times of oman - november 18, 2014

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TUESDAY, November 18, 2014 / 25 Muharram 1436 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

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Blaze of glory for National Day joy

REJIMON K [email protected]

MUSCAT: Draped in national colours, the Sultanate of Oman is celebrating its 44th National Day in style today with a host of events.

Fireworks, cultural pro-grammes, special assemblies and events are all lined up for today.

The National Day celebrations committee has invited the pub-lic to attend a fireworks display at 8pm in Al Amerat near the Al

Mahaj roundabout, Halban to the west of Al Soumoud roundabout and at the entertainment centre in Salalah.

Public and private offices, air and sea ports, schools and col-leges, hotels and parks along with cultural centres, roads and bridg-es are all awash with decorations and lights to celebrate the 44th National Day.

“We have decorated the exte-rior of the building with beautiful lights and flags. This is a special day for us to celebrate,” said an official from a government office in Darsait.

Preparations completeSheikh Saba’a bin Hamdan Al Sa’adi, secretary-general of the Supreme Committee for Nation-al Day celebrations, said the com-mittee had completed its prepa-rations to mark the 44th National Day under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the architect of the Renaissance in Oman. >A8

A slew of events are

lined up to mark the

44th National Day

in a grand manner

NATIONAL DAY GREETINGSThe Board of Directors, management and the staff of Muscat Media Group and Times of Oman extend their heartiest greetings to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said on the

occasion of the 44th National Day.

Check out our 48-page special supplement with this edition

OMANWinter arrives, temperatures dip

2 Winter season has set up a date with Oman with temperatures dropping

to six degrees Celsius in places like Jabel Shams and Jabel Akhdar, according to Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation (DGMAN), which monitors weather conditions in Oman. >A11

MARKETOman seeks to raise crude oil production

3Oman is targeting to increase its oil production to an average

of 980,000 per day in 2015 from the current 950,000 barrels per day. Salim bin Said Al Oufy, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas said Sultanate will push up Oman’s oil production next year. >B1

OMANOmantel network partially restored

1Omantel network was being “restored gradually” following a network glitch

that kept its service down for almost eight hours. “Omantel fixed and mobile services are being restored gradually in different areas across the country,” a tweet from Omantel said. >A8

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

HM receives greetingsMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received con-gratulatory cables from Majlis Al Shura Chairman Khalid bin Hi-lal bin Nasser Al Ma’awali, State Council Chairman Dr. Yahya bin Mahfoudh Al Mantheri, Minister Responsible for Defence Affairs Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Harib Al Busaidi and Inspector General of Police and Customs Lt.Gen Has-san bin Mohsen Al Shraiqi, on the 44th Glorious National Day.

In his cable, the Chairman of Majlis Al Shura said: “On my be-half and on behalf of Majlis Al Shura members and employees, it gives me a great honour to congrat-ulate Your Majesty and express our deep appreciation, loyalty and gratitude for Your Majesty’s wise leadership and the achievements made for dear Oman which will be cherished for generations to come on this good land.

“Your Majesty’s royal decisions, orders and directives have always been in line with the aspirations and demands of the Omani citizen. Your Majesty made the develop-ment of human resources the cor-nerstone in achieving the sustain-able development and prosperity.”

In his cable, the Chairman of the State Council said: “On my behalf and on behalf of the honourable members of State Council and its employees as the whole of Oman witnesses joyful occasions, it gives me a great honour to congratulate Your Majesty on the 44th National Day and Your Majesty’s speech to the Omani loyal people.” >A14

N A T I O N A L D A Y

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Royal pardonMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qa-boos bin Said, the Supreme Com-mander, has issued a Royal pardon to a number of prisoners convicted in different cases.

They include 123 prisoners, in-cluding 60 foreigners. His Majesty, the Supreme Commander’s Royal pardon coincides with the celebra-tions of Oman’s 44th Glorious Na-tional Day and in consideration of families of those prisoners. -ONA

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OMAN 44m was the length of the cake made by the Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa chefs

Mementos fly off shelves on eve of National Day

REJIMON K [email protected]

MUSCAT: The demand for Na-tional Day memorabilia is huge this year, said a shop owner in Muttrah Souq, who bought them from China.

“Both nationals and expatri-ates are on a shopping spree,” said Ahmed Kabeer, who has been selling decorative memorabilia in bulk for the last 10 years in Mut-trah Souq.

Apart from the regular items like ribbons and balloons in na-tional flag colours red, green and white, national flags of different sizes carrying His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s pictures, post-ers of His Majesty the Sultan on different materials, shawls and scarves in the national flag col-ours and stickers for vehicles, the shopkeeper has brought fancy items like toy cameras and fans having red, green and white col-ours this time.

“Nationals always want to be different while buying decorative memorabilia. They prefer some-thing new every year. So, I had to bring in something different this time,” said Kabeer, who had trav-

elled to China to order them six months back.

Kabeer had brought the memorabilia in two containers from China.

Short of stocks“Memorabilia worth OMR100,000 was purchased and now we are running short of stocks. We began the sale last month and the shop remains open for nearly 20 hours daily,” said Kabeer, who has been living in Oman for the last 30 years.

Faisal Mohammed, a taxi driv-er in Ruwi who has bought items worth OMR50 to decorate his car, said that he buys them from Ka-beer’s shop every year.

“I have bought decorations for my car and also for my home. I

have bought some unique toys for my children as well,” added Faisal.

Other than Ahmed’s shop, which is selling in bulk, many small shops selling decora-tive memorabilia are also doing good business.

“Almost all shops selling deco-rative memorabilia are experi-encing brisk sales. We are selling only stickers for cars, but we are unable to meet the demand. We have ordered for more,” said Iqbal Mohammed, a shop owner near a petrol filling station.

SHOPPING SPREE: Most of the shops located in Muttrah Souq are doing brisk business in decorative items. – A R Rajkumar/Times of Oman

Both nationals

and expatriates

are lapping up

the 44th National

Day memorabilia

this year

Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah unveils Oman’s largest cakeTimes News Service

MUSCAT: As part of the 44th Na-tional Day celebrations, a team of chefs baked the largest cake in the country at Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa.

Oman’s largest cake was in the shape of 44 and its length was 44 metres.

The commemorative cake was unveiled at the resort’s Sablah area in the presence of Hamoud bin Khalfan bin Mohammed Al Har-thy, undersecretary at the Minis-try of Education for Education and Curricula. Mohammad Al Zubair was also present at the event.

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COMMEMORATIVE CAKE: Oman’s largest cake was in the shape of 44 with and its length was 44 metres.– Supplied picture

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‘Private sector to attract workforce’MUSCAT: The new labour law will make the private sector more attractive for the national work-force, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Bakri, minister of manpower, has assured.

Al Bakri said that the amend-ments have come about with an eye on the next phase of develop-ment for the country. He affirmed that the amendments in the labour law were worked out in response to the demands made by employ-ers and workers.

“The new law will provide a clear working relationship be-tween the two parties,” he said.

A panel of experts met with rep-resentatives from employers and workers to work out changes in the labour law and the proposed

amendments. With regard to train-ing agreements signed by the Min-istry of Manpower, Al Bakri said that the ministry is implementing various training programmes in coordination with private training institutions which are supervised by the ministry.

Programmes Al Bakri pointed out that the min-istry funds such programmes after the applicant meets the required conditions.

“Those who join such pro-grammes will be qualified to enter the job market. In coordination with the ministry, they will en-ter into employment contracts during the training period,” said the minister.

He further said that the minis-try had in recent years sought the development of the technical edu-cation sector in terms of quantity and quality. “We are introducing new programmes by opening new faculties as and when needed ac-

cording to market requirements,” said Al Bakri.

“The ministry has sought to provide the latest teaching meth-ods and training equipment, machines, tools and curricula to keep pace with global develop-ments,” he said. In response to the role of the ministry in determin-ing the Omanisation ratio in the economic sectors, Al Bakri said the ministry is coordinating with other economic sectoral commit-tees to reconsider Omanisation in such sectors. The ministry was also coordinating with electricity and water sectors to review the ra-tios of Omanisation. The ministry will ask private sector institutions to raise Omanisation rates to the specified posts. “But this will de-

pend on the availability of the na-tional workforce to work in specif-ic posts,” he said. Al Bakri clarified that there would not be a monthly stipend for job-seekers in Oman. The stipend had been discontin-ued since 2011 and is now being used to train job-seekers, he added.

Al Bakri pointed out that the stipend was limited in accordance with certain specifications and standards by offering job opportu-nities available in the private sec-tor for job-seekers.

He stressed that job opportuni-ties are available for those who wish to work and those who wish to be trained as well as those who attend self-employment projects, while pointing out that this is the focus of the ministry. – ONA

The minister of

manpower has

assured that the

amendments in the

labour law have

come about with an

eye on the next phase

of development

for the country

Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Bakri

We are introducing new programmes by opening new faculties as and when needed according to market requirementsSheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al BakriMinister of manpower

Festivities galore to mark National Day

“The committee has positioned the Sultanate’s flag from Muscat till Bait Al Barakah Roundabout and along Muscat Expressway,” said the official.

On Sunday, the Supreme Com-mittee for National Day Celebra-tions said that it is continuing its preparations to mark the 44th National Day.

An Omani traditional dance troupe will perform on November 18 and 19 at City Centre Muscat and City Centre Qurum at 7pm. The dances are called Rahza, Al Aazi, Al Ayalay, Al Yola and Fun Bahri Min Sour.

The City Centre malls are also distributing chocolates, flags, wrist bands and flag sashes and scarves from November 18 until the weekend.

Private institutions have also decorated their buildings with lights and national flags. “We decorated our building and office last week. Our office vehicles are also covered with national flags

and posters of His Majesty,” said Bino PP, a production manager at AGAP, an advertising and pub-lishing firm in Al Khuwair.

On Sunday, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) said that it was legal to decorate cars with stickers to commemorate the 44th National Day on November 18, and keep the vehicles that way until the end of the month.

However, the ROP has issued certain guidelines for those inter-ested in decorating their vehicles, said a source.

Meanwhile, sources at air and sea ports in Oman said that deco-rations and programmes are in full swing.

“Every day, the decorations are increasing at our port. The entire area has been decorated by al-most all the firms operating at the port,” said sources at Sohar port.

Sources from Muscat and Sala-lah air and sea ports also said that they are all set to celebrate the big day.

Meanwhile, schools and col-leges were also planning differ-ent programmes to mark the oc-casion. Indian and Bangladesh schools will host a special assem-bly to mark the occasion.

While some colleges have ar-ranged in-house programmes, Indian school Darsait students have organised a charity drive on the occasion. “We are going to dis-tribute grocery to the needy in the fishing village in Darsait. We have done this in the previous years as well. We want to deliver the mes-sage of giving on National Day,” said a teacher who is coordinating the charity drive.

Hotels and resorts have also come up with special packages and dishes to celebrate the Na-tional Day.

Separately, in Muscat, streets have been illuminated and all ma-jor roads, commercial buildings, banks and hospitals are draped in festoons, banners, balloons and il-lumination in the tricolour.

C E L B R A T I O N S

Omantel network‘restored’Staff Reporter

MUSCAT: Omantel network was being “restored gradually” following a network glitch that kept its service down for almost eight hours yesterday.

“Omantel fixed and mobile services are being restored grad-ually in different areas across the country,” a tweet from the telecom service provider said at 8.45 pm.

From about 12.30 pm on Mon-day a number of Omantel sub-scribers were not able to make phone calls or use the Internet.

“The Network Operations Centre at Omantel headquar-ters has diagnosed the issue and identified the affected areas, and is now working on resolving it. Some of our customers may have difficulties using fixed and mobile services due to a tech-nical issue that we are dealing with,” the telecom service pro-vider tweeted.

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Winter chill finally reaches OmanTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Winter finally set up a date with Oman with the mercury dropping to 6 degrees Celsius in places like Jabel Shams and Jabel Akhdar, according to the Directo-rate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation (DGMAN), which monitors weather conditions in Oman.

If the cold breeze blowing through the city was an indication of the weather to come, official confirmation about the advent of the city’s most-awaited season arrived from the DGMAN office, which confirmed that tempera-tures were dropping everywhere in Oman. “It is 5 to 6 degrees on the mountains and 11 degrees in

Saiq,” said an official. While the temperature in Jabel Shams re-corded a minimum of around 5 to 6 degrees Celsius during the day, it was believed to have dropped to 3 degrees at night.

“It is very cold at night and we are literally shivering,” con-firmed one of the residents of Jabel Shams.

There will be a drastic drop in night temperatures within the next few days because of north-westerly winds, according to DGMAN.

These winds can sometimes cause low level clouds or fog patch-es along the south eastern coast and the Oman sea coast.

Saiq is already feeling the chill after a short spell of warm weath-

er, with the minimum temperature down to 11 degrees Celsius — the lowest this year — while the maxi-mum was 19 degrees Celsius.

Muscat, however, recorded 22 degrees Celsius on Monday.

The general weather forecast for Oman, however, looks bright. “Mainly clear skies over most of the Sultanate with chances of clouds developing over Al Hajar Mountain,” said the Met office in its daily weather forecast issued on Monday.

The forecast also said that there were chances of late night to early morning level clouds along the governorate of South Sharqiyah.

“The sea will be moderate with a maximum wave at a height of two metres,” it added.

Source: Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation Graphics

Celsius dropping in Oman5 to 6 degrees in the mountains and 11 degrees in Saiq

Jebel Shams

Day min. Night min.

Saiq Muscat

Min. Min.Max.

0

10

20

30

5°11°

19° 22°

3°

Times News Service

MUSCAT: The first-ever com-prehensive entrepreneurship workshop in Oman, the NBC Oasis500 Boot Camp, kicked off on Sunday at Knowledge Oa-sis Oman with 75 enthusiastic participants.

Intended to enlighten young talented Omani entrepreneurs, the Boot Camp has been brought to the Sultanate, in partnership with Oman-based Protiviti and Oasis500, which is headquar-tered in Jordan.

The five-day workshop is host-ing 75 aspiring Omani entrepre-neurs, each having been hand-picked after a careful evaluation process and personal interviews.

Commenting on the launch of the five-day Boot Camp, Malak Bint Ahmed Al Shaibaniyah, Di-rector General of the National Business Centre (NBC) said, “We are proud to say that 75 tal-ented young entrepreneurs at-tended the first day of the NBC

Oasis500 Boot Camp. The work-shops and activities over the five days will cover all the basic ele-ments of starting a company here in Oman, drawing upon Oasis500 and NBC’s strength in entrepre-neurship and in building knowl-edge networks to offer young individuals a unique learning opportunity.”

The chief guest Ahmed bin

Hassan Al Dheeb, undersecre-tary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MOCI) noted, “SMEs play an important role in terms of economic growth and job creation. The government has understood its vital role and the established PASMED, not only to encourage new SME start-ups, but to aid in the development of existing SMEs.

E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P

SUPPORTING SMES: The workshops over the five days will cover

all the basic elements of starting a company in Oman. –Supplied photo

With the mercury

dropping in the

mountains, there will

be a drastic drop in

night temperatures

within the next few

days because of

north-westerly winds,

according to experts

NBC Oasis500 Boot Camp kicks off to boost SMEs

COMMEN ARYT I M E S O F O M A NT U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 14

Founder: Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali Chairman and Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Issa Al ZadjaliDeputy Editor-in-Chief: Anees bin Essa Al Zedjali Chief Executive Officer: Ahmed Essa Al Zedjali

Printed and published by: Muscat Press & Publishing HouseP.O. Box 770, Ruwi, Postal Code: 112, Sultanate of Oman.

Subscription: RO70 per year.

Editorial: 24726666, Fax: 24813153; E-mail: [email protected]

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T I M E S O F O M A NA12

Next week, Arab American lead-ers and activists from a dozen key electoral states will convene in Washington to map out a po-litical strategy for 2016. Despite the very real challenges facing the leaders who will gather, this

generation of Arab Americans can approach the fu-ture with some confidence given the progress that has been made the last three decades. Thirty years ago, the obstacles confronting the community were quite different. Back then, Arab Americans, as an organised constituency, were excluded from the mainstream of American political life. Candidates rejected our en-dorsements and support; political parties ignored or excluded us; and, for many, simply being of Arab de-scent was seen as a liability in politics.

Just a generation ago, young Arab Americans felt the need to hide their ethnicity to run for office or to secure an appointment to a federal post. As wrong as it would be to ignore the reality of the problems re-main, it would be equally wrong to ignore how much has changed. Today, there are hundreds of proud Arab Americans working in the federal government, in Congress, in human and civil rights groups, and in policy-formulating institutions in Washington. It is important to note that many of these public servants got their start as staff or interns working for Arab American organizations. In addition, there is now a network of Arab American elected officials.

In mid-1980’s, there was no recognised “Arab American vote”. Today, in places like Dearborn, MI, Paterson,NJ, Chicago,IL, and Northern VA, politi-cians know that Arab Americans are organised and vote. They, therefore, campaign to earn the commu-nity’s support. I recall back in 1985, the first challenge we faced at the newly formed Arab American Insti-tute was the threat to our community in Dearborn. They had been denounced by the leading candidate for mayor as the city’s “Arab problem”. After a dec-ade of voter registration efforts and solid grass roots organising, no one who cared for their political future dared to repeat such an insult. Today, four of Dear-born’s City Council Members are Arab Americans, as is the Council’s President. Much the same could be seen in Paterson, NJ, where in 2012 an Arab Ameri-can backed Congressman beat back challenges by two opponents, both of whom had been supported by hard-line pro-Israel groups. Despite these real elec-toral gains, many will focus instead at the challenges we continue to face and with a jaundiced eye and make the case that no progress has been made. They are wrong. To be sure, the challenges have grown more daunting, but we are now stronger and better

organised and more able to face them down. One of these critics once challenged me saying that I was guilty of saying “the glass was half full, when it was really half empty”. I responded by telling him that nei-ther was the case since I could recall a time when we didn’t have a glass to fill. And now we do!

We don’t need to be reminded of the difficulties that have shaped the current landscape: the terror attacks of 9/11 and the backlash and threat to civil liberties that followed; the devastating impact of the invasion and occupation of Iraq; the collapse of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the wars that have taken such a horrific toll; the unravelling of the “Arab Spring” and the nightmare conflict in Syria; and the spread of extremist currents and the danger they pose to the region. We have been confronted by all of these challenges and more.

Instead of cowering, we faced them head on—and along the way, we’ve won some little, but important, victories. For example, if we had not been organised and had the allies we had worked hard to develop, we would have been overwhelmed by the 9/11 backlash. Instead of being defeated, we were able to defend our community, educate millions about our history and culture, and win important precedent-setting cases against those who threatened our rights. We were able to secure protection for Syrian immigrants in the US and to expand refugee status for Iraqis flee-ing conflict in their country. At critical junctures, we were able to shape the official response to Israel’s brutal assault on Palestinians and Lebanese. And just this year, together with allies, we were able to ef-fectively block a Congressional measure that would have mandated that Israel be entered into the US’s visa waiver programme.

So when a new generation of Arab American ac-tivists gather in Washington to lay the groundwork for their political work for the next two years, they will have the wind at the backs. The community will want to make sure that candidates who run for office in 2016 understand the realities of the Mid-dle East today and are sensitive to the concerns our community will bring into the national debate. They will do so with determination and confidence. Deter-mination, because they know that the domestic and foreign policy issues for which they are advocating are important not only to Arab Americans, but to all Americans. And confident, because they have a proud record on which to build.

The author is the President of Arab American Institute. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of Times of Oman.

Arab Americans are gearing up for 2016

So when a new generation of Arab American activists gather in Washington to lay the groundwork for their political work for the next two years, they will have the wind at the backs

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

WASHINGTON WATCH

The Supreme Court is justified in urging the authorities to ap-point the chief election commissioner (CEC) at the earliest. In the first place, a constitutional post as important as that of the

CEC should never have been allowed to remain vacant for such a long time. Had they appointed a new CEC immediately after the resigna-tion of Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, the government and the opposition would have perhaps, escaped the discomfiture that they are facing today, as in the meanwhile, one very important player in the person of Imran Khan has gatecrashed the game.

Not that he was not important enough even earlier, as his consent was sought and obtained when Justice (retd) Ebrahim was being se-lected to be appointed the CEC.

But now, he appears to be in the mood to dictate the selection pro-cess rather than play second fiddle to Khurshid Shah, the parliamen-tary leader of the opposition. Imran Khan has proposed the name of Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid but the prime minister and the lead-er of the opposition do not seem to be inclined to oblige. Until the pas-sage of the 1973 Constitution, it was not a constitutional obligation to appoint only former or serving superior court or high court judges to the post of CEC. And until the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment, consensus between the prime minister and the leader of the opposi-tion was not a constitutional obligation.

The PTI would do well to keep this in mind and not confuse the whole issue by insisting that this amounts to being an underhand deal between the PML-N and the PPP. Having said that, it is not politically possible today to ignore the PTI in the CEC’s selection process. The need is to have, as soon as possible, an honest person of impeccable reputation as CEC, but with full powers to choose his own civil serv-ants from federal secretary down to the lowest official. It is this crowd of officialdom, which more than anything else, makes or breaks an election. -The Express Tribune

The Pakistan CEC question

The most important point first: it is better that the leaders of 20 of the world’s main countries should meet from time to time and talk than that they should stay at home and hurl insults at

each other from a distance. The history of global summitry has been, mostly, a history of progress. The G3 in the 1970s, which grew to the G8 and was superseded by the G20 in London in 2009 – the summit that “saved the world” – has seen the world grow richer and freer as its population doubled. Summits have played a small part in that, but they have helped to co-ordinate economies at the margins, to ease ten-sions and to set common goals. It was not central to the G20’s business in Brisbane this weekend, but the shifts in the positions of the US and of China on global warming are partly the result of the peer pressure exerted by international powwows such as this.

The main drama, however, was provided by Vladimir Putin’s in-teractions with other leaders over Russian aggression in Ukraine. It may be naive to hope that the Russian President’s attendance at the summit in Australia might act as a restraint on his policy of trying to annexe more parts of Ukraine, but we can be confident that, if Putin were not at the G20, the prospect of exerting moral pressure would be diminished. Russian domestic opinion, which is strongly behind Putin’s assertive foreign policy, wants to see him take his place on the world stage as a respected equal of Russia’s old rivals. This gives West-ern leaders some leverage. They have tried to use it by a combination of cold shoulder and dialogue. Russia has been suspended from the G8, the smaller body which is now less important than the G20, and Putin was given such a hard time by his fellow leaders in Brisbane.

It was important and necessary that all world leaders should speak bluntly about what is happening in Ukraine, and rebut Putin’s pre-tence that the well-armed separatists are nothing to do with him. But it must be questioned whether David Cameron’s mocking tone on Fri-day night was the best way to advance the interests of the Ukrainian people. He said: “I didn’t feel it necessary to bring a warship myself to keep myself safe at this G20, and I’m sure that Putin won’t be in any danger.” It would be better not to say that the behaviour of the Rus-sians in staging naval exercises with a handful of ships off the Aus-tralian coast during the summit is absurd, because it is an elementary principle of negotiation that you try to give the other side a way out with dignity. Cameron is not good at spurning easy laughs.

Russian aggression in Ukraine is arguably product of Russian weak-ness rather than strength. The important thing is to try to change the structure of incentives that would encourage Putin to realise that it is not in his interest to get further involved in an unwinnable struggle with the majority of Ukrainians. It was right for world leaders to speak frankly about what the Russians are doing in Ukraine, but humiliating Putin is likely to be counterproductive. -The Independent

Summits are about tact, not dishing out insults

It is indeed never too late to install smoke detectors This refers to the news, ‘Fire official’s warning to families’, published in Times of Oman. It is indeed a timely warning to the people living in the Sultanate, both nationals and expatriates. Indeed, most people including myself were unaware of the fact that a basic fire alarm, one that detects smoke and gives an audio signal to people living in the buildings, costs so little. Now that the fact is in the domain of public knowledge, I believe that many people will go and get smoke de-tectors installed in their residenc-es. I for one, certainly would. It is also good to know that the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA) is mulling over whether to make it manda-tory for house owners to have fire

alarms in their houses. Consider-ing the twin facts that in 2013, there were 3,768 incidents of fire in Oman of which 1,697 broke out after 6pm, and that smoke alarms save countless lives in many parts of the world, by wak-ing up families from sleep in case of fire, people would be doing themselves a favour by heeding PACDA’s call to take more fire prevention steps.Khurshid AkhtarMuscat

Ponzi scam aftermath has exposed poor governanceThis refers to the Ponzi scam that surfaced in India sometime back and is under investigation now. Probably, not even Charles Ponzi who set the Ponzi ball rolling way back in 1950, dreamed that more

than 1.7 million gullible investors would one day be cheated of Rs 200-300 billion by a group like Saradha group (Times, November 15). One of the alleged master-minds of this scam, Kunal Ghosh who could be a just fixer between Sudipto Sen the boss of the group that is a conglomerate of over 200 companies, could not have indulged in such a massive fraud, without the right connections in the government. What adds a dramatic twist to this is the failed bid by Ghosh to commit suicide, by supposedly consuming 58 alzolam sleeping pills. Even doctors have said that he could have taken 30-40 pills. It is a matter of grave concern and very difficult to under-stand, how he managed to procure so many sleeping pills though he is entitled to only 2-3 pills a day as per prescription, especially as another

prisoner had tried to commit suicide by consuming phenyl in the same high security Presidency correctional home. The way Ghosh could hoodwink jail staff despite two security guards keeping a watch on him, reinforces the fact no Indian jail is impervious to drugs, mobile sets, leave alone guns and jail breaks. With Mamata Bener-jee, chief minister of West Bengal, who Ghosh alleges was aware of the working of Saradha group, committing blunder after blunder, by saying ‘whatever has gone, has gone’ and a calling upon smokers to ‘light up a little more’ to raise Rs 500 crores for relief for poor victims, will the centre use this as a card to make Mamata kneel down or allow CBI a free hand to book the culprits.Dr Suddapalli Bhaskara RaoRuwi

READERS’ FORUM

There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction. J. K. ROWLING

website: www.newindiaoman.com

NEW INDIA ASSURANCENew India’s PERSONAL ACCIDENT INSURANCE offers you world-wide cover/protection and TRAVEL INSURANCE that ensures you tension-free travels.

J A M E S J . Z O G B Y

PERSPEC IVET I M E S O F O M A N T U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 4T I M E S O F O M A N A13

I love two places in this world. One of them is Denmark, and so I was dismayed to discover

that it has a serious procreation problem. The birthrate is the low-est it’s been in more than a quarter century, prompting efforts to make the people have more children.

This follows the efforts of a Dan-

ish travel company, Spies Travel, which announced back in the spring that it would give prizes to couples who get pregnant while on vacations purchased through them. This whole campaign has made me think of the other place that I love, upstate New York, where I grew up. Upstate New York also has some serious birth-rate problems (U.S. Census data show that 35 of the state’s 52 coun-ties outside the New York City area lost population between 2010 and 2012).

But I’m not sure a campaign to encourage upstate New York-ers would work. Especially now, staring down the barrel of an-other long winter. I don’t want to imagine that promotional video, but I will: two pasty people whose genders you can’t tell because they’re both wearing too many hooded sweatshirts emerge from

a snow cave with buffalo wing sauce smeared all over their faces, making eyes at each other while in the background the revving of snowmobiles gives you the sense of what’s about to happen.

For decades upstate New York-ers have been fretting about our sad census figures and crumbling historic downtowns, wondering how we’re ever going to repopu-late our mill towns, our logging towns, our river towns, our ca-nal towns, our Kodak towns, our Bethlehem Steel towns, our State Capitol towns. But how would we pay for all the babies, given our shrinking manufacturing base?

This is where the Danes come in. My first thought was to get the Danish travel agency to encour-age visits to upstate New York. After all, the agency specifically mentioned “Paris” and “Rome,” and we have towns called Paris

and Rome, and they’re less than 20 miles away from each other.

But even if our Danish visitors were to conceive in upstate New York, they would then have to agree to live there, or at least let their spawn live there, in order to stanch our own population bleed-ing. I don’t think they would go for that. I mean, no one else wants to move there. Why should the Danes be any different?

So this is my second thought: If the Danes don’t want to go to upstate New York, maybe we should go to Denmark. Citizens of Utica, of Watertown, Glens Falls, Solvay, Hornell, please contact Spies Travel. Tell them you’ve had enough of upstate New York. Tell them you can’t take another win-ter. Tell them they can have you and your children, forever. . That should seal the deal. -New York Times

News Service

TODAY IN HISTORY

OPINION POLL

1477 William Claxton publishes the first dated book printed in England.

1861 The first provisional meeting of

the Confederate Congress is held in Richmond, Virginia.

1901 The second Hay-Pauncefote Treaty

is signed. The United States is given extensive rights by Britain for building and operating a canal through Central America.

1968 Soviets recover the Zond 6 spacecraft after a flight around the moon.

1993 Twenty-one political parties approve South Africa’s constitution expanding voter rights and ending the rule of the country’s white minority.

TEN-DAY TRAINING PROGRAMME ON ‘COM-PUTER IN THE AUDIT PROCESS’ CONCLUDESMUSCAT: A training programme on ‘computers in the audit process’ was concluded at Sheraton Oman Hotel yesterday, under the auspices of Mohammed bin Said Al Mahrooqi, secretary-general for state audit at the Diwan of the Royal Court. The ten-day programme was organised by the secretariat general for state audit, in cooperation with the Arab Organi-sation of Supreme Audit Institutions (Arabosai), of the Arab League.

FROM OUR ARCHIVES

Evolution means... trusting the present and future governments to — at some point — realise that investing in human beings is the first and last priority of every ruler. It means allowing another five decades to pass before all Pakistani children can go to school

There is a fear lurking in the shadows. It is a fear that preys on optimism and feeds on dread. It is here, there, somewhere and eve-

rywhere. Are you sensing it? Pakistan is gradually sliding back into the old normal. The signs are eve-rywhere. The stench of the government’s arrogance is slowly and tortuously blending with noxious odour of its masterly inactivity. We now appear to be wading back into the rot.

Is there no escaping the vicious tentacles of the status quo? As this shattering reality slowly dawns upon the dreamy-eyed among us, fear begins to well up. What if this is it? What if Nawaz Sharif has won and Imran Khan has lost?

The visual evidence is surprisingly potent. The dharnas are all but fizzling out; Tahirul Qadri has hopped, skipped and jumped to Canada; the army is sitting out this political battle; the political par-ties are satiated because they get to keep their fingers in the national pie; and even the media is now slowly losing interest. Yes indeed, the Novem-ber 30 march on Islamabad will make waves, and perhaps ratchet up the pressure on Sharif and his merry men, but it will not change the inevitable: Nawaz Sharif stays prime minister.

This is the best thing that could have happened. This is the worst thing that could have happened.

Confused? This evident contradiction best high-lights the unbearable dilemma that we face: how to proceed with gradual evolution and yet smash this rotting status quo with revolutionary zeal. The logic goes like this: if you force out Sharif like Khan wants to, you’re playing into the hands of the anti-demo-cratic forces and undermining democracy. But if you let Sharif and his brand of politics stay, you’re strengthening the status quo.

The problem is we have locked ourselves into deeply polarised political positions and pegged our-selves to specific personalities and their agendas; and by hunkering down in political trenches, we may be losing sight of the national landscape that lies in ruins. Step back for a moment and review the landscape.

Has Sharif won? No. Has Khan lost? No. Does it matter at this point? Not really.

Allow me to unpeg you from personalities. Loy-alty to a cause is always nobler than loyalty to a person. Sharif has made blunders. So has Khan. The system almost ground to a halt. Then petty politicking took over. Now Khan is struggling to extricate himself from the corner he himself pushed himself into.

The government can lend him a hand. But it won’t. Yes it won’t because it thinks petty, sounds petty and acts petty. There will be tactical moves and counter-moves, but the strategic reality is that Sharif will stay in government and Khan in the opposition.

Which is fine. For now. While the tumultuous

events since August may not have altered the polit-ical composition in Islamabad, they have dramati-cally transformed the way we perceive politics. For some, the most important fact is that Sharif hangs on to power that they believe he acquired through the ballot box. For others, the perseverance of Khan against heavy odds is the defining aspect of the dharnas. But these are person-oriented gains.

The real revolution within this evolution is the rediscovery of the Pakistani spirit. Yes, a spirit that propels hearts and minds into a glorious future where justice and merit stalk this land instead of fear and loathing.

It is this spirit, this determination to make Pa-kistan a better place for all of us and our children, that is making us think beyond day-to-day politi-cal manoueverings. It is this new-found idealism wrapped in a can-do attitude that is enabling us to delve deeper into how we can trigger a revolution within the slowly unfolding process of evolution.

Let’s talk evolution. It means continuity of the present way of governance. It means giving time for the system to mature; allowing for Parliament to reform electoral laws that will ensure complete-ly free and fair elections.

Evolution means trusting the present and future governments to — at some point — realise that in-vesting in human beings is the first and last prior-ity of every ruler. It means allowing another five decades to pass before all Pakistani children can go to school, because education will not become the top priority of any ruler any time soon.

Evolution means placing the future of your children in the laps of rulers who rise to power through a restrictive system and have no incentive to change it. Evolution means hoping and praying that the second, third, fourth and fifth generations of the present lot will suddenly grow a heart and decide to reform whatever is left of the moth-eaten system. Evolution means expecting global pro-gress and advancement to take a time-out so the Bhuttos, Sharifs and their like can play catch up.

Wanna chance it? Why don’t you roll up a snow-ball, toss it into hell, and see what chance it has.

If evolution has to work, it needs a strong dos-age of revolution. No, not the violent, overthrow-ing kind of revolution, but the type that speeds up things and filters the filth out of the system. Goal — as Napoleon Hill wrote — is a dream with a dead-line. We need a deadlined evolution. Yes, the rulers and their minions will need to be put inside a pub-lic opinion pressure cooker with the release valve sealed. They will need to be pushed and shoved into reforming fast.

One thing is clear: this stinking status quo cannot — must not — endure. And those who cannot smash it, must be pushed aside to make way for those who can, and will, put the R in evolution. - Express Tribune

The hidden revolution in the evolution of Pakistan

HISTORYNET.COM

Ultra-fast lifts in race to the top

GraphicsGraphic News /

The race to build ever taller skyscrapers has sparked a battle among lift manufacturers to develop new-age elevators. High-speed lifts in China’s 632-metre-tall Shanghai Tower will travel at 18 metres per second.

GraphicsGraphic News /Source: Mitsubishi Electric, Financial Times, Popular Science

2016: 20.0m/secCTF Finance Centre,China

2004: 16.8m/secTaipei 101, Taiwan

2014:10.2m/secOne World TradeCenter, US

2010: 10.0m/secBurj Khalifa, UAE

1974 8.1m/sec

Willis Tower, US

1931: 7.1m/secEmpire State Building, US

1930: 4.5m/secChrysler Building, US

Shanghai TowerDesigned by Gensler(US) 121 floors

Elevators

310-kilowattmotor: Drivespulley

Rollers, Accelerometers and electromagnetic actuatorsinside rollers counteractvibration and swaying.Air pressure control system Stops pressure imbalancein passengers’ ears

13-tonnecounterweight

Aerodynamic capsuleReduces air resistance

Ceramic brakesCan stop lift within15 metres if carmoves too fast

Twin railsGuide elevator

106 – built byMitsubishi Electric.Distance of 578.5mbetween basementand top floor

2015:18.0m/secShanghai Tower, China

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Modern life provides many opportunities for bafflement, but

the continuing capacity of the British to regard themselves collectively as paragons of public virtue never ceases to amaze. This week we have seen the lid taken off two promi-nent areas of our national life – banking (again) and football – to reveal something quite un-pleasant beneath.

But the response has been – in the first case – to insist yet again on “just a few bad apples” and – in the second – to attack a report that was so misguided as to exonerate Qatar and Russia over their World Cup bids, while finger-ing England (how dare they?) for being economical with its observance of the rules.

I remember vividly my re-sponse to the first reports that bankers in the City of London were suspected of fiddling the Libor rate. I was horrified. Was Libor – the London inter-bank offered rate – not the bench-mark for international bank-ing? The standard-setter?

If Libor was being manipu-lated, what did this say about the soundness of United King-dom’s banking generally? How and why had anyone been able to cook the books for so long? With something as fun-damental as Libor, why were there no fail-safe mechanisms for checking?

The two questions that I asked most often, though, were the most basic. How come the only remedies be-ing mooted were fines on the institutions – fines that would ultimately be paid to a large extent by you and me, the tax-payers, seeing as how we had rescued these banks by taking them into public ownership? And even more basically, why had the reputation of the City of London not been tarnished beyond recall?

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor were still, it seemed, lavishing time and energy trying to secure some arrangement with Brussels that would minimise the dam-age to the City from tighter eurozone regulation. Frankly, why bother? Let City banking lie on the bed it has made.

It then transpired that not only Libor was being rigged, but the foreign-exchange mar-ket, too, with gung-ho bank-ers exchanging jocular emails about what they were doing.

And not only doing, but get-ting away with, until last year. What was the price for such cynical profiteering? More fines on the institutions, no doubt plea-bargained down, and again likely to be paid, one way or another, by you and me.

Is it not passing strange that the offending emails could be cited verbatim, but that those who sent them remain un-named? Even stranger, that there are apparently no crimi-nal charges yet being brought? Oh yes, the Serious Fraud Of-fice is apparently looking into that possibility, but such a tentative response hardly in-spires confidence.

As a journalist, I find it hard to believe that hacking some-one’s voicemail warrants something akin to a show tri-al and a prison sentence, but swindling the country out of millions of pounds isn’t treat-ed as a crime. Are there frauds that are too big or too brazen to punish?

Even the reputational dam-age seems limited. Far from being diverted to Frankfurt or New York, the money, it seems, continues to roll in. Or is this perhaps a reflection of the sort of money that now flows through London; a qual-ity of money and banking that deserve each other?

And so to the “national game”. When Fifa published its report into allegations of corruption during the most recent bidding process, and essentially absolved Qatar and Russia, the initial reac-tion here in Britain seemed to veer between disbelief and resignation.

After all, Qatar’s bid had succeeded despite summer temperatures that are now requiring the whole global football schedule for 2022 to be rewritten, while questions over Russia’s capacity for bad behaviour are hardly new.

When it emerged, however, that Fifa had put someone in the dock for rule-bending, and that someone was England, the response was apoplectic. Righteous indignation hardly begins to describe it.

Already turbid waters were further muddied when the US lawyer, Michael Garcia, who actually conducted the inquiry, complained that the report contained “in-complete and erroneous representations”.

There is now pressure for his findings to be released in their entirety. But the self-justifying anger the report prompted in London leaves a sour taste and suggests a verb that can be conjugated “I en-tertain; you offer encourage-ment; he/she/it gives bribes”.

One consequence could be that the next time the UK casts aspersions on the pro-bity of an Arab state or Russia, the polite response will cite pots and kettles.

What I fail to understand is why the same seems not to ap-ply to the City of London and its banks. -The Independent

Is FIFA worse than big banks?

Denmark, New York and falling birthrates

M A R Y D E J E V S KY

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MUSCAT: Omani national Sul-tan Al Sobhi, came second in the Stars of Science Show that was aired on MBC4, by a margin of 23 per cent of the votes, on Saturday.

Al Sobhi came first after the jury votes were counted, but Qa-tari national Mohammed Al Hos-ni, emerged the overall winner af-ter he got 46 per cent of the votes from the audience.

Al Sobhi entered the competi-tion by inventing a self-cleaning robot for places of ablution in mosques. The robot can also dry floors and roofs using special sensors. It also has a mechani-cal mechanism for the drainage. The project is characterised by its

ability to work on a timetable that is linked to ‘athan’.

Al Sobhi tweeted that he was dedicating his victory to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said

and the Omani people. He also thanked everyone for their sup-port during the contest.

Omanis launched the ‘We are with you Sultan’ hashtag express-ing their support for him during the competition. Many admired Sultan’s spirit when he warmly congratulated and embraced Al Hosni, the eventual winner.

The ‘Stars of Science’ is the first television show in the Arab world that highlights the young inventors in the region and re-veals their innovative talents. It was launched in 2009 as a part of the Qatar Foundation for Edu-cation, Science and Community Development initiative, and aims to highlight the next generation of young Arab innovators.

Sultan Al Sobhi

Al Sobhi is ‘star’ of scienceT V S H O W

HM congratulates King of MoroccoMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of congratula-tions to King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco on the occasion of the Inde-pendence anniversary of the Kingdom of Morocco.In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his sincere congratulations along with his best wishes of good health, happiness and a long life to King Mohammed VI, praying to Allah for the return of this occasion on him to achieve progress and prosperity for the brotherly Moroccan people.

HM sends cable to Latvia PresidentMUSCAT: His Majesty Sul-tan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of congratulations to President Andris Berzins of the Republic of Latvia on the occasion of the Procla-mation Day of the Republic. His Majesty expressed his congratulations to President Berzins and his country’s people. – ONA

C A B L E S

HM receives greetings

In his cable, Sayyid Badr said: “Your Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Supreme Com-mander of the Armed Forces, on this good occasion and glori-ous month, it is my pleasure and that of Your Majesty’s Armed Forces, victorious Firaq Forces and all employees of the Minis-try of Defence to extend sincere congratulations on the glorious National Day, praying to Allah to perpetuate on Your Majesty happy occasions, protect Your Majesty and grant You good health and a long life and pro-tect Oman.”

In his cable, Lt. Gen Has-san said: Your Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Supreme Commander, it is my pleas-ure and personnel of the Royal Oman Police (ROP) to extend sincere congratulations on the occasion of the 44th Glorious National Day, praying to Allah for the return of this and hap-py occasions on Your Majesty with good health and wellbeing,

Oman and its people with con-tinuous abundant blessings.”

The Chairman of the Majlis Al Shura, Chairman of the State Council, Minister Responsible for Defence Affairs and Inspec-tor General of Police and Cus-toms appealed to Allah to grant His Majesty good health, happi-ness, a long life, care and victory, and the people of Oman, the government and the royal fami-ly wellbeing and prosperity.– ONA

N A T I O N A L D A Y

Sayyid Badr, Lt Gen Hassan and Chairman of the Majlis Al Shura hailed His Majesty on the 44th National Day

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IS group militants execute 1,500 people in Syria in five monthsBEIRUT: The IS group has ex-ecuted nearly 1,500 people in Syria in the five months, a monitoring group said on Monday.

