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Organ donors needed to save lives in Oman

ELHAM [email protected]

MUSCAT: Organ donation after brain death can bring forth life amidst a tragedy but that oppor-tunity is being squandered, say medics citing almost ‘zero re-sponse’ in Oman.

Kidney transplants that can be carried out after taking the organ from dozens of people declared brain dead can save the lives of people on dialysis in Oman.

Similarly, other organs taken from such people can bring a new hope to many more.

Despite the fatwa of the Grand Mufti of Oman, His Eminence Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamed Al Khalili, which allows organ do-nation from a brain dead patient, and the endorsement by the Min-

istry of Health, the number of such transplants taking place in Oman is practically nil.

Dr Issa Salim Al Salmi, senior Omani consultant in medicine/nephrology at the Royal Hospital, believes the main reasons are that many people are not aware about this issue, or about the Grand Mufti’s fatwa, and are confused by

the confl icting messages of other religious fi gures.

Speaking to Times of Oman, Al Salmi said around 150 peo-ple were declared brain dead in Muscat Governorate last year but not even one family agreed for organ donation despite the fact that brain death is ‘irrevers-ible.’ >A4

Organs from brain

dead persons can give

life to many but the

opportunity is being

frittered away due to

lack of awareness on

the issue, say medics

A8

Oman Air to double fl ights to India, connect Goa in 2015A. E. [email protected]

MUSCAT: The Sultanate’s na-tional carrier Oman Air is plan-ning to start a new service be-tween Muscat and Goa, a western Indian state, by next summer, a top-level offi cial of the airline told journalists on Sunday.

The national carrier, which is embarking on a massive expan-sion programme to enhance fl eet strength to 55 planes by 2017, plans to operate three weekly fl ights to Goa, which will go up to fi ve eventually, using a 154-seater Boeing 737 aircraft.

The airline will fl y to Goa when it gets new aircraft.

Oman Air also has plans to double its services to two fl ights a day (morning and night) between Muscat and various destinations in the Indian sub-continent, in-stead of a daily fl ight now.

“We are aspiring for more traf-fi c rights to India to enable us to fl y to every destination in India twice a day – morning and night.

We now fl y twice a day in Muscat-Mumbai, Muscat-Chennai and Muscat New Delhi sectors. We want to serve Kochi and Thiru-vananthapuram twice a day,” said Abdulrahman Al Busaidy, chief operating offi cer of Oman Air.

He said Oman secured 5,000 additional seats to India three years ago and the airline’s pro-posed new service to Goa is from within the existing fl ying rights.

Al Busaidy also noted that talks between Oman and Sri Lanka are scheduled for November in Co-lombo to double its fl ights from one daily fl ight in Muscat-Co-lombo sector to twice a day. “We are also trying to double its fl ights to Kathmandu.” Further, plans are afoot to raise number of daily fl ights in Muscat-Dhaka route.

Oman Air is launching new ser-vices from Muscat to Manila, in the Philippines, and Jakarta, in Indonesia, from December 2014.

However, Oman Air CEO Paul Gregorowitsch said the airline is not planning to fl y to cities in the United States.

Within the domestic sectors, plans are afoot to start operation between Muscat and Sohar by the end of the year. >A7

See also >B3

E X P A N S I O N P L A N S

Oman Air Chief Executive

Offi cer Paul Gregorowitsch

OMANInfusing Omani flavour into coffee

1Infusing Omani fl avour into global coff ee brand defi nes the business of

Omani entrepreneurs. >A4

MARKETIran, Oman to sign pact on shipping

3Iran and Oman are planning to establish a shipping line to

facilitate trade. >B1

T O P T H R E E I N S I D E S T O R I E S


MUSCAT: The Grand Mufti of Oman, His Eminence Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamed Al Khalili, has issued a fatwa, allowing organ transplant af-ter brain death under certain circumstances.

According to the fatwa, the necessity of transferring the organs should be established and it should be made sure that the patient cannot be treated any further.

His religious decree also states that the medical team should be very professional and perform the operation without any mistake. Also, it

should be made sure that the recipient would survive after the transplant operation.

In addition, the Grand Mufti has stated that this practice should not promote organ trade and traffi cking as is the situation in some other countries. >A4

The signature of the Grand

Mufti on the fatwa.

Oman Grand Mufti’s fatwa allows organ donation after brain death

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RACE AGAINST TIME FOR TAILORSWith Eid Al Adha being round the corner, tailors in Muttrah are working round-the-clock

to fi nish their products in time. Most of them can be seen engrossed in giving fi nal

touches to the costumes. Photo-A R Rajkumar/Times of Oman See also >A4

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OMANFlexible ticket prices for moviegoers

2Theatre owners in Oman have adopted fl exible pricing for

diff erent shows. >A7

US-led forces on bombing mission against IS in Iraq

A2 M O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

OMANThe number of plants that have been discovered in Oman now stands at about 1,200, including 80 that are not found in any other place in the world.

Oman home to 80 exclusive plants >A6

Could you clarify the doubts I have related to the dismissal or termi-nation of an employee. Many articles posted online by employees facing unfair treatment from employers raise this issue. I refer to a case where there are doubts over terminating an expatriate employee’s contract even when he has not been cooperat-ing on any front with the employer. He has been blackmailing by saying that the labour law sup-ports employees and you cannot fi re him. The em-ployee has been gravely under-performing. He also has indiscipline issues which is not only proven by his perfor-mance, but also cross checked with customers and references. He was given a warning letter in 2012 and another warn-ing letter in 2013. Now, after lot of leniency and patience, the employer fi nally decided to ter-minate his contract. In such a situation, is the employee entitled to legal support on the basis of “unfair dismissal”? Do these warning letters have any expiry date as well, as it is stated at a few places that more than 12-month-old warn-ing letters might not be acceptable by law. What are the options left for an employer if an employee doesn’t sign the target sheets, the job responsi-bility sheets, the warning letters and termination letter?If an employee is disobedi-ent and under performs or proves to be unsuitable for the job, the employer can terminate him after serving

warning letters and by fol-lowing the procedures. The action should not refl ect personal vendetta or subjec-tive prejudices. The law will not be of much help to the employee, if a prudent employer strictly adheres to the procedures and termi-nate him/her from the ser-vices for non-performance or poor performance. The employee should be given suffi cient notice (say three months) to improve his/her performance. A warning letter served 12 months earlier will not serve the purpose since the duration is too long and the question would be raised as to why there was such an inordinate delay in taking any action. The Labour Law defi nitely has a bias towards

the employee (since they are at the receiving end) but it cannot be used as a refuge by erring employees.

I had joined a company in Muscat in August 2013 and my visa will expire in August 2015. I don’t want to continue with my current employer and I have been requesting him from January 2014 to release me but he is not releasing me. I resigned in June 2014, but neither has he given any reply to my letter, nor has he accepted my resignation. My concern is that my visa will be cancelled after completion of six months from the date of leaving Oman, so I left the country in July 2014 without cancelling my visa. Can I join another job in January 2015 (on completion of six months) without getting an NOC?In the circumstances that prevail in the country during these days, you will not be able to return to the country.

Under-performers, indisciplined staff can be sacked from service

L E G A L C O L U M N

Times of Oman, in association with

Khalifa Al Hinai Legal Consultants, will

answer the legal queries of readers

every Monday. Questions can be sent

to [email protected]

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this column are for general guidance pur-poses only. They are based on facts pre-sented to us and are not substituted for expert legal advice. Readers are advised to seek legal assistance for specifi c legal issues. Times of Oman and Khalifa Al Hinai Advocates & Legal Consultancy do not assume any responsibility towards anyone on this matter.

S CA N T H E

CO D E TO

I N STA N T LY

P O ST YOU R

Q U E R I ES

A3

OMANM O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 14

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SAYYID FAHD BIDS ADIEU TO BRITISH ENVOY On behalf of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin

Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, received in his

offi ce yesterday Jamie Bowden, the accredited Ambassador of Great Britain and Northern

Ireland to the Sultanate, at the end of his tour of duty in the Sultanate.— ONA

Tobacco items,

drugs seized

Times News Service

MUSCAT: A number of expa-triate peddlers selling banned smoking and non-smoking to-bacco were arrested by Public Authority for Consumer Pro-tection (PACP) team.

The peddlers were arrested in a residential complex inhab-ited by labourers in Ghala area.

On receiving report of the sale of banned tobacco, the PACP team headed immediately to the spot and arrested the accused and seized 1,322 banned items including 524 Mehr cigarettes, 31 Royal cigarettes, and chew-ing tobacco.

Drug haul Meanwhile, the Drug Enforce-ment Administration of the Royal Oman Police, arrested two persons of Asian nationali-ty in Musandam governorate on drug peddling charges. A total 10,750 tablets of tramadol and 11 kg of heroin were seized.

P A C P , R O P A C T I O N

A4 M O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

OMAN 1%of the population has severe kidney failure. Nine per cent have moderate renal failure and almost 30 per cent have mild renal failure.

Infusing Omani fl avour into international coff ee brand I N T E R N A T I O N A L C O F F E E

There is an allotted number of stores that we need to open per

year. So we need to open a total of 12 stores in 10 years Each of

our stores has a unique interior design, which gives character

to each store that suits our guests in different locations

Leena Al Bastaki, Misk Muscat International ownerSPECIAL FEATURE: The brand has been warmly embraced by cli-

ents for its special services and quality.– Photos and Video: Jun Estrada

Tailors work overtime to meet Eid’s deadline

With Eid

approaching, all are

doing brisk business

in Muttrah market

while every shop

maintains its own

identity and quality.

Most of the tailors

had stopped taking

further bookings

months back

Transplant can save 1,500 lives

This when kidney transplant from brain dead patients can save the lives of some of the 1,500 peo-ple who are on dialysis in Oman, he added

According to him, brain death is ‘irreversible cessation’ of all brain activities which is confi rmed through a rigorous and accurate procedure by several experienced specialists, who are not part of the transplant team.

There are two types of brain death. It may happen while the heart is still beating or after the heart stops beating.

Al Salmi said that the issue of or-gan donation after brain death has been rarely endorsed by the local community while Western fami-lies have a more open approach to the issue.

“One per cent of the population has severe kidney failure. Nine per cent have moderate renal fail-ure and almost 30 per cent have mild renal failure,” said Al Salmi, who has a Masters in interna-tional public health and a PhD in medicine.

According to him, more than 1,500 people are on dialysis in Oman and some of them have been in this situation for several years and are receiving this treatment three times a week.

At least 50 per cent of the pa-tients on dialysis will need kidney transplant, added Al Salmi, a fel-low of the Royal College of Phy-sicians, UK, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, and Ameri-can Society of Nephrology.

Al Salmi said that the average age of the patients receiving dialy-sis in countries like Australia, the United States, the United King-dom and some other European countries is 60 to 65 while it is 40 in Oman.

A large number of patients un-dergoing dialysis in Oman are in their 20s and 30s, which are the most productive years of life, and the whole situation is negatively aff ecting the productivity of the country, he added.

Kidney transplant from a live donor is an established practice in Oman for decades and around 20 such transplants are carried out at the Royal Hospital every year, mainly from foreign donors, Al Salmi said.

In Oman, there are about 1,200 to 1,500 people living with donated kidney, and there are 150 indi-viduals living with donated liver, he noted, adding that all the liver transplants had been done outside the country. He explained that over the past years the main focus of or-gan transplant had been on kidney transplant but now the technology for liver transplant is also avail-able and many Omanis are being trained in this fi eld both inside the country and abroad.

Some families have to take their patients to other countries because of the non-availability of organs for donation inside the country but the promotion of the organ dona-tion culture can resolve this issue and eliminate commercial trade in

human organs, Al Salmi said. “If such surgeries are performed

inside the country, it will be cheap-er and safer and will be within the context of the law,” he said, add-ing that Oman has signed several agreements, including with the World Health Organisation which forbids any commercial transplan-tation. “We strongly advise our pa-tients against engaging in such ac-tivities, but still some people do it.”

Promotional eff ortsOn the eff orts underway to pro-mote organ donation, he said that the Ministry of Health, the Royal Hospital and the departments con-cerned are seeking to raise aware-ness about the issue through vari-ous workshops and seminars.

Also, the ministry will launch an ‘electronic answering ma-chine’ system to answer queries of the citizens. It is expected to be launched early next year. “We want the citizens to be aware that if they have any question, any concern, we are available,” he said, adding that with the launch of the helpline, the questions will be answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

However, the most important initiative is a plan to distribute do-nor cards recording the citizens’ consent for organ donation if they are declared brain dead.

Al Salmi explained that the aim is to distribute these cards and then obtain the consent informa-tion and ensure that it is printed on the individual’s ID card or their driving licence so that when they are brought to the hospital, the medical team can act accordingly.

He added that people can agree to donate certain organs or all.

This initiative requires a joint eff ort by Royal Oman Police (ROP), health authorities and other offi -cials concerned, he said.

H E A L T H I S S U E S

FESTIVE DEMAND: Even though the Muttrah tailoring shops are known for traditional Omani women

dresses, majority of them are run by expatriates.– AR RAJKUMAR

Dr Issa Salim Al Salmi, senior consultant in medi-cine/nephrology at the Royal Hospital, believes that religious leaders should adhere to the fatwa of the Grand Mufti and stop sending confl icting messages to the public.

“I believe they should preach about this reward-ing practice in this week’s Friday prayers,” Al Salmi said.

The message has to be ‘clear, loud, and consist-ent,’ he said, adding that even the Holy Quran says that to save a life would be as great a virtue as to save all of mankind.

Need for message

< FROM

A1

< FROM

A1


ARTICLE, PHOTOS

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M

REJIMON [email protected]

MUSCAT: Tailors and designers in almost all the tailoring shops in Muttrah, the hub for traditional Omani women dresses, are work-ing against time to deliver the pre-orders before the deadline as Eid Al Adha is just around the corner.

While some can be seen glu-ing decorative stones on stitched dresses to add glitter, others can be seen calculating the measure-ments to draw the fi nal curves.

“We stopped taking more or-ders about three months back, otherwise, we would not have been able to keep our word. Some designs need more than two days to be completed, while others can be fi nished in a day. As we focus on customers’ satisfaction, we factor in some extra time and care,” AR Nasir, a Pakistani who is running

a tailoring shop in Muttrah since 1979, told the Times of Oman.

“As festival is nearing, every day we are supposed to fi nish 10 to 15 dresses of diff erent designs. The business is good,” Nasir added.

“Some cost around OMR60 while, depending on the work involved, others can even cost around OMR150. We also sell readymade wedding dresses and birthday dresses for children,” Nasir said.

Nasir has customers from Roy-al family and ordinary families, too. “Now, I am making dresses for the third generation. Many are my regular customers. They forward designs through Whatsapp and send across the material through drivers. They have confi dence in me that I will not disappoint them,” Nasir added.

Nasir and his tailors make Omani, Sur, Balushi, Lawati-

yah, Omani motarwa and Omani safari models.

“Each and every model is quite diff erent. So, extra care is needed while making it. Even the decora-tive items pasted on the dresses diff er according to the region,” Abid Hussain, the chief tailor at Nasir’s shop for the last 20 years, said.

According to Nasir, when he started the shop in 1979, there were only fi ve shops in Mut-trah and now the number is around 500.

“As it is festival season, every-one is doing brisk business. And moreover, every shop maintains its own identity,” Nassir added.

Even though the Muttrah tai-loring shops are known for tra-ditional Omani women dresses, majority of the tailoring shops are run by expatriates.

“I came here in 1989. I focus on

regional dresses. Two months ago itself, I had stopped taking further bookings. Now, we are too busy and are racing against time to fi n-ish the work,” Surendaran, a tai-lor from the south Indian state of Kerala, said.

Surendaran makes Omani Sal-war and Khamis, Farasha, Galab-hiyah and Bahraini models also.

Amna Al Balushi and her daughter who were looking for a unique Omani Balushi design in a tailoring shop said that they are always satisfi ed with the designs stitched in Muttrah.

“These tailors have never disap-pointed us. They can understand our tastes. I started to have my dresses stitched from here when I was young. Now, my daughter also loves to have one made for her from here only,” Amna said while looking for bright colours and de-signs for her daughter.


MUSCAT: A true dedication to handmade coff ee, from handpick-ing 100 per cent Arabica coff ee beans to handcrafting each indi-vidual cup, defi nes the business of three vibrant Omani entrepre-neurs. In pursuit of a successful business, Leena Al Bastaki, along with her husband Issa Al Ismaili and sister Lamia Al Bastaki, estab-lished Misk Muscat International in 2009, with support from Fund

for Development of Youth Pro-jects, also known as Sharakah.

The company became the mas-ter franchisee of Gloria Jean’s Cof-fees and opened the fi rst outlet at the Fun Zone Centre in Qurum in 2012.

With three branches across Muscat, the brand has been warm-ly embraced by clients who appre-ciate the special services off ered by its well-trained staff at the three existing outlets in Qurum, Grand Mall, and the ‘Walk’ at the Wave Muscat.

Speaking to the Times of Oman on the occasion of International Coff ee Day, which is celebrated today, Leena Al Bastaki, managing director, said that their business has been successful and the brand is ‘loved’ by customers.

“What makes us standout is our service,” she said, adding that the focus of the company is to build a special type of relationship with the guests, rather than just a cold ‘buy and sell’ approach.

Leena said that customers’ feed-back has been very positive and

this was refl ected in the fact that Gloria Jean’s Coff ees, Oman, won the second place in Oman Restau-rant Awards as a ‘favourite cafe’ in 2012 just a few months after it was opened. Another special feature of their coff ee shops is the serving of coff ee drinks infused with Omani fl avour Cardamom.

Leena said that more branches will be opened in the next couple of years, both in Muscat and other regions, including Duqm, Salalah and Sohar, which will create more job opportunities.

“There is an allotted number of stores that we need to open per year. So we need to open a total of 12 stores in 10 years,” she said, adding that a new outlet is expect-ed to come up in Knowledge Oasis Muscat by the end of the year if everything goes as planned.

“Each of our stores has a unique interior design, which gives char-acter to each store that suits our guests in diff erent locations.”

Commenting on the challenges facing small and medium enter-prises (SMEs) involved in the food

and catering business, Leena said the main point is that sometimes these enterprises do not have enough budget to market their products and promote themselves.

“Also, the easiness of proce-dures at the Ministry of Manpow-er would really be a support to any SME trying to make a living.”

She hailed the fi nancial and professional support provided by Sharakah, expressing hope that the company would include other franchises and launch its own lo-cal concepts in the future.

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Ensure proper disposal of garbage.

Don’t litter a beautiful country like OMAN.Haitham to lead team for

HM Chair’s meet in TokyoMUSCAT: As delegated by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Minister of Heritage and Culture, will attend the third Symposium for Sultan Qaboos Scientifi c Chair, organ-ised by the Sultan Qaboos Higher Centre for Culture.

The function is being organ-ised in collaboration with Tokyo University at its headquarters on October 2-3 under the theme ‘Water Resources Management for Sustainable Development’.

The seminar will also be at-tended by Her Highness Sayyidah Muna bint Fahd Al Said, SQU’s Assistant Chancellor for Foreign Cooperation, Dr. Rawiyah bint Saud Al Busaidiyah, Minister of Higher Education, Habib bin Mohammed Al Riyami, Secretary General of Sultan Qaboos Higher Centre for Culture and Sciences and Dr Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, Vice Chancellor of SQU.

Habib bin Mohammed Al Riy-

ami said that the Symposium, which is the third one for the Sul-tan Qaboos Scientifi c Chairs to be held at Tokyo University, is part of a series of such symposia. The fi rst symposium was held at the SQU in 2010 and the second was held at the Cambridge University in 2012.

He added that many coordi-nation meetings were held in Tokyo between Sultan Qaboos Higher Centre for Culture and Sciences and Tokyo University. ‘Water Resources Management for Sustainable Development’ has been selected as the main theme for this symposium because the issue is very important for the world in general and the Middle East region in particular.

Professors, experts and re-searchers from the diff erent parts of the world will take part in the symposium. They will cover wa-ter’s biological aspects, its dif-ferent uses for either agriculture or drinking, rationalization and

economising water consumption, as well as those ideas that may help in preserving water.

Besides the working papers, researches and the panel discus-sion, there will be an Omani exhi-bition on a number of themes in-cluding manuscripts and Omani publications in diff erent fi elds. The Omani permanent corner at the Tokyo University, which de-picts the elements of life in the Sultanate and the Omani-Jap-anese relations, will be opened during the symposium.

Awards will be distributed to the winners at this competition.

‘The number of Sultan Qaboos Scientifi c Chairs at the diff er-ent universities of the world now stands at 16, each serving as im-portant aspect of our life. These include two chairs on water and desert plantation, one at the Gulf University in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the other at Utrecht University in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.–ONA

A C A D E M I C S Y M P O S I U M

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OMANM O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

Omani farmers, entrepreneurs and pharmaceutical companies could all gain from our reserves of indigenous medicinal plants if used sustainably

Dr Nadiya Al SaadyExecutive director, Oman Animal and Plant Genetic Resource Centre

Bio-piracy hits natural resources

TARIQ AL HAREMI

MUSCAT: Bio-piracy is a threat to Oman’s natural resources and the Sultanate needs to devise ways to restrict it, according to Dr Na-diya Al Saady, executive director, Oman Animal and Plant Genetic Resource Centre (OAPGRC).

The commercial exploitation of naturally occurring biochemi-cal or genetic material, especially through obtaining patents that re-strict its future use, while failing

to pay fair compensation or give fair benefi t to the community from which it originates, is known as bio-piracy.

“We need to be aware and pro-tect our natural resources, both genetic and traditional, and it is important to preserve them,” said Dr Nadiya.

The exploration, extraction and screening of biological diver-sity and indigenous knowledge for commercially valuable genetic and biochemical resources, is known

as bio-prospecting. “The issue of bio-piracy is that some companies use these materials for products that they could benefi t from,” said Dr Al Saady.

“Companies use these resources to create pharmaceutical drugs which are worth billions, but it is only right that some benefi ts should come back,” she added.

Naturally occurring biochemi-cal or genetic material can be ac-cessed with the consent of the Ministry of Environment and Cli-

mate Aff airs as well as OAPGRC, reminded Dr Nadiya.

“If you want to use these materi-als for research then be my guest, but if it’s for commercial use, then we have to agree on mutual ben-efi ts,” said Dr Nadia.

Natural HealingOman is home to over 250 spe-cies of plants and land and marine animals which OAPGRC moni-tors closely. The centre studies the habitat of animals as the climate

changes as well as conduct medici-nal plant research.“Globally there is a trend where people are moving to traditional medicine,” said Dr Nadiya.

When asked about Oman’s role in genetic research between countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Seychelles and Malaysia, she said, “Oman plays a big role in genetic research because we have the re-sources but more importantly we have the traditional knowledge.”

Over the past few years there has been a dramatic resurgence in interest in medicinal plants for their potential to yield useful drugs. And with the increase in global consumer demand for prod-ucts labelled as ‘natural’, this trend is fully expected to continue.

“This off ers countries like Oman that have a treasure of medicinal plant resources signifi cant com-mercial opportunities. Omani farmers, entrepreneurs and phar-maceutical companies could all gain from our reserves of indige-nous medicinal plants if used sus-tainably and creatively,” remarked Dr Al Saady.

The lack of balance between providers and users of genetic resources has brought the issue of access to, and benefi t-sharing from, genetic resources onto the international stage.

Dr Al Saady stressed on the need to ensure that genetic materials are harvested in a sustainable and nondestructive manner.

“Through national biodiversity-related laws and regulations, coun-tries have begun to exercise their sovereign rights over biological resources. Many institutions and professional organisations have decided to implement research policies for natural products for their members, and these policies have quasi-legal or contractual status,” she said.

Legal systemA legal system is being prepared whereby developing countries and other biodiversity rich countries may exert greater leverage over the use of their resources.

This leverage can be used to earn revenues, promote conservation, and train and educate researchers. However, the required legal tools — legislation, agreements, and court action — are sophisticated and diffi cult to employ.

Bio-prospecting and bio-piracy is not new. For decades, plant col-lectors have travelled in search of valuable genetic material for agricultural plant breeding. The recorded history of international plant collecting missions goes back at least 3,500 years when Egyptian rulers began bringing plants home after military expeditions.

“In the 1800’s the British Em-pire instituted regular plant col-lections. The Royal Botanical Gar-dens took rubber trees from Brazil and planted them in Southeast Asia,” informs OAPGRC.

The exploration,

extraction and

screening of

biological diversity

for commercial

gains is known as

bio-prospecting

The issue of bio-piracy is that some

companies use these materials for

products that they could benefit from.

Companies use these resources to

create pharmaceutical drugs which are

worth billions, but it is only right that

some benefits should come back

Dr Nadiya Al SaadyExecutive director, Oman Animal and Plant Genetic Resource Centre

Oman home to 80 exclusive plants; Dhofar has about 750 wild species SALALAH: A total 1,200 plants have been discovered in Oman, including 80 that are not found in any other place in the world, offi -cial statistics show.

The diverse climate and topog-raphy of the Sultanate has result-ed in diverse plants that may grow in dry desert, mountains, coastal areas and fertile lands.

There are about 750 wild plants in the governorate of Dhofar. They spread over the tops of the moun-tains, wadis and valleys. These plants are used as food, fodder, medicine or raw materials for some industries.

Frankincense is one of the most widely grown trees in Dho-far. Frankincense has been used for centuries as incense during the religious occasions. It is also used in manufacturing perfumes and as a medicine as well.

Frankincense useFrankincense is used for the treatment of stone, skin rashes and gout. It is also used as for pest control and as an antitoxic agent, as well as for treating asthma, lung disease, cough and breath-ing diffi culties. It helps in healing wounds and giving better smell to water. It is also useful in the treat-ment of gum, teeth, heart , gastric gases, spleen tumours, arthritis and some types of cancer.

The leaves of the Areeb tree are

used in manufacturing ropes be-cause they are strong.

‘Al Maitan’, a locally named tree, also produces high quality and solid lumbar that is used as beams for ceilings in traditional houses in addition to its uses in making sticks, fi ghting tools, such

as arrows and spears. ‘Henna’ is used for decorating hands and feet and as pain relief. The ‘Al Huwair’ plant has been used in manufac-turing dyes in Dhofar while ‘Sho-heet’ trees have been collected and dried to make a delicious drink with a nice aroma.

The ‘Al Thoor’ tree is used in the construction of animal ham-lets and the secretion of the ‘Hai-bik’ tree is used in the treatment of veterinarian diseases, while the ‘Al Sobr’ plant is used to treat severe headache, fl ue, obstructed nose and arthritis. –ONA

E C O L O G Y

GREEN RESOURCES: The diverse climate and topography of the Sultanate has resulted in a wide

variety of plants. Frankincense, one of the most widely grown trees in Dhofar, has been used for cen-

turies as incense during religious occasions. –ONA

H AV E YOU R SAY AT

T W I T T E R.CO M /O R

S CA N T H E CO D E TO

I N STA N T LY P O ST

YOU R T H O U G H TS

Judicial team to review ICJfunctioning

MUSCAT: A judicial delega-tion from the Sultanate left here for the Kingdom of the Nether-lands on an offi cial visit to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague.

The delegation is headed by Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Rashid Al Manwari, Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court.

The visit comes as part of Oman’s endeavour to play an eff ective role and its positive participation with the interna-tional community. The Sultan-ate hopes to boost international peace and security in light of the vision of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, as well as in enhancing the Sul-tanate’s eff orts in building hu-man capacities.

The visit aims at closely fa-miliarising with ICJ’s work system and prerogatives, as well as benefi ting from the interna-tional expertise and viewing le-gal consultancy of international organisations.–ONA

I N T E R N A T I O N A L T I E S

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Flexible ticket prices a bonus for moviegoers

RAHUL [email protected]

MUSCAT: Doing away with the fi xed price system for tickets, the theatre owners are now adopt-ing fl exible pricing for diff erent shows across the day to attract more moviegoers.

Theatre owners are now charg-ing less for the morning and af-ternoon shows to cater to a wide range of fi lm connoisseurs.

VOX Cinemas, which is owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim Ventures, is hosting a special pro-motion to celebrate their recent openings where they are off er-ing special rates for its matinee shows between 10am and 2pm.

Michelle Walsh, Marketing Di-rector for Majid Al Futtaim Cin-emas, said this applies to all the movies being screened at Stand-ard (2D), VOX MAX, VOX 3D and VIP options. “The special rates for 2D tickets such as MAX, VIP or standard will be OMR3 while 3D tickets for any concept such as MAX, VIP or standard will cost OMR4,” she said.

City Cinema owned by Oman Arab Cinema Company LLC, which has its footprints in Sala-lah, Sohar, Sur and Buraimi in addition to Muscat. They claimed

that they had introduced variable pricing way back in 2012.

“Variable pricing is something we introduced at City Cinema, Muscat Grand Mall long back, which diff erentiates ticket pric-ing during peak and non-peak hours,” said Neha Singh, Business Operations Manager, Oman Arab Cinema Company LLC.

Variable pricing has been re-ceived very well by the patrons. The ticket prices are half a rial cheaper in morning and after-noon shows at MGM.

Regarding the performance of VOX in Oman, Michelle Walsh said it exceeded expectations and both VOX Cinemas locations in City Centre Qurum and City Cen-tre Muscat have been warmly re-ceived by visitors.

“Recent releases that have per-formed extremely well are Edge of Tomorrow and Fault in Our Stars, plus other Hollywood hits such as X-Men: Days of Future Past and Godzilla. With the extended holidays over the incoming Eid Al Adha, we are anticipating a boost

in numbers as families and friends spend quality time together,” she added. With all the screens 100 per cent digitally enabled, VOX Cinemas has invested in the latest digital cinema technology for the movie goers which features Dolby Atmos surround sound technol-ogy and ‘mega-screen’ concept.

It will also have exclusive ‘VIP’ seating which off ers larger, more spacious seats, a gourmet-style menu and fl exible ticketing options.

“Bringing VOX Cinemas to Oman is part of our ongoing mis-sion to enter new markets with the most innovative forms of en-tertainment, allowing our guests to enjoy the latest Hollywood, Bollywood and Arab fi lm indus-tries fl icks. Our goal is to create modern, exciting and unique en-tertainment destinations. With the grand opening of VOX Cin-emas at Oman, we are pleased to bring to Omani residents a superior movie-experience,” Michelle Walsh had said during the launch.

Theatre owners are

now charging less

for the morning and

afternoon shows to

cater to a wide range

of fi lm connoisseurs

OUT-OF-THE-BOX EXPERIENCE: VOX Cinemas has invested in the digital cinema technology for the moviegoers which features Dolby

Atmos surround sound technology and ‘mega-screen’ concept.

H AV E YOU R SAY

AT T W I T T E R.CO M /

T I M ES O F O M A N O R

S CA N T H E CO D E TO

I N STA N T LY P O ST

YOU R T H O U G H TS

16 new planes to join fl eetBesides replacing ATR planes with Embraer in Muscat-Khasab sector. “But it requires upgrading (Khasab) airport facility.”

Another proposal is to raise fl ights from Salalah airport, when the expanded airport facility gets ready by next year. Oman Air plans to raise it fl ights from Sala-lah to Dubai, Muscat and Kuwait.

Fleet expansionIn the next 12 months, 16 new planes will join the airline’s fl eet.

Currently, Oman Air has a fl eet strength of 31 aircraft. The fl eet expansion is part of a larger plan to strengthen the country’s na-tional carrier, at a time when two international airports – Muscat and Salalah – are about to com-plete expansion and three re-gional airports are getting ready to receive passengers. The new

aircraft will be a mix of both nar-row body and wide-body planes.

Gregorowitsch said Boeing 787 Dreamliner will join the fl eet by next year, although it got delayed by two years. However, Oman Air does not have any concern due to the delay in getting the planes.

The airline is also looking at 787 900s, which will enable it to have large business class.

Gregorowitsch said Oman Air is investing in new aircraft, desti-nations, new products, new tech-nology, call centres and people.

Oman Air, which incurred heavy losses last year, is hoping to achieve profi t with additional investments by 2017.

New operating modelGregorowitsch said Oman Air is working on a new operating model, which will be introduced

by January next year. As per the new operating model, there will be more fl ights to European des-tinations, increase connectivity, effi ciency and Oman Air will con-trol international fl ights through Muscat airport. For instance, passengers will fi nd connecting fl ights to various destinations.

Also, there will be more fl ights to Riyadh and Jeddah to help those who go for Umrah in Saudi Arabia. There is also a plan to raise transit passengers coming to Muscat airport from 60 per cent to 70 per cent of total pas-senger traffi c by 2017, after the new facilities are ready.

Gregorowitsch also said that there is a plan to create separate business units for diff erent divi-sions within the airline, which in-clude catering, cargo and ground handling.

S T R E N G T H E N I N G T H E F L E E T

Safety tips for bus drivers ferrying Oman Haj pilgrimsTimes News Service

ABU DHABI: The Traffi c and Pa-trols Directorate at the Abu Dhabi Police, represented by the Al Ain Traffi c and Patrols Section, dis-tributed booklets aimed at spread-ing awareness, and provided guidance and tips to bus drivers ferrying pilgrims from the Sultan-ate of Oman across the UAE, on their way to perform Haj this year.

The purpose of the exercise was to ensure and enhance their safety as they make their journey to the Holy Land.

Major Salah Abdullah Al He-mairi, chief of Al Ain Traffi c Sec-tion, at the Abu Dhabi Police Traf-fi c and Patrols Directorate, said this gesture falls in line with the pilgrims’ awareness initiative.

The initiative was launched by the Directorate General of Police Operations, as part of “Your Safe-ty” campaign, and is carried out by the Security Media Department at the General Secretariat of the Of-fi ce of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.

Major Al Hemairi noted that the Al Ain Traffi c Section has de-ployed patrols along the external roads of Al Ain to help pilgrims and provide them aid when necessary.

He called upon drivers to adhere to the designated legal speeds, take all precautions and remain cau-tious, especially while travelling at night or during the early hours of the morning. He urged them to park their vehicle on the right side of the road in case of poor visibil-ity, take rest, stop driving if they feel tired.

First Lieutenant Nasser Khal-ifa Al Shamesi, Public Relations Branch Manager at the Al Ain Traffi c Section, explained that the pilgrims’ awareness campaign in-cludes welcoming them through the Mazyad border point between Al Ain and the Sultanate of Oman, as well as providing them with tips and awareness-raising brochures, to ensure their safety during their journey to and from the Holy Land.

Cargo limitFirst Lieutenant Al Shamesi also urged drivers to adhere to the per-mitted 60-cm cargo limit to avoid traffi c accidents due to overload-ing. He also advised them to pay at-tention to the road, wear seatbelts, avoid using mobile phones while driving, respect road signs, avoid overtaking buses, and call the cen-tral operations room in the event of a bus failure.

A W A R E N E S S I N I T I A T I V E

< FROM

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Oman Air is working on a new operating model, which will be introduced by January next year

Paul Gregorowitsch, Oman Air CEO

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Air strikes hit oil refineries controlled by Islamic State

BEIRUT/ISTANBUL: Air strikes believed to have been car-ried out by US-led forces hit three makeshift oil refi neries in Syria’s Raqqa province early on Sunday as part of an assault to weaken Is-lamic State (IS) militants, a moni-toring group said.

The Britain-based Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rights said the attacks occurred shortly after midnight, adding that they also hit a plastic factory.

Islamic State militants have control over oil produced in east-ern Syria and have set up small, makeshift refi neries to distil the crude into fuel, one of their main sources of income.

“These so-called refi neries are not a real target and they do not weaken Islamic State as they do not have any fi nancial value for them,” Rami Abdelrahman of the Observatory said.

“They are composed of trucks with equipment to separate diesel and petrol used by civilians.”

The United States has been carrying out strikes in Iraq since Aug. 8 and in Syria, with the help of Arab allies, since Tuesday, in a campaign it says is aimed at “de-grading and destroying” the mili-tants who have captured swathes of both countries.

Abdelrahman said that destroy-ing the makeshift refi neries has led to a sharp increase in the price of diesel, adding that for residents in Syria’s northern Aleppo prov-ince, for example, the price has more than doubled.

Price rise“The price went up from 9,000 Syrian pounds to 21,000 in Alep-po. Hitting these refi neries has af-fected ordinary people, now they have to pay higher prices.”

A medium-sized makeshift re-fi nery, stationed on trucks, can refi ne up to 200 barrels of crude a day into fuel and other products.

The refi neries, which Syrian opposition sources say cost up to $230,000 to set up, are assem-bled in Turkey and transported into Syria.

But the impact of the strikes on the militant group’s capabilities

was not immediately clear. IS has gained support among Islamists following the attacks, including from rival groups.

Scores of fi ghters have left Al

Qaeda’s Nusra Front and other hardline groups in Syria to join IS since the strikes started.

The Nusra Front is coming un-der increasing pressure from its own members to reconcile with IS to fi ght what they describe as a “crusader” campaign.

On Saturday, the group gave its fi rst reaction to the strikes, vow-ing to retaliate against Western

and Arab countries that took part in the coalition.

“It’s not a war against Nusra Front, it’s a war against Islam,” Nusra spokesman Abu Firas Al Suri said in an audio message published on the group’s social media network.

“These countries have done a despicable act that will put them on the list of those targeted

by militants forces all over the world,” the spokesman said. The air strikes have failed so far to stop the advance of IS fi ghters on Syr-ia’s Kurdish town of Kobani near the border with Turkey which the group has sieged from three sides, triggering an exodus of more than 150,000 refugees and sending mortar shells inside Turkish ter-ritory. — Agencies

The IS militants

have control over oil

produced in eastern

Syria and have set up

small and makeshift

refi neries to distil

the crude into fuel,

one of their main

sources of income

Libyan PM takes oath after cabinet approval

TOBRUK (LIBYA): Libya’s Prime Minister Abdullah Al Thinni and his cabinet took the oath of offi ce on Sunday after lawmakers ap-proved the lineup, but will struggle to rule a country where a rival par-liament sits in the capital Tripoli.

Libya is struggling with anarchy as two governments compete for legitimacy three years after Mua-mmar Gaddafi was ousted.

The elected House of Represent-atives and senior offi cials moved to the eastern city of Tobruk after an armed group from the western city of Misrata seized the capital and set up a rival assembly and cabinet.

Last week the House of Repre-sentatives, which is recognized by the international community, agreed on a second cabinet list af-ter rejecting an initial 16-member lineup as too large.

The new cabinet has 13 minis-ters including three deputies for Thinni and no oil minister. The vital oil sector will be run by state fi rm National Oil Corp (NOC), as under Gaddafi . Thinni, a former career soldier, has been prime minister since March but had re-signed after a June election. Law-makers then asked him to again form a new government.

FearsWestern powers fear Libya is head-ing towards civil war. The govern-ment cannot control former rebels who helped oust Gaddafi but now fi ght for power and a share of oil revenues.

Meanwhile, clashes between two of the largest tribes in south-ern Libya killed at least two people on Sunday, a tribal leader said.

“Violent clashes are under way in Sabha between the Awlad Sulei-man tribe and the Gaddadfa” tribe of Muammar Gaddafi who was killed in 2011, Sheikh Mohammed Issa Al Mubasher said.

He heads Libya’s Council of Dignitaries which represents the North African country’s powerful tribes and mediates in disputes.

Mubasher said at least two peo-ple were killed and more wounded as fi ghting erupted after the death of a young member of the Gaddad-fa tribe, which accused the Awlad Suleiman of killing him. “We are trying to intervene and convince both parties to stop fi ghting,” he said. The Gaddadfa have been keeping a low profi le since the downfall of their most famous son three years ago. — Agencies

T O B R O U K

WASHINGTON: US intel-ligence agencies underesti-mated Islamic State activity inside Syria, which has become “ground zero” for militants worldwide, President Barack Obama said in a CBS television interview broadcast on Sunday.

Conversely, the United States overestimated the abil-ity of the Iraqi army to fi ght the militant groups, Obama said in a “60 Minutes” interview taped on Friday, days after the US president made his case at the United Nations for action.

Citing earlier comments by James Clapper, director of national intelligence, Obama acknowledged that US intel-ligence underestimated what had been taking place in Syria. Islamic militants went un-derground when US Marines quashed Al Qaeda in Iraq with help from Iraq’s tribes, he said.

“But over the past couple of

years, during the chaos of the Syrian civil war, where essen-tially you have huge swaths of the country that are completely ungoverned, they were able to

reconstitute themselves and take advantage of that chaos,” Obama said according to a clip of the interview broadcast earlier. “And so this became ground zero for militants around the world.”

Clapper told a Washington Post columnist this month that US intelligence had under-estimated Islamic State and overestimated Iraq’s army.

“I didn’t see the collapse of the Iraqi security force in the north coming,” Clapper was quoted as saying. “I didn’t see that. It boils down to predict-ing the will to fi ght, which is an imponderable.”

Obama outlined the military goal against Islamic State: “We just have to push them back, and shrink their space, and go after their command and control, and their capacity, and their weapons, and their fueling, and cut off their fi nanc-ing, and work to eliminate the

fl ow of foreign fi ghters.” But he said a political solu-

tion is necessary in both Iraq and Syria for peace in the long term, according to the inter-view, which will be broadcast in full on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, a militant Twit-ter account said the leader of the Al Qaeda-linked Khorasan group was killed in a US air strike in Syria, SITE monitor-ing service said on Sunday.

A US offi cial said on Sep-tember 24 the United States believed Mohsin Al Fadhli, a senior Al Qaeda operative, had been killed in a strike a day earlier, but the Pentagon said several hours later it was still investigating.

