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WEDNESDAY, September 30, 2015 / 16 Dhul Hijja 1436 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certifi ed Company

S CA N T H I S Q R CO D E TO I N STA N T LY

L AU N C H T H E V I D EO

Frustration fuels calls for gas sale rules

FAHAD AL GHADANI/REJIMON Kfahadnews@timesofoman.comreji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Their orange open-top trucks are a common sight in Oman but the public is becoming frustrated with roving gas bottle suppliers, with customers say-ing they are being short-changed, ripped off , and that the industry should be regulated better.

Over-pricing and non-delivery of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders at consumers’ doorstep have led to calls for the authori-ties to step in and monitor the suppliers.

In many areas of Muscat, sup-pliers are refusing to deliver LPG

cylinders to customers’ home, even when they are charging extra money to do so.

“We have been forced to collect cylinders from them where they are stationed. Citing trivial rea-sons, they are refusing to deliver it at the doorstep. It has become quite diffi cult. There are safety is-sues too. We have to transport the cylinder in our vehicles and fi x it ourselves,” residents in Al Khu-

wair said. A 22-kg gas cylinder is sold to suppliers for OMR1.9; however, consumers claim some are being sold by suppliers for OMR3 or even more, though its price should be OMR2.8 as fi xed by the government.

“If they supply it at the door-step, then OMR3 is okay. But nowadays, even when we buy it from the suppliers’ place, they ask for OMR3,” residents added. >A6

Consumers complain

about over-pricing

and non-delivery

of (LPG) cylinders

at their doorstep

CUSTOMERS CONCERNED: A 22-kg gas cylinder is sold to suppli-

ers for OMR1.9. – Supplied photo

1.6m jobs remain untapped in OmanStaff reporter

MUSCAT: Some 1.6 million job opportunities have remained un-tapped by Omanis, even though more than 80 per cent of these jobs only require basic training and skills and not even a univer-sity degree, said a senior offi cial.

“Latest reports indicate that there are around 100,000 Oma-nis registered as jobseekers. It is estimated that the job market in Oman needs to create 50,000 job opportunities per year to cater to new entrants in the job market,” Musab Al Mahruqi, chief execu-tive offi cer at Oman Oil Refi n-eries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic), said at a ‘Peo-ple Conference’ on Tuesday.

“On the other hand, there are more than 1.6 million expats working in the private sector in Oman, which represents 87 per cent of the total workers in the private sector. Eighty-nine per cent of the private sector expats do not have a university degree and 88 per cent come from three countries, namely India, Pakistan and Bangladesh,” he noted.

Al Mahruqi made these com-ments at a conference at Al Bustan Palace held under the patronage of Sheikh Khalid bin Omar Al Marhoon, Minister of Civil Services.

Speakers from more than 15 countries, including former Brit-ish foreign secretary Jack Straw, attended the meet organised by

Orpic, based on the theme, “The Power within–New Era of Hu-man Capital,” which highlighted the challenges and opportunities in the fi eld of human resources.

Orpic’s CEO said the confer-ence had been organised to help the participants learn more about the innovative solutions needed to succeed in today’s business environment.>A6

L A T E S T R E P O R T S

Ticket sale of Stereophonics show soarsTimes News Service

MUSCAT: There has been a great response to ticket sales for the Ste-reophonics Live Concert, accord-ing to the organisers.

Gordon Mackenzie, Managing Director of Alive Entertainment said, “We anticipate a sellout con-cert and urge people to get their

tickets early to avoid being disap-pointed, even though the show is over a month away.”

November 12 showThe Stereophonics Concert will be held at the Shangri La Barr Al Jis-sah Resort & Spa Amphitheatre on November 12.

“This time, we off ered concert

goers the option to reserve their tickets online well before they became available, ensuring they don’t miss out. The tickets went on sale on the September 22 at Mac-kenzie’s Café & Deli, an Alive En-tertainment partner, in Madinat Qaboos. Online ticket reservations will be held until September 30,” said Mackenzie. >A6

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

A3Car falls in Wadi Kabir ditch

OMANStudents addicted to social media

1 New research has highlighted the risk of social media addiction

on students. A study by SQU showed many students were addicted to social media. >A3

OMANLabourers held for washing clothes

2A group of migrant labourers have been arrested for using a

contaminated swimming pool in a farm house to wash clothes for a laundry. >A4

REGIONUAE announces labour reforms

3 The UAE announced labour reforms to be enforced from January

1 aimed at curbing abuse and protecting the rights of millions of foreign workers. >A7

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

Job scenario

50,000 job opportunities

needed every year

100,000 registered Omani

jobseekers

Private sector in Oman

Expats87%(1.6M)

Omanis13%

Graphics

89%

88%

of the expats working in the private sector

do not have a university degree

come from three countries includingIndia, Pakistan and

Bangladesh

A2 W E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

OMAN

2 Qatar Airways Dreamliners on Muscat route

RAHUL DASrahuldas@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Qatar Airways said on Tuesday it has already placed two Dreamliner aircraft into service in Oman, with two fl ights a day de-parting from the Muscat Interna-tional Airport.

Speaking to the Times of Oman, Qatar Airways’ Country Manager Oman, Joegendra Rajadurai, said while one Dreamliner arrives daily at the Muscat International Airport in the morning, the other arrives in the evening from Hamad Interna-tional Airport, Doha.

“Both the aircraft have 232 economy and 22 business-class seats,” he pointed out.

Qatar Airways has 254 custom-made seats across its 787 business and economy class cabins with specially designed interiors. The business class is confi gured in a 1–2–1 layout, with 22 seats, while the economy class has 232 seats in a 3–3–3 layout.

He added that Qatar Airways

has a total of 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, which fl y to all major destinations around the world.

“From Doha, passengers can fl y on these aircraft to the United States, the Indian subcontinent, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia,” he said.

Besides this, Qatar Airways has 38 Dreamliner aircraft on order, which will be delivered in phases.

Qatar Airways recently an-nounced plans to increase the number of its fl ights to several des-tinations in Europe.

The Doha-based carrier said that from December 1, fl ights from Doha to Stockholm will expand from 10 times a week service to 13 fl ights per week, resulting in a ca-pacity increase of 30 per cent on the route.

The increase is seasonal and valid until March 25, 2016, the

airline said, adding that a double-daily service will also be operated every day, except on Wednesday, by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Qatar Airways’ fl ight network to Scandinavia will be further enhanced with the expansion of fl ights to Copenhagen from December 2.

The airline will also increase frequencies from an 11-time week-ly service to doubling daily fl ights, representing an increase of almost 30 per cent in additional seats every week. “All fl ights will be operated by a Boeing 787 Dream-liner,” it said.

On December 4, fi ve years af-ter the introduction of the route, fl ights from Doha to Brussels will also be ramped up from seven to eight times a week.

Qatar Airways also plans to in-troduce a Dreamliner fl ight to Kol-kata in India from December.

While one Dreamliner

aircraft arrives

at the Muscat

International Airport

every morning, the

other arrives in the

evening from Hamad

International

Airport, DohaMct Doh .................... QR1133 ......................Dep 0500 ......................Arr 0540

Mct Doh .................... QR1135 ......................Dep 2330 ......................Arr 2359

Doh Mct .................... QR1132 ......................Dep 0115 ........................Arr 0355

Mct Doh .................... QR1134 ......................Dep 1950 .......................Arr 2225

Qatar Airways Dreamliner Muscat schedule PDO signs pact for ‘Mujeed’ to facilitate jobseekersTimes News Service

MUSCAT: As part of its National Objectives programme to create well-paid employment and train-ing opportunities for Omani job-seekers, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has signed a co-operation agreement with Apex E-Commerce LLC to oversee the “Mujeed” community initiative.

The initiative aims to build a central database that would match qualifi ed and experienced jobseekers with both public and private sector vacancies free of charge. The agreement was signed by PDO External Aff airs Director, Abdul-Amir bin Abdul Hussein Al Ajmi and Ahmed bin Salim Al Siyabi, chief executive offi cer of Apex E-Commerce LLC.

Under the terms of the Memo-randum of Understanding (MoU), Apex E-Commerce LLC, through the Mujeed initiative, will collab-orate with PDO’s National Objec-tives programme.

The programme aims to cre-ate 7,000 job opportunities in the private sector for young Omanis each year up to 2020, through di-rect employment and on-the-job training. The company will also work with the Mujeed initiative to promote vacancies through its digital platforms.

Empowering citizensAl Ajmi said, “The agreement rep-resents an embodiment of PDO’s wish to make a positive contribu-tion to developing and empow-ering Omani citizens by helping them enhance their skills to meet industry requirements.”

The Mujeed website is also looking for an opportunity to pro-mote their capabilities and quali-fi cations and enables employers to fi nd suitable Omani jobseekers to fi ll any vacancies they might have.

Apex CEO Al Siyabi, who is also the Supervisor of the Mujeed ini-tiative, said: “The signing of this

agreement is a concrete transla-tion of community responsibility to which both PDO and Apex E-Commerce LLC are committed so as to contribute to local com-munity development by training and qualifying young Omanis and empowering them to be in charge of the country’s development to which all members of society are contributing. This will undoubt-edly uplift both the citizens and the nation.”

“We express gratitude to PDO for extending bridges of coopera-tion and for providing us with the opportunity to take part in soci-ety building. We also value PDO’s continued support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).”

Since 2011, PDO’s National Ob-jectives team has generated more than 15,000 job and training op-portunities through its contrac-tors for Omanis in the oil and gas industry and various construc-tion engineering areas, such as civil, mechanical and electrical.

C O M M U N I T Y I N I T I A T I V E

HELPING HAND: The initiative aims to build a central database that would match qualifi ed and ex-

perienced jobseekers with both public and private sector vacancies free of charge. – Supplied photo

The agreement represents an embodiment of PDO’s wish to make a positive contribution to developing and empowering Omani citizens

Abdul-Amir bin Abdul Hussein Al Ajmi, PDO External Aff airs Director

A3

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Oman can ‘indirectly’ help resolve Syria crisis: StrawELHAM POURMOHAMMADIelham@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Oman can ‘indirectly’ play a role in resolving the Syr-ian crisis, according to former British foreign secretary Jack Straw, who also says he cannot criticise Gulf countries’ policies on refugees.

Straw, who served as foreign secretary between 2001 and 2006, participated in the People Conference held in Muscat on Tuesday under the theme ‘The Power within – New Era of Hu-man Capital’.

Asked if Oman can play a role in resolving the crises in Syria and Yemen, he told reporters, “In Syria, indirectly.”

In Syria, you need Russia and other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Straw said. Straw said he believes that there has to be a conversation with Syrian Presi-dent Bashar Al Assad to resolve the situation.

Regarding the Yemen crisis, he said that of course Oman and Yemen share borders but added, “I do not know enough about

Yemen.” However, he noted that there should be some kind of ac-commodation or political settle-ment in the country.

Oman’s eff orts Oman, which has not joined the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, has repeatedly called for an end to the war in the country before it becomes a serious threat to the security of the region and has urged Yemeni parties to sort out their diff erences.

A recent example of Oman’s diplomacy came when it an-nounced that it had negoti-

ated the release of six people taken hostage by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Straw said that in order to re-solve the situation in Yemen, both Saudi Arabia and Iran should be involved and it is ‘frus-trating’ that the United States and others were trying to ‘push Iran away’.

He added that he has always been in the ‘forefront’ of the ef-forts to engage with Iran.

Refugee crisis Asked about the fact that Gulf countries have been criticised for their policies on refugees, Straw said, “I’m not gonna criti-cise Gulf countries. Each coun-try gotta make its own decision.”

Europe has got itself into a ‘mess’, he said, adding that some of the people involved are ‘genuine refugees’ but some of them are ‘economic migrants’ who are no diff erent from the economic migrants from other countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Straw believes that the prob-lem will not be solved by encour-aging more people to come to Europe.

F O R M E R B R I T I S H F O R E I G N S E C R E T A R Y

Former British foreign secre-

tary Jack Straw. – Talib Al Wahibi

CAR FALLS INTO DITCHA car fell into a channel dug up for laying a pipeline near the Wadi Kabir Lulu outlet. No

details of injuries or causalities in the accident were available at the time of going to

press. More details are awaited. - Photo Mukesh MG/Times of Oman Reader

SQU study highlights social apps addiction

Staff Reporter

MUSCAT: New research has highlighted the risk that social media addiction can have on stu-dents in Oman.

A study carried out by Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) on its health science students showed many were addicted to the use of social networking websites, which could hit the quality of their work and on healthcare de-livery, a new research reveals.

Students were questioned about their use of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. They were asked to rank their responses to emotional statements, based on the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale, includ-ing whether they become restless or troubled if prohibited from us-ing the social networking site, if they felt an increasing urge to use the site, and whether they tried to cut down on their use of the site without success. The study, pub-lished in the latest issue of the SQU Medical Journal, involved 81 medical and laboratory science students at SQU.

Based on the students’ respons-es, the rates of addiction were cal-culated according to two sets of well-known addiction criteria.

According to the fi rst criteria, 47.2 per cent of the students were addicted to YouTube, 33.3 per cent to Twitter and 14.2 per cent to Facebook. The second criteria showed lower corresponding ad-diction rates of 13.8 per cent, 12.8 per cent and 6.3 per cent.

The study revealed that You-Tube was used by 100 per cent of the surveyed students, while 91 per cent used Facebook and 70.4 per cent used Twitter.

“Generally, the surveyed stu-dents’ usage and addiction rates are similar to the rest of the world, but there is a concern that this rate of addiction may impact neg-atively on the students’ ability to work,” said Dr Ken Masters, the author of the study and an Assis-tant Professor of Medical Infor-matics at SQU.

“If this level of addiction is con-tinued into the students’ working years, there may be a similar im-pact on their work and on their health,” Masters added.

Masters stated that these rates of addiction are concerning be-cause the overuse of the internet and social networking has been associated with increased neurot-icism, narcissism and aggression, and decreased conscientiousness, honesty, humility and agreea-bleness. “One can see that these qualities are opposite to what we would want in health profession-als,” he added.

However, the study also showed that when work-related social networking was taken into con-sideration, rates of addiction al-most halved. This meant that, of those students deemed addicted to YouTube, Facebook or Twitter, approximately half were only ‘ad-dicted’ to using the sites for work and study-related reasons, rather than for leisure.

This fi nding surprised the study’s author, who said it high-lighted an interesting social issue.

“High usage of social network-ing sites is generally seen in a

negative light, and plenty of news stories talk about how bad it is that our youth use these network-ing sites so much.

But why do we get upset when they use it this often for pleas-ure, when we are perfectly ac-cepting of their high usage for work? I think this says something about society’s values, and the values that we currently instil in our youth.”

The SQU Medical Journal study concluded that, regardless of whether students were using these social networking sites for leisure or for work and study, intervention is needed to turn around this po-tentially harmful trend.

Meanwhile, a Muscat-based psychologist said that excess use of social networking sites will also lead to behavioural disorders, es-pecially among children.

“Children who are spending more time on social networking sites will be having less person to person contact, which will aff ect their mental and physical growth. They won’t be able to handle real life situations in a practical way. It will aff ect their studies, too,” JeenaBeneesh, a Muscat-based psychologist, said.

“Of course, I agree that social media will enhance our connec-tivity and socialisation, but it will make us addictive, too. Social me-dia makes us compare our lives with others, makes us restless, gives rise to cyber-bullying, glam-orizes drug use and can make us unhappy, too,” Jeena added.

Recently, school, college and university teachers in Oman have supported the idea of banning the messaging app in classrooms.

They voiced their opinions through their responses during a study conducted by Omani re-searcher Modin Al Balushi on the eff ect of WhatsApp on col-lege and university students, which revealed a high level of us-age of the social networking app by students.

A study carried out

by Sultan Qaboos

University (SQU) on

its health science

students showed

many were addicted

to the use of social

networking websites

If this level of

addiction is continued

into the students’

working years, there

may be a similar

impact on their work

and on their health

Dr Ken MastersAssistant Professor of Medical Informatics at SQU

Oman-Russia ties hailed

MUSCAT: On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establish-ing of diplomatic relations be-tween the Sultanate of Oman and the Russian Federation, Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Aff airs, exchanged greeting cables with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavarov, during which they ex-pressed their satisfaction for the

high level of bilateral relations and constant coordination in interna-tional issues of mutual interest.

The two ministers affi rmed their keenness to develop bilateral rela-tions and joint cooperation in fi elds that serve the interests of both par-ties. The joint communique estab-lishing the diplomatic relations between the two countries was signed on September 26, 1985. -ONA

D I P L O M A C Y

A4 W E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

OMAN

Expats arrested for washing clothes in a swimming poolTimes News Service

MUSCAT: A group of migrant la-bourers have been arrested for us-ing a contaminated swimming pool in a farm house to wash clothes for a laundry, the Public Authority for Consumer Protection said.

After investigations and follow ups, the offi cers had found that the labourers were washing these clothes for a laundry store. The laundry has been closed until fur-ther notice.

Judicial offi cers from the Direc-torate of Consumer Protection in

Seeb, who carried out the arrest, said the arrested expatriates were endangering the health and safety of the consumers.

The lawZiad Al Wahaibi, Deputy Director of Consumer Protection in Seeb,

said the labourers had violated Article 3 of the Consumer Pro-tection Law, which states that, “It shall be prohibited to trade in any commodity or provide any services without meeting all the special health and safety condi-tions and obtaining the licences or

permits from the competent body in the manner stipulated by the regulations.”

“The danger of mixing clothes could lead to skin diseases and rashes. The workers also did not separate the clothes based on col-our, material and the way they (clothes) should be washed,” said Al Wahaibi.

In a similar case in Dhofar, of-fi cers arrested another expatriate labourer, who had transformed her farm into a laundry dump-ing ground without obtaining a proper licence.

C R I M E

VIOLATION OF LAW: The labourers were found washing clothes for

a laundry store. -Photo courtesy @pacp_oman via twitter

The danger of mixing clothes could lead to skin diseases

and rashes. The workers also did not separate the clothes

based on colour, material and washing requirements

ROHM lines up musical gems for its new season

MUSCAT: Several surprises are in store this year for the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) schedule for the 2015– 2016 sea-son. The season will see varied performances and concerts to be conducted by many Arab and international stars who will pre-sent diff erent kinds of elevated Arabic and international musics.

The performances will provide the opera fans with the oppor-tunity to listen to international stars in music, opera and Arabic singing. Hani Shaker, Wael Jassar, Hussein Al-Adhami and Asma Al-Menawar will sing selected group of the most famous Arabic songs. Each one of them will pre-sent a selected group of their most important songs and classics of Arab singing.

Turandot SymphonyAt the beginning of October, the Royal Opera House will present Turandot Symphony by Giacomo Puccini. It is one of the most im-portant works of Puccini who did not manage to complete it dur-ing his lifetime. The symphony was fi rst performed in 1926 after another composer completed its last part. The symphony is based on a play carrying the same name that was written by the Italian playwright Carlo Gotsa in 1762.

In an Arabic music evening, the Lebanese singer Wael Jassar will present a selection of his most famous songs for his fans on 11 October. Jassar is famous for his sweet and tender voice that cap-tivated the hearts and his ability to present the songs of the giant old singer in a new special tone.

Omani Women’s DayIn its special way, the Royal Op-era House will celebrate the Omani Women’s Day on October 17. It will present a selected group of the most beautiful local and international artistic genres pre-sented to the Omani women in its annual day, in collaboration with the Egyptian singer Hani Shaker, the guest of honour. In the next day, the prince of Arab singing will sing his most famous songs;

in addition to a selected group of the authentic classical songs. Under the title of “45 years of loy-alty and love melodies”, the Royal Opera House will organise a dis-tinguished party for some famous Omani and Arab singers. The par-ty will continue for two consecu-tive days of love for the Oman.

The Cuban ballet band per-forms, on October 29 and 30, the famous international clas-sical ballet show “Don Quixote”. On November 4, the Royal Op-era House presents for its fans a technical performance on the theatre that introduces them to the technical, sound and theatri-cal backgrounds of the Royal Op-era House Theater.

Over three days, the Omani military teams will present a free distinguished performance for the public at the Medan Square. Following this, the Royal Opera House will present the Gypsy’s Princess Symphony for Emric Kalman. On November 29 and 30, Parma Opera and Ballet Theatre presents present the (Tears Foun-tain) Symphony derived from a poem carrying the same name for the Russian poet Alexander Push-kin who wrote in 1823.

It is one the most ancient sym-phonies presented on the ballet theatres in Russia.

The Royal Opera House com-plements its educational role in the Omani community by hold-ing a seminar about the Oud on December 2.

The seminar will be followed by the Oud International Festival during which two big parties will be held. Famous Arab artists will participate in this festival to em-body the spirit of the Oud at the

Royal Opera House. On December 13, 14 and 15,

the Royal Opera House will take its fans in an enjoyable journey across Madrid including Zaswilla performances of Canal Theater. Sondra Radfanovski sings her famous melodies on Friday, De-cember 18 in a musical ceremony. Artist Maher Zein will sing in two parties to be held on December 20 and 21 at Medan Square at the Royal Opera House.

The Social Club Orchestra at Buena Fista will present a per-formance on December 27 for Havana musicians who won Grammy prize and succeeded in disseminating Cuba’s traditional voice in the world.

December will be concluded with a musical concert with Bel-grade Philharmonic Orchestra with the tenor Michael Shadi, the soprano Fatimah Said and the violinist Anna Tefu leaded by the Musician David Levy.

The First Royal Music and Folklore Band will present on 5 January an outdoor performance at the Medan square. It will in-clude the most beautiful folkloric songs, music and dances.

Anoushka ShankarOn Thursday, January 7, Anoush-ka Shankar plays the most tender melodies of the Indian Raja mu-sic. On January 14-16, Lucia di Lammermoor Opera of Gatiano Donizini will be presented. On January 19, international Bari-tone Dmitri Hvorostovsky pre-sents a musical concert that in-cludes some Italian and Russian works of famous composers. Pia-nist Elen Gremo from the Room Orchestra in Basel, presents on

January 21 some piano Concerto pieces of Bach and Mozart.

Under the title of “Africa’s Golden Voice”, the musician Salif Keita will present a distinguished concert during which he will pre-view his art course with the Afri-can Jazz Music.

On February 2, the Royal Op-era House will commemorate the anniversary of Om Kolthoum, the Arab Singing Deva in the Kolthoumiat concert to be pre-sented by the Syrian artist Shahd Bermda and the Moroccan artist Asma Al-Menawar.

Iraq has a space in the Opera’s nights. An evening will be organ-ised on February 6 to commemo-rate the authentic Iraqi songs with artist Hussein Al-Adhami and Baidar Al-Bassri.

The Royal Opera House pre-sents on February 17, 19 and 20 the famous comedian opera Elixir of Love, composed by the inter-national composer Donizini. It recounts the story of a farmer in his pursuit for love. Ornita Danc-ing Theater presents on January 25 and 26 the lyric dancing per-formance “Silk Road” that tells the tale of an Arab rover who is acquainted with the diff erent cul-tures, arts and countries through the Silk Road.

Silent cinema ageThe Royal Opera House presents various performances. It shows on Thursday, March 3 the Gen-eral Movie of Buster Keaton with a live play on the organ.

It is a journey to the silent cin-ema age that combines the Gen-eral movie of the comedian actor and director Buster Keaton ac-companied by a live play.

The performances

will provide the

opera fans with the

opportunity to listen

to international stars

in music, opera and

Arabic singing

Philippines embassy invites entries

Fire evacuation drill organised at City Centre

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Entries for the Migra-tion Advocacy and Media (MAM) Awards 2015 have been invited by the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Muscat.

Conceived in 2011 by the Phil-ippine Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) for the December Celebration of the Month of Over-seas Filipinos and International Migrants Day in the Philippines, the MAM Awards aim to recognise the signifi cant role of the media in the promotion and advocacy of various issues on migration and development.

The work of any individual, gov-ernment or private media outlet, institution and practitioner in the fi elds of print, radio, movie and tel-evision, advertising and internet-based media in the Philippines or abroad is eligible for the award.

Submission dateEntries must have raised public awareness on issues of Filipino mi-gration, advocated the cause of Fil-ipinos overseas, or/and promoted a positive image of Filipinos over-seas. Entries for the awards must be submitted on or before October 15. Attached, for reference, is rel-evant information on the awards. For further information, please contact MAM Awards Secretar-iat at telephone nos.: (+632) 552-4763, telefax no.: (+632) 561-8332, or e-mail at mamawards@cfo.gov.ph or visit the CFO website: www.cfo.gov.ph.

Times News Service

MUSCAT: It was a world class dis-play of safety standards and emer-gency preparedness as the City Centre Qurum, a family destina-tion of choice developed by Majid Al Futtaim, organised a complete mock evacuation and fi re suppres-sion drill, in coordination with the Civil Defence.

The drill was organised and car-ried out by the operations depart-ment of the mall management, and Carrefour Security, with the participation of the Civil Defence Department. More than 330 par-ticipants were evacuated from the venue during the four-minute drill, which involved a number of real life scenarios, with ambu-lances and role play casualties that simulated possible emergency situations.

M E D I A W O R L D

Q U R U M

FOR LOVE OF ART: Under the title of ‘45 years of loyalty and love melodies’, the Royal Opera House

Muscat (ROHM) will organise a distinguished party for some famous Omani and Arab singers. The

party will continue for two consecutive days of love for Oman. – Supplied photo

Oman’s fi rst online ticket portal launched

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman’s fi rst online ticketing portal, www.skyoman.com, has been launched, which will make it easier for customers to book and buy air tickets online.

“It aims to off er the best travel alternatives at the mere click of a button, thereby facilitating quick reservation of air tickets,” said an offi cial.

The website’s fl ight booking will also ease passengers’ travel experience in easy steps. It pro-vides a display of the best travel deals off ered by nine airlines, ar-ranged in ascending order of the cheapest fares available, from which the passenger can choose the most suitable deal that falls within their budget.

“The website has an effi cient payment gateway enabling proper payment transactions and secu-rity systems. The customer is pro-vided with two modes of payment, allowing them to choose between online payment and direct pay-ments at the offi ce,’ the offi cial added. ‘Pay at offi ce’ provides an opportunity to customers, who cannot make online payments via credit or debit cards.

Those who opt for this mode of payment should collect and pay for the tickets within 48 hours af-ter making the reservation. “What sets us apart is that there will be absolutely no service charges in-volved,” according to an offi cial.

P.N. Rajeev, managing director at skyoman.com said, “Our web-site focuses on providing an easy and simple way for the passengers to purchase their tickets anytime, anywhere. All it takes is just four simple steps and in no time at all, they get their tickets.”

S E R V I C E S E C T O R

The website focuses on

providing an easy and simple

way for the passengers to

purchase their tickets anytime,

anywhere, said P.N. Rajeev,

managing director at skyoman.

com. – Supplied photo

Hani Shaker, Wael Jassar, Hussein Al-Adhami and Asma Al-Menawar will sing selected group of the most famous Arabic songs

Royal Oman Opera House statement

Windy day in Muscat; hailstorm and rain in Jebel Akdhar, IbriREJIMON Kreji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: While it was windy in Muscat, hailstorm fell in Je-bel Akdhar and residents in Ibri and surrounding areas witnessed rains on Tuesday evening.

“Late in the afternoon, it was raining in Madha, Yanqul, Ham-mra and Ibri.

“There were even hailstorm in Jebel Akdhar,” said Bader Ali Al Baddaei, an administra-tor of www.rthmc.net, a local Web-based forum that discusses weather trends in Oman.

“Some wadis are overfl ow-ing in the interior areas of Ibri,” Bader added.

More predictedMeanwhile, Mohammed Al Battashi, another weather enthu-siast in Muscat, also confi rmed that late in the afternoon there was rain in Ibri. According to Oman meteorol-ogy’s advisory, there will be thun-derstorms in Buraimi, Rustaq, Ibra, Madha, Samail, Bahla, Ibri and Nizwa .

There will also be thunder-storms in Suwaiq, Mudhaibi,

Saiq, Al Amerat, Yanqul, Quriyat, Bidbid, Saham, Jabal Shams, Al Khaburah, Al Hamra and Izki .

In its 48 hour forecast, the meteorology department has predicted chances of clouds de-velopment and isolated rain over Al-Hajar mountains and adjoin-ing areas.

Last week, Dr. Saeed Al Sarmi, the head of the Research Centre from Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA), told the Times of Oman, said that due to El Niño eff ect, higher–than-normal rain-fall is expected in Oman in the coming four months.

W E A T H E R T R E N D S

RAIN FORECAST: In its 48 hour forecast, the meteorology department has predicted chances of clouds

and isolated rain over Al-Hajar mountains and adjoining areas. – Bader Ali Al Baddaei / Mohammed Al Battashi

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Indian School Muscat plans own transport

Times News Service

MUSCAT: One of the largest co-educational institutions in the Gulf region, Indian School Muscat, with more than 9,300 students, is planning to introduce a school-managed transport sys-tem from 2016.

Fitted with all safety features, the buses running under the new system will pick up children from various parts of the city from ear-ly next year.

“For this, we have initiated a transport survey to fi nd out how many children are interested in taking the school-managed transport to school,” said Wilson George, chairman, board of direc-tors, Indian schools in Oman.

He also said that all buses would be equipped with safety measures as outlined by the transport gov-erning body of the school and the buses will be either be new or less than fi ve years old.

“It will have assistants to moni-tor the children and will help the driver in picking and dropping the children at their door step. The new system will also ensure the safety of the children, with fea-

tures like IVMS, seat belts, emer-gency doors etc.

“Besides that all the drivers will have to undergo defensive train-ing and the number of children riding the buses will be strictly limited to the seating capacity and as per Royal Oman Police and Ministry of Education guide-lines,” George said.

The primary objective of start-ing the new system is to impart safety and comfort to the chil-dren, reduce the traffi c conges-tion, and streamline the free fl ow of vehicles in the Darsait area.

“It will be operated fully un-der the guidelines given by the Ministry of Education, Muscat Municipality and the Royal Oman Police (ROP) and will help re-duce the number of cars coming to drop-off and pick up children, which has become a concern off late.