“The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented the execution of 1,429 people since the IS announced its ‘caliphate’ in June,” the group’s director, Rami Abdel Rahman, said.

The majority of IS’s victims in

Syria have been civilians, he said. “Of the total number of people

beheaded or shot dead in mass kill-ings by IS, 879 have been civilians, some 700 of them members of the Shaitat tribe.”

The tribe, from the eastern prov-ince of Deir Ezzor, rose up against the militant group in mid-2014.

Another 63 of the dead were members of other rebel groups

or the Al Nusra Front, which has fought IS in the north and east, Ab-del Rahman said.

“Another 483 were regime sol-diers, while four others were IS members” accused of corruption or other alleged offences, Abdel Rahman said.

IS has executed large numbers of troops loyal to President Bashar Al Assad in recent months, after

capturing government positions in central and northern Syria.

Many have been beheaded and their bodies put on display in public squares, “in order to strike terror into civilians and into any group that might decide to fight it”, Abdel Rahman said.

“Another aim of the IS execu-tions is to terrorise the interna-tional community, while attract-

ing new militants into its ranks,” he said. IS controls large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq where it is widely feared for its brutal abuses.

Syrian activists believe the group is holding hundreds of peo-ple hostage.

IS emerged from Al Qaeda af-filiate ISI, and announced its pres-ence in Syria in April 2013. — AFP

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

Gulf leaders meet ahead of annual summit

RIYADH/DUBAI: Gulf Coop-eration Council (GCC) leaders agreed late Sunday to return Sau-di Arabian, United Arab Emir-ates (UAE) and Bahraini envoys to Qatar.

Earlier, leaders including the emirs of Kuwait and Qatar, the king of Bahrain and the UAE vice-president and prime minister and ruler of Dubai arrived in Saudi Arabia for a previously unan-nounced summit.

Local media reported last week that the GCC leaders were ex-pected to hold a meeting ahead of their annual summit in Doha on December 9-10, to discuss issues.

Kuwait’s Emir His High-ness Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah has been leading a mediation effort to bridge the differences.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain all withdrew their am-bassadors from Qatar in March. A GCC statement on Sunday said the agreement for the ambassa-dors to return to Doha “promises the opening of a new page that will present a strong base, especially in light of the sensitive circum-stances the region is undergo-ing”. It said these circumstances “require extra effort” to safeguard the Gulf region’s security.

“Based on this, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain have de-cided to return their ambassadors

to Doha,” it said. A GCC foreign ministers’ meeting which had been scheduled on November 10 to prepare for the summit was postponed.

The UAE on Saturday is-sued a list of 83 hardline groups which it classified as “terrorist organisations”, among them the Qatar-based International Un-ion of Muslim Scholars, which is headed by the Brotherhood’s Egyptian-born Youssef spiritual guide Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi.

Meanwhile, the group ex-pressed “astonishment” on Mon-day at being designated a terrorist body by the UAE.

In a statement, the Interna-tional Union of Muslim Scholars

urged the UAE to remove it from a list of 85 groups. The inclusion of the group was “not based on any analysis or investigation, whether legal, logical or rational”, said the statement, co-signed by the un-ion’s chairman, Al Qaradawi.

“The Union expresses its com-plete and extreme astonishment of its inclusion by the UAE among the terrorists groups and rejects this description completely,” said the group, which says it seeks to promote scholarship and aware-ness of religion.

Other groups designated on the list included Nusra Front and the IS, whose fighters are bat-tling Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, several militant groups such as the Houthi movement in Yemen, and Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.

The list also includes a number of humanitarian, relief and com-munity associations in the Arab world and the West. — Agencies

The leaders agree

to return Saudi,

UAE and Bahraini

envoys to Qatar

An IS militant believed to be

French citizen Maxime Haucha-

rd, right. – AFP/HO/Al Furqan Media

AUGUST MEETING: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Saudi

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, left, during

an extraordinary Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders summit

in Riyadh, on late Sunday. – Reuters


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

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China must end its practice of infiltrating Indian territory and

construction of roads on our side. We want to maintain good

relations with China and it must respect our sentiment

Rajnath Singh, Home minister

Modi woos Australian investors

SYDNEY: Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi on Monday assured a visa on arrival facility for Austral-ian tourists and announced a two-month deadline for the long-pend-ing merger of OCI and PIO status to woo the Indian diaspora from whom he sought support for his ambitious Clean India campaign.

Addressing a frenzied crowd of around 20,000 in the packed All-phones Arena here, Modi took a dig at the previous governments saying while they were happy to make laws he was“happier to remove” them.

“Let’s open the windows let fresh air come in,” the prime minister said referring to his government’s efforts to weed out obsolete laws.

Touched by the grand reception,

Modi said he was honoured and humbled and will never forget this day. “I know that behind this affec-tion lies expectations. Yes. We want to create the India you are dream-ing of. This welcome, this respect, this enthusiasm I dedicate it to the people of India,” said Modi, the first Indian prime minister to visit Aus-tralia in 28 years.

Modi announced that his gov-ernment was working on to facili-tate visa on arrival for Australian tourists and said the PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) and OCI (Over-seas Citizen of India) status will be

merged ahead of the Pravasi Bhar-tiya Divas to be held from January 7 in Ahmedabad.

Economic reformsModi had announced merger of PIO and OCI during his visit to the US in September but had not given a time-line then.

The Prime Minister also referred to economic reforms unveiled by his government and said India has become an attractive destination for investment. He also said FDI in Railways has been hiked to 100 per cent and hoped that Australian

companies will invest in creating rail infrastructure in the country.

The prime minister wooed Aus-tralian investors to India, saying the environment that is prevailing in the country is “welcoming” and easy to do business, besides having trans-parent and predictable policies.

“You will begin to find a differ-ence in India,” Modi said, asserting that his government is focused on eliminating unnecessary laws and regulations, and making processes easier.

The prime minister was speak-ing at a breakfast meeting hosted

by Queensland Prime Minister Campbell Newman where sev-eral Australian business leaders were present.

Modi also said that Queens-land can be an important partner in India’s development Modi also stressed on the need for an inte-grated partnership joint research to improve yield and farm productivity to development of agriculture sup-ply chain infrastructure and food processing.

The Prime Minister also empha-sised on the need to develop strong synergies in the area of information and communication technology and its every growing application in all areas of life and business between Queensland and India.

He praised Queensland on its success in the tourism sector.

“Indian investors would be will-ing to partner with you, as more and more Indians are drawn to the incredible beauty and hospitality of your state,” he said.

He invited Queensland to partici-pate in India’s ambitious plans for smart, sustainable, habitable cities to cater to its growing urban popu-lation.

While concluding his speech, Modi said India-Australia relation-ship is comprehensive, involving economic cooperation, a growing security and strategic partnership and increasing cooperation in in-ternational forums, which are vital for peace, stability and prosperity in our region. - PTI

The Indian prime

minister wooed

the Australian

investors saying

the environment

prevailing in India is

‘welcoming’ and

easy to do business

ADDRESSING INDIAN DIASPORA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Indian community at All-

phones Arena in Sydney, Australia, on Monday. - PTI

CANBERRA : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott here today and the two countries are likely to sign four to five agreements and MoUs on transfer of sentenced prisoners, combating narcotics trade and social security.

Modi, who arrived in Australia last week, aims at a strategic partnership with Australia to promote India’s economic goals.

Pitching for closer strategic partnership with Australia, the Indian prime minister had said it will support India’s eco-nomic goals, “promote our security interests, includ-ing maritime security, and reinforce our efforts to fos-ter a climate of peace and stability in our extended continental and maritime neighbourhood.” - PTI

Modi, Abbott likely to ink pacts, MoUs

There can be no India without secularism: Sonia

NEW DELHI: Seeking to reassert Jawaharlal Nehru’s legacy, Con-gress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday said secularism is a com-pelling necessity for a country as diverse as India.

She also said that there can be no India without secularism and it remains more than an ideal.

Addressing an international conference on the 125th birth an-niversary of Nehru here, Gandhi said secularism was an “article of faith” for the first Prime Minister of the country.

“There can be no Indianness, no India without secularism....secu-larism was and remains more than an ideal. It is a compelling neces-sity for a country as diverse as In-dia,” she said.

The Congress President recalled

that Nehru had once warned that he would fight to his last breath of his life to protect secularism if it comes under attack.

In an opaque reference to BJP, she said knowledge about Nehru’s life and work has weakened in re-cent years, drowned out by misrep-resentation and distortion.

Referring to the country’s first Prime Minister’s efforts to build a modern India, she said he worked on developing a strong public sec-tor, “a potent symbol of change and modernisation.”

She said Nehru’s achievements continue to bear fruits.

“He moulded a new intellectual outlook, a new social sensibility, a new sense of Indianess,” she said.

Sonia also recalled his role in the field of science and technology. - PTI

1 2 5 T H B I R T H A N N I V E R S A R Y O F N E H R U

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS: Congress president Sonia Gandhi,

former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former president of

Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, former Ghanaian president John Kufuor

and Queen Mother of Bhutan, Gyalyum Sangay Choden Wang-

chuck, left, at the two-day international conference to commemo-

rate the 125th birth anniversary of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, at Vigyan

Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday. - PTI

Rajnath warns China

against building roads

KANHA CHATTI (Jharkhand): Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday warned China against constructing roads in Indian ter-ritory while maintaining that New Delhi wants cordial ties with its neighbours.

Asked what if China contin-ues to carry out construction of roads on Indian side, Rajnath said our forces will be left with no al-ternative but to “break” any such construction.

“China must end its practice of infiltrating Indian territory and construction of roads on our side.

“We want to maintain good re-lations with China and it must re-spect our sentiment,” he said while addressing a public rally here.

Sending out a message of a stronger India emerging under the

BJP regime, Rajnath said if China continues construction of roads on Indian side, there will be no alternative left with India but to “break” them as a last resort.

Continued incursions by Chi-nese troops into Indian side have led to high tension along the bor-der.The matter of incursions came up when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in New Delhi recently.

Meanwhile, China on Monday dismissed reportsthat its troops are training Pakistan Army sol-diers along the India-Pakistan bor-der, saying that the allegation is not backed by facts.

“There are no facts backing rel-evant reports,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a one line reply at a media briefing - PTI

I N D I A N T E R R I T O R Y

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Rao’s mega plans for Hyderabad cityAFTAB H. KOLAOur Correspondent

HYDERABAD: If Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s farsighted vision is to materialise, then Hyderabad could become an-other Bangkok where super high-ways have been built to address the traffic woes there.

An indication in this regard was shared by the chief minister while interacting with John Farrow, chairman of consulting engineers and planners, LEA Associates South Asia, M. Phani Raju, managing di-rector, and T.S. Reddy senior con-sultant, at the state secretariat.

Historical city He said that in the next two years

the historical city would be coming up with an integrated road network linking the existing roads and con-structing skyways with multiple layers of flyovers all over the city

and the government would spend between Rs250 billion and Rs300 billion phase-wise. He said, “Bang-kok is before us as to how the city with so much traffic has tried to

minimise its traffic problems. We will construct roads on the lines of Bangkok.” Not just the roads, but the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) will construct 200 skywalks which will

be linked to various metro stations, on the lines of the Bangkok model. Another airport on the northern side of the city is also being mooted.

For the development of roads, the three-pronged approach is, Im-provement of roads which are criti-cal and typical of the Old City, new city development, and finally, the HMDA area development.

LEA Associates have been asked to come up with a plan where elevat-ed highways could be constructed.

The chief minister said the sur-roundings in Hyderabad are being added to the city with additional population every year and the grow-ing needs will be analysed. Several national and international compa-nies are coming forward to develop Hyderabad and invest, he said.

Not just the roads,

but the Hyderabad

Metro Rail will be

constructing 200

skywalks which

would be linked

to various metro

stations, on the lines

of Bangkok model

Probe agency holds talks with Bangladesh to unravel blast plotDHAKA: Seeking to unravel the plot behind the Burdwan blast, a team of officials from India’s National Investigation Agency on Monday held talks with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

“They (NIA delegation) are hold-ing a meeting with our senior sec-retary (of the home ministry) Mo-hammad Mozammel Haque Khan and other concerned officials,” a home ministry spokesman said.

He told the media that a delega-tion of the Indian high commis-sion in Dhaka also joined the NIA in the meeting.

The four-member team led by NIA Director General Sharad Kumar, which arrived here on Monday, will seek cooperation to unravel the plans of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)terror outfit allegedly responsible for the October 2 blast in Burd-wan district of West Bengal which killed two suspected terrorists.

Earlier, Dhaka had assured of sharing its intelligence. The visit came after NIA made major head-way in the case by arresting JMB’s Chief commander for Burdwan module, Sajid, a Bangladeshi na-tional, Amjad Sheikh and Zia-ul-Haque who allegedly procured ex-plosives and motivated youth for terror groups.

Indian mission in Dhaka Mon-day said the NIA team would “hold meetings with relevant authorities of Bangladesh as part of ongoing bilateral security cooperation”.

NIA has been investigating mili-tant networks after the October 2 blast at a house, visibly turned into a clandestine bomb manufactur-ing factory, in Burdwan district while the security officials earlier said JMB had spread its clandes-tine network in bordering areas in India. Two suspected militants had died in the explosion that rocked the Burdwan house. - PTI

B U R D W A N A T T A C K

Bangkok is before us as to how the city with so much traffic has tried to minimise its traffic problems. We will construct roads on the lines of Bangkok.K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Telangana chief minister

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SEND US YOUR VIEWS AND COMMENTS Pro-ISIS graffiti stirs up scare in Gilgit-Baltistan

GILGIT: Fear gripped Gilgit-Bal-tistan (G-B) as graffiti supporting IS extremist group which has de-clared a self-styled caliphate over large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, appeared in the region on Sunday.

A message reading ‘Welcome to G-B ISIS’ was spray painted onto a wall in the densely populated area of Konodas in Gilgit, prompt-ing concern among residents about the group’s presence in the picturesque tourist destination.

The wall-chalking supporting the militant group which has re-cently beheaded a US aid work-er, was removed by authorities shortly after being reported on Sunday. Earlier this year, messag-es supporting IS were reported in Peshawar after pamphlets were distributed in the city.

Besides distribution of its lit-erature and pamphlets in the insurgency-hit province, some IS supporters have also urged resi-dents to join the group.

Pro-IS messageA local resident claimed that a similar pro-IS message was spot-ted on a wall in another area near Gilgit airport on Friday but was reportedly removed.

“Some people noticed it was written on the wall but nobody knew who really did it,” Essa Khan, a resident of Konodas told The Express Tribune. “As far as I

know, it is not coordinated, sup-ported by the IS. Someone in-spired by their philosophy might have done that,” Khan said, refer-ring to the message supporting the group in G-B. Commenting on the message, a security official said, “Such messages are aimed at fuelling panic in the area.”

He added that people affiliated with certain militant groups were spreading such messages to breed fear in the community.

The official said law enforce-ment agencies in the area were on alert after the troubling case of vandalism in Gilgit. — Express Tribune

A message reading

‘Welcome to G-B ISIS’

was spray painted

onto a wall in the

densely populated

area of Konodas in

Gilgit, prompting

concern among

residents about the

group’s presence

in the picturesque

tourist destinationSome people noticed it was written on the wall but nobody knew who really did it

Essa KhanResident of Konodas

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INDONESIA: Finalists of the 2014 World Muslimah Awards, left to right, Gesti Nur Ula Derapati of Indonesia, Safitri Rahmadani of Indonesia, Masturah binte Jamil of Singapore, Siti Fathimah Junyanti of

Indonesia, Primadhita Rahma of Indonesia, Samaneh Zand of Iran, Elis Sholihah of Indonesia and Tarannum Tasmine of Bangladesh pose for a photograph during a tour at the Borobudur complex, Indonesia’s

ancient Buddhist structure built between the 8th and 9th century in Magelang, Central Java, on Monday. Indonesia hosted the 4th Muslim Beauty Pageant called World Muslimah Awards. About 25 finalists

from around the world are competing in the final round of the World Muslimah Awards, exclusively for Muslim women in Yogyakarta from November 13 to 21 – AFP

GERMANY: An Alps panorama is reflected in the water of the Hopfensee lake near Hopfen, southern Germany, on Sunday. – AFP

CHINA: A woman looks on with a parrot on her head during the 2014 China International Pet Show

in Beijing on Monday. The China International Pet Show (CIPS) will take place from Sunday to

Thursday. – AFP

GERMANY: A restored pyramid of prince Fuerst Pueckler in Branitz Park, designated a UNESCO world

heritage monument in 2004, in Cottbus, Germany. Two unique earth pyramids, made of heaped up

earth, are a special feature of Branitz and a reminiscence to Prince Pueckler’s trip through the Orient

from 1834 to 1840. – AFP

KOBANE: Kurdish children from Kobane play at a refugee camp in

Suruc, Sanliurfa province, on Monday. – Reuters

UNITED KINGDOM: Members of the Queen’s Life Guard ride along Horse Guards Road in front of foliage in autumn colour during the

Changing of the Guard ceremony in central London, on Monday. – Reuters



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Ebola-infected surgeon dies at US hospital

WASHINGTON: A surgeon who was infected with Ebola while working in his native Sierra Leone has died, becoming the second pa-tient in the United States to suc-cumb to the hemorrhagic virus, officials said Monday.

Martin Salia, 44, a US resident, was infected with Ebola while treating patients in his home country. The virus has killed thou-sands in West Africa since the start of the year.

Salia was flown to Nebraska for treatment on Saturday, but doc-tors said his organs were failing by the time he arrived and they were unable to save him.

“Dr Salia was suffering from ad-vanced symptoms of Ebola when he arrived at the hospital Satur-day, which included kidney and respiratory failure,” the Nebraska Medical Center in a statement.

Dialysis“He was placed on dialysis, a ven-tilator and multiple medications to support his organ systems in an effort to help his body fight the disease.”

Salia was also given donated plasma from a survivor of Ebola and the experimental drug treat-ment ZMapp. The hospital said late Sunday doctors were doing everything they could to save him.

Sad news“It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share this news,” said Phil Smith, medical director of the Biocontainment Unit at Ne-braska Medical Center, in a state-ment early Monday.

Extremely critical“Dr. Salia was extremely critical when he arrived here, and unfor-tunately, despite our best efforts, we weren’t able to save him.”

Salia was the 10th person with Ebola to be treated in the United States, and the second to have died from the infection which causes vomiting, diarrhoea and often fa-tal bleeding. — AFP

Martin Salia was

flown to Nebraska

for treatment on

Saturday, but doctors

said his organs were

failing by the time

he arrived and

they were unable

to save him

Salia was the 10th person with Ebola to be treated in the United States, and the second to have died from the infection which causes vomiting, diarrhoea and often fatal bleedingMartin Salia

Mali places hundreds under watch in bid to stem EbolaBAMAKO: Mali says it has placed more than 440 people who may have been exposed to Ebola un-der surveillance as it battles to contain the spread of the deadly tropical virus.

The West African nation has been scrambling to prevent an mi-nor outbreak turning into a major crisis after the deaths of a Guinean

imam and the Malian nurse who treated him in the capital Bamako.

A friend who had visited the imam in the Pasteur clinic also died of probable Ebola and a two-year-old child died in an unconnected case in the western town of Kayes in October.

“The number of contacts fol-lowed by health services amounts

to 442. They have all been placed under observation for health con-trol,” Samba Sow, of the Ebola emergency operations centre, said in a statement late Sunday.

“The death toll has not changed since November 15, and remains three related to (and including) the Guinean patient’s death and one death in Kayes,” Sow added. — AFP

C O N T A I N M E N T E F F O R T

EU hails Dutch and British response to avian flu crisisBRUSSELS: The European Com-mission said Monday the response to an outbreak of avian flu in the Netherlands and Britain was satis-factory amid warnings that the dis-ease could spread further.

“We can only praise the behav-iour of the authorities of the two member states,” said Enrico Brivio, a spokesman for the EU’s execu-tive, one day after the discovery of a highly contagious strain of influ-enza that is very dangerous to birds and can spread to humans.

Dutch officials were on Monday scouring poultry farms and in the process destroying around 150,000

birds in an urgent scramble to iso-late the disease. They also banned the transport of poultry nationwide.

A duck breeding farm in northern England was closed off on Monday after an outbreak of bird flu, al-though officials said the risk to pub-lic health was “very low”.

Culling of 6,000 ducksAn estimated 6,000 ducks on the farm will be culled and a 10-kilome-tre (six-mile) restriction zone has been put around the site near Drif-field in Yorkshire.

“We are reviewing the measures taken by the national authorities,

and for the moment, we consider them adequate, both the measures taken by the Dutch authorities and the ones taken by the British au-thorities,” Brivio said.

The European Commission will make a formal decision on the meas-ures taken in the afternoon Thurs-day and review the situation next Thursday.

Brivio said a bird flu outbreak also occurred two weeks ago in Germany but that “adequate measures” had been taken and the “situation actu-ally is normal” there. EU sources added the German outbreak oc-curred in a turkey farm. — AFP

O U T B R E A K

Dr Salia was suffering from advanced symptoms of Ebola when he arrived at the hospital Saturday, which included kidney and respiratory failureNebraska Medical Center

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Comet probe pictures unveiled

BRUSSELS: The European Space Agency (ESA) on Sunday unveiled images of the probe Philae after it bounced while mak-ing its historic landing on a comet last Wednesday.

The discovery came thanks to painstaking follow-up analysis of a series of pictures ESA had re-leased on Friday, the agency said.

The photos appeared to show only a trail of dust kicked up by Philae when it touched down and rebounded after a pair of har-poons, designed to anchor it to the comet’s surface, failed to work.

But closer scrutiny of the im-ages has shown a bright dot that is Philae as well as a dark dot made

by its shadow as it zooms upwards in the rebound.

“It appears as a couple of bright-er pixels closely accompanied by its shadow in the form of a couple of darker ones just below, both to the right of the diffuse dust cloud shadow,” ESA’s Rosetta mission said in a blog post.

The discovery came from hours of patient work by flight dynam-ics specialist Gabriele Bellei, the posting said. A science lab laden with 10 instruments, Philae was sent down to Comet 67P/Chury-umov-Gerasimenko by its mother ship Rosetta, after a 10-year trek that covered 6.5 billion kilometres

around the inner Solar System. After its first bounce, it is believed Philae landed and bounced once more before settling around a kil-ometre from its target site.

The lander found itself at an angle and in the shadow of a cliff, which meant its solar panels were unable to capture the sunlight it needed to recharge its batteries.

But ESA says Philae success-fully carried out its scheduled research programme thanks to a battery that had enough charge for 60 hours’ work.

Standby modePhilae has now gone into standby mode for lack of power. Mission managers still have some hope it will revive as the comet races closer to the Sun, bringing greater illumination.

Approved in 1993 and launched in 2004, the Rosetta mission aims to uncover the chemical and physical secrets of comets — pri-mordial clusters of ice and dust that may explain the origins of the Solar System and, say some, of life on Earth. — AFP

The discovery

came thanks to

painstaking follow-

up analysis of a

series of pictures

the European Space

Agency had

released on Friday

Kafando to be Burkina Faso interim leaderOUAGADOUGOU: Career diplo-mat Michel Kafando was named on Monday as Burkina Faso’s interim president to steer the west African nation during a one-year transition back to civilian rule following the toppling of its veteran leader.

The appointment of the former foreign minister and UN ambas-sador is set to end weeks of uncer-tainty in the impoverished country after mass protests brought down the 27-year regime of president Blaise Compaore and the military seized power.

It came ahead of a deadline im-posed by the African Union, which had warned the country would face sanctions unless it chose an interim leader by Monday.

AU chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma welcomed Kafando’s ap-pointment and praised the peo-ple of Burkina Faso “for their political maturity and sense of re-sponsibility”. — AFP

T R A N S I T I O N

UNIQUE SHOTS: This combination of three handout photos released on Saturday shows the Philae

touchdown site before and after landing, seen by Rosetta’s navigation camera on the surface of

comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The first image, left, in this sequence was taken on 12 Novem-

ber at 15:30 UTC, just before the lander’s first touchdown; the second image, centre and right, was

taken at 15:35 UTC, right after touchdown. The large red circle indicates the position of the shadow

of the dust cloud caused by the landing. The third image in the sequence is the same as the second,

with the likely position of Philae and its shadow highlighted. — AFP /ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA/NAVCAM

Rajapakse knew of payments made to rebels, says envoyOSLO: A peacebroker accused of helping to fund Sri Lanka’s separatist war acknowledged on Monday that Tamil rebels had been induced to engage in the peace process but said payments were made with the govern-ment’s blessing.

The comments came in an ad-dress by the nationalist presi-dent in front of supporters in the countdown to an election expect-ed in January.

But Solheim, who initially ac-cused Rajapakse of “telling lies”, said on Monday that while the Tigers had indeed been given “economic resources”, all pay-ments had been conducted with the Colombo government’s full knowledge.

“Norway made economic re-sources available to the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) peace secretariat in order to assist them in engag-ing more fully with the ongo-ing peace process,” he said in a statement.

“This, moreover, was done with the full knowledge of the govern-ment of Sri Lanka under differ-ent leaders, including during the period when Mahinda Rajapakse was prime minister.

“As with all our peace efforts in Sri Lanka, transparency with respect to the government in Co-lombo was total.”

While Solheim did not go into detail on how the money fun-nelled to the Tigers was spent, he did say that the rebels acquired a radio transmitter with the gov-ernment’s knowledge.

Solheim said Rajapakse had expressed his gratitude “both to Norway and myself” after invit-

ing them to continue peace ef-forts soon after he won the presi-dential election in 2005.

“Thereafter, President Raja-pakse made a number of political requests that he asked me to con-vey on his behalf to LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

“All these messages were duly communicated on to the LTTE leadership, and the kill-ings ceased for a period,” Solheim said.

The envoy did not give the na-ture of the political requests of the president, but added that de-tails would be revealed in a book next year. — AFP

D I S C L O S U R E

German, Polish diplomats booted, confirms RussiaMOSCOW: Russia said Monday it has expelled a German diplo-mat and a number of Polish diplo-mats in response to the expulsion of its diplomats amid cooling ties with the EU over Ukraine.

Moscow said the German was expelled from Moscow in a re-taliatory measure for what it de-scribed as an “unfriendly” step earlier by Berlin of expelling a Russian diplomat.

German newsweekly Der Spiegel had reported the expul-sion of a German diplomat from Moscow at the weekend, saying it came after Berlin had expelled a Russian diplomat from Russia’s consulate-general in Bonn.

The Russian foreign ministry insisted that the incident was unrelated to the fact that Ger-man Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is due to visit Moscow on Tuesday for talks on Ukraine with his Russian coun-terpart Sergei Lavrov.

The ministry also confirmed separately that it had expelled a number of Polish diplomats for “activities incompatible with their status,” the diplomatic jargon generally used to allege espionage.

“The Russian side took ap-propriate measures and a num-ber of Polish diplomats have already left the territory of our country,” the ministry said in a statement, without giving any further details.

It said that it made the move after Poland had earlier expelled Russian diplomats for the same reason, calling this “an unfriendly and absolutely groundless step.”

In Brussels, Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna said that Warsaw considered Moscow’s move a “symmetric response”.

“For us, this affair is closed,” he was quoted as saying by the PAP news agency. — AFP

W O R S E N I N G T I E S

Erik Solheim, a Norwegian diplomat who for nearly a decade headed international efforts to broker a peace deal, was accused by President Mahinda Rajapakse at the weekend of ‘giving money’ to the Tamil Tigers

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Oman seeks to raise crude oil production

SALEH AL [email protected]

MUSCAT: Oman is targeting to increase its oil productions to an average of 980,000 per day in 2015 from the present production of 950,000 barrels per day, a senior oil and gas official said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters at a launch of a book released by Pe-troleum Development of Oman (PDO), Salim bin Said Al Oufy, the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas, said that aggressive drilling and new technology uti-lised by oil producers in the Sul-tanate will push up Oman’s oil production next year.

“We are challenging our produc-tions to satisfy our demands and therefore we are targeting an oil production of 980,000 barrels per day in 2015 from 950,000 barrels per day now,” said Salim Al Oufy.

Asked if Oman oil productions would go further up beyond 2016, the undersecretary added, “oil and gas is still a very profitable business compared to other in-dustries. We will see how the de-mand of the economic and then make a decision beyond 2015.”

He said that he was confident oil producers would rise to the challenge of raising productions next year to cater for the econom-ic growth of the Sultanate. Apart from PDO, which is Oman’s big-gest oil producer, other producers who are operating in the Sultan-ate include Occidental, Hunts Oil and MB Petroleum.

The Sultanate

is targeting an

oil production of

980,000bpd in

2015 from 950,000

barrels per day now,

said a Ministry of Oil

and Gas official

SALEH AL [email protected]

MUSCAT: Majority state-owned Petroleum Develop-ment of Oman (PDO) said on Monday that it would spend between $1.5 billion to $2 billion from next year for the exploration of gas in its fields.

“We are currently produc-ing some 90 million cubic feet, but from next year we are going to invest between $1.5 billion to $2 billion for gas exploration,” Raul Restucci, PDO’s Managing Director told Times of Oman.

PDO is the biggest oil

producer in Oman but is also producing crude oil at an aver-age of 550,000 barrels per day.

“Oman is faced with the challenge of tight oil and gas but with new technology, PDO is accepting the challenge and we have been very successful at it,” Restucci added.

The Sultanate’s national oil company has recorded an average production of 1.25 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2013 and added 317 million bar-rels of oil reserves. Also, the total natural gas-developed reserves increased by 1.3 tril-lion cubic feet last year.

The company is heavily spending on Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) programme to make up for the extra oil production. PDO’s produc-tions in 2013 came from four major EOR developments at Marmul, Qarn Alam and Harweel. In addition, the company has EOR pilots at Fahud, Lekhwair, Nimr, Al Noor, Marmul, Amin and Ghubar. One of its biggest success stories is the polymer project in Marmul which has reached the milestone of 1 million cubic metres (6.3 mil-lion barrels) of incremental oil recovery end of last year.

PDO to invest $2b per year on gas exploration

BOOSTING OUTPUT: Aggressive drilling and new technology

utilised by oil producers in the Sultanate will push up Oman’s oil

production next year. — Picture by A R Rajkumar/Times of Oman

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DON’T DROP DEAD DROP YOUR PHONE Galfar wins key road contractMUSCAT: Galfar Engi-neering and Contracting on Monday confirmed that the Tender Board has awarded the company a tender for dualising Nizwa-Ibri road (stage 2) from Jibrin to Ibri for OMR28.03 million. The completion period is 18 months, the company said in a disclosure statement posted on MSM website.

New Zealand, South Korea strike trade dealWELLINGTON/SEOUL: New Zealand and South Korea have struck a free trade deal allowing more students from the Asian country to live and work in the South Pacific Island na-tion, in return for improved access for farm exports.The free trade agreement (FTA) announced at the weekend between the two countries, which trade around $3.2 billion. - Times

News Service/Bloomberg News

BR I E FS

KPMG forum on entrepreneurship to discuss growth, efficiencyTimes News Service

MUSCAT: KPMG in Oman, in co-ordination with Public Authority of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Development, will draw focus on the emerging power of entrepreneurs in the economy and is co-hosting a one-day conference on entrepreneurship in December.

Omani entrepreneurs from small and medium scale compa-

nies are expected to attend the conference which will be held on December 10 at Crowne Plaza.

The conference is one of the initiatives of KPMG to focus on the owner managed businesses, SMEs and family businesses. KPMG has a large and dedicated team of professionals providing audit, accounting and advisory services to its growing SME clien-tele in Oman. The objective of this

one-day interactive conference is to bring together a group of medi-um scale entrepreneurs who will discuss the issues surrounding their business in terms of growth and efficiencies.

The conference will be led by INSEAD’s Professor Filipe Santos and the event will include a discus-sion on ‘Business model canvas tool that equips the entrepreneurs to analyse their business from a

360 degree perspective, identify the key issues and focus on the growth opportunities.

Organisation theoryProfessor Filipe Santos is an as-sociate professor of Entrepreneur-ship at INSEAD —The Business School for the World. He is also academic advisor to KPMG fam-ily businesses across the Europe, Middle East and Asia. At INSEAD,

he directs the INSEAD Centre for Entrepreneurship and the IN-SEAD Social Entrepreneurship Initiative. His research lies at the intersection of strategy, organi-sation theory, and entrepreneur-ship and is particularly interested in understanding the processes through which entrepreneurs con-struct new firms and markets.

Ahmed Tufail, Partner, KPMG in Oman, stated that the nature

of entrepreneurship allows man-agers to dedicate the resources required for innovation and risk-taking. Through this interactive conference, the Omani small and medium scale enterprises will have an opportunity to understand the nine building blocks of a successful business model, identify key issues in their businesses and areas that immediately need to focus upon to successfully grow the business.

CONFERENCE

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G20 plans $2 trillion to support global growthBRISBANE: Group of 20 (G20) leaders agreed to take measures that would boost their economies by a collective $2 trillion by 2018 as they battle patchy growth and the threat of a European recession.

Citing risks from financial mar-kets and geopolitical tensions, the leaders said the global economy is

being held back by lackluster de-mand, according to their commu-nique following a two-day summit that ended on Sunday. The group submitted almost 1,000 individual policy changes designed to lift growth and said they would hold each other to account to ensure they are implemented.- Bloomberg News

B R I S B A N E M E E T Oman’s real growth poised to touch 4.5%

Times News Service

MUSCAT: The Sultanate’s real economic growth is expected at 4.5 per cent in 2015 mainly driven by a strong non-oil performance averaging 7 per cent as the gov-ernment’s diversification ambi-tions is beginning to show results, according to a report released by a Kuwait-based bank.

The country’s real gross domes-tic product (GDP) is expected to grow by four per cent in 2014 and 4.5 per cent in 2015.

“Non-oil activity will be driv-ing Oman’s growth in the coming years,” said National bank of Ku-wait (NBK) in a report.

Inflation averaged 1.1 per cent in 2013, the lowest since 2005. Growth was withheld by timid in-creases in housing and transporta-

tion, which make up 46 per cent of the basket of goods. Core inflation, which excludes housing and food, registered a deceleration as well, averaging 0.6 per cent in 2013.

Current headline inflation re-mains low, standing at one per cent in August and averaging 1.1 per cent year-to-date.

Receding food prices, follow-ing an international trend, and transport prices continue to apply downwards pressure, while mod-est movements remained preva-lent in the rest of the subcompo-nents, says the survey.

The Government of Oman has opted to manage its crude oil re-serves by limiting production, shifting its focus to diversifying its economy.

The public deficit is expected to widen as investment expen-

ditures begin to take off and rev-enues recede because of declining oil prices. In tandem, a contrac-tion in the current account sur-plus is expected on the back of a growing energy import bill, stated the NBK in its report.

Credit and the stock market are expected to benefit from the boost in aggregate demand, the latter supported by the $30 billion worth of projects to be executed over the coming years. This is sizeable compared to an esti-mated GDP size of $80 billion for 2013, it added.

Oil outputOil production averaged 942,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2013, up 2.6 per cent a year ago.

It is expected to grow at a tepid pace this year and the next; the government announced its inten-tion to maintain oil production between 950,000 and 960,000 bpd for the next five years.

An increased use of gas-inten-sive enhanced oil recovery (EOR) practices will be needed to achieve this extraction rate given Oman’s ageing wells, stated the report.

Current gas production falls short of the country’s domestic de-mand, with the country importing gas from Qatar to fill the gap. The

lack of adequate feed stock has also impacted Oman’s ambition to expand of exports capabilities.

While well depreciation could see this supply gap persist, Oman is investing in new gas reserves that could help boost output. Cur-rent readings of gas production point to continued decline with average daily output contracting by 8 per cent during the first half of the year. In an effort to tap new gas reserves, the government has prioritised the development of the BP Khazan tight gas project, ex-pected to come online in 2017.

However, with imports expect-ed to remain necessary, Oman is talking with Iran on building a new gas pipeline that would help loosen supply constraints.

Ambitious development goals and diversification will continue to pressure Oman to efficiently manage its maturing hydrocar-bon resources. Oil GDP growth is expected to slow to 0.8 per cent this year and 0.5 per cent the next, from 2.8 per cent in 2013.

Real economic growth is expected at 4.5% in

2015, mainly driven by non-oil performance

averaging 7%, as diversification efforts are

beginning to show results, says a survey

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MARKETOpec under pressure to actNEW YORK: Speculators got more bullish on oil for the first time in three weeks, judging that a slump in prices to a four-year low will force Organisation of Petro-leum Exporting Countries to act.

The net-long position in West Texas Intermediate rose 8.7 per cent in the week ended November 11, US Commodity Futures Trad-ing Commission data show. Long holdings rebounded from the low-

est level in 17 months while short bets contracted.

WTI tumbled 29 per cent since June as US output climbed to three-decade high, adding to a global supply glut at a time when the International Energy Agency says demand growth is slowing. Ministers from the Opec acceler-ated diplomatic visits last week, potentially seeking a consensus before the group’s Nov. 27 meet-

ing in Vienna. “The market is un-der incredible pressure and it will stay that way until OPEC takes decisive action,” Rob Haworth, a senior investment strategist in Seattle at US Bank Wealth Man-agement which oversees about $120 billion, said by phone on Monday. “There has to be some-thing that changes the story, which is that there’s too much supply.” - Bloomberg News

F A L L I N G C R U D E P R I C E S


MARKET

PDO unveils new book to mark 44th National Day celebrationsTimes News service

MUSCAT: Petroleum Develop-ment Oman (PDO) kicked off a series of events on Monday to mark a week of celebrations for the 44th National Day.

The company unveiled a land-mark book about Oman’s gas in-dustry at a high-profile launch ceremony presided over by Salim Al Aufi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas.

The 139-page hardback pub-lication, titled “Oman’s Invis-ible Energy”, is written by former British diplomat Sir Terence Clark and charts PDO’s role in the exploration and production of gas.

It covers key milestones, in-cluding the official opening of the Sultanate’s first gas plant at Yibal in October 1978 by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and His subsequent support of the indus-try’s development right up to the present day exploitation of un-conventional gas.

PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci said: “His Majesty has been instrumental in the progress our company has made in grow-ing a flourishing gas operation which has contributed billions to Oman’s economy and fuelled millions of Omani homes, offices and factories.”

“From the early days, His Maj-esty was visionary in realising the potential benefits of a successful gas industry to the country and has backed us all the way in the exploration and production of what is now seen across the world as an increasingly valuable source

of affordable, low-carbon energy,” he added.

Vital contribution“The new book captures His Maj-esty’s vital contribution as well as that of thousands of staff and contractors over the past four decades who have helped PDO become the nation’s dominant natural gas supplier, producing around 90 million cubic metres a day for domestic and interna-tional consumption,” he said.

The official guests at the cer-emony included representatives from Shell Oman, Oman LNG, key figures from PDO’s Gas Board and members of the Company’s Man-aging Director’s Committee.

The book launch at the Oil and Gas Exhibition Centre at Mina

Al Fahal was the first in a series of Company-wide National Day week events involving thousands of PDO staff and contractors across the country.

On National Day itself (Novem-ber 18) a razha marching band will entertain employees with tra-ditional music and dancing while halwa and coffee are served at PDO’s Bait Mina Al Fahal (BMF) headquarters. The building has been decorated in Omani flags and red, green and white bunting. There will also be similar celebra-tions at Interior locations.

On Wednesday, Restucci and PDO Technical Director Amran Al Marhubi will address all staff via a live weblink with an update of Company progress and an out-line of future developments.

H I G H - P R O F I L E L A U N C H

Muscat shares fall marginally

MUSCAT: Oman’s benchmark stock index, the Muscat Securi-ties Market 30 Index, fell 0.22 per cent at the close in Muscat.

The index of 30 companies traded on the Muscat Securities Market fell 15.84 to 7,030.33. Among the stocks in the index, three rose, 11 fell and 16 were unchanged.

Declines in the Muscat Securi-ties Market 30 Index were led by Ooredoo, Renaissance Services and Al Maha Petroleum Product.

Saudi stocks slip Shares in Saudi Arabia, Opec’s biggest producer, dropped to the

lowest level in more than eight months after oil entered its ninth week of decline.

The Tadawul All Share Index fell 2.8 per cent to 9,289.55, its weakest level since March 6. The gauge was the second-worst performer among more than 90 indexes tracked glob-ally by Bloomberg. Saudi Basic In-dustries Corp., among the world’s largest petrochemicals producers, retreated 2.8 per cent to the lowest in more than a year.

Brent crude, the benchmark for more than half the world’s oil, lost 1.4 per cent at 12:54pm in London to $78.28 a barrel, near a four-year low. Saudi Arabia

needs oil to average $99.2 a bar-rel this year to balance its budget, according to Deutsche Bank. Oil prices may keep sliding in com-ing months, mounting pressure on Opec to cut production, the International Energy Agency said on November 14.

“The market is clearly being driven by oil prices and the poten-tial structural change in oil-supply dynamics,” Ali Khan, chief execu-tive officer of London-based BGR Asset Management, said by e-mail.

“Positive catalysts remain elu-sive on oil, and the same goes for the equities markets. Investors are worried and want to cash out to see how the oil price settles.”

The Tadawul’s 14-day relative strength index fell to 27.7, the low-est in a month. A level below 30 indicates to some investors a meas-ure is undervalued. Oil prices may slide further in coming months as demand slips by one per cent to 92.6 million barrels a day in the first quarter from this quarter, the IEA said. The agency estimates that consumption grew in 2014 at the slowest pace in five years. — Bloomberg News

The index of 30 companies traded on the

Muscat Securities Market fell 15.84 to

7,030.33. Among the stocks in the index,

three rose, 11 fell and 16 shares were

unchanged

Australia, China boost ties with landmark free trade dealCANBERRA: China and Austral-ia on Monday sealed a landmark free trade agreement more than a decade in the making, signifi-cantly expanding ties between the world’s second largest economy and one of Washington’s closest allies in Asia.

The deal, which Australia called the best ever between Beijing and

a Western country, will open up Chinese markets to Australian farm exporters and the services sector while easing curbs on Chinese investment in resource-rich Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a memorandum of understanding clinching the

agreement during a ceremony in parliament in Canberra.