In a tweet posted on Sep-tember 27, a militant off ered condolences for the death of Kuwaiti-born Fadhli, other-wise known as Abu Asmaa Al Kuwati or Abu Asmaa Al Jazrawi, said SITE. — Reuters

US intelligence underestimated IS militants in Syria: Obama

Yemenis protest, demand rebels withdrawal from SanaaSANAA: Hundreds of Yemenis took to the streets of Sanaa Sunday to demand the withdrawal of rebels, in a fi rst protest against the insur-gents since they overran the capital last week. In eastern Yemen, mean-while, a suicide bomber linked to Al Qaeda drove a car laden with explosives into a hospital used as a base by Yemen’s Houthi movement on Sunday, killing at least 15 people, various sources said.

Protesters from the February 11 Revolution movement marched along the main Zubairi road in Sanaa chanting slogans against the Houthi rebels who remain in con-trol of most of the city.

“We don’t want Houthis any more,” shouted the demonstrators, whose movement was behind the 2011 uprising which ousted former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Houthi rebels are heavily de-ployed across Sanaa but there were no reports of confrontations be-tween the insurgents and Sunday’s demonstrators. The demonstra-tors on Sunday put out a statement demanding the “withdrawal of all armed militias from the capital and the return of security forces”. They also urged the Huthi rebels to “apol-

ogise to the Yemeni people” and implement a UN-brokered peace accord, including a security proto-col that stipulated their withdrawal from Sanaa once a new prime min-ister is named.

Failing to name premierHowever, President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi has failed so far to name a new premier as stipulated by the agreement. After initial hesitation, the rebels signed the security protocol, state and rebel media said on Saturday. The at-tack by a suicide bomber took place in the town of Majzar in Maarib province, east of the capital Sanaa, militant, tribal and local sources said. “Dozens of dead and wounded from the rejectionist Houthis in a martyrdom operation by Ansar Al Sharia using a booby-trapped car in Maarib,” the militant group said in a statement on its Twitter account.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has said “unprecedented challenges” facing Yemen since rebels took over the capital could threaten interna-tional security, and called for swift action to deal with instability in its southern neighbour. Saudi Arabia welcomed an agreement signed in

Sanaa on September 21 to form a new government incorporating the Houthi rebels and some Yemeni southern separatist forces.

In some of his strongest language about Yemen to date, Saudi For-eign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal told the UN General Assembly that hopes for an end to the crisis had been wrecked by what he suggested was the Houthis’ failure to honour the deal. “The lack of implementa-tion of the security annexe of the agreement and the lack of imple-mentation of the agreement itself in the required manner by the Houthi group has dashed these hopes,” he said in a speech circulated by the Saudi mission at the United Na-tions in New York.

“Yemen faces accelerating and extremely dangerous conditions that require us all to look and pro-pose the necessary solutions to con-front these unprecedented chal-lenges,” Prince Saud said. Prince Saud said Yemen’s violence “will no doubt extend to threaten stability and security on the regional and in-ternational arena that could prove diffi cult to put down regardless of the resources and eff orts that may be exerted”. — Agencies

I N T E R N A L S T R I F E

NOT WELCOME: Turkish military forces of the Jandarma (Police Force) block the access to the Mursitpinar crossing gate near the Syr-

ian border, as Syrian Kurdish people try to pass, in the southeastern town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province, on Sunday. – AFP

TESTIMONY TO VIOLENCE: A general view of the street from a window at the group of companies of

business tycoon Tawfeek Abdo Al Raheem, which was damaged by fi ghting between Houthi rebels

and government forces in Sanaa, on Sunday. – Reuters

SOLID FOOTING: Libya’s Prime

Minister Abdullah Al Thinni. – AFP

CANDID ADMISSION: US

President Barack Obama

speaks at the Congressional

Black Caucus Foundation’s

44th Annual Legislative

Conference Phoenix Awards

Dinner in Washington Sat-

urday. – AFP


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INDIAM O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 14

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Andhra Pradesh gives nod to projects worth Rs92 billionAFTAB H. KOLAOur Correspondent

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh State Investment Pro-motion Board (SIPB), which met here under the chairmanship of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, approved proposals, including three ce-ment plants and concessions,for Hero MotoCorp project.

Plans for cement plants in-clude two green fi eld cement fa-cilities, the Petnikota in Kurnool district and Dachepalli in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, worth Rs92 billion.

Aditya Birla Group-owned Ultratech Cement will carry out the development of both projects.According to sources, the two ce-ment companies already possess mining leases to extract lime-stone to support these additional cement operations.

Further, another plant will be developed at Kolimigundla by in-

frastructure fi rm Ramco Group. The total capacity of these 3 ce-ment plants is likely to be about 12 m.t. per annum and expected to generate employment for near-ly 4,000 people directly and a few thousand indirectly.

According to a statement, the SIPB also decided to provide railway siding facilities between Sanjamala and Kolimigundla over a distance of 20km. Also, the SIPB agreed to allocate dedi-cated water supplies for the new water supply plants, as well as an additional water supply to the Tadipatri plant of Ultratech ce-ments from the newly proposed water transmission corporation of Andhra Pradesh.

Additionally, the Board cleared the issuing of incentives for Kel-loggs India Ltd., which is setting up a plant near Sri City. Other ap-provals include a supply of water at the concessional rate for a pe-riod of fi ve years for all new tex-tile facilities that will be built in

Bandix SEZ at Atchutapuram in Visakhapatnam District.

Those participating in the meetings also agreed to imme-diately reduce the AP VAT being levied on Subabul from 14.5 per cent to 5 per cent, since Subabul is also a pulp wood species that regenerates and is used in paper and cardboard industries.

Further, the Board approved concessions that have been ex-tended to Hero MotoCorp, in a memo that was signed recently with the company in view of its tremendous potential for large scale ancillary businesses, along withsignifi cant employment op-portunities in the State.

The SIPB also gave the go-ahead for the building proposal by Godavari Mega Food park in West Godavari District and di-rected the Secretary, Panchayat Raj, to release the building plans immediately, since the Pollution Control Board has already issued a no-objection certifi cate.

S P U R R I N G G R O W T H

40 held after clashes in GujaratNEW DELHI: Authorities in In-dia’s Gujarat state arrested at least 40 people after late-night clashes between two communities in the city of Vadodara and suspended mobile phone Internet and bulk text messaging services for four days, offi cials said yesterday.

Crowds from the two religious communities pelted each other with stones and set several vehi-cles alight until police dispersed them using tear gas on Saturday evening after days of tensions in the city, police said.

History of confl ictGujarat is the home state of Hin-du nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in the United States and is sched-uled to meet President Barack Obama. The state has a majority Hindu population and a history of religious confl ict. At least 1,000

people, mostly Muslims, died in Gujarat in 2002 in violence between Hindus and Muslims. Modi was chief minister of the state at the time.

The Hindustan Times newspa-per reported this week that the trouble in Vadodara started with a posting on Facebook that some Muslims deemed off ensive. - Reuters

R I O T S

IN FLAMES: Motorcycles burn after they were set on fi re by a

mob during a clash in Vadodara, in the Indian state of Gujarat, on

Thursday. - Reuters

Rock star style welcome for Modi

NEW YORK: Indian-Americans from across the United States gave a “rock star” treatment to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the prestigious Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple, where nearly 20,000 strong gathering of Indian Diaspora welcomed the Indian leader.

Shouting slogans like ‘Narendra Modi Zindabaad’, ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Welcome Modi’, Indian-Americans started arriving at the venue since early in the morn-ing. People were seen waiting in long queues.

A large number of people were dressed in Modi T-shirt with por-trait of Modi on it. Many were holding banners and slogans like ‘America Loves Modi’.

Some 20,000 people packed the Madison Square Garden for the largest event of its kind for the In-dian-American community organ-ised by the recently formed Indian-American Community Foundation (IACF), and supported by more than 400 Indian-American organ-isers from across the country.

High expectations“He is a rock star,” said young col-lege going Deepa Kaur. “We have a lot of expectations from him,” she said. Never seen before, the or-ganisers had lined up a number of cultural events including popular

songs, folk dances. People were seen dancing to the tune of these cultural events. More than 200 media, a signifi cantly large num-ber of them from India, had regis-tered for the event; which organ-isers said is unprecedented for an Indian American event.

“He is the fi rst Prime Minis-ter who is connected to the NRI

(non-resident Indian community). That’s why you see such a large number of people. We fi lled up the seats in just two weeks. It has nev-er happened in the history of the Madison Square Garden that seats gets fi lled up some three weeks be-fore the event,” said Anil Sharma, one of the volunteers of the event.

In fact, more than 2,000 volun-

teers worked day and night for the past three weeks to make he pro-gram a success.

“It’s Modi Mania,” said Ankit Pa-tel. “It’s a life time event,” he said.

In fact the event attracted some three dozen Congressmen includ-ing several power lawmakers like Senator Robert Menendez, Chair-man of the Senate Foreign Rela-

tions Committee; Congressman Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, and Congressman Ami Bera.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal were also present. A huge contingent of Indian-Ameri-can corporate leaders and IT pro-

fessionals came in from the Silicon Valley for the mega event.

The New York Times in a head-line ‘Indian Leader Narendra Modi, Once Unwelcome in US gets a Rock Star Reception’ story today wrote Modi will receive a rally fi t for a rock star.

There was also a group of Ti-betan women carrying banners in support of Modi.

Strict security arrangements are in place with police barricades at several locations.

ProtestsThere is also a large group of anti-Modi protesters who have gath-ered outside the garden shouting slogans against the prime minister.

Robindra Deb, an anti-Modi protester said, “We have gathered outside Madison Square Garden to remind the people of what hap-pened in 2002 (Gujarat riots) under Modi’s governance. Modi needs to be held accountable. Not the entire Indian American com-munity supports him”. -PTI

Some 20,000 people

packed the Madison

Square Garden for the

largest event of its

kind for the Indian-

American community

organised by Indian-

American Community

Foundation

SHOW OF SUPPORT: A boy wearing a mask of Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves during ‘Modi in America’ event organised by the Indian American Community Founda-

tion at Madison Square Garden in New York, yesterday. Right, artistes perform during a reception organised in the honour of the prime minister. - PTI

NEW YORK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday met Indian-American South Caro-lina Governor Nikki Haley, one of the brightest stars of the Re-publican Party, and discussed areas of possible cooperation including investment opportu-nities in India.

Haley, who is the fi rst woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina, told Modi that she was excited about the opportu-nities in India.

At the age of 42, Haley is the youngest current Governor in

the US. She is one of two sitting Indian-American Governors in the US, the other being Republi-can Bobby Jindal of Louisiana.

Modi also met an infl uen-tial Jewish group here and conveyed that India was proud of the community’s acknowl-edgment that it has been an integral part of Indian society for 2,000 years and never suf-fered any discrimination. The group hoped that under Modi’s leadership, India’s ties with the US and Israel will expand further. -PTI

PM meets South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley

ELATED: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Caro-

lina Governor Nikki Haley in New York, yesterday. -PTI


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INDIA M O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

If it is (paid new) an electoral off ence, it can eventually lead to the disqualifi cation of the candidate. Whatever the diffi culties of implementation, the very fact that if it is listed as electoral off ence, it would act as a deterrent against people using it in the elections

V.S. Sampath, Chief Election Commissioner

DARE DEVILRYA participant jumps in the water with a home-made fl ying device during Flugtag India 2014 at Sankey Tank in Bengaluru on

Sunday. Organised by the Red Bull energy drinks company, a Flugtag — which means ‘fl ying day’ in German — is a competition

in which teams in fancy dress attempt to pilot human-powered, home-made fl ying machines off a platform into water. Most

competitors enter the contest for its entertainment value, and the fl ying machines rarely fl y at all. -PTI

CEC: Paid news should

be made a poll off ence

NEW DELHI: Paid news should be made an electoral off ence that attracts disqualifi cation so that it acts as a deterrent, Chief Election Commissioner V. S. Sampath yes-terday suggested and said inad-equacies in the legal framework were not allowing the poll panel to eff ectively check this and other malpractices.

He also said that there is a “cry-ing need” for a “well defi ned legis-lation” governing expenditure of political parties during elections as its absence was allowing them and their candidates to circum-vent the rules.

Sampath, who was speaking at a session organised by the Law Commission, said that when the Election Commission looked into whether it had the powers to deal with paid news it found the “an-swer was negative.” He said that ‘paid news’ in whatever form or nomenclature is presently not even an electoral off ence.

Electoral off ence“If it is an electoral off ence, it can eventually lead to the disqualifi -cation of the candidate. Whatev-er the diffi culties of implementa-tion, the very fact that if it is listed as electoral off ence, it would act

as a deterrent against people us-ing it in the elections,” he said.

The CEC said that a recom-mendation in this regard has been made to the Law Ministry.

He even wondered why the government advertisements dur-ing elections should not be con-sidered as paid news.

Paid news not being an elector-al off ence, he said, EC now tries to check this menace by invoking its powers related to candidates’ spending. He said that if a candi-date is caught, the amount is add-ed to the candidate’s expenditure.

He, however, claimed that when caught, the candidates have found their own way to wriggle out of it.

“When they (candidates) fi le their expenditure returns, they always build a cushion for this kind of things. If Rs4 million those days was the limit, invari-ably no candidate would fi le a re-turn for more than Rs2.5 million That 15 lakh will be the cushion for this,” Sampath said.

He said that the EC catches instances of paid news but it is like “they were paying some traffi c fi ne, and they will do that and continue with the journey merrily”. -PTI

E L E C T O R A L R E F O R M S

Modi pitches for nuclear energy to ease power shortageMUMBAI: India’s new prime minister is turning to nuclear en-ergy to ease a power crisis made worse by the cancellation of hun-dreds of coal mining permits, but he faces scepticism both at home and abroad.

Energy-starved India relies on coal to produce two thirds of its electricity, but power blackouts are common and demand is rising quickly as the economy and middle class expand.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court cancelled over 200 coal min-ing permits because the licensing process was deemed illegal, mak-ing the need for alternative energy sources yet more pressing.

Campaign pledgePrime Minister Narendra Modi has made nuclear a priority as he seeks to fulfi l his campaign pledge to kickstart the country’s fl agging economy.

But to succeed, he will need to convince a sceptical public that nuclear is safe, and dispel foreign proliferation concerns to secure the imports of uranium and tech-nology that India needs to produce atomic energy.

“Concerns of power disruptions raised post the Supreme Court judgement on the coal issue show how reliance on single source of energy is unhealthy,” said Amit Bhandari, energy and environ-ment fellow at Gateway House, a Mumbai-based think-tank.

“It makes sense investing in nu-clear energy, which provides clean power and a hedge against coal supply shocks.”

Nearly 400 million Indians still have no access to electricity, ac-cording to the World Bank.

India’s 20 nuclear plants cur-rently account for less than two per cent of its power capacity, but the government wants to boost this to 25 percent by 2050.

Modi has quickly set about try-ing to achieve that. He secured Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pledge to speed up discussions on a nuclear agreement during a visit to Japan last month, before signing a deal with Australian Prime Minis-ter Tony Abbott that will pave the way for uranium sales to India.

China’s President Xi Jinping also showed willingness to talk nuclear cooperation with India on a visit last week, although no

specifi c pact was announced. But foreign allies remain wary of pro-viding such assistance to a nu-clear-armed country that has not signed the non-proliferation trea-ty to prevent the spread of atomic warheads.

Japan wants assurances that no more nuclear weapons will be tested, a promise India is unlikely to give publicly.

Chinese technologyA long-standing boundary dispute has meant Beijing has kept its distance, although India remains hopeful of securing Chinese tech-nology.

“India wants to learn from China’s success in achieving self-suffi ciency in reactor design and adaptation of technology,” said Avinash Godbole, a China expert

at the Institute for Defence Stud-ies and Analyses in New Delhi.

India currently has one of the world’s largest reserves of thorium — a nuclear fuel that is safer to use than uranium. But the country has yet to master the technology that would allow it to use thorium-based reactors to create power.

Until it does, New Delhi needs to keep importing uranium, since

its own reserves of the radioactive element’s ore are modest. India has the world’s fi fth largest coal reserves, but the industry is held back by snail-pace development, primitive mining methods and corruption scams, and it has to im-port millions of tonnes each year.

Coal shortagesExperts say a rise in the cost of producing electricity due to wors-ening coal shortages could work in nuclear’s favour as the pressure to fi nd alternative new energy sourc-es builds.

“Companies are waiting to make investments,” said Anil Kakodkar, former chief of India’s Atomic En-ergy Commission.

“Let policy issues of liability be sorted, and the pace of projects will race ahead,” he added. India has not yet defi ned the extent of suppliers’ liability in case of ac-cidents, adding to nuclear power’s unsafe image.

Concerns about radiation leaks and impact on livelihoods have led to protests by fi shing villagers around the Kundankulam power plant in southern state of Tamil Nadu, built with Russian help. - AFP

S H I F T

Experts say a rise in

the cost of producing

electricity due to

worsening coal

shortages could work

in nuclear’s favour as

the pressure to find

alternative new energy

sources buildsSAFETY CONCERNS: Protestors gather on the beach near Idinatha-

karai village close to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil

Nadu in this photograph taken on September 10, 2012. - AFP

Justice Dattu sworn in as Chief Justice of IndiaNEW DELHI: Justice H. L. Dattu, who has been heading the bench monitoring probe into the 2G scam, was yesterday sworn in as the next Chief Justice of In-dia by President Pranab Mukherjee and will have a tenure of 14 months. Sixty-three-year-old Justice Handyala Lak-shminarayanaswamy Dattu, the senior-most Supreme Court judge, took oath at a brief ceremony held at the Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He will retire on December 2, 2015. Vice President Hamid Ansari, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P. J. Kurien, Union ministers Ra-jnath Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad, M. Venkaiah Naidu were among those present at the ceremony.

President’s rule imposed in poll-bound MaharashtraNEW DELHI: President’s rule was imposed yesterday in poll-bound western Indian state of Maharashtra after Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan resigned following the break-up of 15-year-old Congress-NCP alliance in the state. President Pranab Mukherjee signed the proclamation for imposition of central rule in Maharashtra, a day after the Union Cabi-net recommended clamping of President’s rule in the state, a Home Ministry spokesperson said. Meanwhile, as many as 7,401 candidates have fi led nominations for the October 15 Assembly polls in the state , which is set to witness a fi ve-cor-nered contest in all the 288 constituencies.

Service tax evasion case registered against DLF NEW DELHI: Real estate major DLF has come under the investigation of central revenue offi cials for allegedly evad-ing service tax to the tune of about Rs30 crore. A case against DLF has been registered by the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence for alleged non -payment of service tax over transfer of development rights to other fi rms. - Agencies

B R I E F S Panneerselvam replaces Jaya as Tamil Nadu CM

CHENNAI/BANGALORE: Ta-mil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK yes-terday elected Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam as chief min-ister to succeed the jailed J. Jay-alalithaa, who on Saturday began serving a four-year prison sen-tence for corruption.

Panneerselvam, 63, who once ran a tea stall which is still with his family, once became the chief minister in similar circumstances in 2001 and held the post until Jay-alalithaa bounced back.

The unanimous decision on Panneerselvam came hours after he and a few AIADMK leaders met Jayalalithaa at the Bangalore Cen-

tral Jail and she told them to elect a new leader quickly to “assuage the hurt feelings” of the thousands of party cadres in Tamil Nadu follow-ing her jailing.

Staking claimAs AIADMK supporters massed in hundreds at the party headquar-ters in the heart of Chennai raised the V sign, AIADMK sources said Panneerselvam would call on Gov-ernor K. Rosiah to stake claim for the chief minister’s post.

The development came amid lingering tensions in Tamil Nadu, where a 45-year-old committed suicide by hanging from a tree near Kancheepuram town while a 17-year-old girl student was bat-

tling for life in Madurai after set-ting herself ablaze to protest the jailing of Jayalalithaa.

In Bangalore, AIADMK men and women members gathered in large numbers and refused to budge without meeting their jailed leader. Police refused them permission to proceed to the jail where orders have been imposed banning the assembly of fi ve or more people.

Carrying posters with pictures of ‘Amma’, demonstrators from Hosur, Krishnagiri and Dhar-mapuri districts of Tamil Nadu staged noisy protests on Banga-lore’s outskirts.

“We won’t go till we are allowed to meet Jayalalithaa. She did so

much for our welfare. It is un-fair to jail her,” a group of women screamed.

Jayalalithaa was jailed late on Saturday after a special judge sen-tenced her to four years in prison for amassing wealth illegally when she was chief minister in 1991-96. She was also fi ned Rs100 crore.

Jayalalithaa’s lawyers are ex-pected to meet her later to discuss remedies to secure bail from the high court.

Sought protectionIn Chennai, DMDK leader A. Vi-jaykant met Tamil Nadu Governor K. Rosaiah and sought protection for political parties in the state against violence unleashed by AI-ADMK cadres.

“I sought protection for all the parties in the state,” Vijaykant said, after AIADMK supporters allegedly attacked rival political leaders as well as their homes and offi ces following Jayalalithaa’s jailing. Across the state, AIADMK supporters forced shopkeepers to down their shutters. Two govern-ment buses were set on fi re. Traffi c on the roads was thin.

But the situation was better in Tamil Nadu yesterday, compared to late Saturday. Buses and shops were open in some cities but bus services in Salem, Cuddalore, Vil-lupuram and some other cities did not operate. Bus services from Ta-mil Nadu to Karnataka remained suspended. - IANS

Jayalalithaa was

jailed on Saturday

after a special judge

sentenced her to

four years in prison

for amassing wealth

illegally when

she was the chief

minister in 1991-96

NEW RESPONSIBILITY: File photo of senior AIADMK leader and Ta-

mil Nadu Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam with the party chief J.

Jayalalithaa. - PTI

A11

PAKISTANM O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 14

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French oil giant seeks lead role in strategic pipeline

ISLAMABAD: French fi rm To-tal is working behind the scenes to take the lead on an ambitious pipeline connecting Central and South Asia, sources close to the project say, pioneering a novel gas exchange mechanism to over-come legal hurdles.

It is one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world, con-necting the giant gas fi elds of Turkmenistan to Pakistan and In-dia, two emerging energy-hungry markets, while crossing the rocky valleys of southern Afghanistan which are partly controlled by Taliban insurgents.

Great GameFollowing the withdrawal of Sovi-et troops from Afghanistan in the late 1980s, US group Unocal and Argentina’s Bridas were chomp-ing at the bit to build major gas routes in a re-play of the 19th cen-tury “Great Game” when Russia and Britain jostled for control of the strategic region.

Over the past few years, rivalry has given way to the idea of re-gional cooperation for an 1,800

kilometre (1,100 mile) pipeline connecting Turkmenistan-Af-ghanistan-Pakistan-India, or more simply TAPI.

Last year, sources close to the project had indicated US giants ExxonMobil and Chevron were interested in leading the $7.5 bil-lion project.

Since then, new players have announced their interest.

“Other companies, including

Total are now in the race and they are actively negotiating with Turkmenistan,” said Mobin Saulat, director of the Pakistan’s Inter State Gas System which is charge of the Pakistani part of the pipeline.

He also named UAE’s Dragon Oil as a contender. Total declined to comment on the reports when contacted by AFP.

Chevron and ExxonMobil are

trying to convince Turkmenistan to cede control of some of its gas fi elds, so far without success since Turkmenistan law forbids hand-ing over onshore assets to foreign companies.

Total, on the other hand, “may agree to be the leader of the con-sortium without holding direct shares” in Turkmen fi elds, said another offi cial in the sector re-questing anonymity.

Caspian SeaTo work around the problem, TAPI partners envisage an ex-change system: Companies con-trolling gas reserves in the Cas-pian Sea will pump in an equal amount of gas to Turkmen terri-tory to that which they want to export from the country, allowing them to abide by local law.

“Nobody wants just to have a pipeline, everyone wants a piece

of the cake,” said Werner Liepach, Pakistan director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which wishes to fi nd a lead company by the end of November. On the sub-ject of the proposed exchange, he said: “We looked at various op-tions on how to make that happen, so that is certainly one option.”

“(You) give the volume back to Turkmenistan in that area and instead they will get the volume from where our pipeline will start,” explained Saulat.

“That is new. Last time, it was considered but not in details be-cause we were hoping that these companies like Chevron and Exx-on will be able to negotiate and get the stake upstream.”

Even as a clearer picture of the project begins to take shape, there remain several major hurdles -- namely, how to lay the pipeline across southern Afghan valleys, controlled in part by the Taliban, and Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, home to a separatist in-surgency with a history of blowing up pipelines?

Baloch questionAccording to Christophe Jaff re-lot, a regional expert at the Sci-ences Po in Paris, even if the “Ba-loch question” can be overcome by redesigning the route to avoid rebel areas, the Afghan problem remains. “There is no ideal route,” he said. Afghanistan desperately wants the mega-project in the hope of profi ting from valuable “rights of passage” for its cash-strapped reserves.

“One can hope that the Afghans need the cash so much that they reach a deal to share it around rather than letting it get blown up, but this is a gamble because there are always extreme groups that can raise the stakes by taking ac-tion,” said Jaff relot.

Beyond the issue of securing the pipeline, regional politics, in par-ticular Indo-Pak tension, could impact the fi nal outcome. — AFP

It is one of the most

ambitious energy

projects in the

world, connecting

the giant gas fi elds

of Turkmenistan to

Pakistan and India,

while crossing the

rocky valleys of

southern Afghanistan

DREAM PROJECT: In this photograph taken on April 24, 2008, Pakistani Oil Minister Khawja Asif,

right, and his Indian counterpart Murli Deora sign the documents at the end of two-day TAPI minis-

terial meeting in Islamabad. — AFP

Nobody wants just to have a pipeline, everyone wants

a piece of the cake, said Werner Liepach, Pakistan

director of the Asian Development Bank which wishes

to find a lead company by the end of November

23 militants, 7 civilians killed

PESHAWAR: At least 23 mili-tants and seven civilians have been killed in northwest Pakistan in attacks on rebel hideouts, a checkpoint clash and a motorcycle bombing, offi cials said on Sunday.

The deaths occurred during at-tacks on Taliban hideouts by Pa-kistani jets, a US drone strike, a gunfi ght at a security forces check-point and the bombing at a camp for displaced people.

The air force staged attacks on fi ve hideouts in the Shawal area of the North Waziristan tribal dis-trict overnight, a military state-ment said.

“In precise aerial strikes last night fi ve terrorist hideouts were destroyed and 15 terrorists in-cluding foreigners were killed in Shawal area of North Waziristan Agency,” it said.

The US drone attack on Sunday killed at least two militants in Ka-rezai Pal village in neighbouring South Waziristan tribal district, security offi cials said.

“A US drone fi red two missiles at a vehicle and at least two militants were killed and one was wounded,” a senior security offi cial told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“The militants had just parked their vehicle outside the main gate of a compound and had asked for drinking water from inside. Just when they were drinking water standing on the road, drones fi red two missiles.”

Their identities were not known but initial information indicated that they were not locals, the offi -cial added.

A militant source who called AFP from an unknown location also confi rmed the missile strike and casualties.

Gunfi ght at checkpointIn another incident in the north-west, six militants were killed early on Sunday in a gunfi ght that erupted after they attacked a para-military checkpoint in the Khyber tribal district bordering Afghani-stan, offi cials said. The Khyber dis-trict which is a gateway for Nato supplies to Afghanistan. — AFP

I N S U R G E N C Y

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So, here we go again. In early 1991 a “Shock and Awe” air campaign preceded a major land operation: Desert Storm, which included a number of Middle Eastern states deployed alongside US, UK and French forces in the Saudi Ara-

bian desert. Kuwait was quickly liberated and the Iraqi forces fl ed back north. I was a serv-ing colonel in the headquarters of the 1st (UK) Armoured Division, then part of the American 7th Corps operation outfl anking the Iraqi mili-tary defensive positions, and vividly remember leaning on the bonnet of my Land Cruiser on the road from Kuwait City to Basra waiting to hear if we were going to crack on to Baghdad.

We did not; but 12 years later I found myself in Baghdad as a Major-General. This time an air campaign alongside an almost exclusively Western coalition land campaign quickly suc-ceeded in securing Baghdad.

A retired 3-star US Army General, Jay Gar-ner, established the Offi ce of Re-construction and Humanitarian Aff airs in one of Saddam’s old palaces to run the administration; I was his deputy. In those heady days there was an all-too-brief moment when the future for Iraq looked potentially bright. It was not to be. And what is unfolding now is partly the result of mis-takes made then. What kind of campaign can we expect to see this time? As in 1991, there are a number of Arab allies, but what is missing are large numbers of Western combat forces — in-cluding so called “boots on the ground”.

We have of course begun arming the Kurdish Peshmerga, supporting them and Iraq with a very limited coalition air campaign, with the UK providing reconnaissance and intelligence sup-port. But it hasn’t been enough.

The house is burning and the neighbours have, at long last, decided to get the fi re hoses out — calling for and joining in with a more ac-tive air campaign to degrade and push back Isis.

The immediate targets will include command and control centres, logistics and lines of com-munications as well as targets of opportunity — individual or groups of Isis vehicles.

Alongside these will be oil and other econom-ic infrastructure facilities to disrupt and limit their access to fi nances. The overall objective will be to ensure that Isis is incapable of concen-

trating in suffi cient numbers to threaten further advances and to keep them away from Baghdad and the Kurdish region and squeeze their centre of gravity in Syria.

This will be an “asymmetric”, or “hybrid”, campaign. Alongside the air will be electronic warfare — intelligence gathering, tracking and hitting Isis commanders, disrupting their abil-ity to communicate with their people and keep-ing them in constant fear for their lives — and psychological warfare; propaganda to convince their fi ghters that theirs is a lost cause and con-vince others not to join them.

This is refl ected in the campaign so far. The fi rst wave of air strikes was against Isis build-ings and transport hubs, but then came the at-tacks on the oil fi elds, aimed at stopping the fl ow of millions of dollars that Isis is making from illicit oil sales. Work has also begun behind the scenes to track down the sources of funding.

But this will inevitably be a precursor to a land campaign — which must be carried out by regional forces, albeit with training and other Western support. This is far easier said than done, pulling together an Iraqi army — includ-ing the Peshmerga — capable of defeating Isis in Iraq, while at the same time working out how to deal with Isis in Syria, is going to be a huge problem. The air campaign will need to run for months while something is pulled together. And whatever solution emerges there will be unin-tended consequences. Even when the immedi-ate fi re is out the long-term diff erences remain; so do not expect these regional problems to go away. When asked when I think democracy will be “established” in the Middle East, my answer is that it will take about three generations.

This is a region made up of clans, tribes and factions that we in the West fi nd it diffi cult — even impossible — to get our minds around.

This came home to me over coff ee with a raft of senior Iraqis — and indeed other Arab offi cials. Many if not most of our opinion form-ers revel in their secular atheism and just don’t comprehend a Muslim world view.

The majority of responsible Muslims reject extremism. But a laudable desire to spread our liberal democracy is no basis for action against societies who are not necessarily part of a global conspiracy, but simply retain diff erent values and perspectives. - The Independent

Can the West win this new war against Isis?

This will be an ‘asymmetric’, or ‘hybrid’, campaign. Alongside the air will be electronic warfare — intelligence gathering, tracking and hitting Isis commanders, disrupting their ability to communicate with their people and keeping them in constant fear for their lives

Letters, containing not more than 200 words with full name, address and telephone number, may be sent by mail (Times of Oman, P.O. Box 770, P.C. 112, Ruwi), by fax (24813153) or by e-mail ([email protected])

BIG QUESTION

As the United States barrels into a new war against extremists in Iraq and Syria, it has been easy to overlook the unravelling of Libya and Yemen. For distinct and complex reasons, both

countries appear to be on an irreversible path toward becoming failed states. While the Obama administration’s quest to destroy the Islamic State group is more urgent and ambitious in scope than its military interventions in Yemen and Libya, the dissolution of order in both nations off ers sobering lessons. American airstrikes can deliver swift and decisive results on the battlefi eld. But without a feasible morning-after plan or dependable state institutions to support, shifting the dy-namics on the battlefi eld often makes things worse.

The deadly and chaotic aftermath of America’s military interven-tion in Libya is rife with cautionary signals. In 2011, as the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was crushing an uprising, President Obama and allied governments hastily put together a coalition to intervene. Much like the latest campaign in Iraq and Syria, the mission in Libya was initially billed as an urgent humanitarian response. When the United States and allies started bombing Libya, Obama decided, over the objection of top legal advisers, that he did not need explicit permis-sion from Congress. Some lawmakers protested at the time, but not strenuously enough. That disregard for Congress’s power to declare war partly paved the way for Obama to launch the new campaign in Syria without authorisation. Gaddafi ’s relatively swift ouster initially made the outcome in Libya look like a foreign policy victory for the Obama administration. But fi ghting among rival militias, and a broad-er confl ict between the extremists and their opponents, have plunged the nation into a new civil war. The United States abandoned its em-bassy in Tripoli this summer, a painful retreat almost two years after an American ambassador and three of his colleagues were slain in an attack in Benghazi. - The New York Times News Service

Dismal lessons from Libya, Yemen

It is often said that “doing nothing is not an option”. It always is, and it is sometimes the best option. As the forces of Isis continue their murderous, genocidal and misogynistic advance in Iraq, it is an op-

tion that should be seriously considered. In the end, however, only 43 MPs voted against the “something” that the Prime Minister proposed on Friday. Doing nothing would have been the right option in 2003. We are in favour of the use of British military force as a last resort and we can be sure that it would promote or defend human rights. In the pres-ent case, it is tempting to say that the deployment of six RAF aircraft is irrelevant. It is not, quite. It is unlikely to make much diff erence to a US-led operation that has been in progress for some weeks — an op-eration that has had a limited eff ect in Syria and Iraq so far, with little prospect of pushing Isis back in the coming months and years. The best that can be said for the air campaign is that it might help to hold Isis and its allies back while giving diplomacy a chance.

The situation now is not like that in 2003, although the US-British invasion obviously contributed to the desperate state of Iraq today. The British people certainly view the question of military action dif-ferently. While there is no desire for troops to go back into Iraq on the ground, ComRes opinion poll today fi nds that there is more support for than opposition to British forces taking part in air strikes in Iraq and Syria. We should note that the level of support — 45 per cent support, 26 per cent oppose — falls short of a majority and well short of the sort of consensus that ought to be demanded of a more ambitious military action. No doubt public opinion is strongly infl uenced by the hostage videos put out by Isis. But we must remember that these are propa-ganda, designed to provoke a western response that is precisely what the West is providing. And we must remember that the question is not whether Isis is a wicked death cult but what should be done about it. The fi ght against Isis is complicated by some of the hidden motives of the regional powers. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, for example, wants to get rid of Bashar Al Assad, the Syrian dictator, and wants to avoid helping the Kurds for fear of strengthening Kurd-ish separatists in Turkey. That hardly makes him a reliable ally against Isis. An air campaign alone against Isis is fraught with problems. A successful campaign requires two things: a political settlement that gives the population of northern Iraq an interest in resisting Isis; and armies on the ground capable of defeating the attempted caliphate. Neither the Iraqi national army nor the Kurdish militia yet seems up to the task. We are, therefore, not opposed to British air strikes against Isis. But they are not the important thing.

The important thing is the diffi cult, unglamorous work of negotia-tion. To what extent we British as the recent occupiers of Iraq and as, longer ago, the former colonial power have anything useful to off er to that eff ort is uncertain. - The Independent

Need to give diplomacy a

chance in crisis-hit Iraq

T I M C R O S S

Sponsors should facilitate repatriation of bodies This refers to the news story, Expat bodies facing wait to be sent home (September 28). It seems that even after death the plight of an expatriate worker remains unchanged. A death is a death is a death and is a matter of sorrow. However, when a sponsor refuses to bear the cost of send-ing back the body of the deceased employee, this is indeed very sad. The relatives of the deceased wait in expectation back home to see their loved ones for the last time. In playing frugal, the sponsor actually plays with the emotions and sentiments of so many people. After all, it is more a matter of human values than anything else. Anu ShaikhWadi Kabir

Expats should remain ready for all eventualityThis refers to the news story, Expat bodies facing wait to be sent home (September 28). This comes as a painful matter of fact. Most of the expatriates who are self-employed, have to fend for themselves as well as pay their sponsors regularly. It is better that they go for personal insurance and make arrangements on their own for such eventualities. In the time of such an emergency, they need support and help.Dainesh T SampatMuscat

Embassies must ensure expat bodies reach homeIt was heart wrenching to read about how the bodies of expatriate workers have to wait for days on

end before being sent home. Hold-ing back dead bodies for whatever reasons is not fair. Firstly, there needs to be some norms in place to mandate sponsors to abide by the rules in force. The embassies also should take the responsibility and ensure that the dead bodies of expatriates do not get trapped in procedural bottlenecks. Usha Devi SuddapalliRuwi

BJP will gain out of the indictment of JayalalithaThe Bangalore special court’s verdict on Jayalalitha’s dispropor-tionate wealth accumulation case was an expected one. It was a long overdue verdict, which once more proved that in the end it’s justice that prevails. It is indeed a shock to Jayalalitha and a blow to her

party, the AIADMK. It will dimin-ish AIADMK’s image and tarnish its credibility. The judgement is a reminder to politicians that no one is above law. The judgment will have a huge impact on Tamil Nadu politics and signifi cantly infl uence national politics as well. The era of Jayalalitha is probably over. And, with DMK already on the mats, the stage is now set for the BJP to make inroads in the state.S. JayakumarAbu Dhabi

Wait for metered taxis in Oman is getting too longWe are still waiting for taxis with fare metres in Oman. When shall we have that? The wait is getting too long and too monotonous.Prabha BabuWadi Kabir

READERS’ FORUM

Cynicism is an unpleasant way of saying the truthLILLIAN HELLMAN

website: www.newindiaoman.com

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PERSPEC IVET I M E S O F O M A N M O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 14T I M E S O F O M A N A13

It is pleasing to know that the initiatives aimed at realising some of the greatest goals and

dreams of a signifi cant section of our people are being undertaken by social organisations. The right to dream and aspire is a legitimate right of every citizen — young or old, male or female.

Every dream grows over time and if backed by good intentions the dreams will eventually turn real. One of these initiatives is “Women’s Dialogue”, a workshop which will be held on 29th of this month by the Female Jour-

nalist Committee of Oman Jour-nalist Association.

A group of enthusiastic female journalists, nourishing the dream of doing their best to help other female writers who join the media braving a host of social challenges, have designed this event with the support of social organisations.

They want to pave the way for more Omani women to enter the media so that together they can contribute to the cause of women’s empowerment through meaningful discussions about gender-specifi c issues and condi-tions, and also shed light on wom-en’s achievements in this fi eld.

The dreams of our female col-leagues go far beyond this, and they want to support women in helping them win elections to Shura Council, municipalities or chamber, aiming to increase fe-male participation in politics.

This is a new addition to the many that we look forward to real-ising. In our country, women rep-resent half the society and thus should be politically and socially empowered with the help and co-operation of the authorities.

The ‘Women’s Dialogue’ is an attempt to revive the eff orts towards promoting the role of Omani woman and giving her a

chance to participate in various social activities and initiatives. Whenever the goals are great and intentions noble the challenges become smaller and the work of nation building becomes easy and an endearing task.

The “Women’s Dialogue” will be organised over two days by vol-untary social organisations, and will feature lectures and work-shops by specialists from the Sul-tanate and abroad. Many impor-tant issues will be discussed at the event, despite limited resources and capabilities.

We must also encourage these sincere people who have set aside considerable time, eff ort and re-sources to ensure the success of such an initiative.

Projects of this kind are of great value to the homeland; and their success would go a long way in achieving immense value-added experience and lessons which would make our social organisa-tions much more capable and off er them the right direction to work for community development and women empowerment.

At another level, they comple-ment the government’s eff orts at establishing the identity of the Omanis. These initiatives will bring to light the increasingly ben-

efi cial role of social organisations in the Sultanate.

The “Women’s Dialogue” es-sentially encourages discussions on larger issues including how to motivate Omani women to ex-plore and make the best use of media to address issues related to women and children.

The dialogue initiative also stresses the fundamental role played by women in the soci-ety, thus making them better informed about relevant issues and enabling meaningful discus-sions, which together leads to eff ective solutions.

“Women’s Dialogue” focuses on these aspects to encourage them to explore additional opportu-nities beyond what is provided by the country.

We hope that such pro-commu-nity eff orts by social groups are crowned with the greatest suc-cess and get all our support and acknowledgement.

The author is an eminent writer based in Muscat and a Board Member of Oman Journalist Asso-ciation. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not refl ect those of Times of Oman.

TODAY IN HISTORY

OPINION POLL

1197 Emperor Henry VI dies in Messina, Sicily.

1399 Richard II of England is deposed. His

cousin, Henry of Lancaster, declares himself king under the name Henry IV.

1493 Christopher Columbus leaves Cadiz,

Spain, on his second voyage to the new world.

1513 Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de

Balboa discovers the Pacifi c Ocean. 1789 Congress votes to create a US army. 1833 A civil war breaks out in Spain

between Carlisists, who believe Don Carlos deserves the throne, and supporters of Queen Isabella.

KHAMIS TO OPEN AUTUMN TRADE FAIRMUSCAT: Dr Khamis bin Mubarak Al Alawi, Min-ister of Regional Municipalities and Environment will open the sixth autumn trade fair organised by the Omani Company for International Trade and Ex-hibitions on Monday. The one-week fair will exhibit various consuming products and services such as furniture, electronics, foodstuff , garments, house-hold items, chandeliers, carpets and other products. It will also comprise a special pavilion for children.