“We are already in touch with Ministry of Education and ROP in this regard and they have en-couraged us and off ered all sup-port to the project,” he said.

The coordination team will

initiate a tender process and then award the tender to a private op-erator after seeing the response from parents and children. “We can award the tender to more than one private operator also as ISM has more than 9,300 stu-dents,” he said.

Earlier, the Indian School, Darsait and the Indian School, Al Mabela had signed an agreement with a private operator for the safe transportation of its students and the service is being used by more than 1,000 students.

“We wanted to run the project successfully in smaller schools before we thought of launching it at Indian School Muscat, which is touted as one of the largest co-ed-ucational institution in the Gulf,” George stated.

He also hoped that more and more parents would opt for this transport system as safe and se-cure transportation is being of-fered to their children.

“Once the survey is fi nished, we will be able to estimate as to how many buses will ply on which routes,” he added.

Fitted with all the

safety features, the

school-managed

buses will pick up

children from various

parts of the city from

early next yearNEW SYSTEM: The buses will also ensure the safety of children,

with features like IVMS, seat belts, emergency doors etc. – File photo

GUtech workshop discusses fl ood mapping in SultanateTimes News Service

MUSCAT: In the framework of a joint hydrology and GIS research project entitled, “Towards a fl ood-resilient Omani Society: Improved Tools for Flood Management,” GUtech hosted a one-day work-shop on fl ood mapping recently.

The inter-disciplinary research project, which started in Febru-ary this year, was funded by ‘The Research Council (TRC)’ and was being planned for last three years.

“The workshop at GUtech was part of a work package on data visualisation. It was about gain-

ing an understanding of current fl ood mapping practices in Oman. We discussed the availability and the use of fl ood maps by diff er-ent stakeholders, the diff erences between diff erent map types, e.g. fl ood hazard maps and fl ood risk maps, as well as fl ood map content and layout,” said Associate Prof. Dr. Adrijana Car, who is leading the research project package re-lated to data visualization, along with her colleagues from diff erent departments at GUtech, Associ-ate Prof Dr. Ekkehard Holzbecher (Applied Geosciences - Hydroge-ology) and Associate Prof Dr. Nabil

Sahli (Computer Sciences), and Dr. Edda Kalbus, former professor of Applied Geosciences at GUtech (Hydrogeology).

Employees from the govern-ment sector, the Ministry of Re-gional Municipalities and Water Resources, the Muscat Municipal-ity, the Supreme Council for Plan-ning, ESRI Muscat and GUtech, also participated in the workshop.

Prof. Adrijana has extensive experience in GIS education and application in various projects around the world and has been teaching GIS at the University of Salzburg, Austria.

T R C F U N D E D E V E N T

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OMANW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

During this year’s roadshow in Europe, we have included additional networking events and will be visiting new cities to enable us to develop new leads and build relationships

Trevor McCartney, OCEC General Manager

Customers complain of being ‘fl eeced’ Another customer in the Qantab area said: “The delivery man came after we assured him OMR5 for the gas cylinder, but even then he gave us a poor quality gas tap that leaked and then snapped off the moment we tried to tighten it. When we went to the Wadi Kabir gas distribution centre, we were told that it was of a poor quality and a counterfeit piece.

“Customers must ensure the safety and quality of the product being delivered to them for the amount they are being charged, af-ter all this is a that gas we are talk-ing about.”

A plant manager from Mus-cat Gas told the Times of Oman that individuals are not sup-posed to transport cylinders in their vehicles. “There are safety issues involved in that. And as far as I know, it is prohibited by the government too,” Mar-wan Daud, the Wadi Kabir plant

manager at Muscat Gas, said.Meanwhile, a source at the Min-

istry of Commerce and Industry said there is no clear regulation that forces gas cylinder suppliers to deliver the cylinders at the cus-tomers’ doorstep.

Regulate the process“The ministry can only regulate the process of obtaining the li-cence and method of collecting a cylinder from the distributor. Once the supplier takes the deliv-ery, we don’t have any control in their dealings with the customers,” said the source.

He added that the supplier might accept to deliver the cyl-inders at the doorstep for an extra charge.

On the other hand, a source at the Muscat Municipality said the body could not play any role in managing the pricing.

“We have a number of regula-

tions in place on the vehicle used to transfer the cylinders, including its colour and all,” said the source.

“If a supplier is stationing his vehicle in public places to sell cyl-inders, violating the rules, then we can book them. Such acts will be penalized even though the munici-pality is quite fl exible with such is-sues,” said the source.

According to Muscat Gas, around 8,000 cylinders are sold in Muscat per day by two main com-panies, including theirs.

Meanwhile, an offi cial from the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulances (PACDA) said there is no big risk in transporting a gas cylinder in a private vehicle.

Gas cylinders“The authority has passed a regu-lation only for the trucks, which are transporting gas cylinders, be-cause they are carrying a number of gas cylinders. However, trans-

porting one or two gas cylinders in a private vehicle is not a big issue,” said the offi cial.

While talking about gas cylin-der-related fi re accidents, the offi -cial said disregard to safety meas-ures is the main cause for such accidents. “Most fi re accidents happen only because the consum-er has neglected the safety meas-ures,” said the offi cial.

New valves The offi cial also added that the authority had entrusted the Min-istry of Commerce and Industry to study the introduction of new gas valves in the market.

“The new valve will be quite easier and safer because with the click of a button, the consumer will be able to fi x it by himself,” said the offi cial, adding that the new valve is safer as it has an au-tomatic lock that stops gas fl ow when there is a leak.

S A F E T Y C O N C E R N S

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Sultanate to celebrate Day of Non-ViolenceTimes News Service

MUSCAT: In conjunction with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the United Nations Inter-national Day of Non-Violence will be celebrated in Oman on October 2. Through a resolution passed on June 15, 2007, October 2 was de-clared as the UN International Day of Non-Violence.

The resolution was supported by more than 140 countries and is a refl ection of the universal re-spect for Mahatma Gandhi and of the enduring relevance of his phi-losophy of non-violence.

Gandhi’s relevance The resolution reaffi rms “the uni-versal relevance of the principle of non-violence” and the desire “to secure a culture of peace, tol-erance, understanding and non-violence.”

The Embassy of India, together with the Rajyoga Centre for Self

Development, will organise an event on the occasion on October 2, from 7pm to 9pm at the Indian Embassy Chancery Auditorium.

DignitariesSeveral dignitaries from Oman, including diplomats from various countries, UN agencies, govern-ment offi cials, businessmen and school children are expected to at-tend this high profi le event.

The speakers will include Dr. Ali Saud Al Bemani, Vice Chancellor of the Sultan Qaboos University and the keynote speaker will be B K Arti from Brahma Kumaris In-ner Space, London. The Omani youth forum “Y-Peer” will also present a creative art form, based on the theme of non-violence and the students of Indian School Muscat, will stage a dance-drama, underscoring the importance of peace and nonviolence.

The event will conclude with a message from young students.

O C T O B E R 2 Omran, Bank Sohar ink deal to build hotel

Times News Service

MUSCAT: A funding agree-ment valued at OMR30.6 mil-lion was signed here between the state-owned Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) with Bank Sohar for building the Crowne Plaza Hotel within the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) precinct.

Bank Sohar will act as the chief fi nancial partner for the develop-ment of the hotel.

The signing ceremony was held at Omran’s headquarters in Al Khuwair on September 28, said a company release.

The new four-star hotel will be operated by Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts, which is part of the InterContinental Hotel Group.

The hotel, currently under construction, includes state-of-

the-art food and beverage outlets, meeting facilities and a health and leisure club, and will add an addi-tional 296 keys to hotel off erings in the Sultanate.

Great synergy“This agreement represents great synergy between Omran and the banking sector in the Sultan-ate. As our fi nancing partner for the new Crowne Plaza hotel at the OCEC precinct, Bank Sohar will play an important role in the development of one of the most comprehensive and modern con-ference and exhibition centres in the region. The new Crowne Plaza hotel will add signifi cant guest ca-pacity to the hospitality off erings in Muscat, allowing us to welcome

a greater number of business visi-tors to the Sultanate,” said Ali bin Nasser Al Rasbi, acting chief ex-ecutive offi cer of Omran.

“Such an agreement under-scores the confi dence of major institutions in the nation’s rapidly growing tourism sector.

“We are pleased to join hands with Bank Sohar on a develop-ment that forms such a major component in this project of na-tional signifi cance.”

Financial model“The agreement is part of the fi -nancial model pursued by Om-ran whereby private institutions will work hand-in-hand with the government on commercial pro-jects. We are currently looking at

a similar model of funding for the upcoming JW Marriott Hotel also under development at the OCEC, which like the Crowne Plaza, is scheduled for completion in 2017. Creating increased hotel capacity is a priority for Oman and such agreements are necessary in or-der to achieve this.

“Together with our partners, Omran will strive to develop unique tourist destinations and innovative urban environments, such as the OCEC, destinations that enhance the Sultanate’s leisure and business off erings,” he added.

The agreement was signed by Said Al Qasmi, chief project of-fi cer of OCEC on behalf of Omran and Rashad Ali Al Musafi r, acting CEO of Bank Sohar, at an event attended by senior offi cials from Omran and Bank Sohar.

Also present at the event were representatives from the Nation-al Bank of Oman and Ahli Bank, which are acting as fi nancial consultants and Al Busaidy, Man-soor Jamal & Co. (AMJ) which is acting as a legal advisor for the Crowne Plaza development.

As with all projects under con-struction by Omran and within OCEC, the hotel is being built ac-cording to the highest standards of environmental sustainability and is designed to meet the cri-teria set under the prestigious Leadership in Energy and Envi-ronmental Design (LEED) certi-fi cation awarded by the US-based Green Building Council.

The new four-star

hotel will be operated

by Crowne Plaza

Hotels and Resorts,

which is part of the

InterContinental

Hotel Group

‘Free market’Oman is a country of opportuni-ties with a young population, Al Mahruqi said, adding, “Oman should adopt a free market ap-proach and therefore we will have the opportunity to start where nations ended.”

“We need to build ‘agile’ organi-sations so we can beat ‘volatility’ and the ‘unpredictable’ world of today,” he noted.

In a speech delivered at the con-ference, the former British dip-lomat said there are challenges facing organisations and its em-ployees, which could cause all in-vestment to disappear overnight and undermine the morale of the organisation.

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the recent scandal in-volving Volkswagen’s cheating on diesel emissions tests were cited as examples by Straw to support his claims.

Commenting on Volkswagen’s issues, he said the company was facing legal and fi nancial issues due to this case and had high-lighted the importance of a system within an organisation, where peo-ple at all levels could speak truth to the higher authorities.

In addition, he said the BP case showed the importance of being prepared for ‘unexpected’ situa-tions through an ‘eff ective system’ aimed at minimising the damage.

Y O U N G P O P U L A T I O N

GREAT HOSPITALITY: The hotel, currently under construction,

will add an additional 296 keys to hotel off erings in the Sultanate.

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Europe roadshow to showcase Oman convention centre Times News Service

MUSCAT: Final preparations are being made for the third an-nual roadshow in Europe start-ing from October 5, to present the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre (OCEC) as a venue for conferences, congresses and ex-hibitions, and Oman as a tourist destination.

In collaboration with the Min-istry of Tourism, the European roadshow will involve a series of events for key decision mak-ers and professional associations across a variety of industries.

The itinerary will include Ber-lin, Brussels, Geneva and Milan, which are the cities that host high numbers of industry associations.

In Milan, the roadshow will take advantage of the Sultanate’s Milan Expo 2015 pavilion, de-signed to off er a taste of Oman’s authentic charm and an introduc-tion to its wide-ranging tourism and investment opportunities.

“During this year’s roadshow in Europe, we have included addi-tional networking events and will be visiting new cities to enable us to develop new leads and build relationships with organisers and associations,” said Trevor McCa-rtney, OCEC General Manager.

“Our aim is to share the re-markable proposition of the OCEC and our passion for this oasis of beauty, culture, integrity

and business opportunities: the Sultanate of Oman.”

Salim Al Mamari, Director General of Tourism Promo-tion at the Ministry of Tourism noted, “The roadshow in Europe is the ideal business platform to showcase the genuine warmth of Omani hospitality and what the Sultanate has to off er to delegates. We are working closely with the OCEC team during our visits to four major European business focal points in order to share the tremendous possibilities associ-ated with Oman’s vision for fu-ture development as a hub for in-novation and entrepreneurship.”

Europe is home to the head-quarters of more than 58 per cent of the world’s international associations.

Hugely successful, the previous European roadshows have result-ed in numerous agreements to host international gatherings at the OCEC, and last year attracted more than 160 international asso-ciation decision makers with the potential to bring 130,000 attend-ees to Oman.

According to McCartney, the response to the OCEC roadshow is expected to be particularly strong this year, thanks to the at-tention the Sultanate has received following numerous recent inter-national accolades, including be-ing listed by The New York Times as one of the top 52 places in the world to visit in 2015, and named the number one destination for 2015 by the global travel industry website skift.com.

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

BUSINESS PLATFORM: The Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre

will be projected as a venue for conferences, congresses and

exhibitions, and Oman as a tourist destination.

Welsh band

He added, “Purchasing tickets remains offl ine for this event, but we are working to make it even easier and more conveni-ent for our event guests, as we look to add an online ticketing option in the near future.”

Sellout concertAttributing the success of their previous concerts to local fans, Mackenzie said, “After a sellout concert featuring Ed Sheeran, we continue to have a great re-sponse from the fans.

It is the fans that make it possible for us to produce such events, and we look forward to their continued support. In the future, we plan to bring in art-ists off ering varied types of mu-sic to meet everyone’s tastes.”“Our sponsors also play a piv-otal role in making these events successful. Event sponsors get a great deal of exposure, especial-ly with the wide range of people attending the event and unprec-edented coverage, with the help of our media partners,” noted Mackenzie.

Band members include Kelly Jones (lead vocals and guitar), Richard Jones (bass guitar and backing vocals), Adam Zindani (guitar and backing vocals), Jamie Morrison (drums) and touring member Tony Kirkham (keyboards).

Show timeDoors for the concert open at 7pm and the show starts at 9pm.

N O V E M B E R 1 2 C O N C E R T

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Oman, Iran discuss plan to form joint investment fi rmsTEHRAN: An Omani economic delegation from Duqm Economic Zone, under the leadership of Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, held a joint meeting with the delegation of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines (ICCIM), headed by Jalal Mohsen Pour in Tehran on Tuesday.

Joint cooperationDuring the meeting, the two sides discussed the prospects of joint cooperation in the economic fi elds and discussed a proposal to form joint investment com-panies between the Sultanate of Oman and Iran and emphasised the importance of trade and eco-nomic exchanges to long-term

economic cooperation. The head of the Iranian side said that it is possible to invest hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 10 years in infrastructure, mining and industry in the Duqm Eco-nomic Zone.

He added that the Omani-Ira-nian joint companies will also be able to invest in the region. Jalal Mohsen Pour Chairman of IC-CIM also suggested to the Omani economic delegation to invest in Iranian tourism industry.

The Omani economic delega-tion currently visiting the Islam-ic Republic of Iran continued its meetings with a number of offi -cials of the free trade zones and Iranian investors. -ONA

E C O N O M I C E X C H A N G E

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REGIONW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

UAE labour reforms to be enforced from January 1

ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday an-nounced labour reforms to be enforced from January 1 aimed at curbing abuse and protecting the rights of millions of foreign workers.

Emirati Labour Minister Saqr Ghubash held a press conference in Abu Dhabi to announce the re-forms contained in three ministe-rial decrees.

“We want to close the door on those who trick the simple work-er,” said Ghubash, whose ministry has 500 inspectors.

The new measures will allow foreign workers to terminate their contract and change employer.

Employers must issue job off ers in the employee’s language, legally

registered and laying down terms that cannot be changed after the worker’s arrival in the UAE.

The whole contractual process must be “totally transparent” and based on “the informed consent of the workers and the employer”.

Ghubash said the reforms aim to curb abuse of the so-called “kafala” system, or sponsorship, which can leave foreign workers in the Gulf at the mercy of employ-ers barring them from returning home or changing jobs.

Job off ers must contain a clause forbidding the employer from holding onto the identity papers of his employee, he said.

New rulesEmirati Labour Minister said the new rules would permit workers to change employer once they re-ceive authorisation from the la-bour ministry.

The reforms apply to the 4.5 million foreign workers registered with the labour ministry, but not the millions of domestic workers from abroad whose cases are han-dled by the interior ministry. Emi-ratis account for barely 10 per cent of the 10-million population of the UAE and are far outnumbered by the country’s foreign workforce, mostly from Asia. — AFP

The new measures

will allow foreign

workers to terminate

their contracts and

change employers

Iran lawmaker hits out at Obama-Zarif handshake

TEHRAN: An ultraconservative Iranian lawmaker hit out Tuesday at reports Foreign Minister Mo-hammad Javad Zarif shook hands with US President Barack Obama at the UN General Assembly, branding it as unrevolutionary.

The remarks came after Iran’s semi-offi cial ISNA news agency and international media outlets documented the impromptu en-counter in New York on Monday.

“Dr Zarif was leaving the hall when he accidentally faced Mr Obama and John Kerry, who were about to enter. They briefl y greet-ed each other and the two shook hands,” ISNA said, citing a source close to Iran’s UN delegation. “We hope this news is not confi rmed because if Mr Zarif has done such a thing, he has defi nitely ignored the system’s red lines,” Haghigh-atpour was quoted as saying by the Tasnim News Agency.

Haghighatpour is a member of a special committee established by parliament to review the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers. In Tehran, the foreign min-istry’s media offi ce said no meeting was pre-planned with Obama and the encounter was “completely ac-cidental,” but it did not deny there was a handshake. — AFP

C R I T I C I S M

Russia, US to ‘cooperate’ on fi ghting IS militant groupUNITED NATIONS: Russia and the United States intend to seek joint ways of fi ghting the IS mili-tant group, Moscow said on Tues-day, in a major coup for Vladimir Putin as he tries to shake off West-ern isolation.

Addressing the UN General As-sembly for the fi rst time in a dec-ade, Putin on Monday called for a broad UN-backed coalition to fi ght IS militants.

Ostracised by the West over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and support for a separatist insur-gency in east Ukraine, Putin also held a 90-minute meeting with US President Barack Obama, their fi rst formal bilateral in two years.

Predictably, the two leaders failed to resolve their dispute over

the future role of Syria’s Bashar Al Assad. Putin however said the two countries had agreed to cooperate on fi ghting IS fundamentalists in what many commentators say fur-ther highlights the failure of West-ern eff orts to freeze out Moscow over its Ukraine policies.

Air strikesThe Russian president also said he had not ruled out air strikes on the militants. “We have an un-derstanding that it is necessary to ramp up our work at least at the bi-lateral level,” Putin told reporters.

“We are now thinking about cre-ating relevant mechanisms.”

Putin and Obama made eye contact at lunch with UN Secre-tary-General Ban Ki-moon after

their addresses but the two barely smiled. Russia’s top diplomat Ser-gei Lavrov said the two men agreed their foreign and defence minis-tries would work together in or-der to identify “specifi c ways and means which could make our com-mon goal more achievable”.

They agreed to follow up their meeting with talks to fi nd a common position on the Syr-ian confl ict, he said, telling the Kremlin-backed RT television channel it was “a very constructive discussion”.

“They did not discuss coalitions in the classical sense of the word.

“What they did discuss was the possibilities for the United States and Russia to cooperate closely on the most burning issues of

today, Syria fi rst of all,” he said.“I believe that President Obama

heard what President Putin had to say.”

Russia took the West by surprise by dispatching troops and fi ghter jets to Syria, sparking concern in Washington that Moscow might join the fi ghting alongside its Sovi-et-era ally.

“We all agreed that our common goal is to defeat ISIL,” Lavrov said, referring to the IS group.

“Both Russia and the United States are absolutely determined not to allow them to succeed.”

Obama said Washington was ready to work with Russia and Iran against IS, but warned this must not mean keeping Assad in power indefi nitely. — AFP

A G R E E M E N T

Dr Zarif was leaving the hall when he accidentally faced Mr Obama and John Kerry, who were about to enter. They briefl y greeted each other and the two shook hands

ISNA news agency

NEW MEASURES: Employers must issue job off ers in the employee’s language, legally registered and

laying down terms that cannot be changed after the worker’s arrival in the UAE. The whole contrac-

tual process must also be ‘totally transparent’. – File

SEEKING JOINT WAYS: US President Barack Obama and Russian

President Vladimir Putin look towards one another during their

meeting at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. – Reuters

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INDIAW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

PM Modi’s US trip ends. Time to ponder what has country achieved from his foreign trips so far? Does it suit the stature of an Indian PM to visit individual cos seeking investments?

Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi chief minister

Modi government banking on solar energy to help cut blackouts BHADLA (India): Under a blister-ing sun, workers install a sea of so-lar panels in a north Indian desert as part of the government’s clean energy push — and its trump card at upcoming climate change talks in Paris.

After years of betting big on highly polluting coal, India is un-der huge pressure to commit to cutting carbon emissions ahead of the major meet aimed at forging a global climate pact.

But the world’s third largest emitter argues the burden should lie with industrialised countries, which have been accused of hy-pocrisy in heaping demands on poorer nations.

Instead, Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi’s government is banking on increasing solar capacity fi ve-fold to help cut crippling blackouts and bring power to 300 million In-dians currently living without.

The government is expected to hike its renewable energy targets again on Thursday night when it becomes the last major economy to release its pledges for the Paris talks. A cornerstone of its climate change policy, the solar plans come even as India boosts coal produc-tion to meet its growing needs, ignoring calls to slash its depend-ence on fossil fuels.

With its year-round sunshine, barren plains and low-cost labour, the northern desert state of Rajas-than lies at the heart of Modi’s re-newable energy ambitions.

“Solar gives you a steady in-come, steady return.

Here the main raw material is the sun,” Ramakant Tibrewala, chairman of Roha Dyechem, a lo-cal company making food colours which has jumped on the solar bandwagon.

After investing Rs800 mil-lion ($12 million), Tibrewala has built 67 glistening rows of panels in a Rajasthan solar park, shared with four other local companies and spread over 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres).

Tibrewala said he expects to be connected to India’s main grid in the coming weeks, producing 25 megawatts of power, and hopes to see a return in several years.

$100 billion needed With the cost of manufacturing panels falling and consumer de-mand rising, foreign fi rms are also turning to India.

Japan’s SoftBank, US-based SunEdison and China giant Trina Solar have all pledged investments in recent months But much more money is needed to reach the gov-ernment’s current goal of 100,000 megawatts of solar power by 2022, up from 20,000 at the moment.

Modi, a green energy enthusi-ast who helped create solar parks in his home state of Gujarat, has called for $100 billion in invest-ment. His government has pledged to smooth the path in a country known for its infuriating levels of

red tape, as well as providing tax breaks and other incentives for in-terested companies.

“We do need money,” Upendra Tripathy, the top offi cial in the new and renewable energy minis-try, said.

Tripathy denied the government was under international pressure to transform its energy sector, say-ing instead the “whole world” was impressed by India’s ambitions.

“On its own, it (the government) thinks it is good for the globe. And

it thinks it is good for the country,” he said.

‘Catastrophic’ coal But even as India hikes up solar power, the government has vowed to double coal production by 2020 to one billion tonnes to meet the needs of its burgeoning economy, which grew by seven percent in the fi rst quarter, matching China.

India, which sits on the world’s fi fth largest coal reserves, already relies on coal-fi red power stations

for 60 per cent of its electricity.After storming to victory at elec-

tions last May, Modi pledged to bring electricity to the millions of poor who are not connected to the country’s over-stretched power grid. Experts warn India’s con-tinuing dependence on coal will be environmentally devastating, and call for a cap on emissions which are blamed for climate change.

“For a growing country like In-dia, which will be requiring enor-mous amounts of energy in the

coming years... to base its primary resource on coal is going to be cata-strophic, not only for India but also for the world,” said Krishnan Pal-lassana, India director of the non-profi t Climate Group. Modi came under pressure over the issue dur-ing his trip to the US for the ongo-ing UN General Assembly.

‘Climate justice’But the premier told a forum that the focus should be “climate jus-tice” rather than climate action, saying rich countries should help poorer ones which suff er the most from rising sea levels and droughts blamed on global warming.

US President Barack Obama, who piled pressure on Modi dur-ing his visit to New Delhi in Janu-ary, urged world leaders on Sunday to step up eff orts for a “strong” climate agreement at the year-end talks.

But Modi has said India will not be forced into committing to a timeline on curbing emissions.

“Developed countries must share clean technology, provide fi nancial assistance to the devel-oping world to combat climate change,” Modi said at a September meeting of developing countries in Delhi. - AFP

R E N E W A B L E E N E R G Y

INCREASING SOLAR CAPACITY: An engineer positions solar panels at the under construction Roha

Dyechem solar plant at Bhadla, some 225km north of Jodhpur in the western Indian state of Rajas-

than, in this photograph taken on August 23, 2015. - AFP

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

Black money declaration compliance window ends todayNEW DELHI: With the one-time black money declaring ‘compli-ance window’ coming to an end on Wednesday, the Income Tax department has asked its offi cials to ensure that interested entities are provided all help to make their declarations in this regard.

The government has earlier an-nounced that the 90-day window will close on September 30 even as it ruled out any extension in this regard.

“Offi cers may advise prospec-tive declarants that the declara-tions in Form 6 can be fi led either online or with the designated Commissioner offi ce in New Del-hi,” a latest advisory by the CBDT, the apex policy-making body of the I-T department, said.

While there are no offi cial fi g-ures given by the government for collections in this regard, offi cial sources said a “number of” decla-rations have been made to the tax department and they are expected to trickle till midnight today as the

e-fi ling of such declarations is also enabled. The Central Board of Di-rect Taxes has earlier warned that all “consequences” of law will fol-low and the taxman will go after black money hoarders who do not declare their illegal funds by the said deadline.

“Tomorrow, if it is known that there is some wrong or no fi ling by a person holding black money, then the accountability rests with that person. If you do not use the (one time black money declara-tion) window, then we assume that you deliberately hid your foreign asset. When you avoid law then all consequences of law should fol-low...,” CBDT Chairperson Anita Kapur had recently said.

She had also said that pro-confi dentiality procedures have been put in place by the CBDT for those people who want to avail this window before the September 30 deadline followed by payment of taxes and penalty before Decem-ber 31.

The Black money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets)and Imposition of Tax provides for tax and penalty of 120 per cent and jail term of up to 10 years for holding undisclosed foreign assets.

It has also provided for a 90-day compliance window to escape the harsh punishment by declaring the assets and paying 60 per cent tax and penalty. The Finance Ministry has also issued two separate sets of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the compliance window till now.

Meanwhile, the ambitious anti-off shore tax evasion and black money detection pact between In-dia and the US —Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) —will become operational from Wednesday.

The pact aims to cover auto-matic sharing of information on bank accounts as well as fi nancial products like equities, mutual funds and insurance, and is aimed at fi ghting the menace of black money stashed abroad.

“The Foreign Account Tax Com-

pliance Act (FATCA) will get op-erational from September 30 as it was decided between the two countries.

All protocols and procedures have been put in place by Indian authorities in this regard,” a senior Finance Ministry offi cial said.

Beginning Wednesday, banks, mutual funds, insurance, pension and stock-broking fi rms will re-port their Indian client details to the US which will be shared with New Delhi.

Indian entities will do a recip-rocal information sharing about Americans and it will cover all new accounts opened by Indian fi nan-cial institutions from July 1, 2014.

An offi cial agreement in this re-gard was signed by the then Rev-enue Secretary Shaktikanta Das and US Ambassador to India Rich-ard Verma in July here.

The CBDT, the nodal body to deal with the activities under this pact and the apex policy-making body of the Income Tax Depart-

ment, has also created an Infor-mation Security Committee (ISC) as part of the standard operating procedures to implement the pact.

If a fi nancial institution does not comply to FATCA, it will have to pay 30 per cent penalty tax on all its US revenues, including divi-dend, interest, fees and sales.

The pact will also help India deal with the menace of black money in foreign shores and will enhance cooperation between India and US in this specialised area.

The US had enacted FATCA in 2010 to obtain information on ac-counts held by US taxpayers in other countries.

It requires US fi nancial institu-tions to withhold a portion of pay-ments made to foreign fi nancial in-stitutions (FFIs) who do not agree to identify and report information on US account holders. The US has signed the said pact with over 100 jurisdictions across the globe and is engaged in related discussions with many other nations. - PTI

I L L E G A L F U N D S

PM bats for positive agenda to tackle climate change

NEW YORK: Asking nations to shun negativism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a strong pitch for a positive agenda to tack-le climate change in his talks with US President Barack Obama who said India’s leadership at the Paris conference will set the tone for decades to come.

“President and I share an un-compromising commitment on climate change, without aff ecting our ability to meet the develop-ment aspirations of humanity. We have both set ambitious national agendas,” Modi said after his talks with Obama.

During the talks on Monday, Modi underlined the need for concrete outcomes at the upcom-

ing global conference on climate change in Paris starting November.

Briefi ng reporters later on Modi’s meeting with Obama, Min-istry of External Aff airs Spokes-person Vikas Swarup said, “As far as the substantive issue of climate change is concerned, the PM made it very clear that the current cli-mate of negativism was not a use-ful factor as we approach COP21 in Paris.”

“He (Modi) said that rather than just putting pressure, piling pres-sure...it would have been far more better if we had a positive agenda which enabled countries to go in

for more sustainable paths of de-velopment by providing fi nance and the requisite technology,” Swarup said.

In a brief statement after the talks, Obama stated that much of his discussion with Prime Minis-ter Modi was focussed on the up-coming climate conference.

“We are encouraged by the ag-gressive nature of Prime Minis-ter Modi’s commitment to clean energy...I think India’s leadership in the upcoming conference will set the tone not just for today but for decades to come,” Obama said.

Talking about India’s aggres-

sive push for the cause of climate change, Modi said, “Our measures include not just a plan to add 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022, but a development strategy that will enable us to transition to a more sustainable energy mix.”

