the Israeli fields over 10 years.

Independent news website Mada

Masr reported that Egypt’s General

Intelligence Service is the majority

shareholder in East Gas, which will

earn the largest part of the profits from

the import of Israeli gas and its resale

to the Egyptian state. Kamal said he

sees “no problem” in that, adding that

the agency has held a majority stake in

the firm since 2003. — AFP

Netanyahu avoids early polls for now

TEHRAN: British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt visited Iran for the first time on Monday for talks about the nuclear deal and freeing UK nationals held in Iranian jails.

Hunt met his counterpart, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, but neither side took questions from reporters.

It was the first visit to Tehran by a Western foreign minister since the United States withdrew from the multi-nation nuclear deal in May. Britain is determined to keep Iran in the agreement by finding ways to work around renewed US sanctions.

“The Iran nuclear deal remains a vital component of stability in the Middle East by eliminating the threat of a nuclearised Iran,” Hunt said, in a statement issued in London.

“It needs 100 per cent compliance though to survive. We will stick to our side of the bargain as long as Iran does.”

Hunt was due to discuss the ongoing cases of detained British-Iranian dual nationals.

One notable case is that of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is serving a five-year jail sentence for alleged sedition.

“More than anything, we must see those innocent British-Iranian dual nationals imprisoned in Iran returned to their families in Britain,” he said.

British foreign minister visits Iran for N-talks

Raids in Turkey after detention orders issued

STANBUL: A total of 44 migrants, including 13 children, were rescued after being stranded on an island off Turkey’s Aegean coast, the local coastguard said on Monday.

The Turkish coastguard shared footage of two helicopters and a rescue boat dispatched to the island off Ayvalik district in the Aegean province of Balikesir.

All of the 44 were safely brought back to Ayvalik, the coastguard added. The nationalities of the migrants were not immediately known. Turkey hosts more than 3.5 million refugees from civil-war-torn neighbouring Syria. Refugees from Syria and other countries frequently try to reach Greece by crossing the Aegean from Turkey.

— Agencies

Turkish coastguard rescues 44 migrants

YEMENI FIGHTERS HALT MISSILE ATTACKS ON COALITIONPEACE HOPES: Ansarullah says ready for a broader ceasefire if coalition wants peace

Undersea gas fires Egypt’s regional energy dreams

CELEBRATING TURKSTREAM GAS PIPELINE

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a ceremony marking the completion of the sea part of the TurkStream gas pipeline in Istanbul. Erdogan and Putin marked the completion of the offshore phase of a gas pipeline underneath the Black Sea, the latest sign of burgeoning cooperation between Ankara and Moscow. — AFP

Members of the Yemeni pro-government forces walk through destruction in an industrial district in the eastern outskirts of the port city of Hodeida during the ongoing battle for control of the city. — AFP

NETANYAHU HAS BEEN MAKING LAST-DITCH EFFORTS TO

PREVENT THE COLLAPSE

OF THE GOVERNMENT

OMANDAILYOBSERVERT U E S D A Y l N O V E M B E R 2 0 l 2 0 1 86

asia

Sri Lanka’s new PM may lose budgetCOLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s newly appointed

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who

lost two motions of no confidence last week,

may lose his government’s budget even as he

clings to power.

Lawmakers opposed to Rajapaksa

said they intend to remove funding for

staff salaries and other costs in a vote on

November 29. The opposition, which

regards his administration as illegitimate,

will also seek approval to slash the

government’s overall budget, they said.

It was the latest of several new twists

on Monday in the political chaos that has

embroiled Sri Lanka for the past few weeks.

Leaders of political parties backing

Rajapaksa and President Maithripala

Sirisena refused to allow a third motion

of no confidence to be held through name

call or electronic voting on Monday. The

previous two motions passed through a

voice vote but Sirisena said they hadn’t

followed the proper procedures.

Sirisena appointed Rajapaksa last month

after firing Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime

minister, setting off the political turmoil on

the island off India’s southeast coast.

Rajapaksa is seen as a close ally of China,

though Beijing has denied accusations that it

was instrumental in getting him appointed.

Dinesh Gunawardene, a Rajapaksa

loyalist, said Wickremesinghe’s coalition

had handed a motion “to suspend all

government expenses” to the speaker and

the parliament secretary.

“According to the previous no

confidence motions, both Rajapaksa

and his government are out. There is no

government, but there are MPs,” M A

Sumanthiran, a lawmaker who had voted

for the no confidence motion, said.

“The finance of the country is under

the control of the parliament. Now we have

proposed a motion to stop government

finances for the prime minister’s office,”

he said. Ananda Kumarasiri, the deputy

speaker of the parliament, established a

select committee to carry on parliamentary

business before adjourning the house to

November 23.

Unlike last Thursday and Friday there

were no physical altercations on the floor

of parliament on Monday. On Friday,

lawmakers supporting Rajapaksa threw

books, chili paste and water bottles at the

speaker to try to disrupt the second vote.

Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya

said in a statement that investigations

have begun into Friday’s events, including

damage that was done to public property in

the melee.

The political crisis has hit the economy.

On Monday, the rupee fell to a record low

of 177.20 per dollar. Foreign investors have

pulled out more than 30 billion rupees

($169.5 million) since the crisis unfolded on

October 26.

Wickremesinghe loyalists allege that

Rajapaksa’s party is trying to buy lawmakers

for as much as $3 million each. Rajapaksa

loyalists have rejected the allegation.

Both Sirisena and many Rajapaksa

loyalists have said they have the majority

in parliament. However, the no confidence

motion against Rajapaksa and his

government was passed twice by 122 votes

in the 225-member parliament.

Most foreign countries, including

Western nations, have yet to recognise

Rajapaksa as the prime minister. Last week,

eight Western countries stayed away from

a meeting with the government to register

their protest against Sirisena’s decision to

dissolve parliament. — Reuters

Xi in Brunei as oil-dependent the country seeks investmentBANDAR SERI BEGAWAN:

President Xi Jinping visited Brunei

on Monday, with the country turning

to China to boost its flagging, oil-

dependent economy.

Xi, who arrived from a tense

summit in Papua New Guinea

dominated by a war of words between

China and the US, was treated to an

official welcome at Sultan Hassanal

Bolkiah’s enormous, golden-domed

palace.

Like in many other parts of Asia,

Chinese companies are investing huge

sums in the monarchy on Borneo

island, part of an infrastructure drive

aimed at extending Beijing’s economic

and geopolitical clout.

Initiatives include a multi-billion-

dollar oil refinery — Brunei’s biggest

ever foreign investment project — a

dam and a highway.

The wealthy former British

protectorate, long depended on

abundant oil deposits but was plunged

into recession when prices fell several

years ago, and crude reserves are also

in a long decline.

“Brunei, whose income from

hydrocarbons will decrease in the

coming years, is looking for help

from China in developing economic

alternatives,” Murray Hiebert, a

Southeast Asia expert from think-

tank the Center for Strategic and

International Studies, said.

After talks between the Sultan

and the first Chinese president to

visit the country in 13 years, a joint

statement said that Brunei “will

continue to support and jointly

promote cooperation in the Belt and

Road Initiative”, China’s infrastructure

drive, official news agency Xinhua

reported.

But concerns have been mounting

in the wider region at the aggressive

Chinese investment drive, particularly

that poorer countries could struggle

to pay back debts.

Ahead of the weekend’s APEC

meeting in Papua New Guinea, US

Vice-President Mike Pence warned

countries not to be seduced by China’s

infrastructure programme, saying that

Beijing offered “opaque” loans that led

to “staggering debt”. — AFP

Toraji storm kills 12 in Vietnam, 5 missingHanoi: At least 12 people

have died and five others

remain missing in the

southern Vietnamese

beach resort city of Nha

Trangafter a tropical storm

lashed the coast, authorities

said on Monday.

Among the dead were

two people, including a

seven-year-old boy, who

were killed when the wall

of a noodle restaurant

collapsed early on Sunday,

the Central Committee for

Natural Disaster Prevention

and Control said in a report

published on Monday,

adding that 11 others were

injured.

The Toraji storm system,

which was downgraded to

a tropical depression on

Sunday morning, arrived in

Vietnam around 6 pm on

Saturday, packing winds at

60 to 75 km per hour and

gusts of wind moving up to

100 km per hour.

It has brought heavy

rains throughout the

southern region, according

to the National Center

for Hydro-meteorological

Forecasting. Some areas

received rainfall of up to

407 millimetres in the past

three days, causing heavy

floods.

Floodwaters reached

up to 2.35 metres in Nha

Trang, catching many

commuters off-guard.

Authorities are braced for

more flash floods, as well as

landslides,as rains continue.

Last week, flash floods and

landslides had killed at

least 12 people in central

Vietnam, officials said on

Sunday, as hundreds of

troops were dispatched to

clean up destroyed villages

and washed out roads.

Heavy rains pounded

the central Khanh Hoa

province over the past few

days as tropical depression

Toraji blew in from the

South China Sea.

No China naval base being built:Cambodian PM PHNOM PENH: Cambodia will

not allow foreign military bases on

its soil, strongman premier Hun Sen

said on Monday, swatting away US

concerns about a possible Chinese

naval site near hotly contested seas.

China has lavished billions of

dollars in soft loans, infrastructure

and investment on the poor

Southeast Asian kingdom, providing

Prime Minister Hun Sen with a fast

growing economy that he wields

as justification for his 33-year

authoritarian rule.

In exchange Cambodia has been

a staunch China ally.

It has seeded disunity among

the 10-member ASEAN bloc of

Southeast Asian nations over a

diplomatic pushback to Beijing’s

aggression in the strategically pivotal

South China Sea.

Rumours a Chinese naval base is

under construction off Cambodia’s

southwest coast have been swirling.

The area under scrutiny is in

the Gulf of Thailand but gives ready

access to the South China Sea.

Beijing claims most of the

flashpoint area, infuriating the

Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and

Taiwan who all have competing

claims to its islands and potentially

resource-rich waters.

But in comments during a cabinet

meeting, broadcast on Facebook

Chinese President Xi Jinping walks with Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah at the Nurul Iman Palace in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. — Reuters

Sri Lankan civil activists demonstrate amid an ongoing political crisis on Monday. — AFP

RUSSIAN PREMIER IN VIETNAM

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev with Chairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan in Hanoi, Vietnam on Monday. — Reuters

Taliban say no pact struck with US over deadline to end Afghan warKABUL: A three-day meeting

between the Taliban and the US

special envoy for Afghanistan to pave

the way for peace talks ended with no

agreement, the group said a day after

the diplomat declared a deadline of

April 2019 to end a 17-year-long war.

Afghanistan’s security situation

has worsened since Nato formally

ended combat operations in 2014, as

Taliban insurgents battle to reimpose

strict law following their overthrow in

2001 at the hands of US-led troops.

Leaders of the hardline group met

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad

at their political headquarters in

Qatar last week for the second time

in the past month, said spokesman

Zabiullah Mujahid.

“These were preliminary talks

and no agreement was reached on

any issue,” he said in a statement on

Monday.

Taliban leaders had not accepted

any deadline set by the US to wrap up

talks, three Taliban officials added.

The US embassy in Kabul declined

to comment.

Khalilzad, an Afghan-born US

diplomat authorised by US President

Donald Trump’s government to lead

peace negotiations with the Taliban,

on Sunday said he hoped to cut a

peace deal with the group by April 20.

That deadline coincides with the

date set for presidential elections in

Afghanistan.

Two senior US officials confirmed

that the second round of peace talks

ended last week and the Taliban

expected Khalilzad to visit Qatar for a

meeting before the end of 2018.

“The second round of talks went

on for three days. This clearly proves

that both sides are exercising patience

and caution during their diplomatic

engagement,” a US official said on

condition of anonymity.

But Khalilzad’s public statement

that the Taliban believe they will

“not win militarily” angered senior

members of the group, who warned

US officials against mixed messages

that could muddle the peace process.

“We were astonished to see

Khalilzad’s statement in Kabul on

Sunday. — Reuters

UN for calm after shots fired in Rohingya campYANGON: The UN has called for

calm after several Rohingya were

shot and wounded in a Rakhine

state camp, in a raid linked to the

failed escape of more than 100 of

the stateless minority from the grim

settlements.

