TUESDAY | OCTOBER 10, 2023 | RABEE AL AWWAL 24, 1445 AH
330 | PAGES 20 | BAISAS 200
Established 1981. Editor-in-chief: Abdullah bin Salim al Shueili
P13
OFSEC SHOWCASES
CUTTING-EDGE
SOLUTIONS FOR FIRE,
SAFETY AND SECURITY
MUSCAT
HM GREETINGS TO
PRESIDENT OF FIJI
His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin
Tarik has sent a cable of greetings
to President Wiliame Katonivere
of the Republic of Fiji, on his
country’s Independence Anni-
versary. In his cable, His Majesty
the Sultan expressed his heartfelt
sentiments and best wishes to
President Katonivere and the
people of Fiji further progress and
prosperity. — ONA
EU DELEGATION
VISITS ‘NAVARRA’
A delegation from the European
Union (EU) on Monday vis-
ited Operation Atalanta’s frigate
‘Navarra’ at Port Sultan Qaboos.
The visiting delegation comprised
Josep Borrell, High Representative
of the European Union for For-
eign Affairs and Security Policy
and several EU foreign ministers.
The High Representative of the
EU expressed his appreciation for
the Sultanate of Oman’s continu-
ous support to Mission Atlanta.
He underscored Oman’s ‘vital’ role
in the success of the mission.’
OPINION
P8
Khalid al Huraibi
Palestinians need to break
out of prison
P9
Lakshmi Kothaneth
Tackling changes...
Why Oman’s ‘winter’ is delayed this year?
LAKSHMI KOTHANETH
@lakshmioman
Many on social media are
pondering why the Sultanate
of Oman is still enduring high
temperatures in October.
Traditionally, by this point in
the year, the skies would have
transitioned to a vibrant blue,
humidity levels would have
decreased, and the mercury would
have lowered, signalling the onset
of winter. However, this year
WEATHER MUSCAT: Max 370 C
P18
AL DIN FOR CULTURE
AND ART ANNOUNCES
DETAILS OF INTERNATIONAL
THEATER FESTIVAL
FAREWELL TO QATARI AMBASSADOR
Assigned by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, HH Sayyid Shihab bin
Tarik al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for Defence Affairs, received at his office
at Muaskar Al Murtafaa (MAM) Shaikh Jassim bin Abdulrahman al Thani,
Ambassador of Qatar to the Sultanate of Oman, to bid him farewell at the
end of his tour of duty in Oman. HH Sayyid Shihab thanked the ambassador
for the efforts he exerted to enhance relations between Oman and Qatar.
For his part, the Qatari ambassador lauded the advanced status of bilateral
relations between the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Qatar, wishing
him continued success in his future missions. The Qatari ambassador valued
the high level of cooperation extended to him in Oman. — ONA
GCC-EU joint meet to
enhance cooperation
MUSCAT: A number of Ukraine war and the current
regional and international escalation between Israelis and
officials stressed the importance Palestinians.
of the 27th session of the In the same context, Shaikh
GCC-EU Joint Ministerial Ahmed bin Hashel al Maskari,
Council which is hosted by the Head of the GCC and Regional
Sultanate of Oman and debates Neighbourhoods Department
several topics including security, at the Foreign Ministry, stressed
economy and renewable energy. the importance of the 27th
Josep Borrell, High session of the GCC-EU Joint
Representative of the European Ministerial Council, which
Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs is hosted by the Sultanate of
and Security Policy, Vice- Oman, especially that it is being
President of the European held at a critical time given the
Commission, emphasised the events currently taking place
importance of the meeting of in Gaza. Al Maskari pointed
the 27th session of the GCC- out that the meeting addresses
EU Joint Ministerial Council bilateral cooperation between
which, he said, comes at a time the GCC and the European
when the European continent Union, adding that it addresses
and the Middle East region are the issues of Iraq, Iran, Ukraine
witnessing pivotal events with and Yemen. — ONA
the continuation of the Russia- SEE ALSO P2
presents a deviation from the usual
pattern.
The north-westerly winds are
having its impact on Al Dhahirah
and Al Buraimi governorates.
The temperature is cooling down
compared to last week, the weather
forecaster said. “The higher
pressure system is moving out of
the way and it is getting cooler.
We are in sub-tropical area and
it means we do not have clear
period of seasons like winter and
Jabal Shams recorded the lowest
temperature of 10.9°C. fall, so we have to take that into
Min 280 C SALALAH: Max 310 C Min 240 C NIZWA: Max 380 C Min 240 C
SHURA COUNCIL’S
10TH TERM
MEMBERSHIP
Gaza situation dire as
Israel plans total siege
S AY Y I D B A D R , U K S E C R E TA R Y O F S TAT E D I S C U S S W A R
Palestinians gather next to the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes, in the southern Gaza Strip. — Reuters
MUSCAT/GAZA: Sayyid Badr
bin Hamad al Busaidy, Foreign
Minister, on Monday received a
phone call from James Cleverly,
Secretary of State for Foreign,
Commonwealth and Develop-
ment Affairs of the United King-
dom (UK).
The two sides expressed con-
cern over the current escalation
between Israelis and Palestin-
ians. They underlined the need
to get the international commu-
nity shoulder its responsibilities
towards this serious crisis by in-
tervening immediately to stop the
escalation and tackle its repercus-
sions that threaten to bring about
further violence.
During the phone call, Sayyid
Badr stressed the significance of
achieving a two-state solution
through the resumption of the
peace process and the activation
of rules of the international law
consideration,” she noted.
There is a huge high pressure
area over Saudi Arabia and it is also
covering Oman, but she explained
that now it is moving towards
west. “This is what is causing
the formations we have seen on
Sunday bringing rains in Al Hamra
and Ibri. Winter is on its way,” said
the weather forecaster. Meanwhile,
Al Sinainah on Sunday recorded
highest temperature of 41.1°C and
Jabal Shams recorded the lowest
temperature of 10.9°C.
PRAYER TIMINGS SUNRISE: 06:02 FAJR: 04:47
VOL. 42 NO.
editor@omanobserver.om
ed
ediitto
orr@
@o
om
ma
anobserver.om
P10
VERSTAPPEN
APPEN
ADDS QATAR
WIN TO
O HIS TITLE
WEEKEND
END
for the termination of Israel’s ille- 300,000 army reservists for its
gal occupation of the Palestinian “Swords of Iron” campaign, and
territories. truck convoys were moving tanks
to the south, where its forces had
TOTAL SIEGE dislodged the last holdout Hamas
Israel imposed a total siege on the fighters from embattled towns.
Gaza Strip on Monday and cut off “We are in control of the com-
the water supply as it kept bomb- munities,” said military spokes-
ing targets in the crowded Pales- man Daniel Hagari, cautioning
tinian enclave in response to the that some may remain after about
Hamas surprise assault. 1,000 fighters had swarmed into
Reeling from the group’s un- the region on the Jewish Sabbath.
precedented ground, air and sea Defence Minister Yoav Gallant
attacks, Israel has counted over said Israel would impose a “com-
700 dead and launched a with- plete siege” on the long blockaded
ering barrage of strikes on Gaza enclave and stressed what this
that have killed 560 people there. meant for its 2.3 million people:
The skies over Gaza were “No electricity, no food, no water,
blackened by plumes of smoke no gas — it’s all closed.”
from deafening explosions as Palestinians in the impover-
Hamas kept launching rockets ished coastal territory braced for
as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, what many feared will be a mas-
where missile defence systems sive Israeli ground attack aiming
fired and air raid sirens blared. to defeat Hamas and liberate the
Israel said it had called up hostages. SEE ALSO P5
Gender gap pioneer Goldin wins
Nobel economics prize
STOCKHOLM: Harvard economic historian Claudia
Goldin won the 2023 Nobel economics prize for
her work exposing the causes of deeply rooted
wage and labour market inequality between men
and women, the Royal Swedish Academy of
Sciences said on Monday.
The prestigious award, formally known as the
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in
Memory of Alfred Nobel, is the last of this year’s
Claudia Goldin crop of Nobel prizes and is worth 11 million
Swedish crowns, or nearly $1 million.
“This year’s Laureate in the Economic Sciences, Claudia Goldin,
provided the first comprehensive account of women’s earnings and
labour market participation through the centuries,” the prize-giving
body said in a statement.
“Her research reveals the causes of change, as well as the main
sources of the remaining gender gap.” — Reuters
DHUHR: 11:59 ASR: 15:21 MAGHRIB: 17:51 ISHA: 19:01
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ROYAL OFFICE MINISTER Foreign Minister, Lithuanian

RECEIVES EU OFFICIALS
MUSCAT: Gen Sultan bin
Mohammed al Numani,
Minister of the Royal Office
received on Monday Joseph
Borrell, High Representative
of the European Union
(EU) for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy and his
accompanying delegation.
The guest expressed his
appreciation for the Sultanate
of Oman’s firm position and
policies in resolving crises
through dialogue and peace.
During the meeting, the
two sides reviewed several
matters of mutual interest.
Gen Al Numani also
received Hanke Bruins
Slot, Minister of Foreign
Affairs of the Kingdom of
the Netherlands and his
accompanying delegation.
Gen Al Numani
underscored the depth of
relations between the two
countries. On her turn,
expressed her thanks and
appreciation to the Sultanate
of Oman. The two sides
discussed several matters of
common concern.
The meeting was attended
by Ambassador of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands
to the Sultanate of Oman.
The Royal Office Minister
also received Dr Costantinos
Kombos, Minister of Foreign
Affairs of the Republic of
Cyprus and his accompanying
delegation.
During this meeting, the
two sides reviewed areas
of joint cooperation and
means of boosting bilateral
relations.
The meeting was attended
by Ambassador of the
Republic of Cyprus to the
Sultanate of Oman.
— ONA
counterpart review bilateral relations
MUSCAT: Sayyid Badr bin Hamad
al Busaidy, Foreign Minister met
with Gabrielius Landsbergis,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Lithuania. This meeting
was held on the sidelines of the
27th session of the Joint GCC-EU
Ministerial Council in Muscat.
The meeting reviewed the
bilateral relations between the two
countries. It also explored various
aspects of cooperation and means
of promoting them particularly
in areas of tourism and economic
cooperation, renewable energy,
Gen Sultan bin Mohammed al Numani, Minister of the Royal Office received Joseph Borrell, High agriculture, port logistics. The
Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. — ONA
meeting also witnessed signing a
memorandum of understanding
(MoU) in the tourism field.
Gabrielius Landsbergis,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Lithuania said that the MoU aims
at promoting cooperation in the
tourism field between the two
sides and discussing the potential
of operating a direct airline
connecting the two countries. This
step, he added, would contribute at
enhancing cooperation through the
flow of tourists and businessmen
between the two countries.
In a statement to Oman News
The Royal Office Minister on Monday received Dr Costantinos Kombos, Minister Agency (ONA), the minister
of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus and his accompanying delegation. affirmed the deep, bilateral
— ONA relations between the Sultanate
of Oman and the Republic of
Lithuania. These relations, he said,
witness a rapid growth in all fields.
He pointed out that the Sultanate of
Oman considered a main partner
for his country in the region.
The meeting was attended
by Munthir bin Mahfoudh
al Mantheri, Head of Europe
Department and officials from
both sides.
Sayyid Badr met on Monday
with Dr Constantinos Kombos,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Cyprus. The meeting
Gen Sultan bin Mohammed al Numani, Minister of the Royal Office, on Monday was held on the sidelines of the
received Hanke Bruins Slot, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the 27th session of the Joint GCC-EU
Netherlands. — ONA Ministerial Council in Muscat.
Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidy, Foreign Minister and Gabrielius
Landsbergis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania on Monday
signed a memorandum of understanding in the tourism field. — ONA
The two sides reviewed the
bilateral relations between the two
countries. They also discussed
various aspects of cooperation
and ways of strengthening them,
particularly in the economic,
cultural and tourism fields.
The meeting was attended
by Munthir bin Mahfoudh Al
Mantheri, Head of the Europe
Department and officials from
both sides.
Sayyid Badr also met with
Tobias Billstrom, Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of
Sweden, within the context of the
27th session of the Joint GCC-EU
Ministerial Council in Muscat. The
two sides discussed the bilateral
relations and areas of cooperation
between the two countries.
On his turn, Sayyid Badr
underscored the importance of
respecting religious beliefs and
establishing laws that prohibit and
criminalise incitement to hatred or
discrimination against faiths.
Sayyid Badr also met with
Gordan Grlić, Minister of Foreign
Affairs and European Affairs of
the Republic of Croatia, on the
sidelines of the 27th session of the
Joint GCC-EU Ministerial Council
in Muscat.
The two sides reviewed bilateral
relations and ways of strengthening
them in various fields. They also
discussed the latest developments
on the regional and international
arenas of common concern. The
two meetings were attended
by Munthir bin Mahfoudh
al Mantheri, Head of Europe
Department and officials from
both sides.
Sayyid Badr also met with
Hanke Bruins Slot, Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of
the Netherlands, as a part of the
27th session of the Joint GCC-EU
Ministerial Council in Muscat.
The two ministers expressed their
keenness to continue developing
and expanding cooperation and
economic partnership between the
two countries, particularly in the
fields of energy and logistics.
The two sides exchanged
viewpoints and consultations on a
range of regional and international
developments.
The meeting was attended
by Munthir bin Mahfoudh
al Mantheri, Head of Europe
Department and officials from
both sides.
Meanwhile, Sayyid Badr met
with Dr Ian Borg, Minister of
Foreign and European Affairs and
Trade of the Republic of Malta, on
the sidelines of the 27th session
of the Joint GCC-EU Ministerial
Council in Muscat.
The two sides reviewed areas of
bilateral cooperation between the
two countries. They also shared
the keenness in expanding vistas of
cooperation particularly in fields of
tourism and investment. The two
sides also exchanged viewpoints on
a range of regional and international
issues of common concern.
A memorandum of cooperation
(MoC) was signed. — ONA

GCC committee mulls

10-year cultural strategy
MUSCAT: The GCC General Cultural
Committee on Monday held a meeting at Al
Bustan Palace Hotel in Muscat during which
it discussed the GCC Cultural Strategy
2020-2030.
The meeting reviewed the GCC states’
annual plan for organising cultural events,
a vision for developing joint action between
culture and tourism sectors, the GCC centre
for translation and Arabisation and ways to
meet interest in the Arabic language.
In addition, the meeting addressed the
protection of moral, religious and family
values in GCC societies.
— ONA

Oman partakes in Regional

Cybersecurity Week 2023
ABU DHABI: The Sultanate of Oman, represented
by the Ministry of Transport, Communications
and Information Technology, is taking part in the
Regional Cybersecurity Week 2023, organised by the
Arab Regional Cybersecurity Centre (ITU) of the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on
October 9-12 and hosted by the UAE Cyber Security
Council with the participation of 350 cybersecurity
experts from 70 countries.
The Regional Cybersecurity Week is a global
event in the cybersecurity industry.
The eleventh edition seeks to exchange
national expertise and raise awareness about the
cybersecurity industry in a way that enhances the
contribution and raises the productivity of the local
and global cybersecurity-related economies.
— ONA