“This is an exercise we are un-dertaking in the spirit of our cul-ture and tradition, but also because of our commitment to the future of this planet,” he said.

Modi also thanked Obama for the positive response to his call for a global public partnership for developing aff ordable clean en-ergy sources that will enable faster

adoption of clean energy across the world.

“We should work together to ad-vance that goal. And, it is equally important to develop mechanisms to ensure that the aff ordable also become accessible to those who need it the most,” Modi said.

“We look forward to compre-hensive and concrete outcome in Paris with a positive agenda on combating climate change, which also focuses on access to fi nance and technology for the developing world, especially the poor coun-tries and small island states,” the prime minister said.

In his address at the Leaders’ Summit on UN Peacekeeping, Modi said India is ready to con-tribute monetarily to a memorial for slain UN Peacekeepers. He an-nounced new contributions to the UN Peacekeeping Operations.

“These include additional bat-talion of up to 850 troops in exist-ing or new operations; additional three police units with higher representation of female peace-keepers; commitment to provide critical enablers; deployment of technical personnel in UN mis-sions; and, additional training for peacekeepers at our facilities in India and in the fi eld,” Modi said.

Pushing for long-awaited re-forms of the UN Security Council, Modi stressed that the success of UN peacekeeping “ultimately depends not on the weapons that the soldiers carry, but on the moral force that decisions of the UN Se-curity Council command”. - Agencies

During talks with

Obama, Modi

underlined the

need for concrete

outcomes at the

upcoming global

conference on climate

change in Paris

starting November

Our measures include not

just a plan to add 175 GW

of renewable energy by

2022, but a development

strategy that will enable

us to transition to a more

sustainable energy mix

Narendra ModiPrime minister

‘Why should PM visit individual companies?’

NEW DELHI: Questioning Narendra Modi’s foreign tours, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday wondered if it behoved the prime minis-ter to visit individual compa-nies like Google and Facebook to seek investment, even as AAP said PM’s travels have not brought any concrete outcome and claimed FDI was dwindling.

As Modi wrapped up his two-nation tour of Ireland and the US, Kejriwal asked what the country had achieved from the PM’s foreign trips and took a dig at his engagements at Facebook headquarters and Google cam-pus among others.

“PM Modi’s US trip ends. Time to ponder what has coun-try achieved from his foreign trips so far? Does it suit the stature of an Indian PM to visit individual cos seeking invest-ments?” the Chief Minister said in a series of tweets.

Separately, the AAP said that “the real issue is how the PM projects himself at foreign countries. He presents factually incorrect statements and also targets the country’s core fabric by attacking secularism”.

Kejriwal, who has been tar-geting Modi’s fl agship ‘Make in India’ project with his ‘Make India’ pitch, stressed that the country should fi rst focus on in-frastructure development. That would itself attract investment, he said. - PTI

K E J R I W A L ’ S Q U E S T I O N

The Black money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and

Assets) and Imposition of Tax provides for tax and

penalty of 120 per cent and jail term of up to

10 years for holding undisclosed foreign assets

A9

INDIAW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

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FIR lodged against Lalu for ‘casteist’ remarks

HAJIPUR/NAWADA: An FIR was lodged against RJD President Lalu Prasad on Tuesday for mak-ing allegedly casteist remarks as the Election Commission prima facie found them violative of the model of conduct for assembly polls in Bihar.

The FIR was registered with Ganga bridge police station in Vaishali district against Lalu Pras-ad by Circle Offi cer Raghopur Neer-anjan Kumar in connection with his casteist remark, SP, Vaishali district, Rakesh Kumar said.

The Circle Offi cer, who was de-puted as magistrate during the election meeting of the RJD chief on Sunday last for his son Tejaswi Yadav in Raghopur, was ordered by District Magistrate of Vaishali Ra-chna Patil to get a case registered in the matter.

Launching his campaign from Raghopur, the RJD supremo had described the assembly elections as a direct fi ght between “the back-ward castes and forward castes” and gave a call to Yadavs and other backward castes to rally behind the secular alliance to defeat BJP-led NDA.

Additional Chief Election Of-fi cer R. Lakshamanan said that the case was registered against the RJD chief on the basis of video footage of his utterances at a polit-ical meeting in Raghopur on Sun-day. The video footage showed vio-lation of model code and provision of Representation of Peoples Act hence a case has been registered, Lakshamanan said.

Breach of guidelinesChief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi had on Monday said that any casteist remark was a breach of EC guidelines and the Commission would deal with such matters under its legal framework.

He had also said the Election Commission would fi nd out the details of the alleged casteist re-marks by Prasad and take appro-priate action.

Meanwhile, unfazed by Election Commission scanner for casteist remark, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad on Tuesday made a blistering at-tack at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhag-wat and said that he would not sit quietly in waging battle for the backwards, Dalits and poor even if they decide to “hang” him.

“Let Modi give Bharat Ratna to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for ending reservation...even if they decide to hang me for waging battle for backwards, Dalits and poor, I will not sit quietly,” Prasad tweeted, a day after EC took no-tice of his“backward and forward castes” comment at Raghopur on Sunday.

The RJD chief further wrote on the micro-blogging site that even if

PM Modi fi led petition in the Unit-ed Nations against him, he would not take rest towards getting res-ervation quota increased and caste census report.

In another development, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was on Tuesday shown slippers by a section of people during an elec-tion rally in Nawada.

A group of people at the election rally at Warsaliganj showed ‘chap-pals’ while Kumar was addressing the rally in favour of JD(U) can-didate Pradeep Kumar who is the sitting MLA.

The restive crowd shouted “Modi, Modi” chant and also chanted anti-Nitish slogans at the rally, ahead of the fi ve-phase state Assembly elections beginning on October 12.

Unperturbed by the protest, Ku-mar went ahead with his address and listed achievements of his government and his future vision particularly for youths.

Though the exact reason behind the incident was not known, the scene continued while Kumar was delivering his speech.

Earlier, while addressing an election rally at Barbigha in fa-vour of Congress candidate, Ku-mar raised the issue of DNA barb of Prime Minister Narendra Modi against him and played the issue of Bihari pride with the public.

“You mean to say that people chose a person with defective DNA as their chief minister for the past 10 years,” he said.

The senior JD(U) leader also questioned the BJP slogan of “parivartan” (change).

“By parivartan do you mean to send back girls home from school where they are going today on bi-cycles?” he said slamming the BJP.

The chief minister reiterated his seven future resolves, contained in his vision document, worth Rs 2.70 lakh crore which included Rs4 lakh credit facility for students.-PTI

Chief Election

Commissioner Nasim

Zaidi had said that

any casteist remark

was a breach of EC

guidelines and the

commission would

deal with such

matters under its

legal frameworkDEFIANT: RJD chief Lalu Prasad addressing an election rally in Naugachiya on Tuesday. - PTI

BHABUA/PATNA: Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi has been booked for allegedly ‘promising’ to give away lap-tops, colour TVs and dhoti-sa-ris to voters at an election rally, with the party leader contest-ing the FIR and urged the EC to look into the matter.

Superintendent of Police of Kaimur district Harpreet Kaur said that an FIR was lodged with Bhabua Police Station against Sushil Kumar Modi for inducing voters by promising

colour TVs, laptops and dhoti-saris.

Sushil Modi had allegedly made these promises on Mon-day during an address to an election meeting in favour of BJP candidate Anand Bhusan Pandey.

The SP said that the case was registered on the basis of video footage of the meeting.

Meanwhile, Sushil Modi, while talking to reporters at Patna, contested registration of the case against him and urged

the Election Commission to look into the matter.

“I had said to provide laptops to 50,000 boys and girls if our government is formed in Bihar along with colour TVs and dhoti-saris. It was meant to spell the vision of the party for the citizens and there is nothing wrong in it,” Sushil Modi said.

“Every party spells what it intends to do after the election.

So whats wrong in it?” he asked. - PTI

Sushil Modi booked for promising laptops, TVs to voters

Terror threat

to Taj Hotel,

Mumbai airport

turns out a hoax

MUMBAI: The terror threats to the Mumbai domestic and interna-tional airports and the adjacent Taj Hotel have turned out to be a hoax, offi cials said here on Tuesday.

A phone call at around 12.40 am to a landline number at the airport manager’s offi ce had warned about a planned terror hit at these sites with explosive-laden vehicles.

Describing it a “specifi c threat”, the Mumbai police and airport security went into a state of high alert at all the three sites, which are already classifi ed as a “high se-curity zone”.

Reportedly identifi ed as Vishesh Kumar, the caller had warned that at least fi ve vehicles would blow up between 9 to 10 am at the three tar-geted sites with the impact would be much bigger than the 26/11 ter-ror attack.

Attempt to trace callerAfter investigations during the day, the security agencies conclud-ed that the call was a hoax and are now attempting to trace the caller.

A spokesperson for the Taj Group of Hotels said here that the Mumbai Police conducted a thor-ough security check and have con-fi rmed the call targeting the hotel to be a hoax.

“We continue to be highly vigi-lant at all times to ensure safety and security of our guests,” the spokesperson added. - IANS

S E C U R I T Y S C A R E

TV debates often do not have connect with reality: JaitleyNEW DELHI: Asserting that debates on television often do not have connect with ground reality, Information and Broad-casting Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said not every contro-versy was news in itself and la-mented the “scarcity” of credible and serious news on channels.

Jaitley also noted that the English media which has man-aged to capture the mind space to a large extent will not be sustain-able and took dig at them say-ing if we went by English media alone, then even Gandhiji would not have found acceptability in the country.

“Sometimes while you watch news in the evening and there are couple of issues on which are being discussed; it seems that is the only thing happening in the country. And many times the re-ality has no connection with that thing,” Jaitley said at an event here, adding “Not every contro-versy is news in itself”.

He also maintained that be-cause of the nature of TV news, newspapers also have had to change themselves, in an appar-ent reference to TV setting the agenda for print media.

Observing that with the ad-vent of digital media, the situa-tion was changing, Jaitley said a good idea or blog on new media circulates widely and becomes a topic of discussion.

“Perhaps the over saturation

of Television news, and often it not having connect with what is happening on the ground, the readers or target audience, at times search for news as it was conventionally defi ned.

“Now, it is not natural that there are 20-25 people in the country, who show up on TV eve-ry evening and they have views on every issue,” Jaitley said.

He added that there must be others, who also have views, add-ing that it is why a large mass was looking for serious news and analysis which was “scarce”.

“Sometimes, digital media provides it. I think in this situ-ation, it’s a great opportunity for serious print media to fi ght back,” Jaitley said.

The minister, who was speak-ing at the launch of a fortnightly ‘Opinion Post’, said many news-papers have closed across the world but have their net editions and there was no problem in that.

And a time will come, when again, on the basis of credibil-ity and seriousness of the writer, people will form their opinions, he emphasised.

Jaitley also said while Eng-lish media had managed to cap-ture mind space to quite an ex-tent, the market place has been there with Hindi and regional languages.

This disparity between mind space and market space cannot sustain for too long, the fi nance minister said. - PTI

C R E D I B L E A N D S E R I O U S N E W S O N C H A N N E L S

Framework unveiled

to rank engineering,

management bodies

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday unveiled a frame-work that would rank engineer-ing and management institutes taking into account peer percep-tion, research activity and also inclusively through reservations.

The ranking framework broad-ly covers all institutes both in government and private sectors, though participation is voluntary in nature, and the fi rst ranking list would be released in early April next year.

The framework for pharmacy, architecture and universities would be released within the next one month.

“It is a revolutionary step. Be-fore the next academic year, we will manage to give our students a plethora of choice on the basis of the national framework which is very transparent, which engages not only the institutes, regulators but the citizens at large,” Irani said while releasing the ranking framework.

Irani credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for encouraging an India-specifi c ranking frame-work especially because of the absence of an Indian institute in the global ranking list by interna-tional agencies which had been lamented both by him and Presi-dent Pranab Mukherjee on vari-ous occasions.

The institutes would be ranked separately across disciplines and in category A and B, with category A institutes getting extra weight-age for teaching and research.

The parameters would include ‘outreach and inclusively’ with up to 20 marks going to institutes for adhering to reservations for economically and socially disad-vantaged sections.

“Fifty per cent economically and socially disadvantaged stu-dents should be admitted to score maximum marks,” the frame-work said setting the benchmark.

Private institutes could be at a disadvantage unable to fulfi l this parameter as reservations are not

strictly binding on them.Asked for his comments,

Higher Education Secretary V. S. Oberoi merely said “we are work-ing as per the reservation policy...we are not altering it”.

“India is one of the few coun-tries that provides for affi rmative action and institutions must be socially relevant,” he said.

The ranking list would be pre-pared by an agency which would function on the lines of the Na-tional Board of Accreditation (NBA). To check irrigularities, penalty would be imposed for un-ethical practices and false rank-ing. The India-specifi c ranking is being see an an answer to global ranking agencies where Indian universities and institutes in-cluding the IITs have never been able to make the cut.

However, the higher education secretary said the government has no intention of competing with anyone while NBA chair-person Surendra Prasad saw a positive side for the Indian in-stitutes as they would be further empowered and encouraged to better their performances in the global rankings. In her remarks, Irani said the ranking would be an answer to issues typical to In-dian academic systems.

“What we have seen is that re-search done in English is given proiminence. What about re-search done by scientists in their mother tongue, should they be left out. In India we have insti-tutional mechanism that all sup-port groups have constitutional support to pursue dreams in aca-demic institutes through reser-vation policy. Is that inclusive na-ture refl ected in (international) ranking,” she said.

The parameters which would be used for ranking are“teaching learning and resources, research, consulting and collaborative performance, graduation out-come, outreach and inclusivity (through reservations) and per-ception” said an offi cial note. - PTI

R E V O L U T I O N A R Y S T E P

LAUNCH: Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Aff airs and In-

formation & Broadcasting, Arun Jaitley and Editor of the maga-

zine, Pradeep Singh during the release function of ‘Opinion Post’

magazine, in New Delhi on Tuesday. - PTI

INITIATIVE: HRD Minister Smriti Irani with Higher Education

Secretary Vinay Sheel Oberoi releasing a book during the launch

of National Institutional ranking framework document and web

portal, at National Media Centre in New Delhi on Tuesday. - PTI

A10

PAKISTAN W E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

Man who was 15 when held for murder charge hanged

LAHORE: Pakistan on Tuesday hanged a man who said he was 15 when he was arrested for a mur-der he did not commit.

Ansar Iqbal had said he and a friend were arrested 16 years ago for the murder of a neighbour. The victim’s family said Iqbal killed the neighbour over an argument at a cricket match but Iqbal said police framed him by planting two guns at his house.

Iqbal was hanged in the morn-ing in the central Pakistani city of Sargodha and his body had been handed over to his family, authori-ties said.

Pakistani law does not allow the execution of someone arrested as a juvenile. The court did not ex-amine Iqbal’s school records and birth certifi cate which give his age at 14 and 15 respectively, saying the documents were submitted too late.

A child at time of off ence“All the documentary evidence provided to the courts during his trial or appeal indicates that he was a child at the time of the al-

leged off ence; however, the courts have chosen to believe the esti-mate of police offi cers that he was in his 20s,” British legal aid group Reprieve said in a statement.Pakistan brought back hanging in December as a way to crack down

on militancy after Taliban gun-men killed more than 130 pupils at an army-run school.

But very few of the 240 peo-ple hanged since had any links to militancy.

Most, like Iqbal, were convicted

of murder. Many of their families say they were falsely accused and too poor to get good lawyers.

CorruptPakistan’s criminal justice sys-tem is widely considered corrupt.

Police frequently ask for bribes and few are trained in preserving a crime scene or collecting evi-dence. Instead, they rely on easily manipulated oral statements.

Accusations of torture are com-mon. — Reuters

The court did not

examine Ahsan

Iqbal’s school records

and birth certifi cate

which give his

age at 14 and 15

respectively, saying

the documents were

submitted too late

EXECUTED: Policemen stand guard outside the district jail in Sargodha, Pakistan, on Tuesday. — Reuters/Stringer

Bangladesh women cricketers say they feel ‘comfortable’ in PakistanKARACHI: Bangladesh women’s cricket captain Salma Khatun said Tuesday her players feel “comfort-able” in Pakistan as they prepare for a series, even though most for-eign teams have shunned the con-fl ict-racked country for years.

The series, comprising two Twenty20s and as many one-day matches, was given the green light after a visit by a Bangladeshi secu-rity delegation.

Major foreign cricket teams have stayed away since Paki-stani militants attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009, killing eight people and injuring several visiting players.

Pakistan’s international isola-tion was overcome earlier this year when Zimbabwe toured for a short limited-over series, but hopes for more cricket remain slim after a bomb went off outside the ground during the last match.

Pakistan hosted non-Test play-ing country Nepal in 2011 but the last high-profi le teams to play in Pakistan were India and Sri Lanka in 2006.

Focused on cricketKhatun said her team was focused on cricket.

“We are here to play cricket and are comfortable,” she said at the launch of the series that will be played entirely in the southern city of Karachi.

“It is just like our home and

we are fully prepared to play against Pakistan, which is a very strong team.”

Bangladesh twice refused to send their men’s team to Pakistan, in 2012 and 2013, over security fears after initially agreeing to play short limited-over series.

The fi rst Twenty20 will be played on Thursday followed by the second on October 2. The two one-day matches will be played on October 4 and 6.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has promised foolproof se-curity for the Bangladeshi wom-

en’s team, with players staying at the same club where they will play their matches.

PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said last week the women’s team tour is part of his gradual eff orts to revive international cricket in his country. — AFP

G O O D G E S T U R E

REVIVING CRICKET TIES: Bangladesh women cricket captain Salma Khatun, left, and Pakistan women

cricket captain Sana Mir pose with the T20 trophy during a media briefi ng in Karachi on Tuesday. — AFP

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa offi cials in the dark over missing pilgrimsPESHAWAR/BANNU: So far the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Directorate of Hajj remains una-ware over the condition of those who went missing after the stam-pede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, during Haj. People from K-P and the Fed-erally Administered Tribal Areas looking for their loved ones are left with little to go on.

At least fi ve pilgrims from the province and one from Fata have been confi rmed as dead; at the mo-ment 14 people are still missing.

Offi cials in the directorate told The Express Tribune relatives of pilgrims were repeatedly call-ing the directorate and enquiring about their loved ones. However, it was unable to share any informa-tion due to the lack of it coming forth from the federal directorate.

The FATA Secretariat does not have a special section to deal with Haj or pilgrims. When con-tacted, offi cials there said since they function out of remote areas, communication was an issue to

begin with. They suggest getting in touch with offi cials in Islama-bad to fi nd out about those who are still untraceable and hail from the tribal belt.

One of the K-P Directorate of Haj offi cials, requesting anonym-ity, said matters were being dealt with by Pakistani offi cials present in Mecca. He suggested relatives call the hotline provided by the federal government to fi nd out the status of their loves ones.

“We don’t have any contact with

them. Our updates come from television or newspapers as the federal directorate does not share information with us,” said the of-fi cial, requested anonymity.

When contacted, K-P Directo-rate of Haj Deputy Director Fazl-e-Subhan confi rmed no information was shared with the provincial body. He said the director general of the federal Haj directorate was in Mecca, along with other offi -cials, after the establishment of a control room to collect informa-

tion on pilgrims. “We already have set up a hotline in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and everyone can contact the relevant offi cials,” the deputy director said.

Return Haj fl ightPakistan International Airlines (PIA) fi rst return Haj fl ight, PK-6314, carrying 325 pilgrims from Jeddah, arrived at Bacha Khan International Airport (BKIA) in Peshawar after a fi ve-hour delay.

The fl ight was scheduled to ar-

rive at 7:25am, however, it was delayed by over fi ve hours and ar-rived at 12:50pm. A PIA offi cial at the regional offi ce said passengers were unable to board the plane on time despite having collected their boarding passes.

“Pilgrims reached Jeddah air-port and received boarding passes without a delay, but since the ma-jority were over 55 years of age, they didn’t board the plane on time for several reasons,” the offi cial said. — Express Tribune

S T A M P E D E T R A G E D Y

Sindh prepares law to form own graft commissionKARACHI: In order to check the interference of the National Ac-countability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) in the province, the Sindh government has prepared a draft law to form its own accountabil-ity commission.

The draft of the ‘Sindh Ac-countability Commission’ bill will be presented in the next Sindh Assembly session, likely to be held next week.

The objective of the bill states that, “No institution except the Sindh Accountability Commis-sion will probe provincial corrup-tion cases. If any corruption case is liked to a federal subject, then federal agencies will have to take permission from the Sindh Ac-countability Commission before going ahead for further action.”

The commission will be headed by a serving or retired director-general of grade-20 or above who has experience of at least 20 years in his relevant fi eld, states the draft. Meanwhile, fi ve accountability commissioners will be appointed as members of the board along with the prose-cutor-general, who will work ex-clusively for the accountability commission.

The commission will have six diff erent wings, each headed by a director of grade 18. These

include wings for complaints, investigation and inquiries, prosecution, public relations, monitoring, and one for audits and accounts.

The commission will not take notice of any corruption on its own, as is done by the courts or NAB, the draft states, adding that it will only take action after complaints are fi led before it. The draft added that all cases will be referred to the director-general after the recommendations and approval of the prosecution and monitoring wing.

Legislative committeeOn the appointment of staff members, the draft states that a search committee will shortlist the candidates and a fi nal deci-sion will be made by the legisla-tive committee, headed by the Sindh Assembly speaker along with 10 members of various par-liamentary parties in the House. “If the legislative committee fails to make the decision, then the chief minister will be the fi nal authority for the recruitment,” it added.

The Commission with the ap-proval of Sindh government can temporarily declare a place as sub-jail where it can put the ac-cused for 45 days for proper in-vestigation. — Express Tribune

B I D T O S T E M I N T E R F E R E N C E

PTI censures government over tepid bond auction

ISLAMABAD: A day after Paki-stan’s latest dollar-denominated Eurobond received a lukewarm re-sponse from international inves-tors, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) on Monday censured the government stating that the poor response was a virtual vote of no-confi dence by global fi nancial markets in its economic policies.

“The extremely poor response from the global markets to the euro bond off ering by Pakistan shows that unfortunately the global in-vestors remain unconvinced of the improved economy narrative that the government has been trying to sell,” senior PTI leader Asad Umer said in a statement on Monday.

Pakistan had on September 25 issued a $500 million Eurobond with a maturity of ten years in the international market at a coupon rate of 8.25%.

Same priceUmar said that this was the same price the government had man-aged to fetch last year when Paki-stan re-entered the international bond market.

With everything else remaining the same, Umar said that govern-ment should have priced the bonds lower since no re-entry premium had to be paid. Hence, the markets were essentially saying that things were getting worse.

By comparison, Umar said, countries like Kenya and Sri Lanka had fared far better than Pakistan. Kenya, which had issued its fi rst ever bond last year had raised $1.5 billion at a yield of 6.875%,.

Low levelThe PTI leader said that the response of the international market was consistent with the extremely low level of foreign direct investment (FDI) Paki-stan had been receiving in recent years. — Express Tribune

E U R O B O N D S

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COUNTEROFFENSIVE: Afghan special forces arrive at the airport as they launch a counteroff ensive to retake the city from Taliban

insurgents, in Kunduz on Tuesday. — AFP

Afghan, NATO forces in battle to retake Kunduz

KUNDUZ (AFGHANISTAN): Afghan troops backed by US air support launched a counter-of-fensive Tuesday to retake Kun-duz, a day after Taliban insurgents overran the strategic northern city in their biggest victory since being ousted from power in 2001.

Gun battles erupted and Hum-vees rolled in parts of the city as Afghan security forces, who had retreated to the outlying airport after the fall, began a counter-strike backed by reinforcements.

Freeing prisonersThe Taliban had captured govern-ment buildings and freed hun-dreds of prisoners on Monday, raising their trademark white fl ag throughout the city.

The stunning fall of the pro-vincial capital, which has sent panicked residents fl eeing, dealt a major blow to Afghanistan’s NA-TO-trained security forces and

highlighted the insurgency’s po-tential to expand beyond its rural strongholds.

US forces also conducted an air strike in Kunduz province on Tuesday, a NATO statement said, without specifying the target.

Precise losses in the fi ghting were not known but the Afghan health ministry said hospitals in Kunduz had so far received 16 dead bodies and more than 190 wounded people.

Despite the counter-off ensive, Kunduz swarmed with Taliban fi ghters racing stolen police vehi-cles and Red Cross vans.

Insurgents also showed off seized tanks and armoured cars in a Taliban video showed.

Deputy Interior Minister Ayoub Salangi said that security forces were ready to retake the city and vowed to investigate how the Taliban managed to seize a major urban centre for the fi rst time in 14 years.

The defence ministry on Tues-day claimed that the police head-quarters and city prison had been retaken, after marauding insur-gents freed hundreds of prison-

ers including some Taliban com-manders.

But several other government facilities, including a 200-bed lo-cal hospital, were still under Tali-ban control.

President Ashraf Ghani in a televised speech said the Taliban were using civilians as human shields, which was hampering the eff orts of security forces.

Grave dangerUN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said the civilian popu-lation in Kunduz was in “grave danger”, raising concerns that casualties could mount if the vio-lence intensifi es. “We are scared of leaving our homes, scared of being beaten by the Taliban,” said Sadiqa Sherza, head of Roshani Radio, a Kunduz media network focused on women’s issues.

“There’s no electricity, no water, and ration shops are all closed,” she said, adding that in-surgents had burned down the radio station. The United Na-tions and other aid agencies were forced to pull their staff from the city, which has seen a huge infl ux

of civilians displaced by recent months of fi ghting.

The Taliban’s incursion into Kunduz, barely nine months after the NATO combat mission con-cluded, raises troubling questions over the capacity of Afghan forces as they battle militants largely on their own. “The upshot is that Afghan forces, despite their many improvements in recent years, remain a work in progress,” said Michael Kugelman, Afghanistan expert at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

“And given the extent of the Tal-iban threat, work in progress isn’t good enough.”

The fall of the city coincides with the fi rst anniversary of Pres-ident Ghani’s national unity gov-ernment coming to power, as it struggles to rein in the ascendant insurgency. It will undoubtedly boost the image of new Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour within insurgent ranks as he seeks to draw attention away from internal rifts over his leadership.

Kunduz province, which bor-ders Tajikistan and is a major transport hub for the north of the country, could off er the Taliban a critical new base of operations beyond their traditional southern strongholds.

In a statement late Monday, Mansour congratulated his cad-res on the “major victory”.

“In the long run, we may not be able to retain control but this victory will dispel the Afghan government’s belief that we are strong only in areas bordering Pa-kistan,” a prominent Taliban com-mander told AFP on the condition of anonymity.

Kunduz was the last Taliban stronghold in northern Afghani-stan in November 2001.

The extremist group has been largely absent from cities since being driven from power by the US and its allies, but has main-tained often brutal rule over swathes of the countryside. — AFP

The stunning fall of

the provincial capital

to Taliban, which

has sent panicked

residents fl eeing,

dealt a major blow

to Afghanistan’s

NATO-trained forces

and highlighted

the insurgency’s

potential to expand

beyond its rural

strongholds

INSURGENCY’S POTENTIAL TO EXPAND: Members of the Taliban

fi ghters walk on a street in Kunduz, a day after they took control of

the city on Tuesday. — Reuters/Stringer

Ousted Yingluck fi les case against public prosecutorBANGKOK: Deposed Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra fi led a criminal case against the at-torney general on Tuesday alleging unfair handling of charges against her that could see her jailed for 10 years.

Thailand’s fi rst woman prime minister faces charges in the Su-preme Court of negligence in her management of a rice subsidy scheme the ruling junta says was tainted by graft and caused $16 bil-lion in losses.

Rivalry between the royalist-military establishment and the Shinawatra family, in particular Yingluck’s brother, deposed popu-list premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has been at the heart of a decade of political turmoil in the kingdom.

The attorney general indicted

Yingluck in January on the same day she was banned from politics for fi ve years by a legislature ap-pointed by the generals who top-pled her government last year.

Yingluck’s legal team on Tues-day drew attention to the timing of the indictment - an hour before the legislature’s impeachment began - and alleged the attorney general charged her without suf-fi cient examination of evidence and witnesses.

The public prosecutor had in-cluded accusations related to cor-ruption in the rice scheme and added 60,000 pages of material that had not been part of the case fi led by the country’s anti-graft agency, Yingluck’s legal team said in a statement.

Yingluck told reporters in a

statement the attorney general’s actions were “wrong and unfair”.

Her fl agship rice policy aimed to boost farmers’ incomes by buying their grain at above market prices and helped sweep her to offi ce in a landslide in 2011.

She insists she acted honestly in administering the scheme. Critics said it was aimed at winning votes in the countryside. Yingluck’s sup-porters have accused the courts of bias in rulings against her and allies of the Shinawatra clan. The prosecutor’s offi ce denied that.

“The prosecutor took the rice scheme case in a straightforward manner,” said Chutichai Sakha-korn, the offi cial at the Attor-ney General’s offi ce responsible for her case.

“There was no bullying.” — Reuters

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

CORNERED: Ousted Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, centre, and her brother-in-law and for-

mer prime minister Somchai Wongsawat, right, arrive at a criminal court in Bangkok on Tuesday. — AFP

Sri Lanka war crimes resolution ‘softened’ before debate at UNCOLOMBO: A US-backed reso-lution at the United Nations that seeks justice for victims of Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war has been softened to keep its government on board and allay the concerns of powerful neighbour India, sources say.

The latest draft, expected to be adopted in Geneva on Thursday, fails to specify the powers and role of foreign prosecutors and judges in trying war crimes suspects - a major shortcoming, in the eyes of human rights groups.

They and some diplomats say that refl ects the balancing act needed to keep Sri Lanka’s new reformist leadership on board while making a credible attempt to end a culture of impunity over what the UN calls the mass kill-ings of tens of thousands of people by both sides in the fi nal stages of the confl ict.

“Everything now depends on implementation - the text was worded in a very ambiguous way,” said Alan Keenan, Sri Lan-ka analyst at the International Crisis Group.