“This has been a 10-year jour-ney, but we have finally made it,” Abbott said.

Xi praised the deal in an ad-dress to parliament, pledging to deepen cooperation with Aus-tralia while reaffirming China’s willingness to resolve territo-

rial disputes with its neighbours through diplomatic means.

“As long as we have our long-term and the larger interests in mind, increase positive factors and remove obstacles we will certainly forge a closer and more comprehensive strategic partner-ship between us,” he said.

China is already Australia’s top

trading partner, with two-way trade of around A$150 billion ($130 billion) in 2013. On Mon-day they witnessed 14 commercial agreements between companies worth potentially more than A$20 billion ($17.56 billion).

The leaders also pledged to work jointly to combat climate change by sharing technology

aimed at improving the efficiency of coal usage.

Australia needs China’s help to transition from a reliance on ex-ports of minerals such as coal and iron ore to expanding its food and agricultural exports to a growing Asian middle class, moving from a “mining boom” to a “dining boom.”

- Reuters

B I L A T E R A L T R A D E

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has been instrumental in the progress our company has made in growing a flourishing gas operation, which has contributed billions to Oman’s economy and fuelled millions of Omani homes, offices and factories

Raoul RestucciPDO Managing Director

B8

ROUND-UPT U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 14

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Bahwan Electronics opens new showroom for Titan watches

MUSCAT: Bahwan Electronics, the exclusive distributor of Ti-tan Watches in the Sultanate of Oman, opened its fully renovated new showroom at Makha Business Centre, Ruwi High Street. The opening also coincided with the 20 years of successful presence of Ti-tan Watches in the Sultanate, says a press release.

Amal Suhail Bahwan, managing director and board member Su-hail Bahwan Group Holding and HR Raghunath, CEO, Watches & Accessories Division, Titan Com-pany Limited, cut the ceremonial ribbon and opened the showroom in the presence of VIPs, dignitaries

and dealers. Amal Bahwan also unveiled

the latest collection of new range of watches from Titan and com-menced the first sale.

The new showroom, located in the prominent commercial and shopping area of Ruwi High Street, boasts state-of-the-art display complemented by smooth lighting system, giving customers a better

shopping experience.Bahwan Electronics has been

the exclusive distributor for Ti-tan watches in the Sultanate of Oman for the past 20 years, since the brand Titan was introduced in Oman.

Titan watches, a part of the TATA Group — one of India’s larg-est multinational conglomerates, echoes impeccable designs across a wide range of pioneering prod-ucts. With over 750 designs to choose from, Titan boasts a wide range of watches that comple-ments every occasion and style, and is available for men, women, teenagers and children.

The new showroom

boasts state-of-

the-art display

complemented by

smooth lighting

system, giving

customers a better

shopping experience


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

Bank Muscat set to host two-day ABA conferenceMUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services pro-vider in the Sultanate, is hosting a prestigious Asia-Pacific bank-ing conference. The two-day 31st Asian Bankers Association (ABA) general meeting and conference, starting tomorrow at Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa, takes added significance as it is the first time the ABA is organ-ising its annual conference in the Middle East.

Dr Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and In-dustry, will be the guest of honour at the two-day event. Hamoud bin Sangour Al Zadjali, executive president of the Central Bank of Oman, will present the keynote address at the conference bring-ing together over 100 leading bankers and bank regulators from around the Asia-Pacific region, says a press release.

The ABA conference will focus on the theme ‘Asian Banks: Re-inventing the Modern-Day Silk Route’. Discussions will highlight the need for today’s Asian banks to seek innovation in products and channels while strength-ening their operating model to become leaner, faster, and more efficient in order to succeed in to-

day’s marketplace. “Bank Muscat is honoured to

host the 31st ABA General Meet-ing and Conference which serves as a unique opportunity for the association and its members to share with other bankers from the region the investment and busi-ness opportunities that Oman and the Middle East region as a whole offers. The event will bring into focus the dynamic banking sector in the GCC region in general and Oman in particular,” said Abdul-Razak Ali Issa, chief executive.

“The Asia-Pacific region is wit-nessing significant economic de-velopments. As the real engines of growth and development in each country, Asia-Pacific banks can play a strategic role in supporting development and promoting sta-

bility in respective communities and societies. The ABA general meeting and conference provides an ideal platform to strengthen and expand relations among banking and financial institu-tions in Asia-Pacific countries and beyond,” he added.

Eminent banking experts have been invited to present their perspectives on various topics including: (a) ‘Post-Quantitative Easing (QE): Its Impact on the Global Economic and Financial Markets”; (b) ‘Managing the Im-pact of Basel 3: Business Model Strategies in the New Regula-tory Environment’; and (C) ‘Lift-ing the Veil off Islamic Banking: Challenges and Opportunities’.

The conference will also fea-ture a CEO Forum to provide a high-level platform for top bank executives and thought leaders to share best practices and experi-ence, debate current strategic is-sues in banking, and discuss win-ning business approaches.

As a special part of this year’s programme, a session entitled ‘Discover ABA’ will be held that will feature country presenta-tions by member banks from Japan, India, Iran and the host country Oman.

A S I A N B A N K E R S A S S O C I A T I O N

KIMS briefs Al Hajiry Group employees on kidney stonesMUSCAT: As part of its commu-nity involvement and continued efforts to spread health awareness and education, KIMS Oman Hos-pital (KOH), a 50-bed hospital, has conducted two health awareness camps by two of its expert doc-tors Dr Arun Panackal, specialist urologist, and Dr R. V. Nair (gen-eral surgeon) on kidney stones and piles for Al Hajiry Group employ-ees on their premises in Muscat, says a press release.

Dr Arun Panackal educated the attendees on the symptoms and causes of kidney stones, explaining that they can be caused by several factors and can affect any part of the urinary tract from the kidneys to the bladder.

“Stones form when the urine becomes concentrated, allowing minerals to crystallise and stick together,” he revealed.

Highlighting useful tips to re-duce the risk of forming kidney stones, Dr Panckal advised the au-

dience to drink water throughout the day and to choose a diet that is low in salt and animal protein.

On the other hand, Dr Nair han-dled the second lecture and spoke intensively on the symptoms, causes and the different ways of treating piles. He explained the causes of such illness which in-cludes: Sitting for long periods of time on the toilet, chronic diar-rhoea or constipation, obesity, pregnancy as well as low-fibre diet.

“I recommend some healthy tips such as eating more fruits, vegeta-bles and whole grains, in addition to drinking six to eight glasses of water and other liquids each day to

help keep stools soft, as well as to exercise regularly and not to strain which creates greater pressure in the veins in the lower rectum,” Dr Nair concluded.

“KIMS Oman Hospital is com-mitted to provide world-class health care services with care, compassion and courtesy to its patients at an affordable price. We strive to give our very best to the patient in clinical as well as non-clinical aspects of health care.

“For us the patient is the sole cause of existence and we recip-rocate the faith and trust that pa-tient’s exhibit in our brand,” said a hospital official.

H E A L T H A W A R E N E S S C A M P S


ROUND-UPHamdan Exchange opens its 15th branch in Liwa NorthMUSCAT: Hamdan Exchange opened its 15th branch in Liwa North, Al Batinah Governorate. The branch was inaugurated by Sheikh Hilal bin Harab Al Ghafri in the presence of Dr Ali Al Ghaf-ri, Ammar Ahmed Al Ghafri, Dy CEO, P. Vidyashankar, general manager and a large number of customers and well-wishers, says a press release.

Hamdan Exchange is part of one of the biggest business groups in Oman, the Hamdan Group Hold-ing, which owns Hamdan Plaza Hotel in Salalah, Hamdan Trans-port, Hamdan Trading Group (Dunlop), Hamdan Constructions, Hamdan Tours and Travels etc. Established in the year 1990 by the great visionary Sheikh Hamed Hamood Al Ghafri, Hamdan Ex-

change has been serving the com-munity for the last 24 years dur-ing which period it has spread its branch network to all over Oman. The branch in Liwa is its 15th in the Sultanate and it has plans to open more branches in the cur-rent year itself.

The new branch in Liwa is lo-cated in a strategic location to of-fer better services to the expatriate

community as well as Omani na-tionals in the area.

Hamdan Exchange has tied up with major banks in India, Pa-kistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Egypt and ma-jor remittance channels like Western Union, Xpress Money, EzRemit and Transfast to en-sure fast and secure remittance options to its customers.

E X P A N S I O N

NDC crosses 10,000 Facebook likes markMUSCAT: National Detergent Company (NDC), one of the leading FMCG companies in the Sultanate, has achieved a social media milestone of 10,000 Face-book fans, says a press release.

Launched on Facebook in May 2013, NDC has achieved remarkable fan growth due to a wide variety of promotions, in-cluding fan engagement, exclu-sive contests and raffle draws. The increase in growth has also been a result of its broad content initiatives, where the aim has been to offer unique glimpses into the company’s products and innovation.

“Social media forms a key part of NDC’s communications strat-egy and the company is trying to develop a strong social media presence across platforms as a means of building relationships with our expanding customer base. As a result, we have gained tremendous insight into the at-titudes and opinions of our con-sumers toward the NDC brand and discovered many great sto-ries and product suggestions from our fan base,” said NDC Di-rector and CEO V. Sundaresan.

The Facebook page of NDC gives consumers updates on products, events, and exciting contests.

S O C I A L M E D I A


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WhatsNews


MHD organises loyalty march

MUSCAT: The Mohsin Haider Darwish Group of companies organ-ised a march on November 16 ahead of today’s National Day to show their loyalty and gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and express their happiness and relief for the builder of the renaissance.

The march was organised from the Ministry of Housing parking in Al Khuwair till the Ministry of

Culture and back. The march was led by Mohsin Haider Darwish, his daughters and senior management members accompanied by a large number of national and expatriate employees from the MHD group, says a press release.

Speaking on the occasion Moh-sin Haider Darwish, chairman MHD, said: “We are fortunate enough to have lived during the wise reign of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. It is his foresight and ability to look ahead which

has today brought the Sultanate of Oman to the forefront as a nation which is excelling in all aspects of governance and development. On the occasion of the 44th National Day we have all gathered here to salute him and wish him good health & continued well being.”

The participants were dressed in T-shirts specially prepared for the event along with flags and pho-tographs of His Majesty. The gath-ering chanted expressions of loy-alty and gratitude to His Majesty.

The gathering

chanted expressions

of loyalty and

gratitude to His

Majesty the Sultan

Apollo Sugar holds Diabetes walk

MUSCAT: The pledge for ac-tion against diabetes came alive in Apollo Sugar, International Medical Centre recently as a large number of local residents took part in a walkathon organised near the Apollo Sugar facility located at Ruwi.

The event was attended by Ibrahim Marhoon Al Kulbi, cur-rent triathlon champion of Oman, says a press release.

Kulbi stressed the need for life-style changes for a better life and re-emphasised the need to make a small beginning. He also initiated a pledge to good health campaign; which was followed by dignitaries and members from the gathering.

The event drew participants from all walks of life and they all had a common objective — to sup-port the fight against diabetes. The walkathon was one of numer-ous activities organised by IMC. Participants also took individual pledge and wrote messages on a ‘Pledge Wall’ — a promise to make a beginning to a healthy lifestyle — which is the corner stone to ef-fective management of diabetes

and delaying the onset of diabetes. Participants also thronged in to register for the free diabetes test that recorded a large number of patronages. IMC will also house specialists and experts for the en-tire month offering consultation and conducting free screening for patients with diabetes and diabe-tes related problems.

One of the enthusiastic partici-

pants commented, “In Oman, dia-betes is a leading cause of avoid-able blindness and so I am proud to support this year’s ‘Healthy Living and Diabetes’ walk to help raise awareness, particularly about vision related complica-tions as a result of diabetes.”

Addressing participants after the walk, Shyam Sailesh said, “I strongly urge you all not to let the enthusiasm go down as you leave here today, but rather, continue to exercise and eat healthy to lead a healthy lifestyle and make diabe-tes less visible in our society.”

“With this campaign, we hope to spread the message of healthy living to people from all walks of life and hence make a difference in the fight against diabetes. At IMC, we will continue to use our expertise to reach out to as many people as possible in driving awareness and education on the prevention and management of diabetes,” he added.

Apollo Sugar Diabetes Ser-vices at, International Medical Centre specialises in Diabetes and Endocrine Care.

A W A R E N E S S

Bangladesh School Muscat prays for HM’s good health

MUSCAT: Bangladesh School Muscat (BSM) conducted a special prayer for the quick re-covery and good health of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. All teachers, staff and students were present in the prayer, says a press release.

During the prayer session they wished HM a long life and good health. They also paid him hom-age for his incomparable services to his beloved nation and the resi-dents of the Sultanate.

All four other branches of Bangladesh School located at Saham, Sinaw, Sohar and Jaalan also conducted same prayer at the same time.

At the beginning of the prayer Director of Education Affairs (DOEA) Major (Retd) Nasir Ud-din Ahmed started the prayers by wishing His Majesty the Sultan good health, long life and quick return to his homeland.

In this special prayer a gather-ing of about 1,800 students and 125 staff across different sections prayed from heart and soul for the good and sound health of the dignified His Majesty.

Mostafa Hafeez, student of Grade IX recited some verses from the Holy Quran. Islamic Studies teacher of the school Hafez Mohammed Mahbubur-Rahman conducted the prayer.

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

Renna Mobile provides strong network at affordable rates

MUSCAT: Renna Mobile has launched a corporate campaign in its continuous endeavour to maintain a dedicated customer base and strengthen its brand promise towards its valued cus-tomers, says a press release.

With the aim to become the most effective and afford-able mobile service provider in Oman; Renna Mobile provides fantastic international prices and brilliant

Internet packages coupled with superb network cover-age, offered through Omantel’s superior telecom network all across Oman, which allows customers to enjoy the services anytime and anywhere.

“Our corporate campaign focuses on offering our valued customers strong network coverage wherever they travel within the Sultanate along with some of the most cost ef-fective international calling and internet plans.

“We want our customers to enjoy our services without any hassle,” said Raed Haddadin, CEO, Renna Mobile.

Renna Mobile recharge cards and services are easily available at leading shopping kiosks and several other loca-tions across Oman.

C O R P O R A T E C A M P A I G N


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Lexus unveils its striking new RC

MUSCAT: What began with a blank sheet of paper and an unre-strained desire, transformed into the first-ever RC two-door coupe. The Lexus RC instantly creates feelings of excitement and an-ticipation and one glimpse is all it takes to understand that expe-riencing the RC will be nothing short of incredibly breathtaking, says a press release.

As the Lexus RC makes its way

into the spotlight with its launch in the Middle East, the stage is set for the entry of a highly emotive coupe which signifies a new era for Lexus with its revolutionary ride and handling capabilities.

“Three points — design, per-formance and advanced technol-ogy — are important for RC. To make the exterior immediately recognisable, we adopted a design with a compact cabin contrasted by boldly protruding fender flares and body contours etched with deeply sweeping lines. Creating these characteristic lines required advanced press technologies that surpass conventional production line standards. Had we followed conventional thinking, we might have changed the design to fall within the production standards. But design is the very lifeblood of RC so we set about implement-ing the production technology required to build RC. We are very proud to develop such a unique coupe which delivers an outstand-ing driving experience to match its impressive looks. The eye-catching design of the RC evokes anticipation; its performance delivers. Once driven there’s no going back,” said Lexus RC Chief Engineer Eiichi Kusama.

“The Lexus RC coupe repre-sents a thrilling new frontier for Lexus and injects emotional ap-peal into the Lexus DNA that is already synonymous with build quality, refinement and reliabil-

ity. With the RC, we want to raise the brand’s profile with a broader audience and new-to-Lexus cus-tomers. With a powerful and re-sponsive engine, phenomenal handling reinforced by advanced aerodynamics and a purpose-built chassis coupled with an equally engaging interior, the RC is truly a unique high-performance ma-chine that emphasizes the attrac-tion of a luxury two-door vehicle,” stated Takayuki Yoshitsugu, Chief Representative, Middle East and North Africa Representative Of-fice, Toyota Motor Corporation.

In Oman every Lexus vehicle comes with special benefits and privileges such as 6 years unlim-ited extended mileage protection

and Lexus Prestige Club Card that offers 24 hours on-road assistance from AAA.

The design of the RC coupe is described by Lexus as “coolness over utility”. It has deeply con-toured body lines never before seen in the Lexus line-up with the widest and lowest application yet of the Lexus spindle grille which is evidence of the brand’s aggressive new design direction.

The RC’s interior design creates a sense of both sportiness and el-egance. Highly acclaimed sports concept vehicles have greatly influenced the RC interior, mak-ing maximum use of contrasting colors, materials and lighting. A purpose-built Lexus-first light-ing package provides a great sense of occasion, with illumination that reflects upwards, rather than downwards, to envelop the cabin. High-contrast interior colors em-phasize design lines and accentu-ate the elegant cabin.

A new five-layer paint process used for the first time in true mass production is at the heart of the brilliant colors of Lexus RC. The extraordinarily complex multi-layered, twice-baked process has been used before – but only on the very best of show cars, such as con-cept vehicles at motor shows or at specialty show-and-shine exhib-its. Radiant Red Contrast Layering has been chosen by Lexus as the signature color for RC. Lexus has developed seven exterior colors for RC which are the radiant red con-trast layering, white pearl, platinum silver, sonic titanium, mercury gray, starlight black, and black.

Producing power output per liter second only to the LFA su-percar in the Lexus range, the RC signals the next evolution of Lexus powertrain engineering. The 3.5-liter V6 petrol engine pro-duces maximum power of 234 kW at 6,400 rpm, and peak torque of 380 Nm at 4,800 rpm, to provide a passionate driving experience. It delivers more than 230kW of power and 375Nm of torque, and is matched to direct-shift transmis-sions with Manual Mode, allowing full torque-converter lock-up from second to eighth gears for ‘clutch-less’ manual shifting.

An eight-speed sports direct shift with paddle shift transmis-sion optimizes power delivery and economy. In manual mode, full torque converter lock-up from sec-ond to eighth gears allows for down

changes in just 0.2 sec. The spirit of the RC is audible in the note of its engine, specially tuned to deliver an evocative sports car sound.

The RC benefits from the same comprehensive array of safety features that is characteristic of today’s Lexus range, and comes equipped with as many as eight airbags which includes a dual-stage driver’s airbag, dual-stage and dual-chamber front passen-ger airbag, driver’s and front pas-senger’s knee airbags, front-seat side airbags and full-length side curtain-shield airbags. The side-curtain airbag size has been en-larged for increased side-collision compatibility. Additional safety features include remote anti-theft alarm system, front and rear park-ing sensors, child seat anchors, en-gine immobiliser, and stability and traction control.

The vehicle’s pre-collision sys-tem (PCS) is engineered to detect an imminent frontal collision and automatically prepares the emer-gency braking assist to help pro-vide increased braking pressure the moment the driver steps on the brake pedal.

To help drivers maintain a pre-set following distance from the ve-hicle ahead, dynamic radar cruise control uses radar technology to sense the speed of any vehicles in front of them, with the throt-tle automatically reduced and the brakes applied should the vehicle get too close to the vehicle ahead.

As the Lexus RC

makes its way into

the spotlight with its

launch in the Middle

East, the stage is

set for the entry of a

highly emotive coupe

which signifies a

new era for Lexus

with its revolutionary

ride and handling

capabilities


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

Qatar Airways launches new payback promotionDOHA: Qatar Airways Holidays has launched a 100 per cent payback promotion for its GCC customers. One lucky winner who books a holiday package by November 30, 2014, will win a voucher worth 100 per cent of the value of the original holiday purchased.

The promotion is valid for travel until December 10, 2014 to select destinations across the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas, says a press release.

Qatar Airways Holidays cus-tomers can book online at qata-rairwaysholidays.com to take advantage of this special promo-tion covering return flights and a variety of options for hotels from budget to deluxe, to a number of business and leisure cities. Cus-tomers can also make bookings at any Qatar Airways Holidays boutiques in Doha, Dubai, Ku-wait, Bahrain, Muscat, Dammam, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

Qatar Airways Holidays offers a wide choice of packages to an exciting array of destinations such as Paris, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Maldives, London, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Colombo and Cyprus, via the airline’s Doha hub.

Qatar Airways Holidays’ web-site qatarairwaysholidays.com allows holidaymakers to search for the best options from the comfort of their home. The web-site makes it easy for travellers to choose from a wide range of packages covering more than 100 destinations in over 40 countries worldwide served by Qatar Air-ways, one of the fastest growing airlines in the world.

H O L I D A Y P A C K A G E

The promotion is valid for travel until December 10, 2014 to select destinations


ROUND-UPJotun launches 2015 Lady Design collection

MUSCAT: Jotun, the region’s leading paint manufacturer, has announced the launch of the 2015 Lady Design Collection in Oman. The collection, which features two new innovations and six new designs not only adds colour and style to any home, it also takes interior décor to a whole new level of elegance and art, says a press release.

The two innovations — Dia-monds and Romano — were care-fully crafted by Jotun’s leading style experts and Research and Development team together with the help of acclaimed Egyptian interior designer Mona Hussein to bring together distinct inspira-

tions for how homes could appear with Lady Design.

“The new Lady Design collec-tions were introduced to give our customers more options to create a luxurious space that echoes their individual taste using paint. We wanted to offer a better mix of clas-sical and modern textures keeping in mind the colours and patterns that radiate sophistication and charm,” said Laudio Lurilli, Re-gional Marketing Director, Jotun Middle East, India and Afric.

‘Romano’ stems from historic influences that let customers re-

build the great walls of every gen-eration in their home.

Romano captures the mix of strength and style of traditional Italian culture. With 20 raw and earthy colours that reflect natural stones, walls can resemble aged stone or romantic Venetian tex-tured patterns.

The ‘Diamonds’ innovation transcends a dream where fair-ytales come to life. Walls spar-kle and shine with ruby red and wedding dress white diamonds covering the surface. A room can open a door to a world of wonder

with magnificence. Along with the two completely

new innovations, six new beautiful design options can transform any home — be it simple or exquisite — into a dream destination of colour, texture, glamour and luxury.

‘No Trace’ is inspired by a forest where the rays of sunlight seep through the tree trunks. The design gives the feeling of being lost in tranquillity between the trees and is part of the Natural design innovation.

Timelessness and strength are two pillars that are significant to the Historic collection. Jotun de-signed ‘Time Craft’ which resem-bles the elegance and craft of the Travertino stone.

‘Desert Sky’ ensures that noth-ing interferes with the beauty and brightness of the stars; this lat-est design is part of the Elegance series and acts as a shimmering backdrop to any room.

An ‘Ocean Rush’ is a mix of tur-quoise shades with white to rep-resent beach shores - a place of serenity and bliss. The latest addi-tion to the Oceanic series inspires waves of admiration.

For those that constantly seek change, Jotun introduced ‘Day Dream’ to the Galleria collection. The blue and purple glisten and re-flect different tones depending on the perspective, leaving a person feeling like they are dreaming.

Jotun’s new ‘Grey Scale’ design conveys modernity and simplicity. As part of the Modern series, the paint resembles raw, untouched cement creating a space that is edgy and bold.

Lady Design paints beauti-fully combine art, craft and style. Its initial launch in 2013 enabled homeowners and designers alike to channel their inner artisan and create a space that goes beyond traditional colour and print. For those who are willing to try this on their own, Lady Design paints come with a manual and step by step guide.

The two innovations

— Diamonds and

Romano — were

carefully crafted by

Jotun’s leading style

experts and Research

and Development

team together with

the help of acclaimed

Egyptian interior

designer Mona

Hussein to bring

together distinct

inspirations for how

homes could appear

with Lady Design

Honda celebrates National Day with special promotionMUSCAT: On the occasion of Oman’s 44th National Day, Omas-co, Honda’s authorised distributor in the Sultanate, has launched a ‘National Day offer’. The promo-tion that runs from November 6 to 30 offers a host of benefits on 2015 Honda Accord LX- A, 2015 Honda Accord LX- B, 2014 Honda CRV LX and 2014 Honda CRV EX, says a press release.

This National Day, customers buying Honda Accord or Honda CRV will receive a gift voucher for OMR44 along with free regis-tration, special interest rate of 4.4 per cent for a maximum tenure of 48 months and an extended war-ranty for five years/150,000km, whichever comes earlier.

Omasco is thrilled to extend this promotion to its loyal customers.

“As the nation rejoices on the 44th National Day, it is a wonder-ful opportunity to participate and share in the festivities and offer something special to our valued customers. We have worked hard to ensure that we design an offer that delights our customers as

they drive away in their favourite Honda vehicle,” stated a spokes-person from Omasco.

In addition to the above ben-efits, to add more colour to the celebrations, Honda Accord customers will get a complimen-tary Door Mirror Garnish and a Fender Garnish and CRV buyers will receive Running board (side steps) and Door Mirror Garnish.

Honda prides itself in its fleet of vehicles and has worked to-wards providing offers that please the customers.

Drivers who seek quality, util-ity, comfort and fuel efficiency need not look any further as Hon-da provides the perfect solution.

The company reaffirms its commitment to its customers, the automobile industry and the nation by contributing to-wards the nationwide celebra-tions taking place this month in the Sultanate.

Honda has recently extended the working hours of key showrooms across Oman in order to better ac-commodate the customers.

E X C I T I N G O F F E R

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ROUND-UPT U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 14

Amideast begins new English coursesMUSCAT: Contributing to the expansion of educational opportu-nities in the Sultanate, Amideast is unveiling new six-week skill-based English courses to augment the popular eight-week English for the Workplace courses.

The skill-based courses will ro-tate throughout the year to offer a variety of English language devel-opment in topics such as academ-

ic report writing, introduction to public speaking, basic speak-ing and reading and telephoning skills, says a press release.

These courses are offered to the public interested in improving their English skills, looking for fun and interesting Language learn-ing, or those needing to supple-ment additional language abilities to move to the next level of English

for the Workplace courses. Amideast has four different

levels of skill-based courses start-ing on November 30, including: Beginning conversation, net-working, communication and presentation skills and topical conversation. Amideast origi-nally launched these skill-spe-cific courses at a special price after Ramadan.

S K I L L - B A S E D C O U R S E S

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

SPOR SY O U R G A M E

SECTIONC T U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 14

ICC CHIEF SRINIVASAN CLEARED OF CORRUPTIONAn investigation into corruption and betting scandals has exonerated world cricket chief Narayanaswami Srinivasan, clearing the way for his comeback as head of the sport in India, a court heard on Monday.. >C2

2 0 14

Ntting hief he t in

OMAN VERSUS IRAQOman were trailing Iraq

0-1 in a crucial Group B

match of the 22nd edition

of Gulf Cup at half-time

on Monday. The final ver-

dict is available on www.

timesofoman.com. — Times of Oman/ A.R. RAJKUMAR (TV pictures)


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

Kuwait hold UAE to gain advantage

RIYADH: Ten-time champions Kuwait fought back from a two-goal deficit to hold the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a four-goal thriller in the ongoing 22nd Gulf Cup Football Championship on Monday.

The 2-2 draw helped Kuwait top Group B with four points from two outings while the UAE are on two points from as many matches.

In a dramatic first half, the UAE threatened to ran away with full points scoring two goals in the first 35 minutes.

The defending champions were put ahead in the 18th minute by Ali Al Hajri after a fine pass by Omar Al Amoodi.

Even as the Kuwaitis were try-ing to recover from the early re-verse, Ali Al Hajri struck again in the 35th minute after latching on to a pass from Omar Al Hammadi.

But Kuwait, led by brilliant Bader Al Muttawa, fought back to score two goals in two minutes to stun their rivals.

In the 37th minute, Al Muttawa

turned the provider for Yousuf Al Sulaiman to strike Kuwait’s first goal.

Two minute later it was the turn of Al Muttawa to bring the score to parity thanks to the spade work done by Fahad Shaheen.

After resumption, both the teams pressed hard in search of

another goal but the scoreline re-mained the same till the end.

In the final group matches on Thursday, a confident Kuwait will clash with Oman while the UAE will square off against Iraq.

Bahrain sack coachMeanwhile, Bahrain’s coach Ad-nan Hamad became the first vic-tim of his team’s disappointing performance so far in the tourna-ment. According to a Dubai-based newspaper, Adnan Hamad was shown the door by Bahrain federa-

tion after his wards were drubbed 3-0 by hosts Saudi Arabia in their second Group A match.

That performance followed a goalless draw against lowly Yem-en in their group opener.

Former player Murjan Eid has been appointed as the caretaker coach for their final group engage-ment against Qatar on Wednes-day. Saudi Arabia, who top the group with four points, take on Yemen in their final group match which will also be played on Wednesday.

The 2-2 draw helped

Kuwait top Group B

with four points from

two outings while

the UAE are on

two points from

as many matches

IN CONTROL: Kuwait’s Badr Al Mutawa, right, trying to get past United Arab Emirates’ Mohammed

Gharib (23), who later went on to score. – Times of Oman / ISMAIL AL FARSI



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SPORTST U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 14


WhatsNews


Ton-up Latham gives Kiwis strong start

DUBAI: Opener Tom Latham struck his second consecutive hundred to keep New Zealand on course for a big first-innings total on the opening day of the second test against Pakistan on Monday.

Opting to bat first after winning the toss at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the visitors, trail-ing 1-0 in the three-Test series, reached 243 for three wickets at the close. Latham, who scored a century in the first Test in Abu Dhabi, remained unbeaten on 137 with Corey Anderson on seven.

The 22-year-old Latham, play-ing his sixth Test, displayed good temperament and solid technique against both the fast bowlers and the spinners and reached his cen-tury with a single off paceman Eh-san Adil. The left-handed batsman survived a close lbw appeal against Adil on 11 and edged Rahat Ali on 71 but the ball went between the wicketkeeper and first slip.

Azhar Ali dropped Latham at gully after the batsman had reached his hundred and failed to

latch on to a sharp chance at silly point off Ross Taylor. Latham add-ed 77 for the opening wicket with Brendon McCullum before the New Zealand captain succumbed

to a rush of blood to be dismissed on 43. Adil, who replaced paceman Imran Khan in Pakistan’s starting line-up, broke the gritty opening stand 15 minutes before the lunch

break. McCullum pulled Adil, playing his second test match, straight to Shan Masood who was placed at square leg precisely for that purpose.

Latham added 76 for the sec-ond wicket with Kane Williamson who fell an over before tea, bowled by left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar for 32.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah dis-missed Taylor (23) in the final ses-sion but not before he had added 73 for the third wicket with Latham.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq introduced spin as early as the ninth over after his pace bowlers failed to make early inroads with the new ball.

Pakistan, who won the first test by 248 runs, went in with a new left-handed opening pair after Ahmed Shehzad and Mo-hammad Hafeez failed to recover from injuries.

Masood, with just two Test caps, and Taufeeq Umar, who last played in July 2012, will open the batting for the hosts. - AFP

The 22-year-old

Latham, playing his

sixth Test, displayed

good temperament

and solid technique

against both the

fast bowlers and

the spinners and

reached his century

with a single off

paceman Ehsan Adil

SOLID KNOCK: New Zealand batsman Tom Latham played a solid

innings and was unbeaten on 137 at stumps in Dubai. – AFP

New Zealand 1st inningsT. Latham not out 137B. McCullum c Masood b Adil 43K. Williamson b Babar 32R. Taylor c Masood b Shah 23C. Anderson not out 7Extras: (lb1) 1Total: (for three wkts; 87 overs) 243Fall of wickets: 1-77 (McCullum), 2-153 (Williamson), 3-226 (Taylor)Bowling: Rahat 20-2-46-0, Adil 17-4-47-1, Babar 25-4-92-1, Shah 22-3-51-1, Ali 3-1-6-0Pakistan: Taufeeq Umar, Shan Masood, Younis Khan, Azhar Ali, Misbah-ul Haq, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Ehsan Adil, Zulfiqar Babar, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali.Toss: New ZealandUmpires: Paul Reiffel (AUS) and Ran-more Martinesz (SRI)TV umpire: Rod Tucker (AUS)Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)

S C O R E B O A R D

Srinivasan clearedNEW DELHI: An investiga-tion into corruption and betting scandals has exonerated world cricket chief Narayanaswami Srinivasan, clearing the way for his comeback as head of the sport in India, a court heard Monday.

Srinivasan, considered the most powerful man in world cricket, was among top officials probed by a Supreme Court-ap-pointed panel looking into scan-dals last year in the lucrative In-dian Premier League (IPL).

“This individual was not in-volved in match-fixing activities. This individual was not involved in scuttling investigations into match-fixing,” the panel’s report said. The panel, headed by former judge Mukul Mudgal, submitted its findings in a sealed envelope to the top court earlier this month but they were only released on Monday.

The report was expected to pave the way for Srinivasan to re-sume his position as head of the Board of Control for Cricket in In-dia (BCCI), which was scheduled to hold elections later this month. The court had barred Srinivasan from carrying out his duties as BCCI president until it delivered its final verdict, although it did not stop him from heading the In-ternational Cricket Council. He was appointed chairman of the world body in June.

The panel honed in on Srini-vasan and three others including his son-in-law Gurunath Mei-yappan, who was the team prin-

cipal of the Chennai Super Kings franchise.

Meiyappan was cleared of match-fixing but the panel was “unanimous” that he had been in-volved in betting activities during the glitzy, scandal-tainted Twen-ty20 tournament.

Mired in controversyGambling is mostly illegal in In-dia, but betting on cricket match-es thrives through networks of underground bookies.

The Super Kings are owned by India Cements, whose managing director is Srinivasan, while the team is captained by India skip-per Mahendra Dhoni.

The sixth IPL season last year was mired in controversy after police launched legal proceed-ings against several IPL officials and cricketers, including former Test fast bowler Shanthaku-maran Sreesanth, for illegal bet-ting and spot-fixing.

The panel also found that IPL chief executive Sundar Raman knew a bookmaker’s associate and “contacted him eight times in one season”, according to its report released on Monday.

“Sundar Raman admitted knowing the contact of the book-ie, however (he) claimed to be un-aware of his connection with bet-ting activities,” the report said.

There was also “material on re-cord to indicate” that Raj Kundra, owner of the Rajasthan Royals IPL franchise, placed bets. - AFP

I P L S C A M

NO INVOLVEMENT: ICC Chairman N. Srinivasan.

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SPORTST U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

ITPF’S TENT PEGGING TRAINING COURSE FROM NOVEMBER 25The International Tent Pegging Federation (ITPF) is gearing up for hosting the ITPF training course from November 20 to 25.

The ITPF board members met here under the chairmanship of federation chief Mohammed Al Fairuz to discuss the prepra-

tions for the course as well as the general assembly of the sport’s governing body, which will take place on November 25. The

course will be organised with participation of 35 tent peggers from seven countries - Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Lebanon, Iran,

Russia, Norway and Oman. A day after the conclusion of the course and the general assembly, ITPF’s new headquarters will

be officially inaugurated on November 26. — Supplied photo

Raina joins UP Wizards as co-owner

LUCKNOW: Indian cricketer Suresh Raina on Monday joined Hockey India League (HIL) franchise Uttar Pradesh Wiz-ards as its co-owner.

The announcement was made by Abhijit Sarkar of the Wizards here. Born in Ghaziabad, Raina has represented Uttar Pradesh at all levels in cricket.

“It is a memorable day for me because today I am immensely proud to be associated with the national sport of our country hockey by joining UP Wizards,” said Raina.

On this occasion, I would also like to take the opportunity of congratulating the Indian hock-ey team for bringing laurels to our nation by winning the Asian Games gold after a span of 16 years and directly qualifying for the Olympics.”

“Uttar Pradesh is a land of world class hockey gems like Major Dhyan Chand, K.D. Singh Babu and many more to fol-low and since my sports college days in Lucknow, I have a lot of friends who are hockey players and this further boosts up my association with hockey.”

“I will make all possible en-deavours and bring all sorts of support required for uplifting the game of hockey in the re-gion,” he added. - IANS

H O C K E Y

Mumbai, Goa in goalless draw

MUMBAI: Mumbai City FC and FC Goa played out an action-packed goalless draw in the Indi-an Super League (ISL) clash after both the teams failed to score on many occasions at the D Y Patil Stadium here on Monday.

The two teams had also been locked in a goalless stalemate in the first-leg encounter in Goa on November 9. The drawn game kept Mumbai in fifth spot in the table with 12 points while the vis-itors too remained in seventh spot with nine points, two better than bottom-placed Delhi Dynamos.

Incidentally this was also Mumbai’s third successive goal-less draw in the league.

In a fast-paced opening half, Mumbai dominated play through

the major portion of the first half with French ace Anelka spelling constant danger up front after some lovely work in midfield by two other foreigners in the team — Brazilian Andre Moritz and Czech Jan Stohanzl.

But they lacked sufficient sup-port from the likes of Subash Sin-gh, who wasted a few gilt-edged chances, and Lalrindika Ralte.

Goa came into the picture late in the second half after an initial foray. The latter half saw both teams having an almost equal share of exchanges.

The opening salvo was fired in the fourth minute by the visiting team when Mandar Dessai shot over the crosspiece from the left after using Brazilian midfield

mate Andre Santos to run into the penalty box.

But thereafter the Goa team’s players were left chasing their ri-vals. In the sixth minute Anelka volleyed the ball over on the run after outrunning his marker and compatriot Gregory Arnolin.

Six minutes later the home team got their first corner which was wasted as Czech defender Pavel Cmovs shot wide.

A dangerous run from their own half by Stohanzl after out-sprinting three rival players also went fruitless in the 18th minute as his minus pass from the byline found no takers.

Soon afterwards Subash Singh blasted wide a shot after being fed superbly by Moritz. - PTI

I S L

Australia name young squad

MELBOURNE: Australia coach Graham Reid named a young squad, that does not in-clude stars like Jamie Dwyer and skipper Mark Knowles, to defend their Champions Trophy title.

The young trio of Tom Craig, Matthew Dawson and Flynn Ogilvie were handed call-ups af-ter making their international de-buts against India in November.

The team: Daniel Beale, Chris Ciriello, Andrew Charter (goalkeeper), Tom Craig, Matthew Dawson, Tim Deavin, Russell Ford, Matt Gohdes, Jer-emy Hayward, Fergus Kavanagh, Tyler Lovell (goalkeeper), Eddie Ockenden, Flynn Ogilvie, Simon Orchard, Glenn Simpson, Jake Whetton, Tristan White, Aran Zalewski. - IANS

C H A M P I O N S T R O P H Y

Brazil’s Silva makes peace with Neymar and Dunga

VIENNA: Former Brazil captain Thiago Silva on Monday revealed he has made peace with current skipper Neymar and national coach Dunga, a day after express-ing his dismay at being stripped of the armband.

Silva lost the captaincy after hosts Brazil’s World Cup cam-paign, which included a humili-ating 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinals before falling 3-0 in the third-place playoff against the Netherlands.

Paris Saint-German defender Silva had reportedly said that he had been “upset” to lose the cap-tain’s armband to Neymar without any explanation.

“It wasn’t up to me to approach the matter first,” said Silva, who missed the first two call-ups to Dunga’s squad since the World Cup because of injury.

“He (Neymar) didn’t come to talk to me. Nobody talked to me about it. It happened without ex-planation. That’s what upset me.”

However, Silva, 30, insisted that

his comments had been taken out of context and that he has since made peace with Neymar and Dunga ahead of Tuesday’s friendly against Austria.

“I consider Neymar like a broth-er and that’s not going to change because of an armband,” Silva told reporters.

Neymar had expressed his “sur-prise by the comments” of his teammate. “I told him along with all the players that we have to be careful what we say,” said the Bar-celona forward.

“He (Silva) phoned me to dis-cuss things and its not going to call our friendship into question.”

Neymar continued: “I told him that I didn’t have to comment on that while I’m now the captain.

“I don’t have to talk about it. It’s a question of hierarchy like in a club. Everything is resolved now. For me to be captain is not a goal in itself. I don’t want to be it (captain) at any price.

“But now that I’ve been chosen, I’ll try to carry out this responsibil-ity in the best possible way.”

Silva added he had had a “good conversation” with Neymar.

“He’s like my brother. I have great affection for him. I’m a sin-cere guy. I told him what I thought and it does not affect my friend-ship,” he explained.

The Brazilian defender added that he also had an “eye to eye” conversation with Dunga before training on Monday morning.

“I was concerned because I didn’t know how he had inter-preted my words which had been twisted and I wanted to clarify things,” explained Silva.

“He accepted my explanation. It took a weight off my shoulders. Everything is back to normal be-tween us,” added Silva. - AFP

Thiago Silva lost

the captaincy after

Brazil’s World

Cup campaign,

which included a

humiliating 7-1

loss to Germany

in the semifinals

C4


Matei ends Younis’ treble dream, Maryam and Tinny win penants

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Experienced pro Matei Horia halted Younis Al Rawahi’s juggernaut, ending the Omani teenager’s treble dream with a stunning comeback in the pro singles final as the curtains came down on the Oman Arab Bank (OAB) Open Tennis Cham-pionships at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.

The concluding day also saw Mar-

yam Al Balushi get the better of Sa-mar Al Bakry in an all Omani-battle for the girls under-18 crown while Tinny Gallarde completed a double winning the veterans singles title.

Sheikh Saad bin Mohammed Al Saadi, the Minister of Sports Af-fairs, presided over the final day’s proceedings and handed over the trophies. The event was supported by one of country’s leading banks, Oman Arab Bank, as the title spon-sor and co-sponsored by Omantel and Pocari Sweat.

Fifteen-year-old Younis had al-ready won two titles – the boys un-der-18 crown and the mixed dou-bles top honours in the company of Omani star Fatma Al Nabhani, and

the rising Omani talent was well on his way to clinch his third title of the championship after easing to a 6-4 first set win against Matei Horia in the pro singles final.

But the experienced coach from Pro Tennis Oman refused to give up and drew on all his experience to launch a stirring comeback. What ensued was a fierce baseline battle with each player trying to outlast the other in the long rallies.

Though Younis punched above his weight for the rest of the match, he failed to force Horia to loosen his grip on the match and went on surrender the match after nearly two and a half hour battle, with Horia sealing the title with

a final score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.Oman Tennis Association

(OTA) coach Josephine Paguyo lauded Younis Al Rawahi for his consistent performances through-out the championships.