Some 120,000 Rohingya have

languished in displacement camps

near Rakhine’s capital, Sittwe, since

riots in 2012.

Their movement, access to

healthcare, work and education is

severely restricted in conditions

decried as amounting to apartheid by

Amnesty International.

Rohingya refugees who fled a

military crackdown to Bangladesh

refuse to return to Rakhine without

equal rights, citizenship and

safety — fearing similar long-term

confinement if they do.

Villagers said that four Rohingya

were shot and wounded as Myanmar

police entered the Ah Nauk Ye camp

in central Rakhine state’s Pauktaw

township on Sunday morning.

In an e-mailed statement Knut

Ostby, head of the UN office in

Myanmar, called for “calm, non-

violence and restraint” in an

area which can be accessed only

with official permission — but is

believed to suffer from some of

the worst conditions in the

displacement camps.

One witness said that officers

were trying to arrest two Rohingya

suspected of links with a boat carrying

106 Rohingya that was found last

week off the coast of Myanmar’s

biggest city Yangon.

The discovery fuelled speculation

of a fresh exodus of Rohingya by boat.

The group, who told reporters they

were trying to reach Malaysia, were

taken back to Rakhine on Sunday by

Myanmar’s navy.

Noor Hakim, an Ah Nauk Ye

resident, said that the trouble started

on Sunday soon after 20 police arrived

and crowds gathered.

“I am not sure where the police

shot but four people got injured and

among them, one seriously,” he said.

— AFP

Taliban leaders had not accepted any deadline set by the US to wrap up talks, says the Taliban officials

SOME 120,000 ROHINGYA

HAVE LANGUISHED IN DISPLACEMENT

CAMPS NEAR RAKHINE’S

CAPITAL, SITTWE

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india

Delhi court wants Lalu’s presence through video conferencingNEW DELHI: A Delhi court on

Monday sought former Railway

Minister Lalu Prasad’s presence

through video conferencing in a

money laundering case related to

the 2006 IRCTC hotels maintenance

contract.

Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj

directed the Central Bureau of

Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement

Directorate (ED) to present him

on December 20 through video-

conferencing either from hospital or

jail.

Lalu Prasad could not appear

before the Delhi court due to his ill

health. He is being treated for various

ailments at the Rajendra Institute of

Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi.

He was in Ranchi’s Birsa Munda

Central Jail after being convicted in

December 2017 in the fodder scam.

Later, he was shifted to RIMS for

treatment.

The Delhi court was hearing a case

related to alleged irregularities in the

allotment of contracts of the Indian

Railway Catering and Tourism Corp

(IRCTC) hotels in Ranchi and Puri

in 2006 to a private firm, for which

a three-acre commercial plot at a

prime location in Patna district was

allegedly given as a bribe.

The CBI and Enforcement

Directorate (ED) are probing the

case and had named Lalu Prasad,

his wife and former Chief Minister

Rabri Devi, their son Tejashwi

Yadav and others as accused in the

chargesheet. — IANS

Arrested Sabarimala pilgrims send to jailPATHANAMTHITTA: Sixty-nine

pilgrims, who were arrested late

Sunday night from Sabarimala temple

after they defied prohibitory orders,

were remanded to judicial custody by

a court here on Monday. All arrestees,

who were kept at the Maniar Police

Camp in Pathanamthitta district, were

produced in the court that remanded

them to 14-day judicial custody.

However, before taking them to the

court, the police released one person

who was below 18 years of age.

Consequent to Sunday’s arrest,

angry Hindu activists on Monday

took to streets, raised slogans and

held prayer sessions in front of police

stations across the state. Union

Minister K J Alphons also criticised the

state government for the action.

As the news about arrests spread

in Thiruvanathapuram, protesters

assembled near Chief Minister

Pinarayi Vijayan’s residence and

shouted slogans.

The situation grew tense late Sunday

when over 200 pilgrims did not vacate

the temple premise even after 10 p.m,

as ordered by the state administration,

and stayed put singing Lord Ayyappa

hymns and chants.

As they continued despite repeated

requests from the police, action

was initiated to forcefully evict the

premises. This led to their arrests in a

post-midnight action.

Alphons on Monday reacted

sharply to the arrests, and told the

media in Nilackal, before heading

to the shrine: “I fail to understand

why the Kerala Police has clamped

prohibitory orders. This is not the way

things should be handled. Sabarimala

pilgrims are not extremists. You can’t

use force in this place.”

Kerala Minister for Devaswoms

(temples) Kadakampally Surendran,

reacting sharply to the allegations

said it was not pilgrims but Rashtriya

Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) goons

who had taken over the Lord Ayyappa

shrine, and backed the police action.

“He (Alphons) should not have

said things without knowing facts,”

Surendran said.

Alphons who was headed to the

hill temple said he would inspect how

the state has utilised the Rs 100-crore

relief fund from the Centre. “I will go

around the temple town to make sure

how the funds have been used.”

Surendran said: “It’s true that the

Centre has sanctioned Rs 100 crore for

various projects in Sabarimala and the

deadline for implementing it ends in

July 2019.

“But the unprecedented floods saw

close to Rs 19 crore of work in progress

in projects getting washed away in

September.

“What happened in the temple

premises last night was a takeover by

the RSS goons. The police pleaded with

them to return as it’s against the law to

remain there. It was only after they

refused to move that the police acted.”

After going around the place,

Alphons said the state government has

failed miserably in setting up the basic

infrastructure.

“Toilets are placed five feet above

the ground and it appears one needs

a lift to reach the toilet,” said Alphons.

— IANS

MESSY PILGRIMAGE: Opposition parties in Kerala are up in arms against violation of the temple tradition

IN BRIEF

NIA visits Amritsar attack site

Karnataka CM to hold talks with sugarcane farmers

Nation gets its first sewer cleaning machine

NEW DELHI: A National

Investigation Agency (NIA) team on

Monday visited the spot in Amritsar

in Punjab where three persons were

killed in a grenade attack on Sunday.

A three-member team headed

by an Inspector General visited the

spot for a second time after their

initial inspection of the area on

Sunday, hours after the attack at

the Nirankari Satsang Bhawan in

Adliwal village in Rajasansi area.

They were accompanied by

explosive experts, an agency official

said.

The team’s second visit on

Monday followed an half hour

meeting with Punjab Director

General of Police Suresh Arora,

who had raised suspicion of a terror

attack.

They also met Punjab’s Director

General of Police (Intelligence)

Dinkar Gupta. Over a dozen people

were injured in the attack carried out

by two-motorcycle borne masked

men. — IANS

BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief

Minister H D Kumaraswamy will

hold talks with agitating sugarcane

farmers on their demands for a

higher minimum support price and

settling dues from state-run and

private mills, said an official.

“Kumaraswamy has called for

a meeting with sugarcane farmers,

mill owners and officials at the state

secretariat on Tuesday to discuss

their demands and problems, said

the official from the chief minister’s

office in a statement here.

The meeting has been convened

a day after hundreds of farmers,

including their womenfolk on

Sunday staged protests at Belagavi

against the state government’s

alleged indifference over ensuring

minimum support price (MSP) for

their cane and settling their dues

from mill owners.

The Chief Minister also advised

the farmers staging the protest in

the city on Monday to have patience

and sought time to address their

demands, including loan waiver,

higher MSP for sugarcane and

supply of seeds and fertilizers for the

rabi crop. — IANS

NEW DELHI: In order to reduce

sewer deaths and put an end to

the unsafe practice of manual

scavenging, the Sulabh International

on Monday introduced India’s first

“sewer cleaning machine”.

The machine, Sulabh

International founder Dr

Bindeshwar Pathak said, “will do

away with 99 per cent of manual

scavenging” in the country, where

at least one worker has died while

cleaning sewers or septic tanks every

five days since the beginning of 2017.

“With the machine, a worker

won’t have to enter the sewers.

But if the need arises and a person

has to go, then the machine is

fully equipped with gas checking

machine, protective gears and dress

to protect the workers from harmful

gases,” Pathak said.

The machine, which costs Rs 43

lakh, was unveiled on the occasion

of World Toilet Day 2018 by the

mayors of all the three Municipal

Corporations of Delhi (MCD), in

the presence of Delhi BJP President

Manoj Tiwari and Pathak. — IANS

Activists protest following the arrest of devotees at Sabarimala temple in Kochi.— AFP

RAIPUR: A three-way contest is in

the offing as Chhattisgarh goes for

the second and concluding phase

of Assembly polls on Tuesday for

72 seats spread across 19 districts,

with the ruling BJP wrestling it

out with the opposition Congress

and the Ajit Jogi-Mayawati-led

alliance emerging as a formidable

third front.

A total of 1,079 candidates are

in the fray, and both Congress

and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

are contesting all the 72 seats. The

Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party

(BSP) is in the fray for 25 seats and

its ally and former Chief Minister

Jogi’s Janta Congress Chhattisgarh

(J) is vying in 46 seats.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam

Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded

candidates in 66 constituencies.

Polling will be held from 8

a.m to 5 p.m in all 72 seats where

an electorate of over 1.5 crore,

including over 77 lakh male and

over 76 lakh female voters are

eligible to exercise their franchise.

There are nearly 1,000 voters from

the third gender.

Elaborate security

arrangements including use

of helicopters and drone have

been put in place for the polls to

take place at over 19,000 polling

booths and over a lakh security

personnel have been deployed. For

the Maoist-affected Gariaband,

Dhamtari, Mahasamund,

Kabirdham, Jashpur and

Balrampur districts, extra security

arrangements have been made.

Carved out of Madhya Pradesh

in 2000, the state where the BJP is

in power since 2003, is witnessing

a three-way poll battle for the

first time. Jogi — who ruled the

state for the first three years as

a Congress Chief Minister, later

floated his own outfit and aligned

with the BSP and the CPI — is

perceived to impact the poll battle

where the vote share difference

between the BJP and the Congress

was less than one per cent in 2013.

— IANS

Air pollution cuts average Indian’s life expectancy by over 4 years: studyNEW DELHI: India is the world’s

second most polluted country, slightly

trailing only Nepal, the Energy Policy

Institute at the University of Chicago

(EPIC) said on Monday.

Particulate pollution is so severe

that it shortens the average Indian’s life

expectancy by more than four years

relative to what it would be if World

Health Organization (WHO) air

quality guidelines were met.

This is up from about two years

in the late 1990s due to a 69 per cent

increase in particulate pollution, it

said.

Concentrations in Indian states of

Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab,

and the National Capital Territory of

Delhi are substantially higher, and the

impact on life expectancy exceeds six

years.

Its new air pollution index, known

as the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI),

finds that air pollution reduces global

life expectancy by nearly two years,

making it the single greatest threat to

human health.

The tool gives figures like — for an

average resident of Delhi, gain in life

expectancy if the WHO guidelines are

met, could be up to 10.2 years.

Likewise, it gives numbers of years

lost to pollution for every district of

India for a span of 18 years between

1998 and 2016.

What makes AQLI unique is that

it converts pollution into perhaps the

most important metric that exists —

life expectancy. It does so at a hyper-

local level throughout the world.

Further, it illustrates how air

pollution policies can increase life

expectancy when they meet the

World Health Organization’s (WHO)

guideline, existing national air quality

standards, or user-defined air quality

levels.

This information helps informing

local communities and policymakers

about the importance of air pollution

policies in very concrete terms.

Loss of life expectancy is highest in

Asia, exceeding six years in many parts

of India and China; some residents of

the US still lose up to a year of life from

pollution. Fossil fuel-driven particulate

air pollution cuts global average life

expectancy by 1.8 years per person,

according to the pollution index and

accompanying report produced by the

EPIC.

“Around the world today, people are

breathing air that represents a serious

risk to their health. But the way this

risk is communicated is very often

opaque and confusing, translating air

pollution concentrations into colors,

like red, brown, orange, and green.

What those colours mean for people’s

well-being has always been unclear,”

Michael Greenstone, the Milton

Friedman Professor in Economics and

Director of the EPIC, said.