A judicial process with teeth would hold out a realistic prospect of punishment for senior fi gures in ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government and military, as well as Tamil Tiger rebels, who waged a bitter fi nal battle in 2009.

The UN has estimated that 40,000 people died, many of them civilians, as government forces tightened the noose around a patch of land on the Jaff na Pen-insula where Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels were penned in.

But the US-led draft agreed with the Sri Lankan government falls short of explicitly meeting a call by the UN’s human rights chief for a special court staff ed with interna-tional judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators.

Hybrid courtsSuch “hybrid” courts have emerged in recent years as a way to deliver justice in places such as East Timor, Kosovo and Sierra Leone against powerful individu-als capable of threatening judges or witnesses.

The text instead vaguely affi rms the importance of participation in a Sri Lankan judicial mechanism of “Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers, and authorized prosecutors and investigators”.

John Fisher, Geneva director at Human Rights Watch, said the Sri Lankan government had resisted appointing an independent inter-

national prosecutor and a majority of foreign judges.

“Meaningful foreign participa-tion and international monitor-ing will be needed to prevent local pressure and intimidation from interfering with a fair judicial pro-cess,” he said.

EngagementSri Lanka argues that President Maithripala Sirisena’s construc-tive engagement with the UN marks a break with the recalci-trance of Rajapaksa, whom he de-feated in a presidential election in January.

Sirisena won backing on Mon-day from US Secretary of State John Kerry, who endorsed a “cred-ible domestic process” with in-ternational support when the two met on the fringes of the U.N. Gen-eral Assembly in New York.

How this would work in practice still needs to be hammered out. “In order to ensure credibility, we of course need some kind of interna-tional involvement. But it will be decided after the consultation pro-cess,” one Sri Lankan offi cial said.

Placate Sinhala’sA source familiar with the draft-ing discussions said the Sri Lan-kan government wanted to create the impression the resolution had been watered down to placate the majority Sinhala community that formed Rajapaksa’s power base.

“The substance is still all there,” said the source, who requested an-onymity. The US draft is widely ex-pected to be adopted by consensus at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva. — Reuters

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

CONTROVERSY: This photograph taken on May 23, 2009, shows a

general view of thousands of UNHCR tents, occupied by Internally

Displaced Persons at Menik Farm in Cheddikulam, some 250 kilo-

metres north of Colombo. — AFP fi le photo

A judicial process with

teeth would hold out

a realistic prospect of

punishment for senior

figures in ex-president

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s

government and

military, as well as

Tamil Tiger rebels,

who waged a bitter

final battle in 2009

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On the surface, things could not appear to be better for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. With a majority in parliament, electoral

rigging charges thrown out by the judicial com-mission and continued successes in by-polls, any prime minister would be comfortable with the cur-rent state of aff airs. Yet, Sharif seems worried by what he deems to be conspiracies afoot to replace him. A week ago, in no uncertain terms, he alluded that some people wanted to overthrow him. Was he referring to the opposition led by Imran Khan, the establishment or another political grouping? He did not expound much but as a third-time prime minister, he knows how a civilian government can be weakened, and then undone.

Sharif ’s political trajectory has been a paradox. The civil-military bureaucracy groomed him in the 1980s as a ‘pliant’ politician. A decade later, he reached the offi ce of prime minister after a ma-nipulated election but soon ran into trouble with the security establishment. In 1993, he was ousted; only to be re-elected with a bigger mandate in 1997. This time his power seemed invincible. He fi red an army chief and the chief justice, and appointed a ‘safe’ general to lead the military. By 1999, he had been subjected to a coup, leading to incarceration and a long exile.

Sharif ’s resurgence in the 2013 elections was a testament to the political base he had carved in the largest province. Two years after being elected with a landslide majority, not much has changed: There is a powerful military, a kitchen cabinet and a coterie of loyal bureaucrats, a sidelined parlia-ment; and an opposition willing to make ‘deals’ with the real power centres.

The year 2014 witnessed decline in civilian power. Months of televised protests, orchestrated with the help of elements within the establish-ment — the blowback from the attempt to indict General Musharraf for treason — left the Sharif government considerably weakened. After the lethal attack on the Army Public School (APS) in December 2014, Sharif ’s power slipped fur-ther. Within weeks of the APS incident, parlia-ment amended the constitution to create military courts, and the apex committees led by the military took over counterterrorism operations.

The regional situation has also helped the mili-

tary regain its prestige, somewhat lost during the anti-Musharraf protests. The West wants to leave Afghanistan and the military is the key player that can broker a deal between Afghanistan and the Afghan Taliban. China is advancing its ‘One Belt, One Road’ policy that makes Pakistan vital for expanding Chinese infl uence westwards. This cannot be accomplished without the military un-dertaking the security for the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The re-emerging Russian power has also found an ally in the form of the military as Pakistan is seen as key to con-taining the extremist threat in the Central Asian region. At home, the Baloch insurgency is divided, and its outcome appears to be tilting in favour of the establishment.

Notwithstanding the external factors, it is the domestic variables that have led to a post-modern coup in Pakistan. The military, through the Rang-ers, is conducting a clean-up operation, targeting the nexus of crime and corruption in Karachi. The business lobbies had been asking for a military intervention, given the general state of insecurity. The provincial government is disempowered and the rest of Pakistan welcomes this. Opposition leader Imran Khan has asked the military to ex-tend such operations to Punjab — the home prov-ince of the prime minister where his brother is the chief minister. This may have also caused panic to the prime minister and his team.

Public opinion perceives the military operations against the Taliban and their affi liates to be the right policy move. Even though it was the former army chief who, according to his own aides, was re-luctant in initiating such operations, the narrative is that the civilians are indecisive. In the public eye, it is getting clearer that General Raheel Sharif is the man in charge. Noted analysts and column-ists continuously propel this image, which is not too diff erent from what they did each time a pow-erful general was at the helm.

Is all this leading to a formal coup d’ etat? The answer is in the negative. If the security establish-ment has achieved its sway over policy, why should it get embroiled in the day-to-day mess of running a country? Is this sustainable? The answer is again in the negative. While a more temperate Nawaz Sharif is keen not to annoy the military, as a politi-cian he would attempt to arrest the further wean-ing of his power. - Express Tribune

Stampedes often happen because of impatienceThis refers to the news story, Family’s search for the missing Haj pilgrims, (September 28). I express my sincere sympathies for the families of those who lost their near and dear ones during the unfortunate incidence of stampede. Enough is being circulated in the electronic and print media about fi nding out the root cause of

the tragedy. I think that such stampedes during the ‘stoning of the devil’ ritual take place due to a couple of impatient pilgrims who do not bother to the com-mands of the security men. It is need-less to mention here that managing the movement of such huge crowds is a very diffi cult job. I sincerely pray to God that the missing pilgrim Anwar is traced and returns to his family soon. — Mohammad Osama Rawat, Ruwi

Surprising to see supermoon a hit on social media platformsThis refers to the picture captioned, Oman’s supermoon picture goes viral, (September 29). It was very surpris-ing to know that Oman’s ‘Supermoon’ image is capturing wide attention on the social media platforms. Ever since the announcement about the moon appear-ing closer to the earth was made, there has people all across the world had been eager ready to witness and capture the rare opportunity. However, it is a true

pleasure knowing that a photographer based in Muscat had the op-portunity to record this remarkable moment. — Ramachandran Nair, Ruwi

T I M E S O F O M A NW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5A12

Where is Pakistan democracy heading?

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Maqbool to meet top offi cials of joint stock fi rmsMUSCAT: Maqbool bin Ali Sultan, minister of commerce and industry and board chairman of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) will confer today with senior executives of joint stock companies. A source at the CMA said the meeting was part of a series of meetings CMA was to organise from time to time with joint stock companies executives.

1493: Christopher Columbus leaves Cadiz, Spain, on his second voyage to the new world. 1932: A fi ve-day work week is set up for General Motors workers.

1960: General Douglas MacArthur offi cially returns Seoul, South Korea, to President Syngman Rhee.

1990: The YF-22, later named F-22 Raptor, fl ies for the fi rst time.

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We may soon have it confi rmed that Donald Trump’s plan also delivers a windfall to many top earners and would blow up the

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SPECIALW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

The combined box offi ce collect of Asia’s biggest movie markets — China, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia — out-earned North America for the fi rst time last year by $10.5 billion to $10.4 billion

SEOUL: Asia’s most infl uential fi lm festival kicks off on Thurs-day in the South Korean port city of Busan, celebrating its 20th anniversary at a time of grow-ing regional clout in the global movie market.

“An increasing number of fi lm-makers from around the world are paying attention to the importance and potential of Asian cinema and the market here,” said actress Kang Soo-Yeon, co-director of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

“BIFF has always recognised the importance of Asian cinema and aimed to help introduce the region’s rising talent,” Kang said.

This year, the 10-day festival will open with the world premiere of Indian drama “Zubaan” by fi rst-time director Mozez Singh.

BIFF has never had a Bollywood production as its curtain raiser and Singh described the selection of his movie as a “wonderful turn of events”.

“All you really want is to make the best possible fi lm that will

reach out to as many people around the world as possible. Bu-san will give ‘Zubaan’ this chance,” he said.

The coming-of-age feature fol-lows the story of a young man who uses music to question his role in modern Indian society. “BIFF has constantly broken new ground by empowering new and young fi lm makers and it continues to do so,” Singh said. The festival’s 20th edi-tion will showcase 304 movies from 75 countries, including 94 world premiers.

Asian superstars such as Korea’s Jun Ji-Hyun and Lee Jung-Jae, China’s Tang Wei and Taiwan’s Chang Chen will walk the red car-pet alongside Hollywood A-listers like Harvey Kietel and Tilda Swin-ton and Europe’s Sophie Marceau

and Nastassja Kinski.The combined box offi ce col-

lect of Asia’s biggest movie mar-kets — China, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia — out-earned North America for the fi rst time last year by $10.5 bil-lion to $10.4 billion, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

Stellar growthMuch of that was down to stellar growth in China where box-offi ce receipts surged 38 per cent from 2013 to $4.8 billion. Growth in the fi rst eight months of this year is es-timated to have been even higher at 49 per cent, and the Chinese market alone is expected to out-earn North America by 2018.

In the 20 years of its existence, BIFF has prided itself on iden-tifying the fi lmmakers who have helped spur the industry’s growth in the region and on championing the cause of independent Asian cinema. Multi-award winning Korean directors Bong Joon-Ho

and Kim Ki-Duk’s early work was fi rst introduced to the world at the festival, as was the work of China’s box offi ce king Feng Xiaogang.

Bong and Feng have gone on to direct Hollywood-funded pro-ductions - Bong with the sci-fi thriller “Snowpiercer” (2013) and Feng with the war drama “Back to 1942” (2012). BIFF’s Window on Asian Cinema and Korean Cin-ema Today programmes are de-signed to give audiences a look at who might be coming next.

There are a combined 20 world premieres in those two sections alone, with much expected of the Korean-Chinese comedy thriller “Bad Guys Always Die”, directed by fi rst timer Sun Hao and backed by China’s Feng and Korean vet-eran Kang Je-Gyu.

The 2015 Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award will be presented to Japan’s Studio Ghibli, formed by animation master Hayao Miyazaki and responsible for the Oscar-win-ner “Spirited Away” (2001).

But it hasn’t all been plain sail-ing for BIFF with controversies seemingly stalking organisers at every turn over the past 12 months.

Political pressure was brought to bear last year after they sched-uled a controversial documentary looking at the Sewol ferry disaster in which more than 300 people died. Busan’s city mayor, who was also chairman of the BIFF organis-ing committee, urged the festival’s director, Lee Yong-Kwan, to cancel the screening.

In the end, the fi lm was shown but Lee said he later came under pressure from the municipal au-thorities to resign.

Then earlier this year, the festi-val had its state funding slashed to 800 million won from last year’s 1.4 billion won.

Kang Soo-Yeon, who now shares the festival director duties with Lee, said she hoped the fo-cus would shift back to the fi lms themselves.

“I think it is important that this year’s festival can be appreciated by as many people as possible — without any misadventure — and then we can move on to planning the next 20 years,” she said. — AFP

Busan International

Film Festival’s 20th

edition will showcase

304 movies from 75

countries, including 94

world premiers in the

South Korean port city of

Busan from Thursday

LOST AND FOUND: Undated handout photographs released by the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) on Tuesday show scenes from South Korean fi lm ‘The DMZ’. The 1965 fi lm was the fi rst to be shot

in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) set up 12 years before at the end of the Korean War as a buff er zone between North and South Korea. It was thought for decades that the fi lm was lost until a print was found in

2005. – AFP/Busan International Film Festival

THE VENUE: A fi le photo taken on October 11, 2012 shows a general view of the main venue of the Busan International Film Festival. Asia’s most infl uential fi lm festival kicks

off on Thursday in the South Korean port city of Busan, celebrating its 20th anniversary at a time of growing regional clout in the global movie market. – AFP/Files

SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

ARTICLE, PHOTOS

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

An increasing number

of filmmakers from

around the world are

paying attention to

the importance and

potential of Asian

cinema and the

market here. BIFF has

always recognised the

importance of Asian

cinema and aimed

to help introduce the

region’s rising talent.

Kang Soo-YeonActress and co-director of the Busan International Film Festival

BREAKING NEW

GROUND IN FILM

MARKETMAKING A MARK: A fi le photo taken on October 4, 2012 shows the opening ceremony of the Busan

International Film Festival (BIFF). – AFP/ Files

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GLOBAL EYEW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

CHINA: A huge wave crashes over a wall as two people ride on a scooter over a pier in Hui’an county in Quanzhou, east China’s Fujian province, on Tuesday. Super typhoon Dujuan has killed three people and

left more than 300 injured in Taiwan, authorities said after it swept across the island before making landfall in eastern China. It hit the Chinese coastal city of Putian by afternoon, state news agency said, but

there were no immediate reports of damage. — AFP

BURKINA FASO: A Burkinabe soldier patrols near the Presidental

Security Regiment (RSP) military barracks on Tuesday in Ouaga-

dougou. Burkina Faso’s government on September 28 accused an

elite presidential guard, led by coup leader Gilbert Diendere, behind

this month’s week-long coup of refusing to disarm, of seizing loyal-

ist troops, and of planning yet more trouble. — AFP

FRANCE: Actors dressed as German soldiers pose during the fi lm-

ing of ‘Le sac de billes’ on Tuesday in Nice, France. — AFP

MEXICO: A woman walks in the rain during the passage of Tropical

Storm Marty in Acapulco, Mexico on Tuesday. — AFP

GREECE: A migrant child blows soap bubbles at a transit camp in Gevgelija, Macedonia, after entering the country by crossing the

border with Greece, on Tuesday. — Reuters

SINGAPORE: People are silhouetted by the setting sun as they look out from the observatory tower of the Marina Bay Sands hotel

shrouded by haze in Singapore on Tuesday. The 3-hour haze Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reached a high of 250 at 1400 SGT (0600

GMT), according to the National Environment Agency. Slash-and-burn agriculture in neighbouring Indonesia has blanketed Singapore

in a choking haze for weeks. — Reuters

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WORLDW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

Coalition denies role in Yemen bombing

SANAA: The Saudi-led anti-rebel coalition denied on Tuesday that its warplanes were behind the bomb-ing of a wedding in southwestern Yemen as the toll soared to 131, in-cluding women and children.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned Monday’s air raid, saying intentional attacks on civilians were considered a “seri-ous violation of international hu-manitarian law”.

Residents said the Arab coali-tion, which launched an air war on the Houthi rebels in late March, was behind the attack on the wed-ding in Wahijah village near the Red Sea city of Mokha.

But the spokesman for the Ri-yadh-based coalition, Brigadier General Ahmed Al Assiri, denied any involvement. “The coalition did not conduct any air strikes in the area over the past three days,” he said. “This is completely false.”

The coalition called for an inde-pendent investigation into the in-cident. “We can prove by satellite that we did not fl y over that zone,” a coalition source said.

The death toll rose to 131 on Tuesday after “more bodies were taken overnight to hospital and many of the wounded succumbed to their injuries,” a local health offi cial told AFP, requesting ano-nymity.

Previously the toll had been at least 40 dead and dozens wounded.

A doctor at Mokha’s Al Reefi Hospital, Mayaz Al Hamadi, con-fi rmed that 131 bodies, including women and children, had been brought in.

“Many bodies are laid on the fl oor because the hospital does not have the means” to accommodate the large number of fatalities, he said.

The United Nations said it was trying to verify the death toll.

Deadliest incident“If the numbers are as high as suggested, this may be the single deadliest incident since the start of the confl ict,” Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Com-missioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva.

Colville said that more civilians were being killed in the fi ghting in

Yemen amid “an increasing num-ber of air strikes targeting bridges and highways”.

According to new UN fi gures, 151 civilians were killed, includ-ing 26 children and 10 women, in the confl ict between September 11 and 24.

A total of 2,355 civilians have been killed in the war since late March, and 4,862 have been wounded, Colville said.

Ban urged all rival sides in Yemen “to immediately cease all military activities and resolve all diff erences through peaceful ne-gotiations”.

President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi returned from nearly six months of exile in Saudi Arabia to Yemen’s southern port city of Aden last Wednesday.

On Sunday, as he left for the UN General Assembly, Hadi urged the rebels to lay down their

arms and resume dialogue to end the confl ict.

Human rights watchdogs have repeatedly criticised the coali-tion’s aerial bombardment of Yem-en, saying they have struck areas without any military targets.

They have also accused the re-bels of war crimes for what they have called “indiscriminate” shell-ing of civilian-populated areas.

Several coalition air strikes have hit non-military facilities killings dozens of civilians during the past six months.

In late August, an air raid struck a bottled-water factory in the northern province of Hajja, killing 17 civilians and 14 rebels.

Warplanes in July attacked the residences of employees of a pow-er plant in Mokha, killing 65 civil-ians, while a raid on a dairy plant in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida in April left 35 civilians dead. — AFP

The spokesman for

the Riyadh-based

coalition denied any

involvement as the

toll in bombing of

wedding in Yemen

rises to 131

International schools shut in Bangladesh after killing of ItalianDHAKA: International schools closed down in Bangladesh on Tuesday and Western embas-sies restricted their diplomats’ movements after an Italian aid worker was shot dead in an attack claimed by the IS group.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan sought to calm escalat-ing security fears in the country, denying the militant group was behind the murder on Monday night and describing it as an “iso-lated incident”.

“We have only heard about IS in Bangladesh but we haven’t found any of them,” Khan told reporters.

Cesare Tavella was shot three times on Monday night by attack-ers who fl ed on a motorcycle. No arrests have been made.

IS claimed “a security detach-ment” tracked and killed the 50-year-old with “silenced weap-ons” in Dhaka’s Gulshan district. If the claim is verifi ed, it would be the group’s fi rst attack inside Bangladesh.

ReassuranceThe minister tried to reassure those living in the capital’s dip-lomatic quarter, saying security was suffi cient. “There is nothing to worry about,” he said.

But in an updated advisory on Tuesday, the British For-eign Offi ce (ministry) warned its offi cials against attending gatherings of Westerners in Bangladesh, saying there was “reliable information” that mili-tants may be planning to target Western interests.

“A number of international schools and expatriate clubs have closed for the day on 29 Septem-ber as a precaution,” the ministry also said on its website.

“You should be particularly vigilant at this time.”

The US embassy on Mon-day said its diplomats would be barred from attending interna-

tional hotels and other such gath-erings and advised its citizens to follow suit. Other countries also issued warnings including Italy, which confi rmed the char-ity worker’s death and advised nationals “to limit their move-ments” in Bangladesh.

The attack came a day after Cricket Australia said it was de-laying its departure to Bangla-desh for an October tour due to Canberra’s fears that militants may be planning to target Aus-tralian interests.

Cricket Australia said it was seeking assurances from its Bangladesh counterpart before going ahead with the trip.

Bangladesh prides itself on being a mainly moderate coun-try. But the gruesome killings of four bloggers this year rocked the country and sparked a crackdown on local hardline groups.

Bangladesh authorities were initially criticised for failing to protect bloggers, most of whom are living in fear.

Police arrested the leader of banned local hardline IS group Ansarullah Bangla Team over the blogger killings, which sparked an international outcry.

Police were also investigating claims that Al Qaeda in the Indi-an Subcontinent was behind the machete murders of the bloggers, whose writings were deemed blasphemous. But security ex-perts said there was no clear mo-tive for the killing of Tavella, a programme manager for Nether-lands-based church group ICCO Cooperation which focuses on global food security and econom-ic development. “Cesare was a hard-working professional, com-mitted to help the people of Bang-ladesh,” the group said in a state-ment on its website.

“He was respected and loved by all his team members in the coun-try offi ce and fi eld offi ces around the country.” — AFP

I S C L A I M S A T T A C K

Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella was shot three times in Dhaka’s Gulshan district on Monday night by attackers who fl ed on a motorcycle.

BADLY HIT: Smoke billows from buildings after reported air-strikes by the Saudi-led coalition on arms

warehouses at Al Dailami air base, on Tuesday, north of the capital Sanaa. – AFP

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WORLDW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

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Libya coastguards rescue 346 migrantsTRIPOLI: The Libyan coastguard said it rescued 346 migrants on Tuesday, almost 100 of them wom-en and children, crammed onto rubber boats and stranded off the country’s coast.

Three boats were intercepted around 10 nautical miles off Ga-rabulli and Ghot el-Rommane, east of Tripoli, said coastguard of-fi cer Mohamad Jannane, who took part in the operation.

He said the migrants, who had been trying to cross the Mediter-ranean to Europe, were shuttled in a three-hour operation to a naval base in Tripoli before being trans-ferred to reception centres.

“The rescue operation was car-ried out between 1:00 am (2300

GMT, Monday) and 4:00 in the morning because our boats are small and they were overloaded,” the offi cer said.

He said that 34 women and four children were among 230 migrants in two of the boats, while the third was carrying 116 migrants, among them 54 women and two children.

Libya has for years been a step-ping stone for migrants — mostly from sub-Saharan Africa but also Syria and other Middle Eastern countries — seeking to travel to Europe.

People smugglers have taken ad-vantage of the chaos in Libya since its 2011 revolution to step up their

lucrative business. In an upsurge of attempted crossings to Europe this week, the Italian coastguard said it had coordinated the rescue Monday of 1,151 migrants in 11 op-erations off the Libyan coast.

Separately, the charity Me-decins Sans Frontieres (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) said its ship Dignity 1 had saved 373 people, including 62 women and 10 children. Those migrants were transferred to Italy.

More than 430,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean since January and almost 2,750 have died or gone missing, according to the In-ternational Organization of Mi-gration. - AFP

The migrants, who had

been trying to cross

the Mediterranean to

Europe, were shuttled

in a three-hour

operation to a naval

base in Tripoli before

being transferred to

reception centres

Stem cell trial

of potential

blindness cure

starts in UK

LONDON: The fi rst patient has been treated in Britain in a pioneering trial of a new treat-ment co-developed by Pfi zer and derived from embryonic stem cells designed for patients with a condition that can cause blindness.

Specialists at London’s Moor-fi elds Eye Hospital said the op-eration, described as “success-ful”, was the fi rst of 10 planned for participants in a trial of the treatment for a disease called ‘wet’ age-related macular de-generation (AMD).The trial will test the safety and effi cacy of transplanting eye cells known as retinal pigment epithelium, which have been derived from embryonic stem cells.

Stem cells are the body’s mas-ter cells, the source of all other cells. Scientists who support the use of embryonic stem cells say they could transform medi-cine, providing treatments for blindness, juvenile diabetes or severe injuries.

But critics object to them be-cause they are harvested from human embryos. This trial in-volves surgeons inserting a spe-cially engineered patch behind the retina to deliver the treat-ment cells to replace diseased cells at the back of the eye.

The fi rst surgery was suc-cessfully performed on a pa-tient last month, Moorfi elds said in a statement on Tuesday, and “there have been no compli-cations to date”.

“The patient wishes to re-main anonymous, but the team hope to determine her out-come in terms of initial visual recovery by early December,” it added.

Benefi tRetinal surgeon Lyndon Da Cruz, who is performing the operations, said he hoped many patients “will benefi t in the fu-ture from transplantation of these cells.”

Macular degeneration ac-counts for almost 50 percent of all cases of blindness or vision loss in the developed world.

It usually aff ects people over 50 and comes in two forms, wet and dry. - AFP

N E W T R E A T M E N T

Turkey frees

32 pro-Kurdish

media staff

DIYARBAKIR (Turkey): Turk-ish authorities on Tuesday re-leased 32 people working for Kurdish-language media de-tained overnight in the south-eastern city of Diyarbakir, local sources said.

Anti-terror police on Tues-day detained the 32 journalists and other employees in raids on the offi ces of pro-Kurdish news agency Dicle (DIHA), Kurdish-language newspaper Azadiye Welat, Aram Publications and KURDI-DER (Kurdish lan-guage association).

All were released early Tues-day after being questioned by police, the sources said. It was not clear what they were ac-cused of but one source said police had conducted the raid to search for a suspected terror-ist who was thought to be hiding inside the DIHA building, which also houses Azadiye Welat. -AFP

R A I D S

RESCUED: A member of Me-

decins Sans Frontieres checks

the temperature of a refugee

onboard the Dignity 1 search

and rescue vessel after they

were rescued along with other

migrants from their rubber

boat by members of MSF in the

Meditterranean sea off the coast

of Libya on Tuesday. - AFP

MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5B

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Orpic to boost asset base to $10b in 5 years

BUSINESS REPORTER

MUSCAT: Oman Oil Refi neries and Petroleum Industries Com-pany (Orpic) plans to ramp up its asset base from the current $4 billion to over $10 billion in fi ve years, while simultaneously en-hancing its profi t and contribu-tion to the economy.

“We are best positioned to achieve the vision of growing our company from an asset base of $4 billion to over 10 billion in fi ve years’ time. We will grow current contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) from six per cent by an additional two per cent and will generate four times more profi t than we do today,” said Musab Al Mahruqi, chief execu-tive offi cer of Orpic.

He made these comments while speaking at the People Con-ference, which was held under the patronage of Sheikh Khalid

bin Omar Al Marhoon, minister of civil service, at the Al Bustan Palace on Tuesday.

Challenging businessThe theme of the conference, powered by Orpic, was “The Power Within – New Era of Human Capital.”

Speakers from more than 15

countries attended the confer-ence, includingformer British Foreign Minister Jack Straw.

Orpic’s CEO further said the conference had been organised to help the participants learn more about the innovative solutions re-quired to succeed in today’s com-petitive and challenging business environment. >B4

Orpic is best

positioned to

achieve its vision

of growing from

an asset base of $4

billion to more than

$10 billion within

fi ve years, said the

company’s chief

executive offi cer

Musab Al Mahruqi

Musab Al Mahruqi, chief executive offi cer of Orpic.

— Picture by Talib Al Wahaibi/Times of Oman

ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI elham@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Employment opportunities at Oman Oil Refi neries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) was not aff ected by the global slump in oil prices and the company’s workforce is ex-pected to reach 3,000 by 2018, said a senior offi cial.

“Our industry is a down-stream business, and down-stream businesses are not necessarily directly linked to oil price volatility. We are in the margins business so therefore the margin between oil prices and products,” Mus-ab Al Mahruqi, CEO at Orpic, told reporters on the sidelines ofthe People Conference on Tuesday. >B4

Orpic’s workforce expected to touch 3,000 by 2018: CEO

B2

MARKETW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

Haya Water gets UN recognition for fertiliser plantTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Haya Water said it re-cently obtained international rec-ognition from the United Nations for its compost plant, which pro-duces a compost-based fertiliser called ‘Kala’.

This recognition has been suc-cessfully obtained after listing the natural organic compost plant in the global environmental project Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which was approved by the UN through Kyoto Protocol treaty which commits industrial-ised nations to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that causes direct impact on the cli-mate and then on the ozone layer.

This achievement and previous consecutive achievements are an explicit and clear refl ection to the leading role that is approached by Haya Water in all its work and pro-jects, inspired by the vision of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said to contribute in conserving the environment, as well as to provide a better life for all residents espe-cially since Oman is one of the fi rst countries that has established a ministry concerned with the envi-ronment and climate aff airs.

Kala plant in AmeratKala plant was established in Am-erat in 2010. In the past, the solid waste resulting from the treat-ment process of the wastewater was dumped in the waste dumping area. Nowadays, the solid waste is mixed with green waste from trees, grass and other organic waste materials for the produc-tion of Kala, which is in conform-ity with the specifi cations of the global environment.

The company’s sales have ex-ceeded one million bag (size of 50 liters) since the establishment of the plant. Thus, the wastewa-ter treatment recycling process is completed and the company’s goal to protect the environment 100 per cent is achieved. The Kala

plant was constructed using the latest international specifi cations and modern techniques in which all means of environmental pro-tection and conservation of natu-ral resources are well achieved.

The plant is also equipped with a new laboratory with the best modern techniques that test the product before launching it on the market under the supervision of specialists in this fi eld. The plant production capacity is expected to reach 40 tonnes per year.

International specifi cationsKala plant is built with the latest international specifi cations and technologies. It also includes a new laboratory, which is equipped with the best techniques that are used on product testing and ensure its conformity with the approved standards before launching it on the market with the supervision of a number of experts in this fi eld. The sediment (sludge) generated from sewage treatment is convert-ed to organic fertiliser using the open-air piles system.

This project was established in order to reduce the carbon emis-sions that might harm the environ-ment through optimum utilisation of the waste of treated water as well as the green waste resulting from trimming the trees and land-scaping operations. These waste materials are recycled during the manufacturing process of the or-ganic compost and then used in farms, home gardens and increase the green areas.

In order to protect the envi-ronment, Haya Water signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The Wave, Muscat where the Wave Muscat will provide Kala plant with all the green waste re-sulting from aff orestation to be used in the recycling and compost manufacturing process.

The fact that Kala has played a signifi cant role in increasing the crop production made it the best fertiliser to farmers.

O R G A N I C C O M P O S T P L A N T GCC initiates move to slash energy subsidies

Times News Service

MUSCAT: With crude oil prices reaching new lows, the Gulf Coop-eration Council (GCC) states are increasingly turning to subsidy reform to help reduce large fi scal defi cits, a new report reveals.

