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THURSDAY, August 27, 2015 / 12 Dhul Qa’ada 1436 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certifi ed Company

The great Eid flight rush gets underway

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Travellers hoping to head away for the Eid Al Adha holi-day face missing out if they don’t act soon as tickets to many destinations are selling out fast.

Though it is more than 20 days away, there is huge demand for air tickets during Eid Al Adha celebra-tions — expected to start from Sep-tember 23 but yet to be confi rmed.

According to travel agents, fl ight tickets to most of the destinations

in Asia are either sold out or selling out fast. “We do not have any tick-ets to Colombo on September 22,” confi rmed Deepal Pallegangoda, country manager of Sri Lankan Air-lines in Muscat. He also said there is great demand for tickets to Far East destinations like Malaysia and Sin-gapore during this Eid. “Tickets for

the Maldives sector is also eliciting very good response,” he said.

Joegendra Charles Rajadurai, country manager Oman of Qatar Airways, said that many people will be booking tickets after receiving their salaries. “We expect fl ights to be fi lled during the Eid holidays,” he said. He, however, said the demand for Bangkok had dropped this year.

“Instead, people are fl ying to Kua-la Lumpur, Istanbul, and Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. The demand for fl ights to Phuket, Bali and Jakarta

are also picking up,” he said. The other destinations which are doing well include Larnaca, which is situ-ated on the southern coast of Cy-prus, apart from Vienna, Frankfurt and London. “Tickets are still avail-able as we have upgraded to wide-bodied aircraft on some fl ights in our fl eet,which can take more pas-sengers from Muscat International Airport,” he said. Sami Muctar, country manager Oman, Ethiopian Airlines, said that Kenyan safaris are the biggest draw this Eid. >A6

Staff Reporter

MUSCAT: Indians who went to Kerala without purchasing return tickets will have to shell out more as airfares have shot up due to a fall in the value of the Indian rupee.

Travel agents in Muscat confi rmed that airfares from India have gone up due to the rupee fall. “The prices to overseas destina-tions are up by INR4,000 to INR5,000 from the ear-lier prices,” said a travel agent. He said almost all seats are full and the rate of available seats is four to fi ve times more than the normal rate.

“Earlier, some seats were available, but now you will have to pay more to be back in the Sultan-ate,” Raji Demonte, gen-eral manager at Universal Travel and Tourism, told the Times of Oman.

Airfares rise as rupee falls

A4

REGIONBombing suspect

2 A key suspect in the Saudi Arabia bombing that killed 19 US airmen decades ago

has been captured. >A7

MARKETCarillion cautious

3Carillion, the UK fi rm, said plunging oil prices may hamper its plans

to expand further. >B1

OMANKeralites go on buying spree for Onam

1As only one more day is left for Thiruvonam, people from Kerala in Muscat are thronging hypermarkets for shopping. >A4

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

The Oman Currency Museum at the Central Bank of Oman complex is a must visit place for those who are keen to know about the monetary history of the Sultanate. >C7

OMAN CURRENCY TRAIL

Fares to Asian

destinations have

gone up as only

20 days are left

for Eid Al Adha

holidays

Sayyid Asa’ad bids farewell to envoys

His Majesty sends greetings

His Majesty receives thanks

MUSCAT: On behalf of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, His Highness Sayyid Asa’ad bin Tariq Al Said received on Wednesday Tariq Al Adab, Ambassador of the Tunisian Republic to the Sultanate and Awadh Mohammed Ahmed Ibn Ouf, Ambassador of the Repub-lic of Sudan to the Sultanate, to bid them farewell at the end of their tenure in Oman.

The two ambassadors ex-pressed their thanks to His Majesty the Sultan for the sup-port they received during their stay in the Sultanate from His Majesty, the government and the Omani people, which had enabled them to carry out their duties. They wished His Maj-esty good health, happiness and a long life and the Sultanate further progress under the wise leadership of His Majesty.

Sayyid Asa’ad thanked the two ambassador for the eff orts they exerted in boosting the relations between the Sultan-ate and their countries, wish-ing them success and people of their countries progress and prosperity. -ONA Picture on >A6

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of congratulations to President Nicolae Timofti of Moldova on his country’s Independence An-niversary.

In his cable, His Majesty ex-pressed his sincere congratula-tions along with his best wishes of good health and happiness to President Timofti and the Moldovan people further pro-gress and prosperity. -ONA

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from President Abdullah Yameen of Maldives in reply to His Majesty’s con-gratulatory cable on the occa-sion of the Golden Jubilee of his country’s Independence Anniversary.

In his cable, President Ya-meen expressed his utmost thanks and appreciation for His Majesty’s congratulations and best wishes.

He wished His Majesty good health and happiness, the Om-ani people further progress and prosperity, and the good rela-tions between the two countries further progress. -ONA

O N H M B E H A L F

C A B L E S

Short-circuits main cause of fi res

N E G L I G E N C E

RISING INCIDENTS: Loose electrical wiring is also one of the causes of fi res. – Supplied photo

REJIMON K reji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Negligence in main-taining standard electrical wiring systems and lack of compliance with statutory requirements re-

sult in incidents of fi re, said a risk and safety engineer.

In a week, three incidents of fi re have been reported in Muscat, of which two were in Ghala indus-trial area and one in Ruwi High Street. Even though there were no

causalities in the accidents, prop-erties worth thousands of rials were damaged.

“With reference to the trend and available data, the main rea-son for accidents caused by fi re is a short circuit. >A6

Photographic Society of Oman bags award in Indonesia

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A2 T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

OMAN

DRIVE SLOWER LIVE LONGER

Two Omanis held for vandalism, theftTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Two Omani citizens were arrested on charges of van-dalism and theft in Falaj Al Qa-bail in Sohar Wilayat, confi rmed an offi cial source from the Sohar Royal Oman Police (ROP).

“The Sohar Police Department received numerous reports on two citizens vandalising vehicles

and stealing their contents, in ad-dition to stealing their car num-ber plates,” said the ROP source.

“The Directorate General of In-quiries and Investigations were able to apprehend the suspects,” added the source.

The vandals confessed to their crimes and were referred to the Public Prosecution.

The source thanked the resi-

dents and citizens for their co-op-eration which helped in the arrest of the two and stressed that co-operation between civilians and police must continue to ensure safety for all.

Liquor seizedMeanwhile, the ROP Coast Guards intercepted a boat off the coast of Musandam and foiled an

attempt to smuggle liquor. The ROP Coast Guards intercepted the boat with two Asians on board and found 25 boxes of alcoholic beverages in their possession, which were seized and handed over to the Musandam cus-toms offi cials for initiating legal procedures.

The ROP also took possession of the boat.

P O L I C E A C T I O N

LIQUOR HAUL: ROP Coast Guards intercepted the boat with two

Asians on board and found 25 boxes of alcohol.–ROP photo

Call to focus on values among children

MUSCAT: A modern Omani study has highlighted the im-portance of enhancing values among children by adopting a long-term approach that in-cludes establishing a higher organisation to care for them and develop their education, psychological, social and sports strategies.

The study conducted by Dr Saleh bin Mohammed Al Fahdi, chairman of ‘Qeyam’ Centre, titled “Role of values in enhancing child culture,” included three themes on the need to enhance values in the child’s culture, its modern eff ects and the means to enhance those values.

The study pointed out that the visual, audio and print media have a great impact on children.

He added that satellite chan-nels, e-games and Internet cause more confusion among children as they convey diff er-ent messages. – ONA

M O R A L E D U C A T I O N

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The Sohar Police Department received numerous reports on two citizens vandalising vehicles and stealing their contents, in addition to stealing their car number plates

ROP offi cial

A4 T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

OMAN 30to 35 dishes comprise Onasadhaya, the sumptuous feast of Kerala’s Onam festival

Oman LNG initiates safety, green and health projects in SurTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Sheikh Musallam Al Mahrooqi, wali of Sur and chair-man of the municipal committee, and Khalid Al Massan, chief ex-ecutive offi cer of Oman LNG De-velopment Foundation visited the recently completed social invest-ment initiatives of Oman LNG for the Sur community.

Based on the advice of the wali, the initiatives focussed on specifi c areas such as safety, environment and the health of the community for which agreements were signed between 2013 and 2014.

The improvement of the walk-way, public restrooms and the increase of shaded areas in Shiaa addressed the safety aspects. Fur-thermore, fl ooding in two main lo-cations in Sur city forced the con-struction of two storm drainages to safely direct excess water there during heavy rainfall.

Planting over 1,000 neem trees between the Sur Sewage Treat-ment Plant (STP) junction to Al Jinah Roundabout, and in the vicinity and alongside the road between Al Jinah R/A and Al Bar Round About, has greatly im-proved the local environment.

By using an eco-friendly irrigation system and reusing waste water from the Sur Sewage Treatment Plan (STP) a viable, low-cost, en-vironmentally conscious solution has been incorporated as well.

By fi nancing the outdoor gym-

nasium facilities at three loca-tions across Sur and expanding the grounds at Bilad Sur Park, Oman LNG hopes to contrib-ute to a healthier lifestyle for the local community.

The company’s contribution

to the expansion of the Bilad Sur Park has created ample space to hold various activities, events and functions. At present, the park has held many festivities such as the recent Eid, National Day and Renaissance Day celebrations

and public events. “Through these initiatives we hope to provide sup-port where the community of Sur feels it is most needed,” said Khalid Al Massan.

“Our aim is to serve the com-munity and contribute to all seg-

ments of society wherever we can,” he said.

Oman LNG has an ambitious social investment programme ad-dressing many areas of develop-ment in Oman but broadly divided into three main categories.

The fi rst is a community fund that targets initiatives related to the Sur community where its world-class, three-train liquefac-tion plant is located.

The second is a national fund that covers a large swath of the company’s social development programme including donations, national projects and human re-source development, and the third is a reserve fund to address the sustainability of the company’s so-cial investment programmes.

Oman LNG operates as a joint-venture company with a share-holding structure comprising the Government of Oman with 51 per cent, Shell Gas B.V with 30 per cent, Total S.A. with 5.54 per cent, and Korea LNG with 5 per cent, in addition to Mitsubishi Corporation with 2.77 per cent, Mitsui & Company with 2.77 per cent, Partex (Oman) Corporation with 2 per cent, and Itochu with 0.92 per cent.

S O C I A L A G E N D A

Caledonian College students foster care of elderly citizens

Times News Service

MUSCAT: With the objective of raising awareness among youth to take care of the elderly, an ini-tiative was launched in Salalah to highlight health, social and men-tal issues that may face the elderly and ways to tackle them.

A team of seven students from Caledonian College of Engineer-ing titled their initiative ‘Khareef with Company of an Elderly’.

The fi rst of its kind initiative is

being sponsored by Oman Air.“During our stay in Salalah, we

aim at implementing a set of pro-grammes to inform school stu-dents about the needs of the elder-ly by visiting schools, establishing workshops for teachers and stu-dents in addition to distributing booklets to tourists at major tour-ist attractions in Salalah,” said Af-rah Mohammed Al Mamari, head of the team of volunteers.

She added that she and her team will pay a visit to a hospital

to lecture patients and employees about the common diseases that can aff ect the elderly and how to prevent and treat them.

“People’s sympathy with aged-care initiatives is the true test of society’s caring, and we be-lieve that our Omani youth are coping well the growing elderly population.

“However, they need to be edu-cated on how to take care of them properly and in the right manner,” said Al Mamari.

S A L A L A H I N I T I A T I V E

SOCIAL MISSION: This is the fi rst-of-its-kind initiative for the elderly. –Supplied photo

Colours of Kerala mark Onam fest

REJIMON K reji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: As only one more day is left for Thiruvonam, the most im-portant day for Keralites’ 10-day-long harvest festival, Onam, peo-ple from the south Indian state of Kerala in Muscat were seen thronging hypermarkets for the last minute shopping.

“There are long queues in the counters. People are doing their last minute shopping. Without an Onasadhaya, the sumptuous feast which includes 30 to 35 dishes, and Onakodi, the new dress, how can a Keralite celebrate Onam,” an offi cial from one of the hyper-markets, said.

Onam is the state festival, which unites all Keralites irrespective of

caste, colour or creed. The festival marks the homecoming of mythi-cal king Mahabali, who emerges from the netherworld to visit his people in Kerala. Onam is all about being happy and engaging in fun-fi lled activities.

The 10 days of Onam com-menced on Atham day (last Wednesday) and will go up to the Thiruvonam day in the Malayalam calendar month of Chingam.

“Many have sent money to India to make use of the better exchange rates following the Indian curren-cy fall this week. However, we can’t miss Onam celebrating in its full gaiety, ”Aswathy Shibu, a Keralite homemaker, told Times of Oman.

“At least an Onasadhya is must. There is even a saying that Keralites go to the extent of selling all their possessions for one Ona-sadhya,” Aswathy added.

Traditional Onasadhya meal comprises of diff erent varieties of curries, upperies - fried in oil, pappadams which are round crisp fl our paste cakes of peculiar make, uppilittathu - pickles of various kinds, chammanthi - the chut-ney, payasams and prathamans or puddings of various descriptions. Fruits and digestives are also part of the meal.

Onasadhya has to be served on a tender banana leaf, laid with the end to the left. The meal is traditionally served on a mat laid on the fl oor.

A strict order of serving the dish-

es one after the other is obeyed. Besides, there are clear directions as to what will be served in which part of the banana leaf.

Blue-collar workers from Kerala were also seen in their last minute shopping of vegetables at the hypermarkets.

“Onam is a nostalgic feeling for us. Even though we are stay-ing alone here, we try to make it as colorful as we can. We invite everyone in our camp to share the feast and happiness. When we are far from our family, its only friends who we have to share our cel-ebrations. Workers from diff erent nationalities also join us. In this region, Onam is not an exclusive festival for Keralites, it’s for peo-ple from all countries,” Reghu Ra-machandran and his friends from a labour camp in Ghala, said.

Simultaneously, as Indian

schools, social clubs and offi ces were organising Onam celebra-tions, there was a huge demand for fresh fl owers to design Athapooka-lam , decorative fl oral carpets.

“It was quite diffi cult to get fresh fl owers. The main part of celebrations is to create fl oral carpet. But we struggled a lot to get fresh fl owers for our children. They had fl oral carpet competi-tion in the school,” Rajesh Ravi, a Keralite, said.

Flower carpet is a distant cous-in of Rangoli in North India and Kolam in Tamil Nadu.

Traditionally, the making of the fl oral carpet begins on the Atham day, 10 days before Thiruvonam. Originally, the fl oral carpet con-sists of 10 small round steps.

The 10 steps or rings are be-lieved to represent ten diff erent deities in Hinduism.

Traditional Onasadhya meal comprises

diff erent varieties of curries and upperies.

It has to be served on a tender banana leaf,

laid with the end to the left

OMAN PHOTO SOCIETY WINS INDONESIA AWARDPhotographic Society of Oman

(PSO) of the Sultan Qaboos

Higher Centre for Culture and

Science won the honorary

award at the 28th Biennale

Indonesia, organised by Fédéra-

tion Internationale de l’Art Pho-

tographique (FIAP). PSO took

part with 20 pictures that focus

on children. The Sultanate

came seventh at the completion

with 199 points. Biennale pho-

tography contest is organised

by FIAP every two year.—ONA

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

COMMUNITY WELFARE: Based on the advice of the wali, the initiatives focussed on specifi c areas such as safety, environment and the

health of the community for which agreements were signed between 2013 and 2014.–Supplied photo

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

TRADITIONAL TREAT: Traditionally, the making of the fl oral carpet begins on the Atham day, 10 days before Thiruvonam. Originally, the fl oral carpet consists of 10 small round steps. – OK Mohammed Ali/TIMES OF OMAN

A5

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Abu Dhabi eyes Oman tourists

SARAH MACDONALDsarah@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: More Omanis are vis-iting Abu Dhabi than ever before, with numbers up over 15 per cent compared to last year, according to an offi cial from the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority.

The Emirate hopes to attract more Omanis and expatriates who live in Oman with its the di-verse destinations that combine sea and water attractions, mod-ern entertainment, desert spas and retreats, heritage and cultural sites and oases, said Sultan Al Mansoori, GCC Country Man-ager for the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority. He was in Muscat on Wednesday on a pro-motional tour aimed at attracting more visitors to Abu Dhabi.

“There have been over 30,000 Omanis so far this year. It’s an in-crease of between 15 and 16 per cent compared to this period last year,” Al Mansoori said.

According to the recent statis-tics, Abu Dhabi’s hotels received 30,909 hotel guests from the Sultanate during the fi rst half of 2015, representing an increase of 15 per cent compared to the same period of last year. Abu Dhabi also received more than 62,499 hotel guests from the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia (a 28 per cent increase), 13,306 guests from Kuwait and 13,156 guests from Qatar.

Approximately 45,000 Omanis visited Abu Dhabi in 2014, and given the current rates Al Man-soori expects this number to be signifi cantly higher.

The number of expatriates in Oman who visit Abu Dhabi is also expected to rise thanks to the new electronic visa system for the UAE. People can apply for their visas online and know if they are approved or not, he said.

“Now you are sure. You apply on line and if you get the visa you are going to come. I think this will increase the number of visitors, too,” comment Al Mansoori.

Currently most visitors from Oman who visit the UAE head to Dubai, but Al Mansoori said there are many reasons to visit Abu Dhabi, and once people have been there, they will want to return again and again. He said Dubai started its tourism industry 10 years before Abu Dhabi and is also the business capital so it attracts many people, but he hoped in the future more people would consid-er visiting Abu Dhabi, too.

“This is our role, to tell them about Abu Dhabi and encourage them to visit us. Abu Dhabi is qui-eter than Dubai and good for peo-ple who want to relax.

“If they visit Abu Dhabi they will discover that it has specifi c elements and destinations which they will never see in Dubai or anywhere in the world. They need to see it to believe it to be honest,” he said.

Al Mansoori said there are a number of highly anticipated events in Abu Dhabi that are ex-pected to draw an even larger number of visitors from neigh-bouring GCC countries, especial-ly for the celebratory activities scheduled for Eid Al Adha in Sep-tember which will bring together a group of top-tier Arab singing stars who will grace the stages in Abu Dhabi City, Al Ain and the Western Region.

An array of cultural and herit-age events will follow in October including the seventh edition of Al Ain Reads Book Show which will focus on local publishers and host preeminent Emirati writers in open discussion sessions, as well as the National Traditional Handicrafts Festival which is considered a major attraction for everyone interested in reviving traditional crafts.

In November, the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will draw regional attendees, while Abu Dhabi Art will cap-tivate modern art enthusiasts. “Our current roadshow com-bines meeting with the leaders of the travel and tourism sector in the GCC and representatives of prominent media organisations in their respective countries.

“The meetings will focus on promoting the various upcoming cultural and art activities on Abu Dhabi’s agenda in addition to call-ing attention to the promotional off ers extended to visitors by the emirate’s hotels and shopping centres,” added Al Mansoori.

More than 30,000

Omanis have visited

Abu Dhabi this

year so far. It’s an

increase of 15-16 per

cent over the same

period last year

Sultan Al Mansoori, GCC Coun-

try Manager for the Abu Dhabi

Tourism and Culture Authority

A6

OMANT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

I have been thinking about initiating such a service for some time and, starting August 27, this Open House will be held every Thursday for an hour to help our countrymen solve their problems

Ayaz Hussain, Pakistan’s ambassador

SAYYID ASA’AD MEETS AMBASSADORSOn behalf of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, His Highness Sayyid Asa’ad bin Tariq

Al Said received on Wednesday Tunisian Ambassador Tariq Al Adab and Sudan Ambas-

sador Awadh Mohammed Ahmed Ibn Ouf, to bid them farewell at the end of their tenures

in the Sultanate. -ONA

Pakistan Open House to settle expat issues

SHAHZAD RAZAshahzad@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: The large Pakistani community in Oman has fi nally got a platform to share their prob-lems and seek immediate redres-sal, as Ayaz Hussain, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Sultanate, will conduct an Open House starting today, and every Thursday, at 11 am in the embassy.

In what is seen as the fi rst such step by the Pakistan embassy in Oman, the ambassador, accompa-nied by other offi cers, will listen to problems related to the Coun-sellor section and, if possible, order immediate action for an in-stant solution.

Not just that, he will also use his offi ce to approach the highest

authorities in Pakistan for any-thing troubling his countrymen in Oman.

“I have been thinking about initiating such a service for some time and, starting August 27, this Open House will be held every Thursday for an hour to help our countrymen solve their prob-lems,” said Hussain speaking to the Times of Oman yesterday.

The Counselling Hall sees long queues on a daily basis as a large number of Pakistanis approach the embassy for counselling ser-vices. The Open House is not only expected to off er instant solutions but lead to an improvement in counselling services as well.

The ambassador also encour-aged nearly 250,000 Pakistanis

in Oman to share their personal problems related to any issues bothering them in Pakistan through this platform.

“The Pakistan embassy will assist them in fi nding an imme-diate solution to their problems like property disputes, issues over education, facilitation in their investments, complaints against the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis etc. We have appointed the Community Welfare Atta-ché to guide them on how to ap-proach the concerned bodies like the Punjab Overseas Pakistanis Commission through its web-site. Once a problem is shared or a complaint lodged through the embassy or directly through the online complaint portal, Chief

Minister Shahbaz Sharif himself looks into the matter and involves the concerned authorities for im-mediate action,” explained the ambassador.

Set up last year, the Punjab Overseas Pakistanis Commission enables Pakistanis overseas to interact with the concerned au-thorities by informing them about their experiences and the exciting opportunities abroad for possible collaborations.

Further, they may share their thoughts for improving the pro-cesses for the betterment and welfare of millions of Pakistanis abroad. This platform also fa-cilitates raising of their issues by lodging their complaints in a con-venient manner.

The ambassador,

accompanied by

other offi cers, will

listen to problems

related to the

Counsellor section

at the Open House

and, if possible, order

immediate action for

an instant solution

I have been thinking about

initiating such a service

for some time and, starting

August 27, this Open

House will be held

every Thursday

Ayaz Hussain Pakistan’s Ambassador

Flights to India nearly full“There is huge demand for tickets to places such as Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia,” he told the Times of Oman on Wednesday.

The airline has aggressively started promoting packages to Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, and Ethiopia.

“Of course, Kenya takes pride of place simply because of the sheer variety of places of tourist interest. Masai Mara has been the greatest attraction since it is the biggest wildlife reserve in the world,”he said.

Flights to the India sector dur-ing the Eid Al Adha holidays are already full despite the low fares, said travel agents in Muscat.

“Those who want to attend the Eid Al Adha celebrations in India will have to travel a couple a days earlier as fl ights are already full for that period. The ticket rates were cheap, so customers booked much earlier. Now, only higher economy class or business class seats are available,” said Raji Demonte, gen-eral manager at Universal Travel & Tourism.

According to Demonte, the to-and-fro tickets were hovering around OMR65 to south Indian destinations.

“However, the higher economy class tickets are around OMR150,” added Raji.

As quoted on the website of the Sultanate’s offi cial carrier Oman Air, one can book a return ticket to Thiruvanathapuram, the capi-

tal city of the Indian state of Ker-ala from Muscat on September 20 and a return ticket on October 20 for OMR146.

From the next day onwards the one-way ticket rate to the same city from Muscat is more than OMR100. The situation on the other carriers is similar.

There are one-way tickets avail-able for lower rates on the fl ights like Oman Air, Jet Airways etc. to the Kerala sector between August 31 and September 15.

The one-way rate to Thiru-vanathapuram from Muscat on Oman Air is OMR60 plus and the rate to the same destination on Jet

Airways is OMR50 plus from Au-gust 31 to September 15.

“Airlines always do this. They increase the rate according to the situation and the common man has to suff er if he has an emergen-cy. Sometimes, he has to pay even more than OMR200 for a seat,” said Sunil Kumar, an Indian busi-nessman in Muscat.

Though there are places like Dubai or Abu Dhabi to visit dur-ing the holidays, a large num-ber of travellers are opting for Salalah this year because of the cool weather.

“For the Eid Al Adha holidays, we have a good number of ticket and hotel bookings for Salalah. Unavailability of air tickets to in-ternational destinations is mak-ing travellers opt for Salalah,” said a travel agent.

There are people opting for boutique resorts or hotels for a trip during the extended weekends.

“People prefer destinations that do not require more than fi ve to six hours by a car to reach,” said Vinod Paul, a traveller.

For this reason, the resorts in Masirah Island are experiencing heavy bookings.

“There are only a few rooms left,” confi rmed an offi cial at the Masirah Island Resort.

There is another place which experiences a huge rush, and that is the Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve Centre, as the nesting season for turtles has started.

E I D H O L I D A Y S

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Many workers lost valuables“These numbers rise in summer as the temperatures outside also contribute to the overheating of electrical cables and fi xtures which result in the short circuit,” said Girish Mahadeva, a risk engi-neer at an insurance fi rm.

In an incident on Wednesday morning, some 15 porta cabins at a company accommodation in Ghala were gutted.

No injuries“The fi re which broke out around 5:30 am raged for hours. It started in one porta cabin and spread to the others. However, as the la-bourers had gone to work there were no injuries,” said sources.

Sources added that around 50 workers have lost their belong-ings in the fi re. The reason of the fi re is not unknown.

Meanwhile, an offi cial from the

company said that they are trying their best to help the workers who lost their accommodation and be-longings in the fi re.

New accommodation“We have already readied new accommodation for the workers and will also be helping them fi -nancially,” added the offi cial.

This is the second such inci-dent in the industrial area.

On Sunday morning, 12 porta cabins of the Muscat Municipal-ity’s Ghala labour camp were gut-ted in the same industrial area.

Around 100 workers lost their belongings worth hundreds of rials and documents in the fi re. Nine fi re engines were pressed into service to contain the fi re.

On late Saturday night a textile shop was also gutted.

Meanwhile, the risk engineer

said that temporary or loose elec-trical wiring at the work site or workshop, overloading of electri-cal outlets/fi xture by connecting too many switches with no surge protector, use of PVC conduit pipes for wiring systems, and keeping combustible material near the electrical fi xture, in ad-dition to improper ventilation in the LT and HT electrical panel room, and poor electrical wiring standard without circuit breakers and surge current protection, are the main reasons for fi res.

Standard electrical wiring“Maintaining a standard elec-trical wiring system and use of a metal pipe for an electri-cal wiring system to withstand the heat are the main steps to be adopted to avoid such incidents,” he added.

L A B O U R C A M P S F I R E

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A7

REGIONT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

Al Qaeda blows up army headquartersADEN: Al-Qaeda militants on Wednesday blew up an army headquarters and set up check-points in the extremist network’s southeastern stronghold of Mu-kalla, offi cials in Hadramawt province said.

The militants had deployed in force across Mukalla after re-ceiving information of a possible operation by a Saudi-led military coalition to help government loy-alists retake the provincial capi-tal, the offi cials said.

The coalition of Arab states has been carrying out air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen since March, but has so far not intervened against Al-Qaeda. Wednesday’s explosion fl attened the three-storey army building -- the command centre for a zone covering Hadramawt and parts of neighbouring Shabwa province.

It came a day after Al-Qaeda dynamited a headquarters of the secret police in Mukalla, the offi -cials said.

In Aden a 100-strong Saudi force arrived late on Tuesday and was deployed at the main south-

ern city’s international airport, military sources said. “This force’s mission is to help secure the city, where Al-Qaeda militants sur-faced last weekend,” one of the sources said, referring to Aden.

Backed by arms and troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, government loyal-ists recaptured Aden from Houthi rebels and their allies in mid-July before retaking four other south-ern provinces.

But security has remained fragile in the port city, where Al-Qaeda suspects were accused of blowing up a building used by the secret police.

Scud interceptedOn Tuesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had suspended its operations in Aden after unidentifi ed gunmen stormed its offi ce there.

Meanwhile, Riyadh announced its armed forces on Wednesday intercepted a Scud missile fi red from Yemen at the Saudi region of Jazan, adding the explosion caused no casualties or damage. -AFP

Y E M E N

‘1996 Saudi bomb suspect arrested’

RIYADH: The main suspect in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Tow-ers residence at a US military base in Saudi Arabia has been captured after nearly 20 years on the run, a Saudi-owned newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Asharq Al-Awsat said Ahmed Al

Mughassil, leader of the Hezbollah Al-Hejaz who had been indicted by a US court for the attack that killed 19 US service personnel and wounded almost 500 people, had been captured in the Lebanese capital Beirut and transferred to Riyadh.

Saudi authorities were not im-mediately available to comment.

Saudi Arabia and the United States have accused Iran of or-chestrating the truck-bomb attack. Iran has denied any responsibility for the attack.

Asharq Al-Awsat quoted offi -cial Saudi sources as saying Saudi security personnel had received information about the presence of 48-year-old Mughassil in Beirut.

“The discovery of Mughassil and his arrest in Lebanon and his subsequent transfer to Saudi Ara-bia is a qualitative achievement, for the man had been in disguise in a way that made it hard to identify him,” Asharq Al-Awsat said, with-out elaborating on when he was captured and who captured him.

In 2006, a US federal judge or-dered Iran to pay $254 million to the families of 17 US service personnel killed in the attack in

a judgment entered against the Iranian government, its security ministry and the Revolutionary Guards after they failed to respond to a lawsuit initiated more than four years earlier.

The 209-page ruling had found that the truck bomb involved in the attack was assembled at a base in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley operated by Hezbollah and the Revolution-ary Guards.

US prosecutors have said that Mughassil drove the explosives-laden truck and parked it outside the military compound.

The FBI has off ered a reward of up to $5 million (4.4 million euros) for information leading directly to his apprehension or conviction.

The Khobar Towers dormi-tory complex housed US, British, French and Saudi military person-nel attached to the nearby King Abdul Aziz airbase. -Reuters/AFP

‘Asharq Al-Awsat’ newspaper reported that

Ahmed Al Mughassil, leader of the Hezbollah

Al-Hejaz who had been indicted by a US

court for the attack that killed 19 US service

personnel, had been captured in Beirut and

transferred to Riyadh

RIYADH: Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Sal-man bin Abduaziz Al Saud will visit the United States next month for the fi rst time since acceding the throne and following a rift over America’s rapprochement with Iran, a diplomat said on Wednesday.

The monarch, who pulled out of a Gulf leaders’ summit with US President Barack Obama in May at the last minute, would travel to Washington on September 4, the Saudi diplomat said.

He would also attend a US-Saudi forum in Wash-ington to be held on Sep-tember 4-6, the source said, requesting anonymity.

The forum would focus on “energy, health, petrochemi-cals as well as fi nancial ser-vices,” among other issues, said the diplomat.

Washington has sought to allay the concerns of its traditional allies over a historic deal it and other world powers reached with Tehran over the its nuclear programme. -AFP

Saudi king to visit US: Diplomat

Meeting on joint force postponed

CAIRO: The Arab League said it had postponed indefi nitely a min-isterial meeting set for Thursday to approve the creation of a joint mili-tary force to intervene against ex-tremists. A meeting of defence and foreign ministers “has been post-poned indefi nitely and a new date will be set later,” the league’s secre-tariat said on Wednesday. No reason was given for the postponement, but the statement said it came at the request of Saudi Arabia, backed by Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

At a summit in March, Arab leaders agreed to form the force, and army chiefs have already met twice in Cairo to work on the de-tails. The decision to create the force was mostly aimed at fi ghting the IS Group, which has overrun swathes of Iraq and Syria. -AFP

A R A B L E A G U E

France, Egypt in talks for Mistral sale: SourcesPARIS: France is in talks to sell two Mistral helicopter carriers to Egypt after their sale to Russia was cancelled earlier this month, two sources close to the matter said on Wednesday.

Cairo has sought to boost its military power in the face of a two-year-old insurgency based across the Suez Canal in the Si-nai peninsula and fears the crisis in neighbouring Libya could spill over. Egypt’s allies are also keen to burnish its image in a region beset by turmoil. A sale would also fi t into France’s recent strategy of fa-vouring Arab nations, both politi-cally and commercially, over Iran.

“There are indeed discussions that are relatively advanced to take the two Mistrals,” one French source close to the matter said. “It’s Egypt.” The source said if there were a deal it would likely be fi nanced in part by money from Gulf Arab states, which consider

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi a bulwark against the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which are part of a coalition fi ghting Houthi rebels in Yemen, agreed at the end of July to work together to create a joint Arab military force, including defi ning their maritime borders along the Red Sea.

Financing unclearA second French source con-fi rmed the talks, but said the fi -nancing was unclear.

France, whose navy already operates three Mistral helicopter carrier warships, has no use for the two ships and will have to pay Russia less than 1 billion euros ($1.14 billion) for cancelling the contract, the French government spokesman said on Wednesday.

The Mistral is known as the Swiss army knife of the French

navy for its versatility. It can hold up to 16 helicopters and 1,000 troops. President Francois Hol-lande said on Tuesday there were a number of potential buyers for the carriers. Sources told Reuters earlier this month other countries interested included Brazil, Singa-pore, Malaysia and Canada.

“France has chosen to con-sider Egypt as a major player in the Middle East,” Hollande said on Tuesday in an annual foreign policy speech.

“Its stability is essential, and Egypt expects a lot from France.”

Last year, Egypt bought four small Gowind warships, built by Mistral manufacturer DCNS, which is 64 percent owned by the French state and 35 percent by de-fence group Thales.

It also acquired a Fremm frig-ate as part of a 5.2 billion euro contract for 24 Rafale warplanes earlier this year. -AFP

A R M A M E N T

STATE-OF-THE-ART: Mistral high-tech amphibious helicopter car-

rier assault and command ship. -AFP fi les

PICTURE IMPERFECT: A man holds a portrait of him and his chil-

dren at his house, damaged in a Saudi-led air strike in Yemen’s

capital Sanaa on Wednesday. -Reuters

The discovery of Mughassil and his arrest in Lebanon and his subsequent transfer to Saudi Arabia is a qualitative achievement, for the man had been in disguise in a way that made it hard to identify him

Asharq Al-Awsat, Saudi owned newspaper

A8

INDIAT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

I had spent my entire time in Kota wearing the uniform of the coaching institute as I did not have money to buy another pair of clothes

Kheraj Choudhary, Student

Modi’s Bihar package is ‘mere repackaging’: NitishPATNA: Bihar’s Chief Minis-ter Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said at least Rs 1.08 lakh crore or 87 per cent of the special pack-age announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “with an intent to win Bihar elections” was a “mere repackaging of old schemes”.

“...At the best, the so called Rs 1.25 lakh crore package will not provide anything more than Rs 10,368 crore as additional or in-cremental resource to the state.

This too in the absence of a de-fi ned timeline or disbursement modalities hardly means anything to the state,” the chief minister told reporters in the presence of state Finance Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav.

Much hyped claim“A close look reveals that against the much hyped claim of Rs 1.25 lakh crore, 87 per cent of the so

called special package worth projects is nothing but a mere re-packaging of old schemes, appro-priation of pre-approved alloca-tions for old ones and continued contributions to ongoing schemes which were announced by vari-ous ministries at diff erent point of time in the past,” Kumar said.

Moreover, for a few of the new items totalling to the tune of about Rs6,000 crore in the pack-age, there is not even a shred of evidence of planning or work on ground, he said.

Making a scathing attack on the Prime Minister for announcing the special package at Arrah “after lots of theatrics like auctioning Bihar”, Kumar said after making a detailed study of the “so-called package” he came to the conclu-sion that “it is nothing but a joke with the state with an intent to win Bihar elections.”

Trashing the special package

announced during the prime min-ister’s visit to Bihar on August 18 as nothing but “narrate a fairy tale to the people of Bihar,” Kumar said it was ‘aakro ka mayajaal’ (illusion

weaved on the basis of statistics).Refusing to thank the prime min-ister for the special package for which he used the idiom “making a mountain out of a molehill”, the

chef minister said “by auction-ing respect of Bihar, the prime minister through this illusionary special package has indeed broken faith of the people of the state.”

“The bluff of the so-called spe-cial package could also be gauged from the fact that despite an-nouncing bonanza of Rs 1.25 lakh crore for Bihar, there is no move-ment seen in the Union Finance ministry as from where money would be arranged because they know most of the projects are be-ing carried by Public Sector Un-dertakings or diff erent ministries out of budgetary allocation and they need not give anything new from its coff er,” he said.

Kumar, who has been declared as chief minister nominee of the grand secular alliance for the Bi-har poll, said “we will narrate the truth of the special package in ‘Ja-nata ki Adalat’ (peoples court).”

