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In our view, it is one of the utmost duties, as we enter this new century, that all countries should work to fight tyranny and despotism, confront the policies of ethnic cleansing and the humiliation of human dignity. They should work, as well, to oppose the occupation of others’ lands and denial of legitimate rights. Also, they should strive to balance the scales of justice so that security, peace and tranquility shall be established throughout the world.

On the occasion of the 18th National Day

FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTYTHE SULTAN

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’

SUNDAY, October 18, 2015 / 4 Muharram 1437 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

And now for some good news

Staff Reporter

MUSCAT: “All we ever seem to read these days is bad news.”

It’s a familiar comment from consumers of news both online and in print all around the world.

And it’s true that the media’s role is to hold a mirror to the so-ciety it covers, reflecting both the good and the bad, the praisewor-thy and the issues where matters can be improved.

So why does it seem like the bad news outweighs the good?

Often it’s because those engaged

in kind acts, initiatives of charity, examples of individual bravery, simply do so not for publicity but because it is just the right thing to do, and therefore are often quiet about their achievements.

The news isn’t all bad of course, in the pages of the Times of Oman recently you will have read of lit-tle Basma Mohammed Faisal. The critically-ill girl is now preparing for life-saving medical treatment abroad thanks to donations from readers touched by her story.

Kindness of membersOr last week we brought you words, pictures and video of the kindness of members of social media group What’s Happen-ing Muscat Oman who donated a mountain of toys for sick children being treated in hospital.

If you pour though the pages of the Times of Oman or online at timesofoman.com you’ll find in-spirational stories from Omanis and expats alike almost every day, but it is time for us to do more.

And we want you help.Today the Times of Oman

launches its #OmanPride cam-paign, fittingly exactly one month from the Sultanate’s ultimate day of pride, National Day.

We want you to help us cele-brate all that is good in Oman and we’ll report on it with #Oman-Pride being our dedicated banner for good news.

Share with us anything you feel promotes what’s best in the country we all call home. It can be beautiful photographs, a video of a sunset, pictures of the past. You might want to share with us a sto-ry of unsung kindness or bravery against the odds.

Tell us about the things and people in your life which inspire you and why. Write a poem prais-ing His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, pen a letter thanking the Royal Oman Police officer who helped you, lend your support in words, pictures and video to the brave men and women of the Pub-lic Authority of Civil Defence and Ambulance. >A5

Today the Times

of Oman launches

its #OmanPride

campaign, fittingly

exactly one month

from the Sultanate’s

ultimate day of pride,

National Day

#OMANPRIDE

THE HOME OFGOOD NEWS

A4

Jones excited about first visit

MARKETOman records lowest inflation in the GCC

2Oman recorded the lowest inflation rate at 0.07 per cent in August

among then Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The highest inflation rate was recorded in the UAE at 4.94 per cent in August, against the same period last year. >B1

MARKETBig response to networking event

3Hundreds of high-level business leaders are to come together once

again at the largest networking event, as B2B Oman announces it is to return for 2016. Billed as the ‘most influential business networking event,’ the event will be held on February 9. >B3

OMANHiring in Oman dips as oil prices fall

1 Recruitment in Oman has declined to a four-year low as lower oil prices take a big

bite on the economy which is also expected to hit growth and profitability of companies. Oman’s oil prices continue to trade just above $50 per barrel, down from $115 in June last year. >A2

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

REJIMON K reji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: “I was swept away by the strong currents in the over-flowing wadi (valley). My neck got entangled in the branches of a flow-ing tree. But I was swept away from their too. For those 45 minutes, I saw death from close quarters.”

Anil Kumar, 40, an Indian expa-triate, narrated how he was swept away in a wadi near Nizwa at around 7pm on Thursday and later saved by Omani citizens at around 8pm.

Meanwhile, Kumar’s friend Jay-achandran, also an Indian expat, was swept away by wadi from his vehicle along with Anil around the same time, and his body was

recovered by police on Friday.“We were on our way back to

Jebel Akdhar from Nizwa. While we entered the wadi, the water level was quite low. However, a car in front of us got stuck in the middle. It stopped us from mov-ing further. I couldn’t reverse the vehicle because there were ve-hicles lined up behind me. Soon, the water level started to rise,” Kumar said.

As the water level rose, Kumar and Jayachandran climbed on top of the vehicle. But due to the strong current, they were swept away. “I could see Jayachandran for a few minutes, struggling to keep him-self afloat but after a few minutes, I lost sight of him,” he said. >A6

L U C K Y T O B E A L I V E

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of greetings to President Ilham Heydər Aliyev of Azerbaijan on his country’s Independence Day anniversary.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sin-cere greetings and wishes of good health and happiness to the president and his country’s people further progress and prosperity. —ONA

A Z E R B A I J A N

HM sends greetings

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES 2015SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

INSIDE

Emirati found dead, four others rescuedFAHAD AL GHADANIfahadnews@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: An Emirati man was found dead after being swept away in Wadi Al Kihla in the Wilayat of Mudhaibi, said a source at the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA).

The source added that five UAE nationals were travelling in the vehicle that was swept away in the flood waters. “PACDA rescued four of them and had been searching for the fifth one, but unfortunately he was found dead yesterday morn-ing,” said the source.

Rescue operations continued yesterday in some parts of Oman. “We have advised public to take precaution and stay away from low-lying areas, and to avoid

crossing wadis. But it seems some people still refuse to take the issue seriously,” said the source.

Many have expressed their an-

ger against such reckless people, who try to confront the power of nature for the sake of a picture or video clip. “Such people should

be stopped by force from cross-ing wadis. They don’t have to risk their lives and the lives of others, including their family members

and the members of PACDA res-cue force,” said Amir Al Rahbi, a Samail resident.

He added that the authorities concerned should combat such ac-tions by force.

“There must be a rule enforced in each wadi, especially those crossing main roads during rain-fall, to stop such motorists and issue heftier fines when they resist,” said Salah Al Hanshi, a Behla resident.

Al Hanshi added that the fine is not enough, but such people should be legally questioned by the public prosecution. “It is risking other people’s lives and they should face legal actions,” said Al Hanshi.

A source at the ROP said it was quite difficult to assign monitoring forces in each and every wadi. >A6

R A I N A F T E R M A T H

Expatriate recounts brush with death

RISKING LIVES: People who try to take pictures or clips of flooded wadi have been condemned. -ONA

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OMAN

Recruitment in Oman has declined to a four-year low as lower oil prices take a big

bite on the economy which is also expected to hit growth and profitability of companies.

Oman’s oil prices continue to trade just above $50 per barrel, down from $115 in June last year. Many companies in the Sultanate are cutting their costs and expenditure that force them to downsize their workforce.

According to National Centre for Statistics and Informa-tion, recruitment of Omani employees increased by only 0.4 per cent in August this year compared to the month of July. There was only 4.5 per cent growth in expat recruitment in the same period. Both segments of employments have registered slowest growth since 2011.

The recruitment process has been slowed down by the gov-ernment’s move to cut down on expenditure as economic plan-ners look nervously on how low oil prices will dip. The govern-ment has already put the brakes on its most ambitious projects such as the railway construc-tion, roads, ports, hospitals and

schools. It has effectively frozen more than OMR4.5 billion worth of projects so far this year. The government is not expected to revive these projects anytime soon because net oil revenues have declined by 46.1 per cent by the first half of this year, com-pared to the previous six months in 2014. According to the forecast of international traders, oil revenues are predicted to dip further by the end of this year.

The private sector is tighten-ing its belt as well, recruiting only experienced workers and in select jobs because the rev-enues of most of the corporate houses showed a steep decline in the first half of this year. The statistics of the Muscat Securi-ties Market (MSM) show that companies trading in the bourse suffered a sharp income fall varying from 20 to 46 per cent in the period from January to June this year. Their revenues forecast for the second half of this year is gloomy, too. Job recruitment centres say the em-ployment market will get worse by the end of this year as com-panies keep pulling out their recruitment requirements by more than 75 per cent since the beginning of this year. Some of the companies which are heav-ily depending on government’s contracts, are now looking at downsizing their operations to keep afloat.

Figures at the Oman Tender Board show a sharp decrease on the number of awarded contracts since the beginning of the year —- by more than 55 per cent compared to 2014. That shows how much the private

sector depends on government’s expenditure to expand their operations. The fear of scarcity of jobs will certainly continue in 2016. A total expenditure of OMR15 billion has been esti-mated in 2015, an increase of 4 per cent compared to the last year budget. With a first half of the year deficit of OMR1.9 bil-lion, the government is unlikely to shore up spending next year with the prevailing oil prices. It would need to pull out funds from the reserves to wipe out the arrears. Then it would need to dig deep enough to pay for the 2016 expenditure, which is expected to be just enough to cover the bare minimum. It will leave little room for the expan-sion of employment.

Jobs in fast-moving consum-er goods, construction, private education, engineering, medical care, hospitality, airline and tourism would be hit hard next year. These sectors tradition-ally employ the bulk of work-ers in the country. Most of the graduates and school-leavers, estimated at 12,000 a year, plus the backlog of thousands of job seekers, will be looking for jobs in 2016, putting a further constraint on the employment market. The only way forward to ease a recruitment decline is to encourage self-employment. Past experience and records show that very little is being done in the sector of small and medium enterprises. The second option to create jobs will be for the government to borrow money to spur the economy to kick-start the stalling economic next year.

Job growth slows down to a four-year low in Oman

C O M M E N T A R Y

SALEH AL SHAIBANY

SUNDAYBEAT

H AV E YOU R SAY AT T W I T T E R.CO M /T I M ES O F O M A N O R S CA N T H E CO D E TO I N STA N T LY P O ST YOU R T H O U G H TS .

Top engineering convention to begin tomorrow

Times News Service

MUSCAT: United Kingdom-based Institution of Civil En-gineers (ICE) will host the 4th Middle East and Africa Conven-tion in Muscat from October 19 to 21.

The theme of the convention will be ‘Shaping the Future, Re-specting the Past’.

The event will be held in part-nership with Oman Society of Engineers (OSE) and Sultan Qa-boos University (SQU), under the patronage of His Excellency Dr Rasheed Al Safi Al Huraibi, chair-man of the Tender Board.

The ICE activities in Oman are under the umbrella of the OSE, the national engineering body of Oman, and both share the con-cerns of engineers and the en-gineering sector in Oman and worldwide.

Oman has put in place world-class infrastructure, from roads and hospitals to schools and air-ports, and continues its march towards all-round development. This has had to be balanced with protection of its culture, environ-ment and rich architectural herit-age. Oman is a strong example of development working hand-in-hand with conservation.

This convention is intended to provide a forum for knowledge-sharing, discussion and network-ing around a common theme, bringing together engineers from across the region. The convention

is open to both the ICE members and non-members.

On October 19 evening, the con-vention will kick off at the Higher College of Technology with a Graduates and Students Papers competition. Three finalists from the region will present papers on a common theme related to the main convention theme of ‘Shap-ing the Future, Respecting the Past’. The aim of the competition is to stimulate interest in civil en-gineering among the youth and allow them to present compelling arguments to a large audience, which will question them on the content of their presentations.

The following day, the main convention will begin at the SQU and will feature a wide variety of speakers from across the region, and from government and in-dustry. A full programme can be found at www.ice.org.uk/meacon-vention2015. That same evening, delegates will be invited to a gala dinner at the City Seasons Ho-tel where David Balmforth, ICE president, will deliver his address. On the third and final day, del-egates will be taken on site visits to marvel at,and learn more about some of Muscat’s most beautiful and interesting historical sites.

The ICE’s first Middle East and Africa convention was held in Cairo in 2008, Cape Town in 2010 and Dubai in 2012. The conven-tion is both a chance for the ICE members around to attend an event in their region and for the organisation to attract new mem-bers and to continue to share its knowledge, wherever possible. It is also a chance for them to build

relationships with national engi-neering bodies, such as the Oman Society of Engineers and the Sul-tan Qaboos University. Attendees are invited to listen to and meet with local and international in-dustry leaders.

The joint planning for the con-vention has its roots in the signing of an agreement of co-operation with the OSE in 2014. Aside from this, the ICE is also proud to be working with its counterparts from the UK’s Institution of Me-chanical Engineers (IMechE) and Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), in support-ing the recently opened Military Training College in Muscat with the structuring of its new engi-neering courses.

In addition, the ICE has recently engaged with Oman Rail through Babcock International, to assist in the development of an insti-tutional skills framework for the railway industry of Oman. This project is part of a wider strategic objective for Oman to become a regional logistics hub, based on its geographical location and the need to support the diversification of the Omani economy. It is also part of the planned GCC rail network.

All this illustrates how Oman is taking big strides at present, both to improve and develop its infra-structure and also to develop its engineering education standards which will create a long lasting, sustainable impact. The ICE and the local organisers OSE and SQU are pleased and proud to be a part of that and to hold the 4th Middle East and Africa Conven-tion in Muscat.

Institution of Civil

Engineers’ Middle

East and Africa

Convention intends

to provide a forum for

knowledge-sharing,

discussion and

networking

The private sector is tightening its belt as well,

recruiting only experienced workers

EXEMPLARY: Oman is a strong example of development working hand-in-hand with conservation. – Courtesy www.ice.org.uk/meaconvention 2015

12,000 is the estimated number of graduates and school-leavers in Oman every year

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SQU delegation to discuss academic ties on Italy visitTimes News Service

MUSCAT: A delegation from the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) will visit some of the most re-nowned Italian universities from October 18 to 24, to discuss ways to establish institutional academ-ic cooperation.

The delegation will be led by Dr Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, vice chan-cellor, and Her Highness Mona bint Fahad Al Said, assistant vice chancellor for International Co-operation at SQU.

The visit has been organised by the Embassy of Italy in Muscat and the Embassy of Sultanate of Oman

in Rome as a part of its activities aimed at enhancing cultural and academic cooperation between Italy and the Sultanate. This trip is the follow-up of the Joint Dec-laration signed in Rome on June 9, on the occasion of the fifth Italy-Oman Joint Commission, and is a part of one of the SQU’s strategies to find new opportunities for its students, researchers and aca-demics in various sectors.

The selected sectors cover many different areas that both countries deem strategic; medicine, genet-ics, tourism, archaeology, restora-tion, Italian and Arabic languages, economy, law and engineering.

During the visit, the SQU del-egation will meet with the deans and representatives of the Univer-sity of Milan, Bocconi University, University of Florence (Depart-ment of Architecture), Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Uni-versity for Foreigners of Siena and Roma Tor Vergata, as well as with Prof. Marco Ciatti, director of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure of Flor-ence (a public institute leader in the field of art restoration).

A visit to the La Scala Theatre Academy has also been scheduled to examine possible forms of bi-lateral cooperation in the training of opera artists and technicians.

EDUCAT I ON

Forum held for graduatesTimes News Service

MUSCAT: A forum was or-ganised by the Instructional & Learning Technology Depart-ment at the College of Edu-cation at the Sultan Qaboos University recently, for the graduates from the department.

The event was held under the patronage of Prof Amer Ali Al Rawas, deputy vice-chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Re-search. The aim of the gathering was to promote links between the department and the gradu-ates and their organisations in order to provide job and training opportunities for new graduates, share and exchange ideas, which contribute to the development process, and involve graduates improving the academic pro-gramme of the department.

Dr Mohamed El Tahir Os-man, head of the Department, welcomed the gathering and stressed the importance of the department and its programmes, and the relevance of the forum.

SQU

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OMAN

Looking forward to performing in Oman: Kelly Jones

United Kingdom’s Stereophonics band, who recently released their ninth studio album, “Keep the Vil-lage Alive,” will perform at the Shangri La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa Amphitheatre on November 12. The event is being organised by Alive Entertainment and tickets are on sale at the Mackenzie’s Café & Deli for what promises to be a sell-out show. Lead singer Kelly spoke to Times of Oman’s Joe Morrison about the upcoming gig and more.

Q: Have you ever been to Muscat before, even just on a holiday?

We have never been before, the closest gig we have done is Dubai, but I am always discussing our tour schedule and seeing places that are nearby that maybe would be interesting to play. We are look-ing forward to it.Q: Have you performed at any other venues that are typically

not on the world tour trail? Which was the quirkiest?

It is not just about performing for expats, but taking our music to new markets and newer audi-ences, who have never heard us be-fore. We played in Kuala Lumpur a while back. As a child, I never even knew where Kuala Lumpur was.Q: Where does the title of your latest album come from? Was it just for the title or does it actually take you back to your roots?

The latest album is very upbeat with 10 different styles of music. The saying, ‘keep the village alive’ was an uplifting shout when we were kids, it meant keep it up, keep your spirit up and I thought it was appropriate for this upbeat album.

The title of an album always comes after the album is finished, and this title came almost a year after. Only for the album, “Graffiti on a Train” did the title come be-fore the album itself.Q: You began your careers be-fore the advent of download-ing, iPods and Spotify. Are these modern music forms a help or a hindrance for you? Is touring the only way for ar-

tistes to be in full control of their music now?

It is a bit easier to engage with new fans because of the internet, they can easily access our music in these places through down-loads etc. Places, such as Kuala Lumpur or Muscat might not have been an option for us before as fans were able to download and find out about us.

We like to win over new people and audiences. At the V Festival, we were performing in front of 16 year-olds, who were there to

watch other bands, but have now experienced our music and know who we are.

We have always had an element of control, signing up with inde-pendent labels. Financially, I don’t even think about it, we still do what we have always done, which is to create music and leave the rest up to others.Q: I would guess that a band like yours has made it the hard (some would say honest) way, rile against the modern Pop Idol/X-Factor obsession, but

if the TV format had existed at the beginning of your careers, would you have entered?

When we started out, we used whatever means were available at the time, to promote ourselves. It meant playing at pubs and clubs and sending out demo cassettes to record labels. If the Pop Idol/X-Factor format had been around at the time, maybe we would have been involved, I don’t know, it’s difficult to say.

The thing about playing pubs and clubs is that you learn hu-mility, you learn how to die. You can see what gets a reaction and I think it teaches you to pick your-self up. Everyone falls down but I don’t think they (the X-Factor/Idol contestants) know how to pick themselves up.Q: Now that you are a little older, do you still enjoy touring and playing live or is the pref-erence aimed at studio record-ing sessions?

I still enjoy touring. We have people in our management team and crew, who have been with us for 19 years, so it is still an en-joyable experience to be around like-minded people. My wife and

daughters join me as well. Noth-ing has really changed, we are still on a bus like we were when we started, the only difference is that now I am older I make more effort to get out and see the cities that we are performing in rather than just the venue.Q: Kelly, I understand you have two daughters. How would you feel if they came home one day and said “Daddy, I’m dating a rockstar”?

I am not sure what I would think if they said they were dating a rockstar. It’s either that or a foot-baller nowadays! To be honest, I think I would prefer for them to come home and say they are dating a plumber!Q: Be honest here, did you re-ally expect Wales to qualify in their group in the Rugby World Cup?

Well, when Wales beat England (in the Rugby World Cup), I was sitting in front of Prince Harry so it was an even greater feeling. Wales always seem to do better when their backs are against the wall. The Wales football team is flying at the moment as well so it’s a great feeling to be a Welsh fan right now.

S T E R E O P H O N I C S L E A D S I N G E R

Stereophonics lead singer Kelly Jones

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‘Academic-business cooperation win-win for university, business’Times News Service

MUSCAT: When businesses and universities work in tandem to push frontiers of knowledge, they become a powerful force for in-novation and economic growth, a popular programme was told.

Dr Nadiya Al Saady, Executive Director, Oman Animal, Plant & Genetic Resources Center (OAPGRC) and organiser of the monthly Science Cafe programme, says people need to understand that academic-business collabo-ration benefits both parties. Busi-nesses benefit from the university’s cutting-edge research knowledge, while the university benefits from the sector knowledge of the busi-ness partner.

“By working together they con-tribute to Oman’s growth and pros-perity,” Dr Al Saady said.

OAPGRC initiated a new season of its a highly popular Science Cafe series at Moka & More Cafe in Al Azaiba on September 30.

Supported by Oman LNG, the theme for the first session was, “Partnering Research and Busi-ness: Bearing Fruit,” featuring Rayan Al Kalbani, co-founder and executive director of Mazoon Environmental & Technological Services LLC and Wail Al Harrasi,

corporate technology advisor for Petroleum Development Oman.

The OAPGRC Executive Di-rector added: “Indeed, it’s this ap-proach that helps develop inno-vative commercial products and services. It’s a win-win scenario,” remarked Al Saady.

However, it is one thing knowing that collaboration can be mutually beneficial and another finding out how to make more effective collab-orations happen. The challenges raised by the Science Cafe audi-ence included a lack of trust over issues, such as intellectual proper-

ty, uncertainty about the potential benefits of working together, and the difficulty on both sides of find-ing the time for initial exploratory conversations.

Commenting on the event, pan-ellist Al Kalbani said: “We had the right people in the audience, who all shared common interests. It was a fantastic discussion and networking event. I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Noting that the success of the event could be attributed to lively audience participation, Al Har-rasi said, “There were some great ideas on how to enhance local university–business collabora-tion. It was very much a solutions-focused group of people, which made for a very positive and up-lifting evening.”

Zakariya Al Wahabi and Salaha Al Moqbali of tech start-up Tech-nophyll, also joined the even-ing panel. The two young Omani entrepreneurs have developed a mobile phone cover that uses ma-terial from local plants and helps reduce magnetic radiation emit-ted from the phone.

The panellists joined the Sci-ence Cafe audience in acknowl-edging the need for further col-laboration between universities and businesses.

S C I E N C E C A F E S E R I E S

Dr. Nadiya Al Saady, Executive Director, Oman Animal & Plant Genetic Resources Center

Work on track for university opening in 2016

Staff Reporter

MUSCAT: Muscat University is moving rapidly from being a con-cept to becoming a reality. The under construction university is scheduled to open its doors to its first batch of students in Septem-ber 2016, a statement said.

“In recent months, several significant developments have been achieved by the Muscat University’s leadership in part-nership with the Ministry of Higher Education and the Uni-versity’s lead consultant, Isis In-novation, the technology trans-fer company of the University of Oxford,” the statement from the university added.

Extensive researchThe founders of Muscat Univer-sity have undertaken extensive research to create an evidence base for the development of the university so that it addresses the needs and aspirations of students and employers.

Among the many initiatives that have been undertaken to lay the foundations for the establish-ment of Muscat University are, preparation of a situational anal-ysis of higher education needs in Oman involving field work interviews, visits by the Mus-cat University founders to high-quality international academic institutions and universities in the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and the United States and hosting a workshop on “Academic Affiliation Arrangements” at the Ministry of Higher Education in Muscat by the Muscat University in December last year.

“Supported by the university’s

founders, Muscat University’s senior leadership team will help ensure that the university embrac-es a robust and dynamic interdis-ciplinary approach. The university will offer numerous opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration among both faculty and students,” the statement added.

Already, close collaboration with The Research Council (TRC) of Oman and the Industri-al Innovation Centre (IIC) is tak-ing place. The Vice Chancellor of Muscat University, Professor An-thony Cahalan, who is from Aus-tralia, took up his post in Muscat in early September.

Prof Yusra Mouzughi from the United Kingdom has been appoint-ed as deputy vice-chancellor, Aca-demic Affairs and Professor Cos-tas Chryssou, also from the United Kingdom has been appointed as the deputy vice-chancellor, Enter-prise and Engagement.

“Both appointees will relocate to Muscat shortly,” the statement added. Muscat University will aim to produce graduates, who will be equipped with not only the techni-cal and professional skills relevant to their academic discipline but, equally importantly, with the per-sonal or ‘soft’ skills that will help ensure the appeal of the graduates before prospective employers.

Collaborative activitiesThe university will also seek to offer degree programmes in engineering that include col-laborative activities, such as work placements and industrial research projects, enabling the students to work as closely as possible with local and regional businesses and industry.

A further priority area for the university will be that of transport and logistics (including supply chain). Muscat University is con-fident that this sector represents a key growth area for Oman, as well as a significant source of employ-ment for many years to come.

The third of the university’s priority areas is business and management. Muscat Universi-ty’s Executive Education Centre (EEC) will also aspire to be the foremost among such centres in Oman, educating and inspiring entrepreneurial business lead-ers from Oman and the wider re-gion to create new opportunities through action.

LocationMuscat University’s main cam-pus will be located at an excel-lent site in close proximity to the city of Muscat. Construction is expected to be completed within three or four years.

The Ministry of Housing has agreed in principle to allocate a plot on the Express Road in Wilay-at Bausher for the permanent cam-pus of Muscat University and the Ministry of Higher Education has been informed of this decision.

It was two years ago that the founding committee of Muscat University, chaired by Dr. Juma Al Juma, had signed an agree-ment for obtaining consultancy services on the project of setting up Muscat University.

The agreement involved con-ducting relevant field studies, pre-paring a project feasibility study, implementation plans, formulat-ing a quality assurance frame-work, as well as devising a human resource selection criteria.

M U S C A T U N I V E R S I T Y

MOVING AHEAD: Founders of Muscat University have undertaken extensive research to create an evidence base for the development of the university so that it addresses the needs and aspirations of students and employers. – Supplied photo

Conference to discuss social developmentMUSCAT: A two-day confer-ence to discuss social develop-ment begins here today.

The Economic Society Con-ference will be held at Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque Confer-ence Hall under the theme ‘So-cial Development between Ben-efits and Sustainability’.

The conference will discuss the major challenges facing so-cial development in the Sultan-ate of Oman.

It will also discuss the re-lationship between social de-velopment and comprehen-sive development to develop the required mechanism in a bid to achieve the prospective development.

The conference also provides an opportunity to participants share experience of countries in the field of achieving sustain-able development.

IndicatorsThe themes of the conference will cover the indicators of social development, achiev-ing sustainable development, social and civil organisations, governance, accountability and social policies for economic growth among other things.

The themes also cover the policies to achieve the sustain-able social development and the practical experiences of social development. -ONA

S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

By working together they (universities and businesses) contribute to Oman’s growth and prosperityDr Nadiya Al Saady, Executive Director, Oman Animal & Plant Genetic Resources Center

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Thank your teacher, your nurse, the people who clean the streets, build the roads, the armed forces who keep the borders of Oman safe and secure.

ReadersEvery month our website timesofoman.com is also read by hundreds of thousands of people outside of the Sultanate, so we feel this is great way to showcase Oman and its people.

Connect with us however you want, you can email us at edi-tor@timesofoman or reach out to us on facebook.com/timeso-foman, on twitter.com/timeso-foman, at instagram.com/timesofoman, or write to at #OmanPride, Times of Oman, PO Box 2998, Ruwi, Oman, post-code 112.

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Experts to discuss recent changes in social securityMUSCAT: The Sultanate, rep-resented by the Public Author-ity for Social Insurance, will host the Regional Forum for Social Security for Asia and Pacific, on November 2.

The forum, which focuses on excellence in management of social security, will discuss a number of themes, such as the developments of social security, its trends in Asia and Pacific, ex-panding the social security um-brella and convening the regional social security summit.

The opening ceremony of the three-day forum will be spon-

sored by His Highness Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al Said.

The forum provides an ideal platform for policy makers, ex-ecutives and directors of social security to share information and analyse the most important trends in field of social security.

Besides discussing a number of priority issues for the region, the forum will also highlight the International Social Security As-sociation (ISSA) Good Practice Award for Asia and the Pacific, which recognises the achieve-ments made by the social security organisation in the region.

The social security system in Asia and Pacific is witnessing fast changes in the social and eco-nomic environment in the differ-ent parts of the world.

ISSA member states seek to improve the social security pro-gramme by adopting dynamic and innovative management ap-proach. They are jointly commit-ted to enhance governance and improve performance to be able to address the main challenges facing them, including expand-ing the social security coverage and the demographic changes in labour market. -ONA

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Some of the truck drivers enter the residential areas and park under construction buildings without the permission of their ownersOfficial, Muscat Municipality

Musalmat village retains its ancient glory, architecture

WADI AL MA’AWIL: Musalmat village in the wilayat of Wadi Al Ma’awil in South Al Batinah Gov-ernorate, has remained a link for many years between the villagers and neighbouring wilayats.

Scholars, writers and poets vis-it the village due to its privileged location, its attractive environ-ment, and the good-natured peo-ple. Some of them settled in the

village to seek knowledge, work or for other reasons.

Archaeological findings Thus, the village flourished eco-nomically, giving it prominence among the surrounding villages, in addition to its archaeological finds that narrate the history of Oman up to the present day.

Musalmat shares its border to

the north with Al Muraigha vil-lage. To the west, Musalmat is the entrance to Al Tawiya village. It borders the wilayat of Nakhal to the east and south.

Since ancient times, locals in Musalmat have worked in agri-culture, trade, breeding of sheep and camels, and pottery, in ad-dition to silverware, date palm leaves craft, weaving, traditional

weaponry and many more, mak-ing it a destination for traders.

Neighbourhoods In Musalmat, there are many old and new neighbourhoods like Al Hijra and modern residential schemes, like Tawi Al Sukkar, and the eastern scheme.

Al Hijra is one of the biggest and oldest neighbourhoods character-

ised by its unique architecture. The village has a historic

mosque that is based on the old architecture. The mosque has been restored.

A number of imams and cler-ics lived in Musalmat including Sheikh Abdullah bin Said Al Khal-ili, who lived there for a long time.

Musalmat and its people were in touch with Imam Sheikh Mo-

hammed bin Abdullah Al Khalili.One of the best known land-

marks of Musalmat village is Beit Al Khandak, an archaeological structure which remains a testa-ment to the creative hands of Om-anis. It was built around 1851 on one floor. Another floor was added in 1870 and other amendments and restorations were carried out in 1921 and then in 1950. -ONA

P R I V I L E G E D P O S I T I O N

ATTRACTIVE ENVIRONMENT: Scholars, writers and poets have been visiting the village due to its privileged position and its attractive environment. – ONA

Plan to ban scrap trucks in residential localities

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Movement of scrap trucks in residential areas is likely to banned by the Muscat Municipality.

This issue was discussed last week at a meeting of the Pub-lic Affairs Committee of the Muscat Municipality under the Chairmanship of Malik bin Hilal Yahmadi, and in the presence of representatives of Muscat Mu-nicipality, the Royal Oman Police, and the Ministry of Manpower.

The committee discussed the proposal of banning scrap trucks in residential areas as they act as a nuisance on the roads.

“Some of the truck drivers enter the residential areas and park un-der construction buildings with-out the permission of their own-ers,” an official from the Muscat Municipality said.

Officials feared that some of the drivers of these trucks could be runaway workers. “In view of

the current situation, we think we should prevent scrap trucks from entering the residential districts,” an official stated.

Threat to childrenResidents pointed out that some scrap trucks also posed a threat to their children, who generally cross the roads, especially while going for shopping or to school.

“Some of them drive reckless-ly even while passing through populated areas. The drivers sometimes do not give way to children or other pedestrians crossing the road, which is very

risky,” said Ivy, an Indian expat living on Rex Road.

Residents stressed that heavy vehicles should be barred from passing through residential areas to reduce the risk of accidents.

“Besides posing a threat to the pedestrians, especially children in the area, heavy trucks are also a menace for motorists. Some driv-ers drive dangerously and do not keep in mind (the safety of ) other road users,” they said.

Sometimes, the scrap trucks are overloaded with stones, ce-ment and other materials, which also increases the risk of acci-

dents for other motorists.During the meeting, Muscat

Municipality also discussed whether it should have more public toilets.

Investment“The private sector should par-ticipate in making investments (in this sector) to ensure that these facilities stay safe and healthy,” it said.

The committee also reviewed quad biking places as they make a lot of noise in the residential ar-eas. “They should be used in des-ignated areas only,” it added.

Muscat Municipality

officials discussed

the proposal of

banning scrap trucks

in residential areas

as they act as a

nuisance on roads

POSING A THREAT: Residents say that heavy vehicles should be barred from passing through residential areas to reduce the risk of accidents.

Nationals save life of an expat“By then, I was losing my strength. I couldn’t swim. I was also thrown off by the strong currents. Finally, I got hold of a tree branch. Having held on to that, I started to scream for help, even though I didn’t have any energy left,” Kumar added.

Seeing Kumar stuck in the

wadi, some Omanis took the risk and rescued him.

“They risked their life and res-cued me. They only rushed me to the hospital. Thanks to the Almighty and those people who rescued me. I called my fam-ily and children. They are also

thankful to those who rescued me,” Kumar added.

Meanwhile, Jayachandran’s body has been kept at Nizwa hospital.

“We are readying the papers to repatriate it as soon as possible,” Kumar and his friends said.

H E R O I C E F F O R T

‘People shouldn’t take risks’“There were about 65 wadis that have been flooded during the last two days and deploying additional forces in all of them would not be useful at all,” said the source.

He explained that there was no such mission assigned to the ROP force, but that some of the force deployed in such places had advised people not to risk their lives. “Such things can’t be en-acted by force.

The awareness has to stem from the public themselves. ROP has also handed out advice and tried to spread awareness among the public in different languages,” said the source. He added that

the ROP had fined reckless driv-ers, but their power to take action ended at that point.

Eight people have died and several others are missing after several parts of Oman were hit by heavy rainfall. A depression, which had formed in the Arabian Sea, resulted in heavy rains in dif-ferent parts of the Sultanate, lead-ing to overflowing of wadis. Sad accounts of people drowning and being trapped in vehicles in wadis have emerged after some parts of Oman were hit by a heavy down-pour on Thursday and Friday.

“It has been a busy weekend for civil defence officials. From the

time it started raining, they have been out rescuing people. As citi-zens and residents, we need to be more responsible. It is important not to ignore safety warnings that were issued as soon as the rain was predicted,” said a reliable source from PACDA.

For the next 24 hours, Meteor-ology Department has predicted partly cloudy skies over most of the northern governorates, with chances of occasional thunder-showers associated with fresh downdraft winds and hail over the Al Hajar Mountains and ad-joining areas, which might extend to the coastal areas.

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ATTACK BY GUNMAN: Amateur video described as filmed by activists inside the hall showed

people, including young children, crowding towards the entrance at the sound of gunfire before

retreating in fear. – AFP

Gunman kills 5 in Saudi Arabia; IS claims attack

DUBAI: A gunman shot and killed five people in an attack on a meeting hall in Saudi Arabia on Friday before being shot dead by police, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV said, in an attack claimed by IS militant group.

“A person who opened fire on a husseiniya was killed, and the attacker was in his twenties,” re-ported government-run channel, Al Ekhbariya TV.

A resident reached by tel-ephone told Reuters that the as-sailant approached the meeting hall in the eastern city of Saihat in a taxi but was stopped at a check-point manned by volunteers pro-tecting the site. Police arrived and a gunbattle broke out, which the resident said injured several people and left the shooter dead.

ResponsibilityIS, an ultra-violent group based in Iraq and Syria, claimed responsi-bility for the attack in a statement posted online.

Amateur video described as filmed by activists inside the hall showed people, including young children, crowding towards the

entrance at the sound of gunfire before retreating in fear.

Series of attacks IS has launched a series of deadly attacks inside the kingdom in re-cent months, aiming to stir sec-tarian confrontation.

A suicide bomber killed at least 15 people in an attack on a mosque used by members of a local secu-rity force in southwest Saudi Ara-bia in August and two separate suicide bombings on mosques in May killed 25 worshippers.

Groups of volunteer security guards have been formed around sites of the kingdom.

Some local activists have ac-cused security forces of not doing enough to thwart the assaults, a charge officials deny.

Saudi authorities said in July they had rounded up 431 IS sus-pects and had foiled plots to at-tack places of worship and secu-rity forces. — Reuters

The assailant

approached the

meeting hall in the

eastern city of Saihat

in a taxi

Yemen considering UN invitation to peace talksDUBAI: Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said on Saturday it was studying an invitation from the United Nations to attend talks aimed at ending a war be-tween a Saudi-led coalition and Houthi militiamen who control much of the country including the capital.

“The Yemeni government confirms that we’re always ready for and committed to peace,” spokesman Rajeh Badi told Reuters from the Saudi capital Riyadh.

“We value the role of the United Nations and thank its special envoy to Yemen, who has exerted great efforts toward achieving a peaceful resolu-tion,” he said, adding that his government would respond to the call within 48 hours.

There was no immediate re-sponse to the call from the Hou-this, a predominantly group, backed by forces loyal to vet-eran former president Ali Ab-dullah Saleh, whose departure Saudi Arabia helped to broker.

NegotiationsThe United Nations could not immediately be reached for comment but its deputy secre-tary general, Jan Eliasson, said on Thursday he hoped nego-tiations to end the war could start by the end of October, de-spite “deep mistrust”. At least 5,400 people have been killed in the fighting in the country on the Arabian Peninsula, and the United Nations says the humanitarian situation, exac-erbated by a Saudi blockade of Yemen’s ports, is “critical”.

Previous UN-sponsored peace talks faltered in June af-ter President Abdrabbo Man-sour Hadi’s government de-manded that the Houthis pull out of cities captured since last September as a precondition for a ceasefire. — Reuters

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We value the role of the United Nations and thank

its special envoy to Yemen, who has exerted great

efforts toward achieving a peaceful resolution

Rajeh Badi, Spokesman, Yemeni government

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Hope, wish and pray that despite some teething troubles and electoral problems, we do as well as we expected in the Bihar electionsShatrughan Sinha, BJP member of parliament

Modi government trying to impose its ideology: Sonia

BUXAR (Bihar): Accusing Nar-endra Modi government of try-ing to impose its ideology on the people, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said com-munal frenzy is being created, in-nocents are killed on rumours and intellectuals are targeted under it rule which is threatening the democratic and social fabric of the country.

Addressing an election rally here, she took on Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi over his repeated at-tack on the nearly six-decade-long Congress rule, retorting that her party had zealously strengthened democracy which allowed Modi to become the prime minister.

“BJP government is moving away from democratic ideals. It is creating a serious threat for our democracy by imposing its ideol-ogy on the people. Communal ten-sion is being created.

Targeting intellectuals“Innocents are being killed on the basis of rumours. The way intel-lectuals are being attacked, they are being denied freedom to ex-press their views. It is trying to weaken the foundation of social harmony. It is not just sad but also shameful,” she said in a reference to the Dadri lynching incident and the targeting of intellectuals.

Sonia also hit out at Modi for “failing” to fulfil the promises made by him to the public, es-pecially with regard to farmers, women and youth.

She also attacked the PM over rising prices of essential com-modities including vegetables and pulses that had made the life of common people difficult.

Sonia said Modi had repeatedly said that “what has Congress done in last 60 years, that Congress has not done anything. I want to tell you all this especially to the youth that there was a time that due to colonial rule, there was nothing left in the country.

“In the last sixty years, the Congress party has ushered revo-

lutionary changes in education, health, agriculture, industry as well as nuclear and other areas.

Progress“It protected the unity, integrity and the legacy of the country. The party took the country on the path of progress and protected the so-cial fabric for which it sacrificed

its leaders. We made the democra-cy strong because of which Modi today could become the prime minister. Has all this been done in last one-and-a half years. If you cannot see the progress brought by the Congress, then whose fault is it. It is yours.”

The five-phased Bihar assembly poll is underway and polling for the third phase of election for 50 seats will be held on October 28.

Reform tax structureTalking about the GST Bill, Sonia said the UPA government wanted to bring the law to help reform the tax structure in the country and for the welfare of the industry.

“Today we are opposing this not for anything else but for people’s interests. Because the markets for which Modiji wants to bring this bill will increase price rise and the burden on common man will in-crease. The civic bodies and pan-chayats will lose further,” she said.

Accusing Modi of promising to hear the voice of the common man, Sonia said he is neither hearing the voice of farmers, nor the women or youth “who are all suffering”.

“Did he hear your voice on ris-ing prices of dal and vegetables and how difficult it has become for women to run their households. Does Modiji hear their voice to-day?” Talking about farming, she said, Buxar and Bhojpur were known for it but farmers are fac-ing problems due to higher input costs and inadequate remunera-tion for their produce.

“Is Modiji hearing the voice of our farmers? Not at all,” she said.

She also highlighted the plight of the youth saying Modi prom-ised employment opportunities for them but did not do anything in this regard.

“Forget about creating employ-ment opportunities, as many as 50,000 Biharis who are connected with the diamond trade lost their jobs in Gujarat which has created a big problem for people in Bihar.

“Is he hearing the voice of the unemployed youth?,” she asked.

She told the prime minister that merely hearing the voice of people was not enough but what is required “is to feel the pain and anguish of people and resolve their problems so that they can live in peace”. - PTI

Congress president

Sonia Gandhi said

communal frenzy

is being created,

innocents are being

killed on rumours

and intellectuals

are being targeted,

which is threatening

the democratic and

social fabric of the

countryWOOING VOTERS: Congress president Sonia Gandhi with grand alliance candidates during an election a rally in Buxar on Saturday. - PTI

PATNA: Film actor-turned-BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday said the “cancella-tion” of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rallies in Bihar was sending a “negative message”.