For decades, GCC states have had some of the world’s most gen-erous energy subsidies, but with the slide in oil prices, these coun-tries have already started trim-ming government expenditures in part by introducing cuts in energy subsidies to alleviate the fi scal burden, the latest economic up-date of National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) shows.

Fiscal defi cits are expected across the GCC as oil prices dropped below $50 per barrel. This is well below the breakeven price of most GCC states. While most of the GCC countries can fi nance defi cits for some time with substantial sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), moves to rational-ise budgets remain critical in the medium- to long-term.

According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates, energy subsidies in 2015 in the GCC ranged from 1.1 per cent of GDP in Oman to 4.6 per cent in Saudi Arabia. While the recent drop in oil prices has reduced the cost of energy subsidies, the nega-tive impact on oil revenues has been larger.

For example, Bahrain’s subsidy bill shot up from 17 per cent to 34 per cent of oil revenues and Saudi Arabia’s from 11 per cent to 20 per cent between 2013 and 2015.

While the primary objectives of energy subsidies is to redistrib-ute hydrocarbon wealth, promote industrial growth and improve

the standards of living of GCC citizens, they also bolster waste-ful energy consumption, deplete oil resources and reduce oil rev-enues, not to forget the environ-mental damage linked to exces-sive energy consumption, the NBK report stated.

However, there are other more eff ective means to redistribute the hydrocarbon wealth in an ef-fort to improve standards of liv-ing, and boost economic growth, integration and equality.

Energy consumptionLow energy prices promote inef-fi cient energy consumption and have placed all six GCC countries among the top 10 energy consum-ing countries on a per capita basis in the world, with Qatar topping the list at around 18,500kg of oil equivalent per capita (koe/capita).

Subsidies for petrol and elec-tricity constitute the biggest chunk of the energy subsidies.

Petrol prices in the GCC are heavily subsidised and among the lowest worldwide. Prices in Saudi Arabia are the lowest in the GCC at $0.16 per litre, followed by Ku-

wait, Bahrain and Qatar at $0.23, $0.27 and $0.27 per litre respec-tively. Petrol prices in Oman and the UAE are the highest in the GCC at $0.31 and $0.47 per litre, though they too remain well be-low petrol prices charged in the US, China and Turkey. The latter has the most expensive gasoline at $2.54 per litre.

The NBK report further stated that GCC countries started lift-ing petrol and diesel subsidies, though steps remain timid and small relative to the size of the GCC energy subsidies.

Qatar raises diesel priceIn May 2014, Qatar raised diesel prices by 50 per cent, followed by Bahrain and Kuwait in early 2015. Most recently, Dubai lifted sub-sidies on petrol and diesel prices. Prices would be set by the govern-ment but linked to international market prices.

Despite IMF recommendations, Saudi Arabia remains the excep-tion, showing no intention so far of deregulating fuel prices. Elec-tricity subsidies constitute almost half of the energy subsidy bill, with heavy reliance on natural gas as a main resource for production.

As per the General Subsidies Initiative, established in 2005 by the International Institute of Sus-tainable Development and dedi-cated to analysing subsidies, GCC electricity production has grown at an average of seven per cent an-nually between 1999 and 2008.

As demand for electricity con-tinues to grow, most of the GCC countries cannot sustain the high reliance on cheap natural gas for long and hence are facing higher production costs as the electricity prices to consumers remain low.

Electricity prices in Kuwait have been fi xed at $0.007 per kWh since 1966, although the Electricity Poli-cy Research Group at the Universi-ty of Cambridge estimated the cost of electricity production at $0.14 per kWh, or 20 times higher.

The electricity price in KSA is slightly higher at $0.013 per kWh. In January 2015, Abu Dhabi in-creased electricity tariff s by 40 per cent for expats from 15 fi ls/kWh to 21 fi ls/kWh for consump-tion of up to 20 kWh. For nation-als, electricity tariff s remain highly subsidised.

The residential sector is the biggest consumer of electricity in the GCC along with the com-mercial and public services sec-tors, rendering subsidy cuts more diffi cult. With the exception of Qatar and the UAE, more than 50 per cent of the electricity supply is consumed by the residential sector. Kuwait residential sector consumes 58 per cent of the total electricity supply versus only 17 per cent for the industrial sector.

Unfortunately, in developing countries, spending on energy subsidies is higher than spending on productive social sectors like education and healthcare. Iran’s energy subsidy bill reached 15 per cent of GDP in 2013 versus expen-ditures on healthcare and educa-tion of less than four per cent of GDP, respectively. Saud Arabia’s energy subsidies to GDP reached 4.6 per cent, more than double its expenditures on healthcare.

With the slide in

oil prices, Gulf

states have already

started trimming

government

expenditures in part

by introducing cuts

in energy subsidies

to alleviate the fi scal

burden, said National

Bank of Kuwait

Vietnam’s growth accelerates on foreign investment and export

HANOI: Vietnam’s economic growth quickened in the third quarter, buoyed by foreign invest-ments and exports growth that contrasts with the performance of many of its neighbours.

Gross domestic product rose 6.81 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to fi gures released by the Hanoi-based General Statistics Offi ce on Tuesday that complements other signs of an economic pickup.

That compares to a revised 6.47 per cent pace in the second quar-ter this year.

Vietnam typically releases growth estimates before the end of the quarter, weeks ahead of its peers, and the numbers are often revised later.

“Vietnam is the only country with strong export growth amid contracting exports among its regional peers,” according to a Australia & New Zealand Bank-ing Group research note earlier this week.

In a bid to safeguard exports and support government eff orts to boost economic growth to a four-year high of 6.2 per cent in 2015, the central bank weakened the dong’s reference rate in Au-gust for the third time this year, widening the currency’s trading band after China devalued the yuan. The country is also benefi t-ing from cheaper energy costs as disappearing infl ation aids do-mestic demand.

The faster growth numbers failed to lift Vietnam stocks, which joined Asian markets in a tumble on Tuesday with a selloff in commodity companies.

Vietnam stock marketThe benchmark VN Index dropped 0.7 per cent at the close. Vietnam’s stocks are poised to resume gains that have made the benchmark equity index Asia’s best performer this year, accord-ing to analysts in a survey.

In the nine months through September the economy grew 6.5 per cent, compared to the median estimate of 6.4 per cent in a sur-vey by Bloomberg News.

Vietnam is forecast to post the strongest economic growth this

year of six major Southeast Asian countries tracked by the Asian Development Bank in a recent report. The country’s growth is expected to accelerate through the second half, underpinned by rising private consumption, export-oriented manufacturing, and FDI, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

Infl ation dwindled to zero this month for the fi rst time ever. Low prices have spurred retail sales but may pose a risk if sustained, said Huynh The Du, lecturer at the Fulbright Economics Teach-ing Programme in Ho Chi Minh City. “It’ll become a challenge for economic expansion later if infl a-tion continues to stay at this slow pace.” - Bloomberg News

T H I R D Q U A R T E R

OIL PRICE: Fiscal defi cits are expected across the GCC as oil prices dropped below $50 per barrel.

This is well below the breakeven price of most GCC states. – Bloomberg News

GCC PETROL PRICES Saudi $0.16 per litre

Kuwait $0.23 per litre

Bahrain $0.27 per litre

Qatar at $0.27 per litre

Oman $0.31 per litre

UAE $0.47 per litre

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

LEADING ROLE: These achievements are an explicit and clear

refl ection of the leading role played by Haya Water in all its work

and projects. – Supplied picture

EXPORTS SURGE: In a bid to safeguard exports and support

government eff orts to boost economic growth to a four-year high

of 6.2 per cent in 2015, the central bank weakened the currency’s

reference rate in August. – Bloomberg News

B3W E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

MARKET

Saudi Arabia’s insurance premium set to rise 25%: S&P

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Saudi Arabia’s gross premiums this year will be about 25 per cent higher than that in 2014, largely because of price increases on the main in-surance lines — group medi-cal and motor, according to a report released by internation-al rating agency - Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.

Although performance varies considerably among Saudi Arabia’s 34 locally incorporated insurance companies, Standard & Poor’s considers that the general trend is a positive one, encompassing improving tariff s, increasing earn-ings, enhanced capitalisation, and growing total premium volumes.

Growing demand for insurance in the near term, combined with regulatory encouragement of high-ly prudential ‘actuarial pricing’ after the price war of 2012-2013, means that Saudi Arabia’s insur-ers are showing few signs of being aff ected by the fall in oil prices, the credit agency said in its report, which was released on Tuesday.

“Consequently, we consider that the strong growth in sector premiums is likely being driven by the demographics of an expanding population,” the report noted.

Saudi Arabia is the largest GCC economy.

I N S U R A N C E S E C T O R

Asian stocks plunge as China’s dismal growth hits corporates

HONG KONG: Resources fi rms led by mining giant Glencore headed a sell-off deep in Asian markets on Tuesday following painful losses across Europe and New York as fears about the im-pact of China’s slowing growth burst back into view.

The yen rallied and higher risk emerging market currencies took another hit ahead of key United States jobs data that could de-termine the United States Fed-eral Reserve’s decision on when to hike interest rates.

India’s rupee suff ered added selling pressure after the coun-try’s central bank cut interest rates again.

Trading fl oors around the plan-et have witnessed extreme volatil-ity since mid-August, when China devalued its yuan currency, fan-

ning fears about the state of the world’s number two economy and crucial driver of global growth.

Brazil and Australia“The slowdown in China is spreading to other Asian econo-mies, Brazil and Australia, and weakness in emerging countries could echo throughout the overall world economy,” Toshihiko Mat-suno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities, said.

“We still don’t know when mar-ket fears will end about China’s slowdown, and because of this investors are turning to cash and safe assets.” China’s growth has been slowing for several months and the economy is this year ex-pected to see its worst perfor-mance in a quarter of a century.

Last week already-weak con-fi dence was rattled by news that a gauge of factory activity in the country came in at its lowest level for six-and-a-half years.

On Monday, Beijing said its key industrial companies saw profi ts fall 8.8 per cent in August — hit by last month’s shock devalua-tion, weak demand and plunging

stocks. With China’s demand for resources waning and prices sit-ting at multi-year lows, commod-ities-linked fi rms took a hit.

The hardest hit was Glencore, which lost 28.5 per cent in the af-ternoon in Hong Kong. The losses followed a near 30 per cent plunge in its London-listed arm after on-line brokerage Investec warned about the impact of soft commod-ity prices on the group’s future.

“We know all their businesses including agricultural, energy, or mining, all are in trouble,” securi-ties analyst, Jackson Wong said.

“They are in a very tough situ-ation that how they are going to survive in the next few years with the slow economy in China, that’s the worry that investors have,” Wong, associate director at Sim-sen Financial Group, said.

Rush to safety Other resources fi rms also sank. In Sydney BHP Billiton plunged 6.65 per cent and Rio Tinto shed 4.57 per cent, while Origin Energy plunged 10.43 per cent and Santos gave up more than nine per cent.

In Tokyo, oil fi rm JX Holdings

lost 4.32 per cent and Kubota — which makes tractors and heavy equipment — fell 7 per cent. Industrial robot maker Fanuc, which has close links to China, was down 3.8 per cent.

The losses dragged all Asia’s bourses lower. Tokyo was down 4.05 per cent at close, while Syd-ney shed 3.8 per cent. Hong Kong

lost 3.32 per cent in late trade and Shanghai was 1.85 per cent lower. Wellington and Singapore both shed more than one per cent.

Markets in New York and Eu-rope were sideswiped. The Dow, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all saw hefty selling, while London, Frankfurt and Paris each lost more than two per cent. - AFP

Trading fl oors around

the planet have

witnessed extreme

volatility since mid-

August, when China

devalued its yuan

currency, fanning

fears about the state

of China’s economy

India cuts key interest rateMUMBAI: India’s central bank aggressively cut interest rates on Tuesday in a bid to kickstart eco-nomic growth, following a sharp drop in infl ation.

Such a move is designed to lower the barriers to borrowing and investing, providing a boost to consumers and the economy.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) surprised analysts by low-ering the benchmark repo rate — the level at which it lends to commercial banks — to 6.75 per cent from 7.25 per cent with im-mediate eff ect.

Economists had been expect-ing a cautious 25-basis-point cut and the 50-basis-point reduction was certain to please Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi’s business-friendly government. But the repo rate is still much higher than that in other major economies, with the United States and Japan on record lows of near zero per cent.

“In India, a tentative economic recovery is underway, but is still far from robust,” RBI governor Raghuram Rajan wrote in the bank’s monetary policy review.

“Investment is likely to respond more strongly (and boost domes-tic demand) if there is more cer-tainty about the extent of mone-tary stimulus in the pipeline, even if transmission is slow.

“Therefore, the Reserve Bank has front-loaded policy action by a reduction in the policy rate by 50 basis points,” he added. Tues-day’s announcement marked the fourth time this year that the RBI

has cut rates, raising to 125 the number of basis points that the bank has lopped off borrowing rates in 2015.

Under pressureRajan kept rates on hold last month and pressure had been growing on him to announce a further reduction as the Indian government seeks to quicken the pace of growth in Asia’s third-largest economy.

“It was surprise announce-ment, but timely. I don’t think the pressure from the government infl uenced Rajan,” Arun Singh, a senior economist at Dun & Brad-street, said.

Modi swept to power in May 2014 on a pledge to reform and re-vive the economy to help provide jobs for India’s tens of millions of young people.

After a promising start, India’s economic growth slowed to seven percent in the fi rst quarter of the current fi nancial year, matching China and outpacing most major economies, but down from 7.5 per cent in the previous quarter. -AFP

E C O N O M Y

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

DUABI: Saudi Arabian stocks led a drop across all Gulf equities following a global selloff , as the king-dom’s market reopened after a public holiday.

The Tadawul All Share Index, the benchmark gauge of Opec’s biggest oil producer, fell 1.8 per cent to 7,308.75 in Riyadh. Al Rajhi Bank led the retreat with a 2.2 per cent slide. Qatar’s QE Index lost 1.2 per cent, Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index retreated 1.1 per cent and Dubai’s DFM General Index slid 1 per cent.

“With global markets sell-ing off , regional markets are following suit,” Ramez Merhi, a Dubai-based director at Al Masah Capital., which manages $500 million, said. “Recent commodity market

weakness is taking its toll. With Glencore taking a big hit and our markets being signifi cantly linked to energy, investors are following suit in selling risk assets, reducing commodity exposure and raising cash.”

About $800 billion was wiped off global stocks on Monday as a selloff in com-modity and biotechnology companies widened. Glen-core, a commodity trader, saw its value slashed by about a third on Monday amid con-cern over its debt and waning demand for raw materials. Government budgets in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council rely on income from oil, the price of which has dropped by half in 12 months.

- Bloomberg News

Saudi Arabian bourse leads Gulf stocks fall after global selloff

Raghuram Rajan – Bloomberg News

B4

MARKETW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

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

OM0000001533 ............OMINVEST .................................................................... 2,326,043 ..1,163,022........................9 ........... 0.500 ...........0.500 ...........0.500........... 0.500 .............0.490 ............0.010 ............. 2.041 ................0.500..............0.480...................0.500 .................276,430,821 ........0.100

OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ..............52,550 .............13,400........................9 ........... 0.255 ........... 0.255 ...........0.255 ........... 0.255 .............0.253 ........... 0.002 ............. 0.791.................0.255 ..............0.255...................0.258.................... 5,355,000 ..........0.100

OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 306,600 ......... 231,810..................... 33 ............0.744 ........... 0.764 ...........0.744 ............0.756 ............. 0.752............ 0.004 ............. 0.532 ................0.764 .............. 0.752...................0.764 ..................492,113,838 ........0.100

OM0000004735 ...........SEMBCORP SALALAH ................................................ 43,133 ...........112,918......................15 ............2.610 ........... 2.630 ...........2.610 ........... 2.620 ............. 2.610.............0.010 ............. 0.383 ................2.630..............2.630...................2.650..................250,097,851 ........1.000

OM0000001087 ............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ............................... 391,000 ........... 89,928..................... 20 ........... 0.230 ...........0.230 ...........0.229........... 0.230 .............0.230 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.230..............0.225...................0.230 ..................23,000,000 ........0.100

OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS ............................................................. 11,000 ...............3,320........................3 ........... 0.302 ...........0.302 ...........0.300 .......... 0.302 .............0.302 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.300 ............ 0.300...................0.304 ..................15,100,000 .........0.100

OM0000001319 ............NATIONAL ALUMINIUM PRODUCTS ...............75,000 .............16,348........................6 ............0.216 ........... 0.218 ...........0.216 ........... 0.218 ............. 0.218............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.218 ..............0.212...................0.218 .....................7,318,576 ..........0.100

OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ....................................................... 43,020 ............ 49,473........................5 ............1.150 ........... 1.150............ 1.150 ............1.150 ............. 1.150 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................ 1.150 .............. 1.130................... 1.150 ................. 230,000,000 .......0.100

OM0000001509 ............DHOFAR INT.DEV.AND INV. HOLD. ........................... 112 .................... 44........................ 1 ........... 0.394 ........... 0.394 ...........0.394........... 0.394 .............0.394 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.394............. 0.400...................0.410 ................... 97,081,600 .........0.100

OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE .............. 129,000 ............21,156........................8 ............0.164 ........... 0.164 ...........0.164 ........... 0.164 ............. 0.164............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.164 .............. 0.162...................0.164 ...................32,800,000 ........0.100

OM0000001962 ............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ................................... 204,966 ........... 12,298........................7 ........... 0.060 ...........0.060 ...........0.060........... 0.060 .............0.060 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.060..............0.059...................0.060 ..................12,429,083 .........0.100

OM0000002168 ............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ................................ 50,000 .............16,560........................3 ........... 0.330 ........... 0.332 ...........0.330........... 0.332 .............0.332 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.332 ..............0.328...................0.332...................98,342,942 ........0.100

OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ........................63,885 ............... 5,770......................16 ........... 0.090 ...........0.094 ...........0.090........... 0.090 .............0.090 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.094..............0.090...................0.095....................2,700,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002374............UNITED FINANCE ...................................................... 50,000 ............... 6,759........................2 ............0.135 ........... 0.136 ...........0.135 ............0.135 ............. 0.135 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.136 ..............0.130...................0.136 ...................41,953,267 .........0.100

OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ..........................48,533 ............ 78,430......................13 ............1.615 ........... 1.620 ........... 1.610 ............1.615 ............. 1.615 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................ 1.610 .............. 1.610................... 1.615 ................ 1,211,250,000 ......0.100

OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY .......................................................2,046 .................. 839........................4 ............0.410 ........... 0.410 ...........0.410 ........... 0.410 ............. 0.410............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.410 ..............0.404...................0.430 ..................24,805,000 ........0.100

OM0000003711 ............SOHAR POWER ....................................................................530 ...................175........................ 1 ........... 0.330 ........... 0.330 ...........0.330........... 0.340 .............0.340 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.330..............0.330...................0.342 ..................75,143,400 .........0.100

OM0000004248 ...........SMN POWER HOLDING ............................................87,000 ............ 65,076........................4 ............0.748 ........... 0.748 ...........0.748 ............0.748 ............. 0.748............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.748 .............. 0.748...................0.760 ..................149,327,429 ........0.100

OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL ............................................. 607,167 .............52,112......................19 ........... 0.086 ........... 0.086 ...........0.085 ........... 0.086 .............0.086 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.086 ..............0.085...................0.086...................15,050,000 .........0.100

OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS ....................................................... 500 .................. 245........................2 ........... 0.490 ...........0.490 ...........0.490........... 0.490 .............0.490 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.490..............0.482...................0.490 ..................25,725,000 .........0.100

OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 568,444 .........295,987......................51 ........... 0.522 ........... 0.524 ...........0.520........... 0.520 .............0.522 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.383 ...............0.520..............0.520...................0.524 ................1,191,747,750 .......0.100

OM0000002226 ...........AL JAZEERA SERVICES .......................................... 132,067 ........... 53,299........................6 ........... 0.404 ...........0.404 ...........0.396 ........... 0.404 .............0.406 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.493 ...............0.396 ..............0.394...................0.396...................24,726,526 .........0.100

OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 462,612 ............74,173..................... 32 ............0.159 ........... 0.161 ............0.159 ........... 0.160 ............. 0.161 ............-0.001 ........... -0.621................0.160 .............. 0.159...................0.160 ................. 230,630,400 .......0.100

OM0000002275 ...........SHELL OMAN MARKETING ...................................44,935 ............ 89,870......................15 ........... 2.000 ...........2.000 ...........2.000 .......... 2.000 .............2.020 ...........-0.020 ........... -0.990 ...............2.000 ............ 0.000...................2.000 ................ 190,000,000 .......0.100

OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ......................... 379,812 .............36,778..................... 24 ........... 0.097 ........... 0.097 ...........0.096........... 0.097 .............0.098 ...........-0.001 ........... -1.020 ...............0.096 ..............0.096...................0.097.....................5,707,792 ..........0.100

OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 408,258 ............37,947..................... 23 ........... 0.093 ........... 0.093 ...........0.092........... 0.093 .............0.094 ...........-0.001 ........... -1.064 ...............0.092..............0.092...................0.094 ..................26,968,199 .........0.100

OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER .................................................... 9,803 ...............2,059........................2 ............0.210 ........... 0.210 ...........0.210 ........... 0.210 ............. 0.213............-0.003 ........... -1.408 ...............0.210 ..............0.210...................0.213 ..................141,726,360 ........0.100

OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 1,129,544 ...... 193,260..................... 70 ............0.172 ........... 0.172 ...........0.170 ............0.171 ............. 0.174 ............-0.003 ............-1.724 ................ 0.171 ...............0.171...................0.172 ...................25,662,825 .........0.100

OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN .................................................... 330,000 ........... 36,960..................... 10 ............0.112 ........... 0.112............ 0.112 ............0.112 ............. 0.114 ............-0.002 ............-1.754 ................ 0.112 ...............0.111................... 0.112 ................. 224,035,032 .......0.100

OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ..................................... 413,352 ........... 65,832......................21 ............0.160 ........... 0.160 ...........0.158 ............0.159 ............. 0.162............-0.003 ........... -1.852................0.159 .............. 0.158...................0.159 ................... 46,213,512 .........0.100

OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING ........... 126,000 ............12,495......................11 ........... 0.100 ........... 0.100 ...........0.099........... 0.099 ............. 0.101 ............-0.002 ........... -1.980 ...............0.099 ..............0.098...................0.100...................12,065,625 .........0.100

OM0000001707 ............OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY ......................................10,000 ............ 18,500........................ 1 ............1.850 ........... 1.850 ...........1.850 ............1.850 .............1.900 ...........-0.050 ........... -2.632 ...............1.850 ............. 0.000...................1.850 ..................165,945,000........0.100

OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 1,221,634 ...... 128,374..................... 75 ............0.107 ........... 0.107 ...........0.104 ........... 0.105 ............. 0.108 ...........-0.003 ........... -2.778 ...............0.105 .............. 0.105...................0.106 ....................9,450,000 ..........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 9,728,546 ...2,985,217................... 521 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......33........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000001400 ...........OMAN FLOUR MILLS .................................................36,000 ............. 17,580........................4 ........... 0.484 ........... 0.510 ...........0.484........... 0.488 .............0.484 ........... 0.004 ............. 0.826 ................0.510 ..............0.484...................0.510 ...................76,860,000 .........0.100

OM0000001855 ............MAJAN GLASS ................................................................. 1,000 .................. 210........................ 1 ............0.210 ........... 0.210 ...........0.210 ........... 0.220 .............0.220 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.210 .............. 0.198...................0.210 .................... 9,245,126 ..........0.100

OM0000004511 ............ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK.............................................. 118,000...............7,906........................2 ........... 0.067 ........... 0.067 ...........0.067 ........... 0.067 .............0.067 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.067 ..............0.066...................0.067...................67,000,000 .........0.100

OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 592,134 ........... 88,228..................... 49 ............0.149 ........... 0.149 ...........0.149 ........... 0.149 ............. 0.149............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.149 .............. 0.149...................0.150 .................. 217,927,618 ........0.100

OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ..................................................................72,700 ...............4,465......................11 ........... 0.062 ........... 0.062 ...........0.061 ........... 0.061 .............0.062 ...........-0.001 ............-1.613 ................0.061 .............. 0.061...................0.062 ..................91,500,000 .........0.100

OM0000001301 ............DHOFAR CATTLE FEED .......................................... 105,000 ........... 21,050........................2 ........... 0.205 ...........0.205 ...........0.200 .......... 0.200 .............0.205 ...........-0.005 ........... -2.439 ...............0.200 ............ 0.200...................0.208 ..................15,400,000 .........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 924,834 ......... 139,439..................... 69 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

BONDS MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000004628 ...........BANK SOHAR BONDS 4.5 ................................................725 .....................73........................ 1 ........... 0.100 ........... 0.100 ...........0.100 ........... 0.100 .............0.100 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.100 ..............0.100...................0.109 .................... 7,150,000 ..........0.100

OM0000005971 ............B.MUSCAT COMPL. CONVR. B.B.3.5 ........................6,791 ...................611........................2 ........... 0.090 ...........0.090 ...........0.090........... 0.090 .............0.094 ...........-0.004 ........... -4.255 ...............0.090..............0.090...................0.094 .................. 29,174,545 .........0.100

.............................................SUM: ....................................................................................... 7,516 .................. 684........................3 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 2........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

O M A N S T O C K S

INDICESIndex .................................................High .................Low ..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff %MSM30 Index ........................................ 5,775.57 ...............5,760.85 ....................5,760.85 ....................5,767.77 .................. -6.92 .................. -0.12Financial Index .................................... 6,900.25 ...............6,871.32 ................... 6,871.32 ...................6,883.57 ................-12.25 .................. -0.18Industrial Index ....................................7,347.84 ...............7,326.83 ................... 7,326.83 ................... 7,347.84 ................ -21.01 .................. -0.29Services Index .......................................3,228.17 ...............3,218.50 ...................3,220.88 ................... 3,228.17 .................. -7.29 .................. -0.23MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................905.98 ..................903.37 ...................... 903.37 ...................... 905.98 .................. -2.61 .................. -0.29

Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded10,660,896 ..................3,125,339 .....................593 ...............14,529,934,683 .................. 5 ......................16 ....................20 .........................41

Index ends on a flat note

MUSCAT: Shares on the Muscat Securities Market closed on a fl at note. The MSM30 Index ended at 5,760.85 points, down by 0.12 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index declined 0.29 per cent to close at 903.37 points.

Oman International Develop-ment and Investment Company (Ominvest) was the most active in terms of volume as well as turnover. Tuesday’s top gainer was Ominvest, up by 2.04 per cent, and Al Sharqia Investment, down by 2.78 per cent, was the top loser.

16 shares declineAs many as 593 trades were ex-ecuted during the trading ses-sion generating turnover of OMR3.1 million with over 10.6 million shares changing hands. Out of 41 traded securities, fi ve advanced, 16 declined and 20 re-mained unchanged.

GCC and Arab investors were net buyers for OMR241,000 while foreign investors were net sellers for OMR139,000 fol-lowed by Omani investors for OMR102,000 worth of shares.

Financial Index closed at

6,871.32 points, down by 0.18 per cent. Ominvest, up by 2.04 per cent, was the only sector gainer. Al Sharqia Investments, Oman & Emirates Holding, HSBC Bank, Al Anwar Holding and Bank Nizwa declined by 2.78 per cent, 1.98 per cent, 1.75 per cent, 1.72 per cent and 1.61 per cent respectively.

Industrial Index fallsIndustrial Index declined by 0.29 per cent to close at 7,326.83 points. Oman Flour Mills and Gulf International Chemicals in-creased by 0.83 per cent and 0.79 per cent, respectively. Oman Ca-bles, Dhofar Cattlefeed and Gal-far Engineering declined by 2.63 per cent, 2.44 per cent and 1.06 per cent, respectively.

Services Index closed nega-tively at 3,220.88 points, down by 0.23 per cent. Ooredoo and Sembcorp Salalah gained by 0.53 per cent and 0.38 per cent, respectively. Renaissance Ser-vices, Al Batinah Power, Shell Oman and Al Jazeera Services fell by 1.85 per cent, 1.41 per cent, 0.99 per cent and 0.49 per cent re-spectively. – United Securities

Tuesday’s top gainer was Ominvest, up by

2.04 per cent, and Al Sharqia Investment,

down by 2.78 per cent, was the top loser

‘Orpic margins have increased’

“What we have seen this year is an increase in margins, compared to last year. While the oil prices have dropped, the margins have increased. So most of the down-stream companies, especially in refi ning, have made more profi t this year than last year,” Orpic CEO further stated.

New jobs Al Mahruqi also noted that the company had not only not seen job cuts, but had rather added a number of jobs.

“We grew from about 1,800 employees last year to 2,400 em-ployees,” he said, adding, “If the projects go ahead, Liwa Plastics in particular, we will have 3,000 employees by year 2018.”

Liwa Plastics Industries Com-plex is one the three major pro-jects thatOrpic is implementing. The two other projects are the Sohar Refi nery Improvement Projectand the Muscat-Sohar Pipeline Project.

Commenting on the Liwa Plastics project, Al Mahruqi said, “We hope to sign a loan agree-ment, as well as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts by the end of the year.”

Sohar Refi nery expansionHe added that the Sohar Refi nery expansion project was progress-ing well and around 80 per cent of the project had been completed.

“We hope to commission the plant in the second half of next year,” Al Mahruqi added.

He also noted that Orpicwould aim to maximise the refi nery out-put for the remaining months of the year.

“In the previous year, we had several incidents that impacted the refi neries. We have avoided these incidents this year,” the of-fi cial said, adding, “We hope we do not achieve only 4 per cent, but maybe more than a 4 per cent increase this year.”

D O W N S T R E A M B U S I N E S S

Scope for

employment

creation

Al Mahruqi also commented on the company’s contribution to job creation in Oman, saying that a re-cent study had shown that the So-har Refi nery project had created over 27,000 jobs (direct, indirect and induced).