Kumar also took a potshot at

the prime minister over the res-ervation stir in Gujarat. “He had claimed to change the face of Bi-har with the help of the so-called special package..he should bother about the face of his home state Gujarat burning due to justifi ed agitation of Patels for inclusion in Other Backward Class category,” Kumar, who had lent support to stir led by Hardik Patel, said.

Giving sector-wise details of the projects included in the spe-cial package, Kumar reeled fi gures to lay bare the “truth of the pack-age”.He also posted the details on Facebook and Twitter.

He said 41 National Highway projects have been made part of the special package at an estimat-ed cost of Rs 54,713 crore.

“Out of this, Rs 47,553 crore is previously sanctioned cost and only Rs 7,160 crore is new and in-cremental budgetary allocation,” the chief minister said. - PTI

F R A N K T A L K

SPELLING OUT: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addresses a

press conference in Patna on Wednesday. - PTI

Slowdown in Indian construction hits Modi’s jobs promiseNOIDA: After a decade labouring on building sites around New Del-hi Akhilesh Kumar lost his scaf-folding job last month when his employer halted work on an array of 30 residential towers.

He joins more than half a mil-lion workers let go from sites around India’s capital in the last 18 months, in a stark sign that the ground reality in Asia’s third-larg-est economy is far from as rosy as offi cial data suggests.

The deepening downturn in In-dia’s crucial building sector makes it easily understandable why Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image as the country’s economic saviour has lost its lustre just over a year after his resounding elec-tion victory.

“If I don’t get another job, I have no other choice but to go back to my village and work as a farm la-bourer,” said Kumar, who is in his twenties. The decade-long con-struction boom in burgeoning cities like Noida, where Kumar earned $165 a month, lured mil-lions of labourers from India’s ru-ral hinterlands in search of a bet-ter life, creating one in every three new jobs.

Cutting staff That process is now going into re-verse, undermining Modi’s prom-ise to create more employment for the one million Indians who join the workforce every month.

Indebted developers are cutting staff as they slow work on existing projects and postpone new build-ings until they clear a backlog of 700,000 unsold homes.

A law to clamp down on “black money” fl ows that fund as much as a third of real estate deals is fur-ther squeezing demand.

Across India, housing starts fell 40 per cent in the fi rst half of the

year, consultancy Knight Frank said. Cement output grew 0.9 percent between April and June, down from 9.6 percent a year ear-lier when Modi took offi ce, govern-ment data show.

Heading home“The slowdown in the construc-tion sector is very, very depressing which will have a negative impact

on the overall GDP growth num-bers in the fi rst quarter of the cur-rent fi scal year,” said Samantak Das, chief economist at Knight Frank India.

Rating agency Moody’s last week cut India’s growth forecast to 7 per cent for this fi scal year, against the government’s target of 8 to 8.5 per cent.

India releases its GDP fi gures

for the April-June quarter on Monday. The lack of jobs is already being felt in the poor northern state of Bihar, source of many of the labourers toiling near Delhi.

In Patna, the state capital, eight out of 20 labourers contacted by Reuters had this year made the 1,000 kilometre (600 mile) trip back from Delhi because they could not fi nd work — pressuring salaries in a region where wages are already low.

According to brokerage Ambit Capital, rural wages may now be falling after growing 4 per cent in the year to March — a far cry from the double-digit annual rises be-tween 2010 and 2014.

“Labourers are starving and are ready to work even at lower wages as there are fewer or just no jobs in the construction markets,” said Navendu Kumar Thakur, Patna chairman of the Builders Associa-tion of India.

The squeeze comes at a bad time for Modi. Bihar heads to the polls this year, in an election his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) must win to gain seats in the up-per house of parliament where he lacks a majority to pass economic reforms.

The way outEconomists say that lower interest rates and a government splurge on infrastructure should eventually help revive construction, which

contributes a tenth of Indian GDP. Modi’s party also wants to regu-late property markets and tie in-vestor money to specifi c projects to stop developers diverting cash elsewhere.

The slowdown around Delhi, where unsold inventory is highest, shows no sign of abating, however.

Noida, a city of 640,000, has grown rapidly in the last decade, expanding to a point where its middle-class housing complex-es now meld into Delhi’s urban sprawl on one side and rustic vil-lages on the other.

Half-builtAround the site where Kumar worked, half-built high-rises now dot the skyline.

His former employer, The 3C Company, has cut staff on the 3,000-unit “Lotus Boulevard” by more than half, employing some elsewhere.

Sales staff at two nearby sites re-ported a 30 to 50 per cent decline in bookings in the last year.

Real estate association CRE-DAI’s Rohit Raj Modi estimates construction in Noida employed more than a million labourers at its peak in 2013, at least double today’s number. Even when the market recovers, a shift to mecha-nisation on larger sites would limit demand for new workers.

“From a labour point of view, the peak is over,” he said. - Reuters

D E E P E N I N G D O W N T U R N

DREAMS SHATTERED: A labourer works at the construction site of a residential complex in Noida on

the outskirts of New Delhi, India, last week. The decade-long construction boom in burgeoning cities

like Noida lured millions of labourers from India’s rural hinterlands in search of a better life, creating

one in every three new jobs. - Reuters

Army called in as seven die in Gujarat quota agitation

AHMEDABAD: Army was called in on Wednesday to help control widespread violence sparked by quota agitation by Patel commu-nity in the western Indian state of Gujarat which has claimed seven lives even as curfew was clamped in several areas.

Flag marches were held in the city this evening by the Army amid reports of sporadic violence in some parts of the state.

The violence which started on Tuesday after a massive rally of the Patel community has claimed seven lives in the state, police said.

Curfew clampedNotwithstanding Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi’s appeal for peace, protesters resorted to ar-son, stone-pelting and attacks on public and private properties.

The bandh call given by Patel

leaders brought the city to a grind-ing halt. Curfew has been clamped in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Me-hasana, Patan, Palanpur, Unjha, Visnagar and Jamnagar towns.

“Five companies of Army were called in Ahmedabad city to con-trol law and order situation as the violence escalated,” Ahmedabad district collector Rajkumar Beni-wal told PTI.

The Army conducted fl ag-march in fi ve areas in the city which had witnessed incidents of violence, he added.

Apart from Ahmedabad, two companies of Army were de-

ployed in Surat and another two in Mehasana. About 5,000 paramili-tary personnel have also been to brought to Gujarat.

Six people were killed in fi ring by police and para-military forces, while one died of head injuries during clashes which started last night, police said.

Modi appeals for peaceThree deaths were reported in Ahmedabad, three in Gadh village of Banaskantha district and one in Mehasana town.

Earlier in the day, in a televised address in Gujarati, the prime

minister appealed for peace and emphasised that all the issues can be resolved through talks.

“I appeal to all brothers and sis-ters of Gujarat that they should not resort to violence. The only ‘Mantra’ must be ‘Shanti’ (peace),” said Modi.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Gujarat Chief Min-ister Anandiben Patel on Wednes-day and assured her full support of the Centre to tackle the situation.

Meanwhile, Hardik Patel, the 22-year-old leader of the Patel Anamat Andolan Samiti who is spearheading the agitation,

blamed police for the violence and said the agitation will intensify in the coming days.

Police blamedDenying that the protesters start-ed the violence, he accused the police of trying to “disrupt” the movement at the behest of politi-cal establishment.

Schools, colleges, shops, banks remained closed in most places in view of the bandh call given by Hardik after his brief detention om Tuesday night.

Public transport and rail traffi c was also aff ected. Police said agi-tators uprooted railway tracks in at least eight places in the state.

Chief Minister Anandiben Patel appealed for peace earlier in the day. “At least 53 compa-nies of paramilitary forces have been called and after sometime we will also deploy Army in vari-ous parts of state,” she said in a video message.

“But we should think why the need of calling the Army has aris-en. In a model state like Gujarat which is also a peace-loving state we have to bring in such arrange-ments from outside... what im-pression does it make... Therefore I request you with folded hands to keep calm and peace,” Patel said.

At least 12 trains, including Ahmedabad-Delhi Rajdhani Express, were cancelled and 19 trains were diverted inside Guja-rat, Western Railway PRO Pradip Sharma said.

Another fi ve trains were divert-ed out of the state. Tracks were damaged in several places. - PTI

Police said the

violence which

started on Tuesday

after a massive

rally of the Patel

community has

claimed seven

lives in the state

Coolie’s son in Kota cracks pre-medical entrance test

KOTA (Rajasthan): A 19-year-old youth, whose father works as a coolie (porter) at Jodhpur railway station, has cracked the All India Pre-Medical Test by securing a rank of 285.

Kheraj Choudhary, native of Sarnu Seemanji village in Barmer district in the north Indian state of Rajasthan, did not even have an electricity connection at his home.

He studied at his village school till class VIII after which his fa-ther, Jugataram Choudhary, took him to Jodhpur for further studies while he worked as a coolie at the city’s railway station.

Jugataram, who himself holds a B.Ed degree but started working as a coolie after failing to secure a government job, promised his son to get him admitted in a coaching institute for the preparation of medical entrance exam if he se-cures more than 75 per cent marks in class XII.

After Kheraj scored 79 per cent marks in the class XII exam, his fa-ther got him admitted in a coach-ing institute.

“My father kept his promise and got me admitted in a coaching institute in Kota for which he col-lected the fee amount from every possible source,” Kheraj said.

“I had spent my entire time in Kota wearing the uniform of the coaching institute as I did not have money to buy another pair of clothes,” he said. Overwhelmed with joy, Kheraj said he owes his success to his father and teachers.

The AIPMT results were de-clared on August 17.- PTI

A C H I E V E M E N T

IN FLAMES: Patel community supporters set ablaze buses in Surat on Wednesday. Patel community

is agitating for Other Backward Class status in Gujarat. - PTI

A9

INDIAT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

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India, Germany to work on counter-terrorism steps

BERLIN: India and Germany on Wednesday agreed to cooperate on counter-terrorism measures and reviewed proposals including a $1 billion German commitment for an ambitious solar venture in India, as they discussed deliv-erables during Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to the country.

In their wide-ranging talks, Ex-ternal Aff airs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her German coun-terpart Frank-Walter Steinmeir assessed implementation of de-cisions taken during Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi’s visit here during April and broadly identi-fi ed possible substantive out-comes from Merkel’s visit to New Delhi in October.

Strategic partnershipBoth Swaraj and Steinmeir un-derlined the need to have closer security and defence cooperation between India and Germany con-sidering the threat of terrorism.

They discussed regional issues including Indo-Pak relations and the situation in Afghanistan.

“The meeting was very warm and very positive meeting which will further strengthen the India-

Germany strategic partnership. And lead to a very fruitful and sub-stantive outcome during Chancel-lor Merkel’s visit which is eagerly anticipated in India,” External Af-fairs Ministry Spokesperson Vi-kas Swarup said here.

Swarup said Swaraj and Stein-meir discussed specifi c proposals including a USD one billion fi nan-cial commitment by Germany for a “very ambitious solar rooftop project”, its participation in pro-jects like high speed railway cor-ridors, raising speed of existing trains, Ganga rejuvenation initia-tive, smart cities project and skill development schemes.

He said both the leaders agreed to cooperate in cyber security and counter-terrorism measures be-sides underlining the need to go for co-production in the defence sec-

tor. Chancellor Merkel is sched-uled to visit India in the fi rst half of October for Inter-Governmental Consultations which will be a sum-mit meeting between Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi and her.

She will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising a number of ministers, govern-ment offi cials and top executives of a number of leading German companies.

Swarup said a whole range of issues were discussed in the one-on-one meeting as well as delega-tion level talks between the two foreign ministers.

“Basically the conversation continued from where the last time the Prime Minister and Chancellor Merkel had met here,”he said.

Asked whether the issue of

threat of terrorism fi gured in the meeting, Swarup said it was dis-cussed as it is a major challenge for both the countries and the idea was to step up security coopera-tion on a whole range of issues.

German language issueIn the meeting, both sides agreed to arrive at a resolution of the sticky German language issue and an an-nouncement about it is likely dur-ing Merkel’s visit to India.

The meeting also focussed on ramping up trade ties, particularly to improve German investment.

Sources said the Indian side has made three proposals for Germa-ny’s participation in the railways sector which include conducting feasibility studies for high speed corridors and raising speed of ex-isting trains.

There may also be an an-nouncement about Germany’s participation in skill development initiatives in India during Mer-kel’s visit.

Largest trading partnerGermany is India’s largest trading partner in the European Union and one of the top ten global trad-ing partners.

The overall exchange of goods and services between the two countries was valued at around around 15.96 billion euros last year, a drop of 1.14 billion euros from the level of 16.10 billion eu-ros registered in 2013.

While India’s exports to Ger-many rose marginally to 7.03 bil-lion euros in 2014, its German imports dropped to 8.92 billion euros from 9.19 euros in the previ-ous year, according to the Federal Statistical Offi ce.

Germany is the 8th largest for-eign investor in India. Its foreign direct investments in India dur-ing January-November 2014 were valued at around $ 995.7 million.

More than 1,600 Indo-German collaborations and around 600 Indo-German joint ventures are currently in operation.

Both sides also agreed to expand cooperation in areas like Science and Technology and agriculture.

Both the leaders also discussed regional and global issues too in-cluding situation in Ukraine and UN Security Council reform.

Asked whether the issue of free trade agreement between India and European Union fi gured in Swaraj’s meeting with Steinmeier, Swarup replied in negative.

Swaraj, who arrived here on a two-day visit on Tuesday evening, earlier met President of German Lower House Nobert Lammert and Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Aff airs of the Lower House Nobert Roetgen.

Both Lammert and Roetgen fa-voured deepening of ties between the two countries. - PTI

Both Sushma Swaraj

and Steinmeir

underlined the

need to have closer

security and defence

cooperation between

India and Germany

considering the

threat of terrorism

WARM GREETINGS: External Aff airs Minister Sushma Swaraj meets Foreign Minister Frank-Walter

Steinmeier of Germany in Berlin on Wednesday. - PTI

Three BSF troopers killed in Maoist ambush

MALKANGIRI (Odisha): Three BSF personnel and a civilian were on Wednesday killed and six others injured when Nax-alities ambushed a patrol of the paramilitary force and triggered a landmine blast in the jungles of this district in the east-Indian state Odisha.

The patrol of the 104th bat-talion of Border Security Force (BSF) was near its Janbai base in

Malkangiri district when Mao-ists ambushed it with a landmine blast and fi ring at around 7.30am, a senior offi cial said.

“Three personnel, including an Assistant Sub-inspector, Head Constable and Constable have been killed in the ambush while the company commander Assis-tant Commandant Ashok Kumar is among the six injured,” he said.

Offi cials said a civilian was also

killed during the ambush and sen-ior BSF commanders have rushed to the spot.

“The offi cer, who is injured, has lost an eye. He and others have been admitted to government hospital in Malkangiri,” they said.BSF is deployed in the area for con-ducting anti-Naxal operations and the squad, which went on patrol on Tuesday, was on a similar task when the ambush happened. - PTI

O D I S H A

Countdown for

launch of

GSAT-6 begins

CHENNAI: The 29-hour count-down for the launch of India’s latest communication satel-lite GSAT-6 began on Wednes-day, Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) said.

“The 29-hour countdown activ-ity of GSLV-D6/GSAT-6 Mission has commenced today at 11:52 hr IST,” ISRO sources said.

The Mission Readiness Review (MRR) committee and Launch Authorisation Board (LAB) cleared the starting of the 29-hour countdown at 1152 hrs, ISRO said.

The launch of Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) D6 carrying GSAT-6 is scheduled at 1652 hours on Thursday from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at the spaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

GSAT series GSAT-6 is the 25th geostationary communication satellite of In-dia built by ISRO and 12th in the GSAT series.

GSAT-6 provides communica-tion through fi ve spot beams in S-band and a national beam in C-band for strategic users, ISRO said.

The cuboid shaped GSAT-6 has a lift-off mass of 2,117 kg. Of this, propellants weigh 1132 kg and the dry mass of the satellite is 985kg, it added. One of the advanced features of GSAT-6 satellite is its S-Band Unfurlable Antenna of 6 m diameter.

This is the largest satellite an-tenna realised by ISRO.

The antenna is utilised for fi ve spot beams over the Indian main-land. The spot beams exploit the frequency reuse scheme to in-crease frequency spectrum utili-sation effi ciency ISRO said after satellite’s injection into GTO (Ge-osynchronous Transfer Orbit) by GSLV-D6, ISRO’s Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan takes control of GSAT-6 and performs the initial orbit raising manoeu-vres by repeatedly fi ring the Liq-uid Apogee Motor (LAM) on board the satellite, fi nally placing it in the circular Geostationary Orbit. - PTI

C O M M U N I C A T I O N S A T E L L I T E

A10

PAKISTAN T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

AFGHAN REFUGEES HEAD HOMEAfghan refugees pack their belongings onto a truck at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) repatriation centre on the outskirts of

Quetta on Wednesday, as they prepare to return to their home country after fl eeing civil war and Taliban rule. Pakistan has the world’s second-largest refugee

population, 1.5 million, most of them Afghans living for years in poor conditions in camps in the restive northwest. The number of Afghans crossing the border

back to their homeland Afghanistan in the fi rst four months of this year fl eeing ‘pressure’ from Pakistani offi cials was nine times higher than the same period

last year, according to the International Organisation for Migration. — AFP

Tax collection crisis persists

ISLAMABAD: Despite recent optimism surrounding Pakistan’s economy, the country is facing an “existential crisis” stemming from its woeful tax collection rates and inability to fi nance it-self, a report said Wednesday.

Pakistan’s economy grew at 4.24 per cent during the 2014-2015 fi scal year with per capita income rising a signifi cant 9.25 per cent, markers that come as investor confi dence in the long-underperfoming South Asian gi-ant have also increased.

But according to the report by non-profi t organisation Raftar, funded by Britain’s Department for International Development (DFID), Pakistan’s economy con-tinues to rely heavily on “com-mercial loans, concessionary do-nor loans and aid”.

Tax-to-GDP ratiAlso, the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio of 9.4 per cent is among the lowest in the world, leading to a public debt of 17 trillion rupees ($163 billion).

This an almost three-fold in-crease since 2008 for the $232 billion economy, with 44 per cent of tax revenue going toward inter-est payments.

The report blamed the lack of a “tax culture” on non-revenue sources of funds the country has historically enjoyed in the form of foreign aid and loans.

It said 68 per cent of tax reve-nue was being generated through indirect taxes on fuel, food and electricity, which unfairly penal-ises the poor. — AFP

E X I S T E N T I A L C R I S I S

Zardari aide arrested in Karachi operation

KARACHI: Pakistani authorities arrested a prominent opposition politician close to the former pres-ident, his party said on Wednes-day, the fi rst detention of a major Pakistan People’s Party fi gure in an ongoing military-driven crack-down in the port city of Karachi.

The party condemned the arrest of Dr Asim Hussain - a petroleum minister in the past PPP-led gov-ernment and close friend of for-mer President Asif Ali Zardari - as politically motivated.

A senior security offi cial in Karachi confi rmed that Hussain was being held but would not say under what charges. He spoke on

condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information.Most of the hun-dreds of people targeted by para-military forces in recent months on accusations of political corruption and violence have belonged to an-other party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which domi-nates Karachi politics but plays a smaller role on the national stage.

The fi rst high-profi le arrest of

a PPP fi gure raised new accusa-tions that Pakistan’s powerful military is seeking to strengthen its grip on the country’s largest and wealthiest city and weaken civilian parties.

‘Will lead to chaos’“These policies will lead to chaos,” said PPP lawmaker Khur-sheed Shah.The paramilitary Sindh Rangers have in the past said

the Karachi crackdown is neces-sary to break the cycle of violence and corruption in the teeming me-tropolis of 20 million people.

Political rivalryKarachi accounts for half of Paki-stan’s national revenues and hosts the stock exchange, central bank and two ports.

It is also a hub of violence, often linked to political rivalry. — Reuters

The Pakistan People’s

Party condemned

the arrest of Dr

Asim Hussain — a

petroleum minister

in a past government

and — as politically

motivated

CRACKDOWN: Shukri Ghanem, chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), left, meets with a

Pakistani delegation headed by Dr Asim Hussain, third right, advisor to Pakistan’s then premier Yousuf

Raza Gilani on petroleum and natural resources, in Tripoli on May 2, 2009. On Wednesday, a senior

security offi cial in Karachi said that Hussain was being held. — AFP fi le photo

Amir Khan vows to help Pakistan produce boxing starsKARACHI: British boxer Amir Khan on Wednesday vowed to help Pakistan produce champion pugi-lists with a network of academies in his family’s country of origin.

The former two-time world champion is currently touring the South Asian giant of 200 million people better known for its prow-ess in cricket, and plans to set up boxing schools in the western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, eastern Punjab, and the southern city of Karachi.

“I think we have the talent to produce boxing champions,” the 28-year-old told media during a visit to Karachi’s troubled Lyari area, which is frequently hit by gang violence but also known for producing talented footballers and boxers.

“I have made a promise to the nation that I will pay back what I have achieved in boxing,” added

the highly-rated fi ghter from Bol-ton, England who has a record of 31 wins including 19 knockouts, and three losses.

Khan was accompanied by a heavy security contingent to the neighbourhood, which has long been a hub of political, ethnic and criminal violence.

Top quality“I am here to meet potential cham-pions and I am not afraid of any-thing, we will... beat terror and pro-duce boxers of top quality,” he said.

Pakistan’s sole Olympic boxing medallist is Hussain Shah, who won a middleweight bronze in the Seoul Games in 1988.

The country has also produced an Asian Games gold-medallist in Mehrullah Lassi, who won the featherweight division at Busan, South Korea in 2002.

Khan, who became Britain’s

youngest Olympic boxing medal-list when he won silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics, said he was keen to train Pakistani boxers.

“I will pass my tricks to them and will do my best to help them qualify for the Olympics, if not the 2016 in Brazil then the next one in Japan in 2020,” he said.

Known for his speed and aggres-sive style, Khan won the last of his fi ghts against US boxer Chris Algieri in New York in May before once again challenging the wel-terweight world champion Floyd Mayweather.

But Mayweather announced earlier this month he would aim to match the 49-0 career record of the legendary Rocky Marciano in his fi nal bout against fellow American Andre Berto on Sep-tember 12, eff ectively ruling out a highly anticipated encounter with Amir Khan. — AFP

B R I T I S H B O X E R

ON A MISSION: British boxer Amir Khan of Pakistani origin is escorted by Rangers during his visit to

the Peoples Football Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan, on Wednesday. — Reuters

Mullah Omar’s brother warns of Taliban infi ghtingISLAMABAD: Mullah Abdul Manan, brother of deceased Af-ghan Taliban supremo Mullah Omar, Tuesday warned of possi-ble Taliban infi ghting in Afghani-stan if the new chief, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, and his rivals do not settle their diff erences soon.

Several key Taliban leaders and Omar’s family have refused to accept Mansoor’s leadership, as they claim he was not elected by majority of the leadership council’s members and religious scholars. The claim, however, has been rejected by Mansoor’s sup-porters, who insist that “95 per cent of the members of the lead-ership council had elected the new leader”.

A group of religious leaders involved in mediation have ob-tained decision-making powers from the dissidents, but Mansoor has not yet agreed to empower the clerics, said a member of the ulema council, Mufti Masoom Afghani, while talking to The Ex-press Tribune. “We are confi dent that Mansoor would also empow-er the ulema in two or three days.”

Meanwhile, Manan said he had received information that Mansoor’s supporters wanted to issue an edict against those who had refused to declare alle-giance to him.

“The mujahideen should not

trust any such edict, and wait un-til the religious scholars make a decision. If any one-sided decree is issued before the ulema’s deci-sion, it could lead to severe diff er-ences,” Manan told The Express Tribune over the phone from Af-ghanistan. “I demand Mansoor and all the other sides to avoid in-ternal rift, and support mediation by the religious scholars who are making eff orts to remove diff er-ences.” — Express Tribune

T R A N S I T I O N

Several key Taliban

leaders and Omar’s

family have refused to

accept Mullah Akhtar

Mansoor’s leadership,

as they claim he was

not elected by majority

of the leadership

council’s members

and religious scholars

A11

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the curve with

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Afghan Taliban make gains in Helmand, US hits back from air

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan: Taliban fi ghters seized a district headquarters in Afghanistan’s Helmand province on Monday de-spite repeated US air strikes to re-pel them, adding to the insurgents’ recent advances in an opium farming region near a hydroelec-tric dam.

Musa Qala fell after the Tali-ban overran police and army posts to retake a districts that was wrenched from them by British and Afghan troops eight years ago.

US warplanes have been bom-barding Musa Qala since the weekend, killing up to 40 mili-tants, with two new air strikes on Tuesday. But they regrouped, chasing the district government out of town and seizing weapons.

“Afghan special forces, police and commandos have been de-ployed to Helmand in order to re-take Musa Qala district. Foreign air strikes are backing our forces,” said Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the defence ministry.

In Afghanistan’s fi rst sum-mer fi ghting season since foreign troops stepped back from combat roles, the Taliban have pushed into several districts in the north and south but have mostly strug-

gled to keep hold of them.Elsewhere in Helmand, two

men wearing military uniforms opened fi re in the former British base of Camp Bastion, killing two NATO soldiers in the second such attack this year.

Last week, Afghan forces pulled out of the town of Nawzad, the headquarters of a neighbour-ing district that was also fi ercely fought over when British and US forces were stationed in Helmand, the country’s main opium produc-tion centre.

Attacking from all sidesThat means the Taliban currently control three districts in north-ern Helmand and have partial control of several others, includ-ing Kajaki, where they frequently disrupt supplies from a large US-built hydroelectric dam powering the province. “We left the district early in the morning because the Taliban were attacking from all sides,” Musa Qala district gover-nor Mohammad Sharif told Reu-ters by telephone.

“We had asked for reinforce-ments for days but none arrived and this was what happened,” he said. In the years following the

2001 US invasion that toppled the Taliban government, more than 400 British soldiers died in Helmand, several while defend-ing Musa Qala. More than 350 US Marines also lost their lives in the province. Nearly 14 years later and after foreign forces formally end-ed their combat mission, the Tali-

ban is still fi ghting a guerrilla war aimed at restoring their hardline regime. Violence has increased sharply across Afghanistan since the coalition mostly withdrew in December, leaving a small contin-gent of about 12,000 NATO troops to train Afghan forces.

The US-led Resolute Support

mission confi rmed the deaths and, in a correction of an earlier state-ment, said there was one shooter who was wounded along with an Afghan soldier when NATO sol-diers returned fi re.

The statement did not give further information on the ex-act location of the incident and

nationalities of those killed, but most foreign forces operating in Helmand now are American.

A regional offi cial said the in-cident involved Afghan special forces fi ring on allies at the for-mer Camp Bastion, which was handed over to Afghan forces last year. -Reuters

Musa Qala fell after the Taliban overran

police and army posts to retake a districts

that were wrenched from them by British

and Afghan troops eight years ago

LOSING GROUND: An Afghan National Police armoured vehicle patrols on a street in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province, on Wednes-

day. The Taliban seized a district headquarters in Afghanistan’s Helmand province on Monday despite US air strikes to repel them, and

two NATO soldiers were shot dead by uniformed men on an army base in the area, a stronghold for militants and opium. -Reuters

Senator Marcos considers running for ‘higher offi ce’MANILA: The son and namesake of late Philippine dictator Ferdi-nand Marcos said on Wednesday he may run for president in next year’s elections, off ering his once-exiled family the chance of the ul-timate political comeback.

Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, popu-larly known as “Bongbong”, said he would not seek a second term as senator and was aiming for “higher offi ce”, which in the Phil-ippines can only be president or vice president.

“The discussions I have been having with diff erent groups, with other individuals have really cen-tred on higher offi ce,” the 57-year-old said on ABS-CBN television.

Extremely diffi cultAsked directly if he would run for president or vice president, Mar-cos said: “It’s extremely diffi cult to make a decision at this point.” Ferdinand Marcos Snr ruled the Philippines for two decades until 1986 when millions of people took to the streets in a famous “people power” revolution.

The Marcos family fl ed to the United States, and the patriarch died in exile in Hawaii in 1989.

The rest of the family, headed by controversial matriarch Im-elda, returned in 1991 and began a successful political comeback despite accusations the presiden-tial couple stole billions in state coff ers and oversaw widespread human rights abuses.

“Bongbong” Marcos won a Sen-ate position in 2010, the fi rst time since his father’s demise that a family member had won a nation-ally elected post.

The Marcos matriarch, famous for her luxurious lifestyle, has also since 2010 been a member of parliament, representing her husband’s northern stronghold of Ilocos Norte province. Imelda, now aged 86, has spoken often of her desire for her son to take the presidency back for the family.

Starting pointHowever, public opinion surveys currently show there is little sup-port for Marcos Jnr as president. “I always see surveys as a starting point,” he said about his poor poll ratings. The current Philippine president, Benigno Aquino, is the only son and namesake of the late strongman’s nemesis, whose as-sassination in 1983 led to the pop-ular uprising three years later.

The assassinated hero’s wife, Corazon Aquino, led the revolu-

tion and was the nation’s fi rst president after Marcos’s fall.

Fickle politicsHighlighting the fi ckle nature of Philippine politics, Marcos said he could run for the vice presi-dency next year on a ticket with current presidential favourite Je-jomar Binay.

Binay was a human rights cam-paigner during the dictatorship

and is now the vice president, but he has faced widespread accusa-tions of corruption in recent years.

“This is Philippine politics, you cannot discount the possibility of things you did not imagine would happen, could happen. Never say never,” he said when asked about a Binay union. Last month, Aquino anointed his unpopular interior minister, Manuel Roxas, as his preferred successor. -AFP

P H I L I P P I N E

NEXT STEP: Philippine Senator Ferdinand Marcos, right, with his

mother, former fi rst lady Imelda Marcos, during her birthday cel-

ebration in Laoag City, Ilocos sur province, northern Philippines

on July 2, 2014. - AFP fi les

Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, popularly known as

“Bongbong”, said he would not seek a second

term as senator and was aiming for “higher office”,

which in the Philippines can only be

president or vice president

EXEMPLARY ACTION Offi cials hold confi scated elephant tusks before destroying the ivory at the Department of

National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday. About

two tonnes (2,155.17 kg) of ivory were crushed and incinerated during the ceremony as part

of a campaign against poachers, traffi ckers and traders involved in the illicit trade in ivory,

according to a Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation press release.

-Reuters

North Korea easing battle posture: Seoul

SEOUL: The North Korean mili-tary is slowly easing its battle-readiness posture, South Korean and US offi cials said Wednesday after Seoul and Pyongyang secured a deal allowing them to step back from the brink of an armed clash.

Under the agreement reached after marathon, top-level negotia-tions in the border truce village of Panmunjom, the North under-took to shift down from a “semi war state” once the South ended propaganda broadcasts across the border at midday (0300 GMT) Tuesday. The defence ministry in Seoul said it had noted a number of signs of de-escalation, including the “re-appearance” of a large part of the North’s submarine fl eet that had been deployed off -radar over the weekend.

“As the North is easing its com-bat readiness, we’re readjusting our own defence posture,” said a ministry offi cial who declined to be identifi ed. Both militaries had been on maximum alert for days, amid an escalating crisis that saw South Korean and US fi ghters fl y-ing dummy bombing runs and North Korean heavy artillery units being wheeled up to the border. -AFP

S T A N D O F F

Obama says sorry to Japan over US spying claimsTOKYO: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday apolo-gised to Tokyo after WikiLeaks claimed Washington had spied on Japanese politicians, a gov-ernment spokesman said.

Obama held a telephone con-versation with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday morn-ing, spokesman Yoshihide Suga said, adding that the pair agreed to work together on global eco-nomic issues in the wake of a stock market meltdown sparked by fears over China.

“President Obama said he was very sorry... as the case caused a big debate in Japan,” Suga told a regular news conference, with-out confi rming the spying claims.

Serious concernHe added that Abe reiterated his “serious concern” over the case. “Prime Minister Abe told (Obama) that, if the Japanese people concerned were subject to these activities, it would risk jeopardising trusting relations between allies,” Suga said.

In an earlier conversation with

US Vice President Joe Biden, Abe voiced similar concerns if the spying claims were confi rmed.

Last month, WikiLeaks said it had intercepts revealing years-long espionage by the US Na-tional Security Agency (NSA) on Japanese offi cials and major companies. Tokyo’s response has been widely seen as muted com-pared to the anger expressed in France and Germany following similar NSA spying allegations.

Key allyJapan is one of Washington’s key allies in the Asia-Pacifi c region and they regularly consult on defence, economic and trade is-sues. Unlike German chancellor Angela Merkel and French presi-dent Francois Hollande, Abe did not appear to be a direct target of wiretapping -- but other sen-ior politicians were, according to WikiLeaks.

Obama and Abe also discussed market turmoil that has seen a massive global equities sell off af-ter China cut the value of its yuan currency. -AFP

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Imtiaz Gul

Why shouldn’t young minds turn towards extremist ideologies — I’m not talking of terrorism — if they are

marginalised, their basic rights grossly violated, or if they are under-paid or unemployed? What role are many private educational institutions playing in promoting extremist tendencies among young academics? Is the state attentive to this? Is education a market economy product determined by the demand and supply principle, or is it a government responsibility (as promised under Article 25-A of the Constitution)? The state is the guarantor of the right to education, bound to provide decent livelihoods as well as protect the youth from exploitation. These are some of the questions that must be posed to the Sharifs, the Zardaris, the Shahs, the Khans and all those political luminaries who tirelessly speak of turning Pakistan around. Not to forget those members of mainstream political parties who are running educational institutions.

These include the Kasuris, the Chaudhrys, the Syeds and the Niazis.

Under-paying highly educated young people employed by high-fl ying institutions affi liated with Oxbridge and other leading systems, is a perennial issue. Exploitation of the educated youth — both as teachers and students — is prevalent even in Islamabad, the capital, but this curse is omnipresent in its most oppressive forms in under-developed regions and those where the ruling elite control education boards or sit in parliaments. Although Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) has seen a proliferation of private universities and colleges, there has been little check on their fee and salary structures. The Abbottabad, Peshawar and Mardan boards seem to be hubs of corruption that are under the control of the political elite and their henchmen. Many of them are involved in issuing fake degrees and under-paying teachers, often invoking the demand-and-supply principle as if teaching were a commodity obtainable at a negotiable price. Some of Imran Khan’s colleagues in K-P are among those running private education institutions, a practice that has turned into an unchecked money-minting enterprise in the absence of a regulatory framework. The PTI has made a strong point about the accountability of

the electoral system. Now, it must also embark on an accountability of those running educational institutions, especially its own members appointed to important positions in the K-P government. Of course they are not the only ones. Scores of private educators are exploiting students, often in collusion with offi cials of education boards and higher education departments. Why shouldn’t the highly educated young slip into confusion and extremist thought streams if, after a 17-year education, they either remain unemployed or extremely under-paid — earning paltry sums between $40-150 a month? This way, many private institutions are disincentivising education among those who come from poor families.

Another alarming issue is of fake degrees being issued by many private institutions and government education boards. Ironically, the business of fake degrees in Pakistan is nothing new, but really came to the fore only recently because of the activities of Axact. Many universities running under the charter of some London-based institutions have been doing the same thing. Even offi cial education boards have been involved in this as illustrated through the disqualifi cation of a PML-N legislator, Chaudhry Arif Hussain, for holding a fake degree issued by the Lahore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education. Before Hussain, several other legislators also lost their seats for possessing fake degrees.

It is correctly believed that the government should not interfere in private education; however, it carries the responsibility to prevent fraudulent practices and preempt exploitation of students and teachers. Private educators have the right to determine fee structures, but they are also bound to pay teachers fairly and ensure quality education. They cannot, must not, be allowed to equate market economy principles with exploitation of young academics.