“Younis has a mature head on young shoulders. He played good and consistent tennis throughout the tournament and in all three categories he played,” she said.

“Obviously it is disappointing for him not to win his third title. But despite losing the pro singles final, he showed he can compete and give his best in a gruelling three-set matches like the one against (Matei) Horia. I told him he played great during the long ral-

lies. It’s a great achievement for a player who is just 15 and came close to winning three titles in such a big tournament,” she added.

Refusing to be disappointed for not completing the treble, Younis said: “I think I played a very good match against Matei. Though I didn’t end up as the winner, I gave my best and enjoyed my game.”

“Overall I had a very great tour-nament, winning two of the three categories I competed in,” he said.

Younis also thanked OTA and Al Nabhani siblings for all their sup-port which led to his success.

“I am thankful to the OTA and they have been very supportive. Credit to all OTA officials for con-

ducting a great tournament.“I am also thankful for the sup-

port given by Al Nabhanis. Before the championships, I worked and trained with Mohammed Al Nab-hani and it really helped me. It was a privilege to play with Fatma Al Nabhani in the mixed doubles and I am happy we won the title,” he said.

Younis also hoped the experi-ence of playing at OAB Open will help him and his team to win lau-rels for the country at the GCC Un-der-14, Under-16 Tennis Champi-onships in Bahrain.

Younis, who left for Bahrain on Monday, said: “As I said OAB Open has been great for me personally and for the rest of the boys. We gained a lot in terms of confidence and ex-perience. And I am hoping we will return with a gold medal from the under-16 team event in Bahrain.”

In girls under-18 final, Maryam Al Balushi overcame an early re-sistance from Samar Al Bakry be-fore winning the title. The latter stretched the former in the first set, taking it into tie-break but Maryam kept her cool to win 7-6 (3) and then sealed the title with a 6-0 verdict in the second set.

In the veterans singles final, Tinny Gallarde defeated Sri-kant Hemanth 6-3, 6-2 for his second title.

While Matei Horia

upset Younis Al

Rawahi for the

pro singles crown,

Maryam Al Balushi

and Tinny Gallarde

took girls under-18

and veterans singles

titles respectively

WINNERS ALL: Prize winners of the Oman Arab Bank Open Tennis Championship after the finale at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Sheikh

Saad Al Saadi, the Minister of Sports Affairs, presided over the final day’s proceedings and handed over the trophies. – Times of Oman / Shebin. E

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SPORTST U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

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Team confident of Ahmad forming

winning partnership with Schmid

DUBAI: Al Nabooda Racing are confident that Ahmad Al Harthy can form a winning partnership with Clemens Schmid as they look forward to action on home territory in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East.

The defending champions are joint second in the GT3 Cup team title race following the open-ing race weekend of the 2014-15 season at Bahrain International Circuit, with the next two rounds taking place at Dubai Autodrome on December 5 and 6. And the Dubai outfit say that, despite running out of luck in Bahrain, Al Harthy has already shown the qualities which can help take them to a third successive Por-sche team crown this season.

“We have to remember that he was driving a GT3 Cup car for the first time in over two years, but he was quickly on the pace at the weekend and was very unfortunate not to start the season with a podi-um finish,” said team manager Vi-

jay Rao. “He has quickly struck up a good relationship with Clemens and the rest of the team, has shown he’s a fighter, and he’ll get better and better as the season progresses.”

Al Harthy was holding third place well into Round 1 of the Por-sche GT3 Cup series in Bahrain, but eventually went out follow-ing a collision with Saudi driver Bandar Alesayi. To the surprise of

the team, and Alesayi, Al Harthy was given a five-place grid penalty by the race stewards, meaning he started Round 2 in 14th position.

But the Omani driver fought his way through the field to fin-ish sixth, while Schmid rounded off a superb weekend by clinching back-to-back race wins to take an immediate lead in the drivers’ standings.

M O T O R S P O R T S

DETERMINED TEAM: Clemens Schmid, Ahmad Al Harthy with Al Nabooda team manager Vijay Rao and engineer Frank Funke.

National Finance to host Volvo Open on December 12MUSCAT: National Finance, in association with Volvo Trucks and Buses, will organise the sec-ond annual Golf Open at Ghala Valley Golf Club on December 12.

According to a press re-lease issued by the organisers, National Finance and Volvo Trucks & Buses Open will be played as an 18-hole stroke play competition.

The tournament is open for all Oman Golf Committee (OGC) members with a regis-tered handicap. However, there are only 90 slots which will be allotted on a first come first served basis.

This year the categories in-clude men’s, ladies and junior divisions and there will also be prizes for nearest the pin and the longest drive.

Interested golfers may call Ghala Valley Pro Shop on 92194957. The entry fee for Ghala Valley members is OMR. 10. It is OMR. 25 for non-mem-bers and entry is free for the jun-ior golfers.

G O L F

Eriksson set for $6m China contract BEIJING: Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson is poised to land his second big-money contract in the Chinese Super League (CSL) after leav-ing Guangzhou R&F following just one full season, reports said on Monday. The Swede is being hotly tipped to join Shanghai East Asia where his coaching team will more than double their current salaries.

The move follows a 15-month spell in Guangzhou where he was reportedly earning up to $3million a year. The highly am-bitious Shanghai club — which has no connection with Shang-hai Shenhua, the team that drew Chelsea’s Didier Drogba to China — will spend 500 million yuan ($82 million) on developing their side next season, without saying whether Eriksson will have full control over the funds. - AFP

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TWO MUSCAT SPORTS MEDICINE EXPERTS ELECTED TO AFSMOman-based renowned sports medicine expert Dr E B S Ramanathan has been unanimously elected as the secretary-general

of the Asian Federation of Sports Medicine (AFSM) at its Congress in Beijing recently. Ramanathan is presently working as a

senior consultant at the Muscat Private Hospital. Also elected to the nine-member executive committee is Dr Masoud Al Riy-

ami, a senior orthopaedic consultant at the Khoula Hospital and a member of the Oman Sports Medicine Committee. China’s

Prof Guo Ping Li was elected as the president while Hong Kong’s Dr Patrick Young was named the treasurer. — Supplied photo

F DIVISION: Newrest Wacasco after their win over Enhance Royals. H DIVISION: Al Fairuz Trading who defeated Abu Maather.

Nalinda inspires Sinha

MUSCAT: Skipper Nalinda Ku-laratne made a breezy 80 off 58 balls to help Sinha begin the sea-son with a 29-run win against Renaissance Cricket Team in a Khimji Ramdas-sponsored 30 overs-a-side B Division match.

Brief scores: Sinha 203 for 9 in 30 overs (N. Kularatne 80, Prabath Indika 26, Rangajeewa Perera 22; Chadith Lak-mal 4/31, Ibn Eameen Habib 3/38) bt Renaissance 174 in 27.4overs (Imran Ayoob 33, Sajeed Ahmed 30 and Thuwan R.K. Deen 26; Suresh Weththewa 3/31 and N. Kularatne 2/37). Points: Sinha -2, Renaissance – Nil.

Wasim lifts Arrow OverseasArrow Overseas, thanks to a four -wicket spell by Wasim Ali, posted a 41-run win against Fairtrade in an Al Ansari Group of Companies-

sponsored C Division T20 match.Brief scores: Arrow Overseas 185 for

6 in 20 overs (Abdul Raheem 48, Anil Lalji 40 n.o., Wasim Ali 28; Siju P. 2/33) bt Fair-trade 144 for 8 in 20 overs (Ganesh Sada-siva 44, Ibrahim Kutty 30; Wasim Ali 4/18, Monty Navani 2/28). Points: Arrow Over-seas - 2 (2 games, 4 pts), Fairtrade – Nil.

Al Faisal down E&YIn a Raha Poly Products-spon-sored D Division T20 match, Al Faisal recorded a 19-run win against Ernst & Young.

Brief scores: Al Faisal 172 for 9 in 20 overs (Mohd Sasheer 38 n.o., Ghazanfar Iqbal 35, Mohd Amjad 33 and Mohd Irfan 31; Nitish Khandwal 3/15, Saud Haroon 3/20, Prakash Joshi 2/21) bt Ernst & Young 153 for 7 in 20 overs (Omar Sar-faraz 45, Nitish Khandwal 22 n.o.; Imran Ali 2/27, Imtiyaz Ahmed 2/28, Ghazan-

far Iqbal 2/35). Points: Al Faisal - 2 (2 games, 4 pts), Ernst & Young - Nil points (2 games – Nil)

Nathar’s show in vainNewrest Wacasco defeated En-hance Royals by 29 runs despite a brilliant spell of six for 22 from Nathar Al Balushi in an ‘F’ Divi-sion T20 match.

Brief scores: Newrest Wacasco 175 in 19.4 overs (Deepak Gakhar 44, Jagan-nathan 40, Sandeep Rajan 29; Nathar Al Balushi 6/22, S.N. Harikrishnan 3/35) bt Enhance Royals 146 for 9 in 20 overs (Kather Meeran 39, Rajagopalan Nair 38 n.o.; Krishnaraja 2/27, Santosh Ra-jan 2/28). Points: Newrest Wacasco - 2 (2 games, 4 pts), Enhance Royals -Nil (2 games, 1 pt).

Al Rehwan win thrillerAl Rehwan registered a thrilling five-run win against R K Group in a H Division T20 match.

Brief scores: Al Rehwan 141 for 9 in 20 overs (Aboo P.C. 47, Salih Ismail 29, Flertin 20; Mathew George 2/31) bt R K Group 136 in 18.2 overs (Satish Sitaram 31, Hassan Aslam 27 n.o., Nithin Ashok 20; Nithin 4/8, Flertin 2/24 and Asif Rahim 2/24). Points: Al Rehwan - 2 (3 games, 3 pts), R K Group – Nil (3 games, Nil).

Al Fairuz Trading winIn another H Division T20 match, Al Fairuz Trading recorded a sev-

en-run win against Abu Maather.Brief scores: Al Fairuz Trading 166

for 6 in 20 overs (Prokash 52. Saravanan K. 30 n.o., Girish Kumar 30 n.o.; Mo-hammed Arshad 4/7) bt Abu Maather 159 for 9 in 20 overs (Ifthikar Ahmed 25, Reyaz Zaidi 24; M. Saravanan 4/23). Points: Al Fairuz Trading - 2 (2 games, 2 pts), Abu Maather – Nil (2 games, 1 pt).

Bank Sohar rout MSEBank Sohar registered an easy seven-wicket win against Musta-fa Sultan Enterprises (MSE) in an I Division T20 match.

Brief scores: MSE 136 for 6 in 20 overs (Anumodh Nair 28, Abdullah Alam 22, Mohd Sajid 20 n.o.; Fahad Khan 3/25) lost to Bank Sohar 139 for 3 in 17.3 overs (Sharif Sabzal 38, Baiju G. 31 n.o., Nanda Kumar R. 26). Points: Bank Sohar - 2 (2 games, 2 pts), MSE – Nil (3 games, 1 pt).

Khuram shinesKhuram Rashid blasted an un-beaten 100 off 48 balls to help Trust Oilfield Strikers trounce ISC Kutch Wing by 10 wickets in a J Division T20 match.

Brief scores: ISC Kutch Wing 140 for 7 in 20 overs (Kiran Joshi 50, Mohammed Ahmed 23; Khuram Rashid 2/15, Mathias Denson 2/23) lost to Trust Oilfield Strik-ers 146 for no loss in 14.3 overs (Khuram Rashid 100 n.o., Taimur Khan 35 n.o). Points: Trust Oilfield Strikers - 2 (3 games, 6 pts), ISC Kutch Wing – Nil (3 games, Nil).

Sinha scored 203

for nine wickets

in 30 overs and

then bowled out

Renaissance for 174 Khuram Rashid

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMSECTIONC T U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 14LIFE & STYLE

1. Buzz Lightyear’s original name was Lunar Larry

2. Woody and Buzz weren’t originally meant to be the protagonists. The main character was going to be Tinny, the title character in Tin Toy (1988). In the movie he would have gotten lost during a family trip and joined up with a sarcastic ventriloquist dummy in a search of a home.

3. Toy Story 3 is the only Toy Story film not to receive a 100 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But it still received a very high score of 99 per cent

4. In their most productive week during production, Pixar completed 3.5 minutes of animation.

5. Pixar originally wanted Jim Carrey to do the voice of Buzz Lightyear, but they couldn’t due to the low budget they were given for the film.

6. Billy Crystal was offered the chance to be the voice of Buzz Light-year, but declined. After he watched the film the actor said the deci-sion was the biggest mistake of his career. 7. Hasbro denied Pixar the use of the name GI Joe when it was in-

formed that a GI Joe doll was going to be blown up by Sid. Pixar used army men instead.

8. For the original Toy Story, Tom Hanks recorded his dialogues during the breaks of Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and A League of Their Own (1992).

He didn’t want to record his dialogues during the breaks of Philadelphia (1993) or Forrest Gump (1994) because he felt he shouldn’t do comedic roles in between minutes of playing serious roles.

9. Mattel originally didn’t want Barbie in the film because they thought the film would be a failure. They also didn’t want Barbie to have a defined personality, because they wanted to let children imagine what Barbie was like. But when the film proved a huge success, they allowed the fa-mous doll to appear in Toy Story 2.

10. Toy Story 3 is the first sequel to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar without any of its predecessors being nominated.

11. Toy Story 2 is one of three Disney movies to win a Golden Globe for Best Picture. The other two are Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.

12. The original Toy Story is the first fully computer-generated full-length feature film.

13. Despite the incredible success of the first film, Toy Story 2 was initially planned as an hour long sequel that would have premiered on home video.

14. The number “95” appears frequently throughout all 3 films. This is in reference to the year the original Toy Story was released, 1995.

15. The movie was originally supposed to be called You Are A Toy.

Buzz, Woody and the gang are returning to our screens for Toy Story 4 over two

decades after Pixar’s hit anima-tion first wowed audiences. John Lasseter, who directed Toy Story and Toy Story 2, is back onboard to direct the latest instalment.

Disney Pixar says the film is due for release in June 2017. “We love these characters so much; they are like family to us,” said Lasseter.

“We don’t want to do anything

with them unless it lives up to or surpasses what’s gone before.”

The last film in the franchise came out in 2010 and raked in more than $1 billion at the world-wide box office.

And the new movie hopes to reclaim the crown for the big-gest-grossing animation from 2013’s Frozen.

To celebrate this news we have collaborated 15 interesting facts about the smash hit franchise:

- By: Laura Mitchell/The Daily Express

C8

EXTRAT U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 14

A DIFFERENT TAKE ON INVASIVE SPECIESWhen my kitchen became infested with anthis summer, as it does every year, I put out ant traps, which, in another annual rite, did exactly nothing. So I did what I always end up doing - inefficiently smushing the ants one by one. Sometimes I’ll massacre dozens at a time in a fit of pique after catching them glutting themselves in my sugar bowl, but then, seeing a single ant moping around on the counter looking sort of forlorn and hangdog, I’ll hesitate. He looks like maybe he’s not having such a great day already. Getting smushed is the last thing this guy needs. Dispensing death and clemency capriciously gives me an Olympian view of how men must live and die in battle or disasters: one just unlucky, in the wrong place at the wrong moment, while the guy next to him is miraculously spared for no reason. As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods. Ants do not seem like very complicated animals to me (I’m sure E.O. Wilson would correct me), but every time I smush one I am aware that I am extinguishing for all eternity one being’s single chance to be alive. It’s hard to believe Descartes convinced even himself that animals were automatons; watching an ant scramble frantically to escape my annihilating thumb, he certainly looks every bit as conscious of his own mortality as I am. Living in a cabin in the country in the summer, I end up having to kill a lot of things. In this, as in so much else, my 16-year-old self would be disappointed in me. At that age I thought maybe Jainism was the religion for me. All I really knew about the Jains was that they carried little brooms with them everywhere to sweep insects out of their paths, lest they accidentally step on a single bug. As a kid who used to spend most of his time at pools rescuing flailing beetles from drowning, this appealed to me.

The stian invasive species, has taken over the Mid-Atlantic region, including my house, in the last few years as swiftly as the Martians conquered England. It was from stink bugs that I learned that any ani-mal in sufficient numbers can be horrific. An effective stink bug trap can be constructed out of a two-re soda bottle and an LED, but I find it more thorough and meditative to eradicate them through piece-work, using the nozzle of my vacuum cleaner. They make a very satisfying thhhhhP! sound when you suck them up. They then get to live out the rest of their lives in the oubliette of the vacuum bag.

are a stickier moral problem. Mice are mammals and, it has to be admitted when you look at them in the light of day, cute. In an ideal world I would be content to coexist with mice. But my Gandhiesque live-and-let-live attitude hardens into a more Fleming-McCartneyesque one when I go to enjoy my first cup of coffee of the day and find a tiny, black turd in my mug. So begins a wearisome cycle of vengeance and remorse. A traditional mousetrap is designed to function like a guillotine, killing instantly and painlessly, But human technology is imperfect. Hav-ing to dispose of the limp corpse of a mouse first thing in the morning is a depressing chore with which to begin the day, but God forbid you should find the mouse alive, bleeding, maimed and crying on your kitchen counter.

It’s impossible even to live and move through this world without killing something. Just driving the 10 min-utes to the library and back, I wince as I smush buttewhen I fail to brake in time or, worse, the occasional lightning bug, whose splattered magical guts leave a fluorescing greenish-gold smear of stars across my wind-shield that I then have to watch go heartbreakingly dark. Once I struck an indigo bunting who’d been sitting in the road. I stopped and got out and stood watching him dying in the grass, slowly spreading his wings, iri-descent under the sun. I helplessly kill dozens, if not hundreds, of animals daily with my big, dumb, blunder-ing existence. A bug may be a small, unimportant thing, but maybe killing or saving one isn’t. Every time I smush a bug I can feel myself smushing something else, too — an impulse toward mercy, a little throb of re-morse. Maybe it would feel better to decide that killing even a bug matters. Does devaluing tiny, insignifi-cant lives lead to callousness about larger, more important ones, like a karmic broken-window theory? Peo-ple running for cover on the ground must look antlike from a bomber or a drone. As flies to wanton boys.

This summer I drove a bag of garbage that was attracting fruit flies (kill en masse without qualm) down to the Dumpster at the end of my dirt road. I went to lift up the heavy lid of the Dumpster, and what did I find in there but two miserable-looking huddled together in the corner, hiding their faces from the light. They couldn’t have been in there long, or they would’ve roasted to death in the summer heat. The floor of the Dumpster was covered in denuded corncobs, squashed watermelon rinds and other amuse-bouches of filth. Still, they must’ve had a bad night; they looked scrawny and matted and sad. What I had here was a Situ-ation. I put down my bag of garbage and turned off the car. I trotted off to a shed where I found just what was needed - a piece of lumber about six feet long. Raccoons may not grasp the concept of favours or gratitude but they instantly grasped the concept of the ramp; I hadn’t even lowered it to the Dumpster’s floor before one of them reached up and grabbed it with his paws. I set the board down and backed off fast. They both clambered up it, crawled across the Dumpster’s rim, plopped to the ground and slunk back into the woods. See? I thought, I am a good person. I am helping. My neighbour Gene later told me he lets those same raccoons out of the Dumpster about once a week. So, OK, maybe they’re not so smart. And maybe I’m not a hero in the raccoon community. But whenever I think of all the harm I’ve done in this world, through cruelty or carelessness, or just by the unavoid-able crime of being in it, I try to remember how I felt standing there, watching them go. - Tim Kreider/The New York Times News Service

dirt r h

oed c

a

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

ELLIOTT Erwitt, an American photographer who was born in Paris, said, “It’s almost embarrassing, but I do have one trick for taking portraits on commission. I carry one of these little bicycle horns in my pocket, and once in a while, when someone is sour-faced or stiff, I blow my horn. It sort of shatters the barriers. It’s silly, but it works.”

A successful bridge player has trick-one tricks — Stop and think, count winners and losers, and choose a plan of campaign. They are not silly and they work.

Try them on this deal. South is in three no-trump and West leads the spade queen. What should declarer do?

Especially if you open two no-trump with only 20 or 21 points, that South hand is worth a two-club opening because it has so many aces and kings. (If you count two points for an ace and one for a king, an average two-no-trump opening has seven points. This one has nine.)

South has seven top tricks: two spades, two hearts, one diamond and two clubs. So, if declarer can get three diamond tricks, the contract will be home. But he has to realise that the finesse is a mirage. Suppose South takes the first trick with dummy’s spade ace, runs the diamond queen, and the finesse wins. South gets only two tricks from the suit and will also need clubs to break 3-2.

Instead, declarer should be willing to sacrifice one diamond trick to get three in return. He should win the first trick with his spade king, cash his diamond ace, and play another diamond. Even if he wins that second diamond trick, he plays the suit again and must succeed.

— By Phillip Alder

C9

ENTERTAINMENT

Give up one to assure three

B I G N A T E

B O R N L O S E R

M A R M A D U K E

A C E S O N B R I D G E

C I N E M A S C H E D U L E

K I D S P O T H E A L T H C A P S U L EC R O S S W O R D

Ans

wer

to p

revi

ous

puzz

le

WITH LOVE

Previous puzzle Solution

HOW TO PLAY Fill the empty cells with the numbers 1 to 9, so that each number appears once in each row, column and area. — Seven Galaxies

S U D O K U

T U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

For More Information 24789032, 24786776 Website: www.isurf.co.om

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to [email protected]

29 Numskull31 Wrecker’s job35 CSA general’s

monogram37 Eating fast40 Follower of

Cochise42 Time of the

mammals 44 Expulsion

46 Highest degree48 Bigger than lg.51 Overrule 53 Double curve54 Santa Fe hrs.55 Detective’s cry56 Marble 58 Green parrot59 Kennel sound

ACROSS

1 Garage service5 Politico — Landon8 Elev. 11 Gawked at13 Exclude 14 Princess disturber15 Dividend earner16 Highway menace18 Smaller than mini20 Ice skater —

Babilonia21 Winner’s feeling23 Sense organ25 Consumer gds.28 Rodeo gear30 Pixel 32 Hammett’s Spade33 Lb. fraction34 Hull sealant36 Go over big38 “Uh” cousin39 Lillie or Arthur41 Admission --43 “Bananas” name45 Sports channel47 Bagel partner49 Jorge — Borges50 Dune buggy kin52 Musical symbols

54 Bush-whacking knife

57 Alaskan town60 Librarian’s

warning61 Neutral shade62 Villain’s smile63 — kwon do64 Be indebted65 — Zeppelin

DOWN 1 — Lobos of music2 Yuck! 3 Passes the buck4 Most uncanny5 At large 6 — -tzu 7 Keg-party site8 Orchard pests9 Zodiac sign10 The “it” game12 Solstice mo.17 Pond maker19 Concerning21 The earth 22 Vegges out24 Obey a coxswain26 Mecca resident27 Drama awards

DOLPHY LESTER DIASNovember 18, 2008

HITESH S. KANCHANNovember 18, 2008

HRITHIN JOSEPH VINODNovember 17

BAHJA CINEMA

STARS CINEMA

Film Information - 24540856 / Advance Booking - 24540855Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

For More Information 24789032, 24786776 Website: www.isurf.co.om

Film information 24791641 / 24786776

Dumb and Dumber To (Com) Cast: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels1.00, 4.00 & 8.00pmCP No: 2338 (PG12)Trash (Adventure / Crime)Cast: Rooney Mara, Martin Sheen2.00 & 10.00pmCP No: 2340 (PG 12)Jessabelle (Horror /Thriller)Cast: Sarah Snook, Mark Webber6.00 & 11.55pmCP No: 2339 (15+)A Good Man (Action) Cast: Ron Balicki, Radu Banzaru5.15 & 11.55pm, CP No: 2337 (15+)Kill Dil (Action / Crime)Cast: Ranveer Singh, Ali Zafar, Parineeti Chopra3.00, 7.15 & 9.30 pmCP No: 2336 (12+ )

Vellimoonga (Mal) (Drama/Com)Cast: Biju Menon and Asif Ali3:00, 6:15 & 9:30pm at Cinema Main,Varsham (Mal) (Com/Drama)Cast: Mammootty, Asha Sharath3:30, 6:30 & 9:30pm at Cinema 2Kill Dill (Hindi) (Drama)Cast: Govinda, Ranveer Singh, Ali Zafar, Parineeti Chopra3:45, 6:45 & 9:45pm Cinema 3Oru Oorula Rendu Raja (Drama/Com)Cast: Vimal, Priya Anand and Soori3:45 & 9:45pm Cinema 4Kaththi (Tamil) (Action)Cast: Vijay and Samantha6:45pm at Cinema 4

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Dumb And Dumber (2D) (Com) (PG12)Cast: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels11:15 am & 5:15 pmGold Class: 2:00 & 8:30pmTrash (2D)(Adv/Crime) (PG12)Cast: Rooney Mara, Martin Sheen

SCREEN 1

Kill Dil (Act |Romance | Drama) (12+ )Cast: Ranbeer Singh, Govinda, Zafar Ali, Prineeti Chopra3.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm

SCREEN 2

Happy New Year ( Act |Rom ) (PG 12 )Cast: Shahrukh Khan , Abhishek Bachchan, Deepika Padukone3.30, 6.45, 10.00 pm

A Good Man - 2D (15+) (Action)Cast: Ron Balicki, Radu Banzaru, Claudiu Bleont3:00, 7:00, 11:45 pmThe Drop – 2D (15+) (Crime | Drama)Cast: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace5:00, 11:30 pmKill Dil – 2D (12+) (Act| Crime | Drama)Cast: Ranveer Singh, Ali Zafar, Parineeti Chopra 3:15, 7:30, 9:00, 11:30 pmDumb and Dumber To – 2D (PG12) (Com)Cast: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rob Riggle5:30, 7:45, 9:45 pmJessabelle – 2D (15+) (Hor )Cast: Sarah Snook, Mark Webber4:15, 5:30, 10:00 pmThe Tower – 2D (PG12) (Action)Cast: Sang-kyung Kim, Ye-jin Son3:15 pmVellimoonga – 2D (M) (PG) (Political, Romantic, Comedy)Cast: Biju Menon, Aju Varghese 7:15 pmInterstellar – 2D (PG12) (Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi)Cast: Matthew McConaughey11:45 pm

Kill Dil (Act | Drama) (12+)Cast: Ranveer Singh, Ali Zafar, Parineeti Chopra4:45, 7:00, 9:15, 11:30 pmTrash (Adv | Crime | Drama) (PG12)Cast: Rooney Mara, Martin Sheen 3:45, 9:45, 11:45 pmDumb & Dumber To (Com) (PG12)Cast: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels04:00, 4:00, 5:45, 7:45pmJessabelle (Horror | Thriller) (15+)Cast: Sarah Snook, Mark Webber3:00, 6:00, 10:00 pmThe Tower (Act | Co | Drama) (PG12)Cast: Sang-kyung Kim, Ye-jin Son7:45, 11:45 pm

Kill Dil (Act |Drama | Crime) (12+) Cast: Ranveer Singh, Ali Zafar 9:00, 11:15 pmJessabelle (Thriller | Horror) (15+) Cast: Sarah Snook, Mark Webber9:30pm

Kill Dil (2D/12+) (Ac/Cri) Cast: Ranveer Singh, Ali Zafar, Parineeti Chopra2:00, 7:45, 9:00, 11:30pmThe Drop (2D/15+) (Crime/Drama) Cast: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace 1:00pm, 5:00pmA Good Man (2D/15+) (Action)Cast: Ron Balicki, Radu Banzaru3:00, 7:00, 11:45pmTrash (2D/PG12) (Adv/Crime)Cast: Rooney Mara, Martin Sheen 12:00pm, 3:15pmThe Devil’s Hand (2D/15+) (Thriller)Cast: Rufus Sewell, Adelaide Kane6:00, 10:10, 11:50pmJessabelle (2D/15+) (Hor/Thriller)Cast: Sarah Snook, Mark Webber1:30, 4:15, 10:00pmDumb and Dumber To (2D/PG12) (Com)Cast: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels11:45am, 8:15pmInterstellar (2D/PG12) (Adv/Sci-Fi)Cast: Anne Hathaway, Jessica5:15pm

Interstellar (Adv| Sci-Fi) (PG12) Cast: Matthew McConaughey; 3:15 pmVellimoonga (Comedy) (TBC) 6:30 pmVellimoonga (Poli, Roma, Com) (TBC) Cast: Biju Menon, Aju Varghese6:30 pmDumb and Dumber To (Com) (PG12) Cast: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels4:30 pmTrash (Adv| Crime) (PG12) 11:30pm

SCREEN 3

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C10

FIND-IT-ALLT U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 14

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ROYAL OMAN POLICEEmergencies and inquiries: 9999General Directorate of Passport and Residence: 24569603Directorate General of Customs: 24521109Traffic violations inquiries: 24510228Public Relations Admin: 24560099

ACCOMMODATIONAl Bahjah Hotel: 24424400Al Bustan Palace: 24764000 Al Khuwair Hotel Apartments: 24478171Al Madina Holiday Inn: 24596400Al Maha International Hotel: 24494949Al Fanar Hotel: 24712385Al Falaj Hotel: 24702311Al Qurum Resort: 24605945Azaiba Hotel Apartments: 24490979Beach Hotel: 24696601Bowshar Hotel: 24491105Coral Hotel Muscat: 24692121Crowne Plaza Muscat: 24660660Crystal Suites: 24826100Golden Tulip Seeb: 24510300Grand Hyatt Muscat: 24641234Haffa House Hotel: 24707207Hotel Muscat Holiday: 24487123InterContinental Muscat: 24680000Majan Continental Hotel: 24592900Marina Hotel: 24711711Midan Hotel Suites: 24499565Mina Hotel: 24711828Muttrah Hotel: 24798401

Nuzha Hotel Apartments: 24789199Oman Dive Centre: 24824240Park Inn: 24507888Qurum Beach House Hotel: 24564070Radisson Blu Hotel: 24487777Ramee Dream Resort Seeb: 24453399Ramee Guestline Hotel: 24564443Ruwi Hotel: 24704244Safeer Hotel Suites: 24691200Sheraton Oman Hotel: 24772772Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa: 24776666The Chedi Muscat: 24524400The Treasurebox Muscat Hotel: 24502570

AIRLINE OFFICESMuscat Airport Flight information (24 hours): 24519456/24519223Aeroflot: 24704455, Air Arabia: 24700828, Air France: 24562153, Air India: 24799801, Air New Zealand: 24700732, Biman Bangladesh Airlines: 24701128, British Airways: 24568777, Cathay Pacific: 24789818, Egypt Air: 24794113, Emirates Air: 24404400, Ethiopian Airlines: 24660313, Gulf Air: 80072424, Indian: 24791914, Iran Air: 24787423, Japan Airlines: 24704455, Jazeera Airways: 23294848, Jet Airways: 24787248, Kenya Airways: 24660300, KML Royal Dutch Airlines: 24566737, Kuwait Airways: 24701262, LOT Polish Airlines: 24796387, Lufthansa: 24796692, Malaysian Airlines: 24560796, Middle East Airlines: 24796680, Oman Air: 24531111, Pakistan International Airlines: 24792471, Qatar Airways: 24771900, Qantas: 24559941, Royal Jordanian: 24796693, Saudi Arabian Airlines: 24789485, Singapore Airlines: 24791233, Shaheen Air: 24816565, SriLankan Airlines:

24784545, Swiss International Airlines: 24796692, Thai Airways: 24705934, Turkish Airlines: 24703033

MUSEUMSBait Al Baranda: Corniche (seafront opp fish market), Open from Saturday to Thursday 9am to 1pm and 4 to 6pmNatural History Museum: Al Khuwair, Tel: 24604957, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm; Thursday: 9am to 1pmMuseum of Omani Heritage: (former Omani Museum), Madinat Al Alam, Sat-Wed 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday - 9am to 1pm, Tel: 24600946Armed Forces Museum: Bait Al Falaj, Tel: 24312651, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm; Thurs 9-12pm and 3-6pm; Fri 9-11am and 3-6pm. Al Hoota Caves 24498258; Turtle Beach 96550606/96550707Children’s Science Museum: Shatti Al Qurum, Tel: 24605368, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmOman-French Museum: near Muscat Police Station, Tel: 24736613, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm, Thurs: 9am to 1pmBait Al Zubair, Muscat: Tel: 24736688, Al Saidiya St., [email protected] from Sat to Thurs: 9:30am to 6pm.National Museum Ruwi: Tel: 24701289, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmSohar Fort Museum: Tel: 26844758, Open from Saturday to Wed: 8 to 1:30pm Thurs: 9am to 1pmMuscat Gate Museum: at Al Bahri Road, Muscat open from Sat to Wed 8am to 2pm

PRAYER TIMINGS

Dhuhr 11.57am

Asr 3.04pm

Maghrib 5.26pm

Isha 6.39pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 5.05am

Sunset 5.21pm

Sunrise (Tomorrow) 6.22am

High tide 5:24am 6:41am

Low tide 10:41pm 12:23am

W E A T H E R

OMAN

Max 30Min 21

Max 29Min 22

Max 29Min 22

Max 32Min 22

Max 30Min 20Max 32

Min 18

Max 32Min 19

Max 32 Min 25

Mainly clear skies over most of the Sultanate with chances of clouds development over Al-Hajar mountains during tomorrow afternoon. Chances of late night to early

morning low level cloud along the governorate of south Al-Sharqiya.EXPECTED WIND: Along the coastal areas of Oman wind will be light variable during night northeasterly light to moderate during day, while it will be northerly to northeasterly light to moderate becoming northwestly over rest of the Sultanate.SEA STATE: Slight to moderate along the coastal of Arabian Sea

with maximum wave height 2.0 metres, and slight along the Oman Sea coast and western Musandam coast with maximum wave height of 1.25 metres.HORIZONTAL VISIBILITY: Good over most of the Sultanate becoming moderate during fog.THE NEXT 48 HOURS OUTLOOK: Mainly clear skies over most of the Sultanate. Chances of late night to early morning low level clouds or fog patches along the southeastern coast and the Oman Sea coast.

Max Min

GULFAbu Dhabi 29 22Doha 29 22Dubai 30 18Kuwait 26 13Manama 27 22Riyadh 30 17

WORLDAthens 21 17Baghdad 24 11Beijing 11 2Berlin 8 6Boston 4 0Cairo 24 16Colombo 32 25Frankfurt 7 4Hong Kong 24 17Istanbul 18 13Johannesburg 20 9Kuala Lumpur 30 23Lisbon 17 11Paris 11 7Perth 23 18Singapore 32 25Tokyo 16 9Toronto 2 -6

WORLD

Max 4Min -3

Max 26Min 10

Max 11Min 6

Max 32Min 18

Max 25Min 12

Max 24Min 16

Max -2Min -8

Max 31Min 24

LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (Route 36)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 15:00 Quriyat 16:30 Daily15:00 Sur 18:00 Daily15:00 Jaalan 19:30 Daily

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (Route 36)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41)06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri13:00 Sohar 15:45 Daily13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily 16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily 16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41)07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily 13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily 17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (Route 62)06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (Route 62)12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily06:00 Dubai 11:30 Daily13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (Route 100)07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (Route 100)07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily19:00 Ruwi 07:30 Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily

SALALAH TO DUBAI (Route 102)15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:30 Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (Route 102)15:00 Salalah 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily 07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily 07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily 16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI) TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

LISTINGS

FLT NO DEPARTURES TO ETD AI986 BOMBAY 0005LX243 DUBAI/ZURICH 0020BA072 ABU DHABI/LONDON- HEATHROW 00259W539 BOMBAY 0025SG062 AHMEDABAD 0030LH619 ABU DHABI/FRANKFURT 0050WY685 RIYADH 0105WY251 MADRAS 0110WY201 BOMBAY 0120WY225 COCHIN 0125WY235 HYDERABAD 0135WY341 LAHORE 0150WY345 ISLAM ABBAD 0150WY601 DUBAI 0150WY241 DELHI 0155WY431 TEHRAN 0155WY151 ZURICH 0155WY643 KUWAIT 0200WY637 ABU DHABI 0205WY313 CHITTAGONG 0205WY657 BAHRAIN 0205WY123 MUNICH 0210WY133 PARIS 0215WY115 FRANKFURT 0215WY667 DOHA 0220WY143 MALPENSA 0225NL769 LAHORE 0230WY691 DAMMAM 02354H584 DACCA 0245TK775 ISTANBUL 0310PK282 SIALKOT 0325PK230 LAHORE 0330ET625 ADDIS ABABA 0450EK867 DUBAI 0455FZ042 DUBAI 0510QR1133 DOHA 0520EY385 ABU DHABI 0525WY3921 DUQUM OMAN 0715GF561 BAHRAIN 0745WY903 SALALAH 0800WY3301 MUKHAIZNA 0800WY603 DUBAI 0800WY215 TRIVANDRUM 0845WY325 KARACHI 0920WY905 SALALAH 0920WY291 CALICUT 0920WY273 JAIPUR 0930FZ044 DUBAI 0935WY283 BANGALORE 0940WY245 DELHI 0955WY231 HYDERABAD 0955G9115 SHARJAH 1005WY815 BANGKOK 1010WY605 DUBAI 1030WY203 BOMBAY 1030WY253 MADRAS 1040WY717 ZANZIBAR/DARESSLAM 1045EK863 DUBAI 1055EY383 ABU DHABI 1105WY655 BAHRAIN 1110QR1129 DOHA 1115QR8551 DUBAI WORLD CENTRE/DOHA 11309W533 COCHIN 1135WY917 KHASAB 1140WY331 KATHMANDU 1205G9842 RAS AL KHAIMA 1210WY631 ABU DHABI 1225IX350 CALICUT 1255WY3303 MUKHAIZNA 1300WY101 LONDON-HEATHROW 1325PK192 GWADUR/TURBAT 1325WY663 DOHA 1330WY413 AMMAN 1330WY927 SALALAH 1415BG024 CHITTAGONG 1415FZ048 DUBAI 1415WY609 DUBAI 1420WY405 CAIRO 1430IX818 MANGALORE 1530KU678 ABU DHABI/KUWAIT 1625WY675 JEDDAH 1630FZ046 DUBAI 1700WY613 DUBAI 1700WY913 SALALAH 1735WY623 DUBAI 1820WY907 SALALAH 1840WY681 RIYADH 1845QR1127 DOHA 1845GF565 BAHRAIN 1855WY661 DOHA 1900WY647 KUWAIT 1900WY653 BAHRAIN 1910WY695 DAMMAM 1910EK865 DUBAI 1915WY909 SALALAH 1940SV535 RIYADH 2000G9117 SHARJAH 2005RG126 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 2015WY611 DUBAI 2025WY635 ABU DHABI 2030TG508 KARACHI/BANGKOK 2040FZ048 DUBAI 2040WY915 SALALAH 2050WY825 KUALA LUMPUR 2110WY817 BANGKOK 22359W529 TRIVANDRUM 22406.00E+82 BOMBAY 2245AI908 MADRAS 2300AI974 DELHI 2310QR1135 DOHA 2320GF567 BAHRAIN 2325UL206 COLOMBO 2335WY673 JEDDAH 2350WY901 SALALAH 2350EY381 ABU DHABI 2350

FLT NO DEPARTURES TO ETD AI986 BOMBAY 0005LX243 DUBAI/ZURICH 00209W539 BOMBAY 0025BA072 ABU DHABI/LONDON-HEATHROW 0025LH619 ABU DHABI/FRANKFURT 0050WY685 RIYADH 0105WY211 TRIVANDRUM 0110WY251 MADRAS 0110WY201 BOMBAY 0120WY811 BANGKOK 0120WY225 COCHIN 0125WY235 HYDERABAD 0135WY601 DUBAI 0135WY821 KUALA LUMPUR 0140WY341 LAHORE 0150WY241 DELHI 0155WY281 BANGALORE 0200WY637 ABU DHABI 0205WY657 BAHRAIN 0205WY323 KARACHI 0210WY371 COLOMBO 0210WY667 DOHA 0220WY383 MALE 02354H584 DACCA 0245PK230 LAHORE 0315TK777 BAHRAIN/ISTANBUL 0350WY267 LUCKNOW 0355EK867 DUBAI 0455FZ042 DUBAI 0510QR1133 DOHA 0520EY385 ABU DHABI 0525GF561 BAHRAIN 0745WY603 DUBAI 0800WY903 SALALAH 0800WY273 JAIPUR 0820WY3301 MUKHAIZNA 0830WY291 CALICUT 0920NL769 LAHORE 0930FZ044 DUBAI 0935WY231 HYDERABAD 0955WY245 DELHI 0955WY917 KHASAB 1000G9115 SHARJAH 1005WY815 BANGKOK 1010WY203 BOMBAY 1030WY905 SALALAH 1030WY605 DUBAI 1030WY253 MADRAS 1040WY347 ISLAM ABBAD 1040WY311 CHITTAGONG 1040WY717 ZANZIBAR/DARESSLAM 1045EK863 DUBAI 1055EY383 ABU DHABI 1105WY433 TEHRAN 1105IX554 TRIVANDRUM 1110WY655 BAHRAIN 1110IX442 COCHIN 1115QR1129 DOHA 11159W533 COCHIN 1135WY331 KATHMANDU 1205G9842 RAS AL KHAIMA 1210IX350 CALICUT 1255PA451 LAHORE 1315WY101 LONDON-HEATHROW 1325WY663 DOHA 1330WY3303 MUKHAIZNA 1330WY413 AMMAN 1330WY413 AMMAN 1330WY645 KUWAIT 1340WY645 KUWAIT 1340WY3921 DUQUM OMAN 1345WY113 FRANKFURT 1345WY927 SALALAH 1415FZ048 DUBAI 1415WY609 DUBAI 1420WY121 MUNICH 1425WY405 CAIRO 1430WY913 SALALAH 1545WY675 JEDDAH 1630FZ046 DUBAI 1700WY613 DUBAI 1700WY623 DUBAI 1820WY907 SALALAH 1840QR1127 DOHA 1845WY681 RIYADH 1845GF565 BAHRAIN 1855WY647 KUWAIT 1900WY661 DOHA 1900WY695 DAMMAM 1910WY653 BAHRAIN 1910EK865 DUBAI 1915WY909 SALALAH 1940G9117 SHARJAH 2005RG126 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 2015WY611 DUBAI 2025WY635 ABU DHABI 2030FZ048 DUBAI 2040WY915 SALALAH 2050WY825 KUALA LUMPUR 2110AI978 HYDERABAD/BANGALORE 2200KL442 DOHA/AMSTERDAM 2230WY817 BANGKOK 22359W529 TRIVANDRUM 22406.00E+82 BOMBAY 2245AI908 MADRAS 2300AI974 DELHI 2310QR1135 DOHA 2320GF567 BAHRAIN 2325UL206 COLOMBO 2335EY381 ABU DHABI 2350WY901 SALALAH 2350WY673 JEDDAH 2350