Greenstone also noted: “My

colleagues and I developed the AQLI,

where the ‘L’ stands for ‘life’ to address

these shortcomings. It takes particulate

air pollution concentrations and

converts them into perhaps the most

important metric that exists, life

expectancy.” — IANS

Modi opens KMP Expressway; says will cut pollution, trafficGURUGRAM: Prime Minister

Narendra Modi on Monday

inaugurated the Kundli-Manesar

section of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal

(KMP) Expressway in Haryana, saying

it will help in reducing vehicular

pollution in the national capital.

The 136.65-km long six-lane

Expressway, which will provide an

alternative route to vehicles to go

towards Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan,

will help in easing traffic flow,

especially of heavy vehicles, through

Delhi.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar

Lal Khattar said the Expressway

would lead to more development of

the National Capital Region (NCR).

He said the 83-km Kundli-

Manesar section was completed four

months ahead of the revised deadline.

The 53-km Palwal-Manesar section

was inaugurated in April 2016.

Modi dedicated the KMP

Expressway, also called as Western

Peripheral Expressway, to people

from Sultanpur village in Gurugram

district.

“Our government has undertaken

the massive expansion of highways

and railways in the country to bring

more development. Everyday, 27 km

of highways are being made,” Modi

said while addressing a gathering on

the occasion.

Taking a dig at the previous

government, Modi said the BJP

governments (in the Centre and

states) were determined to get work

executed and completed compared to

earlier when projects would just linger

on.

“Work was going on on this (KMP)

Expressway for 12 years. You should

have got this Expressway 8-9 years

back. It was to be used during the

(2010) New Delhi Commonwealth

Games.

This shows the work culture of

the previous government which

encouraged delays and wastage of

public money,” Modi said. — IANS

Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the Kundli-Manesar section of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway in Haryana.

Last phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly polls today

OMANDAILYOBSERVERT U E S D A Y l N O V E M B E R 2 0 l 2 0 1 88

world

BELGIUM ROYALS ON FRANCE VISIT EU ministers agree terms of ‘painful’ Brexit divorceBRUSSELS: European ministers

signed off on Britain’s draft divorce

deal on Monday as they launched a

“painful” final week of negotiations on

future cross-Channel ties.

Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier

and the Union’s Austrian rotating

presidency said the negotiated text

would be presented to EU leaders at a

signing summit on Sunday.

“The first, difficult step is done,” said

Austrian European affairs minister

Gernot Bluemel, whose country holds

the rotating EU presidency, after the

ministers’ meeting.

“A painful week in European

politics is starting,” he warned. “We

have the divorce papers on the table.

Forty-five years of difficult marriage

are coming to an end.”

Meanwhile, detailed discussions

continue on a parallel political

statement setting out the bloc’s

ambitions for future relations with

post-Brexit Britain — and on a

possible extension to the transition

period.

Britain will leave the Union on

March 29 next year, but remain within

its single market for a further 21

months as negotiators seek a deal to

avoid a potential breakdown in trade

between the key economic partners.

If the parties struggle to find a deal

before the end of this period, Britain

can request a one-off extension.

Barnier has suggested that this

should expire at the end of 2022, but

he said member states have yet to sign

off on this.

“I think that during this week we’ll

have a definitive proposition for this

date. The decision will be made jointly

between the United Kingdom and the

27,” Barnier said.

Neither European member states,

who want to protect access to their

single market, nor hardline British

Brexiteers, who fear being trapped in a

bloc where they don’t make the rules,

want an endless transition.

Barnier stressed it was Prime

Minister Theresa May’s British

government that requested the

extension option and warned: “It can’t

be indefinite. It needs to be decided.”

In London, May said she wants to

reach a trade deal by the end of 2020

to avoid asking for an extension, but

that if the transition is prolonged it

should be out of the way by “the next

general election.”

If May survives domestic anger

over the deal, the next British election

is scheduled for 2022.

Preparations continued meanwhile

for Sunday’s summit, where May and

her 27 colleagues are supposed to sign

the withdrawal agreement.

“We’re in the closing stages of

negotiating the deal at the moment,”

she said. “Nothing is agreed until

everything is agreed.” — AFP

Rain looms as search for Calif wildfire missing continuesPARADISE: Emergency services

renewed their search through

charred wreckage of California’s

deadliest ever wildfire for the nearly

1,000 people still unaccounted for,

with rain on the horizon that should

help fire crews fighting the blaze but

complicate efforts to find its victims.

The remains of 77 people have

been recovered, the Butte County

Sheriff ’s Office said late on Sunday, as

it cut the number of missing to 993

from 1,276.

The number of missing has

fluctuated dramatically over the

last week as reports have come in

from rescue teams in the field. The

sheriff ’s office said that the number

will continue move up and down as

remains are found, more missing

reports come in and people who have

been reported missing turn up safe.

The Camp Fire broke out in

northern California on November

8 and quickly all but obliterated

Paradise, a mountain town of nearly

27,000 people around 150 km north

of the state’s capital, Sacramento.

Officials said it had consumed

about 110,000 acres and was 66 per

cent contained early on Monday, up

from 65 per cent late on Sunday, as

“firefighters continued to strengthen

and improve control lines,” the

California Department of Forestry

and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

Up to four inches of rain are

expected to fall north of San

Francisco between late on Tuesday

and Friday, said Patrick Burke, a

forecaster at the National Weather

Service’s Weather Prediction Center

in Maryland. “This weather system is

locked in,” he said.

Authorities have said full

containment is not expected until

November 30.

However, rain would also make

it harder for forensic teams sifting

through ash and dirt looking for the

bones of the dead.

“The rain will easily disturb the

soil where remains might be found,”

the National Weather Service’s Burke

said.

Pathologists from the University

of Nevada, Reno, worked through

the weekend as firefighters peeled

back debris, collecting bits of burned

bones and photographing everything

that might help identify the victims.

The rain also could increase the

risk of mudslides in areas where the

fire destroyed all vegetation.

“While it isn’t an exceptionally

strong storm, the recent burns make

mud slides on hills and slopes a real

danger,” Burke said.

The storm, which is expected

to carry moderate winds of 15-20

mph could also cause problems for

evacuees, hundreds of whom are

sheltering in tents and cars.

The number of people in need

of shelter is not clear, but as many as

52,000 people had been ordered to

evacuate. — Reuters

World powers clash over chemical arms watchdog’s new roleTHE HAGUE: World powers traded accusations of hypocrisy in bitter clashes on Monday over the global toxic weapons watchdog’s new ability to attribute blame for attacks like those in Syria and Salisbury.

The United States and Britain went head-to-head with Russia, China and Syria over the boosted powers that members agreed to give the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in June.

At a tense meeting in The Hague, Moscow and Beijing were accused of trying to stall the watchdog’s new role indefinitely by proposing that the changes be subjected to “open ended” scrutiny before going live.

US Ambassador Kenneth Ward said Russia’s claims that the OPCW’s new

powers were illegitimate were “pungent hypocrisy”, and warned against allowing a “new era of chemical weapons use to take hold”.

“What have they done for the last few years but to connive with their Syrian ally to bury the truth of what has happened in Syria, along with the dead killed by the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime,” Ward said.

“And as if that wasn’t bad enough, Salisbury comes along.”

The West pushed through the new powers after a string of chemical attacks in Syria, as well as a nerve agent attack on Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal in the British city of Salisbury in March.

Britain accused Russia of carrying out the attack using a Soviet-era chemical

called Novichok and the West has since imposed a series of sanctions on Moscow.

British envoy to the OPCW Peter Wilson called any attempt to limit the watchdog’s power to attribute blame for chemical attacks “unacceptable”.

But Russia’s envoy Alexander Shulgin hit back, saying that Western claims of chemical weapons use by Damascus and Moscow were a “scam” and “out and out lies”.

He added that Russia had a “principled position regarding the illegitimacy” of the new investigative powers, adding that they “infringe on the properties of the UN Security Council”, where Russia has a veto.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad meanwhile launched a fierce broadside at the US and Britain.

“You have taught people to use chemical weapons, you have used chemical weapons in the first two world wars. The Syrian government has never used chemical weapons,” he said.

“Where is your morality? This is sheer hypocrisy and sheer lies, I wish to use such undiplomatic language.”

The meeting is also the first since the expulsion of four Russians accused by Dutch authorities in October of trying to

hack into the OPCW’s computer system, using electronic equipment hidden in a car parked outside a nearby hotel.

At the time the organisation was investigating the attack on Skripal as well as a major chemical attack in Syria.

The OPCW says the two-week meeting of the 193 member countries is meant to “discuss the future of the organisation”.

New OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias warned in his opening address on Monday that the “international norm against the use of chemical weapons has come under strain”.

“Their repeated use poses a challenge that must be met with strong and unified resolve,” he added.

Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize

in 2013, the OPCW is responsible for upholding the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention to end the use of all toxic arms.

So far it says it has overseen the destruction of 96.5 per cent of the world’s chemical arms stocks.

But in recent years it has seen its role expand to cover the investigation of a wave of chemicals attacks in the Syrian civil war, as well as the Salisbury attack and the 2017 killing in Malaysia of a half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

A “very small but very strong” investigative team will start work early next year with a mandate to go back and try to attribute blame for all chemical attacks in Syria since 2013, Arias said.

— AFP

LONDON: Fancy some roasted

crickets for a light snack? Look

no further than in the local

supermarket aisles. Sainsbury’s

has become the first British

supermarket chain to stock edible

insects in a bid to boost sustainable

food sources that produce fewer

greenhouse gases.

“Insect snacks should no longer

be seen as a gimmick or something

for a dare,” said Rachel Eyre, head

of future brands at Sainsbury’s.

“It’s clear that consumers are

increasingly keen to explore this

new sustainable protein source,”

Eyre said in a statement.

Nutritionists and scientists have

long touted insect consumption

for humans as a sustainable and

cheap source of protein — though

snacking on bugs is a stomach-

churning prospect for many.

Insects can be a rich source

of fat, protein, vitamins, fibre and

minerals, according to the UN

Food and Agriculture Organization

(FAO). Global population growth

and an expanding middle class

have raised per-capita meat

consumption by 50 per cent over

the past four decades, but critics

say the trend is environmentally

unsustainable.

There are also worries about the

environmental impact of intensive

crop farming and commercial

fishing.

“As the population increases,

we urgently need to look at

alternative protein sources to

make the most of land available

for food production,” said Duncan

Williamson, a global food system

expert at environmental group

WWF UK.

“Insects are incredibly

sustainable and can help to reduce

our carbon footprint,” he said in a

statement.

Globally, at least 2 billion people

eat insects — which require far less

land and water than cattle — and

more than 1,900 species have been

used for food, according to the

FAO. Edible insect company Eat

Grub, whose Netherlands-farmed

crickets will be stocked in 250

Sainsbury’s stores, said nearly 10

per cent of British people had tried

eating insects.

— Thomson Reuters Foundation

An anti-Brexit demonstrator protests outside the Houses of Parliament in London on Monday. — Reuters Belgium royal couple Philippe of Belgium (2ndL) and Mathilde of Belgium (L) pose next to French President Emmanuel

Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron as they visit the restoration workshop of The Ghent Altarpiece (or the ‘Adoration of the Mystic Lamb’) at the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK) in Ghent, during a two-day state visit. — AFP

The number of miss-ing has fluctuated dramatically over the last week as reports have come in from rescue teams in the field

Spanish govt raises possibility of early electionMADRID: Spanish Prime

Minister Pedro Sanchez’s minority

government, which is struggling to

pass its draft 2019 budget, would

not rule out holding an early general

election, a top cabinet minister

said on Monday. Asked about the

possibility of the government calling

snap polls to coincide with European,

regional and municipal elections on

May 26, Transport Minister Jose Luis

Abalos said: “Of course, we can’t rule

out anything.”

“You can’t venture anything,

between now and May there is a lot

of time,” said Abalos, a heavyweight in

the ruling Socialist party who is close

to the prime minister.

Sanchez, who took over in June

from the conservative Mariano

Rajoy after a surprise no-confidence

vote, has up until now vowed to stay

in office until 2020 when the next

general election is due.

But conservative opposition

parties have repeatedly pressed for

early elections, arguing that the

government of Sanchez, whose party

controls just 84 seats in the 350-seat

parliament, is not viable.