Shouldn’t the government ask private institutions if there is a balance between the fees they charge and the salaries they pay to their teachers who hold master’s degrees? The Sharifs and Imran Khan can turn Pakistan around only if they handle education on a war-footing and start meaningful reform of the sector. When will they crack down on the moth that is eating away the vitals of the education sector, stunting real intellectual development? – Express Tribune

404,815

17,159

15,549

INTERNATIONALAIR TRAFFIC MOVEMENT

in Oman on July 2015

Source: National Centre for Statistics & Information

Salalah

370,603

TOTALARRIVED

PASSENGERS

387,762

TOTALDEPARTED

PASSENGERS

420,364

stayedin Salalah

1,610

Inaddition

left Muscat34,212

Muscat

Laundry services need to improveI have observed that laundry services in Oman are not up to the mark. First of all, writing customer codes using pen or marker on the clothes damages the fabric. Secondly, usage of cheap detergent sometimes does not clean the clothes adequately with the washing odour remaining present. Also, laundrymen fold clothes in plastic

bags due to non-availability of hang-ers. This results into the need to iron the clothes again at home. I request the authorities to look into this matter and enforce the rules strictly to overcome this problem that we are facing. — Syed Yasir Aziz, Darsait

US to remain world’s top economy for a long timeThis refers to the online story, China’s yuan devaluation upsets growth plans in Asia (August 26). For a long time I had been thinking that the Chinese growth rate was abnormal. In my opinion, the stock market crash and interest rates cuts by Beijing show that the country has failed miserably with regard to its fi scal policies. This also proves that in the long-term, US will not lose its position as top global economy. — Ian Christie, Muscat

Penalise the countries tooThis refers to the online story, Two Kenyans fail drugs tests at Beijing World

Championships (August 24). This state of aff airs needs to change. Countries that such players represent should also be penalised, which would help enforcing rules better.— Zoe Menon, Muscat

T I M E S O F O M A NT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5A12

Education, extremism and the Pakistani elite

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Some in Oman are of the opinion that paternity leave is not necessary and would not completely suit the pre-vailing culture in Omani society

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SPECIALT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

NYIRAGONGO (DR Congo): Tourists perch perilously on a volcano’s edge as swirling smoke belches from the fi ery cauldron of lava below, the latest unlikely visi-tors holidaying in war-torn Demo-cratic Republic of Congo.

Below, sounding like a roar-ing sea, spurts of molten rock fl y high into the air, as one of the world’s largest lava lakes and most active volcanoes puts on its mes-merising show.

Eastern DR Congo has been mired for decades in rebel bat-tles, but such sights are helping bring tourists back to Virunga Na-tional Park, which reopened last year after the battle lines shifted in its favour.

Surrounding misty forests in green hills of the vast park —stretching for 7,800 square kilo-metres are home to a quarter of the world’s critically endangered mountain gorillas. The tourists are vital: the income they bring funds the park’s survival.

“The front lines, they were down there,” one porter says, peering down from the volcano through the jungles towards the lights of the lakeside city of Goma, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) southwards, referring to a rebel force who brief-ly took control in late 2012.

Nyiragongo, a 3470 metre (11,384 feet) peak and a steep and stiff fi ve-hour hike from lush rain forests, is part of a chain of volca-noes in one of the world’s most ac-tive regions.

“Holiday on Mount Doom,” said Fabian, a teenage Belgian tourist visiting with his mother, referring to the volcano in the fantasy world of British author J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings epic.

“Some things can only be be-lieved by seeing,” he added quietly, peering down from the cliff ’s edge in hushed awe at the raging fi re be-low, the night sky turned red from the glowing lava.

The tourist industry in the re-gion — needed to keep the Unesco world heritage site running and its animal inhabitants safe — col-lapsed in 2012.

Militia forces remain active, and Virunga’s chief warden Emmanuel de Merode was himself wounded by gunmen by 2014.

Well-trainedBut the well-trained and armed guides say it is now safe, and visi-tors are coming back.

For tourists, an hour with a go-rilla family costs $400, while a

night on the volcano costs $250.Tourism revenue is “vital” to

the future of Virunga, helping to benefi t some four million people in and around the vast park, as well as “peace and prosperity” in general, Merode said.

It gives people an alternative income than cutting down the for-ests for charcoal, and a motivation to protect the park.

“Every tourist that visits Virun-ga is contributing,” Merode said.

In 2011, over 3,000 visitors came to Virunga, but violence forced the park shut the next year, and only fully reopening in late 2014.

But tourist numbers have

bounced back, with almost 3,000 visiting already so far this year, bringing in much needed revenues to pay rangers.

A total of 16 tourists can hike up the mountain a day — on a re-cent trip in torrential rain and hail storms up the peak made by AFP, a dozen tourists took part, with na-tionalities including Americans, Belgians, British and Israelis.

The last major eruption in 2002 saw fast fl owing lava devastate the Goma, covering the city of around a million in a river of molten rock fl owing as fast as 100 kilometres (60 miles) per hour.

Oscar-nominated 2014 docu-

mentary Virunga — which showed the eff orts to protect Africa’s old-est national park from war, poach-ers and oil companies -- has also brought back tourists.

“We saw the fi lm, and said, we have to see that,” said Jacques, a Belgian businessman working in Congo, after trekking into the steamy jungles to see the gorillas, the symbol of the park.

Rangers communicate with the

gorillas, exchanging heavy grunts to reassure the groups, includ-ing the massive male “silverback” weighing an estimated 160 kilos.

Tourism vital“With each person coming to visit Virunga, there is a little bit more hope that things will get better,” said Mélanie Gouby, a French investigative journalist, whose work to expose oil company ex-pansion into the park is a key part of the fi lm.

“It’s wonderful that so many tourists have come back in such a short time after the end of the confl ict — to hear that the docu-

mentary is part of the reason why they are coming to Virunga is both incredibly exciting and humbling,” Gouby added.

As night falls and temperatures drop below freezing, the warmth from the molten lava warms the hands of the tourists, dangling their legs over the sheer drop into the crater, watching plate tecton-ics in action.

“I saw how the Earth was born,” one entry from an American cou-ple read in the park’s visitor’s book.” How often can you climb a mountain and come back with an understanding of how we are all here?” - AFP

Tourism revenue is

‘vital’ to the future

of Virunga, helping

to benefi t some four

million people in and

around the vast park,

as well as ‘peace and

prosperity’ in general

TOURISM VITAL FOR SURVIVAL: A photo taken on August 1, 2015 shows mountain gorillas in the jungle at Bukima in Virunga National Park, eastern Democratic Republic of

Congo. Surrounding misty forests in green hills of the vast park — stretching for 7,800 square kilometres (3,010 square miles) — are home to a quarter of the world’s criti-

cally endangered mountain gorillas. In 2011, over 3,000 visitors came to Virunga, but violence forced the park shut the next year, and only fully reopening in late 2014. The

tourists are vital and the income they bring funds the park’s survival. - AFP

TOURIST ATTRACTION: A photo taken on August 1, 2015 shows mountain gorillas in the jungle at

Bukima in Virunga National Park, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. - AFP

ENDANGERED: A photo taken on August 1, 2015 shows a male

mountain gorilla in the jungle at Bukima in Virunga National Park,

eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo - AFP

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LAVA SPEWS: Steam and spurts of molten rock are pictured in the lava lake of Mount Nyiragongo, an active volcano in eastern Demo-

cratic Republic of Congo, on August 3, 2015. Eastern DR Congo has been mired for decades in rebel battles, but such sights are helping

bring tourists back to Virunga National Park, which reopened last year after the battle lines shifted in its favour. - AFP

ACTIVE VOLCANO: Steam and spurts of molten rock are pictured

in the lava lake of Mount Nyiragongo, an active volcano in eastern

Democratic Republic of Congo, on August 3, 2015. - AFP

With each person coming to visit Virunga, there is a little bit more hope that things will get better

Mélanie Gouby, French investigative journalist

Gorillas and lava lakes: Tourism is only hope for war-torn Congo

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NO ENTRY: Hungarian police positioned nearby watch as Syrian migrants climb under a fence to enter Hungary at the Hungarian-Ser-

bian border near Roszke, Hungary on Wednesday. — Reuters

Hungary’s police fire tear gas at migrants

RÖSZKE (HUNGARY): Hun-gary’s migrant crisis escalated Wednesday as police fi red tear gas at the EU country’s main process-ing centre and the government announced 2,000 “border hunt-ers” to stem the fl ow of record numbers of people entering.

With more than 2,500 people crossing from non-EU Serbia on Tuesday alone, pushing to total for the year above 140,000, Hun-gary’s right-wing ruling party said it wanted to deploy the army.

Police used tear gas on Wednes-day morning to disperse around 200 migrants who had refused to be fi ngerprinted and were trying to leave the processing centre at Roszke near the Serbian border.

An AFP correspondent at the scene said the situation inside the centre has since calmed down.

Another spokesman said the migrants wanted to leave the cen-tre after news circulated that Ger-many was easing asylum rules for people fl eeing the war in Syria.

More migrants crossed over on

Wednesday, the AFP correspond-ent said, although for the most part they were waiting for night-fall to try to avoid Hungarian bor-der police.

At a police collecting point where migrants were gathered before being brought to Roszke, around 150-200 were sitting wait-ing in the hot sun next to corn fi elds as their children played.

Tuesday’s record daily total of 2,500 people pouring over the border was despite Hungarian authorities having installed along much of the border a barbed-wire barrier that video footage showed is far from insurmountable.

The majority of the latest arriv-als were from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and included more than 500 children. Most want to travel onto western European countries such as Germany and

Sweden. “We left because we were scared, we had fear, bombs, war, killing, death... That’s why we left Syria,” one Syrian man head-ing for the Hungarian border told AFP. “If I go to Europe, I think it’s going to be better... better than my life in Syria.”

The migrants crossing into Hungary form part of around 7,000 whose journey was blocked last week when Macedonia declared a state of emergency and shut its borders for three days after being overwhelmed by the infl ux.

As Europe struggles with its worst migrant crisis since World War II, Hungary has be-come -- like Italy and Greece -- a “frontline” state and many of the hundreds of thousands of people trying to enter the bloc trek up through the western Balkans.

A summit of leaders from the

impoverished region plus Ger-man Chancellor Angela Merkel, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and other ministers and offi cials in Vienna on Thurs-day was set to be dominated by the topic.

Hungary is attractive to the mi-grants because unlike other EU members in southeastern Europe like Croatia, Bulgaria and Roma-nia it is the passport-free Schen-gen zone, making onwards travel much easier.

Hungary’s government under Prime Minister Viktor Orban is attempting to stem the fl ow by erected a four-metre-high (13-foot) barrier along its 175-kilome-tre (110-mile) border with Serbia.

The barrier of three rolls of barbed wire along the entire length is due to be completed by Monday. — AFP

With more than

2,500 people

crossing from

non-EU Serbia on

Tuesday alone,

pushing to total

for the year above

140,000, Hungary’s

right-wing ruling

party said it wanted

to deploy the army

DIRE STRAITS: A man carries his daughter trough a park where migrants found temporary shelter in

the Serbian capital Belgrade on Wednesday. — Reuters

South Sudan’s Kiir signs peace deal, with reservationsJUBA: South Sudan President Salva Kiir signed a peace accord Wednesday to end 20 months of civil war, but also issued a list of “serious reservations” warning the deal might not last.

The signing ceremony, held in the capital Juba in the presence of regional leaders, came hours after the UN Security Council threat-ened immediate action if Kiir failed to put his name to the accord, which has already been signed by rebel leader Riek Machar.

“The current peace we are sign-ing today has so many things we have to reject,” Kiir said at the cer-emony, witnessed by regional lead-ers, diplomats and journalists.

“Such reservations if ignored would not be in the interests of just and lasting peace.”

Although a list of his concerns was handed out, the deal was wel-comed by regional leaders, includ-ing Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who had sent in troops to back Kiir’s forces.

Under the deal, they now have 45 days to leave.

“Let us give ourselves time and see how we can correct these things,” Kiir said.

Permanent ceasefi re The deal -- backed by the regional eight-nation bloc IGAD, as well as the UN, the African Union, China and the “troika” of Britain, Norway and the United States -- commits both sides to end fi ghting and im-plement a “permanent ceasefi re” within 72 hours.

Tens of thousands of people are

believed to have died in a war char-acterised by ethnic massacres and rape, as well as a major humanitar-ian crisis that has left aid agencies struggling to pull the country back from the brink of famine.

At least seven ceasefi res have already been agreed and then shat-tered within days -- if not hours -- in the world’s newest country, which broke away from Sudan in 2011.

Both the government and rebels accused each other of launch-ing attacks against the other on Wednesday.

The deal also gives the rebels the post of fi rst vice president, which means that rebel chief Machar would likely return to the job from which he was sacked in July 2013, an event which put the country on

the path to war later that year.Machar already signed the deal

on August 17, but at the time, Kiir only initialled part of the text. His government then slammed the ac-cord as a “sellout” and said it need-ed more time for consultations.

But on Tuesday the UN Secu-rity Council piled fresh pressure on Kiir to sign it, warning it would “act immediately” if he did not.

Diplomats have said punitive measure could include an arms embargo and targeted sanctions against senior leaders, including asset freezes and travel bans.

“We will take immediate action if he does not sign, or if he signs with reservations,” said Nigerian Ambassador Joy Ogwu, whose country currently chairs the council. — AFP

C I V I L W A R

MAKING HISTORY: South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir (seated),

fl anked by Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, left, and Ethiopia’s

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, second left, signs a peace

agreement in South Sudan’s capital Juba, on Wednesday. — AFP

Two US journalists shot dead during live television broadcastWASHINGTON: Two journalists for a local CBS affi liate in Virginia were shot dead on Wednesday in a chilling live television broadcast, and the suspected gunman, appar-ently a disgruntled former station employee, has shot himself.

The suspect — Vester Lee Fla-nagan, 41, also known as Bryce Williams — was in critical condi-tion, media cited police as saying, after initial reports that he too was dead. Another video of the deadly on-air shooting -- appar-ently fi lmed by the assailant -- was posted on Twitter and Facebook. The footage was later taken down.

The killings, which sparked an intense manhunt and prompted a lockdown of local schools, once again highlighted fears about gun violence in America.

Reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, were fatally shot at close range while conducting an on-air interview for WDBJ in Roanoke, about 240 miles (385 kilometers) southwest of the US capital Washington.

“You send people into war zones and into dangerous situations, into riots and you worry that they’re going to get hurt,” WDBJ general manager Jeff rey Marks -- who ear-lier confi rmed the deaths to view-ers -- told CNN.

“You send somebody out to do a story on tourism, and this -- how can you ever expect something like this to happen?”

“I am numb,” Parker’s boyfriend, WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst, said on Twitter. “We were together almost nine months. It was the best nine months of our lives. We wanted to get married.”

Parker was talking to Vicki Gardner, head of the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Com-merce, on a balcony at the lakeside Bridgewater Resort in the town of Moneta near Roanoke when the attack occurred.

The pair were talking about tourism development for WDBJ’s early-morning newscast when the

gunman seemingly closed in from behind.

Several shots were heard, as well as screams, as Ward’s camera fell to the fl oor, capturing a fuzzy and chilling glimpse of the gun-man, dressed in dark clothing. The station then cut away to a startled anchorwoman back in the studio.

Gardner was “seriously injured,” said one of the US senators from Virginia, Tim Kaine.

On her Facebook page, Parker -- whose birthday was just a week ago -- described herself as the “mornin’ reporter” at WDBJ and a ballroom dancing enthusiast.

“She worked with Adam every day,” said Hurst. “They were a team. I am heartbroken for his fi -ancee.” Ward’s fi ancee, Melissa Ott, a producer at the TV station, was in the control room when the shooting occurred and watched it unfold, Marks told CNN. “It’s hard to believe, isn’t it,” the grief-strick-en station manager said. — AFP

A T T A C K B Y D I S G R U N T L E D F O R M E R E M P L O Y E E

SLAIN: Alison Parker and Adam

Ward. — Reuters/WDBJ7/Handout via Reuters

ATTACKER: Shooting suspect

Vester Lee Flanagan, also

known on-air as Bryce Williams.

— AFP PHOTO/WHSV TV/HANDOUT

Iran calls on US to release 19 detaineesTEHRAN: Iran urged the United States Wednesday to release 19 Iranians detained on sanctions-related off ences, a day after rul-ing out a prisoner swap with a Washington Post reporter accused of espionage.

“We call on the American gov-ernment and their judicial author-ities to put an end to the deten-tion of these individuals,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afk ham said.

Iranian prisoners“None of the human rights insti-tutes, including the United Na-tions rapporteurs, have followed up the situation of Iranian pris-oners,” she told reporters at her weekly press briefi ng.

On Tuesday, Hossein Ghash-ghavi, a deputy foreign minister, said the 19 Iranians “are innocent and we hope that conditions are prepared for their release”. He rejected any link with the case of Post reporter Jason Rezaian, a dual American-Iranian citizen.

“There is no question at all of an exchange of prisoners as each of these cases has its own special circumstances,” he said.

Tehran correspondentRezaian, the Post’s Tehran cor-respondent, has been in cus-tody since he was detained at his home in the Iranian capital on July 22, 2014.

He has been tried behind closed doors for “espionage, collabora-tion with hostile governments, gathering classifi ed information and disseminating propaganda against the Islamic republic.”

But no verdict has been an-nounced, with Iranian offi -cials saying the proceedings are ongoing.

Nuclear dealEarlier this month the fourth and fi nal hearing in the trial -- the fi rst since Iran struck a nuclear deal with world powers in Vienna on July 14 -- centred on the reporter’s rebuttal of the charges. — AFP

S A N C T I O N S - R E L A T E D O F F E N C E S

MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5B

Muscat

5,782.04 + 21.75

+ 0.38%

Dubai

3,507.27- 51.10

- 1.44%

Abu Dhabi

4,329.94- 4.23

- 0.10%

Saudi Arabia

7,384.46- 158.59

- 2.10%

Kuwait

5,814.03- 20.73

- 0.36%

Bahrain

1,303.34 - 0.63

- 0.05%

Qatar

10,957.62+ 51.89

+ 0.48%

CURRENCY RATES* DRAFT RATES (OMR1)* GOLD PRICES*Forex rates vs OMR1*

US Dollar ................................. 2.58

Euro ............................................ 2.23

Pound ...........................................1.64

Indian Rs ............................... 171.17

Pak Rs ...................................264.00

Bangla Taka.......................199.52* Rates are as of August 26

Source: Bank Muscat

Indian Rs ....................................171.65

Pakistan Rs ............................ 268.50

Sri Lanka Rs ...........................347.20

Bangla Taka.............................201.70

Phil Peso ....................................120.75

* Rates as of August 26 Source: Oman UAE Exchange

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) .......14.55

Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......14.05

Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............130.25

Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) ............. 137.00

* Rates as of August 26

Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

Type ............................Delivery...........Price

Oman Crude ............. (Spot) ..........$43.11

Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) ........$43.06

Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ........$44.43

Arabian Light ......... (Spot) ........$42.99

N.Sea Brent ............... (Spot) ........ $43.47

West Texas Int ....... (Spot) ........$39.63

CRUDE OIL PRICE

DIGEST VIDEO

S CA N T H I S Q R CO D E TO I N STA N T LY L AU N C H T H E V I D EO

Top stories in one minute with our new daily Digest

‘Islamic windows should become full subsidiaries’

ELHAM POURMOHAMMADIElham@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: More full-fl edged Is-lamic banks are needed and the Is-lamic banking services of conven-tional banks should be converted into full subsidiaries if Oman were to fully embrace the Islamic fi -nance concept in its entirety, says a senior offi cial at Bank Nizwa.

“It would also eliminate poten-tial regulatory arbitrage between conventional banking and Islamic banking that could harm or raise doubt on the Sharia aspects,” said Dr Jamil El Jaroudi, chief execu-tive offi cer of Bank Nizwa, Oman’s fi rst fully-fl edged Islamic bank.

“Their cost of doing business and relying on their parent banks’ infrastructure resulted in a disad-

vantage for the business of fully-fl edged banks,” El Jaroudi said in an exclusive interview with Times of Oman.

Excerpts from the interview:

Do you think there is still room for more full-fl edged Islamic banks in Oman? Defi nitely, in the medium term, the market needs more players. It is diffi cult to create a vibrant mar-ket with just two players, espe-cially with more people opting to shift from conventional to Islamic banking services. The Islamic windows of the conventional banks, although played a role now and contributed to grow the mar-ket, it is still be part of the conven-tional system naturally due to the reliance on the same infrastruc-

ture and systems.

A number of conventional banks have established win-dows for Islamic banking. How do the services of a full-fl edged Islamic bank such as Bank Nizwa diff er from their services? What are the advan-tages of your services? Our path is diff erent from the conventional banks’ Islamic win-dows. While we strive in accom-modating the present demand for banking services to produce alter-native products, which are Shar-ia-compliant, and these products

would directly compete with the windows’ off erings, we believe that our products are built to suit Sharia objectives and be Sharia-principled not merely being Sha-ria-compliant.

Being Sharia-compliant is a must in every aspect even for the contracts and agreements signed with our vendors, which are not necessarily related to the fi nal products off ered to our clients. We ensure that our systems are Sharia-compliant and all steps to processing also are Sharia-com-pliant. This is because Islamic fi nance is not all about avoiding

riba’ or interest (usury), it is also about methods and procedures.

Some conventional banks see Islamic windows as a defen-sive strategy, while others see them as opportunities? What is your opinion? That is very true but it is also ex-pected. Hesitation is normal when it comes to adapting a new system that is foreign to them, but seeing the threats of losing their market share, it forced their entry. Those who believe in what Islamic fi -nance can off er, on the other hand, would look at this as a great op-portunity to claim more market share or simply as the next phase of their growth.

However, our off erings are all about the long-term benefi ts cus-tomers can reap.

Do you see the Islamic banking services of conventional banks as ‘complementary’ or ‘com-peting’ with your services? It is a mixture of all. But we feel that if Oman were to fully em-brace the Islamic fi nance concept in its entirety, then the Islamic banking services of conventional banks should be converted into full subsidiaries. >B4

It is diffi cult to create a vibrant market with

just two players, especially with more people

opting to shift from conventional to Islamic

banking, says the CEO of Bank Nizwa

UK’s Carillion cautious on Oman expansion

LONDON: Carillion, the Brit-ish construction support services fi rm, said plunging oil prices may hamper its plans to expand further into Gulf states such as Oman.

“I’m watching Oman with inter-est,” chief executive offi cer Rich-ard Howson said in an interview on Wednesday, after the company reported rising fi rst-half sales and profi ts. “It has more exposure to the oil price than perhaps the oth-er countries in which we trade in the Middle East.”

Oil prices have more than halved since last year and Oman is the biggest Middle East producer outside Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec). Rev-enue from the country made up 45 per cent of Carillion’s Middle East sales in 2014, Liberum analyst Joe Brent wrote in a note.

The Wolverhampton, England-based company employs more than 46,000 people worldwide and has been expanding in the Middle East, winning construction con-tracts for Dubai’s World Expo in 2020 and a service agreement to manage Royal Dutch Shell’s estate in Qatar. The region accounted for 14 per cent of Carillion’s fi rst-half sales, according to its earn-ings statement, up from 5 per cent three years ago.- Bloomberg News

O I L P R I C E F A L L

Dr Jamil El Jaroudi, CEO, Bank Nizwa. -Supplied picture

B2

MARKETT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

DAMIAN O’RIORDAN*

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” These words, often attributed to Peter Drucker, are frequently quoted by people who see culture at the heart of all great companies. Drucker, the father of modern management, may well have been right. The argument goes that strategy is on paper, whereas culture deter-mines how things get done. They say anyone can quote Michael Porter, the leading business strategist, and use his fi ve forces methodology to appreciate strat-egy, but can they build and foster a winning culture and if so, what reference point do they use? I will demonstrate that fostering a positive culture is at least the equal of strategy for winning organisations and highlight how compliance offi cers have an im-portant role to play in this regard.

What did Dell Comput-ers attribute their outstanding success to? Strategy? Certainly. logistics and control? No doubt. But when Michael Dell and then CEO Kevin Rollins were asked in the Harvard Business Review to explain the company’s success, they focused on something dif-ferent. “While Dell does have a superior business model,” said

Rollins, “the key to our success is years and years of DNA devel-opment that is not replicable outside the company.” Michael Dell added, “Culture plays a huge role.” In a 2006 study by Bain and Company, they found that busi-ness leaders recognised culture’s crucial role, but fewer than 10 per cent of companies succeed in building a winning one.

It is diffi cult to argue that strategy and culture are mutually exclusive. Jim Collins in his book “Great to Good” probably got it right when he said great compa-nies are those that “Got the right people on the bus, the wrong peo-ple off the bus and then decided where they wanted to go”. He ar-gues that once you have the right people on the bus, the challenge of how to motivate and manage people largely disappears. The right people don't need to be strictly managed. They will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great. Eff ectively if you have the wrong people, it doesn't matter whether you discover the right direction or right strategy you still won't have a great company. Having people that same the share value systems is, therefore, critical for an organisation’s culture and success.

Compliance offi cer's roleThe role of the compliance of-fi cer has evolved over the last 10 years. When compliance offi cers fi rst came on the scene, at least from a fi nancial services per-spective, they were simply the Know Your Customers (KYC)

guys. They were most probably located in the basements of head offi ce buildings and were responsible for nothing more than reviewing account opening processes. Times have changed. In light of more stringent regula-tory requirements, compliance offi cers are now involved in everything from ethics, confl icts of interest, corporate govern-ance, market disclosures, staff trading, product/policy approv-als, FATCA and anti-money laundering. There is plenty of scope and potential for the com-pliance offi cer to nurture and foster a compliant culture, which is more often that not, a winning and sustainable one.

The compliance role, in simple terms, is to inform the board and management of their legal and regulatory obligations. The compliance offi cer moni-tors the organisations level of compliance, assesses it and reports back to the board so they are informed to take appropriate decisions as and when required. Creating and promoting this framework assists organisations in creating a culture of account-ability and integrity. It helps organisations to do business the “right way”. At the Harvard Business School, they believe that profi t is good and necessary. They strive to make a decent profi t decently. There are many examples of companies doing this, but probably none better than Berkshire Hathaway.

Warren Buff ett’s letters to the company shareholders, as part of the Berkshire Hathaway annual reports are insightful

and provide a clear sense of their corporate culture. Buff ett, the legendary chairman and chief executive offi cer (CEO) of Berk-shire, acknowledges that their culture, like any winning culture is hard to replicate. Kevin Rol-lins of Dell was of the same view. In the Berkshire Hathaway 2010 annual report, Buff ett writes that “culture will repel and expel managers of a diff erent bent”. Remember, get the wrong people off the bus.

Gail Kelly, the former CEO of St George’s bank in Australia also understood the importance of corporate culture. She took over the bank in 2002 and im-mediately realised that the bank had more potential than its stock price refl ected. One of her fi rst jobs was to review her executive team. She found a couple of high level “cultural terrorists” who she quickly moved out of the or-ganisation. How many cultural terrorists are lurking in your corporate undergrowth?

Protect brandI have always maintained that the key objectives of the compliance offi cer are to ensure the brand is protected and to assist the front line in growing business in a compliant and sustainable fashion. Warren Buff ett agrees, but extends this mantra to all employees. One method that Buff fett uses to communicate his philosophy is through his management memo, which he sends every two years. In one such memo, he said the following;

“We can aff ord to lose money –

even a lot of money”. But we can’t aff ord to lose reputation – even a shred of reputation. We must continue to measure every act against not only what is legal but also what we would be happy to have written about on the front page of a national newspaper in an article written by an un-friendly but intelligent reporter.

Sometimes your associates will say “Everybody else is doing it.” This rationale is almost always a bad one if it is the main justifi cation for a business action. It is totally unaccepta-ble when evaluating a moral decision. Whenever somebody off ers that phrase as a rationale, in eff ect, they are saying that they can’t come up with a good reason. If anyone gives this ex-planation, tell them to try using it with a reporter or a judge and see how far it gets them.

If you see anything whose propriety or legality causes you to hesitate, be sure to give me a call. However, it’s very likely that if a given course of action evokes such hesitation, it’s too close to the line and should be abandoned. There’s plenty of money to be made in the centre of the court. If it’s questionable whether some action is close to the line, just assume it is outside and forget it. Culture, more than rule books, determines how an organisation behaves.”

This is impressive stuff . I am sure it is something all compli-ance offi cers can relate to and most business people too!! As a business model and cultural vi-sion, it is diffi cult to argue with. There are many obvious messag-

es in these words, and it is clear that the culture at Berkshire is being set from the top and com-municated in a simple and direct fashion. There is no ambiguity. “Tone from the top” statements are almost clichéd now, but nonetheless should be at the very heart of any organisations vision. The culture of any or-ganisation and how it permeates is the responsibility of the board and executive management. We are all aware of the Chinese proverb that explains how a fi sh rots from the head down. The opposite is invariably true and the role of management and the board in creating, supporting and helping to permeate the right culture throughout the or-ganisation cannot be underesti-mated. Compliance departments are well placed to support both in terms of delivery and commu-nication. In truth, strategy and culture are equally important for organisations and there is no doubt that compliance offi cers have a role to play in develop-ing both. In the main, winning organisations acknowledge that having a positive culture is crucial for success. They believe in doing business the right way and have hired the right people to do so. And what harm if one of those people happens to be a compliance offi cer to help them along the way!!

*The writer is the assistant general manager (compliance) of Bank Muscat. Views expressed in the article are of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Bank Muscat

Does culture eat strategy for breakfast? A compliance viewC O M M E N T A R Y

China’s devaluation of yuanupsets growth plans in Asia

SINGAPORE: Faced with falling exports and defl ation risks, it suit-ed much of Asia to let their cur-rencies drift lower, until China’s abrupt devaluation triggered a tide of volatility that is upsetting not just their currency management but also their growth strategies.

China’s 2 per cent devaluation on August 11 added to evidence that its economy was struggling, and overseas it caused a ripple of panic that a currency war was in the offi ng.

Currencies and stock markets in the region have since tumbled to multi-year lows, pulling global markets in their wake, as worries about China played into broader concerns about global growth, a collapse in commodity prices and the timing of a rise in United States interest rates.

Suddenly, in a region still haunt-ed by memories of destabilising currency devaluations during the 1997/98 Asian crisis, the option of a gently sliding currency has been taken off the table by a freefall that threatens a destabilising fl ight of capital, sharp market swings and a spike in the cost of funds.

Central banks from South Ko-rea to Thailand have deferred rate cuts, which would put further downward pressure on vulnerable currencies, with the result that growth and stimulus plans are likely to take a back seat.

Bank Indonesia kept its main interest rate unchanged at a poli-cy review last week, making clear currency stability is foremost among its priorities, even though the economy has slowed to its weakest pace in six years and in-fl ation is falling.

“We will not follow competitive devaluation,” Indonesia’s central bank Governor Agus Martowar-dojo said this week.

The central bank said it was ag-gressively intervening in the rupi-ah markets and even mopping up short-term cash to stop investors speculating against the currency. Indonesia is particularly vulnera-ble after a sharp loss of 14 per cent in the rupiah against the dollar so far this year, low forex reserves and a heavy dose of foreign money in its debt markets.

Raising ratesBut even central banks such as In-dia’s and Singapore’s are unlikely to be able to cut rates while mar-kets remain volatile. “Asian au-thorities have got to be willing to stomach high interest rates for a while,” said Cliff Tan, head of east Asian markets research at Mit-subishi UFJ in Hong Kong.

Capital Economics analysts Ga-reth Leather and Daniel Martin said in a note to clients that Ma-laysia and Indonesia might even

be forced to raise rates “if the cur-rency sell-off became a rout”.

Citibank has already cut its Asian growth forecast for 2015 to 6 per cent from 6.1 per cent, cit-

ing the volatility associated with China’s weakening of the yuan, its slowing growth and the possi-ble adverse policy reaction among other countries. It cut its forecast for Thailand’s growth to 2.7 per cent from 3.5 per cent.

Unwelcome volatilityThough Thailand has admitted its economy will be weaker than forecast and had welcomed depre-ciation in the baht as a remedy, its central bank voted to keep rates steady in August and alluded to fi -nancial market volatility as a fac-tor. The baht hit its weakest levels since 2009 this week and most of the baht’s 8 per cent losses this year against the dollar have been in the past couple of months.

“It’s clearly a bit uncomfort-able. I would expect them to start to think this is unwelcome vola-tility rather than welcome depre-ciation,” said Richard Yetsenga, global head of fi nancial markets research at ANZ in Sydney.

South Korea’s central bank turned swiftly defensive of the

won this week as it hit its lowest in nearly four years, selling dollars to slow the won’s decline. That’s a turnabout from its tactics ear-lier this year to weaken a currency that had become less competitive against Japan’s sharply weaker yen. It also kept rates unchanged this month, two days after China’s devaluation.

MUFJ’s Tan reckons Asian cen-tral banks could coordinate poli-cies better and be more proactive in using their trillions of dollars in currency reserves to defend their currencies. “Asian central banks are already on the defensive, but the question is a strong versus a weak defence.

“They have a chance to prove that, by driving rates up and mak-ing it very expensive to hold these short-term positions.” - Reuters

Yuan’s 2 per cent

devaluation on

August 11 added

to evidence that

China’s economy

was struggling, and

overseas it caused a

ripple of panic that a

currency war was in

the offi ng

Oil investors ignore history on dividends

LONDON: Shares of the largest oil companies have slumped so low it suggests investors expect the crash in crude prices to force cuts in dividends. History tells a diff erent story.

Oil’s collapse has driven the an-nual dividend yield at Royal Dutch Shell to a 20-year high of 7.7 per cent this week, compared to 4.4 per cent for the benchmark FTSE 100 Index. The yield — the annual return divided by the share price — is also at a two-decade high at Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

“The market is telling us that in-vestors think the dividend payouts may not be sustainable with oil at this level,” said Ahmed Ben Salem, an analyst with Oddo & Cie. “His-tory suggests otherwise. Oil com-panies are very attached to their dividend policy and if they were to cut it they’d lose a lot of investors.”

Shell, Europe’s biggest oil com-pany, has weathered market ups and downs for seven decades — in-cluding oil at less than $10 a barrel in the 1980s and 1990s — without cutting dividends.

In the United States, Chevron said last month it’ll keep increas-ing the annual payout — as it’s done for the past 27 years — even as profi t dropped to a 12-year low.

Shell chief executive offi cer Ben Van Beurden and BP boss Bob Dudley have made dividends their top priority to return money to shareholders. At the same time they’re slashing spending, selling assets and preserving cash fl ow to protect the balance sheet in a de-clining oil market.

Market routOil futures are trading at less than $40 a barrel in New York, less than half the price a year ago, on con-cern slowing growth in China will hurt demand just as Organisataion of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and the United States ex-pand a global glut.

Crude at this level intensifi es the debate on whether companies should stick to their dividend. A reluctance to cut the payout car-ries serious risks if low prices persist, said Nick Butler, chair of the Kings Policy Institute at Kings College London and former vice president of strategy at BP.

“The mistake is to assume divi-dends can or should always be maintained,” he said in an e-mail. “They should vary according to circumstances.”

The companies’ chief executives think diff erently. BP’s Bob Dudley said last month his “fi rst priority” was payouts to shareholders.

-- Bloomberg News

C R U D E O I L S L U M P

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com haveyoursay@timesofoman.com

HIGH VOLATILITY: Currencies and stock markets in the region have since tumbled to multi-year lows, pulling global markets in their

wake, as worries about China played into broader concerns about global growth. – Times fi le picture

AT A GLANCE Citibank cuts growth

forecast in Asia for 2015 to 6 per cent from 6.1 per cent

Bank Indonesia kept its main interest rate unchanged last week

Thailand central bank voted to keep rates steady in August

South Korea also kept interest rates unchanged this month

Central banks of India and Singapore are unlikely to be able to cut rates

B3T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

MARKET

Corporate earnings in GCCdip by 7 per cent in first half

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Corporate sector in the Gulf region recorded a 7.2 per cent fall in earnings at $34 billion in the fi rst half of 2015, against the same period last year, according to a report from Kuwait Financial Centre Markaz.

However, the performance of banks and real estate companies were strong. Total earnings of Omani companies fell by 7 per cent, while corporate earnings in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia con-tracted by 19 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively. Qatar had the highest earnings growth in the fi rst half at 13 per cent, with the rest of the GCC states recording a decline.

Fall in oil prices, strengthening US dollar and company-specifi c

issues were responsible for the poor earnings in the fi rst half.

Bank profi tThe United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also registered negative earnings growth of 2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively. Aggre-gate net profi ts for banks in the six-member GCC region came in at $16.7 billion in the fi rst half of 2015, a rise of 9 per cent over the same period last year.

Earnings from real estate came

in at $3.7 billion recording a growth of 44.5 per cent.

“Robust growth in the earnings of banking sector, which accounts for 49 per cent of earnings, could not prevent overall corporate earnings from declining by 7.2 per cent in the fi rst half of 2015,” added the report.

Telecommunication sector continued its negative run from 2014, with overall profi ts declin-ing by 35 per cent.

Real estate and banking sectors

have been the star performers in the region in the fi rst half register-ing growth of 44.5 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively.

