TUESDAY | OCTOBER 31, 2017 | SAFAR 11, 1439 AH VOL. 36 NO. 351 | PAGES 28 | BAISAS 200 HM GREETS PRESIDENT XI HIS MAJESTY SULTAN QABOOS HAS SENT A CABLE OF GREETINGS TO PRESIDENT XI JINPING OF CHINA ON THE OCCASION OF ELECTING HIM AS SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA FOR SECOND TERM. HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN EXPRESSED HIS SINCERE GREETINGS ALONG WITH BEST WISHES OF SUCCESS TO PRESIDENT XI JINPING AND THE CHINESE PEOPLE PROGRESS AND PROSPERITY, WISHING THE EXISTING RELATIONS OF FRIENDSHIP follow us @omanobserver BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES FURTHER DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH. www.omanobserver.om [email protected] IPHONE X DEMAND ‘OFF THE CHARTS’ P13 HAMILTON TAKES FOURTH TITLE DESPITE COLLISION P21 IRAN MOVES TO SAVE LAST ‘MASCOT’ ASIATIC CHEETAHS P26 IT’S OFFICIAL Council of Oman session on Nov 14 MUSCAT: In response to the Majlis Ash’shura is expected to Royal orders of His Majesty Sultan IN RESPONSE TO host the Minister of Commerce and Qaboos, the opening of the third Industry to deliver a statement of annual session of the Council of ROYAL ORDERS the ministry. Oman (State Council and Majlis oversight activities. He said that during the past two TO HOST MARS SIMULATION EXPERIMENT Ash’shura) will be on November 14. The major activities include the sessions of the 8th term, there has Majlis Ash’shura’s regular first election of the Majlis Ash’shura been a qualitative leap during which sessions will also start on the same Office members, heads of the the Majlis Ash’shura discussed day amidst hopes of achieving standing committees and reviewing developments and issues affecting more progress in the legislative and plans and programmes of various citizens. oversight work by the Council of committees. The major issues include Oman. He added that at the beginning the implications of the current MUSCAT: A number of memoranda In this regard, Shaikh Ali bin of the term, Majlis Ash’shura will economic crisis for which Majlis of understanding (MoUs) on the Nasser al Mahrouqi, Secretary- host the Minister Responsible for Ash’shura presented a number of Sultanate’s hosting and supporting General of Majlis Ash’shura said Financial Affairs to discuss the draft recommendations and proposals the experiments for simulating life on that the third annual session (2017- state budget. during discussion on the draft Mars were signed at the Majlis Oman’s 2018) of the 8th term of the Majlis Later in December, there will be budget for the state for 2017 and the premises on Monday under the auspices will be buzzing with legislative and many ministerial statements. 9th Five-Year Plan. — ONA of His Highness Sayyid Shihab bin Tareq al Said, Adviser to His Majesty the Sultan. The first MoU was signed between New bus routes to connect airport, hospitals Oman National Steering Committee VINOD NAIR Of the 10 new services, new routes buses for inter-city services and 65 for AMADEE-18 and Austrian Space MUSCAT, OCT 30 will be between Ruwi and Muscat buses for the city services starting from Fo-rum (OeWF). As per the MoU, the International Airport and Burj al Sahwa December this year, till August 2018. Sultanate will host the experiments Mawasalat on Monday signed and Muscat airport, apart from other The agreement, on behalf of that serve joint research interests agreements with the Arab Engineering routes connecting commercial centres Mawasalat, was signed by Ahmed bin and enhance international efforts in Services Company, ‘dealers for MAN in and hospitals. Ali al Bulushi, CEO, includes the supply Oman, and First Vehicles LLC to supply Mwasalat Taxi should hopefully be of 33 MAN buses, the first-of-its-kind the field of space travel and scientific around 98 public transport buses. launched by the year-end, including the in the Middle East with technical exploration. Speaking to the Observer, the airport services. specifications such as Adaptive Meanwhile, in sunglasses and company said that the Route 2 (Wadi To be supplied over a period starting Cruise Control, Lane Guard System jumpsuits, a crew of European test Kabir-Ruwi) and Route 4 (Wadi-Kabir- from December, the agreements and Emergency Brake Assist to avoid astronauts is laying the groundwork for Muscat) will be extended to Al Bustan provide for the supply of 98 buses accidents as much as possible. a Mars simulation in the barren expanse from the coming year. during the next phase, including 33 TURN TO P5 of the Omani desert, a terrestrial mission intended to pave the way to the red planet. TURN TO P2 INSIDESTORIES Code of ethics for journalists unveiled ZAINAB AL NASSRI and media. The conference was held MUSCAT, OCT 30 FRESH SYRIA PEACE TALKS OPEN under auspices of Dr Abdulmunim IN KAZAKHSTAN’S CAPITAL P7 The Second International Scientific bin Mansour al Hasani, Minister of Conference kicked