“A situation that led our star campaigner PM to cancel his Bihar rallies at the last minute...sending a negative message???” Sinha tweeted.

Sinha, who has not ad-dressed a single election rally in Bihar so far despite having been named among the star campaigners, blamed some

“dictatorial” leaders in the party’s state unit for “creating the mess and an undesirable situation”.

“Hope, wish and pray that despite some teething troubles and electoral problems, we do as well as we expected in the Bihar elections,” Sinha, who was cabinet minister in the Atal Behari Vajpayee govern-ment, said in a series of tweets.

On Friday, he had expressed concern over the spiralling price of pulses and asked the Centre to take urgent steps to contain it.

“Dal prices touch Rs200. Urgent steps required by Centre to contain this! We have seen the tears that onion prices have brought in the past,” Sinha had said.

The Bihari Babu’s com-ments came in the wake of cancellation of the Prime Minister’s rallies at Buxar, Paliganj and Vaishali. While JD(U), RJD and Congress have attributed cancellation of the rallies to good polling in favour of secular alliance in the first two phases of voting, BJP has rubbished it. - PTI

‘Cancellation of PM’s rallies sending negative massage’

15 of marriage party killed in AndhraONGOLE (Andhra Pradesh): At least 15 people, including three children, were killed on Saturday and 21 injured when a mini truck carrying a marriage party col-lided with a bus near Kandukur town in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh.

Police said a mini truck carry-ing a marriage party coming from Kandukur hit the bus coming from the opposite direction.

Fifteen people have been killed in the mishap after the bus caught

fire, Inspector of Police (Kan-dukur) M Lakshman said.

The mini truck was carrying 40 passengers while there were no passengers on board in the bus.

Fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames.

The officer said the injured are being shifted to Kandukur, Ongole and Nellore districts for treatment.

Andhra Pradesh Transport Minister Sidda Raghava Rao also reached the spot and is su-

pervising the rescue operations, announced a compensation of Rs200,000 each to the families of those killed. He said the govern-ment would bear entire expenses for the treatment of the injured.

District Collector Sujatha Sar-ma also visited the mishap site.

Chief Minister N. Chandraba-bu Naidu expressed grief over the tragic incident. He directed the transport minister to ensure that best medical treatment is provid-ed to the injured. - Agencies

M I N I T R U C K - B U S C O L L I S I O N

‘Dadri incident damaging PM more than anybody else’NEW DELHI/NAHAN: National Democratic Alliance ally Shirom-ani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday termed the Dadri lynching inci-dent as a “shame” for the country and said what happened after that was “damaging the Prime Minister more than anybody else”.

SAD MP Naresh Gujral said here what happened in Dadri “was shameful. It was a shame for the nation and it should be condemned in strongest possible terms.”

He said, “What happened af-ter the lynching incident in UP is damaging the NDA, the BJP and damaging the prime minister more than anybody else.”

Gujaral lamented that the “mo-tormouths” were not paying heed to even Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that no action was being taken against them.

“But unfortunately, no action has been taken against anybody...mo-tormouths are not paying heed to what the prime minister has said. It is high time some action is taken against anybody so that a strong message goes all the way in Sangh Parivar that this kind of nonsense will not be tolerated,” the Rajya Sabha member said. Gujral said certain people holding important positions are “talking very irre-sponsibly”. They include ministers, chief ministers and fringe elements in the Sangh Parivar, he said.

Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh Police was yet to make any arrest in the lynching of an alleged cow smuggler that has sparked outrage and condemnation, just days after the Dadri mob attack.

As the police intensified its op-eration on Saturday to nab the accused, the family of the victim identified as Noman Akhtar (28) claimed he is not a cattle smuggler.

Noman, a resident of Saharan-pur in Uttar Pradesh, was lynched by a mob on Friday while his four accomplices were apprehended by police with the help of local people after nearly four hours of chase of the truck carrying ten oxen and five cows in the forests in Sirmaur district, about 150km from Shimla.

The police is trying to identify the persons involved in the at-tack as the mob was huge and it was pitch dark in when the people chased the cow smugglers in the forests, captured them and beat them up. - PTI

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INDIAS U N DAY, O C TO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

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Congress, BJP at loggerheads over appointments to higher judiciary

NEW DELHI: As Government mulled over the way forward after the NJAC setback, Congress on Saturday indicated it would not support any move to bring back a revised legislation for appoint-ments to higher judiciary after it gave its backing to the law, inviting accusations of a U-turn by the BJP.

As part of its strategy to deal with the Supreme Court verdict

that struck down as unconsti-tutional the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, the government could also convene an all-party meeting to take everyone along on any new legislation.

As Congress appeared to be sid-ing with the judiciary, the ruling BJP accused it of playing “petty politics” and taking a U-turn in the

wake of the Dadri lynching incident.The Government is, meanwhile,

unlikely to immediately rush for a review of the verdict by the apex court which overturned its law on appointment of judges to higher judiciary but would put forth its views on ways to improve the col-legium system which will now re-turn when it takes up the matter next month.

“We are not going to support adventurism of the government per se,” Congress spokesman Ab-hishek Singhvi told reporters when asked whether the party, which had backed the NJAC bill, will support any fresh move by the government to bring a new law to give the ex-ecutive a say in appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.

“You have to forget the past and look ahead.. The way forward is to realize that there is a great

trust deficit as far as Government is concerned.

“That grave and great trust defi-cit arises not from an individual act — there is a perceived assault on institutions on procedures and practices and persons which has led to a feeling that this gov-ernment wants to impose its will through institutions including the judiciary,” he said.

‘Adventurism’He also deprecated the govern-ment’s “adventurism” in subvert-ing “hallowed” institutions.

“The adventurism we have seen till now has been of subverting hallowed Institutions and cer-tainly the judiciary is the most hallowed of them.

“You may not have seen a direct assault till now but given the past record, in less than 18 months in

trying to dilute and subvert In-stitutions, I think it is a very fair warning where the judiciary is concerned,” he said referring to the apex court’s verdict that will bring back the collegium system of judges appointing judges.

Commenting on the matter, Congress spokesman Anand Shar-ma said, “With the Executive hav-ing more voice, the dominant voice in the selection of judges and the primacy of the judiciary and Chief Justice of India is undermined.

“That should never be allowed to happen as the Constitution is su-preme, not the Executive,” he said.

“It is important that the primacy of judiciary is there,” he said, add-ing that even the legislature takes oath under the Constitution. He also said that there is a “clear sepa-ration of powers”.

BJP spokesman Sambit Patra,

however, was quick to attack Congress as he reminded that the party had supported the NJAC Bill along with all other parties in Parliament.

“We should remind Congress that when NJAC was brought on the floor of Parliament, there was 100 per cent support for it among political parties. Congress, too, had supported it and 20 state As-semblies had alsosupported it and this is absolutely important as far as the decision of the polity of the country,” he added.

The ambitious NJAC Act, 2014, to replace the 22-year-old collegium system of judges ap-pointing judges was struck down by a five-judge Constitution Bench of the apex court, setting the stage for a potential confron-tation between the judiciary and the government.- PTI

As Congress appeared to be siding with the

judiciary, the ruling BJP accused it of playing

‘petty politics’ and taking a U-turn in the

wake of the Dadri lynching incident

Rs400,000 fake currency seized in Rail Neer scamNEW DELHI: CBI has recov-ered fake currency of Rs400,000 among Rs270 million recovered from Railway caterers during its searches in connection with al-leged corruption in the supply of Rail Neer on premium trains.

Sources said during the search-es, the agency stumbled upon cash which was so huge that it took 15 hours of counting the currency with the help of three counting machines and five offi-cials of the agency.

They said cash recovery of Rs200 million was made from the residence of Shyam Bihari Agrawal, his sons Abhishek Agrawal and Rahul Agarwal who own RK Associates and Branda-van Food Product.

Agrawal, who hails from Durg in Chhattisgarh, started as a small time caterer somewhere in 2004 and slowly increased the business taking the turnover of his com-pany to around Rs5 billion cater-ing in almost all the Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains, the sources said.

They said cash of Rs10 million was recovered from the office of his firms while Rs 5.2 million was recovered from the residence of his Chief Executive Officer.

The sources said CBI may slap charges of fake currency on Agrawal. They said Agrawal, who was allegedly carrying on with

fraud of selling cheap water in place of Rail Neer since 2012 in the trains, had purchased lot of land in the national capital region and owns luxury hotels in Noida, Ghaziabad,Navi Mumbai, Raipur.

Lucrative contractsThey said he used his connections with the Railway officials to alleg-edly grab lucrative contracts of res-taurants on Railway premises.

The agency had on Saturday carried out searches at 13 loca-tions in NCR which included premises of two Chief Commer-cial Managers of Railways and private companies which includ-ed the two firms run by Agrawal.

CBI spokesperson Devpreet Singh said it was further alleged that the Railway Board had pre-scribed that IRCTC shall provide Rail Neer at a rate of Rs10.50 (approx) per bottle to the private caterers and the private caterers will be paid Rs15 (approx) per bottle for supplying the same to passengers in premium trains.

However, the private suppli-ers in order to obtain undue gain, were allegedly supplying cheap packaged water, other than “Rail Neer”, available in the market at a rate of Rs5.70 to Rs7 (approx) per bottle, thereby causing gain to themselves and loss to the ex-chequer, the official said. - PTI

S U P P L Y O F R A I L N E E R

SEIZED CURRENCY: CBI officials with cash amounting to more than 200 million recovered during search of seven private firms that were allegedly supplying cheap packaged drinking water (PDW) other than mandatory ‘Rail Neer’ in premium trains. - PTI

India-Africa summit to see biggest gathering of African nations: ModiNEW DELHI: The upcoming Third India-Africa Forum Sum-mit is “going to be one of the biggest gatherings of African countries outside Africa” and is a reflection of the desire on both sides to engage more intensively, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

In a series of tweets and later a statement, Modi said “as minds meet and hands work together, the IAFS-III could be a landmark event in our journey towards fur-ther cementing strong ties be-tween India and Africa”.

“India is proud to host the third India Africa Forum Sum-mit from 26-29 October 2015 in New Delhi. This time the level of engagement has been scaled up significantly and we have invited leaders from all 54 African coun-tries and the African Union.

“The Summit is going to be one of the biggest gatherings of African countries outside Africa, which is a reflection of the desire on part of both Africa and India to engage more intensively in our quest for a better future.

“India and Africa have a his-toric relationship based on mu-tual respect, trust and solidarity. In recent times, our relationship has witnessed progress and has grown into a mutually beneficial partnership.”

Modi said Indian investments in Africa, which stand at $30 bil-

lion, have contributed immensely to job creation here. He said that in the run up to the summit, many side events are being organised.

Trade ministers of India and African countries, accompanied by business delegations, will meet on October 23.

A business exhibition will be organised at the Summit venue on October 27 and 29 by leading Indian chambers of commerce and industry.

More than 16,000 schools are participating in various compe-titions organised by the Central Board of Secondary Education on themes related to India-Africa cooperation, the statement said.

Modi said in tweets that Ma-hatma Gandhi (Bapu) and Africa shared a close bond. “Exhibition ‘Memories of Mahatma’ talks about Bapu and his connection with Africa,” he tweeted. - IANS

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Energy shortfall expected to touch 10,000MW in country

LAHORE: At a time when the focus of the federal as well as the provincial governments is to min-imise the gap between energy de-mand and supply before the next general elections, the energy plan-ning expert group of China-Paki-stan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has forecast electricity shortfall to further increase to 10,844MW by 2020.

“The annual growth rate of elec-tricity demand between 2013 and 2020 would be about 7.8 per cent, which would push the overall pow-er demand to 27,840MW by 2017

and 31,900MW by 2020,” said the energy expert group in a report based on the statistics provided by the Ministry of Water.

Peak shortfallThey further added that the de-mand growth would eventually swell the shortfall to 9,208MW and 10,844MW, respectively.

“The peak shortfall the Pakistan power system has faced in 2015 was 7,712MW and the total in-stalled capacity currently stands at 25,552MW. In 2017 and 2020, the

total installed capacity is likely to reach 26,531MW and 29,131MW respectively,” said the report.

It further added that though the current government was organis-ing ground-breaking ceremonies to kick-off work on different hydel, coal, solar and LNG-based power plants; their capability to generate electricity would not be more than 52 per cent.

“The maximum capability of power plants in Pakistan in not more than 52 per cent,” noted a former official of the Pakistan

Electric Power Company while talking with The Express Tribune.

“For instance, if the government manages to complete major power projects by the year 2020, thereby adding 10,000MW, they would actually produce a maximum of 5200MW of electricity owing to technical reasons,” he added.

He further said that the actual shortfall was much more than what the Ministry of Water and Power declared, and the growth rate of demand was between 10-12 per cent.

“Each year, almost 700,000 to 800,000 new electricity con-sumers are added to the system along with almost 0.5 million air conditioners that add 1000MW to the system.”

The experts said Pakistan had to invest heavily on its transmission system as the current system is in a dilapidated condition. Even if the current government manages to add the required amount of elec-tricity to the national grid, it will be nearly impossible for them to transmit it. — Express Tribune

The annual growth

rate of electricity

demand between

2013 and 2020 would

be about 7.8 per

cent, which would

push the overall

power demand to

27,840MW by 2017

and 31,900MW by

2020, said the energy

planning expert

group of China-

Pakistan Economic

CorridorPOWER WOES: A view of a busy street in Karachi in file photo. The maximum capability of power plants in Pakistan in not more than 52

per cent, a former official of the Pakistan Electric Power Company said. — Reuters

PTI to open governor houses to public on winning polls: ImranISLAMABAD.ABBOTTABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan said on Friday that if his party was swept into power in the centre, it would open all governor houses to the public.

“We will collect revenue from the governor houses instead of spending millions of rupees on them,” he said.

He was addressing on Friday ceremony marking the opening of official Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) rest houses to general public. He said the government cannot collect taxes until it gains peo-ple’s trust that their money will be

spent on welfare projects, such as education and health.

“The tax to GDP ratio in Paki-stan is the lowest as compared to other countries of the world,” he said, adding the government is getting foreign loans instead of in-creasing the tax net.

Carrot, stick policyImran said the government needs to develop a carrot and stick policy to collect taxes as taxes cannot be collected until the people are of-fered incentives in return.

He said a total of 13 rest houses had been commercialised in the

first phase while 16 more would be opened for general public in the next phase. “We are reviving the old rest houses. We spent money on the 13 rest houses and have earned four million rupees just in six-week time,” he said.

Welfare of localsGaliyat Development Authority (GDA) is being set up to manage the rest houses professionally, he said, adding that the earn-ings would be spent on welfare of the locals.

Imran Khan said around Rs20 million of the taxpayers’ money

is being spent on maintenance of the rest houses. “The GDA would be an autonomous body and no one would be terminated from his job,” he said.

Most popular partyImran said a governor house in Nathiagali is being maintained by the taxpayers’ money as there are Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel and other staff to look after it.

He claimed that all the latest surveys showed that the PTI had emerged as the country’s biggest and most popular party. Talking

about the K-P Chief Minister Per-vez Khatak, he said he lives in the annex of the chief minister house and his expenditure is the least as compared to other chief minister houses in the rest of the country.

New thinking “We are endeavouring to bring a new thinking in the people. We want to spend people’s money on their welfare and wellbeing,” he said.

Meanwhile, Abbottabad offi-cials Sardar Bahadur and Shaukat Tanoli were barred from attend-ing an event in Nathiagali which

Khattak and Imran were expected to attend.

Bahadur confirmed that he, along with the Tanoli, was not allowed to attend the event or-ganised by Tourism Corporaton Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) at Retreat House Nathiagali.

Web portalThe function had been organised to formally open government rent houses and launch a web portal for the public to rent these lodges. “The decision was taken on the or-ders of Khattak,” he said. — Express Tribune

I N F I G H T I N G

8 Taliban rebels killedin KarachiKARACHI: Police claimed on Saturday to have killed at least eight suspected terrorists in the Manghopir area of Karachi, Ex-press News reported.

According to initial reports, the suspected terrorists be-longed to the proscribed Tali-ban and were allegedly involved in killing a number of police of-ficials in the city.

During the clash, Station House Officer (SHO) Man-ghopir and a policeman were also injured.

Officials leading the opera-tion say that the terrorists killed in the encounter were among the most wanted.

Meanwhile, in a raid conduct-ed by the Shaheen Anti-Terror-ism Squad of the Police, four members of the banned Hizbul Tahrir were apprehended Sat-urday from Hassan Garhi area of Peshawar city.

“Unlicensed pistols and several rounds of bullets were recovered from the men along with a large number of pam-phlets,” police officials said in a statement.

According to police officials, the accused were distributing literature for the banned outfit.

In a separate incident, Fron-tier Corps (FC)claimed to have arrested 18 suspected militants from various parts of Khyber Agency.

“Security forces successfully retrieved foreign currency, in-cluding US dollars, worth over Rs6.5 billion from the suspects,” an FC spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added, “2,500 grams of gold along with 1,500 grams of silver was recov-ered during the raids, which was being supplied to terrorist net-works across the country.”— Express Tribune

S U S P E C T E D T E R R O R I S T S

‘Public hospitals using untested medicines’KARACHI: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was informed on Friday at a meeting that medi-cines worth millions of rupees are being provided to patients at public hospitals in Sindh without drug testing reports.

The quality and efficacy of the drugs cannot be confirmed. The health department officials claimed that the only drug testing laboratory of the provincial gov-ernment has been non-functional for the past many years therefore they had no other option but to supply the medicine to patients without checking the quality.

“Soon after we get the medi-cine delivery, we write to the drug inspectors to check their quality but for the last few years no one has submitted the report,” said Dr Saeed Qureshi, medical su-perintendent of Civil Hospital, Karachi. “We receive the medi-cine from reputable firms but the government lab is non-func-tional and we cannot afford to send the medicine to Punjab or other provinces for tests because it takes weeks to give report,” he explained.

The Sindh Assembly’s pro-vincial watchdog’s chairperson, Saleem Raza Jalbani, called it “criminal negligence” on the part of health officials and referred the case to the chief secretary’s office for inquiry. “We want an inquiry into this matter within 15 days,

otherwise we will drag the issue to the assembly and anti-cor-ruption department because the health officials are playing with people’s lives,” he said.

Without getting report“Four hospitals in Karachi and Nawabshah have purchased medicine worth Rs522 million. As per rules no hospital can uti-lise medicines without getting a report from a drug testing lab,” said Siraj Mustafa Jokhio, Sindh’s audit director-general, present-

ing the audit paras from 2009-10. “At the time of the audit, when we argued, these officials con-tended that in the absence of a laboratory, the local doctors have checked the quality of the medicines,” he alleged.

During the meeting, the medi-cal superintendent of Peoples Medical Hospital, Nawabshah only presented three drug testing reports before the PAC and said he had obtained the reports from the Central Drug Lab in Karachi.

Health secretary Saeed Ahmed Mangnejo said his department has taken notice of the non-func-tional lab and work on a new drug testing laboratory is underway. “There are lots of hospitals and the existing lab did not have the capacity to deal with them, there-fore we are going to establish a big and modern lab,” he claimed.

Another PAC member, MPA Sardar Shah, diverted the at-tention of the health officials towards expired medicine be-ing used at public hospitals. “I have given show cause notices to around 250 doctors for their negligence and strict action will be taken against those involved,” replied Mangnejo.

During the meeting most of the health officials did not provide records of their expenses, which irked the PAC chairperson who suggested Mangnejo suspend the officials. — Express Tribune

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

The Sindh Assembly’s

provincial watchdog’s

chairperson, Saleem

Raza Jalbani, called it

‘criminal negligence’

on part of health

officials and referred

the case to the chief

secretary’s office for

inquiry

A11

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INDONESIA COMBATS WILDFIRESAn Indonesian national board for disaster management MI-17 helicopter water-bombs a fire spot over Ogan Komering Ilir area, in South Sumatra province, on

Saturday. Indonesia launched its biggest operation ever to combat fires blanketing Southeast Asia in haze, an official said, with dozens of planes and thousands

of troops battling the widespread blazes. — AFP

North Korea seeks peace treaty with USSEOUL: North Korea on Satur-day rejected the idea of resum-ing talks to end its nuclear pro-gramme, saying previous such attempts ended in failure, and reiterated its demand that Wash-ington come to the table to nego-tiate a peace treaty.

The statement by the North’s foreign ministry came a day af-ter US President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye said in Washing-ton they were open to talks with North Korea on sanctions but that Pyongyang needs to show it was serious about abandoning its nuclear ambition.

“If the United States insists on taking a different path, the Korean peninsula will only see our unlimited nuclear deterrent being strengthened further,” the North’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Technically at warNorth and South Korea remain technically at war under a truce it signed in 1953 with the United States, which led UN forces back-ing the South, and China, which fought for the North.

North Korea walked away from the so-called six-party talks in-volving the United States and four other countries in 2008 and went on to conduct two more nu-clear tests. — Reuters

S T A N D O F F

No-confidence motion moved against Razak

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian opposition lawmaker has submit-ted notice for a motion of no con-fidence against embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak for Mon-day’s parliament, when he will face the toughest test of his politi-cal career over a graft scandal.

Najib’s tight grip on his Unit-ed Malays National Organisa-tion (UMNO) party has kept him in power despite public anger over alleged graft and financial mismanagement at strategic investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), whose advisory board the prime minister chairs.

But that grip appears to be loosening, and his position could become precarious if he loses some crucial upcoming votes in parliament.

Monday’s motion of no confi-dence is unlikely to succeed as the opposition is about 25 seats short of a majority, but adds to pressure on Najib after a report in July said investigators were looking into troubled state fund 1MDB and had found close to $700 million deposited in his personal bank ac-count. Reuters has not been able to verify the report.

Najib has denied taking any money for personal gain while the Southeast Asia nation’s anti-corruption commission said the funds were a political donation from the Middle East.

Hee Loy Sian, a lawmaker in op-position leader Anwar Ibrahim’s People’s Justice Party, known by its Malay acronym PKR, submit-

ted the motion, citing Najib’s al-leged failure to adequately explain the $700 million.

“Najib has affected the coun-try’s image in the world and caused investors to lose confidence in the government to the extent that the economy turns unstable, with the stock market diving badly and the ringgit (local currency) depreci-ating against the US dollar,” Hee’s motion reads.

Malaysia’s ringgit is one of the worst performing currencies in Asia this year, having fallen some 17 per cent year-to-date, weighed down by slowing de-mand in China, falling commod-ity prices and political issues surrounding 1MDB.

Former Malaysian Prime Min-

ister Mahathir Mohamad and some leaders of the ruling party jointly demanded resolution of the 1MDB scandal on October 12 and condemned a crackdown on dissent, signalling a divide within Najib’s own party.

Royal rulers’ criticismLast week Malaysia’s royal rulers made an unprecedented state-ment saying the government’s failure to give convincing answers on 1MDB may have resulted in a “crisis of confidence”.

The motion of no confidence against Najib is listed as the third last item out of 28 motions for Monday, raising the chance there may be not enough time to hear the motion. — Reuters

Monday’s motion

of no confidence is

unlikely to succeed

as the opposition

is about 25 seats

short of a majority,

but adds to pressure

on Malaysian prime

minister after a

report in July said

investigators were

looking into troubled

state fund 1MDBCORNERED: Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak, right, delivers a speech next to then Deputy

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin during a special parliamentary session at the Parliament House

in Kuala Lumpur, in this file picture taken July 23, 2014. — Reuters/Samsul Said/Files

Taiwan ruling party head Eric nominated as new candidateTAIPEI: Taiwan’s ruling party on Saturday named its chairman to run for the island’s top spot in coming national elections, re-placing an existing pick in a move aimed at avoiding a trouncing by an opposition it fears could derail warming ties with China.

The Nationalists, also known as the Kuomintang (KMT) in Chinese, drafted in Eric Chu as its presidential candidate at an extraordinary party congress, while at the same time revoking its previous pick.

New start“We have a new start,” Chu told an auditorium of nearly 1,000 party members, using Taiwan’s official name. “We want to not only ensure our right to rule...but also the fu-ture of the Republic of China.”

Chu replaces Hung Hsiu-chu, a former school teacher, who was approved by the party only three months ago, but had been badly trailing in opinion polls against presidential frontrunner, Tsai Ing-wen of the opposition Democratic

Progressive Party (DPP).The DPP, which has tradition-

ally favoured the island’s formal independence, says it believes only Taiwan’s people can decide its fu-ture. Beijing takes this to mean it wants independence.

Beijing has deemed self-ruled Taiwan a renegade province to be taken back by force if necessary following the end of a Chinese civil war in 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists fled to the island after being defeated by Mao Zedong’s Communists.

Polls in JanuaryTaiwanese go to the polls in Janu-ary to vote in a new president and a new legislature.

Chu, 54, the mayor of New Tai-pei City, the sprawling metropolis that surrounds the capital, suc-ceeded Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou as chairman of the Na-tionalist party when Ma resigned the post after the ruling party suf-fered a surprising defeat in local elections in November last year. — Reuters

E A L I E R P I C K R E P L A C E D

STRATEGY: Taiwan’s ruling Nationalist Kuomintang Party (KMT)

chairman and presidential candidate Eric Chu, second left, Tai-

wan’s President Ma Ying-jeou, second right, and party officials raise

hands at a party congress in Taipei, Taiwan, on Saturday. —Reuters

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Ben Chu

What’s in it for China? Why is Xi Jinping wasting his time visiting what the

Beijing-controlled Global Times newspaper sneeringly described two years ago as “not a big power ... just an old European country apt for travel and study”?

Ignore the propaganda. The fact is that China needs Britain every bit as much as Britain needs China – and on a host of levels.

When the Chinese state tries to invest its huge stock of foreign currency reserves in Western companies and infrastructure (rather than ploughing it into low-yield Western government bonds) it often still comes up against na-tional protectionism.

An attempt by a Chinese state company to buy a minor American oil firm a decade ago was blocked by Congress on national security grounds. The Europeans are still sometimes antsy too about letting Chinese money in. But Britain has always been less discriminating. And now George Osborne has flung open the gates entirely.

There aren’t many Western coun-tries that would allow Chinese state companies to invest in their domes-tic nuclear industry, or their tel-ecoms and water supply infrastruc-ture, or their high-speed rail. Britain is actually encouraging it.

Make no mistake, this helps Chi-na. China needs this UK financial outlet not only to get a half-decent return on its foreign exchange re-serves, but to help its domestic firms gain valuable technical ex-perience. China is interested in investing in UK nuclear because it offers an opportunity to test out a China-designed power station, which Beijing hopes will be sellable around the world.

Henry Tillman of the merchant bank Grisons Peak is a meticulous chronicler of Chinese foreign in-vestment flows and he says Britain has special attractions to Beijing. “The numbers show the Chinese are more comfortable investing in the UK than in the rest of Europe be-cause of its economic performance, more certainty over the currency and because the government here is more open to partnership,” he says.

The idea sometimes circulated that we stand no where at the ban-quet of the great Chinese economy is nonsense.

And then there are our univer-sities. We hear a lot of about how world-beating the Chinese educa-tion system is – not least from Tory ministers. So why do so many Chi-nese students – 59,000 new under-graduates last year – wish to study in Britain?

There’s a lot of Western angst about China’s growing economic influence outside its borders. Two Spanish journalists recently wrote a book about Chinese labourers abroad, concluding that China is en-gaging in “an unstoppable and silent world conquest”. This is an old para-noia. “[The Chinese] are the most re-markable race on earth and I have al-ways thought them to be the coming rulers of the world,” wrote the Victo-rian war hero Field Marshal Garnet Wolseley in his 1904 memoirs.

The activities of Chinese firms here need to be scrupulously regu-lated and monitored – especially in the nuclear and telecoms sectors. We should take a harder line over “dumping” by Chinese steel makers of their excess production on global markets – the sort of practice that helped doom Redcar. Yet the Chan-cellor is right to argue that economic partnership is firmly in the long-term interests of both our countries. - The Independent

It’s our responsibility to stay away from the dangersThis refers to the news story, 8 dead, several missing as wadis overflow with rains (October 17). It’s really sad to know that eight people have lost their lives and several others are missing in rain and wadis in Oman. Despite repeated warnings by the Royal Oman

Police and the civil authorities, the increasing number of causalities is re-ally unfortunate. As the rain and floods were predicted, enough safety warnings and alerts had been issued by the civil defence officials. While some people accidentally encounter trouble, others seem to be courting tragedy. Ignoring the warnings, they take the risk of encoun-tering rain and floods which unfor-tunately end in tragedy. By following proper warnings and guidelines, some of these tragedies could have been averted. Putting safety first, it is our responsibil-ity to stay away from the dangers of rain and floods. — P. A. Jacob, Muscat

Despite warnings, some drove through the overflowing wadis This refers to the news story, 8 dead, sev-eral missing as wadis overflow with rains (October 17). The deaths seem to have been reported in wadi-related incidents, which shows the severity of rainfall in

the rural areas. Despite numerous warnings, some people were re-ported to be driving through the overflowing wadis. Each individual should comply with safety guidelines as advised by the Public Authority for Civil Aviation. — Ramachandran Nair, Ruwi

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Economic ties in long-term interests of both UK, China

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Health protection campaignMUSCAT: The Directorate General for Health Services in the governorate of Muscat yesterday, under the auspices of Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Busaidi, deputy wali of Muscat, celebrated the beginning of the health protection campaign in the wilayats of Muscat and Muttrah. Saud bint Sulaiman Al Lamky, director general of health services, addressed the opening ceremony.

1815: Napoleon Bonaparte arrives at the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, where he has been banished by the Allies. 1849: Composer and pianist Frederic Chopin dies in Paris of tuber-culosis at the age of 39.

1913: Zeppelin LII explodes over London, killing 28.

1972: Peace talks between Pathet Lao and Royal Lao govern-ment begin in Vietnam.

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President Barack Obama can insist all he wants that Vladimir Putin’s intervention in Syria is a sign of weakness, but the cruise missile launch from the Caspian Sea showed rising strength, even

if a few missed their targets

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TOBIN HARSHAW

Firebrand PTI gave the ruling party on its home turf such a scare in the terrifically close

contest that most pundits are already deeming it a moral

victory — pregnant with the possibility of Imran Khan’s party turning the tables the next time

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KAMRAN REHMAT

Both Daniel Craig and Naomi Harris have fallen into the trap that actors all too often fall into, becoming slightly divorced from real world, and trying in vain to convince the wider world that this glamour thing isn’t all it’s

cracked up to be

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Syrian army, allied forces advance to retake villages south of Aleppo

BEIRUT/MOSCOW: Syrian troops backed by foreign fighters made advances on Saturday in their offensive to retake territory around the northern city of Alep-po from insurgents and hardline fighters, a monitoring group said.

The campaign around Aleppo, which the army launched on Fri-day, is one of several assaults it has waged against rebel fighters since Russian jets began carrying out air strikes on September 30 in sup-port of President Bashar Al Assad.

It has concentrated so far on clearing rebel areas south of Alep-po rather than the city itself, which is home to 2 million people and di-vided between government forces and rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Hu-man Rights said the army and its allies retook three villages amid fierce fighting in which at least 17 hardline fighters and eight soldiers or allied forces were killed.

Troops are also trying to ad-vance to the east of Aleppo to-wards Kweires military airport, aiming to break a siege on the base by IS militant group and other in-surgents, the UK-based Observa-tory said. Al Manar television said the army had captured the village of Huwaija, on the way to Kweires.

The Observatory said it the army was advancing in Huwaija, one of several villages where heavy fight-ing was continuing.

The army and its allies have also been fighting to retake parts of the northern provinces of Hama, Idlib and Latakia seized by rebels in re-cent months, as well as insurgent areas north of Homs city, around the capital Damascus, and in the southern province of Deraa near

the Jordanian border. The Obser-vatory reported fighting around the town of Talbiseh, part of a rebel-held enclave north of Homs city which has faced heavy bom-bardment by Russian jets for the last two weeks, and a ground offen-sive by the army and allied militias.

The monitor said that at least 72 people, including 31 children and women, were killed in the past 48 hours in the assault in Homs.

Meanwhile in Moscow, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that the aim of Russia’s mili-tary operation in Syria is not to keep Assad in power but to defeat IS militants. “Russia, the United States, and all other states that have a stake in seeing peace in this region and in Syria, and a strong government, too, should be dis-cussing precisely political issues,” Medvedev said in an interview

with Rossiya TV channel.“It does not really matter who

will be at the helm. We don’t want IS to run Syria, do we? It should be a civilised and legitimate govern-ment. This is what we need to dis-cuss,” Medvedev said.

Asked whether Syria had to be ruled by Assad, Medvedev said: “No, absolutely not. It is up to the Syrian people to decide who will be the head of Syria.... At the moment,

we operate on the premise that Al Assad is the legitimate president.”

The US President Barack Obama said on Friday there was no meeting of the minds with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin over the continuing rule of Assad, and that the Syrian civil war could only end with a political solution leading to a new inclusive government.

According to Russia, its air force has made 669 sorties, hitting 456 targets in Syria, since the start of the operation on September 30.

The Russian Defence Ministry in a statement on Saturday, said that Russia’s air force has made 36 sorties, hitting 49 IS targets in Syria in the last 24 hours.

The targets were hit in Hama, Idlib, Latakia, Damascus and Alep-po regions, it said.

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmei-er urged Iran on Saturday to use its influence over Assad to move towards a diplomatic end to Syria’s civil war. Steinmeier, on a four-day trip to the Middle East, travels to Saudi Arabia on Sunday and is us-ing his meetings to weigh up how to bring Tehran and Riyadh into talks to reach a solution to the four-year-old Syrian conflict.

“My wish is that Iran uses its influence in the government and on Assad and his entourage so that we take the first steps towards a de-escalation in Syria,” he said in Tehran on the first official visit to Iran by a German foreign minister in more than 10 years.

Steinmeier said he wanted As-sad’s forces to stop using barrel bombs and to allow aid organisa-tions access to people in need of help. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said earlier this month military efforts were necessary in Syria even though they would not put and end to the civil war.

Germany is not taking part in any military action in Syria but in neigbouring Iraq it is providing Kurdish Peshmerga forces with weapons and training. — Reuters

The army and its

allies retook three

villages amid fierce

fighting in which

at least 17 hardline

fighters and eight

soldiers or allied

forces were killed

AIRSTRIKES: A frame grab taken from a footage released by Russia’s Defence Ministry shows airstrikes carried out by the country’s air

force at an Syrian provinces of Idlib, on Saturday. – Reuters/Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/Handout

Troops are also trying to advance to the east

of Aleppo towards Kweires military airport,

aiming to break a siege on the base by IS

militant group and other insurgents

UK-based Observatory

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Three Palestinians killed in Israel street violence

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Three Palestinians were shot dead on Saturday in what Israel said were thwarted knife attacks in Jerusa-lem and the occupied West Bank as tensions ran high after more than two weeks of unrest.

At least 40 Palestinians and seven Israelis have died in the street violence, which was in part triggered by Palestinians’ anger over what they see as increased Jew-ish encroachment on Jerusalem’s

Al Aqsa mosque compound.There were contradictory ac-

counts of one of the shootings, near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank city of Hebron.

Israel said a Palestinian at-tempted to stab an Israeli civilian, who was carrying a gun and then shot and killed the attacker.

But a Palestinian man told Reuters that his daughter, a high school student, witnessed the shooting and said it happened when Jewish settlers attacked an unarmed Palestinian.

In a neighbourhood around East Jerusalem, Israeli border police had stopped to question a 16-year-old Palestinian walking in “a suspicious manner”, a police spokesman said.

The teenager drew a knife and tried to stab the officers, who shot him dead, the spokesman said.

Also in Hebron, a Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli border policewoman, cutting her hand, a police spokesman said.

The policewoman shot the at-tacker, he said.

The Palestinians killed in the last two weeks have included knife-wielding assailants and pro-testers shot by Israeli forces dur-ing rock-throwing confrontations.

The seven Israelis have died in random attacks in the street or on buses. The violence has mostly oc-curred in Jerusalem and the West Bank but it has also erupted along the Gaza-Israel border.

On Saturday Israel’s army de-fused a rocket it said had been fired by Gaza overnight, landing in an open area.

The street violence, some of the worst in years, has been in-tensified by conflicting witness accounts and amateur video that has been interpreted in different ways. In some cases, witnesses gave accounts that were later shown by video footage to be false.

Israel says it is keeping the sta-tus quo at the holy compound.

Peace talks collapsed in 2014 over Israeli settlement-building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas Palestin-ians seek for a state, and after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas angered Israel by reaching a unity deal with the group Hamas in Gaza.

The last major confrontation was the Gaza conflict between Is-rael and Hamas in 2014, which left large sections of Gaza destroyed.

Around 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and 73 Israelis, most of them soldiers, were killed. The United States has stepped up efforts to try to restore calm to the region.

Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by phone with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netan-yahu and Abbas to discuss ways to end the violence. Kerry and Net-anyahu are due to meet next week in Germany. - Reuters

The street violence,

some of the worst

in years, has been

intensified by

conflicting witness

accounts and

amateur video that

has been interpreted

in different ways

Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by phone with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas to discuss ways to end the violenceGRIEF STRICKEN: Relatives of Palestinian Mahmoud Hmead, 22, who

was killed by Israeli troops in Friday’s clashes, mourn during his

funeral in Gaza on Saturday. - Reuters

German city mayor

candidate stabbed in

anti-refugee attack

BERLIN: An independent can-didate running for mayor of the German city of Cologne was stabbed in the neck and severely wounded on Saturday in an at-tack that police said appeared to be motivated by her support for refugees.

Henriette Reker and an aide were both severely injured by the attacker, a 44-year-old man, while campaigning in the west-ern German city, police said.

Three other people were also wounded, though not seriously.

Norbert Wagner, head of the police criminal investigation unit in Cologne, said the attack on Re-ker was “targeted and deliberate”.

“In his plea, he said that he committed this act out of xeno-phobic motivation,” Wagner told a news conference.

“From our initial investiga-tions, we have ascertained that he probably acted alone. So far, we have no knowledge of other people taking part in this sad act,” Wagner added.

Cologne police chief Wolfgang Albers said Reker has been in-

volved in supporting and helping to house refugees in the city.

“At the moment she is stable but not out of the woods yet,” he added. Germany, a favoured des-tination for migrants, expects 800,000 to a million new arriv-als this year. Many Germans feel the country cannot cope with the record influx.

Police said the attacker stabbed Reker and her aide at around 9am(0700 GMT) at an in-formation stand for the Christian Democrats (CDU), Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party.

The other three people were injured immediately afterwards.

Eyewitnesses said the attacker went straight for Reker.

“She had arrived here just a few minutes before...She was talk-ing to two other party members when it happened,” Bernd Pe-telkau, a local CDU official, said.

Reker is running as an inde-pendent but is supported by the CDU, the Free Democrats and the Greens.

Cologne is due to hold elec-tions for mayor on Sunday. - Reuters

C O L O G N E

WOUNDED: Police have placed a marker at the spot where

candidate Henriette Reker was stabbed in Cologne, Germany on

Saturday. - Reuters

Three soldiers, 28 Kurdish

militants killed in Turkey

DIYARBAKIR (Turkey): Three soldiers and 28 Kurdish mili-tants have been killed in air strikes and clashes over the past two days in Turkey’s predomi-nantly Kurdish southeast, the military said on Saturday, two weeks before an election.

The soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in Daglica, in the province of Hakkari, where six others were wounded. The military said it had killed 17 PKK members in a ground operation,

which it said was still continuing, to flush out the attackers.

“One of the soldiers martyred in Daglica is the battalion com-mander. Operations are continu-ing,” President Tayyip Erdogan told reporters during a trip to northern Cyprus.

“Operations will continue un-til peace is attained. It is the job of the state to protect its citizens and the country.” Security sourc-es said the operation around Daglica included special forces units and air support. - Reuters

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

US to announce drone registry initiative plan

WASHINGTON: The Obama ad-ministration, faced with a surge in unauthorized drone flights, will announce a new initiative on Mon-day aimed at registering the own-ers of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The announcement is expected to be made by US Treasury Sec-retary Anthony Foxx and Michael Huerta, administrator of the Fed-eral Aviation Administration, at a news conference attended by members of the drone industry.

Two sources who were in-formed of the plan said the admin-istration will announce the forma-tion of an independent advisory committee with the goal of creat-ing the structure of a federal drone registry by December.

Administration plans for a new registry were first reported on Fri-day by NBC News.

The expected initiative repre-sents the administration’s effort to address the rising number of unauthorized drone sightings near airports and crowded public ven-ues. The Federal Aviation Admin-istration has reported more than 650 unauthorized drone sightings so far this year, as of August 9, compared with 238 for all of 2014.

If sightings continue at that rate, the number would near 1,100 by the year end. - Reuters

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Terminally ill man announces date of his death

LONDON: A terminally ill man has announced the date of his death on LinkedIn, just days be-fore he plans to travel to Switzer-land in order to end his life sur-rounded by his family.