“When we will have (elections),

and we will logically have elections

because we are a democracy, will

be known,” Sanchez said when

asked about the transport minister’s

comments during a press conference

in Morocco. To pass his draft budget,

Sanchez needs the support of the

parties that brought him to power

in June, including Catalan separatist

parties which have so far steadfastly

refused to back the spending plan.

Failure to pass the budget

would force the government to roll

over this year’s budget, which was

drafted by the previous conservative

government, and try to pass some of

the announced measures by decree.

— AFP

File photo of a bowl of edible freeze-dried crickets is displayed at a conference on Insects as Food at Wayne State University in Detroit. — AFP

In UK’s first, edible insects hit supermarket shelves

MOSCOW AND BEIJING WERE ACCUSED OF

TRYING TO STALL THE WATCHDOG’S NEW ROLE

INDEFINITELY

OMANDAILYOBSERVERT U E S D A Y l N O V E M B E R 2 0 l 2 0 1 8 9

analysis

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this page are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the opinion of the Observer.

PATRICK FORT

n Burkina Faso, a country struggling to contain extremist

violence, education is one of the victims of the insurgency, with

hundreds of schools closed, teachers in hiding and pupils kept

indoors over the fear of attacks.

In the conflict-ridden north, more than three years of assaults

and threats by extremists have led to the closure of more than

300 schools, according to estimates, with the east of the West

African nation now also seeing school closures.

“They (the extremists) are slowly killing education,” said

Kassoum Ouedraogo, who used to teach in a primary school in

the small town of Nenebouro, near the border with Mali.

One of his colleagues was murdered in 2016 and last year

teachers felt the security threat was so dangerous that they shut

the school.

Ouedraogo moved to the northern regional capital

Ouahigouya where, he says, he “lives with fear in his stomach”.

“They do not want ‘French’ schools... they want schools in

Arabic,” he said.

Burkina Faso is part of the vast Sahel region, which has

turned into a hotbed of violent extremism and lawlessness

since chaos engulfed Libya in 2011, the extremists’ takeover of

northern Mali in 2012 and the rise of Boko Haram in northern

Nigeria.

Despite international efforts to create a transnational anti-

exremist military operation, named the G5 Sahel force, the

situation is getting worse. A recent report submitted to the UN

Security Council warned that security had “deteriorated rapidly

over the last six months” in the area between Burkina Faso, Mali

and Niger, with attacks spreading to eastern Burkina Faso.

According to an official report in September, 229 people have

been killed in attacks in Burkina Faso since 2015.

In the eastern town of Matiakoali, a dozen schools were

forced to close at the end of October due to threats of violence,

teachers and local security forces said.

Extremists visited mosques in nearby villages and warned

that the staff had to leave, a teacher said on condition of

anonymity.

“The teachers from neighbouring villages got together and

we decided to leave,” he said, explaining that they moved to

other cities for safety. The growing boldness of these fighters

in the former French colony reflects the government’s apparent

inability to protect its citizens across vast stretches of the country.

Teachers and unions warn that thousands of children face

years without access to schools unless the government steps up

the fight against the growing terror. — AFP

Schools in Burkina Faso shut over extremist attacks

Rising crimes the new worry in VenezuelaMARIA ISABEL SANCHEZ

s if coping with constant food and

medicine shortages were not enough for

crisis-weary Venezuelans, many live in

constant fear in a country where three

people die violently every hour.

The South American nation registered

26,000 homicides last year, 89 per

100,000 inhabitants and a figure 15 times

the global average, according to the

Venezuelan Observatory of Violence, a

non-governmental group.

How do ordinary Venezuelans try

to survive in one of the world’s most

dangerous countries?

“Venezuelans take precautions every

day to try to protect themselves. But

adapting to insecurity means they are

losing their freedom,” the group’s director

Roberto Briceno said.

Teacher Yamileth Marcano’s younger

brother Willis was stabbed to death for

his smartphone as he left work.

Marcano, 46, lives in a house with

barred windows and doors in eastern

Caracas. Her son emigrated to Italy. The

tipping point came when two youths on

a motorbike put a gun to his head and

told him to hand over his cellphone as he

drove through Caracas.

“I was screaming like crazy: ‘give it to

him!’” Marcano, who was in the car, said.

“I was thinking of my brother.”

Like her, almost everyone in Venezuela

uses an older cellphone in public, keeping

their smartphone out of sight.

The murder of former Miss Venezuela

Monica Spear and her husband — shot

dead by two youths in a roadside robbery

in 2014 — is etched in the nation’s

collective memory.

Since then, an application called

“Pana” — a slang word for friend — was

created to help ensure people could feel

more secure on the road.

Recently, bikers with high-visibility

vests, dark glasses and radios sped to

the rescue of a young medical student in

distress on the highway.

It took eight minutes for the rescue

squad to reach Carmen Garcia after she

had activated the “Pana” panic button

on her mobile phone after her car broke

down.

“We provide a service that’s fast,

reliable and simple,” said Pana’s chief,

Domingo Coronil.

In a Caracas shopping centre,

Blindacars Express manager Julio Cesar

Perez delivers two black vans with newly

reinforced laminated glass for a client.

“Delinquents don’t discriminate

between social class. We have low,

medium and high-end vehicles coming

in to us” for security upgrades, said Perez.

The owner of the vehicles said he

uses one for his wife and children, and

the other for his business trips outside

Caracas. Thugs often target vehicles with

stones, sticks or bottles to force drivers to

stop, intent on robbery or even kidnap.

“Horrible things happen. Insecurity is

much worse than it used to be,” said the

businessman, who did not want to be

identified for security reasons.

In the streets of Venezuela it’s rare to

see a car without tinted, reinforced glass.

Sundown brings challenges for the

citizens of Caracas.

“As soon as I leave my house I feel in

danger,” said Adrialis Barrios, 23, who

works in communications.

“If I go out at all, to the discotheque for

example, I pay for someone I know to take

me. I don’t trust taxis.”

Most people now gather in private

homes, being safer and cheaper, and

prefer to wait until the light of dawn

before they venture home.

Eglis Torres, a 60-year-old builder,

recently spent the night on a bench at

Caracas airport, when he was heading to

work in Costa Rica.

He arrived at the airport at 5 pm for a

flight departing 7 am the next morning.

His wife waited with him until his plane

took off before heading back home, by

bus.

“My car is old and it would be taking

a risk to break down on such a dangerous

road. The best thing to do is to wait at the

airport and be with someone because they

steal your suitcases,” Torres said. — AFP

ESTABLISHED ON 15 NOVEMBER 1981

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Abdullah bin Salim al Shueili

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The nation celebrated and everyone joined in

T

A

I

he 18th of November 2018 was a day of

celebration for the entire nation. Men and

women, and the elderly and the children

had their own way of celebrating the

occasion.

How does one have the feel-good

factor? In the early years, a theme would

be declared for the National Day. It

could be the year of the youth, heritage

and culture, environment, agriculture,

education, private sector and so on.

When we look back, it is clear that

it was one of the biggest awareness

campaigns because after each year the

awareness that spread across society on

that particular subject was tremendous.

There was a renewed focus each year.

The speech of His Majesty Sultan

Qaboos has a deep impact just like the

speech that was delivered a few days

ago during a meeting with Council of

Ministers.

This year, the Oman Daily Observer

had selected different topics that His

Majesty chose to address in the previous

years. It has been posted every day on

the social media platforms. The selected

message by Oman Daily Observer for

November 19 was a message to the youth.

These are the wise words — “Youth, the

world you are inheriting is one in which

fanaticism, intolerance, and disregard and

disrespect for the rule of law has become

a byword. We see violence and depression

on all sides and we see man sometimes in

disrepair of the future of humanity. But

we believe that the day must come when

these evils are defeated. This is the aim

which every one of us of every nationality

must seek to work for and achieve.”

This universal message aims straight

at the reality that the youth faces today.

It is a duty for citizens and all other

nationalities in the country.

In order to be accepted and considered

cool, often the young members of society

think they have to be different and this is

a global phenomenon.

We have the comfort of free advice

from our elders but as youth, we want to

reject it. Our emotions get the better of us

and we lose years and it is only much later

that we pause and realise the wisdom our

elders had for us. The conclusion in most

cases is, ‘they were so right’.

Life often does not give us a second

chance. That does not mean we do not

find our own ways to a newer tomorrow.

It does not mean we have to be stuck in

the old ways. But new thinking can be

based on values and these values had

been practised over years because of their

success rate.

This is an age where everyone is

attracted to the headline of ‘Ten reasons

why...’ May be it is time we revisited the

lists of values and ask ourselves and the

elders why it worked for them and why

you should consider it.

In a world where artificial intelligence

is expected to play a bigger role where

many of our established majors in

colleges and universities might be written

off, values would still hold place because

it is values that define our attitude.

When elders speak, it might be a good

idea to listen and take notes because what

they say is from experience called life.

There is a thought — ‘Let me make my

own mistakes’. But the fact is the world

is moving so fast that there is not much

time for us to make errors and restart

again.

Then again if you have committed

mistakes, it is not as if it is the end as each

day brings in new hope.

So when you leap ahead with your

dreams, it still is a good idea to stay

connected to the roots because they are

the best reminders of values. When you

work with values, you sleep better.

The South American nation

saw 26,000 homicides last year,

89 per 100,000 inhabitants and a figure 15 times

the global average, according to

the Venezuelan Observatory of

Violence, an NGO

When you leap ahead with your dreams, it still is a good idea to

stay connected to the roots because they are the best

reminders of values

LAKSHMI KOTHANETHlakshmiobserver@gmail.com

OMANDAILYOBSERVERT U E S D A Y l N O V E M B E R 2 0 l 2 0 1 810

panorama

THE HAGUE: A writer who thought

she had found a painting by Pablo

Picasso stolen in an infamous art heist

six years ago said on Sunday she was

the victim of a “publicity stunt”, Dutch

media reported.

Picasso’s “Harlequin Head” was

one of seven celebrated paintings

snatched from the Kunsthal museum

in Rotterdam in 2012 during a daring

robbery local media dubbed “the theft

of the century”.

The artworks by Picasso, Monet,

Gauguin, Matisse and Lucian Freud

have not been seen since.

But Dutch writer Mira Feticu, who

wrote a novel based on the brazen heist,

thought she had uncovered the piece

after she was sent an anonymous letter

around 10 days ago “with instructions

regarding the place where the painting

was hidden” in Romania.

Feticu, of Romanian origin, said

the tip-off led her to a forest in the east

of the country where she dug up an

artwork wrapped in plastic.

Romanian authorities, who were

handed the canvas on Saturday night,

said that it “might be” Picasso’s painting,

which is estimated to be worth 800,000

euros.

However, on Sunday night Feticu

told the Dutch public broadcaster

NOS that she was the victim of a

“performance” by two Belgian directors

in Antwerp.

Feticu said she received an email

from the Belgian duo explaining that

the letter was part of a project called

“True Copy”, dedicated to the notorious

Dutch forger Geert Jan Jansen, whose

fakes flooded the art collections of

Europe and beyond until he was caught

in 1994. “Part of this performance was

prepared in silence in the course of the

past few months, with a view to bringing

back Picasso’s ‘Tete d’Arlequin’,” Bart

Baele and Yves Degryse wrote on their

website.

Their production company

“currently wishes to abstain from any

comment” because it first wants to

speak to Feticu, the statement said.

— AFP

Pranksters plant missing ‘Picasso’ in Romania

FIGHT FOR SUPREMACY: Two Central Asian Shepherd Dog fight at a snow-covered dogfight arena in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek on Sunday. Some 23 owners brought their dogs to take part in the event for the title of “champion of the breed”. — AFP

FANCY RIDE: Participants descend a hill in home-made vehicles during the 29th Car Festival in Medellin, Antioquia department, Colombia, on Sunday. — AFP

THERE HANGS A TALE: Laundry hangs from balconies of an apartment building in Ahmedabad, India, on Monday. — Reuters

SANTA UNDER WATER: A diver dressed as Santa Claus feeds sea turtle “Speedy” in a basin of the SeaLife aquarium in Timmendorfer Strand, northern Germany, during a promotional event on Monday. — AFP

PINNING HOPES: Honduran caravan members look through the fence at the US-Mexico border wall at Friendship park in San Ysidro, California, US, on Sunday. — AFP

BIZ BUZZ

BEIJING: China’s state planner on Monday approved a 42.1 billion yuan ($6.06 billion) airport expansion project in Urumqi, capital of the western region of Xinjiang, a key hub in China’s Belt and Road initiative.