Despite signs of slowing down towards the end of last year, the real estate sector had a great run in the fi rst half of 2015.

The commodities sector, which is the second largest sector in terms of net earnings, was im-pacted by lower oil prices. Tel-ecom sector, the fourth largest in terms of net earnings was aff ected

by the reduction in average rev-enue per user, as well as company specifi c losses.

Real estate boomReal estate boom in major mar-kets such as the UAE, Qatar and introduction of mortgage lending reforms in Saudi Arabia have led to signifi cant earnings growth of the sector. “Telecommunications sector’s earnings were aff ected by strengthening of the US dollar (Ooredoo), the earnings restate-ment of Mobily and its continued dispute with Zain Saudi. Falling ARPU across the region was also a reason behind the fall in telecom earnings,” the report pointed out.

The GCC corporate earnings are expected to contract by 0.3 per cent in 2015 over last year to reach $69.7 billion by the end of the year.

The UAE, Qatar and Bahrain earnings growth are expected to be robust at 8 per cent, 6.2 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively, for the full year of 2015 as against 2014. Corporate earnings in other GCC countries are also expected to decline, during the same period, with earnings in Saudi declining the most at 7.9 per cent.

Corporate earnings in Kuwait and Oman are expected to fall moderately by 1.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.

Total earnings of

Omani companies fell

by 7 per cent, while

corporate earnings

in Kuwait and Saudi

Arabia contracted by

19 per cent and 16

per cent, respectively

Orpic’s refi nery project achieves safety milestoneTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Oman Oil Refi neries and Petroleum Industries Com-pany (Orpic) has achieved 15 million man-hours without lost time injury at its Sohar refi nery improvement project, with more than 6,500 people on site, working to a 2016 completion date.

The milestone comes just days following the installation of Oman’s fi rst hydrocracker reactor, which is the heaviest and one of the most critical pieces of equip-ment on the project.

“Safety is our number one prior-ity. We have a diligent and expe-rienced team who are committed to ensuring the construction and future operation of this project is achieved to the highest standard,” said Musab Al Mahruqi, chief ex-ecutive offi cer of Orpic.

Orpic’s Sohar refi nery improve-ment project is a multibillion-dollar venture, which is being de-livered in response to the need to upgrade Orpic’s refi ning capability in order to further maximise the value of Omani crude oil, and to ensure that the Sultanate’s rising demand for fuel will be met.

In addition to the immediate commercial benefi ts that the pro-

ject brings to the business, it will also have a social-economic im-pact on other areas.

“Enhancing In-Country Value is an integral part of our growth strategy and substantial benefi ts are anticipated. About 300 direct, permanent jobs will be created, and around 2,400 Omani contract roles will be off ered over the project life-time,” the CEO of Orpic noted.

900 indirect jobs“The project is also anticipated to result in local business participa-tion, with an estimated 900 indi-rect jobs to be generated by the multiplier eff ect the Sohar refi n-ery improvement project will have on the local economy,” he added.

Orpic is undertaking three ma-jor growth projects aimed at im-proving production and further diversifying Orpic’s product mix. Orpic’s growth projects will posi-tion it as a market leader in Oman, the Middle East and the interna-tional oil and gas sector. Known as the sohar refi nery improvement project, the Muscat-Sohar product pipeline, and the Liwa plastics in-dustries complex, Orpic’s growth projects are expected to generate signifi cant opportunities for Orpic and Oman.

S O H A R R E F I N E R Y

Protect critical national infrastructure against cyberattacks, GCC states urgedTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Governments in the Gulf region are urged to secure critical national infrastructure in the face of high risk of more sophisticated cyberattacks in the emerging Internet of Things era, say industry experts.

As Internet of Things era ad-vances, with International Busi-ness Machines predicting 30 billion autonomously connected things by 2020, the fi eld of op-erational technology — industrial automation and control systems including power plants, trans-porting oil and gas, and manufac-turing — is becoming increasingly connected to networks.

At the same time, connected IT, management systems, and control areas are facing a sharp rise in the number, scale, and sophistication of cyberattacks, according to re-search fi rm Gartner. In particular, manufacturing and energy/utili-ties were two of the top fi ve most-targeted verticals globally in 2014, seeing a combined 23 per cent of all cybersecurity incidents, ac-cording to a recent report by IBM.

“While Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) governments and organisations are increasingly connecting industrial automation processes for smart intelligence on the back end of organisations, and on the front end citizen ser-vices, operational technology is at a rising risk for cybersecurity at-tacks,” said Asef Sleiman, general manager, Enterprise Network and Cyber Security Solutions, Omnix International, a GCC-based sys-tems integrator that has recently launched a cybersecurity division.

“In anticipation of this growing cybersecurity risk, GCC organi-sations must adopt world-class standards and regulations to en-

sure older integrated systems and sensors transmitting sensitive data are protected from cyberat-tacks that could steal vita data or shut down cities and countries,” added Asef Sleiman.

81 million security eventsGlobally, there were more than 81 million security events in 2014, including more than 12,000 mali-cious security attacks, and more than 100 security incidents that were investigated in-depth, ac-cording to IBM’s report.

Unauthorised access, sus-tained probes and scans, and ma-licious code were among the most common attacks.

Similarly, 29 per cent of world-wide infrastructure and govern-

ment organisations were targeted at least once in 2014, in particular the infrastructure and public ad-ministration fi elds, according to a recent report by Symantec.

With smart cities rising across the GCC, cybersecurity attacks could wreak havoc.

In one doomsday scenario, cy-ber criminals could send fake data to sensors to shut down transpor-tation systems or street lights, create fake emergencies, or direct construction crews to intention-ally damage utilities, according to a report by Securing Smart Cities, a global initiative for smart city cybersecurity.

Meeting the growing organisa-tional demand for cybersecurity solutions, Omnix International is

set to launch a new set of security services for operational technol-ogy in the coming months.

Omnix International also re-cently achieved ISO 27001:2013 certifi cation in consultancy and implementation of IT solutions ranging from network infrastruc-ture to software solutions, position-ing itself as one of the few industry experts in the region, recognised for its world-class information se-curity management system.

O N L I N E S A F E T Y

India, UAE forum to boost bilateral trade

DUBAI: India and the UAE have launched a forum to discuss strat-egies and solutions to investor challenges in India due to taxa-tion and policy related issues and evaluate business opportunities in infrastructure, alternative energy, tourism and fi nance sectors.

The Arab-India Economic Fo-rum (AIEF), in partnership with the Consulate General of India in Dubai, has been launched to bring together political and business leaders from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Egypt and India.

The AIEF shall be focusing on opportunities in infrastructure, alternative energy, digital India, tourism an fi nance, the forum said.

Taxation and policyThey will discuss strategies and solutions to investor challenges in India due to taxation and policy related issues in India and how the government can assist in creating a conducive business environment for investors, the statement added.

Focusing on the growth sectors, it will address the policy frame-work and guidelines required to attract Arab investors and indus-trialists. It will be a strong plat-form for Indian businesses aiming to explore the Middle East market, the statement said on Tuesday.

The recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE heralds a new era in bilateral relations and opens up new oppor-tunities for trade and commerce, it said noting that the UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund is an indicator of the true potential this relationship holds. - PTI

E C O N O M I C T I E S

HIGH RISK: Connected IT, management systems, and control

areas are facing a sharp rise in the number, scale, and sophistica-

tion of cyberattacks, says research fi rm Gartner. – Bloomberg News

GCC organisations

must adopt world-

class standards and

regulations to ensure

older integrated

systems and sensors

transmitting sensitive

data are protected

from cyberattacks

that could steal vital

data or shut down

cities and countries

Asef SleimanGM, Enterprise Network and Cyber Security Solutions, Omnix International

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com haveyoursay@timesofoman.com

DISMAL PERFORMANCE: Qatar had the highest earnings growth in the fi rst half at 13 per cent, with

the rest of the GCC countries recording a decline. – Times fi le picture

B4

MARKETT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

MSM index gains again

MUSCAT: As share prices on the Muscat bourse continued its recovery on Wednesday, MSM30 Index showed upward trend to close at 5,782.04 points, a gain of 0.38 per cent. The MSM Sha-ria Index remained unchanged at 908.16 points.

Bank Muscat was the most ac-tive in terms of volume as well as turnover. Al Madina Takaful gained 8.97 per cent to be the top gainer, while Al Anwar Ceramics, down by 6.88 per cent, was the top loser.

As many as 1,412 trades were executed during the trading session generating turnover of OMR4.7 million with more than 18.1 million shares changing hands. Out of 39 traded securities, 15 advanced, eight declined and 16 remained unchanged. Omani investors were net buyers to the tune of OMR1.62 million worth of shares followed by GCC and Arab investors at OMR97,000. Foreign investors, who were the net sellers, sold shares amount-ing to OMR1.71 million.

Financial Index led the indi-ces with a gain of 0.73 per cent to close at 6,968.95 points. Al Madina Takaful, Al Madina In-vestments, Al Anwar Holding, National Bank of Oman and Bank Muscat increased by 8.97 per cent, 3.77 per cent, 3.55 per cent, 3.55 per centand 1.62 per cent, respectively. Dhofar Investment and Development, Al Batinah Investment, Al Sharqia Invest-

ments and HSBC Bank Oman de-clined by 2.33 per cent, 2.04 per cent, 0.92 per cent and 0.87 per cent, respectively.

Industrial Index closed on a negative note at 7,499.79 points, down by 0.18 per cent. Oman Fisheries, Al Maha Ceramics, Galfar Engineering, Voltamp Energy and Gulf International Chemicals increased by 8.89 per cent, 4.60 per cent, 3.19 per cent, 1.44 per cent and 1.21 per cent, respectively. Al Anwar Ceram-ics and Oman Cables declined by 6.88 per cent and 0.77 per cent, respectively. Services Index re-mained stable at 3,209.70 points, down by 0.02 per cent. Ooredoo Oman, OIFC and Omantel in-creased nu 2.33 per cent, 1.83 per cent and 0.61 per cent, respec-tively. Both Al Suwadi Power and Al Batinah Power declined by 2.30 per cent, respectively.

Regional marketsMost Middle Eastern stock markets declined amid mount-ing concern the region’s largest economy will cut spending after oil prices slumped to the low-est since 2009. The Tadawul All Share Index in Saudi Arabia re-treated as much as 2.4 per cent before trading 0.4 per cent.

Kuwait’s measure fell 0.4 per cent while Abu Dhabi’s ADX Gen-eral Index retreated 0.1 per cent and Bahrain’s BB All Share Index lost less than 0.1 per cent.

– United Securities/Bloomberg News

Al Madina Takaful gained 8.97 per cent to

be the top gainer, while Al Anwar Ceramics,

down by 6.88 per cent, lost the most

Stay ahead of

the curve with

WhatsNews

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MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26

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

OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL ............................................. 918,102 ............ 78,024..................... 67 ........... 0.085 ........... 0.085 ...........0.084........... 0.085 .............0.078 ........... 0.007 ............. 8.974 ................0.085 ..............0.084...................0.085...................14,875,000 .........0.100

OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS ................................................ 177,094 ............ 88,595..................... 50 ........... 0.490 ...........0.502 ...........0.490........... 0.500 .............0.478 ........... 0.022 ............. 4.603 ................0.500..............0.496...................0.500 ..................26,250,000.........0.100

OM0000001962 ............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ................................... 1,116,923 ......... 60,930......................41 ........... 0.056 ........... 0.058 ...........0.054........... 0.055 .............0.053 ........... 0.002 ............. 3.774 ................0.054..............0.054...................0.056................... 11,393,326 .........0.100

OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 2,813,184 ......491,998...................258 ............0.179 ........... 0.179 ........... 0.171 ............0.175 ............. 0.169............ 0.006 ............. 3.550 ................ 0.171 ...............0.171...................0.173 ...................26,263,125 .........0.100

OM0000001483 ............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ................................. 250,150 ............73,075..................... 25 ........... 0.290 ........... 0.296 ...........0.290 .......... 0.292 .............0.282 ............0.010 ............. 3.546 ................0.295 ..............0.296...................0.298 .................391,487,393 ........0.100

OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 591,335 .............57,086..................... 73 ........... 0.096 ........... 0.099 ...........0.094........... 0.097 .............0.094 ........... 0.003 ..............3.191 .................0.095 ..............0.095...................0.096...................28,128,122 .........0.100

OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 421,018 ..........296,350..................... 43 ........... 0.704 ........... 0.712............0.700 ........... 0.704 .............0.688 ............0.016 ............. 2.326 ................0.700 ..............0.660...................0.700..................458,264,738........0.100

OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE .............. 1,131,920....... 189,033..................... 70 ............0.170 ........... 0.170 ........... 0.161 ............0.167 ............. 0.164............ 0.003 ............. 1.829 ................0.163 .............. 0.162...................0.163 ...................33,400,000.........0.100

OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 3,808,709 ...1,908,463................... 195 ........... 0.500 ...........0.502 ...........0.498 ........... 0.502 .............0.494 ........... 0.008 ..............1.619.................0.498 ..............0.498...................0.500 ...............1,150,494,944 ......0.100

OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY .................................................... 83,200 ............ 35,040......................19 ........... 0.420 ...........0.424 ...........0.420........... 0.422 ............. 0.416............ 0.006 ............. 1.442 ................0.420.............. 0.418...................0.420 ..................25,531,000 .........0.100

OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ................6,000 ...............1,500........................2 ........... 0.250 ...........0.250 ...........0.250........... 0.250 .............0.247 ........... 0.003 ..............1.215.................0.250..............0.245...................0.255....................5,250,000 ..........0.100

OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 230,734 .........380,879..................... 58 ............1.640 ........... 1.670 ...........1.640 ............1.650 ............. 1.640 ............0.010 ............. 0.610 ................1.650 .............. 1.645...................1.650 ................1,237,500,000 ......0.100

OM0000001087 ............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ............................... 150,800 ............38,613..................... 24 ........... 0.256 ...........0.260 ...........0.250........... 0.256 .............0.255 ............0.001 ............. 0.392 ................0.250..............0.235...................0.250 ..................25,600,000.........0.100

OM0000001145 ............PORT SERVICES CORPORATION ........................ 40,000 ...............6,600........................4 ............0.165 ........... 0.165 ...........0.165 ............0.165 ............. 0.165............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.165 ..............0.160...................0.168 ................... 15,681,600 .........0.100

OM0000001319 ............NATIONAL ALUMINIUM PRODUCTS ................. 1,000 ..................240........................ 1 ........... 0.240 ...........0.240 ...........0.240 .......... 0.225 .............0.225 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.240 .............0.203...................0.240 ................... 7,553,576 ..........0.100

OM0000001533 ............OMINVEST ........................................................................4,500 ...............2,070........................ 1 ........... 0.460 ...........0.460 ...........0.460........... 0.480 .............0.480 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.460............. 0.000...................0.460 .................177,800,304 ........0.100

OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING ........... 773,375 ............80,767..................... 36 ............0.106 ........... 0.106 ...........0.102 ........... 0.104 .............0.104 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.104 ..............0.104...................0.105 ...................12,675,000 .........0.100

OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS ........................ 118,630 ............ 24,912........................9 ............0.210 ........... 0.210 ...........0.210 ........... 0.210 .............0.210 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.210 ..............0.190...................0.210 ...................26,228,572 .........0.100

OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK ........................................................................6,000 ............... 1,196........................2 ........... 0.200 ...........0.200 ...........0.199 ........... 0.199 ............. 0.199............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.199 .............. 0.199...................0.202 .................283,582,193 ........0.100

OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ......................... 750,550 ........... 78,356..................... 45 ............0.104 ........... 0.106 ...........0.103 ........... 0.104 .............0.104 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.103 ..............0.102...................0.103 .....................6,119,695 ..........0.100

OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ..................................... 310,036 ............53,139..................... 56 ............0.173 ........... 0.173 ...........0.170 ............0.171 ............. 0.171 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................ 0.171 .............. 0.170...................0.172 ................... 49,701,325 .........0.100

OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 431,000 ............73,764......................14 ............0.175 ........... 0.175............0.170 ............0.171 ............. 0.171 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.170 .............. 0.169...................0.170 ................. 246,486,240 .......0.100

OM0000003711 ............SOHAR POWER ................................................................... 620 ...................211........................6 ........... 0.340 ...........0.340 ...........0.340 .......... 0.342 .............0.342 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.340............. 0.340...................0.350...................75,585,420 .........0.100

OM0000004735 ...........SEMBCORP SALALAH .................................................. 5,000 ............ 12,600........................ 1 ........... 2.520 ...........2.520 ...........2.520........... 2.520 .............2.520 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................2.520............. 2.500...................2.530 .................240,552,131 ........1.000

OM0000001707 ............OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY .......................................17,373 ............ 33,580........................6 ............1.950 ........... 1.950 ...........1.925 ............1.935 ............. 1.950............-0.015 ........... -0.769 ...............1.925 ..............1.900...................1.920 ..................173,569,500 ........0.100

OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN .................................................... 429,841 ............49,107......................11 ............0.115 ........... 0.115 ............ 0.114 ............0.114 ............. 0.115 ............-0.001 ........... -0.870 ............... 0.114 .............. 0.114................... 0.115 ..................228,035,658........0.100

OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 532,031 ............ 57,271..................... 45 ............0.112 ........... 0.112............0.104 ........... 0.108 ............. 0.109 ...........-0.001 ........... -0.917................0.105 ..............0.104...................0.106 .................... 9,720,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ...................... 114,000 ............10,975..................... 23 ........... 0.095 ........... 0.097 ...........0.095 ........... 0.096 .............0.098 ...........-0.002 ........... -2.041 ...............0.095 ..............0.094...................0.095....................2,880,000 ..........0.100

OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER ..................................................72,380 .............15,364......................13 ............0.215 ........... 0.215 ...........0.212 ........... 0.212 ............. 0.217............-0.005 ........... -2.304 ...............0.212 ..............0.212...................0.217 .................. 143,076,135 ........0.100

OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER ....................................................73,976 .............15,709......................13 ............0.217 ........... 0.217 ...........0.212 ........... 0.212 ............. 0.217............-0.005 ........... -2.304 ...............0.212 ..............0.212...................0.214 .................. 151,454,144 ........0.100

OM0000001509 ............DHOFAR INT.DEV.AND INV. HOLD. ................... 123,200 ............51,744........................ 1 ........... 0.420 ...........0.420 ...........0.420........... 0.420 .............0.430 ...........-0.010 ........... -2.326 ...............0.420..............0.420...................0.430 .................103,488,000 .......0.100

OM0000002168 ............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ............................... 634,591 ......... 223,251......................15 ........... 0.366 ........... 0.366 ...........0.350........... 0.352 .............0.378 ...........-0.026 ........... -6.878 ...............0.360..............0.350...................0.360 .................104,267,216 ........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 16,137,272 4,490,441................1,227 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......32........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES .......................................................39,627 ...............1,942........................8 ........... 0.049 ...........0.049 ...........0.049........... 0.049 .............0.045 ........... 0.004 ............. 8.889 ................0.049..............0.047...................0.050 ................... 6,125,000 ..........0.100

OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 573,230 ............ 36,112..................... 34 ........... 0.063 ...........0.064 ...........0.062........... 0.063 .............0.062 ............0.001 ..............1.613 .................0.063 ..............0.062...................0.063...................94,500,000 ........0.100

OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. .................. 173,058 ................5,911..................... 10 ........... 0.035 ........... 0.035 ...........0.034........... 0.034 .............0.034 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.034..............0.032...................0.034 ...................2,890,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002564 ...........AL HASSAN ENGINEERING...................................... 5,000 .................. 445........................ 1 ........... 0.089 ........... 0.089 ...........0.089........... 0.088 .............0.088 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.089 ..............0.086...................0.088.................... 6,618,304 ..........0.100

OM0000004511 ............ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK.............................................. 159,600 ............10,658........................6 ........... 0.067 ........... 0.067 ...........0.066........... 0.067 .............0.067 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.066 ..............0.063...................0.066...................67,000,000 .........0.100

OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 1,081,760........ 159,115................... 125 ............0.146 ........... 0.148 ...........0.146 ............0.147 ............. 0.147............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.147 .............. 0.147...................0.148 ..................215,002,415 ........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 2,032,275...... 214,183...................184 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 6........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BONDS MARKET ........................................................................................................................................................................................OM0000004602 ...........BANK MUSCAT CONV. BONDS 4.5 ...................................9 ........................1........................ 1 ............0.110 ........... 0.110............0.110 ............0.110 ............. 0.110 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.110 .............. 0.110................... 0.114 ...................33,302,402.........0.100

.............................................SUM: ...............................................................................................9 ........................1........................ 1 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. .........1........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

ISIN .................................................. SECURITY NAME ...............................................................................................VOLUME ..............TURNOVER ................... TRADES ...........OPEN PRICE ............. HIGH .................... LOW ............... CLOSE PR. ..........PREV. CLOSE.......... DIFF (RO) .................DIFF % ......................LAST PR............... LAST BID .....................LAST OFFER ................. MARKET CAP ........PAR VALUE

O M A N S T O C K S

INDICESIndex .................................................High .................Low ..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff %MSM30 Index ........................................5,808.71 ............... 5,762.16 ................... 5,782.04 ................... 5,760.29 .................. 21.75 ................... 0.38Financial Index ..................................... 6,991.61 ...............6,918.35 ................... 6,968.95 ................... 6,918.35 ................. 50.60 ................... 0.73Industrial Index ....................................7,558.05 ............... 7,499.79 ....................7,499.79 ....................7,513.34 ................ -13.55 .................. -0.18Services Index .......................................3,225.72 ...............3,209.70 ................... 3,209.70 ................... 3,210.38 .................. -0.68 .................. -0.02MSM SHARIAH INDEX....................... 913.99 ..................908.16 .......................908.16 ...................... 908.16 ....................0.00 ...................0.00

Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded18,169,556 .................. 4,704,626 ..................1,412 ...............14,529,039,426 ................ 15 ........................8 .................... 16 .........................39

‘We noticed more drawbacks as they took business away from full-fl edged banks’

It would also eliminate poten-tial regulatory arbitrage between conventional banking and Is-lamic banking that could harm or raise doubt on the Sharia aspects.

At the beginning, windows were auxiliary to Islamic banks in the launching phase by spreading awareness and products, but we noticed more drawbacks as they took business away from full-

fl edged banks, thus hindering their growth and profi tability. Their cost of doing business and relying on their parent banks’ in-frastructure resulted in a disad-vantage for the business of fully-fl edged banks.

Do you see conventional banks offl oading their Islamic windows? Why?

This would be the natural progres-sion. If you see other countries such as Qatar and Malaysia, this is also expected for the Omani mar-ket, although we cannot say how soon because the windows have yet to reach their critical sizes to be able to justify conversion into standalone banks. It would re-quire the lawmakers’ intervention if the exercise is to be expedited.

I S L A M I C B A N K I N G

< FROM

B1

Sensex tumbles; rupee fallsMUMBAI: A rally on Tuesday-proved to be rather short lived as the fl agship benchmark Sensex retreated sharply by 318 points to end below the signifi cant 26,000 barriers on frenzied panic selling. Sentiment once again turned to decline on weak sentiment.

The rupee turned weak against the United States dollar after a brief overnight recovery, falling by four paise to end at 66.14 on renewed dollar demand from importers amid global volatility. The rupee closed at 66.10. - PTI

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Nissan promises great benefits on its LCV range till October 16

MUSCAT: Nissan from the house of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles in-troduces seasonal off ers on LCV models until October 16.

Its exclusive vehicle promotions are enticing and one-of-a-kind promising unlimited benefi ts to valued patrons.

Nissan has a heritage of show-casing some of the most amazing benefi ts for their customers by introducing unique off ers on their prestigious line-up of vehicles. In an eff ort to make Nissan vehicles aff ordable and accessible to all, Suhail Bahwan Automobiles has taken up this unique initiative, says a press release.

What’s on off er? Auto enthusiasts can now avail exciting benefi ts on Nissan’s LCV range of vehicles as their seasonal off ers include cash gift up to OMR1,000, free service for two years or 20,000km (periodic maintenance only), free regis-tration (on private registration only) and easy and convenient fi nancing options. Flexible EMI’s can also be tailor made for any individual requirement from in-house auto fi nance team.

Interactive social media Customers can also get unlim-

ited access to Nissan’s prestigious vehicle line up at the comfort of their homes or offi ces. Simply visit Nissan Oman’s Facebook page i.e http://www.facebook.com/Sban-issanoman or send an SMS to get updated information on any of the vehicles from the house of Nissan.

Nissan LCV range of vehicles has built up its reputation through innovative technology, and a broad product line-up. In Oman, people have increasingly opted for Nissan models because they come with class leading features, great per-formance, ideally suited to the lo-cal conditions and off er great value for money besides being among the safest cars on the road.

Nissan pickup range The Nissan pickups are built strong and tough, to withstand the most punishing conditions, yet they are known for their comfort and safety criterion. With two dif-ferent engine models, the new 4x4 Nissan Pickup is best known for its ultimate performance when driven on the road.

The 2.4L, 160hp twin cam gaso-line engine in 2WD and 4WD, the 4x4 Pickup is one of the most eco-nomical in its range. It features dynamic suspension, rear step bumper, chrome mirrors and grill, bed liner; – making it the perfect choice for all who wants to own a pickup. The Nissan pickup mod-els are built for versatility. Despite their comfortable ride and stylish passenger car-like interiors, they still deliver full load-hauling func-tionality. The single cab model makes an excellent multi-purpose utility vehicle, while the double cab model can also serve as a ver-satile family pickup.

Nissan Navara The Nissan Navara stuns all eyes with its larger body structure which means bigger storage space

and a roomier, more comfortable passenger cabin. The extended wheelbase enhances road han-dling ability, and the taller ground clearance makes it easier to con-quer road obstacles. The Navara is designed with an off -road spirit in mind. The vigorous QR25 2,500cc petrol engine delivers up to 162 (Gross) / 154 (Net) horsepower, plus compelling torque and excel-lent fuel effi ciency.

The new Nissan Navara is also class-leading in the GCC and comes equipped with a high-per-formance 6-speed manual trans-mission, further enhancing the true off -road spirit while cruising comfortably over virtually all ter-rains. Navara is available in 2WD AT/MT options with petrol engine and 4WD MT option in diesel en-gine. Navara is also available as per PDO specifi cations.

The Navara is one of the most sought after vehicles in the PDO division, given its durability and performance on and off road. Na-vara’s petrol engine provides 162 HP and the YD25DDTi Diesel en-gine provides 142 HP with a torque of 36 kg-m / 2000 rpm.

It is also fi rst-of its-kind with 6-speed manual transmission which delivers excellent fuel effi -ciency. The roomy passenger cab-in, and the supportive suspension system that Nissan is famous for,

emit an air of luxury usually found in passenger sedans. The Navara is truly a tough, versatile vehicle for all your business needs making it a perfect value for money buy.

Nissan Patrol pickup The Nissan Patrol pickup comes in a new 4.8L, 280HP intercooled turbo diesel engine, there is no sec-ond opinion that the Nissan Patrol pickup makes the roughest dirt roads shudder. This in-line with a 6 cylinder power plant is as hard-working as it is durable.

And with 90 per cent of its maxi-mum torque available from a very low 1500rpm, it surely does assert its dominance in the most unfor-giving surroundings. It’s imposing all-terrain suspension, incorpo-rating a heavy-duty coil spring suspension with 3 links in front and leaf springs at the rear for su-perior stability, ride comfort and load carrying capacity, makes the Patrol pickup just as comfortable and confi dent on tarmac.

NV350 UrvanThe NV350 Urvan’s QR25DE engine takes advantage of latest technology to achieve fuel econo-my. Combined with a 5-speed au-tomatic transmission, the engine rotates at lower speed and makes less noise while driving at high speed. Smooth and responsive

acceleration from a start to high-speed driving is also realised with a power of 144HP/5600RPM and a torque of 21.7 Kg-M/4400 RPM.

The NV350 Urvan with wide long body support a greater num-ber of model variations for a range of business needs.

The latest range of NV350 Ur-van with wide long body and high roof comes in two variants, the 3 seater panel van and the 15 seater bus in manual transmission. The NV350 Urvan off ers ample load capacity and the interior layout makes maximum use of the larger cargo space for both occupants and cargo.

Nissan Civilian The Nissan Civilian is a vehicle that promises top class perfor-mance and unmatched conveni-ence for everyday use and busi-ness calling. Time and again, the Civilian gets the job done reliably with remarkable economy, both in terms of fuel consumption and routine maintenance. Along with that, it boasts of new styling and features that promise more com-fort, fl exibility, convenience, safety and performance.

The Civilian is available in 4.5L Petrol Engine, 190hp and 4.2L Die-sel Engine, 133hp. The 26 Seater and 30 Seater option comes with lamps for interior, luggage com-

partment and step, power steering and automatic sliding door.

A decade of promise Suhail Bahwan Automobiles is largely committed to support-ing Nissan’s growth in the Sul-tanate through major emphasis on customer satisfaction and by providing world-class after-sales services in Oman. With a national network of more than 19 show-rooms, 22 service centres and 35 spare parts outlets, SBA has fur-ther built upon its legacy of trust, excellent customer service and providing value for money to each of its customers.

Nationwide presence Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, the exclusive importers and dis-tributors of all Nissan vehicles in Oman, have their Nissan show-rooms spread across the Sultanate. Their showrooms are strategically located all across the country in Muscat, Sohar, Sur, Salalah, Shi-nas, Samail, Ibra, Ibri, Nizwa, Buraimi, Barka, Bahla, JalanBani Bu Ali, Seeb, Mabelah, Sinaw and Bidaya. This goes to show that Nissan Oman has been success-fully growing in operations and is consistently spreading its network throughout the Sultanate of Oman.

Reliability For every customer purchasing a Nissan vehicle, it is the begin-ning of a fulfi lling experience as Nissan’s top class after sales ser-vice makes sure every customer is happy and satisfi ed. Nissan’s after sales service provider for all Nissan cars in Oman ensures cus-tomers get the advantage of fac-tory trained expertise and genuine Nissan replacement parts always. Customers can expect reliability and assistance, which will help re-tain Nissan’s performance and re-sale value for years to come.

Its exclusive vehicle

promotions are

enticing and one-

of-a-kind promising

unlimited benefi ts to

valued patrons

Chopard showcases unique and beautifully crafted wedding ringsMUSCAT: The evolution and the placement of the wedding ring has changed throughout time ac-cording to diff erent beliefs and cultures. Yet, the band has always represented the same message… that of eternal love. As a symbol of infi nity, the tradition to wear the ring forever means it is important to truly be happy with your wed-ding band.

Chopard presents a selec-tion of unique and beautifully crafted wedding bands with a choice whether to prefer to shine brightly with a statement ring; be modern; or be classic in a timeless ring, says a press release.

Madhursinh Jesrani, gen-eral manager, Khimji’s Watches, the sole distributor of Chopard collections in Oman, explains: “Chopard wedding rings come in countless interpretations based on the House design codes, in-cluding the absolute modernity of the Ice Cube collection. Round or fl at, polished, half-set or full-

set, wedding rings come in three gold colours as well as platinum versions. Adding a splendid fi nal touch to the exquisite elegance of these rings, there are Chopard wedding jewellery sets composed of closed-set or claw-set pendant necklaces and earrings which match the rings to create a perfect magical moment.”

Chopard Heure du Diamant is a statement ring. With its stunning band of 24 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling approximately 2.00 car-

ats and individually set in gleam-ing 18-carat white gold, the Heure du Diamant ring shines infi nitely just like your truly sparkling love.

Perfectly refi nedRings from the Chopard Ice Cube and Chopardissmo collections represent a contemporary expres-sion of love. Created from time-less white gold, the Ice Cube ring’s unique geometric design features a quartet of diamonds for a hint of understated sparkle, a modern

token of love. Utterly unique and perfectly refi ned, the Chopardis-simo line is signature Chopard. Enhanced by the beautiful cal-ligraphy of the engraved logo it is contemporary, yet timeless.

The pure lines of Chopard’s Timeless collection stand the test of time. Assured and confi dent, this 3.0-mm squared band in pol-ished 18-carat gold or platinum goes perfectly with the stunning Chopard For Ever diamond en-gagement ring; a heart-shaped brilliant-cut diamond of 0.50 car-ats or more that takes centre stage on a classic setting of platinum engraved with the Chopard “C.”

Khimji’s Watches is one of Mus-cat’s leading franchisees for luxury watches, jewellery, accessories and writing instruments. Set up in 1973, Khimji’s Watches off ers a range of global designs from Rolex, Cartier, Chopard, Piaget, Mikimo-to, Girard Perregaux, Tudor, Oris, Frederique Constant, Bell & Ross, Caran d’Ache and Kieninger.

F A S H I O N S T A T E M E N T

Badr Al Samaa holds CME on bariatric, metabolic procedureMUSCAT: A continuing medi-cal education (CME) programme was conducted by Badr Al Samaa Group of Hospitals in Crowne Plaza Hotel recently. The main speaker Dr S. K. Ajaiyakumar, a renowned bariatric surgeon from South India, spoke on ‘Mini gas-tric bypass: A promising bariatric and metabolic procedure’, says a press release.

He focused on the role of surgery in the treatment of obesity and dia-betes. Mini gastric bypass, a lapa-roscopic, bariatric surgical proce-dure is gaining popularity in the world. He said, mini gastric bypass (MGB), a comparatively simple and safe procedure gives promis-ing results in obesity and diabetes reduction. Majority of diabetes patients can stop medication af-ter this surgery and for obesity; it is a sure shot option. In this era of alarmingly increasing number of life style illness like obesity and diabetes mellitus, bariatric sur-

gery and metabolic surgery has an important role. Adopting healthy life styles are very important in preventing as well as managing this growing menace. Badr Al Sa-maa Hospital, Al Khoud is all set to start this novel procedure.

V. T. Vinod, managing director, Badr Al Samaa Group, appreciated Dr Ajaiyakumar for enlightening the medical fraternity that helps them to update their knowledge in their daily practice and said their long term intention is to develop Badr Al Samma as a regional hub for Bariatric surgical procedure.

More than hundred doctors from various hospitals and clinics attended the programme. Dr Deep-ak Chandran, senior general and laparoscopic surgeon introduced the speaker to the audience and Vinod, presented a memento to Dr Ajaiyakumar. Dr Vijaya Simha, specialist ophthalmologist, Badr Al Samaa Hospital, Ruwi proposed the vote of thanks.

M E D I C A L E D U C A T I O N

MCBS implements Oman’s 1st in-house automatic attendance marking systemMUSCAT: The Modern College of Business and Science (MCBS), a pioneering higher education institution in Oman, has success-fully implemented the Sultanate’s fi rst in-house developed automat-ic student attendance recording system at its campus.

The system is to allow effi -cient means to take attendance and provide instructors full class time for academic work, says a press release.

The automatic attendance sys-tem incorporates Radio-frequen-cy identifi cation (RFID), Visual Studio .Net and MS SQL Server technologies that are linked to the student information system and ERP at the Modern College. This provides a live feedback on the promptness as well as tardiness of the students. MCBS has empha-sised importance of attendance as

its recent study had indicated di-rect link of student performance to their classroom attendance.

At the college each faculty and student carries an ID card (MI-Fare proximity cards) as means of identifi cation as well as for attendance purposes. When en-tering the classroom a student should tap his/her ID card on an RFID reader. Then the student’s attendance is updated imme-

diately and can be checked via smartphone or web interfaces.

The faculty instantly gets feed-back via e-mail detailing students present, absent or late in his/her live classroom. This provides means to validate the actual class count and helps to ensure that no double counts or misrepresenta-tion of students occurred.

Some teachers have appreci-ated the feature which indicates

how often and for how many min-utes a student usually comes late to the class.

The automatic attendance sys-tem provides numerous benefi ts to MCBS stakeholders including students, administration staff , faculty, sponsors and parents who get timely and accurate informa-tion of attendance records.

Salah Al Hanshi, acting head of the ESL Department stated: “The automatic attendance sys-tem saves instructors time and they can get more time for offi ce hours which will be dedicated for the students.”

The automatic attendance system was developed by a team of four member of the college’s IT-Database Department: Said S. Nassor, Ahmed Mounir Fayek, Abdelkawy Abdelhady and Ghamra Al Ismaily.

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Bank Sohar conducts weekly draw in Ibra

IBRA: Continuing with its year-long branch-wide tour, Bank So-har conducted its most recent Al Mumayaz Savings Scheme Weekly Draw at its Ibra branch recently.