Simon Binner, 57, from Surrey, said he plans to die in the Eternal Spirit clinic in Basel on Monday following his diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease on 7 January.

“I died in Switzerland with Eternal Spirit on Mon 19 Oct 2015 and my funeral was on Fri 13 Nov 2015,” Binner’s profile on the website, mainly used for profes-sional networking, reads.

“As I was driven home I had already decided what I would gladly have to do when my time was upon me.

“My MND accelerated very rapidly. The sawbones ini-tially thought I would last un-til 2017/2018, but they were mistaken - no worries, it’s an inexact science.”

In the same post, Binner writes there is “nothing positive” to say about his disease. “I don’t recom-mend MND! Better to have one massive fatal stroke or be killed instantly by a drunk driver! There is nothing that I can say that’s positive about MND,” the profile’s section titled ‘Patient’ reads.

Motor Neurone disease is a neurodegenerative condition where specialist nerve cells in the brain stop working, causing a rapid loss of muscle control. There is no known cure. The businessman, educated at Cam-bridge, also said his funeral will be held next month. In a collec-tion of videos posted on a Face-book page detailing his disease and condition, Binner criticised the UK law preventing assisted suicide, calling it “nonsense.”

“I don’t want to go Switzerland to die there,” he said in the video, his speech slurred as a result of his disease. “I don’t want to go to hospital...I want to be here for Christmas but I can’t be here.”

Debbie Binner, 51, said her hus-band’s condition was like “waking up to a nightmare every day.”

Binner’s wife of 14 years said her husband had changed from a

“high energy workaholic” with a “huge group of friends” to being unable to care for himself in just “seven months.” In a video filmed with the law firm Bindmans LLP and the British Humanist Associ-ation (BHA) Mrs Binner said her husband believed “very strongly” he should have a “legal right” to end his own life. “Simon feels that if that was available in the UK he may well want to stay alive longer. Christmas would be lovely for us to have,” she said.

Andrew Copson, BHA chief ex-ecutive, said Mr Binner’s case highlighted the need for a change in the current law, which would allow him “and others like him” to “have more time to spend time their loved ones before their condi-tion becomes intolerable for them.” “The current law heaps unneces-sary suffering and trauma on to families like the Binners.” — Agencies

Simon Binner, 57,

from Surrey, said he

plans to die in the

Eternal Spirit clinic

in Basel on Monday

Migrants diverted to Slovenia after Hungary closes borderOPATOVAC (CROATIA)/LJU-BLJANA: Migrants streaming across the Balkans reached Slo-venia on Saturday, diverted over-night by the closure of Hungary’s border with Croatia in the latest demonstration of Europe’s dis-jointed response to the flow of people reaching its borders.

Hungary’s right-wing gov-ernment declared its southern frontier with Croatia off limits to migrants, blocking entry with a metal fence and razor wire just as it did a month ago on its border with Serbia. Croatia began direct-ing migrants west to Slovenia, which said some 300 had arrived and would be registered before continuing their journey to Aus-tria and Germany, the preferred destination of the vast majority, many of them Syrians fleeing war.

But their movement had slowed visibly, with dozens of buses lined up at Serbia’s border with Croatia through the night and into Satur-day as Croatian police controlled their entry, a Reuters reporter said. Slovenia suspended rail traf-fic with Croatia. Aid agencies are concerned about backlogs of mi-grants building in the Balkans, bat-tered by autumn winds and rain as temperatures drop before winter.

Hungary said it had reinstated border controls on its frontier with Slovenia, effectively sus-pending Europe’s Schengen sys-tem of passport-free travel. Both Slovenia and Hungary are part of the Schengen Area while Croatia is not. A government spokesman said Budapest had taken the step because “migrants appeared” on the Slovenian side of the border.

Keeping the doors openSlovenia, a small country of two million people, says it can accom-modate up to 8,000 migrants per day. Both Ljubljana and Zagreb say they will not restrict the flow so long as Austria and Germany keep their doors open.

Hungary says it is duty-bound to secure the borders of the Eu-ropean Union from migrants, it says, the prosperity, security and “values” of Europe. Budapest is among several ex-Communist

members of the EU that oppose an EU plan to share out 120,000 refugees among its members. That is only a small proportion of the 700,000 migrants expected to reach Europe’s shores by boat and dinghy from North Africa and Turkey this year.

At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, the EU offered Tur-key a possible three billion euros ($3.4 billion) in aid and the pros-pect of easier travel visas and “re-energised” talks on joining the

bloc if it would help stem the flow of migrants across its territory.

But Hungary said this fell short of Budapest’s demands, which include formation of a common force to protect the borders of Greece, where most migrants ar-rive across the Aegean Sea from Turkey before heading north through Macedonia and Serbia.

Asked what would happen if Germany was to close its doors, Croatia’s interior minister warned of a “domino effect”.

“It will be a lot of trouble for all countries and I cannot predict what will happen in this situa-tion,” Ranko Ostojic, speaking in English, told reporters at a mi-grant camp in the eastern Croa-tian village of Opatovac. — Reuters

R E F U G E E C R I S I S

NEURODEGENERATIVE CONDITION: Simon Binner and his wife Debbie Binner. – Simon Binner, via YouTube/The Independent

AYVACIK (TURKEY): Twelve migrants thought to be from Syria and Afghani-stan, including four children and a baby, drowned off the coast of Turkey as they tried to reach the Greek island of Lesbos, the Turkish coast-guard said on Saturday.

Reuters television foot-age showed bodies covered by plastic sheeting being brought ashore on a coast-guard vessel near the Turk-ish town of Ayvacik, a few kilometres (miles) from the Greek island of Lesbos.

RescuedA coastguard official said 23 people had been rescued, some by a Turkish fishing boat. “The coastguard made an announcement say-ing a boat carrying Syrian migrants had sunk... and we went to the area to help them. We pulled out six bod-

ies,” fisherman Sezer Simsek said, adding his boat had been able to rescue four peo-ple. Thousands of refugees, mostly from Syria, Afghani-stan and Iraq, make daily attempts to cross the Aegean Sea from nearby Turkey, a short but perilous trip by boat, often in rough seas.

Almost 400,000 people have arrived in Greece this year, according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, overwhelming the crisis-stricken government’s ability to cope.

European Union leaders agreed this week to offer Turkey cash, easier visa terms and a “re-energised” consideration of its EU membership bid, in an effort to secure cooperation on encouraging Syrian refugees not to head to Europe and deterring economic mi-grants from Asia. — Reuters

Children among 12 migrants drown off Turkish coast

Hungary said it had reinstated border controls on its frontier with Slovenia, effectively suspending Europe’s Schengen system of passport-free travel.

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Typhoon Koppu to hit PhilippinesMANILA: Philippine authorities cancelled flights and urged resi-dents and tourists to move to safer ground on Saturday as a powerful typhoon approached northeastern parts of the main island of Luzon.

With winds of up to 160 kph (99 mph), typhoon Koppu is about 300 km (185 miles) east of Baler in Au-rora province, moving west and due to make landfall in the next 12

to 18 hours. Disaster agency offi-cials said about 300 people living in vulnerable coastal or low-lying areas had already sought shelter due to the risk of floods, land-slides and storm surges of up to 2 metres (6.5 ft).

“We are asking 2,000 foreign and local tourists, most of them surfers, to abandon seaside resorts and go to safer areas,” Gabriel Lla-

ve, a Baler municipal disaster offi-cial, told radio station dzMM.

Rain had already started in Ma-nila though winds are not expected to be strong enough in the capital to cause damage. The weather bu-reau said ferries and fishing boats should also seek shelter or stay in port with a risk of the storm gener-ating large sea swells.

AccuWeather, a weather infor-

mation provider, said Koppu could drench large areas of rice-growing Luzon with between 300 to 600 mm (12 to 24 inches) of rain and cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides.

Airport authorities have ground-ed 14 domestic flights, while the Coast Guard has suspended a search for a missing yacht with four on board in the South China Sea.

On Friday, President Benigno Aqui-no appealed on television to people not to panic and to make prepara-tions. The last time Aquino made a televised appeal was in 2013, the day before super typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines, kill-ing more than 6,300 people and leaving millions homeless.

An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year. — Reuters

Authorities cancelled

flights and urged

people to move to

safer ground

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Oman registers lowest inflation in Gulf region

MUSCAT: Oman recorded the lowest inflation rate at 0.07 per cent in August among Gulf Coop-eration Council (GCC) states. The highest inflation rate was record-ed in the United Arab Emirates at 4.94 per cent in August, against the same period last year.

Among the GCC members, the highest inflation rate was record-ed in the UAE, followed by Kuwait at 3.84 per cent, Saudi Arabia at 2.1 per cent, Bahrain at 1.7 per cent, Qatar at 1.2 per cent, and the Sultanate at 0.07 per cent.

General indexWhen compared to the general in-dex of July 2015, the August 2015 shows an increase in the UAE by 0.92 per cent, Bahrain by 0.6 per cent, Qatar by 0.5 per cent, Saudi 0.4 per cent, Kuwait by 0.29 per cent. However, Oman witnessed a fall of 0.14 per cent.

Compared to the same month last year, the prices of the ‘Food and beverage’ group increased in August, 2015 in most of the GCC countries: in Kuwait by 5.62 per cent, followed by Bahrain 2.9 per cent, Saudi Arabia 2.1 per cent, Qatar by 1.9 per cent, and the UAE by 0.64 per cent. In contrast, pric-es of this group fell in Sultanate by

0.89 per cent.In August, 2015, the ‘Housing,

water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ group showed an overall increase across all GCC member the states compared to the same month last year. Rising by 9.85 per cent in the UAE, followed by Ku-wait by 6.54 per cent and 3.9 per cent in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain by 2.3 per cent, Qatar by 2.2 per cent and the Sultanate by 0.42 per cent.

‘Transport’ groupThe ‘Transport’ group also re-corded an increase in most GCC countries during the month of August, 2015 compared to the

same month of the previous year. As the transport prices rose in the UAE by 10.72 per cent, Qatar by 2.6 per cent, Saudi Arabia by 1.7 per cent, Kuwait by 0.40 per cent, and Sultanate by 0.32 per cent, In contrast, prices of this group fell in Bahrain by 0.5 per cent.

‘Education’ groupThe data showed that the high-est price rises among the main expenditure groups by country in August, 2015 compared to the same month last year were as follows: The ‘Education’ group in both Qatar and the Sultan-ate by 11.1 per cent and 4.49 per cent respectively, followed by ‘Transport’ group in the UAE by 10.72 per cent. The ‘Restaurants and hotels’ group in Kuwait by 6.88 per cent, the ‘Health’ group in Bahrain by 4.5 per cent, and ‘Clothing and footwear’ group in Saudi Arabia by 4.1 per cent.

On the other hand, the data indicated that the largest price decreases among the major ex-penditure groups in each of the GCC countries in August 2015 compared to the same month last year were as follows: the ‘Clothing and footwear’ group in the UAE and Kuwait by 3.92 per cent, and 1.77 per cent respectively. - ONA

When compared to

the same month last

year, the prices of the

‘food and beverage’

group increased in

August, 2015 in most

of the GCC countries

INFLATION BITES: The highest inflation rate was recorded in the

United Arab Emirates at 4.94 per cent in August, against the same

period last year. - Times file picture

AUGUST FIGURES UAE 4.94 per cent

Kuwait 3.84 per cent

Saudi Arabia 2.1 per cent

Bahrain 1.7 per cent

Qatar 1.2 per cent

Oman 0.07 per cent

B2

MARKETS U N DAY, O CTO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

KPMG updates finance professionals on Oman tax lawTimes News Service

MUSCAT: KPMG hosted a full day tax seminar recently at the Grand Hyatt to provide finance professionals with an update on current global and Omani tax is-sues and developments.

Ashok Hariharan, partner and head of tax for Middle East and South Asia, mentioned that the Organisation for Economic Co-op-eration and Development (OECD) had on October 5, presented its finance package of suggested re-forms to international tax rules which were also endorsed by the G-20 countries.

The OECD/G20 base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project was set up to suggest ways govern-

ments could close gaps in existing international rules that allowed corporate profits to be artificially shifted to lower tax environments where minimal or no economic ac-tivity takes place.

Saudi ArabiaHe drew attention to the country-by-country reporting require-ments which will provide tax au-thorities globally with much more detailed information on the com-pany structure, the supply chain, the level of economic activity in various locations and level of prof-its retained in all these locations.

Ashok also mentioned that Saudi Arabia, being part of the G20, would be implementing these rules. It was most likely that other countries in

the region including Oman would also be keen to apply the new prin-ciples in their countries.

He said that with the falling oil prices and the consequent budg-etary pressures, the tax authori-ties in Oman were exploring ways to enhance government revenues from taxes. Corporate taxes were budgeted to increase by 25 per cent in 2015. There would be pres-sures to maintain the same level of tax revenues in 2016 with the like-ly fall in 2015 profits particularly of companies whose revenues are linked to oil prices.

Some of the measures the gov-ernment could take range from an increase in corporate tax rates, wid-ening the scope of withholding tax, to considering new sources of tax

like value added tax (VAT). Intro-ducing VAT will not be an easy deci-sion but may eventually be required.

If the Gulf Cooperation Coun-cil (GCC) countries are unable to agree on introducing VAT in the near future, it is possible that Oman in conjunction with some of its neighbours, may introduce VAT on their own.

This will take at least another 18 months to be implemented.

Real-life situationsThe tax seminar attracted finance professionals from a wide range of industry sectors and the feedback received from participants was positive as the seminar had adopt-ed a new style of presenting tech-nical issues by using real-life situ-

ations experienced by tax payers. The case studies included a

range of domestic and interna-tional scenarios looking at both the early tax planning issues as well as issues faced in responding to assessments by the Tax depart-ment. Some of the issues covered included withholding tax which attracted maximum enquiries from the delegates, secondment of employees, special economies zones and customs duties.

This seminar was presented by KPMG’s Tax Management group. KPMG has been providing tax ser-vices in Oman for over 40 years. Their tax practice is led by Ashok Hariharan who has experience of dealing with taxes in Oman and in the region for close to 30 years.

S E M I N A R

Muscat bourse records fall in trading volume

MUSCAT: Total trading volume on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) in the first nine months of this year stood at OMR946.5 mil-lion, a fall of 44.7 per cent from OMR1.7 billion for the same period of last year.

The market has been affected during the current year by a num-ber of factors, most notably the drop in oil prices in global mar-kets, which led to poor liquidity in the financial markets and the decline in foreign investments in the financial markets.

Among different months, Feb-ruary recorded the best trading volume at OMR176.6 million, fol-lowed by March with OMR129.4 million, driven by investor de-mand for shares to benefit from the dividends of listed companies

in the market.

Lowest in SeptemberSeptember recorded the low-est trading volume at OMR68.2 million due to weak investor sentiment because of continued decline in stock prices. In com-parison to the first and second quarters, the third quarter re-corded the lowest trading vol-ume at OMR239.1 million, com-pared to OMR411.3 million and OMR296 million in the first and second quarters, respectively.

By the end of September, the main index of MSM closed at 5,787 points, a decline of 556 points from its level at the end of

last year, which was 6,343 points.The market capitalisation of

listed companies in Septem-ber grew by OMR29.4 million to touch OMR14.59 billion, benefit-ing from the inclusion of a num-ber of new releases in the market stocks and bonds, in addition to the establishment of several com-panies to raise their capital after the dividend approved by the an-nual general assemblies. – ONA

Market has been

affected during the

current year by a

number of factors,

most notably the

drop in oil prices in

global markets

Ashok Hariharan, partner and

head of tax for Middle East and

South Asia. – Supplied picture

WEAK SENTIMENT: The lowest trading volume at OMR68.2 mil-

lion was recorded in September due to weak investor sentiment

because of continued decline in stock prices.

India’s IndiGo seeks to raise up

to $500 million in public offerMUMBAI: InterGlobe Aviation, owner of India’s biggest carrier IndiGo, seeks to raise as much as Rs32.68 billion ($500 million) in an initial public offering (IPO), the company said in a newspaper advertisement.

The Mumbai-based company plans to offer shares at Rs700 ru-pees to Rs765 apiece, according to an advertisement in ‘The Finan-cial Express’ on Saturday. The of-fering will start October 27.

Low fares and economic growth

that boosted incomes over the past decade helped IndiGo find first-time flyers and become the biggest airline in the world’s second-most populous nation.

Bharti Infratel offerThe share sale will be India’s larg-est initial public offeringsince September 2012, when Bharti In-fratel raised Rs40.8 billion, com-piled data shows.

The offering, which will close on October 29, would value Inter-

Globe at about $4.2 billion at the top end of the marketed range.

InterGlobe will sell as much as Rs12.72 billion worth of new shares in the deal, while exist-ing investors are offering as many as 26.1 million shares, according to the company’s red herring prospectus.

Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are leading the of-fering. Barclays, Kotak Mahindra Bank and UBS are also working on the share sale. - Bloomberg News

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Omani companies urged to invest in India’s textile field

ELHAM POURMOHAMMADIelham@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Omani companies have been encouraged to invest in India’s textile sector, which is the second largest employer in that country, offering direct employ-ment to around 35 million people.

Textiles are an important part of India’s exports to the Sultanate and India ‘absolutely’ welcomes Omani investments in this indus-try, Indra Mani Pandey, India’s ambassador to the Sultanate, told Times of Oman.

He made the comments at an exhibition entitled ‘Vastram -Splendid World of Indian Tex-

tiles’, featuring more than 30 tra-ditional Indian textiles and a large site-specific installation in three categories of painted/printed, woven/non-woven, embroidery and embellishments.

The collection of Indian Coun-cil of Cultural Relations, put to-gether by Shelly Jyoti, an artist, fashion designer and poet, was inaugurated at Oman Avenues Mall on Thursday as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of India-Oman diplomatic ties. The exhibition runs until October 25.

“Recently, there was Oman-India Investment Meet and in two months’ time, we are going to organise another investors’ meet. We very much welcome Omani companies to go and invest in In-dia, and we are ready to facilitate it,” the ambassador said.

Asked about the Indian-Omani joint ventures involved in the textile industry, Pandey said that there are 1,500 joint ventures between the two countries and there must be many textile-ori-ented ones among them. “There is one which is being created in Salalah,” he added.

Omani investment Mohamed Al Riyami, former as-sistant to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s adviser at the Ministry of Information, also en-couraged Omani companies to in-vest in the textile sector in India.

“I think Omani investors should go to India and invest but

get these items into Oman and put them for sale in Oman,” he told Times Business.

Al Riyami said that the exhibi-tion provided a ‘unique experi-ence’ and expressed hope that an exclusive Indian textile exhibi-tion will be held in future, where the items would be put on sale.

India-Oman diplomatic ties are 60 years old, but bilateral cultural and trade relations between the two countries have existed since 5,000 years ago, he said.

The Sultanate of Oman is go-ing to be a big commercial centre in the Middle East, Al Riyami noted, encouraging more invest-ment from India in various parts of the country.

Second largest employer In a speech at the inauguration of the exhibition, the Indian ambas-sador said that the textile indus-try is the second largest employ-ment generating sector in the country, providing direct employ-ment to about 35 million people and indirect employment to mil-lions more.

Textiles have been an ‘integral part’ of the development of India’s civilisation and it was the evolu-tion of the textile industry on the river banks that formed the basis of the development of India’s so-ciety and economy, Pandey noted.

He said that the purpose of the exhibition is to showcase this di-versity to the people of Oman and the Indian community.

Textiles are an

important part of

India’s exports to the

Sultanate. India has

welcomed Omani

investments in this

industry, which

offers a lot of jobs

Tremendous response to largest networking event in the SultanateTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Hundreds of high-level business leaders are to come together once again at the largest networking event in the Sultan-ate, as B2B Oman announces it is to return for 2016.

Billed as the ‘most influential business networking event in Oman,’ the event will be held on February 9, with this year’s spe-cial theme being ‘Leadership.’

This integral event is being or-ganised by the joint efforts of rep-resentatives from not-for-profit business councils in Oman, includ-ing the British Business Forum, the Muscat American Business Council, the European Business Persons Group and the Australian Business Group in Oman.

B2B’s mission is to provide an informal, informative platform for business leaders, ambassa-dors, investors, young profession-als and entrepreneurs to share

knowledge, resources and con-tribute to better business oppor-tunities in Oman.

Bank of Beirut Oman is once again partnering with B2B.

More than 500 high-level lead-ers attended B2B in February 2015, and organisers say numbers are

expected to exceed that for 2016. “As a small business commu-

nity, it is imperative that Oman business leaders join together to support each other in these un-certain times. We are facing com-petition from other businesses in the region. We have to work

together to maintain the momen-tum B2B started in 2014,” said Garry Friend, general manager of the Grand Hyatt, Muscat.

For more information contact enquiries@back2businessoman.com or visit www.back2busines-soman.com

B U S I N E S S E V E N T

PICTURE FROM THE PAST: More than 500 high-level leaders attended B2B in February 2015,

and organisers say numbers are expected to exceed that for 2016. – Supplied picture

Tanzania starts work on

port backed by Sultanate

BAGAMOYO (Tanzania): Tan-zania started construction work on a $10 billion port and special economic zone on Friday, a project backed by China and Oman that aims to transform the East African country into a regional trade and transport hub.

The port, which will be Tanza-nia’s biggest, is being built at Baga-moyo, 75km (47 miles) north of Dar-es-Salaam — the commercial capital that is currently the site of the country’s main port, which is operating beyond its capacity with limited space for expansion.

President Jakaya Kikwete at-tended a groundbreaking ceremo-ny and said construction of phase I of the project would take three years. “The construction of the Bagamoyo port and a special eco-nomic zone is aimed at realising the government’s goal of bringing about an industrial revolution in Tanzania,” he said.

Government officials said the port would be able to handle me-

ga-ships - with a container vessel size of 8,000 twenty-foot equiva-lent units (TEUs) — after the first phase was completed, with room for expansion.

Ten years completion timeThe whole project including roads, railways and the economic zone is expected to take 10 years to com-plete, but it was unclear in how many phases it will be carried out.

The project is financially backed by China Merchants Holdings (Interna-tional), China’s largest port operator, and Oman’s State General Reserve Fund. The Chinese firm will handle much of the construction work.

Tanzania is East Africa’s sec-ond-biggest economy after Kenya, and cargo volumes at the existing Dar es Salaam port are expected to rise as much as 25 per cent this year to 18 million tonnes. The World Bank said last year that in-efficiencies at Dar-es-Salaam cost Tanzania and its neighbours up to $2.6 billion a year. - Reuters

$ 1 0 B I L L I O N P O R T

B4

FEATURES U N DAY, O CTO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Wal-Mart Stores may look to shut some of its massive US stores and exit poor-performing markets overseas

to help revive growth after the retailer warned of an unprecedented decline in earnings next year.

Chief Executive Officer Doug McMil-lon told investors this week that he is re-viewing the company’s portfolio across the globe and will “close stores that should be closed.“ The retailer has al-ready been selling off businesses that are not core to its operations, such as a res-taurant chain in Mexico and a property company in Chile.

The question now is how aggressive Mc-Millon will get, analysts said on Thursday. The company could start by shutting some of its underperforming supercenters, but it could look to exit whole businesses and countries. That includes Brazil, where the retail chain has struggled. Its warehouse-style Sam’s Club chain is another option, said Ken Perkins, a Chicago-based analyst at Morningstar Inc.

“Sam’s is an interesting one,“ he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see them spin-ning it off.“

Wal-Mart is under pressure from in-vestors to trim costs after forecasting that earnings will fall 6 percent to 12 per-cent next year. Sales are not growing fast enough to offset the billions of dollars that Wal-Mart is spending on higher wages for

its workers and improvements to its web-site. The outlook sent the shares down 10 percent, their worst one-day decline since 1988. The stock fell an additional 1.2 per-cent on Thursday.

Large and broad“No doubt, our business has become both large and broad – it is more impor-tant now than ever that we evaluate our portfolio,“ McMillon said earlier this week. “We won’t let the breadth of our business distract us from our most im-portant priorities.”

With the bulk of its business in the US and growth there slowing, Wal-Mart’s roughly 4,600 stores would be a likely area for cuts, analysts say. In particular, the company might target the one-third of stores that aren’t meeting its standards of being “clean, fast and friendly,“ said Leon Nicholas, an analyst at Kantar Retail.

“I would speculate that they may shut down some of their stores to reduce their operating costs,“ Nicholas said. “It doesn’t mean it will happen, but that certainly would be a way to take costs out.“

SupercentresAs consumers look for faster, more con-venient ways to shop, Wal-Mart’s su-percenters - hulking buildings that sell everything from fresh food to sporting equipment - are falling out of fashion, said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners. While supercentres

should not go away, the numbers could be reduced, he said. Wal-Mart’s focus should instead be on its smaller-format Neighbourhood markets and e-com-merce business, Johnson said.

“The younger women who are moms now - the supercenter concept is not as relevant to them as it was to their moth-ers,“ he said. “Who has time to navigate a 200,000-square-foot Wal- Mart?“

Wal-Mart is the largest private employ-er in the US - with some 1.3 million em-ployees - and losing stores could be a blow to some local economies. One of its super-centers can employ about 500 people.

For now, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company is still adding new stores, though at a slower rate. It said on Wednesday it plans to open 50 to 60 su-percenters next year, which includes re-locations and expansions, compared with 115 in 2014.

Severe competitionSam’s Club stores, meanwhile, has been dragging on Wal-Mart’s earnings, and some investors think the company could perform better as a stand-alone busi-ness. Earlier this year, Sam’s Club post-ed its worst first-quarter sales in years. While the chain improved in the most re-cent quarter, investors are not convinced the company can get back on track in the face of stiff competition from Costco Wholesale Corp.

But a spinoff of Sam’s Club would be a

move so drastic, it would require the ap-proval of the board, which is controlled by the founding Walton clan. It could be a tough sell to the family, Johnson said, es-pecially considering it bears the name of patriarch Sam Walton.

Wal-Mart also may get out of some overseas markets that have failed to gain traction, Charles Grom, an analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach Inc., said in a note to clients. The retailer has not shied away from exiting markets in the past. It sold its German and South Korean units in 2006 after years of disappointing re-sults. In all, Wal-Mart has operations in 28 countries.

One country that is probably on the table is Brazil, Johnson said. Wal-Mart has been struggling to make a profit in Brazil for years, hurt by competition from French chains Carrefour SA and Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA, as well as a generally sluggish economy. Wal-Mart opened its first Brazil location in 1995 and today operates supercenters, supermarkets, warehouse stores, bo-degas and gas stations under various brand names.

During a conference call with analysts in August, McMillon pointed to Brazil and the UK as two markets that have been “challenging.“

“If they are going to be doing a port-folio review internationally, Brazil will definitely be one of the countries looked at very closely,“ Johnson said. – Bloomberg News

WAL-MART PLANS BUSINESS

REVAMP

THE COMPANY COULD

START BY SHUTTING SOME

OF ITS UNDERPERFORMING

SUPERCENTRES, BUT IT

COULD LOOK TO EXIT

WHOLE BUSINESSES

AND COUNTRIES

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Renault Symbol comes packed with features

MUSCAT: The Renault Symbol is a status-enhancing yet affordable family sedan.

Its modern design and attrac-tive equipment package, combined with its low fuel consumption make the new Renault Symbol the perfect sedan for families look-ing for value for money along with status and style. Competitive ad-vantages such as roominess, boot space, modern equipment and engine displacement ensure it has everything required to make it a hit with customers in the region, says a press release.

‘Smart from every angle’Symbol is packed with top-notch technology and innovation. It of-fers an enjoyable ride, significant power while maintaining low lev-els of fuel consumption.

It is fitted with an automatic gearbox and a 1.6L16V engine; placing it among the highest size of engines available on the B Sedan segment. The compact sedan of-fers as well spacious interior with seating for five adults, a 510 litres bootspace, and the possibility to increase it up to 1,257 litres with

the rear benchseat folded.The new Renault Symbol also

offers plenty of safety features. It is equipped with front driver and passenger airbags, driver seatbelt unlock alarm, Isofix attachments for child seats, three points rear seatbelts with three rear headrests in addition to a central locking system and a speed sensitive door lock. It also boasts as standard front fog lights, daytime running lights, and most importantly an antilock braking systems.

A standard of comfort and technologies worthy of the next segment up To top it all, Renault Symbol will be available in vari-ous colours to satisfy all customer preferences and desires. It comes with the new Radio Arkamys 3D Sound CD/MP3/USB and blue-tooth, steering wheel controls, a cruise control and speed limiter.

It is also furnished with an au-tomatic air-conditioning system that was tested to meet the chal-lenges of the region’s harsh climate conditions.

The new media Nav multime-dia system also gives easy access to highly practical features thanks to it 7” touchscreen: GPS, audio streaming music, as well as access to your phonebook and call history thanks to Bluetooth.

This new car in the Renault line-up has been specially designed to meet the needs of customers who want an elegant, spacious, low-maintenance family car. Modern equipment specification and en-gine range ensure it has all the in-gredients to make it a hit with cus-tomers in the region.

Main assets Engine: The 1.6L 16V engine is among the highest size of engines available on the B Sedan category.

Bootspace: The bootspace has a capacity of 510 litres, therefore placing the new Renault Symbol as the best-in-class choice for lug-gage transport in its category. In addition, the capacity can be in-creased to 1,257 litres with the rear benchseat folded.

Technology: The new Radio Arkamys 3D Sound CD / MP3 / USB is available with factory fitted Bluetooth and steering wheel con-trol as standard from the first PE equipment level.

The new media Nav multimedia system offering 7” touchscreen, GPS and audio streaming music comes along with the top of the range LE grade.

Standard features for the first PE level include:

airbags

seats

running lights

MP3/USB and Bluetooth + steer-ing wheel control

headrests

sensitive door locking

-ers and door handles

wheel Additional equipment on the SE

mid-range model:

driver one-touch control

handles + chromeThe top-of-the-range LE model

includes:

with 7” touchscreen and GPS

A world class brandThe Renault principle of safety is outlined in four basic points: Pre-vent, correct, protect and educate. Renault provides equipment that performs auxiliary tasks auto-matically to promote the respon-sibility of drivers by warning them when they are not in a position to control their vehicle or when they put themselves in a position of po-tential danger.

-dible seatbelt reminders and tyre pressure monitoring.

The inherent handling and brak-ing qualities of a vehicle are fun-damental factors of its overall dy-namic, active safety and accident avoidance performance.

Moreover, Renault is also known to have the maximum num-

models globally. SBA is largely committed to supporting Renault Oman’s growth in the Sultanate through major emphasis on cus-tomer satisfaction and by provid-ing world-class after-sales servic-es in Oman.

With a national network of more than 80 outlets — showrooms, ser-vice centres and parts outlets, SBA has further built upon its legacy of trust, excellent customer service and providing value for money to each of its customers.

Competitive

advantages such

as roominess, boot

space, modern

equipment and

engine displacement

ensure it has

everything required

to make it a hit with

customers in

the region

KTI holds training courseon anti-money launderingMUSCAT: -

-ducted an anti-money laundering

Oman International Exchange Co. A group of 10 candidates from

various branches of the Oman International Exchange attend-ed the course which was held at

Executive Training Centre, says a press release.

-tute we recognise the need for such courses in Oman. We’ve started to address the demand and requirement for programmes on anti-money laundering in a consistent and focused manner to ensure that all major financial institutions and regulatory bod-

ies in finance stay up-to-date on laws and practices governing the issue,” said Nadeem Ahmed, head,

Interactive

the programme, engaged partici-pants in an interactive and inform-ative discussion on various topics relating to anti-money laundering, rules and regulations and result-ant consequences of not abiding by AML codes.

and his service with the Royal Oman Police to help candidates

-plained varying situations and corresponding terminologies in

Arabic as well, which was an added advantage for Omani candidates who attended the programme.

Speaking on behalf of Oman International Exchange, Shahed Shah, general manager, said: “We

-tute for their continued assistance in helping spread awareness and education on all important mat-ters relating to finance, particu-larly anti-money laundering. This training programme is an oppor-tunity for us as part of Oman’s fi-nance community to stay abreast of global developments and effec-tively implement AML regulations as well as follow safety guidelines.”

At the end of the session all par-ticipants were awarded certifi-cates by Shah.

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

Al Hashar Group showcases Marshal tyres at Infra OmanMUSCAT: Continuing with its cherished legacy of bringing the best of global brands to the Sultan-

-uct portfolio got even better with the addition of yet another iconic

product renowned globally for their durability and performance.

With a view to taking the brand

displayed a range of Marshal tyres at Infra Oman 2015, the Sultan-ate’s premier infrastructure and industrial projects expo held re-cently at the Oman International Exhibition Centre, Muscat, says a press release.

“We believe this is the right platform to showcase Marshal Tyres, the latest addition to Al

A collection of Marshal tyres for passenger cars, SUVs and off-road vehicles, vans, buses and trucks were displayed at the expo.

“Customers collected relevant technical and product informa-tion on Marshal tyres from the team of experts at our pavilion, the response has been fantastic,” said a company spokesperson

Marshal Tyres’ outstanding performance, better fuel econo-my, extra durability and extended

lifespan coupled with attractive pricing make for an irresistible combination, making the brand a truly world leader. These features also got Marshal’s I ZEN MW15 winter tyres recommended in the overall assessment of the Tyre Test jointly conducted recently by OAMTC and ADAC.

Significantly, Marshal Tyre Company has adopted highly eco-friendly production and waste disposal processes. Strengthen-ing Marshal’s numero uno status,

which are required to qualify -

ogy tests, and the NASA-certified

Boeing 747 tyres.Marshal Tyres is a subsidiary of

Tire Co., which was founded in 1984. It has advanced R&D cen-tres across the world including

-

With over four decades of un-disputed leadership in the Sul-tanate’s automotive business,

wide network of sales and service outlets across the Sultanate. Mar-shal Tyres, along with other pre-mier products, are available at all these outlets.

E X H I B I T I O N

Nissan showcases 3 Nismo models at Dubai launch event DUBAI: Nissan’s world famous motorsport and road car perfor-mance brand, Nismo, made its Middle East debut at a spectacu-lar launch event in Dubai, herald-ing the next step in ‘Innovation that Excites’ for driving enthusi-asts across the region.

In addition to launching the performance marque, Nissan also confirmed the world pre-miere launch of the Patrol Nismo. Recognising that off-roading and motorsports are the life-blood of local driving enthusiasts, Nissan believes the time is right to in-troduce the Patrol Nismo in the Middle East.

As part of its performance road car line-up, Nissan showcased three Nismo models — the 370Z Nismo, the GT-R Nismo, and the Patrol Nismo, says a press release.

“Nismo is the ultimate essence of Nissan’s promise to deliver ‘Innovation that Excites’,” said Samir Cherfan, managing direc-tor of Nissan Middle East. “We could not have launched Nismo in the region without including our most iconic model, the Nis-san Patrol, in the range of Nismo vehicles. Bringing the high per-formance brand to the Middle East and launching the Patrol Ni-smo as a world premiere model is proof of our commitment to mak-ing thrilling driving experiences accessible to all our customers.”

With the region’s strong herit-age in high performance vehicles and Nissan’s success in earning a reputation as a trusted motorsport

brand, the Japanese auto-maker believes Nismo will resonate strongly in the Middle East market.

“Since we came to the region, Nissan has been building a strong and mature automotive brand, well known for exceptional qual-ity, performance, innovation and reliability. Combined with our long history of success in mot-orsports and off-roading, we be-lieve that the Nissan brand is in a unique position to offer the ul-timate, thrilling experience with our all-new Nismo line-up,” con-tinued Cherfan.

While Nismo is already es-tablished and well-known in the world of motorsport, it is now be-ing expanded to other markets as Nissan’s exclusive performance

the spirit of pioneering Japanese maverick engineers, where in-novative solutions are applied in bold and smart ways to challenge the norm, Nismo cars provide ex-citing driving experiences with motorsports-inspired aerody-namics and styling, enhanced handling characteristics and un-matched agility.

According to Nismo is an im-portant part of Nissan’s long term product plan. “We view the ad-dition of Nismo as a key element of our business expansion strat-egy based on our successful mot-orsports heritage in the region. The Nismo brand is a highly valuable, credible and desirable addition to our range and we are honoured to bring the brand to the Middle East.”

D E B U T

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ROUND-UPtwenty4 unveils new winter fashion wear

DUBAI: With temperatures set to cool down over the next months, it is time to revive your wardrobe with winter 2015 trends from the thriving value-fashion brand, twenty4.

Inspired by runway trends from Paris, London, and Milan; twen-ty4’s new winter collection offers cosy and fashionable styles for everyone, says a press release.

From key knitwear trends dominating the fashion charts across the world, twenty4 brings a wide selection of trendy outer-wear from fluffy jumpers and car-digans to jazzy kimonos and soft woven vests.

Twenty4’s new collection also offers a variety of bohemian maxi skirts with a breath of romance to perfect your look during your win-ter evening chillouts and warm coloured trousers for active week-end catch ups.

With a glimpse of vintage, the latest men’s fashion from twenty4 includes best basics and sporty ac-tive wear for a casual street style look; whereas, the collection’s black and white smart wear has been designed to make the right impression during successful business moments.

Preparing the little ones for the new season has never been easier with twenty4’s winter vivid and playful children’s collection.

From floral sweatshirts and pet-

ticoat skirts for girls to funky skater jackets and urban hoodies for boys, twenty4’s children winter collec-tion will make your little ones stay warm, stylish, and comfortable throughout the entire season.

The winter collection is now available across the twenty4 store network of 32 outlets in Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, KSA, Qatar and the UAE. Twenty4 combines all the benefits of a speciality store under one roof with on-trend, affordable fashion at your fingertips.

Inspired by runway

trends from Paris,

London and Milan;

twenty4’s new

winter collection

offers cosy and

fashionable styles

for everyone

Kia Grand Carnival

winner of ‘Ultimate

Minivan Challenge’

MUSCAT: The all-new 2015 Kia Grand Carnival was recently named by Cars.com as the win-ner in its Ultimate Minivan Chal-lenge, a multi-day comparison test that brought together experts from Cars.com and PBS’ Motor-Week to conduct a detailed anal-ysis on a competitive set of fully loaded minivans.

The results combined profes-sional assessments with real-world opinions from car shoppers currently in the market for a new vehicle in the minivan segment. Most of the opinions from car shoppers mentioned its ‘world-class craftsmanship’ while oth-ers praised its ‘superior ride and quiet cabin’… still others focused on its innovative features.

Now owning a Kia Grand Car-nival is even easier, with an even bigger cash gift. In fact, the cash gift amount can be used as part of Down Payment, “Customers can choose any one option,” explained the spokesperson. “They can go for a cash gift of OMR600 or 18 months/30,000km whichever is earlier, together with 1 year Insur-ance and a cash gift of OMR50.. They need is to hurry since the scheme ends on October 18,” add-ed the spokesperson.

With its SUV-like styling and decidedly premium interior, the Kia Grand Carnival topped a segment full of long-standing stalwarts. The Ultimate Minivan Challenge evaluated competitors based on criteria such as tech-nology, features and drivetrains. Testing included a 135-mile course on varying road types to determine real-world fuel economy as well as back-to-back comparisons of ride, handling, comfort and acceleration. The Kia’s Grand Carnival’s Cars.com

“Ultimate Minivan Challenge” win comes on the heels of other recent accolades for this multi-purpose model, such as receiving the J.D. Power Automotive Per-formance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Award in the minivan segment and being named to Ward’s 10 Best Interiors list. For full results and scoring details on the Ultimate Minivan Challenge, visit www.cars.com/news.

Proud owners will recall that more recently the 2015 Grand Carnival had been honoured with the J.D. Power Automotive Per-formance, Execution and Layout award in the Minivan segment. This individual model accolade followed the 2015 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, in which the brand placed second among all nameplates (or “brands”) and received the highest score among non-luxury nameplates.

“The 2015 redesigned Grand Carnival is an extraordinary success story for the Kia brand,” said Orth Hedrick, vice president of Product Planning, Kia Motors America. “Customers want vehi-cles they’re proud to drive, and Grand Carnival’s superior com-bination of a strong, confident design, advanced safety features, and premium amenities, is revo-lutionising the minivan seg-ment. Earning top honours in the J.D. Power APEAL study is affirmation from our customers of the new Grand Carnival’s ap-peal and desirability.”

Reliable International Auto-motive, the distributor for Kia in Oman, provides a rewarding ownership experience for cus-tomers. Excellent product at-tributes and unmatched facili-ties easily ensure their absolute satisfaction.

P R O M O T I O N

Szechwan Festival at MamasanMUSCAT: With a decor so orien-tal that can take you on a journey to the Far-East, Mamasan, the au-thentic Chinese restaurant located at Al Assalah Towers in Al Ghubra, brings to you Szechwan Festival from October 20 to 30.