Construction will run through 2030 when the expanded airport is expected to handle 63 million passengers and 750,000 tonnes of cargo a year, said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The expansion includes construction of two additional runways.

The investment value is over half of what China is spending on Beijing’s new mega-airport project — Daxing International Airport — that costs 80 billion yuan and will serve 72 million passengers a year by 2025.

Xinjiang has seen infrastructure construction spring up across the region in recent years as it is considered by China to be a key node in President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative.

Xi’s multi-billion-dollar plan aims to bolster a sprawling network of land and sea links with Asian neighbours and beyond. The Urumqi expansion is aimed at accommodating the rapid aviation growth in Xinjiang and spurring the growth of an international aviation hub in city, according to the NDRC.

— Reuters

TOKYO: Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn was reportedly under arrest in Tokyo on Monday, as his firm accused him of “significant acts of misconduct” and said it would seek to oust him.

Japan’s public broadcaster NHK and other media outlets said Ghosn had been arrested after being questioned by Japanese prosecutors for various improprieties including underreporting his income.

“The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office arrested Nissan chairman Ghosn on suspicion of violation of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act,” NHK said.

In a statement, Nissan said it had been conducting a probe into Ghosn for several months after receiving a whistleblower report and had uncovered misconduct going back several years.

Nissan said it had launched an investigation into both Ghosn and Representative Director Greg Kelly several months ago.

“The investigation showed that over many years both Ghosn and Kelly have been reporting compensation amounts in the Tokyo Stock Exchange securities report that were less than the actual amount, in order to reduce the disclosed amount of Carlos Ghosn’s compensation,” the statement said. — AFP

Nissan chairman Ghosn arrested over financial misconduct

China approves $6 billion airport expansion in Xinjiang’s Urumqi

Global hotel group to launch two new hotels in Oman

BUSINESS REPORTERMUSCAT, NOV 19

Radisson Hospitality AB, part of the Radisson

Hotel Group, has announced two new hotel

signings in Oman: Radisson Hotel Apartments,

Muscat Hills and Park Inn by Radisson Hotel

Apartments, Salalah. This brings the group’s

portfolio to 84 hotels and more than 20,000

rooms in operation and under development

across the Middle East region.

Elie Younes, Executive Vice-President &

Chief Development Officer, Radisson Hotel

Group, said: “We’re pleased to increase our

brand presence across the Sultanate of Oman,

in the capital, Muscat, and in Salalah, the

country’s second largest city. Historically,

Oman has held an important strategic location

between Asia and Africa for trading and, with

the Sultanate’s diversification strategy today,

we see a changing economic landscape — one

that will see the total contribution of travel and

tourism forecast become 8.9 per cent of total

GDP in 2028. We’re proud to see our growth

aligned to this positive outlook and delighted

to introduce our upscale Radisson brand that

delivers Scandinavian-inspired hospitality, as

well as reinforcing the presence of our upper

midscale Park Inn by Radisson brand.”

Radisson Hotel Apartments, Muscat Hills

will be located near the Muscat Hills area and

conveniently close to many leisure attractions,

as well as the Oman International Exhibition

Centre and the Oman Convention & Exhibition

Centre. Muscat International Airport is 11km

away and the hotel apartments will be easily

accessible through the main highway, Sultan

Qaboos Street.

The property will have 171 upscale

apartments made up of studios and one- and

two-bedroom apartments. Dining options will

include an international restaurant. Leisure

facilities will feature a gym and outdoor pool

— as well as easy access to Muscat Hills Golf

Course. Radisson Hotel Apartments, Muscat

Hills will open in Q4 2020.

Park Inn by Radisson Hotel Apartments,

Salalah will be strategically located close to

Salalah city centre, and just 5km away from

the new Salalah International Airport. The

hotel will feature 123 serviced apartments

made up of studios and one- and two-bedroom

apartments.

Facilities will include an international

restaurant, lounge, gym and a kids’ area.

There will be seven meeting rooms and a pre-

function area covering 365sqm. The Park Inn

by Radisson Hotel Apartments, Salalah is set to

open in Q1 2021.

TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 20, 2018 | RABEE AL AWWAL 12, 1440 AH

TOKYO: Japan’s exports rebounded

in the year to October, reversing

from the prior month’s surprise drop

as US-bound car shipments grew,

although slowing global demand and

the intensifying US-China trade war

cloud the outlook for export-reliant

Japan.

Ministry of Finance (MoF) data

out on Monday showed exports rose

8.2 per cent in October from a year

before, slightly below a 9.0 per cent

gain expected by economists in a

Reuters poll.

The export growth followed a

revised 1.3 per cent annual drop

in September, which analysts say

was caused by natural disasters that

forced a closure of an international

airport and crimped factory output,

distribution of goods and inbound

tourism.

Monday’s trade news followed

gross domestic product data issued

last week that showed Japan’s

economy, the world’s third largest,

shrank more than expected in the

third quarter, hit by the natural

disasters and sluggish exports.

While the economy is expected

to return to growth this quarter

as temporary effects from natural

disasters fade, Japanese policymakers

remain wary about the overall

economic impact of global trade

friction and slowing external demand.

“Japan’s exports rebounded from

a decline caused by natural disasters,

but they are losing momentum

compared with last year due to

sluggish shipments to Asia caused

by China’s slowdown,” said Koya

Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC

Nikko Securities.

“The US-China trade war has

not yet had much impact on Japan’s

exports, but it warrants attention

given that it could cause full-blown

effects from next year onwards,” he

added.

Monday’s trade data showed

exports to China, Japan’s biggest

trading partner, rose 9.0 per cent in

the year to October led by cars, car

engines and plastic raw materials,

following the prior month’s drop.

Shipments to Asia, which account

for more than half of Japan’s overall

exports, rose 7.3 per cent.

Japan’s exports to the United

States grew 11.6 per cent in the year

to October, led by shipments of cars.

US-bound auto exports stood at

154,085 cars, up 3.0 per cent year-on-

year, rising for the first time in five

months.

US President Donald Trump has

criticized Japan as well as China over

trade, asserting that Tokyo treats the

United States unfairly by shipping

millions of cars to North America

while blocking imports of US autos

and farm products.

In September, Prime Minister

Shinzo Abe and Trump agreed to

start trade talks in an arrangement

that appeared, at least for now, to

protect Japanese automakers from

further tariffs on their exports, which

make up about two-thirds of Japan’s

$69 billion annual trade surplus with

the United States.

Imports from the United States

rose 34.3 per cent in October, led by

feed corn, liquefied petroleum gas

and crude oil, helping reduce Japan’s

trade surplus with the United States

by 11.0 per cent versus the same

month last year to 573.4 billion yen

($5.09 billion). — Reuters

Japan’s exports rebound driven by US car imports

LONDON: Nespresso, part of food giant

Nestle, aims to use sustainable aluminium in

all of its coffee capsules by 2020 under a deal

with mining major Rio Tinto announced on

Monday.

Both companies have faced criticism

for adding to pressure on the planet, with

campaigners saying Nespresso coffee

machines are wasteful and many of the used

capsules end up in landfill.

Under the deal, Anglo-Australian Rio

Tinto will supply aluminium produced with

renewable power and respect for biodiversity

to Nespresso, the world leader in the coffee

pod market.

The companies are seeking to position

themselves as sustainable to boost their

investor and customer appeal, and Nespresso

has committed to 100 per cent sustainable

aluminium for its capsules by 2020, Rio

Tinto said in a statement released on Monday

Australia time.

Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien

Jacques said last month that miners needed

new partnerships as the sector competes for

talent and seeks to improve its image.

Its aluminium assets use hydropower — for

economic as well as environmental reasons —

and in April the miner became the world’s first

producer of aluminium to be certified by the

Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI).

ASI standards are based on protecting

biodiversity, respecting indigenous peoples’

rights and traceability throughout the

supply chain, as well as lower emissions and

renewable energy.

Rio Tinto Vice-President Sales and

Marketing Tolga Egrilmezer said in an

interview that the deal with Nespresso was “a

significant milestone for the industry” towards

wider use of responsibly-sourced aluminium.

— Reuters

Rio Tinto, Nespresso join forces to make coffee pods greener

Exports to China, Japan’s biggest trading partner, rose 9pc in the year to October led by cars and plastic raw materials

A cargo ship is pictured at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan. — Reuters

A Nespresso logo is pictured on a coffee factory at Nestle in Orbe, Switzerland. — Reuters

With signings of these two projects the group’s portfolio will have 84 hotels and more than 20,000 rooms in operation and under development across the Middle East region

CRAZY WEEK FOR OIL AND GAS P12 US SHALE FIRMS OFFER $100M TO AID TEXAS, NEW MEXICO P12 SINGAPORE THIRD QUARTER GROWTH LIKELY TO SLOW DOWN P12

business editor@omanobserver.om www.omanobserver.omfollow us @oman_biz

MUSCAT STOCK

MARKET

CRUDE OIL PRICE

4,454.260Oman Crude $ 66.76Brent Crude $ 67.06Light Crude $ 57.09

NEW PROPERTIES: Radisson Hotel Apartments, Muscat Hills and The Park Inn by Radisson Hotel Apartments, Salalah to open in Q4 2020 and Q1 2021 respectively

businessOMANDAILYOBSERVERT U E S D A Y l N O V E M B E R 2 0 l 2 0 1 812

international

Commodity update: Crazy week for oil and gas

The Bloomberg

Commodity Index,

which tracks a

basket of major

c o m m o d i t i e s

within the three

major sectors of energy, metals and

agriculture, was on track to show

its first weekly rise in six. Gains in

energy and metals, both industrial and

precious metals helped offset losses in

agriculture commodities.

The dollar reached a 17-month high

against a basket of currencies before

weakening in response to muted US

inflation data and not least, comments

from Federal Reserve Chairman

Powell. In a speech he highlighted the

current strength of the US economy

while also saying that it could face

headwinds next year.

Bonds rallied, with US 10-year

yields hitting a three-week low, while

weakness returned to the US stock

market. This came as key technology

stocks suffered, and hopes faded of

an imminent trade deal between the

US and China at the G20 meeting in

Buenos Aires later this month.

The energy sector continued to

attract most of the attention given

the extreme

m o v e m e n t s

witnessed in

both crude oil

and natural

gas. Weeks

of crude

oil selling

t r i g g e r e d

what looked

like a final

capitulation of longs on Tuesday when

both WTI and Brent lost 7 per cent,

the biggest one-day slump in three

years. The following day natural gas

at one point spiked by 20 per cent

before finding sellers. As the weekend

approached some of the losses and

gains in both had already been clawed

back.

The agriculture sector, led by soft

commodities, traded lower amid a

stronger dollar, especially against

sterling which put cocoa under

pressure. Short-term fundamentals

in general remain weak with the

dollar strength and ample supply

weighing on prices of several key food

commodities.

Natural gas’ extreme rally A steady

rise in natural gas since the beginning

of the month ended up in a major rout

on Wednesday when the front month

contract at one stage almost reached

$5/term, a 50 per cent increase on the

month, before finding sellers. It was

carried higher by strong momentum

on the combination of unseasonal

cold weather across the US northeast

raising short-term concerns about

production being disrupted due to

freezing of the well heads, together

with low stocks.

A year of record production, but

also record demand from domestic

consumption and rising exports, has

left stocks lingering at a seasonal 15-

year low ahead of the withdrawal

season that is about to kick off within

the next couple of weeks.

However, and as we highlighted

in our mid-week update, such a price

surge was at risk of being at least partly

reversed given how early in the winter

season the rally occurred. A weekly

stockpile increase slightly above

expectations and weather forecasts

showing moderating cold ahead

helped trigger the biggest one-day

retreat since at least 1990.

This week’s developments showed

that the US natural gas market will be

facing four months of volatility with a

potentially colder than normal winter

keeping the focus on the low level of

stocks.

Crude oil stabilises The rout in

crude oil accelerated and resulted

in the potential final round of

capitulation selling last Tuesday when

Opec’s Monthly Oil Market Report

confirmed what bulls increasingly had

come to fear: Surging production from

non-Opec producers, especially the

US and Russia, and reduced demand

for Opec’s own oil at a time when the

market was already troubled by signs

of slowing demand growth into 2019.