“This year, we are planning to start building the largest petro-chemical project in Oman, the Liwa Plastics Industries Complex, at an estimated cost of $5 billion, again creating thousands of direct, indirect and induced job opportu-nities,” Al Mahruqi said.

He also highlighted the fact that Oman has a young population, whose potential should be utilised and said that half of Orpic’s cur-rent employees are aged below 35 years. “In three years time, we will have around a third of our em-ployees aged below 30 years,” said the offi cial at Orpic, one of Oman’s largest companies and one of the most rapidly growing businesses in the Middle East’s oil industry," he further added.

S O H A R R E F I N E R Y P R O J E C T

< FROM

B1 < FROM

B1Indian bonds, stocks rally as interest rate cut erases lossesMUMBAI: India’s sovereign bonds rallied, pushing the 10-year yield to a two-year low, and stocks rose the most in a week after the nation’s central bank surprised investors with bigger-than-ex-pected cut in borrowing costs and eased curbs on foreign ownership of local debt.

The yield on government bonds due May 2025 slumped 11 basis points to 7.61 per cent, the low-est closing level for benchmark 10-year debt since July 2013. The rupee gained 0.1 per cent to 65.95 per dollar after weakening as much as 0.6 per cent. The 30- stock S&P BSE Sensex increased 0.6 per cent, erasing an intraday loss of 1.3 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its main repurchase rate by half a percentage point to 6.75 per cent. Most of the 52 economists surveyed by Bloomb-erg had predicted a quarter-point move, and just one made an ac-curate call. Governor Raghuram Rajan had faced growing pressure from the government to cut one of Asia’s highest borrowing costs as growth and consumer prices slowed amid the rout in global commodities.

“A 50-basis point cut was need-ed to kick start growth, and the decision refl ects the RBI’s view that infl ation will be under con-trol due to low global commodity prices,” Shishir Bajpai, a director at Mumbai-based IIFL Wealth Management, which has $12 bil-lion under management and ad-visory. He reaffi rmed the compa-ny’s bullish stance on companies tied to the economy.

Sensex erased losses soon after RBI’s decision at 11am local time but traded little changed for up to two hours as emerging-market stocks sank to a fi ve-week low

amid a selloff in commodity-trad-ing companies. Gains in US equi-ty futures, oil and copper later in the day helped the Sensex climb as much as 1.7 per cent.

Global funds have pulled a net $2.4 billion from Indian shares in this quarter, the highest since the period ended December 2008, as the turmoil sparked by Chi-na’s shock currency devaluation curbed demand for riskier assets. That’s put the benchmark Sensex on course for its biggest quarterly retreat in four years.

Seeking to stem capital out-fl ows and give overseas inves-tors greater access to Asia’s best-performing bonds, the RBI on Tuesday eased curbs on their purchases of debt. The cap will be raised in phases to fi ve per cent of outstanding stock by March 2018, and the move may attract Rs1.2 trillion ($18 billion) of fl ows, the authority said. Overseas funds have almost exhausted the previ-ous limit of $30 billion, National Securities Depository data show.

“The higher limits could result in infl ows of $5 billion in the next six months alone, and this will help reduce fears of the rupee depreciating in line with other emerging markets,” Mihir Vora, Mumbai-based chief investment offi cer at Max Life Insurance, which has $4.8 billion in assets, said by e-mail. The rupee will out-perform other emerging-markets currencies, he said.

The rupee has rebounded about four per cent from an unprec-edented 68.845 a dollar in August 2013, beating South Africa’s rand, Indonesia’s rupiah, Turkey’s lira and Brazil’s real. Morgan Stanley dubbed the currencies the “Frag-ile Five” that year 2013 for being the most at risk of capital fl ight.

Housing Development Finance Corp., the biggest mortgage lend-er, climbed to its highest since August 21. Maruti Suzuki India, the largest carmaker, rallied 3.2 per cent, taking this year’s gain to 41 per cent, the most on the Sensex after Lupin. — Bloomberg News

I N D I A N M A R K E T S

Muscat Securities Market. –Times fi le picture

LOOKING UP: Sensex erased losses soon after the central bank’s

decision on interest. But trading little changed for up to two hours

as emerging-market stocks sank to a fi ve-week low amid a selloff

in commodity-trading companies. - Bloomberg fi le picture

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JAC trucks on display

in Al Mawaleh market

MUSCAT: Towell Auto Centre (TAC) has displayed JAC Motors trucks in Mawaleh Central Fruits and Vegetable Market.

These trucks are generating a lot of interest among the veg-etables and fruits suppliers and sellers who are appreciating the transportation and storage facili-ties off ered in a JAC truck, says a press release.

Available in 3 tonne (2.7L) and 4 tonne (3.8L), JAC Motors light-duty trucks off er heavy duty performance and are reli-able, rigid, safe and suitable for various road conditions. They come with water tanks and re-frigerated storage which ensures a wide variety of food items can

be transported for long distanc-es without getting spoilt.

“JAC’s light-duty trucks are de-veloped over many years of R&D based on advanced European and Asian platform technolo-gies. Low oil consumption, low using cost, high performance, smart pricing, strong load capac-ity, solidity and durability – are some of the other strengths of JAC trucks,” commented a senior spokesperson of TAC

In Oman, TAC is the sole dis-tributor of JAC light-duty trucks. With a network of 11 showrooms, 13 service outlets and 10 parts outlets spread across Oman, TAC is one of the leading automobile distributors in the region.

H E A V Y D U T Y P E R F O R M A N C E

Hyundai’s campaign ‘A Message to Space’ wins accolade at Clio AwardsMUSCAT: Hyundai Motor’s pio-neering ‘A Message to Space’ cam-paign has won two bronze awards at the international Clio Awards in the Film Technique and Out of Home categories.

This latest success completes a triple awards crown for the inno-vative fi lm following other recent acknowledgement achieved at the Cannes Lions and New York Fes-tivals awards, says a press release.

Soon to reach 70 million views on YouTube, the ‘Message to Space’ video has been the centre of attention on social media around the world since its launch in April. The creative campaign tells the story of how Hyundai Motor sent a message from a 13-year-old girl to her astronaut father.

In the video, 11 Genesis cars write a huge message, covering about 5.55 km2, on the Delamar Dry Lake, Nevada — an image the girl’s father was able to capture from the International Space Station. In a unique extension to the concept, Hyundai Motor invited viewers to create their own virtual message to share with loved ones, an opportu-nity taken up by more than 85,000 people around the world.

The Genesis, Hyundai Motor’s premium sedan, which is featured in the fi lm is surprisingly well

suited to the terrain of the dry lake in Nevada thanks to its HTRAC all-wheel drive system – available at the push of a button. Customers who drive Genesis appreciate the model’s superior grip in all weath-er conditions, plus its fun-to-drive performance when the HTRAC system is activated.

On top of its Internet popularity, the video was aired more than 800 times on US national TV channels such as ABC, Fox TV, and NBC, as well as being covered by numerous high-profi le print and online me-dia including TIME, People and Forbes. The Clio Awards recogni-

tion follows four bronze honours at the Cannes Lions and New York Festival events – including the Third Prize Award in the ‘Film: Use of Medium’ category at the 2015 New York Festivals World’s Best Advertising awards.

‘New Thinking’Commenting on the latest ac-colade, which was recognised by Guinness World Records as cre-ating the largest tyre track image ever, Jin (James) Kim, vice presi-dent and head of Hyundai Motor Company operations in Africa and the Middle East, said: “The

Message to Space campaign ef-fectively communicated our com-pany’s ‘New Thinking’ through a number of impactful marketing platforms making its launch a tre-mendous success.”

The Clio Awards have been re-warding excellence in advertising, design and communication since the fi rst ceremony in 1960. Cat-egories are judged internationally, adding to Hyundai Motor’s world-wide acclaim for its ‘A Message to Space’ video, reaching viewers across the globe, and connecting with those further afi eld, too – like the astronaut in the story.

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

Bank Sohar extends support to Al Noor Association for BlindMUSCAT: Having already sup-ported the Dhofar and Nizwa branches of the Al Noor Asso-ciation for the Blind, Bank Sohar has now extended its support to the Muscat branch; marking its third contribution to the associa-tion this year. This latest dona-tion will contribute towards the purchase of iPhones to be used by the association’s benefi ciar-ies through the phone’s built in ‘VoiceOver’ feature.

The donation cheque was handed over at the association’s head offi ce to Rashid Suleiman Al Farsi, chairman of the Al Noor Association for the Blind, by Mazin Mahmood Al Raisi, senior AGM - Marketing and Customer Experience at Bank Sohar.

Speaking on the rationale be-hind this donation, Munira Ab-dulnabi Macki, GM of Human Resource and Corporate Sup-port, Bank Sohar, commented: “Modern technology has come a long way in facilitating the needs of the visually impaired, enabling them to use a phone and its applications to enhance their communication and mobility. ‘VoiceOver’ is one such feature of the iPhone that makes the device easier to operate for people with low vision capabilities; reading out to them what’s displayed on the screen including buttons, icons, links, and other interface elements. With the voice over, benefi ciaries can use the smart device more eff ectively as well as use it to navigate.

"We are glad to be in a position to donate funds for these devices to members of the Al Noor Asso-ciation; I am confi dent they will be of great help to them in all as-pects of their lives.”

Thanking Bank Sohar for its support, Rashid Suleiman Al Farsi said: “What makes us proud at the Al Noor Association is the fact that, together with the support of organisations such as Bank Sohar, we can make last-ing positive changes in people’s lives. We can genuinely help

people with vision impairments and give them tools to make their journey towards a normal life a little easier.”

Bank Sohar strives to ensure that its contributions are care-fully planned and evaluated in order to diversify and reach out to the maximum number of people, especially those in most need of it, off ering recipi-ents positive support to make a meaningful change. In addition to the Muscat, Dhofar and Nizwa branches of the Al Noor Associa-tion for the Blind, Bank Sohar has also supported several other organisations and their activi-ties in the current year including Omani Society for the Hearing Impaired, Al Amal Association, Dar Al Atta’a, Al Wafa Centre for Rehabilitation Children with Disabilities, etc.

S O C I A L R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y

Mercedes inks pact with Ghantoot GroupMUSCAT: Zawawi Trading Com-pany (ZTC) Automotive, the au-thorised general distributor for Mercedes-Benz in Oman, signed an agreement with Ghantoot Transport and General Contract-ing (Ghantoot Group) to supply a large fl eet of Mercedes-Benz Actros tractor units and tipper chassis. The high-profi le deal is fully supported by ZTC’s recent network expansions and includes a training and after sales pro-gramme, says a press release.

“Mercedes-Benz has been a pio-neer in truck technology for over 50 years, and the Actros has been designed to rise to the challenge of every task. It thoroughly deserves its reputation as the pinnacle of the Middle East covering the con-struction and transportation seg-ment, unrivalled by any vehicle in its class,” said Daniel Fitzjohn, general manager, Commercial Ve-hicles, Mercedes-Benz Oman.

“This agreement will serve as the foundation of a long-term partner-ship with Ghatoot Transport and General Contracting, and we are confi dent the Actros will set new benchmarks while supporting their local developmental projects.”

Abdul Qader Alawi, local repre-sentative of Ghantoot Transport and General Contracting, com-mented: “We are delighted to add the Actros trucks to our fl eet of vehicles as we move forward with

our projects in Oman. Among the many factors that persuaded us to make this agreement were the reli-ability, safety, and exceptional per-formance of the vehicles alongside ZTC’s reputation as a fi rst-class partner of choice.

"This move will help cement our position in the Sultanate and build long lasting ties with ZTC that will remain mutually benefi cial in the years to come.”

Ghantoot Group is already op-erating a huge fl eet of Mercedes-Benz vehicles in their UAE and Qatar operations, which includes Actros Tractors and tippers.

With over 760,000 award-winning trucks sold, the Mer-

cedes-Benz Actros off ers drivers maximum comfort and reliability, combining cutting-edge technol-ogy with fi ve decades of truck ex-pertise and technical know-how. A proud bearer of the star, the Actros is equipped with V6 and V8 en-gines to yield top performance and generate the required power for the most diffi cult terrain and tem-peratures. With an ergonomically designed workplace and plenty of space to move around, it sets new standards in functionality, safety, comfort and equipment.

Even in rough driving condi-tions, the practical features, such as the Brake Assist function, the enhanced instrument cluster, and

the luxury bed in the lower sleep-ing area, help drivers feel at ease. Moreover, the Actros is world re-nowned for being the most envi-ronmentally-friendly vehicle in its class, having successfully demon-strated its landmark fuel effi ciency across fi ve continents and in the harshest settings.

The fl eet of vehicles is set to be delivered in September - October 2015 and will provide essential support for Ghantoot Trans-port and General Contracting as the company embarks on a se-ries of new contracts in the Sul-tanate, including the first phase of the Adam-Thumrait Road Dualisation Project.

H I G H P R O F I L E D E A L

We are glad to be

in a position to

donate funds for

these devices to

members of the Al

Noor Association; I am

confident they will be

of great help to them

in all aspects of

their lives

Munira MackiGM of Human Resource

Al Hashar Electronics opens new showroom

MUSCAT: Leading retail chain Al Hashar Electronics has opened its fl agship household appliances and electronics showroom at Oman Avenues Mall as part of its refor-mulated retail strategy. Al Hashar Electronics is Oman’s prestigious household appliances, electronics and storage solutions distributor.

The swanky showroom, spread over 180sq. m, boasts an attractive product line-up sourced from the world’s best brands in the kitchen and cooling solutions segments along with other consumer elec-tronic appliances. The showroom was inaugurated by Sheikh Al Mu-hannad Al Hashar, chairman, Al Hashar Group, in the presence of senior management and staff , says

a press release.“Al Hashar Electronics’ pres-

ence in one of the largest and fi n-est shopping malls of the Sultanate heralds our new approach to better connect with niche segments. This state-of-the-art showroom is sure to present our esteemed customers with a never-before buying experi-ence,” said Sultan Al Kharusi, MD, Al Hashar Group.

“Al Hashar is committed to bringing in the best of interna-tional brands that are innovative as well as segment-leading. In line with this core principle, Al Hashar

Electronics showroom takes pride in introducing for the fi rst time in the Sultanate premier Italian modular kitchen brands Diemme-Cuicine and Composit, and also sinks and mixers from yet another Italian super brand Foster.

“These are sure to generate lots of excitement in the consumer electronics market here,” said Ra-jeev Sharma, general manager, Al Hashar Electronics.

“Our endeavour is to off er our esteemed customers 360-de-gree solutions across consumer electronics verticals, especially

kitchen and cooling products. With the opening of Al Hashar Electronics’ premier store in Av-enues Mall, the capital city has now three Al Hashar Electronics stores serving customers across income segments. We have an ab-solutely fantastic product mix. Our kitchen section off ers value-added products from global super brands such as Ariston from Italy and Rin-nai from Japan. We have them all including cookers, dish washers and appliances such as hobs, ovens, hoods, and refrigerators as well as commercial kitchen equipment. We also off er built-in and free-standing kitchen units from major Italian brands.

“In the cooling section, we have an exciting range of top-notch split air-conditioners, packaged units, ducted split units and VRF systems from one of the world’s leading companies Mitsubishi Electric from Japan; and split air-conditioners from India’s leading brand Onida. Customers can also choose from a wide selection of televisions, refrigerators and other products of Daytek by top Korean brand Daewoo and the Swedish brand Finlux,” he added.

The swanky

showroom, spread

over 180sq. m, is at the

Oman Avenues Mall

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Hyundai celebrates its major milestone in ME

MUSCAT: Hyundai Motor Com-pany is this month celebrating the sale of its three millionth vehicle in the Middle East, 39 years after it began operations in the region.

This month offi cials gathered at the Ulsan Plantin Korea to mark the occasion and to thank customers, the company is off ering a new fi ve year/100,000km warranty across all models, says a press release.

Now fi rmly established as the second biggest automotive manu-

facturer across the region, Hyun-dai arrived in the Middle East in 1976. Almost four decades on, the brand has enjoyed success right across the region.

And now customers pur-chasing Hyundai models can take advantage of a new fi ve years/100,000km warranty pack-age, making the decision to pur-chase a Hyundai even easier.

In terms of bestselling markets, Saudi Arabia has taken pole posi-tion for Hyundai, benefi ting from the brand’s approach of working with three diff erent distributor partners across the Kingdom.

This was followed by Jordan which is one of the Middle East’s leading markets in terms of sales volume. Not far behind are the UAE and Oman which also prove to be important markets for the manufacturer.

Highlighting the popularity of the brand’s diverse product off er-ing, Hyundai can point to a com-pact car, a mid-size sedan and a compact SUV as its best-sellers across the decades. Having sold

over 667,000 units to date, the Elantra is by far the company’s most popular Middle East model. The Sonata, which saw its sev-enth generation version launched in the region just last year, has re-corded sales of over 321,000, while the Tucson took the honours in third place with sales exceeding 242,000 units.

Testament to strengthCommenting on this milestone, Jin (James) Kim, vice-president and head of Hyundai Africa and Middle East, said: “Meeting the three million vehicle mark is testa-ment to the strength of our brand, and the quality and value off ered across our wide model range. By purchasing our vehicles in ever increasing numbers, nothing high-lights more powerfully the confi -dence that our customers have in us and our products.”

“This success is also down to the continued support of our distribu-tor partners, who have invested in developing unrivalled facilities and unrivalled customer service

off erings and this new warranty is the perfect example of the type of unbeatable off ers which are avail-able in the region,” Kim continued.

Established in 1967 in Korea, Hyundai Motor Company began operations in the Middle East just nine years later, since then it has gone from strength to strength.

Key milestones include the manufacturer reaching the cu-mulative one million sales mark in the region in 2005 and the two million sales mark in 2012. It also broke the 300,000 barrier for an-nual sales for the fi rst time in the same year, something it went on to repeat in 2013 and 2014.

In the fi rst half of 2015 alone the Korean brand has sold 168,878 vehicles in the region, represent-ing a strong year-on-year increase in sales. With several key model launches coming out later this year, including the All-New Tuc-son, the All-New Sonata Hybrid and the Creta, a completely new compact SUV, the manufacturer is well set to continue the success of the past 39 years.

To thank customers,

the company is

off ering a new fi ve

year/100,000km

warranty across all

models

Course on supply chain management to be held on Oct. 12MUSCAT: Al Osool Al Arabia, leading name in corporate busi-ness solutions and training, is organising for the fi rst time in Oman, the much awaited sup-ply chain management training course in association with In-stitute for Supply Management (ISM - India), an affi liate of ISM - USA. This exclusive course titled ‘Transform Yourself ’ will be con-ducted by Krishan K. Batra, pres-ident and CEO of ISM - India on October 12 and 13 at Haff a House, Muscat, says a press release.

The challenges Positioning yourself as a

strategic innovator in supply chain management with this novel training programme. You will be eligible to manage

the global supply chain com-plexity and risks. Focusing yourself in making your

supply chain risk-resistant, brand or reputation risks, busi-ness continuity risks, fi nancial risks, operational risks, legal risks and technical risks.

ObjectivesThe training course objectives are to develop, implement and manage a risk profi le and strate-gies in accordance with existing contracts, applicable laws, regu-lations and organisational policy.

Develop and implement a risk management and/or claims man-agement program (for example, copyright violation, patent in-fringement, harassment). Imple-ment supply management pro-cesses in consideration of legal issues. Develop/implement/main-tain a database/physical fi ling sys-tem of relevant information.

Verify the existence, accuracy and completeness of relevant fi -nancial transactions and commit-ments to third parties. Assess risk from end of life cycle issues in the market place and establish proper risk mitigation contingency plans for all components in the product. Manage and control the storage/disposal of hazardous/regulated materials and related documenta-

tion. Comply with programs that prevent and respond to discrimi-nation or harassment.

Training methodology“The training sessions will be as workshop styled and feedback, questions and assessments will be used to gauge progress and ensure understanding. Par-ticipants will be challenged to explore the concepts in detail and consider how they relate to their own supply chain en-vironments. The training pro-grammes are designed to pro-vide participants with an active and relevant learning experience. The resources and methodolo-gies include a blend of lecture, interactive groups and discus-sions, webinars etc. The training programmes are very interac-tive. They are case studies based along with Q&A at the end of each session. This challenges the participants to use disciplinary knowledge and team participa-tion skills,” according to Jose Chacko, CEO, Al Osool Al Arabia.

The trainerKrishan K. Batra, is president and CEO of ISM India. An innovative and dynamic supply chain man-agement professional with 40 years of leadership experience of transforming procurement and supply chain activities across pri-vate sector, public sector and UN organisations. He has a proven track to professionalise procure-ment function and instrumental in developing UNSPSC coding system. He is also a “Hind Ratna” award holder and has written many articles covering various aspects of Procurement and SCM.

K N O W L E D G E

Renna Mobile promo off ers surprises from McDonald’sMUSCAT: Renna Mobile (Majan Telecommunication), Oman and the Middle East’s fi rst mobile re-seller, has launched yet another exciting off er for their customers.

Renna Mobile customers will win an instant free meal from Mc-Donalds off ered by Renna Mobile during their ongoing promotion until October 20.

When customers recharge with OMR3 or OMR5, they will be eligible to claim a free Mc-Donald’s burger and a cold drink. When customers recharge with OMR7 or OMR10, they will be el-igible to claim a free McDonald’s burger, fries and a cold drink, says a press release.

Customers need to show the SMS that they receive after a re-charge is done (the SMS has to

have a mention of the off er as well) along with the recharge card at any of the McDonald’s outlet to claim their free meal.

Raed Haddadin, CEO, Renna Mobile said, “We continue the journey of bringing value to our customers. And this time, we are happy to celebrate Eid with this tie-up with McDonald’s.

“This current off er from Ren-na will help create excitement amongst our customers. We want our customers to enjoy our ser-vices as well as benefi t from our innovative campaigns.”

It is worth mentioning that Renna mobile recharge cards and services are easily accessible by means of shopping outlets and sev-eral other locations across Oman. Customers can also recharge on-

line, by signing up and logging in to Renna Mobile website and get 10% off their recharge.

Renna Mobile also off ers Oman’s most valuable data bun-dles with the best price/data ratio and international calling off ers among all the mobile service pro-viders in Oman.

The quality of the services pro-vided by Renna mobile is credited with a strong and reliable network accessible from almost all parts of the region.

With the aim to become the most cost-effi cient mobile service provider in Oman, Renna Mobile provides fantastic prices and bril-liant customer service coupled with superb network coverage, of-fered through Omantel’s superior telecom network all across Oman.

V A L U E A D D I T I O N

Free heart tests at Al Hayat Hospital till October 29

MUSCAT: Al Hayat Internation-al Hospital, Ghubra is celebrat-ing World Heart Day in a unique manner by observing an entire month of activities dedicated to heart health from yesterday.

Aimed at reducing cardiovas-cular risk in the Sultanate, the various activities planned include free screening of blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and body mass index, for people above the age of 40. There will also be free group cardiology and diabetology consultation for those with high BP, cholesterol and sugar level along with free diet counselling during the period.

Headed by Dr K. P. Raman, chairman of Al Hayat and senior consultant cardiologist of Oman, the excellent cardiac team of Al Hayat International Hospi-tal comprises Dr Mohammed H Al Deeb, president of the Oman Heart Association and an expert in angiogram and angioplasty, Dr Najib Al Rawahi, a Canadian board certifi ed cardiologist spe-cialising in electrophysiology and

life-saving procedures, including ICD/CRT implantation, Dr Ab-dullah Al Farqani, an Australian board certifi ed paediatric cardi-ologist who extends the highest quality of cardiac care to children and newborn, Dr Tarek Al Dairi, an expert in CCU management and treatment of acute heart at-tack and Dr Satish, An expert in cardiology.

The excellent cardiology de-partment of Al Hayat, staff ed by six experienced cardiologists, off ers facilities such as 24 hours open chest pain clinic, CATH-LAB, CCU, Treadmill, Holter, ABPM, Stress Echo, Trans-es-ophageal Echo, Non-invasive CT Coronary Angio, Pacemaker Implantation and ICD/CRT Im-plantation. The advanced Cardiac Catheter Laboratory (Cath Lab) is now open. Hayat’s interventional cardiologist performs angio-grams and angioplasty and stent insertion for patients with blocks in heart arteries.

Dr Raman, said, “World Heart Day is observed globally on Sep-

tember 29 to educate people about cardiovascular diseases, a leading cause of death worldwide. Inci-dence of heart disease in Oman has been increasing at around 10 per cent every year, while the age of the aff ected is alarmingly get-ting lower and lower. Through this programme, we hope to not only raise awareness about car-diovascular diseases but also pro-mote a heart-healthy Oman.”

The free tests can be availed be-tween 2pm and 5pm, Saturday to Wednesday. Health talks will also be held during the period.

For World Heart Day Al Hayat International Hospital is off ering:

1) Free basic cardiac health screening

2) Special cardiac health check package is off ered at 65% discount (ECG, screening ECHO, lipid pro-fi le, thread mill test (TMT), blood sugar fasting, creatinine, cardiol-ogy consultation)

3) CT coronary angiogram is of-fered at 50% discount

All the above mentioned off ers will be valid till October 29.

W O R L D H E A R T D A Y

ISD celebrates ‘Hindi Divas’MUSCAT: Hindi Divas was cel-ebrated by the primary section of Indian School Darsait (ISD) by the Hindi department recently to mark the signifi cance of India’s of-fi cial language, Hindi, that took its shape and form on September 14, 1949, when it was adopted by the Constituent assembly.

The day was celebrated with great pomp and grandeur that paved the way for the little ones to rekindle their love for their ‘Na-tional Language’.

The students showcased an en-tertainment programme which included speech, action songs, group song, Meera bai bhajan, skit, Antakshari, and tongue twisters that added colour and vigour to the programme, says a press release.

Leena Francis (vice princi-pal, Primary Section) recited the Kabir Das’ Dohey and urged the students to be punctual in their work. Principal, Dr Sridevi

P. Thashnath, in her speech ex-pressed her happiness at the well conducted programme and ap-preciated the sincere eff orts of the teachers.

She announced that the high-light of the day was the Gurukula, where the students depicted the

ancient ‘Guru-Shishya relation and how the students tried to satisfy their ‘Guru’ by doing their best.

The Principal also exhorted the students to learn the language and speak well in Hindi since it is their Rashtra Bhasha.

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QUOTES

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— Steve Jobs

Hire people who are

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people who will aim for

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Bank Muscat to off er exciting cash prizes on debit card promoMUSCAT: In line with its ‘Let’s Do More’ vision and commit-ment to partnership in enhanc-ing the banking experience, Bank Muscat has launched an exciting promotion off ering at-tractive cash prizes for its debit cardholders.

The promotion, which rewards Bank Muscat customers with the attractive value proposition of cash prizes, begins on October 1 and runs for 3 months till Decem-ber 31, says a press release.

The exclusive debit card pro-motion is yet another value ad-dition launched as part of the bank’s year-long activities lined up to reward customers in cel-ebration of the Sultanate’s 45 years of Renaissance under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Refl ecting the 45th Renais-sance anniversary theme, 45 Bank Muscat cardholders will win cash prizes of OMR100 each every month during the 3-month promotion period. In all, three monthly draws will be held re-warding a total of 135 customers.

All Bank Muscat debit card-holders are eligible to partici-pate in the promotion. All that they need to do is use their debit

cards to settle payments across merchant outlets in Oman or abroad as well as online transac-tions. Each PoS transaction using Bank Muscat debit card is valid and a minimum of fi ve transac-tions a month entitle customers for a chance to enter the monthly draw. The more the debit card transactions, the more the chanc-es to participate in the draw.

“Bank Muscat is delighted to launch yet another promo-tion off ering an attractive value proposition for customers. Time and again, Bank Muscat takes the lead in launching novel cam-paigns and promotions that con-tinuously enhance value as well as create unique opportunities that enrich life for customers,“ said Tariq Atiq, AGM – Cards and eBanking.

“Bank Muscat cards, which spell convenience and security, are the preferred mode of pay-ment in Oman. The wide range of Bank Muscat cards provide a secure option to pay for a host of transactions across millions of merchant outlets in Oman and abroad. The campaign reiterates the bank’s commitment to pro-moting secure card payment in Oman,” he added.

V A L U E D E A L

Malabar Gold ‘Diamond Show’ starts tomorrow

MUSCAT: Malabar Gold and Diamonds launched an exclu-sive diamond show and sale at Oman Avenues Mall, Bausher from tomorrow till October 10.

‘Diamond Show’, provides a great opportunity to witness the rarest and fi nest collection of handpicked diamond jewellery designs from the Malabar Gold & Diamonds, off ering the jewellery lovers a diff erent kind of experi-ence, a visual treat for the con-

noisseurs of fi ne art. The jewel-lery chain showcases over 2,000 jewellery designs worth OMR2 million from diff erent countries, says a press release.

To mark the celebrations, Mal-abar Gold and Diamonds is show-casing a vast variety of diamonds jewellery and solitaires at chal-lenging prices seen never before in the market. The jeweller off ers IGI Certifi ed Diamonds off ered at best prices along with free life-

time maintenance. The jeweller also ensures the cash buy back guarantee for the diamonds sold.

“This is truly an exclusive op-portunity for Diamond lovers, off ering exquisite brands and immense collection of Diamond Jewellery at the most competitive prices. Customers can utilise this rare opportunity to own a diamond jewellery at never before prices,” said Najeeb K., regional head, Ma-labar Gold & Diamonds, Oman.

E X C L U S I V E S A L E

Mitsubishi Lancer EX available at great price

MUSCAT: General Automotive Company, offi cial distributor of Mitsubishi vehicles in Oman, is now providing its customers an exciting opportunity to own their very own performance packed Mitsubishi Lancer EX 2.0 at an unbeatable price, starting from just OMR5,850.

Even at this price point, cus-tomers will still enjoy the peace-of-mind motoring thanks to a six-year unlimited mileage war-ranty and roadside assistance, says a press release.