Continuing to off er more chanc-es, more winners and more prizes to its customers as part of the 2015 Al Mumayaz Saving Scheme, the bank’s draws included the OMR5,000 weekly draw, which was won by Bader Al Busaidi of the bank’s Barka branch, and the dedi-cated branch draw of OMR1,000

for the bank’s Ibra branch custom-ers, which was won by Mohammed Al Harthi, says a press release.

The 21st weekly prize draw event was held in the bank’s Ibra branch under the auspices of Salim bin Hamood Al Ismaeely, one of Bank Sohar’s VIP customers and was attended by Khamis Masoud Al Rahbi, the AGM of Branches at Bank Sohar, Redha Al Lawatia, the senior chief manager of Liabilities and Sales at Bank Sohar and Yahya Ahmed Al Habsi, the acting man-

ager of Ibra branch and Thuraiya Al Hashmi, senior manager, Busi-ness Development and Planning Liabilities at Bank Sohar, in ad-dition to other members of the senior staff from Bank Sohar and the bank’s VIP customers from the region.

The event was inaugurated with a welcome speech followed by an overview of the 2015 Al Mumayaz Savings Scheme by Thuraiya. Fol-lowing the presentation, the chief guest conducted the draw to reveal the names of the two winners. The event concluded with the hando-ver of a token of appreciation to Salim on behalf of the bank.

Commenting on the response the bank has received for the Al Mumayaz Savings Scheme 2015 Draws, R. Narasimhan, DGM and Head of Retail Banking said, “Our Al Mumayaz Savings Scheme has been growing in popularity as we off er more prizes to be won with each passing year. Our dedicated branch draws in particular have been very well received as they ensure we have winners spread across our branch network. It is

also encouraging to see that our savings scheme has made a visible impact on the savings habits of our customers, encouraging them to save more for more chances to win in the daily, weekly, monthly and year-end draws.”

Following the popularity of last year’s savings scheme, the bank has revised this year’s scheme to provide even better incentives to save by off ering signifi cantly more chances, more winners, and more prizes. The most signifi cant addi-tion to this year’s scheme were the dedicated branch draws, starting with the dedicated weekly branch draws. These draws are conducted every week as a part of the bank’s weekly draw of the OMR5,000; where an additional winner of OMR1,000 is drawn specifi cally from the customers of the branch in which the weekly draw is held.

“On behalf of Bank Sohar, I would like to congratulate Moham-med Al Harthi and Bader Al Busaidi on winning our latest weekly draw. I would also like to wish all our cus-tomers the best of luck in the up-coming draws,” added Narasimhan.

Continuing to off er more chances, more

winners and more prizes to its customers as

part of the 2015 Al Mumayaz Saving Scheme,

the bank’s draws included the OMR5,000

weekly draw and the dedicated branch draw

of OMR1,000

Maisarah concludes professional training programmeMUSCAT: In line with its compre-hensive growth strategy that aims to implement world’s best banking practices and provide highest levels of customer experience, Maisarah Islamic Banking Services recently concluded a globally recognised training programme where over 40 members of Maisarah team suc-cessfully completed the training and exam to qualify as Certifi ed Islamic Finance Executive (CIFE).

The 4-month programme was conducted by Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance, world renowned Islamic fi nance training institu-tion, and aimed to establish and maintain highest standards of Is-lamic banking and fi nancial ser-vices by equipping members of staff from all Maisarah branches

and diff erent departments with the necessary knowledge and skills to better perform their tasks and enrich the customer experi-ence, says a press release.

The event was held at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Muscat and was attended by executive manage-ment team from BankDhofar and Maisarah Islamic Banking Ser-vices as well as staff and repre-sentatives from Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance.

Jamsheed Hamza, head of Re-tail at Maisarah Islamic Banking Services, said: “Maisarah has been at the forefront of Islamic banking excellence through staff training and development. At Maisarah we believe that only qualifi ed team members can enrich our custom-

ers’ experience and deliver best service. The modules covered in this training programme included all aspects of Islamic fi nance such as fundamentals of Islamic bank-ing and fi nancial services, prod-

ucts and fi nancial solutions such as Murabaha, Mudharabah, Ijara, Sukuk, Takaful, etc.”

Ethica has certifi ed profession-als in over 160 fi nancial institu-tions across 64 countries with its

Certifi ed Islamic Finance Execu-tive, a globally recognised certifi -cate accredited by scholars to fully comply with AAOIFI, the world’s leading Islamic fi nance standard.

Showing an impressive growth since the start of its operations in 2013 and demonstrating a high degree of product innovation and best services, Maisarah has been recognised for its commitment to lead the Islamic fi nance market in the Sultanate, earning prestigious awards and titles from leading lo-cal and international organisations including the ‘Best Islamic Banking Window - Oman 2015’ award by the London based International Fi-nance Magazine (IFM), the ‘Islam-ic Bank of the Year – Oman 2015’ award by The Banker, ‘Best Islamic

Community Support Bank 2014’by Global Financial Market Review and ‘Best Islamic Window in Oman 2013’ by Global Financial Market.

Maisarah off ers a wide range of Shariah-compliant fi nancial solu-tions, products and services that cater to the needs of its retail and corporate customers. The Islamic banking window currently pro-vides products and services out of fi ve dedicated branches located in Azaiba, Salalah, Sohar, Birkat Al Mouz and Al Hail in addition to the Corporate Banking Division in Azaiba. As part of its future growth strategic plan, Maisarah plans to distinguish itself by focusing on prominent customer service, de-veloping and launching new prod-ucts, and investing in technology.

I S L A M I C B A N K I N G

Omasco launches Yamaha AV demo and display cornerMUSCAT: Omasco, the distribu-tors of Yamaha music and audio products in Oman, have set up a new AV demo and display corner at eXtra, Bausher.

The corner has the latest de-sign and technology laden AV products that Yamaha has to off er on display, says a press release.

Yamaha has been at the fore-front of AV technology and de-sign with an emphasis on fl ex-ibility and control which led to the development of free apps for smartphones for easy customi-sation and control of their new products. With the new lighting audio products range not only the audio, but also the light intensity can be controlled by an APP.

The latest cutting edge tech-nologies and manufacturing processes developed by Yamaha have helped increase both, fi del-ity as well as durability to an even higher level than before.

Whether you are looking for a high quality earphone and head-phone for your audio or GSM device or, an audio system with intelligent alarm function, speak-ers for your computer and Flat Panel Smart TV or a complete

multichannel home theatre sys-tem that can be controlled with just your phone or tab, there is something for everyone in the Yamaha corner at eXtra.

L A T E S T T E C H N O L O G Y

Yamaha has been at

the forefront of AV

technology and design

with an emphasis on

flexibility and control

which led to the

development of free

apps for smartphones

for easy customisation

and control of their

new products

MUSCAT: Meethaq, the pio-neer of Islamic banking in Oman from Bank Muscat, hosted Majlis Meethaq evening, a unique social forum aimed at facilitating interac-tion with prominent personalities.

Sheikh Salim Ali Al Namani, lecturer and mentor expert at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), addressed the gathering at Bank Muscat head offi ce, sharing in-spirational aspects of his life and career as well as views and per-spective on the economy and im-portant social and cultural issues, says a press release.

Majlis Meethaq is a monthly gathering in which a well- known economic, social, religious or cul-tural persona having infl uence on

Omani society from the Sultanate or abroad is hosted.

The interaction between the guest and the audience is aimed at focusing on aspects of the pre-senter’s personal life, success in career and views on issues facing

the country and community.Sulaiman Al Harthy, group gen-

eral manager, Islamic Banking, said: “Meethaq is proud to host the Majlis forum aimed at pre-senting successful role models to community and highlighting their

achievements to motivate and in-spire citizens, especially youth, to attain success in life. We thank Dr Salim Al Namani for address-ing the session and enlightening the audience on opportunities and challenges he faced in making cru-cial decisions in life which led to his success in life.

“Meethaq, as part of its commit-

ment to social development, aims to develop the Majlis forum as an ideal platform to interact with prominent personalities and learn from their experiences in achiev-ing success in life.”

Al Harthy added: “Meethaq is focused on developing as a bench-mark Islamic fi nancial institution in Oman and the region. Within

just two years of operations, Meethaq has attained the leading position in the Islamic banking in-dustry in Oman in terms of fi nanc-ing receivables, branch network, products and services, IT infra-structure and human resources development. Meethaq not only provides benchmark Islamic fi -nancial solutions but also plays a key role in raising awareness and educating people on key aspects of Islamic banking and fi nance.”

As the pioneer of Islamic bank-ing in Oman, Meethaq has adopted the best practices in Islamic bank-ing and fi nance worldwide to com-bine a robust model which pro-tects customers and complements the Islamic banking industry.

MUSCAT: Wattayah Motors, the offi cial distributor of Volkswagen in Oman, has announced a 2015 Model Clearout.

Until September 30, customers who purchase selected 2015 Volk-swagen models will receive an ex-clusive range of special benefi ts in-cluding fi ve years warranty, three years free service and roadside as-

sistance, says a press release.Andrew Squires, general man-

ager of Wattayah Motors, said, “We continue to off er regular pro-motions to ensure our customers can enjoy an even greater value proposition when purchasing a

new car. Volkswagen is a brand that off ers innovative, reliable and aff ordable cars, underlined by German engineering.

“Ultimately, the total value of ownership for a Volkswagen en-sures greater value for money as

a result of our on-going commit-ment to deliver service excellence to each and every customer.”

The Volkswagen Model Clea-rout applies to select 2015 models, and delivers an exclusive range of benefi ts for new car buyers. Ad-

ditionally, all new models include fi ve years unlimited mileage war-ranty, three years/45,000km free service and three years free road-side assistance; ensuring custom-ers can enjoy total peace-of-mind motoring for the duration of their

vehicle ownership. “Our fi ve-year unlimited mile-

age warranty, supported by our factory-trained technicians at Volkswagen Oman, ensure our customers’ long term total peace-of-mind motoring,” added Andrew.

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Wattayah Motors offers incentives on select 2015 Volkswagen modelsVolkswagen Model

Clearout delivers

an exclusive range

of benefi ts for new

car buyers until

September 30

Majlis Meethaq social forum hosts SQU lecturerU N I Q U E G A T H E R I N G

Splash launches ELLE cosmetics

MUSCAT: Adding yet another feather to its cap, Splash has in-troduced ELLE cosmetics to its portfolio. Post the successful launch of Splash perfumes; this is the brand’s second product foray in the lifestyle category.

ELLE as a brand is synony-mous with the world of fashion and beauty and its Beauty Best Friend Forever (BBFF) makeup range is backed up by years of expertise and will decode beauty trends in three key looks, inspired by the ultimate Parisienne, says a press release.

This unique and irresistible range for all makeup lovers is your ultimate solution for eff ortless looks that will cover you from

work, casual day out to a glam night out. This beauty range has a total of 123 products for the face, lips, eyes and nails. The collection

off ers ultra-sensorial, high-per-formance formulas along with all the trendy colours.

Raza Beig, CEO, Splash & ICONIC said, “Splash is the ex-clusive partner for ELLE in the region and we are delighted to launch their new line in this mar-ket. The two brands share the same vision for the line and strive to provide consumers quality products and we hope to take our partnership to new heights.”

Its luxury custom packaging with a unique visual identity will create an intimate link between a woman and her makeup.

The entire range is available at all Centrepoint and Splash stores across the Sultanate of Oman.

B E A U T Y A T I T S B E S T

Higer school bus comes with advanced safety featuresMUSCAT: The rising incidents of school bus accidents in Oman paint a scary picture. This has re-cently led the Ministry of Educa-tion (MoE) to set safety standards in school buses to be strictly fol-lowed by the school management while transporting children from home and back.

The Star school bus from Higer already has these enhanced safe-ty features including the IVMS tracking facility as stipulated by the MoE, says a press release.

A senior spokesperson of Towell Auto Centre (TAC), the sole distributors of Higer buses in Oman, commented: “Higer school bus has all the safety fea-tures that have been highlighted by the MoE in Oman. The IVMS tracking facility monitors the driver and check on whether he is over-speeding, driving rashly or applying sudden brakes and whether he is deviating from the normal routes. Besides IVMS facility, Higer is the only school bus in Oman to have an Anti-lock braking system which allows the wheels to maintain tractive con-tact with the road surface accord-ing to driver inputs while braking,

preventing the wheels from lock-ing up and avoiding uncontrolled skidding. It has a host of other ad-vanced safety features which are the need of the hour along with the proper training of drivers.”

Other facilities in a Higer school bus includes reverse cam-era, automatic fi re extinguisher in the engine compartment, remote operating automatic pneumatic door controlled by the driver, CCTV camera inside the vehicle with a 72 hours recording facil-ity, additional emergency exit on the roof, school bus stop plate, bottom fi xed/top semi sliding

glass window with protection bar from inside the vehicle, fi re extin-guisher, fi rst-aid kit and a warn-ing triangle ensuring safe transit for school children.

“Higer buses are also comfort-able with a seating capacity of 29 + 1 and a safety seat belt has been provided for every seat. The Higer school bus also has a CD and DVD player with a 17 inch moni-tor to show documentary fi lms to students which the schools can provide to drivers. What adds to its attractiveness is its reason-able price with less capital invest-ment,” the spokesperson added.

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AUSSIE SKIPPER SMITH READY FOR ‘NEW ERA’Newly-appointed Australia captain Steven Smith said he was ready for a “new era” as he prepared to lead them for the fi rst time since Michael Clarke’s retirement. >C3

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H

Pakistan confi rm Twenty20 league in Qatar next yearLAHORE: Pakistan on Wednes-day announced it will host a twice-postponed Twenty20 league in Doha, Qatar, next year.

The event is scheduled for Feb-ruary and will feature around 25 foreign players.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had planned a Super Twenty20 league in 2013 but had to postpone it twice — in 2014 and 2015 — over a lack of response from sponsors and logistics prob-lems. Najam Sethi, former chair-man of the PCB, announced the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will be held from February 4 to 24 next year.

“The PSL will be held in Doha from February 4-24 with a prize money of one million dollars (100 million rupees) and we are get-ting encouraging responses from sponsors and foreign players,” said Sethi, who is now chairman of the PCB’s executive committee.

The idea behind staging the league was to give Pakistani play-ers a chance to compete with and against top foreign players, some-thing which the national players do not get as international cricket has been suspended in the coun-try since 2009.

Pakistan was a no go area for in-ternational teams since terrorists’ attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009.

This was partially overcome with a short limited-over series against Zimbabwe in May-June this year.

“We are in talks with 40 foreign players and we expect some 25 to sign for the league and out of these 15 will be world class players,”

Sethi said of the planned league.Four West Indians and two

players each from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand, England and South Af-rica were amongst the targeted names, he said.

Sethi added that no player from India was on the PSL target list as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not allow its players to feature in a foreign league.

Pakistan was forced to shift the League to Doha after grounds in the United Arab Emirates — where Pakistan have played all their home cricket since 2009 — were booked for a private league in January-February 2016. - AFP

E N C O U R A G I N G R E S P O N S E

Four West Indians

and two players

each from Sri Lanka,

Bangladesh, Australia,

New Zealand, England

and South Africa were

amongst the targeted

names. No player

from India was on

the PSL target list

AB reaches milestone as Proteas win series

DURBAN: Milestone man AB de Villiers played a key role South Af-rica beat New Zealand by 62 runs in the third and fi nal One-day In-ternational (ODI) at Kingsmead in Durban on Wednesday to take the series 2-1.

It was a measure of revenge for the loss to the Kiwis in the World Cup semifi nals earlier this year.

After setting a target of 283 for seven, South Africa bowled well to dismiss New Zealand for 221 in 49.2 overs.

De villiers hit a rapid 64 to lift South Africa to a competitive total of 283 for seven.

The South African captain was the only batsman who made bat-ting look easy against a steady New Zealand bowling attack on a pitch which off ered the New Zealand bowlers good bounce and some sideways movement.

De villiers hurried to a half century off 38 balls before being bowled by Doug Bracewell after a 48-ball innings which included eight fours and a six.

When De villiers was on 19 he reached 8,000 runs in One-day In-ternationals in his 182nd innings - the fastest to the milestone.

The previous record was held by Sourav Ganguly of India, who took 200 innings.

After a poor batting perfor-mance in the second match in

Potchefstroom, where they were bowled out for 204, South Africa fulfi lled their objective of making a solid start as Morne van Wyk (58) and Hashim Amla (44) put on 89 for the fi rst wicket.

But the scoring rate was lan-guishing until De villiers and Da-vid Miller (36) put on 86 off 65

balls for the fourth wicket.Left-arm opening bowler Ben

Wheeler took three wickets but conceded 71 runs, while medium-pacer Grant Elliott bowled ten overs in an unbroken spell and took two for 41. - Agencies

When De villiers was

on 19 he reached

8,000 runs in One-

day Internationals

in his 182nd innings

— the fastest to

the milestone

SOUTH AFRICAM. van Wyk c Latham b Elliott 58H. Amla c and b Elliott 44R. Rossouw c Latham b Wheeler 6A. de Villiers b Bracewell 64D. Miller c Ronchi b Milne 36F. Behardien c Williamson b Wheeler 40D. Wiese c Sodhi b Wheeler 12K Abbott not out 3Extras (b-4, lb-3, w-13) 20Total (7 wkts, 50 overs) 283Fall of wickets: 1-89, 2-96, 3-134, 4-22, 15-232, 6-258, 7-283.Bowling: Wheeler 10-0-71-3 (w-4), Milne 10-1-44-1, Bracewell 10-1-54-1 (w-3), Sodhi 8-0-55-0 (w-1), Elliott 10-0-41-2 (w-2), Munro 2-0-11-0.NEW ZEALANDM. Guptill c Van Wyk b Steyn 10T. Latham run out 54K. Williamson b Imran Tahir 39G. Worker b Wiese 21G. Elliott c Rabada b Wiese 20C. Munro b Wiese 35L. Ronchi c Amla b Rabada 1D. Bracewell c Amla b Imran Tahir 13A. Milne c Miller b Rabada 4B. Wheeler not out 13I. Sodhi c Rossouw b Abbott 5Extras (lb-1, w-5) 6Total (all out, 49.2 overs) 221 Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-102, 3-114, 4-141, 5-152, 6-156, 7-187, 8-201, 9-201.Bowling: Steyn 10-0-41-1 (w-1), Rabada 10-1-33-2 (w-2), Wiese 9-0-58-3 (w-1), Abbott 9.2-0-43-1 (w-1), Imran Tahir 10-0-36-2, Behardien 1-0-9-0.

S C O R E B O A R D

FASTEST TO 8,000: South Africa’s AB de Villiers celebrates after

completing his half century against New Zealand on Wednesday.

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Former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist sees him as a

fearless dude destined to in-spire Team India to conquer new frontiers, and former In-dian fast bowler Chetan Shar-ma gets the vibes that, led by him, the boys are all grace and confi dence even in defeat.

And for the man they are talking about, it’s business as usual as he explains to the world how easy it is to tell Cheteshwar Pujara about his guest appearance in the third Test match.

“If he has to step in for the next game (third Test) and miss out for the next” Pujara will simply have to understand how the dynamics of team se-lection works, which is about getting in place “that balance” which helps the team win a match, and how the new guy in charge dislikes even a hint of attempt at personal glory.

For someone who doesn’t mind telling us that he doesn’t mind doing “shuffl ing, chip-ping and changing, cutting and changing”, the ruthless win in the second Test could prove to be the fi rst stroke of stimulation Virat Kohli had been looking desperately for ever since he was given the reins of the team, part-time fi rst and full time now, to think up exotic ideas “to play around with.”

Now that a real good chance of winning a Test series in Sri Lanka after 22 years is looking brighter than before, certainly a lot luminous than it really was in the dark days immediately after the heart-breaking defeat in the fi rst Test at Galle, Kohli seems set to collect his licence to kill.

Kohli had made known his outside-the-box intentions right at the very fi rst time he was handed the charge of the boys. Stepping into the shoes of MS Dhoni at Adelaide in 2014, he picked leg-spinner Karn Sharma, leaving R. Ashwin to catch up with his passion for fi ctions in the dressing room.

Karn Sharma couldn’t conjure up the kind of magic Kohli had hoped for, but the bold chase of the 364-run target, setting a personal ex-ample hitting an aggressive century, and the loss by a narrow margin was a dream start for Kohli.

Then, when Dhoni an-nounced his retirement from Test cricket mid-tour, Kohli produced his second chip-ping and chopping act: out-of-touch Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar were dropped and K.L. Rahul was brought in to open the innings.

The tour of Bangladesh saw Kohli being installed as the regular Test captain of Team India, and he came up with the six batsmen-fi ve bowlers strategy.

It was a strategy he had to

dilute a bit at the P Sara Oval in Colombo after frontline batsmen failed to fi re chasing what looked like a comfort-able target — just 176 runs —at Galle. The 4.5 plan wasn’t novel, nor did it produce any miracle, but the .5-man, Stu-art Binny, who came in place of Harbhajan Singh, gave the fabulous four rest to recoup.

That’s how Kohli wanted to stress his point, for now and until he spots a better point man for him.

The fi rst Test victory as Team India captain opens up never-revealed possibili-ties for Kohli, and if the team win the third Test, it’s going to strengthen the hands of the new skipper to try new things.

Possibilities of a series-winning performance by the 4.5 pack of bowlers seem am-bitious in the third Test start-ing tomorrow at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, but the prospects the match could throw up might pose challeng-ing times for a man even with Kohli’s penchant for chipping and chopping, more so if Pu-jara translates the frustration he has gone through in the last few months into rock-solid patience to produce an in-nings that’s hard for anyone to write off .

In the midst of all this stands tall a man, though he is just 168cm in life beyond the 22 yards. No prize for guess-ing who it is.

What would the Indian team selectors have done without this man for all sea-sons, Ajinkya Rahane, at their disposal? And where would have Rohit Sharma found himself in — at No.3/No.5.No.6/No. 7? Maybe, out of the team.

And it’s time Rahane was given the slot he deserves — before over-experimentation begins to chip away at his form and confi dence.

The writer is a freelance con-tributor based in India. 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

What Kohli doesn’t mindAnd what he should

C O M M E N T A R Y

Kohli had made

known his outside-

the-box intentions

at the beginning of

his captaincy

PCB halts early return for Butt and AsifLAHORE: Pakistan cricket au-thorities on Wednesday set out a path for spot-fi xing convicts Sal-man Butt and Mohammed Asif to return to the international game, but eff ectively ruled out any chance of them playing in next month’s national event.

Butt and Asif attended a lecture from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) offi cer on vigilance and corruption as the fi rst step in a re-habilitation process towards play-ing at domestic level.

“The two players were invited to a lecture on anti-corruption as part of their rehabilitation,” PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said.

“Under the process they will have to attend lectures, accept guilt at various forums, show re-morse and give lectures to future players,” he said.

In a statement issued later in the day, the PCB said the players will not be able to use the National

Cricket Academy (NCA) and will be barred from practising with players from the national team.

In 2011, the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned Butt, Asif and Mohammed Aamir for fi ve years over a spot-fi xing case happened during Pakistan’s tour to England a year earlier.

The three players — along with their agent Mazhar Majeed — were charged and later jailed for arranging deliberate no-balls in return for money during the

Lord’s Test against England.The ICC lifted sanctions on

Butt and Asif last week, making them eligible for domestic and in-ternational cricket from Septem-ber 2 this year.

Aamir’s sanctions were lifted in January after the ICC amended its code of conduct, a reward for the young paceman who pleaded guilty during the criminal pro-ceedings in UK in November 2011.

Khan said PCB will monitor Butt and Asif ’s progress at a lower

level, just as it did for Aamir.Both Butt and Asif were in-

cluded in the Lahore and Sialkot teams for the National Twenty20 event starting in Rawalpindi from September 1 this year.

Asif said he has agreed to com-plete the rehabilitation course the PCB has set out for him.

“Of course, its a detailed process but I will try to complete it as soon as possible and agree to it. I will play at lower level and then in fi rst-class cricket,” he told reporters. - AFP

F I X I N G C O N V I C T S

START OF PROCESS: Tainted cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammed Aamir and Mohammed Asif arrive

at the Pakistan Cricket Board Headquarters in Lahore on Wednesday. – Agencies

India, Sri Lanka set for thrilling finale

COLOMBO: Virat Kohli’s buoy-ant India will chase their fi rst se-ries win in Sri Lanka in 22 years when the third and decisive fi nal Test starts in Colombo on Friday.

The tourists thrashed the hosts by 278 runs in the second Test at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Monday to level the series after Sri Lanka had won the opening match in Galle by 63 runs.

But before they step on the fi eld at the Sinhalese Sports Club, both camps will attempt to sort out inju-ry and personnel issues to fi nd the right combination for the decider.

India, who have not won a Test series on the island since 1993, will be without the injured trio of regular openers Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, plus wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha.

Sri Lanka will begin a new era following the retirement of bat-ting great Kumar Sangakkara from international cricket after the second Test looking to fi ll a major void in the top order.

With Mahela Jayawardene quitting Test cricket last year, Sri

Lanka fi nd themselves short of experience. Veteran left-arm spin-ner Rangana Herath has played 62 Tests and skipper Angelo Mathews 51, but no others in the squad have more than 22 Test caps.

Sangakkara’s decision not to play all three Tests in a series as he wound down his career had already cost Sri Lanka two months ago. He elected to miss the decider against Pakistan in Pallekele in June, a game the hosts lost by seven wick-ets. Mathews said he regretted not giving Sangakkara a winning fare-well, but vowed to fi ght back and win the series for him.

Tharanga for Sangakkara? “It really pains me that we could not give him a good farewell, but I promised him that we will play the next game well and try to win the series for him,” the Sri Lankan captain said.

Sri Lanka are expected to re-place the 134-Test veteran with

another left-hander, Upul Tha-ranga, who has scored 1,113 runs in 20 Tests at an average of 31.80.

India, meanwhile, are like-ly to play top-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, for the fi rst time in the series, as opening part-ner for Lokesh Rahul in the ab-sence of Dhawan and Vijay.

Uncapped 32-year-old Naman Ojha, a wicketkeeper-batsman who reinforced the injury-hit touring squad on Monday along with young batsman Karun Nair, could come in for Saha.

“Pujara is pretty solid with the new ball,” said Kohli. “He has done the job in the past and we are very confi dent he will do the job in the next game as well.”

India will once again bank on their spin twins, Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra, who shared 14 of the 20 wickets in the second Test to fashion the team’s emphatic win.

Mathews conceded Sri Lankan

batsmen needed to fi nd a way to tackle off -spinner Ashwin, who followed his 10-wicket haul in the fi rst Test with seven scalps at the P. Sara Oval.

“We have a lot of left-handers in our line-up and it makes it easier for Ashwin to be aggres-sive against them,” Mathews said of Ashwin, who dismissed San-gakkara in all four innings in the series. “We need to fi nd a way to counter-attack him. We can’t just hang around. He will bowl the odd good ball anyway in an over, so we need to score runs.”

The last time Sri Lanka played a Test at the SSC a year ago, they swamped Pakistan by 105 runs to break a sequence of four succes-sive draws on a traditionally high-scoring pitch.

India have lost two and drawn three of their last fi ve matches at the venue. Their lone success at the SSC was the series-clinching 235-run victory in 1993. - AFP

But before they step

on the fi eld at the

Sinhalese Sports

Club, both camps

will attempt to

sort out injury and

personnel issues

to fi nd the right

combination

for the decider

It really pains me that

we could not give

him (Sangakkara) a

good farewell, but I

promised him that

we will try to win

the series for him

Angelo MathewsSri Lanka captain

Batsmen put India A on top against South Africa AKRISHNAGIRI: A combined batting eff ort highlighted by opener Abhinav Mukund’s 72 and skipper Ambati Rayudu’s 71 en-sured India A a vital 82-run fi rst innings lead against South Africa A at stumps on the second day of the second and fi nal four-day cricket match at the Krishnagiri Stadium here on Wednesday.

On the fi rst day, Indian spin-ners bowled consistently to bun-dle out the visitors for a mere 260 in the fi rst innings, thanks to a fi ve-wicket haul by left-arm spin-ner Axar Patel.

In reply, Indian batsmen re-sponded well as Ankush Bains (34 not out) and Patel (16 not out) remained unbeaten to help the hosts reach 342 for six at end of the second day’s play.

For South Africa A, right-arm spinner Dane Piedt (four for 154) and pacer Lonwabo Tsot-sobe (two for 38) were the pick of the bowlers.

India A openers Mukund and Jiwanjot Singh (52) looked posi-tive against a quality South Africa A bowling attack.

The duo took time to settle down in the fi rst 10 overs, but as they got used to the wicket they scored freely to take the score close to the 100-run mark.

Double blowSoon, experienced pacer Lon-wabo Tsotsobe got the better off young Jiwanjot as the Indian was caught right after reaching his half century to bring an end to the 96-run fi rst wicket partnership.

Incoming batsman Baba Aparajith, in his short innings of 34, played some impressive shots, scoring fi ve boundaries and giv-ing good support to set batsman Mukund. The two helped the team cross the 165-run mark.

The 72-run partnership for the second wicket came to an end when spinner Piedt got Mukund

out, who was looking good for a century.

India A received a double blow when Piedt, in his next over, got Aparajith to put the hosts in a bit of concern at 169 for three.

Middle order batsmen Shel-don Jackson and Vijay Shankar chipped in with scores of 25 and 21 before getting themselves out to help team close on to the visi-tors’ total of 260.

But with Jackson and Shankar getting out in quick succession, skipper Ambati Rayudu took the reins on himself to help the hosts get past the visitors’ total and take the lead.

In his 81-ball 71-run knock, Rayudu hit eight fours and three sixes to put the South Africa bowlers on the back foot.

Brief scores: South Africa A 260 vs India A 342/6 (Abhinav Mukund 72, Ambati Rayudu 71; Dane Piedt 4/154, Lonwabo Tsot-sobe 2/38).

C O M B I N E D E F F O R T

Indo-Pak series

unlikely to

happen: PCB

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaha-ryar Khan has said the chances of a bilateral series with India taking place later this year were highly unlikely.

The PCB were scheduled to host India in the UAE, but the collapse of the talks between the National Security Advisors of the two countries and con-tinuing tension on the border has put it under a cloud.

Newly-appointed Interna-tional Cricket Council (ICC) President Zaheer Abbas had said earlier this week that the PCB should show fl exibility and must be willing to play the se-ries in India in order to ensure the revival of cricketing ties.

But Shaharyar Khan has re-jected Abbas’s proposal, saying that the PCB will wait for a fi nal reply from the BCCI till Octo-ber. “I’m writing a letter to the BCCI and we will wait for their reply till October.” - IANS

N O R E V I V A L

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SPORTST H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

Aussie skipper Smith ready for ‘new era’

LONDON: Newly-appointed Aus-tralia captain Steven Smith said he was ready for a “new era” as he pre-pared to lead them for the fi rst time since Michael Clarke’s retirement.

Australia face Ireland in Belfast on Thursday in what will be the fi rst One-day International (ODI) since beating New Zealand in the World Cup fi nal in Melbourne in March.

It will also be Australia’s fi rst match since Clarke retired from all international cricket after the fi fth and fi nal Test against England at The Oval last week.

Australia won by an innings and 46 runs but victory in south London came too late to save the Ashes, with England winning the fi ve-match series 3-2.

The 26-year-old Smith, who had deputised as skipper in both Test and one-day cricket when Clarke was injured, was long seen as Aus-tralia’s captain in waiting and is looking forward to taking up the role full time.

“I’m very excited,” Smith told travelling Australian media in Bel-fast on Wednesday. “Obviously, I’ve known for a little while now that I was going to be taking over the one-day squad, so I’ve been working pretty hard and preparing (for) everything coming up,”

He added: “The last time this group was together, we won a World Cup, so I don’t think we have to change a whole heap. We’re currently No.1 in the world. I think for us now, it’s just about raising that bar and continuing to get bet-ter each day.”

Although Australia’s squad con-tains several World Cup-winners in Smith, David Warner, Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell and

Mitchell Starc, it also includes the likes of uncapped players such as Joe Burns and Marcus Stoinis.

“I guess it’s a new era in a way for Australian cricket,” said Smith. “But they’re really excited and I’m really excited to see them do well on this tour.”

‘Lift the spirits’ And Smith added the presence of the newcomers could help ease the pain of an Ashes defeat.

“It’s been a tough tour for us. It’s disappointing to have lost the Ash-es,” Smith said.

“(But we have a) new group now with some younger, newer guys who hopefully can bring some exu-berance and energy to help lift the

spirits a bit and help get back on track (and) hopefully start my ca-reer in captaincy on this one-day tour on a winning note.”

Ireland, however, have a de-served reputation as one-day gi-ant-killers, although they’ve yet to beat Australia.

The non-Test nation only missed out on a place in the World Cup quarter-fi nals on net run-rate, being pipped to a last eight place by a West Indies team they beat in pool play.

“I think they’re an improving side,” Smith said. “They’ve got some good players that can take a game away from you a little bit.

“We’re going to continue to try and emulate what we did in the World Cup.”

With Aaron Finch currently sidelined with a broken foot, Burns is set to make his ODI debut on Thursday, having made his Test bow against India in Melbourne in December.

Impressing at one-day level could help bolster Burns’s chances of fi lling the spot at the top of the Test order left vacant by the retire-ment of Chris Rogers.

“You’ve seen (chief selector) Rod Marsh say it before — if you’re scoring runs at the one-day inter-national level, you can put your hand up for other formats of the game as well,” said Smith.

The Ireland fi xture precedes Australia’s lone Twenty20 inter-national against England in Car-diff on August 31. Smith’s men then face their Ashes conquer-ors in a fi ve-match one-day se-ries starting in Southampton on September 3. - AFP

Australia face

Ireland in Belfast on

Thursday in what will

be the fi rst ODI since

beating New Zealand

in the World Cup

fi nal in March

Obviously, I’ve known

for a little while now

that I was going to be

taking over the one-day

squad, so I’ve been

working pretty hard

Steven SmithAustralia captain

Oman suff er fi rst defeat, Kuwait and Bahrain unbeaten at GCC U-18 meet

MUSCAT: After two successive victories, hosts Oman suff ered their fi rst defeat when they came up against a strong Kuwait team in the ongoing GCC Under-18 Volleyball Championship at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Wednesday.

Hitherto unbeaten Kuwait proved too strong for Oman as

they raced to their third succes-sive victory in a 26-24, 25-15, 25-20 straight sets verdict.

A victory against Kuwait would have boosted Oman’s chances of winning the title in the six-team tournament, which is being played on a single round-robin format. Now the hosts are in third place behind Kuwait and Bahrain.

Bahrain too maintained their unbeaten record when they de-feated Saudi Arabia 25-21, 25-15, 23-25, 25-17 on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Qatar recorded their fi rst victory when accounted for the United Arab Emirates 25-18, 25-21, 25-13. With two rounds of matches to be played, Oman can still fancy their chances of winning

the top honours provided Bahrain and Kuwait fumble in their next matches. On Thursday, Oman take on Bahrain, Kuwait face Qatar and Saudi Arabia meet the UAE.

The tournament concludes on Saturday when Bahrain square off against Kuwait, Qatar meet Saudi Arabia and Oman conclude their engagements against the UAE.

V O L L E Y B A L L

SETBACK: Action from the match between Oman and Kuwait in the GCC Under-18 Volleyball Championship at the Sultan Qaboos Sports

Complex on Wednesday. – JUN ESTRADA/Times of Oman

OSA discusses participation in 25th GCC Aquatic Games

MUSCAT: The National Teams and Coaches Committee of the Oman Swimming Association (OSA) met here to discuss various issues and make recommenda-tions regarding the national swim-mers and their participation in the international events. The commit-tee met under the chairmanship of OSA chief Taha Al Kishry.

The committee recommended to the OSA board to reactivate the

process of penalising the national swimmers who are not commit-ted to the training programes of the association.

The panel also made a proposal to send a 12-member of team to 25th GCC Aqatic Games to be hosted in Qatar from December 1 to 4. The OSA is likely to review all the recommendations made by the committee during a board meeting on Thursday.

S W I M M I N G

Irish look to take shine off Aussie World Cup winBELFAST: Australia play their fi rst One-day International (ODI) as world champions in Belfast on Thursday with a new captain and three uncapped players in the 14-man squad which meets Ireland in a one-off game at Stormont.

Although their World Cup vic-tory was just fi ve months ago, it will be Steve Smith leading Aus-tralia, not Michael Clarke and Matthew Wade keeping wicket instead of Brad Haddin who has retired from one-day cricket.