Adding to this, we have the reduced

impact of US sanctions against Iran’s

export ability after Washington

unexpectedly granted waivers for

some countries, including some of the

world’s biggest buyers.

The 7 per cent drop in WTI crude

oil and 6.6 per cent drop in Brent were

the worst one-day losses for these

benchmarks in three years. It looked

like a classic capitulation move with

bulls finally throwing in the towel

following weeks of relentless selling. It

now raises the question of whether the

market has overshot to the downside,

just like Brent did to the upside at the

beginning of October when it hit $87/

barrel. We believe that it has, with our

assumption being based on the above

observations:

In addition, the 20 per cent drop

in Brent crude oil since early October

has come as a major relief to emerging

market consumers already struggling

with a strong dollar, high levels of

dollar debt and the rising funding cost

of funding it.

Several oil producers can ill afford

the slump experienced since early

October and on that basis, we can

expect both Opec and Russia to step

up their attempts to stop the rout and

guide crude oil higher. Russia, which

has based its 2019 budget on an oil

price of $40/b, will be content with

Brent at $70/b, while Saudi Arabia is

desperate for a price closer to $80/b.

In the short term Brent crude could

climb back towards $73/b (38.2 per

cent retracement as per chart) and

even higher ahead of year end.

[Ole Hansen is Head of Commodity

Strategy – Saxo Bank]

BIZ BRIEF

BEIJING: China will expand its ban on imports of solid waste, local media reported on Monday, almost a year after its first curbs caused havoc in countries that sent their rubbish to the Asian giant.

The regulatory action — which expands the prohibition to 32 categories of solid waste from the 24 banned last year — will go into effect from December 31, according to official news agency Xinhua, citing four Chinese government agencies.

Newly banned product types include hardware, ships, auto parts, stainless steel waste and scrap, titanium and wood, Xinhua said. The initial ban caused worldwide problems as recyclers were cut off from their main market for waste material.

Globally, since 1992, 72 per cent of plastic waste has ended up in China and Hong Kong, according to a study in the journal Science Advances.

China bought up more than half of the scrap materials exported by the US last year — but that proportion has been falling with Beijing’s regulatory moves cutting down the types of waste Chinese companies could buy.

China says the policy changes are in line with a new push to protect the environment. They suggest Beijing no longer wants to be the world’s trash can, or even its recycle bin. Equally damaging for recyclers have been more stringent policies on the quality of waste China will allow across its border.

For products such as cardboard and metal, China set a contamination level of 0.5 per cent last year — an extremely low threshold that required US and other recyclers to change technology and sorting techniques to meet the new standards. — AFP

MILAN: Luigi Gubitosi’s appointment as Telecom Italia’s new chief executive lifted shares more than 4 per cent on Monday as investors bet the veteran Italian manager could push through an aggressive shake-up of Italy’s biggest phone group.

However, the change has not ended the battle raging at Telecom Italia between activist investor Elliott and French media group Vivendi which remains the largest shareholder and voted against Gubitosi.

A former head of telecoms group Wind and now state-appointed commissioner of struggling airline Alitalia, Gubitosi succeeds Amos Genish, the third TIM CEO to leave in as many years, who was unexpectedly fired last Tuesday over what sources said were disagreements with board members over strategy.

Telecom Italia (TIM) shares rose 4.4 per cent by 0940 GMT, outperforming a 0.7 per cent rise in Europe’s telecoms index.

“The exit of Genish and the appointment of Gubitosi add speculative appeal but also strategic and governance uncertainty,” Banca Akros said in a note.

Gubitosi was appointed to the TIM board after a boardroom coup in May in which Elliott wrested control from Vivendi.

The former Merrill Lynch banker is expected to pursue the activist agenda proposed by Elliott, which included the spin-off of TIM’s network infrastructure and its merger with smaller, state-backed broadband rival Open Fiber, asset sales and a conversion of its savings shares. — Reuters

China expands ban on waste imports

Telecom Italia gets new chief executive

Tourists gather in front of the iconic statue of the Merlion in Singapore. The country is expected to report slower third-quarter economic growth than initially thought as the manufacturing sector faces strains from weaker global demand and an intensifying US-China trade dispute. — AFP

DUBAI: Global ports operator DP World believes international trade tensions such as those between the United States and China will make 2019 challenging but not unmanageable, its chairman said.

The Dubai government-controlled ports operator cautioned in August about geopolitical risks and changes in trade policies as first-half profit fell 2.1 per cent.

DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said he believed the psychological impact of trade tensions involving the United States were starting to translate into reality.

Financial institutions were becoming increasingly cautious and taking measures such as tightening lending in reaction to trade tensions, he said in an interview at the DP World Tour Championship golf tournament in Dubai.

That is likely to negatively impact growth in emerging markets, he said.

Trade tensions were evident in Papua New Guinea on Sunday when Asia-Pacific leaders failed to agree on a communique at a summit for the first time in their history as deep divisions between the United States and China over trade and investment stymied cooperation.

DP World, one of the world’s largest port operators, was taking measures to reduce costs, and is addressing how it will manage a challenging 2019, said bin Sulayem.

“We are finding ways to make sure that we do good in 2019,” he said. He declined to comment when asked if the company would report a higher profit this year. — Reuters

Trade tensions will make 2019 challenging, says DP World CEO

DP World CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, gestures during a summit in Dubai, UAE. — Reuters

US shale firms offer $100m to aid Texas, New MexicoHOUSTON: More than a dozen top

US energy companies have pledged

$100 million toward easing stresses

on health care, education and civic

infrastructure from the shale oil and

gas boom in West Texas and New

Mexico, the group said.

Chevron, EOG Resources, Exxon

Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell are

among 17 companies backing the

Permian Strategic Partnership,

as the consortium is called, Don

Evans, a former US government

official and energy executive helping

launch the group, said. The group

seeks to address labour and housing

shortages, overtaxed health care

and traffic congestion caused in part

by companies descending on the

Permian Basin, the nation’s largest

oilfield, where they hope to pump

billions of dollars’ worth of oil and gas

in coming decades, experts said.

“It’s a significant amount of money,

but these are huge challenges,” said

Evans, a former US Secretary of

Commerce who lives in Midland,

Texas, the epicentre of the shale oil

revolution. “We don’t have enough

teachers. We don’t have enough

doctors.” The group aims to work

with regional and federal officials,

companies, nonprofit groups and

educators in New Mexico and Texas,

said Evans, who started in the Permian

and became CEO of producer

Tom Brown Inc before joining the

administration of former President

George W Bush.

The group is assembling plans

to hold meetings in communities

across the region, so “everyone have a

voice” in the undertaking. There is no

timetable or plan for how the initial

contribution will be spent. The group

is recruiting staff and searching for

office space, he said.

In the last decade, the region’s many

pockets of oil and low production costs

have led to gold rush-like conditions

in the Permian. Companies are

pouring staff and equipment into the

oilfield, which is expected to pump

3.7 million barrels per day of oil by

December, four times its rate in 2010,

according to US Energy Information

Administration. — Reuters

BoJ warns of risks from falling banks’ profitsTOKYO: Bank of Japan Governor

Haruhiko Kuroda (pictured) warned

that declining profits at regional banks

could hurt the economy by potentially

destabilising the financial system.

Regional banks’ core profitability

has continued to fall due to prolonged

low interest rates, a shrinking

population and falling number of

firms operating in regional areas of

Japan, Kuroda said in at a seminar.

“We should be mindful of the

possible consequences, including

any downward pressure on the real

economy from the financial system,”

he said.

Subdued price growth has forced

the BoJ to maintain its massive

stimulus programme despite the rising

costs, such as the hit to bank profits

from years of near-zero interest rates.

Kuroda said the central bank was

mindful of the danger that prolonged

low rates could squeeze bank profits

and prompt some of them to take

excessive risk.

“If appropriate risk management

measures are not taken ... credit costs

could rise sharply and the stability

of the financial system could be

threatened” in the event of a severe

economic shock, he said.

On Japan’s economy, Kuroda said

it was “doing quite well,” with the job

market near full employment and

companies enjoying historically high

profits.

But he repeated that the BOJ will

maintain its ultra-loose monetary

policy as inflation remained distant

from its 2 per cent target.

“Price development is going to

be affected by many factors, not just

by monetary policy” but by various

supply and demand shocks, Kuroda

said. — Reuters

A Chevron gas station is seen in San Francisco. — Reuters

CRUDE STOCKS ARE LIKELY TO BEGIN FALLING SOON ONCE GLOBAL REFINERY ACTIVITY RAMPS UP AFTER MAINTENANCE.

SAUDI ARABIA HAS BEEN PLAYED BY THE US OVER IRAN AND THEY ARE ANGRY. TOGETHER WITH THEIR FRIENDS THEY ARE NOW CONSIDERING CUTTING PRODUCTION BY 1.4M B/D.

SPECULATORS HAVE SHARPLY REDUCED THEIR NET-LONG POSITIONS WITH SOME OF THAT BEING DUE A RISE IN GROSS-SHORT POSITIONS. A PRICE RECOVERY WILL FORCE RENEWED BUYING AND SHORT-COVERING.

MANY REFINERIES HAVE LIMITED USE FOR THE VERY LIGHT US SHALE OIL COMPARED WITH HEAVIER QUALITIES FROM THE MIDDLE EAST.

OLE HANSEN

TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 20, 2018 | RABEE AL AWWAL 12, 1440 AH

observerfeatures@gmail.com www.omanobserver.omfollow us @omanobserver

The Environment

Society of

Oman (ESO) in

partnership with

New England

Aquarium (NEA)

have recently

finalised their findings on a two-year

acoustic dataset on the Arabian Sea

Humpback Whales (ASHW).

The aim of the project was to

document spatial and temporal

distribution of Arabian Sea humpback

whales in the region, investigate

singing behaviour and geographic

variation, as well as assess potential

threats to the population posed by

anthropogenic noise. The project

was conducted off the coast of Oman

in Hallaniyats Bay and the Gulf of

Masirah from 2011 to 2013.

Currently listed as Endangered by

the IUCN Red List, the Arabian Sea

humpback whale has a population

estimated to be less than 100.

The study was undertaken as a

matter of urgency and as a means

to identify conservation solutions by

acoustically assessing the presence

and seasonality of whales, and

monitoring the amount and effects of

ambient noise on whales. Measuring

sound is a critical factor for cetaceans

as hearing is their primary sense

used for foraging, migration and

reproduction, and impairment of

communication and hearing can have

serious population consequences.

The study involved three

components, seasonal and

geographic detections of humpback

whale vocalisations off Oman,

characterising ambient noise in the

monitored regions, and comparing

song structure variation across the

western Indian Ocean, with ground-

breaking results.

Sponsored by Shell Development

Oman, Suaad al Harthi, Executive

Director at the Environment said,

“The research and the acoustic

analysis has revealed valuable

information about the Arabian Sea

Humpback Whales, confirming

the areas that are important to

them, and the potential impact of

noise pollution. Our conservation

programme is ongoing and with the

support of local and international

partners we are able to develop and

address conservation concerns.”

The detection of whale presence

involves the highly effective method

of Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM)

for assessing distribution across

broad spatial and temporal scales.

From continuously recording at

three sites for two years, and a total

of 1,369 acoustic recording days, it

was discovered that the population

utilises both the Gulf of Masirah

and Hallaniyat Bay for breeding.

However, the Hallaniyats, had more

frequent singing of Arabian Sea

Humpback Whales, suggesting it

may be a more important breeding

area. Nevertheless, the study clearly

indicated that both locations are

considered “hot spots” for the

population. There was also a shift in

distribution from south to north into

the Gulf of Masirah towards the end

of the breeding season, apparently as

the population shifted into the non-

breeding season.

Muna al Shukaili, General Manager

of External Relations and Social

Investment Lead at Shell Development

said the reason they collaborated with

ESO is to find a lasting solution for the

vulnerable mammals.

“Preserving the ocean biodiversity

is part of Shell’s commitment towards

the environment and sustainable

development in Oman,” she added.