FROM OUR ARCHIVES

Rachel’s killing is only one example of the evil nature of the folks who claim ownership of the Promised Land and the legacy of its ancient prophets. Thisis what Palestinians have endured over the past seven decades

He does not make people like Rachel Corrie every day; people who can stare death in the face and off er their own life to save others.

The 23-year old student activist Rachel Corrie just did that. She travelled thousands of miles from her Ivy League university in the United States to form a human shield protecting Palestinian families. This happened in March 2003 when her country and the world were obsessed with the non-existent weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Full of hope, idealism and dreams about a better, more just world, Rachel Corrie was too young to die. At a time when most of her friends were busy having a good time, Rachel joined the International Solidar-ity Movement (ISM) and travelled to Palestine. She wanted to make a diff erence.

She was so passionate about her cause and in love with Palestinians that she spent many months learn-ing Arabic and educating herself and her family and friends about the Middle East and appalling humani-tarian situation in the occupied territories.

She went to the West Bank for training with the ISM before volunteering for Rafah in Gaza. She felt it was the most deprived part of Palestinian territories. There were many international activists like her on the ground trying to help Palestinians by providing aid, teaching their children and, more importantly, protecting them from the murderous Israeli forces. Rachel enthusiastically joined these valiant eff orts. She would visit Palestinian homes off ering whatever help she could to the besieged families. One such family was that of Dr Samir Nasrallah, his brother and their fi ve children.

Rachel helped the children with their homework and even spent night in their room, sleeping at their feet in their parents’ bed when they were too terri-fi ed to sleep what with the constant gunfi re and pa-trolling by Israeli forces. Rachel arrived in Gaza in January 2003 and she was killed in cold blood seven weeks later on March 16, 2003. She died protecting the home of Dr Samir Nasrallah. When an Israeli armoured bulldozer moved to demolish it, she stood in its path, fi rm and fearless. And the Israelis being what they are ran over her, literally.

Her friends from ISM and other eyewitnesses recounted in a Haifa court how the Israelis drove over her even as she pleaded with the bulldozer op-erator to stop the demolition of the house. She wore a fl uorescent orange jacket and stood on a mound excavated by the bulldozer shouting over a bullhorn.

The killing machine couldn’t have missed her. It was a cold-blooded, deliberate killing. It was nothing but murder. Richard Purssell, a British activist and eye-witness, recalled how he watched in horror as Rachel was dragged four meters by the 56-tonne D9 Cater-pillar bulldozer moving forward at a “fast pace.”

She disappeared under the rubble and lethal blades of Caterpillar and then the bulldozer reversed, tram-pling Rachel, or what remained of her, once again. When her horrifi ed fellow activists rushed to her, she was still breathing.

“I think my back is broken,” she said before she breathed her last. My eyes watered reading this in a gut-wrenching interview that Rachel’s gracious par-ents Cindy and Craig Corrie did with the US journal-ist Amy Goodman. Rachel’s parents have been fi ght-ing an endless legal battle in a court in Israeli town Haifa to get justice for their heroic daughter. The Is-raeli authorities have tried everything to undermine this quest for justice treating it as a ‘civil case’ even after pressure from the US authorities.

Why did Rachel die? She was guilty of standing in the way of the mighty state of Israel and its mission to build an evil empire, from the river to the sea, on Palestinian homes and bodies.

By giving her life to save Palestinian homes and families, Rachel put her killers in the dock and the state of Israel on trial. Rachel’s killing is only one example of the evil nature of the folks who claim ownership of the Promised Land and the legacy of its ancient prophets. This is what Palestinians have endured over the past seven decades or so, on a daily basis. Living with death and destruction in their own land, day after bloody day.

If they can do this to a young, peaceful citizen of the most powerful nation on earth and their biggest supporter, fi nancier and protector, it’s not too hard to imagine what Israelis could do to a helpless people totally at their mercy. And they have repeatedly dem-onstrated this with chilling eff ect, as was seen once again in Gaza in July-August. The Palestinians have become a mere statistic for the world. For all its hal-lowed peace-making institutions and hollow rheto-ric of its leaders, it doesn’t give a damn about Pales-tinians — or people like them.

The author is a Gulf based award winning journalist. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not refl ect those of Times of Oman.

Why did Rachel die? Will the Israelis tell the truth?

HISTORYNET.COM

Questions Sarkozy must answer

GraphicsGraphic News /Source: AFP, Associated Press, BBC

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy is to seek the leadership of France’s centre-right Unionpour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) in November despite legal woes and ongoinginvestigations

Influence Peddling, CorruptionSarkozy charged in July over alleged attempt to influencejudges who were looking into his affairs. Case suspended

Cash From GaddafiAllegations that former Libyan dictator MuammarGaddafi’s regime helped finance Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign.Sarkozy is suing for defamation

Bygmalion AffairInvestigation opened in June over allegations thatUMP was falsely billed by PR agency Bygmalion for€10 m to cover Sarkozy’s campaign expenses in 2012

Tapie ScandalSuspected of pressuring his finance minister Christine Lagarde (right) to refer to arbitration rather than legal system in €400 million statepayout to tycoon Bernard Tapie

Elysée PollsAnti-graft organisation Anticor alleges that Sarkozyspent more than €9 million of taxpayers’ funds on hundreds of polls to gauge nation’s attitude to his private life

Cleared In Campaign Finance CaseSarkozy cleared in March 2013 of allegations of soliciting secretcampaign financing from L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, France’s richest woman

LAST POLL RESULT

Do you think that Oman is a tourist-friendly country?

Should the airlines reduce the cargo charges for repatriating bodies of deceased expatriates?

Visit timesofoman.com to cast your vote

Yes45%

No55%

This week saw two im-portant developments involving Isis and Tur-

key: the release of 49 Turkish hostages held by Isis and the massive infl ux of more than 100.000 Kurdish refugees into Turkey as they fl ed Iraq.

The release of Turkish dip-lomats was surprising good news and one we have not been used to hearing for a long time due to the serious confl icts going on mostly in the Middle East, especially after the hor-rendous slaughter of hostages from other nations. This was not made possible by any ran-som paid by Turkey.

We should remind ourselves that even one human life is ex-tremely valuable and cannot be measured by monetary value. It is our duty to do whatever it takes to save the lives at stake.

Always keeping the safety of its 49 diplomats’ lives in mind, Turkey chose a calm approach in the face of the Isis threat and despite harsh criticism from the international com-munity, Turkey didn’t jeop-ardise the safety of its citizens by getting caught in the heat of the moment.

Turkey did not choose to take part in a military opera-tion similar to its decision not to partake in the Iraq invasion by the US in the early 2000s. Turkey did not only choose not to be involved in a military ac-tion because of the hostages but also we are cognizant that armed operations would only exacerbate the violence.

As a result, Turkey, chose to join in providing only hu-manitarian aid as a part of the US-led Jeddah Communiqué. To the surprise of the interna-tional community, our citizens held captive for 101 days were freed in the end.

In the meantime, Isis mili-tants advanced rapidly to-wards the Kurdish region and seized 60 Kurdish villages near the Turkish border in only forty-eight hours. As the fi ght for the strategically important Kobane, also known as Ayn Al Arab continues, a massive group of Kurdish civilians fl ed the area and entered Turkey in an unprecedented wave of refugee movement. Only in

two days a staggering num-ber of 100,000 Kurdish people crossed the Syrian border into Turkey. The PKK fi ghters who were supposed to fi ght against Isis, ran away leaving behind not only their weapons, but worse, defenceless, innocent Kurdish civilians. However, there are still many civilians in the area and the threat is grow-ing by the day.

This brings us back to idea of providing a safe zone on Turkey’s border in case of the occurrence of such confl icts in order to protect the innocent civilians. It would be ideal to have a safe zone of a 60 square kilometre area, 50 for the civil-ians and 10 square kilometre for precaution. It is no doubt it would facilitate the humani-tarian aids extended to the ref-ugees suff ering from war.

It is therefore of paramount importance that all the civil-ians, starting with the women and children, are immediately evacuated from the region and brought to this safe zone.

Turkey is now having a se-ries of meetings in the US seek-ing options to convince Russia, who is ill-disposed to establish a safe zone along the Turkey-Syria border.

This would be the short-term solution for the safety and well-being of the innocent.

Despite the grand gesture of Turkey welcoming more than 100,000 Kurdish refugees, and the fact that PKK militants did nothing but fl ee, the PKK pro-paganda machine continued its work.

A group of people associ-ated with BDP (pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party) attacked the Turkish soldiers and police who were in charge of the border security with stones, sticks and bottle rock-ets. Incidents began during the day when some groups from BDP hung posters of Öcalan and tried to cross the border illegally. The security forces had to intervene and in the resulting attacks police used water cannons to disperse the rowdy crowd.

To restrain order on the Turkey-Syrian border, the safe zone should be established with the approval of the United Nations. Many people, mostly children have lost their lives due to the on-going confl ict in Syria for the last three years.

The world should not turn a blind eye to them but take an immediate action to do what is necessary to place them in a safe haven, which is the border of Turkey.

The writer is a popular author and a political commentator based in Turkey. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not refl ect those of Times of Oman.

How best to protect the civilians in Kobane

‘Women’s Dialogue’: Tribute to Omani women

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AI WEIWEI EXHIBITIONHunt Hoff man stands in a cell while listening to audio recordings in ‘Stay Tuned’, an installation by Chinese artist Ai WeiWei

that is part of ‘@Large: Ai WeiWei on Alcatraz’ on Saturday in San Francisco, US. Visitors to twelve of the prison’s A Block

cells listen to words, poetry and music recorded from people who have been incarcerated. — AFP

Tear gas used on Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters

HONG KONG: Hong Kong po-lice fi red volleys of tear gas to disperse pro-democracy protests on Sunday and baton-charged a crowd blocking a key road in the government district in defi ance of offi cial warnings against illegal demonstrations.

Chaos had engulfed the city’s Admiralty district as chanting protesters converged on police barricades surrounding other demonstrators, who had earlier launched a “new era” of civil diso-bedience to pressure Beijing into granting full democracy.

Student and pro-democracy leaders late on Sunday urged sup-porters to retreat due to safety concerns amid speculation police could fi re rubber bullets as ten-sions escalated.

Peeled awaySome supporters peeled away although thousands remained. Chan Kin-man, one of the co-

founders of the Occupy Central movement, said its leaders would remain until they got arrested.

Police, in lines fi ve deep in plac-es and wearing helmets and gas masks, used pepper spray against activists and shot tear gas into the air. The crowds fl ed several hundred yards, scattering their umbrellas and hurling abuse at police “cowards”.

Prominent mallThe demonstrators regrouped and returned however, and by early evening tens of thousands of protesters were thronging streets, including outside the prominent Pacifi c Place shopping mall that leads towards the Central fi nan-cial district.

“If today I don’t stand out, I will hate myself in future,” said taxi driver Edward Yeung, 55, as he swore at police on the frontline. “Even if I get a criminal record it will be a glorious one.”

A former British colony, Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a formula known as “one country, two systems” that guaranteed a high degree of au-tonomy and freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China.

Universal suff rage was set as an eventual goal.

But Beijing last month reject-ed demands for people to freely choose the city’s next leader, prompting threats from activists to shut down Central in what is being seen as the most tenacious

civil disobedience action since Britain pulled out. China wants to limit elections to a handful of can-didates loyal to Beijing.

Repeated roundsPolice in full riot equipment later fi red repeated rounds of tear gas to clear some of the roads in Ad-miralty and pushed the crowds towards Central.

Health authorities said some 30 people needed treatment.

Police had not used tear gas in Hong Kong since breaking up protests by South Korean farmers against the World Trade Organi-sation in 2005.

“We will fi ght until the end ... we will never give up,” said Peter Poon, a protester in his 20s, add-

ing that they may have to make a temporary retreat through the night.

Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying had earlier pledged “resolute” action against the protest move-ment, known as Occupy Central with Love and Peace.

“The police are determined to handle the situation appropri-ately in accordance with the law,” Leung said, less than two hours before the police charge began.

A spokesperson for China’s Hong Kong and Macau Aff airs Of-fi ce added that the central govern-ment fully supported Hong Kong’s handling of the situation “in ac-cordance with the law”.

Communist Party leaders in Beijing are concerned about calls for democracy spreading to cit-ies on the mainland, threatening their grip on power. Such dissent would never be tolerated on the mainland, where student protests in and around Beijing’s Tianan-men Square calling for democracy were crushed with heavy loss of life on June 4, 1989.

On the mainland, the phrase “Occupy Central” was blocked on Sunday afternoon on Weibo, Chi-na’s version of Twitter. It had been allowed earlier in the day.

Later, a Hong Kong govern-ment statement urged the Occupy organisers to bring an end to the “chaos” for the overall interest of Hong Kong. The government said some public transport may be disrupted on Monday due to the protests.

A tearful Occupy organiser Benny Tai said he was proud of people’s determination to fi ght for “genuine” universal suff rage, but that the situation was getting out of control, RTHK reported. He said he believed he would face heavy punishment for initiating the movement. — Reuters

Student and pro-

democracy leaders

late on Sunday

urged supporters to

retreat due to safety

concerns amid

speculation police

could fi re rubber

bullets as tensions

escalated



DARING DEFIANCE: Tens of thousands of protesters occupy the main street leading to the fi nancial

Central district from Wanchai district (seen at background) outside the government headquarters in

Hong Kong on Sunday. — Reuters

Liberia’s chief doctor in quarantine over Ebola concernsMONROVIA: Liberia’s chief medical authority has placed her-self in quarantine following the Ebola death of her deputy, health offi cials and humanitarian sources said on Sunday.

Dr Bernice Dahn, who is also a deputy health minister, opted to put herself in isolation after her assistant died of the infectious dis-ease on Thursday.

Bernice and her assistant’s staff , whom she also quarantined, will remain under observation for 21 days, the sources said, for the full incubation period of the tropical fever that has killed more than 3,000 people since the end of last year.

Of the four west African nations aff ected by the Ebola outbreak, Li-beria has been hit the hardest, with

3,458 people infected, and 1,830 of killed by the disease, according to a World Health Organisation count released Saturday.

Healthcare workers, already in very short supply, have paid an es-pecially heavy price, with 211 dead in the stricken nations, 89 of them in Liberia.

Bodies incineratedIn Monrovia, “about 50 bodies are incinerated each day — though we estimate that 20 to 30 percent of those did not have Ebola,” a WHO offi cial who requested anonymity said, suggesting an Ebola toll of 35 to 40 victims each day in the Libe-rian capital.

“This is a slow rise, and it only includes the cases that have been offi cially tallied. There are still

people who continue to bury their dead secretly in their gardens,” he said.

The US federal health body Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that only about 40 per cent of Ebola cases are being announced in Liberia and Sierra Leone, the worst-af-fected states.

The virus can fell its victims within days, causing rampant fever, severe muscle pain, vom-iting, diarrhoea and — in many cases -- unstoppable internal and external bleeding.

Liberia’s decrepit public health infrastructure, ruined by 14 years of civil war to 2003 and endemic poverty, has “totally collapsed” under the Ebola crisis, the WHO offi cial said. — AFP

D E A D L Y O U T B R E A K

DEATHLY: A prefecture employee, right, spraying antibacterial foam soap onto the hands of a resident

during an awareness campaign on the haemorrhagic fever Ebola by local authorities in Lelouma, near

Labe, western Guinea on Saturday. — AFP

Nothing new in iPhone 6, says Erdogan

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, known for his hostility to social networks and mobile technology, on Sunday brushed off the frenzy surround-ing Apple’s new iPhone 6, saying it was much the same as its iPhone 5 predecessor.

Erdogan said that he had seen the lines snaking round an Apple sales shop in New York during his visit last week to attend the UN General Assembly.

“This brand brings out a new model pretty much every year,” Er-dogan said in a speech in Istanbul.

“But in fact it (the iPhone 6) is not really diff erent from last year’s version,” he said.

“It is not the telephone that is being sold but the brand of the telephone.”

Social mediaErdogan has been in the past notoriously hostile to new tech-nologies. He is particularly an-tagonistic towards social media, even though some top govern-ment ministers are enthusiastic Twitter users.

Twitter and YouTube were tem-porarily banned in Turkey earlier this year after both websites were used by opponents of Erdogan to post allegations of corruption against his inner circle.

The blocks were eventually overturned through court rulings stating the bans were not in line with rules on free speech.

Tweet, schmeetIn August, Erdogan compared so-cial media to a “knife in the hand of a murderer,” declaring that he did not like to “tweet and schmeet”.

Apple, one of the United States’ best-known corporations, launched its new iPhone 6 to suc-ceed the iPhone 5 earlier this month, selling over 10 million units in the fi rst three days. — AFP

‘ S E L L I N G O F B R A N D ’

Myanmar, Sri Lanka hardline monks come togetherYANGON: A controversial Bud-dhist cleric from Myanmar an-nounced on Sunday he is linking up with hardline monks in Sri Lanka, alleging that their religion is under threat from extremist militants.

The Mandalay-based monk Wirathu, addressing a convention in Colombo of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) or Buddhist Force, said they would work together to pro-tect their common religion. The BBS has been accused of instigat-ing hate attacks against minority Muslims and Christians in mainly Buddhist Sri Lanka.

“To protect and defend the threatened Buddhist the world over, my 969 movement will join hands with the BBS,” the Myan-mar monk said at a 5,000-seat stadium packed with monks and their lay supporters. He said Mus-lim extremists had tried to scuttle his visit to Sri Lanka, which shares close cultural and religious links with Myanmar.

“I am thankful to the President (Mahinda Rajapakse) for granting me a visa in spite of attempts by Muslim extremists to prevent my

visit,” he said. BBS has been linked to stepped-up attacks against mi-nority Muslims and Christians in the past two years. Sri Lanka suf-fered its worst religious violence in decades this June when riots broke out in the resorts of Aluthgama and Beruwala, leaving four people dead.

Instigating attacksThe BBS has been accused of in-stigating the attacks, a charge it denies. The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka had warned the authori-ties that allowing Wirathu to visit “would pose a serious threat to peace in our beloved motherland”.

BBS leader, Buddhist monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara, has been compared to Wirathu, who has been accused of ratcheting up tensions between Buddhists and Muslims in his own country.

Gnanasara has described both of them as “peaceful monks with no blood on our hands”. In Myan-mar clashes between Buddhists and Muslims have left at least 250 people dead and tens of thousands displaced since fi ghting broke out in Rakhine in 2012. — AFP

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31 hikers die atop Japan volcano

TOKYO: Thirty-one people were presumed dead on Sunday near the peak of a Japanese volcano that erupted a day earlier, catching hundreds of hikers unawares as it belched out clouds of rock and ash.

The deaths on Mount Ontake, 200 km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, were the fi rst from a Japanese vol-canic eruption since 1991.

Police said the 31 were found in “cardio-pulmonary arrest”, but declined to confi rm their deaths pending a formal examination, as per Japanese custom.

Public broadcaster NHK and the Kyodo news agency later re-ported that four, all male, had been confi rmed dead.

An offi cial in the area said res-cue eff orts had been called off due to rising levels of toxic gas near the peak, as well as approaching nightfall.

Hundreds of people, including children, were stranded on the mountain, a popular hiking site, after it erupted without warning on Saturday, sending ash pour-ing down the slope for more than 3km (2 miles.)

Wrapped blanketsMost made their way down later on Saturday but about 40 spent the night near the 3,067 metre (10,062 feet) peak. Some wrapped them-selves in blankets and huddled in the basement of buildings.

“The roof on the mountain lodge was destroyed by falling rock, so we had to take refuge below the

building,” one told NHK national television. “That’s how bad it was.”

More than 40 people were in-jured, several with broken bones.

Earlier, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency had said au-thorities were trying to confi rm the whereabouts of 45 people.

Still eruptingIt was not clear whether those 45 included the 31 people found in cardio-pulmonary arrest.

The volcano was still erupting on Sunday, pouring smoke and ash

hundreds of metres into the sky. Ash was found on cars as far as 80 km (50 miles) away.

Volcanoes erupt periodically in Japan, one of the world’s most seis-mically active nations, but there have been no fatalities since 1991, when 43 people died in a pyroclas-tic fl ow, a superheated current of gas and rock, at Mount Unzen in the southwest of the country.

Ontake, Japan’s second-highest volcano, last erupted seven years ago. Its last major eruption was in 1979.Satoshi Saito, a 52-year-old

hiker who climbed Ontake on Sat-urday and descended less than an hour before the eruption, said the weather was good and the moun-tain, known for its autumn foliage, was crowded with people carrying cameras.

No warnings“There were no earthquakes or strange smells on the mountain when I was there,” Saito, who usu-ally climbs Ontake several times a year, said.

He also said there were no warn-

ings of possible eruptions posted on the trail.

“But a man who runs a hotel near the mountain told me that the number of small earthquakes had risen these past two months, and everyone thought it was weird,” Saito said.

Video footage on the Internet showed huge grey clouds boiling towards climbers at the peak and people scrambling to descend as blackness enveloped them. NHK footage showed windows in a mountain lodge darkening and

people screaming as heavy objects pelted the roof.

“All of a sudden ash piled up so quickly that we couldn’t even open the door,” Shuichi Mukai, who worked in a mountain lodge just below the peak, said. The building quickly fi lled with hikers taking refuge. “We were really packed in, maybe 150 people. There were some children crying, but most people were calm. We waited there in hard hats until they told us it was safe to come down.”

Flights delayedFlights at Tokyo’s Haneda air-port suff ered delays on Saturday as planes changed routes to avoid the volcano, but were mostly back to normal by Sunday, an airport spokeswoman said.

Japan lies on the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped band of fault lines and volcanoes circling the edges of the Pacifi c Ocean, and is home to 110 active volcanoes.

One of these, Sakurajima at the southern end of the western island of Kyushu, is 50 km (31 miles) from Kyushu Electric Power’s Sendai nuclear plant, which was approved to restart by Japan’s nuclear regu-lator earlier in September.

The Nuclear Regulation Au-thority has said the chance of vol-canic activity during the Sendai plant’s lifespan is negligible, even though fi ve giant calderas, crater-like depressions formed by past eruptions, are also nearby.

Kyushu Electric has said it will install new monitoring equipment around nearby calderas and devel-op plans to remove highly radioac-tive fuel to a safer site if the threat of an eruption is detected.

There are no nuclear plants near Ontake. An offi cial at the vol-cano division of the Japan Mete-orological Agency said that, while there had been a rising number of small earthquakes detected at Ontake since September 10, the eruption could not have been pre-dicted easily.

“There were no other signs of an imminent eruption, such as earth movements or changes on the mountain’s surface,” the offi cial said. “With only the earthquakes, we couldn’t really say this would lead to an eruption.” — Reuters

Police said the 31

were found in ‘cardio-

pulmonary arrest’, but

declined to confi rm

their deaths pending

a formal examination,

as per Japanese

custom

LUCKY TO SURVIVE: A hiker is lifted by a rescue helicopter of Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) during a rescue operation at Mt. Ontake,

which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures, central Japan Sunday. — Reuters/Kyodo

ATHENS FLYING WEEK The Royal Jordanian Falcons perform during the Athens Flying Week aviation event over

the Tatoi airport in Athens, Greece, on Sunday. — Reuters

Troops deployed as militants threaten to kill German hostageMANILA: The Philippines dis-patched an estimated 1,000-plus extra soldiers to its troubled south on Sunday to strengthen security after extremist militants threatened to kill one of two Ger-man hostages, the military said.

Two other army battalions meanwhile deployed in nearby southern areas, it added.

“This is a redeployment that is part of an ongoing plan which is anchored on our mandate to address internal and external se-curity situations,” it said without elaborating.

The reinforcements will allow Philippine Marines who have been fi ghting the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu as well as on Basilan, another southern island, “to concentrate on their main tasks”, northern Philippines military spokesman Major Calixto Cadano told AFP.

He declined to disclose the ex-act number of troops sent to the south, citing operational secu-rity. One of the smaller units was fl own to the south on Saturday,

he added. The statement said all three units that were sent to the south had come from the north-ern Philippines where security offi cials said a long-running com-munist insurgency has largely pe-tered out.

Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin had announced on Fri-day that, to “stop the Abu Sayyaf once and for all”, army troops will be dispatched to Sulu to help the marines there.

Gazmin has announced the Philippines would not negotiate with the Abu Sayyaf over its de-mands for about $5.62 million in ransom for the Germans.

He also downplayed alleged links between the group, which is blamed for the Philippines’ worst terror attacks, to Islamic State extremists fi ghting in Iraq and Syria. — AFP

P H I L I P P I N E S ’ A B U S A Y Y A F E X T R E M I S T S

A military statement

said an army brigade,

a unit that usually

comprises between

800 to 1,500 troops,

was flown to the

remote Sulu islands

Ties with US needs reset 2.0: LavrovMOSCOW: Moscow called on Sunday for a new “reset 2.0” in re-lations with Washington, saying the situation in Ukraine that had led to Western sanctions against Russia was improving thanks to Kremlin peace initiatives.

Washington and Brussels ac-cuse Moscow of supporting a pro-Russian rebellion in east Ukraine and have imposed sanc-tions, which they have repeatedly tightened since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in March.

The confl ict has brought rela-tions between Moscow and the West to their lowest level since the end of the Cold War. US Presi-dent Barack Obama said last week that the sanctions could be lifted if Russia takes the path of peace and diplomacy.

In television interviews, For-eign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was time to repeat the “reset”, a

word Washington used to describe an attempt to mend ties early in Obama’s presidency.

But he also lashed out at Nato’s “Cold War mentality”, criticised Washington for excluding Russia’s ally Bashar Al Assad from its cam-paign against Islamic State fi ght-ers in Syria, and said Washington “can no longer act as the prosecu-tor, the judge, and the executioner in every part of the world”.

“We are absolutely interested in bringing the ties to normal but it was not us who destroyed them. Now they require what the Ameri-

can would probably call a ‘reset’,” Lavrov said, according to a tran-script of one interview on his min-istry’s website.

“The current US administration is destroying today much of the co-operation structure that it created itself along with us. Most likely, something more will come up — a reset no. 2 or a reset 2.0,” he told Russia’s Channel 5 television.

In a diplomatic gaff e much mocked at the time, the button bore a Russian label that said “overload” instead of “reset”; the two words are similar in Russian.

Lavrov said that thanks to “ini-tiatives of the Russian president”, the situation was improving on the ground in Ukraine, where a ceasefi re has been in place for several weeks.

The September 5 truce is largely holding though some fi ghting has continued in places including the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.

“The ceasefi re is taking shape, though of course not without prob-lems. Monitoring mechanisms have been introduced, talks be-tween Russia, the European Union and Ukraine have started, gas talks have restarted,” Lavrov said.

West says thousands of Rus-sian troops have fought in Ukraine and accuse Moscow of sending weapons, including a surface-to-air missile used to shoot down a Malaysian airliner over rebel-held territory in July. Moscow denies participating in the confl ict or arming the rebels. — Reuters

K R E M L I N P E A C E I N I T I A T I V E S

Shortly after Obama took office in 2009, his then Secretary

of State Hilary Clinton presented Lavrov with a red ‘reset’

button intended to signal a fresh start to relations that had

been strained under Obama’s predecessor George W. Bush

Cameron sorry for revealing Elizabeth’s Scotland commentsBIRMINGHAM: British Prime Minister David Cameron on Sun-day apologised for revealing de-tails of Queen Elizabeth’s relief that Scotland had voted to keep the United Kingdom intact, say-ing he was kicking himself very hard for the breach of protocol.

Cameron was last week caught on a live microphone tell-ing former New York mayor Mi-chael Bloomberg that the Queen had “purred down the line” to him when he spoke to her following the results of the September 18 referendum, in which Scots voted to reject independence.

“It’s one of those moments where you look back and kick yourself very hard,” Cameron said on BBC television.

“It was not a conversation I should have had, even though it was a private conversation and I’m extremely sorry and very em-barrassed about it. I’ve made my apologies and I think I’ll probably be making some more.” — Reuters

B R E A C H O F P R O T O C O L

David Cameron

The current US administration is destroying today much of the cooperation structure that it created itself along with us. Most likely, something more will come up — a reset no. 2 or a reset 2.0

Sergei Lavrov, Russia Foreign Minister

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Clooney, Amal delight crowds

VENICE: George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin delighted crowds of onlookers as they took to the waters of Venice on Sunday to show off their wedding rings for their fi rst day as a married couple.

The Hollywood heartthrob and his bride cut an elegant pair at the prow of a vintage water taxi as they led a fl otilla of boats down the Grand Canal, after dancing nearly till dawn during a star-studded overnight ceremony and party. Lebanese-British lawyer Alamuddin looked eff ortlessly graceful in a long-sleeved white

lace dress covered with pink and red fl owers in her fi rst appear-ance as Mrs Clooney, while the US actor was suave as ever in a fi nely cut grey suit.

BeggedThe 53-year-old was begged by the crowd to show off his ring, a wide band in white gold, but jok-ingly looked at his right hand in

surprise—after so many years as a bachelor, you could forgive him for taking a while to get used to being married.

Alamuddin’s ring was more del-icate and looked like it featured a band of small diamonds. They are expected to spend their honey-moon in Morocco’s former impe-rial city of Marrakech, according to a source. The pair said “I do” late Saturday at a private ceremo-ny in Venice’s palatial Aman Ca-nal Grande hotel, before celebrat-ing with a star-strewn guestlist in one of the eagerly awaited celeb-rity weddings in years. — AFP

The Hollywood

heartthrob and his

bride cut an elegant

pair at the prow of a

vintage water taxi

as they led a fl otilla

of boats down the

Grand Canal

Whistleblower app seeks to outsmart corruption

KAMPALA: Douglas Buule, a teacher at Kiwenda primary, a government school outside Uganda’s capital Kampala, has a recurring problem.

“The money used to access the chalk comes late, even to-wards the end of term,” explains Buule. “It is a big burden to keep on writing on a chalk board. So sometimes the head teacher buys chalk on credit or even uses her own money.”

Funds arriving late or going missing altogether also mean the school’s 529 students usu-ally only take exams twice a term instead of monthly, said the teacher. “There is lack of transparency in many govern-ment institutions on the funds that are supplied and used,” said Buule, complaining of the coun-try’s endemic corruption. “That lack of transparency is aff ecting day-to-day learning.”

But now, a new project is shifting the balance of power.

Through the Action for Transparency (A4T) Smart-phone app, being piloted in three Ugandan districts, com-munities are being armed with information allowing them to report anonymously when budget allocations for health centres and schools fail to match public expenditure. — AFP

T R A N S P A R E N C Y

New social network dubbed ‘anti-Facebook’ gets viral surgeWASHINGTON: In a matter of days, the new social network Ello, described as the “anti-Facebook” for its stand on privacy and ad-vertising, has become perhaps the hottest ticket on the Internet.

Created last year as a “private” social network, Ello (www.ello.co) recently opened its doors on an invitation-only basis.

Because of the limited supply

and strong demand, the invitations have been selling on eBay at prices up to $500. Some reports said Ello is getting up to 35,000 requests per hour as a result of a viral surge in the past week. Ello appears to have caught on with its simple message which seems to take aim at frus-trations of Facebook users. “Ello doesn’t sell ads. Nor do we sell data about you to third parties,”

the company says. Its “manifesto” states: “We believe a social net-work can be a tool for empower-ment. Not a tool to deceive, coerce, and manipulate—but a place to connect, create, and celebrate life. You are not a product.”

Ello’s policy states that the practice of collecting and selling personal data and mapping your social connections for profi t “is

both creepy and unethical. Under the guise of off ering a ‘free’ service, users pay a high price in intrusive advertising and lack of privacy.”

Based in Vermont, Ello was launched by a group of artists and programmers led by Paul Budnitz, whose previous experi-ence include designing bicycles and robots. Budnitz says on his page that Ello was designed to be

“simple, beautiful and ad-free.” Nathan Jurgenson, a social media researcher at the University of Maryland, welcomed Ello’s fresh approach. “I love these moments of new social media when conver-sation explodes, moved to imagine how social media can be diff erent, questioning core assumptions instead of just fretting and com-plaining—all before this paint even

dries,” he said on his Ello page. “Ello is getting so much atten-

tion precisely because it promises social media of a diff erent politics. We’ve collectively come to the realization that the rise of social media has been accompanied by handing far too much power to far too few people, and there’s energy to shake things up, even if just a bit.” — AFP

H O T T E S T T I C K E T

MARRIAGE OF THE YEAR: Wedding rings are seen on the hands

of US actor George Clooney, right, and his wife Amal Alamud-

din as they stand in a water taxi on the Grand Canal in Venice on

Sunday. – Reuters

MAKING WAVES: US actor George Clooney and his wife Amal Alamuddin stand in a water taxi on the

Grand Canal in Venice on Sunday. – Reuters


ARTICLE, PHOTOS


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OMAN MARKET NOT BIG ENOUGH FOR BUDGET AIRLINEOman’s small size of airline market and stringent labour laws are not favourable for starting a budget carrier. >B3

Iran, Sultanate set to sign pact on shipping service


MUSCAT: Iran and Oman are planning to establish a shipping line to facilitate maritime trade between the two countries, said Ali Akbar Sibeveih, Iranian am-bassador to the Sultanate.

Discussions for the establish-ment of the shipping line started six months ago and an agreement is expected to be signed in three months, Sibeveih told Times of Oman. He said that the shipping line will be operating between four Omani ports — Sohar, Sultan Qaboos, Musandam, and Shinas — and the Iranian ports of Chaba-har, Bandar Abbas, Bandar Imam Khomeini, and one other port.

According to Sibeveih, a num-ber of visits between Iranian and Omani offi cials will take place by April 2015 with the aim of

strengthening ties in various ar-eas, including the trade and eco-nomic sectors.

Omani Minister of Commerce and Industry Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy recently said that more Omani and Iranian trade del-egations should visit each other’s countries to explore investment opportunities.

Khasab portCommenting on the trade between Khasab and the Iranian island of Qeshm, the minister said that it is a traditional trade and will hope-fully be more regulated in the fu-ture, especially after the issue of sanctions against Iran is resolved.

“We hope that as we expand the port of Khasab in the next fi ve-year plan and as we add more fa-cilities and Iran gets out of some of its sanctions, the trade will be more regulated,” Al Sunaidy said.

According to the latest statis-tics of Oman’s Ministry of Com-merce and Industry, the value of Oman’s imports from Iran stood at OMR215,774,867 in 2013, showing a 172.2 per cent increase compared to 2012 when it stood at OMR79,262,355.

Also Oman’s exports to Iran (exports and re-exports) totalled

OMR124,261,002 in 2013, an in-crease of 8.4 per cent as against OMR114,673,887 in 2012. So the value of bilateral trade stood at OMR340,035,869 in 2013, com-pared to OMR193,936,242 in 2012.

Transit corridor Commenting on the planned tran-sit corridor that will run from

Uzbekistan across Turkmenistan and then to Oman via Iran, he said that the project will help signifi -cantly boost trade between these countries and will enhance their trade ties with other neighbouring countries. The overall framework of the project will soon be submit-ted to the transport ministers of the four countries and their for-eign ministers, he said. The es-tablishment of the corridor will facilitate goods transit between these countries and even to Tur-key, Russia, Afghanistan, Paki-stan, Iraq and other countries.

In early August, the foreign ministers of Oman, Iran, Turk-menistan and Uzbekistan held a meeting in Muscat as part of their continuing negotiations to further develop business and economic relations through establishment of a corridor for transportation and transit.

The four foreign ministers signed a memorandum of un-derstanding (MoU) for Ashgabat Agreement on Establishment of the international transport and transit corridor among the parties.

Discussions to establish the shipping line

started six months ago and an agreement

is expected to be signed in three months,

said Iranian ambassador to the Sultanate

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com [email protected]

CONFIDENT: Ali Akbar Sibeveih said that a number of visits

between Iranian and Omani offi cials will take place by April 2015

with the aim of strengthening ties in various areas, including the

trade and economic sectors. – O. K. MOHAMMED Ali/Times of Oman

Promoting Oman as business events destination in Europe

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) has taken an initiative to promote the Sultanate as a business tourism destination in Europe.

The centre is exhibiting the potential of Oman as a major in-ternational business events des-tination to more than 100 key decision makers, international as-sociations, exhibition organisers and global media in a four-leg Eu-ropean city tour.

A series of exclusive client events are being hosted in col-laboration with the Ministry of Tourism starting in London, fol-lowed by Paris on September 30, Geneva on October 1 and conclud-ing in Brussels on October 2 to promote the capabilities of Oman and OCEC as an international con-gress destination and venue.

“OCEC is being developed in a unique setting that very few con-vention centres in the world can match. We will be able to off er four hotels, a shopping mall and com-mercial business park in the sur-rounding precinct, just four kilo-metres from the newly expanded Muscat International Airport,” said Gillian Taylor, OCEC director of business development.

As one of the world’s emerging convention destinations, the Sul-tanate of Oman is fast developing into a distinctive business tourism destination.

R O A D S H O W S

Oman Oil inks $1.85 billion revolving credit facilityTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Oman Oil Company, the Sultanate’s energy invest-ment arm, has signed a $1.85 bil-lion Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) with 16 local, regional and international banks.

The transaction was well-re-ceived by the market and Oman Oil Company observed strong demand from banks to partici-pate reaching oversubscription of $3.75 billion.

Eng. Isam Al Zadjali, chief ex-ecutive offi cer of Oman Oil Com-pany said, “The success of this in-augural facility is based on Oman Oil Company’s strategy to invest for the future of Oman by building a diversifi ed portfolio of operating companies, investments and pro-jects both locally and internation-ally. This agreement signifi es the confi dence of the fi nancial com-munity in our solid track-record

in the energy sector, as well as the Sultanate’s growing and stable economy.” “We take this oppor-tunity to thank the participating banks for their strong support and message of commitment and look forward to strengthening our relationship with all the banks in the future,” he added.

Lead arrangersInitial mandated lead arrangers and book runners included Bank of America Merrill Lynch Inter-national, Bank Muscat, BNP Pari-bas, Citibank, London branch, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank Luxembourg, Gulf International Bank, HSBC Bank Middle East, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley Bank International, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Natixis, Soci-ete Generale, Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and The Bank Of To-

kyo-Mitsubishi. Sumitomo Mit-sui Banking Corporation Europe is acting as facility agent. HSBC Bank Middle East Limited, J.P. Morgan and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi acted as documenta-tion coordinators.

The transaction concluded with the support of external legal coun-sel, Allen & Overy and Dentons on behalf of Oman Oil Company, and Linklaters and Trowers & Ham-lins on behalf of the lenders.

Oman Oil Company is a com-mercial company wholly owned by the government and estab-lished in 1996 to pursue invest-ment opportunities in the wider energy sector both inside and outside Oman. Oman Oil Com-pany plays an important role in the Sultanate’s eff orts to diversify the economy and to promote do-mestic and foreign investments as well as fostering and building human capital.

S Y N D I C A T E D L O A N

SIGNING SESSION: Oman Oil Company signed a $1.85 billion revolving credit facility with 16 local,

regional and international banks. – Supplied photo

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alizz islamic bank starts branch operation in Seeb

Times News Service

MUSCAT: alizz islamic bank has announced the opening of the Al Khoudh branch, Al Hail South, in Al Seeb.

The newly inaugurated branch opening took place on September 25 under the auspices of Sheikh Ibrahim bin Yahya Al Ruwahi, wali of Seeb, in the presence of Naima Al Busaidy, member of Ma-jlis Al Shura (Seeb) and Salaam Al Shaksy, chief executive offi cer of alizz islamic bank.

The inauguration ceremony was also attended and presided by senior offi cials of the bank and other dignitaries and well-wish-ers, said a bank release.

“alizz islamic bank’s presence in Seeb region today is not a co-incidence. I am energised about the opportunity to expand our services into the Seeb market and beyond. This is part of our stra-tegic initiative to reach new cus-tomers with our innovative and value added product and services further boosting the alizz islamic bank brand in the region.

“We have invested signifi cantly in this new branch and look for-

ward to growing with our cus-tomers in the years ahead,” said Al Shaksy.

HonourCelebrating its fi rst year, alizz is-lamic bank has shown continuous growth including receiving the prestigious ‘Best Branch Automa-tion Project’ in the Middle East region by the Asian Banker 2014. Amr Al Kindy, branch manager has been appointed to lead the new branch while Salem Al Sina-wi as assistant branch manager.

Amr Al Kindy brings over 8 years of retail banking experi-

ence most recently at alizz islamic bank as assistant branch manager - CBD area.

Moosa Al Jadidi, deputy general manager – head of Retail Bank, alizz islamic bank said: “We are proud to add a new branch to our network. We are glad to be present in Al Seeb and our goal is to provide the best possible customer experi-ence. Today this branch is not only defi ning alizz islamic bank’s excel-lence through quality but also as an organisation has a deep rooted intent to continue to pursue excel-lence and improve continuously to serve its customers.”

The newly inauturated branch is located on the main road of Barakat road after the Shell Petrol station in Al Hail South and will be serving with the highest stand-ards of customer service and will provide a complete range of prod-ucts and services.

The branch will be operating from Sunday to Thursday.

This is part of the

bank’s strategic

initiative to reach

new customers with

its innovative and

value added products

SPREADING WINGS: Celebrating its fi rst year, alizz islamic bank has shown continuous growth, in-

cluding receiving the prestigious ‘Best Branch Automation Project’ in the Middle East region by the

Asian Banker 2014. – Supplied photo


Italian businesses keen to invest in Oman Times News Service

MUSCAT: A number of Italian offi cials and businessmen have expressed their intention to in-vest in the Sultanate in various sectors, especially in the fast-growing Port of Duqm.