A I R L I N E S

—www.met.gov.om

TUESDAYFLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA WY682 RIYADH 0005WY406 CAIRO 0005WY676 JEDDAH 0005WY648 KUWAIT 0010WY816 BANGKOK 0015WY824 KUALA LUMPUR 0055WY916 SALALAH 01054H583 DACCA 0115NL768 LAHORE 0130TK774 ISTANBUL 0215PK281 ISLAM ABBAD/SIALKOT 0225PK225 LAHORE 0230QR1132 DOHA 0345ET624 ADDIS ABABA 0350EK866 DUBAI 0355EY384 ABU DHABI 0405GF560 BAHRAIN 0405FZ041 DUBAI 0415WY902 SALALAH 0630WY638 ABU DHABI 0650WY658 BAHRAIN 0700WY686 RIYADH 0700WY668 DOHA 0710WY644 KUWAIT 0715WY692 DAMMAM 0725WY674 JEDDAH 0730WY602 DUBAI 0805WY202 BOMBAY 0815WY432 TEHRAN 0815WY102 LONDON-HEATHROW 0820WY342 LAHORE 0835FZ043 DUBAI 0850G9114 SHARJAH 0915WY236 HYDERABAD 0920WY226 COCHIN 0930WY242 DELHI 0935EK862 DUBAI 0940WY346 ISLAM ABBAD 0940WY252 MADRAS 0940QR8550 DOHA 1000QR1128 DOHA 1010EY382 ABU DHABI 10159W530 TRIVANDRUM 1035WY3922 DUQUM OMAN 1055WY904 DUBAI 1110WY822 KUALA LUMPUR 1115G9841 RAS AL KHAIMA 1120IX337 CALICUT 1155FZ037 DUBAI 1200WY314 CHITTAGONG 1210WY268 LUCKNOW 1210WY904 SALALAH 1215WY3302 MUKHAIZNA 1230PK191 GWADUR 1240BG023 CHITTAGONG 1245WY906 SALALAH 1325WY606 DUBAI 1330WY326 KARACHI 1355WY918 KHASAB 1440IX817 MANGALORE/ABU DHABI 1440KU677 KUWAIT 1525WY656 BAHRAIN 1530WY632 ABU DHABI 1535FZ045 DUBAI 1555WY3304 MUKHAIZNA 1630WY274 JAIPUR 1640WY216 TRIVANDRUM 1705WY204 BOMBAY 1710WY292 CALICUT 1720WY610 DUBAI 1730WY246 DELHI 1730WY284 BANGALORE 1740WY232 HYDERABAD 1740QR1126 DOHA 1745WY664 DOHA 1745EK864 DUBAI 1800GF564 BAHRAIN 1810SV534 RIYADH 1900G9116 SHARJAH 1915WY254 MADRAS 1920RG125 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 1930WY144 MALPENSA 1930TG507 BANGKOK/KARACHI 1935FZ047 DUBAI 1945WY614 DUBAI 2030WY152 ZURICH 2110WY124 MUNICH 2115WY624 DUBAI 2125AI973 DELHI 2125WY134 PARIS 21306.00E+81 BOMBAY 2130WY914 SALALAH 2130WY414 AMMAN 21359W534 COCHIN 2140AI907 MADRAS 2200QR1134 DOHA 2210UL205 COLOMBO 2225BA073 LONDON-HEATHROW/ABU DHABI 2240GF566 BAHRAIN 2240EY388 ABU DHABI 2250WY908 SALALAH 2255AI985 AHMEDABAD/BOMBAY 2310WY662 DOHA 2315LX242 ZURICH/DUBAI 23209W540 BOMBAY 2325WY654 BAHRAIN 2330LH618 FRANKFURT/ABU DHABI 2330WY612 DUBAI 2335WY116 FRANKFURT 2345WY696 DAMMAM 2350WY928 SALALAH 2350WY636 ABU DHABI 2350WY717 ZANZIBAR/DARESSLAM 2355WY910 SALALAH 2355

WEDNESDAYFLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA

WY406 CAIRO 0005WY676 JEDDAH 0005WY682 RIYADH 0005WY648 KUWAIT 0010WY816 BANGKOK 0015WY916 SALALAH 01054H583 DACCA 0115PK229 LAHORE 0215TK776 ISTANBUL/BAHRAIN 0300QR1132 DOHA 0345EK866 DUBAI 0355GF560 BAHRAIN 0405EY384 ABU DHABI 0405FZ041 DUBAI 0415WY902 SALALAH 0630WY638 ABU DHABI 0650WY324 KARACHI 0700WY686 RIYADH 0700WY658 BAHRAIN 0700WY668 DOHA 0710WY674 JEDDAH 0730WY602 DUBAI 0805WY202 BOMBAY 0815WY102 LONDON-HEATHROW 0820NL768 LAHORE 0830WY342 LAHORE 0835FZ043 DUBAI 0850G9114 SHARJAH 0915WY236 HYDERABAD 0920WY226 COCHIN 0930WY242 DELHI 0935EK862 DUBAI 0940WY212 TRIVANDRUM 0940WY252 MADRAS 0940IX443 COCHIN 1010QR1128 DOHA 1010EY382 ABU DHABI 1015IX549 TRIVANDRUM 10209W530 TRIVANDRUM 1035WY282 BANGALORE 1100WY604 DUBAI 1110G9841 RAS AL KHAIMA 1120WY372 COLOMBO 1140IX337 CALICUT 1155FZ037 DUBAI 1200WY384 MALE 1205WY384 MALE 1205WY332 KATHMANDU 1210WY268 LUCKNOW 1210WY332 KATHMANDU 1210PA450 LAHORE 1215WY904 SALALAH 1215WY3302 MUKHAIZNA 1230WY826 KUALA LUMPUR 1230WY818 BANGKOK 1235WY918 KHASAB 1300WY606 DUBAI 1330WY906 SALALAH 1445WY812 BANGKOK 1525WY656 BAHRAIN 1530WY274 JAIPUR 1530FZ045 DUBAI 1555WY204 BOMBAY 1710WY434 TEHRAN 1720WY292 CALICUT 1720WY822 KUALA LUMPUR 1720WY3922 DUQUM OMAN 1730WY3304 MUKHAIZNA 1730WY610 DUBAI 1730WY246 DELHI 1730WY232 HYDERABAD 1740WY284 BANGALORE 1740QR1126 DOHA 1745WY348 ISLAM ABBAD 1745WY664 DOHA 1745EK864 DUBAI 1800GF564 BAHRAIN 1810WY646 KUWAIT 1900G9116 SHARJAH 1915WY254 MADRAS 1920RG125 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 1930FZ047 DUBAI 1945WY914 SALALAH 1950WY614 DUBAI 2030AI977 BANGALORE/HYDERABAD 2105KL441 AMSTERDAM/DOHA 2120WY624 DUBAI 2125WY312 CHITTAGONG 2125AI973 DELHI 21256.00E+81 BOMBAY 2130WY414 AMMAN 21359W534 COCHIN 2140AI907 MADRAS 2200QR1134 DOHA 2210UL205 COLOMBO 2225GF566 BAHRAIN 2240BA073 LONDON-HEATHROW/ABU DHABI 2240EY388 ABU DHABI 2250WY908 SALALAH 2255AI985 AHMEDABAD/BOMBAY 2310WY662 DOHA 2315LX242 ZURICH/DUBAI 23209W540 BOMBAY 2325LH618 FRANKFURT/ABU DHABI 2330WY654 BAHRAIN 2330WY612 DUBAI 2335WY928 SALALAH 2350WY636 ABU DHABI 2350WY696 DAMMAM 2350WY910 SALALAH 2355WY717 ZANZIBAR/DARESSLAM 2355

BORN today, you are quite eager to be recognised for your accomplishments — each of which is, of course, the result of a great deal of planning and hard work. You’re not the kind to think that you can make your way in the world without effort; only through hard work can you truly make your mark, be recognised and enjoy the rewards that you honestly feel you deserve. Though you never feel entitled, you do feel that if you follow the right course and apply the requisite effort to given tasks, you have a destiny to fulfill. You can surely do it, provided you maintain a healthy work ethic and strive to be true to yourself and your beliefs at all times.

You’re likely to score one or two important firsts in your life, and while you do not necessarily want to be remembered for being a pioneer, that is highly likely. Your willingness to step out and put yourself on the line by doing the untried or dangerous is perhaps one of your greatest strengths.

Also born on this date are: Elizabeth Perkins, actress; Linda Evans, actress; Brenda Vaccaro, actress; Alan Shepard Jr., astronaut; Johnny Mercer, singer-songwriter; Imogene Coca, comedian; Eugene Ormandy, violinist and conductor.

Your ability to anticipate what others will say or do will come in handy on more than one occasion. Share what you know with another.

VIRGO [AUG. 23-SEPT. 22]

LIBRA [SEPT. 23-OCT. 22] LLLLLLLLLLLLLLL[S[S[S[S[[[S[[S[S[S[[S[S[SSS[SS[SSSS

SCORPIO [OCT. 23-NOV. 21] S[

SAGITTARIUS [NOV. 22-DEC. 21] S[[[[[[[[[[[[[

AQUARIUS [JAN. 20-FEB. 18]

Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not the right person for the job. Only you and a few others know what you’re really capable of doing.

You should be able to find a way to enjoy the best of both worlds, but you must stop short of breaking the rules altogether.

You will require a little more information before you think about storming the castle. You don’t want to walk into a trap!

Your sense of fun will enable you to enjoy routine affairs more than most, and you can enjoy some surprising benefits on top of that.

You may have trouble getting someone to understand what you are talking about without coming on too strong. Do what you have to do!

You have nothing much that is different or unusual today, but the way you take advantage of what you do have will surely set you apart.

You’ll need the support of a friend and mentor as you struggle with a decision that seems, to some, to be a no-brainer.

PISCES [Feb. 19-March 20]

The only way you’ll know what’s in store around the corner is to go there, though it may make you nervous not to know ahead of time.

GEMINI [MAY 21-JUNE 20]

CANCER [JUNE 21-JULY 22]

LEO [JULY 23-AUG. 22]

CAPRICORN [DEC. 22-JAN 19]

Y O U R B I R T H D A Y

ARIES [March 21-APRIL 19]

TAURUS [APRIL 20-MAY 20]

The job that needs to be done can only be done by you, and you know it. So what’s holding you up? You needn’t be nervous or insecure.

You’ll be facing the consequences of your actions for quite some time, so don’t you want to increase the odds that they will be favourable?

You will be in charge of solving a problem that has been approaching for some time — though no one could anticipate its arrival.

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 u e s d ay, n o v e m b e r 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

RENT d2

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. *

Subject to space availability

Daily guiDe email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

for rent

For rent apartments: An apart-ment in old Muscat at Oman Arab Bank’s building. 3 bedrooms + 3 bathrooms, dining room, living room and a kitchen. Air conditioned apart-ments. 2 bedrooms + 2 bathrooms, living room, dining room area and kitchen in an excellent location in Al Khuwair opposite the court of first instance. For further information call 97072976 New deluxe 1&2 B/R, fully furnished and unfurnished flats with free in-ternet available Al Khuwair near KM Hypermarket. Contact 99460330

ISM, Darsait, 3 minutes by walk, very spacious 1 BHK flat, 2 bath-rooms, brand new well maintained building, ground floor-RO 275/- per month. Contact 94150798 (ZIA) Apartments in Al Khuwair new area each apartment contains (2 bedrooms + living room) for RO 365. Contact 93181111 Building in Ghala for rent with 24 apartments near Bank Muscat, 93181111 Villa in Al Azaiba contains (5 bed-rooms + living room + hall) for RO 900 located near Al Fair Supermarket. 93161111 Villa in Bousher contains (5 bed-rooms + living room + hall) for RO 900, 93161111.

Stores in Industrial Ghala opposite Al Ghobrah garage with 550 m, RO 4 for each meter, 93161111 Villa in Al Azaiba with area of 1200 m, contains from (2 halls + 2 living rooms +5 bedrooms with bathrooms+maids room+7 car parkings+garden) for RO 2300, 92161111 Villa in Qurum contains (7 bed-rooms living room hall) for RO 1500, 93161111 4 villas in Southern Al Hail with (6 bedrooms living room hall), each villa is RO 1200, 93121111

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Luxury villa in al Azaiba inside a compound each villa contains (5 bedrooms living room dining room car parking) each villa RO 1200, 93161111 Open space offices with 4 bathrooms kitchen for each meter RO 7, 93161111 Villa in Al Mawaleh contains (4 rooms + hall) RO 480. Contact 93121111 Villa in Al Khoudh 7 with (5 bed-rooms, living room, hall) for RO 600, 93121111 Shops for rent near Al Khoudh Souq rental prices starts with RO 400, 93121111

Residential / Commercial Apart-ments in Al Khuwair located on the main street rental prices starts with RO 450, 93121111 Commercial land in Al Misfah and Al Jafnen for rent for rent starts with 4000 meter, each meter is RO 1.200, 93121111 Apartments in Al Khuwair near Al Khuwair Souq each apartment contains (2 bedrooms + living room) for RO 325, 93121111 Showroom in Al Khuwair located on the main street, 900 m, and each meter for RO 12, 93121111 1,2 BHK in Wadi Kabir. RO 235/-, RO 300/-. Contact 97799175 For rent 2 bedrooms + hall + kitchen. Location: South Mawaleh. Contact 99870020

2 BHK flat for rent in Ruwi. Contact - 99792181 2 BHK flat in Ghobrah. Contact - 99792181 3 BHK flat Ghobrah close to ISG way – 4041, building – 4390. Contact – 99319880 Show room on the main road Saham center total area 450 m sq. Contact: 99366558 / 99334226 5 BHK villa in MQ near Centre point Al Khuwair (Rent or Sale), 1 BHK flat in Darsait near Kims. Contact 92883001

Ground + Mezzanine floor suitable for A Grade Restaurant at prime loca-tion, MBD south. Contact 24714625 / 94460790 Deluxe 3 BHK family flat, 4 bed-rooms bachelors villa at Al Ansab. Contact 98458542 4 BHK for rent in Madinat Qaboos. Contact - 99792181 1 BHK flat in Wadi Kabir. RO 180/-. Contact 99376454 3 rooms, kitchen, store Rex Road Ruwi behind Fathima Market. Con-tact 91290464, 95490049 Big room attached bathroom, kitchen near Sana Bldg, Wadi Kabir. RO 125/-. Contact 95094028 Room attached bathroom, kitchen near Kuwaiti Mosque, Wadi Kabir. RO 200/-. Contact 95094028 An industrial land at Al Wasit of 11550 SQM for RO 900K. Contact 95330200 A 2 bedroom direct Marine view apartment at the Wave for RO 210 k. Contact 95330200 Independent rooms in Qurum / Hail. Contact 95529970

Flat for rent in Mabela near express road rent RO 300/-. #97695450

Office space (125 SQM) located in prime area at 18 November street, Al Azaiba. Contact 99261522

Office space with cassette type A/C’s with free internet in Al Khu-wair near KM Hypermarket. contact 99460330

Readymade office space for rent (110 & 130SM) fully or separate, with partition) in Bank Melli Iran Build-ing, MBD area, Ruwi, Opposite center point. Contact 99011352

2 BHK flat, brand new building Ghala, 100 SQM open space offices, Ghala, 40 SQM shop in Ghala, full furnished business Centre, small offices available in Ghala, 20 SQM, 25 SQM, 2 BHK in Ruwi, Mumtaz, Darsait, Wadi Al Kabir, Rex Road. #93782735 / 99208033 1 BHK, 2 BHK, brand new building in Mabelah on main road, 450 SQM, showroom available in Mabelah, good price. Prime location good for any business like showroom, restau-rant, bank, supermarket, retail shop. Contact 93782735 / 99208033

Café Shop for Rent at Ghubrah North. Contact 99359755

5 bedrooms villa with 2 halls, 4 bathrooms in Darsait behind Khimjis Mart. Contact 24700120 / 92584715

One/two bedroom new flats at Bausher from owner directly. Contact 92158031 Room with attached bath avail-able for Filipino. Al Khuwair 33 opposite 2 Hour Al Maya Super-market. Contact: 97607198 1 & 2 BHK flat in Wattaya. Contact – 99792181 3 BHK flat in Al Khuwair. Contact - 99792181 1 & 2 BHK flat for Rent in Ruwi. Contact – 99792181

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for rent

for rent

buying/selling

Looking for purchase of a resi-dential building with minimum 25 unoccupied flats in Ghala, Bousher, Azaiba and Ghobrah. Kindly contact 99261522 Household & office furniture and electronic items. Contact 99834373, 97102699 Looking for purchase of Used Portable Compressor (350 CFM, 7 Bar Pressure) powered with Diesel run Generator. Kindly Contact 99014686 or [email protected]

for sale

for sale

for sale

2 bedroom apartments available for rent at Ghubrah near Grand Mall, close to Atlas Hospital next to Di-wan’s Office.#99833747, 24562526 For rent two bedrooms hall kitchen, three bathrooms balcony, complete split units, brand new deluxe flats near Seeb flyover main road side. Contact 97755586 New flat, Ghala near Royal Hospital, 3 BHK, hall, split A/C, RO 425/-. Contact 92479515 1+2+3 BHK, Darsait, near ISM. Contact 99024730 2 BHK, Wadi Kabir. #99024730 2 BHK, Al Khuwair. #99024730 2 BHK 7 flats in Mabela, Road No.2 for rent. Contact 99420591, 94354545, 99354340 2 BHK 2 flats at Muscat Hill for rent. Contact 99420591, 94354545, 99354340 A cold store (-26 degree C) with office and temperature controlled area is available for rent. Contact 24497570 / 99313046 Semi furnished office space of 200 SQM in Al Khuwair next to Al Meera Hypermarket is available. Call 99313046 1 BHK Darsait commercial, RO 250. Contact 97799175

acc. available

Ground floor bed, living, kitchen, bathroom, dressing, Al Khuwair. Contact 99743569, 97004265 A house extra rooms around it with a wide ceiling wall 1300 SQM for a Company Staff / Stones opposite the bridge of the main road at Al Amerat. Contact 99674870 Sharing accommodation available in Qurum. Contact 93155369 Room with separate bath & kitchen for small family or exec bachelor at Al Khuwair. Contact 99224185 Fully furnished room with attached bath & sharing kitchen available for single working lady in North Al Ghobrah. Contact 95593795 Fully furnished accommodation for executive bachelor near Lulu Darsait. Contact 93513986

BHK in Al Ghubrah North include E/W and AC split RO 280. Contact 95811110 1, 2, 3 BHK flats & villas. Contact 92144045 House in Al Azaibah, 3 rooms, 2 halls, 4 bathrooms and kitchen, RO 480. Contact 95077881 Deluxe one, two, three bedrooms flats Ruwi, Darsait, MBD, Wadi Kabir, Wattayah.#24707340 / 99472457 LABOUR CAMP Space for rent at YETI. Contact: 99221683/92830110 Furnished / unfurnished apartments available for rent on long term /short term basis, near Vacha’s hypermar-ket in Ghala. # 97677211

1 BHK, 2 BHK new building in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99313274 1 BHK for commercial, MBD. Contact 97799175 1 BHK, ISD RO 225/-. Contact 97799175 Big flat Al Azaiba near 18 November Street, first floor, 5 BHK, hall, living room, AC, family only, RO 500/-. Contact 92479515 Flat for rent in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99383569 Flat, 3 BHK, hall, Al Khuwair near Centre point, RO 425/-, family only. Contact 92479515 Flat, Ghubrah, 2 BHK, hall, split AC, RO 350, family only near Beiret Bank. Contact 92479515 1 & 2 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair 33 near technical college. Contact 99792181 100 + 140 +180 + 200 sqr mtrs office space in Alkhuwair. Contact 99792181 1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in Mis-fah Industrial area near to Khanco. OMR 1,500 Monthly. Electricity and Boundary wall will be provided. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 1 BHK flat in Wadi Kabir. RO 215/-. Contact 99358589 2BHK Flat at Old Muscat. Contact: 91393005 Shop/ Office near Oman House, Muttrah. Contact 99233116 2 BHK villa, Mumtaz, RO 300. Contact 97799175 3 BHK flats in Ruwi near Masjid Sultan Qaboos. Contact 99421637, 98546002 1st floor flat in Amerat 4 rooms, 3 bathrooms, family hall, kitchen with A/C. Contact 95522405

A running Supermarket for sale in Wadi Kabir. Contact 95113037

Running Business Marble, Granite & Tiles cutting & polishing, carpentry & Aluminium Workshop in Wadi Kabir for immediate sale. Contact 99105492 Coastal fishing vessel 15 meter length manufactured in Greece contains two motors and regis-tered in Ministry of Fishest and Ministry of Transport. Contact 99878847, 97078884 Porta cabin containers used for sale. Contact 99199374 / 94252527 6 Seater sofa set & dining table with chairs, good condition. Contact 99327247 / 99348012 We sell ready mix concrete. Contact 99054673 23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture land with water well in Al Salwa, Barka. OMR 260 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Brand new split unit AC on excellent cash rate. Contact 98458542 3 floor building in Muttrah behind Police. Generating income of OMR 20 Thousand annually. Neat and well maintained. Built on 197 sq mtrs. 2 tailor shops on ground floor and 6 flats total. OMR 269 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

m.v. for sale

Daihatsu Terios for sale: Excellent condition. ONLY 87,000 kms. Fully Automatic – transmission, s. New tires. New insurance and registra-tion. V-KOOL window film. Car model is 2006 but first registered in 2008. First owner. Good 4 digit num-ber to go with the car. RO 3500/- or nearest offer. CONTACT: 99759659 Honda Civic – 2010 model, 58000 km, expat owned well maintained, very good condition. Contact 92640942 Jeep Grand Cherokee 2006 105000KM Expat Driven Contact 95218553 Nissan Sunny, 1.6, 2007, fully automatic, lady driven. Contact 99045803 Toyota Innova, 2010 model, manual gear. Contact 968 92187371

Mitsubishi Canter model 2013 3 ton. Contact 92104057 Subaru Impreza 2.0 ltr 2000 model, manual in super condition. Contact: 99844601 PROTON GEN 2 FOR SALE: Manual Gear.Good condition. Single owner. Silver colour. 1st registered August 2009. Full insurance till August 2015. Price OMR 1,680 Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Toyota Innova white 2007. Interested call: 99365361 Lexus GS300, 2006. #93218349 Mitsubishi Outlander - model 2005, silver grey, fully automatic in excellent condition for sale. Contact: 95867021 2013 November model Pajero, 38000 kilometers for sale. Price negotiable. Contact 96388496 2010 Toyota Yaris (automatic), excel-lent condition. Contact 99737879 Pajero 2013. Contact 99336093

m.v.Wanted

Required Nissan Tida / Toyota yaris / Suzuki swift / hyundai/Kia hatch-back car in good condition. Contact 95405033

available

Established Restaurant for rent with sponsorship. #97628242

Party & Wedding equipment rentals. Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery, Crockery, Glassware, Chafing Dishes, Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound Systems and spectacular lighting. Call Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering and Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound & Light. www.tunesoman.com, E-mail: [email protected] Plots available. Open land and plots for yard and labor camps available near Naseem Garden plot size 1000-3000 SQM. Contact : E mail- [email protected]. GSM 99849644

Jewellery Shop for sale in Seeb Souq. Contact 93313312 Beauty Saloon for sale in Amerat 5 Tel. 95421739 Apartment in Al Khoudh with 1 BHK for RO 35000, 93121111 Used containers for sale. Contact 95539929 Running studio for sale at Amerat Souq. Contact 97621737 Sadolin paint mixing machine well maintained, not much used with tinters, location Mabela Sanaiya. Contact – 96473187 / 95125790 Industrial Area land in Rusayl 5000 SQM and building with 8 shops. Contact 95490842, 99323957 Well running coffee shop for sale in Bausher and Al Khuwair. #94514314 Machines for sale: Articulated dump trucks make: Volvo A35D (16 cum) model: 2005 & 25 ton AWM Truck mounted crane model: 2008. Contact 99207592, 99882570, fax: 24593333 New & Refurbished portable cabins, Fabrication of car parks & all types of fabric shade. Contact 94475705 Shop for sale in Al Khuwair 33 with office equipment security. Contact 96024655 Flats For Sale in Boushar: OMR 35 Thousand 1 bedroom. OMR 45 Thousand 2 bedroom. Monthly income 1 bedroom OMR 270 and 2 bedroom OMR 350. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Dental clinic, well equipped for sale in Sohar please contact immediately 92625962 / 95904234 / 9547402

2 BHK, Ghobrah, RO 300. Contact 97799175 Flat/rooms for rent in Mumtaz Area. Contact 92502241 / 92245110 Room for rent in Ruwi. Contact 95372192 Double bedroom flat near Wadi Ka-bir Lulu# 99719471, 99639102 Flats/villas owned by ROP pension fund available for rent in Muscat. Contact 99349526 Flat and room for rent in Qurum near park. Contact 99664703 Excellent flat for rent in Ruwi, Mumtaz Area and Al-Hail South. Contact 98051159 1 BHK flat near Star Cinema, Ruwi. RO 240/-.Contact 97079146 / 95570288 For rent flat and showroom, Al Azai-ba, Ghala, Ghubrah, Al Khuwair-33 and Mabelah. Contact 93651633, 24485240, 24485241 5 bedrooms villa, 2 halls, 4 bath-rooms in Darsait, behind Khimjis Mart. Contact 24700120 / 92584715 Building with four flats near Pizza Hut Mawaleh. Contact 99044164 Small house for rent at Ghubrah. Contact 95032152

SHOP FOR SALE AT HONDA RD. CONTACT 99221683 / 92830110 Industrial Area land in Rusayl 5000 SQM and building with 8 shops. Contact 95490842, 99323957 Optical shop for sale. # 93560765 Contd on pg 6

New flat in a new building at a prime location at Al Khuwair, 2 bedrooms and Majlis. Contact 99109094 1 BHK with A/C, Mumtaz area, RO 250. Contact 92144045 2 BHK flat and shops available in new building at Honda Road Ruwi. Contact – 24833972 /24833974 / 99367448 2 BHK Al Ghobrah without A/C RO 300/-. Contact 92144045 Flats, Amerat Souk. Contact 98026234 / 99647903 2 rooms Majlis and kitchen in Al Khuwair 33. Price: RO 380/-. Contact 96961306

Daily guiDed4 t u e s d ay, n o v e m b e r 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

DOMESTIC HELP

MICROBIOLOGIST

BEAUTY

DOMESTIC HELP

DRIVER

ADMIN / HR

ARCHITECT

SKILLED / UN SKILLED

FOREMAN

HOSPITALITY

SECRETARIAL

situation Wantedsituation vacant

MEDICAL

MEDICAL

situation Wantedsituation Wanted


Looking for a professional Gardener to work in Madinat Qaboos, good salary, visa & ac-commodation will be provided. Contact if you have NOC/Release or visa. Contact 92447365

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ADMIN/HR

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

DRAUGHTSMAN

DRIVER

email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

ENGINEERS

ENGINEERS

Need driver. Contact 91310107 Wanted driver for part. Contact 95112461 Telugu Driver Wanted- Contact 95450157 Urgently driver wanted, Omani (private light). Contact 99173812, Star life Co.LLC

Indian Male: B.COM, 4 years experi-ence in Accounts, in Manufactur-ing Co Oman, Working Knowledge With Tally ERP- With Oman valid D/L,Presently working in Muscat NOC Available Looking for Suitable position in Reputed Company, Contact; 95745287 and Email: [email protected]

SALES / MARKETING

Required Sales Engineer having 1-2 year experience with Oman driving license for an Oilfield trading com-pany, please send CV to [email protected] Urgently required Sales Execu-tives, Senior Sales Managers, Sales Promoters, 3D-AutoCAD Designer. Candidates with minimum 2 years experience in Oman and Driving License may only apply – Contact: 94151791, Email: sales @dewdropoman.com Urgently required Sales Executive IT Company with 2 years experi-ence, driving license preferred [email protected] Need a Salesman for marketing job for printing Company. Indian na-tionality who has the ability to work hard and has experience of mini-mum 3 years with Omani Driving License. We offer attractive package. Contact 93645550, email: [email protected] We are looking for an experienced Building Materials Sales Executive having valid Omani Driving License and NOC. Please send CV by email : [email protected] Urgently required Sales & Mar-keting Executive for an Engineer-ing company, minimum 2 year experienced, with good communica-tion skill & driving license. Email : [email protected]

Required Tailor. Contact 95204145

Required for leading company – one foreman (Indian). Email : [email protected]

Wanted experienced Indian Chef, age between 30-35, experience in Indian & Continental food is must. Good salary package. # 99466062 Business Development cum Outlet Manager required for reputed Asian Franchise in Muscat. 5 to 7 years of experience in restaurant/catering business with 2 years in supervisory position. Self-driven people with pleasing personality and good com-munication skills. Call 93977533

Reputed trading company in Mus-cat requires Female Receptionist (Omani) and Sales Executive (any Nationality). Interested candidates please send CV’s to [email protected]

Indian B.Sc. Maths+PGDCA - well ex-perienced, seeks suitable placement as Commercial/Logistic Executive or Document Controller/Customer Service Executive; expected on short visit by Nov. 1st Week; #99702383. Email: [email protected]

Piping Design and Drafting Diploma with AutoCAD and Mechanical Draughtsman in oil and gas sector. Email id : [email protected]: 94515084

Part time or full time housemaid looking for job.preferably Kerala family.phone number 94017485. Housemaid looking for job in Qurum area. Contact No. 93623629

A reputed LLC in Muttrah urgently required an Accountant Assistant, 2 years experience. Those who are interested please forward your resume to [email protected] or contact 99364735, 91214849 Nizwa Medical Complex, located at Nizwa is looking for Gynecologist, female GP, laboratory technician preferably with MOH license. Please email your resume to [email protected] or send to P.O.Box 1236, Nizwa, Phone: 24512323 or call Mr. Owen 99072287 between 10-12 am and 6-8 pm Required for a leading company: 1.Qualified Accountant, salary RO 300 + accommodation, 2.English typist, salary RO 175-200 + accom-modation, 3.Full time driver (light vehicles only). Email : [email protected]

Required Civil Engineer minimum 3 to 5 years experience with GCC Driving License may apply with details to [email protected] One sight Engineer & One Quantity Surveyor required with 10 years of Oman experience in civil for grade 1 Construction Company. Email: [email protected]

MECHANICAL/ TECH

DIETICIAN

Indian Female Dietician with an experience of 3 yrs looking for suit-able opportunity. Contact 94291727 or [email protected]. Presently in Muscat.

Senior Position for CA with 24 years of experience: Managing Finance, Accounts, Audit, Bank Loans, Budg-eting, Business planning, Strategy, Purchase and Sale management of group of companies. SAOG Mobile 91799262 Seeking jobs in Accounts/Office Staff Indian-completed B.Com, 6 years experience in UAE as Ac-countant on visiting visa till Jan 1st. Contact 97927167 Accountant, Indian B.Com, 1 year experience in India seeking suitable placement in Accounts, finance, Audit. Contact 95518079

Pakistani MBA (Finance) male look-ing for suitable position. Experienced in accounts. Contact no: 96351655. [email protected] Accountant / Computer expert 2 yrs in Muscat & 2 yrs in Mumbai, NOC available. Contact 98584498

Sr. Accountant M.Com (Finance) 14 yrs exp (1 year in Oman) in finance & accounts. NOC available, immedi-ately joining. Contact – 92404608 / [email protected] 20 yrs experienced Accountant seeks employment, ACCA (UK), CPA/MBA + Oracle Financials ERP, Hyperion Planning, SAP & Advanced Excel. Contact [email protected] or 98934705 Male 27, 7+ years of experience in Accounts and Administration, out of 4 years experience in Oman looking for a suitable placement. Contact 93531602 Part Time Accounting, Accounts Finalization, Audit Preparation, Internal Audit, Onsite Tally Train-ing, Onsite Training for Accountants, Inventory Management, Feasibility Study and Project Reports. Contact: 96975454, email: [email protected] B.Sc in applied Accounts, having 6 years of working experience in Gulf and India seeking suitable place-ment in Accounts, Finance or Audit Department. Contact 94551480, Email : [email protected] Accounting & Administration, Exp, B com, Diploma in Mass Comn. Ph : 97931505 M. Com, well experienced, working knowledge with Tally n ERP, present-ly working in Oman seeks suitable placement. Release available Ph: 99035707. email:[email protected] Indian female, MBA in HR & Finance, 3 yrs experience in Accounts & Administration seeking suitable placement. Contact 93685717. Email : [email protected] Indian Female, Senior Account-ant with 10 years experience in Accounts, Finance, Audit & Tax Man-agement. Contact 96263157

Required orthodontist – full time in Muscat. BDS, MDS and Morth quali-fied or with MOH license and NOC. Contact 99010755, email : [email protected] Required Nurse for a Clinic in Al Buraimi S.Of.Oman. Contact 00968 92737149. CV to [email protected]

Office Assistant with knowledge of self correspondence, MS Office & good command in English (Both speaking & writing). Interested can-didates may send resume to: [email protected] or fax to: 24799615

A/C duct man cum fabricator, A/C technician. Visa available. Contact-95271668 Urgently required air condition Mechanical Engineer (diploma holder) Contact no; 96407775. Required Marine Mechanic with 3-5 years experience in maintain-ing/ repairing outboard Engines, Generators & AC of Boat with Driv-ing license. Contact-24696130 Email- [email protected]

Accountant BCom. 2yrs Oman experience. NOC available. Joing immediatley-93089367

Accountant, indian male, 31yrs, M.com, 4 yrs experince in oman, NOC available, Cont-93376130 , 92398040

Urgent male Omani Microbiolo-gist required for leading Commer-cial Testing Lab in Muscat. Contact 93351031/92982665/ 93888576

Need an Indian Beautician in a Salon at Amerat. Contact 94082319 A reputed Beauty salon requires hairdressers and receptionist. Please contact 92527238

Indian Male, 40- Senior Accountant looking for a job. Contact 98753366 Part time Accountant with 19 yrs exp in Accounting Management. Contact 95857199 Indian Female 29 Yrs, B-Com Gradu-ate with Basic Computer Knowledge and Tally, having 6 yrs experience in accounting seeking for the placement in Account Assistant, currently on visit visa in Oman Contact: 95478149 Email: [email protected] Indian female Senior Account-ant with 10 years experience in Accounts, Finance, Audit & Tax Management. Contact 96263157 Chartered Accountant Indian (Female) having valid Omani DL and work experience of 1 year in a Big 4 Audit firm (India) seeks suitable placement. GSM: 99484368 Chartered Accountant with 10 yrs of Gulf & MNC experience, in depth knowledge in Financial statements including consolidation, treasury, MIS, AR/AP, Insurance, Taxation, Payroll etc looking for Senior posi-tion in finance, NOC available. Email : [email protected]. Contact : 96293649

Over 14 years of Gulf experience as Administration/HR specialist fluent in Arabic / English with driving license, looking for suitable position. Contact 95824598 Indian 17 years Oman experience with driving license in Administra-tion / Accounts looking for suitable placement. Contact 92926184 Young Indian male with British graduation & post graduation with relevant Muscat experience in busi-ness admin & purchase seeks place-ment. Posses NOC & Driving License.Ph:94400671 Indian Female, 30 Years, B.Com, 3 years Oman experience in Bank-ing and 5 Years India. Contact 96727030/96253400 Indian Male 35 Document control-ler/Admin Assistant seeking employ-ment for suitable position. (Release/NOC) Available. MOB:-96345187 Indian female (26), B.Tech (CS), 1.6 years experience Banking sector (Axis Bank Ltd) seeking job in pvt firms/ banks in Administration/HR / Secretarial positions. Contact 94525956, Email : [email protected] currently on visit visa. Over 15 years Oman experienced Indian female Manager / Accounts and Admin / Secretary. Contact 96025193 Indian male MBA 32 yrs having 10 yrs of exp seeking suitable place-ment in Admin/ HR/ Operations/ Coordination/ Logistics etc. Holding valid Oman D/L .Contact - 99054786 Experience PRO Oman Male, 36 Yrs, 16 yrs experience in PRO/ HR & Administration, Prefect English language speaking & writing with D/L, Seeks suitable placement, Can join immediate. #91221773 Indian male, B.Com, 5 years Office Executive experience sector Agency seeking job in office/Company for administration. Email : [email protected], currently on visit visa. Contact 99846801 Indian Female, 25 yrs, B.Com Gradu-ate, presently on visit visa having 6 yrs experience seeking good op-portunity in HR Admin, HR Recruiter or Office Secretary. Contact 91762061

Legal adviser and consultant in International arbitration (Egyptian resident) legal and administrative expertise and the Omani Labor Law and drafting contracts. Contact 99664890 Indian Male 32 yrs( MBA-HR) 9 yrs of Exp (GCC,AFRICA) in EPC, Diver-sified industries, Seeking Suitable placement in HR/Admin. Currently on visit visa, NOC available, join immediately. Contact 94535618 Email:[email protected] Omani female with 9 yrs exp look-ing for PRO job with Oman D/L. Contact 97917333 HR & Admin Assistant, 26 yrs Indian Male having 6Years of experience looking for suitable position. Contact No: +968-93264616 32 years Pakistani, MBA from UK with 5 + years experience of Busi-ness Development and Administra-tion seeks a suitable job. Contact 95658916 Male, 27 years with MBA in HR/MKT having 2 years exp in respec-tive field looking for suitable place-ment in leading organization. Contact 91705051

Accounts part time works and fina-lization works. Contact 96247295 Sr. Accountant up to finalization looking for part time job after 5 pm (location prefer – Qurum to Al Khoudh). Contact 92917574 Indian male age 30 having 10 yrs experience in Finance & Accounts seeking suitable placement. Contact 93675399 Pakistani Male, ACCA Fundamental Level qualified, advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business certified accounting technician, 3 years expe-rience as Accounts Officer. Contact 99860453, Email: [email protected]

Light driver, 3 years experience in Oman. Contact 94453093 Sri Lankan driver looking for job. Contact - 97387112 Light driver looking for job, 5 years exp in Saudi Arabia + Oman 2 yrs. Contact 96088707

Required a junior Architect for a Consultancy Office. Email: [email protected]

Immediate placement for Phar-macist and Asst.Pharmacist, 2 nos each with MOH or prometric pass. Contact: 99338219 Vacancy for staff nurse with MOH License, capital area. Contact 99013372 Required paed doctor Gyn doctor, dentist - assistant pharmacist. lab technician , X.ray technician staff nurse for polyclinic for Saham . Contact: 92406024 Email: [email protected] Wanted Doctor with MOH license for a Polyclinic. Excellent salary with accommodation and commission. Contact 99752442, email : [email protected] MOH licensed female nurse required for clinic in Muscat for immediate placement. Contact 93538672 Pharmacist and Assistant Pharma-cist with MOH license are required. Interested candidates contact 97091664 or [email protected]. Good payment with incentives.