Andrew Willson, Senior Marine

Consultant at Fives Oceans

Environmental Services, said “This

study has been a breakthrough

for the team’s work in the Arabian

Sea given that the sophisticated

equipment and subsequent analysis

has allowed us to monitor for the

occurrence of whales within their

critical habitat almost year round.

This significantly extends knowledge

gained from conventional small

vessel surveys conducted along the

coast of Oman over the last 18 years.

The technique has capitalised on one

of the key traits of marine mammals;

that they are highly dependent on

communication through acoustics

for their survival”.

Considered the most consequential

finding of the overall study in the

context of conservation, the analysis

of ambient sound sought to determine

potential threats in each location.

Using sophisticated standardised

analyses, biological, physical and

anthropogenic noise sources were

assessed to provide a profile of the

“soundscape” over time and across

frequencies. Areas around Port Duqm

with elevated anthropogenic noise

appeared to have a decreased level

of humpback whale singing activity,

suggesting that whales were either

disturbed or their song displays were

masked in vicinity of the port. This

indicates that further assessment

and action in the preservation of

the Arabian Sea humpback whale is

highly advisable.

Dr Salvatore Cerchio, the

Project Lead Researcher from

the New England Aquarium said,

“In-depth analyses and findings

around the world on the impact of

loud anthropogenic noise sources

on whales are compelling. This

type of noise pollution is widely

recognised as having a negative

effect on the marine life and

marine ecosystems alike.”

He added, “Our findings off Oman

indicate that the same processes

are likely at work in the Arabian Sea,

and could be a contributor to the low

number of Arabian Sea humpback

whales living off the coast of Oman.

What we need to do now, is work

together with governments towards

putting in place a marine noise policy

and learn how to better monitor and

manage it.”

The final section of the acoustic

analysis involved an oceanic

comparison of humpback whale

songs that benefited from a large-

scale international collaboration, with

contributions from researchers with

song samples from several regions,

including National Institute of Ocean

Technology, India; Globice, Reunion

Island; and Accademia del Leviatano,

Italy, working off the Comoros Islands.

The song structure of humpback

whales off Oman were compared

to samples from the west coast of

India and from the Southwest Indian

Ocean (SWIO) to assess isolation

of the population from Southern

Hemisphere populations, and to

describe their singing behaviour.

Analysis indicated several key

findings, revealing that songs from

Oman and India across the Arabian

Sea appeared to be very similar,

but that the ASHWs song remained

distinct and consistently different

from the SWIO song across the

years. This finding reinforces our

understanding of isolation of the

ASHW as previously indicated by

genetic and photographic studies.

A SOUND IS WORTH A THOUSAND

WORDS

Again confirming the magic touch of J K Rowling, “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” took in an estimated $62.2 million this weekend to lead North American box offices, indus-try tracker Exhibitor Relations reported on Sunday.

This second Harry Potter prequel came in slightly behind the first “Fantastic Beasts” movie, which earned $74.4 million in its opening three-day weekend, but it has already scored an impressive $253.2 million overseas.

Warner Bros plans three more “Beasts” movies.

Written by Rowling and directed by David Yates, “Grindelwald” stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander as he works with Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) to take down the evil Gellert Grindelwald, played with typi-cal panache by Johnny Depp.

In a rare weekend when neither horror nor superhe-ro movies dominated, second place went to family-friendly “The Grinch” from Universal, which tallied $38.2 million.

The ever-popular Dr Seuss tale has Benedict Cumberbatch voicing the ill-tempered green title charac-ter, with support from Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson and Angela Lansbury.

In third spot, with $15.7 mil-lion in ticket sales, was Fox’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the foot-stomping biopic about Freddie Mercury and rock group Queen. Rami Malek has drawn strong reviews for his portrayal of the British sing-er/songwriter. — AFP

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Egyptian falconers gathered in the desert of Borg al-Arab near Alexandria to celebrate World Falconry Day, hoping to increase awareness of the sport and help pre-serve the ancient tradition.

Under the slogan “Egypt ... Where It All Began”, the birds of prey of the Egy Falconer Club, which organised the event on Saturday, soared through the clear blue skies and showed off their hunting skills, swooping on pigeons or rabbits.

Mohamed Mowafy, a member of the club, said falconry in Egypt dated back to the ancient Egyptians’ worship of the falcon-headed god Horus.

The celebration brought together fal-coners from across Egypt and included a competition that featured more than 10 types of birds of prey, including a two-year-old golden eagle owned by Yasser al-Khawanky.

Among the younger competitors was 11-year-old Ammar, who said he was introduced to falconry by his father at the age of seven. Ammar named his light-feathered Shaheen falcon “Ashqar”, mean-ing blond. — Reuters

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Low emission zones improve city air, but not enough -study

LONDON’S LOW EMISSION traffic zone has modestly reduced resi-dents’ exposure to diesel engine pollution, but the better air quality has not brought improved lung health among the capital’s children, research found on Wednesday.

The results suggest that while air pollution levels may be reduced by low emission zones that are now in place in around 200 cities across Europe, extra measures are need-ed to deliver air clean enough to improve health.

The World Health Organization says outdoor air pollution is linked to 3.7 million premature deaths a year globally. In Europe, where more than half of new cars are diesel-fuelled, nitrogen oxide — which has been linked to asthma and impaired lung devel-opment in children — has become a major problem.

Low emission zones are seen as a way to tackle traffic pollution and there are now around 200 in oper-ation across Europe. London intro-duced the world’s largest citywide low emission zone in stages during 2008 and 2012, requiring diesel vehicles entering Greater London to meet certain emission standards or pay daily charges.

This study, published in The Lancet Public Health journal on Wednesday, looked at data from more than 2,000 school children aged 8 and 9 years old living in highly polluted areas of London’s low emission zone.

Between 2009-10 and 2013-

2014, the children were given yearly winter health checks that included measuring lung function and size. Parents were asked to complete a medical questionnaire about the children, with informa-tion on breathing and allergic symptoms such as asthma, ecze-ma and hay fever.

The results found that despite improvements in air quality after the low emission zone was imple-mented, there was no evidence of a fall in the proportion of children with small lungs or asthma symp-toms over the following five years.

“In many areas of London, air pollution still remains a major issue,” said Chris Griffiths, a profes-sor at Queen Mary University of London who co-led the research.

He said many areas of the city are still breaching EU air pollution standards and “are unlikely to meet them without a substantial tighten-ing of current emission controls.”

London is set to introduce an ultra low emission zone early next year — a measure experts say should deliver major improve-ments in air quality.

Ian Mudway, a professor at King’s College London who also worked on the study, said there is an urgent need to improve air qual-ity in congested cities. But he stressed the importance of evaluat-ing the effectiveness of policies, “not only in terms of whether they improve air quality, but more importantly, whether they deliver better health”. — Reuters

New ‘Fantastic Beasts’ film casts a winning box-office spell

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Egyptians celebrate falconry heritage

ASIAN CINEMA’S TOP stars gath-er in Taipei on Saturday for Taiwan’s Golden Horse film awards, dubbed the Chinese-language “Oscars”, with acclaimed director Zhang Yimou’s “Shadow”

leading the race. Oscar-winning Taiwanese-

American director Ang Lee, Chinese superstar Gong Li and Hong Kong’s “heavenly king” Andy Lau are among the celebrities due to walk down the red carpet in Taipei ahead of the glitzy ceremony.

Chinese director Zhang’s martial arts epic, inspired by traditional ink-brush painting, leads with 12 nominations including for the coveted best film, best director, best leading actor and actress awards.

Taiwanese comedy “Dear EX” about a widow fighting for her hus-band’s inheritance against his gay lover, follows closely with eight nods in the best film and best act-ing categories, plus a best new director nod for Taiwanese duo Mag Hsu and Hsu Chih-yen.

Best director contenders are all from China. Zhang, Jiang Wen (“Hidden Man”) and Lou Ye (“The Shadow Play”) will face off against

29-year-old Bi Gan (“Long Day’s Journey Into Night”) and Tibetan Pema Tseden (“Jinpa”).

Zhang has never won Golden Horse best director, while former actor Jiang, who starred in Zhang’s classic “Red Sorghum”, won the title with his directorial debut “In the Heat of the Sun” in 1996.

The best acting awards are also dominated by Chinese tal-ent, with Taiwan’s Roy Chiu and Hsieh Ying-xuan fighting for a home win for their respective roles as the gay lover and wid-owed mother in “Dear EX”.

China’s Deng Chao, who plays the double of an official trained to protect him in ancient China in “Shadow”, is a frontrunner for best actor against compatriots Xu Zheng (“Dying to Survive”), Duan Yihong (“The Looming Storm”) and Peng Yuchang (“An Elephant Sitting Still”).

Deng’s wife, Chinese television star Sun Li, who also plays his wife

in “Shadow”, is vying for best actress against Zhou Xun in Japanese director Shunji Iwai’s romance “Last Letter” as well as Zhao Tao (“Ash is Purest White”) and Zeng Meihuizi (“Three Husbands”).

Three Chinese dramas — “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”, “Dying to Survive” and “An Elephant Sitting Still” — are also in the running for best film.

The best documentary cate-gory sees “Our Youth in Taiwan” about the island’s 2014 Sunflower Movement pitted against “Umbrella Diaries: The First Umbrella” about Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Umbrella Movement. Both mass protests were led by young activists and reflected increasing resistance to Beijing’s influence.

The 55th edition of the awards is due to start at 7:00 pm (11:00 GMT) in Taipei’s Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. — AFP

Stars gather for Chinese ‘Oscars’ in Taiwan

E N T E R T A I M E N T

OMANDAILYOBSERVERT U E S D A Y l N O V E M B E R 2 0 l 2 0 1 8 15cricket/cycling

BERLIN: International Olympic

Committee member Shaikh

Ahmad al Fahad al Sabah said

on Monday he had temporarily

stepped down from his roles in the

Olympic body amid an ongoing

legal case in Switzerland.

The Kuwaiti IOC member

heads Olympic Solidarity — the

multi-million dollar IOC purse

that funds sports projects globally.

He is also head of the Association

of National Olympic Committees

(ANOC) and president of the

Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

Shaikh Ahmad did not give any

details of the case against him but

denied any wrongdoing. Kuwaiti

media reports said the case was

linked to a domestic issue.

“Shaikh Ahmad does not wish

for the case into these politically

motivated allegations to distract

attention away from the excellent

work carried out by his colleagues

in the Olympic movement,” he

said in a statement.

“Therefore, Shaikh Ahmad

has today decided to step aside

temporarily from his roles

and responsibilities as an IOC

member and Chairman of

Olympic Solidarity commission,

pending the outcome of the IOC

Ethics commission hearing.”

“Shaikh Ahmad is willing and

ready to attend the hearing as and

when decided.”

The IOC said its ethics chief

had been informed of the Sheikh’s

temporary departure from his

positions on the committee.

“The IOC can confirm that

the Chief Ethics and Compliance

Officer received a letter from

Shaikh Ahmad al Fahad al Sabah

in line with the content of the

official statement issued by his

office this morning,” an IOC

official said.

There were no details regarding

the time frame of the ethics

investigation.

The Kuwaiti, who has been

an IOC member since 1992, is

a close ally of IOC President

Thomas Bach and was among his

supporters in the run-up to his

election in 2013. — Reuters

Mahir clinches gold in Arab Mountain BikingMUSCAT: Tunisian Mahir al Habouri clinched the gold in the

second Arab Mountain Biking Championship hosted by the

Sultanate on Monday.

The Oman Cycling Committee organised the event for the

first time from November 17 to 19.

Shaikh Saad bin Mohammed al Saadi, Minister of Sports

Affairs, was the chief guest for the concluding ceremony at

the Royal Amy of Oman’s (RAO) range in presence of Shaikh

Faisal bin Humaid al Qasimi, Chairman of the Arab Cycling

Federation.

Al Habouri finished the 33.5 km race in 1hour 28 minutes

and 18 seconds to claim the top spot.

Moroccan Mohammed Zarhoun took the silver by

finishing second (1:28:26) and his compatriot Waleed Azdad

claimed the bronze (1:36:09).

Omani cyclist Shabib al Balushi finished sixth.

Lebanese cyclists Zahir al Hajj and Emil Dhaw, came in the

fourth and fifth places.