The businessmen were briefed about the investment opportuni-ties during a promotional cam-paign organised by the Special Economic Zone Authority in Duqm (Sezad) in collaboration with the Omani embassy in Italy.

The campaign, which took place recently at the Marmomacc In-ternational Trade Fair for Stone, Design and Technology in Verona, Italy, resulted in placing Sezad on the investment map of the Italian investors and public offi cials.

Yahya bin Said bin Abdullah Al Jabri, chairman of Sezad, said that the promotional campaign which was organised in Rome from September 22 to 26, was successful and opened the door for further cooperation between the Sultanate and Italy.

“The Italian offi cials and busi-nessmen were very responsive to the campaign and many of them expressed their interest to visit Oman in general and Duqm in particular to explore investment potentials, especially in fi sh-ing marinas, aquaculture, roads, infrastructure, railway and the small and medium enterprises (SME) fi elds,” he added.

“The meetings with the Italian offi cials and businessmen high-lighted how Italian companies can benefi t from Duqm’s strate-gic location in setting up export-based projects that target Asian

markets near Oman,” he added.

‘Duqm Invites You’The ‘Duqm Invites You’ promo-tional campaign came at a time when reciprocal trade between the Sultanate and Italy has hit €576 million and can potentially grow further. The number of Ital-ian brands, investors and tourists coming to the Sultanate have also witnessed a remarkable increase over the past few years.

Al Jabri furthered noted that an agreement was signed between the two sides to appoint repre-sentatives to help coordinate Ital-

ian investments in Sezad. During the campaign, the Om-

ani delegation, comprising repre-sentatives of many agencies, held a number of meetings with the of-fi cials at the Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure and Transport and specialised companies operating in ports, infrastructure and in-dustry. The Omani delegation also made presentations on the under-way and planned projects in Duqm as well as the investment environ-ment in the Sultanate in general.

The Omani and Italian sides also agreed to organise a visit for Italian offi cials and businessmen to Sezad early next year to explore investment opportunities. An-other delegation will also visit the Sultanate next November in coor-dination with the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The programme will include a visit to Duqm as well.

The Italian delegation hailed the outcomes of the visit and said that they are looking forward to more cooperation in business, economy and investment fi elds.

O V E R S E A S I N V E S T M E N T

B3M O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 14

MARKET

Budget airline in Oman not feasible, says CEO

A. E. [email protected]

MUSCAT: Oman’s small size of airline market and stringent la-bour laws are not favourable for starting a budget carrier.

The small size of the domestic market, the stringent labour law (which does not allow to get cheap labour on cash and carry basis), low level of air ticket reservation on Internet and bilateral agree-ments with countries on fl ying rights are not favourable for oper-ating a viable budget carrier, said

Oman Air chief executive offi cer Paul Gregorowitsch. Earlier, he said that Oman Air is not planning to set up a low cost carrier.

“The Ministry of Manpower does not allow Omanis to work on cash and carry basis,” he said, add-ing: “If we want to start a budget

airline, it will be at the cost of Oman Air.”

Addressing a press conference to announce the airline’s future plans, Gregorowitsch said for a budget airline to make revenue, it has to secure licences and permis-sion to fl y to several destinations

in other countries. “If we have these restrictions, how can we fl y between New Delhi and Muscat six or seven times a day.” Also, he said for the success of a budget carrier, everyone should go for Internet booking and need free access to destinations. Ab-dulrahman Al Busaidy, chief op-erating offi cer of Oman Air, also addressed the media. Oman Air is providing connectivity within the country and the region. He also said that Oman Air’s contribution to the local economy last year was OMR400 million, which mainly by way of job creation, tourist in-fl ow and more business activities like travel agency business.

Oman Air chief also noted that the airline plans to enhance Om-anisation to 70 per cent within three years from 60 per cent now. The airline faces challenges in achieving high Omanisation level in female cabin crew position, while the ratio of Omanis working in call centre is high.

Sultanate’s small

size of airline market

and stringent

labour laws are not

favourable for a

budget carrier, said

Oman Air CEO

CANDID: Paul Gregorowitsch, left, said for the success of a budget

carrier, everyone should go for Internet booking and need free ac-

cess to destinations. – TALIB AL WOHAIBI/Times of Oman


ECB plans to inject cash into economyFRANKFURT: European Cen-tral Bank (ECB) will this week unveil details of its plans to inject cash into the moribund eurozone economy, even as analysts express doubt about the eff ectiveness of the measures.

Following its surprise rate cut last month, the ECB is not ex-pected to announce any new pol-icy moves at its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, held this time in the Italian city of Naples instead of its usual home venue in Frankfurt.

But fi nancial markets are hop-ing that ECB president Mario Draghi will provide more details about the bank’s contested liquid-ity programmes, notably its plans to buy asset-backed securities as a way of kick-starting lending in the 18 countries that share the euro.

And some ECB watchers will be listening out for any hints that the bank may embark on a much wid-er programme of so-called quanti-tative easing (QE) or the purchase of unlimited amounts of bonds, a policy already practised by other central banks such as the United States Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.

At its meeting last month, the ECB surprised the markets by cutting its key interest rates to new all-time lows and unveiling an ABS programme and a covered bond programme to ward off de-fl ation in the single currency area.

And Draghi also appeared to hint at quantitative easing by say-ing the ECB would use “additional unconventional instruments within its mandate”.

Asset-backed securities (ABS)

are bundles of individual loans such as mortgages, auto credit and credit card debt that are sold on to investors, allowing banks to share the risk of default and freeing up funds to off er more credit.

Asset-backed securities The ECB believes that the market for such securities — an impor-tant source of fi nancing for banks to keep lending to small and medi-um-sized enterprises — has eff ec-tively dried up since the fi nancial crisis.

And the ECB hopes that by buy-ing them on a large scale, it can help revive the market and free up some of the credit channels which have seized up during the long years of crisis.

The problem is that it was pre-cisely complex fi nancial deriva-

tives such as ABS which are seen as the root of the sub-prime crisis in the US in 2008, leading many observers, particularly in Germa-ny, to harbour deep reservations about them.

Analysts are also unconvinced that the ABS programme would be big enough to solve the problem of stymied credit. “ABS backed by loans to small and medium-sized enterprises are desirable, but un-fortunately not available on any meaningful scale,” said Willem Buiter of Citigroup.

Another of its liquidity meas-ures, the so-called Targeted Long-Term Refi nancing Operation (TL-TRO) under which the ECB made ultra-cheap loans available to banks in the hope that they would lend it on to businesses, disap-pointed market expectations. – AFP

E U R O Z O N E

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MARKETM O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

MSM indexends lower

MUSCAT: The MSM 30 Index was marginally down by 0.02 per cent to close at 7,457.70 points. The MSM Shariah index closed at 1,084.93 points, down by 0.04 per cent. HSBC Bank Oman was the most active in terms of vol-ume as well as turnover. ONIC Holding, up by 2.38 per cent was the top gainer, while Al Batinah Power lost the most, having gone down 2.15 per cent.

Altogether 746 trades were executed in the session generat-ing a turnover of OMR10.48 mil-lion with 46.65 million shares changing hands. Out of 54 traded stocks, 9 advanced, 15 declined and 30 remained unchanged.

At the close of the session, Omani investors were net buy-ers to the tune of OMR6.27 mil-lion while GCC and Arab inves-tors sold shares amounting to OMR6.24 million followed by foreign investors at OMR30,000 worth of shares.

The fi nancial Index closed relatively fl at at 9,269.53 points, down by 0.03 per cent. ONIC Holding, Al Izz Islamic Bank, Ominvest, Al Madina Takaful and Bank Muscat increased by 2.38 per cent, 2 per cent, 0.91 per cent, 0.88 per cent and 0.52 per cent respectively. Al Madina Investments, Bank Nizwa, Dho-far Insurance, Gulf Investment Services and Al Anwar Holding declined by 1.05 per cent, 1.04 per cent, 0.87 per cent, 0.82 per cent and 0.62 per cent respectively.

Industrial Index closed at 10,217.90 points, up by 0.06 per cent. Sweets of Oman, Al Ja-zeera Steel and Raysut Cement increased by 1.96 per cent, 1.29 per cent and 0.45 per cent respec-tively. Al Hassan Engineering, Oman Fisheries and National Aluminium declined by 1.33 per cent, 1.11 per cent and 1.05 per cent respectively.

Services Sector Index was down by 0.09 per cent to close

at 3,797.16 points. SMN Power Holdings, up by 0.63 per cent, was the only gainer for the day. Al Batinah Power, Al Suwaidi Pow-er, Omantel, Al Jazeera Services and OIFC declined by 2.15 per cent, 1.08 per cent, 0.90 per cent, 0.90 per cent and 0.40 per cent respectively.

Dubai stocks rise Dubai shares advanced for the fi rst time in three days, led by Emaar Properties, as the United Arab Emirates’ largest devel-oper prepared to price its malls unit share sale. Qatar stocks de-creased for a sixth day.

The Dubai Financial Mar-ket General Index added 0.3 per cent to 5,069.43, headed for the highest close in fi ve days. Emaar, which will announce pricing on the initial public off ering of its retail unit tomorrow, climbed 1.3 per cent. Qatar’s QE Index dropped 0.3 per cent.

Emaar, which owns one of the world’s biggest shopping cent-ers in Dubai, is seeking to raise as much as $1.58 billion from the sale. Emaar Malls will probably be priced at the top of the range at Dh2.9 per share, according to a term sheet. The share off ering at-tracted bids exceeding Dh368 bil-lion ($100.1 billion) even before it closed, ‘Al Khaleej’ newspaper reported on Saturday, citing uni-dentifi ed bankers.

“Investors are heartened by the reports of IPO coverage, which refl ects investors’ interest and indicates that it will continue to rise after it lists this week,” Waleed Al Khateeb, Dubai-based senior fi nance manager at Da-man Securities, said by telephone yesterday. Even if Emaar prices the shares at the top end of the range, it still leaves enough on the table for investors, he said. Sub-scription to Emaar Malls’ public off ering ended on September 26.

- United Securities/Bloomberg News

HSBC Bank Oman was the most active in

terms of volume as well as turnover. ONIC

Holding, up by 2.38%, was the top gainer

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REGULAR MARKET .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Security Name .................................................... Volume .....Turnover ... Trades ......... High .........Low ..........Close ......... Prev. .......... Diff . ............ Diff .............Last ..........Last ............ Last ................ Market Cap .........Par........................................................................................................................................................................................ Pr. ............ Close ........... RO ............... % .................Pr ..............Bid ............ Off er ............................................value

ONIC. HOLDING ...............................................224,590 ............. 96,426...............18 ............0.430 ......... 0.420 ............0.430 ............ 0.420 ............ 0.010 ............. 2.381.............. 0.430 ............ 0.422 ............. 0.428 ............... 74,571,997.500 ......0.100SWEETS OF OMAN ............................................... 7,848 ............. 10,202................. 1 ............1.300 ......... 1.300 ............ 1.300 .............1.275 ............ 0.025 ............. 1.961 .............. 1.300 ............ 1.300 ..............1.320 ................. 9,100,000.000 ......0.100AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS .........................175,102 ............. 82,273...............10 ............0.470 ......... 0.464 ............0.470 ............ 0.464 ............ 0.006 ............. 1.293.............. 0.470 ............ 0.460 ..............0.470 ...............58,702,041.200 ......0.100OMINVEST ....................................................... 12,800 ................5,682.................5 ............0.450 ......... 0.440 ............0.444 ............ 0.440 ............ 0.004 .............0.909 ............. 0.450 ............ 0.444 ..............0.450 .............149,513,892.000 ......0.100SMN POWER HOLDING ................................... 209,910 ........... 134,702.................5 ............0.652 ......... 0.640 ............0.640 .............0.636 ............ 0.004 .............0.629 ............. 0.652 ............ 0.652 ..............0.668 ............. 127,766,784.000 ......0.100BANK MUSCAT ............................................... 421,584 ...........325,425...............21 ............ 0.772.......... 0.768 ............ 0.772 .............0.768 ............ 0.004 ............. 0.521...............0.768 ............ 0.768 ..............0.772 .......... 1,685,035,281.136 ......0.100RAYSUT CEMENT ..............................................31,238 ............. 68,974.................4 ............2.210 .........2.200 ............ 2.210 ............ 2.200............ 0.010 ............. 0.455 ............. 2.210 ............2.200 ..............2.210 ........... 442,000,000.000 ......0.100AHLI BANK ..................................................... 220,800 ............. 54,790.................7 ............0.250 ......... 0.248 ............0.248 ............ 0.248 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.248 ............ 0.248 ............. 0.250 .............321,280,876.192 ......0.100AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ................................ 16,762 ................ 9,514.................4 ............0.570 ......... 0.564 ............0.568 .............0.568 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.570 ............ 0.570 ..............0.572 .............140,207,809.480 ......0.100ASAFFA FOODS .................................................... 2,000 ................1,880.................5 ............0.940 ......... 0.940 ............0.940 ............ 0.940 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.940 ............ 0.920 ............. 0.940 ............ 112,800,000.000 ......0.100BANK DHOFAR .............................................1,380,636 ........... 530,164...............31 ............0.384 ......... 0.384 ............0.384 ............ 0.384 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.384 ............ 0.384 ..............0.386 ..............515,805,010.176 ......0.100DHOFAR CATTLE FEED ........................................5,000 ................... 850................. 1 ............ 0.170.......... 0.170 ............ 0.168 .............0.168 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ..............0.170 ............ 0.168 ..............0.175 ...............12,936,000.000 ......0.100GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. ......................74,431 ............. 16,942...............16 ............0.228 ......... 0.226 ............0.228 ............ 0.228 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.228 ............ 0.227 ............. 0.228 ............... 60,105,077.508 ......0.100GLOBAL FINANCIAL INVESTMENT ................... 30,000 ................3,900.................2 ............0.130.......... 0.130 ............ 0.130 .............0.130 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.130 ............ 0.128 ..............0.130 ..............26,000,000.000 ......0.100GULF MUSHROOM PRODUCTS ............................9,300 ................3,869.................5 ............ 0.416 .......... 0.416 ............ 0.416..............0.416 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ..............0.416 ............ 0.416 ..............0.450 ................11,307,479.040 ......0.100HSBC BANK OMAN ................................... 32,202,500 ........5,699,841.................3 ............ 0.177 .......... 0.176 ............ 0.180 .............0.180 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ..............0.177 ............ 0.177 ..............0.180 ............360,056,302.200 ......0.100NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ............................... 70,000 ..............27,580.................3 ............0.394 ......... 0.394 ............0.394 ............ 0.394 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.394 ............ 0.392 ............. 0.394 ............ 480,218,035.000 ......0.100NATIONAL GAS ............................................... 193,692 ........... 143,332.............. 27 ............0.740.......... 0.740 ............ 0.740 .............0.740 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.740 ............ 0.740 ..............0.744 ............... 33,715,446.360 ......0.100NAWRAS ...........................................................22,400 ..............15,049.................6 ............0.672 ......... 0.668 ............0.672 .............0.672 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.672 ............ 0.672 ..............0.676 ............ 437,434,522.560 ......0.100OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING ...........1,122,484 ........... 228,135.............. 55 ............0.205 ......... 0.202 ............0.203 ............ 0.203 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.203 ............ 0.203 ............. 0.205 ...............24,740,625.000 ......0.100OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY ................................. 10,000 ............. 25,950.................2 ............2.595 ......... 2.595 ............2.595 .............2.595 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 2.595 ............2.500 ............. 2.590 ............ 232,771,500.000 ......0.100OMAN CEMENT ..............................................213,734 ........... 162,438.................9 ............0.760.......... 0.760 ............ 0.760 .............0.760 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.760 ............ 0.756 ..............0.760 .............251,463,259.600 ......0.100OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ................................... 600 ...................264.................2 ............0.440 ......... 0.440 ............0.440 ............ 0.440 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.440 ............ 0.438 ............. 0.440 ..............44,000,000.000 ......0.100PORT SERVICES CORPORATION ........................ 90,446 ..............43,418.................3 ............0.482 ......... 0.480 ............0.480 ............ 0.480 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.480 ............ 0.478 ............. 0.480 ...............45,619,200.000 ......0.100RENAISSANCE SERVICES .................................. 20,682 ..............13,898.................4 ............0.672 ......... 0.672 ............0.672 .............0.672 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.672 ............ 0.672 ............. 0.680 ............. 189,567,473.088 ......0.100SOHAR POWER ................................................... 2,000 ................... 760................. 1 ............0.380 ......... 0.380 ............0.384 ............ 0.384 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.380 ............ 0.380 ............. 0.390 ...............84,867,840.000 ......0.100UNITED FINANCE ........................................1,291,808 ........... 183,395.................3 ............0.142...........0.141 ............ 0.142 .............0.142 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ..............0.141 ............ 0.141...............0.142 ................39,051,877.524 ......0.100VOLTAMP ENERGY ................................................. 330 ....................139.................6 ............0.422 ......... 0.422 ............0.428 .............0.428 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.422 ............ 0.422 ............. 0.430 .............. 25,894,000.000 ......0.100OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE ...............189,100 ............. 46,868.................9 ............0.249 ......... 0.247 ............0.248 ............ 0.249 ............-0.001 ...........-0.402 ............ 0.249 ............ 0.248 ............. 0.249 .............. 49,600,000.000 ......0.100BANK SOHAR ..................................................904,760 ........... 216,989.............. 36 ............0.240 ......... 0.238 ............0.240 .............0.241 ............-0.001 ........... -0.415 ............. 0.238 ............ 0.238 ..............0.239 ............274,560,000.000 ......0.100AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ................22,017 ................ 4,712.................6 ............0.214.......... 0.214 ............ 0.214 .............0.215 ............-0.001 ........... -0.465............. 0.214 ............ 0.214 ..............0.216 ............... 18,515,280.000 ......0.100AL ANWAR HOLDING ...................................1,593,000 ........... 507,493.............. 80 ............0.320 ......... 0.318 ............ 0.318............. 0.320 ........... -0.002 ........... -0.625..............0.318 ............ 0.318 ............. 0.320 ...............41,499,000.000 ......0.100GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ........................190,551 ..............46,132.............. 30 ............0.245 ......... 0.241 ............0.242 ............ 0.244........... -0.002 ...........-0.820 ............ 0.242 ............0.242 ............. 0.243 ............... 14,240,058.514 ......0.100DHOFAR INSURANCE .......................................40,000 ................ 9,120.................3 ............0.228 ......... 0.228 ............0.228 ............ 0.230 ........... -0.002 ........... -0.870 ............ 0.228 ............ 0.228 ............. 0.230 .............. 45,600,000.000 ......0.100AL JAZEERA SERVICES ...................................... 10,000 ............... 4,400................. 1 ............0.440 ......... 0.440 ............0.440 ............ 0.444 ........... -0.004 ........... -0.901 ............. 0.440 ............ 0.432 ............. 0.442 ...............26,929,880.120 ......0.100OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION .....................604,968 ...........999,628.............. 57 ............ 1.655 .......... 1.650 ............ 1.650..............1.665 ............-0.015 ........... -0.901 ..............1.655 ............ 1.650 ..............1.655 .........1,237,500,000.000 ......0.100NATIONAL ALUMINIUM PRODUCTS ................. 23,000 ................6,509.................2 ............0.283 ......... 0.283 ............0.283 ............ 0.286 ........... -0.003 ........... -1.049 ............. 0.283 ............ 0.283 ............. 0.286 ................. 9,500,720.350 ......0.100AL MADINA INVESTMENT .................................51,650 ................4,865.................5 ............0.095 ......... 0.094 ............0.094 .............0.095 ............-0.001 ........... -1.053 ............. 0.094 ............ 0.093 ............. 0.094 ............... 19,472,230.096 ......0.100SUM: ................................................................................ 41,691,723 ........9,736,509............488 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......................38.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK ....................................... 158,850 ..............16,203.................5 ............0.102 ......... 0.102 ............ 0.102 .............0.100 ............ 0.002 .............2.000 ............. 0.102 ............ 0.102 ..............0.104 ............102,000,000.000 ......0.100AL MADINA TAKAFUL ..................................... 143,625 .............. 16,319...............13 ............ 0.114 ...........0.113 ............ 0.114 ..............0.113 ............ 0.001 .............0.885 ..............0.114 .............0.113...............0.114 ...............19,950,000.000 ......0.100AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING .............................5,900 ................ 1,033.................5 ............ 0.175 .......... 0.175 ............ 0.175 ..............0.175 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ..............0.175 ............ 0.174 ..............0.175 .................5,250,000.000 ......0.100CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. ..................... 65,000 ................ 3,575.................5 ............0.055 ......... 0.055 ............ 0.055 .............0.055 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.055 ............ 0.054 ..............0.055 .................4,675,000.000 ......0.100MAJAN GLASS ................................................... 10,000 ................2,750................. 1 ............0.275 ......... 0.275 ............ 0.275 .............0.275 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.275 ............ 0.270 ..............0.275 ................11,556,407.500 ......0.100OMAN NATIONAL ENGINE. INVT. ..........................1,000 ....................314.................2 ............ 0.314.......... 0.314 ............ 0.310 .............0.310 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ..............0.314 ............ 0.312 ..............0.314 ..............24,800,000.000 ......0.100SEMBCORP SALALAH ........................................ 37,455 .............. 91,011............... 11 ............2.430 ......... 2.425 ............2.430 ............ 2.430 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 2.430 ............ 2.430 ............. 2.445 .............231,960,983.850 ......1.000BANK NIZWA ...............................................3,014,647 ............286,411.............. 34 ............0.096 ......... 0.095 ............0.095 .............0.096 ............-0.001 ........... -1.042 ............. 0.095 ............ 0.095 ..............0.096 ............142,500,000.000 ......0.100AL SUWADI POWER .......................................... 767,161 ........... 140,478.............. 75 ............0.184.......... 0.182 ............ 0.183..............0.185 ........... -0.002 ........... -1.081 ..............0.183 ............ 0.183 ..............0.185 .............130,736,360.220 ......0.100OMAN FISHERIES ................................................9,080 ................... 805.................3 ............0.089 ......... 0.088 ............0.089 ............ 0.090 ............-0.001 ............-1.111 ............. 0.089 ............ 0.088 ..............0.089 ............... 11,125,000.000 ......0.100AL HASSAN ENGINEERING ............................. 103,455 ..............15,347...............14 ............ 0.150.......... 0.147 ............ 0.148 .............0.150 ........... -0.002 ........... -1.333 ............. 0.148 ............ 0.148 ..............0.149 ................11,130,784.000 ......0.100AL BATINAH POWER ....................................... 510,694 ............. 92,857.............. 83 ............ 0.183 .......... 0.180 ............ 0.182 .............0.186 ........... -0.004 ........... -2.151 ............. 0.182 ............ 0.182 ..............0.183 .............122,829,512.260 ......0.100SUM: ................................................................................. 4,826,867 ........... 667,103............ 251 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......................12.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

THIRD MARKET .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. NATIONAL MINERAL WATER .............................. 7,960 ...................449.................2 ............0.057 ......... 0.056 ............0.056 .............0.056 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.056 ............ 0.038 ..............0.057 ................... 1,127,150.752 ......0.100SUM: .......................................................................................... 7,960 ...................449.................2 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. .........................1.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BONDS MARKET .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. BANK MUSCAT C C B 4.5 ........................................22,127 ................2,368.................2 ............ 0.107.......... 0.107 ............ 0.107 .............0.107 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.107 ............ 0.107 ............. 0.000 ............... 34,201,766.225 ......0.100BANK MUSCAT CONV. BONDS 4.5 ......................... 36,978 ................4,031.................2 ............0.109.......... 0.109 ............ 0.109 .............0.109 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ............. 0.109 ............ 0.109 ..............0.112 ...............32,999,653.099 ......0.100BANK MUSCAT SUBORDINATED BONDS ........... 66,500 ..............71,488................. 1 ............ 1.075 .......... 1.075 ............ 1.075 ..............1.075 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ..............1.075 ............ 1.025 ..............1.075 .............. 80,625,000.000 ......1.000SUM: ..................................................................................... 125,605 ..............77,886.................5 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........................ 3.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

O M A N S T O C K S

INDICESIndex .................................................High .................Low ..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff %MSM30 Index ........................................7,465.63 ...............7,456.46 .................... 7,457.70 ................... 7,458.90 .................. -1.20 .................. -0.02Financial Index ..................................... 9,276.11 .............. 9,263.89 ................... 9,269.53 ...................9,272.58 .................. -3.05 .................. -0.03Industrial Index .................................10,224.30 ............ 10,206.51 ................. 10,217.90 .................10,212.24 .................... 5.66 ................... 0.06Services Index ...................................... 3,800.54 ...............3,796.20 .................... 3,797.16 ...................3,800.54 .................. -3.38 .................. -0.09MSM SHARIAH INDEX....................1,085.43 ...............1,084.12 ................... 1,084.93 ................... 1,085.36 .................. -0.43 .................. -0.04

Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded46,652,155 ............... 10,481,946 .....................746 ................15,568,510,921 .................. 9 ......................15 .................... 30 .........................54

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Apple’s iPhone 6 proves tough to bend in lab testSAN FRANCISCO: Apple’s new iPhones, facing an Internet outcry about their malleability, proved diffi cult to bend and fi t for daily use in lab tests run by ‘Con-sumer Reports’ magazine.

Stress tests on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, along with comparable smartphones from competitors, showed that it took ‘signifi cant force’ to damage any of the de-vices, ‘Consumer Reports’ said in results of a study published on its website. HTC’s HTC One M8 and Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 were among the other devices.

“All the phones we tested showed themselves to be pretty tough,” the report said. “We ex-pect that any of these phones should stand up to typical use.”

Following uproar in social me-dia including claims the new iP-hone 6 Plus bends if it’s sat upon or if enough pressure is placed on it, Apple has said bending of its devices is ‘extremely rare’. Only

nine customers had contacted Apple about a bent iPhone 6 Plus, the Cupertino, California-based company said in a September 25 statement.

The iPhone 6 Plus began to de-form after 90 pounds of force was applied and the iPhone 6 stood up to pressure until 70 pounds was applied, the same as the HTC One M8, according to ‘Consumer Reports’. The Galaxy Note 3 was damaged at 150 pounds. All devic-es withstood 55 pounds, the force

needed to break three pencils, the magazine said.

“Bear in mind that it took sig-nifi cant force to do this kind of damage to all these phones,” ‘Consumer Reports’ said. “Both iPhones seem tougher than the Internet fracas implies.”

The iPhone 6 Plus, a 5.5-inch screen device, which is the big-gest smartphone in Apple’s line-up, became available for sale last week, along with the other new model, the iPhone 6. - Bloomberg News

S M A R T P H O N E

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMSECTION

E- IMESTECH STUFFTECH STUFF

BCHILDPROOFING A WINDOWS PHONEA lock-screen password, which you can activate in the Settings, can keep children out of the phone altogether. However, if you need to off er up your handset to keep the peace during spells of boredom, you can contain the youngster to a designated area of the device with the Kid’s Corner feature in Windows Phone 8.

M O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

Unless you live on Mars, you will have noticed that Apple has intro-duced new iPhones. And what do these

new phones need? Apps, of course. Here is my eclectic mix of recom-mendations for the owners of shiny new iDevices. One of the fi rst things you will probably want to do with your new phone is show it off . To demonstrate the graphics power of Apple’s new iOS 8, download Epic Zen Garden, free.

This app is a showy demo that places you in an astonishingly beau-tiful, Japanese-themed garden on the grounds of a modern-looking home. You tap on the screen to move around and interact with items.

Everything in Zen Garden is ren-dered inside the phone, rather than being downloaded. The graphics are eye-poppingly gorgeous, from thousands of butterfl ies that fl utter around in reaction to your touch, to koi darting in a pond. Though the number of special eff ects and in-teractive locations is limited, this app’s beautiful imagery should be more than enough to wow you and your friends. One of the fi rst iPhone

games that caught my imagina-tion years ago was Tower Madness, a crazy alien-and-sheep game in which powerful guns are placed on complex terrain to protect sheep from endless swarms of ravenous aliens. Now there is Tower Madness 2: 3D Alien TD Defence.

It’s the same idea, but with more zany eff ects and slicker graph-ics. Though it is not the highest of high tech, the game is hilarious. Be warned: It’s addictive.

Another way to explore your new iPhone is to play with its camera. ProCam2, which costs $2, is one of the best apps for doing this. This app provides more control over the set-tings of the iPhone’s built-in camera than your old compact camera prob-ably ever did.

With just a few taps you can con-trol the camera exposure, aperture, ISO speed and many other eff ects. You can even automatically add a time, date and copyright notice onto each frame. These controls mean you can shape images more crea-tively than with Apple’s own built-in camera app, and you may fi nd your-self taking more interesting photos as a result.

The touch-screen settings are easy to understand, but there are so many that it will take you a while to learn to use this app for the best ef-fects. You don’t want to take boring snaps to share on Instagram (an-other must-have for iPhone users, free). The image-manipulating app Fragment can help here.

Fragment transforms pictures to make them look as if they are being viewed through a set of distorting prisms, adding an unusual visual twist. The app’s simple interface makes it easy to control the distor-tion eff ects.

Apple improved its touch-screen

keyboard a lot for 2014, but you can also use diff erent ones bought from the App Store. My favourite is Swype, which allows you to slip your fi nger from one letter key to the next to sort of draw-to-type the text de-sired. It’s surprisingly powerful.

Minuum shrinks the keyboard so you can see more of the rest of the screen while typing. Minuum is weird, and you will rely on autocor-rect a lot to fi x mistyping, but it’s fun to use.

Hard to beat TwitterFor news on your new iPhone, it’s hard to beat Twitter for breaking

news shared by users locally and around the world. It’s free, and I fi nd Twitter a much more rewarding so-cial network to interact with than Facebook’s friend-based system.

Flipboard is another great news source that collates news articles from across the web into one very graphical magazine-style interface. This makes it easy to fl ip from one news category to the next, or one news item to the next. Flipboard is great for scanning the headlines and maybe browsing an article while commuting. It is free.

Health apps are another big fea-ture on the iPhone, and Run With

Map My Run is a good one to try at fi rst. It is meant to be a one-stop shop for measuring all your fi tness activity in one place, everything from walking through cycling. It collects data either from the sensors in your iPhone or from connected health devices.

Though its interface can be a little confusing, it may help motivate you to exercise. Also, it’s free. A quick mention goes to Sleep Cycle, an app that uses your phone’s sensors to map sleep patterns. The results are often a fascinating insight into your night’s sleep. — KIT EATON/ The New York

Times News Service

One of the fi rst things you will probably want

to do with your new smartphone is show it off .

To demonstrate the graphics power of Apple’s

new iOS 8, download Epic Zen Garden, for free

Put new iPhone 6 you have through its paces

N E W G A D G E T S

THERE IS much to like about BlackBerrys. Their squat design, in particular, and tippity-tap keyboards are models of effi ciency and lend an air of businesslike legitimacy.

For those of you who remain steadfast in your support of BlackBerry, this is the season for you. Later this year, the com-pany will release the BlackBerry Classic, an updated BlackBerry smartphone that will feature the traditional keyboard, trackpad and physical navigation keys of earlier BlackBerrys. But the BlackBerry company hopes its premium-priced smartphone, the Passport, released on Wednesday, will also fi nd converts to the brand.

And the Passport makes a strong case — but not quite strong enough. That’s especially true since it’s likely to be expensive even with a new contract. The phone is $600 with no carrier subsidies.

The Passport has a good story. It’s the size and shape of an actual passport, which BlackBerry calls ‘the international symbol of mobil-ity’. The design is startling and polarising. Its screen is a near-per-

fect square and three lines of, yes, physical keys grace the bottom of the phone. I like its crisp lines and aggressive, vaguely 1980s styling, with matte black plastic, exposed stainless steel frame and sturdy heft. Its wide body makes it easy and comfortable to hold in two hands while typing.

Place it in car’s cup holderBut the awkward size has draw-backs. You can’t easily place it in a car’s cup holder, so if the phone is your navigation companion, it’s hard to fi gure out where to put it. It’ll fi t in a back pocket, the front pocket of loose-fi tting pants, or a suit jacket, but not in the phone pockets sewn into most purses. As for one-handed use, forget it.

As with BlackBerry phones of yore, the keyboard is the star of the Passport. It gets some new tricks that pair with the device’s big, 4.5-inch LCD screen.

The physical keys are limited to letters, backspace, return and the space bar. All other keys appear as a virtual keyboard on the screen. When you’re typing, suggested words appear above those virtual

keys. The physical keyboard is touch-sensitive; you can fl ick up on the keyboard to select an autocom-plete word, for example. You can also scroll up and down on the key-board, which evokes that beloved BlackBerry trackpad and keeps the screen pleasingly smudge-free.

But using the actual keyboard isn’t as easy as I remember. The keys are stiff and take some work to press. Even after several weeks of use, I felt slow. I typed more like

a hunt-and-peck newbie than the ‘power professional’ BlackBerry says is its primary target.

In a speed test, it took me 15.7 seconds to type “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” on the physical keyboard - although auto-correct typed

“The suck brown fox.” The same phrase took 9.3 seconds on Android and 8.3 seconds on an iPhone 5S, and the sentence was accurately auto-corrected on both. When I used the BlackBerry’s swipe upward trick to choose every word in the sentence, the time was reduced to 8.8 seconds — still slower than the iPhone even though the phone knew every word I was going to use.

Operating systemAs for the overall experience, the phone’s operating system, the BlackBerry 10, is complete and relatively familiar; it behaves simi-larly to Android and can run many Android apps.

To download apps, you use the BlackBerry World app store or the Amazon App Store, which is preloaded. But not all Android

apps are available: You can’t get the suite of Google apps available from the Google Play store, for example, like the offi cial Google Maps app or Google Now.

You can download Google-owned Waze from the Amazon app store or a $6 app that is said to be powered by Google Maps in the BlackBerry World store.

There are some good BlackBer-ry-only amenities, like its coming Blend software, which will let you get access to text messages, calls, documents and BBM messages on your desktop computer or even a tablet, like an iPad. BlackBerry said Blend would operate as a secure sandbox for your work communi-cations, even on a personal device.

BlackBerry also promotes its BlackBerry Assistant, which is like Siri, Google Now or Windows Phone’s Cortana.

It does a good job of learning behavioral habits, so when you tap the share button on a photo, for example, it suggests the person you’re most likely to send it to.

I also found its speech recogni-tion very good. But BlackBerry Assistant needs multiple confi r-

mations to execute commands. If I say, “call” a specifi c contact,

for example, Google Now or Siri calls that contact. BlackBerry As-sistant asks me if I really want to call. It’s just one step too many for maximum effi ciency.

Touch screenThus was my experience through-out - small ineffi ciencies that slowed me down. The cursor doesn’t always appear in text fi elds when it should, the lack of a “home” button is annoying, and de-spite top-of-the-line specs, I found performance — like swiping be-tween apps and screen responsive-ness — a bit slow. Sometimes the touch screen just didn’t respond.

Ultimately, the BlackBerry Passport feels diff erent, daring and promising, but not enough to entice most people away from better-known devices if they have the option.

There will be defi nitely some who dare to be diff erent and who choose brand loyalty above all. To them I say, you’ll love the Black-Berry Classic. — MOLLY WOOD/ The New

York Times News Service

With its new Passport, BlackBerry seeks converts

This app is a showy

demo that places you

in an astonishingly

beautiful, Japanese-

themed garden on the

grounds of a modern-

looking home. You

tap on the screen

to move around and

interact with items

B6 M O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

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Plastic takes 1,000 years or more to break downWHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW. DON’T WASTE A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY LIKE OMAN.

Omantel launches attractive offer for Haj pilgrims

MUSCAT: Omantel launched its latest off er for its customers per-forming Haj this year under the name ‘Hajj Jawazak’. The new packages provide customers with data, SMS and calling minutes while performing their Haj rituals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The off er is valid till the end of Oc-tober, says a press release.

“Omantel is always keen to pro-vide its customers unique commu-nication services that keep them connected with their families and friends. This year we are providing our customers with a new package called ‘Hajj Jawazak’. These new roaming packages provide Oman-

tel customers with the opportuni-ty to remain connected with their families and friends without hav-ing the need to change their SIM cards. Hence customers have the luxury of sending an SMS, surfi ng the Internet or making a phone call without having the need to worry about costly roaming fees. These plans were designed with our cus-tomers in mind hoping to make their Haj experience free of any stress,” said Shadli Al Abdulsalam, senior manager, Product Develop-ment at Omantel Consumer Unit.

“Omantel customers can avail one of our two packages. Mada customers can get 1GB of mobile Internet in addition to 100 min-utes of incoming and outgoing calls alongside with 50 SMS with a validity period of 10 days at a cost of OMR10. Customers who prefer unlimited data may opt in for the OMR20 package which also pro-vides them with 250 minutes of incoming and outgoing calls and 100 SMS with a validity period of 1 month,” he added.

Hayyak customers can also benefi t from the ‘Hajj Jawazak’ off er. They will get 1GB of mobile Internet, 100 minutes of outgoing minutes with a validity period of 10 days for only OMR10.

The new packages

provide customers

with data, SMS and

calling minutes while

performing their Haj

rituals in Saudi Arabia

MUSCAT: Omantel Hayyak Nights is back and presents yet another electrifying night of music and entertainment — this time delivered by the versatile and uniquely talented singer Ari-jit Singh. Accompanied by his 15-member troupe for a musi-cal extravaganza ‘Arijit Singh Live in Concert — Tum Hi Ho’, he is all set to enthral music lov-ers on October 16 at the Qurum City Amphitheatre from 7pm on-wards, says a press release.

Arijit catapulted to superstar-dom in just one year following the huge success of his song Tum Hi Ho from Aashiqui 2 in 2013. He is now one of the most bank-able singers within the Bollywood fi lm industry and is renowned for his charismatic voice. The song topped many radio charts and became the ‘Love Anthem of the Year’. The song was a critical and commercial success and fetched Singh his fi rst Filmfare, IIFA, Zee Cine, Screen and many other awards. Singh also sang many ac-knowledged songs in 2014.

He recorded his fi rst track to A. R. Rahman, Dil Chaspiya in

Kochadaiiyaan. He collaborated with Sajid-Wajid for Main Tera Hero and Heropanti, where Palat- Tera Hero Idhar Hai from former received mixed response from re-viewers and Raat Bhar from the latter, rocked music charts during the released days with positive reviews. He also recorded Mast Magan in 2 States for Shankar Ehsaan Loy, which topped iTunes India chart and was acclaimed.

Music lovers in Oman will be taken through a non-stop musical journey through Bollywood melo-dies, promising a spectacular evening. This event is by far one

of the most anticipated ones to be held this year and is expected to be a packed house aff air!

Hence, fans are urged to book their tickets well in advance to avoid disappointments.

The show is presented by Om-antel under Hayyak Nights.

“This is the third Hayyak Nights event and we will continue to bring such quality events to the expat community here in Oman,” said Mohammed Hassan Al La-wati, manager, Events at Oman-tel. The show is co-sponsored by Al Nahda Group of companies. According to the organisers, the show is slated to be a complete ticketed event with no free passes.

The tickets are priced at OMR35, 25, and 10 and can be bought from: Roar Entertainment Offi ce – Suite 214, Hatat House, R&B (Ruwi, MGM , Barka & So-har), Sharaf DG - MGM, Kamat (Ruwi and Al Khuwair) and Pu-ranmal (CBD).

The event is brought to you by Roar Entertainment, a name syn-onymous with bringing some of the greatest music talents from across the globe.

M U S I C A L E X T R A V A G A N Z A

BG Electrical holds seminar for Sohar electricians

SOHAR: BG Electrical Ltd, a leading manufacturer of electri-cal wiring accessories from UK, recently organised a seminar for electricians in Sohar.

The seminar was part of the larger initiative to bring about more awareness on BG switch-es and its features.

The participants were briefed on the various types of switches and ranges from British General including moulded and decora-tive fi nishes and IP66 rated weatherproof switches, says a press release.

BG Electrical Ltd is a quality oriented global manufacturing company. Al Saleh Enterprises is the exclusive distributor of BG switches in the Sultanate of Oman and stocks all the items. Al Saleh has wide distribution network in Oman and is known for its customer service.

The seminar was delivered by Brand Manager Salman Khalid and many offi cials of Al Saleh participated to make the semi-nar a success.

C R E A T I N G A W A R E N E S S

Singing sensation Arijit Singh to perform live on October 16

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QUOTES

Thinking should

become your capital

asset, no matter

whatever ups and

downs you come

across in your life.

— Dr A. P. J. Kalam

People often say that

motivation doesn’t

last. Well, neither does

bathing — that’s why

we recommend it daily.

— Zig Ziglar

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Bank Muscat launches new mascots to reinforce savings habit among children

MUSCAT: Giving a major thrust to inculcating a strong savings culture among children, Bank Muscat, the fl agship fi nancial ser-vices provider in the Sultanate, introduced Basma and Basim, the new child character mascots rep-resenting Al Mazyona Children’s Savings Account, at an event held recently at Muscat Grand Mall, says a press release.

‘The Smile with Basma and Basim’ event evoked strong re-

sponse from children and families who were treated to lively enter-tainment and fun-fi lled activities spreading the message of pru-dent savings and spending habits. Dressed in traditional Omani at-tire, the child characters Basma and Basim struck an instant ap-peal in reaching out to children who could easily relate with them. The interaction with Basma and Basim helped children to under-stand the principles of fi nancial

management in general and the advantages of the attractive al Ma-zyona savings product.