Renowned Chinese chefs, Ji-anjun He and Li Teng Long from Beijing, China and their team at Mamasan kitchen will be prepar-ing a variety of the best Szechwan dishes keeping in mind that every visitor will experience only the best, says a press release.

The specially designed menu for this festival is an interest-ing one, bringing together tradi-tional as well as contemporary flavours. It is a set menu that in-cludes the appetisers, side dish and the main course.

“For all those who love Sze-chwan dishes, this festival will lov-ingly address your taste-buds and leave a gentle reminder to come

back for more,” said Lawrence D’sa, general manager of Four Sea-sons Tourism.

Mamasan comes under the flag-ship of Four Seasons Tourism which also has O Sole Mio (Radisson Blu),

Rossini (The Cave), Annab (Shatti Al Qurum) and Trattoria (Ghubra). The group has also started catering to private and corporate events by the name of Ahlan catering that also does home delivery.

C H I N E S E C U I S I N E

Customers can now enjoy TSC reward

options through its card programme

MUSCAT: The Sultan Cent-er (TSC) gives customers the chance to enjoy a range of reward options through its TSC Rewards card programme.

TSC card holders have the op-portunity to earn points for every one rial spent each time they visit The Sultan Center or TSC Whole-sale Center stores.

TSC’s rewards programme has more options than ever before with five partners participating in the programme, customers have a variety of choices in which to redeem their points and select their rewards including; Oman Automobile Association, VLCC, Jeans Grill, Times of Oman, Al Masa Bowling or TSC Cash Back Vouchers. In addition, rewards card holders also get discounts on over a thousand of different types of products throughout the year.

The Sultan Center continues to add a wealth of exciting reward options and expand its range of partners across multiple indus-tries in order to enhance and

enrich the customers’ shopping experience.

Mahmoud El Sheikh, TSC marketing manager, said: “We continuously look for new part-ners that appeal to our custom-er’s lifestyle and we listen to our customers and their feedback on the type of rewards options that

would appeal to them. The TSC Rewards card programme is our way of thanking our customers for being loyal.”

The TSC Rewards card pro-gramme is free to join and cus-tomers can sign up at any TSC store. The more you shop the more you are rewarded.

B E N E F I T S

For all those who love Szechwan dishes, this festival

will lovingly address your taste-buds and leave a

gentle reminder to come back for more

Lawrence D’saGeneral manager of Four Seasons Tourism

ahlibank picks MyHassad daily winners

MUSCAT: ahlibank has an-nounced the names of the MyHassad daily prize draw winners.

Mohammed Ibrahim Mo-hammed Al Ojaili from Salalah branch, Khalid Mohammed Said Al Ghailani from Avenues Mall, Shamis Khalfan Sulaiman Al Salimi from Ibra branch and Khamis Sulaiman Hamed Al Gharibi from Nizwa branch, were the lucky winners of OMR1,000 each for the week.

MyHassad savings account continues to successfully sat-isfy the existing customers and attract new ones. MyHassad Saving Scheme was introduced in July 2008 as an extension of the bank’s tradition of product innovation. Opening MyHassad account is simple and easy.

S A V I N G S S C H E M E

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Gujarati Wing begins Navratri celebration

SALALAH: Indian Social Club, Gujarati Wing, Salalah, inaugu-rated the celebration of ‘Rangma’ Festival (Navratri) 2015, at the ISC ground with a grand ceremony on Wednesday.

Masoud Dad Mohammed Al Balushi, district sales manager, Oman Air Salalah, Ahmed Faraj Hassan Fadhil, CEO of Nasr Group of companies and Man-preet Singh, chairman, Indian So-cial Club, Salalah, were the chief guests during the occasion.

They were greeted by children and the committee members of Gujarati Wing headed by Dilip Ashar as their convener, says a press release.

The function began with the traditional lighting of the lamps by the guests and the dignitaries present there. Masoud Dad Mo-hammed declared the function open. Manpreet who is also the consular agent, Embassy of India,

in Dhofar region, commended the Gujarati Wing’s efforts to organ-ise such a spectacular event and congratulated the community members in Gujarati language on this occasion.

Traditional danceThe event was marked by enthusi-asm with colourful costumes and heart throbbing traditional dance by a group of children followed by the traditional ‘garba’ dance by the female members.

Another important attrac-tion of this festival will be ‘In-dia Day Celebration’ being held on October 20.

In this much awaited pro-gramme, altogether 10 wings of the club have consented to partic-ipate to showcase their state’s tra-ditional culture. All such events held in the past had been very well enjoyed by the public. Indra Mani Pandey, Indian Ambassador to Oman, will attend the occasion.

A band of professional artists

(orchestra) from India will add to the event’s charm, present-ing a variety of new and old folk songs. The festival will continue till October 23, culminating with the prize distribution and a grand ‘Dandiya’ dance.

Oman Air, Khimji Ramdas, Nasr Arabian Company and Ham-dan Trading Group, Renna Mo-bile, NBO and Bank of Baroda are the mega sponsors for this event.

The organisers said that the en-tryu to the event is free.

Important attraction

of this festival will

be the ‘India Day

Celebration’ being

held on October 20

OAB supports

EduTraC OmanMUSCAT: Oman Arab Bank (OAB) sponsored the higher edu-cation, training and career expo, EduTraC Oman 2015, which was held at the Oman International Ex-hibition Centre recently, under the head of Sheikh Khalid bin Omar Al Marhoon, minister of civil service.

OAB supported this exhibition in line with the great attention ac-corded by the bank to sponsoring different events and activities held in the Sultanate, and the bank’s keenness to actively participate as a sponsor of all kinds of events, particularly in the field of Omani human resources development.

On-the-job trainingThe exhibition aims at providing a platform to connect the partici-pating businesses and the educa-tional and academic institutions from the Sultanate and from abroad, with the students and their parents and any executives interested in education and train-ing of any level.

This year, OAB’s pavilion dedicated a special space for the job seekers as well those looking for on-the-job training oppor-tunities through direct contact with HR staff at the bank, says a press release.

Commenting on OAB’s par-ticipation, Ali Moosa, head of HR Division at the bank, said that the bank’s participation in this ex-hibition aims to share and intro-duce employment opportunities for the Omani graduates, from lo-cal or international colleges and universities, in the fields relating to the banking business and asso-ciated functions.

Developing skillsAli Moosa added that once the fresh graduate is hired by the bank, he/she will join a cross-functional orientation programme for one month, followed by an on-the-job training period that includes job rotation as well as specialised

training programmes, in order to develop the new employees in line with business requirements and personal career aspirations, and also enable career advance-ment to assume leading positions in the future.

Ambitious planFor his part, Adil Al Rahabi, head of Employee and Organisational Development Dept, stated that the bank has devised an ambitious plan for the development of the employees’ functional and leader-ship skills, across all the job cate-gories, through a series of special-ised training and internationally recognised programmes, designed to optimise the performance of employees and to maintain high standard of the services offered by the bank.

Al Rahabi affirmed the bank’s keenness to create positive and productive work environment through promoting effective com-munication between management and employees by means of em-ployee engagement programmes, citing in this regard the incentive programme ‘Mukafaati’, launched recently by the bank in order to motivate and ensure efficient com-munication among staff.

It is worth mentioning that OAB was the first bank in Oman to achieve the highest Omanisation ratio and has received numerous local and regional awards.

The bank has achieved an Om-anisation level of 94 per cent, and currently operates through a net-work of more than 67 branches and offices across the Sultanate, providing all types of corporate banking services and facilities, project and infrastructure finance as well as its support to the small and medium enterprises.

The bank is also striving to con-tinuously develop the retail bank-ing products and services in order to meet its customers’ needs and expectations.

C A R E E R E X P O

Muscat Insurance opens branch in SamailMUSCAT: Muscat Insurance Company, a Muscat National Holding Group company and a leading insurance service pro-vider in the Sultanate, marked the expansion of its branch net-work with the inauguration of a new branch; its 14th; in Samail in Al Dakhiliyah governorate, under the auspices of Eng. Said Al Sadi, adviser to the minister of manpower.

Philip K. Philip, GCEO MNHC, said: “We are happy to be in Sa-mail and look forward to serving the people with a smile. It’s our endeavour to be present in all major cities of the country. The expansion that began last year has continued in 2015 and we are happy with the response we have got from people of new regions. It has strengthened our resolve to increase our presence and be closer to our customers.”

The new branch shall be a full service branch.

E X P A N S I O N

IPM participates in international science forum

MUSCAT: A delegation consist-ing of His Highness Sayyid Dr Fahad bin Al Julanda Al Said, as-sistant secretary general for In-novation and Development at The Research Council, Dr AbdulBaqi Al Khabouri, director of Science and Technology Parks, Noor bint Abdullah Al Riyami, Communica-tion Specialist, and headed by Dr Hilal bin Ali Al Hinai, secretary general of The Research Coun-cil from Innovation Park Muscat (IPM) attended the Science and Technology in Society (STS) Fo-rum which was held recently in Kyoto, Japan.

At the forum, IPM team met scientists, researchers, decision makers, and business leaders from all over the world and discussed science and technology issues. It

provided a new mechanism for open debates on an informal basis, and also built a human network that would, in time, resolve the new types of problems stemming from the application of science and technology. The forum com-munity also explored the oppor-tunities arising from science and technology, and discussed ways

on how to remove the barriers to using science and technology to solve the problems facing human-kind. IPM represented TRC at the Forum as a sponsor and member of the IASP.

“The Science and Technol-ogy in Society Forum without any doubt is one of the world’s best platforms to boost interac-tions between leading academics, policymakers, business leaders and journalists. The forum was a huge window of opportunity for us to get in touch with the right people and organisations from across the world. IPM was active in many sessions of the forum, and also participated in some very interesting discussions on the en-vironment. The knowledge that IPM shared from the Omani per-spective was much valued and ap-preciated. Our participation not only enhanced our visibility at the global level but also helped us in meaningfully building global ties,” said Dr Al Khabouri.

T E C H N O L O G Y F O R U M

At the forum, IPM team met scientists, researchers, decision makers and business leaders from all over the world and discussed science and technology issues

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Pak community pays tributes to Oman, HM

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Large Pakistani com-munity in the Sultanate reg-istered its unreserved love for Oman and His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said in ‘A Tribute to Oman’, a well attended function held at Ruwi Hotel.

Praying for his health and long life, a number of poets and speak-ers paid glorious tributes to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos for his exemplary leadership, pragmatic policies and turning a backward country into a hub of peace, pro-gress and prosperity.

Ayaz Hussain, ambassador of Pakistan, was the chief guest while Sheikh Zayad bin Talib Al Maawali, adviser to the minister of endowments and religious affairs, and Syed Fayyaz Ali Shah, chair-man, Syed Fayyaz Group, were the special guests.

Dr Amir M. Abdulghani, chair, Information and Communication Technology, College of Engineer-ing, Sultan Qaboos University, senior journalist Shahzad Raza and Mian Mohammad Munir, chairman, Pakistan Social Club

Oman, were the guests of honour.Held to mark Oman’s forthcom-

ing 45th National Day, the event was presented by Muhammad Nadeem Azeemi, chairman, Sohar Poly Industries, and organised by Alpha Events Oman.

The event started with noted local singer Rana Shaukat Ali singing a beautiful Hamd (poetry praising Allah Almighty), followed by school children presenting an interesting tableau as their tribute to Oman. Ameer Hamza, a promi-nent Pakistani, presented the wel-come note. Young Pakistani stu-dent Mohammad Talha Ali then delivered an emotional speech, highlighting his love and respect for Oman and HM Sultan Qaboos.

Noted poets Azra Aleem, Zakir Hussain Zakir and Qamar Riaz, who also conducted the event, re-cited heart-warming poetry on His Majesty the Sultan and Oman, and received instant applause. Omani singer Hussain Al Maimani sang a soulful national song while Mo-hammad Imran paid a musical tribute on his instrument ‘Bainjo’.

Omani nationals Dr Asad Mahmood and Dad Mohammad Al Balushi, Board member, Oman Cricket, spoke highly of Oman and Omani citizens’ emotional attach-ment to His Majesty the Sultan.

In his address, ambassador Ayaz Hussain praised His Majesty for making Oman a model for other countries to follow. Highlighting

the significant role and contribu-tion of Pakistani community in Oman’s development he urged the Pakistani businessmen to come forward and invest in Oman to strengthen its economy.

Addressing the gathering, key-note speaker Shahzad Raza, spoke in detail about Oman’s rise as a modern country under His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, his immense con-tribution as the architect of Mod-ern Oman and why Omanis were counted among the nicest people.

“In a region infested with strife and conflict, Oman stands tall as a pillar of strength, peace and secu-rity. We respect and admire Oman for being so. Oman is ruled by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, who is respected worldwide for building Modern Oman, for his exemplary leadership and pragmatic poli-cies, for being an icon of peace and for making Oman the diplomatic heavyweight in the region. We re-spect and admire His Majesty for doing so.

“Oman is known for its hospi-tality and that is one of the great characteristics of its amazing and friendly people. The peaceful Om-ani society today is a reflection of its tolerant, helpful and hospitable people. No wonder, Omanis are counted among the nicest nations in the world. We respect and ad-mire them for being so. These are the three factors that sum up what is known and respected world-

wide as the Sultanate of Oman,” said Raza.

“Oman has not become a shining example for others to follow, just like that. Somebody has devoted his entire life to making it the envy of others. It has His Majesty Sul-tan Qaboos at the helm, the kind of ruler others only dream of leading their countries,” he added.

Special guest Sheikh Zayad bin Talib Al Maawali thanked the Pakistani community for such a glorious tribute to Oman and His Majesty the Sultan.

“I have been greatly impressed by the wonderful sentiments ex-pressed here for Oman and HM. I could clearly see the reflection of those sentiments on their faces and thank Alpha Events Oman as well as all the Pakistanis present here for such an excellent and heart-warming way of expressing their love for our country and His Majesty the Sultan,” he added.

Talking to Times of Oman, Fa-had Awais Munir, managing direc-tor, Alpha Events, said: “It’s a great honour for us to organise such a high profile and memorable event. I am sure such events will go a long way in bringing the people of two countries even closer.”

The event ended with a prayer for the health and long life of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, pro-gress and prosperity of Oman and for stronger Pakistan-Oman friendship.

Praying for his

health and long life,

a number of poets

and speakers paid

glorious tributes

to Oman and His

Majesty Sultan

Qaboos for exemplary

leadership and

pragmatic policies

New Porsche sports models promise more fun and powerMUSCAT: A sports car with all-wheel drive is the first choice for more than one in three Porsche 911 buyers. With the new 911 Car-rera 4 and 911 Targa 4, they now profit from an increase in sport-ing characteristics and comfort in the latest 911 generation.

The innovative turbocharged engines are more powerful and consume less, with the improved all-wheel drive increasing dy-namics and driving safety, says a press release.

In addition, the adaptive PASM chassis (Porsche Active Suspension Management) with its 10-millimetre lower ride height included as standard ena-bles an even greater spread be-tween sporty circuit and relaxed long-distance driving. Rear-axle steering, that is available as an option for the Carrera 4S models, further increases the dynamic spectrum considerably. Interior functionality is enhanced by the standard Porsche Communica-tion connectivity and infotain-ment system with simplified op-eration and multi-touch display.

The new Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and 911 Targa 4 models are avail-able for order as of now and will be officially launched in Oman in April 2016.

The all-wheel drive models include numerous optical refine-ments of the new 911 Carrera generation. They range from the headlights with four-point day-

time running lights, via door han-dles without recess covers, to the redesigned rear lid with vertical louvres and new rear lights, in-cluding the characteristic four-point brake lights.

The new 911 Carrera 4 and 911 Targa 4 derivatives also have their own distinguishing char-acteristics. The distinctive light strip between the rear lights now produces an especially dis-tinctive effect thanks to its con-sciously three-dimensional de-sign. It also underlines the typical format of the all-wheel drive 911, with rear fenders that arch fur-ther outwards by 44 millimetres.

Behind the re-engineered flat engines are more than four dec-ades of Porsche experience with turbocharged engines from mo-tor racing and production sports cars. The result is that all new 911 Carrera models impress with top values in terms of perfor-mance, driving fun and efficiency. Thanks to bi-turbocharging, the three-litre, six-cylinder engines in the 911 Carrera 4 and 911 Targa 4 achieve an output of 370 hp and a torque of 450 Nm, while output in the S models increases to 420 hp and torque to 500 Nm.

For everyday practicality, Por-sche offers a hydraulic lift system with integrated lifting cylinders in the struts of the front axle. The ve-hicle’s ground clearance increases by 40 millimetres within five sec-onds at the press of a button.

F I R S T C H O I C E M O D E L S

CSR Oman set to be landmark event MUSCAT: With the number of registered delegates rising, the CSR Oman Summit 2015 is on track to be a landmark event.

Designed to champion corpo-rate social sustainability, youth empowerment and entrepre-neurship, the event continues to receive growing support, dem-onstrating the importance of the summit for the Sultanate, espe-cially with this year’s agenda fo-cusing on Small and Medium En-terprises (SME). CSR Oman 2015 will be held from October 27-29 at the Grand Hyatt Muscat, says a press release.

For its second consecutive an-nual event, organiser Informa Middle East has secured a pleth-ora of prominent professionals from multiple industries to ad-dress the development of youth in local communities to tackle the issue of unemployment, in addition to SMEs, which rep-resent the backbone of the na-tional economy.

The event is the only one in Oman to gather SMEs, young business people and students alongside the corporate sector, linking and guiding them on how to develop a sustainable business structure with symposiums on the socioeconomic impact of the SME sector.

Although the local youth now have increased access to higher education, their opportunities for employment remain limited, and Oman relies heavily on for-eign labour, primarily due to mis-conceptions with education and job readiness.

As a contributor towards building a clearer picture of CSR trends and challenges in the country, Joseph Martin, director and regional leader in Clean En-ergy and Sustainability Services at Ernst & Young, said: “Oman has a unique set of social and environ-mental challenges and CSR Oman Summit is a great opportunity to engage in dialogue, share ideas that can promote sustainable de-velopment for the Sultanate and support in identifying vocational skills to increase employability.”

Hoda Abdelhay, conference producer at Informa Middle East, said: “The significance of

this event is demonstrated by the broad range of high calibre pro-fessionals that are contributing to the summit itself and the master-classes. Between Oman’s young population and approximately 90 per cent of its business driven by SMEs, it is essential that these remain our two focal points if we are to maximise the potential for sustainable development. The forum provides an unrivalled opportunity to engage Oman’s future business generation in an open dialogue.”

Abdelhay added: “By utilising the summit to explore, discuss and debate CSR, international best practices and industry in-sights, knowledge-exchange can have a very real and measurable impact on the growth of business-es across the Sultanate, and ulti-mately, support the diversifica-tion of the national economy.”

Case studiesWith the goal of bolstering mu-tual cooperation, in addition to incorporating the aspirations of the youth in line with the govern-ment’s ambition to build a more diverse, sustainable economy that creates jobs for Omanis, CSR Oman will showcase a multitude of case studies, hold insightful panel discussions, networking events and expert-led roundtable discussions to examine the latest trends and practices pertaining to developmental initiatives in CSR. The sessions on SMEs will focus on development through best practices; filtering social in-vestment into SME support pil-lars to generate economic growth;

investing in SMEs while linking their growth with other business goals to create sustainable shared value models; integrating the cul-ture of social entrepreneurship into the local education sector; moving away from philanthropy and developing strategic partner-ships with SMEs.

Walaa Hamdan, managing director of CSR Watch Jordan said, “Companies are investing in developing local CSR talent and ensuring they have staff with proper CSR training. And we can see boards and top management getting more and more involved.” She continued, “For CSR to be sustainable it needs to be aligned with the company’s core business and fully integrated into the com-pany’s culture. CSR strategies and programmes need to be measured and evaluated. For maximum impact, there needs to be a clear understanding of which elements are succeeding and which need fine-tuning.”

When asked about how CSR can contribute to SME develop-ment and social entrepreneur-ship in Oman, Walaa said: “SMEs should develop their own CSR programmes that are character-ised by their efficiency and econ-omy, showing organisations how to help them Also, companies can support SMEs through their CSR budgets, using them as suppliers or service providers and most im-portantly mentoring and encour-aging them.”

The CSR Oman Summit 2015 is supported by Oman LNG, Brit-ish Council, DUQM Refinery, and WorleyParsons.

S U M M I T

Jaguar set to unveil F-Pace at Dubai Motor Show 2015DUBAI: Luxury car manufacturer Jaguar has announced plans for the regional launch of its much anticipated Jaguar F-Pace perfor-mance crossover at the 2015 Dubai International Motor Show.

The launch vehicle will be just one of a number of exciting show-cases at the Jaguar stand which will be featured alongside the lat-est models including the all-new Jaguar family of saloons and the award winning Jaguar F-Type Coupé, says a press release.

Celebrating its exciting future and rich 80-year heritage at the show, Jaguar will be unveiling the all-new Jaguar F-Pace to consum-ers from the region for the very first time alongside a trio of new Jaguar products — the enhanced 2016 Jaguar XJR and all-new 2016 Jaguar XF-S, along with the award-winning New Jaguar XE-S.

The Jaguar F-Type R Coupé will be showcased in the Bloodhound Rapid Response livery. The ac-tual Jaguar F-Type R Coupé Bloodhound Rapid Response (RRV) is one of the cars sup-porting the Bloodhound world land speed record attempt.

Speaking about Jaguar’s partici-pation at the Dubai International Motor Show, Bruce Robertson, managing director of Jaguar Land Rover Mena, commented: “Jag-

uar’s 80th year has been a monu-mental one of transformation for the brand on both a global and re-gional level, from the introduction of the all-new Jaguar XE, to the launch of the all-new 2016 Jag-uar XF and now the reveal of the newest addition to the family, the Jaguar F-Pace. We are extremely proud to be revealing our first ever performance crossover alongside some of our strongest Jaguar prod-ucts to our customers in Mena at the region’s biggest motor show.”

“The Dubai International Mo-tor Show is the perfect platform to celebrate our exciting new Jaguar line-up, showcasing our brand’s design and performance creden-tials. We also have a few surprises lined up which we are confident

will truly captivate car enthusiasts at the show,” he added.

Bloodhound SSC ExperienceBringing the Bloodhound SSC experience to the Dubai Interna-tional Motor Show, Jaguar has created a 1,000 mile per hour drive experience simulator to give visi-tors the incredible opportunity to get behind the wheel of the Blood-hound SSC. Visitors who decide to take on the challenge can try to set a new Land Speed Record and claim the title as the fastest driver on the planet. This Jaguar Experi-ence will be located at the Jaguar Land Rover Experience Zone at the Dubai International Motor Show in the Arena Plaza which is accessed via Sheikh Saeed Hall 1.

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Bad light thwarts England as Pakistan claim draw

ABU DHABI: England had to settle for a draw in the first Test against Pakistan on Saturday af-ter bad light ended the final day’s play with the tourists just 25 runs short of claiming a famous victory.

Chasing a target of 99 to win with about an hour’s batting remaining, England had reached 74 for four but could not beat the fading light. Spin duo Moeen Ali and debutant Adil Rashid (five for 64) had helped reduce Pakistan to 173 all out from 139 for four and Alastair Cook’s then men went on the offensive in a rejigged batting order.

Pakistan counterpart Misbah-ul Haq responded by dotting field-ers around the boundary to limit England’s scoring.

Shoaib Malik trapped Jos But-tler (4) lbw and had Ben Stokes caught on two, while Moeen (11) fell to Zulfiqar Babar as spin sud-denly proved lethal on what had been a lifeless Abu Dhabi pitch during the first four days’ play.

Jonny Bairstow smashed 15 off 10 balls before being stumped by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, while Joe Root’s unbeaten 33 was nearly as brisk as England scored 74 off 11 overs.

Pakistan declared on 523 for eight on Wednesday, England then taking nearly three days to reach 598-9 in their first innings before skipper Cook called on the hosts to bat again mid-Saturday morning.

Starting 75 runs behind, Paki-stan’s task was to remain at the crease for the rest of the Test. Cook laid out an aggressive field and started with seam duo James An-derson and Stuart Broad in attack. Anderson bowled Shan Masood (1) in his first over, the opener scuffing the ball onto his wicket as England’s two dozen boisterous fans serenaded their idol.

Four deliveries later, Malik walked after lofting Anderson’s bouncer to Jonny Bairstow at short leg. Pakistan’s first innings hero was out for a duck and his team were reeling on three for two, 72 behind.

Mohammed Hafeez (34) and Pakistan’s record run scorer You-nis Khan then steadied the hosts as the afternoon session pro-gressed before a misunderstand-ing and some brilliant fielding ended their 44-run partnership.

Fatal hesitationHafeez nicked the ball to the cov-ers and Younis called a quick sin-gle. Hafeez fatally hesitated and

Ben Stokes dislodged the non-striker’s bails from 20 yards.

Pakistan were now 47 for three. Veteran Misbah, 41, and Younis went defensive, Pakistan making nine runs in the 10 overs follow-ing the run out as they reached 102-3 at tea. The match seemed likely to fizzle out, but then Eng-land’s Rashid came to the fore.

The leg-spinner had entered Test cricket infamy in the first in-nings, his bowling figures of none for 163 the worst ever by a debu-tant. Unperturbed, he first drew Younis into lofting an easy catch to Stokes and then removed Asad Shafiq (6) via wicketkeeper Buttler’s gloves. - Reuters

F I R S T T E S T

Pakistan 1st innings: 523 for 8 declEngland 1st innings:A. Cook c Masood b Malik 263M. Ali c S. Ahmed b I. Khan 35I. Bell c Hafeez b Riaz 63M. Wood b Riaz 4J. Root c S. Ahmed b R. Ali 85J. Bairstow lbw Riaz 8B. Stokes b Malik 57J. Buttler c Shafiq b Babar 23A. Rashid b I. Khan 12S. Broad not out 17J. Anderson not out 3Extras (b-7, lb-7, nb-11, w-3) 28Total (9 wkts decl, 206 overs) 598Fall of wickets: 1-116, 2-281, 3-285, 4-426, 5-443, 6-534, 7-549, 8-563, 9-590.Bowling: R. Ali 28-1-8-1, I. Khan 27-7-74-2, Z. Babar 72-17-183-1, W. Riaz 37-3-125-3 (nb-11, w-3), A. Shafiq 7-0-19-0, S. Malik 35-4-97-2.Pakistan 2nd innings M. Hafeez run out 34S. Masood b Anderson 1S. Malik c Bairstow b Anderson 0Y. Khan c Stokes b Rashid 45Misbah-ul Haq b Ali 51

A. Shafiq c Buttler b Rashid 6S. Ahmed c Anderson b Rashid 27W. Riaz c Bairstow b Ali 1Z. Babar c Anderson b Rashid 1R. Ali not out 0I. Khan c Anderson b Rashid 0Extras (b-3, lb-2, nb-2) 7Total (all out, 57.5 overs) 173Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-3, 3-47, 4-113, 5-139, 6-159, 7-165, 8-168, 9-173.Bowling: J. Anderson 10-3-30-2, S. Broad 8-5-8-0, M. Wood 7-2-29-0 (nb-2), A. Rashid 18.5-3-64-5, B. Stokes 7-4-9-0, M. Ali 7-0-28-2.

England 2nd innings M. Ali c Malik b Babar 11J. Buttler lbw b Malik 4J. Root (not out) 33B. Stokes c Hafeez b Malik 2J. Bairstow st S. Ahmed b Babar 15I. Bell (not out) 5Extras (lb-2, w-2) 4Total (4 wkts, 11 overs) 74Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-29, 3-35, 4-66.Bowling: Z. Babar 5-0-27-2 (w-1), S. Malik 4-0-25-2, W. Riaz 2-0-20-0 (w-1).

S C O R E B O A R D

DRAMATIC END: England’s Joe Root, right, and Ian Bell, left, shake hands with Pakistan players at

the end of their drawn first Test match at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. – Reuters

Herath stars in Sri Lankan victory

GALLE: Sri Lanka needed less than four days to thrash West In-dies by an innings and six runs in the opening Test at Galle on Satur-day with Rangana Herath leading the victory charge by claiming his fifth 10-wicket haul.

The touring side, who have nev-er won a Test match in Sri Lanka, were bundled out for 227 in their second innings in the afternoon session, after being asked to follow on by the hosts.

Herath added three wickets to his previous day’s removal of

opener Kraigg Brathwaite (34) af-ter claiming six victims in the first innings to finish with match fig-ures of 10 for 147.

Three of the 37-year-old’s land-mark hauls have come at Galle, the

venue for his test debut against Australia more than 16 years ago.

“When I play here, there is al-ways something for me as a spin-ner,” Herath said after picking up the man of the match award.

“That’s the main reason (for my success).”

Debutant all-rounder Milinda Siriwardana and paceman Dham-mika Prasad picked up two wick-ets apiece in the second innings for

Sri Lanka. Jermaine Blackwood played some delightful shots and showed nimble footwork against the spinners during his knock of 92, his second highest score in tests, but was the last man out.

After resuming on 67 for two, West Indies lost nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo (10) in wily left-arm spinner Herath’s third over and then experienced batsman Marlon Samuels was out lbw off

the first ball he faced. Samuels did not offer a shot to a straight deliv-ery and more surprisingly, decided to waste a review by challenging the umpire’s decision.

The bowler’s hat-trick ball was fended away by Blackwood.

Things to learnWest Indies’ hopes of avoiding a heavy defeat rested on Darren Bra-vo (31), who scored a 50 in the first innings, but the left-hander edged Nuwan Pradeep behind after cap-tain Angelo Mathews’ decision to allow the paceman one more over was vindicated.

“We had a lot of things to learn,” West Indies captain Jason Holder, leading the side for the first time in tests, said.

“We did not put enough runs in our first innings total and strug-gled again in the second innings.

“We did create chances but we just didn’t take them. If we had held our chances I think the game would have been lot different.”

Blackwood and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin (11) stitched together a dogged 48-run stand for the sixth wicket before Siri-wardena ended the pair’s resist-ance when Ramdin edged a catch to Kaushal Silva at second slip.

The second match of the two-Test series starts in Colombo on Thursday. - Reuters

West Indies, who

have never won a

Test match in Sri

Lanka, were bundled

out for 227 in their

second innings in the

afternoon session,

after being asked to

follow on by the hosts

TEN-WICKET HAUL: Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath, right, celebrates with teammates after dismissing

Devendra Bishoo of West Indies during the fourth day of their opening Test match at the Galle Interna-

tional Cricket Stadium in Galle on Saturday. – AFP

Sri Lanka 1st innings: 484West Indies 1st innings: 251West Indies 2nd inningsK. Brathwaite lbw Herath 34S. Hope b Siriwardana 6D. Bravo c K. Perera b Pradeep 31 D. Bishoo c Mathews b Herath 10M. Samuels lbw Herath 0J. Blackwood c K. Silva b Prasad 92D. Ramdin c K. Silva b Siriwardana 11J. Holder run out 18K. Roach st K. Perera b Herath 5J. Taylor lbw Prasad 5S. Gabriel not out 7Extras (lb-3, nb-3, w-2) 8Total (all out, 68.3 overs) 227Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-60, 3-74, 4-74, 5-88, 6-136, 7-172, 8-178, 9-189.Bowling: D. Prasad 9.3-3-28-2 (nb-2, w-2), R. Herath 22-5-79-4, N. Pradeep 14-1-28-1, M. Siriwardana 12-1-60-2, T. Kaushal 11-3-29-0 (nb-1).

S C O R E B O A R D

Djokovic mauls Murray, takes on Tsonga in Shanghai final>C3

AL ABDALI LEADS OMAN’S CHARGE AT GCC GAMESMuscat: Weightlifter Mahana Al Abdali won three silver medals to lead Oman’s charge at the

ongoing second GCC Games in Dammam on Saturday. Al Abdali’s three silver medals came

in the under-62kg competition. Mohammed Al Marhoobi also won three silver medals in

the 77kg weightlifting competition. The Sultanate’s riders also won a bronze medal in the

endurance horse racing. Oman volleyball team will conclude their engagements on Sunday

with a match against Bahrain. A victory will ensure them a medal. The Sultanate’s swim-

ming and bowling teams, meanwhile, have reached Dammam to take part in their respective

events. The second edition of the regional Games run till October 26. — ONA

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India eye another win against South Africa

RAJKOT: Having managed to level the series, a determined In-dia will be eager to produce an improved performance when they take on South Africa in the third One-day International (ODI) at the Saurashtra Cricket Associa-tion Stadium here on Sunday.

The hosts were propped up by a fighting unbeaten 92 by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and a half century from Ajinkya Rahane dur-ing the second ODI while the rest of the batting line-up fluffed their lines. The bowlers then produced a superlative performance to suc-cessfully defend the modest total of 247 for nine and carve out a 22-run victory.

Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and left-arm spinner Axar Patel were in superb form at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, claim-ing three wickets each. Patel’s fig-ures of three for 39 were the best of his career.

The Proteas had earlier taken the opening ODI of the five-match series by five runs in Kanpur. The Indian victory in Indore came af-ter three consecutive defeats to the visitors as they had lost both the matches in the Twenty20 In-ternational (T20I) series as well.

The Indian top order has been in-consistent so far, specially Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina. The last time Kohli got a half century was during India’s opening

match of the 2015 World Cup on February 15. The Delhi batsman, who has been pushed down to the No.4 spot, will be eager to get some runs under his belt.

Rahane has been the most con-sistent Indian batsman so far in this series as he has two back to back half centuries to his name. Opener Rohit Sharma did well in the series opener, scoring 150 to give the Indian chase a promising start and the Mumbai lad will be hoping for another big innings on Sunday on a pitch which is expect-ed to favour the batsmen.

Dhoni’s return to form will be an-other morale booster for the Indi-ans. Harbhajan Singh had replaced fellow off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the last match. The Pun-jab spinner had bowled well after coming on as the first change bowl-er, checking the flow of runs while picking up two wickets and may expect to retain his place.

Harbhajan and Patel are expect-

ed to spearhead the spin attack and the duo will hope for a hatful of wickets given the favourable con-ditions here.

The South Africans on the other hand, will look to pick up the piec-es. Although they had started the series on a superb note, there were glimpses of their infamous tenden-cy to choke in crunch situations in the inability to overhaul the mod-est 248-run target in Kanpur.

The poor form of top order bats-man David Miller is a cause for concern and the South Africans may consider giving the young Khaya Zondo a chance. The visi-tors also need to address their weakness against spin bowling.

The experienced Hashim Amla has done well so far and could be difficult to dislodge once he gets his eye in. The dangerous AB de Villiers, J.P. Duminy, Faf du Plesis and Quinton de Kock can also be a handful for any bowling attack on their day.

The South African pace attack has not been at its best on the In-dian tracks, but the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel cannot be taken lightly. Young fast bowler Kasigo Rabada has raw pace and has shown that he is a tricky cus-tomer in the earlier matches. Imran Tahir and Jean-Paul Duminy will comprise the Protea’s spin attack.

Sunday’s match will be a crucial one as it will give the victor the up-per hand and a much needed psy-chological edge ahead of the penulti-mate game of the series in Chennai.

India (likely): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wk), Axar Patel, Bhu-vneshwar Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav.

South Africa (likely): Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Faf du Ples-sis, AB de Villiers (capt), J.P. Duminy, David Miller/Khaya Zondo, Farhaan Behardien, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir. - IANS

The South Africans

on the other hand,

will look to pick up

the pieces. Although

they had started the

series on a superb

note, there were

glimpses of their

infamous tendency

to choke in crunch

situations

Thank god India won the second one-day game at Indore by a

margin of 25 runs. If South Africa had chased down In-dia’s score in the final over of their innings, Mahendra Singh Dhoni would have been pilloried for not taking singles off the first five balls that he faced in the last over of India’s innings.

Never mind the fact that he had got India to the score that it did with a combination of pushes, nudges, drives hooks, pulls, quickfire running between the wickets and then the huge sixes.

Those wanting India’s limited overs skipper to be shown the door would have pounced on that aspect where he refused to take the singles on offer as he was batting with the number eleven batsman to blame him for the defeat. They would have once again con-veniently forgotten those others who did not contrib-ute with the bat and ball.

If only those getting after Mahendra Singh Dhoni ap-plied the same strict stand-ards of examination to their own careers and professions most of them would have to look for other jobs. There is no leader born in any profession be it corporate arena, sporting endeavor, politics, who having been in the saddle for some time does not feel that there are some out to get him.

Sure time waits for nobody and the young have to be given their wings to fly but impatience and haste can only lead to waste. It was sad to hear Dhoni

speak about swords being always out just waiting for mistakes to happen.

Sad because here is a man who has done so much for Indian cricket, won it titles in all the limited forms of the game, taken the team to the number one ranking in Test cricket, a player who has never played for person-al glory and always moves to the corner after receiving a trophy so that the rest of the team can rejoice in the lifting of the prize.

Sad that we have made such a man feel persecuted and in doing so maybe we have taken the enjoyment out of his game. What good is Indian cricket going to get by looking to hurry him out of it?

What was good about the Indian win in Indore was the way the team defended the below par score that the much vaunted batsmen had put up.

Axar Patel in particular bowled exceptionally well and in doing so showed that he was learning to bowl at different speeds and not just looking to bowl the flat-ter quicker deliveries.

That the pitch had a bit of turn was a help and his ac-curacy meant that it was not going to be easy to get after him as it is on a flat pitch.

India have got back their belief after this superb win. More could well be on the way. - PMG

India have got back their belief after a superb win

C O M M E N T A R Y

After walking out to bat in the 19th over when Team India had lost Ro-

hit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli with just 82 runs on the board, and walking back 31 overs later scoring 92 runs — largely by way of dem-onstrating the practical part of his recently postulated theory on the art converting 1.8 and 1.9 runs into twos — and then, after 50 overs of crouching behind the stumps inspiring his foot soldiers to successfully defend what looked like a total woefully short of a par score against the mighty AB de Villers and Co, there was nothing un-Dhoni about dabbling in a bit of phi-losophy, eastern or western.

But what we got to witness as he opened his presentation chat was the proverbial sword.

The sword of the Damocles kind hanging by the hair over the head as well as the “open swords” in the hands of people waiting for him to make mistakes so they could charge in and deliver the most unkindest cut of all.

MS Dhoni has been under pressure to perform as a batsman and to inspire the team to victo-ries, so his reference to criticisms could be taken as a natural re-sponse from a man who used his first available opportunity after a series of setbacks to stand up and fight back. But the bitterness he has been feeling that came out in the open soon after the match at Indore took some glitter off the big moment the Indian team as well as millions of their fans were beginning to savour.

Now that Dhoni has put his detractors on point, he needs to engage with care. Missing a parry or charging in recklessly could be fatal, so drop the dra-matics, measure twice and cut once. Fortunately for him, the fight at Rajkot is not going to decide the fate of the ODI series, so it’s not about a life-or-death

situation, but if Dhoni could do an Indore encore today, he could look to dominate than dodge his opponents for at least until the beginning of the T20 World Cup.

The Indians seemed to have regrouped with the win at Indore, but the rumours of differences between Dhoni and Kohli are rife.

Is there a grain of truth? Per-haps, yes, if you read between the Dhoni lines delivered recently. It was anybody’s guess who Dhoni had in mind when he made his “you-can’t-convert-1.7-runs-into-two” comment at the end of the Cuttack T20, or the mo-mentum lament at the end of the Kanpur ODI. (“We lost a bit of momentum from the 34th or the 35th over to the 40th or the 41st over. There were runs on offer, but we didn’t hit the gaps.”).

The man in focus was Kohli, and in the absence of any Shas-trispeak we cannot take all of this as another offloading of “the biggest load of bull....”. Another Kohli-induced run-out wherein the man-in-form Ajinkya Ra-hane had been unjustly left to feel guilty at least for a few minutes

in the Indore game raised fears of fresh rounds of war of words, but the splendid catches the vice-captain had taken might help calm the atmosphere. For now.

South African will be looking to make quick amends. Nothing would be more pleasing for them than a total domination at Rajkot. They were obviously disappoint-ed by the humiliating way they had failed to chase a target.

The swords may have vanished into the sheath, but the hands are still resting on the hilt, waiting, in Dhoni’s own words, “for mis-takes”. A better way to deal with the swords and sordid thoughts is just about simply turning the swords of the kind used to stab in the back into ploughshares. How, and if, Dhoni could do that will make the remaining matches really engaging.

The writer is a freelance con-tributor based in India. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of Times of Oman

Now is no time for Dhoni to make war criesC O M M E N T A R Y

RETURN TO FORM: Indian captain M.S. Dhoni in a jovial mood during a practice session ahead of third

ODI match against South Africa at Rajkot on Saturday. South Africa’s Imran Tahir and Hashim Amla

play football during their practice session. – PTI

Vermeulen bannedHARARE: Zimbabwe have banned Mark Vermeulen from all cricket activities for what the board described as “repulsive re-marks that reflect racism, preju-dice and plain ignorance”.