Commenting on the lowered price, Rajesh Sharma, national marketing manager of General Automotive Company, said: “The Lancer EX is truly a car with a great personality and performance and with the price of the stylish yet practical saloon. Derived from

the world of rallying, the Lancer EX, even in its most docile ‘GLS 2.0’ guise, off ers drivers an unpar-alleled driving experience in its class, thanks to its performance oriented 2.0L MIVEC power plant. And it does so while still off ering class-leading space and modern luxury appointments.

"With the starting price of the Lancer EX 2.0 standing at just OMR5,850, our customers can now enjoy the performance bene-fi ts of Mitsubishi’s renowned 2.0L

engine at the same price point as that of the former Lancer EX 1.6!”

Aside from the entry-level family-oriented GLS 2.0, the Lancer EX is also available in two other fl avours — the balanced GLX 2.0 and the sporty GT which have also retroactively had their prices reduced.

The GLX 2.0 ups the ante with an ergonomic design, Mitsubishi’s renowned INVECS-II four-speed automatic transmission and a roomier interior.

Stunning looksHowever, for the performance fo-cused driver, the Lancer EX GT 2.0 is the ultimate driving machine of the range, boasting stunning looks and aggressive styling with aero-dynamic lines.

Add-in a racing inspired pad-dle shift gear changer to shift into overdrive, a Rockford Fosgate pre-mium sound system and a cockpit full of gadgets and features ensures that every drive of the EX GT 2.0 is a truly memorable experience.

In addition to the lowered price, all Lancer EX models come complete with free registration, six-year unlimited mileage war-ranty, six-year roadside assis-tance and a three-year 50,000km free service package.

In addition to the

lowered price, all

Lancer EX models

come complete with

free registration,

six-year unlimited

mileage warranty,

six-year roadside

assistance and a

three-year 50,000km

free service package

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

SPOR SY O U R G A M E

SECTIONC W E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5 INSIDE LIFESTYLE

TAKING IT TO THE EXTREME

>C9

Malmo take on mighty Madrid

STOCKHOLM: When Swedish champions Malmo take on mighty Real Madrid on Wednesday they do so knowing they would prob-ably have to sell their entire squad just to be able to aff ord a sin-gle player from the bench of the Spanish giants.

Valued at around 20 million eu-ros in total on the Transfer Market website (www.transfermarkt.cm), the modest Malmo squad consists of home-produced players and low-budget signings brought in by sport-ing director Daniel Andersson.

Malmo do have some pedigree in Europe having reached the 1979 European Cup fi nal where they lost to Nottingham Forest.

Since then, however, the gulf between Europe’s big leagues has grown so wide that it is almost im-possible for a club of Malmo’s lim-ited means to survive beyond the group phase.

Yet, there will be no sense of inferiority on Wednesday as the 18-times Swedish champions wel-come Rafa Benitez’s side to the 24,000-capacity Swedbank Sta-dion -- even if their ambition is to fi nish third in Group A and con-tinue in the Europa League.

“No matter who they put in, it will be a world-famous star,” cap-tain Markus Rosenberg told re-porters of the prospect of meeting the 10-times European champions.

“Nobody is counting on us to take points, but when we play of-fensively and get the crowd behind us, anything can happen.”

Madrid put down an early Champions League marker with a 4-0 thrashing of Shakhtar Donetsk, following on from 5-0 and 6-0 La Liga wins against Real Betis and Espanyol respectively, but the goal fl ow has dried up as they arrive in southern Sweden.

They managed only three goals

in narrow victories over Granada and Athletic Bilbao while a score-less draw with Malaga on Saturday cost them top spot.

“These things happen in foot-ball,” Benitez said after the stale-mate. “We need to keep work-ing, create chances and be more accurate”.

Malmo will have to fi nd a way to shackle Cristiano Ronaldo who scored a hat-trick against Donetsk to become the all-time highest

scorer in the Champions League with 80 goals.

The Portuguese has another chance to overtake Raul as Re-al’s all-time leading marksman on Wednesday.

Former Spain striker Raul, now with New York Cosmos, net-ted 323 goals in 741 appearances, while Ronaldo has a jaw-dropping 321 in just 307 matches.

Malmo goalkeeper Johan Wiland, who kept Lionel Messi

out when he played for FC Copen-hagen against Barcelona in the Champions League in 2010, will be doing all he can to stop Ronaldo breaking that record.

Asked by newspaper Kvallspos-ten if Ronaldo was over-valued compared to his Malmo team mates, Wiland laughed said: “I’m not going to stand here and say that today, if I do they’ll smash in four on Wednesday,” the 34-year-old said. - Reuters

Swedish champions

Malmo will have to

fi nd a way to shackle

Cristiano Ronaldo

who scored a hat-

trick against Donetsk

to become the all-

time highest scorer

in the Champions

League with 80 goals

EYEING AN UPSET: Malmo players take part in a training session at Swedbank Stadion on the eve of EFA Champions League Group A football match against Real Madrid. – AFP

United banking on ‘Martial’ arts for European goalsLONDON: Manchester United will bank on the dazzling form of Anthony Martial in Wednesday’s Champions League game against VfL Wolfsburg as Louis van Gaal’s men look to bounce back from their opening defeat in Group B.

The 19-year-old Frenchman, initially seen as a panic buy on the last day of the transfer window this month, has been a revelation, netting four times since leaving Monaco to help United top the Pre-mier League for the fi rst time in two years.

The Old Traff ord club lost their fi rst Champions League match 2-1 to PSV Eindhoven in a game overshadowed by the broken leg suff ered by Luke Shaw but have since won 3-2 at Southampton and beaten Sunderland 3-0.

Wayne Rooney scored his fi rst league goal of the campaign against Sunderland and with Mar-tial providing pace and composure up front, Van Gaal’s attacking wor-ries are receding.

“He (Martial) is very direct, he is willing to take on players and he is willing to take on that risk,” said United defender Chris Smalling.

“I think, in the fi nal third, it is an area where you can take that risk because you can’t take it at the back. He looks a very sharp player.”

Goalkeeper David de Gea has also been in fi ne form after sign-ing a new contract while Small-ing and Daley Blind have formed a solid central defensive pairing and Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger have added expe-

rience and craft to the midfi eld.“We have improved,” Small-

ing said. “Last season’s start was disastrous and it didn’t give us a foothold to be able to challenge for anything.

“We know we have improved in this section of the season and we now have to improve in each other section compared to last season and aim a lot higher.”

Wounded Wolfsburg, who drew 1-1 with Hanover 96 on Saturday

after being crushed 5-1 by Bayern Munich last week, are likely to be without midfi elders Luiz Gustavo and Vieirinha.

Brazil international Luiz Gus-tavo was taken off midway through their demolition at Bayern with a knee injury and coach Dieter Heck-ing says his chances of playing in Manchester “don’t look good”.

Portuguese Vieirinha has re-turned to training after a three-week break caused by a thigh in-

jury but the game at Old Traff ord could come too soon for him.

The Wolves, who won their opener against CSKA Moscow, are looking to take control of the group.

“We have worked very hard to get here and experience games like the one at Manchester United,” said captain Diego Benaglio.

“So we want to look really good there and we are certainly not going to England just to look at the sta-dium.” - Reuters

C H A M P I O N S L E A G U E

WARMING UP: Manchester United’s players take part in a raining session at their Carrington training

complex in Manchester ahead of their Champions League Group B match against VfL Wolfsburg. – AFP

LONDON: Arsenal mid-fi elder Mesut Ozil believes English teams were unlucky in the Champions League last season and is expecting a much stronger showing this time round.

Chelsea and Arsenal were knocked out on the away goals rule while Manchester City lost to eventual champi-ons Barcelona in the last 16 and Liverpool failed to make it past the group stages.

A repeat of last season’s performances in Europe from English and Italian clubs would see the Premier League lose its fourth Cham-pions League qualifying spot to Serie A in 2017-18.

“I think there was a lot of misfortune last year,” Ozil told the club’s website (www.arsenal.com) ahead of Tues-day’s Group F tie with Greek national champions Olympia-kos Piraeus. “When you look at the English teams you see they are strong...they have a lot of players in their ranks who have a lot of quality.

“In the knockout rounds

sometimes one goal or the away goals ruling can decide ties, like with us against Mo-naco,” added Germany’s 2014 World Cup winner Ozil.

“We had some bad luck and as a team you need more fortune. I think it will be dif-ferent this year, the English sides are well equipped and will go far.”

England’s teams have also made a poor start this season with Chelsea the only side to win their opening Champions League game. No English side has reached the semifi -nals since Chelsea lifted the trophy in 2012.

Ozil said Arsenal’s 2-1 Champions League defeat by Dinamo Zagreb had prompt-ed a reaction from the squad.

“Defeats always rouse the team more and our aim this season is to go as far as pos-sible and, if possible, to win it because we have the poten-tial,” said the 26-year-old.

“Anything is possible and that’s what we want to show this year. With a bit of luck we can reach our target.” - Reuters

English teams will do better in Champions League: Ozil

BERLIN: Manchester City al-ready have their backs to the wall when they travel to Borussia Moe-nchengladbach on Wednesday, with injuries piling up and a losing start to the competition threat-ening to derail their Champions League campaign.

After starting the English Pre-mier League season with fi ve consecutive wins, a jolting home defeat by Juventus in their Cham-pions League opener was fol-lowed by consecutive beatings by West Ham United and Tottenham

Hotspur. Saturday’s 4-1 defeat by Tottenham also saw midfi eld powerhouse Yaya Toure suff er a hamstring injury, while keeper Joe Hart missed that game with an injury and both are doubts for the clash in the Rhineland.

With pressure mounting to stay in the running for a top-two fi nish in Group D, City’s coach Manuel Pellegrini is also likely to be with-out captain Vincent Kompany who is nursing a calf problem.

“Joe had a problem with his back during the week,” Pellegrini said.

“Yaya had some problem with his hamstring, and we don’t know (if they will be fi t). We must wait..to decide if they are 100 percent.”

With Moenchengladbach host-ing their fi rst game in Europe’s premier club competition for 37 years, the atmosphere at the Borussia-Park will be daunting for City who badly need a three points to bolster their chances of getting beyond the last 16 of the Champi-ons League for the fi rst time.

Chilean Pellegrini, however, re-mains confi dent of City’s chances.

“The fi rst season we beat Bayern Munich and lost against Real Ma-drid in the group stages and quali-fi ed with 15 points,” Pellegrini said. “Last year was exactly the same.”

Gladbach are neither Real Ma-drid nor Bayern or Juve but the Germans are on a high. In com-plete contrast to City they lost their opening fi ve Bundesliga games, leading to the resignation of coach Lucien Favre, but interim coach Andre Schubert has since stopped the rot and they will be confi dent of their fi rst points. - Reuters

F O O T B A L L

Struggling Man City face stern test

AT TRAININING: Manchester City’s George Evans, left, and Raheem

Sterling train at Manchester City Academy. – AFP

C2

SPORTSW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

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Akmal helps Pakistan to victory over ZimbabweHARARE: Umar Akmal’s aggres-sive innings proved crucial in a low-scoring game as Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 15 runs to win Tues-day’s Twenty20 international at Harare Sports Club and sweep the two-match series.

Akmal scored 38 not out from 28 balls and added 24 runs with Imad Wasim in the last two overs of Paki-stan’s innings to boost the tourists’ total to 136 for six, which proved beyond Zimbabwe despite Sean Williams’s fi ghting 40 not out.

Williams shared a 60-run part-nership for the fi fth wicket with Sikandar Raza Butt -- the only half-century stand in the series -- but was always playing catch-up after the hosts had slumped to 24 for four at the start of their chase.

Zimbabwe fi nished on 121 for seven, as left-arm spinner Wasim once again proved the pick of the Pakistani bowlers with fi gures of 1 for 14 from four overs.

“Our bowlers were good again,” Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said. “Body language is very impor-tant and whatever the coach has asked, the boys have delivered.”

With the game being played on the same pitch as Sunday’s series opener, low and slow conditions made the going heavy for batsmen throughout. Although Pakistan made a brighter start after they once again won the toss and opted to bat fi rst, they lost wickets whenever

their batsmen attempted to force the pace. While Sohaib Maqsood anchored the innings with a run-a-ball 26, only Akmal and Wasim were able to take the attack to the hosts.

After struggling to gain any meaningful momentum, the tour-ists went into the fi nal two overs with just 112 runs on the board and were grateful to the pair for some late blows. With the same task that had faced them on Sunday, Zimba-bwe’s batsmen had an opportunity to show what they had learned but lost their top four with just 24 runs on the board. That left the middle

order with too much to do, and al-though Williams shared a 60-run partnership for the fi fth wicket with Sikandar Raza Butt - the only half-century stand in the series - he was always playing catch-up.

Once Raza had been bowled for 36 by Imran Khan and Elton Chigumbura’s brief but entertain-ing stay at the crease had come to an end, Zimbabwe’s hopes vanished.

“I can repeat what I said after the last game,” said Chigumbura. “We were disappointing again with the bat, but the bowlers were good.” - AFP

T W E N T Y 2 0 I N T E R N A T I O N A L S

JUBILANT BUNCH: Pakistan players leave the pitch led by captain Shahid Afridi after a series victory

againstZimbabwe at Harare Sports Club. – AFP

PAKISTANMohammed Hafeez c Utseya b Jongwe 17Ahmed Shehzad c Cremer b Panyangara 7Sohaib Maqsood c Chigumbura b Utseya 26Shoaib Malik c Sikandar Raza b Cremer 15Mohammed Rizwan c Williams b Jongwe 16Umar Akmal not out 38Shahid Afridi c Williams b Panyangara 2Imad Wasim not out 13Extras (1-lb, 1-w) 2Total (6 wkts, 20 overs) 136Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-34, 3-64, 4-72, 5-106, 6-111.Bowling: Chibhabha 2-0-13-0, Panyangara 4-0-27-2, Jongwe 4-0-24-2, Williams 4-0-26-0, Cremer 4-0-25-1, Utseya 2-0-20-1.ZIMBABWEH. Masakadza c Imran b Irfan 9C. Chibhabha lbw b Sohail Tanvir 3

C. Ervine run out 1R. Mutumbami b Imad Wasim 3S. Williams not out 40Sikandar Raza b Imran Khan 36E. Chigumbura c Malik b Irfan 17L. Jongwe c & b Imran Khan 8G. Cremer not out 0Extras (3-lb, 1-w) 4Total (7 wkts, 20 overs) 121Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-15, 3-16, 4-24, 5-84, 6-101, 7-120Bowling: Sohail Tanvir 4-0-18-1, Mohammad Irfan 4-0-25-2, Imad Wasim 4-0-14-1, Shahid Afridi 4-0-26-0, Imran Khan 4-0-35-2.Umpires: Langton Rusere and Russell Tiffi nTV umpire: Jeremiah Matibiri (ZIM)Match referee: David Jukes (ENG)Result: Pakistan won by 15 runs.Series: Pakistan won two-match series 2-0.

S C O R E B O A R D

FIFA’s lifetime ban on Warner

LAUSANNE: FIFA imposed a lifetime ban on one of its most no-torious former leaders on Tues-day amid calls for an emergency task force to be sent in to run the scandal-tainted body.

Jack Warner — an ex-FIFA vice president and former ally of the body’s president Sepp Blatter —was barred from all football activ-ities by FIFA’s ethics committee over repeated misconduct.

“He was a key player in schemes involving the off er, acceptance, and receipt of undisclosed and illegal payments,” a committee statement said of the 72-year-old Warner, who previously led CONCACAF, the confederation of North and Central America and the Caribbean.

The latest judgement against the thoroughly-tarnished Warner came as the Swiss justice minis-try approved the extradition of former Costa Rican federation boss Eduardo Li to the United States, where he faces a range of charges linked to corruption.

Warner and Li were both named in the US justice depart-ment indictments that were an-nounced in May and which ig-nited an unprecedented crisis within world football.

With the scandals continuously widening, there are growing calls for immediate change at the top.

South Korean former FIFA vice president Chung Mong-Joon, who is a candidate to replace Blatter, called for a task force to run football’s world body after Switzerland placed Blatter under criminal investigation for mis-management.

Blatter, 79, told FIFA staff on Monday that he will stay on as president while cooperating with

Swiss prosecutors. He has said he would stand down when a new election is held in February.

Michel Platini, the power-ful head of European governing body UEFA has been implicated in the Swiss probe, but has in-sisted he did nothing wrong as he tries to preserve his hopes ofreplacing Blatter.

Wanted in the USWarner and Li were both among the 14 people — nine FIFA offi -cials and fi ve sports marketing ex-ecutives — charged in the US over bribery in football deals worth more than $150 million dating back to 1991.

Warner is facing 12 charges of wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering, while Li is ac-

cused of taking bribes in connec-tion with the sale of sports mar-keting rights.

Warner is fi ghting extradition from his homeland in Trinidad and Tobago to the US, with a hear-ing set for December. Li appeared to lose that fi ght on Tuesday, when the Swiss justice ministry approved his transfer to US juris-diction, although the Costa Rican has 30 days to fi le an appeal.

Warner’s name has also be-come central to the Swiss probe targeting Blatter, which is fo-cused in part on a 2005 television rights sale to the Caribbean Foot-ball Union, allegedly at a hugely defl ated price.

Swiss investigators are also looking at a two million Swiss franc ($2 million) payment made by FIFA to Platini in 2011 for a work reportedly done a decade earlier. Both Blatter and Platini, still the two most powerful men in world football, insist the pay-ment was legitimate although neither has explained why it took so long to fi nalise compensation.

‘Total meltdown’Chung, a strong candidate to re-place Blatter, called Tuesday for an extraordinary executive com-mittee meeting which could estab-lish an emergency task force “that will enable the FIFA secretariat to function without interruption”.

He described the allegations against Blatter as “another sad day” for FIFA and said the organi-sation, which should be preparing for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, is in “total meltdown”.

Days before Blatter was placed on notice by Swiss authorities, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke was suspended over alle-gations of involvement in tickets sold at infl ated prices.

Although Blatter has insisted he will stay in offi ce until Feb-ruary, FIFA’s ethics committee could force him out at any time.

There has been unconfi rmed speculation that the panel is set to hear evidence against the Swiss national, possibly leading to sus-pension, a process that could also implicate Platini.

The former French star’s in-volvement in an ethics committee review would further complicate the FIFA presidential vote that he had been favoured to win. - AFP

With the scandals

continuously

widening, there are

growing calls for

immediate change

at the top of FIFA

Bangladesh tour in doubt as Australian staff leave DhakaSYDNEY: Australian offi cials were Tuesday returning from Bangladesh after meetings with high-level security fi gures, but no fi nal decision has yet been taken on the upcoming Test tour, Crick-et Australia said.

The team’s departure was de-layed on Sunday on security fears, prompting Dhaka to pledge to provide the kind of measures usu-ally reserved for visiting heads of state if the tour goes ahead.

“There has been no change to our position on the matter,” a spokeswoman for Cricket Austral-ia told AFP via email on Tuesday.

CA’s anti-corruption and secu-rity manager Sean Carroll met top security and intelligence offi cials in Dhaka on Monday.

Bangladesh Home Minister As-aduzzaman Khan and Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan, who insisted there was no risk to the players, were also at the meetings.

“Following yesterday’s meet-ings, our head of security (Car-

roll), team manager (Gavin Dovey) and team security man-ager (Frank Dimasi) are on their way home from Bangladesh for further meetings with the De-partment of Foreign Aff airs and to brief our board, management and players on the situation,” the CA spokeswoman said.

In delaying the team’s depar-ture, CA chief executive James Sutherland said the Canberra government had identifi ed a po-tential security risk to its nation-

als’ interests in Bangladesh.Australia’s foreign ministry

warned on Friday of “reliable in-formation to suggest that militants may be planning to target Austral-ian interests in Bangladesh”.

On Monday the British govern-ment also warned that militants may be targeting western inter-ests in the country, the same day that an Italian charity worker was shot dead by attackers in Dhaka.

“UK offi cials have been advised to limit attendance at events where westerners may gather,” it said in a travel advisory.

Bangladesh prides itself on be-ing a mainly moderate Muslim nation but the gruesome killings of a series of atheist bloggers this year rocked the country and sparked a crackdown on local hardline Islamist groups.

The fi rst Test is scheduled from October 9 in Chittagong and the second from October 17 in Dhaka following a three-day warm-up match scheduled to start on Sat-urday in Fatullah. - AFP

C R I C K E T

CA boss Sutherland said

the Canberra government

had identified a potential

security risk to its

nationals’ interests

in Bangladesh

Kaushal cleared to bowl without ‘doosra’

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan off -spinner Tharindu Kaushal —who was reported for a suspect action — has been cleared to re-sume playing provided he does not bowl the “doosra”, the Inter-national Cricket Council said.

Kaushal, 22, was reported during the third Test against India this month, but tests at an ICC-accreditated centre in Chennai cleared him partially.

The “doosra” (the second one) is the Hindi/Urdu word for the off -spinner’s googly, which turns from leg to off .

“The results showed that the level of elbow extension meas-ured for all deliveries bowled was well within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under ICC regulations,” the world govern-ing body said in a statement.

“However, Kaushal’s ‘doosra’ was found to exceed the 15-de-gree level of tolerance.” — AFP

R E L I E F

Former FIFA vice-

president Jack

Warner was a key

player in schemes

involving the offer,

acceptance, and

receipt of undisclosed

and illegal payments

C3

SPORTSW E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

There are three things we got to know for sure MS Dhoni had done during

his three-month break from cricket after the disastrous ODI series against Bangladesh.

First, the jump off an Indian Air Force plane from a height of 1,250 feet. That had nothing to do with cricket. The Honorary Lieutenant Colonel with the Indian Air Force was actually making his maiden jump at the end of a two-week training session at the Paratroopers’ Training School in Agra.

Second, the darshan he had given to the Indian diaspora in New Jersey. He wasn’t there to play cricket, but to perform pooja at the Siddhivinayak Temple, which was under construction. Still, he talked cricket and promised the gathering that “we will keep doing well”, although “we are in a phase where we are going through a lot of changes”.

Third, the trip to London, was really about cricket, during which he showed fl ashes of his fi nishing brilliance, sending the ball to the rope to post the win-ning runs in a charity match.

Some cricket experts say Dhoni should have played in some matches against the visit-ing Bangladesh A team to gain match fi tness and readiness, but that’s because they use, despite watching him go about his business all these years, the yardstick with which they measure up other, normal guys.

The three-month break from active cricket may have given the Indian captain precious time to relax and rethink his strategies. He needed time away from the limelight to put behind him the disgusting mindset that made him say and do things we had never ex-pected from him. Things such as his readiness to step down as captain if he was “the reason for all the bad that’s happening to Indian cricket”and deeds such as shoving the debutant Bangladeshi bowler Mustafi zur Rahman. He needed a break to

shake off the frustration that was threatening to destroy the familiar image the world has had of him.

So, is time on Dhoni’s side now? That’s a tricky question to explain away frivolously. What he has to live with now are some facts of life he has no power at the moment to ethere-ally dismiss or arrogantly deal with. He will have to share the dressing room with the captain of the Indian test team, Virat Kohli, whose exploits on the fi eld and style of doing things or getting them done are receiving great attention. It’s natural for the guys who played three Tests on the tour of Sri Lanka and posted an inspiring coming-from-behind series victory to show a new spirit and attitude, but if Dhoni views the whole thing as an instance of the team having moved on, his interna-tional career is going to come to

an end sooner than we, and he, would really like it to be.

There’s reason to believe Dhoni will be wiser from his Bangladesh experience. Obvi-ously, the media would draw comparisons now and then. They would ask him — just as he was teased on the new, ag-gressive bowling strategy Kohli was harping on during the Bangladesh tour — disturbing questions. The way forward for Dhoni is to focus on his game. And that’s what he’s going to do. Ending his Test career was the fi rst strategic step Dhoni has made to extend his shelf life, and moving up the batting order, to No. 4, was a master-stroke that silenced his critics.

Dhoni has an impressive record batting at No. 4 in ODIs: one hundred and nine fi fties from 20 matches, with a strike rate of 80.54. More signifi cant-ly, India had won 16 of those 20 matches. Only when we stumble upon such awesome truths do we realize how he has denied himself for donkey’s years, as Ravi Shastri would put it, possibilities that could have scripted a diff erent story of him as a batsman.

Such a danger to play against. That’s what Adam Gilchrist said about Dhoni in 2009. A danger that seldom grabbed the opportunity to explode, batting down the order for the sake of the team, in fact. The danger is now ready to unleash the full, lethal potential — if only Dhoni doesn’t allow himself to get distracted by the happenings in the unlimited version of the game. Beneath the familiar, fl awless, cool façade, there’s a smart, sharp, shrewd attitude, and we are about to witness the selfi sh, sustained explosion of a completely diff erent persona of Dhoni.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

The writer is a freelance contribu-tor based in India. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not refl ect those of Times of Oman

Dhoni ready for selfish avatarC O M M E N T A R Y

Indian skipper Mahendra

Singh Dhoni has an

impressive record batting

at No. 4 in ODIs: one

hundred and nine fifties

from 20 matches, with

a strike rate of 80.54.

More significantly,

India had won 16

of those 20 matches

Proteas fall flat in tour opener

NEW DELHI: South Africa made a dismal start to their 10-week tour of India, losing a Twenty20 warm-up match to a second-string side by eight wickets in New Delhi on Tuesday.

India ‘A’, comprising young tal-ent drawn from across the country, chased down a competitive 189-3 by the tourists with two deliveries to spare at the Palam ground.

The surprise win was fashioned by uncapped openers Manan Vohra and Mayank Agarwal, who gave their team a fl ying start with a 119-run partnership in 12.4 overs.

Vohra hit a 42-ball 56 and Agar-wal smashed 87 off 49 balls that included 12 boundaries and two sixes. Upcoming batsman Sanju Samson steered the hosts home with an unbeaten 31 off 22 balls, leaving the Proteas with much to ponder ahead of the tougher con-tests ahead.

Fast bowlers Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris failed to take a wicket, with Abbott proving to be the most expensive by conceding 43 runs in his four overs. South African batsmen hit early form — the lone bright spot

for them in the game — with left-hander JP Duminy top-scoring with 68 off 32 balls that included six sixes and two boundaries.

Skipper Faf du Plessis retired after scoring a 27-ball 42 and AB de Villiers made 37 off 27 balls, the pair adding 84 for the second wick-et off just 50 deliveries after Quin-ton de Kock was run out in the fi rst over. Duminy and Farhaan Behar-dien boosted the total by plunder-ing 44 runs in the fi nal three overs.

The tourists are due to play three Twenty20 internationals and fi ve one-day matches up until October 25, before starting a four-Test series on November 5. The fi rst Twenty20 international will be held in Dharamsala on Friday.

Brief scores: South Africa 189-3 in 20 overs (JP Duminy 68 not out, Faf du Plessis 42 retired, AB de Villiers 37, Kuldeep Yadav 1-26) lost to India ‘A’ 193-2 in 19.4 overs (Manan Vohra 56, Mayank Agarwal 87, Sanju Samson 31, JP Duminy 1-22) by by eight wickets and with two deliveries to spare. - AFP

The surprise win was fashioned by uncapped

openers Manan Vohra and Mayank Agarwal,

who gave their team a fl ying start with

a 119-run partnership in 12.4 overs

TOP SCORER: South African wicketkeeper AB de Villiers, left, watches as India A opener Mayank Agar-

wal plays a shot during the T20 practice match between India A and the visiting South Africans at The

Palam A Ground Model Sports Complex in New Delhi. – AFP

Innings victory for Dhawan’s India ABANGALORE: India A, led by Shikhar Dhawan, defeated the touring Bangladesh A by an in-nings and 32 runs on the third and concluding day of the unoffi cial Test match here on Tuesday.

Bangladesh A, trailing by 183 runs in the fi rst innings, folded up for 151 in their second innings with a disappointing batting dis-play as a combination of pace and spin did them in.

Resuming at their overnight score of 36 for two, the Bangla-deshi resistance crumbled after a promising 61-run partnership for the third wicket between Mo-minul Haque (54, 95b, 9x4) and Liton Das (38) was broken.

Das was clean bowled by pace-man Ishwar Pandey who came away with bowling fi gures of three for 28. Thereafter, off -spinner Jayant Yadav (3 for 48) and new ball bowler Abhimanyu Mithun (2 for 23) tore into the visitors’ line-up which caved in under pressure.

The three-day match saw India opener Dhawan run into fi ne form with a knock of 150 on his return from an injury-break while young gun Yadav sent out strong signals with a match-haul of seven wickets.

Paceman Varun Aaron, seeking to regain his spot in the national team ahead of the series against visiting South Africans also put in an impressive performance taking four wickets in the fi rst in-nings though he went wicketless in the second.

As for out-of-favour all-round-er Ravindra Jadeja, it was not a productive outing. He sent down a combined 15.3 overs of left-arm spin and took just one wicket, and

did not get an opportunity with the bat.

Brief scores: Bangladesh A 228 and 151 all out in 39.3 overs (Mominul Haque 54, Liton Das

38, Ishwar Pandey 3 for 28, Ab-himanyu Mithun 2 for 23, Jayant Yadav 3 for 48) lost to India A 411 for 5 decl. by an innings and 32 runs. - IANS

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

JUBILANT: India A players celebrate the win on the day three of the three-day match against Bang-

ladesh A at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Tuesday. – PTI

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Leading players on Road to Oman Rankings to lock horns in Dubai

MUSCAT: The leading players on the Road to Oman Rankings are set to lock horns in Dubai when the ICAEW Challenge Tour Pro-Am gets underway on the Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates on October 28.

The event is part of a week-long programme for European Chal-lenge Tour players to practice in Dubai between playing in the $500,000 Foshan Open, China fi nishing on October 25 and the €375,000 NBO Golf Classic Grand Final at Almouj Golf in Oman which begins on November 4.

The Challenge Tour players are invited to use the Jumeirah Golf Estates ETPI (European Tour Per-formance Institute) along with oth-er practice facilities as well as hon-ing their games on the Fire Course.

The highlight of the week will be the ICAEW Challenge Tour Pro-Am involving 20 professionals playing in a four-player team format with one pro alongside three guest ama-teurs from the Institute of Char-tered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). Among the players already confi rmed are Ricardo Gou-veia, Jens Fahrbring, Rhys Davies, Ryan Fox and Dominic Foos.