Al Mazyona Children’s Savings Account is aimed at encouraging the savings culture among them and helping parents prepare for the future of children. It off ers unique privileges and facilities which can be availed by opening

children’s accounts in Bank Mus-cat branches.

By maintaining a monthly bal-ance of OMR50, Al Mazyona Chil-dren’s Savings account holders get a chance to win one of 20 prizes of OMR100 each every month. If the child is celebrating his or her birthday during that month, they also stand a chance to win one of

10 additional prizes of OMR100 each. Subject to maintaining the required minimum balance, al Ma-zyona Children’s Savings account holders are also eligible to partici-pate in all Al Mazyona prize draws.

Bank Muscat is all set to re-ward Al Mazyona customers with the year-end big prizes totalling over OMR3 million. Momen-tum has started building up for the grand year-end bonanza of OMR1.9 million, to be preceded by the third quarter prize totalling OMR750,000.

In the run-up to the big prizes, the bank is also off ering attrac-tive monthly prizes totalling OMR300,000 each month as well as weekly prizes, reaching out to all individual segments with exclu-sive prizes earmarked for ladies, youth, children, salary account holders and high savings balance customers in all regions.

The grand year-end prizes to-talling a whopping OMR1.9 mil-lion are to be shared by 14 winners from the governorates and 1 win-ner from asalah Priority Banking.

Customers maintaining a mini-mum balance of OMR1,000 for the last quarter of the year are eligible for the grand prize draw. In all, 14 winners from the governorates will win OMR100,000 each, be-sides OMR500,000 by an Asalah Priority banking customer. Cus-tomers get 10 chances for every OMR1,000 balance. The higher the balance, higher the chances to win.

Al Mazyona fulfi ls the desire of children to have their own bank accounts like their parents. While the children grow up, the savings account contributes to a secure fu-ture by encouraging them to make savings a regular habit.

Over the years, Al Mazyona has succeeded in inculcating a strong savings culture in Oman. The ob-jective of Al Mazyona is to create a lifetime change for winners and al-low them to invest the prize money in things that will make a lasting diff erence and the well-being of their families. The fl exible scheme makes regular saving easier and is available across the largest net-work of 138 branches in Oman.

The Smile with Basma and Basim’ event

evoked strong response from children

and families who were treated to lively

entertainment and fun-fi lled activities

spreading the message of prudent

savings and spending habits

Dar Al Atta’a raises over OMR37,500 for Red Crescent lab in PalestineMUSCAT: Dar Al Atta’a delivered a cheque for OMR37,574 to Oman Charitable Organisation, as Dar Al Atta’a organised a gala dinner, which was held in June at Grand Hyatt Hotel under the patronage of Mohammed bin Yousuf Al Zarafi , undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs for Administrative and Financial Aff airs, for the ben-efi t of the Palestininian families.

This amount will be allocated to support the laboratory at the Pal-estinian Red Crescent in Al Khalil, Palestine, says a press release.

The cheque was delivered to the CEO of Oman Charitable Organi-sation in the presence of a number of involved people from the organ-isation and some of the associa-tion’s board members and Hisham Wasef Abdullah the fi rst adviser at the Palestinian Embassy in the Sultanate.

The President of Oman Chari-

table Organisation appreciated the association initiative and its permanent presence in charitable work and support of the local com-munity and the Arab world.

Maryam bint Issa Al Zadjali, chairperson of Dar Al Atta’a, thanked everyone who generously contributed and donated, whether as individuals or as companies, and added: “It is our pleasure to have a role in the making of this laboratory in Al Khalil in Palestine to facilitate the diagnostic process and ease the fi nancial burden on families who are forced nowadays to send their tests abroad.”

She confi rmed that Dar Al Atta’a will continue its path in the ser-vice of volunteer work in accord-ance with well thought out plans and will always exist in the heart of humanitarian work for this is the mission it adopted since its inception.

C H A R I T Y I N I T I A T I V E

Aster promotes ‘heart choices, not hard choices’

MUSCAT: True to its motto, Aster Al Raff ah Hospital took another step towards educat-ing the community it serves for a healthier life. “Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the most com-mon cause of premature death, roughly 17 million people die an-nually from this disease. There are a number of simple things we can do to keep our heart healthy and making simple lifestyle changes go a long way in promot-ing heart health,” said Dr Shaju Padman, cardiologist at Aster Al Raff ah Hospital.

“Much of what we regard as modern disease can be traced to lifestyle and the threat of chronic heart diseases (CHD) can begin at any age with an increased risk due to factors like unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, etc. which are modifi able factors,” he added. The World Heart Day is observed on September 29 across the globe and the theme for this year is lifelong approach to the prevention and control of CVD/CHD with a special focus on wom-en and children.

In order to commemorate World Heart Day and to promote and encourage healthy heart care and spread the awareness of heart disease and its growing incidence in society, Aster Al Raff ah organ-ised a walkathon on September 26 in Qurum Natural Park, says a press release.

The aim of the walkathon was to create awareness amongst people about the alarming rise in heart diseases and to stress upon the importance of preventive heart care by making heart choices and not hard choices on a daily basis.

A large number of health en-thusiasts from all age groups exuberantly participated in the ‘Walk for your heart’ to mark World Heart Day.

The walk for heart was fl agged off by Dr Ashik Sainu, medical di-rector, Aster Al Raff ah Hospital.

The excitement and thrill was in the air and the response of the people was implausible. The ex-hilarated participants who were students, young professionals, members of MOH, several cor-porate houses wore blue T shirts provided by Raff ah.

Furthermore, all the partici-pants who were holding red heart shaped balloons joined together to form a huge heart shaped chain, following which they released these balloons into the sky.

The medical team also conduct-ed a free health checkup ( BP,BMI, blood sugar, etc.) followed by a free counselling by the nutrition-

ist, Monika Seth who believes that healthy eating and an active life style are the two key ingredients to keep our heart healthy.

To ensure that people are able to make heart healthy choices, they were provided with a healthy snack box. To enthuse the partici-pants and to stress upon the role of exercise, a session of breezy exercise aerobics was also dem-onstrated by instructor Thulasi Anilkumar and Team Aster.

One of the participants com-mented, “On behalf of the people of Oman, I express my heartfelt gratitude for spreading this mes-sage of keeping our heart healthy by adopting simple means.”

Another participant comment-ed, “Well, it was a great experience to join hands with the people from all walks of life and be a part of a community service organised by Al Raff ah. It is really encouraging to know that being healthy can be

so simple and enjoyable too.”“We are happy to celebrate

World Heart Day actively every year as it reinforces the fact that CHD are the leading cause of death in world but small changes in your lifestyle, which when put together, can make a signifi cant diff erence in favour of your heart health,” said Dr Sarfraz Ahmed, Senior manager, Clinical Govern-ance and Projects – Aster Oman.

“Wellbeing of society has al-ways been the ethos of our hos-pital as it has always aimed to-wards the community service and bringing awareness about being healthy and walking is the easi-est and most recommended ex-ercise. We are really happy to see the response of people who joined hands in spreading this heart healthy message and making this event a huge success,” explained Seeniya Biju, COO & Country Head Aster Oman.

W A L K A T H O N

Honda CR-V to travel across 22 countries MUSCAT: Shakil ‘Star’ Malik, musician turned social worker and peace and friendship envoy for Pakistan and India, blazed into Oman recently on his Honda CR-V on a ‘Peace Driveathon’. Malik has driven through 13 countries in Europe and six countries in the GCC in his trusty 2.4l Honda SUV which he calls his ‘Peacemobile, says a press release’.

As his 19th country, Star Malik stopped in the Sultanate and Omsa-co was delighted to give his CR-V a full service to ensure he enjoyed the journey to its optimum.

“My trusty CR-V and I have cov-ered around 35,000 miles together and it’s been a pleasure travelling in such a safe and comfortable ve-hicle. As we enter the fi nal phase of our journey together, it is a real gift to receive a full and intricate service from the Honda team

here in Oman. I am a huge Honda fan and the CR-V model has been the perfect companion on my trip,” said Malik.

Honda staff and customers were delighted to meet with Malik and to hear his wise words.

“We are happy that Star Malik chose a Honda CR-V for his jour-ney in promoting peace. This man has devoted so much of his time to this worthy cause, he is a true hero. Like the CR-V he drives he is a powerhouse in the fi eld of leading change and we know that he will journey through the highways and byways to complete his mission,” stated an Omasco spokesperson while Commenting on Malik’s vis-it to Oman. His fi nal leg of the jour-ney will take him to India where he plans to auction off his CR-V with all proceeds going towards setting up the Star Malik Peace Centre.

‘ P E A C E D R I V E A T H O N ’

Refl ections dance show moves Muscat audience

MUSCAT: Premila Ramesh, Di-rector Orbit Training Centre for Performing Arts (Nrityanjali), and her disciples recently gave a scintillating performance to a packed audience at ‘Refl ections…Seek Within’ at the Oman Audi-torium, Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Orbit Events, an Omani SME in event management, presented the mega Indian performing arts event that for the fi rst time wit-nessed two shows on the same day, says a press release.

“There is much more to clas-sical dance form Bharatanatyam than what has generally been showcased. Refl ections was a show that highlighted various shades of the classical dance and

we wanted it to reach as many art lovers as possible.

“That is why, despite tremen-dous challenges, we put up two shows so that many could watch and we were not disappointed. We were heartened to see full house both in the morning and in the evening show,” says Premila.

Chief guest for the morning show Saeed Sultan Al Busaidi, director of Traditional Arts at the Ministry of Heritage and Culture while addressing the gathering complimented the organisers and heartily appreciated the perform-ers for perfect presentation.

Dr Retnakumar, the chief guest for the evening show, also ap-plauded the performers for their fl awless performance.

As a connoisseur of classical art form, he was delighted to see such innovative display of Bharatan-atyam and appreciated the chore-ographer for his sense of creativ-ity and variety.

In recognition of the Teacher’s Day, Papri Ghosh, principal, In-dian School, Al Ghubra appreci-ated Premila Ramesh’s eff orts and called her the best teacher who knows how to get the best out of her students. The perfor-mances varied from contempo-rary themes; to thematic pres-entation of various seasons; to percussion-dominated number; to ‘kaavadi-chindu’ (a semi clas-sical performance); to pure classi-cal. The dancers set afoot to com-municate spiritually uplifting and

relevant message to the audience, addressing the humanly virtues like goodness, forgiveness and un-selfi shness.

The overwhelming response from the audience became evi-dent when they gave a standing ovation to the performers. Refl ec-tions was indeed a visual treat.

The presenter of both the shows was Minara, premium sunfl ower oil. The shows were supported by a host of art-loving sponsors including Al Fajar Al Amania; Al Rawdha World Trade Center; Bank Muscat; Best Power Construction; DHL Global; Relish Restaurant; Sun Logistics; Sweets of Oman; United Engineering Ser-vices; Unique Cont. Co and Vector Engineering Services.

C L A S S I C A L D A N C E P E R F O R M A N C E

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

SPOR SY O U R G A M E

SECTIONC M O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

MESSI ‘NEVER IMAGINED’ REACHING 400-GOALFour-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi said he could never have envisaged scoring 400 goals in his career after passing that landmark in Barcelona’s 6-0 rout over Granada on Saturday. >C3

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SPRINT STARS: From left to right, China’s Zhang Peimeng, Qatar’s Samuel Adelebari Francis, China’s Su Bingtian, Japan’s Ryota Yamagata, Qatar’s Femi Seun Ogunode, Japan’s Kei Takase and Oman’s Barakat

Al Harthi power over the fi nish line in the fi nal of the men’s 100m athletics event during the 17th Asian Games at the Incheon. Femi Ogunode won gold, Su the silver and Takase the bronze. – AFP

Fabulous Femi smashes record

INCHEON: Qatar’s Femi Ogu-node made a victorious return from a doping ban yesterday as he smashed Asia’s 100 metres record and snatched Asian Games gold with 9.93sec in wet conditions.

As China soared past 100 golds, Nigeria-born Ogunode was all smiles after he lowered the Asian mark by 0.06sec and fi nished near-ly two-tenths ahead of China’s Su Bingtian. Hopes of the fi rst sub-10sec run by an Asian-born athlete were doused as Su timed 10.10, Japan’s Kei Takase clocked 10.15 and Zhang Peimeng was fourth in 10.18. Ogunode returned in Janu-ary from a two-year ban for using clenbuterol and he said he was hungry for more success in next year’s world championships and the 2016 Olympics.

“I had a feeling that I would break the Asian record and I prom-ise I’ll win more gold medals here,” said Ogunode, who is also running the 200m and the 4x100m relay.

“Look out for me in the world championships in China in 2015 and the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.” Ogunode’s time puts him among the top 50 fastest men of all time but still some distance from Usain Bolt’s world record of 9.58.

Teenage steeplechaser Ruth Jebet fi nally got her gold after be-ing disqualifi ed on Saturday as she prepared to step onto the po-dium—and then being reinstated on appeal.

The Kenya-born 17-year-old, who switched to Bahraini nation-ality last year, said she had high-level support from her new coun-try’s king during the bizarre turn of events. Jebet was fi rst disquali-fi ed for stepping off the track, a decision which was announced to the crowd during her victory cer-emony as she was standing behind the podium.

But after late-night protests and wrangling by Bahraini offi cials, she was awarded the win after all and fi nally received her medal in a delayed ceremony on Sunday.

“After the problem I had yester-day with the line I was so worried,” she said.

“But my king promised me that we would get back my medal.”

Target 199China romped past 100 golds to 105 as they raised the prospect of breaking their record of 199 wins achieved four years ago on home soil in Guangzhou. China clinched fi ve athletics titles, including the men’s and women’s 20km race walk, women’s 100m, women’s hammer and men’s pole vault. They also tasted success in archery and wrestling, while Wang Yihan beat team-mate and rival Li Xuerui to women’s badminton gold.

In the men’s badminton, all eyes were on Lin Dan against Lee Chong Wei and Chinese great Lin did not disappoint in a 22-20, 12-21, 21-9 defeat of his closest challenger.

For Lee, it was an all too predict-able end to his last Asian Games and added to his list of losses to Lin including the 2010 Asiad fi nal.

“He looked really confi dent in the third set and I could not follow him any more,” said the Malaysian world number one.

“I have done my best and I ac-

cept defeat. Now I’ll go back (home) and have a rest before the next tournament.”

But China did not have it all their own way and the seven-time winners were sent crashing out of the men’s basketball, ending a run of nine consecutive fi nals. “They will become better players for this experience,” head coach Gong Luming said of his players.

Captain Jang Hyun-Soo struck a late penalty as hosts South Korea overcame fi erce rivals Japan 1-0 to reach the men’s football semifi nals

in front of 43,000 raucous fans. And South Korea also celebrated

the men’s baseball title as they beat Taiwan 6-3. With six days to go, the hosts are second on the medals ta-ble with 42 golds, 63 behind China.

Wrestling goldYogeshwar Dutt ended India’s 28-year-old wait for an Asian Games wrestling gold medal but his compatriots Babita Kumari and Satywart Kadian missed out on the bronze at the Dowon Gym-nasium here yesterday.

Yogeshwar, Olympic bronze medallist, put on a stupendous show in winning 3-0 in the title-clash against Zalimkhan Yusupov of Tajikistan. Yogeshwar’s gold in men’s 65kg freestyle was In-dia’s fi rst since 1986, when Kartar Singh had won the yellow metal in the Seoul Games. Displaying his never-say-die attitude, Yogeshwar was stupendous in all his three bouts in the day. He started the day beating Jinhyok Kang of North Ko-rea 3-1, in his quarterfi nal bout to set-up a clash with China’s Katai

Yeerlanbieke in the semifi nals.Against the Chinese, Yogeshwar

looked in all sort of problems in an energy-sapping bout. Yeerlan-bieke led throughout the game and with only a few seconds re-maining he was ahead 9-7. But Yo-geshwar made a stunning come-back in the dying moments of the game to pin down the Chinese and won the match 5-0 in a ‘victory by fall’ verdict. In the gruelling fi nal against Yusupov, Yogeshwar was very watchful. Yusupov tried all the tricks to pin down Yogehswar but the Indian was too quick. Yo-geshwar opened his account at the end of the opening period. In the second period, a series of quick moves helped Yogeshwar earn two more points to get a 3-0 verdict.

Other Indian grapplers in the fray for medals, Babita and Saty-wart, were beaten comprehensive-ly by their opponents in the bronze medal matches. Another wrestler Jyoti, however, lost to Burmaa Ochirbat of Mongolia 4-0 in the quarterfi nals of the women’s 75kg freestyle event. — Agencies

As China soared past

100 golds, Nigeria-

born Femi Ogunode

was all smiles after

he lowered the Asian

mark by 0.06sec

and fi nished nearly

two-tenths ahead of

China’s Su Bingtian

GREAT SHOW: Qatar’s Femi Seun Ogunode poses with the timer showing his new Asian and Games record of 9.93 sec after winning the

fi nal of the men’s 100m athletics event. – AFP

INDIA’S PRIDE: India’s Yogeshwar Dutt holds the tricolour after defeating Tajikistan’s Zalimkhan Yusupov to win the gold medal in the

men’s 65kg freestyle wrestling fi nal. – PTI

INCHEON: Sultanate’s sprint star Barakat Al Harthi settled for seventh place in the Asian Games glamour event — the 100m fi nal here yesterday.

The bronze medallist in China four years ago, Barakat would have sure-ly disappointed with his performance yesterday. Neverthless the Omani ace equalled his season’s best time while clocking 10.29 seconds.

Earlier, Barakat made it to the fi nal by fi nishing second in the second semifi nal in 10.31 seconds.

The Omani, however, needs to overcome his disappointment as he is all set to lead the national team in the 4x100m relay competition today.

The Omani athletes will also be seen in action in the 4x400m relay compe-tition today.

Meanwhile, in the golf competition yesterday, Azzan Al Ruhmi carded 75 in the fourth round for a total score of 288 to tie for the 29th place with two others.

Compatriots Ali Ha-meed (83, 323), Hamood Al Harthi (84, 344), and Ahmed Al Balushi (89, 352) fi nished in 63rd, 70th and 89th places respectively. In the team competition, Oman ended at 16th place.

Omani shooter Yasir Salim Al Nasseri will be in action in the skeet men’s qualifi cation round today while the handball team will face Kuwait for the fi fth place.

Barakat equals his season’s best time



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Punjab ease past the Cobras

MOHALI: A clinical Kings XI Punjab steamrolled Cape Co-bras by seven wickets for their fourth win in a row as they end-ed their Group B engagements with a fl ourish in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament, here yesterday.

With this win, Punjab, who have already qualifi ed for the semifi -nals, have fi nished on top of Group B with 16 points and will enter the knockout stage unbeaten.

The hosts were in complete con-trol of the inconsequential rubber as they won the toss, shot out the

South African side for a mere 135 in 18.3 overs and then overhauled the target without any fuss with 11 balls to spare overs at Punjab Cricket Association stadium.

It was Punjab bowlers who set up the win as paceman Anureet

Singh (3/12) and spinner Akshar Patel (3/15) shared six wickets be-tween them.

Richard Levi top-scored for the South African side with his 42-run knock but it was Hashim Amla who provided impetuous to their

innings at start with his blistering 22-ball 40.

Amla and Levi were only ones who put up some resistance as oth-er Cobras batsmen failed to get go-ing and were bowled out without completing their 20-overs quota.

Cobras were 105 for two in the 13th over and lost last eight wick-ets for addition of just 30 runs.

None of the Punjab batsmen set the fi eld on fi re but the target was so modest that their small contributions were enough for the easy win. Virender Sehwag (23) looked in good touch as he played some delectable drives on the off side before being dismissed by Robin Peterson.

The other Punjab opener Manan Vohra (23) became second victim of Peterson as the left-arm spinner gave away just 19 runs in his four overs. Big-hitting batsman Glenn Maxwell (23) hit a six each off Omphile Ramela and Sybrand Engelbrecht but he also could not last long.

Wriddhiman Saha kept holding the one end as he guided the side home with his 35-ball 42.

Saha hit three boundaries, in-cluding a six, in his innings while David Miller fi nished unbeaten on 16. Saha was excellent behinds the wickets also as he eff ected two stumpings and took one catch.

Brief scores: Kings XI Pun-jab 139 for 3 (Saha 42*, Peterson 2-19) beat Cape Cobras 135 (Levi 42, Amla 40, Anureet 3-12, Akshar 3-22) by seven wickets. — PTI

With this victory,

Kings XI Punjab,

who have already

qualifi ed for the

semifi nals, have

fi nished on top of

Group B with 16

points and will

enter the knockout

stage unbeaten

Malik, Doherty guide Hurricanes into semisMOHALI: Hobart Hurricanes produced a professional perfor-mance as they beat Barbados Tridents in convincing manner to enter the semifi nals of the Oppo Champions League T20, here yesterday.

In their fi nal group league en-counter against the Caribbean outfi t, Hobart bowlers stuck to their task dismissing the opposi-tion for a paltry 113 in 19.4 overs with left-arm slow bowler Xavier Doherty picking up four for 27.

In reply, Hobart were no tear-ing hurry as they chased down the target with 10 balls to spare.

With 12 points from four games, Hobart Hurricanes con-fi rmed one of the two semifi nal spots from Group B.

On a day when Sania Mirza entered the fi nal of the mixed doubles competition at the Asian Games in Incheon, her husband Shoaib Malik anchored his T20 team’s chase to perfection with a responsible unbeaten knock of 39 off 35 balls with three boundaries.

Malik fi nished the match with a fl orish hitting successive bounda-ries through cover and mid-wick-et off Ryad Emrit. He added 46 runs for the unbroken fi fth wicket stand with Jonathan Wells (23 no). The Pakistani all-rounder ro-tated the strike well as he ran a lot of singles.

There were some minor jitters felt in the Hobart camp after they were reduced to 71 for four in the 13th over but with asking rate less than seven, it was never going to be a problem for the Aussies.

Earlier, the Tim Paine-led side bowled with a lot of heart with the trio of Doug Bollinger (2/27), Ben Hilfenhaus (2/14) and Doherty sharing the spoils.

While Bollinger and Hilfen-haus knocked off the top-order, Doherty with his left-arm slow orthodox spin scythed through the middle-order.

Only Jonathan Carter with 42 off 34 balls that had three fours and two sixes, could make some

kind of contribution before he was caught at short fi ne leg trying a lap shot off the spinner. None of the other Barbados batsmen could even cross the 20-run mark.

Brief scores: Barbados Tri-

dents 113 in 19.4 overs (Jonathan Carter 42, Xavier Doherty 4/27) lost to Hobart Hurricanes 117 for 4 in 18.2 overs (Shoaib Malik 39 no, Jonathan Wells 23 no) by 6 wickets. — PTI

C L T 2 0

Unbeaten KKR take on Dolphins

HYDERABAD: Beleaguered Dolphins will play for pride when they take on a mighty Kolkata Knight Riders in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket stadium here today. Dolphins are already out of the semifi nal race having lost all three matches so far in the competition. The fi nal nail in the coffi n came on Saturday when they were beaten by La-hore Lions in Bangalore.

In contrast, the Knight Rid-ers, defending champions of the IPL T20 tournament this year, are on a roll after registering 12 wins in a row.

Noting that his team has not been precise in diff erent ar-eas during the CLT20, Dolphins coach Lance Klusener said the side has not played as a team during the event.

The Knight Riders look invin-cible at the moment with cap-tain Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Andre Russel and young Suryakumar Yadav in fi ne form with the bat.

Their batting has got a fur-ther boost with Jacques Kallis resuming in the last match after he recovered from a problem in the neck. — PTI

P R E V I E W

PCB launches clean-up act

KARACHI: After the ban on ace off -spinner Saeed Ajmal, Pa-kistan are on ‘mission cleanup’ with an astonishing 28 cases of suspect bowlers being reported in the ongoing national T20 cham-pionship at the national stadium.

In all the instances, the match offi cials have reported or even stopped the bowlers from bowl-ing. The list includes six bowl-ers, who are repeat off enders.

“I don’t want to go into names of these bowlers but I can con-fi rm they are around 17 bowlers who bowl off -spin,” Intikhab Alam who is head of domestic cricket in Pakistan said.

In the last match on Saturday, off spinner Usman Malik of the Lahore team was stopped from bowling after sending down three overs by the on-fi eld umpires.

“The fi gures are high but it is high time something was done about these bowlers. They include some bowlers who have only mi-nor issues with their action that can be corrected under proper supervision,” he said. — PTI

C R I C K E T

CAUTIOUS KNOCK: Shoaib Malik mixed caution with aggression

to anchor Hobart Hurricanes into the semifi nal. – BCCI



IN COMMAND: Kings XI Punjab players celebrate after claiming a Cape Cobras wicket during the

Champions League Twenty20 match at Mohali. – BCCI



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SPORTSM O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 14

Lehmann expects Johnson to play

MELBOURNE: Australian coach Darren Lehmann said on Sunday fearsome fast bowler Mitchell John-son will play in the upcoming Tests and One-day series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

Mitchell Johnson was with-drawn from the Twenty20 Cham-pions League with a rib injury, but left with the national squad for the UAE yesterday.

Johnson is the world’s lead-ing pace bowler after prominent roles in the recent Test series wins against England and South Africa.

Lehmann allayed fears that

Johnson was in any doubt for the fi rst Test against Pakistan, starting in Dubai on October 22.

“He’ll be fi ne to go. Expect him to play the One-dayers, obviously not the T20 but the One-dayers and the Test series,” Lehmann told reporters in Melbourne before the team’s departure.

“We’re lucky enough that in terms of the preparation, he did a fair bit of bowling before (getting injured), so it won’t be an issue.”

Lehmann was also upbeat that hamstrung captain Michael Clarke will be fi t for the opening Test.

“I’m confi dent, he’s confi dent — and that’s about where it is at the moment,” Lehmann said.

“The tour game (on October 15-18) will be the telling time, I suppose, getting him out and play-ing that... but I’m pretty confi dent he’ll play.” Clarke left ahead of the team last week to ensure he was acclimatised before beginning to stretch himself at training.

The skipper said before depar-ture that he was improving daily from hamstring tendon damage suff ered in a One-dayer against Zimbabwe in Harare on August 31. The injury forced him to return home from the tour early.

Even if Clarke and Johnson play, Australia will fi eld a signifi cantly diff erent XI to that which edged South Africa in their last Test match in Cape Town in March.

Allrounder Shane Watson and pacemen Ryan Harris and James Pattinson are out with injuries.

Mitch Marsh and Stephen O’Keefe are both well placed to make Test debuts as Lehmann

ponders whether to play two spin-ners on the spin-friendly pitches.

“We always pick according to the conditions,” Lehmann said.

“It’s an Australian curator (groundsman) for the fi rst Test, so it could be a decent wicket.”

Off -spinner Nathan Lyon could be set for some marathon spells, while Peter Siddle will return. Lehmann wants the lion-hearted Siddle to be both spearhead and workhorse.

“He’s put on some weight, put on some muscle... his speed is up,” Lehmann said of Siddle, who was dropped for the side’s last Test against the Proteas.

“The hardest thing is how many overs they can bowl in the heat.”

Lehmann said the extreme heat could potentially tip the selection debate in O’Keefe’s favour.

“I’ve been there before and they (pacemen) can only bowl three or four over spells sometimes,” Leh-mann said.

The tour starts with a T20 clash on October 6 in Dubai. — AFP

Mitchell Johnson was withdrawn from

the Twenty20 Champions League with

a rib injury, but left with the national

squad for the UAE yesterday

I’ve been there before

and they (pacemen)

can only bowl three

or four over spells

sometimes and I also

expect a decent wicket

as it is an Australian

curator there

Darren LehmannAustralian coach

MELBOURNE: Australia coach Darren Lehmann has turned the blowtorch on Na-than Lyon, saying the spinner had not “delivered” in second innings spells to drive the Test team to victory.

An orthodox spinner who rarely strays from his stock off -breaks, Lyon will be under pressure to perform in the United Arab Emirates next month when Australia take on Pakistan in a two-Test se-ries. “It’s a hard time because the last day of a game you expect him to win the game,” Lehmann said of the 26-year-old in quotes published by News Ltd. “He’s bowled well in the fi rst innings of Test matches but when it’s come to the crunch he hasn’t delivered as he would have liked or we would like,” he added. “He knows that, he’s worked really hard on that. It’s about putting good balls in the right spot more often. If he improves that aspect of his game his record would be outstanding.”

Though Lyon has captured 112 wickets from 33 Tests at an average just under 33, he has long lived in the shadow of retired leg-spinner Shane Warne and never quite been able to silence his critics with a virtuoso match-winning performance. Australia have kept the faith, however, and employed retired Test wicket record holder Muttiah Mura-litharan as a spin consultant in June to help Lyon develop his craft. — Reuters

Australian coach turns heat on spinner Lyon

Nathan Lyon.

Lorenzo wins rain-hit GP

BARCELONA: Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo won a rain-aff ected and crash-strewn Aragon Grand Prix for Yamaha yesterday while Honda’s MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez fell for the second race in a row.

The two Spaniards swapped the lead until three laps from the end when the reigning world champion, chasing a record-equalling 12th win of the season, crashed after choosing not to change to a wet set-up as rain be-gan to fall. Lorenzo had already pitted and the victory was his fi rst of the year, with compatriot Aleix Espargaro fi nishing second on a non-works Yamaha after hold-ing off Ducati’s Cal Crutchlow by 0.017 seconds.

It was Yamaha’s second suc-cessive win in a season Honda had seemed set to dominate completely. Marquez, who also crashed in San Marino and had started on pole, rejoined the race and fi nished 13th and ahead of Repsol Honda team mate and ti-tle rival Dani Pedrosa, who also fell on the slippery surface.

The 21-year-old champion now has 292 points to Pedrosa’s

217 with Rossi on 214 and four races remaining.

Italian Valentino Rossi, the winner of his home race at Misa-no, crashed out after four laps and was carried off on a stretcher for

medical checks although he was able to stand and did not appear too seriously hurt.

Others fallers were Italians An-drea Dovizioso and early leader Andrea Iannone. — Reuters

A R A G O N C H A M P I O N S H I P

JUBILANT: Yamaha Team’s Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo cel-

ebrates on the podium after winning the Aragon Grand Prix. – AFP

It was Yamaha’s second

successive win in a season

Honda had dominated so far

Messi ‘never imagined’ reaching 400-goal mark

BARCELONA: Four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi said he could never have envisaged scoring 400 goals in his career after passing that landmark in Barcelona’s 6-0 rout over Granada on Saturday. The Argentine scored twice and took his tally of assists for the season to eight with two more as Neymar bagged a hat-trick to take Barca back to the top of the table. Messi’s two goals took him to 359 goals for Barca allied to his 42 at international level in 525 games for club and country.

“I never imagined I could achieve anything like this in my career,” he said via his offi cial Facebook page.

“Thanks for all the congratu-lations on scoring 400 goals with FC Barcelona and the Ar-gentinian National Team. I’ll continue working hard to reach more targets.” — AFP

F O O T B A L L

C4


AL KHOUD CLINCH GULF OILDFIELD CRICKET TITLEAl Khoud CC defeated South XI in an exciting fi nal to lift the title at the Gulf Oilfi eld Sup-

plies Super Sixes Cup cricket tournament organised by Trust Cricket Team at Al Ghubra

Power Plant here recently. Al Khoud CC’s Mathiulla was adjudged the man of the match

and man of the series. Adnan of Masters XI won the award for most number of sixes,

Madhu of South XI was declared the best bowler and Iqbal of South XI was the best

batsmen. Samson Justus, Managing Director of Gulf Oilfi eld Supplies, handed over the

trophies. — Supplied photo

Sharapova advances, Errani eliminated

BEIJING: World No. 4 Maria Sharapova powered through her fi rst-round match at the $5.4 mil-lion China Open yesterday, but faces a tricky opponent at the next stage in Beijing.

The Russian beat Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 6-1 in her opening match of the tournament, and will meet world No. 34 Elina Svitolina in the second round.

The Ukrainian beat world No. 8 Angelique Kerber earlier this week at the WTA Wuhan Open to make it to the semifi nals of the premier-

ranking event, and will have her confi dence sky-high.

But Sharapova will go into the game taking positives from her showing in the Chinese capital. The 27-year-old crashed out in Wuhan with a demoralising two-set defeat against Timea Bacsin-szky in the third round, but she looked more assured at Beijing’s Olympic Park.

She traded breaks with her op-

ponent twice midway through the fi rst set, before breaking again with the scores 5-4 in her favour to take the opener.

Kanepi wonly the fourth game of the second set, as Sharapova took command and wrapped up the match in 90 minutes.

The French Open champion made six double faults in the match, which was the only stain on an oth-erwise dominant performance.

The victory was her fourth against her 29-year-old opponent in all meetings between the pair, but Sharapova said she had to bat-tle hard for the win.

“I thought I played a diffi cult op-ponent, someone that I’ve had trou-ble against in the past,” she said.

“I knew it was a challeng-ing fi rst-round opponent and I thought I handled that quite well considering I didn’t have a great result last week.”

Meanwhile, Sara Errani became the fi rst seed to tumble as Kurumi Nara of Japan sealed a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. The 11th seed was hoping for a good run in Beijing to improve her slim chance of making next month’s WTA Finals in Singapore, which features the top eight wom-en’s players.

Venus Williams eased through her fi rst-round tie against British rising star Heather Watson 6-3, 6-1.

But the American could also face a tough battle in the next round, as she is set to play Caroline Garcia if the French rising star wins her game against China’s Zhang Shuai.

Samantha Stosur fi nally ended her miserable run in China, over-coming Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 6-2. — AFP

Sharapova beat

Estonia’s Kaia

Kanepi 6-4, 6-1 in

her opening match

and will meet Elina

Svitolina in the

second round

POSITIVE START: Maria Sharapova of Russia returns a shot against

Kala Kanepi of Estonia during their fi rst round match at the China

Open in Beijing yesterday. – AFP

Nishikori claims Malaysia crownKUALA LUMPUR: Japan’s Kei Nishikori picked up his third ti-tle of a breakout year by downing France’s Julien Benneteau 7-6 (4) 6-4 in the Malaysian Open fi -nal yesterday.

The world No. 8, who reached the fi nal of the US Open last time out, fought through a tricky tie-break before sealing a pivotal break to go 4-3 up in the second set.

The break was part of a run of 12 unanswered points for the Japanese, the fi rst man from an Asian country to reach a grand slam singles fi nal, which swung the contest in his favour.

The victory for the 24-year-old, who has also won titles in Bar-celona and Memphis this year, boosted his hopes of becoming the fi rst Asian man to compete at the ATP Tour Finals in London in November.

Nishikori is currently sixth in the leaderboard with eight spots available for the prestigious sea-son-ending event.

“It was a tough match,” Ni-shikori said after sealing his vic-tory in one hour and 47 minutes.

“After I won the fi rst set, I re-laxed and was able to play attack-ing tennis. I am aiming to win the next tournament in Japan as well,” he said, referring to the

hard-court tournament begin-ning in Tokyo on Monday.

For the 32-year-old Benneteau, it was simply more Malaysian mis-ery. The loss was his third straight in the fi nal of the Kuala Lumpur event and meant a 10th runners-up prize in his career as the wait goes on for a fi rst ATP Tour title.

“Kei was simply too good in the key moments, especially at the end of the fi rst set,” Benneteau said. “I had some chances, but against these kinds of players, they are small chances.” — Reuters

B R E A K O U T Y E A R

‘Lucky’ Murray wins Shenzhen title

SHENZEN: An emotional Andy Murray thanked his lucky stars af-ter saving fi ve match points before beating Spain’s Tommy Robredo 5-7 7-6(9) 6-1 to win the Shenzhen Open in China yesterday — his fi rst title since winning Wimbledon last year.

The two-time grand slam win-ner and Olympic champion ap-peared heading for an upset defeat when he trailed 6-2 in the second set tiebreak, only to reel off four straight points as Robredo tight-ened when on the brink of victory.

The pair both wasted chances to seal the set as they mixed glorious winners with nervy misses, with Robredo blowing a fi fth match point at 7-6, before Murray eventually blasted an unstoppable forehand to take it 11-9 and force a decider.

World No. 11 Murray then broke Robredo three times in the third

with the Spaniard, also chasing a fi rst win of the year, appearing hampered by injury as he failed to chase down balls.

“Today was obviously an incred-ibly tough match...and I got lucky at the end of the second set,” Mur-ray said in a courtside interview.

“I fought hard and I tried my best and thankfully managed to turn it around.

“Tommy had a great tourna-ment, he probably deserved to win the match today. He had the op-portunities in the second set but sometimes that happens in sport. I just tried to fi ght to the end.”

The victory, the 29th of his ca-reer, came after a diffi cult week for the normally shy Briton, who received horrendous abuse on so-cial media for supporting Scottish independence in a referendum earlier this month.

“I want to thank my friends and family back home especially my girlfriend, she supported me a lot this week, it’s been a very tough week for me and they have support-ed me,” said an emotional Murray.

A despondent Robredo, who had bullied the Briton with a bruising forehand for the opening two sets, said: “It’s tough to accept when you are so close.” — Reuters

T O U G H W E E K

THIRD TITLE: Kei Nishikori

EMOTIONAL WIN: Andy Murray

Wenger sure

of upturn in

Arsenal results

LONDON: Arsene Wenger is confi dent Arsenal can rekindle the art of winning after a series of frustrating English Premier League draws but their quest may be hindered by a “worry-ing” injury crisis.

The Gunners are unbeaten in six Premier League games this season but have won just twice, dropping a host of points from winning positions to leave them six behind leaders Chelsea.

Against north London rivals Tottenham on Saturday, Ar-senal dominated possession but failed to break down the visitors’ stubborn and resolute rearguard, settling for a point.

“The positive is that we are unbeaten, but the negative is that we have missed four points from the quality of the games we have played,” Wenger said.

“We have to keep that unbeat-en record and I think at some stage we will win the games in-stead of drawing.” — Reuters

S E R I E S O F D R A W S

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SPORTSM O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 14

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Inaugural winner Kakko keeps NBO Golf Classic in perspective

MUSCAT: The eagerly anticipat-ed National Bank of Oman (NBO) Golf Classic gets underway on Oc-tober 30 forming the third leg of the all-important Final Swing on the European Challenge Tour.

Players are not only competing for one of the most coveted titles on the Tour, a purse of $330,000 and an increased 13 world ranking points, they are also playing for a place in the top 45 on the Chal-lenge Tour Rankings.

That will make them eligible for the season-ending Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final hosted by Al Badia Golf Club. The top 15 on the rankings following the event in Dubai will gain their playing card for 2014-2015 season on the European Tour.

One man who knows all about the signifi cance of the National

Bank of Oman Golf Classic is the winner of last year’s inaugural event, Roope Kakko of Finland, who won by two-strokes from Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard.

“It was a huge victory for me because it guaranteed my place on the European Tour for 2014,” he said. “It was also my fi rst profes-sional victory and it was nice to get that monkey off my back. Doing that in such an important moment was also very pleasing.

“Winning is always what we strive for but my victory in Oman meant so much more — my fi rst pro-fessional win.

“Doing it at such a great challeng-ing venue as Almouj Golf at The Wave, where I felt that whoever won truly deserved the victory was such a fulfi lling feeling.”

Last year marked the fi rst time

the Challenge Tour had stopped off in Oman and Kakko was ex-tremely impressed by the maiden tournament.

“It was a great event,” he said. “One of the best events, if not the

best tournament of the year. It’s a great venue, the players were re-ally well taken care of and there were a good number of spectators. I really enjoyed everything about last year.”

For now Kakko is focused on trying to retain his European Tour card for next season.

His best results this year have been a tied 10th at the Joburg Open and a tied 15th at the Made in Den-

mark tournament. He’s currently outside the top 110 on the Race to Dubai required to keep his auto-matic playing privileges in the top tier of European golf and admits that the step up in standard on the European Tour is a signifi cant one but that the Challenge Tour is the perfect preparation.

“It´s a great learning curve,” he said. “Competition is very high and it´s very well organised on the Eu-ropean Tour. You always want to play golf at the highest level and the Challenge Tour really prepares you to do that with lots of traveling, good golf courses and really tough com-petition. It’s the perfect education for the bigger stage in your career.

“My goal is to play well enough to fi nish inside 110 to keep my card. Then hopefully next year I can set myself a little bit higher goals and slowly but steadily get better,” he added.

And while Kakko admits that the courses on the European Tour are generally tougher than those on the Challenge Tour one venue breaks the mould — Almouj Golf in Muscat.

“Oman is a little diff erent. Al-mouj Golf would easily qualify as a European Tour course,” the NBO Golf Classic defending champions said with a smile.

One man who knows all about the

signifi cance of the NBO Golf Classic is

the winner of last year’s inaugural event,

Roope Kakko of Finland

It was a great event.

One of the best

events, if not the best

tournament of the year.

It’s a great venue, the

players were really

well taken care of

Roope KakkoFinland

OTA successfully organises monthly junior tournamentMUSCAT: The Oman Tennis As-sociation (OTA) organised the fourth Monthly Junior Tennis Tournament from September 24 to 27 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher.

Eighty players from Quriyat Club, Nizwa Club, Majees Club, Jalan Club, Bausher Club, Ibra Club, Pro Club, ISC and SQSC

competed in diff erent categories. OTA National Teams Commit-

tee Chairman Siddiq Al Hashmi, Nizwa Club chief Abdullah bin Qaseep Al Hadrami, and Director at the Ministry of Sports Aff airs Fahad Al Raisi handed over the trophies.