The newcomers are Joe Burns, who is in line to replace Aaron Finch at the top of the order, while the World Cup opener recovers from a fractured foot, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis who come in for the suspended James Faulkner, and the sole specialist spinner in the squad is Ashton Agar, returning to an Australia side for the fi rst time since the 2013 Ashes tour.

Five of the World Cup winning team — and eight of the squad — are still around despite Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood being sent home to prepare for the domestic season, leaving the world No 1 ODI bowler Mitchell Starc to lead the attack.

Three years ago, on their last visit to Belfast, rain washed out the game after just 10.4 overs but not before Pat Cummins was clocked at 94mph, and with Na-than Coulter-Nile and James Pattinson both returning to the squad for the fi rst time this year, Cummins (22), who took fi ve wickets in his two World Cup

games, will likely share the new ball with Starc.

Shane Watson may have lost his Test place but he is still a key member of the one-day squad, along with Glenn Maxwell who is the only Australia batsman in the world’s ODI top 10, just ahead of former captain George Bailey with Smith down in 13th place.

The bowling is even starker with Maxwell, at No 70, rated the second best Australia bowler in this squad so they have much to prove.

The game against Ireland, the leading Associate nation which defeated West Indies and Zimba-bwe at this year’s World Cup, may be seen as a ‘warm-up’ for the fi ve-match series against Eng-land which starts next week but the world champions will have to be fully focused against an expe-rienced team which revels in the underdogs tag.

Captain William Porterfi eld is one of six playing regular county cricket while Andrew Balbirnie, who scored 97 in the Zimbabwe win and slow left armer George Dockrell are with Middlesex and Somerset respectively. All 13 were in the World Cup squad.

Ireland: W Porterfi eld (capt), A Balbirnie, G Dockrell, E Joyce, J Mooney, T Murtagh, A McBrine, K O’Brien, N O’Brien, P Stirling, S Thompson, G Wilson, C Young.

Australia: S Smith (capt), A Agar, G Bailey, J Burns, N Coul-ter-Nile, P Cummins, G Maxwell, M Marsh, J Pattinson, M Starc, M Stoinis, M Wade, S Watson, D Warner. - AFP

C R I C K E T

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Van Niekerk collapses after a sensational 400m sprint

BEIJING: Wayde van Niekerk lit up the Bird’s Nest with a stunning 400 metres run to win a fi rst sprint gold for South Africa and cap a night of exceptional performances at the World Athletic Champion-ships on Wednesday.

Two of those came in the men’s javelin and women’s 3,000 me-tres steeplechase where Kenyans Julius Yego and Hyvin Jepkemoi added another two gold medals to the East African powerhouse’s al-ready considerable haul.

The scourge of doping returned to haunt the sport, however, when two of their compatriots were provision-ally banned for failing drug tests on the eve of the championships.

Part two of the sprint showdown between Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin, which for many has encap-sulated the doping crisis that has tarnished the sport over the last month, also moved a step closer.

The fact that Bolt has never failed

a dope test while Gatlin has served two drug bans provided the back-drop for their fi rst meeting in Sun-day’s 100 metres fi nal, from which the Jamaican emerged triumphant.

Gatlin’s run of 19.87 seconds to win his 200m semi-fi nal on Wednesday was the second fastest ever at that stage of a world cham-pionships, however, and will give him confi dence he can end Bolt’s six-year grip on the title in Thurs-day’s fi nal. “I think that I have a lot left in the tank,” the 33-year-old American said. “I just have to con-trol the race ... and I think we’ll be able to bring it home.”

Bolt also looked in fi ne form, though, and took time to chat

to a fellow competitor as he ap-proached the line to win his heat with his fi rst sub-20 second time of the year (19.95).

“I can’t complain,” he said. “I’m happy with my form. I just did what I had to do.”

For once, though, the 29-year-old was not the most impressive performer on the track with that honour going to Van Niekerk.

Racing against a fi eld contain-ing a record fi ve sprinters who had run under 44 seconds, the 23-year-old Van Niekerk dominated the contest from start to fi nish and crossed the line in 43.48 seconds.

The eff ort of running a time that only American world record

holder Michael Johnson and his compatriots Butch Reynolds and Jeremy Wariner have bettered took its toll, however.

Quality raceVan Niekerk collapsed on the track at the end of the race and was tak-en to hospital with his “vital signs unstable”, the IAAF’s medical delegate said, leaving runner-up LaShawn Merritt to hail the qual-ity of the race.

“It’s crazy. We’re warriors. We’re animals,” said the American 2013 world champion, whose personal best 43.65 was good enough only for silver ahead of Olympic cham-pion Kirani James (43.78).

Van Niekerk was discharged just before midnight.

While Van Niekerk’s time was the best since 2007, you would have to go back as far as 2001 to witness a javelin fl ying as far as the 92.72 me-tres Yego managed to give Kenya its fi rst world title in a fi eld event.

To the diminutive Yego, who learned the javelin from watching videos on the internet after being rejected as a runner, fell the duty of reacting to the positive dope tests of his teammates Koki Manunga and Joyce Zakary.

“It’s a shame,” he said. “I always believe we can win clean so it’s a shame to them.”

Jepkemoi produced a perfor-mance more typical of her nation to win the steeplechase, outsprint-ing favourite Habiba Ghribi of Tunisia and German Gesa Krause down the home straight to win Kenya’s sixth gold in nine minutes, 19.11 seconds.

Zuzana Hejnova already knew her race was won when she went over the fi nal obstacle in the 400 metres hurdles and the Czech, who ran the year’s best time of 53.50 seconds, became the fi rst woman to successfully defend the world title in the event. A thrilling women’s pole vault contest featur-ing Cuba’s Yarisley Silva, Brazil’s Fabiana Murer and Greece’s Niko-leta Kyriakopoulou kept the crowd engrossed all evening in the gaps between the other events.

Silva took the title when she cleared 4.90 metres at the third attempt, leaving Murer, one of her country’s best hopes of gold in ath-letics at next year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics, with silver and Kyriako-poulou claiming the bronze. - Reuters

Van Niekerk lit up

the Bird’s Nest with

a stunning 400

metres run to win a

fi rst sprint gold for

South Africa and cap

a night of exceptional

performances

SUPER SPRINT: South Africa’s Wayde Van Niekerk, fi fth from right, crosses the fi nishline to win the men’s 400 metres race at the IAAF World Athletic Championships at the

“Bird’s Nest” National Stadium in Beijing on Wendesday. – AFP

UNSTABLE: Wayde van Niekerk is taken away by the medical team after owinning the men’s 400 me-

tres fi nal in Beijing on Wednesday. – Reuters

Two Kenyans fail drugs tests, says IAAFBEIJING: Two Kenyans have failed pre-competition drugs tests at the World Athletic Champion-ships in Beijing and have been provisionally suspended, the IAAF announced on Wednesday.

Koki Manunga and Joyce Zakary “have accepted provisional sus-pensions following positive sam-ples provided in Beijing on the 20th and 21st of August respectively”, the IAAF said in a statement.

Track and fi eld’s world govern-ing body said the Kenyan pair had been tested at the athletes’ hotel before their competition started as part of “targeted tests”.

Zakary clocked a national re-cord of 50.71 seconds in Monday’s

fi rst round of the women’s 400m at the Bird’s Nest, but did not start the semifi nal on Tuesday for which she had qualifi ed.

African silver medallist Manun-ga, however, failed to make it out of her fi rst round of the 400m hurdles on Sunday, timing 58.96sec to fi nish 35th out of 37 athletes competing.

“It’s a shame for them,” said Ken-yan teammate Julius Yego, who won gold in the men’s javelin with a monster third round eff ort of 92.72 metres, the longest in 14 years.

“In sport you win clean so it’s a shame for them. I can’t make any more comment on that.”

Athletics Kenya, the nation’s governing body, confi rmed that it

had been “informed by the IAAF of the positive tests returned by two of its athletes, Koki Manunga and Joyce Zakary”.

“Athletics Kenya has already met with the IAAF and the ath-letes involved, and has begun in-vestigating the situation which led to these results and appropriate follow-up action will be taken in Kenya,” track and fi eld’s governing body in the east African running powerhouse added in a statement.

“In the meantime, Athletics Kenya will provide full support and cooperation to the IAAF dur-ing results management process.”

Kenya was rocked this year when marathon star Rita Jeptoo

was banned for two years after be-ing caught doping with the banned blood-boosting hormone EPO.

Biggest nameJeptoo is the biggest name in Kenyan sports ever to have been caught, and the bust has been a major trauma for a country that idolises its medal-winning and record-breaking runners.

Top Kenyan athletes earlier this month called for the national gov-erning body, the International As-sociation of Athletics Federation and the world’s anti-doping body WADA to take action over reports of widespread doping.

Leaked results cited by German

broadcaster ARD and the Sunday Times claimed that more than 800 athletes, including 18 Kenyans, had “suspicious blood test results” between 2001 and 2012.

ARD alleged doping was ongo-ing in Kenya, and claimed there was “massive corruption” within the Kenyan set-up and “a desire to cover-up doping... to the summit of the Kenyan athletics federation”.

Athletics Kenya said it had “watched with grave concern the German TV ARD documentary”, calling the broadcast, which co-incided with the national trials for the world championships in Beijing, “extremely suspect and ill motivated”. - AFP

S H A M E F U L

Platini wants football at forefront of presidency debate

ZURICH: FIFA presidential candidate Michael Platini will publish his manifesto in the next six to eight weeks and wants to bring football back into the spotlight during the cam-paign, a source close to the for-mer French soccer star said on Wednesday.

Although Platini, the UEFA president, agrees that reform of scandal-plagued FIFA has to be the priority in the run-up to the election on Feb. 26, he also be-lieves it should not completely overshadow the sport itself, the source told Reuters.

Platini, who announced his intention to stand on July 29 and is all set to hold his fi rst media conference since then in Monaco on Friday, has spent the last few weeks meeting people outside soccer’s Euro-pean ruling body UEFA to test the water.

He believes the future of the World Cup, the international calendar, changes to the laws of the game and the role of the law-making body IFAB (Inter-national Football Association Board) should be part of the de-bate, the source said.

Triple punishmentPlatini, a former France cap-tain, who was one of the most gifted midfi eld players of his generation, also wants to dis-cuss the reform of the transfer system and the role of agents.

One of Platini’s biggest gripes as UEFA president has been the so-called triple punishment in which a player who gives away a penalty is sent off and receives an automatic one-match ban.

Earlier this year, UEFA sent a proposal to IFAB for the end of the “triple punishment” system. However, the rule-making body agreed only to consider an end to the automatic suspension.

Platini is against the use of goal-line technology, which FIFA employs in its tourna-ments, and prefers the use of so-called additional as-sistant referees, one on each goal-line, to spot penalty-area infringements.

FIFA has not adopted the sys-tem and Platini has mockingly said that was because it was not FIFA chief Sepp Blatter’s idea.

Platini’s proposals on the World Cup could include expan-sion of the fi nals from the cur-rent 32 teams, the source said.

As UEFA president, he has already overseen an increase in the number of countries at the European championship fi nals from 16 to 24, starting from next year’s tournament in France.

Front-runnerThe move has been criticised for diluting the strength of com-petition, especially after a suc-cessful Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine where 16 seemed to be the ideal number.

Platini is seen as the front-runner in the bid to replace Blat-ter who will relinquish his man-date at the February 26 election. The source said the Frenchman wants to take his time over his manifesto and added he would travel widely from October.

Soccer’s world governing body has been plagued by alle-gations of corruption for years.

It was thrown into further turmoil in May when U.S. pros-ecutors indicted nine soccer offi cials and fi ve marketing and broadcasting company execu-tives over alleged off ences, in-cluding fraud, money-launder-ing and racketeering. - Reuters

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Leaders Sultanate of Oman excited to take part in Trofeo di Roma race

MUSCAT: Oman Sail’s “Sultan-ate of Oman” GC32 crew are riding high as they kick off their Trofeo di Roma race with a lead in the 2015 Bullitt GC32 Racing Tour rank-ings, a win in last week’s Extreme Sailing Series and some exciting news from the foiling racing cir-cuit adding extra impetus to their preparations.

Fresh from their Extreme 40 victory in St Petersburg, Russia, Leigh McMillan and his prolifi c squad of racing professionals ar-rived at the historic port of Civi-tavecchia, 45 minutes drive north-west of Italy’s capital ready to make the switch to hydrofoils.

The Trofeo di Roma is the fi rst event to be held since it was an-nounced that the Extreme Sailing Series will be phasing out their Ex-treme 40 catamarans, which have no foils, to the airborne GC32s, re-

garded as the future of high perfor-mance multihull racing.

The news was welcomed by Mc-Millan, one of the most respected multihull skippers in the world who is currently leading both circuits.

“We are thrilled the Extreme Sailing Series is heading in the di-rection of foiling using the GC32s,” said McMillan.

“Having raced the GC32 this season we love the boat and think it has a lot of potential so we are looking forward having more boats in the fl eet and a full circuit so we can get more experience in foiling which is where the sport is going. It will be amazing for spectators and great fun for the sailors so it is very exciting and a real boost.”

Arriving in Civitavecchia to prepare for the fourth event in the 2015 Bullitt Racing Tour, the Sultanate of Oman crew found a venue fi lled with Mediterranean sea breeze.

Alongside the boatyard is the ‘Terminal del Gusto’, a food fair showcasing the best in Italian food but despite that distraction, it was

the wind that was clocked before anything else.

“Civitavecchia looks like a love-ly venue and we think we’ll get a thermal sea breeze between 10 and 15 knots which will make for great foiling conditions,” said Pe-ter Greenhalgh, who with Nasser Al Mashari and Ed Smyth is a key member of McMillan’s crew on

both the “Sultanate of Oman” and the Extreme 40 The Wave, Muscat.

“This is strong fl eet with Alin-ghi and Spindrift on top form and other teams raising their game so it will be a real test but hopefully we can quickly fi nd our feet and get up to speed. Our aim is most defi -nitely to win.”

“Sultanate of Oman” sit at the top of the Bullitt GC32 Racing Tour table with a one point lead over Alinghi and Spindrift just four points adrift but as usual the competition is set to be tight after the three previous events in Aus-tria, Cowes and Kiel producing three diff erent winners.

McMillan’s team, which also fea-tures multihull specialist Alister Richardson, won the opening event in Traunsee in Austria then were runners-up at the Cowes Cup in the Isle of Wight after McMillan broke his wrist during a manoeuvre.

His replacement Paul Camp-bell James, the British America’s Cup sailor was called up again to replace Greenhalgh in Hamburg where “Sultanate of Oman” fi n-ished in third place.

Racing in the Trofeo di Roma, which is the GC32 Racing Tour’s fi rst event to be held in Italy, takes place over August 27-30, with the start of racing at 1130 daily. Large crowds are expected since the Luna Rossa team’s challenge for the America’s Cup in San Fran-cisco in 2013 captured thousands of new sailing fans though few of them have witnessed the spectac-ular foiling.

Current overall ranking of GC32 Racing Tour: 1. Sultanate of Oman 6; 2. Alinghi 7; 3. Spindrift racing 10; 4. ARMIN STROM Sail-ing Team 11; 5. Team ENGIE 12; 6. ‘Team Argo 32’ 17.

The Trofeo di Roma

is the fi rst event to

be held since it was

announced that the

Extreme Sailing

Series will be phasing

out their Extreme 40

catamarans, which

have no foils, to the

airborne GC32s

‘THRILLED’: Leigh McMillan said ‘we are looking forward having more boats in the fl eet and a full circuit so we can get more experience

in foiling which is where the sport is going’. – Supplied photo

Shounak outlasts Sai Prem to retain titleMUSCAT: Defending champion Shounak Kelkar retained the boys under-13 singles title at the An-nual Table Tennis Tournament organised by the Indian Social Club Muscat and co-sponsored by Muscat Insurance Services (MIS) and Oman United Insurance Company (OUIC).

In the best of seven-games-fi nal, the top seeded lefthander played with sound temperament and held his nerves when the chips were down to register a bril-liant 11-5, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-2 victory over giant-killer M.V. Sai Prem to claim the title.

Sai Prem got into his groove in the third game which he won after Shounak had saved three game points. A keen tussle ensued in the fourth game which Sai Prem won to level at two-games-all. In the fi fth game, Sai Prem lost his way and squandered a 7-1 lead.

Shounak played cautiously as Sai Prem committed forehand er-rors. Shounak reeled off the next

fi ve points to narrow the defi -cit. Sai Prem attached and held a 10—8 lead but failed to wrap it up as Shounak ralled to win the game. Shounak dictated terms in the sixth game as Sai Prem lost di-rection and committed too many unforced errors as Shounak won the game in style to lift the boys under-13 crown.

P. Sai Saran and Sanskar Dubey have qualifi ed for the semifi nals of the boys under-15 singles after completed their league encountes in Group-A. A three-way tie has resulted in Group-B of the same event where Yash Tanna, Shounak Kelkar and Sai Prem are tied in the number of victories and the num-ber of games won. The three will play a leaugue between them to arrive at a winner and runner-up.

In the boys under-17 round-robin league, Kenneth Vaz has topped Group A with three vic-tories and Subash Pillai with two wins looks certain to qualify for the semifi nals.

I S C T A B L E T E N N I S

U-13 FINALISTS: Shounak Kelkar, right, and M.V. Sai Prem.

Advocaat wants reinforcementsLONDON: Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat says he needs more reinforcements to fi x the Black Cats’ leaky defence which has con-ceded 11 goals in four games this campaign.

Sunderland, who added three defenders this summer, let in three goals against League Two side Exeter City in the League cup on Tuesday before Jermain Defoe’s hat-trick secured their 6-3 win.

“I’m happy with the six goals, but totally unhappy with the way we gave three goals away. That has to improve and the players know that,”

the 67-year-old Dutchman was quoted as saying by the Sunderland Echo. “I am wondering if it is to do with concentration, sharpness — it cost us three goals, and that’s a wor-ry. And it’s not the fi rst time.”

The Black Cats have been heav-ily linked with Man City’s Belgian defender Jason Denayer, but Ad-vocaat played down the move.

“There has been talk about the young guy from Manchester City, but he is going to another club,” said Advocaat. “We are still look-ing, but when (Younes) Kaboul is fi t, he’s a very good player.” - Reuters

S U N D E R L A N D M A N A G E R

Balotelli to have good behaviour clause included in Milan contractMILAN: Maverick striker Mario Balotelli will have a good be-haviour clause inserted into his contract with AC Milan, ban-ning extravagant haircuts and clothing and committing him to a healthy lifestyle.

Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport said on Wednesday that the club’s chief executive Adriano Galliani had based the clause on regulations which are applied to people who serve in the Italian air force.

The 25-year-old, repeatedly criticised for his poor work rate, is set to return to Milan a year after leaving for Liverpool, where he had a dismal season.

He underwent a medical in Milan on Tuesday ahead of an unexpected loan move, although the deal has not yet been offi cially confi rmed.

On Wednesday the controver-sial Italian said a fond farewell to Liverpool on his Facebook page.

“I’m grateful to Liverpool FC and Liverpool fans for the time and opportunities you gave me,” he wrote. “It’s not a goodbye but rath-

er a farewell. I’ll be supporting you guys all the way in every competi-tion... unless you face AC Milan.”

According to Gazzetta, Balotelli must not damage the image of the club and his Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posts will be close-ly monitored.

He will be banned from extrav-agant haircuts and clothing, from smoking and from visiting night clubs and must turn up on time

for training. His drinking will also be limited. Balotelli’s fi rst spell at Milan was relatively successful and uneventful with a respectable scoring rate, although there were some misdemeanors.

He lost his temper in front of the cameras after his perfor-mance in was criticised by Ital-ian television pundits, telling his interviewers that they did not understand football and throwing

his microphone down.He was also booked for making a

vulgar gesture at Cagliari support-ers, served two three-match bans and was caught smoking in the toi-let of a train by a ticket collector.

However, these incidents paled in comparison to some of his an-tics at Manchester City earlier in his career, where he famously set fi re to his house after letting off fi reworks in his bathroom. - Reuters

M A V E R I C K S T R I K E R

I’m grateful to Liverpool FC and Liverpool fans

for the time and opportunities you gave me.

It’s not a goodbye but rather a farewell

Mario Balotelli

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SUPER EXCITED SERENA

‘STILL LIVING

THE DREAM’

Serena Williams enters the US Open making a case for herself not only as the great-

est women’s tennis player in histo-ry, but possibly the greatest woman in sports history. The 33-year-old star has sustained a level of excel-lence few can rival, from winning her fi rst Grand Slam singles title as a teen prodigy at the 1999 US Open to collecting her 21st last month at Wimbledon, completing her sec-ond career “Serena Slam” of hold-ing all four major trophies at once.

Winning a record-tying fourth consecutive US Open women’s title, a feat last achieved by Chris Evert in 1978, would give Williams something she has never achieved before -- a calendar year Grand Slam -- and link her with only a handful of the game’s greatest leg-ends, men or women.

But it’s not something world No. 1 Williams wants to contemplate just yet. It’s like pondering a good book before the last chapter is written, especially as Williams is penning an epic tale that doesn’t appear set to end anytime soon.

“I just want to play tennis,” Wil-liams said. “I don’t necessarily want to hear about this history and that history, because I just want to be able to do the best that I can. I want to be able to win and I don’t want any distractions. That’s how I’m going to handle it.”

When the year’s fi nal Grand Slam event starts on Monday in New York, Williams will be a huge favorite. She has won Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open six times each and collected three French Open crowns.

“I compete a lot against my standards,” Williams said. “I have such high standards for myself and I expect the best from me and nothing less.”

Matching her “Serena Slam” run from the 2002 French Open through the 2003 Australian Open required Williams to endure nu-merous three-set fi ghts on London grass, but she emerged triumphant.

“To have all four at the same time, two times in one career, that totally means a lot,” Williams said. “It was really important for me to do that.”

Williams is only one shy of Steffi Graf’s Open Era career record of 22 titles and the retired German legend tweeted that Williams’ feat was “incredible” and an “amazing accomplishment.”

“I see her post things about me and that’s pretty awesome,” Wil-liams said. “I really am still like a kid when I see her or I see posts. I get super excited. I’m still living the dream.”

‘Don’t feel my age’ At 33, Williams is the oldest wom-en’s world No. 2 — no man so old has won a Grand Slam title since 1972 — and her best might be yet to come.

“I’ve defi nitely gotten a little bet-ter,” Williams said. “I really don’t feel my age. It’s gratifying at what-ever age you achieve it.”

Williams is three Slam singles titles shy of matching Australian Margaret Court’s all-time record

and would join a rare calendar-year Slam list that includes Graf, Court, Maureen Connolly, Don Budge and Rod Laver by winning at Flushing Meadows.

“I feel OK about my game,” Wil-liams said. “I’m always looking to improve. I’m never comfortable. That’s when I think you are sus-ceptible to losing.”

She became a US Open champi-on at age 17, only the second Afri-can-American woman after Althea Gibson to claim a Grand Slam title. Williams, coached by her father Richard, was toughened on the streets of Los Angeles and by prac-tices with older sister Venus, a seven-time major champion.

Maturity brought a fashion de-sign business and a foot in the en-tertainment realm as an actress, but her domination when focused on tennis has made Williams the likely target for a new generation of record chasers yet to come.

“I think it will be great,” Wil-liams said of such days. “I think it’s amazing. I think I would be re-ally supportive, like Steffi is of me. It’s such a great feeling. I always want to see people do well and be successful. I think it will be really cool.” - AFP

The 33-year-old star has

sustained a level of excellence

few can rival, from winning her

fi rst Grand Slam singles title as

a teen prodigy at the 1999 US

Open to collecting her 21st last

month at Wimbledon

I don’t necessarily

want to hear about this

history and that history,

because I just want to

be able to do the best

that I can. I want to be

able to win and I don’t

want any distractions

Serena Williams

Federer, Nadal at US Open crossroadsNEW YORK: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, with 31 major titles between them, head for the US Open with their Grand Slam ca-reers at the crossroads.

Despite turning 34, Federer was an impressive winner of a seventh Cincinnati Masters title last weekend, seeing off world No. 1 — and US Open favourite — Novak Djokovic in the fi nal.

It was the Swiss star’s 87th tour title and revenge for losing a sec-ond successive Wimbledon fi nal to the Serb last month.

But Federer has stumbled badly in New York in recent years.

A fi ve-time champion from 2004-2008, he was runner-up to Juan Martin del Potro in 2009 but hasn’t been back to the fi nal since.

His record at the Grand Slams in 2015 has also been mixed.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion may have at least reached the fi nal at the All Eng-land Club, but that run was pre-ceded by a shock third round exit to Italian journeyman Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open, his earliest in Melbourne in 14 years.

He then endured a quarterfi nal loss at Roland Garros to compa-triot Stan Wawrinka.

Federer’s last Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in 2012 and if he wins the US Open this year, he would be the oldest champion since 35-year-old Ken Rosewall back in 1970.

“I haven’t been in a fi nal (in New York) since 2009. So I got my work cut out,” said Federer, who was

beaten by eventual champion Ma-rin Cilic in the semifi nals last year.

In contrast to the Swiss player’s staying power is Nadal’s swift, brutal decline.

The 29-year-old Spaniard, the 2010 and 2013 champion in New York, has endured a tough year, the knee joints and wrists looking stiff er and weaker.

After being deposed as French Open champion — his quarter-fi nal loss to Djokovic was only his second ever defeat in Paris — Na-dal slumped to 10 in the world, his lowest ranking for a decade.

He has recovered to eight, but he is no longer the player that once struck terror into rivals.

‘No time to cry’ Nadal has lost 14 times already this year compared to 11 in the whole of 2014, seven in 2013 and just six in 2012.

He sat out the 2012 and 2014 US Opens because of injury.

At Wimbledon, he was knocked out in the second round by Ger-many’s Dustin Brown while his

North American hardcourt sea-son ended in a quarterfi nal loss to Kei Nishikori in Montreal and a third round exit against Feliciano Lopez in Cincinnati.

“I never consider myself a big, big star. So I appreciate when all the good things are happening to me,” said Nadal.

“I am having a tough year, yes. Not a terrible year. I cannot make a drama about these kind of things. This is not the moment to cry.”

Djokovic already has the Aus-tralian Open and Wimbledon ti-tles under his belt in 2015, taking his majors total to nine.

The US Open champion in 2011, Djokovic was runner-up in 2012 and 2013 before suff ering a shock semifi nal loss to Nishikori 12 months ago.

The 28-year-old boasts a 56-5 record this year but two of those defeats have come this month — to Andy Murray in the Montreal Masters fi nal and then against Federer in Cincinnati.

He has also been troubled by an elbow injury.

“I played a couple good matches and couple not-so-good matches,” said Djokovic, whose rolleroaster career at the majors has also seen him lose eight fi nals. The condi-tions in New York suit me a little bit better, so I look forward to it.”

Murray, the world No. 3, won in New York in 2012, ending Brit-ain’s 76-year wait for a Grand Slam men’s singles champion.

He has made at least the quar-terfi nals in New York in the last four years. The 28-year-old could set a record for the largest payout in tennis history at the US Open — $4.3 million. That would be $3.3 million for winning the tourna-ment and a $1 million bonus for winning the US Open Series title for performances in the hardcourt warm-up events.

Outside of the ‘Big Four’, Stan Wawrinka, the French Open champion, has made the semi-fi nals in New York on just one oc-casion in 10 visits.

Defending champion Cilic fac-es the task of proving he’s not a one Slam wonder.

The 26-year-old world number nine only started his season in March after suff ering a shoulder injury and has yet to make a fi nal this year. World No. 4 Nishikori became the fi rst Asian man to reach a Grand Slam fi nal in New York last year.

But despite winning in Wash-ington and making the semifi nals in Montreal, the 25-year-old Jap-anese was forced to skip Cincin-nati with a left hip injury. - AFP

TENN I S

Federer’s last Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in

2012 and if he wins the US Open this year, he would

be the oldest champion since 35-year-old Ken

Rosewall back in 1970

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

CultureSECTIONC L I F E STY L E T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

OMAN’SCURRENCY

TRAIL The Oman Currency Museum

at the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) complex

is a must visit place for those who are keen to know about the mon-

etary history of the Sultanate

STORY:

T.A. AMEERUDHEEN

PHOTOS: SHABIN E

LIFESTYLEC8 T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

It shows various stages of coin pro-duction, where silversmiths smelt the metal, make coins, weigh them, and cart them to the Bait Al Mal, the state treasury.

“It is an imaginary piece of art on manual coin minting. The real exhibits here have been divided into three sections which will help you learn about the evolu-tion of Omani currency and Oman’s history. Display cabi-nets are fi tted with buttons and a screen. By pressing the appropri-ate buttons you can call up an im-age of the currency one wishes to view on the screen, together with details of its history,” says Ibrahim Ahmed Al Fadhli, curator at the Oman Currency Museum.

Coins that predated the Holy Mission of The Prophet (PBUH), and oldest coins minted in Macedo-nia, Greece, Rome, and India are the top exhibits in the category dedicated to the ‘Old, Islamic and Modern Currency’. But the surprise package here is the Byzantine Dinars and Sassanid Dirhams with Christian and Ma-gian symbols. “Those coins were popular in Arabia as The Prophet (PBUH) allowed to use them,” says Ibrahim, who pursues his Masters degree in coins minted in Oman.

The currencies also give an in-sight into Oman’s global partners in trade and commerce. “Oman’s trade and economic relations with the rest of the world fl ourished after the ascension of the Al Busaid Dynasty. Commercial dealings were mostly done with Maria Teresa currency minted in Europe from pure silver. Traders also preferred currencies from other countries, including United States, Spain, Iran, India and East Africa,” says Ibrahim.

Legal tender notes of the In-dian Empire, which were in circulation in Muscat and the Sultanate of Oman from 1927 to 1948, and Sultanate of Zanzi-bar and Pemba, are prominently displayed among the banknotes.

The museum gives due impor-tance to the Omani currency, which was fi rst issued on May 7, 1970 un-der the supervision of Muscat Cur-rency Authority. “Those who visit the museum can see all the fi ve issues of Omani currency and the changes they went through during the last fi ve decades, including the name change from Rial Saidi to Rial Omani and the introduction of the Royal Signature of His Majesty Sul-tan Qaboos Bin Said,” he says.

The commemorative section has plenty of priceless medals and coins

made of gold, silver and bronze, with themes ranging from wildlife to natural beauty. “Many of these coins commemorate Omani and inter-national events, such as the call for childcare and the anniversary of the United Nations Organisaton.

Coins were also issued during the National Days and special years, such as The Year of Agriculture, In-dustry, Youth and Heritage,” says Ibrahim. But the important medal of the lot is the one that marks the 250th Anniversary of the Rule of the Al Busaid Dynasty of Oman. The medal carries the names of all Oman Sultans, beginning with Sultan Ahmed bin Said to His Maj-esty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said.

If seeing the collection wasn’t enough, coin collectors can also buy some of the commemorative coins, bank notes, and old circula-tion coins to take home.

The Central Bank of Oman (CBO), which began its opera-

tion on April 1, 1975, functions as an advisor to the Gov-

ernment in all economic aff airs, especially monetary and

fi nancial matters, in addition to its established functions

as the offi cial bank of the government. It receives and ac-

cepts deposits as the ‘bank of the banks’ from commercial

and specialised banks operating in the country and from

foreign banks and international monetary institutions. It

also provides credit to local banks, and handles issuance

and control of the national currency.

The CBO launched the Oman Currency Museum on April

19, 1999 as a source of information for anyone who wanted

to learn more about the monetary history of the Sultanate. ameerudheen@timesofoman.com

PLAN A VISITThe Oman Currency Museum is inside the Central Bank of Oman campus. The facility is open from 9am to 1pm on weekdays. Visitors should carry valid identity cards (resident card, preferably) to gain entry. Big groups should take prior permission before visiting the museum. Entry is free for children while adults have to pay 250 baizas. Visitors can also watch a 10-minute movie on Oman’s monetary history in the lecture room. Contact: +968-2477 7693.

CENTRAL BANK OF OMAN & OMAN CURRENCY MUSEUM

A huge painting of Oman Mint House welcomes visitors to the Oman Currency Museum at the sprawling Central Bank of Oman campus.

CURRENCY NOTES ON DISPLAY

• Zanzibar collection (1908/1916/1920)

• Indian Rupee (issued by the Government of India (British) 1927-1948)

• Indian Rupee (issued by the Reserve Bank of India 1949)

• Gulf Rupee (issued by the Government of India (1957)

• Saidi Rial (issued by the Muscat Monetary Authority 1970)

• Oman Rial (issued by the Omani Monetary Council 1972)

• Oman Rial (issued by the Central Bank of Oman – 1976)

• Omani Rial (issued by the Central Bank of Oman – 1985)

• Omani Rial (issued by the Central Bank of Oman – 1995)

LIFESTYLEC9T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

SO TO SPEAK

SALEHAL-SHAIBANY

Too Close TogetherI blame the congested ur-

ban life for many of our problems these days. We live uncomfortably close together divided by thin

concrete walls. We may toler-ate the noise from the house next door during the day but we need the night to be peaceful.

Last month, as I was prepared to go to sleep just after midnight, the peace of the night was shat-tered by loud music coming from a house celebrating a wedding. They were having their fun as the world was starting to take a break from a busy routine. About fi fty people were on the terrace mak-ing as much noise as possible, making sure the whole neigh-bourhood was aware of their party. My fi rst impulse was to call the police but I thought it would not do any good. I went to bed knowing sleep would not come easy. I lay awake with the tempo of music vibrating the very fl oor my bed stood on. I was a guest to a wedding party that I was not in-vited but forced to take part until two in the morning.

Keeping silent to disrupting actions of others is common. I guess most of us are tolerant and in doing so we allow ourselves to suff er silently. A week later, two teenagers decided to have some fun in the middle of the night. They made their presence felt with the wheels of their cars squealing as they drove fast on the narrow roads.

I parted the curtain and peered outside in the dark. The light from the half moon was shining on two cars racing side by side at break neck speed. They disap-peared around a bend and then one of them came back spinning a full circle before straightening up and narrowly missing hitting a tree. The second car followed behind in hot pursuit and did a similar spin, straightened up and the driver drove straight towards a graveyard compound. I watched in horror as the car ploughed on the brick wall. There was a terri-ble noise as the head lamps picked up dust, lifting up in the air mixed with grey smoke erupting from the radiator, I guessed I acted on

impulse and rushed out of the house. I was not alone. My neigh-bours were outside making their way to the car. Miraculously, the young driver staggered out from the metal and brick ruins looking very dazed. His racing friend did not even bother to stop and try to help. He sped away leaving his friend facing the music. However,

the young man recovered quickly and started to walk away from the scene. I learned later that he did not have a driving licence nor was the car his own.

I went to sleep that night know-ing that, although the two men broke the peace of the night, I har-boured no ill-feeling against them. Sometimes, disruptions come to an end peacefully but in that oc-casion it nearly concluded in a disaster. I would have felt guilty if the accident had caused a fatal-ity but I slept easy knowing that all ended well. The following morn-ing, I shared some thoughts with one of my neighbours. We agreed that not all the nights are as peace-ful as they used to be in our street. As a matter of fact, the days are quieter and uneventful. Before we parted company, I looked at the broken wall and the overturned white car. The scene was strong evidence that there was no defi ni-tive plan for disruption. Everybody deserves some peace and quiet during the night. Anyone who is in-sensitive to that basic need does so at his or her own peril.

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Everybody deserves some

peace during the night.

Anyone who is insensitive to

that basic need does so at

his/her own peril

Cumberbatch’s biggest fan ishis mother

Benedict Cumberbatch has wooed audiences the world over with his prow-ess on screen, but one of his biggest fans is his mother. The actor, who essayed the role of Hamlet on stage at the Barbican theatre here, made his mother, actress Wanda Ventham ‘extraor-dinarily proud’, reports mir-ror.co.uk.

Speaking after his perfor-mance, Ventham said: “He was quite lively growing up, but I thought that was phe-nomenal.”

The ‘Sherlock’ star will be playing the lead role in the Shakespeare drama until the end of October. The Imitation Game star’s parents joined a host of celebrities, including his wife Sophie Hunter, in the audience.