The 36-year-old made the re-marks in July in response to an

article posted on Facebook about Prosper Utseya’s letter to Zimba-bwe Cricket alleging racism.

The comments, in which Ver-meulen used a derogatory term to refer to black Zimbabweans, were deleted them but a screenshot of the post was later circulated. - Reuters

R A C I S T P O S T

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Djokovic mauls Murray, takes on Tsonga in final

SHANGHAI: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic continued his domi-nance of the Chinese hardcourts by swatting aside a misfiring Andy Murray 6-1, 6-3 to reach the final of the Shanghai Masters on Saturday.

The Serbian will take on Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final on Sunday after the 16th seed recorded a 6-4, 0-6, 7-5 win over Rafa Nadal, his first in almost four years against the Spaniard.

The 30-year-old Frenchman was delighted with his scintillating dis-play featuring 40 winners, mainly from a fearsome forehand, but will have to find yet another gear if he is to upset Djokovic on Sunday.

The 10-time Grand Slam cham-pion is aiming for his third Shang-hai title on the back of securing his sixth China Open crown last week when he dismantled Nadal in the Beijing final.

Briton Murray, twice a cham-pion in Shanghai, knew a fast start was necessary if he was to upset his long term foe but he did just the opposite.

The world No. 2 served a paltry 43 percent of first serves in the

opening set, offered four double faults and 17 unforced errors as he was broken in three straight games to concede the opener.

Momentum lostHe rebounded at the start of the second by breaking Djokovic to 15 and hustled and harried in trade-mark gamely fashion but the small bit of momentum was lost as he gave away his next service game.

The Serb was imperious from the back of the court and broke again before serving out comfort-ably to improve his head-to-head record to 20-9 over Murray.

“I felt great from the first point. I was playing with very high inten-sity, especially on serve,” Djokovic said in a courtside interview.

Like Djokovic, Tsonga has a fondness for the courts in Shang-hai and will be hopeful of repeating his Saturday form when he takes on the Serb.

“This surface is one of my fa-vourites. I know I’m able to play good tennis. Before I came here, I didn’t know if I will be able to play that good. I hope it’s going to con-tinue,” he said.

The Frenchman fired down 11 aces to record his first win over Nadal since the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals and move up to ninth in his bid to qualify again for the eight man end-of-season championships in London.

Nadal, a winner of 14 Grand Slam singles titles, struggled to cope with Tsonga in the opening

set as the Frenchman pressured the Spaniard’s serve with some heavy hitting. He secured the break in the fifth game at the third time of asking but after going on to serve out the set, Tsonga’s game crumbled in the second set as Nad-al easily levelled without dropping a game to force a decider.

Nadal, looking for a first hard court title in almost two years, was forced to save some early break points but the third set remained on serve until Tsonga struck in the 11th game of an enthralling encounter.

The 30-year-old Frenchman produced an eye-catching dive vol-ley to force match point, which he converted to reach his first Mas-ters final since he triumphed in Toronto last year. - Reuters

While Djokovic

swatted aside a

misfiring Andy

Murray 6-1, 6-3

to reach the final,

Tsonga recorded a

6-4, 0-6, 7-5 win over

Rafa Nadal

FIRED UP: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France celebrates after winning his semifinal match against Rafael

Nadal of Spain at the Shanghai Masters in Shanghai on Saturday. – AP/PTI

Norman slams ‘stupid’ Tomic and KyrgiosMELBOURNE: Former world No. 1 golfer Greg Norman has lashed young Australian tennis players Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic for behaving “stupidly” on tour and offered to lecture them face-to-face on the values of good sportsmanship.

Tomic and Kyrgios have drawn scathing criticism from players and pundits for a raft of trans-gressions on and off the court.

World No. 2 20 Tomic has clashed with Australian tennis officials over funding and was ar-rested by Miami police for hold-ing a noisy hotel room party ear-lier this year.

Kyrgios, ranked 32, was round-ly condemned for a lewd slur di-rected at opponent Stan Wawrin-ka during a match in Canada and has continued to rack up fines for poor on-court behaviour on the Asian swing of the ATP tour.

Norman, who remains revered in Australia as a paragon of good sportsmanship, said the pair were letting down the country.

“I don’t care about the individ-uals themselves but when you’re carrying the Australian flag you don’t represent your country like an idiot, you represent the country like the country wants to be represented,” the 60-year-

old said on Brisbane radio. “They have said some stupid things and acted stupidly.

“I hope they both become ultra successful because at the end of the day, they will be humbled very quickly. If you become successful you cannot carry on like this.

“I haven’t seen (Rafa) Nadal or (Novak) Djokovic or the great golfers like Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer acting like that.

“If you want to act that way, fine, but remember you’ve got re-spect for your country and your sport that you have to protect.

“I’d like to sit down with them, athlete to athlete and talk about the responsibilities they do carry. They have to make some changes and some sacrifices.”

Local pundits have been quick to compare the bad boy duo of Australian tennis with the coun-try’s top golfers in Jason Day and Adam Scott. Both Day and Scott have each won major tourna-ments and claimed the top rank-ing of their sport without a whiff of controversy.

Two-time major champion Norman said Australian golf was in good hands, describing Day and Scott as “great, elite, iconic players”. - Reuters

F O R M E R T O P G O L F E R

Radwanska closes on WTA Final placeBEIJING: Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska moved within one win of securing a place at the WTA Finals after thrashing Czech Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals of the Tianjin Open on Saturday.

Radwanska will take on Danka Kovinic in Sunday’s showpiece af-ter the Montenegrin reached her first WTA final by beating Serbian Bojana Jovanovski 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-2 in the second semifinal.

World No. 6 Radwanska can join Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova in securing places

in the eight woman WTA Finals field by winning her second title of the year and 16th of her career on Sunday. The WTA Finals begin in Singapore on October 25. - Reuters

T I A N J I N O P E N

Agnieszka Radwanska

Kerber to face Jankovic in Hong Kong final

HONG KONG: Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic all but ended Venus Wil-liams’ slim hopes of qualifying for the end-of-season WTA Finals by winning the battle of former world number ones in the Hong Kong

Open semifinals on Saturday.Jankovic prevailed 6-4, 7-5 in

a tight match to set up a Sunday showdown with Germany’s Angel-ique Kerber, who proved too strong for Australia’s Sam Stosur.

Kerber beat the former U.S. Open champion 6-2, 6-2 and is now one win away from securing her place in the eight-woman field at the WTA Finals in Singapore in eight days time.

“I’m not thinking too much about needing one more win to-morrow, though,” the German said. “It’s going to be another day and an-other match, and I’m just going to try and play some good tennis.” - Reuters

T E N N I S

Marquez on pole, Lorenzo third

MELBOURNE: Outgoing cham-pion Marc Marquez swept to his eighth pole position of the season at the Australian MotoGP on Satur-day, as Jorge Lorenzo took a front-row position to keep the pressure on title leader Valentino Rossi.

Marquez, already eliminated from the championship race, topped the timeseheets with a scorching lap of one minute and 28.364 seconds around Phillip Is-land’s bucolic seaside circuit on a day of brilliant sunshine.

The Honda rider’s best was more than three-tenths of a sec-ond quicker than Ducati’s Andrea Iannone and Yamaha rider Lor-enzo, who posted matching times in their final flying laps.

Rossi, 18 points ahead of team-mate Lorenzo, his only challenger with three races left, will start a disappointing seventh on the grid, having failed to capitalise on perfect conditions after emerging from his garage late in the session.

Honda’s Dani Pedrosa heads the second row alongside fifth fastest Briton Cal Crutchlow and sixth fastest Suzuki rider Maverick Vinales. Wily Italian Rossi is chas-

ing a record-equalling eighth pre-mier class crown and will trust in his race smarts to secure enough points on Sunday to maintain a solid lead ahead of the penultimate stop at Malaysia next week.

Two-time champion Lorenzo, however, was fuming after the session after Iannone rode in his slipstream to match his best lap

and sandwiched his Ducati be-tween Marquez and the Yamaha rider on the front row.

“This time Andrea benefited a lot from my wheel,” said Lorenzo. “I did my best.”

Iannone thanked Lorenzo.“Without Jorge for sure, yes,

I improve — but not at this big step,” the Italian said. - Reuters

A U S T R A L I A N M O T O G P

PACE SETTER: Honda MotoGP rider Marc Marquez of Spain

celebrates after finishing in pole position after qualifying session

for the Australian Grand Prix on Phillip Island on Saturday. – Reuters

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DARSAIT XI LIFT MUSCAT FRIENDS CRICKET CUPDarsait XI defeated Manglorians XI CT to clinch the inaugural Muscat Friends Cricket Cup

organised by Muscat Friends XI CT in Al Hamriya on Friday. In an exciting final, Darsait XI CT

batted first and scored 115 runs in eight overs and then restricted Manglorians XI to 48 runs.

Sajith of Darsait XI CT won the man of the series and best batsman awards. The best bowler

award went to Arun of Darsait XI CT and Arif was declared the man of the final. — Supplied photo

Late Du Preez try sends Springboks into semis

LONDON: Captain Fourie Du Preez’s late try sent South Africa into the Rugby World Cup semi-finals after a tense 23-19 victory over gallant Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.

The Springboks produced a mo-ment of magic six minutes from time, catching Wales napping when Duane Vermeulen peeled off the back of a scrum and the big number eight’s brilliant offload sent scrumhalf Du Preez scamper-ing over in the corner.

Twice winners South Africa, who were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Australia in 2011 and began this tournament with a

shock defeat by Japan, will meet holders New Zealand or France next weekend.

Brutal contest“It was an awesome feeling, it was tight game, I’m just delighted,” said Du Preez. “We just needed to keep pushing, I could see some of their guys lying down. We’ve got two more games, we’ve learned from the Japan game.”

Flyhalf Handre Pollard kicked five penalties and a drop goal for the Springboks with Dan Biggar land-ing 14 points for the Welsh, whose brave defensive effort came up just short. Wales showed more creativ-

ity than in their final pool defeat to Australia a week ago, scoring a fine first-half try through Gareth Davies, but their injury-hit tourna-ment finally caught up with them.

“Gutted not to get through but we can leave the pitch with no regrets,” said Wales captain Sam Warburton. “It was back and forth all match and we knew it would come down to fine margins or the last five minutes.”

A brutal contest was surpris-ingly open from the start, although it developed into a cagey and tense affair. Pollard’s three penalties gave South Africa a 9-3 lead but Wales hit back thanks to a moment of brilliance from Biggar.

The flyhalf, making the most of fullback Willie Le Roux’s hesitan-cy, gathered his own up-and-un-der in the Springbok 22 and, with Davies on his shoulder, offloaded for his halfback partner to crash over after 17 minutes.

Pollard’s fourth penalty from a tight angle put South Africa ahead again as the game became scrappy

a Biggar drop goal right on half-time put the Welsh 13-12 up.

The change of ends and a swirl-ing wind appeared to initially affect Pollard and he was twice wayward with penalty attempts before nailing a drop goal from in front of the posts after Biggar had stretched the lead to four.

Wales captain Sam Warburton came up with a crucial turnover five metres from his line as the Springboks upped their intensity, piling into the rucks time and time again, only to be repelled.

With both sides tiring and some-what ragged, the decisive moment came moments after an angry Biggar trudged off remonstrating with his own medical staff. Wales appeared to lose concentration in the ensuing scrum in their own 22 and an alert Du Preez pounced to secure the semifinal place.

“At the end of the day South Af-rica hung in there, got one chance and they took it and that was the result,” said Wales coach Warren Gatland. - Reuters

Twice winners South Africa, who began this

tournament with a shock defeat by Japan,

will meet holders New Zealand or France

CRUCIAL TRY: Fourie du Preez of South Africa scores a try during their Rugby World Cup quarterfinal match against Wales

at Twickenham in London on Saturday. – Reuters

Scotland’s Ford, Gray cleared to face Australia

LONDON: Scotland forwards Ross Ford and Jonny Gray have been cleared to play in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against Australia after winning their appeals against suspen-sions for foul play, organisers said on Saturday.

Hooker Ford and lock Gray were banned for three weeks for making a dangerous tack-le during the Pool B game against Samoa.

Evidence reviewedThe pair were left out of the team named by coach Vern Cot-ter for Sunday’s game against the Wallabies at Twickenham, replaced by hooker Fraser Brown and lock Tim Swinson.

Following a review of the evi-dence, however, the Appeal Com-mittee dismissed the finding that Ford and Gray had committed a dangerous tackle because the opposing player had not been dropped or driven. - Reuters

R U G B Y

Aussies trust in depth

for Scotland clash

Ireland’s Sexton ruled out of Argentina game

LONDON: Australia coach Mi-chael Cheika is confident the Wallabies can not only survive the loss of David Pocock and Israel Folau but might even be better without them when they meet Scotland in Sunday’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal.

Pocock, arguably the most influential loose forward in the tournament, and fullback Folau, Australia’s most potent attacking weapon over the last two years, failed fitness tests on Friday and were replaced by Ben McCalman and Kurtley Beale.

Cheika said he had never even considered risking Pocock, who has a calf strain, and Folau, who has an injury problem, despite their importance to the team.

“They couldn’t do their jobs and that’s the key,” he told report-ers on Saturday.

“You’ve got to be able to do your jobs in this team and I don’t think either player could do it to their full potential.”

With the loss of Pocock, Cheika has abandoned the deployment of two specialist openside flank-ers in his back row and brought Michael Hooper back from sus-pension to join stalwart blindside flanker Scott Fardy and the bulki-er number eight McCalman.

Beale, who started the pool vic-tory over Uruguay at fullback but has otherwise been used off the bench in this tournament, will win his 58th cap against the Scots at Twickenham.

“It’s really just a straight swap for those guys,” said Cheika.

“We’ll just ask them to im-prove the team with what they bring. Both have already made contributions to the side in this tournament and I’m sure they’ll continue to contribute in spades.”

Cheika’s aim since he took over as coach a year ago was to put together a playing system that squad players would be able to slot into when necessary.

“We’ve been working hard over the last 10, 11 months to get real depth in all positions,” he said.

“I know Pocock and Folau are great players but I really believe in the guys who are coming into their positions. That’s something we want to build on.”

In the other change to the side, Rob Simmons comes into the second row for Dean Mumm to fix a lineout that struggled at times in the epic pool victory over Wales last week.

Simmons, who started the pool games against Fiji and Eng-land before losing his place for the Wales match, said the rivalry with Mumm had been good for both players.

“We’ve been pushing each other and we help each other out from week to week too, on how we’re going to run the lineout and things like that,” the 26-year-old said.

“There’s been a bit of compe-tition and Cheik’s selection has been keeping us on our toes,” he added. - Reuters

CARDIFF: Ireland suffered a massive blow on the eve of Sun-day’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Argentina when fly-half Johnny Sexton was ruled out with a groin injury.

Sexton, 30, had been named in the starting lineup despite limp-ing off the field in last weekend’s pool win over France but felt some discomfort after training on Friday.

The Irish playmaker was sent for scans which revealed he had a minor abductor strain, prompt-ing team officials to withdraw

him from the match and replace him with Ian Madigan.

“He was pretty down on himself after last week, having to come off and he did everything he could this week,” Ireland forwards coach Simon Easterby said.

“He trained yesterday and unfortunately it’s one of those things, in his position as well, having to kick the ball as much as he does and be very accurate.

“It just meant that it wasn’t quite right and we weren’t pre-pared to take that risk going into such a big game.” - Reuters

P R E V I E W

M A S S I V E B L O W

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Bank Muscat presents green football field to Hai Al Daher teamMUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flag-ship financial services provider in the Sultanate, in step with its ‘Let’s Do More’ vision and partnership to support youth who represent the future of Oman, marked a celebra-tion to inaugurate a green foot-ball field, developed as part of the Green Sports initiative, for Hai Al Daher Sports Team in the wilayat of Quriyat.

The ceremony was held under the auspices of Khalid bin Mohammed Al Zubair, Chairman of Oman Olym-pic Committee, and attended by dig-nitaries and senior bank officials.

The corporate social responsi-bility (CSR) initiative launched by Bank Muscat to promote Oman as a sporting nation has gained mo-mentum with the announcement of 15 new beneficiary teams for 2015. Marking the successful fourth year, the unique Green Sports initiative has, to date, benefited a total of 49 teams across the Sultanate.

In 2015, the bank widened the scope of Green Sports initiative beyond the greening of football fields. Football teams seeking Green Sports support can choose from four options to either green their football fields with natural or synthetic turf, or avail support to affix flood lights or water de-salination equipment to facilitate

greening of fields in areas facing problems of water salinity. The move is aimed at providing wider representation to teams to build sustainable sports infrastructure in all parts of the Sultanate.

Taya Bait Sabeea, Senior Re-gional Manager, said: “The inau-guration of the green football field in Quriyat reiterates the bank’s commitment to supporting youth who represent the future of Oman. We congratulate Hai Al Daher Team for seizing the opportunity to green their field, thereby set-

ting a fine example for other teams in Oman to promote Oman as a sporting nation.”

The football fields are also serv-ing as a meeting place for children and youth to be engaged in gain-ful activities. The fields are used to host various activities such as Ramadan nights, group wed-dings and other celebrations. Such community activities are help-ing children and youth develop strong positive character traits. Aimed at raising sporting heroes for the country, the bank remains

committed to supporting all de-serving teams to develop sports infrastructure across the Sultan-ate. Bank Muscat recognises that sustainable development has the potential for achieving long-term benefits spanning economic, so-cial, cultural and environmental dimensions.

The funding criteria for the Green Sports programme include that sports teams should have been in existence for three years with a minimum membership of 300 youth from the local com-

munity. The bank recognises that local teams wield immense influ-ence on neighbourhood communi-ties, especially youth, hence teams with modern infrastructure facili-ties can help raise sporting heroes for the country.

Shaikh Mahfoudh bin Ali Al Juma, President of the Organising Committee of Hai Al Daher Foot-ball Field, said: “The inauguration of Hai Al Daher team’s green foot-ball field marks a milestone for the development of sports, especially the game of football, in the wilayat

of Quriyat. We thank Bank Muscat for this laudable gesture.”

Salem bin Juma Al Sinani, Presi-dent of Hai Al Daher Team, said: “The Green Sports initiative has made vital contributions to create an environment encouraging Om-ani sports talents. The unique ini-tiative is a big support for the coun-try’s youth and we are confident that many youngsters will benefit from this programme and become sporting heroes for the country.”

The consistent progress of the Green Sports initiative confirms the bank’s commitment to the pro-gramme aimed at providing ample opportunities for young Omanis to develop their sporting talents in an ideal environment. The pro-gramme is expected to go a long way in developing the sporting skills and talents of Omani youth, there-by promoting football in Oman.

Bank Muscat is committed to its ‘Let’s Do More’ vision for the econ-omy, community and environment and is proud to have led the way in contributing to sustainable de-velopment in Oman with various initiatives. As the nation’s leading financial institution, Bank Mus-cat aims to provide the impetus for youth to excel in all arenas and thereby contribute to the develop-ment and progress of Oman.

‘ L E T ’ S D O M O R E ’

New Media defeat Ooredoo A

MUSCAT: New Media defeated Ooredoo A by five wickets in a Khimji Ramdas-sponsored A Di-vision match at the Municipality Ground II here on Friday.

Winning the toss and batting first, Ooredoo A scored 165 all out in 29 overs with Wajid Ali and Vi-jeesh C.V. scoring with 46 and 30 respectively.

Imran Rizvi and Chand Lakmal were the pick of the New Media bowlers with figures of three for 26 and three for 20 in six overs re-spectively.

New Media completed their bonus point victory by chasing the score down in just 22.3 overs for the loss of five wickets. Ra-jeesh Tayyil and Chandana Jag-ath scored with 51 not out and 36 respectively. Sunil Baby claimed three scalps for Ooredoo A.

Brief scores: Ooredoo A 165 in 29 overs (Wajid Ali 46, Vijessh C.V. 30; Imran

Rizvi 3/26, Chand Lakmal 3/20) lost to New Media 166 for 5 in 22.3 overs (Ra-jeesh Tayyil 51 n.o., Chandana Jagath 36; Sunil Baby 3/44). Points: New Media - 3, Ooredoo A - 0.

Easy for Galfar In another A Division match, Galfar defeated OCT Al Amerat by nine wickets at Municipality Ground I on Friday.

Winning the toss and batting first, Al Amerat put on 178 for nine

in 30 overs with the Faris Al Zad-jali and Salim Haider scoring with 67 and 35 runs respectively.

For Galfar, M. Nazish picked up three wickets.

Galfar completed their bonus point victory by chasing the score down in 18.5 overs for the loss of one wicket. Khalil Ahmed and Mu-nas Palath top scored with 64 not out and 45 not out respectively.

Brief scores: OCT Al Amerat 178 for 9 in 30 overs (Faris Al Zadjali 67, Salim

Haider 35; M. Nazish 3/26) lost to Galfar 179 for 1 in 18.5 overs (Khalil Ahmed 64 n.o., Munas Palath 45 n.o.) Points: Galfar CT- 3, OCT Al Amerat - 0.

DUE down PDO In an Al Ansari Group of Compa-nies-sponsored B Division match, the Design Unit Engineering (DUE) defeated PDO by five wickets at the Municipality Ground I during the afternoon session on Friday.

After being asked to bat first,

PDO put on 140 for nine in 20 overs with Kashif Khalil top scor-ing with 53 runs. For DUE, Rajesh Shetty picked up four wickets in four overs.

DUE chased the target in 18.2 overs losing five wickets. Nishant M. and Shabu scored with 39 and 30 respectively. PDO’s Abdul Majid bagged two wickets.

Brief scores: PDO 140 for 9 in 20 overs (Kashif Khalil 53; Rajesh Shetty 4/19) lost to DUE 141/5 in 18.2 overs (Nishant M. 39, Shabu 30; Abdul Majid 2/29). Points: Design Unit Engineering - 2, PDO - 0.

SARCO win thrillerIn a Raha Poly Products-spon-sored C Division match, SARCO recorded a two-wicket victory over Newrest Wacasco at the Munici-pality Ground II.

Batting first, Newrest scored 137 in 19.4 overs with Deepak Gakhar top scoring with 47 runs. Satish Achary and Aamir Mer-chant were the pick of the SARCO bowlers claiming three and two wickets respectively.

In response, SARCO managed to score 138 for eight in 17.4 overs. Tosim Khan top scored for SARCO with 57 runs. Kathik Rajappa was the pick of the Newrest bowlers with figures of three for 22.

Brief scores: Newrest Wacasco 137 in 19.4 overs (Deepak Gakhar 47, Satish Achary 3/19, Aamir Merchant 2/27) lost to SARCO 138 for 8 in 17.4 overs (Tosim Khan 57; Karthik Rajappa 3/22). Points: SARCO - 2, Newrest Wacasco - 0.

After bowling out

Ooredoo A for 165 in

29 overs, New Media

reached the target

in 22.3 overs losing

five wickets

FIRST WIN: New Media team after their win over Ooredoo A. – Supplied photo A DIVISION: Galfar team after their victory against OCT Al Amerat. – Supplied photo

MUSCAT: Khimji Ramdas Group recently felicitated the members of Oman national cricket team who qualified for the World T20 Championship

to be organised in India.The Sultanate squad qualified

for the world event after their excellent performances at the T20 World Qualifier jointly or-

ganised in Ireland and Scotland in July this year. The players included Vaibhav Wategaonkar, Rajesh Ranpura, Jatinder Singh and Munis Ansari.

Khimji Ramdas fetes Oman team players

Ex-Everton manager Kendall diesLONDON: Everton’s most successful manager Howard Kendall who led the club to two league titles in the 1980s, died on Saturday aged 69.

“It is with great sadness that Everton Football Club has learned of the passing of How-ard Kendall,” Everton said in a statement on their website.

“The most successful man-ager in the history of the Club and one of the greatest players to pull on the Everton jersey.

“He passed away in hospital in Southport this morning at the age of 69, surrounded by loved ones.”

Kendall began his playing career as a defender at Pres-ton North End in 1963 before he moved to Everton four years later.

He originally joined Preston as an apprentice in 1961 and three years later, aged just 17 years, 345 days, he became the youngest player to appear in an FA Cup final since 1879.

Second Division Preston lost a thrilling final 3-2 to West Ham United and although success alluded him that day, he gained plenty after moving to Everton in 1967. He was again, however, a beaten FA Cup finalist in 1968 when Everton lost a dour final 1-0 to West Bromwich Albion.

Having been converted into a midfielder, he went on to win the top-flight First Division ti-tle in 1970 when the much-cele-brated midfield of Colin Harvey, Alan Ball and Kendall — Ever-ton’s “Holy Trinity” — won the title by nine points from Leeds United in 1970.

Kendall was widely regarded during his playing career as the best never to be capped by Eng-land. He had played for England at every junior level from School-boy to Under-23 and had cap-tained England to victory in the Little World Cup, as the youth edition was called then, in 1964.

He moved into management at Blackburn in 1979.

He managed Everton in three spells beginning from 1981 to 1987, when he won two league titles, an FA Cup and European Cup Winners Cup. - Reuters

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Jackichand strike in Pune’s win over KolkataPUNE: Pune FC rode on India international Jackichand Sin-gh’s second minute strike to snap defending champions Atletico de Kolkata’s unbeaten run with a 1-0 win and jump to the top of the Indian Super League (ISL) standings here on Saturday.

The game got off to a lightning start with Jackichand capitalis-ing on a long ball into the Atleti-co de Kolkata (ATK) half and finishing first time with his left foot past goalkeeper Juan Cal-atayud to put the home side 1-0 up with just 76 seconds on the clock at the Shree Shiv Chhatra-pati Sports Complex Stadium.

With nine points from four matches (three wins and a loss), Pune leapfrogged ATK on top of ISL table, pushing down the defending champions, who suf-fered their first defeat of the sea-son on Saturday, to second spot. ATK now have seven points from four matches (two wins, one draw and one loss).

Calatayud was a busy man throughout the match and was called into action a minute later to save from a long range effort by Costa Rican Yendrick Ruiz. The home side were firmly in control in the opening stages as Kolkata struggled to get on the ball.

Pune could have doubled their advantage in the 22nd minute but Tuncay Sanli blazed over the bar with a shot off his weaker left foot. The defending champions were on the back foot and a quick counter-attack set up two more chances for Pune in a goal-mouth scramble at the half-hour mark.

ATK’s defence somehow kept it at 1-0 after attempts from Ruiz and Jackichand were cleared off the line. Ruiz had another go from a distance but Calatayud was equal to the task. Pune had another go before going into the break in the 41st minute but Eugeneson Lyngdoh’s shot, how-ever, failed to test the keeper.

Kolkata had to wait till the 38th minute for their first shot on goal, off Ofentse Nato that he dragged wide off the target. Pune keeper Steven Simonsen got his first touch of the ball four minutes later after making a routine save at near post from ATK’s first shot on target. - PTI

I S L

Record Ronaldo goal puts Real on topMADRID: Real Madrid opened a two-point lead over Villarreal at the top of La Liga when Cristiano Ronaldo set a club scoring record in a 3-0 stroll at home to Levante on Saturday.

Marcelo fired Real ahead in the 27th minute at the Bernabeu when he exchanged passes with Ronaldo and blasted the ball past Ruben in the Levante goal.

Ronaldo made it 2-0 three min-utes later when he cracked a long-range effort into the corner, his 324th Real goal putting him one clear of former Spain striker Raul.

Rare droughtIt ended a rare four-match goal drought in Spain’s top flight for the Portugal captain, his joint-worst run since he joined Real in 2009.

Substitute Jese skipped past his marker and drove the ball high into the net to make it 3-0 eight minutes from time as Real Ma-drid secured a morale-boosting victory ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League Group A match at Paris St Germain.

Levante squandered the few

chances they created, although forward Deyverson did force a good save from Real’s former Le-vante goalkeeper Keylor Navas shortly before Ronaldo’s goal.

Barca have lost their last two away matches, falling 4-1 at Celta Vigo and 2-1 at Sevilla, and are still without talisman Lionel Messi and captain Andres Iniesta,

who are out injured. Villarreal can reclaim top spot

if they beat Celta Vigo on Sunday, when fifth-placed Atletico Madrid play at Real Sociedad. - Reuters

L A L I G A

RECORD GOAL: Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo reacts next Levante’s Juanfran Garcia during their La Liga match at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on Saturday. – Reuters

City and United in scoring spree, no goals for Klopp

LONDON: Goals rained in for Manchester City and Manchester United but Juergen Klopp’s first game as Liverpool manager was solid rather than spectacular as they drew 0-0 at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday.

Raheem Sterling’s hat-trick and a Wilfried Bony double helped leaders City to a 5-1 home win against Bournemouth while a few miles down the motorway United thumped Everton 3-0 with Wayne Rooney scoring his first away league goal for 11 months.

City lead second-placed United by two points with West Ham United, who won 3-1 at Crystal Palace, a further two adrift.

Liverpool’s sixth draw in seven matches in all competitions left them down in 10th place but there was reason for optimism for Klopp who replaced the sacked Brendan Rodgers this month.

“0-0 is not my dream result but it is okay,” former Borussia Dort-mund coach Klopp said.

England winger Sterling, signed by City for about £45 million ($69.48 million) from Liverpool, lit up the Etihad Stadium with all three of his goals coming before halftime.

With Sergio Aguero facing an in-

jury lay-off, Sterling, criticised for his lack of finishing prowess since his move, seized the spotlight, poking in the opener after seven minutes, dribbling through for his second after half an hour and com-pleting his hat-trick in first-half stoppage time.

Bony, given his chance because of Aguero’s misfortune, also got in on the scoring act — linking well with Sterling.

“We are on fire, now we just need to continue. It is a very important week for us — Sevilla on Wednes-day in the Champions League and

then the Manchester derby at the weekend,” he said.

United will relish next week-end’s Manchester derby too after demolishing Everton at a sombre Goodison Park where fans took part in a minute’s applause for Howard Kendall, the club’s twice league-winning manager, who died on Saturday, aged 69.

Goals by Morgan Schneiderlin and Ander Herrera put United in control and Rooney completed the win at his former club.

Rooney, who has 187 Premier League goals, second only to Alan

Shearer, said: “It was a very good performance. We were disappoint-ed about the Arsenal game (losing 3-0), and we know coming here is difficult, but it’s a well-deserved victory and we’re delighted.”

Jose Mourinho’s troubled start to the season took an upturn as his Chelsea side steadied the ship with a 2-0 home win against strug-gling Aston Villa, although they were helped by a goalkeeping error from Brad Guzan and Alan Hut-ton’s own goal.

High-flying West Ham notched a fourth away win this season,

Manuel Lanzini and Dimitri Pay-et scoring late in a 3-1 victory at London rivals Crystal Palace, who played half the match with 10 men after Dwight Gayle was red-carded just before the break.

West Ham’s former manager Sam Allardyce’s first game in charge of Sunderland ended in a dismal 1-0 defeat at West Brom-wich Albion, leaving them second from bottom.

Mid-table Southampton led 2-0 against fifth-placed Leicester City but were pegged back and settled for a 2-2 draw. - Reuters

Raheem Sterling’s

hat-trick and a

Wilfried Bony double

helped leaders City

to a 5-1 home win

against Bournemouth

HAT-TRICK HERO: Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling scores a goal during their Premier League match against AFC Bournemouth at Etihad Stadium on Saturday. – Reuters

No bribes paid to FIFA for 2006 World Cup: German FA chiefBERLIN: Germany’s 2006 World Cup bid committee did not bribe officials from the world soccer governing body FIFA to win the vote for the tournament, the Ger-man Football Association (DFB) president Wolfgang Niersbach

said on Saturday, rejecting allega-tions made by a German magazine a day earlier.

Niersbach, who served on the committee, was responding to a report in Der Spiegel magazine on Friday alleging a slush fund had

been set up for the committee to pay bribes to FIFA officials in or-der to help land the tournament for Germany in 2000.

Der Spiegel reported that among those aware of the slush fund had been the head of the committee,

Franz Beckenbauer, as well as Niersbach, citing internal docu-ments from the German Football Association (DFB).

“I can rule that out categorical-ly,” Niersbach said in comments published on the DFB website.

“I can assure that in relation to the bidding and awarding of the 2006 World Cup there were no ‘slush funds’ at the DFB, the bid-ding committee or the later or-ganising committee,” the German football chief added. - Reuters

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WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

HealthSECTIONC L I F E S T Y L E S U N DAY, O CTO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

WHY ANTIBIOTICS CAN’T FIGHT

VIRUSES Story Mohammed Shafeeqe

LIFESTYLEC8 S U N DAY, O CTO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Have you ever asked your family doctor at your local clinic for antibiotics to treat a cold? Or sore throat?

Or your child’s ear infection? And did your doctor ever say “Sure. We can.” Well, you probably shouldn’t have asked, and your doctor almost certainly should have said ‘no’.

Why? Because viruses usually cause those infections, not bacteria, and antibiotics don’t work against viruses. Using antibiotics when you don’t need them is not only a waste of money, but can cause side effects including everything from diarrhoea to nausea, vomiting, and serious allergic reactions. Numer-ous studies done across the world indicate that up to half of all the antibiotics are prescribed for the wrong reasons.

According to Dr Sreekumar, Pae-diatric Specialist, KIMS Oman Hos-pital, “Majority of the infections in-volving the upper respiratory tract (nose, throat, ears) and the gastro-intestinal (stomach and intestines) tract infections are caused by virus-es and they don’t need any antibiot-ics. Contrary to the popular belief, antibiotics neither reduce the in-tensity nor shorten the duration of any viral illness. Antibiotics are as-sociated with significant side effects like rashes, diarrhoea, and severe allergic reactions. More recently scientific evidences suggest that antibiotics alter the normal bacte-rial flora that is part of our intestinal

tract leading to consequences such as autoimmune diseases, allergies, asthma and potentially obesity.”

Even worse is antibiotic resist-ance. The unnecessary use of anti-biotics can breed bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, making the drugs less effective when you really need them. “Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics by changing their genes after being in contact with an antibiotic. These changes allow the bacteria to survive or re-sist the antibiotic. This is how an-tibiotic resistance occurs,” explains Dr Sreekumar. The overuse of anti-biotics is a serious problem, these days, described by public health ex-perts in apocalyptic terms.

According to Dr Ramez, “Antibi-otic resistance has been called one of the world’s most pressing public health problems. Almost every type of bacteria has become stronger and less responsive to antibiotic treatment when it is really needed. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria can quickly spread to family mem-bers, schoolmates, and co-workers, threatening the community with a new strain of infectious disease that is more difficult to cure and more expensive to treat.”

“Antibiotic resistance can cause significant danger and suffering for children and adults who have com-mon infections, once easily treat-able with antibiotics. Microbes can develop resistance to specific medi-cines. A common misconception is that a person’s body becomes re-

sistant to specific drugs. However, it is microbes, not people, that become resistant to the drugs,” he said.

If a microbe is resistant to many drugs, treating the infections it causes can become difficult or even impossible. Someone with an in-fection that is resistant to a certain medicine can pass that resistant infection to another person. In this way, a hard-to-treat illness can be spread from person to person. In some cases, the illness can lead to serious disability or even death, Dr Ramez explains.

Bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics mainly because of the injudicious use of antibiotics, says Dr Sreekumar. “Using antibiotics when they are not needed like in vi-ral infections can lead to antibiotic resistance. As against the common thinking, antibiotics will not reduce the severity or duration of viral in-fections. Antibiotics will also not prevent viral infections from get-ting transmitted to others, and not taking antibiotics in the prescribed doses and time intervals also leads to resistance in due course,” he said.

Antibiotics For Bacterial Infections“Antibiotics are used mainly for bacterial infections. Use anti-biotics only if it is suggested by your doctor. Your doctor decides whether the infection is bacterial by clinical examination and labo-ratory tests, if needed,” Dr Sreeku-

mar makes it clear. But it’s not just about doctors.

Doctors also say patients demand to be given antibiotics. So should we ask our doctors for antibiotics, and should they hand them over? In most cases, probably not. The basic rule is that antibiotics only work against bacteria. They have no effect on viruses. Colds, flu and sore throats – all the allergies we are subject to during winter – are mostly caused by viruses.

Dr Sreekumar advises that by using antibiotics less often, we can slow the development of resist-ance. “Don’t ask for antibiotics. You should use antibiotics only when it is appropriate to do so. Take anti-biotics exactly as prescribed, never save them for future use and never share them with others,” he said.

An essential part of preventing the spread of infection in the com-munity and at home is proper hy-giene. This includes hand-washing and cleaning shared items and sur-faces, says Dr Ramez. For the last six decades, antibiotics have been wonder drugs, curing diseases such as pneumonia that used to be major killers. But widespread prescription is putting them – and human beings – at risk. The drugs are losing their potency as the bugs they once exter-minated become resistant to them. Still, people believe that there are pills for all ills. In fact, all these years in the war between bacteria and an-tibiotics, the bugs are winning.shafeeqe@timesofoman.com

UNNECESSARY

USE

OF

ANTIBIOTICS

TO

TREAT

CONDITIONS

CAUSED

BY

VIRUSES

MAY

NOT

HELP

IN

RIDDING

THE

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BUT

POSSIBLY

INVITE

ALLERGIES

AND

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DISEASES

HOW TO TAKE PRESCRIBED ANTIBIOTICS

Genes That Could Slow Ageing Identified

In what could lead to po-tential new ways of slowing the pace of ageing in humans, research have identified 238 genes that, when removed from living cells, can extend their life.

The 10-year study by scien-tists at the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing and the University of Washington in the US was conducted on yeast cells. As many of these genes and genetic pathways are also found in mammals, the re-searchers believe that if the same gene editing technique could be replicated in hu-mans, it could help extend our lifespan. “This study looks at ageing in the context of the whole genome and gives us a more complete picture of what ageing is,” said study lead author Brian Kennedy, president and CEO, Buck Institute for Research on Ageing in Novato, California. The researchers examined 4,698 yeast strains, each with a single gene deletion. To de-termine which strains yielded increased lifespan, the re-searchers counted yeast cells, logging how many daughter cells a mother produced be-fore it stopped dividing.

How Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Can Be EliminatedA combination and sequence of antibiotics can effectively hinder the development of antibiotic-resistant bacte-ria, a study found. Research-ers at Moffitt Cancer Centre, Florida, have developed a novel mathematical method, inspired by Darwinian evolu-tion, to use current antibiot-ics to eliminate or reduce the development of antibiotic-re-sistant bacteria. The research-ers showed that the ability of the bacterium E. coli to sur-vive in antibiotics could be either promoted or hindered depending on the sequence of antibiotics given. They dis-covered that approximately 70 per cent of different sequences of 2 to 4 antibiotics lead to re-sistance to the final drug. “Our results suggest that, through careful ordering of antibiotics, we may be able to steer evolu-tion to a dead end from which resistance cannot emerge,” said lead author Daniel Nichol from Moffitt. -IANS

BR I E FS

LIFESTYLEC9S U N DAY, O C TO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Eye Rub ExerciseTo relax your eyes, improve blood circulation, and enhance vision, do a simple exercise: Keep your eyes closed, rub your palms briskly together and immediately place the base of your palms over your eyes. Feel the heat warming up your eyes. Repeat 3-4 times. This exercise can be done standing, sitting, or lying down.

Eat Tamarind to Improve DigestionTamarind, if consumed as a fruit or as a spice, helps in improving the digestive system. It stimulates the activity of bile, which helps in dis-solving food faster, while its fibre content also stimulates gastric juices to speed up digestion. It is considered a powerful laxative for those suffering from constipation.

Here are a few simple, time-tested foods, techniques,

and remedies to try, and a bit about why. Have you tried any of these

tricks? How did you like them? Do you have a favourite remedy of

your own? Tell us about it at lifestyle@timesofoman.com

Try

Why

DECODINGDOCTOR

Gum Care WHO GETS GUM DISEASE?People usually don’t show signs of gum disease until they are in their 30s or 40s. Men are more likely to have gum disease than women. Although teenagers rarely develop periodontitis, they can develop gingivitis, the milder form of gum disease. Most commonly, gum dis-ease develops when plaque is al-lowed to build up along and under the gum line.

WHAT IS THE MOST COM-MON GUM DISEASE?The most common gum disease that is found is gingivitis.

WHAT IS GINGIVITIS?Gingivitis is an inflammation of the gums which is usually caused by a bacterial infection. If left un-treated, it can become a more seri-ous infection known as periodon-

titis. Gingivitis and periodontitis are major causes of tooth loss in adults. The following are risk fac-tors for gingivitis:

(steroids, anticonvulsants, calci-um channel blockers, and chemo-therapy)

as HIV/AIDS patients)

WHAT CAUSES GINGIVITIS?Our mouths are full of bacteria. These bacteria, along with mucus and other particles, constantly form a sticky, colourless “plaque” on teeth. Plaque is a thin film of

bacteria. It constantly forms on the surface of your teeth. As plaque advances, it hardens and becomes tartar. You can develop an infection when plaque ex-tends below the gum line. Your gums actually attach to the teeth at a lower point than the gum edges that we see. This forms a small space called a sulcus.