Results (all fi nals): Under-10 boys (consolation plate): Yahya

Abdullah bt Ahmed Said 10-2, 10-3; U-10 (mixed): Vivek Kolluru bt Tyler Blake 9-8 (5). U-12 boys: Muneer Al Rawahi bt Abdullah l Raisi 9-6; U-14 boys: Abdullah Al Barwani bt Taisei Nishino 9-6; U-18 girls: Rafaella Saa bt Samar Al Bakry 7-6 (5), 7-5; U-18 boys: Abdullah Al Barwani bt Tim Ru-therford 9-6.

T E N N I S

JUNIOR CHAMPIONS: Prize winners in various categories pose for a group photo at the conclusion of

the fourth monthly junior tennis tournament organised by the Oman Tennis Association at the Sultan

Qaboos Sports Complex yesterday. – Supplied photo

Kenya’s Kimetto smashes marathon record in BerlinBERLIN: Kenya’s Dennis Kimet-to smashed the marathon world record in Berlin yesterday, win-ning the race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 57 sec-onds after setting a scintillating pace from the start to shave 26 seconds off the previous best.

Kimetto dazzled hundreds of thousands of spectators along the inner-city course with his quick and seemingly eff ortless running style that saw off any challenge during the race.

The 30-year-old pre-race fa-vourite broke away in a seven-man group, including fellow Kenyans Emmanuel Mutai and Geoff rey Kamworor, after 20 kilometres on a sunny and cool Berlin morning.

With fourkm remaining, he pulled clear from Mutai after the pair had shaken off Kamworor a little earlier to become the fi rst man to complete the race in less than two hours and three minutes.

Kimetto, whose time also eclipsed the 2:03:02 clocked by Geoff rey Mutai in 2011 on Boston’s record-ineligible point-to-point course, clocked under three min-utes for all but threekms with an average of two minutes and 55 sec-onds perkm in a sensational race.

His second half was about 30 seconds faster than the fi rst.

This is the second consecutive world record along Berlin’s fl at

race, considered the world’s fast-est marathon course, after Ken-yan Wilson Kipsang’s previous world best of 2:03:23 was set in the German capital last year.

“I feel good because I won a very tough race,” the soft-spoken Kimetto told reporters. “I felt good from the start and in the last fi ve kilometres I felt I could do it (break the record).”

Tirfi Tsegaye won the women’s race with a time of 2:20:18, nine seconds ahead of fellow Ethiopi-an Feyse Tadese who was second.

American Shalane Flanagan was third.

The tall Kimetto had provided

evidence of his class at the dis-tance with wins in Tokyo and Boston last year.

He had promised to attack the record in Berlin if conditions al-lowed and on Sunday he could not have hoped for better weather.

With temperatures hovering around eight degrees Celsius at the start of a cool day and gradu-ally inching warmer as the race progressed, the Kenyan stayed in the lead group from the beginning and was always positioned near the front. The last pacemakers stepped aside at around 30km as the Kenyan trio gradually broke clear. — Reuters

S C I N T I L L A T I N G P A C E

WINNERS: Ethiopia’s Tirfi Tsegaye, left, and Kenya’s Dennis

Kimetto celebrate on the podium after winning the women’s and

men’s titles at the Berlin Marathon yesterday. – AFP

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OFA appoints Khimji’s Mart as ticketing partnerMUSCAT: Oman football fans can now visit Khimji’s Mart, the coun-try’s largest supermarket chain, to buy tickets for international friendly matches conducted by the Oman Football Association (OFA).

Tickets for Oman vs Costa Rica (October 10, in Sohar, kick-off at 6.30 p.m.) and Oman vs Uruguay (October 13, in Buraimi, kick-off at 6.30 p.m.) are on sale now. Fans can buy the tickets at any of the 33 outlets of Khimji’s Mart and its other retail outlets.

According to a press release is-sued by the OFA yesterday, Oman’s star striker Abdullaziz Al Muqbali inaugurated the offi cial ticketing partnership between OFA and Kh-imji’s Mart during an event held at Khimji’s Mart in Muttrah.

The OFA announced its part-nership agreement with Khimji’s Mart — Retail Division of Khimji Ramdas to become the ticket sales agent for the Association. With an

increase in interest in the national team, and the side playing many games in the months ahead, the new ticket partner will provide the Omani population with more op-portunities to get their tickets to the big games.

Nic Cartwright, the OFA Com-mercial and Communications Di-rector, said: “The interest in the national team tickets keep grow-ing. We want to deliver a great ser-vice to all our fans and this means fi nding more places where sup-porters can buy their tickets. The partnership with Khimji’s Mart means that our tickets will be available in a huge number of out-lets. Of course, tickets will still be on sale at the games, but this deal will allow fans to get their tickets in advance, and avoid the need to wait in long queues. We are also running raffl e prizes on our new website for anyone who pre pur-chases their tickets”.

M. Sridhar, CEO of Khimji’s Mart LLC, said: “We are delighted and extremely proud to be asso-ciated with the Oman national team and the Oman Football As-sociation. We are keen to promote and support the national game of Oman. We think our association with OFA will allow fans from across Oman access and opportu-nity to support our National Team. For more information on the tick-ets customers can contact the KR Toll-free 80075000, to redirect them to the nearest outlets.

Anil Khimji, Director of Khimji’s Mart, noted: “The Oman Football Association has chosen an exist-ing route for the next two games — playing them in Sohar and Buraimi — and we are really pleased to come on board to help build the interest in the game. We are look-ing forward to partnering with the OFA and helping the fans of team to follow the players and the team.”

S E R V I C E F O R F A N S

PROMOTING THE GAME: Oman star striker Abdulaziz Al Maqbali, third left, pictured with OFA and

Khimji’s Mart offi cials during the inaugural ceremony. – Supplied photo

Anas begins battle for Fia Academy berth

DUBAI: Performances on and off the track at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit this week could help carve out an exciting future in motorsport for one of 15 young drivers assem-bled from around the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.

Over the next three days, the candidates for a place in next year’s Fia Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy face a thor-ough examination not only of their driving skills, but also of their ability to handle the physical and psychological demands of profes-sional motorsport.

“Any young driver aiming to get to the top must be highly dis-ciplined and committed in many ways, and we’re going to fi nd out this week who has what it takes,” Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Presi-dent of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE (ATC UAE), said.

“It’s going to be a demanding three days, and the driver who comes out on top will have to work hard on and off the track to win the big prize at stake. They all know that the Academy can do an enormous amount for a young driver’s career, so competition will be tough.”

The Academy has driven a num-ber of its graduates to high places, with Andreas Mikkelsen, Pontus Tidemand and Craig Breen emerg-ing in the World Rally Cham-pionship, and Alexander Rossi, Stoff el Vandoorne, and Robin Frijns becoming Formula One reserve drivers.

The ATC UAE is staging one of the six regional qualifi ers world-wide that will deliver ten drivers into the fully funded 2015 Acad-emy programme, which develops young talent and promotes safety in motorsport.

Among those battling to win the one Academy place available in Abu Dhabi this week are Oman’s Anas Al Raeesi, Kuwait’s Ali Makhseed, the UAE’s Mansour Al Helei, Jordan’s Nabeeh Muammar, Lebanon’s Patrick Njeim and Sau-di Arabia’s Abdullah El Khereiji.

They were joined at an offi cial reception in Abu Dhabi yesterday by nine other regional candidates

— Panikos Polykarpou (Cyprus), Ahmed Sherif (Egypt), Seyedmah-yar Mirmoradi (Iran), Petr Boro-din (Kazakhstan), Ismail Hassine Tadlaoui (Morocco), Suleiman Abdelmunim Suleiman (Sudan), Ahmad Krizan (Syria), Bardo Ben Abdallah Sofi en (Tunisia) and Shalva Tsikhelashvili (Georgia).

Following a friendly karting event later at Yas Race School, the serious business begins today morning with the fi rst in a series of driving exercises, followed by off track sessions on career manage-ment and physiological and psy-chological testing.

The driving sessions, using four brand new Nissan 370Zs provided by Nissan Middle East, are being managed by Saeed Al Mehairi, an instructor at Yas Marina Circuit, and Mohammed Al Mutawaa, who became the fi rst Arab driver to be admitted into the Academy in 2012. He now competes with Abu Dhabi Racing in both the Fia Mid-

dle East Rally Championship and the Fia World Rally Championship.

Taking charge of the physiologi-cal and psychological testing are sports scientists Professor Gareth Davison from the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, and Dr. Tadhg MacIntyre from the Univer-sity of Limerick in Ireland. Com-pleting the team of experts is Tom Onslow-Cole, a professional rac-ing driver now competing in the British GT Championship, who will conduct sessions on media training, sponsorship and career development.

On Wednesday, a judging panel consisting of the Fia Institute’s Kate Robson, ATC UAE Motor-sport Director Ronan Morgan and Onslow-Cole, will interview each of the drivers. The top fi ve select-ed based on overall performance during the week will then tackle a timed lap of the Yas Marina Circuit prior to the winner being announced.

The candidates for a

place in next year’s

Fia Institute Young

Driver Excellence

Academy face a

thorough test of

their driving skills

GEARING UP: Contestants limber up during a training session in Abu Dhabi. – Supplied photo

Van Gaal unconcerned

by Rooney’s red mist

LONDON: Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal refused to discuss Wayne Rooney’s suit-ability to captain the team after the England forward was sent off against West Ham United.

Just a day short of the 10th anniversary of his United debut, Rooney was shown the sixth red card of his career for hacking down Stewart Downing in the 59th minute of his side’s 2-1 win on Saturday.

The off ence occurred inside West Ham’s half, but Van Gaal was reluctant to talk about either Rooney’s reasons for committing a foul so far from goal or the wisdom of his appointment as captain.

“For me, that is neither a good analysis by you and neither a good question,” the Dutchman snapped at a journalist during his post-game press conference. “It is my right not to (answer).”

Rooney had opened the scoring with the 176th league goal of his career, moving him above Thierry Henry into third place in the all-time Premier League scoring chart.

Alan Shearer leads the record books with 260 goals while Andy Cole is second on 187.

Robin van Persie doubled Unit-ed’s lead, but Diafra Sakho pulled a goal back before half-time and West Ham were also aggrieved that a late equaliser from Kevin Nolan was ruled out for off side.

Rooney’s actions dominated the post-match analysis, but he appeared to have found a sympathetic ear with Van Gaal after the game.

“Wayne is always coming to me,” said the United manager. “Maybe you don’t want to hear it, but maybe you do know that in professional football you make professional fouls and I have seen it today fi ve or six times.

“Wayne has done it also so, pro-fessionally, as a trainer-coach, I

can see that but he did it too con-frontationally. That’s maybe his biggest mistake. But I’ve also seen these professional fouls without a yellow or red card, so that’s a lit-tle bit strange.”

‘Superman’ linesman While Van Gaal felt that Rooney’s challenge was merely a profes-sional foul, he was at a loss to explain why the 28-year-old had swung his right foot at Downing with such force.

“He only wanted to trip him, but he has to explain that,” said Van Gaal.

“He said to me he wanted to do that. You are right, I saw that also, but you can’t change it now. It’s a great miss because he played very well. I was very pleased with him. He scored a good goal.”

Opposite number Sam Al-lardyce said of Rooney’s off ence: “It looks cynical. Whether it’s a red card or not according to the rules, he just stopped him.

“He was getting away from him, he didn’t want him to do it, so he just hacked him down. It was really poor.

“If that was a straight red card by the letter of the law, only Mike Riley (head of the Professional Game Match Offi cials Board) can tell you that, not me.”

Allardyce was more forthright in his analysis of assistant referee Andrew Garratt’s decision to rule out Nolan’s late eff ort.

“The superman linesman’s got x-ray vision,” deadpanned Al-lardyce. “Somebody has suggest-ed his (Nolan’s) head was off side. If the linesman can see his head is off side, then he’s a superman for me.

“I have no doubt it was a goal and 2-2. But it’s our fault.

“Referees and assistant refer-ees make mistakes, you have to accept that.” — AFP

F O O T B A L L

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMSECTIONC M O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 14LIFE & STYLE

eople like to associate with brands that refl ect how they see themselves. That’s an axiom of advertising. And so we have slogans telling us that “Choosy Moms Choose Jif.” Or, “If you call yourself a

sports fan, you gotta have DirecTV!”But a study published in the Journal of Consum-

er Research says ads like these can backfi re. That’s because such assertive slogans remove a sense of freedom. What if I don’t have DirecTV? Are you telling me I’m not a real sports fan?

“When identity is involved, people really want to feel like they’re making the choice themselves, that the decision is meaningful,” said Amit Bh-attacharjee, a visiting assistant professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, who worked on the study with academics from New York University and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. When marketers “push too hard, it ruins that,” he added. The mes-sage “crowds out a sense of ownership and turns consumers off .”

In the experiment, researchers gathered a group of about 120 people at the University of Pennsyl-vania. The subjects were encouraged to focus on their environmental interests — a directive meant to activate that part of their identity.

Then they broke into three groups, with each shown a diff erent slogan for Charlie’s Soap, a real-world, biodegradable cleanser. One group got a message that didn’t include any iden-tity reference; it just said the soap was “a good choice for consumers.” Another group’s message

made a light identity reference, calling the soap “a good choice for green consumers.” The third went further: “The only choice for green consumers!”

What researchers found was that the middle option (“a good choice for green consumers”) performed best. The worst performer was the ad that called the soap the “only choice” for green consumers.

That result ran counter to the expectations of a panel of 59 marketing executives and managers who had been asked beforehand to predict which slogan would work best. Nearly half projected the “only choice” slogan would be most eff ective.

The study subjects reported that the off -putting slogan - with language that was not quite bullying but certainly imperative — threatened their sense of “freedom in expressing their identity,” Bhat-tacharjee said.

The researchers bolstered this conclusion when they ran the experiment a second time, but with-out telling a new group of subjects to focus on being environmentally conscious. In other words, they weren’t primed to identify as green consumers.

In this second experiment, the subjects were equally receptive to all three messages. The result told researchers that consumers who potentially identify with a product are put off by a too-explicit brand message.

The study cited the Jif and DirecTV ads as ex-amples that could be off -putting. But clearly, they don’t turn off all consumers. Bhattacharjee and other scholars said what’s probably happening is that while some people may be slightly or even subconsciously irked, they still buy the product because of other attributes or because of factors like brand loyalty or message frequency.

“At some nonconscious level, it might be a little an-noying or threatening, but put in the overall context, it doesn’t necessarily cause defection,” said Mark Fore-hand, a professor of marketing at the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, who added that the study’s overall results made sense.

To Bhattacharjee, the lesson for marketers is to “reference identity without being too explicit; you do want a lighter touch”.—Matt Richtel/The New York Times News Service

eras

When identity is involved, people

really want to feel like they’re making

the choice themselves, that the

decision is meaningful

Amit BhattacharjeeVisiting assistant professor at the Tuck School of Business

O v e r l y a g g r e s s i v e a d v e r t i s i n g , w h e n p u s h e d t o o h a r d ,

t u r n s o f f t h e c o n s u m e r s

or Matt Earley and more people wanting more vinyl records presents a prob-

lem: The six presses that make his records at Gotta Groove Re-cords in Cleveland are more than 40 years old, which means extra shifts and increased production is a recipe for potential disaster, especially when orders are lined up for months.

“It keeps me up at night,” he says. “My biggest worry is what is going to break when, not if it will break. Everything breaks.”

So Early prepares by budget-ing heavily, which he says is just the reality of operating a record-pressing plant. His is one of only about a dozen or so left in the United States that face similar challenges. Despite the increased public demand for vinyl records, spanning mass reissue campaigns of premium-quality vinyl by clas-sic bands such as Pink Floyd to small seven-inch runs by local bands to sell at gigs, press opera-tors say that profi t margins are narrowing because of the in-

creased costs involved in locating, refurbishing, installing, operat-ing, and ultimately repairing ma-chines that are no longer made but are pushed harder and faster than they were in their heyday.

“That old machinery will con-tinue to run if you change the parts, but at what cost? If you run a press 24 hours, six or seven days a week, there is one rule of thumb — You are wearing the machine out twice as fast,” says Bob Roczynski, president of Record Products of America, a 38-year-old company in Hamden, Connecticut, that is one of the last in the United States that supplies machine parts to the existing plants in operation today.

He says the current refurbished machine stock was originally de-signed to run eight to 10 hours each day for one shift. Today, many plants report that demand is forcing their machines to run more than three shifts up to six days each week.

“What’ll happen is companies will continue to push them as long as they are getting the volume

of records they need and they’re making money,” he says. “They’re just going to have to keep putting money to keep those things run-ning if they want to keep their doors open.”

This is a boom time for vinyl, so the doors are off their hinges. Between 2007 and 2013, US vi-nyl sales increased 517 per cent to 6.1 million units, according to SoundScan, and that doesn’t in-clude overseas demand, or sales made directly from record-label Web sites. While CD and digital music sales still dominate music sales, both have taken hits due to streaming; sales for digital de-creased for the fi rst time last year.

At Third Man Records in Nashville, vinyl is all they sell. In fact, Lazaretto, the current solo album by founder Jack White, set the US record for the biggest-selling vinyl record of any year since Pearl Jam in 1994. The al-bum’s sales hit 40,000 in just sev-en days in June. Ben Blackwell, in charge of overseeing Third Man’s vinyl production and dis-tribution, says combined US and overseas pressings have already topped 100,000 copies.

“The thing will not stop selling,” he says.

United Record Pressing in Nashville, one of the oldest re-cord plants in the United States, dating back to 1949. This sum-mer, the company announced a $5.5 million expansion, add-ing 16 to its current stock of 22 presses, which are currently running 24 hours a day, six days a week, producing up to 40,000 records per day. A new build-ing had to be acquired to get the additional presses installed and operational, and once that hap-

pens — “as soon as possible,” promises Jay Miller, United’s marketing director — the com-pany will double its production.

“Market demand” is why Unit-ed is investing in the plant, Miller says, as the company typically deals with a backlog of orders that can stretch back several months.

There have not been any new re-cord presses manufactured since the early 1980s, and the cost to do so is prohibitive, most plant op-erators complain. Roczynski has calculated that one new machine would need a retail price of about $130,000. Others say that price could be double. “No one is going to pay it,” he says. Which means that current plant operators are left to hunt for “anything out there that is left in mothballs or stor-age or rusting away someplace.” The available stock of machines is grabbing “premium dollars” be-cause it can be refurbished “for (a) fraction of the cost” of buying new.

That scenario has created a global hunt for presses among.— Mark Guarino/The Washington Post

C8

EXTRAM O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

The commercial revival of vinyl records is good thing for many people — record labels, recording artists,

audiophile collectors, and independent record shops, but then it comes at a cost

517%increase in vinyl sales

in the US (6.1 million units

between 2007 and 2013)

JAMES Joyce said, “A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.”

This week, we have seen deals featuring errors by players who are not bridge geniuses, from which we can learn. And here is another. What do you think of the bidding and what should happen in four spades after West leads the heart three?

North’s jump to three spades showed four-card support but less than game-invitational values. With a stronger hand, North would have made a three-heart cue-bid raise. This is an excellent idea because it allows the advancer (or the responder, if South had opened and West overcalled) to show either a weak, distributional raise or a high-card raise.

Should East have rebid four hearts? Yes, perhaps that contract was making. No, because it was almost certain to push South into bidding four spades, which East could not be sure of defeating. Here, though, South was going to bid four spades regardless.

Since West had supported hearts, his low-heart lead guaranteed at least one honor in the suit. East, hoping that honor was the king, took the fi rst trick with his ace and returned a heart. However, South won with the king and cashed his two top trumps. When the queen dropped, South claimed.

At trick two, East should have shifted to his singleton diamond. Here, that would have worked perfectly. West would have won with his ace and given his partner a diamond ruff . East would then have cashed the club ace for down one.

— By Phillip Alder

C9

ENTERTAINMENT

The errors continue to be produced

B I G N A T E

B O R N L O S E R

M A R M A D U K E

A C E S O N B R I D G E

C I N E M A S C H E D U L E

K I D S P O T H E A L T H C A P S U L EC R O S S W O R D

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WITH LOVE9 7 3 6 3 2 9 8 6 1 3 9 7

1 4 2 2 5 8 5 7 3

3 1 8 6 2 6 2 1 5 4 3 7 9

4 1 5 3 7 6 9 2 8 6 8 2 9 4 1 5 3 7 9 7 3 8 2 5 4 6 1

7 9 1 5 6 4 2 8 3 3 2 6 1 8 9 7 4 5 5 4 8 7 3 2 6 1 9

1 6 7 4 9 3 8 5 2 2 5 9 6 1 8 3 7 4 8 3 4 2 5 7 1 9 6

Previous puzzle Solution

HOW TO PLAY Fill the empty cells with the numbers 1 to 9, so that each number appears once in each row, column and area. — Seven Galaxies

S U D O K U

M O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 14

BAHJA CINEMA

STARS CINEMA

Film Information - 24540856 / Advance Booking - 24540855Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

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Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 years) whose birthday you are

celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number

and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi

or through e-mail to [email protected]

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ZOYA MUJAHID SURVESeptember 29, 2012

NEHAN AHMEDSeptember 29, 2011

ASHLESHA GOPALSeptember 29, 2007

ALWIN K. MATHEWSeptember 29, 2012

23 QB objectives24 Safari boss26 Easy as —27 Knight’s title29 Hold up30 Starry prefi x31 Reporter’s contact32 A real swine33 Engine parts34 Roman orator

35 Most unusual36 Stitch loosely38 Pretty in Paris41 Wholly absorbed44 Egg — yung45 Tijuana “that”46 Finger paint48 New Age practice

(abbr.)50 Lead, in formulas

ACROSS 1 Cousteau invention 6 Slightly nuts11 Wide-brimmed hat12 “Anyone home?”

(hyph.)14 Elude15 Change form, in

sci-fi 17 Cen. fraction18 Ms. Merkel19 Female rel.20 — — few rounds21 Ms. McEntire of

music23 Best medicine?24 Borscht veggie25 Feigned

fearlessness27 Nobel or Garbo, for

example28 Washboard —29 Estuary30 Tomato jelly33 Pipe type37 Gardener’s need38 Poke39 Verdi heroine40 Harbor craft41 Data storage abbr.

42 Boombox platters43 Tracks, for short44 Disloyal46 Bug repellent47 Eight-armed

creatures49 Thin51 Chew the scenery52 Prior’s superior

DOWN 1 Rather 2 Greenish melon 3 Western Indian 4 “— quiet!” 5 Upper limb 6 Sheet-music line 7 Klutz’s mutter 8 “—! My Soul!”

(Little Richard fune)

9 Acidity letters10 Fluctuated

repeatedly (hyph.)11 Book jacket ad13 Declaim16 King Harald’s

capital20 Mild expletive22 Take advantage of

C10

FIND-IT-ALLM O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

MONDAY

FLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA WY682 RIYADH 0005WY676 JEDDAH 0005WY636 ABU DHABI 0010WY924 SALALAH 0035BG021 DACCA-CHITTAGONG 0100WY928 SALALAH 01054H583 DACCA 0130TK776 ISTANBUL-BAHRAIN 0205GF560 BAHRAIN 0320EY384 ABU DHABI 0340QR1132 DOHA 0345EK866 DUBAI 0355MS930 CAIRO 0400WY674 JEDDAH 0640FZ041 DUBAI 0645WY638 ABU DHABI 0650WY658 BAHRAIN 0650WY902 SALALAH 0655WY668 DOHA 0700WY686 RIYADH 0705EP6555 SHIRAZ 0710WY102 LONDON HEATHROW 0740WY602 DUBAI 0800FZ043 DUBAI 0800WY274 JAIPUR 0820WY202 BOMBAY 0825WY282 BANGALORE 0910WY346 ISLAM ABBAD 0915G9114 SHARJAH 0915WY242 DELHI 0925WY236 HYDERABAD 0925WY252 MADRAS 0930EK862 DUBAI 0930WY226 COCHIN 0930WY268 LUCKNOW 0935WY212 TRIVANDRUM 0935QR1128 DOHA 1000EY382 ABU DHABI 1010IX443 COCHIN 10309W530 TRIVANDRUM 1045WY604 DUBAI 1100G9841 RAS AL KHAIMA 1120WY342 LAHORE 1125WY332 KATHMANDU 1130WY372 COLOMBO 1130IX337 CALICUT 1155WY384 MALE 1200WY904 SALALAH 1225WY3302 MUKHAIZNA 1230WY818 BANGKOK 1230WY826 KUALA LUMPUR 1245WY324 KARACHI 1300WY632 ABU DHABI 1320WY918 KHASAB 1330WY606 DUBAI 1330WY906 SALALAH 1425WY812 BANGKOK 1440FZ045 DUBAI 1545WY656 BAHRAIN 1600WY664 DOHA 1620PA450 LAHORE 1630WY204 BOMBAY 1645WY292 CALICUT 1710WY610 DUBAI 1715WY3304 MUKHAIZNA 1730WY254 MADRAS 1740WY246 DELHI 1740WY232 HYDERABAD 1740GF564 BAHRAIN 1810WY3922 DUQUM OMAN 1900G9116 SHARJAH 1915WY914 SALALAH 1930WY646 KUWAIT 1950WY614 DUBAI 2020WY434 TEHRAN 2040FZ047 DUBAI 2050AI977 BANGALORE-HYDERABAD 2105WY312 CHITTAGONG 21109W534 COCHIN 2115KL441 AMSTERDAM-DOHA 2115AI973 DELHI 2125WY924 SALALAH 21256.00E+81 BOMBAY 2130QR1130 DOHA 2140BA073 LONDON HEATHROW-ABU DHABI 2140WY624 DUBAI 2140UL205 COLOMBO 2155AI907 MADRAS 2200QR1134 DOHA 2225LX242 ZURICH-DUBAI 2235LH618 FRANKFURT-ABU DHABI 2235GF566 BAHRAIN 2240EY388 ABU DHABI 2245WY916 SALALAH 2245SG061 AHMEDABAD 2300WY414 AMMAN 2300WY908 SALALAH 2305AI985 AHMEDABAD-BOMBAY 23109W540 BOMBAY 2315WY662 DOHA 2340WY816 BANGKOK 2340WY612 DUBAI 2345WY654 BAHRAIN 2345WY717 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 2345WY717 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 2345WY696 DAMMAM 2350WY406 CAIRO 2355WY648 KUWAIT 2355

TUESDAY

FLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA

WY682 RIYADH 0005WY676 JEDDAH 0005WY636 ABU DHABI 00104H583 DACCA 0130NL768 LAHORE 0130TK774 ISTANBUL 0135PK281 ISLAM ABBAD-SIALKOT 0155PK225 KARACHI 0200GF560 BAHRAIN 0320EY384 ABU DHABI 0340QR1132 DOHA 0345ET624 ADDIS ABABA 0350EK866 DUBAI 0355MS930 CAIRO 0410FZ041 DUBAI 0510WY324 KARACHI 0525WY658 BAHRAIN 0600WY412 AMMAN 0615WY122 MUNICH 0620WY674 JEDDAH 0640WY142 MALPENSA 0650WY154 ZURICH 0650WY114 FRANKFURT 0650WY638 ABU DHABI 0650WY902 SALALAH 0655WY668 DOHA 0700WY692 DAMMAM 0705WY686 RIYADH 0705WY644 KUWAIT 0720WY102 LONDON HEATHROW 0740WY132 PARIS 0745WY602 DUBAI 0800FZ043 DUBAI 0800WY274 JAIPUR 0820WY202 BOMBAY 0825G9114 SHARJAH 0915WY236 HYDERABAD 0925WY242 DELHI 0925EK862 DUBAI 0930WY252 MADRAS 0930WY268 LUCKNOW 0935QR1128 DOHA 1000EY382 ABU DHABI 1010QR8550 DOHA 1030WY3302 MUKHAIZNA 10459W530 TRIVANDRUM 1045WY604 DUBAI 1100G9841 RAS AL KHAIMA 1120WY332 KATHMANDU 1130WY312 CHITTAGONG 1155IX337 CALICUT 1155WY904 SALALAH 1225BG023 CHITTAGONG 1230PK191 GWADUR 1240WY918 KHASAB 1245WY632 ABU DHABI 1320IX817 MANGALORE-ABU DHABI 1325WY606 DUBAI 1330KU677 KUWAIT 1425WY906 SALALAH 1425WY3304 MUKHAIZNA 1445FZ045 DUBAI 1545WY656 BAHRAIN 1600WY328 LAHORE 1600WY204 BOMBAY 1645WY664 DOHA 1705WY292 CALICUT 1710WY610 DUBAI 1715WY224 COCHIN 1735WY216 TRIVANDRUM 1740WY232 HYDERABAD 1740WY246 DELHI 1740WY284 BANGALORE 1750GF564 BAHRAIN 1810WY338 KATHMANDU 1830WY3306 MUKHAIZNA 1845TG507 BANGKOK-KARACHI 1900SV534 RIYADH 1900G9116 SHARJAH 1915WY346 ISLAM ABBAD 1925WY434 TEHRAN 1930WY614 DUBAI 2020FZ047 DUBAI 2050WY254 MADRAS 21159W534 COCHIN 2115AI973 DELHI 21256.00E+81 BOMBAY 2130QR1130 DOHA 2140BA073 LONDON HEATHROW-ABU DHABI 2140WY624 DUBAI 2140WY914 SALALAH 2150WY814 BANGKOK 2150WY386 MALE 2155UL205 COLOMBO 2155AI907 MADRAS 2200QR1134 DOHA 2225WY374 COLOMBO 2235LX242 ZURICH-DUBAI 2235LH618 FRANKFURT-ABU DHABI 2235GF566 BAHRAIN 2240EY388 ABU DHABI 2245WY916 SALALAH 2245WY908 SALALAH 2305AI985 AHMEDABAD-BOMBAY 23109W540 BOMBAY 2315WY654 BAHRAIN 2335WY816 BANGKOK 2340WY662 DOHA 2340WY612 DUBAI 2345WY717 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 2345WY696 DAMMAM 2350WY406 CAIRO 2355WY648 KUWAIT 2355

FLT NO DEPARTURES TO ETD BA072 ABU DHABI-LONDON HEATHROW 0001AI986 BOMBAY 00059W539 BOMBAY 0020WY811 BANGKOK 0100WY251 MADRAS 0110WY201 BOMBAY 0115WY281 BANGALORE 0120WY225 COCHIN 0120WY685 RIYADH 0120WY211 TRIVANDRUM 0120WY273 JAIPUR 0145WY371 COLOMBO 0145WY267 LUCKNOW 0150WY235 HYDERABAD 0155WY601 DUBAI 0155WY657 BAHRAIN 0200WY901 SALALAH 0200WY637 ABU DHABI 0220WY241 DELHI 0225BG022 DACCA 02304H584 DACCA 0230WY345 ISLAM ABBAD 0230WY667 DOHA 0235WY383 MALE 0235WY341 LAHORE 0240TK777 BAHRAIN-ISTANBUL 0255EK867 DUBAI 0500MS931 CAIRO 0500QR1133 DOHA 0515EY385 ABU DHABI 0525FZ042 DUBAI 0730GF561 BAHRAIN 0745WY603 DUBAI 0800WY3301 MUKHAIZNA 0800EP6556 SHIRAZ 0810WY903 SALALAH 0830WY323 KARACHI 0840FZ044 DUBAI 0840WY253 MADRAS 0920WY291 CALICUT 0930WY815 BANGKOK 0940G9115 SHARJAH 0955WY231 HYDERABAD 1010WY905 SALALAH 1020WY203 BOMBAY 1025WY605 DUBAI 1030WY631 RIYADH 1030WY917 KHASAB 1030WY311 CHITTAGONG 1040WY245 DELHI 1040WY717 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 1045EK863 DUBAI 1045QR1129 DOHA 1100EY383 ABU DHABI 1110IX442 COCHIN 11259W533 COCHIN 1145WY655 BAHRAIN 1200G9842 RAS AL KHAIMA 1210WY663 DOHA 1230WY331 KATHMANDU 1235IX350 CALICUT 1255WY3303 MUKHAIZNA 1330WY413 AMMAN 1345WY131 PARIS 1350WY153 ZURICH 1350WY113 FRANKFURT 1355WY101 LONDON HEATHROW 1400WY609 DUBAI 1405WY121 MUNICH 1415WY645 KUWAIT 1440WY433 TEHRAN 1440WY405 CAIRO 1440WY3921 DUQUM OMAN 1515WY913 SALALAH 1525WY141 MALPENSA 1600FZ046 DUBAI 1630WY675 JEDDAH 1645WY613 DUBAI 1715WY923 SALALAH 1720PA451 LAHORE 1730WY623 DUBAI 1805WY681 RIYADH 1840WY915 SALALAH 1840WY647 KUWAIT 1850GF565 BAHRAIN 1855WY907 SALALAH 1900WY695 DAMMAM 1930WY653 BAHRAIN 1935WY661 DOHA 1950G9117 SHARJAH 1955WY611 DUBAI 2045WY635 ABU DHABI 2120FZ048 DUBAI 2135AI978 HYDERABAD-BANGALORE 2200WY411 AMMAN 2210WY421 BEIRUT 22309W529 TRIVANDRUM 2230KL442 DOHA-AMSTERDAM 2230WY673 JEDDAH 2240QR1131 DOHA 22406.00E+82 BOMBAY 2245AI908 MADRAS 2300UL206 COLOMBO 2305AI974 DELHI 2310GF567 BAHRAIN 2325QR1135 DOHA 2330LX243 DUBAI-ZURICH 2335EY381 ABU DHABI 2345LH619 ABU DHABI-FRANKFURT 2355

FLT NO DEPARTURES TO ETD BA072 ABU DHABI-LONDON HEATHROW 0001AI986 BOMBAY 00059W539 BOMBAY 0020SG062 AHMEDABAD 0030WY323 KARACHI 0105WY251 MADRAS 0110WY201 BOMBAY 0115WY685 RIYADH 0120WY311 CHITTAGONG 0125WY273 JAIPUR 0145WY267 LUCKNOW 0150WY235 HYDERABAD 0155WY601 DUBAI 0155WY657 BAHRAIN 0200WY901 SALALAH 0200WY643 KUWAIT 0210WY637 ABU DHABI 0220WY241 DELHI 0225TK775 ISTANBUL 0230NL769 LAHORE 02304H584 DACCA 0230WY667 DOHA 0235WY691 DAMMAM 0235PK230 LAHORE 0255PK282 SIALKOT 0255ET625 ADDIS ABABA 0450EK867 DUBAI 0500MS931 CAIRO 0510QR1133 DOHA 0515EY385 ABU DHABI 0525FZ042 DUBAI 0555WY3301 MUKHAIZNA 0715GF561 BAHRAIN 0745WY813 BANGKOK 0750WY603 DUBAI 0800WY903 SALALAH 0830FZ044 DUBAI 0840WY223 COCHIN 0900WY215 TRIVANDRUM 0920WY327 LAHORE 0920WY337 KATHMANDU 0930WY291 CALICUT 0930WY815 BANGKOK 0940WY917 KHASAB 0945WY823 KUALA LUMPUR 0950WY385 MALE 0955G9115 SHARJAH 0955WY283 BANGALORE 1000WY231 HYDERABAD 1010WY905 SALALAH 1020WY203 BOMBAY 1025WY631 ABU DHABI 1030WY605 DUBAI 1030WY373 COLOMBO 1040WY245 DELHI 1040EK863 DUBAI 1045WY717 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 1045QR1129 DOHA 1100EY383 ABU DHABI 1110WY3303 MUKHAIZNA 11159W533 COCHIN 1145WY655 BAHRAIN 1200QR8551 DUBAI WORLD CENTRE-DOHA 1200G9842 RAS AL KHAIMA 1210IX350 CALICUT 1255WY345 ISLAM ABBAD 1255WY253 MADRAS 1255WY663 DOHA 1315PK192 GWADUR-TURBAT 1325WY433 TEHRAN 1330BG024 CHITTAGONG 1400WY101 LONDON HEATHROW 1400WY609 DUBAI 1405IX818 MANGALORE 1415WY405 CAIRO 1440WY3305 MUKHAIZNA 1515KU678 ABU DHABI-KUWAIT 1525FZ046 DUBAI 1630WY675 JEDDAH 1645WY613 DUBAI 1715WY913 SALALAH 1745WY623 DUBAI 1805WY681 RIYADH 1840WY915 SALALAH 1840WY647 KUWAIT 1850GF565 BAHRAIN 1855WY907 SALALAH 1900WY695 DAMMAM 1930WY653 BAHRAIN 1935WY661 DOHA 1950G9117 SHARJAH 1955SV535 RIYADH 2000TG508 KARACHI-BANGKOK 2005WY923 SALALAH 2030WY611 DUBAI 2045WY825 KUALA LUMPUR 2050WY635 ABU DHABI 2120FZ048 DUBAI 21359W529 TRIVANDRUM 2230WY673 JEDDAH 2240QR1131 DOHA 22406.00E+82 BOMBAY 2245WY671 MEDINA 2250AI908 MADRAS 2300UL206 COLOMBO 2305AI974 DELHI 2310GF567 BAHRAIN 2325QR1135 DOHA 2330LX243 DUBAI-ZURICH 2335EY381 ABU DHABI 2345LH619 ABU DHABI-FRANKFURT 2355

A I R L I N E S

PHARMACIESRound the clockAl Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24783334; Appolo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24782666; Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24702542, Salalah: 23291635; Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra: 24503585; Ruwi 24811715Muscat Region Apollo, Al Hamriya. Tel: 24787766Muscat, A Seeb Market. Tel: 24421691Muscat, Al Khuwair. Tel: 24485740Muscat, Al Hail South. Tel: 24537080Dhofar RegionMuscat, Al Nahdha Road, Salalah. Tel: 23291635

HOSPITALSAl Amal Medical & Health Care Centre: 24485052Atlas Hospital: Ruwi: 24811743/ Ghubra: 24504000Al Musafi r Specialised Medical Clinic: 24706453Hatat Polyclinic LLC,Ruwi: 24563641, Azaiba: 24499269, Sohar: 2683006Al Raff ah Hospital: 24618900/1/2Al Massaraat Clinic & Laboratory: 24566435Al Makook Medical Coordinance Centre: 24499434Apollo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24787766, 24787780Capital Polyclinic: 24707549Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic, Ruwi: 24799760/1/2Capital Clinic, Seeb: 24420740Ceregem National Raak: 24485633Dr Harub’s Clinic: 24563217Elixir Health Centre: 24565802Emirates Medical Centre: 246045401st Chiropractic Centre: 24472274Hamdan Hospital: 23212340International Medical Centre LLC: 24794501/2/3/4/5Kims Oman Hospital: 24760100

24 Hrs Emergency: 24760123Lama Polyclinic, Sohar: 26751128, MBD: 24799077, Al Khuwair: 24478818Magrabi Eye and Ear Hospital: 24568870Muscat Private Hospital: 24583600Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, Al Khuwair: 24477666Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC: 22004000

ROYAL OMAN POLICEEmergencies and inquiries: 9999General Directorate of Passport and Residence: 24569603Directorate General of Customs: 24521109Traffi c violations inquiries: 24510228Public Relations Admin: 24560099

ACCOMMODATIONAl Bahjah Hotel: 24424400Al Bustan Palace: 24764000 Al Khuwair Hotel Apartments: 24478171Al Madina Holiday Inn: 24596400Al Maha International Hotel: 24494949Al Fanar Hotel: 24712385Al Falaj Hotel: 24702311Al Qurum Resort: 24605945Azaiba Hotel Apartments: 24490979Beach Hotel: 24696601Bowshar Hotel: 24491105Coral Hotel Muscat: 24692121Crowne Plaza Muscat: 24660660Crystal Suites: 24826100Golden Tulip Seeb: 24510300Grand Hyatt Muscat: 24641234Haff a House Hotel: 24707207Hotel Muscat Holiday: 24487123InterContinental Muscat: 24680000Majan Continental Hotel: 24592900Marina Hotel: 24711711Midan Hotel Suites: 24499565Mina Hotel: 24711828Muttrah Hotel: 24798401

Nuzha Hotel Apartments: 24789199Oman Dive Centre: 24824240Park Inn: 24507888Qurum Beach House Hotel: 24564070Radisson Blu Hotel: 24487777Ramee Dream Resort Seeb: 24453399Ramee Guestline Hotel: 24564443Ruwi Hotel: 24704244Safeer Hotel Suites: 24691200Sheraton Oman Hotel: 24772772Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa: 24776666The Chedi Muscat: 24524400The Treasurebox Muscat Hotel: 24502570

AIRLINE OFFICESMuscat Airport Flight information (24 hours): 24519456/24519223Aerofl ot: 24704455, Air Arabia: 24700828, Air France: 24562153, Air India: 24799801, Air New Zealand: 24700732, Biman Bangladesh Airlines: 24701128, British Airways: 24568777, Cathay Pacifi c: 24789818, Egypt Air: 24794113, Emirates Air: 24404400, Ethiopian Airlines: 24660313, Gulf Air: 80072424, Indian: 24791914, Iran Air: 24787423, Japan Airlines: 24704455, Jazeera Airways: 23294848, Jet Airways: 24787248, Kenya Airways: 24660300, KML Royal Dutch Airlines: 24566737, Kuwait Airways: 24701262, LOT Polish Airlines: 24796387, Lufthansa: 24796692, Malaysian Airlines: 24560796, Middle East Airlines: 24796680, Oman Air: 24531111, Pakistan International Airlines: 24792471, Qatar Airways: 24771900, Qantas: 24559941, Royal Jordanian: 24796693, Saudi Arabian Airlines: 24789485, Singapore Airlines: 24791233, Shaheen Air: 24816565, SriLankan Airlines:

24784545, Swiss International Airlines: 24796692, Thai Airways: 24705934, Turkish Airlines: 24703033

MUSEUMSBait Al Baranda: Corniche (seafront opp fi sh market), Open from Saturday to Thursday 9am to 1pm and 4 to 6pmNatural History Museum: Al Khuwair, Tel: 24604957, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm; Thursday: 9am to 1pmMuseum of Omani Heritage: (former Omani Museum), Madinat Al Alam, Sat-Wed 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday - 9am to 1pm, Tel: 24600946Armed Forces Museum: Bait Al Falaj, Tel: 24312651, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm; Thurs 9-12pm and 3-6pm; Fri 9-11am and 3-6pm. Al Hoota Caves 24498258; Turtle Beach 96550606/96550707Children’s Science Museum: Shatti Al Qurum, Tel: 24605368, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmOman-French Museum: near Muscat Police Station, Tel: 24736613, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm, Thurs: 9am to 1pmBait Al Zubair, Muscat: Tel: 24736688, Al Saidiya St., [email protected] from Sat to Thurs: 9:30am to 6pm.National Museum Ruwi: Tel: 24701289, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmSohar Fort Museum: Tel: 26844758, Open from Saturday to Wed: 8 to 1:30pm Thurs: 9am to 1pmMuscat Gate Museum: at Al Bahri Road, Muscat open from Sat to Wed 8am to 2pm

PRAYER TIMINGS

W E A T H E R

Dhuhr 12.02pm

Asr 3.27pm

Maghrib 6.02pm

Isha 7.12pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 4.43am

Sunset 5:57pm

Sunrise (Tomorrow) 5.58am

High tide 12:15am 11:36pm

Low tide 5:52pm 5:33am

OMAN

Max 36Min 27

Max 33Min 28

Max 33Min 28

Max 37Min 26

Max 37Min 27Max 37

Min 23

Max 35Min 24

Max 31 Min 26

Partly cloudy skies along the coastal areas of Dhofar governorate and adjoining mountains with chances of intermittent drizzle over the mountains. Chance of clouds advection over Al-Wusta and southern and northern Al-Sharqiya

governorates may give some isolated rain. Partly Cloudy skies over rest of the Sultanate with chances of convective clouds development and isolated rain over Al-Hajar and Dhofar mountains and adjoining areas during afternoon and evening. Chances of late night to early morning low level clouds or fog patches along the coastal areas.EXPECTED WIND: Along the coastal areas of Oman Sea wind will be northeasterly light to moderate during day becoming variable light at night, and Along the coastal areas of Arabian Sea it will be southeasterly moderate to fresh and over rest of the

Sultanate wind will be southerly to southeasterly light to moderate.SEA STATE: Moderate over Oman Sea and Musandam governorate coasts with maximum wave height of 2.0 metres and, moderate to rough along Arabian Sea coasts with maximum wave height of 2.25 metres.HORIZONTAL VISIBILITY: Good over most of the Sultanate becoming poor during rain, drizzle and fog.THE NEXT 48 HOURS OUTLOOK: Partly cloudy skies along the coastal areas of Dhofar governorate and adjoining mountains with chances of intermittent drizzle over the mountains. Chance of convective clouds development and isolated rain over Al-Hajar mountains and adjoining areas during afternoon. Chance of late night to early morning low level clouds or fog patches along the coastal areas.