The tournament involved seven Arab countries namely

the Sultanate, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Bahrain, Qatar and

Jordan. — ONA

Patel spins Kiwis to thrilling win over Pakistan

New Zealand first innings: ---------------------------------- 153 Pakistan first innings: ----------------------------------------- 227 New Zealand second innings: ----------------------------- 249 Pakistan second innings (O/n: 37-0):Imam lbw Patel ---------------------------------------------------------------27M Hafeez c de Grandhomme b Sodhi ------------------------------10A Ali lbw Patel -----------------------------------------------------------------65H Sohail c & b Sodhi ----------------------------------------------------------4A Shafiq c Watling b Wagner -------------------------------------------45B Azam (run out) -------------------------------------------------------------13S Ahmed c Watling b Patel ------------------------------------------------3B Asif b Patel ---------------------------------------------------------------------0Y Shah c Taylor b Wagner --------------------------------------------------0H Ali c sub b Patel --------------------------------------------------------------0M Abbas (not out) -------------------------------------------------------------0Extras (B-4) -----------------------------------------------------------------------4Total (all out, 58.4 overs) -------------------------------------- 171Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-44, 3-48, 4-130, 5-147, 6-154, 7-154, 8-155, 9-164 Bowling: Boult 7-0-29-0, De Grandhomme 3-0-15-0, Patel 23.4-4-59-5, Sodhi 12-0-37-2, Wagner 13-4-27-2

SCOREBOARD

ABU DHABI: Debutant spinner Ajaz Patel

took five wickets to lead a never-say-die

approach from New Zealand bowlers as they

pulled off a thrilling four-run win over an

indisciplined Pakistan in the first Test in Abu

Dhabi on Monday.

Defending a modest 176-run target, New

Zealand bowlers led by Patel (5-59), fast

bowler Neil Wagner (2-27) and Ish Sodhi (2-

37) bowled out Pakistan for 171 on a drama-

packed fourth day at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

It is the fifth smallest win in terms of

runs in Test cricket’s history and gives New

Zealand a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Azhar Ali fought a lone battle for Pakistan

with 65 and was the last man out when he

was trapped leg-before wicket by Patel. He

reviewed Bruce Oxenford’s decision but the

television replays upheld the decision.

Resuming on 37 without loss, Pakistan

began the day as favourites to chase down

the 176 they needed for victory although

New Zealand will have taken some hope

from Pakistan’s failure at the same ground

last year to chase 136 against Sri Lanka.

Kiwi spinners Patel and Ish Sodhi

opened the bowling and immediately

caused problems as Pakistan lost three

wickets in the first six overs.

Imam-ul-Haq was trapped leg-before for

27 to a full length ball by left-arm spinner

Patel in the fifth over. In the sixth, Sodhi had

Mohammad Hafeez caught in the covers

and then three balls later held on to a return

catch low to his left as Haris Sohail drove a

full toss back at him.

Pakistani nerves were eased by the sight of

Azhar and Asad Shafiq carefully rebuilding

the innings with a fourth wicket partnership

of 82.

Shafiq made a cultured 45, becoming

the 11th Pakistani to reach 4,000 runs in

Test cricket, but his dismissal in the last

over before lunch, edging Neil Wagner to

wicketkeeper BJ Watling, changed the game

as Pakistan lost their final seven wickets for

just 41.

After lunch, Babar Azam ran himself

out for 13, the guilty party in a mix-up

with Azhar and skipper Sarfraz Ahmed fell

for a second time sweeping Patel, this time

gloving the ball to Watling.

Bilal Asif tried to slog a straight ball from

Patel and was bowled leaving Pakistan 154

for seven, still 22 runs short of victory.

The earlier measure at the crease had

been replaced by chaos. In the next over

Wagner had Yasir Shah caught in the slips

and then Hasan Ali attempted a slog-sweep

off Patel, picking out substitute fielder Tim

Southee on the midwicket boundary.

Azhar then tried to inch Pakistan across

the line, farming the strike from Mohammad

Abbas.

But with five runs still needed to win Patel

found the delivery to win the match for New

Zealand.

The second Test starts in Dubai from

Saturday while the third and final, again in

Abu Dhabi from December 3. — AFP

Kuwait’s Shaikh Ahmad temporarily leaves IOC roles

New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel (right) makes a successful leg before wicket appeal against Pakistani batsman Azhar Ali (left) during the fourth day of the first Test at the Sheikh Zayed International Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday. — AFP

The winners along with the chief guest and other dignitaries after the conclusion of second Arab Mountain Biking Championship in Muscat. — ONA

TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 20, 2018 | RABEE AL AWWAL 12, 1440 AH

editor@omanobserver.om www.omanobserver.om

follow us @observersportzsport

LONDON: England fought back to

qualify for the semifinals of the Uefa

Nations League as Jesse Lingard and

Harry Kane scored late goals in a

pulsating 2-1 victory over Croatia,

who were relegated from Group A4

after defeat at Wembley on Sunday.

England were themselves facing the

drop when Croatia’s Andrej Kramaric

scored after 57 minutes but substitute

Lingard and Kane netted in the 77th

and 85th minutes at a vociferous

Wembley to turn the group on its head.

Gareth Southgate’s side, who were

knocked out in the semifinals of the

World Cup by Croatia in July, had

dominated for large periods but fell

behind when Kramaric twisted and

turned before firing in via a deflection

off Eric Dier.

Yet Lingard poked home and

Kane converted Ben Chilwell’s free

kick to ensure England finished top

of a group where all three teams —

including Spain who started the day

top but finished second — could have

qualified.

England, who progress to the finals

in Portugal in June, finished with seven

points, one ahead of Spain and three

clear of Croatia, who were relegated

to the second tier. “Today was another

big occasion with lots of pressure,”

Southgate told reporters.

“But I thought we coped with it

very well and in the first half we played

so well. We had good chances and

should have been ahead in the game.

But then we had to show another side:

our resilience and character.”

England made eight changes from

the side that beat the United States in

a friendly on Thursday with no place

in the starting lineup for Lingard,

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Callum

Wilson.

Croatia, meanwhile, were without

influential midfielder Ivan Rakitic,

and in his absence the visitors missed

a golden opportunity when Ante Rebic

fired over with England keeper Jordan

Pickford horribly exposed after only

two minutes. As England started to

dominate, a fine Kane ball sent Raheem

Sterling free, only for the Manchester

City winger to shoot directly at Croatia

keeper Lovre Kalinic while Kane

spooned the resulting corner over the

crossbar.

There was very vocal contingent

of Croatia fans in the 78,000-strong

crowd, but they were lucky not to

see their side concede as Kane was

brilliantly denied first by defender

Tin Jedvaj and then Kalinic with the

visitors struggling to contain England’s

pacy attack.

Ross Barkley volleyed into the side

netting shortly before half-time, yet

after the break it was Kramaric who

kept his composure brilliantly before

converting Croatia’s first shot on

target.

England introduced Dele Alli,

Jadon Sancho and Lingard after the

goal and their energy proved decisive

with Lingard, poking home in the 77th

minute. Both sides looked dangerous

in a frantic, full-blooded final 15

minutes but with Wembley roaring

them on, it was man-of-the-match

Kane who was on hand to slide in

Chilwell’s free kick and seal England’s

progress. — Reuters

PARIS: Haris Seferovic starred with

a hat-trick as Switzerland staged

a sensational comeback to thrash

Belgium 5-2 in Lucerne on Sunday

and qualify for the Nations League

finals in dramatic fashion.

Thorgan Hazard’s early double

left Switzerland needing to win by

two goals to qualify from Group A2

but the hosts quickly fought back,

with Ricardo Rodriguez’s penalty and

Seferovic’s first two goals seeing them

into a 3-2 half-time lead.

Nico Elvedi nodded home a

Xherdan Shaqiri cross in the 62nd

minute, and Vladimir Petkovic’s men

sealed a stunning win when Seferovic

completed his treble late on.

“I want to congratulate each player,

there was a big mental reaction, the

players never gave up, they always

believed,” said Swiss coach Petkovic.

“They played with will, intelligence

and with their heads.”

Switzerland will play at the finals

in June next year, alongside Portugal

and England, with the final spot going

to either France or the Netherlands

on Monday.

Roberto Martinez’s men saw

their six-match unbeaten run since

reaching the World Cup semifinals

brought to an shuddering halt.

“We forgot to defend well, we

gave Switzerland the opportunity to

get back in the game,” said Spanish

coach Martinez. “We had a lot of

excitement, we really wanted to finish

top of the group. The disappointment

will make us more focused when the

(Euro 2020) qualification starts.”

Liverpool forward Shaqiri headed

the ball across goal for Seferovic to

tap in his first just after the half-hour

mark to keep the game alive.

Benfica striker Seferovic sent the

crowd in Lucerne into raptures with

a wonderful curling finish shortly

before half-time as a famous fightback

beckoned. Shaqiri was the architect of

the all-important fourth goal, creating

space for a whipped cross which only

needed a glancing touch from Elvedi.

Belgium still only needed one goal

to snatch top spot in the group, but

Seferovic put that beyond reach of the

away side by twisting to head home in

the 84th minute. — AFP

MUSCAT: The final game in World

Cricket League (WCL) Division 3 at

Amerat Grounds saw USA dispatch

Singapore to secure its spot alongside

Oman in ICC WCL Division 2.

Singapore came into the game

knowing it needed victory — and a

dominant one at that due its inferior

net run rate — if it was to leapfrog

USA and claim second spot.

But the five-wicket defeat means it

finishes third, while Kenya is fourth,

Denmark fifth and Uganda sixth. All

four teams will now play in the ICC

Cricket World Cup Challenge League

A or B in the qualification pathway

to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup

2023.

USA join Oman along with Hong

Kong, Papua New Guinea, Canada

and hosts Namibia in April 2019 for

Division 2, who all will be competing

for the top four spots to qualify for

ICC Cricket World Cup League 2.

Having won the toss and put

Singapore in to bat, the USA had to

toil early on in the field. Arjun Mutreja

(17), Aritra Dutta (30) and Anish

Paraam (20) all started brightly for the

Singaporeans but, as would become a

recurring note in the innings, none of

them were able to kick on.

No fewer than seven of its batsmen

got into double figures but it was

Dutta’s 30 that ended as its top score.

And when new ball bowler Saurabh

Netravalkar (3-19 from 8.1 overs)

returned to polish off the tail, USA was

in total charge — Singapore finishing

161 all out with more than six overs

still to bat.

In response, Monank Patel (20

from 14 balls) and Malhotra got things

off to a quick start and the USA did

not waste their time.

Malhotra’s 66 from 70 balls was

the anchor while the likes of Steven

Taylor (23 from 15 balls) and Jannisar

Khan (24 from 13 balls) carried on

the innings’ strong pace. And while

Abhiraj Singh finished with 2-24, the

American’s chase never looked in any

real doubt as it completed proceedings

inside 26 overs and with five wickets

to spare.

The USA therefore finish with

four wins from five games — only the

unbeaten Oman downed them in an

impressive week of play.

BRIEF SCORESUSA won by five wicketsSingapore 161 all out, 43.1 overs (Anitra Dutta 30, Rezza Gaznavi 21; Saurabh Netravalkar 3-19)USA 162-5, 25.5 overs (Jaskaran Malhotra 66 not out, Jannisar Khan 24; Abhiraj Singh 2-24)

KANE STUNNER SINKS CROATIA

Seferovic hat-trick helps Swiss stun Belgium

Oman champs, USA qualify for WCL Div 2

R E S I L I E N T E N G L A N D P O W E R I N T O N A T I O N S L E A G U E S E M I F I N A L S

England’s Harry Kane shoots at goal before Jesse Lingard scores

their first goal against Croatia. — Reuters

Switzerland’s Haris Seferovic (R) scores his team’s second goal past Belgium’s goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois during the Uefa Nations League, League A, Group 2, match at the Swissporarena Stadium in Lucerne, Switzerland. — AFP

NATIONS LEAGUE

TEAMS P W L PTS NRROman 5 5 0 10 0.927USA 5 4 1 8 1.38Singapore 5 2 3 4 -0.093Kenya 5 2 3 4 -0.75Denmark 5 1 4 2 -0.663Uganda 5 1 4 2 -0.904

POINTS TABLE