Food can get trapped in this space and cause a gum infection or gingivitis. Left unchecked, gin-givitis can cause the gums to sepa-rate from the teeth. This can cause injury to the soft tissue and bone supporting the teeth. The tooth may become loose and unstable. If infection progresses, you may ultimately lose your tooth or need a dentist to remove it. Plaque that is not removed can harden and form “tartar” that brushing doesn’t clean. Only a professional cleaning

by a dentist can remove the tartar.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF GINGIVITIS?The following can be symptoms of gingivitis:

or swollen

brush or floss your teeth

from the teeth loose teeth

fit together when you bite (malocclusion)

longer fit

does not go away after you brush your teeth .ur teeth twice a da shafeeqe@timesofoman.com

Eat Mackerel to Control Blood SugarMackerel is an easily available fish that contains a good amount of healthy fats (monounsaturated fatty acids) which are very important for the control of blood sugar levels in diabetics. Regular consumption of mackerel is helpful not just in regulating blood sugar but also in lowering visceral fat, the two key risks for diabetics.

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Many people aren’t aware that they have gingivitis. It’s possible to have gum disease without any symptoms. You

must practise proper oral hygiene and a healthy lifestyle to have a healthy gum. DrSmithaTharakan, Dentist Surgeon,

KIMS Oman Hospital, shares some vital information on gum care.

FIND-IT-ALLC10 S U N DAY, O CTO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

CITY CINEMAContact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68. www.citycinemaoman.netfacebook.com/citycinemaoman

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Singh is Bling– 2D (Action/Comedy/) (PG)9:15PM

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SALALAH

The Martian (3D) (PG) (Action, Sci-Fi)

2:15, 5:05PM

Crimsom Peak (2D) (15+) (Drama)

10:00AM, 2:00, 7:40, 11:45PM

Momentum (2D) (15+) (Action/Thriller)

Cast: Olga Kurylenko, James Purefoy, Morgan

12:00, 4:05, 9:50, 11:30PM

Pan (3D) (PG) (Adventure/Family/Fantasy)

12:15PM

Pet Pals In Windland (2D) (PG) (Animation )

Voice Overs: Gerolamo Alchieri, Nanni Baldini

10:45AM, 1:45PM

War Pigs (2D)(12+) (Action/War)

Cast: Luke Goss, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck

10:15AM, 11:35PM

Jazbaa (2D)(12+) (Drama/Action/Adventure)

Cast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Irrfan Khan,

7:00PM

Kung Fu Jungle (2D) (12+) (Action/Thriller)

Cast: Donnie Yen, Charlie Yeung, Baoqiang

12:05, 3:15PM

Wedding Pullav (2D) (PG) (Romance/)

Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Satish Kaushik, Upasna

4:45, 9:15PM

Life of Josutty (2D) (PG12) (Mal) (Family)

8:30PM

The Fighter (2D) (PG12) (Telugu) (Action)

Cast: Ram Charan, Rakul Preet Singh

6:00PM

CINEMA SCHEDULE CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF 3 YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE CINEMA | BOX-OFFICE COUNTER OPENS 30-MINUTES PRIOR TO THE SCREENING OF THE FIRST SHOW

ROYAL OMAN POLICE

Emergencies and inquiries: 9999

General Directorate of

Passport and Residence 24569603

Directorate General

of Customs 24521109

Traffic violations inquiries 24510228

Public Relations Admin 24560099

EMBASSIES IN OMAN

Afghanistan 24698 791/4

Algeria 24605 593

Bahrain 24 605 074/133

Bangladesh 24 698 660

Brazil 24640100

Brunei 24 603533

China 24 696782

Cyprus 24 699815

Egypt 24 600 982/411

France 24681 800

Germany 24835000

India 24684500

Indonesia 2469 1050

Iran 24 696 944/7

Iraq 24603642

Italy 24693727

Japan 24 601 028

Jordan 24692760/1/3

Kazakhstan 24 692418

Kenya 24 697664

South Korea 24 691490

Kuwait 24 699628

Lebanon 24 693208

Libya 24603466

Malaysia 24698329/643

Morocco 24696152/3

Nepal 24696177

Netherlands 24603706

Pakistan 24603439

Palestine 24601312

Philippines 24605335

Qatar 24 691 153/2/4

Russia 24602894

Saudi Arabia 24601705

Senegal 24694139

Somalia 24697977

South Africa 24647300

Spain 24691101

Sri Lanka 24697841/2

Sudan 24697875

Switzerland 24603267

Syria 24697904

Tanzania 24601 174

Thailand 24 602684/5

Tunisia 24603486

Turkey 24697050/1/2

UAE 24400000

United Kingdom 24609000

United States 24643400

Yemen 24600815

PHARMACIES

Round the clock

Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi 24783334

Apollo Medical Centre,

Hamriya 24782666

Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi 24702542

Salalah 23291635;

Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra 24503585

Muscat Region

Apollo, Al Hamriya 24787766

Muscat, A Seeb Market 24421691

Muscat, Al Khuwair 24485740

Muscat, Al Hail South 24537080

Dhofar Region

Muscat, Al Nahdha Road,

Salalah 23291635

HOSPITALS

Al Amal Medical & Health Care

Centre 24485052

Atlas Hospital

Ruwi 24811743/

Ghubra 24504000

Al Musafir Specialised

Medical Clinic 24706453

Hatat Polyclinic LLC,

Ruwi 24563641

Azaiba 24499269

Sohar 2683006

Al Raffah Hospital 24618900/1/2

Al Massaraat Clinic &

Laboratory 24566435

Al Makook Medical

Coordinance Centre 24499434

Apollo Medical Centre,

Hamriya 24787766, 24787780

Capital Polyclinic 24707549

Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic,

Ruwi 24799760/1/2

Capital Clinic, Seeb 24420740

Ceregem National Raak 24485633

Dr Harub’s Clinic 24563217

Elixir Health Centre 24565802

Emirates Medical Centre 24604540

1st Chiropractic Centre 24472274

Hamdan Hospital 23212340

International Medical

Centre LLC 24794501/2/3/4/5

Kims Oman Hospital 24760100

24 Hrs Emergency 24760123

Lama Polyclinic, Sohar 26751128

MBD 24799077

Al Khuwair 24478818

Magrabi Eye and

Ear Hospital 24568870

Muscat Private Hospital 24583600

Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment

Centre, Al Khuwair 24477666

Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC 22004000

AIRLINE OFFICES

Muscat Airport Flight information

(24 hours) 24519456/24519223

Aeroflot 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

LISTINGS

LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (ROUTE 36)

15:00 Quriyat 16:30 Daily

15:00 Sur 18:00 Daily

15:00 Jaalan 19:30 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily

06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily

08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri

13:00 Sohar 15:45 Daily

13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily

16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily

16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily

14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily

08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily

14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (ROUTE 62)

06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily

06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (ROUTE 100)

07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily

10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily

10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily

19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily

SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)

06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily

06:00 Dubai 11:30 Daily

13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur

13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur

15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily

15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily

07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily

07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily

05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily

05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily

07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily

13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri

13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily

13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily

13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily

17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily

06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily

15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily

14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily

12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100)

07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily

10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily

10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily

19:00 Ruwi 07:30 Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

06:00 Marmul 16:30 Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Salalah 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)

07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily

07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily

13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri

13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri

15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily

15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily

16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily

16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking

24540855

Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

Crimsom Peak (Drama, Horror)(15+)(2D)

Cast : Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom

Hiddleston4.00, 7.30, 9.45 & 11.55 pm CP No: 2785 (15+) Momentum (Action / Thriller ) Cast: Olga Kurylenko, James Purefoy, Morgan Freeman4.00, 8.00, 10.00 & 11.55 p.m. CP No: 2786 (15+)Before We Go (Comedy / Drama / Romance) Cast: Chris Evans, Alice Eve, Emma Fitzpatrick2.00 & 6.00 pm CP No: 2787 (15+)Pet Pals in Windland (Animation / Comedy ) Voice Overs: Belinda Keller, Anthony Lawson 2.00 & 6.00 pmCP No: 2788 (PG)

STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776

Website: www.isurf.co.om

Life Of Josutty (Family Ent)

Cast: Dileep, Joythi Krishna, & Rachana Narayanan

3-30 Pm Cinema -2 ; 6-30 & 10-00 Pm Cinema

Main

Jamna Pyari (Mal) (Com/Rom)

Cast: Kunchako Boban, Roja, Gayatri & Anu Moi

6-45 Pm Cinema-4

Pulli (Tamil) (Act)

Cast: Vijay & Shruthi Hassan, Sri Devi & Hansika

Motwani

3-45 & 9-45pm Cinema-3

Kunji Ramayanam (Mal) (Drama/Com)

Cast: Vineeth Srinivasan, Aju Verghese & Srinda

3-45 Pm At Cinema -4

The Fighter (Brucelee) (Telugu) (Act)

Cast: Ramcharan, Rakul Preet Singh &

Bramanandan

3-00 Pm Cinema Main ; 6-30 & 9-30 Pm Cinema -2;

6-45 Pm Cinema-3 ; 9-45 Pm Cinema-4

Next Change: Ennu Ninte Moideen 10 (Mal),

Endrathu Kulla (Tamil)

Programmes are subject to change

@MGM @RUWI

Momentum : 2D (Action, Thriller) 15+Cast : Olga Olga Kurylenko, James Purefoy, Morgan FreemanTiming: 12:15, 7:15 & 11:45PM

@SHATTI

Crimsom Peak (Drama, Horror)(15+)(2D)Cast : Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom HiddlestonTiming: 2:45, 7:00, 9:15, 11.30 pm

@SOHAR

Before We Go – 2D (15+)Comedy| Romance Cast : Chris Evans, Alice Eve, Emma Fitzpatrick2:45, 7:15 PM

Pyaar Ka Punchnama-2 (Comedy) – PG12Cast : Kartik Aaryan, Nushrat Bharucha, , Sunny Singh Nijjar3.30, 9.30 PM

WEATHER

340

Maximum

280

Minimum

TEMPERATURE

45-80%RELATIVE HUMIDITY

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 17 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 lifestyle@timesofoman.com

WITH LOVE

BHADRAOctober 18, 2006

Dhuhr 11.57pmAsr 3.16pmMaghrib 5.44pmIsha 6.55pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 4.50am

PRAYER TIMINGS

LIFESTYLEC11S U N DAY, O C TO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

A cup of warm or hot tea can do wonders in improving your health and ridding a variety of common ailments. Tea has been used as therapy since ancient times in In-dia, China, Japan, and other coun-tries and often combined with various herbs to enhance the effect of the brew. You can treat yourself with tea, without any side effects.

Basically, tea is the dried and processed leaves of Camellia Sin-ensis which is available in four popular varieties – black, oolong, green and white, depending on the duration of the oxidising pro-cess they undergo. Hence, black tea undergoes the longest process of oxidising and has the strongest flavour while white tea undergoes the least processing. Studies in-dicate that flavonoids are the key health-promoting ingredient in tea which prevent cell damage as well as protect against heart dis-ease and cancer.

Effective BrewsYou can combine tea with various herbs to enhance its therapeutic effect:

boiled along with tea to create an effective brew for fighting colds and flu as well as motion sickness or indigestion. It also improves blood circulation.

great tonic for diffusing anxiety, stress as well as resultant diges-tive disorders.

treating nausea, diarrhoea, head-aches and menstrual cramps.

vitamin C, and so is good for colds and flu, besides keeping the uri-nary system in good order.

buster, soothing palpitations, sleep disorders as well as indiges-tion.

female complaints though not rec-ommended during pregnancy.

helpful in treating upset stomachs, insomnia, and chest congestion.

Brewing Tips

use a microwave as it rearranges the molecules in food and water which can destroy the benefits.

most teas.-

ducing tea to prevent the benefits from escaping as vapour.

adding so that the essential oils are easily released.

ASK DR. GERRYBUILD A POSITIVE IMAGE

F A M I L Y A D V I C E

Dr Gerry D’Costa has an MD in psychiatry and a special interest in the areas of anxiety, depression, addiction, and children’s psychiatry. He has practiced as a specialised psychiatristat Badr Al Samaa hospital in Ruwi for the last 9 years.Dr D’Costa offers his advice and professional insights to the readers of Times of Oman. Send your mental health questions to lifestyle@timesofoman.com

ALTERNATIVEMEDICINE

By Hubert Vaz

Dear Dr Gerry,I am a teenaged girl and I find myself always envying other girls in my school. I feel everybody looks good except me and I don’t know how to im-prove my appearance. I find that many of the guys in my class prefer talk-ing with only some beautiful girls and they ignore me. What should I do to make them talk to me?-SS

Dear SS,You have asked a beautiful question, a question a lot of teenagers ask. I would like to answer it in two parts. It’s a fact that as a teenager we all become concerned about looking good. We need to find our way in the world and looking good always helps. So concentrate on how you look, ask advice from friends and start working on highlighting your strengths. There’s no use in complaining or comparing about the way we look. In-stead, find your strong points and build your look around it. We need a unique identity but find yourself and build your image with that in mind.

The second part is to focus on the one factor that makes people ir-resistible –confidence. The more confident a person feels the more he draws people to him. So work on projecting a positive image. Strangely the more we worry, the more we chase people away with our negative en-ergy. So start working on building a positive image. There’s nothing that’s

All the best,Dr G

Teaas

Therapy

M O V E O F T H E W E E K

JOGG INGJogging regularly (at least three times a week) is helpful in shedding pounds and toning muscles. It helps in building strong bones, strengthening muscles, enhancing cardiovascular fitness, and making one feel good about oneself.

200 CaloriesIn 10 Minutes

Jogging adds

6 YEARSto your life span

According to Danish heart

(research published in 2013)

Calories burnt in

15 minutes110 Jogging on the spot

80 Jogging/walking alternatively

60 Jogging on a mini tramp

Joggers worldwide are women56%

LIFESTYLEC12 S U N DAY, O CTO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Sunlight is known to have numerous health benefits, besides provision of Vitamin D, very little of which is

found in the foods that we eat. This means, we need a certain amount of regular sun exposure. The aim is to

enjoy the sun sensibly for our required dose of Vitamin D (about 2-3 sun exposures per week during summer)

without risking ourselves to any damage. We all know sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays can damage our skin and

cause skin cancer. So it is important to apply sunscreen with at least SPF 15 before going out.

A recent study conducted at the Baker Heart Research Institute in Melbourne found that sunlight also

provides a certain level of serotonin, a neurotransmitter (also known as happy hormone) that regulates

appetite, sleep, memory, and mood, and that a difference can be noticed among individuals during winter

months when there is a lack of sunlight. There are many other benefits of sunlight, including these five:

Heals Skin DisordersSunlight is known to promote heal-ing of skin disorders, such as acne,

psoriasis, eczema, jaundice and other fungal skin infections.

Improves Brain FunctionSome studies have found that sunlight

can help spur nerve cell growth in a part of the brain (hippocampus) which is

responsible for forming, organising and storage of memories.

Lowers Blood PressureResearchers at the University of

Edinburgh have found that a com-pound called nitric oxide which

helps lower blood pressure is released into the blood vessels as soon as sunlight touches the skin.

Improves Bone DensityEmerging research indicates a direct

correlation between bone density and vitamin D3, a fat-soluble vitamin

formed during the process of Vita-min D manufacture when sunlight

hits the skin.

Reduces Cancer RiskSunlight provides Vitamin D, the deficiency of which increases the risk of developing cancers, espe-

cially breast and colon cancer.

H E A L T H N O T E

Rewarding and daytime naps can boost memory in childrenGiving children rewards

and allowing them a short nap after a period of learn-

ing can significantly boost their ability to remember new facts and skills for a long period, new re-search suggests.

Memories associated with a re-ward are reinforced by sleep, the findings showed.

“Rewards may act as a kind of tag, sealing information in the brain during learning,” said lead researcher Kinga Igloi from Uni-versity of Geneva in Switzerland.

“During sleep, that information is favourably consolidated over information associated with a low reward and is transferred to areas of the brain associated with long-term memory,” Igloi said.

For the research, thirty-one healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to either a sleep group or a ‘wake’ group and the sensitivity of both groups to reward was as-sessed as being equal.

Participants’ brains were scanned while they were trained to remember pairs of pictures.

Eight series of pictures were shown and volunteers were told that remembering pairs in four of them would elicit a higher reward.

Following a 90-minute break of either sleep or rest, they were tested on their memory for the pairs and asked to rate how con-fident they were about giving a correct answer.

Participants were also asked to take part in a surprise test of

exactly the same nature three months later.

Both groups’ performance was better for highly rewarded picture pairs, but the sleep group per-formed better overall.

Strikingly, during the surprise test three months later partici-pants who had slept after learn-ing were selectively better for the highly rewarded pairs.

The MRI scans revealed that the sleep group showed in-creased connectivity between the hippocampus, the medial prefrontal cortex and the stria-tum, areas of the brain implicat-ed in memory consolidation and reward processing. The study will be published in a forthcom-ing issue of the journal eLife.-IANS

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 D8

S U N D AY, O C T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

RENT D2

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon

for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

One /two, B/R, Res / comm. flats

near Bank Muscat Bausher from

owner directly . Contact: 92158031

AL Khuwair 17/1, 2 single bedroom

flats at 150/-, 1 big studio at 120/- , 3

small studios at 90/- with electricity

& water. Contact: 99441798

Wadi Kabir 8 studios, each at 80/-

with electricity & water.

Contact 99441798

Mawaleh 3 bedrooms flat at 450/-

with electricity, water.

Contact: 99441798

Brand new 2 bedroom flat split

ACS near Sultan Center Arjan towel

project R.O 450/- PM.

Contact: 95278815

1BHK R.O 190/- & 2BHK R.O 225/-

near Medical Darsait Muttrah house.

Contact: 98748925

For rent one bedroom Majlis, 2

toilets, kitchen, balcony Greater

Muttrah near Muscat Electricity

distribution new building rent

R.O 230/-. Contact: 99243059

Deluxe 2 bedroom flats MBD, Ruwi,

Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99472457 /

24707340

D2 S U N D AY, O C T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

Flat 2bedrooms, 2 toilets, kitchen

and sitting room in Al Ansab.

Contact: 95302993 / 95216161

Office/Shop 28 SQM, Wadikhabeer,

Contact 93004902

2BHK with Split Unit A/C ,

Wadikhabeer near Indian School,

99441193, 93004802

2BHK with Split Units ,

WadiKhabeer, 93004802.

Flats and shops for rent in Ruwi,

MBD Mumtaz area. Contact :

97293708 / 92433127

Al Hail Villa & Flats. Contact: 95282986

Apartment for rent, have flat in

South Al Hail consists of 3 bedrooms

+ 3 baths + hall + kitchen car parking.

Contact: 92602050 / 93214010

Bedroom ground floor apartment

with sitting, 2 baths, big richen close

to Indian School near to Mars

hypermarket Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 98011224

Furnished room for rent at

Al Khuwair R.O 225/- for family only.

Contact: 99251975

2 BHK available Ghubra near

Al Maha hotel. Contact: 99269751

Brand new deluxe flats located near

Seeb fly over on the right hand side

of the main road coming from the

Seeb palace roundabout, two bed-

rooms family, hall, kitchen, 3 toilets,

balcony & split unit AC.

Contact: 97755586

1BHK , 3BHK flats at Wadi Al Kabir

new building with split unit and lift

behind Muscat Bakery.

Contact: 99338133

3 rooms, Majlis, living room,

kitchen, 4 toilets & swimming pool

in Amerat Heights (phase one).

Contact: 99277377

Villa in Al Khuwair 17 /2 for rent,

near Ibis hotel, 2 spacious bedrooms,

spacious hall, Maid room front yard ,

private entrance kitchen and 3 bath-

rooms. Contact: 97056443

Um Obelah 5/1 just walking dis-

tance from the Nesto hypermarket

and opposite the new pullman mall,

2 bedrooms with two toilets and

seating area on 4th floor. only 250

omani rial. Contact 99203381

1000 sq mtrs industrial land in Gha-

la suitable for ware house, work shop

etc. Contact : 24700120 / 92584715

200 sqm basement available for

rent in AL Khuwair near Rawasco.

Contact: 93782735 / 93329476

We have 1BHK in Mabela 7 new

buildings 175/- R.O. Contact:

93782735 / 93329476

We have 3BHK villa fully furnished

in Ghubra 18th November street

650/- R.O. Contact : 93782735 /

93329476

We have 2 BHK in Ghubra 18th No-

vember street 2 rooms, 3 bathrooms,

large sitting, hall& Kitchen 325/- O.R.

Contact : 93782735 / 93329476

We have shops for rent in Ghala

& Ghubra. Contact : 93782735 /

93329476

We have 100 sqm for rent in Ghala

new building 350/- R.O. Contact

93782735 / 93329476

We have 3BHK flats in Ghala

new building flat with 3 rooms,

4 bathrooms, large sitting hall&

kitchen 425/-. Contact: 93782735 /

93329476

We have 3BHK villa near Grand

Mosque villa with 3 rooms, sitting

hall, majlis & car parking 700/- O.R.

Contact : 93782735 / 93329476

We have 2 BHK flat in Al Khuwair

new Rawasco brand new building

325/- O.R. # 93782735 / 93329476

We have small building for rent in

Bousher, 4 studio & 1 shop building

commercial & residence can be used

for family, bachelors or store 750/-

O.R. contact : 93782735 / 93329476

Flat for rent, 3 bedrooms, kitchen &

bathroom in wadi kabir for 280 RO.

Contact : 97771444

3 BHK Penthouse Flat with Split A/

Cs, Free Unlimited Broadband WiFi,

Security access system, Pvt. Terrace

& Secured car park,

Opposite Kims Hospital Al Falaj,

Monthly Rent: 625/-.

Contact: 99657906 or 24702141

1BHK Wadi Kabir. Contact:

99024730

1& 2 BHK C.B.D. Contact: 99024730

2 flats with air-conditions in Al

Bustan each flat has 3 bedrooms,

3 bathrooms, family hall, kitchen,

store laundry. Contact: 98919037

Duplex flat Al Athaiba, near Sultan

Center 3BHK, 3 Bathrooms, hall &

living room family only 500/-R.O.

Contact: 92479515

Flat available for rent, 2 bedrooms,

hall, 2 toilets, 1 kitchen and balcony

with proper sun light & ventilator,

location on Mabela North very close

to Indian School Al Seeb.

Contact: 99432496

Flat AL Ghubrah near 18 Nov ST,

bedroom, living room, 2 bathrooms,

first floor without ac family only

325/- R.O. Contact: 92479515

Villa Al Amerat behind Al Raffah

Hospital 5BHK, living room, hall, 6

bathrooms, split ac family only 425

R.O. Contact : 92479515

Workers’ campus, shops, work-

shops, stores in a building in

Al Misfah, Wilayat Bausher.

Contact 98918090

02 BHK commercial / residential

(with split AC) Flat at Honda road.

Contac: 99342733 / 99795241

02 BHK residential flat opposite

to Al Nadha Hospital. Contact:

99342733 / 99795241

1000sqm industrial and with com-

pound well & two rooms at Misfah.

Contact: 99342733 / 99795241

Readymade office space for rent

(100sm) in Bank Melli Iran building,

MBA area, Ruwi, opposite Center

Point. Contact: 99011352

Shop / store for rent about 250 sq

mtrs area in the heart of Ruwi City

good for restaurant, store or general

sale. Contact 99326639

DAILY GUIDES U N D AY, O C T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 D3

FOR SALE

FOR RENT

FOR RENTFOR SALE

SITUATION WANT-M.V. FOR SALE

Toyota Corolla 1.6, 2012 model.

Contact: 98402616

Honda Civic 97, manual. Contact 99045803

Institution for sale, well furnished

institution for sale in Muscat. Con-

tact 93657915

Well running shop at Hamriya (5

yrs old), for immediate sale. With 2

visa activity printing & stationery,

designing, corporate gift items, sig-

nage work. Contact: 96395770

An Amazing excellent residential

land for sale in Barka at Al Muraysi

attached to road open from 3 sides

and surrounded by houses & shops.

Ready for construction to build twin

villa good investment in Barka 677

SQM, price RO 21000/-. contact

91010668

Institution for sale. well furnished

institution for sale in Muscat.

Contact 93657915

Bunk Bed with a large study

table and plenty of storage space.

Purchased from IKEA. Can be flat

packed for transportation. RO 75.

Pictures can be shared on whatsapp.

Call – 99226485

Ready coffee shop for sale or

rent available in Al Khuwair near

Rawasco Golden chance. Contact:

93782735 /93329476

A well running Pharmacy at prime

location for immediate sale. Contact

92548672 / 99627621 / 99516236

Attention to wholesalers, retailers

& manufacturers. We can Sell/Buy

your dead stock. Contact : 99742983,

95226989

Split A/C -2, Window A/C- 25, Iron

cot- 120, cupboard - 130, water

cooler - 2, Gas big - 2, small-3 ,

Grinder-1 , Chapatti tava-1 ,

stove-2, kitchen equipment etc .

Contact: 99328223

Office for sale in Ruwi Cham-

ber Oman. Contact : 94241385 /

97244766

Excellent running building materi-

als shop cum Showroom and store

for sale in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 98871548 / 93412622

Homegym with cross trainer for sale.

Contact 95367937

Industrial land Wadi Kabeer 3470

sqr mtrs with warehouse + office +

labor accommodation price 900,000

R.O . Contact : 99792181 / 99473751

Used furniture and steel racks at

Daiso showroom in Ruwi for im-

mediate sale. Contact 93411561 /

93991322 (Mr. Naveen)

New dishwasher LG 2013 for sale at

100 or. Contact-98125422

Ice Cream & juices shop Ruwi good

location for sale suitable for beauty

parlor also. Contact: 92150455

Fast food style well furnished coffee

shop for sale in new Salalah.

Contact: 91121215 / 97484825

Comm. & Res land in the heart of

Ruwi 2400 sq mtr for sale.

Contact : 91155779

Port cabin and Wooden pallets new,

used and renovated porta cabin

Wooden & steel sandwich panel

Wooden pallets and packing for

marble packing available.

Contact no. + 968 99318152

Tel. +968 24458759

Email: ahastco@gmail.com

Comm. & Res land in Darsait, opp.

Pakistani School, 900 sq mtr for sale.

Contact: 91155779

Used Fabrication machinery for

sale : Fabrication machinery and

tools in excellent condition for

immediate sale. Contact 94652485/

99273774/ 99202278

Comm. & res. land for investment for

25 years in Ghala heights.

Contact: 91155779

Comm. & Res land in Ghala heights

400 sq mtr for sale. Contact:

91155779

Shop for sale or rent at Ruwi City.

Contact: 99103077

For sale land in Amerat 3000 Sq.mt

with petrol pump permission.

Contact 99323957 / 92702891

Commercial land on the main road

in Nakhal for rent or invest. Contact

92804888

2 BHK flats with split units in

Wadi Kabir. Contact 99720021

Flat Al Khuwair near Bader

AL Samaa, 2 BHK living room,

2 bathrooms, Kitchen split ac family

only 350 R.O. Contact 92479515

Flat 3 mint from Indian School,

2 BHK, living room, 3 bathrooms

without A/c, Ground floor family only

340/-R.O. Contact 92479515

Staff accommodation / 2 storey

full building available for rent in

Rusayl, near Industrial area. Contact:

99352441 / 98116480 / 99358724

2 bed room flat at Al Khodh com-

mercial Street Souq. Contact :

99224748 / 99332297

First floor flat in new building and

pent house, each 3 bedrooms serv-

ant room, laundry and 5 toilets very

spacious halls and family lounges Al

Khuwair 39.# 99207840 / 24494243

New Building in Mutrah, 2 B/D

Room Flat + Setting Room,3 Baths+

Kitchen with split unit Ac’s. Behind

Khimiji’s main office/opposite to

Oman House Call 99419712

1,2,3 BHK Flats. Contact: 97799175

2bed room villa in Sidab, 2 Bedroom

villa in Wadi Kabeer. Contact :

95755953 / 95555162

Brand new residential flats in Wadi

Kabir near Muscat football club,

have 2 bedroom family hall, 2 toilets,

Kitchen with spilt AC for 250/- R.O.

Contact: 95999904 / 98585889 /

92383886

Villa for rent four spacious bath at-

tached bed room private swimming

pool gymnasium (common) with

electrical equipment and free main-

tenance secured compound at Madi-

nat Al Allam. Contact: 98027975

Office for rent in CBD.

Contact : 92820734 / 95345909

Villa for rent in Wadi Kabeer.

Contact: 95562646 / 99059333

1BHK Mumtaz R.O 250/-.

Contact: 97799175

1BHK Commercial M.B.D R.O 280/-.

Contact: 97799175

2BHK Wadi Kabir RO 300/-

Contact: 97799175

1& 2 BHK Darsait. #97799175

2BHK Ghubra R.O 350/-.

Contact: 97799175

Running furniture showroom for urgent sale.

Ladies beauty parlor

Contact - 91135930

Running furniture showroom for urgent sale.

Ladies beauty parlor

Contact - 91135930

Showrooms/ Offi ces at prime location on the

main road, near Police Station, Al Seeb.

Suitable for Travels, Money Exchange

and Textile shops etc.

FOR RENT

CONTACT - 99888007

Private School License & Furniture available

for sale. KG to IVth Grade

Bilingual. Contact - 99261773

Email: burjschool@alhakkim.com

FOR SALE

2 BHK Commercial Al Khuwair

R.O 375/-. Contact : 97799175

1BHK Ghubra R.O 275/-.

Contact : 97799175

Furnished flat for rent, 3 rooms with

attached bathroom, 1 dining room, 1

sitting room, 1 kitchen

at Al Hail South. Contact

99835995

For rent a full office building of

3100 sq mtrs opposite to Central

Bank in CBD (Ruwi) for R.O 4 per Sq

mtrs. Contact: 95330200

600 SQT commercial flat for rent

opposite Oman flourmill Darsait

more details. Contact 91214849/

99364735

1 room, 2 rooms, 3 rooms with all

supplements including water elec-

tricity and sewage. Also we provide

the following services free 1plumber,

electrician for any failed center for

garbage on price call on Farahat

98020768 , Hilal 96541263

New flats for rent At Darsait near to

Ministry of Sports, Mumtaz area the

flats includes1 living room,

2 bedrooms, Kitchen, 3 toilets, every

rooms with split A/C, high quality

finishing, rent RO 340 /-.

Contact: 00968 92225523

Fully furnished 2 BHK apartments

available at Bareeq Al Shatti.

Contact 92888063

1, 2 BHK in Azaiba. Contact:

99385835 / 99428143

1BHK flats available for rent in CBD

area. Contact: 98116480

1bedroom attached, toilet & kitchen

in AL Khuwair R.O 140/-.

Contact: 95154331

3BHK , 3bathrooms , 2balconys

NRAL Hassan W/ Kabir R.O 320/-.

Contact: 99384640

1 & 2 bedroom flats available for

rent in wadi-kabir (opp: pencil bldg),

ideal for company staff / families -

bulk corporate deal possible.

Contact: 97677170

ACC. AVAILABLE

Furnished room for rent for Indian

family near Honda Road. #99016546

Furnished single rooms available

for Executive bachelors at Ruwi.

Contact : 93431089

Furnished master b.room with

attached bath ,and Furnished

room with sharing bathroom fully

equipped kitchen immediately avail-

able in N. Azaiba. 95450250

Semi furnished two Bed room flat

immediately available in N.Azaiba

.Contact -95450250

Furnished room for rent Indian fam-

ily near Honda road. #99076546

Sharing accommodation available at

Darsait near ISD specious room, bath,

passage sharing kitchen. Preference

Vegetarian. Contact: 99419390

Room available at Walja. #96246625

Furnished room for IND EXE

bachelor near Al Khuwair.com R/A.

Contact : 99659513

Single room for Executive bachelor

with attached toilet & bath, for rent

including water & electricity in Ruwi.

Contact: 99327158

Sharing accommodation for family

or bachelors near Indian school Ghu-

bra. Contact : 99836676 / 99056701

Room available with kitchen from

first November 2015 onwards at Rex

Road near Golden Oryx Restaurant.

Contact: 99768952

1 BHK available at Al khud in Baskin

Robbins building. R.O.200. Contact:

97261418, 94194876, 99478492

Single room attached bath

S/ kitchen at Mumtaz area.

Contact: 95212017 / 96916398

Studio flat MBD Ruwi.#95698714

Independent rooms in Qurum /

Al Hail. Contact 95529970

Room for Rent Alkhuwair - Behind

Al Aktham Restaurant. 120 RO.

With elec. and water.For executive

bachelors only. Contact : 98803261

Flat for rent available in CBD near

Costa Coffee. Mobile no.92820734

Private room with toilet near Qurum

park incl. W& E, monthly RO 220/-.

Contact Hassan 99349990

Accommodation available for

indian executive bachelor’s (no

kitchen).RO:125 including water

and electricity contact 98145825,

98949724

AVAILABLE

Party & Wedding equipment rentals.

Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-

ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery,

Crockery, Glassware, Chafing Dishes,

Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound Sys-

tems and spectacular lighting. Call

Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering and

Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound & Light.

ww.tunesoman.com,

E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

DAILY GUIDED4 S U N D AY, O C T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DOMESTIC HELP

EDUCATION

EDUCATION

CATERING

ENGINEER/TECH/MECH

ACCOUNTANT

DRIVER

MEDICAL

SEC/OFFICE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

Required Driver for home. Contact

92542504

Required heavy duty driver, prefer-

ably with good experience and

communication skills. Contact:

91408759 Email: hanaa.alritaj@

gmail.com

Urgently requires Heavy Duty Driver with valid Oman

driving license and electrical

foreman (Diploma holder with

6 years over head line experience.

Fax: 24814699 ,

Email: info@sajgloballlc.com

GSM : 93210740

Urgently Require good English speaking Omani drivers. Contact: 92870992

Required Indian driver with Omani

driving license and experience to

work in house.

Contact : 96255558

Driver with Oman driving licence

needed. Visa available.

Contact 94288863

Sir Lankan Secretary with experi-

ence in recruitment field.

Contact: 92809528

ADMIN

Required MOH licensed Laboratory

Technician for a reputed Medical

center at Azaiba ready to join by

1st Jan 16. Please contact any time:

92724345 evening only:

99676812

Wanted Staff Nurses (female) with

or without MOH license for a poly-

clinic near Sohar. Excellent salary &

accommodation. Contact 99006915,

email : alhinaee.clinic@yahoo.com

Medical care center, Multispecialty

clinic, Seeb requires General Practitioner, medical lab techni-cian & pharmacist. Mail CV to -

sarita_h23@yahoo.com

or Call - 97884856

Immediate Opening for laboratory

technician. Should have MOH license

to work in medical centre in capital

area. Excellent Package,

Accomodation will be offered.

Contact 99340135

Post Graduate researcher required. Contact 99229700

Required Sales Executive with

corrugated cartons manufacturing

background. Minimum 3+ years

experience. Omani D/L is a must.

Please send CV to this email: corru-

gatedpackagingoman@gmail.com

Urgently required: Sales Execu-tive- with 5 years experience in

aluminum and sales, MUST have

NOC and immediately join. Apply,

fax 00968–24605955,

emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com,

sbeoman@yahoo.com

Required Sales Executive for a

leading building material manufac-

turer in Oman having valid Omani

Driving License and 1-2 years of

sales experience. NOC from the cur-

rent sponsor is required.

Contact: 95646844

Urgently required Civil Engineer,

Diploma holder with experience.

Contact: 95766844

Urgently required for a leading

Company Planning engineer. Fax

: 24478522, Email : gh1.careers@

gmail.com

Turning or Mechanical Engineer wanted to work in workshop if

interested please call: 96996884 /

98021385 / 99745330/ 95179003

Experienced construction Civil Engineer with qualification

(attested) certificates & with Omani

driving license.

Contact: slayhawk@yahoo.com

Aluminum Foreman – with

minimum 5 years experience in

aluminium fabrication, MUST have

NOC and immediately join. Apply,

fax 00968–24605955, emails

sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com,

sbeoman@yahoo.com.

Urgently Required: Mechanical Engineer for a steel fabrication

welding workshop 10 yrs exp he

should know how to design drawing

with auto cad estimate & quotation

he must have exp to supervise job

of workshop & sites.

Contact: 97130671

Required foreman for a steel weld-

ing workshop 10 yrs exp.

Contact :97130671

ARCHITECT

Senior Architect, Indian male 15yrs

exp. having DL& NOC, Looking for

suitable position. Contact: 97239313

Email: abdul_muq2000@yahoo.co.uk

DRAUGHTSMAN

Draughtsman Civil with AutoCAD.

Contact 97105408

Autocad D/man Exp in Arch , Interior

, knows 3D, Photoshop Ph :

93837973

Indian male 28 yrs, Master degree

in Computer Application and CCNA

certified, 2 years exp in Oman look-

ing for suitable placement.

Contact: 93295112 Email:

syedsadathali.mca@gmail.com

Senior Finance Manager, B.Com,

ACA, ACMA, Indian Male with 19

years experience and 10 years in

Oman. Currently employed with a

reputed Manufacturing and Trading

Company. NOC available. Contact

-97239328

Fresher 24 years B.Com Graduate,

Tally 7.2 & ERP-9, looking for a suit-

able placements in accounts. Contact:

97219505

Accountant finance Indian male

24 years B.Com Tally ERP-9, 4 years

working experience in India on visit

visa seeks immediate and suitable

placement. Contact: 95583953 /

96392009 Email: shafadmusthafa@

gmail.com

Accounts finance Indian male 22

years B.Com Tally ERP-9, 2 years

working experience in India on visit

visa seeks suitable placement. Con-

tact: 95636987 / 94280567 Email:

nihadniha777@gmail.com

Male accountant BSc Hons (Finance

& Accounts) having 2 years experi-

ence in accounts, looking for suitable

job on visit visa. Contact: 91420128

Accountant Indian male 6 years

experience in Oman having driving

license & NOC. Contact: 96012973

Urgently Required: Accountant cum

Store Keeper- with 3 years experi-

ence in building construction, MUST

have NOC and immediately join.

Apply, fax 00968–24605955, emails

sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeo-

man@yahoo.com.

Required Accountant present in

Oman. Not for candidates on visit.

Contact: 99454425

Wanted Accountant. Contact: 94007259

Email: smylackal@gmail.com

Required ACCOUNTS OFFICER to ensure accurate processing of

revenue data into ERP systems and

invoicing module. Posting of invoices

to customer SAP portal and delivery

to customer offices and interface

with Country Manager / Reporting

to Regional CFO. Qualifications : BSc

Accounting. Relevant experience

and knowledge on Online Account-

ing Systems especially the customer

SAP system. SUBMIT CV to :

me-job@interwell.com

Indian male Accountant looking

for a suitable placement in Salalah.

More than 20 years experience in

accounting job (upto the finalization

of accounts), 8 years working experi-

ence in Middle East in Dubai, Salalah.

Contact: 91325029

Sr. Accountant M.Com (finance) 15

years experience (2 years in Oman)

with a reputed firm, NOC available.

Contact: 92404608

Email: jin_75@rediffmail.com

Accountant Indian male Charted

Accountant and bachelor in Com-

merce having 3.5 years experience

in Auditing presently in Muscat

and seeking for suitable position.

Contact: 91656202 Email: sanoop-

varghese90@gmail.com

Keralite lady (2 yrs experience in

Oman) required job in Accounts. Con-

tact: 97096918

Accountant, Indian female on visit

visa degree: B.Com, exp 6+ years in tally

ERP-9 (latest), finalization of account,

Tax, Accounting, Stock maintenance

payroll etc. Contact: 91551164 /

91175456 Email: jothipriya@gmail.com

MBA(3.5) years specialty in finance

with an advance research in Islamic

and conventional banking expe-

rienced remain an internee and remit-

tance officer and currently account-

ant looking for post Assistant finance

/ Accountant. Contact: 94515020

Accountant Indian male 32 years

B.Com 5 Plus years experience in

Oman, seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 94410485 / 98008164

10+ yrs UAE experienced Fin.

Controller looking for job change.

Contact: 98006226

Indian male 22 years B.Com done

tally ERP-9 Accounting and Inven-

tory, looking for suitable position.

Contact: 96067602

Email: saif24293@gmail.com

Accountant with 3 yrs exp in Oman

having driving license and Noc.

Contact: 91307632

MBA (F&M) experience 1.3 year.