Required urgently. A leading con-struction company in Oman requires B.Tech Electrical Engineer/ Supervi-sors with 5 years Oman experience. Interested candidates may forward resume to - [email protected] Required for Al Shirawi Equipment Company LLC, Sales Engineer with fabrication experience, 5 to 7 years (1 No.), experience in Tipping Trailer, Flat bed, low bed, water tanker, tipper. Contact 94226924

Accountant 3.5yrs.noc available.joingimmediatly.mba(hr).98772358 [email protected] Chief Accountant, M.Com + CA articles completed.Having 5 yrs of experience in Oman.Excellent com-mand in IAS and IFRS.seeks proper placement. GSM # 94387066


Daily guiDesituation Wantedsituation Wanted

DRIVER

DESIGNER

EDUCATION

INFORMATION TECH

HOSPITALITY

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

MEDICAL

MEDICAL

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

Male Pharmacist, 4+ yrs exp with B. Pharm degree and MOH license. Presently on visit visa, seeking suitable position. Contact 91678103, 96522803 Indian Female Dentist, MOH license holder, with an experience of 6 yrs, looking for a suitable opportunity. Contact 94046651 or [email protected] I have 7 years experience in Nurs-ing Field (GNM) and I have Oman Prometric also seeking suitable job in Hospital or Clinic or Polyclinic. Contact 98992469, 98036216 25 yrs Indian female M. Sc Microbi-ology MS Office 2 yrs exp seek-ing suitable placement. Contact: 99032236 / 98049057

Telecom Engineer, Master Degree in UK with seven years, UK, Gulf and Sri Lanka experiences, Installation Operations maintains and Project Management. Presently on visit visa looking for a telecom related role. Contact 94626136, Email: [email protected]

Asst. Quantity Surveyor (4 years experience in Oman) looking job (NOC available) Contact 96785025

Mechanical Engineer 21m Indian fresher, seeking job, visit visa. Contact: 99027468 Email: [email protected] BE Biomedical Engineer + 2 years experience in India seeking suitable placement. Contact 93092484, Email: [email protected] Indian Male, 27 years, B.E (Elec-tronics & Communication Engineer-ing) having 5 years experience in Security Systems (CCTV, ACS, Fire Alarm System and Networking) suit-able post in construction / manufac-turing / production / maintenance departments. Currently on visit visa. Contact 97784627, 93728674, email: [email protected] Civil Engineer 12 years Gulf experi-ence with driving license NOC avail-able. Contact 91531213 Female, 27 age Anesthesia Techni-cian, 4 years experience in India seeking suitable placement. Contact 96736139, Email: [email protected]

Indian Male, 26 yrs, graduate in hospitality science, with New Zea-land business diploma and previous Oman experience in Customer service seeks suitable placement in hospitality/salesmarketing/ logis-tics/ admin. Contact 91383167

Indian male 28 completed B.H.M.CT, 4 yrs exp in food & bever-ages dept. looking for senior super-visor position. Contact – 91018857 / [email protected] Having 7 years Europe experience in the field of Hotel Management, store keeper, Supervisor looking for a challenging opportunity in Muscat. Contact +96897376612, Email: [email protected] Male 22 Housekeeping front office Hotel management degree course. Contact 96732520 Female 21 yrs, Tally 1 year experi-ence, looking for visa. Contact 95330720

Tunisian interior and furniture designer, 8 yrs exp in Oman looking for suitable placement. Local release available (NOC). Contact 92038385 Graphic Designer for Sign Industry (Preferably Omani National). Contact [email protected], fax: 24812377

Sudanese Female Communication Engineer with experience 2 years. Contact 91780953 Male Telecom Engineer experience in Gulf 5 years. Contact 95219822 Project Electrical Engineer, 3 years experience primary substation OHL cables, driving license available (NOC) available. Contact 94372096 Planning Engr. 6 yrs exp. P6, Valid D/L seeks placement. 95196628 / [email protected] Civil Engineer B.Tech more than 20 years experience in which 10 years as Project Engineer in a reputed con-sultancy seeks suitable placement preferably in Consultancy. Contact 91215799

Software Engineer looking for a suitable job. 2+ years experience in a Multi National Company, now look-ing for suitable position in software division of reputed organizations. Currently on Visit Visa. Please con-tact: 97463452, 97080684 Indian male 25 B.Tech (IT) Engineer 2.5 yrs exp in hardware networking, currently on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact - 94359564 Iraqi Civil Engineer, 3 yrs exp (1 yr exp) in Oman looking for job. Contact 92628850 33 years Indian female B.E Com-puter Science currently teaching in Secondary School seeks suitable opportunity in school or office. Contact [email protected] Indian male B.Tech Civil Engineer with 5 yrs exp in Gulf & India. Pres-ently on visit visa looking for suit-able placement at capital region in Oman. Contact – 93453417 / Email – [email protected] HSE and NDT Engineer, M.Sc in radiation protection with more than 6 yrs experience in oil and gas fields “OSHA-NDTLII” 95481430 BSc Civil Engineer, over 19 years experience in Construction field with Project Management skills, seeks suitable placement. NOC available & can join immediately. Kindly contact 92198264, Email: [email protected] Mechanical Engineer (B.E), 26 yrs, Indian Male with two years experience as Production Engineer in Manufacturing / Production pres-ently on visit visa seeking suitable placement, has good knowledge of MS-Office, MS-Project and AutoCAD. Contact 91685141 / 93101922, email: [email protected] Civil Engineer, diploma, Indian Male, 8 years experience, Oman Driving License with local release. Contact 95320570, Email: [email protected] Civil Engineer have 6 years Site experience in both structural and finishing works in Oman. Email : [email protected], +968 95110820 Sudanese male, MEP Engineer, B.Sc, 3 yrs experience in Oman having Omani Driving License looking for job in any company. Contact +968 99141958 Indian male, B.E Mechanical with 4.5 years Quality Control, Sales & Marketing. Email : [email protected]. Contact 94620659 Indian, M.Tech Electrical Engineer (Female), fresher in family visa seek-ing suitable placements in Oman. Contact 94306164 Diploma in Electronics Engineering with 5 years experience in Oman as Customer Service Coordinator, Inven-tory Control and Indoor Sales Execu-tive seeks suitable job. Speaks Arabic, English & Hindi. Contact 95681406. Email [email protected] Civil Engineer with 5 years experi-ence in various fields supervision, design and geotechnical with Omani license. Contact 97261086

Indian Female, Software tester, 5 years experience in Oracle India and Wipro Technologies having knowledge in SQL and Data Ware-house concepts looking for suitable job vacancies. Contact 98605362, Email : [email protected] Indian Female, Computer Engineer with 14 Years of IT Experience. Dual Expertise both in Business / System Analyst and Project Management role. Looking for any IT opportunity pertaining to Business Analyst / Project Manager / Software Quality Assurance role.# 968 92661857 Email : [email protected] Young and energetic Indian holding Oman driving license, having 6+ years experience in IT Industry (4+ years in Oman) seeks placement. Contact : 92687056, 92228414

Exp driver with own car seeks job. Contact 91145856 Pakistani driver looking for job light motor vehicle. Contact 96534239, 92117837 Bangladeshi male, 27 years looking for driving job, 5 years Qatar and 2 years Oman experience. Contact 96692774 Want job as a Personal driver or de-livery boy 2 yrs experience in Oman as personal driver, NOC is ready is fluent in English, Arabic and Hindi. Contact 95842107 15 years experienced driver Indian. Contact 98993526 Experienced Indian light driver looking for suitable placement. Contact 99066408 Looking for job light driver, experi-ence 15 years. Contact 94436276 / 93183817 Indian light driver looking for placement immediately having 14 years exp in Oman. Contact 97098133 I have experience, 8 years for Saudi Arabia and Oman – 2 years. Contact 95382465 / 98939925 Bangladeshi driver looking for suit-able job, KSA 12 years + Oman 3 years experience, 42 years. Contact 95796030 Driver looking for job. Contact 92715713 Driver looking for job. Contact 96964634 Indian Female, Software tester, 5 years experience in Oracle India and Wipro Technologies having knowl-edge in SQL and Data Warehouse concepts looking for suitable job vacancies. Contact 98605362, Email : [email protected] Indian Executive L/D. Driver, 2 years exp. Contact 93078481 Indian driver looking for job, 2 yrs exp. Contact 95151738 Heavy driver, experience, 5 years, nationality Pakistan. Contact 92073175 Driver is available for his personal home, driver as a Company driver, outhouse to go to UAE, please do not hesitate to contact 96964343

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

M.Sc geologist from IIT Kharagpur with 2 yr. experience in petroleum and geological field on visit seeks immediate placement in a prestig-ious organisation. Call 98856981 Indian male B.Tech in EC with CCNA MCSE certification, having 5yrs experience seeking suitable place-ments.mob:94575080/ [email protected] Female postgraduate Searching suitable Job Contact 97792820 26 years Gulf experience plumb-ing fire fighting Supervisor having UAE D/L looking for job. Contact 97357960 / 91306037 5 years surveyor for pipe line, 8 years Construction/Projects experi-enced Accountant, 5 years Drafts-man to work in Salalah. Mail CV to [email protected] Indian male, experienced executive secretary / Document Controller / Admin Executive, looking for suit-able job. #. 91091963 / 99707262”

Sr. Procurement and logistics Ex-ecutive with 8 years experience (in middle east), in Oil and gas as well as Industrial projects and an overall 16 years of total job experience together in India and Qatar is on the lookout for a suitable placement. Valid GCC driving license. Contact: 91750084. 20 years experience Division Man-ager specialized in false ceiling & partition in Oman. Contact 93513986 Logistics Officer, Gulf Experienced, knows MS office Ph : 99505934 Indian Male 25 MBA in Sports Management; Looking for job in Sports administration/Sports events/sports facility management and Sports related Organisations. Exp. as sports development of-ficer in schools,Project Manager in Syncotts international Bangalore & part of World Hockey Series of India-2012 as Production Runner. Presently on Visit visa in Oman.Contact; 96398569. Email : [email protected] Indian Male, 25 years in Oman, FMCG business in Senior Manager level looking for senior position. Contact 99015946

Physical Science/Mathematics female teacher with 6 years Indian experience, seeking a position in a reputed school/Institution. QUALI-FICATION: B.Sc (Mathematics, Elec-tronics & computer science), B.Ed (Mathematics & English) Contact: Kamaal. GSM: 94300026, email: [email protected] M.A B.ED well experienced indian lady teacher of economics,social sci-ence & English looking for suitable job.Contact : 94365112 A Computer System Engineer, female 26 looking for teaching job in a reputed Institute having teaching experience, Subjects: Kindergarten, IT, Mathematics and all 0’levels subjects. Contact 91679220 MSc. Chemistry Teacher (5 y EXP.) Pakistani female looking for a job in School/college. Contact 96580101

Indian Male 40 yrs, Legal advisor and coroprate in house lawyer currently working with a reputed legal firm in Muscat having 7 years gulf eperience looking for Legal Manager post in companies. Experience in drafting agreements, contracts, negiotation and dispute settlement. Good knowledge in Oman Labour Law and other laws. NOC available . GSM: 99137569

Welder Tig, 6g, Steel Fbrcn Gulf Exp Ph : 93837973

MECHANICAL/ TECH

Electrical Engineer, 9 yrs experience in Electrical Projects with Oman D/L, NOC available, can join immediately. Email: [email protected] Civil Engineer B.E., 5 years experi-ence with valid Driving License, consultancy job preference. Contact 91693008 Project Engineer, 3 years experi-ence in primary substation OHL oil & gas, AutoCAD, driving license avail-able. Contact 95120225, 99410588 Civil Engineer, 6+ years work experience in Oman, valid Omani D/L looking for suitable placement. Contact 96936404 A Filipino National seeking for the job Vacancy as Safety Officer, Fire Engineer, Fire Inspector, Fire and Safety Instructor. Well experienced in Offshore and Petrochemical Plants with an IOSH Certificate. Please contact 91718309 or 26855037 Mechanical Engineer,(BTech in Mechanical) with Certified quality controller - NDT level 2 qualified as per ASNT - SNT-TC-I A, with 1 & half yr exp. as quality control engineer, presnetly in India seeks suitable placement Cont : 95405033 [email protected] MSc (Applied Chemistry and Chemi-cal Technology), 4 years experience in Operations and Laboratory on visit visa seeking for a suitable job. Contact 91261365, Email: [email protected] Indian Male, 24, B.Tech Electrical and Electronics Engineering, 2+ years experience in Electrical field, panel board designing, electrical AutoCAD drawings and manage-rial skills. Contact 92181106, email : [email protected] Civil Engineer with exp 5 years in construction and roads. NOC avail-able. Contact 97646908 BS Electronic engineer, Pakistani Male, 23, specialize in Industrial Automation (Siemens PLC, HMI), embedded system design & instru-mentation looking for suitable place-ment in Oman. Contact 96271586 Male, Indian (now in Oman), fresher, B.E. Civil Engineer. Contact 98907359 Civil Engineer with 8 years experi-ence and valid Omani D/L looking for suitable placement. Ready to join immediately. Contact 95326194 / 99525367 Indian Male, 29 years. BCA + ITI Electronics, 8 years experience in Electronic service and telecommuni-cation networking, Contact 98689568 Instrumentation Engineer, Indian male having 2 years experiences in process instruments seeks suitable placement. Contact 95954385 Electrical Engineer having 2 yrs of experience, substation/ maintenance seeking for suitable placement. Contact 97698493 / 99253909 Electrical Engineer, Indian, 2.5 years experience at Thermal Plant, (erection and commissioning). Now in Oman on visit seeking suitable job. Contact 95836714. Email – [email protected] BE Civil Engineer, fresh graduate, male 24 yrs, Indian looking for a suitable placement. Contact 95117509

Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf ex-perience) looking for a suitable job (NOC available) Contact-93344378 Female Pharmacist passed exam & viva PH: 95848971 Indian female, 29 yrs , SENIOR EXECUTIVE CLINICAL RESEARCH, MSC Biotechnology & pursuing Phd/ 4 Yrs total work experience/on a visit visa/seeking for a suitable placement/Contact # 95925881/ Email: [email protected] Medical Laboratory Technologist, 4 years experience in UAE, Master Degree holder. Contact 97007930 Indian Male GP with MOH License and NOC, having 10 years of excel-lent hands on experience in Oman with corporate culture. #98140024 Email: [email protected] Nursing caregiver, qualified Nurse/ Asst. Nurse (male/ female) medical staff seeks placement for Hospital/ clinic. Contact 92989109 (Oman), 0091 – 9555427742 (India), [email protected]

Telecom Engineer with 8 yrs exp from India in IT Networking seeks suitable opportunities now in Oman. Contact 99002635 Emal : [email protected]

Indian B.E Mechanical Engineer with level 2 certification in QA/QC having experience in maintenance engineering,piping,pipe line engi-neering and welding inspection. Looking for suitable jobContact : 91360997/99257867Email: [email protected]

SECRETARIAL/OFFICE

Indian female with 8 years experi-ence in Oman, seeking suitable placement as Travel Coordinator / Secretary / Admin position. Please contact 92985246.

Indian male, 32yrs b.Com, 6.5 Yrs exp in purchase asst and store keeper seeking suitable placement. Contact 95318192. Indian male, 18 years experience in Catering supervisor as Sales Executive in Saudi holding valid D/L. Email: [email protected]. Contact 96304501 Indian Male, B.Sc + MBA (Market-ing) with 18 yrs experience including Oman in Sales & Marketing having driving license & NOC seeks suitable placement. Contact 97351283, Email: [email protected] MBA Marketing Male, 27 having 8 years of experience including Oman and UK experience having Omani Driving License looking for a mar-keting opportunity, NOC available. Contact 98338592 Indian Male, 10 years experience in Sales looking for job as Showroom Salesman, warehouse in charges etc. Contact 94551229 Indian Male seeking Sales and Executive Driver job have valid Oman and UAE license. #91183634 Marketing Professional with 7 years Oman experience in Business Development and ATL advertising looking for a suitable placement. Valid D/L Oman. GSM 93466033. Email - [email protected],

MBA Graduate with 2 years of experience as working as Executive assistant in Dubai is looking for a job (full time) other than as an Executive Assistant / Office Assistant. Contact 91615322 Indian male, 25 years Graduate, 3 years experience in Sales in Delhi (India) on visit seeking suitable placement. Contact 98914220 Indian Male, 28 yrs, having 5 years experience in FMCG Sales in visit visa, Looking for any suitable jobs in Oman. # 98531486/ 98988824 Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 14 Years Inside and outside Oman following activities: tenders& real estate& construction & marketing projects& investments& transportation & Marine services& companies management& develop business. Contact :- 93240027

29 years, Indian male with PGDM and B.Com, experience 4.5 years in administration, corporate sales and marketing seeking suitable place-ments, willing to join immediately. Contact 91722610, email : [email protected] Indian female having 8 years experience in Sales & Marketing in oil and gas field as commercial manager, looking for a suitable placement-NOC available -Contact - Email- [email protected] Mob: 96311709 Indian male, MBA (USA) having 5 years of International experience in Sales and Marketing. Contact 98853309. Email : [email protected] Indian Male, MBA in Marketing and Finance, 10 years’ Sales & Business Development Experience with valid D/L of Oman & UAE looking for a suitable placement. NOC Available.Contact: 93969961 e-mail [email protected] Sales/ Marketing / customer service release / NOC available UK + Oman experience valid Oman D/L, excellent communication & organizing skills, can join imme-diately, Email : [email protected], gsm 92342060 / 96761225

SALES / MARKETING

Indian Female: Bachelor in Travel & tourism.1 year experience in ticket-ing and 6 month in cargo (CIAL). Looking suitable placement. Contact 95883404

TOURS & TRAVEL

Indian Male, MBA, having 9 years of logistics operation and market-ing experience in Saudi Arabia and India with valid Saudi Driving License, looking for suitable placement . Please contact 94525696

Daily guiDe Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

email: [email protected]




INDIAN female having ten years experience as cook. South Indian, Gujarathi special. Contact 94224512 Homoeopathic Doctor, Indian Female, with MOH License( to be re-newed) (Nearly 2 years exp in Mus-cat, Oman) seeks suitable place-ment in Clinics/Hospitals in Muscat area. Please Contact:92975815. Male senior accountant with 20+ years experience readily available. 6 years experience in construction industry Oman. NOC & Oman driving license holder. 93969767/ [email protected] Electronics & communication Engineer, having 3+years experience (2Yeras GCC) in Security systems/low current systems (FAS, CCTV, ACS, PAVA etc) seeking suitable Post in construction/manufactur-ing/production/maintenance depts. Contact: [email protected] 91001523 Dynamic Indian Female, Chemical Engineer (fresher from NIIT), holding Oman D/L seeks suitable placement. Contact 97477127, email: [email protected] Indian Female, B.Com, Secretarial skills, MS office, Oracle, 5 years experience in Oman, as QA/QC As-sistant, Administrator, Document Controller, seeking placement. Contact: 96465391 or E-mail: [email protected] Indian female 29 Graduate/Comput-er diploma 5-year work experience as Manager Administration/HR in Construction & Real Estate seeking suitable placement . On family Visa. Contact - 91191236 Indian Male MBA & PGDFM 26 Yrs. having 3.2 yrs of exp. seeking suitable placement in Admin/HR/Accounts/Purchase co-ordinator etc..Holding valid Oman driving license. Contact No :93359371 Indian Male, B.Sc, Fashion & Ap-parel Design having 4+ yrs of experi-ence (in retail sector as Designer-Visual Merchandising & Marketing) seeking suitable placement. Contact 94535866, email: [email protected] Indian female MCA., M. Phil in computer Science having 5 yrs of experience in teaching(as Lecturer) seeking for teaching position in school or college. Can join immedi-ately. Contact :97765173. Email:[email protected]

Indian Male, B.Sc Fashion & Apparel Design having 4+ yrs of experience (in Retail Sector as Designer-Visual Merchandising & Marketing) seeking suitable placement in any sections. Contact 94535866, Email: [email protected] Manager-Organizational & Market-ing Communication, Masters in Journalism, Finance, strong English writing skills, creative professional, Oman exp in corporate Communica-tion, Marketing, Business Develop-ment, Media Relations, Ads etc. NOC available. Contact 98179887 Indian Male, 22 years, B.Tech Me-chanical (Fresher) from NIT Calicut, Software skills – Ansys, Pro-E solid works. Contact 91294510 / 99437002. Email: [email protected] Infosys experienced male with engineering degree in Electronics and communication from a reputed University seeks suitable placement. Contact: 95786295/ [email protected] Senior Accounts Professional, Indian Male, 35 years, M.Com, MBA (Fin) 8 years in Oman, with valid Oman DL and NOC available. Capable to handle accounts up to finalization. Contact 9602 3965. Marketing Executive male 23 years, 2 years exp with NOC available, GCC driving license, working in sales and warehouse management looking for suitable opening please contact 94030909 Indian Female, M.Sc Software Engineering having 2 yrs experience in IT & Admin seeks suitable place-ment. Contact 94391214, [email protected] Indian Male, 24 years old on visit visa, 3 years Diploma in Civil Engi-neering, 3 yrs experience. Contact 98515106 Indian male-26 having 2 years experience in Oman as a store keeper looking for the good placement, NOC available by the current company. Contact 96671102, email: [email protected] 57 Yrs. Old healthy person seeking an opportunity in any area of works (Shop sales man, Painting, Store asst, traffic controller, Foremen, Control-ler) .Saudi experienced. Contact-97239854-Asher Eight years experience in the field of Sales, Marketing & Branch in charge & Having Valid Oman Driving License with NOC.Presently in Oman. Seeking for Placements Cont: Sumesh: 92718716 [email protected] B.Sc (Bio-Technology) & MBA hav-ing 4 years experience in Marketing and Sales currently on visit visa seeking suitable placement in Oman. Email: [email protected], GSM: 94517678 Civil Engineer, Diploma, Male 25, 3 years experience in site, CAD, 3d, MS Project, Seeking job in Oman. Contact 92887561, [email protected] Presales Engineer - IT 4yrs exp. en-gineering graduate (Indian female) currently on family visa looking for opportunities as Sales/Presales engineer or any suitable positions. Contact: 0096895829278, [email protected]

Experienced Salesman with 5 years experience vehicle looking for job. Contact 93079087 Indian Male, 23 years MBA (Mar-keting) (6 months experience as a Sales and Operation Officer looking for suitable job. Contact 99106181, Email: [email protected] IT software professional looking for a suitable position in Desktop/Web application development. Visit www.muhammedswafuvan.weebly.com for more details. Reach me on (+968) 98395032. Part time accountant available. Accounting experience up to finali-zation and tally also. #96423671 Indian Male, 24 yrs, MBA in HR/Marketing. More than 1 years experi-enced in retail Banking (Axis Bank) Presently in family visit in Oman seeking for a suitable placement# 99892082/ 997 43 709 MBA, Indian Male, 28 yrs, HR & Ad-min, Marketing sales, 1 yr experience in India. I have release looking for any suitable job in Oman. #97484159 Pakistani male 32 years IT network + Computer Hardware professional A+ MCSE Termination Technician work Experience in Salalah airport. 10+ years experience in IT field and 2 years Oman working experience looking for a suitable placement contact no 96733205 Email [email protected] Indian Male having 20 years Ex-perience in Travel Agency in Oman. Looking for suitable placement. Contact 95692050. Indian Male, 38 years, Electron-ics Engineer with 14 years of Oman experience and proven track record as Sales & Marketing Manager (Elec-tronics, electrical & electro mechani-cal products) with valid Oman D/L for a suitable placement in a reputed Organization. Contact 92208744, email : [email protected] Diploma in civil engineering having an experience 23years (19years in Oman) experience in Estimator / quantity surveyor looking for a suitable placement. Willing to join immediately Contact: 96328687. Indian male Engineer (B.E in E&C, MBA) with 5 years admin/profes-sional experience looking for a suitable placement in a reputed company. Contact 91387463 email: [email protected] Civil Engineer, Indian Female, hav-ing one year experience in Quantity Survey, also knows AutoCAD, prima-vera etc seeks placement. Contact 91690345 Senior Accounts Professional, Indian Male, 35 years, M.Com, MBA (Fin) 8 years in Oman, with valid Oman DL and NOC available. Capable to handle accounts up to finalization. Contact 9602 3965. B Pharm, Indian female, Oman MOH License holder, seeking job. Email- [email protected]. Contact no: 99665183 29 yr old indian male graduate 5yrs oman exp in sales and marketing with valid oman driving license looking for suitable job.Noc available ready to join immediately Contact 95136784 Indian male with over 19 years of qualitative experience in Automobile field, expert in providing techni-cal advice on repairs and servic-ing seeks jobs in sales/ service in manegerial capacity. Contact 91-7736048460. [email protected]

matrimonial

Kerala RC boy, 29, 5.9. Contact 98917545 Kerala Nair girl, 28 years M.Tech seeks suitable alliance. Contact 91790746 A north Indian Muslim family seeks alliance for their son, 26 yrs old, MBA, a Businessman. Contact 96176446 Mumbai based Keralite (Dheevara), 40 yrs male working in Oman since 3 yrs looking for suitable alliance. Contact 93627279 38 years undergraduate Graphic Designer, own business, alliance from girls of any Christian denomination. Contact 91296049 after 5.30 pm Keralite Male, 178 cm, 26 years old, Christian Marthomite working is workshop foreman in Al Khoud look-ing for suitable alliance. Contact 92118245

nri

Mantri Greens, behind Mantri Mall, Malleswaram, Bangalore. 3 Bedrooms with servants room on 8th Floor, car park, 2050 sqft, for sell, Rs 2.5 Crore, First Owner. Contact 91375741, [email protected] 9 Cents of residential vacant land in Valencia for immediate sale. Contact [email protected] of 92034072 1750 SQ FT. Newly built house in 8 cent plot for sale Near Vadakkencher-ry, Alathur, Palakkad District, Kerala. Contact: [email protected] 14 cents land with 2 HK house for sale near Kakkanade Collectorate at Cochin. Contact 968 92682970 For Astrological consultation, Jathakam. Contact 99860435 / 97102599 2 BHK flat for sale in Bangalore, Hebbal. Contact 96263157 Villa for sale 2200 sq ft in 8 cent. Kottayam. Contact: 92652534


situation Want-ed

change of name

MISCELLANEOUS

B.E (Chemical), 23, Indian male with 1 year experience (production) in Chemical Plant, on visiting visa seek-ing for a suitable job. #94525650, Email: [email protected] Indian male 30 yrs seeking suit-able placement to work as forklift operator, having 5 yrs of exp. NOC available. Contact – 94370085 Piping/Pipeline engineer, 3+ yrs exp with B.E degree (Mech), familiar with CAESAR-2, PDMS, AutoCAD, stress analysis and piping of criti-cal lines for hydrocarbon industry. Contact: 95785479, Email: [email protected] Indian male 28, completed B.H.MCT 4 yrs exp in food &beverages department. Looking suitable job for senior supervisor.Contact – 9108857 [email protected] Civil Engineer 8 years Exp (2 in Angola with DAR AL HANDASAH, 4 months in Oman) as a site engi-neer. He holds a Diploma in project management, fluent in English & Arabic. Contact: 99170315

acc. available

acc. available

lost

2 BHK available, Mumtaz area, Ruwi. Contact 99269751 Available furnished single room with attached bathroom with shar-ing kitchen for executive bachelor. Contact 94478424 Bachelor sharing accommodation available in villa, Rex Road Ruwi- Contact- 94442157

business

We assist in new business set up local sponsorship, real estate ser-vices, assist in company formation services. Contact - 93166088 Coffee shop business partner required in Muscat. Contact 94542865 Fully organized logistic (freight forwarding) Company seeking for an investor. Contact 95088936 / 91404330

Ali Din Shah Alam has lost Bang-ladeshi Passport No. AA1501713. Finder please handover to ROP Abdala has lost Bangladeshi Pass-port No. AD0973558. Finder please handover to ROP Nazrul Siddiqui has lost Bang-ladeshi Passport No. V0913024. Finder please handover to ROP Omar Abdullah Adcul Rahman has lost Tunisian Passport No. AB442517. Finder please handover to ROP

Indian Male, MBA in HR & Mktng 1yr exp. in India. Looking for suitable jobs in Admin, HR, Store in charge, Sales & Mktng. M: 96329315, Email: [email protected]

We, Sharafudeen Kurukkan Blangapurath (name of father as per the passport, holder of Indian Passport No.J5559877) and Kai-runnissa Alathankandy (name of mother as per the passport, holder of Indian Passport No. G1117504) having permanent address in Sulaika Nivas, Muzhathadam, Kannur-2, Kerala, India (complete postal address in India) and pres-ently residing at the following address in Muscat, P.B.No 299, P.C.No 118, Sultanate of Oman, here-by solemnly affirm and declare to change the name of our child Master Adnan (name as per pre-sent passport), holder of Indian Passport No. J1343728, date of issue 08/04/2010 issued at Muscat. The name of our child will be henceforth known as Adnan Muhammed Alathankandy (new name) for all purposes. Any objec-tion towards change of name of our minor child may please be com-municated to Embassy of India, Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters, Al Khuwair, P.B.No 1727, Postal Code 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman. This is to announce that Abdul-lah Bin Sultan Bin Saeed Al -Raisi and his partner for Trading & Con-tracting commercially registered under number 1075037 with the Ministry of Trade & Industry is hereby changing its name to Com-mercial Integrated Gulf Trading Est. This is for whomsoever it may concern.

Sharing accommodation available for Executive bachelor near to Mut-trah hotel. Contact 98132389 Single bedroom with attached bathroom for executive bachelor next to Indian School Ghobrah. Contact 95259322 Sharing villa, large room with kitchen, bath, dressing, Al Khuwair. Contact 99743569, 97004265 Room for Sri Lankan, ex bachelor, Al Khuwair. Contact 96536307 Executive bachelor in Al Khuwair. Contact 98689559, 92125115 2 BHK available in Darsait near Lulu RO 250/-. Contact 92383882 1 BR accommodation available at Rex Road, suitable for bachelors. Contact 99889590 Spacious room, separate bathroom, sharing kitchen at Wadi Kabir, Shell Pump rent RO 90/- & E/W RO 20/- per month for Muslim family. Contact 97887620 Furnished single room with bathroom, Al Khuwair area only for ladies. Contact 96059431

sit. Wanted

British Female with 4 years experi-ence in Oman in Marketing and Project Management. Call 00974 3343 7619 Indian male 23YRS, 4 Years expe-rienced in Architectural Draughts-man looking for a suitable Post GSM:96023726, Email : [email protected] Indian Male having 10 years of Experience in Oman having Valid Omani Driving license working in Purchase Dept looking for a suit-able position. salary is negotiable. [email protected] Mob: 94304324/92654817 Indian Male, 24 yrs on visit visa, 3 yrs Diploma in civil Engineering, 3 yrs experience. Contact 98515106 Female Candidate: Having experience(ISRO) in Administra-tion (seeking suitable opportunities &presently in Oman Mob:97239854, Mail:[email protected] PDO Approved in Contracts, Pro-curement, Operations, Project Indian Male PMP, CIPS, PGDBA, DME, Oil & Gas with Exp-18+ Yrs. & having valid Oman & PDO D/L Seeking job - Contact 92560287 / [email protected] Senior Accounts Professional, Indi-an Male, 35 years, M.Com, MBA (Fin) 8 years in Oman, with valid Oman DL and NOC available. Capable to handle accounts up to finalization. Contact 9602 3965. Female Candidate: Having experience(ISRO) in Administration (seeking suitable opportunities & presently in Oman Mob:97239854, Mail:[email protected]


Daily guiDesituation Wantedcargo

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine Tours Contact- 98029602, 92808636

tours

rent a car business

An investor to build a building in an important area Al Amerat op-posite the bridge of the main road. Contact 99674870 An investor for running an Institute at Al Amerat- 6 months free period from the date of the Contract. Contact 99674870 Increase your income on commission basis with our landscap-ing & gardening services provided for big, small projects & maintenance contracts. Contact +968 99242207 Email: [email protected]

Learn Driving from professional instructors. Contact 94022250 Driving School, automatic. Contact 92245110 Learn driving automatic from scratch. Contact 98599675

driving

transportation

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44TH NATIONAL DAY

GAVINDA JAYASINGHE

To come across a leader who puts the welfare of his people before his own – at present – borders on

the realm of mythical conjecture. They take on an air of mystery due to their relative nonexistence. Perhaps this is why such narra-tives have been confined solely to the annals of literature and the like, which makes the reign of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said even more laudable. The Sultan of Oman’s character and sovereignty present an antithesis to the estab-lished norm, in an age such as this.

At a time when people and opinion tend to gravitate towards brashness and flamboyance, at-tributes such as silence, subtlety and reflectivity have lost their sheen somewhat. Keen observ-ers and judicious decision makers have been relegated to the back-ground, paving the way for indi-viduals who verbally aggrandize themselves to the upper echelons of government and state, even if their actual efforts leave much to be desired. In a global political environment that promotes such questionable virtues, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has af-forded his people and anyone who has had the fortune of experienc-ing his reign thus far, a semblance of respite. He continues to pre-sent a most refreshing alternative

to the pattern of rule most are ac-customed to.

He is a living embodiment of the ideals that we romanticize in lead-ers of nations.

I remember reading the online version of an article many years ago, first written by Georgie Anne Geyer, for the Victorian Advocate (Texas) in 1988. In the article, she describes His Majesty the Sultan’s musings based on an hour long in-terview conducted at his palace in 1988. His articulate and intelligent responses concerning the Iran-Iraq war at the time and his role in mediating its end are clearly de-tailed in this extremely rare inter-view. It is always a delight to come across such frank expressions of his thoughts and views. Upon reading the article, I was able to gauge the extent of his influence beyond the shores of Oman.

His Majesty the Sultan’s role and impact became clear to most only over the past decade. Re-porters and diplomats around the world were once again reminded of his crucial hand in affairs in-volving the Middle East, as a result of a few critical articles that were published in foreign newspapers. Most recently, secret meetings were convened between diplo-mats from the United States and His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who mediated with those at the helm in Tehran, over Iran’s nuclear programme. In November last year, he guided them to a his-

toric and objective reconciliation of longstanding differences over the matter.

Too numerous to mention are his selfless contributions to re-gional affairs and the Sultanate of Oman itself, but it makes not a lot of sense to speak of his laurels extensively. I say this because he would have made it known to the world and to his country, if he be-lieved that there was any utility to be had from people knowing about his herculean efforts at maintain-ing peace and order in the region and beyond.

He has never sought recognition from his adoring public, in that he has never made a conscious effort to make them aware of all he has done throughout the decades. He has often operated behind closed curtains, under extreme pressure, and dealt with matters of grave consequence. It is a phenomenon of the human variety. His motives and mannerisms are a stark con-trast to those exhibited by most present day leaders, who wrest every single opportunity to further their own agenda and image.

Such immodesty appeals not to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. The innate character of this human being is one of integrity, which is why he evokes similar sentiments in those who look to him as a source of guidance and as their moral compass. You hear of such individuals and descriptions of their feats in ancient lore, >4

A leader worth reveringT U E S D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 4 - W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M S P E C I A L S U P P L E M E N T

National Day

2

5

7

A flight of fulfillment

Empowering the disabled

Organ transplants begin in Oman

44th

44TH NATIONAL DAY

20 T U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 14

BY DR ANCHAN C K

Oman is witnessing a host of posi-tive developments on a number of fronts today and they are all inter-linked. There is a lot of progress in the public sector, from new and expanded airports and seaports, to increasing industry and attract-ing investors, competing region-ally, and having an active defense programme. The location of Oman is critical to its success in terms of being able to offer the facility ac-cess from air, sea, and land. The rail project is also critical in terms of the economic boost it will bring to many areas and so stimulate fur-ther investment and growth.

According to the Sultanate’s current five-year economic devel-opment plan, running from 2011 to 2015, the government has ear-marked around OMR2.5bn ($6.5bn) a year to develop infrastructure. Priorities of the investment pro-gramme include alleviating pres-sure on Muscat’s ports and airports, and improving connectivity with the rest of the region. Transport is the primary focus of construction investment, accounting for 66 per-cent of the total.

Oman’s private sector work-force has grown almost 20 percent in the past year. A report issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), said the private sector workforce increased by 19.3 percent at the end of June to reach a total of 1.68 million em-ployees. It showed the percentage of the expatriate workforce hold-ing valid resident cards increased by 21.9 percent to reach 1.5m, while the number of Omanis working in

the private sector increased by 1.5 percent to reach a total of 177,641 employees.

Investment in educationIncreased investment in educa-tion has been driven by significant political and social pressures to better prepare younger Omanis to take up a range of professions in the modern economy in both the public and private sectors. Oman’s higher education system has expanded dramatically over the past two dec-ades, from a single college in 1995

to a field of nearly 30 institutions today. Boosting the participation rate in Oman is one of the under-lying goals of the government’s ef-forts to expand the domestic higher education system, and Oman has a stated goal to increase participa-tion among 18-to-24-year-olds to at least 50% by 2020.

Infrastructure developmentOman’s government is investing heavily in developing transport and social infrastructure, with a focus on rail, air and sea infrastructure in

an effort to diversify modes of trans-port and encourage tourism. Over the next five years, 6 new airports are to be constructed throughout the country and expansion of cur-rent airports is also expected. The Sohar Industrial Port Company is interested in constructing a new port city project at Sohar Port at an approximate value of $12bn. Plans for the national rail network are moving ahead, with the first phase of the 1,000km track linking Mus-cat to the UAE to be completed by 2017.

Focus on oil & gas industryOman’s oil industry will still pro-vide new lucrative opportunities from the approval of additional upstream projects to new discover-ies, with a specific focus on offshore being a unique area of opportunity. Oman’s recent gains in oil produc-tion notwithstanding, the next few months in the Omani oil industry will be consequential for the indus-try’s long-term future.

Not only will 2015 start the de-scent of Omani oil reserves, but the country’s production levels will

reach its peak in 2017. Incremen-tal increases in Omani domestic consumption will be aggravated by the decreasing returns from the enhanced recovery efforts that Muscat has pursued in the last few years.

The future of Omani-Iranian co-operation will be directly impacted by the possibility of better Iran-US relations and will have a major im-pact on the Omani gas industry. If Iran’s relations with the West im-prove, Oman’s traditionally friendly ties with Iran can very well create

A f light of fulfillment Oman is one of the

youngest economies to

watch and will certainly

be among the most ad-

vanced pretty soon. Wel-

come to Oman... the land

of great opportunities

44TH NATIONAL DAY

T U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 4 03

the conditions for significant Ira-nian natural gas being imported into the Arabian Peninsula, with Oman acting as the gateway.

Growing tourism sectorWith Oman’s tourism arrivals now targeting 1.39mn arrivals by end of 2018, the country explores the in-vestment potential it offers to large tourist industries, particularly global hotel groups, as they seek to maximise the growth opportu-nities in the local market. There are several key factors behind an optimistic stance towards Omani tourism over the medium term. The government continues to promote tourism as one of the key sectors that will drive its economic diversification strategy. It has also started to take a more active role in managing the development of the industry and attempting to attract foreign investment.

Several projects, including a $1bn resort in Salalah and a $1bn conference centre in Muscat, are nearing completion. Locations such as the Al Hoota, Majlis al Jinn and Suhoor Caves are being looked at for potential tourism development. Plans are also in the pipeline for the construction of an archaeological park and a museum at the recently discovered Friday Mosque in Qalhat which was built around 1300 AD. A joint venture between developers and investors from Oman and Qatar is to move forward with an eco-themed pro-ject in Oman which will feature five-star hotels and resorts, as well as wildlife, cultural and re-tail elements. It will cover a total of 1.8 million square metres and is expected to cost an estimated OMR250 million ($649 million) to develop.

The creation of Omran, a state-run company established by the government in 2005 to develop major projects and manage assets and investment across the sector, was an illustration of the govern-ment’s assertive approach to boost investment in tourism. Oman has continued to show confidence in its ability to attract new tourists. It has revised the forecasts for inter-national tourism revenues, which is expected to grow by 28.8%, to reach $2.64bn by end of 2018. This will reflect both higher visitor numbers entering the country and slightly higher spend per capita.

Oman is in talks with several

international cruise operators in a bid to persuade them to include the Gulf state in their routes. With tourism officials talking with rep-resentatives from Royal Carib-bean, Aida and Costa, Oman now has a special terminal to cater to the cruise ships, their crew and passengers. The government also eased visa procedures for cruise tourists. Now Oman gives 48-hour free visas to cruise passengers.

Healthcare high on priorityOman will remain an attractive market to multinational pharma-ceutical companies due to the high demand for patented medicines, increases in non-communicable diseases and ageing population. Increasing infrastructure, a high-er health care budget and an en-hanced potential for medical tour-ism are all positive developments this quarter. Pharmaceuticals have grown from OMR187mn in 2013 to OMR199mn in 2014 till Q3. The healthcare sector will continue to grow as it did in the last few months; from OMR831mn in 2013 to OMR891mn in 2014 till Q3.

Oman is continuing to invest heavily in its water sector and this quarter has seen a particular emphasis on the increase of water supplies via desalination and well fields. However, the most signifi-cant development in the long term evolution of the country’s water sector is the planned revision of the procurement processes to en-courage greater transparency and easier water purchase agreements. This is largely due to Oman’s ramping up of the well field water extraction.

Insurance sectorLooking ahead to 2015 and beyond, Oman’s insurance sector will achieve steady growth. As a whole, the sector will remain small and under-developed but the growth will largely come from an increase in the volume of policies. The sector will rely on, and be driven by, consistent economic growth, which should stimulate demand for insurance solutions. The sector is fragmented, with intense price competition. The existence of sub-scale insurers across the sector has in part caused low retention rates, often below 50%. This is because such insurers are forced to forgo a significant portion of their premi-ums in outwards reinsurance.

BMI Industry View

Booming telecom marketSWOT Political Economic Business Environment Industry Forecast Pharmaceutical Market Forecast Table: Pharmaceutical Sales, His-torical Data And Forecasts (Oman 2010-2018)Healthcare Market Forecast Table: Healthcare Expenditure Trends, Historical Data And Fore-casts (Oman 2010-2018)Table: Government Healthcare Expenditure Trends, Historical Data And Forecasts (Oman 2010-2018)Table: Private Healthcare Ex-penditure Trends, Historical Data And Forecasts (Oman 2010-2018)Prescription Drug Market Fore-cast Table: Prescription Drug Market Indicators, Historical Data And Forecasts (Oman 2010-2018)Patented Drug Market Forecast Table: Patented Drug Market Indicators, Historical Data And Forecasts (Oman 2010-2018)Generic Drug Market Forecast Table: Generic Drug Market Indi-cators, Historical Data And Fore-casts (Oman 2010-2018)OTC Medicine Market Fore-cast Table: Over-The-Counter (OTC) Medicine Market Indicators, His-torical Data And Forecasts (Oman 2010-2018)Pharmaceutical Trade Fore-cast Table: Pharmaceutical Trade Data And Forecasts >14

Dr Anchan C K

44TH NATIONAL DAY


A leader worth revering

CONT INUAT I ON

but to witness it in one’s lifetime involves a fair degree of fortune.

It is hard not to be overwhelmed by his sense of humil-ity and benevolent nature. To his vision he has remained committed for the past forty four years. He re-mains steadfast and unwavering amid the palpable tension the re-gion is embroiled in.

While many of the countries and the leaders around him are mired in controversy — leading to the tense political, social and economic cli-mate in the region — he has man-aged to keep his country and his people at a safe distance from such adversity.

Fording choppy diplomatic wa-ters, he has charted his own course towards a highly stable nation. It did not involve extravagance for the longest time, for the standard of liv-ing of the people mattered more to him than unnatural attempts to con-quer the skies with high-rise build-ings and sky scrapers. It has been his vision throughout his reign, to steer clear of artificial development for the sake of world acclaim.

It did not matter to him that the nations around him were build-ing at a frenetic pace and compet-ing with the superpowers of the world. It is not a sign of continued or sustainable development, and he realised this before most. His prin-ciples and ideals were novel. He in-culcated these principles and ideals in the very framework of the coun-try, and the nation began to share in his vision. They too began to see the integral nature of preserving their cultural heritage and traditions, which the nation’s ruler balanced seamlessly with the trends result-ing from rapid urbanization.

The virtues espoused by His Maj-esty the Sultan gradually emanated from the Omani people themselves, and the country became known the world over for their warm and hos-pitable people.

The unsaid formula has proven incredibly effective. Nowhere else has absolute power produced such bountiful and egalitarian results. If a similar approach to the one

mapped out by His Majesty the Sultan is continued under his guid-ance, in the years to come, it is safe to state that the genuine happi-ness experienced by those inhabit-ing this hallowed land will remain much the same.

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has always been ahead of his time, and so to ensure the contin-ued prosperity and happiness of his people, he delineated an economic path for his country’s future that would lessen the reliance on oil to buffer it. He created a platform and an environment for safe invest-ment, where he arrived at a balance in terms of the returns promised

to investors. The economic and political stability of the country is the greatest benefit guaranteed to foreign investors in Oman. The re-turns, although steady and certain, are secondary. It is something most other Gulf States cannot stake a claim to.