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EMPOWERING OMANI WOMEN: CELEBRATING 14 YEARS OF PROGRESS
AHMED AL KAABI
MUSCAT, OCT 9
Oman is marking the fourteenth
anniversary of Omani Women’s
Day with a series of events
organised by the Ministry of
Social Development. These
events will take place at the Oman
Convention and Exhibition
Centre from October 15 to 17.
This year’s celebration of
Omani Women’s Day aims to
highlight women’s significant
achievements and efforts in
the cultural and literary fields,
notably in the fields of poetry,
Efforts to boost marine wealth
MAI AL ABRI
MUSCAT, OCT 9
The Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Water
Resources in Oman has taken
a significant step in fisheries
management by organising
a comprehensive national
event.
This collaborative event
brought together an array
of experts, researchers from
governmental and private
institutions, academic
scholars, and representatives
from fisheries-related
associations.
The event aimed to
spotlight the rich diversity
of Ray fish (Batoids) species
indigenous to Omani waters
and emphasise the crucial
need to preserve and conserve
this valuable marine resource.
Prior to this pivotal event,
the ministry had embarked
on a crucial research
endeavour spearheaded by
the Marine and Fisheries
Sciences Centre. This
ambitious study commenced
on March 20, 2022, and is
set to conclude on March
19, 2024. The geographical
focus of this research spans
the coastal governorates of
Oman, explicitly targeting the
Drop-off locations and local
markets.
The core beneficiaries of
NDC commandant receives EU official
MUSCAT: Rear Admiral Ali bin
Abdullah al Shidi, Commandant
of the National Defence College
(NDC) at the Academy for
Strategic and Defence Studies,
received at Bait Al Falaj
Garrison on Monday Josep
Borrell, High Representative of
the European Union (EU) for
Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy, Vice-President of the
European Commission.
During the meeting, the two
sides discussed several topics of
mutual interest.
The meeting was attended by
the Ambassador of the Sultanate
of Oman to the Kingdom of
Belgium, Head of the Oman
Mission to the EU, senior SAF
officers and the NDC Guidance
Board.
Meanwhile, the EU
Official delivered a lecture
on strategies of security and
defence. He touched on the
current international political
and security situations and
cooperation between the EU
and the GCC, as well as global
geopolitical developments and
novels, theatre, and manuscripts.
The celebration aims to inspire
groups and people to start
initiatives to help women,
launch events and programmes
in this vein, and recognise
distinguished women in the arts
and literature.
On the morning of Sunday
(October 15), a poetic session
titled ‘A Woman from the Nation’s
Rib’ will kick off the celebration.
The North Al Sharqiyah
Governorate will be the guest
of honour this year, presenting
an evening event highlighting
diverse arts specific to the
The comprehensive study aims to serve as a cornerstone for future initiatives aimed at responsible management of Ray fish
resources in Oman
this project encompass a broad
spectrum of stakeholders,
including fishermen, traders
engaged in Ray fish fisheries,
and businesses connected
to this industry. Among the
expected outcomes of this
comprehensive study is the
compilation of an exhaustive
list of Ray fish species
inhabiting Omani waters.
Equally important is
evaluating these species based
on local and international
sustainability benchmarks,
with a keen eye on factors
such as endangerment and
depletion.
Moreover, this research
Rear Admiral Ali Abdullah al Shidi, Commandant of the National Defence
College on Monday received Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European
Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. — ONA
changes.
The lecture was attended
by NDC Commandant, the
Ambassador of the Sultanate
of Oman to the Kingdom of
Belgium, Head of the Oman
initiative is poised to delve into
the status of commercial Ray
fish fisheries, meticulously
examining their temporal
and spatial distribution,
identifying patterns, and
assessing relative abundance.
An essential aspect of the
study involves scrutinising
the composition of the Ray
fish market and, equally
significant, documenting the
post-harvest activities and
the diverse array of products
derived from Ray fish.
This comprehensive study
aims to serve as a cornerstone
for future initiatives and
policies aimed at the
Mission to the European
Union, senior SAF officers,
the NDC Guidance Board
and participants of the 11th
National Defence Course.
— ONA
governorate under the title
“Appreciation for Omani
Women.” Furthermore,
complementary exhibition
focusing on “Manuscripts and
National Documents” will run for
three days, showcasing alongside
the festivities.
On Monday (October 16),
critical dialogue sessions will
be for novels titled ‘Stars in
the Sky of Omani Literature.’
Additionally, the evening will
feature a captivating theatrical
performance titled ‘Nominate
Me’ presented by the Rustaq
Theatre Group.
responsible management and
sustainable exploitation of
Ray fish resources in Oman.
It opens the door to
potential collaborations
and partnerships with the
private sector, paving the
way for environmentally
sound and economically
viable approaches to Ray fish
product utilisation.
Ultimately, the ministry’s
proactive efforts in this
domain promise to safeguard
both the ecological balance
of Omani waters and
the livelihoods of those
dependent on this precious
marine resource.
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As part of the celebrations, the
Ministry of Social Development
a will honour 30 exemplary female
figures in culture and literature,
encompassing poetry, theatre,
novels, manuscripts, and national
documents.
The ceremony will also
include an operetta composed
of four artistic display panels,
drawing inspiration from Omani
literary and cultural themes, with
participation from esteemed
Omani poets.
Moreover, the ceremony
will mark the launch of several
initiatives to bolster support
‘Manah elevate from you’ forum
evokes good response
AMAL AL RIYAMI
MANAH, OCT 9
The Manah Wali’s Office in Al
Dakhiliyah Governorate organised
a forum titled ‘Manah elevate from
You’ at the Oman Across Ages
Museum on Monday morning.
The forum, held under the
auspices of Shaikh Hilal bin Said
al Hajri, Governor of Al Dakhiliyah,
attracted a distinguished gathering.
Attendees included governors
from across Al Dakhiliyah
Governorate, the representative
of the Wilayat of Manah in the
Majlis Ash’shura, members of
the Municipal Council, several
prominent shaikhs, esteemed
dignitaries, and officials of
governmental agencies. The event
also saw active participation from
both governmental and private
sectors.
The forum aimed at fostering
collaborative partnerships among
government, civil, and private
sectors. It served as a platform to
gain insights into government
agencies’ operations and their
upcoming initiatives. Furthermore,
the event provided an opportunity
to become acquainted with
development projects entrusted
to companies operating within the
state in the upcoming period. The
The forum, held under the auspices of Shaikh Hilal bin Said al Hajri, Governor
of Al Dakhiliyah, attracted a distinguished gathering
oman
3
for Omani women and amplify
their roles within society.Omani
Women’s Day comes as a renewal
of the country’s commitment and
continuous support for women
every year.
This is manifested in dedicating
a special day to celebrate women,
honour them, enhance their
support, and empower them.
This day’s purpose is to allow
them to compete and excel in
various fields, aiming to uplift
communities.
This reflects women’s
significant role as a key element
in realising a prosperous future.
overarching goal was to promote
progress and advancement in every
aspect of the Wilayat of Manah.
During the forum,
comprehensive assessments of
the participating organisations’
working papers were conducted.
These documents elaborated on
the services provided by these
entities and highlighted their
achievements over the past
year, including the successful
execution of various projects.
Additionally, the challenges
encountered in delivering these
services were outlined. As a result
of these deliberations, valuable
recommendations were put forth
to enhance and overcome the
obstacles within the involved
sectors.
Governor of Al Dakhiliyah
Shaikh Hilal bin Said al Hajri
commended the diligent efforts
of the Manah Wali’s Office in
hosting this significant forum, in
alignment with the noble directives
of His Majesty Sultan Haitham
bin Tarik. Furthermore, the Al
Dakhiliyah Governor emphasised
that the insights shared during
the discussions were in the best
interests of the state’s residents,
and these proposals would be
actively considered for practical
implementation.
spotlight
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N D W O
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A FE
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EN
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IT C
OM E S TO M
LAKSHMI KOTHANETH
@lakshmioman

AS THE WORLD CELEBRATES World Mental Health Day this October,

Observer looks at grief and emotion that sometimes go unnoticed to reach the level of
depression causing serious damages to life.
People grieve differently and at times a prolonged period of grief can lead to depression. A couple who had been
trying to conceive for over 10 years eventually was successful through the aid of IVF.
Their excitement was high when they heard the heart beats during the scanning. They even named the baby but in the fifth
month the expecting mother became unwell and had to be hospitalised and the doctors could not control her blood pressure
E N
because she was not responding to medication. The couple lost the child.
T

The story from then on is the father’s because it is he who decided to seek help as he realised his mental health was
AL

deteriorating. Proof of that was he wanted to end his life and only two things that stopped him — his faith in Islam and
imagining the pain his mother would go through if she lost him — stopped him from taking a wrong step.
H

HANDLE THE SADNESS

EA

“As he could not handle the sadness for the loss of the baby, he could handle only for few hours,” explained Dr
Hamed al Sinawi, Senior Psychiatrist and Head of Department of Behavioural Medicine.
L

“When we value things that we take for granted in life, we realise the pain the couple must have
TH P ROB

gone through,” reflected Dr Hamed.

For the father, the sadness went beyond the grief point and situation became
complicated and he soon became clinically depressed and felt no joy in life.
“He was aware that he was burying himself at work as a form of escapism. Every time
he came back home he was reminded of the baby.”
“He drifted from everyone because he was grieving differently. The woman became
more lonely and felt isolated and she returned to her parents, which was all unfortunate
because they were the only ones who could understand each other‘s pain. But they could
LE

not bear the pain of the memory,” noted Dr Hamed.

This is why Dr Hamed believes couple counselling is particularly important in such
M

situations especially when the idea is to help them communicate better than the silent
S

treatment, shame and isolation.

IMPORTANT TO TALK
“We cannot undo what has happened so it is important to talk
to people who do not judge you, they need to be in safe zone,”
he noted.
So do men and women grieve differently? “Yes, men and women
respond to life differently even when it comes to mental health
problems. Women are more at risk of developing depression, anxiety and
they are more likely to seek help while men tend to hide their emotions. In
some countries men who go through mental health problems go into the risk of
smoking, drinking or even drugs and go into violent behavioural patterns.”
“From cultural point of view, women are more likely to share their emotions and feel
comfortable in speaking to others whereas men are more worried about being judged because they feel it
is less manly to talk about the feelings and emotions. But the fact is it is okay to talk about it,” explained Dr Hamed.
According to him, communication is important and one has to speak to somebody they can trust and it does not have to be a
professional. “Talk with someone who does not judge you. If that does not help and if you are facing dysfunction in your daily activities,
then it is time to seek consultation,” said Dr Hamed.

FROM TO
GRIEF DEPRESSION
 world
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Egypt boosts diplomacy to TOTAL DEATH TOLL IN ISRAEL, GAZA SOARS OVER 1200

stop ‘escalation’ of violence

No power, water, food and
gas for 2.3 million Gazans
JERUSALEM: Israel imposed a
total siege on the Gaza Strip on
Monday and cut off the water
supply as it kept bombing targets
in the Palestinian enclave in
response to the Hamas surprise
assault it has likened to the 9/11
attacks.
Israeli army soldiers are positioned with their Merkava tanks near the border
with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Monday. — AFP Reeling from the group’s
unprecedented ground, air and
CAIRO: Egypt intensified its push on Monday for diplomatic efforts to sea attacks, Israel has counted over
de-escalate spiralling violence in Gaza and Israel. 700 dead and launched a withering
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose country has historically been barrage of strikes on Gaza that
a key mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, spoke with UAE have killed 560 people there.
Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, agreeing to “intensify discussions and The skies over Gaza were
diplomatic efforts to stop military escalation”, Sisi’s spokesman said. blackened by plumes of smoke
Abu Dhabi normalised relations with Israel in 2020 under the US- from deafening explosions as
backed Abraham Accords, over four decades after Cairo became the Hamas kept launching rockets
first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem,
On Sunday, Sisi spoke with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, where missile defence systems
warning of the dangerous “absence of political prospects”. fired and air raid sirens blared.
Abbas’ government administers the occupied West Bank, while Hamas — whose militants
Hamas governs the Gaza Strip. surged into Israeli towns on
Sisi also spoke on Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, whose Saturday, sprayed gunfire at
A Palestinian runs amidst the debris after an Israeli airstrike on buildings in the refugee camp of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip on
country acts as custodian of Muslim and Christian holy sites in civilians and dragged off about 100 Monday. — AFP
Jerusalem and recognised Israel in 1994. hostages — claimed on Monday
Since Saturday, Sisi has also spoken with French President Emmanuel that Israeli air strikes had killed its “Operation Al Aqsa Flood”, multi-front war after Hezbollah wheelchair, Israeli officials have
Macron, European Council President Charles Michel, and German four of the captives. launched half a century after the launched guided missiles and said. Up to 250 bodies were
Chancellor Olaf Scholz. — AFP Israel said it had called up 1973 Arab-Israel war. artillery shells from the north strewn across the site of a music
300,000 army reservists, and truck The United States has pledged on Sunday “in solidarity” with festival in a Negev desert kibbutz,
convoys were seen moving tanks “rock solid” support for Israel Hamas, in what some observers mostly young people, while other
EU, Germany, Austria suspend to the south, where its forces had
dislodged the last holdout Hamas
and said it would send munitions
and military hardware to its key
considered a warning shot.
Israel has voiced alarm and
revellers were feared to be among
the hostages.

bilateral aid to Palestinians fighters from embattled towns.

Relatives attend the funeral of Palestinians from the Shamalkh family, who health
officials said were killed in Israeli strikes, in Gaza City, on Monday. — Reuters
BRUSSELS: The European
Commission said on Monday it
was putting its full portfolio of
development aid to Palestinians,
worth 691 million euros ($728.66
million), under review and
immediately suspending all
payments.
“The scale of terror and
brutality against Israel and
its people is a turning point,”
Oliver Varhelyi, the European
Commissioner for the EU’s
neighbourhood, said in a post on
social media platform X. “There
can be no business as usual.”
Austria and Germany said on
Monday they were suspending
aid worth tens of millions of euro
to Palestinians. Both countries
said they wanted to review their
engagement with the Palestinian
territories, and discuss that with
Israel and international partners.
Berlin said it wanted to ensure it
was fostering peace in the region
and send a sign of solidarity.
Europe is one of the main
sources of development aid to
the Palestinian people, meaning
the decisions could have major
repercussions should other
countries follow suit.
The United Nations estimates
that around 2.1 million people
in the Palestinian territories need
humanitarian assistance, among
them 1 million children.
Austrian Foreign Minister
Alexander Schallenberg said
the country was suspending aid
totalling around 19 million euros
($20 million) for a handful of
projects.
Neutral Austria’s ruling
conservatives have adopted one
of the most pro-Israel stances in
the European Union in recent
years. The Israeli flag has been
hoisted above the chancellor’s
office and the Foreign Ministry
after the shock Hamas assault
launched from the Gaza Strip on
Saturday.
“The extent of the terror is
so horrific ... that we cannot go
back to business as usual. We
will therefore put all payments
from Austrian development
cooperation on ice for the time
being,” Schallenberg told ORF
radio in comments confirmed
by a spokeswoman, adding the
estimate of funds and projects
affected.
Schallenberg did not
distinguish between Gaza, a
Palestinian enclave ruled by
Hamas, and the much larger
West Bank run by the Western-
backed Palestinian Authority led
by President Mahmoud Abbas,
whose Fatah movement is a rival
to Hamas. — Agencies
“We are in control of the
ally and divert an aircraft carrier
group to the eastern Israel, which
revulsion after more than 1,000
militants broke through the Gaza
“Never before have so many
Israelis been killed by one single
communities,” said military has long prided itself on a high- border fence Israel had deemed thing, let alone enemy activity in
spokesman Daniel Hagari, tech military and intelligence edge impregnable and swarmed out one day,” said army spokesman
cautioning that some “terrorists” in its many conflicts, has been into nearby Jewish communities. Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan
may remain after about 1,000 shaken to the core by Hamas’s Among the hostages they took Conricus.
militants swarmed into the region unprecedented attack. back into Gaza were children The multi-pronged attack had
on the Jewish Sabbath. It now faces the threat of a and a Holocaust survivor in a brought “by far the worst day in
Defence Minister Yoav Israeli history”, he said, likening it
Gallant said Israel would impose to a combination of the “9/11 and
a “complete siege” on the long
blockaded enclave and stressed
US DEPLOYING SHIPS CLOSER TO ISRAEL Pearl Harbour” attacks.
The situation was also dire
what this meant for its 2.3 million WASHINGTON: President Joe inside Gaza, which has been
people: “No electricity, no food, no Biden ordered US ships and blockaded by Israel since Hamas
water, no gas — it’s all closed.” warplanes to move closer to Israel assumed control there 15 years
in a show of support on Sunday,
Palestinians in the while sending fresh military aid ago, a period that has seen multiple
impoverished coastal territory after attacks by the Palestinian wars with Israel.
braced for what many feared will militant group Hamas. Air strikes have levelled
be a massive Israeli ground attack The Pentagon said it was residential tower blocks, mosques
sending the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford
aiming to defeat Hamas and USS Gerald R. Ford and its and the central bank. More than
liberate the hostages. accompanying warships to the eastern Mediterranean, while boosting 120,000 people in Gaza have been
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin fighter aircraft squadrons in the region. displaced, said the United Nations.
Netanyahu has warned Gaza US Central Command confirmed on Sunday afternoon that ships and “The situation is unbearable,”
civilians to get away from all planes had begun moving to their new posts. said Amal al Sarsawi, 37, as she
At least four American citizens are known to have been killed in the
Hamas sites, which he vowed to violence so far, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. took shelter in a school classroom
turn “to rubble”. The White House has moved quickly to affirm US backing for Israel with her terrified children.
Middle East tensions have after Saturday’s surprise attack from the Gaza Strip, vowing “rock solid” Children’s sense of safety has
spiked as Iran and Hezbollah support and warning other parties to stay out of the conflict. been “ripped away” said Jason
Biden on Sunday spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
have praised the Hamas attack, and “conveyed that additional assistance for the Israeli Defense Forces is Lee of charity group Save the
although Tehran rejected any role now on its way to Israel with more to follow over the coming days,” the Children. “Our teams and their
in the military operation. White House said. families are terrified, they feel like
Hamas has called on “resistance Hamas later accused the United States, a major supplier of arms to sitting targets.
Israel, of “actual participation in the aggression against our people” by
fighters” in the occupied West moving the aircraft carrier. — AFP “Children across the region are
Bank and in other nations to join in constant fear.” — Reuters
Thailand says 12 of its citizens
killed in Israel, 11 kidnapped
BANGKOK: Thailand’s foreign ministry on Monday said 12
Thai nationals had been killed in unrest in Israel, plus 11 more
kidnapped and eight injured.
“We are working to help all Thai citizens in Israel,” Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Kanchana Patarachoke told reporters.
Some 1,400 Thais have signed up to be evacuated, he said,
adding the first group to return home would be those injured.
Around 30,000 Thai nationals work in Israel, making up one
of the largest migrant worker groups in the country, where
fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas gunmen are still
ongoing in several locations.
Thailand’s air force has two aircraft on standby for
evacuation flights, along with medics, and the country’s
national carrier may also be pressed into service, government
officials said. Holed up inside a bunker in southern Israel with
over 30 other Thai migrant workers, Udomporn Jampahom said
he is desperate to return home.
“I don’t feel safe at all,” the 37-year-old agricultural worker
said. “We keep hearing blasts and bullets. We can’t go
outside.”
Udomporn, who has two children back in Thailand, said he
was working at a farm when he first heard rockets and then
gunfire, before fleeing to a workers’ camp. — Agencies
world
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Xi tells top senator US-China ties LANDSLIDE TRIGGERED BY HEAVY

RAIN KILLS 27 IN CAMEROON

impact ‘destiny of mankind’
Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd R) and US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (4th L) attend a bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. — AFP
BEIJING: Chinese President
Xi Jinping said on Monday that
China-US ties would impact the
“destiny of mankind”, as he met
with a group of American senators
in Beijing.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer is the latest high-level
American official to go to China as
Washington seeks to ease tensions
with Beijing, leading a six-person
delegation.
“How China and the United
States get along with each other
in the face of a world of change
and turmoil will determine the
future and destiny of mankind,”
Xi said as he met with Schumer at
Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
“I have said many times,
including to several presidents,
that we have 1,000 reasons to
improve China-US relations, but
not one reason to ruin them,” Xi
said, adding China-US ties are
I have said many times,
including to several
presidents, that we
have 1,000 reasons to
improve China-US
relations, but not one
reason to ruin them
XI JINGPING
Chinese President
“the most important bilateral
relationship in the world”.
Schumer, in turn, told Xi that
“our countries, together, will shape
this century”.
“That is why we must manage
our relationship responsibly and
respectfully,” he said.
Earlier China’s top diplomat
Wang Yi said he hoped Washington
and Beijing could manage their
differences “more rationally”.
Meeting with Schumer
at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State
Guesthouse, Foreign Minister
Wang told the senate delegation
he hoped their visit would help
the two sides “manage existing
differences more rationally,
helping the relationship between
the two countries return to the
track of healthy development”.
Wang also said he hoped
they would “more accurately
understand China” after the trip,
which he said comes as the world
is in a “turbulent period of change”.
“The crisis in Ukraine has not
yet subsided, and warfare has
reemerged in the Middle East,” he
said.
“All these various challenges
need to be addressed by the
international community, and
China and the United States
should play their due roles,” Wang
said.
Schumer, in turn, thanked
the Chinese delegation for their
hospitality, noting there were
several issues of “great concern”
he was seeking to raise during
his visit. He said “a level playing
field for American business and
workers” was his delegation’s
“number one goal”.
On Monday, Schumer also met
with Zhao Leji, the head of the
standing committee of China’s
rubber-stamp National People’s
Congress.
“As the two great powers it
is natural we find ourselves in
competition in areas like trade,
technology, diplomacy, and more,”
Schumer told Zhao.
Schumer is the latest high-
level US official to visit China as
Washington seeks to ease tensions
with Beijing. — AFP
YAOUNDE: At least 27 people have been killed after heavy rains caused
a section of a hillside covered in precariously built houses to collapse in
Cameroon’s capital Yaounde.
Rescuers were still searching for victims on Monday after the landslide
happened in the district of Mbankolo, northwest of Yaounde.
Landslides are frequent during the rainy season in the city of nearly
three million people, where shacks are often put up on its many hills.
Torrential rainfall caused a dam containing a man-made lake situated on
higher ground to burst, according to public broadcaster CRTV and a local
official.
Paul Atanga Nji, minister of territorial administration, said at the site that
the death toll had risen to 27, after rescuers earlier announced 23 had died.
“Yesterday we pulled out 15 people who had died and this morning
we have found eight,” the fire service’s second in command David Petatoa
Poufong told reporters.
Distressed relatives watched as the bodies of some of the victims
covered in sheets were driven away by firefighters.
A couple of exhausted looking local residents held the corners of a large
sheet carrying what one said were the bodies of two children.
A security cordon was in place to keep onlookers and media back from
the spot where the landslide happened.
But images broadcast on TV showed an entire section of a hill had
collapsed and what remained of houses apparently constructed from
wood, dried earth bricks and metal sheeting.
“There was a landslide after heavy rain. The water swept away
everything in its path,” Daouda Ousmanou, a local administrative official
announced on public radio.
The sea of mud destroyed about 30 houses, according to CRTV, which
showed images apparently from during the night of torrents of water and
mud continuing to flow.
“We’ve seen the wall, which had been built by the Germans to contain
the water, buckle under the pressure,” Cyprien Djou said, a local town hall
official.
“We immediately began looking for victims. The rescuers already found
us at the site,” he added.
Minister Atanga Nji deplored that houses had built “in a dangerous area”.
“We will work to make people aware so that all these non-buildable
areas are freed up... every year there are deaths,” he said. — AFP
A general scene of destruction caused by a landslide in the district of
Mbankolo, northwest of Yaounde. — AFP