Max Min

GULFAbu Dhabi 37 29Doha 35 28Dubai 37 29Kuwait 40 26Manama 35 29Riyadh 37 23

WORLDAthens 23 18Baghdad 37 22Beijing 23 7Berlin 23 12Boston 21 17Cairo 30 22Colombo 31 28Frankfurt 22 12Hong Kong 29 26Istanbul 20 16Johannesburg 27 19Kuala Lumpur 32 24Lisbon 22 16Paris 24 18Perth 19 14Singapore 31 29Tokyo 26 20Toronto 23 14

WORLD

Max 26Min 17

Max 35Min 25

Max 24Min 12

Max 31Min 25

Max 26Min 16

Max 22Min 13

Max 16Min 10

Max 32Min 24

LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (Route 36)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 15:00 Quriyat 16:30 Daily15:00 Sur 18:00 Daily15:00 Jaalan 19:30 Daily

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (Route 36)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41)06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri13:00 Sohar 15:45 Daily13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41)07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (Route 62)06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (Route 62)12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily06:00 Dubai 11:30 Daily13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (Route 100)07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (Route 100)07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily19:00 Ruwi 07:30 Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily

SALALAH TO DUBAI (Route 102)15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:30 Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (Route 102)15:00 Salalah 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI) TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

LISTINGS

—www.met.gov.om

BORN today, you are a quick thinker, and one who is always looking ahead to see what is coming your way. This combination means that you are quite adept at anticipating not only the circumstances that you will be facing in the future, but also the actions that you should take — and that others will take — as those circumstances come upon you. Still, for all this, there is something more instinctive and purely intuitive about you than anyone might suppose — and your greatest successes in life are likely to be the result not of careful planning, but of impulsive attempts to take advantage of opportunities you did not see coming.

Improvisation is one of your greatest strengths; you can make things up as you go with such ease and confi dence that your actions aren’t likely to look “made up” or accidental in any way. When it comes to love, however, this can be hard on one who tries to sustain a relationship with you.

Also born on this date are: Jerry Lee Lewis, singer; Miguel de Cervantes, author; Gene Autry, actor; Madeline Kahn, actress and comedian; Mackenzie Crook, actor; Andrew Dice Clay, actor and comic; Ian McShane, actor; Bum Phillips, football coach; Larry Linville, actor; Greer Garson, actress; Horatio Nelson, British naval hero; Bryant Gumbel, TV journalist and sportscaster; Lech Walesa, Polish leader.

Anyone who tries to trick you or deceive you in any way is likely to be surprised by your ability to see through any such ruse.

VIRGO [AUG. 23-SEPT. 22]

LIBRA [SEPT. 23-OCT. 22] LLLLLLLLLLLLL[S[S[S[S[[S[S[[S[SSS[SSSSS[S[[[SSSSSSSS

SCORPIO [OCT. 23-NOV. 21] S[

SAGITTARIUS [NOV. 22-DEC. 21] S[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

AQUARIUS [JAN. 20-FEB. 18]

It’s time to start thinking about what you are going to do when a current phase or project comes to an end. The transition is key.

You’re likely to take a walk down memory lane, and one or two old friends, no longer in your life, will feature quite prominently.

You may have trouble coming to terms with something a friend or loved one has recently done. The question is: Does it really concern you?

You may have good reason today to break out of your usual pattern and do something that takes those around you completely by surprise.

You are trying too hard to appear casual when, in fact, you are anything but casual inside! Let your true feelings show.

You may fi nd yourself engaged in a battle of wits with someone who is actually playing according to very diff erent rules.

Confusion results from your attempt to make clear something that matters only to you — or does it? Your presumptions are incorrect.

PISCES [Feb. 19-March 20]

You’re excited about what lies ahead, but you have to be conscientious about how you fi nish a current phase before moving on.

GEMINI [MAY 21-JUNE 20]

CANCER [JUNE 21-JULY 22]

LEO [JULY 23-AUG. 22]

CAPRICORN [DEC. 22-JAN 19]

Y O U R B I R T H D A Y

ARIES [March 21-APRIL 19]

TAURUS [APRIL 20-MAY 20]

You’ll receive a familiar warning, but that is not likely to be enough to stop you from doing that which others think you shouldn’t do.

You’re trying to convey some important and complex ideas to those who are willing to listen, but you may not be speaking the same language.

You are likely to encounter someone who is far less interested in being in sync with you than in challenging you and your seeming authority.

C11

EXTRAM O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 14

Marvel and the family of Jack Kirby have amica-bly resolved their legal

disputes, and are looking forward to advancing their shared goal of honouring Kirby’s signifi cant role in Marvel’s history,” the com-pany and the Kirby family said in a joint statement last week.

The family in March petitioned the US Supreme Court to review their case after both a federal judge in New York and a federal appeals court had agreed with Marvel that their father’s drawings were work-for-hire and the family couldn’t terminate the publisher’s copy-right to the characters.

Disney acquired Marvel for $4.2

billion in 2009. Since then, charac-ters such as Iron Man and Thor have proved box office gold for the Bur-bank, California-based company.

“Marvel’s The Avengers was the top-grossing fi lm of 2012. This year’s Guardians of the Galaxy, based on lesser- known Marvel characters, also led the domestic box offi ce with $315 million in tick-ets sold since its August release. Licensing fees from merchandise tied to Marvel characters such as Spider-Man have boosted the re-sults of Disney’s consumer-prod-ucts division.

In 2009, Kirby’s adult children sent 45 notices to Marvel to termi-nate license renewals for the char-

acters in comics published from 1958 to 1963. Marvel sued in January 2010, seeking a judgment that the termination notices were invalid.

Kirby, who died in 1994, also cre-ated or co-created the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. His heirs said their father was a freelance artist paid by the page who re-ceived no benefi ts from Marvel. Stan Lee, who worked for Marvel as an editor, is credited as co-au-thor of the Hulk.

Marvel said in court papers that Kirby granted the company rights to the characters in 1972 and that his children waited too long to make their copyright claims. - Edvard Pettersson/The Washington Post

Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel Entertainment settled its copyright dispute

with the children of the late comic book artist Jack Kirby, who

helped create the ‘Incredible Hulk’ and ‘X-Men’ character

Disney’s Marvel settles with Hulk co-creator Kirby’s familyHHHulk co-ccreeator K Anti-odour clothes may leave you smelly

PLANNING TO buy an anti-odour shirt to stay fresh all day long? Think again as new research shows that anti-odour clothing may not be living up to its promise. Some antimicrobial textiles were far more eff ective at performing their advertised tasks in the lab, the fi ndings showed. “We are not necessarily seeing the same re-sults when we are wearing them next to our bodies in real life,” said researcher Ra-chel McQueen from University of Alberta in Canada. She said: “Because the textiles appear to be eff ective at reducing bacteria in the lab, they may be advertised as being anti-odourous, although they may not necessarily be so when actually worn.”

Facebook can steer young minds into politics

FACEBOOK can encourage more young people to get engaged in politics, a new research shows. “We need to take Facebook much more seriously as a space where young people — purposefully or incidentally — engage with politics, with their net-works of friends and family,” said Ariadne Vromen, associate professor from Uni-versity of Sydney. The survey of 3,600 young people in the age group 16-29 across Australia, the UK and the US revealed that they fi rst hear about news and major events on Facebook rather than print and TV programmes. Researchers found that use of social media leads to more political participation by young people. —IANS

BR I E FS

C12

EXTRAM O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

The British Museum announced the dis-covery of the Seaton Down Hoard on Sat-urday. Comprising of

about 22,000 coins dating back more than 1,700 years, it is the fi fth largest fi nd of Roman coins in Britain.

Laurence Egerton, 51, a semi-retired builder from East Devon, discovered two ancient coins “the size of a thumbnail” buried near the surface of a fi eld with his met-al detector in November last year.

After digging deeper, his shovel came up full of the copper-alloy coins. “They just spilled out all over the fi eld,” he said. “It was an exciting moment. I had found one or two Roman coins before but never so many together.”

The metal detectorist called in the experts and watched amazed

as archaeologists dis-covered thou-

sands more coins buried about a foot deep. To ensure the site was not tampered with Egerton slept in his car nearby “for three cold nights” until the dig was fi nished. “It’s by far the biggest fi nd I’ve ever had. It really doesn’t get any better. It is so important to record all of these fi nds properly because it is so easy to lose important in-sights into our history,” Egerton said. He found the coins near the Honeyditches site in Devon where a Roman villa had previously been excavated.

Bill Horner, county archae-ologist at Devon County Council, said: “We realised the signifi cance and mobilised a team as fast as

we could.” He continued: “The coins were in remarkably good

condition. Coming out of the ground you could see the por-trait faces; a family tree of the House of Constantine.”

Over the past 10 months the coins have been lightly cleaned, identifi ed and catalogued at the British Museum, although there is still more work to do. They range from late AD 260 to

almost AD 350. Mr Horner said the coins bore a range

of portraits, describing it as a “family tree of the House of

Constantine”.The British Museum called

the scale of the fi nd “remarkable”,

adding that it was “one of the larg-est hoards ever found within the whole Roman Empire”. The larg-est fi nd in Britain was the Cune-tio Hoard of almost 55,000 coins discovered near Mildenhall, Wilt-shire in 1978.

The coins would not have been particularly valuable at the time; with experts estimated they would then have been worth about four gold coins, equivalent to a work-er’s pay for two years. The Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery in Exeter hopes to raise money to buy the collection and appealed to the public to donate.

The hoard is yet to be fully val-ued, but one expert said it would be worth less than £100,000. The proceeds will be split between Egerton and the landowner, Clin-ton Devon Estates.

One of the coins is particularly special. It marks the one millionth fi nd of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, set up in 1997 to provide a record of all the fi nds brought in by members of the public.

The scheme is managed by the British Museum and funded by the Department for Culture, Me-dia, and Sport’s grant-in-aid to the institution.

Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum said: “You know what it’s like; you sit waiting for the millionth object to come along and 22,000 come along at once.”

The special coin, called a num-mus, was struck by Constantine the Great to celebrate the inaugu-ration of the new city of Constan-tinople, now Istanbul. The scheme was set up to keep track of all the fi nds by metal detectorists and en-thusiasts and provide a resource for scholars to study historical objects. Since 1997 a total of 500 Roman coin hoards have been dis-covered across the country. - Nick Clark/The Independent

An enthusiast has stumbled upon one of the largest hoards of Roman

coins ever found in Britain, prompting a local museum to launch a

campaign to buy the ‘remarkable’ collection

Amateur metal detector uncovers 22,000 Roman coins

never so many together.”The metal detectorist called in

the experts and watched amazed as archaeologists dis-

covered thou-

all of tit is sosightssaid. HHoneya Romexcava

Billologissaid: “and m

we coi

cogt

oa “

ConTh

the sc

The obverse of the coin

features a personification

of Constantinopolis, a

laureate and helmeted

bust with a scepter over

the left shoulder

The reverse depicts winged

victory standing on ship’s

prow, holding a scepter

of spear in front of her

and a shield behind

The first coin Egerton unearthed, is a

nummus struck in 332 A.D. at the Lyon

mint to celebrate Constantine’s

founding of the new

imperial capital of

Constantinople

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O MSECTION

CONNECT H E D A I LY G U I D E

D

D4 VACANCY CARGO D7

M O N D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

RENT D2

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication.

* Subject to space availability

DAILY GUIDEEmail: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

3 BHK, 2 BHK and 1 BHK fl ats with

split air conditioners are available

for rent in new building in Al Qurum,

near Rose Garden. Interested persons

may contact on Phone no 99244577

3 BR Duplex fl at in Rex with car

park. Contact 99713489

Flat for rent 2 BR attached toilets,

1 kitchen at Mawaleh. Contact

99200084 / 99330479 / 99864818

Moballah Senaiaya Good location

full Equipt Garage.

Contact 99879872

5 Bedrooms Villa with 2 halls,

4 bathrooms in Darsait behind

Khimji Market. Contact 92584715/

24700120

Spacious 1 BR Flat in MBD & Wadi-

kabir. Contact 99713489

2 BHK Pent- house with split A/C

in all rooms, very spacious balcony

with sea & city view at Bldg# 1619

Way 1322 adjacent to Indian Nursery

Darsait RO 375, 2 BHK RO 340, 1

BHK RO 250. Contact 99476728 /

99831047

Store CBD 350 SQM. Contact

99024730

Offi ce space 400 SQM CBD.

Contact 99024730

1 BHK in Ghubra, 2 BHK in Ghala, 3

BHK in Al Khuwair, 2 BHK in Ruwi,

Mumtaz, 2 BHK in Al Falaj and full

furnished offi ces in Ghala.

Contact 93782735 / 96902593

2 Bedrooms surface house, 1 Family

Hall, 1 Bathroom, kitchen, full fur-

nished. Contact: 99315515

1 BHK in Ghubra South include W/E

and split AC 285 RO.

Contact 95811110

3 BHK Villa Qurum Heights, pool and

GYM 950 RO. Contact 94232344

Big Villa at Bowshar area 8 rooms,

8 bathrooms with kitchen & maid

room. Contact 91314699

2 BR, 2 toilets, kitchen at Al

Mawaleh. Contact 99444786 /

99747560

1 BHK for rent 2 minutes walk to

Indian School Muscat in Darsait.

Contact 99346265

Flat (Ground fl oor) 3 rooms, 3 AC,

3bath rooms, Kh, hall, behind

Sanayat Al Mabelah,

Contact 99377290

2 BHK Darsait new building with AC.

Contact 99024730

1 BHK Wadikabir. Contact 99024730

D2 M O N D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

2 BHK Al Khuwair & Ghubra.

Contact 99024730

1 BHK near Oman house Muttrah.

Contact 99233116

Shop / Offi ce space near Oman

house Muttrah. Contact 99233116

1 BHK for commercial MBD area RO

280/-. Contact 92144045

2 BHK for Commercial MBD area RO

325/-. Contact 92144045

New Villa & Flat in Wadi Adai, with 4

bed rooms, 2 toilets, 1 kitchen and 2

big hall. Contact 99345137

Villa in Muttrah, behind police sta-

tion. Contact 95797976

1 BHK near Medical Darsait RO 200.

Contact 98748925

Single & 3 Bedroom Flats behind

German Embassy, near Al Nahdha

Hospital. Contact 99203954

1 & 2 BHK with AC MBD area 325/

280/-. Contact 92144045

At Rusyl Industrial area storage

shaded area of 400 sqm along with

1200 sqm surrounded open area

along with 2 rooms as offi ce & toilet.

Contact 99344813

Showroom / Warehouse + offi ces +

accommodation with other facilities

on total area 1800 sqm. # 99344813

Flat for rent in Wadikabir.

Contact 99383569

Flat for rent Al Amerat 5, 3 BHK,

3 toilets, hall split AC.

Contact 92288423

Big fl at Azaiba behind Meera

Market 4BHK Living room, Ground

fl oor big separate parking, split AC

for family only 600 RO. #92479515

Flat in Wadikabir 3 Bedroom with

AC’s, 2 toilets, kitchen with store.

Contact 99333639

Villa at Qurum, MQ, 4 BH hall, liv-

ing room near British Council, RO

1000/- for family only with split A/C.

Contact 92479515

Store at Wadi Al Kabeer. Contact 92844996

Flat Athaiba, near Zubair 2 BHK,

hall, small kitchen with split A/C,

family only, RO 350/-.

Contact 92479515

Flats shops basement location/

Ruwi/Honda rood, MBD area.

Contact 92433127/ 97293708

Villa near Ghubra Indian School 3

Bedroom. Contact 94066627

Shops & Flats deluxe fi nishing in

Al Khoud 6. Contact 99311767/

99590373

Flat (1 room, kitchen, toilet) in

Al Khuwair family / Bachelors

RO 160. Contact 95154331

Shops available for rent in Honda

road and Ruwi. Contact : 24833972

OR GSM 99367448

Godown for rent 570 sq mt

nearby Times of Oman building

Ruwi monthly rent RO 600/- p.m,

off comm. 5%. Contact 99445880,

Abdullah.

New building fl ats for rent 3 BHK 2

BHK behind Muscat bakery & bank

Muscat at Wadi Al Kabir.

Contact 99338133 / 99423862

Small villa at Bowshar, nr Muscat

Hospital 4 BHK, hall, living room, RO

600 family only. Contact 92479515

2 BHK in Khoudh near Bank Dhofar

RO 250/-. Contact 97661432

1 room with toilet in Hail RO 130/-.

Contact 97661432

FOR RENT

DAILY GUIDEM O N D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4 D3

AVAILABLE

Party & Wedding equipment rent-

als. Full line, from Tables, Linen

& Skirting, Chairs & Chair covers,

Cutlery, Crockery, Glassware, Chaf-

ing Dishes, Ice Sculptures, to Large

Sound Systems and spectacular

lighting. Call Andrea 9606 2222 for

Catering and

Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound &

Light. www.tunesoman.com,

E-mail: [email protected]

WANTED

ACC. WANTED

Wanted a lady driver to deliver a

student from Muttrah to Majan Col-

lege. Contact 99426100

Wanted Extra Help or notes for

learning VHDL BTech degree course.

Contact 98374180

A well running Pharmacy at prime

location for sale. Contact 93240949

A running private school in Azaiba

for sale or lease. Call 9288 7809 /

9556 4746.

Brand new split unit A/C 1.5 ton

never used packed in Box with

warranty RO 120/- for sale, 3 pcs.

Contact 96789522

Water Proofi ng Rolls Saudi Make

and primer. Contact 92888337

Fully Furnished Medical center with

MOH License in Muladha for sale.

Contact 98312997 / 93714004 /

95918538

Indian restaurant for sale 2 shops

for rent at Ruwi.

Contact - 00968 95039506

A well running Indian restaurant in

capital for sale. Contact – 98630593/

99811170

Grab this Opportunity: 3 Porta Cab-

ins in very good condition available

for sale at lumpsum price of OMR

2000/-. No 1: Offi ce Cabin with Pan-

try and Toilet, No 2: Sr. Staff accom-

modation: 2 Cabins with attached

toilet, No 3: Large Hall type Cabin.

Contact : Siddique, M- 96090427 /

24815123 or Fax 24815383

Email: [email protected]

If you have any properties / Inquir-

ies. Contact us gk@goldenkey-

real-estate.com . Tel 24505072/

91155779 Fax 24507045

New Buildings in (Ghala/ Al Gho-

bra/ Al Mabella). Contact 24505072

/ 91155779 Fax 24507045

For Sale Babar Shop in Azaiba.

Contact 92936391

Supermarket for sale Walja Ruwi,

lots of parking space. # 95764290

Running Bakery with good income

for sale in Muscat. Contact 91144968

Workshop space for sale mezzanine

offi ce and accommodation.

Contact 94107689 / 94107686

From Owner Al Khuwair

2 separate Villas plot area 1155 sqm,

RO 420000. Contact 99348943

Household item for sale portable

projector / Boss twin speakers/

Yamaha AMP Dish washer LG.

Contact 95395378

Commercial Lands in (Ghala/

Al Ghobra). Contact 24505072 /

91155779 Fax 24507045 / www.

goldenkeyreal-estate.com

Industrial / Commercial Lands in

(Al Mabella / Al Messfa).

Contact 24505072 / 91155779

Fax 24507045

Villas in 18th November street.

Contact 24505072/ 91155779

Fax 24507045 /

www.goldenkeyreal-estate.com

New Villas in (Al Ghobra/

Al Khoudh/ Al Mabella).

Contact 24505072/ 91155779

Fax 24507045

2 Floors / Flats in Al Ghubra main

road. Contact 24505072/ 91155779

Fax - 24507045

Check out properties on

(www.goldenkeyreal-estate.com).

Contact 24505072/ 91155779

Fax 24507045

Ladies beauty parlour for sale at

Darsait. Contact 93231403

Flats For Sale: OMR 35 Thousand 1

bedroom. OMR 45 Thousand 2 bed-

room. Monthly income 1 bedroom

OMR 270 and 2 bedroom OMR 350.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Textile shop for sale in Al Khuwair.

Contact 92148699

Semi furnished room with Separate

T&B Split AC Wifi pref Filipino

or non cooking bachelor lady in

Boushar near Rehab Hotel RO.145/

mo incl W&E. Contact 99058225

Room for non cooking executive

near Salman Stores Ruwi.

Contact 99049743

Furnished room for non cooking

bachelor, near Softy Ice cream Ruwi.

Contact 98458979 / 91066224

1 BR accommodation available

at Rex road, suitable for bachelors.

Contact 99889590

Sharing accommodation for a fam-

ily in W/K. Contact 97167857

Room for rent in Al Khuwair for

bachelor 120/ RO with AC- Elec

-water & Bed. Contact 95190627

Single room for rent at Al Khuwair

area with attach bathroom for

Executive bachelor single family.

Contact 93941622 / 93835869

Furnished room with sharing bath-

room and equipped kitchen.

Contact 95450250

Semi furnished room with sharing

kitchen and bathroom with big

terrace available for Executive

bachelors in MBD RUWI area.

Contact 95450250

Sharing villa with attached bath-

room, furnished South Mabelah.

Contact 94026210

Room with balcony, kitchen at

Al Khuwair. Contact 99743569 /

99689315

Independent rooms in Qurum /

Hail. Contact 95529970

For Executive bachelor one

room with bath in Wattayah near

Hatat house. Contact 92446858 /

91627323

Executive bachelor room available

for sharing at Azaiba near

Al Meera. Contact 99586381

Room with A/C in Al khuwair 33.

Owner 92953400 Cntd on pg 6

Accommodation wanted in Ruwi for

a small family (two persons only),

preferably with a separate entrance.

Attached bathroom and separate

kitchen preferred. #- 92604901.

Dental clinic for (investment) at Ruwi

(Rex Road). Contact 99879939

High quality well running rope

making machinery, winders & pack-

ing machinery for sale.

For details please call 9239647 1/

99472634

Urgent sale of scrap for elec-

tronic item such as TV, Refrigerator,

Freezer, Cooking Range, Washing

Machines etc. Only serious buyers

kindly contact: +968 96725423 for

viewing the items.

Logistic Company with new equip-

ments, contracts sale. Contact

99438523 / 94252527

Coff ee Shop on lease or for sale in

Wadi Kabir near Lulu. 99172727,

99433540

Well running beauty parlor

for sale in Rustaq Contact 99812891

FOR SALE

FOR SALEFurnished fl at with two rooms near

al meera hypermarket, Azaiba.

Gsm 99761216

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in

Misfah Industrial area near to Khan-

co. OMR 1,500 Monthly. Electricty

and boundary wall will be provided.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

1 BHK fl ats at Muttrah. # 93231403

Accommodation available for

Executive bachelors in Muttrah.

Contact 93231403

For rent single room and fl at avail-

able at Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Qurum.

Contact 98100454

Villa at Al Qurum 20. # 92844996

2BHK apartment with split AC for

rent in Qurum near PDO Gate No-2.

Contact 94057023

2 Fabulous AC fl ats 3 Bedrooms

family hall in Al Khoud RO 280 & RO

300. Contact 99334699

5 Rooms, main living room +

Women living room+2 halls, 6 toilets,

kitchen in Azaiba near Al Fair

800 RO. Contact 99888873

For rent Flat 2 bedroom attach bath-

room opp Ruwi police station Ruwi.

Contact 99311209/ 99013580

3 rooms, 3 bath & Kitchen Oman

House Muttrah. Contact 99319149

Luxury twins villa in Al Khoud near

Awlad Tariq Mosque prefer compa-

nies. Contact 95753538

Villa for rent in Muscat 6 rooms.

Contact 96116767

For rent shop offi ce in Mabelah.

Contact 99355330

Flats, shops basements, location,

Ruwi MBD area, Honda road, Qurum.

Contact 96942749 / 97293708

Big Villa at Bowshar 8 rooms,

8 bathrooms, kitchen, maid room &

Majlis. Contact 91183117

For rent: 5 bedroom villas at

Al Ansab (near Express Highway).

Contact 99199365

Restaurant in a running and

excellent condition, ample parking

space with a capacity of 55 seating

and a party hall for sale. Contact -

99343735

We are dealing with sale of all beauty

salon equipments, furnitures & cos-

metics. # 942 888 61 / 942 888 63

2 BHK with A/Cs Mutrah behind

Oman house. Contact 99896838

Furnished room available for

Executive bachelor in Ruwi area.

Contact 99054542 / 24781104

Furnished room with attached

bathroom for non cooking Exe-

bachelor in Ruwi RO 160.

Contact 92478852

Room with separate entrance at-

tached toilet for non-cooking bach-

elor near Al Nahdha hospital RO 80

including Elect. / water.

Contact 99366727

Room for rent at Al Khuwair area

with attach bathroom & kitchen.

Contact 93941622 / 93835869

Sharing accommodation near ISM School Darsait.

Contact 92926879

Room for rent in Ruwi. Contact

91535642

1 room with toilet in Al Khuwair.

Contact 98294692

Room for rent at Al Khuwair area

with attach bathroom & kitchen.

Contact 93941622/ 93835869

2 rooms with 1 bathroom and

kitchen for Indian only Al Khuwair.

Contact 98178454

Accommodation available for

rent only 10 mts drive from

Rusyal Industrial area. Pleas call on

95200429

Al Khuwair room for rent attach

Bathroom for executive bachelors

for 3 months 200 RO.

Contact 98850182

Semi furnished (2 no.) rooms avail-

able with sharing b. room n kitchen

for E. bachlor in MBD Ruwi area.

Contact --95450250

Sharing accommodation in Ruwi,

Mumtaz, main road RO 100/-,

RO 65/-. Contact 92230581

Rooms for rent Al Khoud Souq area

for family or bachelor.

Contact 95890625

DAILY GUIDED4 M O N D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 9, 2 0 1 4

DAILY GUIDE

DOMESTIC HELP

CATERING

PROJECTS

DRAFTSMAN

DRIVER

ARCHITECT

SKILLED / UN SKILLED

ARCHITECT

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

MEDICAL

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SIT. WANTED

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

Required an Indian full time

Houseboy or Housemaid for an

Indian family, veg. food, small dog.

Interested pls Contact 95736558

ADMIN/HR ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCEACCOUNT. & FINANCE

DRIVER

DRAUGHTSMAN

EDUCATION

Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

Over 14 years of Gulf experience as

Administrator /HR specialist fl u-

ent in Arabic/English with driving

license, looking for suitable position.

Contact 95824598

Indian male MBA 32 yrs having 10

yrs of exp seeking suitable place-

ment in Admin/ HR/ Operations/

Coordination/ Logistics etc. Holding

valid Oman D/L Contact - 99054786

Indian male 24 yrs BE professional,

1n1/2yrs experienced in oman with

DL &NOC, seeking suitable posi-

tion in Mgmt/Admin/Accounts/PDO

jobs etc., ExpectedSal: 600 omr.

Mob:98347864

Young male 26, seeking HR or

Admin job. Have 10 months Oman

experience in related fi eld, and have

valid driving license . ready to join

immediately. phone: 92671033

email: [email protected]

Filipino, 30 years, male looking

for job vacancy in Muscat area for

document controller position with

6 years experience in Gulf country.

Contact#- 98283988 Email-

[email protected]

Male, 27 years with MBA in HR/

MKT having 2 years exp in respec-

tive fi eld looking for suitable

placement in leading organization.

Contact 91705051

Electrical draftsman total 13 yrs

exp (9 yrs in Saudi Arabia). Contact

00966537175789

Email [email protected]

Draughtsman 10 years experience

in Oil/ Gas, looking for suitable job

immediate joining NOC available.

Contact 968 98628657


Indian male, 26 Years. AutoCAD

M.E.P. Draftsman (Plumbing &

mechanical) having 4 years Oman

experience. Presently working in a

reputed company in Oman. Seeks

suitable placement.

Contact 97351786 / 96143708.

ENGINEERS/TECH..

Indian male, 28 with 10 years expe-

rience in driving in Oman & Indian.

Contact 96769268

Indian L/D. Driver, 2 years exp.

Contact 98783139

Pakistani male light vehicle

Driver with one year exp, looking

for driving job. Contact 97083294 /

92571096

Light duty Driver Pakistani, seeks

suitable placement.

Contact 94049812

Light Driver 4 yrs exp, seeks place-

ment. Contact 97106424

Driver 2 year experience in Oman,

seeking suitable placement.

Contact 93663493

Light Driver for job experience

2 years. Contact 93181200

Light Driver, seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact 96913836

Looking for driving job for

Pakistani. Contact 99197423

Light Driver. Contact 94087276

Driver with Car. Contact 91707140

Indian executive Driver.

Contact 94003617

Well reputed construction company

in Muscat, wanted a

Civil Engineer at site.

Tel: 24546800, Mob: 95643811

Urgently required for an Engi-neering Consultancy Company 2 Land Surveyors to be deployed in

Muscat & Sohar with a minimum

of 5 years experience. Interested

candidates may please send your

C.V. to [email protected]

Required Laser Printer Technician, with minimum one year experience

for an IT Consumable company in Mus-

cat. Send CV to [email protected]

Seeking a well-qualifi ed profes-sional Executive preferable with

Engineering background & practi-

cal experience in COPPER INDUS-

TRY, Manufacturing, trading &

related know-how. Reply to:

[email protected]

Civil Engineer not less than

5 years experience and with driv-

ing license, Fax no 24478522


Urgently required 1 no. - MEP Engineer in building construction

with minimum 5 years experience.

Apply, fax 00968 - 24605955,


Leading construction company

requires Quantity Surveyor (QS) preferably Srilankan Nationality

with minimum 8 to 10 years expe-

rience. Send your CV to

[email protected]

CAD Draftsman (DCSE) AutoCAD

2 D & 3 D with 2 years experience.

Contact 91781227

Required Architect,min. 3 yrs expe-

rience in kitchen designing, Carpen-

ter (door) & foreman experience in

carpentry work. Contact 98827105,


Indian female Senior Accountant

with 10 years experience in Ac-

counts, Finance, Audit & Tax man-

agement. Contact 96263157

Indian male MBA (HR& FIN) exp one

year as HR, EXP now we have visit

visa, looking opportunity in Admin

–HR/ hospitality / purchase, seeking

suitable placement as soon as pos-

sible. Contact 93662430


Leading Construction company requires MEP Draftsman

with minimum 8 to 10 yrs experi-

ence, and HSE Offi cer Omani Na-

tional. Send your CV :

[email protected]

Sudanese Architect 10 years expe-

rience conception design detail-

ing development site supervision

interior PM-4S AutoCAD Archicad,

Primavera 6 with archi cad prima-

vera Omani driving license.

Contact 96104571

Light Duty Driver preferably from

Kerala. Contact 92888337

Urgently required experienced Driver cum Delivery coordinator

(Omani Nationality) with Valid Driv-

ing license for medical company.

Contact Details: info@perfectgroup.

me Telephone no: +968 24184234

Driver Merchandiser. Contact 99325387

Required Indian Cook. Apply to

[email protected]

Contact 94146486

OMANI FEMALE RECEPTIONIST for State of the Art Dental Clinic. Must

speak, read and write English and

have general computer skills. All

interested candidates please send C.V.

to: [email protected]

Required Receptionist, Dental Technician, Staff Nurse for

dental clinic. Contact 91290034,

[email protected]

Required paed doctor Gyn doctor, dentist -female G.P lab technician , X.ray technician staff nurse for

polyclinic for Saham.

Contact:92406024 , Email:

[email protected]

Required Dentist. Call: 91290034


Required Philpino lady to work in

offi ce of contracting company in

Sohar with exp in English & account-

ing. Contact: 98989232

Required: Person to do minor repairs

in electricity, plumbing, carpentry.

etc with driving licence. Contact

93387962

Landscaping & cleaning Foreman : minimum of 10 years experience,

fl uent English & capable of closing

deals. Contact +968 99242207


Indian male B.com, 6 years experi-

ence in Oman as an offi ce secretary,

document controller and presently

working as an operation executive

in an insurance agency. Looking for

a suitable post. NOC available. Valid

Oman D/L Contact: 98026324

Email: [email protected].

Indian Female having 13 years expe-

rience with driving license seeking

suitable position in Accountant cum

Sales Coordinator, Business Develop-

ment # 00971555817625 or

email: [email protected]

Indian female,MBA fi nance with

8 years experience in accounts.

having oman experience . Storng in

tally ,net browsing & ms offi ce.look-

ing for suitable position.

Contact 93475578


Indian Male: B.COM, 4 years experi-

ence in Accounts, in Manufactur-

ing Co Oman, Working Knowledge

With Tally ERP- With Oman valid

D/L,Presently working in Muscat

NOC Available Looking for Suitable

position in Reputed Company,

Contact; 95745287 and Email:

raiforeveryone@rediff mail.com

Accounts Manager, MBA (Finance),

P.G. Diploma in HRM, B. Com, 15 yrs

experience in Muscat, now working

for const co. NOC/ Release / driving

license available, can join immedi-

ately. Contact 99175042

Indian female, 23, M.Com, with 25

yrs experience in Back offi ce & Ac-

counts, seeks for suitable placement.

Contact 95995943 Email deepthi.

prasannan23@rediff mail.com

Well experienced Indian, M. Com,

working knowledge with tally & ERP

presently working in Oman, NOC

available PH : 99035707. EMAIL :

[email protected]

Senior Accountant, Indian male, 34

yrs, MBA (Finance), CMA (doing),8

years in oman, with valid Oman D/L,

NOC available and can join immedi-

ately. Looking for a suitable position.

Contact# 95645945.

Indian male MBA, M.Com having 7+

yrs of experience in Accounts, with

valid Oman D/L, Looking for suitable

placement. Contact 91006272

Accountant 4 years Exp (2 in UAE)

as a Business Developer & HR. CMA

holder, Fluent in English & Arabic.

Contact: 93447760

Sr Accountant: Sri Lankan 30yrs

Western Educated (UK) having

6 yrs experience Accounting &

Finance in Qatar, Oman, UK and Sri

Lanka Looking for suitable position

Tel:96908831

E-mail : [email protected]

Senior Accountant, 33 Years, 13

Years Experience (7 yrs in Oman) in

Finance & Accounts up to fi naliza-

tion, Excellent in Tally, Valid Oman

D/L, seeks suitable placement.

Contact 93410793

Indian female 22 M.Com Gradu-

ate with B Com degree, looking for

a suitable job. Contact 99363721


Indian male, 24 yrs with 3 yrs ac-

counting exp. in Oman, 2 yrs in con-

struction & block factory in accounts,

with valid Oman D/L, seeks suitable

placement. Also interested working

in sales or purchase.

Contact: 96059201

Indian Male 27, 5+ years experience

in Accounts & Admin looking for a

suitable placement.

Contact 96247318

20 Years experienced professional

Banking private corporate worked in

Oman, 5 yrs Oman driving license.

Contact 91752426

Email : [email protected]

Indian male age 30 having

10 yrs experience in Finance &

Accounts seeking suitable place-

ment. mob.93675399

Sudanese male, 27 yrs MBA

(fi nance) (HRM) diploma 4 yrs

experience with bank, currently

available on visit visa. Contact 968

95906829,


CFA, MBA (Finance), 7 yrs in cor-

porate fi nance & accounting with

Thomson Reuters, Accenture & OPL.

Financial statement preparation,

forecasting, budgeting, SAP & US-

GAAP. Contact 96545382,

[email protected]

Indian male 37 yrs, B. Com Graduate

15 yrs exp in accounts & administra-

tion with release seeking suitable

placement. Contact:96938820

MBA (Finance) 2 years experience

in Accounts & fi nance expert in Tally

& Offi ce admin. Contact 97473329

Indian male, 28 yrs B.Com 7 years

experience in Banking & Financial

sector, seeking any suitable job.

Contact 96181072


MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

Urgently required A reputed Gar-

ment and Electrical Wholesale

company 1) Accountant: who can do

upto fi nalization. 2) Junior account-ant: Who can do day to day account

posting well versed with accounting

softwares. Please mail

[email protected]

Leading construction company requires document controller with

4-6 yrs experience. Send your CV :

[email protected]

Wanted experienced Waiter for

reputed House in Qurum. Contact

99466062

Urgently required experienced

staff for a hotel / hotel apartments

in muscat and sohar : 1. reception-ist (male ) , 2. house-keeping su-pervisor, 3. marketing executive, 4. room attendants, e - mail : [email protected]

Required for Hotel Front Offi ce / Female, Front Offi ce Manager, Indian Tandoori Chef & Indian Chef,

House Keeping, Waiters & Waitress,

A/C Technicians, Painters, Electri-

cians & Plumbers. Send your CV to

[email protected]

International Consultancy Com-

pany looking 1) Senior Architects,2) Senior Project Manager (Civil Engineer. 3) Senior Interior De-signer 4) Senior Draftsman. Should

have minimum 10 years experience

and good communication skill.

Send your CV to

[email protected]

Operators - grader, mobile crane,

shovel, excavator, forklift, heavy

duty drivers / mechanics. Contact:

00968-99412085. E-mail: mus-

[email protected], P.O. Box 271,

PC 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman.

Required Tailor and Salesman. Contact 96964767

Building Material Salesman, Electrician & plumber, mason. Contact 968 99383044

Required urgently for a Nursery in Muscat- Nursery Trained Teachers (Omanis & Expats), Baby sitters/

Aayas. Please forward your CV to

[email protected] or

call 92887809

An Upcoming School in Seeb, Mus-

cat welcomes resumes from

innovative and qualifi ed teachers for the following subjects (IELTS

compulsory with the score 6)

English, computer, Arabic.

Contact 91256565/ 91257575

SALES / MARKETING

CATERING

Looking for Sales Executive with

Oman driving license for a reputed

company. Contact – 99450677

Salesman wanted with omani driv-

ing licence. Visa available

Contact : 99761216.

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text,

should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication.

* Subject to space availability

HSE Offi cer required on full time /

part time basis for a steel fabrica-

tion co. based in Rusayl. Must have

the minimum 3 to 5 yrs experience.


SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

Required a Sales and Marketing Executive for an International IT

Consumable Company in Muscat.