off on Monday at Information, in the presence of Dr Ali Sultan Qaboos University will focus bin Saud al Bemani, Vice-Chancellor on “Arab Society and Social Networks of SQU, and a number of local in a Changing World”. media representatives, academics, The conference aims at researchers and officials. highlighting social media influence The opening ceremony included on the community, analysing relations the launch of Code of Ethics for CLOWNS BRING LAUGHTER TO TRAUMATISED ROHINGYA KIDS P8 between various social networks journalists which was prepared as new media platforms, looking at by media professors in media related topics like social networking, department at SQU, and Oman citizen journalism and blogging Journalist Association (OJA). The journalism, and viewing impacts of code was signed by various local these new media tools on education, media representatives and chiefs. economy, politics, technology, society TURN TO P3 EX-TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER MANAFORT INDICTED P11 GENEVA: The amount of EMISSIONS HIT carbon dioxide in the earth’s WEATHER TODAY atmosphere grew at record rate RECORD IN 2016 in 2016 to a level not seen for MUSCAT SALALAH NIZWA millions of years, potentially MAX: 350C MAX: 310C MAX: 370C fuelling a 20-metre rise in sea MIN: 220C MIN: 240C MIN: 190C levels and adding 3 degrees to temperatures, the United Nations SUNRISE 6.10 AM said on Monday. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide PRAYER TIMINGS (CO2), the main man-made FAJR: 04:53 greehouse gas, hit 403.3 parts per million (ppm), up from DHUHR: 11:50 400.0 in 2015, the UN World ASR: 15:03 Meteorological Organization said MAGHRIB: 17:28 in its annual Greenhouse Gas ISHA: 18:58 Bulletin. — Reuters marssimulation OMANDAILYOBSERVER 2 TUESDAY l OCTOBER 31 l 2017 FROM PAGE 1 The “analog astronauts” of the Austrian Space Forum — a volunteer-based collective — have arrived in Oman to begin preparations for a four-week simulation mission due to begin next year. Touching down at Marmul Airport, the five-person advance team loaded up on sunscreen and, with their Omani counterparts dressed in crisp white gowns and OMAN colourful turbans, boarded four- by-fours and plunged into the desert under the blazing sun. Oil installations receded into A gateway to life on Mars the background and only rocky plateaus and ancient sandy riverbeds remained as far as the eye could see. Maps were spread on the hoods of the vehicles. “We want to simulate Mars on Earth and so we need a place that looks as much like Mars as possible. And we found it here in Oman,” Alexander Soucek, the lead flight director of the AMADEE-18 mission, said. The team was on a quest to pin down the location of the base camp for the simulation, to be held in February. “Here the humans coming from Earth will land after six months travel through space... Simulated, of course!” Soucek said upon arrival at the chosen site. A number of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) on the Sultanate’s hosting and supporting the experiments for simulating life on Mars were signed at the Majlis Oman premises on Monday under the auspices of “When we fly to Mars in reality, His Highness Sayyid Shihab bin Tareq al Said, Adviser to His Majesty the Sultan. HH Sayyid Shihab honoured the public and private organisations that supported the experiment to simulate life on Mars. The signing we will need as many questions as ceremony was attended by minsters, members of the State Council and undersecretaries. PICTURES BY HUDA AL BAHRIYAH possible already answered so that we are really well prepared.” During the mission, the team will carry out a series of experiments, from growing Members of the greens without soil in an inflatable Austrian Space hydroponic greenhouse to testing Forum inspect a site an autonomous “tumbleweed” in Oman’s Dhofar rover, which maps out terrain desert, near the while propelled by the wind. southern Marmul outpost, on “There are very few groups Monday, in on this planet testing these preparation for a procedures and doing these high- four-week Mars fidelity simulations,” said Soucek. simulation mission “We are one of them.” due to begin next year. — AFP The team hopes the simulation will help nail down future tools and procedures for the first manned mission to Mars. Field commander Gernot Groemer predicts a Mars mission may be carried out by a collective of the United States, Russia, Europe and possibly China relatively soon — with the first human to set foot on the red planet maybe already born. “What we’re going to see here in about 100 days is going to be a sneak preview into the future,” said Groemer, describing a U-shaped encampment where “an exquisitely compiled suite of experiments” will take place. Those include experiments designed to test human factors that could affect pioneering astronauts, such as mental fatigue and depression.