Frantic digging for families still trapped after Afghan quakes

KASHKAK: Rescue workers were
digging on Monday for families
still trapped in the rubble of their
ruined homes, two days after a
series of earthquakes that killed
more than 2,000 people in rural
western Afghanistan.
“People are trying to search
and get their family out of debris,”
disaster management ministry
spokesman Mullah Janan Sayeq
told a news conference in the
capital, saying reports from
the field described “a very bad
situation”.
Volunteers in trucks packed with
food, tents and blankets flocked to
hard-to-reach areas 30 kilometres
northwest of Herat city, capital of
the same-named province, hit by a
magnitude 6.3 quake on Saturday
and eight powerful aftershocks.
They also brought shovels to
help dig through the rubble of
flattened villages as hope dwindled
that anyone may still be buried
alive.
“Many people have come from
far-flung districts to get people out
from the rubble,” said Khalid, 32,
at Kashkak in Zenda Jan district.
Local and national officials gave
conflicting counts of the number of
dead and injured, but the disaster
ministry said on Sunday that 2,053
people had died.
“We can’t give exact numbers
for dead and wounded as it is in
An Afghan man stands near a damaged house after the earthquakes in Sarbuland
village, Zendeh Jan district of Herat province. — AFP
flux,” Sayeq said on Monday.
The World Health Organisation
said more than 11,000 people had
been affected from 1,655 families,
whilst the UN said “100 per cent”
of homes in 11 villages were totally
The World Health
Organisation said more
than 11,000 people had
been affected from 1,655
families, whilst the UN
said “100 per cent” of
homes in 11 villages
were totally destroyed
destroyed.
As winter draws in, providing
shelter for residents will be a major
challenge for Afghanistan’s Taliban
government, which seized power
in August 2021 and has fractious
relations with international aid
organisations.
Taliban authorities have banned
women from working for UN and
non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) in the country, making
assessments of family needs in
deeply conservative parts of the
country difficult.
“The scale of the damage is
horrific. The numbers affected by
this tragedy are truly disturbing,”
said the group’s country director
Arshad Malik. Most rural homes
in Afghanistan are made of mud,
built around wooden support
poles, with little in the way of
modern steel reinforcement.
— AFP

S H O R T T A K E S

BAGO QAMISHLI MONROVIA

Record rain brings floods to Myanmar
Floods sparked by record
October rain hit parts of
southern Myanmar on Monday,
inundating roads and fields and
sending residents fleeing for
higher ground.
Authorities reported that 200
mm of rain had fallen in the
previous 24 hours in Bago region
northeast of commercial hub
Yangon — a record for October.
The rainy season typically
brings months of heavy
downpours, but scientists say
man-made climate change is
making weather patterns more
intense.
In Pha Yar Gyi, near Bago,
vehicles drove along roads where
floodwaters reached bumper
levels. Some residents floated
along the water on makeshift
rafts. — AFP
Turkish air strike on Kurds kills 20
A Turkish air strike on Monday
killed 20 Kurdish security
personnel and wounded dozens
at a training centre for police in
Kurdish-held northeast Syria,
a war monitor said. The Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights,
a UK-based monitor, said that
20 people had been killed and
around 50 wounded after a
Turkish war plane targeted a
training centre belonging to
Kurdish internal security force
on the outskirts of Al-Malikiyah.
The Kurdish force
acknowledged the strike, saying
that “a number of our forces were
killed and others wounded”.
Turkiye’s defence ministry
said that it had launched the new
wave of air strikes in retaliation
for an attack in Ankara earlier
this month. — AFP
Clashes erupt at president’s re-election parade
Violence marred the close of
Liberian President George
Weah’s re-election campaign on
Sunday, with scuffles between his
supporters and members of the
opposition breaking out during a
parade in capital Monrovia.
No official toll was available The main political parties
on Sunday evening, but it was have pledged peaceful polls,
counted at least five men with but the deaths of three people
injuries. in clashes last month between
Supporters of former football rival political camps have fuelled
star Weah’s political group threw fears of electoral violence in the
stones at each other, and in country.
response, police fired tear gas. — AFP

omanobserver.om/podcast
In brief
AJACCIO
CORSICA ROCKED
BY BLASTS CLAIMED
BY SEPARATISTS
A separatist group on Monday
claimed a series of explosions
in Corsica overnight, a new
upsurge of violence after
President Emmanuel Macron
last month offered the French
Mediterranean island a form of
autonomy.
Around a dozen explosions
were recorded across the island
overnight on Sunday to Monday,
mainly targeting second homes
and building sites.
They did not cause any
casualties or major damage,
prosecutors said.
The blasts were claimed in a
statement to the Corse-Matin
newspaper by the separatist
National Liberation Front of
Corsica (FLNC). — AFP
GUAYAQUIL
ECUADOR EXTENDS
STATE OF
EMERGENCY
Ecuador on Sunday extended
by a month a state of
emergency in place since
the August assassination of
presidential candidate and
anti-graft crusader Fernando
Villavicencio, the presidency
announced.
The extension comes shortly
after seven Colombians arrested
over Villavicencio’s killing were
found dead in prison.
Six of the suspects were killed
on Friday in the Guayas 1 prison
in the port city of Guayaquil,
while a seventh was found dead
on Saturday in a prison in the
capital Quito.
With the extension of
the state of emergency, the
government “guarantees the
participation of the Armed
Forces and the Police in the fight
against organised and common
crime,” President’s office said on
X. — AFP
KALYVIA
TORTOISES MAKE
SLOW RECOVERY
FROM FIRES
In an animal shelter near
Athens, veterinarian Kleopatra
Gkika gently smears soothing
cream on the leg of a tortoise,
one of hundreds singed in
Greece’s devastating wildfires.
The burnt skin has fallen off
and the tortoise can soon be
released back into its natural
habitat.
In July and August, Greece
was affected by a series of
successive wildfires around
the country that left at least 26
people dead.
The area around the shelter
in Kalyvia Thorikou was among
the first to be hit. — AFP
Hubert Aiwanger, Bavarian Economic Minister and leader of the populist Free Voters party Freie Waehler, and his board
pose for a picture, in Munich, Germany. — Reuters
Scholz’s coalition
faces calls for reset
after poll drubbing
FRANKFURT: German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s
beleaguered coalition faced calls
for a reset on Monday after heavy
losses at regional polls that also
rang alarm bells anew about the
far right’s growing popularity.
All three parties in the coalition
— Scholz’s centre-left SPD, the
Greens and the liberal FDP —
saw support fall on Sunday in the
southern region of Bavaria, the
country’s biggest state, and Hesse
in the west.
The main conservative
opposition won in both polls,
as expected, while the far-right
Alternative for Germany (AfD)
gained more ground, causing
fresh concern about their growing
appeal.
Nearly 14 million people were
eligible to vote in the states, about
one in five of Germany’s electorate.
The polls were seen as a crucial
indicator of the population’s
mood, with surging immigration
and economic woes among key
Rwanda ‘safe’ for deported asylum seekers: UK govt
LONDON: The UK government
on Monday insisted that Rwanda
is an appropriate place to deport
failed asylum seekers, as it tried
to overturn a court ruling that the
policy is unlawful.
Three appeal court judges in
London blocked the controversial
plan in June, assessing that the
African nation could not be
considered a safe, third country.
At the start of a three-day
hearing at the Supreme Court
on Monday, lawyer James Eadie,
representing the interior ministry,
conceded that Rwanda was “a
country less attractive” than the
UK.
But he told a panel of five judges
in the country’s highest court that
it was “nevertheless safe”.
Both London and Kigali were
“committed” to ensuring the deal
they signed would work, and
assurances had been given about
how the scheme would work in
practice, he added.
topics.
“It is clear who won the vote:
populism,” said news weekly Der
Spiegel while the top-selling Bild
said a whopping 80 per cent of
Sunday’s voters were calling for a
change in migration policy, citing
polling institute Infratest dimap.
Two years after coming to
power, the polls were a kind of
“interim report card” for Scholz’s
coalition, Der Spiegel said.
“The results are disastrous,” it
went on. “The coalition needs a
reset if it wants to be re-elected in
two years.”
For the anti-immigration AfD,
the votes were the latest sign of
growing momentum and showed
their appeal was extending beyond
their traditional strongholds in
the ex-communist east.
The elections came after a
torrid two years for Scholz’s
government, which has had to
contend with Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine and an ensuing energy
crisis that plunged Germany into
Police officers stand on duty outside the Supreme Court in Parliament Square, central London. — Reuters file photo
The Rwanda deportation
policy, which has outraged human
rights campaigners and groups
representing asylum seekers, is
at the heart of a UK government
drive to cut migrant numbers.
Migration is likely to be a
T U E S DAY l O C TO B E R 1 0 l 2 0 2 3
recession.
The chancellor’s coalition has
also been consumed by bitter
infighting on issues ranging from
climate laws to spending cuts.
However Scholz’s spokesman
Steffen Hebestreit sought to play
down the vote setbacks, saying
the government was on course
to tackle the most pressing issues
facing the country.
“The chancellor is convinced
that the government is doing
a good job, that it has the right
positions and is charting the right
course for the longer term,” he
told reporters.
Immigration was a central
theme at the polls as Germany —
like elsewhere in Europe — faces
a surge of new arrivals, reviving
memories of a major influx in
2015.
The victory of the CSU — the
sister party of the CDU — in
Bavaria was widely expected and
state premier Soeder will retain
his post. — AFP
major issue on the doorstep as
campaigning gets under way for
a general election expected next
year.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
and his ruling Conservative
government have been under
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
UN alarmed by Russia’s
‘mass’ passports
move in Ukraine
GENEVA: The United Nations
on Monday voiced deep
concern over Moscow’s “mass
conferral” of Russian passports
in Ukrainian territory it
controls and denying essential
services to people who refuse
them.
The UN human rights
office, OHCHR, said residents
who do not take up Russian
citizenship were being denied
access to essential public
services and were at greater
risk of arbitrary detention.
“One and a half years after
the Russian Federation’s full-
scale armed attack on Ukraine,
we continue to bear witness
to blatant and unabated
violations of human rights,”
said UN deputy human rights
chief Nada Al-Nashif.
In Russian-controlled
territory, “we have observed
with deep concern a policy
of mass conferral of Russian
citizenship on residents”, she
told the Human Rights Council
in a debate on OHCHR’s latest
report on rights in Ukraine.
“Individuals who opt not to
accept Russian passports find
themselves ensnared in a web
of exclusion, denied access
to essential public services
such as social security and
healthcare,” she said.
Russia had for years
been issuing passports to
Ukrainians in the eastern
Donbas areas held by pro-
Moscow separatists as well as
in annexed Crimea.
An array of routine
necessities, such as receiving
government benefits, getting
or keeping a job and seeking
medical treatment require
Russian-issued papers.
Putin signed a decree in
April that allows Ukrainians in
occupied areas to potentially
be deported if they do not get
a Russian passport by July 1,
2024.
The UN deputy high
commissioner for human
rights said the conflict in
Ukraine “continues to erode
the foundations of dignity and
sustained pressure to stop so-called
“small boats” crossings of migrants
from northern France, and tackle
a record backlog of asylum claims.
Eadie told the judges in central
London that the government
placed “considerable importance”
world
7
Individuals who
opt not to accept
Russian passports
find themselves
ensnared in a
web of exclusion,
denied access to
essential public
services such as
social security and
healthcare
NADA AL-NASHIF
Deputy High Commissioner
for Human Rights
humanity”. Nashif said “torture
remains a brutal reality” for
civilians and prisoners of war
held by Russia.
“Countless detainees were
also forced to praise the
Russian Federation, learn
and sing Russian songs and
suffered severe beatings for
failing, or speaking Ukrainian,”
said Nashif.
Moscow has made no
discernible effort to ensure
accountability for violations
committed by their own
forces — and indeed a new law
“effectively grants amnesty to
Russian servicepersons for an
overly broad range of crimes”,
she said.
Moscow’s representative
Yaroslav Eremin told the
Human Rights Council that
OHCHR was “continuing to
whitewash Kyiv and shifting
the blame for the crimes of the
Ukrainian authorities on our
country”.
“We fundamentally disagree
with the methodology, content
and the conclusions” of
OHCHR’s report, he said.
— AFP
on the policy, and there was a
“serious and pressing need” to
introduce it as a deterrent to the
Channel crossings.
It has become an embarrassment
for a pro-Brexit government that
promised to “take back control” of
the country’s borders after leaving
the European Union.
The Rwanda deal was signed
under Conservative former prime
minister Boris Johnson but the first
removal flights were successfully
blocked in June last year by legal
challenges.
The Home Office is understood
to be aiming for February 2024 for
the first deportation flight to “send
a signal” to people smuggling
gangs that crossing via the Channel
will likely lead to removal.
Britain’s main opposition
Labour party, which is well ahead
of the Conservatives in the polls,
said it would drop the Rwanda
plan if it was elected.
— AFP
 8 Opinion TUESDAY OCTOBER 10, 2023
OMAN DAILY OBSERVER

Million of Palestinians need to break out of prison

Khalid Alsafi Al Huraibi
khalidalharibi@gmail.com
The writer is an
entrepreneur and
innovation adviser
I
s there a more precious blessing than
freedom? While variations of the slogans
related to freedom to pursue a dignified “life,
liberty and pursuit of happiness” appear in
several of the most significant documents
in various parts of the world, from the French
Revolution to the US Constitution, it seems to be
elusive for people of the Middle East. For almost a
century, organised colonial terrorism has deprived
millions of Palestinians from some of basic human
rights, most significantly the right to live with
dignity on their own homeland.
While many in the international community are
pushing the narrative of normalisation between
Arab nations and Israel, the occupation force in
Palestine, I would argue that there are three reasons
that make normalisation a loss for all present and
future generations, and a failure of justice and of
upholding international humanitarian laws.
Normalisation of demonisation
Controlling perceptions about other people’s
own stories and narratives is an evil act of character
assassination. Millions of innocents, children,
women, and men are branded as anti-Semites and
terrorists for voicing their views against Israel’s
state sponsored terrorism. Jewish critics of Israel
are cancelled as self-hating Jews, Christians critical
of Israel as are branded as anti-Semites, and
Muslims and other called terrorists and terrorist
sympathisers.
Normalisation of toxic supremacy
While Israel is promoted as the Middle East’s
only democracy, it wreaked havoc and used
assassinations and systematic rape and killing since
its foundation by armed gangs in 1948. For forty
years, no nation in the Arab world that has signed
any type of treaty is socio-economically better off.
Neither Egypt, nor Jordan enjoyed any advantages
being neighbours with Israel nor any other nations
that signed any other form of treaty. The most
dangerous thought that Israel exported to the region
is that Israelis are religiously and racially superior to
others hence others should accept being subjugated
by Israel.
Normalisation of senseless violence
Post-World War II in 1945, the world said
never again, to genocide and ethnic cleansing. In
reality, standing on the fence instead of making
a moral stand supporting oppressed groups such
IMPRISONING as Palestinians is still common. Thirteen million
MORE THAN TWO Palestinians face physical imprisonment in their
MILLION HUMAN ancestral homes and as intergenerational refugees all
BEINGS TO over the world.
Gaza is a prison, forty-two kilometres of basic
SUBJUGATE THEM
homes with 24/7 surveillance, humiliation and
TO A SUPERIOR
deprivation of pursuing proper health, education,
RACE IS THE and movement. Imprisoning more than two million
ULTIMATE INSULT human beings to subjugate them to a superior race is
TO OUR LEGACY the ultimate insult to our legacy as human beings all
AS HUMAN over the world.
BEINGS ALL OVER The day will come when our children and
grandchildren will wonder why we feared speaking
THE WORLD.
up and lending our voice to the hundreds of
thousands of dead Palestinian children buried under
the rubble of bombs made by the same people who
said never again.