I believe His Majesty the Sul-tan’s greatest strength has been his highly original approach to govern-ance and civic engagement. He in-corporated elements of an absolute monarchy, a democracy, the Sharia, and a tribal-people’s parliament, in the structuring of an unprec-edented model of rule. His ability to amalgamate more modern forms of

governance with traditional politi-cal arrangements such as the Maj-lis system, under the banner of the modern Omani state, has allowed for the representation of every sin-gle citizen.

In a spectacle unlike any other, he meets the people of his country each year in their villages and town-ships. During his extensive annual tour, he hears the grievances and issues of his people and attempts to resolve them immediately. In this manner, his reign is consolidated and the trust bestowed upon him by his people is renewed each year. The method is traditional, but it has proven effective in his implicit

campaign to gain the people’s sup-port each year.

The respect and appreciation that people reserve for this great leader is clearly unforced and genu-ine. With unprecedented measures such as his annual meet-the-people tour, he ensures that he remains close to the pulse of this nation, its people.

The importance of love and re-spect is something that most leaders of men overlook. It cannot be forced or demanded. This is something many rulers do not realise, until it is too late. Through congruency in his words and actions, His Majesty the Sultan has garnered the admiration

of his people. This basic but most integral aspect of leadership is often neglected by most.

For years I searched in vain for a leader worth revering. In the pro-cess, I realised that the establish-ment of such a connection is a valid part of the human experience. In living memory, not once have I been convinced of the authenticity of those who have led my country, Sri Lanka. In the midst of all this mis-trust and longing for connectivity, there has been but one constant, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

He is the only king I have ever known.

< FROM

1

44TH NATIONAL DAY


ELHAM [email protected]

Under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Sultanate of Oman has put itself on the

right track to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others. Oman is a signatory to the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Ministry of Social Development has taken certain measures to ad-dress the special needs of the disa-bled people.

“To enable persons with dis-abilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, parties shall take appropri-ate measures to ensure to persons

with disabilities access on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and com-munications technologies and sys-tems, and to other facilities and ser-vices open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas,” reads part of the UN convention.

The convention also puts a spe-cial emphasis on the rights of chil-dren with disabilities.

According to the UN, countries that join in the Convention engage themselves to develop and carry out policies, laws and administrative measures for securing the rights recognised in the Convention and abolish laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute dis-crimination.

In order to meet its obligations under this international agree-ment, Oman has taken a number of significant measures, including the establishment of a directorate gen-eral at the Ministry of Social De-velopment, called the Directorate General of Disabled Affairs.

The creation of a section dedi-cated to disabled individuals came as a result of a Royal Decree, and the directorate was tasked with prepar-ing national plans and programmes for people with special needs.

It is also tasked to follow up the implementation aspect and track various support and rehabilitation programmes in coordination with the relevant authorities.

The directorate is authorised to technically supervise all the care and rehabilitation centres meant for the disabled and affiliated to the

ministry, apart from supervising the civil and private centres.

A number of NGOs, associations and groups have also been formed to assist the government in its ef-forts with regard to persons with disabilities.

One of the well-known NGOs is the Oman Association for the Disa-bled (OAD), which provides sup-port, education and recreational ac-tivities for people with disabilities.

The association also works to-wards achieving a better under-standing of the needs of people with

disabilities in the community.Haider Jawad Sultan Al Lawati,

board member and media commit-tee chairman at the OAD believes that Oman has always tried to be as disabled-friendly as possible.

“Random disregard for the disa-bled from individuals should not be misconstrued as the overall policy of Muscat or Oman. Society clearly empathises with the disabled. What is lacking could probably be a holis-tic and constructive approach to alleviating the fears of the disabled by bringing in a more structured

approach to common and essential needs of challenged members of so-ciety,” said Al Lawati.

“Neither Muscat nor Oman, is in any way lagging behind in terms of providing the needs for the disa-bled, and the scene today is a far cry from, say, a decade ago, when many areas, many buildings, were not ad-hering to the needs of the disabled. Again, even then, what was missing was a lack of awareness, and today there is plenty of awareness, but what is needed today is to take the next step and make it truly disa-bled-friendly,” he added.

‘Basma’ group, meaning ‘finger-print’, is a voluntary group in Oman pursuing a noble cause – leaving a fingerprint in the lives of chil-dren with special needs by giving them the opportunity to unearth their talent and make their dreams come true. The group, established in 2010, is attempting to break the stereotype about challenged people and show the society that they can make a great contribution to the country.

“Developers of various facilities and providers of services should put themselves in place of the disa-

bled and see whether they can use them conveniently,” said the Omani co-founder of Basma.

“Segregating the challenged peo-ple from others is inappropriate and the society should be ‘unified’, where both groups can work along-side each other,” he added.

Perhaps, one of the most remark-able initiatives taken up by the gov-ernment has been the introduction of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), in line with which the com-panies implement certain projects to contribute to the community and positively affect the environment and social welfare.

Some of these initiatives have been aimed at empowering the dis-abled people through training them for jobs in various corporations.

As a matter of fact, corporates and organisations in Oman have been urged to integrate the disabled people into their workforce.

“Just because somebody has a disability, it does not mean that he or she cannot perform excellent jobs or be a wonderful employee,” said Andrew Westerman, direc-tor of education and training at Ebdaah, a UAE-based specialist training and capacity building con-sultancy. The multi-disciplinary consultancy was established in Oman in April and strives to em-power people with disabilities by giving them opportunities and re-moving the existing obstacles.

Inspired by the belief that the disabled have a lot to offer and the focus should be on their abili-ties, Ebdaah helps build up the ca-pacities of disabled individuals for companies and holds conferences, seminars, and meetings to raise awareness and shed light on its mission. Ebdaah’s activities cover several areas, including education, hospitality, leisure and tourism and transportation. Westerman be-lieves that partnership between the private and public sectors is very important in addressing the needs of people with disabilities.

“I would say that things are be-ginning to change in Oman, and people are getting more aware. They are becoming more under-standing of the disabled,” he added.

The Sultanate is making all efforts to ensure

that persons with disabilities are treated as

equals in every sphere of life and the Direc-

torate General of Disabled Affairs has been

asked to prepare national plans and pro-

grammes for people with special needs.

Empowering the disabled

HIGHLIGHTS Oman is a signatory to the United Nations (UN)

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Sultanate has taken a number of significant measures,

including the establishment of a directorate general at

the Ministry of Social Development

Corporates and organisations in the country have

been urged to integrate the disabled people into their

workforce.

Haider Jawad Sultan Al LawatiBoard member and media

committee chairman at Oman

Association for the Disabled

44TH NATIONAL DAY


GLORIOUS OMANBlessed with spectacular natural beauty, friendly people, rich culture and heritage, Sultanate of Oman is fast becoming a top tourism hub in the region. Here is a collage of different shades of this beautiful country.

44TH NATIONAL DAY


ELHAM [email protected]

The Sultanate of Oman has taken great strides in the field of organ transplant since His Majesty Sultan Qa-

boos bin Said took over the reins of the country.

Kidney transplant from a liv-ing donor is considered one of the most challenging and complicated surgeries, but the successful op-erations carried out by Omani sur-geons have been some of the most remarkable success stories in the history of medicine in the country.

Additionally, the fact that the ef-forts of the authorities concerned have not been restricted to living donors makes Oman stand out from some other countries in this field.

In fact, Oman has adopted a very open-minded approach towards the issue of organ donation after brain death as well. All these endeavours are reflected in the initiatives taken by the government to regulate the activities related to organ trans-plant and raise the awareness of the local community.

According to the Global Obser-vatory on Donation and Trans-plantation (GODT), the Oman transplantation programme, under the Ministry of Health, is responsi-ble for the national coordination of donation and transplantation ac-tivities.

In addition to the national co-

ordination, there are coordinating institutions at the provincial or re-gional level, and there are national technical and ethics advisory com-mittees dedicated to donation and transplantation, says GODT.

It also notes, “There is a surveil-lance system based on the reporting of adverse events in the process, re-actions and untoward consequenc-es in organ transplant recipients at national level, and there is surveil-lance system of donation complica-tions in live organ donors.

“Oman has systems for the col-lection and analysis of data on donation and transplantation ac-tivities, including living donation processing registries, post-trans-plant recipients follow-up and liv-ing donor follow-up registries for kidneys,” it says.

According to GODT, Oman also has specific legislation for organ procurement and transplanta-tion. The health care institutions and hospitals have to be officially authorised for retrieval and trans-

plantation. While promoting organ dona-

tion, the Sultanate has taken cer-tain measures to prohibit commer-cial trade in human organs.

“Giving or receiving payment for organs and trafficking are prohib-ited and there are penalties in the

event of commerce with donated organs,” notes GODT.

According to Dr Issa Salim Al Salmi, senior Omani consultant in medicine/nephrology at the Royal Hospital, a kidney transplant from a live donor is an established practice in Oman for decades and around 20

such transplants are carried out at the Royal Hospital every year.

In Oman, there are about 1,200 to 1,500 people living with donated kidneys, he noted.

Al Salmi also explained that over the past years, the main focus of or-gan transplant had been on kidney transplant but now the technology for liver transplant is also available and many Omanis are being trained in this field both inside the country and abroad.

There are 150 individuals living with donated livers, he said, add-ing that all the liver transplants had been done outside the country.

Organ transplant from a brain dead person has been the focus of the authorities in recent years and the Ministry of Health, the Royal Hospital and other bodies con-cerned are seeking to raise aware-ness about the issue through vari-ous initiatives as well as workshops and seminars.

In line with the country’s posi-tive approach towards the matter, the Grand Mufti of Oman, His Emi-nence Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamed Al Khalili, has issued a fatwa, allowing organ transplant after brain death under certain circumstances.

The issue is of high significance as more than 1,500 people are on dialysis in Oman and some of them have been in this situation for sev-eral years and are receiving this treatment three times a week. Kid-ney transplant can save the lives of many of them.

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

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

At least 50 per cent of the pa-tients on dialysis will need kidney transplant, added Al Salmi, a fellow

of the Royal College of Physicians, UK, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, and American Society of Nephrology.

He added that the average age of the patients receiving dialysis in countries like Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and some other European countries is 60 to 65 while it is 40 in Oman.

One of the initiatives of the Min-istry of Health has been the launch of a call centre, which helps citizens and residents to seek health-related advice over phone from specialists.

However, the most important initiative is perhaps the plan to dis-tribute donor cards recording the citizens’ consent for organ dona-tion if they are declared brain dead.

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

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

He also noted that Oman is coop-erating with other countries in the area of organ transplantation and exchange knowledge with them.

A seminar about brain deaths and organ donations will be held in the near future in Muscat to raise public awareness about the issue.

The meeting will be held in line with the Ministry of Health’s efforts to promote the culture of organ do-nation after brain death. According to Al Salmi, experts from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) coun-tries will be attending the event to shed light on the issue and enhance the public’s knowledge.

A seminar on the same topic was held in April by the Nephrology De-partment of the Royal Hospital in cooperation with the Saudi Centre for Organ Transplantation under the supervision of the Executive Board of the GCC Council of Minis-ters of Health.

Organ transplant — A great new chapter in Oman’s medical history The Sultanate of Oman

is making serious

efforts to raise aware-

ness about organ

transplants and how

lives can be saved with

timely intervention

HIGHLIGHTS While promoting organ donation, the Sultanate has

taken certain measures to prohibit commercial trade

in human organs

The most important initiative of the Ministry of

Health is the plan to distribute donor cards recording

the citizens’ consent for organ donation if they are

declared brain dead

A seminar about brain deaths and organ donations

will be held in the near future in Muscat to raise public

awareness about the issue

44TH NATIONAL DAY


THE KUMA OF PROGRESS

44-YEAR REIGNHIS MAJESTY’S

Statistical Yearbook, Ministry of National Economy | Speech of the Minister of National Economy on occasion of the 40th National Day | The Economy of Oman, a decade of progress (1970-1980), Ministry of Commerce & Industry | A glance at the development of education in the Sultanate of Oman, Ministry of EducationThe needs, the reality and the future -Ali Talib Al-Hinai, Oman Medical Specialty Board | Development plans of the GCC States 1962-1995 | Worldwide Trends in the Human Development Index, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | World Development indicators, World Bank | United Nations’s Human Development ReportEducation as a motor for development, Shapour Rassekh, International Bureau of Education (UNESCO-IBE) | BP Statistical Review of World Energy | Oman: Economic, social and strategic developments, B.R. Pridham | The Report, Oman, Oxford Business Group | Glorious Oman, Muscat Press & Printing House

Sources:

1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 19

1970-1973 1974-1977 1978-1981 1982-1985 1986-1989

10- 1,277 2,455 3,632 4,810 5,987 7,165 8,342 9,520 10,697 11,875 13,052 14,230 15,407 16,585 17,762 18,940 20,118 21,295 22,472 23,

322 294 282 293 290 341 367 340 314 295 285 330 338 391419

502 564 588 625 651 695 7

354 5981,954 2,803

2,653 5,947 5,854 6,667 4,688 5,377

1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 19

TOTA

L RO

ADS

(Kilo

met

res)

GDP P

ER CA

PITA

(4 ye

ar -p

erio

d. In

US

dolla

rs)

OIL BA

RREL

SPR

ODUC

TION

(Tho

usan

ds p

er d

ay)

Begi

nnin

g of t

he p

erio

dEn

d of

the p

erio

d

BEGINHERE

Matchspot

The colourful kuma adds a sense of style to the Omanis as it is both a symbol of pride and patrimony, a headwear that is truly unique to Oman among the Gulf countries.

ECONOMY AND INFRASTRUCTURE Oil production since 1970 has been on a solid rise, causing a big jump in the per capita income of the country. Growth has been strong and steady in roads construction.

23 Oman’s ranking from World Happiness Report surveying 156 countries

56#

#

Oman’s Human Development Index ranking

76.5

Life expectancy at birth

86.9%

Literacy rate

Years Age 15 and over can read and write

Very high human development

High human development

Medium human development

Low human development

Scale1-49 50-102 103-144 145-187

Petroleum Development Oman was set up to take care of oil exploration and production.

Muscat International Airport,then called Seeb International Airport, opens.

Central Bank of Oman is established to regulate the banking system in the country.

The year also saw the inauguration of Port Sultan Qaboos.

Salalah Airport becomes operational.

Oman Refinery Company is established.

Government sets up Sultan Qaboos University with five colleges.

The country gets its first, and the best so far, hospital with the establishment of Royal Hospital.

1970 1973 1974 1974 1977 1982 1986 1987

A picture of His Majesty from the archives

Part of the national dress, the kuma (also locally known as takya or kufya) is a customary cap worn by the Omanis on any given day. Traditionally, it is hand-sewn or stitched and with the design pattern that uses small circle or dot as basic element. Thus, in this graphic, the dotted element is used as motif to showcase the achievement of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. This is a recap of Oman’s progress to nationhood since His Majesty ascendedto the throne.

Milestones

44TH NATIONAL DAY


Match spot

Econ

omy a

nd In

fras

truc

ture

Graphics

991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013-14

1990-1993 1994-1997 1998-2001 2002-2005 2006-2009 2010-2014

,652 24,120 26,200 26,750 29,820 30,890 32,800 32,800 32,800 32,800 34,965 35,096 37,227 38,943 40,203 41,634 48,874 53,430 56,361 59,363 60,230 62,987 64,051

716 748 785 819 868 897 909 905 911 960 958900

821 783 776 738 710 757 812 864 884 918 923

6,455 6,1126,124 7,272

6,487 8,909

8,685 12,252

14,405 18,11420,983 25,014

991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013-14

CREATE A 3D KUMA

Final design, the cap finally shows the progress in different sectors

5

A Royal Decree sets up Muscat Securities Market.

Oman LNG is formed. Port of Salalah begins operations.

The country gets the biggest and most beautiful mosque, Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.

Port of Sohar is set up as a joint venture between Oman and the Port of Rotterdam.

Al Duqm Port & Drydockis inaugurated.

1988 1994 1998 2001 2002 2013Nizwa elected as the 2015 Islamic Cultural Capital.

2015A complete new and modern airport will be inaugurated.

2015

The figures show an impressive growth since 1970. Educational progress is very evident when compared with the early years of the decade, when there were only 30 teachers in the Sultanate. Then decade after, the number increased to almost 9,000. Similarly, the rapid growth was alsoseen in thehealth sector.

17

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2014

1990

2000

2010

2014

1980

30(0.05%)

0.2

5.1

913.6

20

8,89

0(1

3.6%

)

17,660(27.1%) 26,000

(40%)

Match spot

TEACHERS(PERCENTAGE OF

THE CURRENT TOTAL)

65,000(100%

)

11

(per 10,000)DOCTORS

1064

29

INFANT MORTALITY(Per 10,000)

HEALTH AND EDUCATIONBEGINHERE

Cutout the rectangular and rounded piece of the kuma from the paper by following the dotted line.

1Fold the tabs on the rectangular piece leaving the design in the outer face

Create a cylinder by glueing together both ends

Stick the top over the cylinder, matching the blue spots on both shapes

2

3 4

Infant mortality Education

Doctors

44TH NATIONAL DAY


His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said stressed in the Royal Speech at the Coun-cil of Oman session

2011 on the necessity of intellectual openness and the rejection of fanat-icism saying, “When the thoughts are varied, open and not marred by fanaticism, they become more able to lay the proper and sound foun-dations for building up the genera-tions, advance of nations and the progress of communities.”

Driven by this royal vision and in light of its understanding for the historical and civilisational role of the Sultanate, the Ministry of En-dowment and Religious Affairs has sought to establish and adopt this approach through explaining the principles of the true Islamic reli-gion, managing the Islamic institu-tions and qualifying cadres who are able to absorb the spirit of the mod-ern age without dispensing with the nobility and authenticity of the Omani legacy.

One of the most important re-sponsibilities of the ministry includes taking care of the spir-itual and religious values based on Islamic Law (Sharia) in making a good citizen on the basis of his be-lief in Allah and the true faith. The ministry has also been entrusted with the task of organising religious matters inside the Sultanate.

IftaThe office of the Grand Mufti of the Sultanate at the ministry plays a significant role in instilling re-ligious awareness based on the sound knowledge emanating from the Holy Book of Allah and the guid-ance of His noble Prophet (pbuh). The office receives questions and requests for getting a ‘fatwa’ from the citizens and residents and an-swers them through the commu-nication centre, in addition to the electronic website of the world-wide web. It also holds personal interviews and provides written answers through the fatwa direc-tors at the office. The office receives more than 150,000 religious edicts of various kinds annually.

The office, represented by the entrants to the Islam department,

provides guidance and counselling services for those Islam entrants so that they might be aware and knowledgeable about the provi-sions of the true Islamic religion. The number of new entrants to Is-lam in the Sultanate reached 404 during this year.

EndowmentsThe ministry pays great atten-tion to the endowment proper-ties due to their tangible impact in social life and their contribution towards achieving a social solidar-ity between community members. Royal Decree No: (54/2013) made the endowments more beneficial and directed them towards their right course so as to serve both the endowments and the community. The decree included some amend-ments like allowing the establish-ment of endowment institutions having public benefits to ease the investments of endowments, their management and conservation. The ministry, represented by the Directorate General of Endow-ments and the treasury, supervises all kinds of endowment properties like the mosques’ endowments, the schools’ endowments, the charita-ble endowments and the civil en-dowments.

According to the applicable sta-tistics, these endowments reached 127,548 in total. The ministry pays a great deal of attention to setting up plans and projects to take care, manage and develop the returns of such endowments to achieve the lofty objective of maintaining and taking care of the endowments.

In the past few years, the invest-ments in endowments have crossed OMR350 million.

Mosques Following the royal orders, order-ing the construction of some grand mosques and mosques in some of the Omani governorates to give the mosque sector a momentum to keep up with the increasing growth, the ministry has constructed some mosques. In addition, it has renovated and rebuilt some other mosques. The ministry also pro-vides the necessary services and requirements of the mosques.

The statistics show that there are more than 16,000 grand mosques and mosques in the Sultanate. Some of these mosques were constructed at the ministry’s expense whereas some were built by a contribution from the ministry, and others were built through funds collected from benevolent citizens.

The ministry has issued 566 per-mits in 2013 and 2014. There are still about 200 under implemen-tation. The ministry commends the efforts of benevolent citizens who are keen to contribute to the construction and renovation of mosques. It also strives to develop its electronic services by activat-ing the Geographical Information Scan (GIS) for all the mosques of the Muscat Governorate. The min-istry will activate such service in the remaining governorates in the next period.

Holy Quran schoolsThe ministry pays great attention to the Holy Quran as part of its pri-orities and interests. There are 350 Holy Quran schools in the Sultan-ate currently with 1500 male and female teachers. The ministry has also printed two unique copies of the Holy Quran including the Oman Copy and the Omani Copy. In addi-tion, it has printed “The Recitation Rules” book and “The Quran Guide” Book. The number of the Quran copies printed and distributed by the ministry is more than 200,000.

Preaching and guidance The ministry, represented by the Directorate General for Preach-ing and Guidance, provides many preaching programmes and ac-tivities including lectures, courses, seminars, preaching convoys and comprehensive preaching through the semi-annual preaching guide. Through these means, the ministry spreads religious awareness among the different sects of the Omani so-ciety by spreading the atmosphere of tolerance and fraternity com-mended by the true Islamic reli-gion. These efforts have resulted in high ethical standards, tolerant acceptance, open dialogue and en-lightened thought.

The preaching directorate per-forms different activities including holding more than 100,000 differ-ent events annually. The feminine guidance serves and meets the women’s needs of feminine guid-ance and counselling. The ministry has also organised the ‘Al-Hafiz’ programme and a smart electronic programme to communicate with the religious cadres. In addition, it has also constituted a database of the religious cadres.

Islam Message Exhibition The Islam Message Exhibition is being organised to exhibit the true image of the Islamic religion and highlight the coexistence and reli-gious tolerance in Oman. The mis-

Implementing the directives of His Majesty

Sultan Qaboos bin Said the Ministry

of Endowment and Religious Affairs is

establishing, adopting and explaining

the principles of the true Islamic religion,

managing the Islamic institutions and

qualifying cadres in the Sultanate in the

various tenets of Islam.

Spreading the light of Islam

44TH NATIONAL DAY


sion of the Islam Message Exhibi-tion focuses on three areas such as religious tolerance, mutual un-derstanding and peaceful coexist-ence. The scope of the exhibition will be widened to include more than 30 countries in different con-tinents. The last stop of the Islam Message Exhibition was Brazil. During this exhibition, the mayor of Foz do Iguaçu city announced the choice of the most important square in the city to be named the ‘Sultanate of Oman’ Square. He confirmed that the square will include a permanent exhibition about the Message of Islam.

The exhibition also logged over 4.5 million visitors. It stopped at more than 55 venues in more than 30 countries till October 2014. The ministry has also launched a web-site titled Islam in Oman in eight international languages. It re-leased three documentary movies last year that took care to highlight the different experiences of the Sultanate on tolerance, coexist-ence, Islamic art and the religious discourse.

RecruitmentTo implement HM’s royal direc-tives, ordering the employment of over 50,000 Omani citizens, the

ministry has announced the avail-ability of six jobs for the males such as religious preachers, Imam and preacher, Imam of a mosque and assistant to a religious guide. In addition, it has announced the availability of four jobs for females such as religious female guide, as-sistant religious female guide, fe-male director of the Holy Quran Schools and female teacher of the Holy Quran. Since the beginning of this year, 1539 males and females have been employed by the minis-try. The procedures of completing the employment of the remaining numbers are underway. Accord-ingly, the total number of employ-ment opportunities provided by the ministry at its different sectors will reach 5,000.

Human resources development In its plans and projects, the min-istry has depended on building the human being before anything else. This has resulted in the develop-ment of the cadres working at the ministry to promote job perfor-mance. During the current year, the ministry has organised the re-ligious cadres meet. The number of employees who have participated in such meets since it was first held

is over 4,000 males and females. In the field of higher studies, the

ministry sought to send its em-ployees to complete their studies abroad. The number of employees deputised currently to obtain their PhDs is 22, and those deputised to obtain their Master’s is 56. The number of employees who have obtained their PhDs at the min-istry is 31, whereas 90 employ-ees have obtained their Master’s. The ministry also deputised 120 employees currently to get their Bachelor’s degrees and diplomas, while 80 employees have already obtained such certificates.

Use of modern technologiesThe ministry sought to use mod-ern and advanced technology in various fields of work to commu-nicate what is new in the field of scientific research. It also uses the means of communicating religious discourse to community members in local, regional and international surroundings. The ministry works on training its cadres on modern technologies so that such cadres may communicate the correct enlightened thought to the public using modern styles and tools that cope with our real current world.

To achieve this objective, >12

CONT INUAT I ON

Times News Service

Sailing has been the flag bearer for the Sultanate of Oman and Oman Sail will be paying tribute to their prominent sailor

and most acknowledged skipper Sidney Gavignet for most of the achievements this season.

Be it the Sailing Arabian The Tour (SATT) or the Route du Rhum, Sidney Gavignet has been the hero. There is no doubt he has been an inspiration for the talented Omani sailors. On the other hand, promi-nent boats The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air, too had an impressive season in the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series, which concludes with the last act in Sydney.

The Wave, Muscat, which is in the second place overall, has set its sights on the Sydney leg, which will decide the champions.

The Wave, Muscat is eight points behind leaders Alinghi and it is cer-tain to be in a thriller Down Under from December 11 to 14.

“It was an improvement on what we have had this week but not enough to get us back in the mix,” said skipper of The Wave, Muscat Leigh McMillan after the last leg.

McMillan, who made history in 2013 becoming the first ever skip-per to win the Series title twice and securing them back-to-back, is looking to make it a hat-trick this time.

Above and Beyond AwardMeanwhile, his willingness to step in at the last minute to replace a crewmember on the rival Emirates Team New Zealand earned Sulei-man Amur Al Manji, a key mem-ber of Oman Sail’s Extreme 40 and MOD70 shore crew, the Land Rover

Above and Beyond award. It marked the fourth time an Oman Sail team member has won the trophy which is awarded to a team or individual who demonstrates the finest ex-amples of skill, sportsmanship and strength of mind.

“I was a little bit nervous as it was the first time I had sailed on an Ex-treme 40, but I was happy and very excited to go and sail with Emirates Team New Zealand,” said Al Manji, said after winning the award.

“Next year, I would love to race more — I’d love to do both sailing and boat building,” he said.

Young sailorsOman Sail’s youngsters impressed in the 2014 International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) African Championships, held in Morocco. The championships saw six young-sters representing four different sailing schools from across Oman achieve a silver medal in the team racing, setting a new benchmark for Oman Sail’s Omantel Youth Pro-gramme.

SATT 2014This year also saw Sidney Gavignet and team EFG Bank (Monaco) be-ing crowned EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour (SATT) 2014 champions.

A consistent performance throughout the 15 days of racing was enough for EFG Bank (Mo-naco) to be crowned overall winner of the EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour 2014 — the region’s only long distance offshore sailing endurance race between Bahrain and Muscat.

Overall winner Sidney Gavig-net and his professional team on EFG Bank (Monaco) finished the 760-nautical mile Tour with an im-pressive score line of eight wins in a mix of both offshore and in-port

races. Forty-one-year-old Gavig-net — Olympian and winning Volvo Ocean Race skipper — who put to-gether a strong team for this event including leading French sailors Cedric Pouligny and Damien Iehl, plus two of Oman’s best sailors — Ali Al Balushi and Mohammed Al Mujaini — sailed impressively throughout the series using their vast amount of experience to help extend their early lead.

They finished with a six point clear margin over Messe Frankfurt Sailing Team skippered by Marcel

Herrera.After the event, Gavignet said, “It

is a job well done. I am very happy for the crew and EFG, and also for Monaco because we were flying the Monaco Yacht Club colours. It is a great, great race with fantas-tic competition. Every leg we were fighting and we only ever won by a close margin.”

David Graham, Oman Sail CEO who was also impressed by the standard of competition said, “The fourth edition of EFG Sailing Ara-bia – The Tour has produced a

stronger-than-ever level of com-petition. I am particularly pleased to see the healthy mix of youth, women, regional and professional sailors develop into a highly com-petitive, international fleet.

“The vision by Oman Sail to de-velop the region’s sailing talent and reignite the rich maritime heritage has become a reality. EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour has offered an unrivalled opportunity to show-case the region as an exceptional international race destination with its splendid sailing conditions, and

fascinating mix of ancient tradi-tions and modern sophistication. I believe this year’s event has really strengthened that image and has put the Middle East on the map as a prime international yachting lo-cation.”

Route du RhumAfter crossing the finish line of

Route du Rhum in fifth place at Guadeloupe, Sidney Gavignet, skip-per of the Sultanate’s flagship boat Musandam-Oman Sail, exclaimed, “Mission accomplished!”

“The boat was superbly prepared by the shore team and is in as good a shape as it was when I left St Malo 8 days ago. It is a testimony to their great work,” he said.

“My primary objective was to get to Guadeloupe in one piece and here I am. I made a few small er-rors during the last few hours of the race, but I managed to finish on the same night as Prince de Bretagne, a boat that is 10 feet bigger than Musandam-Oman Sail, and Gi-tana, a heavily modified MOD70. I am immensely proud to have flown the flag of the Sultanate of Oman all the way across the Atlantic and into Guadeloupe. This place is very special to me as I met my wife here 23 years ago while I was training for the Whitbread.”

He was given a hero’s welcome in Pointe-a-Pitre by his Oman Sail teammates who have lived every moment of the race, the highs and the lows, alongside the skip-per. Support for the 45-year-old Frenchman across three differ-ent time zones was immense with cheers going up in France and Mus-cat when he crossed the finish line.

Oman Sail CEO David Graham, who waved Sidney off in St Malo was the first to applaud such a tri-umph, “Huge congratulations to Sidney for this incredible achieve-ment. It has been a voyage of dis-covery for the whole Oman Sail team that has lived this epic experi-ence alongside him, every nautical mile of the way. It has proved very inspiring for our Omani sailors, es-pecially our offshore team which has been sending Sidney messages of support throughout the race, as well as our younger sailors that aspire to greatness on the water in years to come.”

Sailing achievements doing Oman proud

HIGHLIGHTS Support for Sidney Gavignet was immense with cheers

going up in France and Muscat when he crossed the

finish line of Route du Rhum

Oman Sail’s youngsters have impressed in the 2014

International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA)

African Championships in Morocco

This year’s events and performances of Oman Sail

have put the Middle East on the map as a prime

international yachting location

Sidney Gavignet

The performance of Oman Sail and Sidney

Gavignet has inspired Omani sailors and the

vision to develop the region’s sailing talent

and reignite the rich maritime heritage has

become a reality

44TH NATIONAL DAY


the ministry has pro-duced the awareness cartoon series (Our Eth-ics) that takes care of deeply establishing the

ethics and high values among chil-dren and young people. This series is considered to be a qualitative leap in the field of using modern advanced technologies. The series was produced using the three-di-mensional (3D) method and it has been broadcast on the Omani satel-lite channel.

The ministry has also issued some smart applications such as How to pay Zakat, Omani calendar, prayers, Omani library, Hajj, Rama-dan etc. This way, the ministry is at an advanced stage in the use of modern technology.

The ministry has also imple-mented the electronic archiving system. More than 100,000 trans-actions have been electronically ar-chived during the past years. Work is in progress to archive the remain-ing transactions.

College of Sharia Sciences Royal Decree No: (35/2014) con-stituted a turnaround in the field of sharia education as it decreed to convert the Institute of Sharia Sci-ences into a College of Sharia Sci-ences. It has laid the foundation for an advanced stage in sharia scienc-es whose pillars have the perfect academic system, administrative and financial independence and keep up with the international edu-cational standards. Consequently; the College of Sharia Sciences has emerged as an educational organi-sation that aims to make graduates of generations of scholars, thinkers and researchers.

The ministry strives tirelessly to modernise the curricula of the college and add new subjects to its educational plans. The college is currently divided into four special-ties including the Fundamentals of Religion, Jurisprudence and Dawah, Jurisprudence & its princi-ples and the Islamic Studies. In the next few days, new specialties that serve sharia sciences will be added to the college.

The college includes students from the Sultanate and abroad.

About 1,000 male and female stu-dents are studying at the college this year.

The college has also provided a distance learning programme that saves time and effort of students and shortens the distance across the Sultanate. A total number of 931 male and female students are ben-efiting from the distance learning programme. There are five courses that are being studied in this pro-gramme, in addition to the Holy Quran course. The success rate at the first semester of the last year reached 83.2 per cent. The website of the college receives 1500 visits daily.

Seminars on the development of jurisprudential sciences The ministry has organised 13 seminars that have discussed con-temporary intellectual topics with the objective of supporting the cul-tural and religious arena with the most important issues and varied visions. Specialist professors from all over the Islamic world take part in such seminars. The last seminar addressed the theme of Islamic Jurisprudence: the Human Com-munity and interests. It has hosted more than one hundred scholars, thinkers and researchers.

‘The Understanding Magazine’ The Understanding Magazine (pre-viously named as Tolerance) is one of the many publications issued by the ministry. It is an intellectual magazine that aims to bring the dif-fering points of view closer while calling for tolerance. The maga-zine also works on establishing the principles of the right to difference, multiplicity of viewpoints and ren-ovating Islamic thought. The maga-zine has published 44 issues so far.

The Omani Hajj mission The Omani Hajj Mission organises and facilitates the Hajj services. It provides services and assistance for the pilgrims. The ministry has also introduced the smart Hajj Card that bears all the necessary information about the pilgrim. This year, the pil-grims from the Sultanate reached

11,200 Omanis and expatriates.

Endowments departments in the regions In order to provide services and to ease matters for the inhabitants of all regions, nine endowments departments at the different gov-ernorates of the Sultanate pro-vide their services for the public. These departments supervise the endowments; follow the affairs of

mosques, imams and preachers, in addition to undertaking many other works.

Religious occasionsThe ministry observes the tradi-tions of celebrating religious oc-casions. It utilises such occasions like the Hijrah of the Prophet, the Birth of the Prophet; in addition to the Isra and Mi’raj to instil an Is-lamic awareness, emphasise on the

identity and show Islam in its cor-rect and pure image. The ministry always tries to provide new events in its celebrations to take part with the Islamic world in its celebration of these occasions that revive the memory of the glorified biography of the Prophet and instil the prin-ciples of the true religion in young people.

The ministry produces televi-sion shows that promote such oc-casions at the rate of three shows annually. In addition, it organises public celebrations including com-petitions and distribution of me-mentos to children and families. The number of those attending the public celebrations of religious oc-casions such as the Hijrah of the Prophet, the Birth of the Prophet, in addition to the Isra and Mi’raj) of 1435 AH was over 3,000. More than 2,000 mementos for children and families were distributed dur-ing such celebrations. Those at-tending the official celebrations held on such religious occasions reached over a thousand.

Book fairs and publications The ministry takes care of the read-able book due to the knowledge and sciences it contains. Our religion has paid a great deal of attention to

such knowledge and sciences and has urged us to learn them. There-fore, the ministry has issued some publications that could contribute to promoting Omani books and en-riching Omani culture. The most important of these publications include the bibliography lexicon of the Ibadi writings and the lexicon of Ibadi terms etc. The ministry has also issued a story series for children and young people to in-stil Islamic values in children. The ministry also participates in inter-national book fairs. It has taken part in the Riyadh, Sharjah Fair and Am-man book fairs. In the next few days, the ministry will take part in the Al-geria, Qatar and Beirut book fairs.

This participation comes as part of the attention paid by the minis-try to the readable book due to the knowledge and sciences it contains, in addition to its desire to acquaint the international community with the Omani religious publications issued by it.

It is an effective national project that is based on organising events, activities and programmes in vari-ous governorates and wilayats of the Sultanate. These events vary from religious, social, cultural, sci-entific, technical, voluntary and astronomical activities. In addition, the ministry holds specialised exhi-bitions accompanied by distribu-tion of valuable prizes and gifts.

Statistics shows that more than 2000 male and female youths from the urban and rural areas have ben-efited from the programmes and events. The benefits include the support received by those young people for their Small and Medium Enterprises. Over 110,000 people have visited these events and over 550,000 publications in visual, au-dible and printed form have been distributed at such events. More than 18,000 copies of the Holy Quran have also been distributed. More than 3,500 activities have been organised during this event and more than 53,000 gifts have been distributed during the days of urban and rural areas.

This event aims to derive value from the experienced people and to promote the communication be-tween the urban and rural areas.

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11

HIGHLIGHTS The ministry has been entrusted with the task of

organising religious matters inside the Sultanate

In the past few years, the investments in endowments

have crossed OMR350 million

Following royal orders given by His Majesty the

Sultan, the ministry either totally funds or does partial

funding for the construction of mosques

Since the beginning of this year, 1539 males and

females have been employed by the ministry

The Sharia College of Sciences provides a distance

learning programme that saves time and effort of

students across the Sultanate

CONT INUAT I ON

Spreading the light and knowledge of Islam

44TH NATIONAL DAY


Very recently, Oman witnessed the Mid-dle East region’s top rallyists converging in Muscat to take

part in the Oman International Rally. The Oman International Rally, which was revived by the Oman Automobile Association after a gap of seven years ap-peared to be a grand success and the motorsports enthusiasts are hoping it will be a regular annual feature.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) will decide on Oman’s inclusion in the MERC calendar based on the report by its observer, to be submitted after the event.

At present, the MERC consists of six events — Qatar Internation-al Rally, Kuwait International Rally, Jordan Rally Middle East, Rally of Lebanon, The Cyprus Rally and Dubai International Rally — and is widely considered as one of the competitive rallies in the World.

The number may go up to nine if FIA welcomes all the three con-tenders — Oman, Abu Dhabi and Iran — in to the MERC fold.

A total of 24 teams, including six from the UAE and three from

Qatar, registered for the event and Oman was represented by 15 teams.

Another highlight was the or-ganisers introducing a road safety campaign in which 1,000 schoolchildren participated.

The campaign was sup-ported by Petroleum Devel-opment Oman, Royal Oman Police, International College of Engineering and Manage-ment, Shell, Safety Bus and Oman Road Safety Association. Winning the candidate event in Oman was Abdul Aziz Al Kuwari. He drove fantastically and his vic-tory was possible because of his shrewd tactics, which kept the fa-vourite Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi of Abu Dhabi Racing at bay.

After the rally, Al Kuwari admit-ted that he didn’t take any risks in the final stages.

“I didn’t want to risk my title winning chances by putting pres-sure on my machine. So I drove without losing my composure and everything went according to my plan. The strategy worked well for me,” he added.

“It is a fantastic feeling to win the Oman International Rally (OIR), and the win will boost my team’s morale as we prepare for

the next rounds of the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC),” said the champion.

Hailing the challenging stages, he said OIR should find a place in the MERC. “The stages had all the ingredients to test the skills of drivers. It is an ideal venue to host the MERC,” he said.

Though he missed the winners’ trophy, Al Qassimi had a remark-able outing as he threatened the eventual champion in all the Spe-cial Stages, which helped him re-duce the margin to just one minute and 28.1 seconds.

“I was on the verge of quitting the rally on the second day, thanks to a broken driveshaft. Somehow, I managed to continue and the sec-ond-place finish is a big achieve-ment. I won all the Special Stages today and slashedthe margin con-siderably,” Al Qassimi said.

Sheikh Abdulla Al Qassimi of Al Qassimi Racing Team came third, finishing eight minutes and 04.5 seconds behind the leader.

New challengeHaving won the British GT3 title, Oman’s racer Ahmad Al Harthy is taking the winning mentality into his debut for Al Nabooda Racing, the team which begins their quest for a third successive crown in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Mid-dle East.

Al Harthy, who teams up with 2012-13 Porsche GT3 Cup indi-vidual champion Clemens Schmid for the start of the 12-round series, believes he can quickly build up an understanding with the Austrian driver and land another title for the Dubai outfit.

“I have never joined a team that wasn’t hungry to win, >14

THIS season saw the return of Middle East

Rally Championship (MERC) to Oman as

a candidate event. The other hallmark of

2014 has been the success run of leading

national racer Ahmad Al Harthy.

A memorable year for motorsports

44TH NATIONAL DAY


so my approach doesn’t change with Al Nabooda Racing,” said the Omani driver,

who would have lapped the first two rounds before this sees the print.

“We know the goals. We want to win the team championship again and everybody has to play their part to achieve that.”

Schmid, who won seven out of 12 races in each of the last two sea-sons as Al Nabooda Racing domi-nated the series, returns to GT3 Cup action after claiming 10th place overall in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, which runs alongside the F1 World Championship.

His two top ten finishes at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas last weekend showed he is fully fit following a race crash in Germany, and Al Harthy believes the new partnership can flourish from the first GT3 Cup race week-end on 14-15 November.

Al Harthy has not raced in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Mid-dle East since embarking on a limited campaign in the series in the 2011-12 season, when he won a round at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina

Circuit. Having concentrated on endur-

ance racing in the UK last season he said: “The most important thing for me is to get to know GT3 Cup car again. It’s been a while since I drove one, and I need to under-stand the car again and get to know the characteristics of the GT3 Cup series. But I should get enough practice and track time to be ready

for the start of the season.” In September, history was made

by the Oman Racing Team at Don-ington Park Grand Prix Circuit, when the squad became the first ever entrant running under an Omani licence to win the coveted Avon Tyres British GT Champi-onship ‘GT3 Teams’ crown — an achievement driver Ahmad Al Harthy dedicated to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said and the people of Oman.

Marking an incredibly proud moment for Muscat racer Ahmad, the final event of the 2014 British GT season was somewhat bitter-sweet, however, with a possible third victory of the campaign slip-ping away late in the two-hour en-counter and, with it, hopes of win-ning the drivers’ title too.

Having secured pole position for the season finale, Ahmad took the opening stint of the race and pro-duced an exquisite performance at the wheel of the No.4 Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Tourism, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Naw-ras, National Bank of Oman and Al Hashar Group/Aston Martin Oman-backed Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.

