 | | Dollar is Here to Stay | | THE dollar is here to stay, at least as far as pricing in oil markets is concerned. Certain countries _ including Iran, France and Russia _ have periodically floated the idea of transforming the markets by settling crude oil transactions in currencies other than the dollar.
But each time the notion is raised, it has been quickly dismissed on technical and economic grounds. And that remains the case today, more than ever.
''It's a red herring,'' said Leo Drollas, chief economist at the Center for Global Energy Studies in London. "The idea should be put back in its box for a while, especially with all the turmoil surrounding the euro.'' Various reasons have been cited for the calls to shift away from the dollar, which remains the world's reserve unit.
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|  |  | | 'THINK DIFFERENT' WAS JOBS' CREDO | | WHEN Steve Jobs died on October 5, many commentators wondered whether Apple _ the company he cofounded and led through many years of profit and innovation _ could continue to thrive without him.
After struggling with cancer, Jobs stepped down from his post as Apple's CEO in August, yet his impact on the company remained profound. After all, Apple's innovations _ from the personal computer to the iPod to the iPhone _ changed the way the world communicates and plays. Following Jobs' death at the age of 56, many argued that Apple's future was now in doubt.
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Alan Clyne replaces injured Kemp
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA FRENCH Yann Perrin and Egyptian Marwan el Shorbagy laboured their way into the second qualifying round but Alan Clyne was quite fortunate as he moved into the main round of the Qatar Classic Squash Championship, without needing to hit a shot.
Clyne of Scotland replaced Justin Kemp of England as the latter pulled out of the 11th edition due to back problems from which he has been recovering for quite some time.
Clyne was getting ready for his match against Matthew Karwalski at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex on Friday, when he was informed about the promotion as the top seed and his Australian rival was given a bye into the second round.
The first day of the qualifying round witnessed some gruelling matches. Some players like Kamran Khan, Farhan Hemboob, both of Pakistan, Jaymie Haycocks of England Henrik Mustonen of Finland and Mazen Gamal of Egypt were lucky to draw easy opponents and quickly disposed of them to advance to the next round.
Those who had the torturous time were Perrin and Shorbagy. Perrin first went ahead but fell behind 1-2 games to Egyptian Oman Abdel Meguid. But Perrin drew levels and then imposed himself, winning the fifth game at 11-6 in 103 long minutes.
Shorbagy was two-nil up against Australian Ryan Cuskelly but blew up his advantage. In the final game, both went for each other’s head and rallies flowed again.
But in the end, it was the Egyptian who managed to perform a thrilling escape.
All the three Qatari players in the draw lost the matches.
It was only Abdul Rahman al Maliki, who put up some spirited resistance in the opening game but later fizzled out, losing to Egyptian Mazen Gamal in straight games.
Omar Abdullah and Ahmed al Tamimi could not stop their experienced rivals long on the courts. Omar was knocked out by Kamran in 20 minutes and Abdulla lost to Haycocks in 18 minutes.
Two Indians, Siddharth Suchde and Harinder Pal Sandhu, had contrasting results. Suchde overcame Leo Au of Hong Kong in four games, while Sandhu came quite close to toppling Egyptian Moahmmed Abbas but could not handle the points in pressure situations before going out.
Meanwhile, most of the main draw players have turned up and started acclimatizing to the Doha conditions.
Men’s top seed Nick Matthew of England arrived on Thursday night and Nicol David, the women’s top seed who is looking for her fifth crown in six years, is scheduled to land on Saturday.
On Saturday, the qualifying rounds of the women’s section will also be conducted.
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