Master of
Poland’s
Degrees of Stress: exploring the
populist right pressures of university life
W
hen prioritising

J
aroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Poland’s
governing party, has spent years doggedly
working on his vision of a conservative,
Catholic and highly centralised nation in
which criticism is increasingly sidelined.
As the country prepares for elections on Sunday,
that outlook is being put to the test as the 74-year-
old Kaczynski is challenged once again by his
nemesis, former EU council president Donald
Tusk. Kaczynski holds the formal role of deputy
prime minister and for many years was simply a
member of parliament, but he is seen as Poland’s
true power broker as head of the Law and Justice
(PiS) party.
A diminutive figure, he is adored by his
supporters who see him as a leader without
compare and a true defender of Poland’s interests
and national identity.
Opponents accuse him of pursuing a divisive
brand of populism that has set Poles against one
another.
They blame him for leading the country towards
authoritarianism and away from the European
Union — all while consolidating power in his
hands.
Kaczynski’s power base is the headquarters of his
party on Nowogrodzka Street in central Warsaw,
and he appears in public only for parliamentary
sessions or election rallies where he makes scathing
speeches.
He has promised to complete reforms initiated
eight years ago when PiS began its latest stint in
power — including an overhaul of the judiciary
that the government says is aimed at rooting out
corruption.
The reforms have angered the liberal opposition
and the European Commission, which worries
about a politicisation of the judiciary and has
initiated unprecedented financial sanctions on
Poland.
Kaczynski says Poland should stay in the EU
but wants a “Europe of nations” with fewer powers
for Brussels. He regularly accuses the EU for
undermining Polish sovereignty and making it
simply “a land inhabited by Poles” at the mercy of
Brussels and Berlin.
He has also put special emphasis in the
campaign on the question of migrants, accusing
Brussels of wanting to send thousands of migrants
to Poland under a relocation system being
discussed among EU partners.
Kaczynski, a cat lover who has been single all his
life, is the twin brother of former president Lech
Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash in 2010.
They grew up in communist-era Warsaw, the
sons of an engineer father and a philologist mother.
— AFP
the factors which
should influence
your decision
about which
overseas university to apply to, where
and how you live is possibly more
important than anything else.
A comfortable, safe living
environment is essential for your
physical and mental well-being. It can
Karim Easterbrook help you adapt to a new country and
reduce stress during your studies by
The author is an making you feel secure and safe. Most
educational counsellor universities will offer the subject of your
choice but student accommodation can
vary from being excellent to lacking
even basic amenities and making you
feel unwelcome. For example if you
SO DON’T DESPAIR AND opt to stay with a host family your
DON’T GIVE UP. THERE experience could be the best possible
IS LIGHT AT THE END OF or the worst possible. Not all host
families are able to understand or
THE TUNNEL AND WITH
accommodate students arriving from
TIME AND EFFORT a different country with cultural and
YOU CAN EMERGE religious differences. Where your
FROM ANY DARKNESS accommodation is located will also be a
STRONGER AND MORE major factor in making your university
RESILIENT THAN EVER. life happy, rewarding and successful.
Of course Omani students now
have a wide choice of good universities
available at home so before opting
to study overseas why not check out
Omani universities and universities
closer to home in neighbouring
countries. Don’t rule out applying for
a good job or a vocational training
course. That route can be equally
rewarding and successful.
As a new university student it’s
easy to become overwhelmed with
the responsibilities and obligations
suddenly thrust upon you. Both
my daughters studied at university
in the UK and I was well aware
of the pressures placed on them
owing to academic work deadlines,
suddenly finding themselves in a new
environment with no friends and
without family around them to give
emotional support. Of course they had
the added comfort of studying in their
own country.
University education isn’t for
everyone. But if you are intent on
attending university and in particular
if your choice of university is overseas
it’s important to think carefully about
Omani students now have a wide choice of good universities available at home.
whether this is the right career pathway
for you or whether you might be better
suited to entering the workplace once
you have matriculated from school.
According to a recent study in the
UK there is evidence that amongst
university students there are higher
levels of depression and anxiety
compared to young people in the
workplace. It has been estimated
that up to 20 per cent of university
students may suffer from this at some
time during their university course.
However, by choosing the right
kind of university, the right course
of study, the right country, the right
environment and most importantly the
right accommodation this can help to
mitigate any such problems. The cost
of living is another important factor.
You need to be able to stay healthy both
physically and emotionally.
My advice: select an overseas campus
university which can guarantee you a
room in one of their on-campus Halls
of Residence close to where most of
your lectures and tutorials will be
given. Living alongside fellow students
who are in the same boat as you can
lead to valuable social and academic
connections that can last a lifetime.
Feeling homesick is a normal
emotion when you are alone and far
away from the familiar comforts of
home. You will occasionally miss the
familiar faces of your family members
and friends. Initially this may be
difficult to handle but given time your
new university friends will help you
to adapt to this new life. You will have
other diversions if you sign up for
university activities and Societies of
interest. And of course your academic
work will occupy your thoughts when
you’re not socialising.
Nevertheless depression continues
to be a health problem for a minority of
students and to address this accredited
universities should have a student
counselling office run by trained
professionals whose job it is to protect
students who experience depression
or any emotional distress. You can
discuss any concerns with them in strict
confidence. The first semester may seem
daunting. You will have to deal with so
many decisions, many of which are new
to you. It may even feel at times as if you
have entered a dark tunnel. It’s part of
what growing up is. Life in the big wide
world isn’t always easy. It has its ups and
downs. University isn’t a preparation
for life, it is life and probably the most
important years of your life.
So don’t despair and don’t give up.
There is light at the end of the tunnel
and with time and effort you can
emerge from any darkness stronger
and more resilient than ever. Make use
of the university counselling service if
necessary.
Don’t suffer in silence if you are
feeling down. Life is an endless
stream of obstacles, but remember
university life also has many marvellous
opportunities. You will never forget
your time at university and the freedom
it gave you to expand your horizons and
develop as an individual. So in spite of
some possible early teething problems
you will always look back with nostalgia
at those wonderful, precious years.

To comment & email: opinion@omanobserver.om

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OMAN DAILY OBSERVER
TUESDAY OCTOBER 10, 2023
Opinion 9

TRADITION AT ITS BEST!

Tackling changes...

P
atience is a key factor in the
path towards success in life.
What is interesting is that
we are often challenged to
practice patience.
Patience is such a quality and virtue
that it has to lead to success. But
impatience comes so naturally to us with
so much ease.
One road block for maintenance and
we could not handle it. It was a trial
for many and resulted in numerous
accidents — this is about the Al Amerat
road to Bausher. Most of the motorists
could not handle the stress of staying
and waiting in slow traffic. They were
easily exhausted and got worked up.
Slow driving is an art on its own. But
here people were trying to reach on time
for work and classrooms. The problem
was solved when the closed road was
opened just for the morning sessions.
People were calm once again.
The change impacted the mind.
People’s expressions changed along with
their attitude.
This is what it seems ‘changes’ do to
us, however changes are inevitable. No
matter how difficult it is, changes are
what make us grow eventually. In fact we
might love our comfort zone and rebel
against any force that wants to push us
out of there. Even in the shortest span
we learn even while we process ourselves
through complaining stages to accepting
the situation. It is that time when we
decide to adapt to the changes when the
magic happens.
Our ego might tell us otherwise —
nudging us to prompt, ‘you are giving in.’
It is not giving in, in actuality, our
willingness to learn something new is
going to provide us with the opportunity
to embark on a new path and grow.
How can there be an end to learning
as everyday there is some that is evolving
— a new solution to an old problem, a
new style to replace the old ways and
the list goes on. We are quick to accept
changes in trends and fashion, but when
it comes to new ways of thinking and
managing we find it hard to accept and
adapt.
The fact remains that the ones who
can accept change can survive. It may
or may not be the case of survival of the
fittest. From climate change to lifestyle
after the pandemic, to work style —
change is revolving around us. The
policies have changed so has trading
mechanisms. Our concept on savings
has changed.
In the past we were groomed to
secure a job and stick to it. A couple
of decades the emphasis was on career
path, and now it is about having a
secured life that provides you with
support of health and comfort especially
in retirement. But today people make a
Lakshmi Kothaneth career change at 50.
@lakshmioman Talk to the teenagers of today and
they will enlighten you on how to invest
and make money grow. There are side
The writer is a senior hustles to be indulged in and endless
journalist and a means of educating oneself online. It is
radio anchor not just about qualification it seems it is
now about knowing.
Life requires empathy as one of the
tools for good leadership qualities.
Senior psychiatrist, Dr Hamed al
Sinawi explained that having empathy
is putting oneself in the other person’s
shoes. But you should also know when
to come back to your own shoes. It is
nevertheless, extremely significant for us
to understand what the other person is
going through.
If we sit down and reflect upon our
life, it would be interesting to note that
most of the time our sufferings are due
to a wave of change that has come into
our lives. As long as we keep resisting it
we feel the pressure. When we choose to
face it we are able to surf with it.
This is because with all other qualities
we are also given resilience as part of
our nature. For some, resilience is on
the higher side while for others it could
be yet not tested due to the zone of
comfort. More you endure the higher
the resilience.
On October 7, world celebrated the
‘Day for Decent Work’ declared by the
United Nations, which stated, “Too
often, having a job doesn’t guarantee
a person a life of dignity. Sustainable
economic growth and decent work
for all are key to achieving the
#GlobalGoals.”
A world that is becoming volatile
PATIENCE IS
whether due to earthquakes, weather
SUCH A QUALITY or war, it is important to expect many
AND VIRTUE changes that are yet to appear in
THAT IT HAS many countries, such as sustainability,
TO LEAD TO economy, cost of living, health and
SUCCESS. BUT education. On the other side of
IMPATIENCE spectrum is Artificial intelligence and
scientific and social development that
COMES SO
would see changes to careers and life
NATURALLY skills.
TO US WITH SO Change is inevitable. We have to learn Women wear traditional dresses to perform at a ‘Garba’ dance rehearsal ahead of the festival ‘Navratri’ in
MUCH EASE to embrace it. Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, on Monday. — AFP

Russian nuclear test would send warning

R
ussia may be paving the
way to conduct a nuclear
test, a move that would
sharply raise tensions
with the West and likely
prompt other world powers to resume
testing for the first time this century.
President Vladimir Putin last
week said Russia’s parliament should
consider withdrawing Moscow’s
ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) which
prohibits tests involving nuclear
explosions. Parliamentary leaders were
due to discuss the issue on Monday.
Some Western security analysts now
see a growing likelihood of a Russian
test, even though Putin said the aim
was only to mirror the position of the
United States, which has signed but not
ratified the treaty.
“A Russian nuclear test is clearly
very much on the cards now. I don’t
think it’s a certainty, but it shouldn’t
surprise anybody if that happens,” said
James Acton, co-director of the nuclear
policy programme at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace.
Matthew Harries, director of
proliferation and nuclear policy at
the RUSI think-tank in London, said
signal, prompt others to follow suit
cancelling Russia’s ratification
would create a “legal and
presentational framework for
Russia to test if it wants to”.
If Moscow did conduct a test,
he said, “it would be a strong form
of signalling, to put the nuclear
threat in people’s minds, to try to
signal resolve and to evoke fear”.
Mark Trevelyan Former Soviet and Russian
diplomat Nikolai Sokov went
The author is Chief further, saying a Russian nuclear
Writer on Russia and test would mark a very serious
CIS for Thomson escalation towards actually using
an atomic weapon.
Reuters
For that reason, Sokov said, he
did not expect Russia to test at this
point. Rather, he said, rescinding
ratification would be a political
step and part of a wider review of
Moscow’s security obligations to
A RUSSIAN remove perceived imbalances and
NUCLEAR TEST “level the field” with the United
WOULD MARK States.
A VERY SERIOUS “At the moment I see a nuclear
ESCALATION test as unlikely but the situation
is very tense and an escalation is
TOWARDS
not impossible,” said Sokov, now
ACTUALLY USING senior fellow at the Vienna Center
AN ATOMIC for Disarmament and Non-
WEAPON Proliferation.
He said he could envisage a
Russian nuclear test as part of a
scenario where the Ukraine war
was going very badly for Putin.
“The trick is to get very close
to nuclear use but avoid it — to
force the adversary to take a step
back so the US and Nato think:
‘Is it really worth it?’ To change
the calculation of costs and
benefits,” Sokov said in a telephone
interview.
“At some point you may need to
Russian President Vladimir Putin attending a meeting with Culture Minister at the
Kremlin in Moscow on Monday. — AFP
show that you’re very, very serious
about possibly using nuclear
weapons. That’s where a nuclear
underground test can play a big
role.”
Sokov said he did not believe
that Putin was interested in
actually using nuclear weapons,
but the risk in such a scenario
was that “you simply can lose
control of events” and the logic
of escalation could lead him to
use them even if that was not his
intention at the start.
Russia has not conducted a
nuclear test since 1990, the year
before the collapse of the Soviet
Union. It ratified the CTBT in
2000. Although the treaty has not
formally come into force because
others including the United States,
China, India, Pakistan and Israel
have not ratified, it has effectively
made nuclear testing taboo. Only
North Korea has conducted a test
involving a nuclear explosion this
century.
Acton said it was plausible,
as Sokov said, that Putin was
preparing the option of a nuclear
test as a warning signal if things
went badly for him in Ukraine.
But he said it was also possible that
Putin had already decided he was
going to test, irrespective of what
was happening in the war.
In that case, he said, the test
would be more a statement about
Russia’s intention to further
develop its nuclear weapons and
about their growing importance
in its defence posture at a time
when its conventional forces have
struggled in Ukraine.
TUESDAY | OCTOBER 10, 2023 | RABEE AL AWWAL 24, 1445 AH
sport
First placed Max Verstappen
of Red Bull celebrates with
his trophy on the podium
after the race. — Reuters
VERSTAPPEN WINS FIRST RACE AS
TRIPLE CHAMPION
RED BULL DRIVER NOW HAS 14
WINS FROM 17 RACES
MCLAREN SECOND AND THIRD
WITH PIASTRI AND NORRIS
MERCEDES DRIVERS COLLIDE AT
TURN ONE
Picard, Wang advance at WTT Contender Muscat 2023
ADIL AL BALUSHI
MUSCAT, OCT 9
French paddler Vicent Picard and
Slovakia’s Yang Wang progressed
to the third and final round of the
preliminary qualification in men’s
singles event as they posted crucial
victories on Monday at WTT
Contender Muscat 2023. Picard
beat Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa 3-0
(2-11, 13-15, 7-11) in a tight clash
while Yang Wang defeated French
Joe Seyfried 3-1 (5-11, 11-8, 8-11,8-
11) in the indoor hall of the Sultan
Qaboos Sports Complex.
World No 97 OH Junsung of
South Korea outclassed Li Hon
Ming from Hong Kong 3-1 in a
thrilling encounter. The four sets
ended at: 11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5.
Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan moved to
the final round of the preliminary
qualification in men’s singles after he
defeated Hungary’s Nandor Ecseki
3-0. Iran’s Amir Hossein Hodaei
moved to the deciding round of the
qualification as he registered a 3-0
VERSTAPPEN
ADDS QATAR WIN
TO HIS TITLE
WEEKEND
Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa serves to French paddler Vicent Picard.
triumph over Pang Yew En Koen Taipei in the second round of the
from Singapore. Hodaei will take preliminary qualification in men’s
on Lubomir Pistej from Slovakia in singles event. Huang ended the
the final round as Lubomir edged match at 3-0 (8-11, 4-11, 3-11).
Manush Utpalbhai Shah from India Oman’s top singles paddler for the
by 3-1. last season worked hard to earn
Oman’s Muhannad al Balushi one set at least but the experienced
produced a good show against opponent dominated in the match
Huang Yan-Cheng from Chinese and played with better focus and
Oman’s Muhannad al Balushi
technique.
Earlier on Monday, India’s
Ayhika Mukherjee stunned Zhou
Jingyi from Singapore 3-0 in the
opening round of the preliminary
qualification in women’s singles
event. Mukherjee will meet
Turkiye’s Sibel Alitinkaya who
emerged a 3-0 winner over Wong
Follow us on
omanobserver.om/sports
DOHA: Red Bull’s Max
Verstappen celebrated his first win
as a triple Formula One world
champion after dominating a
Qatar Grand Prix peppered with
pitstops and penalties on a Sunday
night of sweltering heat.
The victory from pole position
under the Lusail floodlights was a
14th in 17 races, and career 49th,
for the 26-year-old Red Bull driver
who clinched his third successive
title in a Saturday sprint.
Australian rookie Oscar
Piastri, winner of that 19-lap
sprint, finished second with
McLaren team-mate Lando
Norris third in what became
a three-stopper after Pirelli
warned of the risk of blowouts.
“It was a bit close for comfort
I think in that last stint. But
pace was OK. Another win,
unbelievable,” said Verstappen,
who finished 4.8 seconds clear
of Piastri.
The relatively slim gap
flattered the Australian, with
Verstappen never looking like he
was under any pressure and also
setting the fastest lap.
“That was a proper quality
drive,” Red Bull boss Christian
Horner, whose team have already
won the constructors’ title, told the
champion over the radio.
The McLaren drivers were
told to hold position at the end,
although Norris was unhappy
with that.
While Verstappen looked like
he had spent the evening in a
sauna, the heat and humidity left
others vomiting in their helmets
and on the brink of collapse.
Williams’ Alex Albon, who
led for one lap when others
pitted, was taken to the medical
centre to be treated for acute
heat exposure while team-
mate Logan Sargeant suffered
severe dehydration.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon
said he was throwing up
for a couple of laps early
in the race.
“It must have been like
80 degrees inside the car.
I’m glad that next year we
come back in December,”
said the Frenchman.
Aston Martin’s Lance
Stroll said he was “passing
out in the car” at times.
India’s Sutirtha Mukherjee plays a shot.
Xin Ru from Singapore. World No
120 Giorgia Piccolin of Italy will
meet Barbora Balazova of Slovakia
in the second round of the women’s
singles event. Piccolin beat Debora
Vivarelli of Italy 3-0 while Balazova
edged Katerina Tomanovska from
Czech Republic 3-1.
On Tuesday, the action of
HAMILTON OUT
There was drama even before
the cars had lined up on the grid
when Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who
ended Red Bull’s 100 per cent win
record with victory in Singapore
last month, was ruled out by a fuel
system problem.
It continued seconds after
the start when Mercedes team-
mates George Russell and Lewis
Hamilton collided at the first
corner, with the latter accusing the
younger Briton of taking him out.
Hamilton later calmed down
and said he did not consider his
team-mate at fault.
Russell, who had started
second and made four pitstops in
all, went from last to fourth with
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fifth
and Aston Martin’s Fernando
Alonso sixth despite an off-track
excursion and a painfully hot
seat.
Ocon was seventh for Alpine
with the Alfa Romeo pair of
Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou
eighth and ninth and Red Bull’s
Sergio Perez demoted to 10th
after a five-second post-race
penalty for exceeding track limits
multiple times.
Perez had started from
the pitlane after crashing in
Saturday’s sprint and giving his
mechanics plenty of work.
Verstappen, now 209 points
clear of Perez at the top of the
standings, led cleanly from
pole position and raced away
unchallenged.
“I think what made the race
was my first stint. After that
I could just manage my pace
and make sure that the tyres
were always in a good window,”
Verstappen said.
“The McLarens were quick
again today. I had to push for it.
It was definitely a tough race out
there.”
Four drivers collected time
penalties for repeated track
limits violations — Perez, Stroll,
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Albon.
Stroll, Gasly and Albon were
twice penalised for a total of 10
seconds each. All drivers were
limited to a maximum of 18
laps per set of tyres for safety
reasons after Pirelli detected kerb
damage in sets used in Friday
practice. — Reuters
WTT Contender Muscat 2023 will
continue for the third successive
day at the indoor hall of the
Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
The second round qualifications
matches of the women’s singles
event will take place on Tuesday
while the main draw action will
begin on Wednesday.