Mendes sparks engagement rumours

Eva Mendes has added fuel to rumours of her getting engaged to actor boyfriend Ryan Gosling. The piece of jewellery she wore on her right hand was a giant emerald ring. She was fi rst spotted wearing the bling on July 25 when promot-ing cosmetics giant Estee Lauder’s new Dimensions Skincare line at a mall in Florida, reports aceshow-biz.com. The 41-year-old has been fl ashing the spec-ulated engagement ring in photographs she shared on Instagram. Neither Mendes nor Gosling has addressed the rumours. The actress’ representative also has not yet made any comment.

Chris Brown gets Venus De Milo tattoo on head Chris Brown has added another tattoo to his collec-tion of body inks. The Loyal hitmaker has had a Venus de Milo tattooed on the back of his head. He showed off his latest ink on photo-sharing website Instagram before deleting the post, reports aceshowbiz.com. Venus de Milo is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of an-cient Greek sculptor. -IANS

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Laboratory 24566435

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TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily

06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily

08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri

13:00 Sohar 15:45 Daily

13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily

16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily

16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily

14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily

08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily

14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (ROUTE 62)

06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily

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TO MARMUL-SALALAH (ROUTE 100)

07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily

10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily

10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily

19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily

SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)

06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily

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13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur

13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur

15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily

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TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily

07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily

07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily

05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily

05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily

07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily

13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri

13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily

13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily

13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily

17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily

06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily

15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily

14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

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12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily

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15:00 Salalah 07:00 Daily

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07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily

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Hitman – Agent 47 (Action, Crime)(PG12)Cast : Rupert Friend, Hannah Ware, Zachary Quinto3:15, 7:45, 9:45, 11:45 pmThe Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Action)(12+)Cast : Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer05:00 pm /11:55 pmMission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2D)(Action, Adventure) (PG12)Cast: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy 05:15 pm Evolution Man (Animation)(3D) PGVoice Overs : Jamel Debbouze, Mélissa Theuriau, Arié Elmaleh1:00 pm /03:00 pmSouthpaw (Action, Drama)(15+)Cast : Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Oona LaurenceTimings : 01:00 pm /09:15 pm /11:45 pmNo Escape (Action, Thriller)(12+)Cast : Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Owen WilsonTimings : 01:30 pm /07:15 pmPhantom (Action, Drama)(HINDI) PGCast: Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Rajesh Tailang3:30 pm /06:15 pm /09:00 pm

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11:45 AM & 02:00, 05:00, 09:30 PMNo Escape – 2D (12+) Action, ThrillerCast - Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Owen Wilson3:20, 11:55 PMEvolution Man – 3D (PG) Animation 11:45 AM & 01:30, 05:15 PMLoham – 2D (TBC) ActionCast - Mohanlal, Andrea Jeremiah, Siddique4:15, 09:30 PMThani Oruvan – 2D (PG12) Action, RomanceCast: Jayam Ravi, Arvind Swamy, Nayanthara, Ganesh Venkatraman, 6:40 PMThe Man from U.N.C.L.E. – 2D (12+) ActionCast: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer12:45, 07:15, 11:55 PM

RUWISCREEN 1Phantom (Action) – PGCast: Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif2.30, 5.30, 8.30, 11.30 PMSCREEN 2Brothers (Drama/ Sports) – 12+Cast: Akshay Kumar, Jackie Shroff, Sidharth M3.30 PMHitman Agent 47 (Action/Crimer) – PG12Cast: Rupert Friend, Zachary Quinto, Hannah

6.30, 11.45 PMBaahubali: The Beginning (Action) – 12+Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka 9.00 PMSCREEN 3Baahubali: The Beginning (Action) – 12+3.30 PMKarachi To Lahore - Urdu(Comedy) – PGCast: Shehzad Sheikh, Ayesha OmerTiming: 6.15, 11.45 PMBrothers (Drama/ Sports) – 12+9.00 PM

SOHARMission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - 2D (PG12) Action; 04:30 PMThe Man from U.N.C.L.E. - 2D (12+) Action, 02:15 , 11:45 PMHitman Agent 47 - 2D (PG12) Action, Crime, Cast : Rupert Friend, Hannah Ware, Zachary 03:15 , 07:30 , 09:30 , 11:30 PMSouthpaw - 2D (15+) Action, Drama, Sport Cast : Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams 5:15 , 07:00 , 11:55 PMNo Escape - 2D (12+) Action, ThrillerCast : Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Owen Wilson2:30 , 06:30 , 09:50 PMEvolution Man - 3D (PG) Animation

3:00 , 04:45 PMHabib Al Arad - 2D (Arb) (TBC) DramaCast : Faisal Al Omeri & Abdullah Al Torkoman4:30 PMPhantom - 2D (H) (PG) Action, Drama, ThrillerCast: Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Rajesh Tailang 8:30, 11:15 PMLoham - 2D (M) (TBC) ActionCast: Mohanlal, Andrea Jeremiah, Siddique9:15 PM

BURAIMI

The Man from U.N.C.L.E – 2D (Action) 7:10PM (12+)Hitman Agent 47 – 2D (Action) (12+)Cast: Rupert Friend, Zachary Quinto, Hannah2:00, 3:35, 5:20, 9:45, 11:45PMStung – 2D (Comedy/Horror/Romance) (15+)Cast: Clifton Collins, Florentine, Matt O’Leary2:00, 7:20PMEvolution Man– 3D (Animation) (PG12)Cast: Jamel Debbouze, Melissa Theuriau, Patrice Thibaud3:45, 5:15PMNo Escape – 2D (Action / Thriller) (12+)Cast: Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Owen Wilson5:30, 11:45PMPhantom – 2D (Action / Thriller) (PG)

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif2:30, 7:05, 9:00, 11:30PMLoham – 2D (Thriller) (PG)Cast: Mohanlal, Andrea Jeremiah9:20PM

SURHitman Agent 47 (Action | Crime) (PG12) 05:45, 10:00, 11:55 PMNo Escape (Action | Thriller) (12+) CP#Cast: Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Owen Wilson5:00, 11:45 PMPhantom (Hindi) (Action | Drama) (PG) Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Rajesh Tailang12:00, 07:00, 09:30 PMEvolution Man (3D) (Animation) (PG) CP#2:15, 04:00 PMLoham (Mal) (Action) (TBC) CP#Cast: Mohanlal, Andrea Jeremiah, Siddique7:30 PMThe Man from U.N.C.L.E (Action) (12+) 2:30 PM

SALALAH

Hitman Agent 47 (2D) (PG12) (Action) 10:45AM/12:00/7:00/10:00/11:45PMSouthpaw (2D) (15+) (Action/Drama/Sport) Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, 2:00/7:45/9:40PMNo Escape (2D) (12+) (Action/Thriller) Cast: Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Owen Wilson10:00AM/3:30/11:55PMEvolution Man (2015) (Original French Movie) (3D) (PG) (Animation) 10:15AM/1:45PMPhantom (2D) (PG) (Hindi) (Action/Drama) Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Rajesh Tailang4:15/08:50/11:35PMLoham (2D) (TBC) (Malayalam) (Action) Cast: Mohanlal, Andrea Jeremiah, Siddique7:15PMThani Oruvan (2D) (PG12) (Tamil) (Action) Cast: Jayam Ravi, Arvind Swamy, Nayanthara, Ganesh Venkatraman,2:15PMWe Are Your Friends (2D) (15+) (Drama) Cast: Zac Efron, Wes Bentley, Emily12:30PMMission: Impossible- Rogue Nation (2D) 5:25PM (PG12) (Action) The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2D) (12+) (Action) Cast: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander11:50AM/05:05PM

BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking 24540855Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation 2D (Action, Adventure, Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy5.45 pm CP No: 1953 (PG12)Brothers (Hindi )( Thriller )Cast: Akshay Kumar, Jackie Shroff, Sidharth Malhotra1.30 p.mCP No: 2110 (12+) MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (Action /Adventure) Cast: Alicia Vikander, Henry Cavil, Armmie Hammer2.00 p.m. & 8.15 p.mCP NO: 2121 (12+)No Escape ( Action/ Thriller ) Cast: Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Owen Wilson4.15, 8.00, 10.00 & 11.55 p.m.CP No: 2128 ( 12+ )Stung ( Comedy/Romance/Horror ) Cast: Clifton Collins Jr., Jessica Cook, Tony de Maeyer4.00, 6.15, 10.15 & 11.55 pmCP No: 2129 ( 15+ )

STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776Website: www.isurf.co.om

Loham (Mal) ( ACT )Cast: Mohanlal, Andrea & Renji panikkar3-00 & 10-00 Pm At Cinema Main; 6-30 Pm At Cinema-2 Thani Oruvan (Tamil) (Act\Drama )Cast: Jayam Ravi,Nayanthara & Arvind Swami6-30 Pm Cinema Main; 3-30 & 9-30 Pm Cinema-2 ; 9-45 Pm At Cinema - 3Kick 2 ( Telugu ) ( Rom/Act)Cast: Ravi Teja & Rakul Preet Singh 3-45 & 6-45 Pm at Cinema- 3; 9-45 Pm Cinema- 4Madura Naranga (Mal) ( Rom/com )Cast: Kunchako Boban, Biju Menon & 3-45, 6-45 Pm At Cinema - 4NEXT CHANGE: Double Barrel (Mal) Programmes are subject to change

3:15, 7:45, 9:45, 11:45 pm 9:15 PM 2.30, 5.30, 8.30, 11.30 PM

@MGM @SHATTI @SOHAR @RUWI

Hitman – Agent 47 (Action, Crime)(PG12)Cast : Rupert Friend, Hannah Ware, Zachary Quinto

12;30PM & 9:30 PM

Southpaw(Action)(12+)Cast : Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams

Lohan - 2D (M) (PG) (Action)Cast : Mohanlal, Andrea Jeremiah, Siddique

Phantom (Action) – PGCast: Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif

PRAYER TIMINGS

Dhuhr 12.14pm

Asr 3.41pm

Maghrib 6.35pm

Isha 7.48pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 4.29am

WEATHER

42Maximum

33Minimum

TEMPERATURE

40-80%RELATIVE HUMIDITY

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 extra@timesofoman.com

WITH LOVE

JYOT MEHUL SHETHAugust 27, 2007

SAMRITHA KUMARAugust 28, 2007

LIFESTYLEC11T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

GHAWIBAZAAR

BUY LOCAL: KHANJARKhanjar is a symbolic weapon worn by Omani men. It represents national pride and ancient heritage and the traditions of the country. The dagger is carried in a sheath decorated in silver, on a belt similarly decorated in silver fi ligree. It can be seen in a number of important national symbols like the national emblem and national fl ag of Oman.

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WHATThe Omani Khanjar is distinguished from other types of daggers elsewhere by the artistic designs made of silver and precious hilts. It represents the ancient Omani culture and profi ciency of the Omani crafts-men inherited through generations. Hilt, sheath and blade are the three parts of an Omani Khanjar. The hilt is made of ivory, horn, or sandalwood. The sheath is made of a curved piece of wood covered with sil-ver while the blade is made of iron.

WHEREPeople from diff erent regions use diff erent types of

Khanjars. The Al Saidi Khanjar, worn by those who

have very high status in the community, is the costli-

est dagger in the market. The fi nely crafted variety

has intricate embroideries and designs which are

mostly geometrical with traces of fl oral patterns.

Khanjars manufactured by the craftsmen in Al Dahra

(Al Dahra Khanjar) are infl uenced by the Al Saidi and

Saudi Arabian dagger. The type of Khanjar found in

southern Oman is known as Dhofari Khanjar, while

the Sharqiyah Khanjar has a horn grip mounted

in silver and a collar made of embossed gold. The

Batinah Khanjar has a horn grip, covered with silver

ribbon work and a silver collar which is embossed

with scrolling foliage.

HOW MUCH The price depends on the design, embroidery and the

material used to make the hilt, sheath and blade. The

price ranges from OMR10 to OMR8,000.

Have a favourite Omani product or shop? Tell us about it: ameerudheen@timesofoman.com

Saif Ali on the hunt for good scriptsHe gave India a chic spy in

the form of Agent Vinod and went on to introduce the

zombie-comedy genre by producing Go Goa Gone. Actor-producer Saif Ali Khan says he is always on the lookout for good scripts and is “very keen” on looking for something spe-cial to make. The 45-year-old, who turned a producer with Love Aaj Kal in 2009, says he is eager to make a fi lm soon. “I am really looking for something special to make right now. I am not able to fi nd it yet, but looking very keenly,” Saif, who co-owns the Illuminati Films produc-tion house, said.

What’s a good script for the actor?“It depends on whatever touches

you or resonates with you at the time. Sometimes you try things for various reasons. It’s just an in-stinctive kind of a thing,” said the actor who has given back-to-back duds like Happy Ending, Hum-shakals and Bullett Raja.

“I’m completely open to anything, even books. Some books have really nice ideas,” said Saif, who will be soon seen in Kabir Khan’s directo-rial Phantom, based on S.Hussain Zaidi’s novel Mumbai Avengers.

The espionage drama revolves around global terrorism. “I am playing an ex-army offi cer, some-one who is thrown out of the army for cowardice. It’s a misun-derstanding and he lives alone in

Kashmir. His life is destroyed and then he gets a chance to win his honour back by going on this sui-cide mission. He accepts the job but he can’t get credit for it. That’s why it’s called ‘Phantom’,” he said.

Considering the genre of the fi lm, the audience can expect to see him in an high-on-action avatar.

“The action sequences are real as well as not real. A lot of it has mili-tary background ...big machine guns and big shootouts. There’s a lot of action in the movie but generally it’s quite realistic. A lot of physical fi t-ness was called for this role.

“Diet and exercises (were impor-tant), but also some kind of training with the weapons, like how to shoot

them a little more professionally,” said the actor, who had earlier es-sayed the role of an army offi cer in J.P. Dutta’s 2003 fi lm LOC Kargil.

Phantom, which will hit the screens today, also required him to have a rugged look, and Saif sport-ed it even during its promotions. “There are many ways a person can change appearance depending on the role’s requirement. But gener-ally speaking, a beard does make you look a bit older. Of course, I will let go of it soon. I will be happy to. In fact, I am dying to shave. But they told me not to shave during promo-tions,” said the actor, who has been sporting the bearded look for long. — IANS

B O L L Y W O O D N E W S

Aishwarya Rai makes Bollywood comeback

Beauty queen-turned-actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is returning to the big screen after almost fi ve years but

she claims that she didn’t feel that she was absent from the industry.

“I haven’t felt being absent, though going by the time and the number of releases that we do have, of course, I wasn’t making mov-ies. But a lot of ladies here who’ve completely experienced what I’m wonderfully feeling right now will agree that we have no concept of time. We don’t realise how time fl ies by,” she said to queries on her absence at the trailer launch of the much-anticipated Jazbaa directed by Sanjay Gupta.

Her last role was as a caretaker to Hrithik Roshan in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish. She was initially going to star in Mad-hur Bhandarkar’s Heroine but backed out due to her pregnancy and the role went to Kareena Kapoor. Duties as a mother to three-year-old Aaradhya kept her busy all these years.

“Being a working mother, I re-ally did not delve into this absence

factor. And probably that’s why I haven’t necessarily focused on the term ‘comeback’. There’s no going away from it and running away from it. And it will forever be the comeback fi lm. So I’m not denying it but when I turn around and say that I haven’t felt it, that’s just the way it is,” said Aishwarya.

Jazbaa sees Aishwarya in the role of a lawyer stuck in a conspir-acy. Irrfan Khan plays a cop and it also stars Jackie Shroff , Shabana Azmi and Chandan Roy Sanyal among others.

Versatile actor Irrfan Khan, who also plays a major role in Jazbaa, said he never felt the movie was Aishwarya’s come-back as she didn’t go anywhere. “I don’t consider this is a come-back since I never felt that she ever went anywhere.” To another query, he replied, “There is noth-ing wrong with getting sidelined. It depends on the person because of whom you get sidelined. Get-ting sidelined due to Aishwarya is a beautiful thing.”

He also said he was always ea-ger to work with Aishwarya but his respect for her has got further

enhanced during the course of the shooting. “One of the major rea-sons to do the fi lm was Aishwarya. I was looking forward to getting to know her and watching her style of working closely. Nothing could be more exhilarating than seeing a mother taking care of her child and simultaneously working. We have just completed the shooting of the fi lm and it was a beautiful day and a great experience. It’s the kind of memory that I will cherish.”

Meanwhile, Mary Kom director Omung Kumar said convincing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to do his biopic on Sarabjit Singh was not at all diffi cult as she agreed in just 15 minutes. “We directly approached Aishwarya as I know her since a long time. After meeting her, she agreed to do the fi lm in just 15 min-utes as the role was demanding and she could see herself in the role. So she instantly said yes.” The biopic is from the point of view of Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur, to be played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who en-dured severe hardship in trying to get her brother released. The title role will be played by Randeep Hooda. — IANS

I haven’t felt being absent,

though going by the time

and the number of releases

that we do have, of course, I

wasn’t making movies. But

a lot of ladies here who’ve

completely experienced

what I’m wonderfully feeling

right now will agree that we

have no concept of time

LIFESTYLEC12 T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

OUDOud is believed to be the oldest musical instrument and ancestor of the modern guitar. The earliest proof of its existence can be found in an excavated cylindrical seal from the Uruk Period in Mesopotamia, which dates back almost 5000 years. Many con-sider Oud as the ‘king of instruments’ as it tells the stories of its time through melodious music. Variations of the Oud were found all across the Middle East, from the classical Arabic Oud of Iraq to the Turkish variation called Kopuz. Oud has a special place in the Gulf countries. Its importance is perhaps best brought out by the words of Marwadi, the 9th century jurist from Baghdad, who said that the music of the Oud could even treat illnesses.

VIOLIN (KAMAN) The European violin (Kaman or Kamanjah in Arabic) was adopted into Arab music during the second half of the 19th century, replacing an indigenous two-string fi ddle that was prevalent in Egypt. The playing style is highly ornate, with slides, trills, wide vibrato, and double stops, often using an open string as a drone. The timbre ranges from rich and warm, similar to the sound of the Western violin, to nasal and penetrating, reminiscent of the sound of the Rababah, a type of Arab folk fi ddle. The violin is held both, in the usu-al under-chin fashion and gamba style on the knee.

RIQRiq, also known as Daff , is a small tambourine tradition-ally covered with a goat or fi sh skin head, stretched over a wooden frame inlaid with mother of pearl. The Riq has fi ve sets of two pairs of brass cymbals spaced evenly around the frame, and called ‘Sagaat’ in Arabic. The cymbals are what produces the exciting jingle sound. Although fi sh or goat skin heads are valued for their warm and natural sound, their main problem is that they are very sensitive to hu-midity and can easily lose their tightness. The sound of the Riq sets the rhythm of much Arabic music, particularly in the performances of classical pieces.

RABABRabab is the earliest known bowed instrument and the parent of the medieval European rebec. It was fi rst men-tioned in the 10th century and was prominent in medieval and later Arab art music. In medieval times, the word rabab was also a generic term for any bowed instrument. The rabab has a membrane belly and, commonly, two or three strings. There is normally no fi ngerboard, the strings being stopped by the player’s fi ngers. Body shapes vary. Pear and boat-shaped rababs were particularly common and infl u-enced the rebec. Flat round, trapezoidal, and rectangular bodies are also found.

MUSIC INSTRUMENTS IN ARABIA

QANUNQanun is a descendent of the old Egyptian harp. It has played an integral part in Arabic music since the 10th cen-tury. Qanun was introduced to Europe in the 12th century. It was known as psaltery or zither from the 14th to the 16th century. The instrument is placed fl at on the knees or ta-ble of the musician. The strings are plucked with the fi nger or with two plectra, one each attached to the forefi nger of each hand.

Music in the Middle East has

always revolved around the

strains of stringed instruments

and the rhythmic beats of simple

percussion, which together create

magical melodies.

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

T H U R S D AY, A U G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

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

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifi eds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

We have small building for rent in

Bowshar commercial building can

be used as staff accommodation or

store. # 93782735 / 99208033

We have 2BHK in Ghubra 18th

November Street near sea 2 rooms

sitting, hall, Kitchen & 3 bathrooms.

Contact : 93782735 / 99208033

We have fl ats, offi ces, shops, ware-

house, basement for rent in Ghubra,

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Contact : 93329476 / 99208033

We have offi ces for rent in Ghala

brand new building.

Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

Brand new 1, 2 BHK fl ats in

Al Ghubra & Ruwi. Contact: 97616158

Room with A.C Al Khuwair R.O 120/-.

Contact: 97799175

1BHK Al Falaj. Contact: 97799175 /

92144045

1BHK Mumtaz R.O 250/-. Contact:

97799175

Barka store 100 m2 available.

Contact: 93393967

1000 sq mtrs industrial land for rent

in Ghala suitable for warehouse etc.

Contact: 24700120 / 92584715

2 BHK fl at in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

3 BHK fl at in Azaiba. Contact

99792181

We have 3BHK fully furnished

villa in Ghubra 18th November near

Automatic Restaurant. Contact:

93782735/ 99208033

We have 2BHK fully furnished

in Bareeq Al Shatti Qurum near

Opera House. Contact : 93782735 /

99208033

New 1 & 2 BHK Flat in Ruwi.

Contact 99792181

3, 4, 5 BHK villa in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

New 1 & 2 BHK Flat in Ghobra.

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2BHK villa for rent RO: 250/month,

near Galfar Training Institute and

beach in North Al Hail.

Contact 99745628 / 99314242

2000 Sqr mtrs Store in Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99792181

D2 T H U R S D AY, A U G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

2BHK with split A/C in MSQ Opp.

Al Fair. Contact : 96708000

1 BHK with split A/C in Darsait,

opp. Muscat Municipality.

Contact : 96708000

3BR villa, sitting, dining & hall,

Azaiba behind Al Meera H- Market.

Contact: 99259977 / 95033008

1BHK, Darsait, walking distance

to ISM , neat and clean building,

ground fl oor, OMR 260/- per month

rent Call IQRAR on 99076557

2BHK at Al Khodh 2 rooms,

1hall, 2 bathrooms & kitchen.

Contact: 99224748 / 99332297

3 bedrooms, 1 hall at Wadi Kabir

near Kuwaiti Masjid.

Contact: 99224748 / 99332297

1BHK, 2BHK, 3BHK new fl at available

at Mabela in front of Modern English

School Contact: 96239126

2 BHK Ghubra R.O 325/-.

Contact: 97799175 / 92144045

1,2,3 BHK fl ats. Contact: 92144045

/ 97799175

2BHK Mumtaz R.O 300/-.

Contact: 92144045 /97799175

House for rent in Sidab 8 rooms, 6

toilets RO 550/-. Contact: 96606679

/ 99856551

2 BHK Apartment for rent near MSQ

area. Contact 92888063

Darsait next to ISM, 2 bedroom

brand new building R.O 300/-.

Contact: 93393967

4 bedroom villa with 3 maid room,

big compound & parking area. Ideal

for kindergarten or expat tenants

residency. Contact:24566217 /

24564686

2BHK near Indian School Darsait

RO 275/-. Contact: 95094028

Commercial / residential 2 BHK fl at

and 1BHK at Honda road residential

2BHK fl at at opposite to Al Na-

dha hospital. Contact: 99342733 /

99795241

2 BHK available Mumtaz area Ruwi

1BHK , Ghubra near Al Maha hotel.

Contact: 99269751

Villa for rent, 4 spacious bath

attached bed room, private swimming

pool, gymnasium (common) electrical

equipment with free maintenance

secured command at

Madinat Al Illam. Contact: 98027975

2 BHK close to Indian School

Kindergarten Wadikabir RO 320.

Contact: 99476728 / 98484415

Spacious 1 BHK fl at opp. Muscat

Municipality Darsait with 2 bath-

rooms available for rent OMR 250

per month direct from owner from

Sept1st onwards. Contact 97785037

Apartments for Rent in Nizwa

behind Nizwa Hospital. 99530985

92513668

Offi ce & retail space available -

Alasfoor Plaza, Qurum.

Contact: 24566217 / 24564686

1bedroom attached toilet, kitchen,

family in Al Khuwair RO 140.

Contact: 95154331

1BHK in Darsait, RO 220.

Contact: 99342661

2BHK in Ghubra South 330 R.O

with A/C. Contact: 99342661

Shop/ comm./ Resi building 1&2 bed

fl at available in Wadi Kabir (near

Lulu) one bedroom fl ats 200/- Wadi

Kabir & Misfa land for rent 1000

SQM Al Khuwair 6 bedroom villa

900/- . Contact: 99451168

3BHK Flats & 6BHK Villa in Azaibah.

Contact : 96775026

250 sq mtrs restaurant for rent in

Plaza Hotel, Walja Ruwi.

Contact 99326339

1 BR fl at at Darsait, near ISM.

Contact 99237971 / 99320633

Readymade offi ce space for rent

(100sm) in Bank Melli Iran building,

MBA area Ruwi opposite Center

Point. Contact: 99011352

Furnished room for rent at

Al Khuwair R.O 225/- for family only.

Contact: 99251975

Flats for rent in Al Khuwair, Al hail,

Wadi Kabir, Al Falaj, MBD, and Mut-

trah. Contact: 99119699 / 95250300

/ 24813002

250 Sqr mtrs showroom in CBD.

Contact 99792181

Spacious 2BHK Flat with Split

A/c’s behind Sultan Center, Azaiba –

RO.425/- p.m. Contact: 99824803 /

99849325

3BHK well maintained fl at (villa

type) G. fl oor split A/C separate en-

trance, parking, and compound

available in Al Khuwair behind Sagar

Polyclinic Way no. 3922, Block 239,

Villa No. 1839. Contact: 99253125

5000 & 10000 Sqr mtrs in open

Land in Wadi Kabir. # 99792181

Deluxe 1, 2, 3 bedroom fl ats in

Wadi Kabir, Ruwi, Al Khuwair area.

Contact: 24707340 / 95282986

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Fully furnished 3 BHK accommo-

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Contact: 9526 5289 / 9604 8422

DAILY GUIDET H U R S D AY, A U G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5 D3

WANTED

FOR RENT

2 BHK pent-house having very spa-

cious balcony with sea & city view

RO 325 and 1BHK RO 240, adjacent

to Indian Nursery Darsait.

Contact : 99476728 / 98484415

Flats in Al Khuwair 33 &

Wadi Al Kabir. Contact: 92800007

Flat for rent near Al Nahdha Hospi-

tal in Hamriya. Contact: 97380548 /

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Flat in Al Khuwair 3 rooms + Majlis

ground fl oor. Contact: 99242119

3 Bedroom fl at with 3 attached

toilets, split A/C, brand new

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Contact 95225662

Flat 2bedrooms+majlis in Ghubra.

Contact:99242119

4 bedrooms villa with 2 halls, 4

bathrooms in Darsait behind Khimjis

mart. Contact: 24700120 / 92584715

SELL/BUY

LOST

Looking for purchase of a resi-

dential building with minimum 25

unoccupied fl ats in Ghala, Bousher,

Azaiba, Ghubrah. Contact: 99261522

Used furniture & Electronic items, offi ce & house. Contact: 99834373

/96642500

Expat leaving bedroom set, fridge,

table, sofa etc. Contact: 93393967

Pest control and cleaning building

company for sale with all permit and

offi ce. Contact : 96996938

JCB boom loader 540/170, 17 MTR

2008 model excellent condition.

Contact: 97677133

Fully equipped Beauty Parlor for

sale in Amerat behind Sultan Center.

Contact : 98600130 / 24881211

Used Fabrication machinery for sale

: Fabrication machinery and tools

in excellent condition for immediate

sale. Contact 94652485/ 99273774/

99202278

2,560 sq mtrs industrial land in

Wadi Kabir main road, First line on

way to Al Bustan hotel. Possible to

make petrol station or hotel. OMR

990 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

Wall papers, grass carpets sale

& fi xing. Contact: 99834373 /

96642500

1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in Mis-

fah Industrial area near to Khanco.

OMR 1,500 Monthly. It has Electricity

and boundary wall. Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

A fl at for rent in Al Khuwair 33, 2

rooms and sitting room and all the

necessary things. Contact:92277419

BHK Flat in Azaiba. Contact 99385835 / 99428143

3 BHK, 3 bathrooms, 2 balcony,

nr. Al Hassan W/Kabir RO 330/-.

Contact :99384640

Flats shops & stores for rent at

Al Amerat. Contact: 96278724

4 BHK single villa in Al Khuwair.

Contact: 97616158

I BHK Flat -4 Nos at Hamriya – R.O.

200/- . 2 BHK - 2 Nos / 1 BHK- 2 Nos,

at Wattayya R/A near the mosque-

for Families. Contact 96457757 -

9 am to 7 Pm.

1 & two bedroom fl ats available for

rent in wadi-kabir (opp: pencil bldg),

ideal for company staff / families -

bulk corporate deal possible.

Contact 97677170

House for rent in Sidab at reasonable

rent. #: 95555162 / 95755953

3 bedrooms villa excellent area at

Mobilah. Contact 99879872

Flat for rent with AC in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 95555162 /95755953

Flat for rent in Mabellah 8th.

Contact: 97147240 Contd on Pg 7

Shop/ offi ce, near Khimji H.O.

Muttrah. Contact 99233116

2 BHK near Khimji H.O. Muttrah.

Contact 99233116

2BK Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti

Mosque. Contact 97007934 /

92629232

Brand new bldg in Walja 1 BHK, 2

BHK & shops. Contact 98218279

2 rooms, 2 toilets, kitchen in Al

Ansab. Contact 94229023

Basement available in MBD, Ruwi.

Contact 99713489

Flat for rent in Wadi Kabir near

Indian Primary School 2 B & 1K.

Contact 92222922

Pent house for rent 1 sitting,

1 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, 1 kitchen

RO 225/-, location Al Khuwair, near

DHL Courier. Contact 95620900 /

92976722

Brand new fl at 2 bedrooms with

1 Majlis, 3 bathrooms, kitchen in

South Ghubra behind Oman oil RO

350/-. Contact 95367767

2BHK & 1BHK fl ats available

in Darsait. Contact : 99357586 /

97500025

Flats for rent at Darsait near to

Ministry of Sports. Interested candi-

dates please #: 00968-92225523

1 &2 BHK fl ats for rent at Wadi Kabir,

Wadi Adai, Hamriya and Al Khoud

areas, shop for rent at Wadi Adai

Round about. Contact: 24834644,

GSM 93994401 /02/03 lines

For rent if require fl ats for rent in

Wadi Kabir please send me

messages through Whatsapp.

Contact: 99376454

3 Bedroom fl at in Wadi Kabeer and

2 bedroom villa in Sidab- Muscat.

Contact: 95755953

Fabulous AC fl at at Al Khoud 3 bed-

rooms, hall and kitchen RO 270/-

for rent. Contact: 99334699

Brand new villa Bosher 37, 4 BHK.

Contact: 91936034

Bath attached room for rent

Al Khuwair. Contact 99743569

400 sq mtrs Commercial/Resi-

dential land in Maabela Phase 5

Block 2. OMR 140 Thousand. Tel:

99333479 or 95215360

5 Flats of 1 bedroom for Sale in

Boushar: OMR 35 Thousand each.

Monthly income OMR 270

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Forklift sale. Contact:

99763831

Shop for sale in Ruwi High street,

Contact 96078411

60,000 Sq Mtrs Agriculture Land in

Misfah, can be changed to Industrial

Land. OMR 29 Per Square Meter.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

3 fl oor commercial building in

Muttrah behind Police. Generating

income of OMR 18 Thousand annu-

ally. Neat and well maintained. Built

on 197 sq mtrs land. 2 tailor shops

on ground fl oor and 6 fl ats. OMR

207 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture land

with water well in Al Salwa, Barka.

OMR 260 Thousand. Tel: 99333479

or 95215360

Separate room with A/c, Small

Fridge and Bed, for non-cooking

Asian bachelor, behind Shell fi lling

station, Ghoubra round about.

Contact: 94263390

Semi furnished rooms in

AL Khuwair with car parking.

Contact : 92888337

Furnished room for IND EXE

bachelor near Al Khuwair R/A.

Contact : 99659513

Furnished room available in Ruwi.

Contact: 92435784

Sharing accommodation for Filipina

on Seeb for couple / working ladies.

Contact: 92959251

Fully furnished room with attached

bath for Executive bachelor, behind

Al Meera Hypermarket, Azaiba,

RO 150/-. Contact 99455735

Furnished room for rent at

Al Khuwair RO 225/- for family only.

Contact 99251975

Single rooms with attached bath

available at Ruwi.

Contact 98049288 / 8091089

ACC. AVAILABLE

FOR SALE

Madhu Pudhu Ppully has lost Indian

Passport No. F 6157660. Finder

please handover to ROP

Arshd Ahmed Meer has lost Pa-

kistani Passport No. HA 1803611.

Finder please handover to ROP

Indian coca requirement with expe-

rience. Contact: 99209264

We have complete offi ce furniture

for sale very nice & aff ordable price .

Contact : 93782735 / 99208033

DAILY GUIDED4 T H U R S D AY, A U G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifi eds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DOMESTIC HELPER

ENGINEER

ENGINEER

EDUCATION

SKILLED / UNSKILLED

ACCOUNTANT

ADMIN

BEAUTY

Required a House Maid preferably

Muslim for a very reputed Omani

Family in Muscat. Should be able to

speak in Hindi / Arabic.

Contact 95216563

Indian family required full time Indian Housemaid, visa available.

Contact : 93228657

Wanted housekeeper at a Nursery –

Muscat – Amerat, skill and commit-

ment and behavior. Fax: 24700677

Tel: 99085844 /99010504

Email: school.oman@yahoo.com

Require qualify caregiver for an

orderly mother. Contact 99425200

Urgently required Accountant Gulf

experience to handle accounts up to

fi nalization. Contact : 99658756

Urgently required Junior Accountant. Please send CV:

hr.azatllc@gmail.com

DRIVER

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Required experienced Hairdressers / full beauticians with

exp in Ghubrah. Contact:97964519 /

94241385

DRIVER

ADMIN

MISCELLANEOUS

MEDICAL

Post Graduate researcher required. Contact 99229700

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION

WANTEDSIT. WANTED

K.Design LLC requires “2d & 3d Draftsman” with minimum 3 yrs

experience. Send CV to

k.designoman@gmail.com

DRAFTSMAN

IT

Leading IT Company in search of

computer professionals with hands

on experience in PC & laptop repair.

Send CV to vacancyready@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

Urgently required Network & Security Engineer with minimum

experience of 5 years, valid driving

license & NOC, the candidate should

have experience in the following

data & voice cabling design struc-

ture, network project management,

Data Center cabling installation,

CCTV & Security Systems installa-

tion, operation, and maintenance.

Email: hussainmrj@gmail.com

Leading construction company requires two Civil Engineer with

minimum 5 years site experience in

gulf. require gulf license and NOC.

Send your CV to

degree.engineer2015@gmail.com

MEP Engineer on urgent basis

required for immediate placement.

Please contact tgi17@omantel.net.om

Automatic block factory requires qualifi ed Engineer (Electrome-

chanical) degree & diploma to

operate new stationary block

factory. Contact 97092070,

email : alomranmcpllc@yahoo.com

Indian male having 5 years of

experience in Oman as accountant

cum offi ce administrator with Omani

driving license looking for a new

placement. Contact: 94173818, email:

nibinkjames@gmail.com

Fresher looking for a career

opportunity B.Com good physique,

quick learner English speaking.

Contact: 93368464

Accountant with more than 6 years

experience in SAOG company look-

ing for middle management position.

Strong English/Arabic correspond-

ence. Valid DL. NOC available.

Contact 91116924

Indian CA with 15 yrs exp. working

as Head of Finance for US MNC. NOC

Available - 94047434

Filipino, 29 years, Male, BS Com-

merce major in Financial Account-

ing, 5years experience: Accounts

PAYABLE/RECEIVABLE/PAYROLL,

Excellent Communication/MS

Offi ce/Accounting Software skills.

Contact: 95057206/

patrick110486@yahoo.com

Indian male B.Com Graduate 24

years looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact: 97219505

25 years male BBA (Hons) CFAC

ACCA having 3 years experience

as top management operations,

Accounts seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact : 92829595

Email: saqib4u1@hotmail.com

Young, energetic 24 yrs, ACCA

fi nalist, Advanced diploma in Ac-

counting and business, seeking

suitable placement in accounts, fi -

nance or audit. Contact: 92430152

Email: rau_dey@yahoo.com

M.Com female good knowledge in

computer and tally 4 years experi-

ence in accounts and Administra-

tion seeks suitable placement on

visit visa. Contact: 96992431 /

99450130

Accountant Indian male B.Com

7 years experience (Accounting)

fi nance costing, auditing with NOC

& valid driving license seeking

placement. Contact: 96722257

Email: mudassir.pal@gmail.com

Indian CA 10yrs of Oman experi-

ence in treasury, fi nancial report-

ing, consolidation, ERP implemen-

tation in Trading, construction,

Oil & Gas sectors. NOC available.