Contact: 97445488

Email: abinbabygeorge@gamil.com

Part Time Accounting, Accounts

Finalization, Audit Preparation,

Internal Audit, Accounting System

for New Companies, Contact:

96975454, email : ibfc.gcc@gmail.

com

A fiberglass products manifest-

ing company required experienced

South Indian Cook. Interested can-

didates. Please email CV to

alhosnif@gmail.com or call on

99871101

Wanted full time maid for Indian

family. Visa provided. Contact :

97448484 / 95539842

Looking for quality assurance / Supply Chain Lead. 25-35 years old

with good communication skills,

with experience related to food

processing or food service minimum

of 5 yrs. experience. Please send CV’s

to: admin-dept@daud.om

ACCOUNTANT, Indian male 28 years,

6 plus years of GCC experience, pres-

ently working in Oman as an Account-

ant, seeking for a suitable job position,

NOC available, Contact: 95089869

E-Mail: anuchunda@gmail.com

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT, Indian

male having 7 years experience as

functional finance head, presently

working in Muscat as Asst. Finance

Manager seeking for a suitable posi-

tion. NOC available,

Contact 9178 9950 /

Email: igneshmlazar@gmail.com

SITUATION WANT-ED

SIT. WANTED

ADMIN/ HR

Walk-In Interview on 18/10/2015

Gynaecologist, Pediatrician, General

.

Interested candidates can also send resume to athirababylon@gmail.com,

info@babylonmedicalcentre.com. .

is looking for aFINANCE MANAGER

Please apply with a detailed CV

hoteljbs@gmail.com

Urgently required HR Manager Omani National: Minimum 2 years

experience good command over

English & Arabic. Should be capable

of handling Administration, all type

of correspondence & routine office

works independently, and good skill

in MS-Office is must. Interested can-

didates may send in their CVs to

Fax # 24600217 or email on:

starmail@omantel.net.om

10 years Gulf & 4 years Oman ex-

perience in HR / Admin & logistics

fluent in Arabic / English with D/L

looking for suitable position.

Contact: 95824598

HR/ Recruitment specialist with

8 years Oman experience in entire

gamut of HR functions like resource

planning, recruitment, HR policies &

procedures performance appraisal,

expatriate affairs, exit interviews &

ticketing. Contact 93825307

Email: jarthath@rediffmail.com

Indian female graduate fluent in

English/Arabic(work purpose) with

5+ experience in Admin, Logistics

and 2 years in Insurance handling,

looking for suitable opportunity.

Contact 93221054,

email: nurinabhavania@ymail.com

DRAUGHTSMAN

Domestic helper for a family in

Muscat. Must be able to cook Indian

food & speak Hindi. Cleaning home

laundry and accompanying children.

Contact: 91396909

Wanted a Autocad Draftsman fulltime or part time

Contact 98963963 BY SMS

SECRETARIAL

Office Assistant required in trading

company male and female 25 to 35

years old with good communication

skills, confidence, smart and com-

puter skills. Visa provided.

Send your CV to

vacancy807@gmail.com

Required English Teachers (native

speaker), candidates for teaching

should have minimum bachelor de-

gree and having experience not less

than 3 years. Please submit your CV

through email till 15th of October

2015 for more information please

Contact: 24498423.

Email: info@omrantraining.com

Sales & Marketing Executive for

travel and tourism.

Contact: 92890506

A trading company in Muscat requires Sales Executive with

minimum 1 yr experience & Oman

driving license & welding machine /

electronics / power tools technician

with min. 1 year experience.

Email: jobs.trading2015@gmail.com

Sales Co-Ordinator Required Urgently – Any Graduate with 1-2

years experience in DTP work with

good knowledge of MS Office and

Internet, Age: 21-28 years can apply

to careers@teejanequipment.com

Looking for 3+years Exp in Insur-ance for Insurance Broker, Barka.

Email : lizjoseph27@gmail.com

Wanted Sales man (experienced in

transporting etc). #94007259

Email: smylackal@gmail.com

Primedia International is looking

for experienced Sales Executives having strong background of digital

and print media. Send your Cv’s at

SihamHalloubi@primedia-oman.

com or contact on 97002356

Required experienced Sales / Marketing Executives having light

license. Send your CV

ocean@omantel.net.om

Sri Lankan Male Accountant, Age

26, BBA Spl, CA Inter, Having more

than 5 years’ Experience in

accounting field seeking for Suitable

Placement NOC Available Contact:

97250638 msmnaja@gmail.com

Sr. Accountant (finance) 14 yrs Gulf

experience in trading & contract-

ing, valid UAE driving license (visit

visa) looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 98110814 / 99055679

Indian male with B.Com, MBA

finance & marketing 14 yrs exp seek-

ing suitable placement.

Contact : 0091 8697292219,

Email : rejesh.nair@gmail.com

Indian male 8 years experience hav-

ing B.Com and MBA ready to work in

HR customer service,

Admin banking & related field.

Contact : 97436890 / 96939803.

Email: girimub@gmail.com

Indian lady, bachelor degree in

Preparatory Programme (BPP) and

Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), com-

pleted training course in MS Word,

Excel, Power Point and Outlook from

KTI looking for full time / part time

job opportunity in Oman.

Contact 92437568, 96795853,

Email: linda_navs@yahoo.com

Accountant, Indian Male, 15 Years ex-

perience (8 Years in Oman with Driving

License & NOC) Seeks suitable place-

ment, Contact 94117616, 91238272

praveen78oman@gmail.com

Male, business Graduate having an

experience of 10 years in the field of

banking & finance, administration ,

currently employed at EPC Contract-

ing Company as Finance & Admin

manager is looking for a suitable posi-

tion, NOC available can join within 2

weeks. Contact : 93235690

Chief Accountant, 12 years of Oman

experienced looking for suitable

placement. Contact: 99513082

Part time accountant, senior ac-

countant, doing all type of ac-

counting works, up to finalization.

contact.95254864

Part time accounting works up to

finalization on monthly basis.

Contact: 96247295

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, with 13yrs

experience, 6 yrs Oman in manu-

facturing, trading & contracting Cos,

capable of handling all accounting,

finance, banking, L/C, import, ex-

port & finalization seeks placement.

NOC Available. Call+968-98932752,

mail:jjohnmuscat@hotmail.com

Finance Manager, 13 years experi-

ence B.Com, MBA, CMA (currently).

Contact: 92243552

Part time Accountant accounts

finalization auditing. #98157999

Indian male 25 years MBA finance

having 4 years experience in

accounts looking for suitable place-

ment presently on visit visa.

Contact: 95291085

Email: atharali9849@gmail.com

CIMP qualified Accountant 5 yrs

exp immediately joining with NOC.

Contact: 95522109

Indian male, 8 yrs experience in

Oman looking for any suitable va-

cancy Accountant / Asst. Account-

ant/ Office Admin local release

available. Contact 98492752 Email:

atiquehazique@rediffmail.com

Finance Manager, 12 years experi-

ence in leading Construction and

manufacturing companies (9 years

in Oman) have strategic vision and

proven leadership ability. B.Com,

CPA- USA & modern accounting

certificate from “AUC”. “NOC” in

hand. Contact: 97220505

Indian female 28 years M.Com,

Accountant having 6 years experi-

ence in Accounts, finalization, Tally

currently on visit visa.

Contact : 95595083 Email:

merlinfernandes16@yahoo.in

ACCA finalist, Recent B.Com Gradu-

ate, Indian female, looking for full

time employment in Accounting

and Audit. +968 96964379,

sangeethaumesh5@gmail.com

With at least 8

years of experience

in auditing.

Interested candidates may mail their CV’s

to / abuosama1987@

yahoo.com

HOSPITALITY

DAILY GUIDES U N D AY, O C T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 D5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

DOMESTIC HELP

EDUCATION

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

MEDICAL

IT

MISCELLANEOUS

PROJECTS

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

BA Export Management, GCC, D/L

12 years Muscat experienced in

purchase / commercial seeks any

placement. Contact: 99775988

Maintenance foreman looking for

suitable position in real estate or

MEP work. Contact : 99526958

Indian male as building care taker,

8 yrs exp looking for job.

Contact: 99716008

Indian male 25 years, M.Sc Chemis-

try, 1 yr. experience in Quality Control

and assurances done HACCP level 3

certificated course seeking job in suit-

able placement. #99185354

Email: alexbabu199@yahoo.com

Indian female Diploma in Indian &

foreign Accounting having 1 year

experience in Oman seeking suit-

able placement. Contact: 95714285

DESIGNER

Indian House maid looking for job.

Contact: 91834383

Jordanian Engineer in MECHANICAL

& MANUFACTURING Good experience

Sheet Metal Fabrication, AutoCad,

Solidworks 3D, Storage Tanks & Silos,

Sales - Speaking Arabic/English/Rus-

sian -GSM#90198575 / 99201710

Indian Mechanical Engineer, 30, having 8yrs of UAE Sales/Busi-

ness Development. experience in

Electromechanical and Irrigation

sectors. Contact no- +971558763220

email id-sangowri@outlook.com

ENGINEER

DRIVER

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

Indian B. tech Civil, 19 years exp ,

seeks suitable position.

Contact: 98365910

Email: kks.pkd1969@gmail.com

Omani Mechanical Engineer with

2years Experiences looking for new

opportunity . Contact:95993315,

alrus7idisaif@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer, B.Tech, with 8

years GCC experience (5 years in

Oman) in MEP & Oil/gas construc-

tion/Inspections side with NOC, is

seeking new assignments in Oman.

Has attested degree certificate and

Oman D/L. Contact No.96083636,

Email:tobineasow@gmail.com

Quantity Surveyor: 11 years

Experience (8 years Gulf & 3

years India)NOC & DL Available,

Contact 99806801 / 95899345,

Mail:asmani1984@gmail.com

Indian male, Mechanical Engi-

neer having 1Year experience,

on visit visa looking for suit-

able job. Contact:97416564,

Email:jovinmathias@gmail.com

Building Site Supervisor with

Omani D/L since Mar 2010 in Oman

looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 93061107

Mechanical Technician oil & gas

with 9 yrs experience in GCC worked

in rotating EQP, Static EQP, commis-

sioning and troubleshooting looking

for an opening. Contact: 99598462

Email: bakash_85@yahoo.co.in

Mechanical Engineer, Indian male

22 years seeking job in a reputed

firm in Oman. ASNT- NOT level 2

course completed 2 years experi-

ence in India. Available in Oman on

visit visa until 06/11/2015. Contact:

95393960 / 95037962

Diploma Civil Engineer 11 yrs expe-

rience (9 yrs building construction

+ 2 yrs O&G) with valid Oman D/L

seeking suitable placement. Contact:

97669006 / 99142744 Email:

shafique88am@gmail.com

A senior professional with Engi-

neering background is available for

Executive lead in Contract Manage-

ment, Coordination, Execution in

construction establishments and

consultancies. Contact: 99703972

Experienced Civil Engg profes-

sional 12/26 years ran a company

as Working partner have estimation,

tendering of high rise building infra-

structure steels conc. Products seeks

suitable placement. #95360102 /

94460357

Indian female, 30 yrs,

Email :swasdesigner@gmail.com

M. Com B. Ed Indian lady

looking for suitable openings.

Contact: 97668603

Civil Engineer, Indian M 29 5yrs exp.

having DL & NOC Looking for suitable

position. Contact: 94576233

Email: suhailmullah@gmail.com

Civil Structural Engineer profes-

sional in R.C structural design & Q.S

& shop drawings. C.N (97983610)

Civil Structural Engineer profes-

sional in R.C Structural design & Q.S

& shop drawings. C.N (97983610)

Project Engineer (Electrical) 5 years

experience in Oman primary substa-

tions + OHL, oil & gas, AutoCAD de-

sign driving license. NOC available.

Contact: 93210528 / 99410588

Civil Engineer, having 8 years expe-

rience in field, 5 years in Oman & 3

years in EV with valid Oman driving

license. Contact: 96534115

B.Tech Software Engineer nearly

2 yrs Engineer nearly 2 yrs experi-

ence seeking job in Oman, currently

on visit visa. Contact: 95184451

B.Sc Electronics (course completed)

and holder at A+ Grade in mobile

phone technology & computer

hardware and Network Engineering

looking for suitable job in mobile

servicing / software and hardware

servicing / sales man.

Contact: Binu .B.G. 93607271

Indian B.E Electronics Communica-

tion Engineer available in Muscat on

visit visa 3+ years experience in au-

tomation system. Contact: 97439738

Civil Engineer with 8 yrs exp in

construction field & all related work,

having Oman driving license & NOC.

Contact: 97613084

B.Tech Elec., Engineer, 8 yrs exp in

Oman valid D/L. Contact : 91456023

4 years experience Electrical Engi-

neer electrical primary substations

UG cables and OHL, fluent in English

and Arabic. Contact: 91204243

Electrical Engineer 4 years experi-

ence oil and gas electrical substa-

tion water project fluent in Arabic

and English primavera p6 operator.

Contact: 99525856

B.Tech Mechanical Engineer with

MBA in marketing & HR 3 yrs exp

seeking suitable placement.

Contact :0091 9846568080 /

0091 4772702080,

Email: jbabu4@gmail.com

M.Tech having 3 years experience

in Mechanical Engineering depart-

ment looking for any University to

hire. Contact: 90150913

Email: rahmanmechengg@yahoo.in

Civil Engineer, Indian male 29,

having 7 years exp in construction

field& Auto Cad in Oman. Having val-

id driving license. Fluent in English

& Arabic. Looking for suitable job in

reputed firm. Contact - 99650569

Indian male, 26 yrs, B. Tech Com-

puter Science, 4 years experience

as System and Network Engineer

looking for suitable job.

Contact : 93125669

Email: amritrajgt18@gmail.com

B. Tech Bio Tech. Experience in

food & water industry, expert in

chemical & microbiological labs Ph :

92940218

Electrical Engineer Indian male

2.5Years Of experience Looking

for suitable Job. Contact:91845173

Email:er.joshidhaval@gmail.com

Indian Electrical & Electronics

Engineer + MBA (29 years) hav-

ing 7 years experience (2 years

in Gulf) & having valid interna-

tional driving license, seeks suitable

placement. Contact Ajay Haridas

(00971528254782)

Civil Engineer, Indian male, 25

years, B.Tech, have 3 years experi-

ence in building construction seeks

suitable positions. 92609893,

alenalexander123@gmail.com

B.Sc. Civil Engineer having 3 years

experience (2 years in Oman) with

construction companies seeking suit-

able placement. Contact: 97409350

Email: kamrul07cuet@yahoo.com

B.Sc Civil 9 years experience

looking for suitable placement

as a Residence Engineer having

valid Omani D/L. Contact : 94431917

Email: gmssohel.ce@gmail.com

Indian male, MEP Manager, Diploma Electrical having 15 years

experience in Oman looking for a

suitable post in a reputed firm, NOC

available. Contact : 99061823

Bangladeshi female Project Engi-

neer Civil having 5 years experience

or construction site currently or

visit visa looking a suitable position.

Contact 91207329

Email: dipabangladesh@yahoo.com

Male Project Engineer (Civil) 12

years experience Dubai + SA in con-

struction & water supply field with

valid UAE D/L Currently on visit visa

looking suitable position.

Contact: 91206763

Email: delwar.civil.97@gmail.com

Indian male, 26 yrs, 4 years experi-

ence diploma in Civil Engineering

field on visit visa looking for suitable

job. Contact: 95585564

Email: safvanullal6644@gmail.com

Civil Engineer B.Sc -6 years experi-

ence with constructions companies

- 1 years in Oman - qualified as Site

Engineer & Planning Engineer.

Contact+968-94682217

Degree Civil Engg total 9 yrs experi-

ence, 7 yrs in Oman Construction

Company with valid Oman driving

license. Contact: 99721926

Email: tanvircivil@gmail.com

Civil Engineer degree, diploma,

Staad pro, Auto CAD 18 months In-

dian exp seeks suitable opportunity.

Contact: 93682529

Aeronautical Engineer Indian

female 22 yrs, currently on family

visa looking for suitable position in

any air line / Engineering Industry.

Contact: 91705598

Email: nikhimnoushad@gmail.com

Engineer with 4 years Telecom

experience in Oman, having Oman

driving license looking for a suitable

opportunity. Interested in marketing,

NOC available. Contact : 98513495

SUPERVISOR: Indian male site

supervisor (AIR CONDITIONING)

25 years of experience with valid

Oman Driving lic

Contact: 97498809, 93391910

Email: hilariankj@gmail.com

Engineer with 3 yrs experience in

Indian in MEP, HVAC& mechanical

maintained field on visit visa looking

for suitable job. Contact 99191535

Email: fareed029@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer Indian male 29

years, having 5 years of experience

in industrial automation and utility

maintenance in India (MRF Tyres),

seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 92789995 Email:

akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com

Btech computer science graduate

2015 passout.. Android application

marketing.. Having good communi-

cation skills and mindset to work in

a team. Contact 91024385

Indian BE (MECH) aviation BE

degree diploma in material quality

management 17 years Navy aviation

13 years construction purchase

stores professional on visit.

Contact: 90205082 /98796982

BE Electrical Engineer 8 years

experience 4 years in Oman with

Oman driving license.

Contact 96942032

Civil Engineer (Diploma) seeking

for placement. Contact: 95200650

Indian diploma Civil Eng, 2 yrs

Infrastructure Projects (4G, Towers,

substation) landscaping & Auto

CAD. Contact: 94756183

Email: indianexpat1@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer (B.E) with 5

years experience (3 yrs in Gulf) NOC

available. Contact: 92119851 Email:

mayurdevadiga@gmail.com

Resident Engineer B.E civil 25 years

exp 12 yrs in Architecture consul-

tancy having Oman Dubai D/L NOC

available. Contact: 95732453

Email: milindj951@gmail.com

Indian female MDS Endodontics,

9.5 yrs experience recently cleared

Oman prometric 84% looking

for suitable placement. Contact:

95624156 / 97233074

MSc Nurse specialized in OBG,

3 years experience-certified ACLS,

BLS, on visit visa, seeking suitable

opportunities Contact: 90125347

Palestinian dentist looking for job

in private hospitals, Medical Center

or Dental Centers in Muscat 15 yrs

exp P. hospitals out Muscat. Contact:

96951750

Indian female B. Sc Nurse with 3

years experience prometric passed

seeks suitable placement.CONTACT

95782544

Indian female Bsc nurse with 3year

experience prometric passed seeks

suitable placement.# 95782544

Indian male Nurse, prometric

passed seeks suitable placement.

Contact 97284508I

Project/ Program Manager/ Finance professional

Contact - 97203531

Experience MBA (Hospital Manage-

ment) looking for a suitable posi-

tion. Contact: 95958597

Email: vipinpthomas28@gmail.com

Interior designer, advanced diplo-

ma interior, 3dmax maya coreldraw,

photoshop. Contact : 93837973

Interior designer with 6 years exp 3D

design MEP architectural with sound

knowledge in AutoCAD Sketch up

with VRAY, 3D Max looking for suit-

able position. Contact: 96789770

Email: sachinratnan@gmail.com

Indian male 10+years of Gulf experi-

ence as a Sales Executive in FMCG

Industry with valid GCC license.

Contact: 93512696

Indian male 38 yrs , MBA in Mar-

keting with Oman D/License, over

8 yrs experience in ironmongery

scheduler / specifier & general

trading, currently on visit visa. NOC

available. Contact: 98891737

Indian male, 31, MBA Marketing

and Finance with 8 years’ experi-

ence in FMCG industry specialized

in sales, trade marketing and key

accounts as manager seeks suitable

position. Contact 94743589

Centre Manager for Training

ManagerMinistry approved Manager,

Indian Driver need job. #91254539

Light driver looking for job.

Contact: 96942547

Light driver looking job

exp. 4 years. Contact: 94208089

11 years experience as Driver in

Embassy, looking for suitable

placement. Contact: 92191698

20 years experience Driver D/L in

Oman, seeks suitable job.

Contact : 99775728

Light driver for job 5 yrs exp.

Contact: 92171166

Bangladeshi male driver, 48 yrs,

exp 14 years, 9 years need job & visa,

got release letter. Contact: 99165961

Pakistani driver seeks for job, hold-

ing license of Oman exp in driving in

Oman 6 years. Contact : 92604918

Indian driver 13 yrs exp. looking for

fulltime or part time jobs. #91103909

12 years experience light duty

driver with car. Contact: 96467373

Pakistani male light vehicle driver

looking for job. Contact: 96474528 Driver with car. Contact :91452930

Computer and Systems Engineer. Contact: 91770668

Indian male B.Eng in IT CCNA MCITP,

2+ yrs exp in IT support, Network-

ing and Server support. Contact

93311963 Email: sajal035@gmail.

com

Male 25 years B.E (CSE) 3.5 years

experience in System and Network-

ing / IT support currently in visit visa

looking for a suitable job. Contact:

+968-98914760

IT System Administrator MCSA

Sudanese UAE experience.

Contact: 91302074

B.Tech prince 2 certified IT Proff.

with 16+ yrs experience, 8 years ex-

perience in banking IT projects and

risk management, support vendor

management looking for a suit-

able position on visit visa. Contact:

92703635, email : anilsingh@live.in

25 years old Indian male, BE,

ECE,MCITP,MCSA,CCNA with 3.5

years experience in system and

networking/IT support. Currently on

visit visa, Looking for a suitable job.

Contact no -98110873. Email:

blessonvvarghese@hotmail.com

Software Developer / Consultant

Manager 7+ yrs Experience

Mobile 92694166

Indian female (29), BCA, MCA, ASP.

Net certification, SAP ABAP Certifi-

cation, 2 yrs of experience, seeking

placement, family visa.

Contact 99109121

Email: ashamaryphilip@gmail.com

Indian male, M. Sc Electronics, Di-

ploma in Network Engineering with 2

years experience including GCC expe-

rience in networking, IT support and

server support. Computer hardware

, MCITP and CCNA, MCITP certified ,

Having Saudi driving license, now in

Muscat on visit visa looking for suit-

able job. Contact : 96133981 ,

Email: obinkavumkal@gmail.com NOC / Network Engineer, Indian

male 27 years Indian having 5 years

experience as NOC/ Network Engi-

neer with CCNA certified seeks for

suitable placement currently on visit

visa. Contact 97663834

Filipino male 29 Graduate of BS IT

with GCC experience as Document

Controller and Executive Secretary

looking for employment.

Contact: +968 93929569

Indian male 28 yrs, Master degree

in Computer Application and CCNA

certified, 2 years exp in Oman look-

ing for suitable placement.

Contact: 93295112 Email:

syedsadathali.mca@gmail.com

Computer & Network Engineering.

11 yrs experience looking for

suitable job. Contact 92811179/

95882614

Email: khalido24@yahoo.com

Indian HSE Manager, Grad IOSH & I

Dip Nebosh aged 43 years with more

than 20 years of experience working

in reputed oil & Gas / construction at

Oman seeking suitable HSE Position

(Manager / Trainer / Advisor). NOC

available. Contact: 97926801

Email: johnkjoseph630@yahoo.com

Manager- Media & Advertising

industry-15 yrs Gulf exp - seeks suit-

able opening- 93031168

Highly skilled Transport Manager

Experienced in Oman & UAE, re-

quired for Reputed Mining Company

Located at Sultanate of Oman.

Contact: workatoman@gmail.com

Senior Project Manager approved

by Ministries with 23 years experi-

ence (Oman) in buildings and infra

structure available for placement.

Contact: 99608299

Indian male 41 yrs Sales Coordina-

tor 16 yrs experience owing valid

Oman D/L. Contact: 93412622

BBA Keralite, male, 23 yrs, experi-

enced in Automotive Sales & Admin

on visit. Contact 94742679,

Email: jafarj4@gmail.com

Indian male, 4 years experience in

Sales. Oman experience with NOC

& driving license seeking suitable.

Contact: 96607645

Indian male, U.K Post Graduate M.A,

MBA, 3 years Experience, looking

position within Marketing, Branding,

Business Development & PR.

Contact: 91-8939165131

Email: greetings111@hotmail.com

Indian female 2+ years of experi-

ence in marketing / Sales business

development in Oman with D/L

seeks suitable position.

Contact: 98989784,

Email: alamelusara@hotmail.com

Male 24 years MBA Marketing B.Com

2 years experience in the field of sales,

marketing, business development look-

ing for suitable position presently in

Muscat. # 93268245 Email:

gregjose1991@gmail.com

MBA qualified sales and marketing

candidate having an experience of

1 and half years available in Oman

on visit visa seeks placement.

Contact: 97436706 Email: an-

shusamue10001@gmail.com

Indian male 21+ years Managerial

experience in Oman in FMCG Indus-

try seeking suitable placement with

NOC can head any Business / work-

ing partner. Contact: 95264562

Expatriate currently working as

Supply Chain Executive with an

intensive 8 years Oman experi-

ence in IM & T sector proficient in

Procurement Sales support and

logistics capable to manage large

scale clientele oil & gas utilities and

public sectors. Contact 97755488

Experienced skilled candidate with

driving license seeks position sales

in Salalah. Contact: 98579382

Sales Executive experience in

Oman 4 years, has driving license.

Contact: 96039024

Marketing and Sales candidate

with 8 years experience in GCC

looking for suitable position. Having

NOC and valid Oman diving license.

Contact: 96669152

Indian male more than 8 years expe-

rience in UAE in Office , Sales Market-

ing with good computer skills having

driving license looking for suitable

placement. Contact: 99369081

Email: shazulashraf60@gmail.com

Indian Marketing & Sales profes-

sional for telecom, hyper stores

& FMCG with over 7 years Oman

experience is seeking change / suit-

able placement. Contact: 99360975

Email: howru73@yahoo.com

Indian worked as Sales Supervisor

7 years MNC now working as Mar-

keting Manager from 8 yrs with visa

D/L. Contact : 90205082

Indian female holding Omani driv-

ing license M.B.A in Marketing and

finance from Birla Institute, Muscat,

1 yr. working experience in India.

Contact: 91746962

Email: aarathiajith@gmail.com

Indian male 28 B.Com M.Com, MBA

experience 2 years Ventex Global

UAE Marketing Executive, experi-

ence 1 year Al Majeed Group Market-

ing Executive with valid UAE D/L.

Contact : +968 92871946

Marketing or Purchase Executive,

1.5 yrs in Oman Indian male 27 yrs,

MBA with valid Oman D/L available

for immediate placement.

Contact: 96300958 / 24796010

Email: ashwanihegde@gmail.com

Male BS, with D/L having 7 years

exp in Oman wanted suitable job in

Sales inventory & procure.

Contact: 92191026

Indian male having 8 years experi-

ence in business development retail

sales logistics currently on seeking

job in Oman. Contact: 99052340

Email: pradee.ys@gmail.com

Indian female Graduate holder

valid driving license knowledge

about all kinds of cosmetic products

seeks suitable placement.

Contact 98697656

Sales and marketing - male 27 yrs,

2 years experience seeking suitable

placement with Oman D/L.

Contact: 95642740 Email:

shaijichakkara@gmail.com

Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need suit-

able job of construction 12 yrs exp.

Email: mohd.ateeq.khan@gmail.com

C-SWIP 3.1 ASNT level 2 QC Mech.

Engr 5+ yrs exp Indian male 26

seeks suitable placement.

Contact : 91823331

Email: kannasekhar46@gmail.com

Electrical and Electronics Engineer with one year experience and GCC

licence holder seeking a job

mail – shyjalpk@gmail.com

Indian male BE Mechanical currently on 2 yrs free visa with NOC

& local release. Looking for suitable

job in Muscat.

Contact – 90296975 /

ali.syedausaf@gmail.com

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

D6 S U N D AY, O C T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

SIT.WANTED

SIT.WANTED

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

India male 33 years. DCT, BBA,

OSHA, looking for Job in Construc-

tion HSE, 11 Years experience with

GCC license, NOC available

Contact :- 9418 4280

Indian male having 7 Years of Expe-

rience in Oman Having Valid Driving

License working as a Office Driver

,Looking for a suitable Position, NOC

Available. Contact: 99680429, E-

mail:anzarkutty1975@gmail.com

Syrian architect have years and half

experience in oman looking for work,

full time perfect in architectural

programs 3d max , auto cad , Pho-

toshop , and sketch up. for contact :

0096897482871

Female, Indian, 35 years, Bachelor

of Pharmacy (B. Pharm) fresh gradu-

ate with BSc looking for positions in

Front Office, administration office,

or any suitable positions in hospital,

polyclinic, companies or Institutions.

Contact 90236481.

Indian Male 47 years MBA-Opera-

tions Management with total 25 Yrs

exp inclusive of 9 yrs in Oil & Gas

sector in Oman, having valid Omani

D/L & NOC, seek challenging posi-

tion in SCM/Logistics/Procurement.

GSM-94236414. Mail id –

dialindia33@gmail.com

Well experienced management

finance specialist having 18 years

experience available for placement.

Contact.95602518

23, Male, ACCA Affiliate, OBU Bsc,

2.5 years of experience in audit and

finance in Big 6 Firms, Looking for

permanent placement in similar

field. Release NOC available. Contact:

#95140445, a.saran891@gmail.com

22, Male, Indian, BBA (Marketing),

1 year experience in India, Looking

for suitable placement in Sales and

Marketing. #91897046,

azzamsiddique1@gmail.com

Indian Male,27,ACCA Part

Qualified,B.COM with 7+ yrs exp in

receivables and credit control in

Oman looking for suitable place-

ments. NOC available. # 9657 4343.

Indian Female, Science Graduate,

3 years Experience in Teaching back

home. Looking for a suitable job op-

portunity as a teacher, in Schools in

Muscat Region. Contact : 96431456

/ 95704814

Looking for a suitable job as Jr.

Accountant/ Jr. Administration in

a reputed company. NOC Available.

GSM # 93004738.

ACCOUNTANT, Male, 8 years experi-

ence, presently working in Oman as a

Senior Accountant with oman Driving

license. NOC available, seek suitable

opportunity. GSM: 97705854

Chemical Engineer Indian 2 years

of experience in production field

Contact: 91247222

Email:sahadpoonchola@gmail.com

Syrian male 3yrs. exp in IT support,

Networking, Security systems, Serv-

er support, IT sales and marketing.

Valid Omani D/L seeking suitable

placement. Contact 91033395

Civil Autocad Draughtsman part

time work for job mob :

96023726

Indian female, MBA, 25yrs Having

4yrears of experience in MNC, hands

of experiences in recruitment and

administration, flexible for any suit-

able job placements currently in

visting visa. Contact Tel : 98864639

Email : neethuvijayan06@gmail.com

Indian Male, 25, Chartered Account-

ant, working with ICICI Bank India.

On a Visit Visa in Oman. Staying with

parents at Azaiba. Ph: 24492638.

Email: shyamal008@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

Indian male having 10 years work

experience ( Customer Service/

Back end sales/stores)and 1 year

work experience in Oman NOC in

hand, looking for Suitable Position

Contact no: 96526228 /

sravan.kumaraj@gmail.com

Indian male Sr. Sales Executive, 15 years exp in retail sector looking

for vacancies. Contact: 96768382

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

SKILLED / UNSKILLED

Indian male more than 10 years

gulf experience in Office / Sales

Coordinator, Admin, Secretarial and

purchase with good computer skills.

Having Driving license and NOC

available, looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact 95149624

Welder 6G, 3G ARC , Fabrication

gulf exp ph : 92858985

Indian Male, 26 Yrs, Business

Management, 6 years in Oman.

Knowledge of MS Office and Arabic

Language. Seeks suitable position.

Contact 93931935

Indian Mechanical Engineer, 30, having 8yrs of UAE Sales/Busi-

ness Development. experience in

Electromechanical and Irrigation

sectors. Contact no- +971558763220

email id-sangowri@outlook.com

Indian male, with finance and Law

degree, having more than 25 years

of experience in Finance/ Accounts /

Audit (5 years of Oman experience)

seeks suitable placement. NOC avail-

able. Contact: 98421619.

E-mail: talemadhamu@yahoo.com.

Indian male Executive Secretary

having vast experience in admin,

logistics & procurement well versed

with computer seeks suitable place-

ment. Contact : 99514286

Pakistan Male: 24 years,M.Com

Finance having 2.5 year experience

as a accountant & marketing execu-

tive looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 97670816,

E.mail: naeem.ahsan68@gmail.com

ACCOUNTANT: Indian male 25 hav-

ing 4 years experience in accounting

& having well knowledge in tally.

Contact:968094535881,

0091 9037622048,

Email: vishnuraj889@gmail.com

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, 8 years ex-

perience ,Oman driving licence,Noc

available. Seek Suitable opportunity.

GSM- 98184170

Senior Accountant. 8 Years experi-

ence. NOC available. Oman driving

license. Seek suitable opportunity.

GSM- 98184170

31 year Indian male PG in HR ,with 5

yrs Professional experience in HR in

Construction Oil & Gas Oman seek-

ing for a suitable placement. Kindly

contact me on 93488914, email-

Kaarthickshankar@gmail.com

MBA Finance with more than five

years of experience in Finance &

Accounts including GCC, looking for

a suitable opening. Having UAE driv-

ing license. #91391802.

Indian female with MBA in finance

seeking immediate placement.

Contact: 968-93316493

Sudanese/26/Bsc Computer Sci-

ence /3 years exp/skills Excellent

knowledge in operating systems

and maintaining computers Java

Programmer Web Developer Linux

SMS solutions Android developer/

email khalid.omx@gmail.com/

# 944958080 and 99758186.

Indian male B.Eng. in IT,CCNA,

MCSA,MCSE, 2.5 yrs + exp. in IT sup-

port, networking and server support

valid Omani D/L seeking suitable

placement in IT/Network/Server

support. Contact 92607532

Indian B.E Computer Science graduate

2012 passout. 1 .5 yrs exp. in Account-

ing. Having good communication skills

and mindset to work in a team. Having

NIIT certificate in Diploma in Java

Technology. # 97767894

Email: jinsonjacobjohn@gmail.com

Indian male 24 YEARS, B.Tech (Elec-

trical & Electronics), having 2 yrs. exp

as Electrical Site Engineer. Done IOSH

& NEBOSH- IGC certifications, seeking

for suitable placement in any related

industries. Contact 98045482,

Email: mastanshaik1008@gmail.com

Indian male, 24 years, HSE Engineer

having 2 years of Indian experience.

Done IOSH & NEBOSH- IGC certifica-

tions, seeking for suitable placement

in any related industries.

Contact 98045482

Indian male 22yr BBA with LOGIS-

TIC Diploma, exp in tally and data

entry seeking in suitable placement.

Contact; 90151739

email shakeeb.mp280gmail.com

Indian Male (Diploma in electronics

Engineering and CCNA.) having 9

years of experience in Networking, 5

years’ experience in Oman. Looking

for a suitable Placement. NOC avail-

able. GSM- 93787098,

Email –anishktr@gmail.com

Mechanical Draftsman, Indian male

27, Diploma in Mechanical Engineer-

ing having 7 years of experience

in Auto CAD looking for a suitable

placement.#97351786 / 96143708

mohammednazeer07@gmail.com

ACCA Affiliate, OBU Degree, 2.5

years experience in audit and

finance in Big6 firm, Looking for

permanent placement. NOC release

available. Contact: #95140445,

a.saran891@gmail.com

27, male, ACCA finalist, have pro-

fessional experience up to finali-

zation of Accounts, Statutory and in-

ternal audit, expertise in using tally

and focus & Oracle Software, have

3.5 years experience in accounts

till finalization, seeking for

permanent replacement ,GSM-

97654769,email id-

abdullah.nooralam@yahoo.com

B.E Mechanical Engineer with 2

years’ experience in HVAC field on

visit visa looking for suitable job.

Contact: 93442296

Email Id: sal201091@gmail.com.

MBA (F) B.COM Indian female

having knowledge of accounts with

Tally looking for full or part time job.

Presently on family visit visa.

Contact: - 96259171. Email: -

bhumicapandya@gmail.com

Indian Male, MBA, Talented

management expert having 6 year

experience at U.A.E, India and Oman

in luxury goods and Retail. Seeking

suitable openings in related or same

field. Contact:92700670

Email: jobcareer44@gmail.com

B.Tech EEE with 4+ years experi-

ence in the field of it, networking,

ex-tonics etc. presently working in

Amazon India development centre as

a content quality associate seeking

for suitable jobs in Oman.

Contact : +91 9940514005, 93116402

email: mail2nbn@gmail.com

MBA Finance with more than five

years of experience in Finance &

Accounts including GCC, looking for

a suitable opening. Having UAE driv-

ing license. Contact no..91391802

Part- Time Accountant, well experi-

ence senior accountant ,doing all

type of accounting works, Finaliza-

tion, Budgeting available.

Contact 98803439

Pakistani, Male, Pak, Exp 14 Years

in IT Trainer / Computer Teacher,

looking for a better position in Oman,

already working in Prestigious Con-

struction Company. # 95983711.

Join.mtmali@gmail.com

M. Tech VLSI design, B. tech Elec-

tronics and instrumentation, Indian

female,3 years teaching experience

for graduation level students,

seeking suitable placements .

Ph:00968 92904155.

email-achusooraj@gmail.com

Indian 26M, B. Tech Computer Sci-

ence graduate, 3 years exp in India,

looking for suitable job in Muscat.

Contact : 93125669,

Email : amritrajGT18@gmail.com

Sudanese/Bsc IT/26/2 years experi-

ence/excellent Eng-Arb speaking/

Omani driving license/96387227/

henrykarrar@gmail.com

MBA - (F), M.Com, B.COM. Indian

female having knowledge of accounts

with Tally looking for part time or full

time job. Presently on family visa.

contact 91892264. mail: yv.dixit@

yahoo.com

Admin, having 10+ years experience

in Admin/HR/Logistics/Time Keeper,

in reputed companies. Presently work-

ing in Muscat. Contact94369965mail

- satya1528@gmail.com

Two year experience in Oman,

experience in sales, purchase and

system admin, Having GCC license.

Contact number 97475860,

Yadhukrishnan08@gmail.com

Indian male B.Eng. in

IT,CCNA,MCSA,MCSE, 2.5 yrs + exp.

in IT support, Networking and Server

support with valid Omani D/L seeking

suitable placement in IT/Network/

Server support. contact 92607532

Indian Female BSC nurse with 8+

years of experience including 3

years of GCC exp. Oman Promet-

ric passed with 57 %. Currently in

Oman. Contact : 98034384

Indian male Accountant, 12 years

experience, looking for a full time

or part time job, experience in tally

also. Contact 98983122

Site Supervisor/ L Driver, Pakistani

Male 33 with valid D/L, 4 years

experience in Muscat, fluent in

English, Arabic looking for suitable

place. Contact: 97950869

Indian Male, 25, Chartered Ac-

countant, working with ICICI Bank

India. On a Visit Visa in Oman.

Staying with parents at Azaibah.

Ph:24492638.

Email: shyamal008@gmail.com

Filipino Senior Architect with 13

years GCC experience. Proficient

in 3D StudioMax, AutoCAD, Revit,

Phostoshop, and Microsoft Office.

With NOC and Omani driving li-

cense. Please contact 91292933.

Indian female, 40 yrs, 7 yrs experi-

ence in customer service, with D/L

seeks suitable placement.

Contact 95580711

ME Civil- structural Engineer, 8 Years Structural Engineer ex-

perience, Looking for Structural

Designer, supervisor or site engineer

Position. Iranian male.

Contact: 93696929

Email: mhsaz1359@gmail.com

Indian Male 23 years B.Tech Civil

Engineering having 2 years experi-

ence in quantity survey and site

management looking for suitable

placement. Contact- 95042656

Indian female, MBA, 25yrs Having

4yrears of experience in MNC, hands

of experiences in recruitment and

administration, flexible for any suit-

able job placements currently in

visting visa. Contact: 98864639

Email : neethuvijayan06@gmail.

com

Indian Male -25years B.Tech

Engineer seeking any suitable jobs

in Oman ,currently on visit visa.

Contact : Haneesh N. Surendran,

Mob : 90126573,

Email: - haneeshns02@gmail.com

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, 8 years

experience, Oman driving license,

Noc available seeks suitable oppor-

tunity. GSM- 97705854

Female Junior Architect, Excel-

lence in Autocad, Sketching & Mod-

elling, Internship - KHAM Designs,

Bangalore. Presently with Atulya

Architects & Associates. Email

saatvika.frozenmusic@gmail.com

Contact 00968-94057427.

Electronics System Eng. UK Gradu-

ate. Indian Female with relevant

work experience. Eng. Analysis,

Instrumentation and Control, Power

& Heat, Electrical & Fluid, Drives &

Actuators etc. Looking for an entry

level position. Email

s.dinesh1508@gmail.com.

Mobile: 97848075, +91-8105413827

Indian male BE Electrical & Elec-

tronics and PG in power systems

(transmission & distribution) on

visit seeking placement.

Contact 94669679

E Mail : prsabarish@gmail.com

Indian Female, MBA-HR having 8+

experience in Administration/HR,

Customer Support, Office Coordina-

tor with good Computer skill, Now on

Visit Visa looking for suitable

position. Contact: 90196235

Female, 35years, Bachelor of Phar-

macy fresh graduate with BSc and

MA looking for suitable position in

hospital, polyclinic, companies or

Institutions. Contact 90236481.