Oman’s Ali al Said qualified for the World Endurance Cup in France next year.
$OLDO6DLGTXDOL¿HVIRU
:RUOG(QGXUDQFH&XS
WALEED AL JAHWARI
MUSCAT, OCT 9
HH Sayyid Ali bin Ghalib al
Said, succeeded in passing the
penultimate qualifying race
to the World Endurance Cup
in France next year, after he
completed the German Buch
Race for a distance of 140 km.
The participation lasted for
12 hours and 30 minutes in five
stages, the first stage was 35 km,
the second stage was 25 km,
the third stage was 35 km, the
fourth stage was 25 km, and the
fifth stage was 20 km, the speed
average was 16.2 km per hour
due the very cold weather.
The qualifying races
witnessed 17 riders in the
140 km category and more
than 70 riders in the various
distances from 80 km to 160 km,
competing to obtain qualifying
cards for the World Cup finals.
The knight had previously
successfully passed a number of
races scheduled for him during
Liverpool in thrilling draw with Salah’s brace
ANDY JALIL
BRIGHTON, OCT 9
Having conceded the first goal for
the seventh time in 11 matches
this season, Liverpool shared
points at Brighton with two goals
by Mohamad Salah, scored in a
space of six minutes.
Having gone into the lead at
2-1 at the end of the first half,
Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp
said: “It is clear in the second half
we should have scored and made
it 3-1. There were one or two really
good opportunities but because
we didn’t score there we keep the
game open. It was intense for both
teams. I think it is the right result
in the end.”
Brighton manager, Roberto De
Zerbi, was furious when a second-
half penalty appeal for handball by
Virgil van Dijk, was turned down.
He said: “It was a clear penalty and
I told the referee what I thought.”
He was booked for his angry
protests and Klopp hugged him to
calm him down.
Klopp said: “I have to say I
cannot respect more what he’s
doing. I’m a football lover – the
impact he’s had on football should
not be underestimated. When he
got outraged, I used my age and
tried to calm him down. I think
he was close to the point of not
coming back, I tried to calm him
down. He wanted a penalty.”
De Zerbi praised Klopp: “I
the last period, along with his
brother, HH Sayyid Loay bin
Ghalib al Said, in Germany’s
Buch and in Slovakia,
representing the Sultanate of
Oman, by the Oman Equestrian
Racing Federation.
The two riders have only one
step left to be in the next World
Cup finals, 160 km Slovakia race
in the three-star Monsef race,
to be the first riders qualified
for the World Endurance Cup
finals.
HH Sayyid Ali bin Ghalib,
said: “This victory is important
for us in order to represent
the Sultanate of Oman in
the great sporting forum for
endurance with the rest of the
world’s top riders. Our riders
are accustomed to being in
such tournaments. We have
successfully passed important
stages, and we have only one
step left to reach the finals.
Slovakia has been selected as the
qualifying station, and we hope
that we will succeed in that.”
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in action with Brighton & Hove Albion’s Kaoru Mitoma. — Reuters
love Klopp. He can do what he
wants because I have big respect.
I consider him one of the best
coaches in the world. When he
says something, 99 per cent I agree
with him.”
Brighton went into the lead in
the 20th minute when Alexis Mac
Allister was unable to take a poor
pass from Van Dijk and Simon
Adingra scored from 25 yards
having noticed Alisson was out
of position in goal. Another 20
minutes later, came the equaliser
when Nunez passed from the
SHANGHAI: Wildcard Diego
Schwartzman knocked world
number eight Taylor Fritz out of
the Shanghai Masters in a thrilling
third-set tie-breaker on Monday,
with top seed Carlos Alcaraz
looking to claim a spot in the final
16.
The diminutive Argentinian has
seen his ranking slide from eighth
in the world to 130, but played his
best tennis to topple Fritz 6-4, 3-6,
7-6 (7/5).
The rankings and age gaps were
hardly noticeable over a three-hour
skirmish which saw 31-year-old
Schwartzman playing up to the
crowd, encouraging them to whoop
and cheer for him.
In contrast, an error-prone Fritz
seemed increasingly flustered,
pinging his racket off the ground in
irritation at one point.
The 25-year-old American
was caught off-guard from the
beginning, falling behind by four
games in the opening set.
When he hit the ball into the
net to seal his defeat, Schwartzman
threw both arms in the air and
screamed for joy.
“I think it was a great match,” the
Argentinian said at the end.
“At some point he started to
serve much better, so it was very
difficult for me.”
He profusely thanked the
tournament organisers for giving
him the wildcard, admitting it was
“not his best year” up to now.
DIMITROV, PAUL THROUGH
Fan favourite Grigor Dimitrov
also moved through to the last
16, after overcoming a torrential
downpour and a well-matched
opponent in Russian Karen
Khachanov to win 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.
The match had to be suspended
at 6-6 in the first set after the
heavens opened and doused centre
court.
Once the Qizhong Tennis
Centre roof had been closed and a
host of volunteers had towelled and
blowdried the court, world number
19 Dimitrov inched a tight tie-
left to Harvey Elliott who let the
ball go through to Salah who was
behind him, and the Egyptian
found the net from 12 yards.
Then six minutes later, in
added time, Salah put Liverpool
ahead with his spot kick when
goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen gave
the ball away with a poor pass
and Dominik Szoboszlai, having
got the ball fell as his shirt was
pulled by Pascal Gross in the box,
resulting in the penalty. Gross
was not shown the red card as
VAR showed Szoboszlai was not
T U E S DAY l O C TO B E R 1 0 l 2 0 2 3
Wildcard
Schwartzman
knocks
Fritz out
Diego Schwartzman of Argentina celebrates his victory against Taylor Fritz of the US at the Shanghai Masters. — AFP
breaker and followed that by taking
the second set.
“I knew it was going to be a very
competitive match... (Khachanov’s)
hungry and he’s so competitive --
but so am I,” said the 32-year-old
Bulgarian after his win.
There was heartbreak for French
19-year-old Arthur Fils, who came
from a set down against world
number 12 Tommy Paul to win a
tiebreaker in the second set.
The emerging star -- who won
his maiden ATP Tour title in Lyon
this year -- started strong in the
third set, breaking Paul’s serve to
win the first game.
going in the direction of the goal.
Liverpool had earlier missed a
chance to extend their lead to 3-1
when Ryan Gravenberch’s shot
from a cross sent by Szoboszlai
went against the crossbar from
close range, it would have been
Gravenberch’s first Premier
League goal.
Finally, with 12 minutes
remaining, Brighton levelled the
score when Liverpool failed to
block a freekick by Solly March
and before Alisson could come out
for the ball, Dank put the ball in.
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
Grigor Dimitrov celebrates his victory
against Russia’s Karen Khachanov.
The players were level at the
eighth game, but the American
snatched the last two to win 6-4, 6-7
(7/9), 6-4.
ESG Academy girls finish
runner-up in Bahrain
MUSCAT: The ESG Football
Academy under-16 girls
travelled to Bahrain at the
weekend to participate in the
JPL GCC Cup.
It is the first time that
an academy from Muscat
have taken a girls team to
participate in an international
tournament, the ESG press
release said.
Competing against seven
other teams from across the
GCC, they played a total of
16 games, which proved to
be a great spectacle for girl’s
football in the Gulf.
After battling their way
through the group stages, the
ESG team eventually lost in
the final of the Cup to strong
competitors from Saudi
Arabia who won every game
over the weekend - apart
from drawing with ESG in the
The ESG under-16 girls finished runner-up in Bahrain tournament.
sport
11
Fils’ compatriot Adrian
Mannarino was dismissed 6-3, 6-0
by world number seven Andrey
Rublev in just an hour.
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz will
battle for a place in the fourth round
against Britain’s Daniel Evans,
ranked 33rd in the world.
Jannik Sinner, who knocked
Alcaraz out of the China Open
semifinals in Beijing last week, has
already clinched his spot.
But defending champion
Daniil Medvedev suffered a shock
defeat at the hands of 26th-ranked
American Sebastian Korda on
Sunday. —AFP
group stages.
ESG coach Georgina
said: “It has been gruelling
weekend but such a fantastic
experience for the girls. The
bond and team spirit they
displayed throughout was
definitely a big factor in them
progressing through the
tournament. Along with the
quality football they played at
times, they showed immense
character and determination.”
“The girls exceeded
everyone’s expectations and
I’m absolutely delighted for
all of them. They learned
so much over the weekend
and I’m confident that they
will continue to improve as a
team, given the experience of
the tournament. They’re on
a high right now and already
looking forward to the next
tournament in Abu Dhabi.”
 OMANDAILYOBSERVER
T U E S DAY l O C TO B E R 1 0 l 2 0 2 3
SANTNER SHINES WITH BAT AND BALL
NEW ZEALAND DEFEAT NETHERLANDS BY 99 RUNS FOR SECOND WIN
HYDERABAD, India: Mitchell
Santner played a blistering innings
and then took five wickets to guide
New Zealand to a convincing 99-
run win over the Netherlands in a
World Cup match in Hyderabad
on Monday.
The 31-year-old left-hander
clubbed a 17-ball 36 not out in
New Zealand’s imposing total of
322-7 before achieving figures of
5-59.
Santner, the first New Zealand
spinner to take five wickets in a
World Cup match, dominated the
Dutch who were bowled out for
223 in 46.3 overs.
The victory gave New Zealand
two wins in as many games after
crushing title-holders England by
nine wickets in Ahmedabad on
Thursday.
“We did a great job batting
first, built partnerships at the top
and the bowlers did a fantastic job
tonight,” said Kiwis captain Tom
Latham.
Netherlands were never in
the hunt in the chase as they lost
Vikramjit Singh (12), Max O’Dowd
(16) and Bas de Leede (18) in the
first 17 overs with just 67 on the
board.
Top-scorer Colin Ackermann,
with a 73-ball 69, and Teja
Nidamanuru (21) added 50 for
the fourth wicket but Santner
removed Ackermann and skipper
Scott Edwards (30) to virtually end
Dutch hopes.
Santner also dismissed Roelof
van der Merwe (one) and Ryan
Klein (eight) to complete his
second five-wicket haul in his 97th
ODI.
Fast bowler Matt Henry finished
with 3-40 to wrap up the match.
“I was hoping we could keep
them to around 280-300 when I
won the toss because I do think it
gets easier to bat here as the day
goes on,” said Edwards.
“New Zealand have a disciplined
bowling attacking though and they
aren’t going to let that sort of total
be easy for you.”
Earlier, opener Will Young,
Rachin Ravindra and Latham
struck half centuries to anchor
New Zealand’s innings after they
were sent in to bat.
Jadeja, India’s 3-D player
I
ndia’s first match against
Australia at Chepauk in
Chennai was a sea of blue
with a full house to cheer
their home team. Generally,
you see yellow in Chennai which is the
home ground of CSK. But their hero
Ravindra Jadeja made a massive impact
ANIS SAJAN
on the match, bowling Australia out for
199, picking 3 for 28 and was the best
of the three spinners.
The speed at which Jadeja bowls is 90
mph and being so accurate, it’s difficult
for the batsmen to cope with such speed
and accuracy and that’s what makes
Jadeja so special. This is the ground
on which he has taken more than 100
wickets for his franchise in 9 seasons.
During the innings break, Jadeja told
the host broadcaster that when he saw
the wicket, he wanted to pick minimum
two to three wickets and he was glad
Mitchell Santner became the first New Zealand
spinner to take five wickets in a World Cup match.
that he was able to do it for his nation
India to rattle the Aussies who were
going well at the start with David
Warner and Steven Smith. The ball with
which he knocked off Steven Smith was
a ripper which turned a shade at a speed
of almost 100 to beat Smith and knock
the stump off. From 110/2 Australia
crumbled to 140/7 thanks to the
brilliance of Jadeja who also got Marcus
Labuschgne and Alex Carrey.
Had it not been for Ravindra
Jadeja’s strikes, Australia were on track
to score 250 plus which would have
been challenging on the Chennai
wicket and with India losing three
quick wickets for almost nothing,
Australia would have had the upper
hand. There is a reason Jadeja is called
a 3-D player as he adds impetus in all
three departments of the game that is
bowling, batting and fielding.
SCOREBOARD
New Zealand
D Conway c De Leede b Van der Merwe --32
W Young c De Leede b Van Meekeren -----70
R Ravindra c Edwards b Van der Merwe --51
D Mitchell b Van Meekeren ---------------------48
T Latham st Edwards b Dutt ---------------------53
G Phillips c Edwards b De Leede ---------------4
M Chapman c Van der Merwe b Dutt --------5
M Santner not out -----------------------------------36
M Henry not out --------------------------------------10
Extras: (lb3, nb2, w8) -----------------------------13
Total: (for seven wkts; 50 overs) ---- 322
Fall of wickets: 1-67, 2-144, 3-185, 4-238,
5-247, 6-254, 7-293
Bowling: Dutt 10-2-62-2, Klein 7-1-41-0,
Van Meekeren 9-0-59-2, Van der Merwe
9-0-56-2, Ackermann 4-0-28-0, De Leede
10-0-64-1, Singh 1-0-9-0
Netherlands
V Singh b Henry --------------------------------------12
M O’Dowd lbw b Santner ------------------------16
C Ackermann c Henry b Santner --------------69
B de Leede c Boult b Ravindra -----------------18
T Nidamanuru run out -----------------------------21
S Edwards c and b Santner ----------------------30
S Engelbrecht c Conway b Henry -------------29
R van der Merwe c Henry b Santner ----------1
R Klein lbw Santner ----------------------------------8
A Dutt b Henry ----------------------------------------11
P Meekeren not out ----------------------------------4
Extras (lb1, nb1, w2) --------------------------------4
Total: (all out; 46.3 overs) -------------- 223
Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-43, 3-67, 4-117,
5-157, 6-174, 7-180, 8-198, 9-218, 10-223
Bowling: Boult 8-0-34-0, Henry 8.3-0-40-
3, Santner 10-0-59-5, Ferguson 8-0-32-0,
Ravindra 10-0-46-1, Phillips 2-0-11-0
Result: New Zealand won by 99 runs
Young scored an 80-ball 70,
captain Latham made 53 off 46
balls while Ravindra hit a run-a-
ball 51.
In the slog overs, Santner hit
two sixes and three boundaries to
bolster the total.
Young put on a solid start of 67
after 12 overs with Devon Conway
before spinner Van der Merwe
broke the stand by getting Conway
caught at long-on.
Conway, who made an
undefeated 152 against England,
hit five boundaries and a six in his
40-ball 32.
Young found another able
partner in Ravindra as both took
New Zealand to 144 with a stand of
77 before pacer Paul van Meekeren
had the opener caught at mid-on.
Van der Merwe struck for a
second time when he had Ravindra
caught behind. Ravindra’s run-a-
ball 51 was spiced with a six and
three boundaries and came after
his 123 not out against England.
Daryl Mitchell played a solid
hand with a quick 47-ball 48
comprising five boundaries and
two sixes. — AFP
India’s Ravindra
Jadeja celebrates
after taking the lbw
wicket of Australia’s
Alex Carey.
— Reuters
TUESDAY | OCTOBER 10, 2023 | RABEE AL AWWAL 24, 1445 AH
business
OFSEC showcases
cutting-edge solutions for
fire, safety and security
Major General Abdullah bin Ali bin Hamad al Harthy, Assistant Inspector
General of Police & Customs for Operations, Royal Oman Police inaugurating
the event.
JOMAR MENDOZA
MUSCAT, OCT 9
The 7th Oman Fire, Safety, and
Security Summit and Expo
(OFSEC) officially opened on
Monday at the Oman Convention
and Exhibition Centre (OCEC),
bringing together industry
leaders, professionals, and
innovators from around the
world.
Recognised as Oman’s premier
event in the field, the summit
provided a platform to showcase
the latest advancements in fire,
safety, and security technologies,
fostering knowledge sharing and
networking opportunities.
The two-day event,
inaugurated by Major General
Abdullah bin Ali bin Hamad
al Harthy, Assistant Inspector
General of Police & Customs
for Operations, Royal Oman
Police, featured a comprehensive
range of products and services,
including fire prevention and
suppression systems, emergency
response equipment, surveillance
solutions, cybersecurity, and risk
management technologies.
With over 90 exhibitors from
around the globe, the summit
highlighted the importance of
robust safety measures in both
the public and private sectors.
One of the key highlights of
the event was the series of
insightful panel discussions
and presentations by industry
experts.
Keynote speaker
Aldulrahman al Yahyaei, Chief
Executive Officer of Oman
Energy Association (OPAL) said,
“The theme of this year’s summit
is building a safer tomorrow
through collaboration,
innovation and preparedness.
This is a timely and important
theme as Oman continues
to develop and grow. With
this development comes new
challenges such as the growing
population and increasing risks
of natural disasters.
The Oman Fire, Safety and
Security Expo is a unique
opportunity for industry
professionals to come together
and share their knowledge and
expertise and also a chance for
businesses to learn about the
latest products and services
available and to make connection
with potential businesses.”
“This expo has attracted a
record number of exhibitors
from all over the world with 90
exhibitors from 19 countries.
This demonstrates the strong
interest in the Omani market
and the confidence of industry
leaders have in Oman’s future,”
Al Yahyaei added.
Speakers addressed the
pressing challenges and emerging
trends in fire safety and security,
emphasising the need for
proactive measures to mitigate
risks and ensure the safety of
individuals and assets. Topics
such as smart cities, artificial
intelligence in security systems,
and the role of technology in
disaster management garnered
significant attention.
The summit also served as
a platform for international
companies to introduce their
latest innovations to the Middle
East market.
Exhibitors showcased cutting-
edge technologies, including
advanced fire detection systems,
state-of-the-art surveillance
cameras with facial recognition
capabilities, and integrated
emergency response solutions.
These innovations aim to
revolutionise the way fire, safety,
and security are managed,
offering enhanced protection and
efficient response mechanisms.
Moreover, the summit
facilitated valuable networking
opportunities, allowing attendees
to connect with industry peers,
government officials, and
potential business partners.
The event attracted a diverse
range of professionals, including
fire safety officers, security
consultants, risk managers,
government representatives, and
technology providers. Through
interactive sessions and one-on-
one meetings, participants were
able to exchange ideas, discuss
best practices, and explore
potential collaborations, further
strengthening the industry’s
ecosystem.
New CMA initiatives to bolster
Islamic capital market in Oman
FINTECH ECOSYSTEM: Nine
crowdfunding platforms
licenced to date
CONRAD PRABHU
MUSCAT, OCT 9
Seeking to add new momentum to
Oman’s rapidly expanding Islamic
finance sector, the Capital Market
Authority (CMA) is spearheading
a number of initiatives with a
particular focus on strengthening
the Islamic capital market.
On the anvil are new
regulations governing the issuance
of Islamic green bonds and virtual
assets, according to a key official
representing the market regulator.
“The CMA is awaiting
(responses) from the relevant
ministries to finalise the issuance
of the new regulatory framework
for ESG, sustainable bonds and
Sukuk, and the financial capital
private equity fund for both
conventional and Islamic,” said
Ahmed bin Ali al Maamari,
Executive Vice-President, CMA.
Addressing an Islamic finance
forum held in Muscat recently,
the official noted that the new
initiatives would provide further
impetus to an industry that has
grown by leaps and bounds over
the past decade.
“Within a span of 10 years,
Islamic finance has emerged as one
of the fastest growing segments
within the financial services
industry since the establishment
GCC-Pakistan FTA to promote
trade and economic cooperation
NASRULAH AL AJMI
MUSCAT, OCT 9
A preliminary Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) signed late last
month by the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) and the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan will provide
strong impetus to enhanced trade
ties between the two sides, with
beneficial implications for the
Sultanate of Oman.
Dr Saleh bin Said Masan
(pictured), Commerce and
Industry Under-Secretary of the
Ministry of Commerce, Industry
and Investment Promotion, who
is leading the Omani negotiating
team, emphasised that the
agreement’s signing would
promote bilateral trade and
economic cooperation between
the Gulf states and Pakistan.
The agreement is expected to
play a crucial role in dismantling
EXCHANGE
4,751.506
of two Islamic banks and six
Islamic banking windows in 2013.
Since then, the capital market
sector, the MSX Sharia Index was
launched with Sharia-compliant
listed companies on the Muscat
Stock Exchange (MSX).
An Islamic Investment Fund
has been established, while the
Oman Sovereign Sukuk and
Corporate Sukuk with various
Sharia structures have been
issued,” the official stated.
Notable achievements in this
space, the official said, include
the issuance of the first Oman
Sovereign Sukuk, the first
standalone corporate Sukuk, and
the first Sukuk programme, as well
as the first retail Sukuk, also the
first dual currency Sukuk, both
in Omani Riyal and the US dollar,
and the first perpetual Sukuk in
trade barriers and opening foreign
markets for exporters from GCC
member states, he noted in a
media statement.
Dr Saleh said this pact aims to
strengthen economic and trade
cooperation between the GCC
member states and Pakistan,
with a focus on easing the flow
of goods and services through
the reduction and elimination of
customs duties.
GCC and Pakistan have
taken a significant step towards
MUSCAT CRUDE
STOCK OIL PRICE
Oman Crude $ 87.10
Brent Crude
Light Crude
$ 87.83
$ 86.12
Oman.
“The various Sukuks that have
been issued thus far will certainly
contribute towards building a
yield curve in Oman and hopefully
motivate further Sukuk issuances
in the local market,” Al Maamari
said.
“We have also seen the issuance
of two Islamic REITs (real estate
investments trusts) with a total
fund size of about RO 110 million
listed on the MSX.”
Furthermore, the CMA has
fostered the development of a
fintech-based crowdfunding
industry in Oman, with a goal to
enhance financial inclusion and
the growth of the SME sector. It
includes the establishment of the
first global Islamic crowdfunding
platform in the country.
To date, the CMA has licensed
fostering international trade and
economic cooperation by signing
a preliminary agreement for a free
trade deal. The agreement seeks to
facilitate the movement of goods
and services between the member
states of the GCC and Pakistan
by reducing and eventually
eliminating customs duties on
various goods.
Additionally, it aims to create
an environment conducive to
service access, encourage and
safeguard investments, and
promote economic cooperation
between the GCC and Pakistan.
The comprehensive agreement
covers a range of essential areas,
including trade in goods, services,
investment, e-commerce, customs
procedures, dispute resolution,
competition, trade remedies,
intellectual property rights, and
support for small and medium-
sized enterprises.
Follow us on
omanobserver.om/business
a total of nine crowdfunding
platforms based on a distinctive
crowdfunding framework that
makes Oman the first in the Gulf
region to allow global cross border
fundraising and investment —
a feature that most regulators
currently disallow, he noted.
Also of significance is the
regulator’s efforts to develop the
virtual or digital asset industry in
Oman, for which a new regulatory
framework is currently being
drafted.
“The CMA had recently issued
Oman’s Virtual Asset Regulatory
Framework consultation paper for
public feedback and is only one of
the few countries in the Middle
East undertaking this initiative.
Digital assets are also considered
Sharia permissible in some
countries,” he stated.
The signing ceremony took
place in Riyadh on September 29,
2023 under the auspices of Shaikh
Jasim al Budaiwi, the Secretary-
General of the Gulf Cooperation
Council for the Arab States of the
Gulf, representing the GCC, and
Pakistan’s Minister of Commerce,
Jawhar Ijaz, representing Pakistan.
Al Budaiwi underscored
the historic significance of
the economic agreement,
highlighting its potential to spur
growth and prosperity while
serving the mutual interests of
both parties. He emphasised
the vital importance of close
cooperation among nations to
strengthen economic relations.
Further negotiations are
anticipated to solidify the terms
of this groundbreaking trade pact,
with both sides keen on advancing
regional and international
economic cooperation.
advertorials
business
14 OMANDAILYOBSERVER
T U E S DAY l O C TO B E R 1 0 l 2 0 2 3
Chery unveils exciting future
at 2023 GIMS in Qatar
MUSCAT: Chery Automobile
showcased its advancements
through its exciting new vehicles
at the 2023 Geneva International
Motor Show (GIMS). The 2023
Geneva International Motor Show
will be held from October 5th to
14th at the Qatar Doha Exhibition
and Convention Centre.
Through “power 4.0 global
architecture”, the global
competitiveness of Chery
products has increased even
further. During the show, a number
of Chery’s PHEV products were
unveiled and will be available in
the markets. During the event,
the brand’s charity fund was also
simultaneously launched.
Chery used the platform to
exhibit its new power brand,
demonstrating its technical and
innovative strength to accelerate
the process of the new energy field
to global car enthusiasts.
The Geneva International
Motor Show (GIMS) is one of
the five major auto shows in the
world and the largest exhibition
event in Switzerland. It is known
as the “wind vane of international
automotive trends” and has always
been an important stage for major
auto companies to showcase new
MHD-ITICS launches Realme 11 5G smartphone in Oman
MUSCAT: Mohsin Haider Darwish
Infrastructure, Technology,
Industrial and Consumer Solutions
(MHD-ITICS), the official
distributors of Realme in Oman,
have unveiled the highly-anticipated
Realme 11 5G at a special event held
at the Crowne Plaza Muscat Hotel.
The launch took place on the
sidelines of the Realme awards
ceremony amidst a gathering of
over 100 channel partners from
across Oman.
The Realme 11 5G is equipped
with a 6.72-inch Display, MediaTek
Dimensity 6100+ Processor,
16-megapixel Front Camera,
108-megapixel + 2-megapixel Rear
Camera, 8GB RAM, 256GB Storage,
5000mAh Battery Capacity, and
Android 13 OS.
Commencing with a product
Home and Building Expo begins today
MUSCAT: The Home and
Building Expo is Oman’s premier
event to be held from 10 - 12
October 2023, from 11am - 08pm
at the Oman Convention and
Exhibition Centre.
The event will inaugurated by
Shaikh Khalid bin Hilal bin Nasser
al Maawali, Chairman of Majlis
Ash’shura.
The Expo will bring together
over 160 exhibitors from over
15 countries who will showcase
the most comprehensive range
of latest innovative products,
services and solutions to Build,
Design, Decorate and Renovate
your Home and Building.
The Expo is a ‘One Stop
Destination’ from ‘Concept to
Completion’ where the visitors can
also benefit from the special and
exclusive offers that participating
Companies will showcase at the
Expo.
Visitors will also get the
technologies, new models and
future strategies.
The arrival at the Geneva
International Motor Show (GIMS)
and the release of a new power
brand displays another phased
achievement of Chery’s brand
improvement, new technology and
product development.
With 26 years of technology
accumulation, Chery has established
a leading advantage in the hybrid
and pure electric fields.
Adhering to the concept of
“innovating power to drive the
future”, the power brand which
Chery launched at the Geneva
International Motor Show (GIMS)
is “power 4.0 global architecture“
covering all forms of energy types
such as ICE, PHEV, and BEV.
Through this architecture new
products were launched with the
characteristics of “powerful • rapid”,
“efficient • green” and “high-energy •
smart”, subverting users’ perceptions
and expectations of electric hybrid
products and at the same time offer
technical support to Chery, to move
towards new energy transformation
in a comprehensive manner.
It will further enhance the global
market competitiveness of Chery
products.
presentation, the smartphone’s
launch-afternoon provided
attendees with an in-depth look
at the Realme 11 5G’s impressive
features and capabilities.
It was followed by awards
distribution to deserving partners
and retailers across various
categories, such as Best Partner, Best
Retailer, and Best Emerging Partner.
Certificates of recognition were
also conferred to selected dealers for
their outstanding contributions. To
add excitement to the proceedings,
a lucky-draw took place, where
winners walked away with coveted
prizes, including the Realme 11 5G,
Realme C55, and Realme Buds.
MHD-ITICS is proud of its
strategic partnership with Realme,
as it helps the company provide
customers with latest technologies
opportunity to learn and update
their knowledge, identify and
implement advanced global
trendsetting and efficient solutions
to optimise their projects.
They can source latest products,
solutions and services while giving
them the opportunity to compare
prices, specifications and product
variants and make better informed
purchase decisions.
The Expo offers complete a
360° platform for the buyers and
visitors to source everything for
their project requirements while
simultaneously catering to each
relevant audience from A&D
LuLu Exchange unveils two new
customer engagement centres
MUSCAT: LuLu Exchange –
Oman’s leading service provider of
cross border payments & foreign
exchange, yesterday announced
the opening of two new customer
engagement centres at Misfah &
18th November Street.
The customer engagement
centre at Misfah was inaugurated
by A L Sabarullah Khan,
Ambassador of Sri Lanka to
the Sultanate of Oman, in the
presence of Shaikh Mohammed
Hamed Ali al Ghazali, Director,
LuLu Exchange Oman, Narayan
Pradhan, COO, LuLu Exchange,
and other senior management of
the company.
The twin openings extend LuLu
Exchange’s network in Oman
to 42 engagement centres, with
the global network under LuLu
Financial Holdings touching 304
engagement centres.
Congratulating LuLu Exchange
on the opening, A L Sabarullah
Khan, Ambassador of Sri Lanka
to the Sultanate of Oman, said, “I
congratulate the team on today’s
achievement and wish more
success in the coming years.
The commitment shown by the
company to its customers has been
crucial to connecting people while
facilitating trade, investments,
and cultural exchanges. Today’s
opening is a testament to their
MHD-ITICS officials during the launching event.
and products.
The Realme 11 5G is set to features,
redefine the smartphone experience commitment to innovation, makes
in Oman. it a game-changer in the market.
professionals to local homeowners
and design enthusiasts, looking to
discover, buy or commission.
No matter what stage the projects
are at, the Expo will provide one-
to-one advice, multiple new and
innovative products to browse,
tailored whole-house solutions,
customised furniture solutions
and discover the ins and outs of the
project requirements and to suit
budgets. Visitors can find the latest
design trends for their Apartment,
Villa, Farm House or Residential
Project at the Exhibition.
The Expo features multiple
product segments like Smart
The opening of the two new customer engagement centres at Misfah & 18th November Street.
ongoing contribution to the
Omani economy, and efforts to
simplify the payment needs of the
country’s people.”
Adeeb Ahamed, Managing
Director of LuLu Financial
Holdings, congratulated the team
and emphasised the company’s
commitment to drive digital
transformation of its world-class
financial services.
“As a company that has
wholeheartedly embraced digital
payments while expanding our
physical network, we remain
dedicated to advancing and
fostering Oman’s cross-border
payments sector.
Our foremost goal is to
Its affordability, remarkable
and the brand’s
Home Solutions, Outdoor Living,
Pools & Gardens, Property &
Real Estate, Home Loans, Interior
Design & Décor, Bathroom &
Sanitary Ware, Bedroom, Flooring,
Carpets & Rugs, Furniture, Home
Appliances, Kitchen, Lighting,
Paints & Wall Covering Stones
& Ceramics, Windows, Doors &
Glass and more.
The Home Expo is officially
supported by the Ministry of
Housing and Urban Planning,
Ministry of Commerce, Industry
& Investment Promotion,
Oman Vision 2040 and Muscat
Municipality.
Some of the key Supporters &
Associations are Public Authority
for Special Economic Zones and
Free Zones, Madayn, Oman
Society of Engineers, ACI Oman
Chapter, CIOB, RICS, MESIA,
Czech Trade Promotion Agency,
Egyptian Furniture Council and
more.
continue delivering outstanding
services, and these engagement
centres have been strategically
positioned to not only meet
our customers’ payment needs
but also to seamlessly facilitate
their transition to future digital
solutions.
Today’s openings are aligned
with this vision, and we look
forward to serving the people of
Oman even more.”
Lulu Exchange Oman offers
cross-border payment solutions,
currency exchange services, and
additional value-added services
with a commitment to delivering
prompt, transparent, and
dependable services.
’Shattaf Man’ wants to remove
concept of toilet paper
MUSCAT: There was time when
Indian expat Anis Sajan, fondly
known as the ‘Shattaf Man’, used to
do the rounds of shops in Dubai
as salesman trying to sell shattaf,
a hand-held spray for washing
oneself after attending the call of
nature.
Back in the day, in the early
90s, he would head to Deira, the
hub for sanitary ware products
in Dubai, to sell to the traders.
A shop owner once asked Sajan
to leave the store and not disturb
him.
After Sajan developed his niche
and grew his brand, the same
owner invited him to the shop to
discuss doing business together.
Today, Sajan is managing
director of Danube Group, one of
the biggest conglomerates in the
UAE with a turnover of $1.3 billion
(around Dh4.78 billion) in 2019,
the firm’s website says. Sajan, from
India’s business capital Mumbai,
credits his rise to the humble
shattaf, a must-have bathroom
fixture in the Gulf region. “It is
only because of this product,
shattaf, that I got popular,” he said.
‘Shattaf is a basic necessity’
Sajan is not embarrassed to be
called the ‘Shattaf Man’. “The
shattaf is a basic necessity in the
Arab and Asian cultures. Every
household in these countries
ensures that the first thing they
install is a shattaf.”
He had realised the importance
of shattaf while on a trip to Europe,
where toilet paper takes the place
of shattaf in washrooms.
“Using toilet paper is not
common in Asian culture, and
most people get constipated when
they do not find a shattaf in the
toilet,” Sajan said with a smile.
Once a door-to-door shattaf
salesman, Sajan now leads the
entire Milano sanitary ware
The company’s diverse services
are facilitated through their
extensive network of engagement
centres and digital payments app,
LuLu Money.
Having commenced operations
in 2011, LuLu Exchange is among
the leading and most trustworthy
financial service providers in
Oman.
The company is a part of LuLu
Financial Holdings – a global
financial services conglomerate
based in Abu Dhabi. LuLu
Exchange Oman has strategic
partnerships with global payment
networks enabling it to service
countries in the MENA, Indian
sub-continent and APAC markets.
‘Shattaf Man’ Anis Sajan
division at Danube.
His journey began in 1992,
when his brother Rizwan Sajan
was focusing on developing the
timber and building materials
division of Danube.
The latter asked Sajan to start
something on his own and he took
keen interest in venturing into the
sanitary segment.
Sajan believes shattaf is the
main product of his portfolio
and was the turning point of his
career. Initially, Sajan used to buy
the products through an agent.
Now, he procures exclusively
customised designs and sells in
the region.
Sajan said he was the first
person to invent the ‘travel shattaf
kit’, which travellers pack along
with their make-up or shaving
kit just like an essential. He said
that he was initially selling 5,000
shattaf pieces per month but the
number has increased close to
70,000 pieces per month.
Sajan said that his ‘shattafs’
are very popular in Gulf, Middle
East, India and Pakistan. He looks
forward to selling shattaf in the
European market and eventually
remove the concept of toilet paper.
He is also keen to start a
manufacturing unit of shattaf in
UAE in the near future.