Email: caramdas.s5@gmail.com

GSM: 91310237

12 yrs of Oman experienced Chief

Accountant looking for immediate

placement. Contact 99513082

10+ yrs UAE experienced Fin.

Controller looking for a job change.

Contact 98006226

Email: devan801@gmail.com

C.A article ship completed Indian

female presently on visit visa looks

for opening in Sur, fi nance/ Audit /

Accounts. Contact: 93915733

ACCA and MBA (fi nance) from UK,

3.5 years experience in opera-

tion, holding D/L (Oman) looking

for suitable position ready to join

immediately. Contact : 95575614,

Email: ahammadmds@gmail.com

Indian male B.Com looking for

Accounts, indoor sales,

Offi ce Assistant, Store keeper,

Contact - 98295101

Indian Male MBA with Experience

in Accounts, Admin, Sales,

Contact – 91520930

Indian male MBA Graduate 24 yrs, 1

yr. experienced Accountant seeking

suitable job. Contact: 94083260-

jithinnambiar777@gmail.com

Female (Filipina) Accountant, Audit,

Finance, Bookkeeper, 15 yrs experi-

ence, on tourist visa,

looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 96944976,

email: precyr_tupasi@yahoo.com

Indian male MBA Finance / HR 1

yr experience in Indian currently

on visiting visa seeks suitable

placement. Contact: 93416031

Email: ashin.shams@gmail.com

Certifi ed Public Accountant, Filipino Male 26 years, Bachelor

of Science in Accountancy with

5 yrs. of experience now on visit

visa, Looking for suitable opening.

Contact: +968 91409308 Email:

kennethalcedo07@gmail.com

Accounts fi nance Indian male 35

yrs B.Com, M.B.A tally exp 9.7 yrs

exp 1.5 yr Oman family visa N.O.C

available. Contact : 93257426.

Email: sibigeorgep@gmail.com

Established real estate company looking for male or female property agents for leasing and sales of the

property. Applicant must be Graduate,

possess Omani or GCC driving license.

Having oman market experience.

Apply with NOC. Attractive salary

+commission. Send your CV:

property@ labdmarkmuscat.com

Required Indian or Pakistani calligrapher & Painter (staff accommodation)

Contact# 24480487/24483493

Waterproofi ng technicians required. Contact 92888337

Rig Operator/Technician/Driver/Security Positions in Musandam.

Must have Oil fi eld experience

Good Communication Skills. Please

email your resume in Arabic and

English to HR@petroteloman.com

Interior design & fi t-out company

based on Muscat Grand Mall looking

for : (part/Fulltime) Project manager , Site Engineer , Site Supervisor CVs to be sent to :

alzahi.oman@gmail.com

INTERIOR DECORATING

Urgently required for a Medical Centre GP doctor, Gynecologist, Male Nurse, female Nurses, Assis-tant Pharmacist with MOH license,

salary negotiable. Send your CV:

moc.hrd2015@gmail.com,

Contact 92681842

Dental Surgeon, Orthodontist, Staff Nurses (female) with or without

MOH license for a polyclinic near

Sohar. Excellent salary & commis-

sion. Contact 99006915,

Email : alhinaee.clinic@yahoo.com

Medical CARE Centre, Multi Spe-cialty Clinic, Seeb, requires General Practioner, Medical Lab Technician & Pharmacist. Send CV at Email

: sarita_h23@yahoo.com or call

97884856

Urgently Required Experienced GP Doctor, Gynecologist, Female Nurses with MOH license & NOC for

a reputed specialized center based

in Muscat. Please forward your CV to

alqaimtrd@gmail.com

Immediately required lady Doctor (DGO) or GP with Gynecology experi-ence & lab technician. Contact 99310590.

Email : tjmaluke@gmail.com

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Finance Manager, 22 yrs Oman

experience. NOC available. Contact

91302906 / 91335205

Part time accountant services

available. Contact:93438100

Chief Financial Offi cer 16 yrs of

Management exp with MNCs in Pa-

kistan, expert in fi nancial reporting

sap/oracle implementing & optimi-

zation, Treasury, taxation, team work

and change Management.

Contact: 91936637/

Email : rizwanfarooq.pk@gmail.com

Indian 24 years MBA fi nance

2 years experience seeking suitable

placement. Contact: 98222753

Email - shemeejup@gmail.com

FMCG professional with 18 yrs Gulf

experience in commercial / opera-

tions looking for opening.

Contact 92787747 / 92168401

Indian female B.Tech (EEE) MBA

fi nance with 1and half years experi-

ence as Bank Offi cer in India seeking

suitable placement.

Contact: 91358676 / 98157895

Email: sujivu88@gmail.com

Motivated and energetic male 25

having 4 years of experience in

fi nance with Master’s degree in Eco-

nomics and CAT Certifi ed seeking

opportunity in Accounts/fi nance/

audit in a reputable organization.

Cell no: 00968-94626209

E-Mail: omerjawedshah@gmail.com

Indian Female Chartered Account-

ant [ACCA] looking for suitable

placement. Contact: 99342077

Indian male, 10 yrs experience, 6

yrs in Oman, with Oman driving li-

cense, having NOC, seeking suitable

job. Contact 96012973

Accountant, Indian male, B.Com,

PGDSE with 12 yrs of experience cur-

rently on visiting visa seeks suitable

placement. Contact 92750853,

email : vinoykjospeh@gmail.com

7 yrs experience as Store keeper

in Pakistan, 2 yrs experience as

Accounts Assistant, B.Com from

Karachi University, MS Offi ce,

operating system 98,2000, XP

professional Windows 7, Internet.

Contact 91235746

A well established organization

in Muscat is looking for an experi-

enced lady Administrative Assistant.

Candidate with around 6 years of

experience and excellent command

of English language is requested to

send CV to:

recruitmentmuscat@yahoo.com

Experienced Driver with car or

without car. Visa available.

GSM 942 888 63 / 9905 3844

Driver required for a Company, 2 yrs

experience. Visa available. Contact

24479922

Experienced Expat Driver with valid

Oman driving license required imme-

diately for an Omani family in MSQ.

Contact 24607772 / 99054998

Driver heavy duty required urgent-ly for trailer. Oman / GCC experience

must. Those ready for immediate

joining. Contact: 99310859

IT – pre sales & marketing in Oman

Governmental organizations. Send

CV to masoud@iranrayaneh.com

Accomplished Sales Executives/Telemarketing Executives for

leading Digital Media Enterprise.

jobs@interacoman.com

Furniture fi eld experienced Salesman with license.

Contact - 99345159, 91398378 ,

E-Mail - agsan2005@gmail.com

Indian male 2+yrs oman exp in HR.

joing immediatly. release available.

Contact :93671437

14 years of Gulf experience in HR /

Admin & logistics fl uent in Arabic /

English with D/L looking for suitable

position. Contact: 95824598

Indian male 27Yrs, Having total

6 yrs of experience in HR/ Admin

looking for suitable position.

Contact 91507099.

Indian male MCA, MSCE 2012 certi-

fi ed and Microsoft Exchange server

administration with experience as

System Administrator (windows)

looking for a job currently in Oman

on visit visa. Contact: 92745708

Email: nabeelmmkty@gmail.com

Purchase, Admin, Indian male, 15

yrs Gulf experience.

Contact 95435370

Indian female MBA, 3 Year Experi-

ence in Admin MIS , Family Visa.

Contact 98234427,

jkjsmith01@gmail.com

Female 25, MSc (Wood Science &

tech) MBA HRM, fresher well versed

in English, Hindi and Malayalam,

seeking for suitable placement in

any related industries.

Contact: 98401389

Email: thajnakp@gmail.com

An Indian lady, MBA in HR &

marketing with 4 yrs experience in

teaching, seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact 91108766 / 97447825

Chartered CIPD HR Professional

having 5 years of experience in

Oman seeking suitable job.

Call +971552071501.

Master degree HRM professional

having excellent experience in fi -

nance and management and having

8 yrs experience looking for suitable

placement. Contact 92955453 /

91213269

Oman/Qatar experienced Indian

lady available for immediate place-

ment HR / Admin/ front offi ce/

reception/document controller/

insurance coordinator.

Contact : 0097470057238

shinuemil@gmail.com

Required Foreman (MEP) with 4

to 5 Years experience, for main-

tenance of Building, Having valid

Omani Driving License.

Contact 94422083

Urgently required for leading

company: Civil Engineer : 8 yrs experience, Planning Engineer : 8 yrs experience, Surveyor : 8 yrs experience, Draftsman & AutoCAD : 5 yrs experience. Fax: 24478522,

email : gh1.careers@gmail.com

A reputed printing & advertising fi rm in muscat urgently requires

male / female sales executives

Contact : 99619552 ,

email : hocsigns@gmail.com

Required urgently Energetic Marketing executive for acquiring

new customers. Should possess a

Valid Omani DL. Contact 96545020.

Business intelligence / Global Mar-keting management specialist with

9 years of experience developing

brand value & managing overall pro-

jects to achieve business objectives

seeking suitable position on family

visit. Contact: 91902154

Looking for Outdoor Salesman for

heavy equipment spare parts.

Contact - 93292015,

Email: mail.om@gulfcenter.co

Required Marketing Executive. Contact 24816774 / 99020458

Sales Executive Industrial products :

2-3 yrs of exp. with good communica-

tion & computer skills. D/L is must.

Send resume to salescvv@hotmail.com

H.T. V Driver, Pakistani experience,

6 yrs, seeks work in company only.

Contact 93985087

Light duty driver, 8 yrs exp.

Contact: 96736744

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

DAILY GUIDET H U R S D AY, A U G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5 D5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

DOMESTIC HELPER

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

Male NURSE, FILIPINO, with MOH LICENSE and NOC.

Contact: 94756418

email: rojiebrian.moral@yahoo.com

M.Sc Microbiologist, Indian female,

3 yrs experience seeking suitable

placement in Medical Lab food or

water. Contact 92302719

Male Nurse, B.Sc Nursing, experi-

enced, passed prometric exam

PH : 93837973

Veterinary Doctor with 10 yrs

experience, looking for job.

Contact 92533579

BA degree Nursing professional

having excellent looking for suit-

able placement. Contact 92955453

/91213269

SALES / MARKETING

EDUCATION

IT

MEDICAL

DRIVER

DESIGNER

Looking for a job as IT Adminis-

trator having 3 yrs exp in Oman.

Contact : 95850691

Indian female, B.Tech, IT (now in

Muscat on visit visa) with total

2 yrs experience (1.3 yrs in TCS,

India) seeks suitable placement.

Contact 93949541 / 93738083,

email : joantoms91@gmail.com

B.E (Computer) degree Engineer, complete schooling in Muscat, male,

Indian with 1 yr experience needs

job in software / networking / Java/

Web design or Marketing.

Contact 97136248 / 99313821

Sudanese female IT Tech. Support,

Demographic, English fl uent exp.

11.6 yrs. Contact: 96659392

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

PROJECTS

DRAUGHTSMAN

HOSPITALITY

HOSPITALITY

Indian male 8 yrs experienced con-

struction purchase seeks suitable

placement with NOC.

Contact 95621614

MBA (Marketing and HR) Indian

male looking for a suitable job

2 years experience in Oman with a

valid GCC driving license

Contact : 97353936

Email: shimithpg@gmail.com

US, MBA, looking for job in Sales

and Hospitality, 2 years experience

in Oman with driving license and

NOC Currently on notice period.

Contact: 95585345

Email: jobyisaac@gmail.com

Indian male with fi ve years experi-

ence of call centre in customer ser-

vice and sales looking for suitable

position. Contact: 90198176

Sales and marketing - male 27 yrs,

2 years experience seeking suitable

placement with Oman D/L.

Contact: 95642740

Email: shaijichakkara@gmail.com

Post graduate 6+ yrs of experience

in credit controller marketing look-

ing for suitable job, valid Oman driv-

ing license, own car. NOC available.

Contact 95327018

Indian male, MBA, Marketing

having 5 yrs experience in Sales/

Marketing in Oman seeks suitable

placement. D/L & NOC available.

Contact 93815477

Sales man, experienced , knows

arabic , hindi ph : 99506977

Indian male Graduate with 2 yrs

exp in sales advertising, presently

on visiting visa looking for suitable

opening. Contact: 95462921

Indian male, 2 yrs exp. in Sales

with D/L seeks suitable placement.

Contact 92055093

MBA, HR & Marketing, Indian, male,

25 yrs, fresher, on visit visa seeks

placement. Contact 94736649 /

98207564,

Email : dvengels8191@gmail.com

Diploma holder in Aviation Hospital-

ity & travel management, Indian male

seeking for suitable position, pres-

ently in Oman. Contact 97309707

Autocad Dman , Diploma in

civil, exp, knows 2d, 3d, revit

PH:98195161

NETWORK/NETWORK SECURITY ENGG. Graduate in B.Tech CS. Have 5.3

years of experience in Network and

Security devices. Certifi ed on CCNA,

CCNP, MCITP and CCIE Sec. Written

passed. NOC available. Can join imme-

diately. Contact +974-55297089,

e-mail: rejad.hashim@gmail.com

Indian 22 years male, Mechanical

Engineer, B.Tech has done internships,

born and brought up in Oman with

Omani driving license, seeking suit-

able jobs. Contact: 92791637 Email:

ashwinsureshkotturethu@gmail.com

Indian mechanical Engineer 31

yrs, 8+ experience in sales & BD

including GCC, having Oman driving

license & NOC. Contact: 97116858

Email: menonamit1984@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer, B.Sc. degree/B.

Tech, 4 years experience. Looking for

suitable placement. Available in visit

visa. Contact: 94739355,

Email: mahin.eee@gmail.com

MSC Electronics Female, 24 years,

1 year experience in MR Scan

Testing on visit visa looking for

suitable job. Contact 91111675

B.E in Mechanical post Gradua-

tion Diploma in piping Engineering.

Contact : 94786570

Email: asim.hajwani6@gmail.com

Indian job in procurement & con-

tract, have “13” years purchase &

contract experience in infrastructure

& energy sector. NOC is available.

Contact-91237036

25 years experience in Civil Engi-

neering looking for job at

consultancy from for suitable position.

Contact : 97803710

Civil Engineer 7 years experience

in Oman also have vehicle driving

license. Contact: 92480604

WELDER, TIG, ARC, 6G experienced

in GCC PH :95068064

Upholsery / Sofa makers GCC well

experienced, knows Hindi and

Arabic ph :99506977

36 yrs, Indian, male, X Ray, Welder

looking for job, 8 yrs experience

in TIG & ARC Welding, presently

on visit visa.Contact 91360190 /

91843992

Indian looking for Supervisor,

Safety offi cer, Camp boss or Sales

Executive. Contact 94003617

Management Professional account-

able, responsible for profi table man-

agement can handle the entire op-

erations, HR/Recruitment, Business

development & Sales & marketing &

etc, Great organizational skills with

over 23+yrs exp. in Bombay, Saudi

Arabia, Dubai-UAE & Oman(11yrs)

as General Manager - Publications,

Printing,Media. open to any industry,

can Join immediately w/NOC.

Contact : +968 98864706/99574638

Mail : akdas_uae@yahoo.com

TOURS & TRAVELS

SKILLED/ UNSKILLED

Five years experience in Travel

fi eld ,BCom., IATA & pursuing MBA,

Presently working in the Travel

Desk of (ITC managed) Five Star

Hotel in India, looking for a suitable

position in the Middleeast.

pls contact 9470 5767

11 yrs experience in travel fi eld

B.Com, IATA, MCSE working for

Qatar Airways, Sales reservation

ticketing driving license & NOC

available. Contact 92954613

Building construction supervisor looking for small Omani company

to handle independently or suitable

placement in good company with

Oman D/L. Contact 93061107

Indian male, with 8 yrs exp. in

Oman (BA- Graduate) working as

a project Sales Coordinator, with

Oman D/L, looking for suitable job,

ready to join immediately with NOC,

open for Sales & Marketing also.

Contact 95245057

House maid looking for job.

Contact: 99879576

House maid cum cook Keralite .

Contact: 94297839

Philippina Maid is looking for

Domestic job or Baby seater with

experience on Nursing age and all

work in the house. Call : 96369299

Procurement Manager 25+ yrs ex-

perience Indian with NOC+ D/L seeks

placement. Contact: 97073942

Project Program & Service Man-

agement Indian male looking for

suitable placement having 15 years

of experience. Contact : 9686678027

Email: dileepmnair@yahoo.com

Supervisor fabrication. 30 years

experienced in oil and gas industry

with thorough knowledge of PDO

procedures. contact 99365694,

92362946, 99208102 email:

tapasroy21@yahoo . com

Supervisor / Forman interior / elec-

trical with Oman driving license.

Contact: 98767559

Young BA looking for a job as

Secretary / document controller,

typewriting 40 W.PM shorthand also

available. NOC from the present co.

available. Contact: 93085851

Net working & Hardware Engineer

on visit looking for immediate place-

ment. Contact: 95634573

Civil Engineer (diploma) 3.5 yrs exp,

seeking for placement.

Contact: 95200650

Electrical Engr, female, B Tech

(Elec), experienced in all LV/

HV systems, currently working,

NOC available for local transfer.

phone-92109335

Jordanian Mechanical Engineer, Expertise in Manufacturing, Design,

Steel Work, AutoCad, SolidWork

3D. Nesting/ Plasma Cutting,

Sales. Speaking English & Russian.

GSM#90198575/99201710

Indian fresher BE Mechanical

engineer having work in project

of design and development of

biodiesel plant seeks immediate

placement. At present on visit visa.

Mo- 96636035

email - ashishthanki14@gmail.com

(BS Electronics) Electronics Engi-

neer searching for job experience

with Huawie & HNL as Intern in site

maintenance. Contact: 91803545

A male Civil Engineer with 10 years

experience (03 years in Oman) in

building projects execution, billing,

contractual correspondence &

tendering of projects is available.

The interested person can

Contact: 968 91320917

Indian male 24 years B.Tech com-

puter science & Engg fresher, having

valid Oman D/L fl uent in English &

Hindi, smart & dedicated to work

seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 97327551 / 99330159

Indian Mechanical Engineer with

PG diploma in Quality & Manage-

ment, 3 yrs experience seeks place-

ment. Contact: 99493890 mail:

subashpalamittam@hotmail.com

B.Tech Mechanical Engineer with

2 years experience in HV AC and

plumbing - nikhilchandpm@gmail.

com ; GSM: 97654489

Civil Engg, B.Tech fresher Indian

male currently on visit visa seeks

suitable placement. # 91702450

Email: tijoct2015@hotmail.com

Indian Male, IT Support Engineer,

2 yrs in Oman & 5 yrs Indian experi-

ence. Contact 97311847

B.E in Mechanical Engineering with 2 years experience seeking for

suitable job. Contact 919946739156

Email: ram332096@gmail.com

B.Tech Electrical & electronics with

1 year experience seeking for suit-

able job. Contact: +91 949788348

Email: rakesh1.mohan@gmail.com

Pakistani B.E (Chemical) Engineer

having more than 02 years experi-

ence in process Industry seeks im-

mediate placement in any industry

at present on visit visa. Contact:

94350586 / 97637840

Civil Engineer (B. Tech) Indian fe-

male, 2 yrs exp (1 yr in Oman) seeks

suitable position. Contact: 93911895

Instrumentation Engineer, nearly

4 yrs experience in oil &

gas industry, seeks job in Oman.

Contact 90198210,

Email : terinsam@gmail.com

Indian male 31yrs BE. Mech. 8 yrs

exp Sales & marketing. Valid D/L

NOC available. Contact : 97116858

Indian male, B.Tech, Mechanical En-

gineer having 2 yrs experience seek-

ing suitable job. Contact 94768977,

syedomer363@gmail.com

Indian Male, 24, UK Graduate - MSc

(Eng.) Environmental Engineering

and Project Management with B.Eng.

Biotechnology. Holding Valid Omani

Driving License, looking for suitable

placement. Contact +968 99452305

Civil Engineer Pakistani 12+ 2 yrs

Oman exp. Oman D/L seeks place-

ment. Contact: 94392616

Engineer with 3 yrs experience in

Indian in MEP, HVAC& mechanical

maintained fi eld on visit visa looking

for suitable job. Contact 99191535

Email: fareed029@gmail.com

Mechanical Engineer, 23 yrs, male,

having knowledge in HVAC seeks

suitable placement.

Contact 95434381, Email :

shuhaibusman313@gmail.com

M.A, B.Ed Indian female 27 yrs,

looking suitable teaching profession

having 2 years experience.

Contact: 95838183

Email: manslyas916@gmail.com

Driving job. Contact: 99109458

Light duty driver seeks placement.

Contact: 95032692

Light vehicle Driver 5 years of ex-

perience, with Oman driving license

looking for a job. Contact: 97319805

/ 92171166

Light Duty Driver with 2 yrs exp. in

Oman. Contact 96420742

Looking for driving job driving

experience more than 3 years.

Contact: 97459022

Indian light duty driver. Contact: 94269229

Indian driver, 30 years, 8 years in

Oman exp GCC, D/L with NOC.

Contact: 93100297 / 92547440

Driver with car able to do documen-

tation work & documents delivery.

Contact : 95365938

Looking for driver job English, Ara-

bic, and Hindi Lang, 8 years Muscat

experience. Contact: 98802079

Looking for a job as light driver 3

years experience in Oman, lan-

guages Arabic, Hindi, and English.

Contact 97311715

Driver light. Contact: 94182497

Light duty driver with 3 months

experience requires suitable

placement. Contact: 96409814 /

97384115

Driver available with car.

Contact 96771598

Light Driver. Contact 95779594,

Ruwi

Sri Lankan driver. Contact:

97387112

Indian male, looking for Heavy

Driver job, holding Kuwait driving

license. Contact 98136170

Indian male, 24 years Graphic

designer one year experience, B. Sc

Multimedia Animation on visit visa

in Oman, seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact: 93681417

Sudanese Electrical Engineer.

Email : mohamedkarrar.mk@gmail.

com, contact 97452159

BE Mechanical Engineer, 22 yrs,

Indian male on permanent visa &

valid driving license looking for suit-

able job in Oman. Contact 91652927

/ 99680181,

Email : fawaris.09@gmail.com

Bangladeshi male, BSC Engg in

Civil, total 3 years experience, 2

years in Oman, looking for job.

Contact: 00968 94038642 ;

email: shaikhhasib.ce@gmail.com

Pakistani male, Diploma in civil,

total 6 years experience , 4 years in

Oman, with valid D/L, looking for job.

Contact: +968 98568934;

Emai: eng.arfan54@yahoo.com

SUPERVISOR: Indian male site

supervisor (AIR CONDITIONING)

25 years of experience with valid

Oman Driving license,

seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 97498809, 93391910

Email: hilariankj@gmail.com

Indian male, Supervisor Electrician

Diploma 8 yrs in Oman. NOC avail-

able. Contact 95057068,

jratheesh@yahoo.com

Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need suit-

able job of construction 12 yrs exp.

Email: mohd.ateeq.khan@gmail.com

Indian male, B.Tech, B.Tech (Elec-

tronics) MBA (Marketing) having

1 yr experience as Deputy Manager

Sales in Fortune 100 MNC currently

on visit visa seeks suitable job.

Contact 96967234,

Email: lijotitus111@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer, Indian male,

29 yrs having 5 yrs of experience in

industrial automation & utility

maintenance in India (MRF yres)

seeks suitable placement.

Contact 92789995, Email :

akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com

Btech computer science graduate

2015 passout.. Android application

marketing.. Having good communi-

cation skills and mindset to work in

a team. Contact 91024385

Civil Engineer Indian male 10 yrs

exp having Omani D/L looking

for suitable placement. Contact:

94194399 (shiblyrock@gmail.com)

Indian male, 30 yrs, Diploma in Civil

Engineer, 5 yrs exp. at building con-

struction & consulting company with

Oman driving license. NOC available

seeks suitable placement.

Contact 95989500,

cv.shihabedappal@gmail.com

Indian male 25MBA having 4years

Gulf experience in Coordination with

contracting company .NOC Available.

Looking for(Store,Coordination,Admin

,Backoffi ce) Jobs Ph:95405885

Mechanical Engineer, 2 yrs

experience in Automobile services.

Contact 98182081

Indian Mechanical Engineer (QA/

QC) Engineer with 5 yrs of experi-

ence in oil & gas, mining & manu-

facturing sector, keyskills – NDT,

Welding Inspection, Quality control,

inspection etc. Contact 91176122,

Email : khajanaseer07@yahoo.co.in

Electrical and Electronics Engineer with one year experience and GCC

licence holder seeking a job

mail – shyjalpk@gmail.com

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

Indian male, 14 yrs Experience in

Maintenance & Supervisor in hotel

fi eld ( Electrical . Ac Mechanical &

Plumber ) N O C available

mob : 95253640 . email =

hareeshma24@yahoo.com

Indian-22 years Male, Mechanical

Engineer, B.Tech, has done intern-

ships, born and brought up in Oman,

with Omani Driving License, seeking

suitable jobs. Contact 92791637.

E-mail:

ashwinsureshkotturethu@gmail.com

Senior Accountant Indian male

Graduate CA Articleship completed

18 years of experience currently on

visit visa seeks suitable placement

contact.97498809,93391910

Email.hilariankj@gmail.com

Indian male, 30 yrs, B.Com with

Tally, 8 yrs experience with Oman

driving license experience in Ac-

counts & sales seeks suitable place-

ment. Contact 96470171

Electrical Maintenance Engineer,

29, Indian Male, having 7+ years exp.

in reputed companies. Seeking suit-

able placement in Oman.

Contact - 98440637. Mail ID :

venkatbadri23@gmail.com

Indian male 22 years, Looking for

suitable placement in Hardware and

Networking fi eld, 1 year exp. in india

an have done training in al ameen

computers. With good communica-

tion skill, Qualifi cation is Diploma

in Electronics and Communication.

Contact : - 95632209,95068075,

Email- fairozhuded13@gmail.com

Sudanese 29 male (Bsc com-

puter science, diploma computer

engineering), 6 yrs. experience ,

dba oracle pl-sql , ms sql-server ,ms

visual studio vba, network, Omani

Driver licence language English,

Arabic. Email:chastity643@gmail.

com, Mob:91415886

Indian Male, 28, B.Com, 6+ yrs exp

in Accounts, 2 yrs in Oman with

Valid Oman D/L, NOC available.

Contact: 9719 4864

Having 9+ years exp. in Admin &

HR in reputed companies. Presently

working in Muscat and seeking for

suitable placement.

Contact No.: 97693456. email :

muralimahdav77@gmail.com

Pakistani, Male, Pak, Exp 14 Years

in Accounts, IT & Administration,

looking for a better position in Oman,

already working in Prestigious

Construction Company. Contact:-

95983711.Join.mtmali@gmail.com

Indian male 24 years,B. Tech (Elec-

trical & Electronic) having 2 years

working experience as an Electrical

site Engineer, currently on visit visa.

Seeking suitable placement. Contact

no. 98045482, Email: mastan-

shaik1008@gmail.com

Indian male 23 years, B. Tech (Elec-

trical & Electronic) having 4 years

working experience as an Electrical

site Engineer, currently on visit visa.

Seeking suitable placement.

Contact no. 98045482 Email:

mastanshaik1008@gmail.com

Male, 32, having 7 years experience

in New Car sales and rental. Cur-

rently working for one of the most

reputed Brand in India is seeking a

suitable change.

Contact +91 9045232273

Looking for managerial post (full

time ) ,More than Ten years of

experience in Team Development

,Training ,Planing, Administration,

Sales & Marketing, Advertisement

and Credit Control and Logistics.

Contact 91076608 /+919048648108

NOC available

Sales Representative or Purchase

offi cer. Indian male 31 years,

Looking for suitable placement in

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES and

OILFIELD INDUSTRIES. Having 7

years of gulf experience in

FASTENERS and BUILDING MATE-

RIAL. Having a valid D/L.

Contact: 00968 92480985,

Email: fayubeig@gmail.com

BRANCH-HEAD, MBA-BBA, Indian

Male having experience in UAE,

India, Oman total 5 years (including

MNC), looking for similar or same

openings.NOC available.

mobile: 92700670,

email:catanalur131@gmail.com

Accounts Head/Manager looking

for job with Gulf Experience (NOC

available). Contact : 94164650.

email: msaleem.kr@gmail.com

Indian Male, 28, B.Com, 6+ yrs exp

in Accounts, 2 yrs in Oman with

Valid Oman D/L, NOC available.

Contact: 9719 4864

Housemaid looking for job. Cont :

95587492

Filipino (Male), 33 yrs/old, 9 yrs.

experience in marine transporta-

tion (seaman/deck crew), & 3 yrs. in

sales (electronic devices) currently

on visit visa & looking for a suitable

employment. GSM: 94750459

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

4 Years experienced (Money

exchange services & Hospitality

services in Oman & India) - Indian

male 27 years, graduate in Hospital-

ity science, fl uent in English, Hindi

& Arabic seeks suitable placement.

Contact 91383167

Rent a car Incharge 39 yrs, Indian

15 yrs experience in UAE with UAE

D/L seeks placement in any suitable

post. Contact 99431708

29 years femaile (MBA-Finance)

with 4 + years experience (India &

Oman) in administration & teaching

seeking suitable placement in an es-

tablished organization. # 96371655.

Sales Representative or Purchase

offi cer. Indian male 31 years,

looking for suitable placement in

construction industries and oilfi eld

industries. Having 7 years of gulf

experience in fasteners and building

material. Having a valid driving

license. Contact: 00968 92480985,

Email: fayubeig@gmail.com

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

D6 T H U R S D AY, A U G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine

Tours Contact- 98029602, 92808636

RENT A CAR

RENT A CAR

TOURS

Car for rent. Contact:

92516090

Butter cup rent a car competitive

prices new car 2016.

Contact: 97249449

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

MOTOR VEHICLE FOR SALE

Diplomat used car for sale Toyota

Corolla 2010 model, mileage 19,950/-

, price R.O 3500 /- (negotiable).

Contact: Mohamed Azgar 95751844

/ 95863739

Nissan Xterra 2010 Expat owned

90,000 k, clean car.

Contact: 93393967

Sportage, 2013. Contact 99336093

Prado ,2012. Contact : 99336093

HONDA CR-V 2008, purchased

2009, 4WD, Full option, No.1 model,

Cruise control, leather seats, Sun

roof, 1,23,000KMS, OMR 5000/-,

expat leaving, for sale at SOHAR,

Contact Samuel 99108311

Mazda 3,1.6, 2008 Automatic,

accident free, single owner.

Contact: 92030516

Land Cruiser 2012.

Contact 99336093

DAILY GUIDET H U R S D AY, A U G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5 D7

Working partners required for Farm

Based Trading. Contact: 94151791

Seeking fi nancial investor / partner

for short term Governmental

construction project of 1.5 million

Riyal Omani. Contact : 99881303

New company seek partnership.

Contact: 96996938

General Investors. Gsm-99674870

SITUATION WANT-

ED

BUSINESS

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

Split & widow unit A.C servicing &

repairing. Contact: 99557080

Split & window unit A.C servicing

& maintenance. Contact: 96236476

Window & split unit A.C ser-

vicing & maintenance. Contact

93769089 / 95323517

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of

your marble. Contact 24793614/

99314807

Split window cassette AC

unit servicing, maintenance.

Contact: 99540621

One stop shop business services : Public Relation (PRO) formation new

companies, LLC companies, Investor

visa, business setup, prepare

businesses & companies accounts,

legal services, representing

you and your company.

Contact: Saleh : 96723485

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

General cleaning & Shampooing.

Ocean Center LLC.

Contact: 99344723 / 99357908

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS-

99320217 /24788722

Split & window A.C servic-

ing & maintenance. Contact

93769089/95323517

All maintenance & repairs. Contact Rizwan: 99429071,

RMPM Trading.

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intel-

ligence (BI) creation and man-

agement at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

COMPUTER

CLASSES

Admission started in a private

school, Darsait (Mount Zion Group

of Institutions CBSE 1) for KG and

grade 1 to 4 please register soonest.

Contact: 92088325 /

24799938

GOOD NEWS

MATRIMONIAL

Seeking alliance for our son from

Muslim families. Interested families

Contact: 99889590

A respectable Sunni Muslim family

from Hyderabad, India invites pro-

posal for their daughter, 26 years,

MSc, very fair. Contact 93671857

Sunni Muslim girl, Indian origin,

20 yrs BA graduate from Oman,

good looking homely with good

religious values, seeking alliances

A/C Technician, all refrigerator

items, installation.

Contact: 92279370

Pest control Treatments, Cockroaches, Ants ,Rodents &

Termites. Ocean Center LLC.

Contact: 99357908 / 99344723.

Air condition maintenance split

and window A/C split a/c ducted and

package type units.

Contact: 98667326

General cleaning in buildings villas

all types interior, exterior, polishing

dry cleaning carpets, rugs, marble

etc. #94134784 / 98598280

Water proofi ng ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

House shifting & packing. Contact: 99657644 /98518013

A/C Maintenance & servicing, fridge,

washing machine & dish washer re-

pairing, painting & cleaning services,

electrical & plumbing. # 99447257 /

97014234 / 24504281

DRIVING

Driver for Automatic Transmis-

sion. Contact: 99040813

NRI

Ayuredic massage backache, joint

pain, neck pain etc. # 98254909

Ayurvedic treatment for backache,

paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,

All Season (Vaidyaratnam). Contact

24475280 / 95371664 / 92504980

www.siddhayur.com

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know

more about Islam, please call:

99425598, 99250777, 99353988,

99253818, 99341395, and 99379133.

For ladies: 99415818, 99321360,

99730723 Orvisit:www.islamfact.com

AVAILABLE

FOR EXPATS

Party & Wedding equipment rentals.

Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirting,

Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery, Crockery,

Glassware, Chafi ng Dishes, Ice Sculp-

tures, to Large Sound Systems and spec-

tacular lighting. Call Andrea 9606 2222

for Catering and Croyden 9623 5555 for

Sound & Light. ww.tunesoman.com,

E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

From owner plot of land near

Zanzibar, airport price RO 15000.

Contact 99348943

ACC. AVAILABLE

Fully furnished 1BHK with all

household items in Darsait near

Lulu on monthly Basis. Contact :

99378397/99493500

1 bedroom, hall, kitchen & toilet

available for family near ISD Darsait

(Indians only) with wi-fi facility.

RO 150/- per month + Electricity &

Water. Contact 93661570

Sharing accommodation in CBD

area for non cooking Executive

bachelors, wifi free, advance deposit.

Contact 91852710

Sharing accommodation available

for working lady or couples near

Ruwi Church. Contact: 92837206

Room for rent with sharing

bathroom & kitchen at Al Khuwair,

behind Golden Spoon Restaurant.

Contact 92994415

Furnished room for Indian Bachelor

in Al Falaj area (Ruwi) & Lady in

Wadi Kabir (near Al Maya).

Contact 96761960

Fully furnished room for a decent

expatriate. independent kitchen,

bathroom in Wadi Adai.

Contact 96243086 at 5p.m.

Room attached toilet and kitchen

near Indian School Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 95345537

TRANSPORTATION

Driver with car. Contact: 94004667

Pick & drop anytime in Al Ghubra.

Contact: 97681599

Transport available in Ghala, Ruwi ,

Ghubra, Al Khuwair & Azaiba.

Contact: 91495819

Transportation. Contact 99664703

Transportation available.

Contact 95570429

Transport. Contact: 95190627

Transportation. Contact: 96538078

Transportation. Contact:98522914

Transportation. Contact 99508282

Transportation. Contact: 98244078

Pick & Drop any time. #97014786

FOR HIRE

Volvo 12 Ton Truck for monthly

rent. Contact: 98713900

An NRI wants to sell his proper-

ties, in Ernakulam (6 cent villa near

Amrita hospital), Trivandrum (plot

near Kowdiar Palace), Trivandrum

(plot near Kumarapuram Jn.) and

Pandalam (opposite Ayyappa temple

by the side of MC road).

Please call: 94052733 or 94070407

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet

& sofa shampooing, Contact

99314807/24792998

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

D8 T H U R S D AY, A U G U S T 2 7, 2 0 1 5