Electrical Maintenance Engineer, 29,

Indian Male, having 7+ years exp. in

reputed companies. Seeking suitable

placement in Oman. #- 98440637.

Mail ID : venkatbadri23@gmail.com

Administration - Having 9+ years

exp. in Admin & HR in reputed com-

panies. Presently working in Muscat

and seeking for suitable placement.

Contact No.: 97693456.

email : muralimahdav77@gmail.com

Indian male 24 B.Tech IT(engineer)

2.5 years exp in hardware network-

ing, programming such as C and C++.

Currently on visit visa seeks suitable

placement. Contact 95153693

Indian male Auto Cad Draughtsman

(civil) 8 years experience seeking for

part time job.

Contact : 00968 99070584,

Email: remluvp@gmail.com

Indian male having 25 years exp in

telecom optical fiber cables, network

CCTV Administration office automa-

tion seeks job, now in visit visa.

Contact: 91385373 Email:

sridharbsnlma1455@gmail.com

Indian male 32 M. A. English and

having 4 years of experience in

teaching current company is ready

to issue release letter.

Contact : 99869535

Email: sahadkeyi33@gmail.com

Sudanese male, 31 years, have 3

year Diploma in electrical engineer

, 6 year experience in construction

and electrical production plant .

Mobile No ; +96894549609

Indian male 37 years B.Tech Gradu-

ate having 12 years experience of

Electrical DCRP Works / Jobs in

Oman with driving license looking

for suitable opening. NOC available

can join immediately. Contact :

saiviharvasanth@gmail.com

Bangladeshi, looking job for sales

man having 3-4 years experience in

readymade garments.

Contact : 97756028

Indian female B.ARCH with 10 years

experience (Indian & Oman) as an

Architect is seeking a suitable in

Muscat. Contact: 92412810

BE Civil Engineer with 11 years of

experience in building construc-

tion with valid Oman DL, looking for

suitable placement, NOC available.

Please contact 91329910.

Indian male 24 B.Tech IT (engineer)

2.5 years exp in hardware network-

ing, programming such as C and C++.

Currently on visit visa seeks suitable

placement. Contact 95153693

Indian male 23yrs, 2yrs exp. In Accounts (india). Seeking suitable

position in accounts. Currently on

express visa. M: 94399509,

E. midhunaloor16@gmail.com

Indian Male: 31yrs 8 Years Experi-

ence in the field of Business Develop-

ment/ Sales/ Retail/ Logistics with

good communication Skills seeking

for suitable job in Oman . Now avail-

able in Visit visa valid till (21st Oct).

Contact; 99052340 ,

email: pradee.ys@gmail.com

ACCOUNTANT , Indian male 30

years B.Com Having 7 years of Oman

experience in the field of accounts &

finance seeks for better placement.

Contact : 96143708 / 97351786

ME Civil- structural Engineer, 8

Years Structural engineer experi-

ence, looking for Structural Designer,

supervisor or site engineer Position.

Iranian male. Contact: 93696929,

Email: mhsaz1359@gmail.com

Civil Autocad draughtsman looking

for part time job. Mobile: 95218737

ACCOUNTANT, 8 years experience,

Oman D/L, Noc available seeks suit-

able opportunity. GSM- 98184170

DAILY GUIDES U N D AY, O C T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 D7

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

Split & widow unit A.C servicing &

repairing. Contact: 99557080

Split & window unit A.C servicing

& maintenance. #96236476

Window & split unit A.C ser-

vicing & maintenance. Contact

93769089 / 95323517

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet

& sofa shampooing, Contact

99314807/24792998

Split window unit A/ C servicing.

Contact 94694472

Cleaning & Carpet Shampooing,

Ocean Center LLC. #99884591

Pest Control Treatments.

Ocean Center LLC. Contact:

99344723

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS-

99320217 /24788722

House shifting & packing. Contact: 99657644 /98518013

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your

marble. #24793614/ 99314807

Air condition maintenance instal-

lation window AC, split a/c, ducted

AC and package type units.

Contact: 98667326

Window & split unit A.C ser-

vicing & maintenance. Contact

93769089 / 95323517

Pest Control Gulfa Intl .LLC. Contact: 92326955

Water proofing ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

One stop shop business services : Public Relation (PRO) formation new

companies, LLC companies, Investor

visa, business setup, prepare busi-

nesses & companies accounts, legal

services, representing you and your

company. Contact Saleh: 96723485

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile

polishing, pest control & anti-

termite treatment, general clean-

ing painting, Plumbing, Electrical,

shifting. Contact Mundhir Al-Ri-

zaiqi trading. L.L.C. # 24810137,

99450130

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intel-

ligence (BI) creation and manage-

ment at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

SIT.WANTED

CLASSES

COMPUTER

SITUATION WANT-ED

BUSINESS

We want finance for 3 (three)

months or renewable every 3

months from Omani nationals or

expatriates for trading business.

Contact: 99462591 or 93525028

Ware house space for rent at Ghala

and Barka up to 20000/- Sqm.

Contact: 99509460 / 93731363

Want regular financing for profitable

business. Contact 91087526

Investors needed for well functioning

company Engaged in manufactur-

ing and supply of heating solutions.

Contact: 98871548 / 93412622

MISCELLANEOUS

MATRIMONIAL

Looking for alliance from Tamil

Muslim grooms for working girl

28 years 5 FT. Wheatish Contact:

93263185 Email: mrtgifts@gmail.com

Malankara Catholic girl Alappuzha

Dist BSc Nurse 28 yrs working with

M.O.H in Buraimi 28 yrs seeks alliance

from Keralite professionals Orthodox

Marthoma. Contact: 93264638

Seeking alliance for our son from

Muslim families. Interested families

Contact: 99889590

NRI

Water front luxurious apartments

at Marine drive Kochi, DD Samudra

Darshan Apartments 1850 sq. ft

INR 1.60 CR (negotiable). Common

amenities include multi gym billiards,

home theatre party hall etc. Contact

Owners 968 - 99754109 AND 971 -

505194598 or email: porus2009@

gmail.com

Water front luxurious apartments at

Marine drive Kochi, prestige Neptune

courtyard 2225 sq. ft, INR 1.80 CR

(negotiable) common amenities in-

cludes 4 swimming pools multi gym

party, halls, squash courts walk ways

etc. Contact Owners: 968 - 99754109

& 971 - 505194598 or Email: po-

rus2009@gmail.com

3BHK+Puja Room, East Facing, 1549

Sq Ft, Independent Floor, Ansal

Palam Vihar, Gurgaon,

Contact:99381769

Architect designed 5000 Square

feet exquisite Villa in 16 cents of

land at a scenic location on Aak-

kulam Road, Ulloor, Trivandrum for

sale. Contact +968 95372011

LOST

CHANGE OF NAME

GOOD NEWS

Genuine Ayurvedic treatments &

massage, Ayurvedic clinic at

Al Khuwair. Contact: 24478618 /

97263637 / 93309131

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know

more about Islam, please call:

99425598, 99250777, 99353988,

99253818, 99341395, and 99379133.

For ladies: 99415818, 99321360,

99730723 Orvisit:www.islamfact.com

Ayurvedic Treatment for joint pain,

backache, paralysis, massage, steam

bath, obesity, spondylitis , IDEAL

CARE Ayurvedic Clinic,

18 November Street, Azaiba

Contact: 99639695 / 98342990

Ayurvedic treatment for backache,

paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,

All Season (Vaidyaratnam). Contact

24475280 / 95371664 / 92504980

www.siddhayur.com

Sanjuctta Kumar has lost Bangla-

deshi Passport No. BC

0020946. Finder please handover

to ROP

Asif Mohammad has lost Pakistani

Passport No. AL 1883592. Finder

please handover to ROP

Mohammed Feroz Rahil has lost In-

dian Passport No. K 3688686. Finder

please handover to ROP

Shaheb Uddin has lost Bangladeshi

Passport No. F 0433359. Finder

please handover to ROP

I TersamLal Fakirchand (holder

of Indian passport No. J 6459000)

Son of Fakirchand Sadhuram having

permanent residence in V.Gosal, P.O

Saidowal, DT. Kapurthala, Punjab

(complete postal address in India )

and presently residing in P.O Box:

600, Buraimi – 512, Oman (complete

postal address in Oman) intend to

change my name from Tersam Lal

Fakirchand (old name) to Tarsam Singh Fakir Singh ( new name) for

all practical purpose. Any objection

towards my name change may please

be communicated to Embassy of

India, Muscat, diplomatic Quarters, Al

Khuwair, P.Box No. 1727 Postal Code

112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman.

DRIVING

Network/Noc Engineer, Indian male

27 years B.com (General) 5 years &

4 month’s of experience in the field

of networking seeks for better place-

ment. Contact :97663834,

bro’s no:98730758

Indian male, BBA, having 8yrs exp

including 2yrs of (UAE) exp looking

opportunities withinSales, Logis-

tics, Retail, Operations. CONTACT

99052340, Mail Id: pradee.ys@

gmail.com

B.Com Graduate, associate insur-

ance, 25 year male, 3 years experi-

ence in accounts and 3 years in

sales and marketing.

Contact no-95236312,

mail id-lilommca@gmail.com

Syrian Architect years experience

in oman for work 2d plans and 3d

internal and external projects in

cooperation or even a piece . for

contact : 97482871

Electrical Engineer with BS & MS

Degree having 5 years of Experience

in Electrical Utility/Water sector

seeks a suitable job (on visit).

Contact: snaveelh@gmail.com

Phone: 24413033/ 95731852

25 year male, B graduate, associ-

ate insurance with 3 years exp in

accounts and 3 years in marketing.

NOC available.

Mail id lilommca@gmail.com

and no-95236312

Indian male, 26 yr, b. tech Computer

science, 4 years experience as sys-

tem and network engineer looking

for suitable job.

Contact : 0096893125669,

Email : amritrajGT18@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer with BS & MS

Degree having 5 years of Experi-

ence in Electrical Utility/Water

sector seeks a suitable job. Contact:

95731852 snaveelh@gmail.com

Chartered Accountant, looking out

for an opportunity in Oman in Audit

OR Finance field. Available in

Muscat from 10th – 16th Oct.

Call : 91258435

26, Male, Indian, BBA (Finance),

MBA(HR), Looking for suitable Job.

Contact immediately. Contact

98176105, nruknaddin@outlook.com

Indian lady looking for accounts

Job, two years experience one year

worked in Oman B.Com Graduate ,

Tally ERP9. GSM : 91123561

Indian looking for a part time ac-

counting or Internal Auditing job,

contact 99196621.

33 year male Indian Keralite

looking for Senior Accountant or

Assistant Accounts manager hav-

ing 10 years of working experience

in Oman and Qatar with valid GCC

license willing to work any GCC

country, please contact : 97433387

27,male,ACCA finalist, have profes-

sional experience up to finalization

of accounts, statutory and internal

audit, expertise in using tally and

focus & oracle software, have 3.5

years experience in accounts till

finalization ,seeking for permanent

replacement ,GSM-97654769,email

id-abdullah.nooralam@yahoo.com

26, Male, Indian, BBA (Finance),

MBA(HR), Looking for suitable Job.

Contact immediately #98176105,

nruknaddin@outlook.com

Senior Management Professional,

MBA, 12 years+ exp. in Business

Development/Sales Management

, Sales Training, Content Develop-

ment & Six sigma GSM:97428090

Part Time Accounting Job Com-

plete Data Entry, Upto Finalization.

Any Time Available. Location Al

Hail, AL Khoud. #- +968-92049215

Email:- aiafe.oman@gmail.com

ACCA finalist, Recent B.Com Gradu-

ate, Indian Female, looking for full

time employment in Accounting

and Audit.+96896964379,

sangeethaumesh5@gmail.com

Indian Chartered Accountant, Male

25 years, 5 years of relevant experi-

ence, On Visit visa, Staying with

Parents. Also holds BCOM (Comput-

er Applications). Contact 98164467,

24492638 shyamal008@gmail.com

Arab Lady seeking for House-

manager/Personal Assistant job.

Highly experienced. Arabic, English

&French. Contat : +961 71339568

email : famurr@hotmail.com

The Business Development

Manager, Iraqi, Experience 14 Years

Inside and outside Oman following

activities: tenders& real estate&

construction & marketing projects&

investments& transportation &

Marine services& companies man-

agement& develop business.

Contact 93240027

INDIAN MALE , MBA. Having 10+

years experience as Automotives

Sales Manager .Worked with M/s

TALWAR AUTO GARAGES PVT

LTD India’s Largest Selling Dealer

for VOLVO EICHER commercial

vehicles .Seeking for suitable Job in

Oman. Contact no: 98045482

Email: dmstalwar@gmail.com

IELTS & TOEFL

Academic / General

Target Band 8

TQT Institute.

Ph # 24480800 / 99347202

Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

D8 S U N D AY, O C T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

RENT A CAR

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with

Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine

Tours # 98029602, 92808636

TOURS

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

FOR HIRE

Available for rent 1500 sqmt, se-

cured plot, suitable for keeping con-

tainers, construction equipments,

trailers etc, near Sohar Airport-

Contact 98236616

Bobcat Grader and roller for rent.

Contact: 94584688

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation available Ruwi to

Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba.

Contact: 91103909

Transportation available.

Contact: 99867456

Pick & drop any time. Contact: 93598436 / 96743215

Pick & drop any time. Contact:

92218001/ 96502406

Transportation. Contact98505294

Transportation in Muscat.

Contact: 95530908

MANPOWER

We offer labour for loading and

unloading if any one required we

are providing this service. Contact:

95208185 /95456022

Leading manpower agency to hire Recruiter from India housemaids. Contact: 99226093,

Email: fesalwardi48@gmail.com

FOR LADIES

GOOD OFFER for ladies: (Golden facial

Golden bleach, Haircut-10 RO. Only)

this offer started from 10th October

to 10th November. #99619409,

Hattat Modern Parlour

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015S P E C I A L S U P P L E M E N T

SHAHZAD RAZAshahzad@timesofoman.com

Freight industry is one of the biggest money-making businesses in the world. In USA alone the $337 billion

truckload sector is the largest part of the trucking market, ac-counting for about 37 percent of the total freight transportation spending in the country. With Oman making serious efforts to boost its exports, trade and time-ly transportation of goods have assumed greater importance.

An effective goods transporta-tion system is also vital to taking the country’s imports to the re-gions they are intended to serve.

With the Sultanate focusing on improved port management, goods transportation from So-har and Salalah ports has seen significant growth, leading to increase in demand for heavy transport vehicles.

A large number of heavy trucks and trailers leave Sohar Port daily loaded with a variety of goods meant for different parts of the Sultanate and abroad. Contain-erisation, the greatest transport revolution of this century, has made the task of transport com-panies much easier as goods often come packed in containers which

are convenient to move from one place to the other than loading and unloading goods manually, as was the practice before.

Precisely for this reason, heavy trucks carry huge trailers to fetch the load to its destination. Capac-ity does matter and it pays.

“Transport vehicles are avail-able in many sizes and compa-nies make the purchase depend-ing on their requirement. There are plenty of choices in the size and capacity of bigger trucks which vary from 10 ton to 60 ton. Automotive companies in Oman do their best to help the transporters by ensuring quick delivery and services though they run out of stocks pretty fast due to high demand,” said Mian Muhammad Munir, man-aging director of Munir Trans-port and Ittfaq International in

Oman and Mohammad Munir Cargo Transport in Dubai.

Some of the popular brands dealing in heavy trucks in-clude Hino, Nissan, Iveco, Mit-subishi Fuso, MAN, Mercedes and many more.

How much time it takes to re-ceive the delivery after booking?

“It may take a month or even more to receive the vehicle you have booked if it is out of stock. Once you have received the ve-hicle, you have to do the neces-sary body work like having the trailer attached which costs around OMR3000 to 4000, and get it insured. You can then hit the road straightaway,” explained Munir, one of the leading goods transporters.

“Buying a big truck is much easier now. Finance companies are always ready to fund the purchase, especially if the trans-

porter has a clean past record. Credit approval can be pretty quick and if the vehicle is avail-able for delivery the deal can be over in no time,” he said.

How do transport companies ensure safety of goods being trans-ported? “Well, we insure every-thing. Vehicle is fully insured, so are the driver and the goods loaded on the truck. We ensure the body work is of high quality and meets the required standards,” he added.

Does road transportation of goods hold any advantage over air cargo and shipping?

“It does. Trucking is a much cheaper option compared to other means of goods transfer, and it is faster too, specially on domestic routes,” said Munir.

Hundreds of heavy trucks and trailers carry loads from ports to different routes on a daily basis

and that often leads to conges-tion on the roads, leading to traf-fic jams on the road linking Sohar Port with Muscat.

“Government must build a dual carriage way solely for the heavy trucks plying on this route. There is too much work on Sohar Port and such heavy traffic on a daily basis should have a separate route to avoid massive traffic jams,” sug-gested Munir.

It is a common sight to spot heavy transport vehicles taking goods like from the country’s big ports in Sohar, Salalah and Duqm. With the business see-ing steady growth for the goods transport companies, the num-ber of heavy transport vehicles is likely to increase on the roads. If the infrastructure is improved too, the movement is going to be smoother and faster.

Trucking the tons in time

COMMERCIALVEHICLES

inside

TRANSPORTATION

Auto dealers step up to offer trucking solutions

3Leading automotive companies in the Sultanate are exerting

great efforts to provide trucks to the leading transportation companies in the Sultanate

EXCELLENCEIveco celebrates 40 years

2The brand is celebrating its 40th anniversary – a

success story that tells of great international acclaims and vehicles that have come to symbolize commercial transport around the world

FUSO: Driving towards a prosperous future

4To comprehensively support such a varied product range and

its commercial customers, GAC has a strong service network setup right across the Sultanate for sales and after sales support; ensuring that no matter where a customer is located, they are guaranteed immediate and professional service

Goods transportation

from Sohar and

Salalah ports has

seen significant

growth, leading to

increased demand

for heavy vehicles

2015

VEHICLE OF CHOICEVEHICLE

3 2 S U N DAY, O CTO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 S U N DAY, O CTO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES 2015 COMMERCIAL VEHICLES 2015E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

IVECO is blowing out 40 candles: This is an impor-tant milestone for a major brand that has shaped the history of global commer-

cial transport. It represents not only 40 years of success, but also 150 years of working alongside customers, of superb perfor-mance, of vehicles that have be-come fixture on roads all over the world and that convey a message of technology and sustainable transport today.

Iveco is a brand of CNH Industri-al, a global leader in the capital goods sector. Through CNH Industrial, Iveco products are manufactured at production facilities in Europe, China, Australia, Argentina, Brazil and Africa, with business activities in over 160 countries.

To celebrate this birthday, Iveco has created a special logo in honor

of the occasion, which represents a stylised vehicle with the slogan “40 years of Iveco, 150 years of experience”. The logo will appear on all of the brand’s written com-munications until the end of 2015. The website www.iveco40.com of-fers people the chance to celebrate Iveco’s 40th birthday by sharing stories in pictures or videos.

Grand celebrationsIndeed a great deal of the cel-ebrations will be promoted on a dedicated website (www.iveco40.com), published in 14 different lan-guages. It sees the launch of a com-petition encouraging Iveco en-thusiasts to celebrate Iveco’s 40th birthday by sharing their stories in pictures or videos for all to enjoy. Each week, the best photo will be added to a virtual book dedicated to the special anniversary.

This special anniversary has also been commemorated with a video — available to watch online at https://youtu.be/XwSoJzxHoVs — that recounts the key events in Iveco’s history decade by decade from 1975 until the present day. These range from vehicle launches and technological innovations to major sponsorship deals, which have become an inseparable part of the history of commercial vehicles, not only in Europe, but globally.

Iveco has a new approach focus-ing on its core values technology, total cost of ownership, sustain-ability and business partnership. Iveco is a brand that has shown itself able to take a bold approach to change over the years. It is now writing a new chapter in its his-tory, persistently pursuing its vocation as a major player on the international and multicultural

stage, continuing to focus on its core values.

Thanks to a continuous atten-tion to innovation and new tech-nologies, Iveco became a Europe-an leader in the field of alternative traction, anticipating solutions that will contribute to further re-duce the environmental impact in the transport sector and becoming the ideal partner for sustainable transport, as the new Iveco’s pay-off declares: Iveco, Your Partner for Sustainable Transport.

From 1975 todate: A story of successThe company launched its chal-lenge to the market in 1975, when it was created from the union of the then top five European firms with more than 150 years’ experi-ence in designing and making in-dustrial vehicles: Magirus-Deutz,

Fiat, Lancia, Unic and OM. A global vision with international roots, formed through the fusion of five pre-existing companies, each of which made its own im-portant contribution to the history of the commercial vehicle sector in Europe starting from the late 19th century: Fiat Industrial Ve-hicles from Turin, Italy; OM from Brescia, Italy; Lancia Special Vehi-cles from Bolzano, Italy; Unic from Puteaux, France and Magirus-Deutz from Ulm, Germany.

Through acquisitions, alliances and international joint ventures over the years, Iveco has joined the highest ranks of the world’s major players in road transportation, be-coming a group with considerable specialist expertise able to bring out the best in technological in-novation and establish itself as a manufacturer and commercial

provider in the most important industrialised markets and emerg-ing markets alike. In 1986, as part of that heritage, Iveco Ford Truck Ltd. was born as a joint venture (and effectively a merger) with Ford of Europe’s truck division. In 1990, Iveco acquired the Spanish industrial vehicle builder Pegaso.

Over the course of its history, Iveco has earned international recognition and numerous acco-lades, including three “Interna-tional Truck of the Year” awards - for the Eurocargo in 1992, the EuroTech in 1993 and the Stralis in 2013.

Furthermore, the New Daily was recently named “Internation-al Van of the Year 2015”.

Iveco has always channeled its energy alongside the biggest names in international sport, such as motor sport

Times News Service

Goods transporta-tion industry is considered one of the pillars of devel-opment as it is the

basis of internal trade, foreign trade, port movement, export, construction, agriculture and in-dustry. The average cost of goods transport is about 20 per cent of the produced item’s cost.

The efficiency of ports de-pends mainly on the capac-ity and speed of loading and unloading and their ability to avoid accumulation of goods on the wharfs and in storage yards. Therefore, the absorption ability of trucks is the key element, and the heavy-duty trucks with large loads, and in large numbers, are the only vehicles that are able to do so. Therefore, the fleet of trucks should add to the num-bers in order to contribute better

towards transportation of goods.Leading automotive compa-

nies in the Sultanate are exerting great efforts to provide trucks to the leading transportation com-panies in the Sultanate. This has resulted in the growth of the trucking business in accordance with studied plans. Thus, ma-jor companies are today com-peting in the domain of goods transport. The road transport sector focuses on providing in-tegrated logistics services that boast of highest performance at

lowest cost and in fastest time.Companies seek to have

modern trucks and trailers with high specifications which come equipped with means of security and safety and are cov-ered by comprehensive insur-ance programmes and practical safeguards. These safeguards come in the form of a prepared schedule that helps determine the time required for the trans-port and in preparation of an al-ternative plan for each process to deal with any circumstances.

Auto dealers step up to offer trucking solutions

IVECO — 40 years of excellence

giant Scuderia Ferrari and the All Blacks, New Zea-land’s national rugby team, as well as with major initiatives that the public still remembers many years on.

One such example is the fa-mous Overland project, launched in 1995 with a Rome-New York expedition, during which the use of Iveco technology played a huge part in promoting a positive im-age of trucks around the world. Iveco’s orange vehicles earned an international following after being seen undertaking perilous adventures, overcoming extreme

difficulties on some of the world’s most difficult roads and surviv-ing adverse weather conditions without ever stopping their jour-ney – a testament to their reli-ability and quality.

This challenge is still ongo-ing with The Dakar, the world’s most famous off-road rally that attracts millions and is officially sponsored by Iveco. The brand is continuing its sponsorship of the Petronas De Rooy Iveco team on their hair-raising adventures around South America. Iveco won the Dakar in 2012 with Team De Rooy, taking first, second and sixth

place. A legendary adventure.

Exclusive dealerInternational Equipment & Con-tracting Company is the exclusive dealer of IVECO Commercial ve-hicles in Oman and offers formida-ble range of products ranging from 3 t to 100 t for Oman market.

International Equipment & Contracting Company is Special Equipment division of Bahwan International Group Holding having focus on exclusive dis-tributorships for sales, mar-keting and service of reputed brands of commercial trucks,

earthmoving, construction, in-dustrial and survey equipment.

Established in 1985, IECC has a modern 3-S facility on Nizwa Road, Mawaleh and branch loca-tions in Sohar and Salalah.

With dedicated teams for sales and service, IECC serves custom-ers in all important segments in Oman. IECC is playing a critical role in development of the country.

IECC is committed to be an important player in Oman’s Infra-structure development through the supply of World-class High-end Technology Products and best-in-class after sales support.

Iveco is a brand of CNH Indus-trial N.V., a World leader in Capi-tal Goods listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CNHI) and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario of the Borsa Italiana (MI: CNHI). IVECO designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, off-road trucks, and vehicles for applica-tions such as off-road missions.

The brand’s wide range of prod-ucts include the Daily, a vehicle that covers the 3 to 7 ton ve-hicle weight segment, the Eu-rocargo from 6 to 16 tons, the

Trakker(dedicated to off-road mis-sions) and the Stralis, both over 16 tons. In addition, the company offers mining and construction vehicles, rigid and articulated dump trucks and specialty vehicles.

IVECO employs close to 21,000 individuals globally. It manages production sites in 7 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America where it produces vehicles featuring the latest advanced technologies. 4,200 sales and service outlets in over 160 countries guarantee tech-nical support wherever an Iveco vehicle is at work.

T R A N S P O R T A T I O N S O L U T I O N S

> PAGE 3

Major companies are today competing in the domain of goods transport. The road transport sector focuses on providing integrated logistics services that boast of highest performance at lowest cost and in fastest time

3 2 S U N DAY, O CTO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 S U N DAY, O CTO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES 2015 COMMERCIAL VEHICLES 2015E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

IVECO is blowing out 40 candles: This is an impor-tant milestone for a major brand that has shaped the history of global commer-

cial transport. It represents not only 40 years of success, but also 150 years of working alongside customers, of superb perfor-mance, of vehicles that have be-come fixture on roads all over the world and that convey a message of technology and sustainable transport today.

Iveco is a brand of CNH Industri-al, a global leader in the capital goods sector. Through CNH Industrial, Iveco products are manufactured at production facilities in Europe, China, Australia, Argentina, Brazil and Africa, with business activities in over 160 countries.

To celebrate this birthday, Iveco has created a special logo in honor

of the occasion, which represents a stylised vehicle with the slogan “40 years of Iveco, 150 years of experience”. The logo will appear on all of the brand’s written com-munications until the end of 2015. The website www.iveco40.com of-fers people the chance to celebrate Iveco’s 40th birthday by sharing stories in pictures or videos.

Grand celebrationsIndeed a great deal of the cel-ebrations will be promoted on a dedicated website (www.iveco40.com), published in 14 different lan-guages. It sees the launch of a com-petition encouraging Iveco en-thusiasts to celebrate Iveco’s 40th birthday by sharing their stories in pictures or videos for all to enjoy. Each week, the best photo will be added to a virtual book dedicated to the special anniversary.

This special anniversary has also been commemorated with a video — available to watch online at https://youtu.be/XwSoJzxHoVs — that recounts the key events in Iveco’s history decade by decade from 1975 until the present day. These range from vehicle launches and technological innovations to major sponsorship deals, which have become an inseparable part of the history of commercial vehicles, not only in Europe, but globally.

Iveco has a new approach focus-ing on its core values technology, total cost of ownership, sustain-ability and business partnership. Iveco is a brand that has shown itself able to take a bold approach to change over the years. It is now writing a new chapter in its his-tory, persistently pursuing its vocation as a major player on the international and multicultural

stage, continuing to focus on its core values.

Thanks to a continuous atten-tion to innovation and new tech-nologies, Iveco became a Europe-an leader in the field of alternative traction, anticipating solutions that will contribute to further re-duce the environmental impact in the transport sector and becoming the ideal partner for sustainable transport, as the new Iveco’s pay-off declares: Iveco, Your Partner for Sustainable Transport.

From 1975 todate: A story of successThe company launched its chal-lenge to the market in 1975, when it was created from the union of the then top five European firms with more than 150 years’ experi-ence in designing and making in-dustrial vehicles: Magirus-Deutz,

Fiat, Lancia, Unic and OM. A global vision with international roots, formed through the fusion of five pre-existing companies, each of which made its own im-portant contribution to the history of the commercial vehicle sector in Europe starting from the late 19th century: Fiat Industrial Ve-hicles from Turin, Italy; OM from Brescia, Italy; Lancia Special Vehi-cles from Bolzano, Italy; Unic from Puteaux, France and Magirus-Deutz from Ulm, Germany.

Through acquisitions, alliances and international joint ventures over the years, Iveco has joined the highest ranks of the world’s major players in road transportation, be-coming a group with considerable specialist expertise able to bring out the best in technological in-novation and establish itself as a manufacturer and commercial

provider in the most important industrialised markets and emerg-ing markets alike. In 1986, as part of that heritage, Iveco Ford Truck Ltd. was born as a joint venture (and effectively a merger) with Ford of Europe’s truck division. In 1990, Iveco acquired the Spanish industrial vehicle builder Pegaso.

Over the course of its history, Iveco has earned international recognition and numerous acco-lades, including three “Interna-tional Truck of the Year” awards - for the Eurocargo in 1992, the EuroTech in 1993 and the Stralis in 2013.

Furthermore, the New Daily was recently named “Internation-al Van of the Year 2015”.

Iveco has always channeled its energy alongside the biggest names in international sport, such as motor sport

Times News Service

Goods transporta-tion industry is considered one of the pillars of devel-opment as it is the

basis of internal trade, foreign trade, port movement, export, construction, agriculture and in-dustry. The average cost of goods transport is about 20 per cent of the produced item’s cost.

The efficiency of ports de-pends mainly on the capac-ity and speed of loading and unloading and their ability to avoid accumulation of goods on the wharfs and in storage yards. Therefore, the absorption ability of trucks is the key element, and the heavy-duty trucks with large loads, and in large numbers, are the only vehicles that are able to do so. Therefore, the fleet of trucks should add to the num-bers in order to contribute better

towards transportation of goods.Leading automotive compa-

nies in the Sultanate are exerting great efforts to provide trucks to the leading transportation com-panies in the Sultanate. This has resulted in the growth of the trucking business in accordance with studied plans. Thus, ma-jor companies are today com-peting in the domain of goods transport. The road transport sector focuses on providing in-tegrated logistics services that boast of highest performance at

lowest cost and in fastest time.Companies seek to have

modern trucks and trailers with high specifications which come equipped with means of security and safety and are cov-ered by comprehensive insur-ance programmes and practical safeguards. These safeguards come in the form of a prepared schedule that helps determine the time required for the trans-port and in preparation of an al-ternative plan for each process to deal with any circumstances.

Auto dealers step up to offer trucking solutions

IVECO — 40 years of excellence

giant Scuderia Ferrari and the All Blacks, New Zea-land’s national rugby team, as well as with major initiatives that the public still remembers many years on.

One such example is the fa-mous Overland project, launched in 1995 with a Rome-New York expedition, during which the use of Iveco technology played a huge part in promoting a positive im-age of trucks around the world. Iveco’s orange vehicles earned an international following after being seen undertaking perilous adventures, overcoming extreme

difficulties on some of the world’s most difficult roads and surviv-ing adverse weather conditions without ever stopping their jour-ney – a testament to their reli-ability and quality.

This challenge is still ongo-ing with The Dakar, the world’s most famous off-road rally that attracts millions and is officially sponsored by Iveco. The brand is continuing its sponsorship of the Petronas De Rooy Iveco team on their hair-raising adventures around South America. Iveco won the Dakar in 2012 with Team De Rooy, taking first, second and sixth

place. A legendary adventure.

Exclusive dealerInternational Equipment & Con-tracting Company is the exclusive dealer of IVECO Commercial ve-hicles in Oman and offers formida-ble range of products ranging from 3 t to 100 t for Oman market.

International Equipment & Contracting Company is Special Equipment division of Bahwan International Group Holding having focus on exclusive dis-tributorships for sales, mar-keting and service of reputed brands of commercial trucks,

earthmoving, construction, in-dustrial and survey equipment.

Established in 1985, IECC has a modern 3-S facility on Nizwa Road, Mawaleh and branch loca-tions in Sohar and Salalah.

With dedicated teams for sales and service, IECC serves custom-ers in all important segments in Oman. IECC is playing a critical role in development of the country.

IECC is committed to be an important player in Oman’s Infra-structure development through the supply of World-class High-end Technology Products and best-in-class after sales support.

Iveco is a brand of CNH Indus-trial N.V., a World leader in Capi-tal Goods listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CNHI) and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario of the Borsa Italiana (MI: CNHI). IVECO designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, off-road trucks, and vehicles for applica-tions such as off-road missions.

The brand’s wide range of prod-ucts include the Daily, a vehicle that covers the 3 to 7 ton ve-hicle weight segment, the Eu-rocargo from 6 to 16 tons, the

Trakker(dedicated to off-road mis-sions) and the Stralis, both over 16 tons. In addition, the company offers mining and construction vehicles, rigid and articulated dump trucks and specialty vehicles.

IVECO employs close to 21,000 individuals globally. It manages production sites in 7 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America where it produces vehicles featuring the latest advanced technologies. 4,200 sales and service outlets in over 160 countries guarantee tech-nical support wherever an Iveco vehicle is at work.

T R A N S P O R T A T I O N S O L U T I O N S

> PAGE 3

Major companies are today competing in the domain of goods transport. The road transport sector focuses on providing integrated logistics services that boast of highest performance at lowest cost and in fastest time

4 S U N DAY, O CTO B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES 2015

Fuso commercial ve-hicles have a long and storied history span-ning over 80 years, with the brand firmly

establishing itself as the vehicle of choice for commercial vehicle operators worldwide. Locally, the FUSO brand has been proudly represented in Oman by the Gen-eral Automotive Company (GAC) since 1973. Today, 42 years down the road, the brand’s prominent presence in the country stands as a testament to the historic relation-ship the group has with the Japa-nese automobile giant.

Today, in Japan, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and around the world, ‘Mitsubishi Fuso’ stands for superior products, outstand-ing service, economic value and a commitment to customers’ suc-cess. In Oman, FUSO has posi-tioned itself as a key player in the commercial vehicle arena with an extensive range of commercial vehicles ranging from lightweight commercial vehicles, to medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses. With a vehicle to suit most com-mercial requirements Mitsubishi FUSO has become a name synony-mous with quality and durability.

Mitsubishi FUSO CanterOver the years the Canter has be-come a market staple in Oman — earning a reputation for offer-ing customers class-leading styl-ing and reliability combined with cutting-edge technology and a low cost of ownership. Powered by a

4.2 litre 4-stroke diesel engine, the current generation 6.5-tonne GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) Can-ter offers superior lugging power and unmatched acceleration, mak-ing the new long-wheelbase ver-sion well suited for urban delivery of bulk items. And backed by its 50-year heritage, the Canter of-fers proven reliability and a dura-ble chassis that is perfectly suited for hauling heavy loads. However, the Canter family isn’t limited to just one model — it offers a level of flexibility and model variation that is unmatched in its segment. The Canter Long-Wheelbase, one of the more recent models to be in-troduced to the range, is a cab-over truck with a significantly longer wheelbase that will accommodate bodies up to 5 metres long. This new model offers commercial cus-

tomers another level of load carry-ing versatility to satisfy their truck transport needs. Additionally, the new long wheelbase Canter of-fers a low total cost-of-ownership in common with all other FUSO Canter models — based on supe-rior fuel economy, higher payload capacity and longer standard warranty than competitors in the same class.

Outside of the regular Canter and long wheel-base model, FUSO also offers the Narrow Cab Canter, which sports all of the hallmarks of the regular Canter, but in a slimmer more ‘city-friendly’ package that enhances the truck’s manoeuvrabil-ity and convenience. It is designed specifically for street driving and city usage and its narrow cab de-sign is perfectly suited to navigate through tight and narrow back lanes, offering easy access to pre-viously hard-to-reach locations. As another new addition that adds even greater versatility and further enhances the safety features of the range, GAC now offers the popular Double Cabin truck range with the added option of off-road tyres and an ABS braking system.

FUSO FK/FMThe Mitsubishi FUSO FK/FM, with a GVW of 11 and 15.1 tonnes, for the FK and FM respectively, these trucks represent the brand’s medium-to-heavy duty truck of-ferings, and in true Mitsubishi FUSO fashion offers outstanding comfort, operational ease and ex-cellent economy.

Nissan Pickup 4WD – Bestselling vehicle among LCV range in OmanNISSAN from the house of Su-hail Bahwan Automobiles has a heritage of showcasing a prestig-ious line-up of vehicles. Nissan Pickup 4WD is equipped to handle rugged terrains and has a low operating cost equipped with powerful yet fuel efficient engines, making it one of the best vehicles in its range.

Interactive social media initiative Customers can also get unlimit-ed access to Nissan’s prestigious vehicle line-up at the comfort of their homes or offices. Simply visit Nissan Oman’s facebook page i.e http://www.facebook.com/Sbanissanoman or send an SMS to get updated information on any of the vehicles from the house of Nissan.

Value for money LCV The Nissan Pickup 4WD is one of the most highly desirable ve-hicles for business purposes within the Sultanate region. Given the high requirement for quality transport service and delivery in the country’s rap-idly progressing business envi-ronment, the vehicle represents fully flexible, spacious, function-al and reliable features.

The new 4x4 Nissan Pickup is best known for its ultimate per-formance when driven on the road. With a 2.4L, 160hp twin cam gasoline engine in 4WD (Double Cabin) and 4WD (Single Cabin), the 4x4 Pickup is one of the most economical in its range. It features dynamic suspension, rear step bumper, chrome mir-rors and grill, bed liner; – making it the perfect choice for all who wants to own a Pickup.

It’s aggressive, powerful styl-ing, rugged, go-anywhere per-formance gives an edge over its competitors, plus an impressive list of comfort and convenience features makes it stand out in its class. No wonder the 4x4 Nissan Pickup is a worldwide favour-ite, offering plenty of interior room with all controls properly positioned to facilitate easy op-

eration as well as a full range of handy amenities, this truck is real proof that toughness and driving pleasure can coexist.

Powerful engineThe 4x4 Pickup has an en-gine of KA24DE with power of 160HP/5600RPM and a torque of net-20.6KG-M/3600RPM. The 4x4 Pickup has element like the transfer knob and the exteri-or highlights over fender (black), fr bumper (wide type black) and a tyre size of 215 R15 with a wheel base of 2950 mm.

What’s more the fuel tank can hold a huge capacity, allowing in-creased cruising range. The vehi-cle also features bedliner, power windows etc. With a built-in di-vider, it lets you create separate loading areas simply by inserting a dividing board and a double-walled rear side panel means extra durability. As well as its flat tailgate extra-strength tailgate chains and flat steel bars which simplify loading and unloading. The Nissan Pickup’s aggressive, powerful styling, rugged, go-any-where performance gives an edge over its competitors, plus an im-pressive list of comfort and con-venience features makes it stand out in its class.

No wonder the 4x4 Nissan Pickup is a worldwide favour-ite, offering plenty of interior room with all controls properly positioned to facilitate easy op-eration as well as a full range of handy amenities, this truck is

real proof that toughness and driving pleasure can coexist.

Its two separate large-size door pockets are positioned be-neath the armrests for extra con-venience. The vehicle’s vanity mirror is equipped on the front passenger sun visor which is a standard feature available on all their models.

The Nissan Pickup provides a smooth and effortless power steering which makes the driving experience easy, convenient and improves maneuverability. Its powerful air-conditioning sys-tem helps to make every drive enjoyable and memorable.

The Nissan Pickup models are built for versatility. Despite their comfortable ride and styl-ish passenger car-like interiors, they still deliver full load-hauling functionality. The Single Cab model makes an excellent multi-purpose utility vehicle, while the Double Cab model can also serve as a versatile family pickup.

Whatever the requirement, each Nissan Pickup comes with a choice of power plants that in-corporate state-of-the art tech-nology for incredibly quiet op-eration, high power and torque as well as outstanding fuel-efficien-cy. The new 4x4 Nissan Pickup features a good entertainment system with good quality 2 DIN AM/FM CD MP3 stereo system. It’s multi-function; clear-lens headlights provide strong night illumination which gives it an edgier look.

E X C I T I N G B E N E F I T S C H O I C E F O R C O M M E R C I A L V E H I C L E

FUSO: Driving towards a prosperous future

GAC strongly advocates on building enduring business relationships and alliances with its growing portfolio of customers as the organisation, hand-in-hand with the FUSO brand, continues to go from strength to strength in Oman