MSX hosts ME Financial
Markets Forum 2023
MSX officials and guests are seen during the forum.
NASRULAH AL AJMI
MUSCAT, OCT 9
In a significant gathering
under the auspices of Qais bin
Mohammed al Yousef, Oman’s
Minister of Commerce, Industry,
and Investment Promotion
(MoCIIP), the Muscat Stock
Exchange (MSX) played host to
the prestigious Financial Markets
Communication Forum for the
Middle East in 2023.
This high-profile event saw
the participation of esteemed
figures, including presidents of
stock exchanges, investment
bankers, global fund managers,
and representatives from Gulf,
Arab, and international financial
markets.
Over the course of two days
at the Al Bustan Palace — A
Ritz Carlton Hotel, the forum
provides a pivotal platform for
enhancing investment prospects
and fostering collaboration
among the attending institutions.
The forum, with its diverse
agenda, places significant
emphasis on investment
opportunities within the Middle
East, initial public offerings
(IPOs), and the multifaceted
challenges that financial markets
currently confront. Furthermore,
it serves as a conduit for
participants to exchange
‘Meena’ empowers Omani women
to become fisheries entrepreneurs
BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT, OCT 9
The successful conclusion of
the Omani Coastal Women
Development Programme
(Meena), initiated to support
coastal women within small-
scale invertebrate fisheries in the
Sultanate of Oman, was marked
at a grand event held under the
patronage of Dr Saud bin Hamoud
al Habsi, Minister of Agriculture,
Fisheries, and Water Resources,
on Monday, October 9, 2023.
Organised by The Zubair
Enterprises Development Centre
(Zubair EDC), in cooperation
with the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United
Nations (FAO), it was also attended
by Al Zubair bin Mohammed
al Zubair, Vice-Chairman
of the Board of Directors of
The Zubair Corporation, and
several dignitaries as well as
executives from the Ministry,
FAO, and representatives of the
Corporation.
Since its inception in 2021,
the Omani Coastal Women
Development Programme, aims
to empower an SME started by a
group of women in the fisheries
sector. Since initiation, the focus
was to provide support while
insights and knowledge on
topics spanning technology,
regional dynamics, challenges
affecting financial markets, and
the intricacies of depository
operations.
This collaborative initiative
aims to stimulate dialogue
and cooperation among all
participating entities.
Crucially, the hosting of this
forum underscored Oman’s
commitment to showcasing
its investment-friendly
environment and attracting
foreign capital across various
sectors, with particular attention
to the financial market, thereby
bolstering its appeal as a prime
investment destination.
Haitham bin Salem al Salmi,
CEO of MSX, expressed his
pride in hosting the Financial
Markets Communication
Forum, highlighting its role in
promoting collaboration and
knowledge sharing within the
financial markets sector.
He anticipated productive
discussions and the forging
of new partnerships among
representatives from stock
exchanges, investment banks,
global funds, as well as experts
and speakers from across the
globe, as they deliberated on an
array of pertinent topics related
to financial markets.
Dr Saud al Habsi, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources,
unveiling the brand logo of the Meena programme. Picture by Shamsa al Harthy
improving local manufactured
products, improving their reach
within the local and regional
markets.
Managed by engineers Farha
al Kindi and Muzna al Hatmi, the
project is based in the Wilayat of
Mussanah and has sales outlets
across Oman. During the event
finale, the ‘Meena’ products were
unveiled. This brand refresh
essentially elevated the look and
feel of the well-made fisheries
products.
The Omani Coastal Women
Development Programme has
provided unique opportunities
for many women to develop
their skills and enhance their
organisational and technical
capabilities.
CMA announces implementation
of IFRS 17 for insurance contracts
BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT, OCT 9
The Capital Market Authority
(CMA) has announced that
starting from the current
year 2023, the conventional
re/insurance companies in
the Sultanate of Oman have
commenced the adoption
of the IFRS 17 Insurance
Contracts which was issued by
the International Accounting
Standards Board as a replacement
of IFRS 4.
The new standard identifies
specific accounting approaches
rather than the previous standard.
This could impact the insurance
company’s financial statements
to various degrees based on the
insurance contract’s nature.
It is worth noting that the
IFRS 17 will eventually elevate
OPAZ rolls out new digital services via SEZAD portal
BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT, OCT 9
The Public Authority for Special
Economic Zones and Free
Zones (OPAZ) launched a new
package of services through
its digital portal catering to
Special Economic Zone at Duqm
(SEZAD). This is in line with
OPAZ’s digital transformation
efforts aimed at automating
services for the benefit of
investors across the Authority’s
assets.
The new package brings
nine services related to the
constructions sector, including
the excavation permit service,
This in turn has improved their
access to resources, technology,
and economic opportunities, and
will greatly impact the industry
where small-scale fisheries
make up over 90 per cent of the
production on the Omani coast.
Ali Shaker, Head of the Business
Development and Partnerships
Sector at Zubair EDC, said,
“The conclusion of the Omani
Coastal Women Development
Programme in small-scale
invertebrate fisheries represents
an important achievement in the
journey of empowering coastal
women in Oman, as this comes
within the framework of the
Zubair EDC’s strategy to support
Small and Micro Enterprises
in order to achieve sustainable
business
T U E S DAY l O C TO B E R 1 0 l 2 0 2 3
the disclosures quality and thus
enhances transparency on the
insurance contract related risks.
Additionally, it enables
comparison of the financial
statements among insurance
companies for either locally
and globally, which provides an
in-depth detail to the public,
investors and stakeholders.
Moreover, the CMA has
OPAZ headquarters in Duqm.
cutting the asphalt road,
excavating under the road,
installing signals or banners
on the road’s path, agricultural
works, excavations, backfilling,
and other works within the
development as well as economic
and social progress.”
This programme reflects joint
efforts and fruitful cooperation
between FAO and the Zubair
EDC to further sustainable
development in the field of food
security as well as economically
empower the coastal women.
Speaking on the occasion,
Hasna Mohammed al Harthy,
Assistant Representative of the
FAO in Oman, said, “Omani
women in coastal communities
are a significant part of the
fisheries sector, specifically for
post-harvest activities, as these
activities are considered an
essential part of their livelihood.
These include general
management, handling,
processing, marketing, shellfish
collection, as well as net repairing.”
Eng Farha al Kindi, Director of
the Masara Sea Project said, “We
would like to start by thanking
FAO and the Zubair EDC for their
invaluable support in putting
our small business on the right
track for success. Our initiative
forms an economic, communal,
and cultural bond between
individuals and institutions, all
working towards enhancing the
field of fish manufacturing and
production in Oman.”
business
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
urged all insurance companies to
engage regularly with investors
and stakeholders to emphasise
changes that might occur to the
company’s business and financial
statements to support investors in
the process of financial analysis
which is based on a high quality
data to enable effective decisions.
The impact of the initial
implementation of the mentioned
road’s right of way, supplying
electricity, water, gas, telephone,
and sewage services, installing
lighting poles, and driving
vehicles of exceptional weights or
dimensions on the road, building
Marafiq wins global award
for water sustainability
BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT, OCT 9
Marafiq, a joint venture owned
by OQ, a subsidiary of Oman
Investment Authority, cemented
its position as a sustainability
leader by winning the prestigious
Integrated Utilities Company of the
Year award at the World Economic
News Network’s Sustainability
Innovation Awards 2023.
This award recognition that
identifies sustainability-focused
innovative projects in the Middle
East validates Marafiq’s ambitious
ESG (environmental, social and
governance) strategy aimed at
enabling Oman’s vision for a
sustainable future.
With its state-of-the-art water
network management in Duqm
Special Economic Zone, Marafiq
achieved an unprecedented
non-revenue water loss rate of
just 9.1 per cent — one of the
lowest globally. What makes it
even more impressive is that the
loss percentage in water networks
is around 20 per cent and in
some cases even reaches 35 per
cent, causing severe economic
and environmental losses. The
award ceremony held in Dubai,
celebrated Marafiq’s commitment
to optimise precious water
resources in pursuit of the UN’s
Sustainable Development Goals,
Oman Vision 2040, and the Oman’s
net-zero targets for 2050.
Abdullah al Hashimi, Managing
Director of Marafiq, said, “As a
company founded on principles
of sustainability, we implemented
robust asset monitoring, data
analytics and world-class practices
to minimise water wastage and
carbon footprint. This award
recognises our strategic ESG
15
standard will be replaced in
the equity section and financial
performance of the third quarter
of this year.
“The CMA is keen to provide
the required support to all
listed companies, investors
and consumers, and given the
challenges encountered by the
insurance sector, particularly
companies, audit firms and
actuaries in the implementation
of the new standard and in
addition to the operational and
regulatory difficulties faced by
companies that requires further
time to implement the new
standard, the CMA decided to
extend the disclosure period of
listed re/insurance companies’
financial statements for the third
quarter of 2023 to 60 days from
the end of the quarter,” it added in
a statement.
intersections, entrances and exits,
and constructing roads.
Moreover, these services
come in line with the framework
of OPAZ efforts to facilitate
and accelerate procedures for
investors in SEZAD, reduce
time and efforts, and achieve
transparency for all investors in
the Zone.
On the other hand, these
services represent a continuation
of the digital transformation
process, which started by
automating the one-stop services
in SEZAD, accelerating the
process of investors’ transactions,
and facilitating the practice of
economic activities.
Marafic representatives receiving the
award in Dubai.
priorities of water conservation,
operational excellence and
community well-being.”
By leveraging innovation and
technology, Marafiq is setting
global benchmarks in responsible
water management. Its digital
initiatives for monitoring usage,
reducing leaks and engaging
consumers also showcase
Marafiq’s emphasis on stakeholder
collaboration in building a
sustainable future.
Over the years, Marafiq has
achieved its operational efficiency
measures as evidenced by the
ISO credentials. Marafiq was able
to integrate efficiency into its
operations at a very early stage .
Al Hashimi added, “We are
honoured by this international
recognition of our sustainability
efforts. It motivates us to scale
up ESG integration across our
operations and thus contribute
towards Oman’s economic, social
and ecological objectives.”
With accolades like this,
Marafiq is poised to accelerate
its leadership in enabling Oman’s
vision for a net-zero and socially
inclusive society.
 16 Opinion
China is swing factor in diesel’s global squeeze
V
ladimir Putin is
flexing his diesel
muscles, but Xi
Jinping’s look
bigger.
The Russian president’s recent
decision to ban diesel exports is
one of the reasons why prices of
the industrial and heating fuel
could go higher after soaring 30%
since the end of June. As demand
enters peak season, Xi’s ability
to dictate how much Chinese oil
companies export looks like the
key swing factor.
Globally, demand for diesel
and gasoil is around 28 million
barrels per day (bpd), according
to the International Energy
Agency. Even before Putin’s
intervention, the market was
tight.
Saudi Arabia’s crude
T
he world
economy is losing
momentum
as its major
growth engines
decelerate and a confluence of
short-term factors and long-
term constraints – including
geopolitical tensions, high
public-debt levels, and aging
populations – begin to bite.
The latest update to the
Brookings-Financial Times
Tracking Indexes for the Global
Economic Recovery (TIGER)
shows that economic activity
is weakening across the board.
Despite relatively favourable
financial-market performance
earlier this year, consumer and
business confidence have taken a
major hit.
While the United States
continues to post steady
GDP growth, other advanced
economies are in a parlous state,
facing dismal growth prospects
or even teetering on the edge
of recession. Emerging-market
economies are generally in better
shape, with China showing some
signs of stabilisation, and India
continuing to power ahead.
Fortunately, inflationary
pressures are easing around
the world, but rising energy
prices and widening geopolitical
fissures could halt this progress
and hamper growth.
Equity markets rallied for
a few months, owing partly to
optimism about the productivity
gains from technological
innovation, but concerns about
growth prospects have begun to
weigh on their performance.
The US economy has
proven remarkably resilient,
weathering high interest
rates, rising government debt,
political dysfunction, and
other challenges. Household
consumption and job creation
have remained robust, though at
a slowing pace.
To its credit, the US Federal
Reserve has recovered from its
early stumble and is now taming
inflation without tipping the
country into a recession.
But strains are starting to
show, especially in financial
markets, and the economy’s late-
cycle momentum is losing steam.
The eurozone, for its part,
has adjusted to the negative
spillovers from the Ukraine
war, and inflationary pressures
have eased in the bloc, although
the European Central Bank’s
commitment to meeting its
YAWEN CHEN
The author is a Hong Kong-
based columnist for Reuters
Breakingviews.
The global recovery is faltering
ESWAR PRASAD
The author is a professor
of economics in the Dyson
School at Cornell University
and a senior fellow at the
Brookings Institution.
EVEN AS INFLATIONARY
PRESSURES EASE,
GEOPOLITICAL
TENSIONS AND
STRUCTURAL FACTORS
SUCH AS
UNFAVOURABLE
DEMOGRAPHICS AND
HIGH DEBT LEVELS HAVE
TAKEN A TOLL ON
HOUSEHOLD AND
BUSINESS CONFIDENCE
WORLDWIDE. THE
CHALLENGE FOR
GOVERNMENTS IS TO
REBUILD CONFIDENCE
AND ENHANCE
PRODUCTIVITY, WHICH
REMAIN ESSENTIAL TO
GETTING THE GLOBAL
RECOVERY BACK ON
TRACK.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this page are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the opinion of the Observer.
TUESDAY
production cuts curbed the
medium sour supply of the
commodity used to make diesel.
A hot summer and refinery
outages in the US and elsewhere
reduced refining capacity around
the world too.
Stocks in major consuming
regions from the US to Singapore
were severely depleted in August,
and sit below their 10-year season
averages.
And while crude prices have
fallen back to $85 a barrel since
exceeding $96 a barrel in late
September, as traders fret that
higher borrowing costs might
hit economic growth, El Niño
may see a colder Northern
Hemisphere winter push diesel
demand even higher.
At first sight, China’s influence
isn’t obvious. Of the world’s
A trader works on the floor of the NYSE in New York. — Reuters
inflation target will keep
monetary conditions tight. But
growth remains uneven, with
some of the core and periphery
economies struggling.
Germany, Europe’s biggest
economy, is barely growing,
having been hit hard by weak
external demand and rising
competition from foreign
manufacturers. Italy is in similar
straits, while France has fared
marginally better. Greece and
Spain, on the other hand, have
been bolstered by domestic
demand and a resurgence of
tourism.
Elsewhere in the developed
world, after a post-Covid
rebound, growth in the United
Kingdom has been dampened by
labour-market strife and interest-
rate hikes to contain inflation.
And Japan’s economy has been
boosted by depreciation of the
yen, while domestic demand
remains restrained.
The Bank of Japan seems
tolerant of a weak currency and
above-target inflation, which will
continue supporting growth.
Despite being buffeted
by various adverse domestic
and external factors, China’s
economy has shown signs of
OCTOBER 10, 2023
8 million bpd export flows,
Russia exported on average 1
million bpd in the nine months
to September, according to
consultancy Vortexa.
China only exported 250,000
bpd in the same period, as the
government restricted export
volumes.
Even so, China last year
overtook the United States as the
world’s biggest refiner, with total
refining capacity of 18.4 million
bpd. Chinese diesel inventories
have risen 11% from January as
domestic usage fell, but exports
rose from a low 2022 base as
margins achievable by selling
overseas soared, according to
consultancy Longzhong. At
820,000 bpd, year-to-date quotas
are now higher than last year and
only 30% below the record level
stabilising, owing to fiscal and
monetary stimulus measures
intended to bolster the property
market.
For now, consumer-price
deflation has been averted,
although domestic demand
continues to sputter, and exports
are sagging.
But the downturn in the
property sector, which accounts
for a significant share of China’s
GDP and household wealth,
has raised serious concerns and
increased financial risks.
Private-sector confidence
has plunged, hurting household
consumption as well as
investment
. Given that the property
sector remains in limbo despite
government support, and that
a shrinking labour force and
geopolitical tensions are only
adding to the uncertainty,
maintaining growth even in
the 4% to 5% range will be
challenging in the coming years.
Meanwhile, neighbouring
India has solidified its status
as the world’s fastest-growing
major economy, bolstered by
robust exports and domestic
investment.
The country benefits from a
in 2020. Xi has further firepower.
Additional quotas could make
Chinese diesel exports balloon
to 750,000 bpd in November
and December, according to
calculations by Breakingviews
and Energy Aspects analyst
Jianan Sun.
An additional 375,000 bpd to
500,000 bpd would be more than
enough to balance supplies in
Europe over the winter months,
where shortages are likely to be
more like 250,000 bpd.
If the arbitrage remains
lucrative and Chinese demand
stays muted, further exports
could bring additional revenue
that supports the weakening
yuan, and incentivises refineries
to increase production and boost
economic output.
In theory, China has around
young and growing labour force,
orderly fiscal and monetary
policies, and efficiency gains
from digitisation. Moreover,
India is well-positioned to take
advantage of the shifts in global
trade and investment patterns
being driven by geopolitical
realignments and has already
attracted considerable foreign
capital.
However, the high level of
public debt, inadequate (albeit
improving) infrastructure, and
incomplete labour-market,
banking, and public-governance
reforms could make it difficult to
realise this potential.
Brazil and Mexico are also
bright spots, as falling inflation
and rising exports have boosted
their prospects, while Nigeria
remains a solid performer.
Russia has withstood Western
sanctions following its attack of
Ukraine and, despite the large
strains that the war has put on
its economy, is eking out low
growth, fuelled mainly by energy
exports.
The strong dollar has
inflicted enormous costs on
many emerging-market and
low-income economies, some
of which, like Argentina, have
OMAN DAILY OBSERVER
4 million bpd of spare refining
capacity, which could translate
into 1.2 million bpd of additional
diesel supply, Sun reckons –
enough to offset even a complete
cessation of Russian exports.
Xi may yet be wary of
shrinking China’s strategic oil
reserves, while a refining splurge
would increase emissions.
If China’s state planner sticks
with an embargo on new quotas
until January, Chinese refineries
would also probably exhaust what
they can export by the end of
October.
That would limit Chinese
exports to below 400,000 bpd,
according to Vortexa, adding to
tightness elsewhere. Still, diesel
watchers should be watching
Beijing as closely as Moscow.
— Reuters
also been beset by domestic
political uncertainty and policy
mismanagement.
Cooperation among bilateral
and multilateral creditors to
expedite debt restructuring for
developing countries beset by
rising debt-servicing costs and
tightening financing conditions
will be essential.
In sum, festering geopolitical
tensions and structural
factors such as unfavourable
demographics and high
debt levels have taken a toll
on household and business
confidence worldwide and
dampened private-sector
demand.
The specter of high inflation
is receding, although it is
premature to declare victory
– central banks will need to
remain vigilant.
The challenge for
governments around the world
is to rebuild confidence and
enhance productivity by using
fiscal policy effectively and
taking measures to improve the
functioning of labour, product,
and financial markets. This
remains the key to getting the
global recovery back on track.
©Project Syndicate, 2023
 TUESDAY OCTOBER 10, 2023 | RABEE AL AWWAL 24, 1445 AH