Candidate should be an University

Graduate with good speaking capac-

ity in English and Oman Driving

License. Send CV to

[email protected]

Wanted 2 salesmen in Sohar -fl uent

in English & Arabic with Oman D/L -

contact 97673900

Urgently required Salesman: Who

knows Oman Market with driving

license must. Please mail

[email protected]

Required Sales man with Omani

driving license minimum 3 to 5 years

experience required in the sales fi eld.


Required part time Lady for Marketing in tourism co with Oman

D/L Salary RO 150/- + Car & petrol,

10% commission. Contact 91272676

Well established oilfi eld con-sumables suppliers require sales exec. knowledge of safety eqp, pipe

fi ttings, valves, fasteners, industrial

tools, building material, mech/ elect

eng or 3-4 yrs fi eld sales exp. Oman

D/L must, basic + performance

based incentives, expectations & CV

at fax : 2481 7496,


Sales man full & part time capa-

ble of closing deals for projects &

maintenance contracts in the fi eld of

Landscaping, gardening & cleaning.

Contact +968 99242207


Wanted urgently looking for smart

–energetic boys and girls with ex-cellent Sales Acumen to products in

Oman. People with relevant experi-

ence and valid Omani driving license

forward resume to

[email protected] /

[email protected]

Urgently required Sales Executive with Omani DL, good Communica-

tion skills. Contact : 96545020

A reputed tourism company required male marketing person. Salary R.O 200/- car and home free,

experience required. # 91272676

Investment and Construction Com-

pany requires female executive assistant, with good computer and

communication skills,

advanced English, fl uent Arabic.

Please send your CV

[email protected]

Indian Cook, male 40 yrs, having 4

yrs of experience in Muscat and 14

yrs exp in India, looking for a Cook

job in Hotel / restaurant / catering.

Contact 93460201/ 97792103

Wanted Excavator Operator

Minimum experience: 3 years for

reputed Contraction Company.


Contact 97748192 / 96774297

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE


DAILY GUIDESITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

25, Male, ACCA fi nalist, have good

experience upto fi nalisation of

accounts and statutory audit, seek-

ing for part time or project based

job,GSM-97654769,email id-

[email protected]

Having Experience in Junior Sys-

tem Administrator Cybex Solutions,

Cochin , Assembling & Dissembling

PC, A+, Networking Essentials. PRES-

ENTLY WORKING IN INDIA

Please contact-97239854-Ashe

Mechatronics Engineer with diplo-

ma in product design and analysis

looking for a job #-98584349 @-

[email protected]

Civil Project Manager 19 years

exp 17 yrs Gulf having Oman

license. Contact 00919950673719 /

96570465. Email :

arshadjamalkhan@rediff mail.com

Graduate in electrical & electronic

engineering having 3 years experi-

ence in construction and procure-

ment fi elds. Also have knowledge of

Automation systems ( PLC SCADA ),

Autocad and professional electronic

design and automation. Valid oman

driving licence looking suitable

position. E mail. Sajeel2009@gmail.

com or call 93116402

Sudanese Civil Engineer has

15 years experience in contracting

and construction in Gulf, looking for

a job in Oman, on visit visa.

Contact 95963355

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

INFORMATION TECH

Indian Male, B.E computer science

with MBA(fi nance) 26 age ,5 years

experience in Oracle DBA/ Oracle

Apps DBA, Linux seeking a suitable

position in the fi eld of IT.

Contact # +968 97739982,

[email protected]

EDUCATION

EDUCATION

Indian MSc. B.Ed Maths, Science on

visit visa looking for teaching posi-

tion. Contact 91344706

MSc. Chemistry Teacher (5 y EXP.)

Pakistani female looking for a job in

School/college 96580101

Chemistry Teacher (Indian Male)

: 33Yrs, B.Ed. & M.Phil. (Chemis-

try), having 10 Yrs experience as

a Chemistry Teacher for Higher

Secondary, Seeking suitable job

in Oman.Contact: +919952849285

(India), +96898989716(Oman),


HOSPITALITY

Indian Male, 26 yrs, graduate

in hospitality science, with New

Zealand business diploma and previ-

ous Oman experience in Customer

service seeks suitable placement in

hospitality/salesmarketing/

logistics/ admin. Contact 91383167

Female 21 yrs, Tally 1 year experi-

ence, looking for visa.

Contact 95330720

Male 22 Housekeeping front offi ce

Hotel management degree course.

Contact 96732520

B Tech Computer science, 3 years

experience in IT C#, ASP, NET, SQL

server, SharePoint on visit visa.

Contract 97004290

IT Networking Business Develop-

ment having 10 years experience

within Oman / GCC in Account

Management & Sales with driving

license and local release available

for immediate joining.

Contact 95110896


IT- Support: CCNA MCSE & RHCE

with 3 & half year experience includ-

ing Oman in hardware/ networking

and IT offi ce administration, seeks a

suitable placement.

Contact 99075692


Indian female (25) married, MSc

(Software Eng), 2+ years of experi-

ence in leading MNC, IT skill include

HTML, CSS with the design and de-

velopment of Web based application

using struts femme work, JZEE and

oracle with excellent communica-

tion skills, looking for a suitable job.

Contact 95892587, 96265726 Email

[email protected]

Indian female (26) married

MCA,2+years of experience in soft-

ware development in leading MNC

Accenture in Bangalore. IT skills in-

clude Dot Net, SQL server 2008, ASP.

Net, HTML, CSS, excellent communi-

cation skills looking for suitable job.

Contact: 94057790/

Email: geetika.pesit08@gmail.

IT Infrastructure Engineer, 4 yrs ex-

perience, BE- CSE customer service

engineer, hardware, network,

MCITP, CCNA, CCNP, CCTV,

local transfer available.

Contact 91264768

BSC computer information systems,

male Graduated & qualifi ed from UK

with 6 years experience in software

testing, WEB DEV, IT support &

marketing having license.

Contact +968 98399587


IT Help Desk Support (33), 8 years

experience troubleshooting network

confi guration, designing, hardware

maintenance, website design and

administration (Joomla).

Contact 94197650, 95072166.


Mechanical Engineer 2 years

experience in HVAC. Now in Oman

on visit. seeking suitable placement.

GSM:91744764

email:[email protected]

Indian male B.Tech Mechanical

Engineer with 2 years experience,

looking for suitable job, currently on

visit visa. Contact 94316364


EEE Engineer male 29 yrs having

5 yrs experience, 3 yrs in Oman

looking for job transition interested

areas: Sales - Marketing Project- Co-

ordination / Management/ Procure-

ment and Construction holding

valid Oman D/L, with NOC available.

Contact 93011060 Email

[email protected]

Site plumbing foreman, Indian

male, Mechanical Engineering,

Diploma, 24 yrs, 2 yrs exp. on visit

seeks suitable placement.

Contact 97901559

Indian male, B.Tech (Mech), 18 yrs

experience, in Oman more than 3

yrs in the fi eld of Oil & Gas industry

with valid Oman D/L. Exposure in

Production, Quality Control, HSE and

Admin seeks suitable placement.

NOC available, can join immediately.

Contact 96517010.

Electrical Engineer 9 years Exp.

Excellent in (automatic control, PLC,

M.V, substations, L.V networks & In-

stallation of local panels, plc panels,

Photocell). Contact: 94003284

Network Engineer / Administration

having 12 years experience within

Oman. Driving license and local

release available for immediate

joining. Contact 99677429


Indian, Diploma Civil Engineer, 3

years experience in Oman, having

Omani driving license, looking for

a suitable placement in and around

Sohar. Contact 94227073

Electrical Mechanical Engineer, looking for a job in Muscat. Contact

98246222 / 97644542

Electrical Engineer with 7 years

experience.ph#91293519

Female B Tech Engineer, looking for suitable placement.

Contact 93505502

MEP / Electrical Engineer 10 years

exp 6 yrs in Oman IOSH, CEP, D/L

Arabic / English. Contact 95752101

Civil Engineer 8 years Exp (2 in

Angola with DAR AL HANDASAH, 4

months in Oman) as a Site Engineer.

Holding Diploma in project manage-

ment, fl uent in English & Arabic.

Contact: 99170315

Diploma in Civil Engineering with

3 yrs experience in Oman, looking

suitable placement.

Contact 93137486


Elect. Engr 9 yrs in Electrical projec-

tor having Oman D/L with NOC

ready to do local transfer.

Contact 92732744


Engineer with MTech in Energy

Engineering and BTech in Chemical

Engineering and Certifi ed Energy

Management System Auditor with

one year internship project experi-

ence in auditing. Contact 95094101


BE Civil Engineer 4 years experience

NOC available. Contact 98970233

Indian BE, Mechanical Engineer, 8 yrs experience in planning,

scheduling & project management of

structural steel fabrication, erection,

2 yrs in Oman looking for suitable

job. Contact 93086721,

[email protected]

B.Sc. in Civil Engineer, 6 years

experience as a QA/QC Engineer /

QC inspector in sub station, high rise

multistory building, Industrial build-

ing & Oil and gas fi elds (OMAN, UAE &

QATAR). Also as a materials inspector,

seeking suitable placement.

E-Mail-mmosharoff [email protected] ,

Mobile Number- +97433854588

Civil Engineer 8 years Exp (2 in

Angola with DAR AL HANDASAH, 4

months in Oman) as a site engineer.

He holds a Diploma in project man-

agement, fl uent in English & Arabic.

Contact: 99170315

Pakistani professional civil Engi-

neer seeks suitable placement.

Have 30 years experience with con-

sultants /contractors for executing

/managing large building projects.

NOC available.

Contact 99570179

MEDICAL

Licensed Pharmacist with

4 years experience in Oman.

Contact 96535239

Dentist Indian male (MOH passed)

4 yrs experience, seeks suitable

placement. Contact 98328982 /

92969475


Egyptian GP with MOH license NOC

14 year’s experience, 2 years in

Oman & 5 years as Medical director.

Contact 968 93851109


Nursing caregiver, qualifi ed Nurse/

Asst. Nurse (male/ female) medical

staff seeks placement for Hospital/

clinic. Contact 92989109 (Oman),

0091 – 9555427742 (India),

[email protected]

SALES / MARKETING

Indian male Graduate with retail and

management experience, working as

store in charge and staff develop-

ment with 10 yrs Gulf and 4 yrs of

International experience with luxury

brands in Gold and diamond indus-

try, looking for a suitable position.

Contact 00971 558656978


Denter, painter, vehicle-10 years

experience need job seeks job

with visa. # 96136615 / 91139936

Male MBA, 2 years experience

looking for suitable job. Email :

[email protected].

Contact 98083010

Seeking a driver post job in com-

pany or family in Oman. Please

Contact: 98982410

Indian female MCA (Computer

science) looking for placement in Ad-

min/ offi ce/ Sales co-ordinator, cur-

rently on family visa. # 95462266


B.Tech Mechanical. Indian male

with 1 year experience in Oman

looking for suitable job. NOC avail-

able. Contact: 96542340.


Indian male, Diploma in Civil Engi-

neering having 17 years experience

in India & 5 months experience in

UAE, now available in Oman in visit-

ing visa seeking suitable placement

GSM- 93097757,

e-mail :[email protected]

Experienced female Electrical

Engineer. Contact 93800906

Project Road Engineer with 5 years

exp, seeks job. Contact 97646908

Indian Male B.E & MBA, 20 yrs expe-

rience in Civil construction including

7 yrs in Oman, Looking for project

manager (Civil) readily available with

NOC. Contact 97906977,


Civil Engineer (Diploma), looking for

a suitable post, Now as position Site

Engineer total 10 years experience (4

years in Oman). Contact 93477358/

95648309 Email

[email protected]

Indian male, B.Tech (Mech), 15 yrs

experience, in Oman more than 3

yrs in Manufacturing Industry with

valid Oman D/L. Exposure in Op-

erations, Quality Management and

Admin seeks suitable placement.

NOC available, can join immediately.

Contact 91301625.

Indian male B.tech Mechanical

Engineer with 3years experiance

looking for suitable job.Currently on

visit visa. Mob:96268488

[email protected]

Mechanical Engineer,(BTech in

Mechanical) with Certifi ed quality

controller - NDT level 2 qualifi ed as

per ASNT - SNT-TC-I A, with

1 & half yr exp. as quality control

engineer, presnetly in India seeks

suitable placement Cont : 95405033

[email protected]

Electrical Eng. BSC with 8 years ex-

perience in Oil & Gas fi eld especially

in ESP. Contact 92657255

Bsc Civil Eng PMP, MBA, 15 years

experience with valid Omani driving

license. Contact 95702191

Indian male MBA 32 yrs having 10

yrs exp seeking suitable placement

in Admin/HR/ Operations/ Coordi-

nation/ logistics etc. Holding valid

Oman D/L. Contact - 99054786

Indian Male over 10 years experi-

ence in Offi ce / Sales Coordinator,

Admin, Secretarial and purchase

with driving license and NOC

available. Well versed in MS offi ce.

Looking for suitable placement.

Contact 99709336

SECRETARIAL / OFFICE

VIDEOGRAPHER

Professional videographer with 12

years experience in videography

and running a studio in India look-

ing for job. Now in Oman on a visit

Contact : 9507 2122

MISCELLANEOUS

SALES / MARKETING

A Mechanical Engineer having over

10 years experience in the Oil & Gas

Sales marketing and business devel-

opment. NOC available.

Contact 95864396 / 97608419

Marketing Manager / Sr Marketing

Executive with Oman driving license

5 years in Oman. Contact 99530405

Senior Manager with 18 years expe-

rience (8 years in Oman) in Sales &

Marketing, General Administration,

responsible for profi t and loss, new

business, seeking suitable position

in a reputed progressive company.


Indian male having an experience

in Sales 2 years with valid Oman li-

cense, looking for a suitable position.

Contact 93826377

25 Years Indian male MBA Sales

& Marketing 2 years experience

vehicle sales. Contact 98664979 /

94107012 Email:

muzafi [email protected]

Male 30 years require suitable

position in Marketing having

8 years experience of marketing

business development & PR Gradu-

ate in business, fl uent English on

visit visa till October 8th.

Contact 96528508

Sales & Executive looking for job.

Contact 94003617.

An MBA Graduate Management

professional, having an accumulated

experience of over 18+ years in vari-

ous industries, With an NOC from the

current employer looking for open-

ing anywhere in Oman.

Contact 97486733

Senior Sales & Marketing/ Opera-

tions Management (female) profes-

sional with more than 19 years of

proven experience in FMCG, Health

Care Industry, Wellness Industry. A

self-starter, quick-learner, high-

energy producer who has proven

record of successes exceeding quota

on both professional and personal

level and for motivating a team to

perform at their highest potential.

Contact - 91140866

MANAGER/ SUPER

Indian male having 7 yrs of experi-

ence in indoor sale (supervisor) in

furniture, NOC available.

Contact 96615479 / 98732726

Indian male 15 years experience

in sales & marketing dealing with

building materials, construction

equipments, Industrial tools,

cleaning & agriculture equipments

seeking suitable position with valid

Oman D/L. NOC available.

Contact 92406527

Sales/ Marketing / customer

service release / NOC available UK

+ Oman experience valid Oman D/L,

excellent communication & organ-

izing skills, can join immediately,

Email : [email protected],

gsm 92342060 / 96761225

Indian Male, 28 yrs, having 5

years experience in FMCG Sales in

visit visa, Looking for any suitable

jobs in Oman. Contact 98531486/

98988824

Indian Male, MBA in Marketing and

Finance, 10 years’ Sales & Business

Development Experience with valid

D/L of Oman & UAE looking for a

suitable placement. NOC Available.

Contact: 93969961

e-mail [email protected]

Indian female M. Sc Chemistry

having 2 years industry & 2 yrs

teaching experience seeks suitable

placement. Contact 96358771

M. Pharm, Ph. D (Pharmaceutical

Chemistry, under completion), In-

dian female, currently under family

visa, seeks suitable academic/lec-

turing position. Contact 95509601;

email - hanaowi@ gmail.com

27 Years Pakistani male in (Crimi-

nology having 4 years experience in

security and management seek-

ing suitable placement as security

offi cer. Contact 99191701 Email :

[email protected]

Indian female having ten years ex-

perience as cook. South Indian, Guja-

rathi special. Contact:: 94224512

A female with a B.Sc Business

Management Degree, specialized in

Human Resource Management cur-

rently living in Sri Lanka seeking for

a suitable position in Oman.

# 9801 1529

PDO Approved - Indian Male PMP,

CIPS, PGDBA, DME, Oil & Gas/Con-

struction with 18+ Yrs. in Contracts,

Procurement, Operations, Project

with valid Oman-PDO D/L seeking

job - Contact 92560287

INDIAN, B.E. MECHANICAL ENGI-

NEER, 2 yrs job experience in Oman

in pipeline fi eld, fl uent in English,

Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi, with

valid oman driving license (light),

searching for a new job.

Contact no-+968 92745691

MBA Finance, 5 Years’ experience in

Accounts, Finance & Administration

, with Valid UAE D/L

Contact # Phone 96970930

Indian, Female, Pharmacist avail-

able with MOH License, preferably in

Muscat. Contact 9439 1355.

Indian 34M with 14 years experi-

ence in Business development /

Sales / Marketing looking for chal-

lenging role. Contact 9367 8885

Mail: [email protected]

Indian male having 5 Years of Expe-

rience in Oman Having Valid Driving

License working as a purchase of-

fi cer ,Looking for a suitable Position,

Contact: 95132564/96456071

E-mail:[email protected]

Indian Male, 23, MBA in Marketing.

More than 1 years experienced in

the Axis Bank Presently in family

visit in Oman Looking for a suitable

vacancy Contact : 997 43 709

Printing professional, having 20

yrs experience in Gulf / Africa with

NOC seeks suitable placement.

Contact 95427923,


Indian Male looking for job in mar-

keting/sales/operations with 10yrs

experience as a dynamic candidate,

with excellent communication skills.

Please contact 93506291.

Indian Male GP with MOH License

and NOC, having 10 years of excel-

lent hands on experience in Oman

with corporate culture.

Contact 98140024


Indian Female, B.Sc Maths Resid-

ing in Al-Ghubra, having 2 years of

experience in teaching. Looking for

school. Ph. 94231633

Senior Accounts Professional, Indi-

an Male, 35 years, M.Com, MBA (Fin)

8 years in Oman, with valid Oman

DL and NOC available. Capable to

handle accounts up to fi nalization.

Contact 9602 3965.

Filipino Female photographer/ graphic designer / receptionist

looking for suitable job in Muscat.

Contact: +971 563749414

Indian Male PMP, CIPS, PGDBA,

DME, Oil & Gas with 18+ Yrs. in

Contracts, Procurement, Operations,

Project, seeking job -

Contact 92560287

Microbiologist having 13 years

experience in Pharmaceutical/Food

Beverage Quality Assurance. on

FAMILY VISA. Currently search-

ing a suitable Job in Oman. e-mail:

[email protected] , Mobile in

Oman: +96892068377

Part- time accountant available.

Contact ; 98803439

Indian male, b.com with tally,

having 11 years experience in ac-

counting ,looking for a part time job.

contact.96423671

Bangladeshi Male, Seeking Offi ce

Boy position in Oman.

Contact: 97451456

Female staff nurse with Oman

Prometric passed, seeking suitable

placement, currently on visit visa.

Contact 97803046

GP Male doctor with Valid Oman

MOH license, looking for

suitable placement.

Contact Mob: 97063454

Telecommunication and Electron-

ics Engineer Seeking for suitable

Placement, with valid Omani Driving

License. professional and experi-

enced individual. Call 99013323

Sudanese.male 31years.B.SC Me-

chanical Engineer.5years experi-

ence, working now in water pipeline

project, fl uent Arabic and English,

have Omani driving .looking license,

looking for good opportunity

TEl: 91117089

Indian Female 25 yrs, Bsc.(Physics)

Bed. 2 Yrs experience in teaching,

currently on visit seeking suitable

placement .Contact 98217776 Email:

[email protected]

Purchase Offi cer Professional, Indian male having 5 Years of Expe-

rience in Oman Having Valid Driving

License working as a purchase of-

fi cer , Looking for a suitable Position,

Contact: 95132564/96456071.

E-mail:[email protected]

Well experienced Senior Account-

ant seeks part time accounting job.

Contact :98803439

28 year Indian female (MBA) with

3+yrs experience (oman) in Ac-

counts is seeking suitable place-

ment in Accounts/Admin.

Contact on 96141283

Having 17 years experience HR

Management in Oil & Gas Industry

with M.A and an HR Diploma from

American University, I am looking

for an HR Role Where I can provide

strategic and tactical leadership

critical to retaining valued custom-

ers of an organisation.

Email: [email protected],

Mobile:00968-99898150.

Admin Executive, 31, Indian Male,

having 8+ years exp. in reputed

companies. Seeking suitable place-

ment in any gulf region. Contact

+968 99276601 & 97693456. email :

[email protected]

Indian male 11 years experience in

sales and marketing having D/L of

Oman looking for a suitable place-

ment. Contact: 98125746,


DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624





TRANSPORTATION

SIT.WANTED

Genuine Ayurvedic treatments

& massage, ayurvedic clinic at

Al Khuwair. Contact 24478618 /

97263637/ 93309131

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know

more about Islam, please call:

99425598, 96050000, 99353988,

99253818, 99341395, and

99379133. For ladies: 99415818,

99321360, 99730723

Orvisit: www.islamfact.com

Ayurvedic Massage, backache,

joint pain, neck pain etc.

Contact 96245877

Ayurvedic treatment for joint

pain, backache, paralysis massage,

steambath, obesity, spondylitis,

IDEAL CARE Ayuvedic Clinic, 18

November Street Azaiba. Contact

99639695

Ayurvedic treatment for backache,

paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,

All Season (Vaidyaratnam).

Contact 24475280 / 95371554 /

92504980

GOOD NEWS

MATRIMONIAL

Kerala RC Girl 27/y, 67/ cm Staff

Nurse Muscat, seeking suitable

alliance. Contact 92730750

Christian 29/M, M.Tech MBA well

settled boy from Kanyakumari, look-

ing for alliance with good academic

with family background. Contact

96381205

Suitable alliance invited from

professional qualifi ed boys for

Christian Jacobite Girl MOH Staff

Nurse 28 years 162 cm Ibri Hailing

from Kothamangalam.

Contact 94038689

Nair Boy, 32/165 cm (Divorced)

Accountant MBA, seeking alliance.

Contact 97058681

R.C Kerala 5.8, 29 yrs. Contact 98917545

Mangalore Sunni Muslim, seek-

ing suitable bride (preferably from

Dakshina Kannada) for their son

working as Logistics Manager.

Contact 92198085

NRI

A 3 BHK new fl at, Price – 70

Lakhs, fetching 17,000 rent P.M. ,

available for sale in Indirapuram

(Ghaziabad). Contact: 99353384

12 cents of land for sale at

Ernakulam near Kadavanthra

main road, residential area.

Contact 0091 8157859792

2 BHK Flat for sale at Vytilla

Cochin 24189806

Looking for an experienced A/R

conditioner and deep freezer Tech-

nician to independently handle

a running refrigeration service

center in Kannur Kerala. Attractive

terms off ered. Please send CV to

vfi [email protected]

For Astrological consultation,

Jathakam. Contact 99860435 /

97102599

ACC. AVAILABLE

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

Car with driver available.

Contact 99526610

Transportation. Contact 96785989

Single room at Walja, opposite MBD

area available for executive bach-

elors for OMR 90 including Electric-

ity and water. Contact 93079877

2 BR sharing fully furnished Azaiba

RO 250/-. Contact 99321325

Room for rent near Qurum park

family or Bachelor.

Contact 99664703

Room with AC & separate entrance

for non cooking Indian executive

near Rawasco, Al Khuwair

OMR 130/-with E/W .

Contact 97201100 / 95397442

Fully furnished Single room for

bachelor, Near Muttrah Hotel. Rent

R.O.95/- (Include.E/W)

Contact 98450071

Fully furnished room, CBD area,

Free wifi , Advance deposit.

Contact 95934642

One Bedroom sharing kitchen

bathroom near Indian School Wadi

kabeer rent RO 130/-

Contact 92739154

18 years of extensive experience in

Sales & Marketing in GCC. Holding

valid Omani driving license & NOC

is available. Fluent in Arabic and

English Language seeking for

a suitable placement.

Contact 96383958

Seeking a good replacement as

Accountant in a good organization

in Oman having 4 years experiences

in India and 6 years in Muscat in a

reputed group of companies as sen-

ior accountant. Contact: 9512 9352

/ 91350411.

MEP Project Manager Engineering

Degree holder with 16 years of expe-

rience in Engineering, Contracting

and Execution of Building, Infra-

structure and Industrial Construction

seeks suitable job. Valid D/L, NOC

available Contact 95689623

B.Tech mechanical Degree Attested

from UAE, Dubai, seeks job as a

Mechanical Engineer or Trainee.

Call.+968 96728279

Masters in Information Systems

with 10.5 years of experience is

looking for a placement in teaching,

Technical support & System Admin-

istration. Contact: 98502793, email:

[email protected]

Pakistani male 46, welding/me-

chanical/pipeline engineer,25 years

experience,certifi ed welding inspec-

tor, omani driving license,

Contact: 93215186

Senior Accounts Professional,

Indian male, 35 years, M.Com, MBA

(Fin) 8 years in Oman, with valid

Oman DL and NOC available. Capable

to handle accounts up to fi nalization.

Contact 9602 3965.

Indian Male 30yrs,having around

8yrs experience in Sales & Market-

ing & Customer relations, Looking

for immediate placement with NOC

available. Contact: 99369497 /

92080354.

Having Experience in Junior Sys-

tem Administrator Cybex Solutions,

Cochin, Assembling & Dissembling

PC, A+, Networking Essentials, pres-

ently working in India.

Contact 97239854-Asher

Electronics & communication

Engineer, having 3+years experience

(2 yrs GCC) in Security systems/low

current systems (FAS, CCTV, ACS,

PAVA etc) seeking suitable post in

construction/manufacturing/produc-

tion/maintenance depts. Contact:

[email protected], 98132746/

00966544912293

Male, Indian, 24, Graduate in

B.E (Hons) computer hardware &

networking with 1 year experience,

seeking a placement in IT Sector.

having oman driving license.

mobile: 92711506.

EMAIL: [email protected]

Indian Female 29 yrs, B-Com Gradu-

ate with Basic Computer Knowledge

and Tally having 6 yrs experience

in accounting, seeking for the place-

ments in Accounts/ HR/ Admin,

Presently on visit visa in Oman.

Contact: 95478149,


Indian female B.Com with 5years

experience in accounts/commercial

assistant, having Oman D/L seeks for

suitable placement in Ruwi /w.kabir

surrounding. Contact: 99665096


Indian Female MA. B.Ed. with One

year Teaching experience, Sub-

ject: English, seeking for an urgent

suitable placement, Now in Oman.

Contact: -: 93961142, 92184408

Email:[email protected]

Indian Male Graduate with 10+ y-exp

in IT H/w Business Dev, Retail Man-

agement Import/Purchase distribu-

tion looking for suitable position.

GSM: 96981051



companies seeking suitable place-


+968 99276601 & 97693456. email :

[email protected]

34 years Indian male, working as

QC Inspector in maintenance fi eld,

having 4 years experience in Oman

and valid Oman driving license.

Contact 95339870

Indian male, Accountant ,

11 years experience in accounting,

tally, looking for a part time job.

#no.96423671






Contact 91395515.

Indian, Female, Pharmacist avail-

able with MOH License, preferably in

Muscat. Contact 94391355.

Pakistani male 35 years, looking

for suitable placement in accounts,

14 years experience with 2 years in

Oman. #97646927 / 92531035.

57 Yrs. Old healthy person seeking

an opportunity in any area of works

(Painting, Store asst, Traffi c control-

ler, Foremen, Controller). Saudi expe-

rienced. Contact-97239854-Asher

Indian Male having 10 years of

Experience in Oman having Valid

Omani Driving license working in

Purchase Dept looking for a suitable

position. salary is negotiable.

[email protected]

Contact 94304324

26 years Indian male with MBA &

PGDFM,Total 3.1 years experience in

administration and accounts .seek-

ing suitable placement in muscat.

having oman valid driving license.

Contact :93359371,

Mechanical Engineer -B.E with 4yrs

exp in manufacturing/production

presently in Oman on visit visa seek-

ing suitable placement. #: 93694953,


Indian Male, M.Com/MBA, 6 years

experience in Muscat in Administra-

tion, Accounts, Marketing and P.R.

with valid Omani D/L looking for a

suitable position in a reputed Co.


Indian male, 30 yrs, having 10 Years

experience in Accounting, seeking

for suitable opportunity.

GSM-93675399

Indian female, P.G. Diploma in

Journalism and Mass Communica-

tion, 4 yrs of exp as sub- editor/

content editor in India, seeking suit-

able placement.


Contact no: 95886447, 93063576






Contact 91395515.




Purchase Dept looking for a suitable

position. salary is negotiable.

[email protected] # 94304324



companies. Seeking suitable place-


+968 99276601 & 97693456. email :

[email protected]

Mining Engineer and also did NE-

BOSH (IGC), Fire and Safety (HABC)

25 year old Pakistani male looking

for job and recently on visit visa.

Available to join respective fi rm.

Contact # 97412696,


28 year Indian female (MBA) with

3+yrs experience (Oman) in Ac-

counts is seeking suitable place-

ment in Muscat. Contact 96141283.

Seeking a good replacement as

accountant in a good organization

in oman having 4 years experiences

in India and 6 yrs in Muscat in a re-

puted group of companies as senior

accountant . please contact :

95 12 93 52 / 91 35 04 11.

Mining Engineer and also did NE-

BOSH (IGC), Fire and Safety (HABC)

25 year old Pakistani male looking

for job and recently on visit visa.

Available to join respective fi rm.

Contact number# 97412696, Email:

[email protected]

Young boy (B-Com) HAVING experi-

ence Marketing, Customer

Relationship, Store managing .

Seeking suitable opportunities &

presently in India. .Mob:97239854.

Mail:[email protected]

AutoCAD draughtsman, 2 yrs ex-

perience of Oman seeks suitable job.

Contact 93741905 / 93169509. Email

: [email protected]

MEP Project Manager with

engineering degree and 16 years

of experience in Engineering,

Contracting and Execution of Build-

ing, Infrastructure and Industrial

Construction seeks suitable job. NOC

available Contact 95689623

Male from India, 5 years experi-

ence in Business processing and

outsource, Masters in Business Ad-

ministration (MBA), Seeking for and

urgent placement in H.R -Reputed

Organization. Now in India. # 00968

98620260, +918898877843,

Email: - [email protected]

Seeking a replacement as IT sup-

port Engineer & graphic designer in

a good organization in Oman. Young

energetic boy having 4 years worked

experiences in same fi eld in Dubai in

hyper market chain of group of com-

pany head offi ce and customer sup-

port executive. Contact: 91294353.

Indian male, 21 yrs, graduated

in B. Com with computer skills in

tally and Peachtree, seeking suit-

able placement as an accountant.

Contact : 99121506, 92040258,

email:[email protected]

Senior Accountants Professional,

Indian Male, 35 years, M.Com, MBA

(Fin) 8 years in Oman, with valid

Oman DL, NOC, Capable to handle ac-

counts up to fi nalization. #91395515.

Indian Female, Teacher M.A.Bed, 3

years experience in teaching seeks

suitable position, currently on visit

visa. Contact 91229330 /98489344

B.E.in Civil Engineering, Indian

Male, with 1 year experience seek-

ing suitable placement. Contact

91231972. Email : Visa No -876071 /

70. Email : [email protected].

Indian female, 26 years, Chartered

Accountant, Finance Manager, high

academic qualifi cation and good ex-

perience looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact 92530131, 24785757.


Indian Female 27years MBA, M.Com

having 6years experience in Ac-

counts/Finance and Admin looking

for suitable placement.

Contact :00919008028843.

Email: [email protected].

Uzbekistani BD graduate in English

Literature with good knowledge

of HR operation, Recruitment and

computer with Taleo system, Certi-

fi ed from Cornell University in HRM

Selection & Staffi ng Process. Excel-

lent communication skill in English,

good coordination in team work etc.

currently working in Oman, seeks

suitable opening. Interested parties

may contact Kadir Abdullayev on

GSM: 96920699

Manager-Organizational, Market-

ing Communication, Double Masters,

smart professional, Oman exp, Ara-

bic speaking Indian, Quality English

writing & Communication seeks

role in International Organizations /

MNC’s. Quick joining. NOC available.

Contact 98179887

Communications Manager, Oman

exp in Organisational, Marketing

Communication, Press Releases,

Speeches, Website Content, Brand-

ing, Customer Relationship Man-

agement, Arabic speaking Indian.

Available immediately. Only MNC’s/

reputed Groups. Contact 98179887

Mechanical Engineer , 2 years

experience in water pipeline and

plumbing seeks suitable job.

Contact 94008908.


18 years of extensive experience in

gulf. Excellent communication

skills in English & Arabic, holding

valid Omani D/L. Looking for a

suitable opportunity. #96383958

Indian male, age 30,having 10 Years

Experience in Accounting ,seeking

for suitable opportunity.

GSM-93675399

29 yr old Indian male Graduate 5yrs

oman exp in sales and marketing with

valid oman driving license looking

for suitable job. Noc available ready to

join immediately Contact: 95136784

Mechanical Engineer, 2 years

Oman experience in water pipe and

plumbing seeks suitable job.

Contact: 94008908.


Indian, Female with 5 yrs Sales & Ad-

min experience in Oman looking for a

suitable placement. #98072970

BE(Electronics and communication

Engineering) having 3 years experi-

ence in CCTV, Alarm system and

Networking on visit visa seeking

placement Contact-97460974

B. Com (H) Graduate having 5 yrs

working experience (2 yrs 6 months

in Oman) is looking to change the

job, can join immediately, NOC avail-

able. Contact 97916062.

Indian Tamil Housemaid looking

for full time job in capital area.

Contact 95838604

Indian Female 26, MA B.Ed in Hindi,

diploma in offi ce automation . Now

working as teacher in Oman look-

ing for better placement. Contact

99036256 or 92178304.

Indian Male 32 yrs, B.E.(EIE),

Having 10 yrs Experience in Proof

reading, Content check, Typesetting

Books, Journals/Pre-press Printing/

Publishing, Knowledge in CISCO-

CCNA. Seeking suitable position.

CONTACT: 94257113, 96532471,

[email protected]

30 Indian female. B.Com, Tally

having 8 years experience in ac-

counts department in Oman. seek-

ing suitable placement.

Contact: 92056034

mail: [email protected]

26 years, Indian male with MBA &

PGDFM, Total 3 years experience in-

administration and accounts .seek-

ing suitable placement in Muscat,

having oman valid driving license.

Contact: 93359371

Indian Male: B.COM, 4 years experi-

ence in Accounts, in Manufacturing

Co Oman, Working Knowledge With

Tally ERP- With Oman valid D/L,

Presently working in Muscat NOC

Available Looking for Suitable posi-

tion in Reputed Company,

Contact; 95745287 and Email:

raiforeveryone@rediff mail.com

Indian male, 35, B.E (IT & Telecom)

on visit, 8 years exp as Technical

Manager, Onsite Coordinator, pre-

sales professional looking for suit-

able placement Contact: 92385930

Senior Accountant, Indian Male, 35

years, MBA (Fin), 7 years in Oman,

accounts up to fi nalization.

Contact 96023965

Indian Male, Welder. More than 10

years Gulf experienced, Presently

in Oman (Specialised in Arc , Ship

and general Welding) .#:99743709




accounts fi eld looking for a suitable

position as the company not doing

well. [email protected]

Mob: 94304324

Young,hardworking,21,male,Bsc

honours in networks and communi-

cation -University of Bedfordshire

(fi nal semester),expertise in MSS,

ITWA, PMMT, project planning

mgmt seeking for suitable replace-

ment, Gsm-944034331

Indian female, MBA fi nance with 8

years experience in accounts. hav-

ing oman experience . Strong in tally,

net browsing & MS Offi ce, looking for

suitable position.

Contact :93475578


Filipino Graphic Designer - Have

8 years experience. Very good in

Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and

Indesign. Have Photography and I.T.

skills. Contact 95098512/



DAILY GUIDESITUATION WANTEDCARGO

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours

Al- Ainain Marine Tours Contact- 98029602, 92808636

BUSINESS

Wanted Business Head to run travel

agency in Sohar on profi t sharing

basis - contact 97673900

Increase your income on commis-

sion basis with our landscaping &

gardening services provided for big,

small projects &

maintenance contracts.

Contact +968 99242207 Email:

[email protected]

TOURS

TOURS

RENT A CAR

M.V. FOR SALE

Corolla 2012. Contact 99336093

Pajero 2008. Contact 99336093

Camry 2010. Contact 99336093

Mitsubishi Pajero 2004 model

white full option. Contact 96608725

Ford focus full options, 2010, 8100

kms, expat lady driven, excellent

condition and all tyres changed

recently for immediate sale. Fixed

price OMR 3000. Contact 99421138

Mercedes C180, 2005.

Contact 99755644

Mitsubishi Lancer model 2009 full

automatic. Contact 99045803

PROTON GEN 2 FOR SALE: Manual

Gear. Good condition. Single owner.

Silver colour. 1st registered August

2009. Full insurance till August

2015, Price OMR 1,680

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Mitsubishi Lancer 2006 excellent

condition Mulkiya upto 2015-07.

Contact 99378397

A running condition, Mitsubishi

Pick-up, Model 2009, used only for

4 years, Double cabin 4X4 L200,

4CYL 2500CC, is ready for sale.

Contact: 93893906 / 99256757

Ford Focus 2010 fully automatic.

Contact 97385534

Chevrolet Optra 2011 fully auto-

matic. Contact 92588458

FOR HIRE

M.V. WANTED

TRUCK FOR HIREIsuzu 10 ton cargo body truck

(2012 FVR) with UAE experienced driver

available for long term / short term rent.

Contact: 95346950

50 seater bus with PDO specifi cation

for rent or lease. Contact99839898

Running truck wash for rent in

Ouhi Sunia Sohar. Serious people

can. Contact on 97864747

TRANSPORTATION

Wanted Hatchback car model 2010

or after preferably Sirion/ Tiida/

Swift/ Picanto.

Contact 96531723



Within Seeb, Gubra, Rusayl Circle.

Contact 93198128

Executive driver. Contact 94003617

Transportation Available

Contact 97180655


Transportation. Contact: 97897833







MANPOWER

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

CLASSES

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intelli-

gence (BI) creation and man-

agement at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

COMPUTER

House Shifting. Contact 99708138

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing,

Contact 99314807/24792998

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your

marble. Contact 24793614/

99314807

Civil Maintenance, Painting Elec-

tric, Plumbing, Decor, Tile Fixing,

Lecithin Copra Board fl at stifl ing ,

Carpet Cleaning and A/C Servicing.

Contact 97897831 (Indian keralite)

YallahOman.com - Shop & gift on-

line. Cheapest prices. Pay by card or

cash on delivery.

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QA-

BAS- 99320217 /24788722

A.M Trading Pest control.Contact 99067923

Electrical Plumbing Painting

Contract and Maintenance.

Contact 98456535

Painting Interlock plumbing

maintenance. Contact 92142319

For HT cable jointing and

termination works 33KV/11KV.

Contact 99056438 /


Water proofi ng ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

Door to Door Computers repair

specialist laptop software

Website cartridges.

Contact 99199376

SITUATION WANT-SERVICES

MEP Design / MEP/ Arch. Shop

drawings. Contact 91467905 /

94373456

We translate documents from

English to Arabic and Arabic to

English. Contact 99242119

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QA-

BAS- 99320217 /24788722

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile

polishing, pest control & anti-ter-

mite treatment, general cleaning

painting, Plumbing, Electrical,

shifting. Contact Mundhir

Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C. #

24810137, 99450130

Window & split unit A/C servicing

& maintenance. Contact 96236476

Catering services We do industrial

catering service, Canteen/ mess, 3

times packed meals, and all types of

catering events. Contact 92188777/

99249899

Truck repairing and truck body

fabrication Misfa Ind. area. Contact

92326955 Bridge Gulfa LLC

Hardware, Networking full setup

and service for home and business

RO 15/- per visit. Call : 92054431,

97311847

Carpet & Sofa Shampooing services.

Ocean Center LLC 92682970

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

Electrical Works, Maintenance,

Building Gas Pipelines, Fire Alarm

& Security systems. Contact Amjad

Majees Trading & Contracting:

99467936

GULF INTERNATIONAL LLC

all kind of pest control.#92326955

We assist Buying / Selling / Renting

/ Empty Plots, Villa, Buildings, Open

Lands, Warehouses, Industrial Lands

on long and short term lease & Man-

agement of Properties. Kindly fax

us or email copy of your kurki with

contact details. Fax No . 24533348,


A/C, Fridge & Washing Machine servicing & Repairing,2. Painting,

Plumping, Electrical & carpen-

try works. Contact 97014234 /

24504281 / 99447257

Cleaning Services, Carpet Sham-

pooing, General Cleaning, Polish-

ing, Ocean Center LLC.

Contact 99884591

House shifting, packing & Trans-

portation.Contact 99657644 /

98518013

Split & window A/C servicing &

repairing. Contact 99557080

P.R.O Service. Call me 99368907

Split & window A/C servicing &

maintenance. Contact 93769089

Pest Control Treatments, termites,

Cockroaches & Rodents. Ocean

Center LLC 99344723

SITUATION WANT-SERVICES

DRIVING

Learn Driving from professional

instructors. Contact 94022250

Learn driving automatic from

scratch. Contact 98599675

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