A memorable year for motorsports

CONT INUAT I ON

< FROM

13 In September, history was made

by the Oman Racing Team at Donington Park

Grand Prix Circuit, when it won the GT Championship ‘GT3

Teams’ crown

(Oman 2012-2018)Table: Pharmaceutical Trade Data And Fore-casts local currency

(Oman 2012-2018)Other Healthcare Data Key Risks To BMI’s Forecast Sce-nario Macroeconomic Forecasts Economic Analysis Table: Economic Activity (Oman 2009-2018)Industry Risk Reward Ratings Middle East & Africa Risk/Reward Index Oman Risk/Reward Ratings Rewards Risks Market Overview Industry Trends And Develop-ments Industry Trends And Develop-ments Epidemiology Communicable Diseases Non-Communicable Diseases Healthcare Sector Public Healthcare Sector Develop-ments Private Healthcare Sector Develop-ments Table: Number Of Health Centres In Oman By RegionTable: Number And Type Of Health Institutions In Oman In 2012Healthcare Insurance Telemedicine Medical Tourism Research And Development Clinical Trials Regulatory Development Regulatory Developments Intellectual Property Regime Regional Harmonisation Pricing And Reimbursement Regime Competitive Landscape Domestic Pharmaceutical Industry Foreign Pharmaceutical Industry Pharmaceutical Distribution Company Profile Zynova/Oman Pharmaceutical Products Company National Pharmaceutical Indus-tries (NPI) Novartis GlaxoSmithKline Sanofi Johnson & Johnson Demographic Forecast Table: Oman’s Population By Age Group, 1990-2020 (‘000)Table: Oman’s Population By Age

Group, 1990-2020 (% of total)Table: Oman’s Key Population Ra-tios, 1990-2020Table: Oman’s Rural And Urban Population, 1990-2020Glossary Methodology Pharmaceutical Expenditure Fore-cast Model Healthcare Expenditure Forecast Model Notes On Methodology Risk/Reward Ratings Methodology Ratings Overview Table: Pharmaceutical Risk/Re-ward Ratings IndicatorsIndicator Weightings

There are many positive aspects to Oman’s telecoms market. Oman’s mobile market has a healthy level of competition, made up of two mo-bile operators, Oman Mobile and Nawras — rebranded as Ooredoo — and a number of MVNOs; which have captured over 10% of the mo-bile subscriber market share. Oman possesses a highly developed mo-bile market, with penetration levels indicating multiple SIM card own-ership. The operators will continue to develop the mobile broadband market, underpinned by the launch of HSPA and LTE networks. Mobile broadband penetration sits at over 67% in 2014.

Mobile messaging is on the de-cline for the mobile operators due to the migration from SMS/MMS to messaging applications in line with the proliferation of smart phones and mobile Internet. In 2014 VoIP services such as Whatsapp and Vib-er were permitted to offer services in Oman, placing further pressure on the market. Oman is actively de-veloping its digital economy; with fibre optic cables continuing to be installed across the country and a number of e-services already on of-fer. In 2014 over 80% of households own at least one computer with tab-let devices and laptops preferred over desktop PCs, mainly due to the high costs for personal computers.

Growing retail sectorOman’s consumer electronics sec-tor has continued strong revenue growth. Rising household incomes offer potential for strong growth in consumer electronics demand as consumers want the latest devices.

Fuelled by new technologies and products, as well as retail channel expansion, an evolving retail land-scape and growing acceptance of hypermarket retailing has stimulat-ed sales, while a growing population is attracting larger retailers. Grow-ing demand for high-end smart phones continues to compensate for stagnant sales of feature phones.

The retail sector is about to wit-ness significant expansion, with a strengthening pipeline of shopping mall developments. Of the larger malls currently under construction in Muscat, The Avenue and Panora-ma Mall, both of which are in Baush-er and the dedicated military per-sonnel mall in Mawaleh are together expected to increase the supply of larger scale retail mall space over the next two years by over a third.

In addition to this, there are cur-rently proposals for another three mega malls, which would be vast re-tail destinations in their own right, akin to what is already on offer in Dubai. These include Majid Al Fut-taim’s ‘Mall of Oman ‘ in Bausher, the Al Futtaim Group’s ‘Muscat Festival City’ in Airport Heights and Al Jarwani Group’s ‘Downtown Muscat Mall’ in Mabellah. In an increasingly congested and com-petitive retail landscape, a clear un-derstanding of the consumer target market and well-matched tenant mix will be the key to success for Oman’s growing list of malls.

The shipping powerhouseOman continues to develop into a regional powerhouse for the shipping and transshipment of dry bulk goods such as iron ore. To this end, a new port is being constructed at Duqm and new cargo terminals at Salalah and Sohar. The new Duqm port will also boast a new oil refinery. All of this is aided by Oman’s position on the Arabian Sea, outside the Gulf, enabling it to offer shorter shipping lines than ports within the congested body of water. On the macroeconomic side, growth in the Omani ports sector will be supported by expanding GDP and rising private consumption. (The writer is Managing Director of the World Wide Business House, an international advisory firm)

A flight of fulfillmentCONT INUAT I ON

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3

44TH NATIONAL DAY


Cricket ... the happening game

A SESHAGIRI [email protected]

In most sports, it’s the on-field success that spurs the overall growth of a particu-lar discipline. But when it comes to cricket in Oman,

the wheel is running in reverse and still moving forward. Well, it is a bit perplexing, isn’t it?

After years of notable perfor-mances on the international stage, Oman has produced some forgetta-ble results in the last couple of sea-sons, leading to its relegation from Division Four of the International Cricket Council (ICC) to Division Five. Despite a string of poor per-formances in international tourna-ments, the interest in the game has shown a sharp rise with a record number of 87 teams registering for theseason and the country has won the much awaited Associate mem-bership from ICC.

In fact, the biggest achievement of the year has to be the recogni-tion Oman Cricket received from ICC. It’s amazing to see ICC accord the Associate membership to the Sultanate.

But what is remarkable is the way Oman Cricket achieved it, and in a short span of time. The recognition, achieved in June this year with the backing of two most

powerful cricket bodies – the Eng-lish and Wales Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in India, came just over a decade after Oman were given the affiliate status by ICC. And it goes without saying that the world body was im-pressed with the work carried out by Oman Cricket in the intervening years for the development of cricket in the Sultanate.

As described by Pankaj Khimji, a key member of Oman Cricket board, the ICC recognition is a ‘great achievement’ that has come after years of hard work.

“The ICC would have seen some-thing good in our work... they would have been pleased and satisfied with our development programme before giving us the Associate sta-tus,” he said speaking at the annual OC Awards gala recently.

New targetsFor ICC’s 38th Associate member that recognition brought more sup-port, especially from the Omani government and the Ministry of Sports Affairs, and with that more responsibility, which the Oman Cricket, as always, is eager to fulfil with sincerity and commitment.

“Now the expectations are high, to develop the game as well as the facilities. Our objective is to achieve overall development, in all aspects

of the game,” Pankaj said. “We now have two years to put all

things in place.”Now the Oman Cricket’s targets

are clear and they have set their own deadlines to achieve those objectives. On top of their priori-ties is to develop second green-turf ground in Al Amerat to add to the one established in 2012.

“Our immediate aim is to com-plete the work at the second ground and make it available for playing at the earliest. The ground will have seven turf pitches and eight prac-tice pitches,” Pankaj said.

Next in the list is developing the floodlight facilities at both grounds with the aim to play night cricket in the near future.

“We want cricket to be a hap-

pening game in this part of the world. We do not have time to loose and we have already started the preparations towards achiev-ing that goal,” Pankaj said.

Another ambitious project in the offing is the establishment of Indoor Cricket School that will also house the headquarters of Oman Cricket.

As a reward for gaining inter-national recognition, the Ministry of Sports Affairs has given Oman Cricket the nod to bid for GCC Women’s Cricket Championship. And come December, the Sultanate will become of the first Gulf nation to organise the regional women’s cricket tournament with the par-ticipation four teams, including the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait.

Focus on OmanisTo return to the action on the field, it has been very disappointing to say the least.

The national teams fared poorly in two major international outings during the year, finishing fourth in the six-team ACC Premier League in Malaysia and fifth in six-nation ICC World Cricket League Divi-sion 4 in Singapore.

The performances that forced OC’s Chief Development Officer Duleep Mendis blast the consist-ently ‘inconsistent’ ‘ageing squad’ of Oman.

Speaking at the same annual Awards gala, Mendis lamented the lack of fitness among the players.

“We are a team of ageing play-ers, who have been playing for the

country for more than ten years. Their reflexes are slow, their hand-eye coordination has become poor,” he said.

The Sri Lanka great also sug-gested a remedy.

“We need youngsters to replace these ageing players. We have to find players and give them the opportunity to play in the top division.

“This is why we have decided to launch the youth development team. Our aim is to increase the pool of Omanis playing cricket in Oman. We want to have more Om-anis in the squad.”

Let’s wish Oman Cricket all suc-cess and hope the national teams start performing well in the inter-national arena.

Cricket is growing in Oman. So is the

number of teams. Though there is nothing

to rave about Oman’s on-field performances,

but off it, there has been tremendous

progress, which has been achieved thanks

to the tireless efforts of Oman Cricket with

right support from the government and the

Ministry of Sports Affairs as well as the

initiative and participation of local Omani

stakeholders.

OMANTradition of smart planning to boost economic diversification

There’s a revolution under way in the Middle East and it is not character-ised by mass demonstra-

tions, upheaval and government overthrows. It is in the Sultanate of Oman and it has been going on qui-etly for decades. Under the leader-ship of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, the Gulf nation is steadily reinventing itself and, slow-ly but surely, moving its economy away from dependence on oil to one that generates income and jobs in fields ranging from tourism and in-dustry to mining, farming and more.

Unlike most of its neighbours – the exception is Saudi Arabia – Oman has a long tradition of economic planning. HM Sultan Qaboos and his government launched the first five-year plan for development in 1976.

That plan was driven by the knowledge that Oman’s oil re-serves are neither infinite nor the biggest in the region. In fact, Oman is a minnow in oil terms. It sits on proven reserves of an estimated 5.5 billion barrels, or around 0.4% of global oil reserves and experts have predicted Oman’s wells will run dry in less than 20 years.

The Sultanate reached peak oil production of around 960,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2001, be-fore falling to a low of 710,000 bpd in 2007. By harnessing enhanced oil recovery techniques and be-cause of new discoveries, Oman has bumped production back up to nearly 960,000 bpd, where the government is hoping to sustain it for the next five years.

Yet that does not mean it is back-ing away from its long-term plan to move away from oil.

Economic diversification away from oil has been at the heart of

Oman’s series of five-year plans since they were started in the 1970s. Under the first plan, the government invested heavily in projects to develop industry, min-ing, farming and fishing. Oman is now in its eighth five-year plan, which is part of a broader strategy called Vision 2020 to build a more diverse, sustainable economy that creates jobs for Omanis.

The plan aims, by the year 2020, to boost private sector activity and educate Oman’s workforce so that they have the skills to fill the jobs that are created. Education levels and skill sets in Oman are low at present and many jobs are filled by foreign labour.

But under Vision 2020 and the plan that will succeed it – Vision 2040 – Oman is revamping its education system to focus on sci-ence, technology, engineering and mathematics. The aim is to prepare Oman’s large youth population to take on the jobs that HM Sultan Qaboos’ visionary plans will create and to give employers the skilled lo-cal workforce they need.

In a report for the London School of Economics, Martin Hvidt, an as-sociate professor at the University of Southern Denmark’s Centre for Contemporary Middle East Studies, summarised Vision 2020 as aiming to bring “diversification, industrialisation, privatisation and increased integration into the glob-al economy” to Oman, “in order to achieve the long-term aim of a pro-ductive and diversified economy.”

Among its goals are reducing the oil sector’s contribution to GDP to 9% by 2020 from its current share of 40%. The plan also aims to increase natural gas’ contribution to GDP from 1.5% in 1995 to 10% when Vision 2020 reaches its final year.

With an estimated 34.6 trillion cu-bic feet of proven gas reserves, that’s well within the realm of possibility.

HM Sultan Qaboos’ government is also seeking to boost tourism, ed-ucation, information technology, mining and other sectors to break the economic dependence on oil.

On the tourism front, the gov-ernment is touting Oman’s di-verse geography and unexpected beauty. The third-largest country on the Arabian Peninsula offers unusual landscapes for the Middle East, with fjords and sometimes snow-capped mountains punc-tuating desert vistas. Overlooking the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, Oman also offers unspoilt beaches and its capital, Muscat, combines cosmopolitan charm with Middle Eastern traditions.

Attracting foreign investors is key to Oman’s diversification drive and in that light, the Sultanate has been easing the rules on foreign property ownership and foreign-owned businesses. Since 2006, for-eigners have been allowed to buy freehold property in certain parts of Oman and the laws of the inves-tor’s country of origin dictates who inherits that property.

Furthermore, property owners and their immediate family are giv-en residency in Oman. Oman also allows some businesses to be 100% foreign-owned, if the investment is deemed to be in the interest of the country. Most businesses can only be 70% foreign-owned, however.

Developing the Sultanate’s in-frastructure is another key ele-ment in Vision 2020. According to Hvidt, more than half of total spending in the current five-year plan, which runs until 2015, is ear-marked for the construction and modernisation of airports, roads

and other transportation means. Another 26% is allocated to devel-oping seaports, water supply sys-tems and housing. International consortia, mainly from Europe and Asia, have qualified to bid on a project to build a 1,400-mile-long high-speed rail network, the first phase of which is expected to be operational in 2018.

Oman has already seen some success in cutting its dependence on petroleum.

Oil’s share of total export rev-enues have dropped from 90% to about 65% since 1990, French bank BNP Paribas reported last year. That compares favourably to four other member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait – where there have been no major changes in 20 years in oil export revenues.

BNP Paribas also praised Oman for the “spectacular” leap in con-tributions from the non-oil sec-tor to GDP since 1990. In Gulf countries as a whole, the non-oil sector’s share of GDP grew from 54% in 1990 to 72% in 2010, while in Oman, it rose by 10 percentage points more – from 43% to 71% – in the same period. A spectacular rise, indeed.

While the hydrocarbon industry remains as a strong backbone to the Omani economy, the Sultanate is promoting other sectors and industries as well as bolstering the education system to prepare young Omanis for a future characterised by a larger

private sector and more diversified economic base

‘ A UNITED WORLD SUPPLEMENT PRODUCED BY:

OMAN

Bilateral trade on the rise, as is variety of Omani exports

U.S.-Omani relations are nearly as old as the Con-stitution. Ties were forged between the two coun-

tries under the presidency of George Washington when, in 1790, a brig ship called the Rambler, captained by Robert Folger and sailing out of Boston, dropped anchor in the port of Muscat. Five years later, another brig, the Cadet, which sailed out of Salem with Charles Derby at the helm, reached Muscat. Derby sailed back to Massachusetts with a cargo of coffee, marking the beginning of a thriving trade between the mer-chants of Salem and Muscat.

Since those early days, the two countries have signed several treaties and established formal diplomatic relations in 1972. In 1980, Muscat and Washington inked a military cooperation agreement, which was renewed and revised in 2010. And since 2009, they have had a free trade agreement (FTA).

According to the U.S. Embassy in Muscat, Omani exports to the United States have increased by 60% and U.S. exports to Oman are up by more than 26% since the FTA was signed. Trade between the two countries consist chiefly of machin-ery, vehicles, aircraft, agricultural products and optical and medical instruments that are imported to Oman from the United States, with crude oil, jewellery, plastics, fertilis-ers and iron and steel products go-ing in the other direction.

Among the perks given to American investors by the FTA is the right to wholly own companies in Oman, although many foreign companies still choose to partner with Omani companies and tap their local expertise.

The State Department describes Oman in glowing terms: the coun-try with a modern business law framework; respect for free mar-kets, contracts and property rights;

low taxes and an easily navigable business registration process.

Oman also offers expatriates “an excellent quality of life: is a safe, mod-ern, friendly and scenic country, with outstanding international schools, widely-available consumer goods, modern infrastructure and a con-venient and growing transportation network,” the State Department says.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Yusuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah un-derscores the Sultanate’s successful efforts, as well, saying: “I think we have been able to create a feeling among world institutions that the environment in Oman is suitable to invest in because of stability and confidence of these financial insti-tutions, companies, banks, that the stability is sustainable stability.”

Oman is actively wooing foreign investors through Ithraa, the gov-ernment’s investment promotion agency, which began life in 1997, when it was known as the Omani Centre for Investment Promotion & Export Development (OCIPED).

Ithraa’s main mission is to smooth the way for investors in Oman and grow exports of Omani goods and services. The agency works closely with other government entities to ensure Oman is competitive and is seen as “the best place to conduct business” in the Gulf neighbourhood and beyond. Ithraa – the Arabic word for “enrichment” – has rep-resentatives around the world who help businesses get a foothold in Oman and to stay there and enjoy commercial success.

The country itself makes Ithraa’s job an easy one, says His Highness Sayyid Faisal Bin Turki Al Said, the Director General of Media and Marketing at Ithraa.

“We have most of the ingredients in place,” he explains. “Oman has been working aggressively on the

legal framework and, from a judi-cial point of view, protecting invest-ments and whatever rights the inves-tors have. The incentive package is quite interesting,” he says.

Efforts to diversify the economy, and move it away from oil-only, have also helped to open Oman to outside investment. Middle East research company Info-Prod Ltd. says Oman is “actively seeking pri-vate foreign investors, putting spe-cific emphasis in the industrial field. Those investors who allow technol-ogy transfer and provide employ-ment and training for Omanis are particularly welcome.”

Ithraa is actively involved in help-ing Oman to move away from oil and branch out into other sectors. The agency defines what it calls “thrust products” to promote, based on predicted volume of sales and exports. “We started with about 14 products and now we have over 40,” HH Al Said says. “We spend a lot of time to see what exporters are doing and try to assist them to venture into new markets with extensive market research and surveys.”

Ithraa’s export development de-partment identifies “key exhibitions and conferences where we take our exporters, for example food prod-ucts, food-processing, marble etc,” HH Al Said continues.

At those conferences, Omani pro-ducers are not only introduced to potential clients, but the country’s logistics, agriculture, food, infra-structure, transport, nascent IT and pharmaceutical sectors are also pre-sented to the business world.

For foreign businesses looking to set up shop in Oman, Ithraa pro-vides an extensive, free and confi-dential package of assistance to help identify the full range of hard and soft benefits of choosing Oman as a business location.

OMAN

Investing in minds and ideas to promote an inclusive knowledge-based vision

Oman is a small country with a great vision, a country with rela-tively few natural resources but which has progressed through investing in the development of its people. For Dr Hilal Ali Za-her Al Hinai, Secretary General of The Research Council (TRC), “human resources constitute the capital of Oman” and he sees the work of TRC as key in the next step, one of investing in innova-tion and research and develop-ment so as to allow the potential of the country’s human genius to flourish and through that to foster national economic prosperity.

Dr Al Hinai sees two main building blocks in this process, the first being “research, the generation of knowledge” and the second being “innovation, the capturing of value from that knowledge”, focusing investment on areas where Oman has either particular needs or strengths that can be built on.

A key next stage is the develop-ment of Innovation Park Muscat (IPM) to provide a catalyzing, dynamic and productive environ-ment for researchers and innova-tors, combined with strong links to academia, business and industry.

His Highness Dr Fahad Al Julanda Al Said, Assistant Sec-retary General for Innovation Development, calls IPM “a cor-nerstone in Oman’s innovation ecosystem” that will “serve the innovation support programmes that are being developed to pro-vide the framework and a sense

of innovation culture in the Sultanate.” IPM will be a place “where researchers can develop new ideas while investors seek out opportunities to collaborate within this community.”

Focus on specific areas often

produces a cascade of related research. For example, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques, important to Oman and with tremendous commercial poten-tial worldwide, require a great deal of treated water which leads on to research into seawater de-salination, also a market with very great potential. Steam in-jection is used in EOR and so research into using solar energy to power that process may also be commercially fruitful. In-vestment is thus being cleverly targeted to achieve a maximum multiplier effect.

Dr Al Hinai emphasises the partnership philosophy underly-ing IPM’s concept, saying, “If you work with partners to capture the value from the knowledge and provide a platform for those technologies, then it is always a win-win situation.”

Dr Abdulbaqi, Director of Sci-ence and Technology Parks with-in TRC, confirms this, saying, “we are creating the ecosystem to support and produce ideas and products for commercialisation within a future knowledge-based economy” – a key part of Oman’s Vision 2020.

Healthcare embraces private sector

Over the last 44 years, healthcare in the Sul-tanate of Oman has exploded from a dozen

hospital beds to dozens of hospi-tals. And the progress shows no signs of slowing.

Dr Ahmed Mohammed Al-Saidi, Oman’s Minister of Health, says, “In 1970 we had 12 hospital beds in the whole country, a few expatriate missionary doctors and not more than 30 nurses for the whole country. The health servic-es were very, very primitive. In the 1970s the life expectancy for Oma-nis was only 49 years for men and

50 for women.” Since then, Dr Al-Saidi says that almost every health outcome has improved.

Bakul Mehta, CEO of Muscat Pharmacy and Stores – the big-gest supplier of medicines and health equipment for hospitals in the country, established in 1968 – agrees, saying, “The government has made a tremendous progress in healthcare infrastructure.”

The results of this progress have been dramatic. In less than three decades, the life expectancy for Omanis jumped to 74 years. Over that same period, infant mortal-ity dropped from 118 deaths per

1,000 babies, to only 10.5. Child mortality plummeted from 181 deaths per 1,000 children below age of five, to just 9.5. This is large-ly due to more than 7,000 doctors and 15,000 nurses practicing in Oman. Today, an impressive 97% of Omanis have access to health-care.

Dr Al-Saidi credits these suc-cesses to his predecessors in the Ministry of Health, who “started healthcare the right and affordable way. The backbone of our health-care system is primary healthcare,” which Dr Al-Saidi says is “afford-able, accessible and provides uni-

versal coverage.” At this point the objective is to have a healthcare centre for every 10,000 people, even in sparsely populated rural areas. “I have health centres serv-ing populations of less than 700 individuals,” explains the minister, pointing out that proximity to a city should not determine some-one’s access to quality healthcare.

Mehta notes that in Oman to-day, “everywhere in the country where healthcare is required, there are health centres, polyclin-ics or hospitals.”

There are plans for a new medi-cal city in Muscat as a response to the area’s growing population. “The expansion is huge,” Dr Al-Saidi says about the new facilities. The 1,235-acre medical city will be about 30 miles from Muscat International Airport. And while healthcare will still be free of charge for Omanis in Oman, the new facility will shift the struc-ture of the Omani healthcare sys-tem from a public one to a mixed public and private sector system.

This will create a multitude of new investment opportunities as the healthcare sector diversifies. Dr Al-Saidi says that welcoming private healthcare companies with high standards will only improve the sector in Oman.

“What I’m looking for,” he says, is for the private sector “to compete with us. I want them to be strong,” he continues, with a “quality and standard of care that is, if not bet-ter, then at least matching what we are providing free of charge.”

Mehta agrees that private for-eign investment can be of great benefit to Oman. In fact, he cred-its the Sultanate’s handling of foreign investment with much of Oman’s sustained GDP growth over the last 20 years. “The real recipe for success in Oman,” he says, “is that the country has very transparent system as far as the investment is concerned from abroad.” Oman aims to continue this tradition as new opportuni-ties for foreign investment open up in the medical field.

Attracting foreign inves-tors is one of the linchpins of Oman’s Vision 2020 development plan. The

government of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said has long recognised this and has taken nu-merous steps towards making Oman a prime destination for outsiders.

Special economic ‘free zones’Special economic zones, called free zones, were established by Royal Decree in 2002. Their raison d’être is mainly to attract foreign investment by creating business-friendly areas in Oman.

Currently, Oman has four free zones: Salalah, Sohar, Al Mazunah and Al Duqm. Each provides com-panies that set up businesses in their boundaries with certain rights and incentives. In return, the companies provide the infrastructure and ma-terials needed to run their business.

Outside the four free zones, for-eigners can have an interest of up to 70% in a business venture in Oman, with the remainder held by an Om-ani national.

According to Oman’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Dr Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, inside free zones, foreign investors can own up to 100% of a business.

The businesses that can be set up in free zones include industrial and processing units, manufacturing and assemblage undertakings, logistics and distribution centres and compa-nies that provide services to any of those entities. Each free zone is set up by a separate Royal Decree by HM

Sultan Qaboos and each specifies the types of business that can be regis-tered inside the free zone.

“We have made available gas and water in these industrial and free zones, trying to attract gas-in-tensive industries,” Dr Al Sunaidy says. Among multinationals that have taken advantage of the free zones and their perks are metals

company Vale S.A. of Brazil and India’s Jindal Steel.

“These international business gi-ants have found a location which is transparent, with ease of use and regulations, exemptions and avail-ability of gas,” Dr Al Sunaidy says. “This is the package of incentives we have offered and they find it quite at-tractive.”

Low taxesDr Al Sunaidy notes that Oman’s low income tax rate is also a draw for foreign investors. “It still stands at a very low 12%, which makes it attractive for people to produce goods and services with-in Oman,” he says.

Oman also offers tax breaks on machinery and raw material need-ed for manufacturing, he adds.

In the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings, Oman ranked ninth for paying taxes. The United States ranked 64th.

Developing SMEsThe government of HM Sultan Qaboos believes that getting Omanis to start their own busi-nesses will also help to reshape the economy and bring in more outside investment. It encourages Omanis to team up with foreign investors when they set up their new ventures.

“We think that there has been a change in the skills and initiative of Omanis to own and run their own businesses, so we have made a package of incentives for SMEs,” Dr Al Sunaidy explains.

The incentives, which are aimed at getting Omanis to leave govern-ment jobs and strike out as entre-preneurs, include a year’s salary from their public sector job.

“That is coupled with a new pol-icy to give at least 10% of govern-ment contracts to local SMEs,” Dr Al Sunaidy adds.

Strategically locatedOman’s strategic location – be-tween two continents and on three seas – and its efforts to develop its infrastructure are also attracting foreign investment.

PET plastics manufacturer Octal, which has a factory in the

Investment laws and infrastructure to attract FDI

Salalah Free Zone in the south of Oman, “can get a container from there to New York in 14 days, which is nothing,” Dr Al Sunaidy claims.

“I think people are discovering that downstream manufactur-ing is something they can do in Oman,” he states.

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Homespun companies identify with local needs

His Majesty Sultan Qa-boos bin Said Al Said’s long-term development plans have spawned

homespun success stories, including the Teejan Group and Areej Vegeta-ble Oils & Derivatives (AVOD).

Since it was founded as a trad-ing and services company in 1974, Teejan has grown to be one of the leading groups in Oman, with con-struction its strategic business base. It began building schools (to date more than 150), hospitals and health centres, and then widened its port-folio to include industrial projects.

“Later on we built malls, factories in Sohar, a power plant in Salalah and other buildings – iconic build-ings,” Hamed Al Harrassy, founder and Chairman of Teejan, says, citing the example of the cruise ship termi-nal on Muscat’s Muttrah corniche.

Wholly Omani-owned, Teejan has grown over the years into a di-versified conglomerate, doing busi-ness not only in construction, but also in different fields of engineering, the food and beverage sector and in-formation technology.

“We are gold partners with Mi-crosoft to license the government and big institutions – and we have been successful in that. We have an-other partnership with a company called EON, from Silicon Valley,” Al Harrassy says with justifiable pride.

Like Oman, Teejan’s success is based on diversification. “If you look at businesses in Oman, the most successful ones have diversified,” says the firm’s chairman. “They see this country as a small market so they have to create an opportunity

to spread their sources of income in case one doesn’t work out. It is the vision of the government and the vi-sion of the companies as well.”

Al Harrassy also attributes the success of Teejan and its contempo-raries to the stable economy, made possible in large part to HM Sultan Qaboos’ leadership. “The economy has always been well looked after and good planning has benefited the country and the people,” he says.

Areej Vegetable Oils and Deriv-atives (AVOD) is another Omani success story. Founded 30 years ago, AVOD exports high-quality cooking oils, ghee, margarine,

specialty fats and butter products around the world from Oman, with clients from Azerbaijan to Zambia, Australia to the United States. Global foods giant Unilever sources its vegetable ghee, corn oil and frying solutions from AVOD.

Three of AVOD’s products – Kha-feef light frying oil and Minara and Sohar cooking oils – won the pres-tigious “Superbrands” title in 2013 and Khafeef was named Brand of the Year last year at an event in Muscat. The Superbrands award recognises a product for its marketing, qual-ity and exceptionality. Participation in Superbrands is by invitation only and offered to the most outstanding brands in their field.

AVOD Executive Director Prem Maker says the company developed Khafeef after finding that consumers were not satisfied with the results they got from frying with differ-

ent oils. After numerous tests and countless fried chicken fillet dinners, AVOD found that a blend of corn oil and super palm olein – from palm fruit – worked best.

“It took a few years to develop the technology internally,” Maker says.

Khafeef is at the cutting edge of what could be called food technol-ogy. Dr Wafaa Hilmi Ayesh, the head of Clinical Nutrition at Rashid Hospital in the United Arab Emir-ates, says Khafeef contains more anti-oxidants and Vitamin E than any other frying oil, doesn’t become thick and sticky during frying and is free of trans fatty acids, or trans fats.

Maker emphasises that AVOD stays abreast of Oman’s, and the region’s, needs. “You have to lever-age yourself with what the country needs and where it is going. We are in the fast-moving consumer goods business and so we focus on brands that create value and on constant innovation,” he says. “We are in the process of launching an-other brand for the GCC and hope to make it a Superbrand.”

Not only does AVOD address consumer needs, the company also adds to Oman’s skills set through its in-house technical training programmes.

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“I believe that in the fu-ture that transport and logistics will be one of the economic sectors

that the country can rely on to be one of the replacements for the oil,” Dr Ahmed Mohammed Sa-lem Al Futaisi, Oman’s Minister of Transport and Communications, boldly states. And rightly so. With its prime location on the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, Oman is a natural, and historical, logistical base.

Add to this the ambitious and visionary plans the government has embarked on to develop a solid, integrated transport in-frastructure network and it is clear that Oman is well on its way to building a strong logis-tic chain that will be the envy of its neighbours. “We are really starting to look strategically at how to integrate roads, airports, ports and the planned railways,” says Al Futaisi.

Vic Allen, former acting CEO of Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC), believes that the multi-modal logistics hub idea has “huge potential for stra-tegic reasons”. “To be south or outside the Straits of Hormuz is a huge strategic advantage,” he says.

“As time goes on, that will become increasingly important and as Oman develops its infrastructure and transport links I’m sure that it will grow massively.”

Oman is currently developing a network of five regional airports – in Salalah, Sohar, Ras Al Hadd, Duqm and Muscat. The latter will soon have a new terminal with capacity for 12 million passen-gers per annum after phase one is completed. If demand deems it necessary, three subsequent phas-es will expand capacity ultimately to 40 million. According to Paul Gregorowitsch, CEO of Oman Air, once the new terminal has opened, “it will offer 96 check-in counters, 29 passenger boarding bridges, 30 aircraft remote stands and will be able to process up to 5,500 bags per hour.”

A brand new runway, now in its test phase, will soon take over in place of the 40-year old one cur-rently in use, which will in turn be upgraded next year so as to afford

the international airport with two runways in the near future.

The country’s five airports will be state-of-the-art Allen points to investment opportu-nities for the supply of servic-es, concessions and contracts for operation of commercial activities. New regional air-ports mean, of course, more convenient access for passen-gers to the far reaches of the Arabian country.

“Domestic services have al-ready received a boost with the increase in frequencies between Muscat and Salalah and the launch of our new service to Duqm,” says the CEO of Oman Air. “However, the opening of more new airports in Sohar, Adam and Ras Al Hadd will enable Oman Air to easy and affordable air travel around the Sultanate for both Omani citi-zens and overseas visitors.”

In terms of its ports, there are six under development, three of

New shipping hub emerges in central Oman

Oman is a country rich with nat-ural resources, which means that much of its economy is based on the drilling for oil and gas, and on the mining of minerals buried deep beneath the earth’s surface. And yet the extent to which these activities can benefit Oman’s ex-ports is largely dependent on the transportation industry. That’s where the Port of Duqm, in the mineral-rich Al Wusta governate, comes in.

Duqm is comprised of world-class infrastructure and state-of-the-art technology, which will allow this port to grow into an increasingly significant part of the economic landscape for Oman. Its location is also extremely advanta-geous. Rien Van de Ven, the CEO of Port of Duqm Company says, “If you look at the trading lines on a map, they all pass by Duqm so Duqm will be an excellent trans-shipment hub.” It would seem that Duqm is poised to become the new Middle Eastern centre for in-dustry, business and shipping.

Van de Ven clarifies, how-ever, that Duqm is not meant to compete with Salalah or Sohar – transport hubs already thriving in other parts of Oman. “Duqm itself doesn’t have the same popula-tion behind it like Sohar,” he says. Indeed, there are just over 11,000

people in Duqm, compared to over 100,000 in Sohar. “Duqm is not meant to be an end destination but a starting point,” he says.

The Sultanate of Oman has experienced sustained GDP growth over the last 20 years. Van de Ven says this has a lot to do with Oman’s international outlook, which is facilitated by its ports. “Oman has always been a natural trading country with old trade routes and a rich maritime history,” he says. “The people are used to open-minded

trade. This trade brings cultures together and has developed a lib-eral mind. Oman is wide open to international activities.”

But while Duqm’s most impor-tant purpose at the moment is facilitating the transportation of oil, Van de Ven says it ultimately serves an even more significant purpose. “There will come a time when the use of oil will change, therefore you need other things to fuel the economy and keep people working. So Duqm is a post-oil de-velopment plan.”

which will be special economic zones (Salalah, Duqm and Sohar) that will have convenient access to their adjacent airports. Two existing ports that will experience a complete change in format are those at Muscat and Sohar. Due to constraints to expansion and not to mention the beautiful set-ting, adds Minister Al-Futaisi, Muscat Port will be transformed into a tourism port of call, com-plete with cafés, restaurants and shops, while Sohar will take on Muscat’s commercial activities.

“I think it serves to show just how much tourism is becoming an important factor in Oman,” states Tarik Al Junaidi, acting CEO of Oman Shipping Compa-ny. “Especially between Novem-ber and March, you see people from the huge cruise ships head-ing down to the souq area, walk around and go back.”

Speaking about the plan to link Oman’s ports with the planned 435-mile national railway net-

Coming soon: a multi-modal, integrated transport network

work, Al Junaidi says, “It will definitely change the dynamics of logistics. It’s cheaper for shipping lines actually to drop all their containers in Oman, basically in Salalah or Duqm, and then shift them by railway.” Owned by the state and by Oman Oil Com-pany, Oman Shipping Company mainly focuses on the import and export of oil and gas products (especially liquefied natural gas, or LNG) and ore.

Passengers who wish to travel along Oman’s coast can do so with the National Ferries Com-pany, which runs services to Oman’s enclave governorate, Musandam, as well as to the is-land of Masirah from Muscat. The company’s CEO, Mehdi bin Mohammed Al Abdwani, also underscores the importance of connecting the country’s modes of transport. “In Oman, land and sea transport is inextricably linked so having an integrated system linking the cities to the ports is essential,” he says.

Perhaps the most ambitious and far-reaching of Oman’s transport infrastructure plans is the railway project. Construc-tion will begin next year on the railroad, which will not only in-terlink the Sultanate’s port cities, but will also connect to the $15.5 billion, 1,400-mile GCC rail pro-ject, which will run through all six GCC countries – Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bah-rain and Kuwait.

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Foreign oil & gas firms capitalise on the Sultanate’s friendly and welcoming environment

One of Oman’s chief exports is oil, sending more than 790,000 barrels per day abroad

in 2013. While there was a multi-year decline in oil production in the early 2000s, enhanced oil recovery techniques like steam injection and miscible injection have caused a rebound in the in-dustry. With 5.5 billion barrels, Oman ranks seventh in the Mid-dle East and 21st in the world for proved oil reserves.

Numerous foreign countries have benefited from investing in Oman’s oil and gas industry. Among them is CC Energy Devel-opment (CCED), a Lebanese regis-tered company that set up its office in Oman in 2008. In 2009 it began exploration and drilled two back-to-back successful wells. The fol-lowing year, it brought these wells on stream into production and to-day is producing about 25,000 bar-rels a day. CCED has set the goal to produce 30,000 by the end of 2014.

Shahrokh Etebar, CEO of CCED, says that though the com-pany is still working in primary and secondary exploration and exploitation, they’re making con-tinual progress.

“We have a reservoir – we call it semi-unconventional – which re-quires potentially horizontal well drilling and hydraulic fracking,” he says. “We also have some areas that contain bitumen and they are at a depth of 1,000 meters, so they are very challenging, but we have started looking at these for the fu-ture, maybe 10-20 years off.”

Etebar has an explanation for his firm’s success: “I have lots of expe-rience living and working in the Middle East and I find Oman to be very friendly and cooperative, and the Ministry of Oil and Gas has been helpful with our progress.”

He also credits the country’s stra-tegic position and its stability. “The most important issue for any inves-tor is stability and fortunately, Oman is a very stable country and His Maj-esty is a visionary,” he highlights.

“He is avoiding animosity with any other country nearby and he’s friendly. Under his leadership, a lot of these developments have gone through. When you come to the oil industry, Oman has still a lot of areas to be explored and as I was saying, Oman is stable and a good place for oil companies to invest.”

Gong Changli, CEO of another successful foreign firm operat-ing in Oman, Daleel Petroleum LLC, also points out the coun-try’s strong suits: “In my view, the most successful factors in Oman are the high standards of the mar-ket, transparency of the system and process.”

“Oman has worked to create an attractive investment environ-ment and focused on priorities

with a sustainable balance,” he continues and illustrates this bal-ance by citing Oman’s diversifying economy, with sectors like agricul-ture and tourism slowly but surely catching up to oil.

Formed in the second half of 2002, Daleel Petroleum is to-day one of the leading oil pro-ducing companies in the Sul-tanate of Oman. It is a 50/50

joint venture between Mezoon Petrogas SAOC (a subsidiary of MB Holding) and Mezoon Petrogas BVI (a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Cor-poration). Daleel Petroleum is involved in the exploration, ap-praisal and production of hydro-carbon reserves located onshore in Oman’s Block 5, roughly 280 miles northwest of Muscat.

Despite the positive scenario Oman has developed for oil and gas investors, there are still some challenges. Raoul Res-tucci, Managing Director of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), says, “We are getting into more complex oil. Easy oil is gone, if it was ever there.”

Etebar agrees, saying, “The reservoirs in Oman are not like the huge reservoirs in [other parts of ] the Middle East. They are more challenging to find, but they are there. It requires patience and knowledge; differ-ent technologies.”

Another challenge, Changli explains, is that it is becoming increasingly costly to operate. “Health care enhancement, man-power costs, material costs and maintenance costs for the integ-rity of the facilities and so on, are all contributing to the increase in operating cost,” he says.

And yet the CEO is confident his company will continue to ex-

pand. “Daleel is still in a position to grow in terms of production and investment. We are recruit-ing more people and implement-ing more activities to produce more oil for the country. Daleel will be very busy in the coming five years,” he says.

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“Beauty has an address” and it’s Oman

With a popula-tion that hovers around 4 million, Oman welcomed

2.2 million tourists in 2013, which was 9.8% higher than the previous year. This growth is thanks in part to a successful marketing campaign from the Ministry of Tourism, as well as

the increasing number of up-scale hotels to accommodate foreign guests.

One of the most impressive facilities is Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz Carlton hotel since 2011. The 26-year-old resort with a rich history for entertain-ing royalty and heads of state was originally built to host

the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in 1985 and at the time “set the standard for the region,” according to the hotel’s General Manager, Ber-nard Viola.

Al Bustan Palace is set against a dramatic mountain backdrop and offers 200 acres of lush green gardens and a pri-

Tour Golf Classic. The marina at The Wave, Muscat is the first in the region to be internation-ally recognised for its cleanli-ness and for its healthy marine life. Its location makes it a prime stopover hub to the Mediterra-nean; as such it didn’t take long to start attracting yachts.

While the Sultanate of Oman maintains its own distinct cul-ture, with no intention of be-coming the next Dubai, its proximity to the United Arab Emirates has certainly been helpful in developing Oman’s budding tourism industry. Es-ber says, “Dubai’s growth as a world-class tourism city has had a major positive impact on how tourists view and understand the Middle East region.”

Moreover, Oman, Dubai and Qatar have an agreement where-by visitors can travel among the three states with the same visa. This, coupled with the special 48-hour stopover sightseeing packages that the Omani Min-istry of Tourism began promot-ing in 2012, have helped turned this must-see destination into a viable option for tourists hail-ing from as far away as Australia and the U.S.

“Building our branding aware-ness, this is the major task at hand,” highlights Maitha Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary of Tourism. “We have an interna-tional brand and our motto is ‘Beauty has an address’.”

She adds that Oman’s beauty is a mighty natural resource that, once the Omani population fully comes to understand its impor-tance, can help bolster the na-tional economy and in a highly sustainable way.

vate beach, one kilometre long, overlooking the Sea of Oman.

In 2015, one of Oman’s most stunning property developments, The Wave, Muscat, will open two new hotels: Kempinski The Wave and Village Plaza Hotel.

The Wave, Muscat is a large freehold title waterfront desti-nation with a sizable residential component. But CEO Hawazen Esber says this “is only 40% of the story”. The Wave, Muscat will also serve as a new hub for

tourism, leisure, entertainment, education, business and culture.

“My focus is on bridging these different components with the residential to create a vibrant wa-terfront community,” Esber says.

While many similar building projects were put on hold or scrapped entirely in light of the 2008 financial crisis, Esber says, “Investors and stakeholders of The Wave, Muscat charted their own path and invested heavily in delivering the core public assets such as the golf course, marina and breakwater, which provided the confidence for residential in-vestors to return quickly because of the reliability of the developer to deliver.” As of now, The Wave, Muscat is on schedule to be com-pleted in the next five years.

The parts that have been completed are already making waves in Middle Eastern tour-ism. Just two years old, the golf course has already been award-ed the Gold Award for “Best Golf Course in the Region” at the MENA Travel Awards and it is home to the annual National Bank of Oman PGA Challenge

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times of oman - november 18, 2014

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