Classified Section
94501166
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 TUESDAY
BY KHALID AL BALUSHI
@KHALID_ALBALUSHI94
T
he Al Din Theatre
for Culture and Art
announced in its
press conference
the launch of the Al Din
Festival in its fourth and
first international edition,
which is scheduled to be
held during the period
from 22 to 31 October 2023
for ten consecutive days,
the opening ceremony will
be held under the patron-
age of HH Alya bint
Thuwaini bin Shihab al
Said at the Oman
Automobile Association.
This version of the festival
comes under the slogan
“gathering the world in
Oman”,” including adult
theatre performances,
children’s theatre, and
street theatre. This festival
is also a unique cultural
event in terms of its diver-
sity in including three the-
atres at the same time, in
addition to other competi-
tions such as the Best
Theatrical Picture
Competition and the Best
Media Team Competition
to highlight the diversity
and creativity surround-
ing the festival.
A group of 288 perfor-
mances were submitted to
the International Festival
to participate in the festi-
val, with the number of
performances submitted
for children’s theatre
reaching 47 and 136 per-
formances for adult thea-
tre, in addition to 117 per-
formances for street thea-
tre, from 31 Arab and for-
eign countries.
24 theatrical perfor-
mances were selected
from among these perfor-
mances to participate in
the festival, with the par-
ticipation of troupes from
the Sultanate of Oman, and
others from outside it such
as Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq,
Tunisia, Egypt and Syria, in
addition to troupes from
Iran, Spain, Kazakhstan,
Morocco, India, Germany,
France, Russia and the
United Kingdom.
The festival administra-
tion also announced the
| OCTOBER 10, 2023 | RABEE AL AWWAL 24, 1445 AH
“Al Din for Culture and Art”
announces the details of its
international theater festival
value of a number of
Awards, including the Best
Integrated Show Award for
children’s theatre, which
costs RO 6,000. Submitted
by HH Dr Taghreed bint
Turki al Said Honorary
President of Al Din Theatre
Troupe for Culture and
Art, and RO 5,000 for the
best integrated offer in the
adult theatre, presented by
the Ministry of Culture
Sports and Youth and RO
3,000 for the best A com-
prehensive show at the
street theatre presented
infrastructure, technology,
industrial and consumer
solutions at Mohsin Haider
Darwish LLC, in addition to
RO 1,000 for the Best Media
Team presented by
GalaxyWay and Many
other awards are reserved
for the rest Awards and
other accompanying com-
petitions, e.g. Best present-
er award.
To evaluate these vari-
ous works of art, jury
committees will be
formed, including 15
members, including 6
from the Sultanate of
Oman and 9 from outside
it, representing Morocco,
Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia, Germany, France,
Russia, and the United
Kingdom.
The organising commit-
tee of the Al Din
International Festival also
announced the presence
of a child jury member
named Ezz bin Mohammed
bin Khalfan al Hinai. The
committee chose him to be
a partner in expressing his
opinion with the children’s
theatre jury, convinced
&
HH Alya al Said
that this theatre is from
the child and to the child,
and the child has the right
to express his opinion, and
this is not the first time
that a child participates in
the jury, as the child Reem
al Shueili participated in
the last edition of the Arab
Festival 2018 as a partner
in the jury for the Children’s
Theatre.
The number of interna-
tional guests and partici-
pants who will participate
in the festival is 260. There
will also be 5 theatrical
workshops available dur-
ing the festival that will dis-
cover and develop talents,
which will be an opportu-
nity for participants to
express themselves and
discover their artistic
skills, and 8 dialogue ses-
sions for interaction and
exchange of experiences
and knowledge among the
participants.
In addition, more than
250 young men and
women, college and uni-
versity students and inter-
ested parties, work as
organisers and work hard
to ensure the success of
this great cultural event.
It is worth noting that
HH Dr Taghreed al Said
during the press confer-
ence, three cooperation
agreements were signed
between the Al Din
International Festival and
other institutions, the first
of which was the Oman
Automobile Association,
the logistical partner, rep-
resented by Sulaiman bin
Abdullah al Rawahi,
Director-General of the
Association.
The Association contrib-
uted to providing the site
and preparing the thea-
tres and all the technical
supplies and equipment
for the festival.
The Director of the
Association stated, “We are
pleased to strengthen our
strategic partnership with
Al Din Troupe for Culture
and Art, and we expect a
strong development in the
presence of Omani thea-
tre, art and culture to the
world, and a real sustaina-
bility of the energies of
Omani youth through the
Al Din International
Festival and other global
events hosted by this grow-
ing troupe.”
The International Al
Din Festival signed anoth-
er agreement with Future
Reem al Shueili
Labs Technology to launch
digital copies using the
“Non-Fungible Tokens”
technology, known inter-
nationally by the abbrevia-
tion NFT, at the
International Al Din
Festival — welcome to the
world in the Sultanate of
Oman — as a valuable sou-
venir for attendees. These
digital assets were
designed in cooperation
with the creative partner
of Al Din Theatre Group,
the creative agency
“GalaxyWay”, and are
inspired by the Omani
identity to highlight the
beauty and diversity of the
Omani heritage. As it
reflects the historical ele-
ments contained in the
nobility and history of the
Omani civilisation, it also
symbolises the
International Al Din
Festival’s commitment to
promoting Omani culture
and introducing it to the
world.
In a conversation with
the CEO of Future
Technology Laboratories,
Mouath al Rahbi: “We are
happy with this partner-
ship with the International
Al Din Festival, which is an
Ezz al Hinai
important step towards
enhancing the presence of
the Sultanate of Oman in
the field of digital technol-
ogy and creative indus-
tries. We believe that these
modern technologies can
contribute to creating an
economic digital in the
Sultanate of Oman, and
enhancing the presence of
the Sultanate of Oman in
global markets.”
For his part, Mohammed
al Nabhani, head of Al Din
Theatre Troupe, said:
“We are committed to
providing the best cultural
and artistic experiences to
the public, and we believe
that this partnership with
Future Labs Technology
will help us achieve our
goals. We look forward to
launching these commem-
orative digital assets at the
festival, which will serve as
a gift.” A valuable souvenir
for attendees.”
The partnership comes
from the band’s belief in
the role of small Omani
institutions in highlighting
their capabilities and qual-
ity in large and huge
forums such as the
International Al Din
Festival.
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Taiwan singers won’t

let curtain fall on
Hakka opera
DRESSED IN A ROBE fringed with
beaded tassels, traditional
Taiwanese opera singer Jen Chieh-
li applies the final touches to her
heavily painted face as she pre-
pares to take the stage.
The 34-year-old is a member of
Jing Sheng Opera, one of a handful
of troupes in Taiwan still staging
traditional dramas in the Hakka
language — a dialect that is not
widely spoken on the island because
of its dwindling ethnic population.
Taiwan’s traditional Hakka opera,
usually performed at religious festi-
vals, dates back to the late Qing
Dynasty and was brought to the
island by migrants from mainland
China.
Even as its popularity dwindles,
Jen, who has trained at a drama
school since the age of 12, said she
would not give up the fading art.
“I could find a regular job but it
would be a waste of all the time and
effort I have devoted to studying
and performing Hakka opera,” she
said.
That sweltering night in northern
Taoyuan county, Jen was perform-
ing “Legend of the White Snake”, a
famous Chinese folk tale about a
romance between a man and a ser-
pent spirit.
Around 100 people, mostly elder-
ly, sat on plastic stools to watch the
show on a makeshift stage outside a
temple in a reflection of Hakka
opera’s struggle to capture the
attention of a shrinking audience.
“It is a niche performance art as
many people don’t even understand
the language,” said Chiang Yu-ling,
who founded the Jing Sheng Opera
with her husband 19 years ago.
There are only eight Hakka
troupes in Taiwan that can keep
regular staff, albeit with financial
support from the gov-
ernment and private
sponsors, according to
Chiang.
She is counting on
new blood, such as Jen,
who is studying for a
master’s degree in per-
formance art, to help
bring in more and
younger audiences.
“My husband and I are
in our 50s and we have
limited ideas. We hope to
get more young people
on board... to make
Hakka opera more dif-
ferent,” Chiang said.
PEOPLE ARE NOSTAL-
GIC
Hakka shares similar-
ities with Peking opera, dragon princess and her human
the most dominant form of tradi- lover, which now includes street
tional Chinese opera that has dance sequences, fire acts and
Unesco heritage recognition, but acrobatics.
language is one of the main reasons “We are getting the audiences to
for its flagging popularity. know Hakka opera through more
In Taiwan, where Mandarin is innovative performances and hope-
widely spoken, Hakka people make fully they would also want to watch
up less than 20 per cent of its 23 the traditional ones,” Jen said.
million population, and even those Despite their dwindling audience
within the community are no longer numbers, fellow performer Shih
fluent in the dialect. Yu-tsen, 31, said the art form “defi-
“My father’s generation speak nitely won’t vanish”.
mostly Mandarin already and I “There may be fewer Hakka ope-
speak very little Hakka,” said Louis ras but people are nostalgic,” she
Lo, 30, who was accompanying his said.
elderly relatives to the show. “They will recall the past all of a
“The opera doesn’t appeal to sudden and they will want to watch
young people due to the language it.”
barrier,” he said. Besides, Jen said, a show ticket
To attract more fans, Jing Sheng’s costs as little as $200 Taiwan dol-
troupe has incorporated modern lars ($6.30) with student discounts.
elements into traditional perfor- “We often say it just takes the
mances. same amount of money to buy a
One example is their update of a Starbucks to support traditional
Chinese folk drama involving a art, to keep it alive,” she said. — AFP

SCIENCES gas engineering students: Abdullah fostered their resilience to ulti-

SQU engineering students
shine at ADIPEC
BY BUTHAINA AL RIYAMI
SULTAN QABOOS UNIVERSITY’S
engineering students are making
waves on both the international
and local stages, showcasing their
dedication to excellence in techni-
cal education, research, and inno-
vation. This commitment has been
exemplified through the remarka-
ble achievements of SQU’s engi-
neering students in various com-
petitions and programmes in the
current year.
Today’s higher education insti-
tutions are evolving beyond the tra-
ditional model of imparting aca-
demic knowledge. They are now
fostering environments that seam-
lessly integrate students into the
realms of research and innovation,
thereby contributing to the
advancement of their respective
al Mayahi, Abdullaziz al Matroshi,
Rawan Husain, and Sondos
Ahmed. Their selection for this
prestigious competition was based
on stringent criteria set forth by
ADIPEC.
The ADIPEC competition
unfolded in two distinct phases.
Initially, 27 universities hailing
fields. from various countries across the
The College of Engineering at Middle East and North Africa con-
Sultan Qaboos University is at the tended fiercely to advance to the
forefront of this transformation, second stage. Out of these, only 12
channelling relentless efforts to teams were shortlisted for the
final round.
fulfil its mission. The outcomes of In the culmination of the com-
these endeavours are vividly evi-
petition’s second stage, the SQU
dent in its students’ exceptional team stood out as the clear win-
accomplishments in international ners. Their performance during
and local competitions. the presentation of their final pro-
In a significant triumph, stu- ject earned them the first-place
dents from the Faculty of accolade, bestowed by industry
Engineering clinched the top spot experts and judges.
in the 2023 ADIPEC competition, The journey to this victory was
organised by the prestigious Abu not without its share of trials and
Dhabi International Petroleum tribulations. The team encoun-
Conference (ADIPEC). This event tered numerous challenges along
serves as a gathering point for the way, including the demanding
professionals and enthusiasts task of balancing their academic
from the energy community commitments with the rigorous
worldwide. competition preparations.
The winning team comprised However, these very challenges
four outstanding petroleum and ignited their determination and
mately secure victory.
Moreover, this achievement
served as a crucible that moulded
the team into a tightly-knit group,
fostering collaboration and sharp-
ening their research, presentation,
and communication skills.
Reflecting on this momentous
accomplishment, Abdullaziz al
Matroshi, a winning team member,
expressed his profound satisfac-
tion. He shared, “It is an exceptional
experience to journey from the
inception of the competition to wit-
nessing our efforts culminate in
victory. This triumph represents
the culmination of countless hours
of hard work, stress, and sleepless
nights, and it’s an indescribable
feeling to emerge victorious in
such a competitive arena.”
The success of Sultan Qaboos
University’s engineering students
in the 2023 ADIPEC competition
underscores the institution’s com-
mitment to nurturing the next gen-
eration of innovators and problem-
solvers, who are not only well-
versed in academic knowledge but
also possess the skills and resil-
ience needed to excel in real-world
challenges.

T U E S DAY l O C TO B E R 1 0 l 2 0 2 3
MONGOLIA’S CIRCUS
PERFORMERS FIGHT TO
PRESERVE THEIR CRAFT
MONGOLIAN CIRCUS per-
formers fly through a cav-
ernous hall inspectors have
warned could collapse any
time, one of the few places
left to train if they hope to
travel the world with their
country’s spectacular big top
shows.
The decaying, more than a
hundred-year-old venue at
the Mongolian Circus School
is where hundreds of young
artists, many now perform-
ing at celebrated outfits like
Cirque Du Soleil, started their
careers.
Defying gravity in a build-
ing shaped like a traditional
Mongolian ger, the perform-
ers practise acrobatics and
trapeze, suspended on ropes
lashed to the building’s dilap-
idated rafters.
One performer, 18-year-
old Uuganbayar
Nerguibaatar, said he hopes
to follow in his sister’s foot-
steps and take part in inter-
national competitions.
“I want to try and become a
circus artist,” he said.
With paint peeling off the
walls and rusty equipment,
the building where the art-
ists practice is simply not
safe, authorities have
warned.
But for the performers, the
high-vaulted ceilings provide
an ideal space to perfect the
daredevil feats that made the
Mongolian circus world
famous.
“The circus was so popu-
lar. We all want to revive it,”
Gerelbaatar Yunden, a for-
mer circus art director, said.
“It is our duty.”
DON’T HAVE FACILITIES
The circus was long one of
Mongolia’s most popular
forms of entertainment,
bringing crowds from across
the country to see breathtak-
ing shows packed with
extreme gymnastics, aerial
stunts — and even wild ani-
mals.
Its contortionists — known
as Uran Nugaralt, a practice
dating back centuries — were
particularly renowned.
But faced with meagre
prospects at home, hundreds
of the country’s top talents
have gone overseas in recent
years.
“When we go to interna-
tional competitions and festi-
vals, we’re always asked to
train international students,”
Bolortuya Purevdorj, Dean of
the Circus Faculty of the
Mongolian Conservatory,
ENTERTAINMENT
said.
“But we politely say we
don’t have enough teachers
or human resources,” she
said.
“We don’t have training
facilities.”
Performers said they esti-
mated about 85 per cent of
their colleagues live and
work abroad, with at least
400 artists in Turkey as well
as 500 contortionists in the
United States and Europe.
“Antarctica is perhaps the
only place that Mongolian
circus performers have not
performed,” Gerelbaatar
said.
RISE AGAIN
Mongolia’s only modern
circus venue was built in the
Cold War by Romania as a
gift to the socialist ally.
The government sold it in
2007 to Dagvadorj
Dolgorsuren, Mongolia’s first
Sumo champion, who was
keen to splash his wealth on
investments back home.
He renamed it Asa Circus
and it was intended to pro-
vide a rent-free training facil-
ity for circus students.
But it has instead been
used for high-profile con-
certs and events, with fewer
and fewer circus acts taking
to the stage in years.
That venue was home to
the Mongolian Circus
School’s only training facili-
ties, leaving few options for
performers to hone their
craft.
The public school — which
has dozens of students and
15 teachers — now severely
lacks training spaces, with a
new venue having been
under construction for
years.
Performers are demand-
ing the government speed
things up.
“Once we build a proper
circus school facility, (circus
art) will succeed,” Gerelbaatar,
the former circus art direc-
tor, said.
After that, he said, “the
government can expect
results and success” and the
Mongolian circus can “rise
again”.
In the meantime, the
school has rented a space
far away from its headquar-
ters, forcing students to
endure long commutes to
train.
“There are a lot of prob-
lems. Circus is the art of
space, but space is very lim-
ited here,” Bayarchimeg
Erdenebayar, a juggling stu-
dent, said.
“I will keep improving my
skills for another year.”
CANNOT TEACH EVERY-
THING
In light of the privatisation,
many contortionists split
away from the main
Mongolian circus to set up
smaller, more specialised
schools.
During a visit to one such
school, AFP saw students
twisting themselves into all
sorts of weird and wonderful
shapes and sizes, legs held
high as heads poked through
hips.
But teacher Erdenetsetseg
Badarch, who trained as a
contortionist under the
country’s Soviet-backed
regime and performed thou-
sands of times on the stage
of the Mongolian Circus, said
the facilities available are far
from enough.
“In order to become a cir-
cus artist, we need to learn
many other aspects of the
art such as costume design,
stage speech and body lan-
guage,” she said.
“My little studio cannot
teach everything.”
Another contortionist
teacher there said that
despite the obvious talent on
display, his hopes for the
future were bleak unless the
state steps in to help.
“Our own state ignores its
talented artists, who deserve
better recognition,” Bud
Tumurbaatar said.
“That’s why Mongolian art-
ists are leaving Mongolia for
other countries for better
treatment and a better
income.” — AFP
LIFE AT THE
ACADEME
Dr Zainab Al Ajmi
Ethics of
Artificial
Intelligence
(AI Ethics)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) has per-
meated virtually every facet of contempo-
rary life, from managing email communi-
cations to harnessing the power of search
engines and their tools. In education, AI is
rapidly being adopted in the classroom,
and it has the potential to revolutionise the
way that teachers teach, and students
learn. Here are just a few of the ways that
AI is being used in the classroom today:
Individualised learning: AI can be used to
individuate student data and provide each
student with a personalised learning expe-
rience. This means that the student choos-
es the level that suits him without affecting
his peers, who have different levels.
Assessments’ procedures: AI can be used
to automate grading and provide students
with immediate feedback on their work.
This can help students identify and correct
mistakes more quickly. Virtual labs: AI can
be used to create virtual labs that allow
students to experiment with different con-
cepts without having to worry about safety
or equipment. This can be a great way for
students to learn about science and engi-
neering. Language learning: AI can be used
to help students learn new languages. This
can be done through chatbots, games, and
other interactive activities.
As AI continues to develop, it’s trans-
forming the future of education, offering
new possibilities for enhancing teaching
and learning. Notwithstanding, it raises
profound ethical concerns and challenges
that need to be considered and addressed
by educators, policymakers, researchers,
and developers. As the primary findings of
(Kurni, Mohammed& Srinivasa, 2023) study
showed that AI can enhance student learn-
ing and complement the work of (human)
instructors in the near to medium-term
future without replacing them. However,
what about the moral and ethical implica-
tions of this? Furthermore, AI could make
it possible to bridge age-old learning gaps
like “school vs home.” AI promises more
individualisation in education, but it also
poses the danger that students may
become isolated from their peers.
Succinctly put it, some of the key issues in
AI ethics include 1. Fairness: AI systems
should be fair and unbiased and should not
discriminate against individuals or groups
of people. 2. Privacy: AI systems should
respect the privacy of individuals and their
data. 3. Transparency: AI systems should
be transparent and explainable so that
people can understand how they work and
why they make the decisions they do. 4.
Accountability: There should be clear
accountability for the development, use,
and misuse of AI systems. 5. Safety: AI sys-
tems should be safe and secure and should
not pose a risk to individuals or society.
According to (Taxila Business School
Blog,.n.d/ https://taxila.in) addressing the
ethical issues associated with the integra-
tion of AI in education holds paramount
significance for a multitude of reasons.
Foremost, it is crucial to protect human
rights and dignity of students and teach-
ers. Furthermore, the ethical issues of AI
in education may affect the quality and
effectiveness of educational processes
and outcomes as well as affect the equity of
educational opportunities and benefits. In
the same context, the (Taxila Business
School Blog) indicated that ethical issues of
AI in education require a multi-stakehold-
er approach that involves collaboration
among educators, policymakers, research-
ers, developers, and other actors in the AI
ecosystem. For instance: Developing ethi-
cal frameworks and guidelines, imple-
menting ethical practices and standards,
promoting ethical education and aware-
ness, and strengthening ethical govern-
ance and regulation.
In sum, the widespread use of AI in edu-
cation has prompted widespread educa-
tors’ and stakeholders’ concerns.
Therefore, it’s essential that we think care-
fully about the ethical implications of AI
and develop frameworks to ensure that it
is used responsibly.
Dr Zainab al Ajmi is very passionate
about the growth of the education system
in Oman and wants the country to produce
globally competitive workforce. Her column
tackles movements and developments
within the education sector.
FOR FEEDBACK, EMAIL THE AUTHOR AT
zeinbf@moe.om