Nick Tarratt of The Euro-pean Tour said at the Pro-Am announcement: “This is a great opportunity for the Challenge Tour players to experience what is potentially ahead of them in their careers.

“The Jumeirah Golf Estates ETPI facilities are up there with the best of its kind in the world and we are also bringing over

Jean Jacques Rivet from the ETPI in Terre Blanche to assist Mark Gregson-Walters and his Jumei-rah Golf Estates ETPI team with the training.

“We wish all the Challenge Tour players all the best in this impor-

tant week for them as they accli-matise and tune up for the fi nal event of the season in Muscat.”

Michael Armstrong FCA, Re-gional Director ICAEW — Middle East, Africa and South Asia, added: “We are very excited to be a part of

this prestigious event and to work with partners who are as dedicated to supporting and promoting tal-ent in their fi eld as we are in ours.

“Whether it is on the green or in the boardroom, people’s capa-bilities must be nurtured and they

must be given the appropriate tools, focus and direction so that they may rise to the top of their careers.”

Neal Graham, General Man-ager, Club Operations of Jumeirah Golf Estates, concluded by saying: “The Challenge Tour is a proven, emerging platform for some of the world’s leading players, including our own Brand Ambassador: Hen-rik Stenson.

“We look forward to hosting the next crop of European Tour stars for the ICAEW Challenge Tour Pro-Am, who will undoubtedly benefi t from the world-class Euro-pean Tour Performance Institute in the way many of the game’s top players continue to do so.

“I’d like to thank our partners at The European Tour and ICAEW for their support in bringing this exciting, new event to Jumeirah Golf Estates. It is a perfect show-case for the potential future DP World Tour Championship host-ing on our Fire course, and I know many of our members and resi-dents are looking forward to en-gaging with these top, young pro-fessionals throughout the week.”

The top 45 players on the Road to Oman Rankings qualify for the Oman event and then the fi nal top 15 ranked players following the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final will earn their playing privileges on the 2016 European Tour International Schedule.

The event is part of a week-long programme

for European Challenge Tour players to

practice in Dubai between playing in the

Foshan Open, China fi nishing on October 25

and NBO Golf Classic Grand Final at Almouj

Golf in Oman which begins on November 4

IMPORTANT WEEK: The European Tour offi cial Nick Tarratt, left, Regional Director of ICAEW Michael

G.W. Armstrong and Jumeirah Golf Estates General Manager of Club Operations Neal Graham. – Supplied photo

Rising Venus reaches hallowed 700 clubWUHAN: Venus Williams beat Julia Goerges at the Wuhan Open to reach 700 career wins on Tues-day, the only active women’s play-er to achieve the milestone other than her sister Serena.

The 35-year-old, still winning despite her ongoing fi ght with Sjogren’s Syndrome, said she had no idea she was approaching the milestone before her 6-4, 6-3 vic-tory in China.

“I didn’t know. I’m glad nobody told me before. I would have been a little bit nervous,” the American told reporters.

The veteran star added, with a smile, that her fi rst thought now

was how long would it take her to get to 800 victory.

Williams, who is the oldest player at Wuhan and turned pro-fessional in 1994, when Goerges was not yet six, becomes only the ninth player to reach 700 wins. Martina Navratilova (1,442 wins), Chris Evert (1,309) and Steffi Graf (902) head the list, while Serena Williams hit 700 in April and is now on 737.

Williams was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, an immune system disorder, in 2011 and later switched to a vegan and raw foods diet to curb its symptoms.

This year she won her 46th ca-

reer title in Auckland and reached both the Australian Open and Wimbledon quarterfi nals, losing to Serena in New York.

During her career Williams, now ranked 24th, has spent 11 weeks as the world number one and won seven Grand Slam singles titles, the last one in 2008.

Players with 700 or more wins: 1. Martina Navratilova (USA) 1,442 wins; 2. Chris Evert (USA) 1,309; 3. Steffi Graf (GER) 902; 4. Virginia Wade (GBR) 839; 5. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (ESP) 759; 6. Lindsay Davenport (USA) 753; 7. Conchita Martinez (ESP) 739; 8. Serena Williams (USA) 737; 9. Venus Williams (USA) 700. - AFP

T E N N I S

IN ELITE CLUB: Venus Williams

Force India

and Sauber fi le

complaint to

EU authorities

LONDON: The Sauber and Force India teams have fi led a complaint to European Union (EU) authorities about what they see as unfair and “unlaw-ful” practices in Formula One’s governance and distribution of revenues.

“We have received a com-plaint and will assess it,” a com-petition commission spokes-man said on Tuesday.

Force India Deputy Prin-cipal Bob Fernley confi rmed separately that his team and Swiss-based Sauber, two of the smallest competing against ri-vals with far greater resources, were involved.

The complaint comes at a delicate time for Formula One, with several teams struggling to stay afl oat while a major rules revamp is under discussion for 2017.

The sport’s ownership has also been in the spotlight, with media speculation that RSE Ventures, the investment vehi-cle of Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, and Qatar are lin-ing up a potential $7 billion-$8 billion takeover deal.

Ferrari, whose team receive special payments to refl ect their status as the oldest and most successful in Formula One, are meanwhile lining up a fl otation in New York.

Financially-troubled Lotus, who joined Force India and Sauber in November by writ-ing to F1 commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone, are being taken over by Renault and were not signatories to the complaint fi led on Monday.

That November letter to Ec-clestone had spoken of “a ques-tionable cartel” controlling “both the governance of For-mula One and, apparently, the distribution of...funds.” - Reuters

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Oman leave for Doha to take part in AFC U-19 qualifiers

Sports Reporter

MUSCAT: Oman under-19 team, accompanied by head coach Rasheed Jaber and his support staff , will leave for Qatar on Wednes-day to begin their 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualifying quest.

The Sultanate squad will be play-ing in Group D, which is being host-ed by Qatar, from October 2 to 6. The four-team group includes Leb-anon, Kyrgyzstan and hosts Qatar.

The Omani delegation will be headed by Humaid Sulaiman Al Jabri, a member of the Oman Foot-ball Association (OFA) board.

The delegation includes assis-tant coach Abdulaziz Al Habsi, manager Isam Al Hatrashi, goal-keepers coach Alshadh Al Mabroo-qi and physio Yaqoob Al Mahrooqi.

Coach Rasheed Jaber, who guid-ed the young Omanis to the title triumph at the recent GCC Un-der-19 Championship, has picked 23 players for the Asian qualifying campaign.

The team includes Ibrahim Al Mukhaini, Abdulhadi Al Hajri, Thuwaini Al Mukhaini, Ammar Al Rushedi, Mohsin Al Ghassani, Ta-lal Al Awadi, Asaad Al Awadi, Mo-hammed Al Khamisi, Haitham Al

Muqaini, Mohammed Al Yahmadi, Qasim Al Mubarak, Ehad Al Bal-ushi, Zahir Al Aghbari, Salah Al Ya-hayai, Salim Al Siyabi, Baqeet Salim, Omran Al Heedi, Ahmed Al Araimi, Aiman Ibrahim Al Haikal, Abdullah Al Meshaikhi and Ali Al Hinai, Hus-sain Ali and Almuntasir Al Riyami.

Oman are scheduled to begin their campaign against Lebanon on October 2. They will play their second match against Kyrgyzstan

on October 4 before completing their engagements with a match against Qatar on October 6.

According to the Asian Football Confederation, a total of 43 member associations including fi nals hosts Bahrain will be competing in the qualifi ers in ten diff erent groups.

Ten group winners and fi ve best second-placed teams will qualify for the fi nals while hosts Bahrain received an automatic qualifi cation.

The reigning GCC

Under-19 champions

will be aiming to

fi nish on top of Group

D and clinch a berth

in the 2016 AFC U-19

Championship fi nals

EYEING ASIAN BERTH: Oman under-19 football team. – Supplied photo

MUSCAT: Oman’s Saleh Al Farsi has been appointed as the match commissioner of Group F qualifi ers of the AFC U-19 Championship qualifi ers.

Group F matches will be played in Tajikistan capital of Dushanbe from October 2 to 6.

According to a state-ment issued by the Oman Football Association (OFA), the Asian body has informed about Saleh Al Farsi’s appointment.

Al Farsi, an experi-enced sports administra-tor who is also the vice-chairman of the OFA, has left for Tajikistan on Tuesday.

OFA’s Al Farsi named match commissioner

Prayag claims boys under-13 crownMUSCAT: Prayag Mohanty has claimed the boys’ under-13 sin-gles crown at the National Bank of Oman-sponsored Annual Badmin-ton Tournament organsied by the Indian Social Club (ISC) Muscat.In a thrilling a high-quality fi nal, Prayag prevailed over Mohammed Iman 21-19, 21-13.

Prayag and Iman played a high level of badminton and exchanged rallies that drew accolades from the spectators. Southpaw Moham-ed Iman started on a positive note and gained an early 10-6 lead.

Prayag opened up and rattled the next seven points before Iman rallied to level at 15-all.

Brilliant rallies were exchanged as scores went neck-and-neck until 19-all when Prayag produced a deli-cate drop to gain game point which he converted to win the fi rst game.

Prayag exhibited brilliant court-craft and sound temperament as he took control of the second

game. He often caught Iman on the wrong foot with clever placements and went on to build his lead to win the second game and the boys un-der-13 crown.

Top seed Prabhu AR advanced

to the semifi nals of the men’s A singles event after defeating Jus-tin Thomas 21-9, 21-15 while second seed Niyas N. downed VA Francis with a 21-9, 21-15 score.

In another quarterfi nal match,

third seed Bishen Singh Bhalla played a heroic match before scraping past Vinod Abraham in three thrilling games 21-23, 21-17, 21-19.

Vinod put in a gallant display, saved three game points to win the fi rst game but squandered a good lead in the decider when Bishen fought back to win the match.

Fourth seed Shivadas P complet-ed the semifi nal line-up when he faced some resistance in the fi rst game before coasting to a 21-18, 21-3 victory over Domnic Kennedy.

In the fi rst round of the veterans singles, Sunil Kumar overcame a fi ghting Ameenuddin with a 21-14, 22-20 win, Haridas P. Hung showed doggedness and fought against all odds to pull off a thrill-ing 21-13, 12-21, 22-20 win over Shibu John, Babu Said Mohamed defeated K. Sashindran 21-15, 18-21, 21-13 and Yogesh Narula was a 21-9, 21-8 winner over VA Francis.

I S C B A D M I N T O N

FINALISTS: Prayag Mohanty, right, and Mohammed Iman.

Sonny Whiting

faces Vijender

in pro bout

MANCHESTER: Star Indian boxer Vijender Singh will square off against rising British pugilist Sonny Whiting in his eagerly-anticipated professional debut scheduled here on October 10.

India’s fi rst Olympic and World Championships-medal-list will take the ring in his fi rst pro contest against an oppo-nent, who is three-bouts old and has a 2-1 overall record so far in the middleweight division.

Vijender said he knows it won’t be easy against Whiting.

“I know that my opponent Sonny Whiting will not be an easy fi rst fi ght. He has already had three fi ghts so he’ll be pre-pared and I hear that he wants to defeat me in my fi rst pro fi ght. He won’t beat me, I’m so focused and determined on what I have to do,” he said.

Whiting, who trains un-der former pro boxer Johnny Greaves, said he is confi dent of upstaging the celebrated Indian.

“I don’t care who is in front of me on the night, they’re going to get beat, plain and simple. I hear that Singh is a massive super-star in India, well I’ll be looking to send a brutal message back to his home when I beat him,” Whiting said.

“He’s entering the world of the professionals now and it’s going to be hard for him, he might of done plenty in the amateurs but that will count for nothing now. I’ll make sure I give him a good welcome,” he added. - PTI

B O X I N G

Mutu hoping to take ISL route to Euros

SINGAPORE: Controversial Romania striker Adrian Mutu is hopeful a strong spell with new club Pune City in the Indian Su-per League (ISL) could lead to an unlikely appearance at Euro 2016 and the chance to become his country’s record goalscorer.

The 36-year-old forward, twice banned for failed drug tests while playing for Fiorentina in Italy and English club Chelsea, will return to competitive ac-tion in the burgeoning franchise league next month after more than a year out of the game.

Mutu, whose last club was Ro-manian outfi t Petrolul Ploiesti, said a conversation with Roma-nia coach Anghel Iordanescu had given him hope, two years af-ter his last international match.

“He has told me that if I con-tinue playing football even after ISL, then he will consider me for the European Championship next year,” Mutu told Emirati outlet Sport360.

“It’s a huge motivation for me to keep going and I am taking it very seriously.”

Romania are currently sec-ond in Group F of Euro 2016 qualifying with two matches remaining.

Mutu, who is level on 35 goals for his country with former great Gheorghe Hagi, will kick off the second season of ISL with Pune in October. - Reuters

I S L

Man United to miss

Carrick, says Van Gaal

LONDON: Manchester United will be without England midfi elder Michael Carrick for Wednesday’s Champions League Group B game at home to Germany’s VfL Wolfs-burg, manager Louis van Gaal told a pre-match news conference.

Like Ander Herrera and Anto-nio Valencia, Carrick did not train on Tuesday ahead of a match in which United cannot aff ord an-other slip, having lost their open-ing group game 2-1 away to PSV Eindhoven. The Germans are also three points ahead of them after beating CSKA Moscow 1-0 in their fi rst match.

“I think Michael Carrick shall not play,” Van Gaal said.

He added that Herrera and Valencia had minor injuries and would probably not be risked.

Carrick and Valencia both started Saturday’s 3-0 win over

Sunderland, which took United to the top of the Premier League.

Three successive wins in the league have given them new con-fi dence, which prompted Van Gaal to suggest they were capable of becoming European champi-ons for the fi rst time since 2008.

“I think we can, because I’ve done it,” said the experienced Dutchman, who won the compe-tition with Ajax in 1995.

“It’s not ( just) quality but it’s also luck. For me as a manager when you reach the fi nal you have done fantastic.

“I think in the Champions League you need to win all your home matches otherwise it will be very diffi cult.”

Whether or not he were to win it again, Van Gaal does not envis-age staying on once his contract expires in 2017. - Reuters

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‘Brutal nature of rugby needs to be considered’CARDIFF: Wales coach Warren Gatland on Tuesday questioned the short match turnarounds in the World Cup as he prepared his battered and bruised side to play Fiji on Thursday.

“It’s something we all need to be aware of because it’s a pretty brutal game at the moment and it’s important that we consider and look after the welfare of our players too,” he said.

“I don’t know whether four or fi ve day turnarounds in a World Cup are too short.”

England attacking skills coach Mike Catt, who as a player won the World Cup in 2003 and was a losing fi nalist four years later, said of rugby’s attrition rate: “It’s hard to say that it’s one particular thing. It’s a tough sport.

“It was a lot easier when I played with defences that weren’t as organised, so there were holes everywhere.

“The tight fi ve are so much more mobile (now). The back row are like your centres, so the game has defi nitely changed.”

Wales play Fiji just fi ve days after a sensational victory over England that was marred by inju-ries. Scott Williams and Hallam Amos have been forced out of the tournament while Liam Williams was concussed and could not be considered for the next game.

Wales have lost six players since naming their initial World Cup squad, twice as many as any other team, and Gatland has been forced to select players who could do with a break.

“We’ve got guys who are still battered and bruised and we’ve got a game in two days,” he said when making only three injury-forced changes from the side that came from behind to beat Eng-land 28-25.

Gatland kept the same Sam Warburton-led pack that won their fi rst two matches against Uruguay and England while backs George North, Jamie

Roberts, Dan Biggar and Gareth Davies will also be starting their third consecutive game.

Matthew Morgan gets his fi rst start at fullback and Tyler Mor-gan makes his World Cup debut at centre while Alex Cuthbert, a replacement against England, starts on the wing.

But their New Zealand-born coach said Wales could not com-plain about their tournament schedule as they have known the draw for a long time and “our planning over the last couple of years has been about preparing for the short turnarounds.”

Gatland, who coached the Brit-ish and Irish Lions to a series win in Australia in 2013, havin been an assistant coach in South Africa four year earlier with the combined side, said the increas-ingly brutal nature of Test rugby was evident to him.

“The only gauge I have as a coach is my involvement with the Lions in 2009 and 2013 and just seeing the diff erence and physi-cality in that four years,” he said.

“You go to South Africa which is one of the most physical coun-tries to go and play in, and then from South Africa to Australia the step up in intensity and phys-icality had just increased mas-sively in four years.”

Gatland said he could not dwell on the injuries and Wales’ focus was on preparing to play Fiji on Thursday not an eight-day break before playing Australia.

“The chat’s been about mak-ing sure we’re mentally right and that’s the key.

“We have to put Saturday be-hind and know it’s incredibly im-portant to get a result on Thursday. If we can do that it puts us a little bit more in the box seat.”

Australia, the only other un-beaten team in Pool A after wins over Fiji and Uruguay, play England this Saturday before their fi nal fi rst round encounter with Wales. - AFP

S H O R T T U R N A R O U N D SInjury-hit Wales need to lift again for Fiji

CARDIFF: A patched-up Wales will need to summon up a sec-ond big performance in fi ve days on Thursday against a Fiji team that have proved they are no Pool A pushovers if they are to ensure their win over England was no pyr-rhic victory.

Warren Gatland’s side are al-ready assured of a place in the pantheon of Welsh rugby after last Saturday’s Twickenham heroics but a spot in the Rugby World Cup quarterfi nals could still evade them if they fail to beat the Pacifi c Is-landers. The 28-25 victory over the hosts came at the cost of three more injuries to a squad that could ill-aff ord them ahead of what will be bruising contest against the Fijians.

Still, if Wales can produce a re-sult more reminiscent of the 66-0 hammering they handed the Fiji-ans at the 2011 World Cup than the 38-34 upset they suff ered at the 2007 tournament, they will be in a very strong position.

Not only will they be able to put their feet up and watch England

and Australia knock spots off each other on Saturday but they will have nine days to patch up their wounds before their fi nal pool match against the Wallabies back at Twickenham.

“The whole focus is preparing for Fiji - we know how important it is,” Gatland told reporters in Cardiff on Tuesday. “We have to put Saturday behind us. It’s incredibly important to get a result on Thursday and if do that we’re in the box seat a bit more.”

Wales: 1-Gethin Jenkins, 2-Scott Baldwin, 3-Tom Francis, 4-Bradley Davies, 5-Alun Wyn Jones, 6-Dan Lydiate, 7-Sam Warburton (captain), 8-Toby Faletau; 9-Gareth Davies, 10-Dan Biggar, 11-George North, 12-Jamie Roberts, 13-Tyler Morgan, 14-Alex Cuthbert, 15-Matthew Morgan; Re-placements: 16-Ken Owens, 17-Aaron Jarvis, 18-Samson Lee, 19-Luke Char-teris, 20-Justin Tipuric, 21-Lloyd Williams, 22-Rhys Priestland, 23-James Hook.

Fiji: 1-Campese Maafu, 2-Sunia Koto, 3-Manasa Saulo, 4-Tevita Cavu-bati, 5-Leone Nakarawa, 6-Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 7-Akapusi Qera (cap-tain), 8-Netani Talei, 9-Nemia Kenatale, 10-Ben Volavola, 11-Aseli Tikoirotuma, 12-Lepani Botia, 13-Vereniki Goneva, 14-Timoci Nagusa, 15-Metuisela Tale-bula; Replacements: 16-Viliame Vei-koso, 17-Peni Ravia, 18-Leeroy Atalifo, 19-Nemia Soqeta, 20-Malakai Ravulo, 21-Henry Seniloli 22-Joshua Matavesi, 23-Kini Murimurivalu. - Reuters

Gatland’s side are

already assured of a

place in the pantheon

of Welsh rugby

after last Saturday’s

Twickenham heroics

but a spot in the

Rugby World Cup

quarterfi nals could

still evade them if

they fail to beat the

Pacifi c Islanders

England dismiss critics as ‘irrelevant white noise’LONDON: The England camp are trying desperately to distance themselves from criticism of their performance against Wales last week, with skills coach Mike Catt dismissing it as “irrelevant white noise” on Tuesday.

Though England played well for the fi rst hour of Saturday’s Pool A match, they also allowed Wales to stay in touch through a series of penalties and the decision-making that led to the late call not to kick for a potentally score-levelling goal has been widely attacked in the wake of Wales’s 28-25 victory.

Former England captain Will Carling was among the most outspo-ken, when he said there was a pre-scriptive environment and that the players were treated as schoolboys.

Catt, a World Cup winner in 2003, said the team were ignoring such comments.

“The criticism is external white noise, which is irrelevant,” he told journalists. “We are massively ex-cited that we’ve got Australia at Twickenham and everything is on this one game for us.”

Scrumhalf Richard Wiggles-worth, who is in line for a possible start on Saturday if Ben Youngs fails to recover from an ankle inju-ry, said Carling, who played the last of his 73 internationals 18 years

ago, was out of touch.“Certain people who have come

out and said things should know better,” he said.

“We knew coming into this that it (the criticism) could be like this but if they don’t know — and he doesn’t — and hasn’t played the game for how long and hasn’t been involved in professional rugby for how long...?

“Let’s have a meaningful discus-sion about his knowledge, about what he knows about the game. He is there to further his own career.”

“If you get concerned about the external eff ects you are not in a good place,” he said. “Our job is to beat Australia. “Whoever we pick we have total belief that we can score tries. We are doing everything to make sure we get it right.” - Reuters

D E S P E R A T E

The criticism is external

white noise, which

is irrelevant. We are

massively excited that

we’ve got Australia at

Twickenham

Mike CattEngland skills coach

France rest Picamoles, give Grosso Cup debutCROYDON: France have opted to rest number eight Louis Pica-moles and will give wing Remy Grosso his fi rst Rugby World Cup start in the Pool D match against Canada at Milton Keynes on Thursday.

Coach Philippe Saint-Andre, having altered almost his whole team for last week’s win over Romania, named a line-up on Tuesday with four changes from the side that beat Italy in their opening match at Twickenham on September 19.

Bernard Le Roux will play as openside fl anker with Damien Chouly moving to number eight, while in the backs Wesley Fofana keeps his place at inside centre having missed the Italy match through injury and Brice Dulin, fullback against the Romanians, stays in the team as right wing with Grosso on the left.

Uncapped Grosso was drafted into the squad as cover after Yoann Huget was ruled out of the tournament.

“Picamoles played three warm-up matches in a row then two matches in four days (at the World Cup) and needs to recover, to refresh, and has been doing specifi c work (for that),” Saint-Andre told reporters at the team’s hotel in south London.

He said he had chosen his back

three, including two specialist fullbacks in Scott Spedding and Dulin, to fi eld the high kicks he expects from Canada.

“Many teams play with two fullbacks given the many high balls kicked in modern rugby,” he said. “It’s also good to have an extra kicker and if it rains we will have more options with the boot.”

Saint-Andre said it had been good to give all 31 players in his squad a game in the fi rst two matches.

“If we want to go far in this competition it’s maybe the third choice player in a particular po-sition who can make the diff er-ence,” he said. “We have four wins in a row and are keen to get a fi fth. We’ve had some quality practices this week, made progress in rucks and in the contact. With the high number of rucks per match we need to be more precise in them.”

Team: 1-Eddy Ben Arous, 2-Guilhem Guirado, 3-Rabah Slimani, 4-Pascal Pape, 5-Yoann Maestri, 6-Thierry Du-sautoir (captain), 7-Bernard Le Roux, 8-Damien Chouly; 9-Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 10-Frederic Michalak, 11-Brice Dulin, 12-Wesley Fofana, 13-Mathieu Bastareaud, 14-Remy Grosso, 15-Scott Spedding; Replacements: 16-Benjamin Kayser, 17-Vincent Debaty, 18-Nicolas Mas, 19-Yannick Nyanga, 20-Fulgence Ouedraogo, 21-Morgan Parra, 22-Remi Tales, 23-Alexandre Dumouli. - Reuters

C H A N G E S

Scotland call up Kiwi-born Blair Cowan

NEWCASTLE: Scotland on Tuesday called up New Zealand-born Blair Cowan to replace the injured Grant Gil-christ in their World Cup squad.

The 29-year-old back row for-ward — who qualifi es through his Scotland-born mother — narrowly missed out on a place in the original squad when Kiwi coach Vern Cotter opted for an-other New Zealand transfuge John Hardie.

But Cowan — who was due to turn out for his English club London Irish against Harle-quins on Friday — is ready to immediately push for a place in the side to take on South Africa in Pool B on Saturday where ta-ble-topping Scotland will seek to make it three wins from three.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Cowan, who was fi rst capped in 2014. “I’ve seen a few of the boys and it caught me off guard with how stoked I was to see them. It was a bit emotional.

“I was just chilling at home after training when I got the call. You would have seen a dust shadow of me getting off the couch to pack my bags. I’m up here to do whatever they need to push us forward. They know what I can do.” - AFP

R E P L A C E M E N T

EXETER: Stand-out fl anker Jack Ram bagged two tries to help Tonga put a disappoint-ing opening loss to Georgia behind them with a thrilling 35-21 World Cup victory over Namibia on Tuesday.

After going down 17-10 to the Georgians, Tonga showed their true colours against an outpowered Namibia, who are now winless in 17 World Cup matches. Led by a barnstorming display by Australian-born spe-

cialist sevens player Ram, the South Sea islanders scored fi ve tries to bag a bonus point that could be vital in their battle with Georgia for third place in Pool C and automatic qualifi cation for the 2019 World Cup. - AFP

Ram leads Tonga past Namibia

SUPER TRY: Tonga’s Jack Ram, second round, dives for the line to score their fourth try during

the Pool C match of the Rugby World Cup against Namibia at Sandy Park on Tuesday. – AFP

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

LeisureSECTIONC L I F E S T Y L E W E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

RIDING

WIND

AND

WAVE

OMAN’S WINDSURFING YOUTH C

AN

IN L

OCAL WATERS – AT

WATCH CLOSELY,

MUSANNAH SPORTS CITY,

WORLD’S TOP WINDSURFERS

WHIC

H WOULD BE HOSTING THE

WINDSURFING CHAMPIO

NS

HIP

S

IN OCTOBER.

IN ACTION

STORY SALIM JOSEPH

2015 RS:X WORLD

LIFESTYLEC8 W E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

T R A V E L T I P S

fter Lake Garda (Italy), Cascais (Portugal), Auckland (New Zea-land), Kerteminde (Denmark), Weymouth (UK), Perth (Australia), Cadiz (Spain), Buzios (Brazil), and Santander (Spain), now it’s time for Al Musannah Sports City in the Sultanate to be in the limelight. Having emerged as one of the top venues for international water-sports competitions after a suc-cessful hosting of the Laser World Championships two years back, Oman will witness the world’s top windsurfers in action in the RS:X World Windsurfi ng Champion-ships, which will be held here from October 18 to 24.

World’s top windsurfers are set to descend on the Olympic quali-fi er city as preparations heat up for 2016 Olympic Games, according to the offi cials of Oman Sail, which organises the event under the um-brella of Oman Sailing Commit-tee chaired by Rashid bin Ibrahim Al Kindi. The 2015 RS:X World Windsurfi ng Championships is the fi nal major meeting before the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Ja-neiro in August 2016.

Celebrating its 10th anniver-sary this year, the event is expected to attract top offi cials including RS:X Class President Carlo Dalla Vedova, and representatives from the 32 competing nations. The top 50 ranked athletes, including 24 women, will be sizing up the conditions in Oman to prepare for the competition in Rio where the winds and tides are likely to be similar, making this event the perfect warm up event. And, amongst the contestants are Do-rian van Rijsselberge from The Netherlands who won the RS:X (Men’s) gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics, and Bryony Shaw from Britain, the world number one’s woman windsurfer who won bronze at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

The championship gains signifi -cance as it’s an opportunity for the world to see who could be winning medals in Rio, says David Graham, CEO of Oman Sail which has re-cently established a Youth Wind-surfi ng Club. This would also show the rest of the world what Oman can off er as a world-class racing venue which is of Olympic stand-ard, he adds.

“Oman Sail has been working hard to build the infrastructure and capability to host globally-renowned sporting events and, as the Laser World Championships proved in 2013, Oman can now compete with any venue in the world to successfully stage these

international events. We look for-ward to welcoming all the athletes before their big test next year” says Rashid Al Kindi, Chairman of Oman Sailing Committee.

Besides, the event would give an opportunity for Oman’s wind-surfi ng youth to watch closely the world’s best in action. The local windsurfers include Oman’s top athlete, Waleed Al Kindi, who is campaigning to be part of Oman

Sail’s fi rst ever Olympic squad in 2020. Now recuperating from a back injury he also will be watch-ing the event closely as his eyes are set on the ASAF Asian Champion-ships 2016, an Olympic qualifi er which will be held in Abu Dhabi next March.

The race management, mean-while, will comprise Omani um-pires who were trained at Oman Sail’s sailing schools across Oman and now offi ciate at events across the world. Around 40 in-ternational coaches will also be there besides backup staff and race teams from the leading na-tional sailing authorities in the world. Oman is fast-becoming one of the top venues for interna-tional watersports competitions, and the conditions are superb and the organisation is top rate, according to Carlo Dalla Vedova, President of the International RS:X Class Association.

The event will kick off with an opening ceremony on October 18 and is expected to be attended by key Omani dignitaries, Oman Sail management and board members. Racing will continue through to the medal race on October 24.

CONTACT A TRAVEL agent well in advance of your trip to secure the lowest-priced airline seats, hotel rooms and rental cars that usually sell out quickly for holiday travel. Be aware that prices generally es-calate during the holiday season, as demand is higher.Packing Light saves time and en-ergy when it comes to fi lling the trunk with fragile bags packed with gifts or racing to fi ll the last empty space in the overhead bin.Before Leaving, be sure to secure your house. Lock all doors and win-dows, and don’t forget to set the alarm. Also, give your home that lived-in look to repel potential bur-glars by having a friend collect your mail, newspapers, and setting lights on timers.Remember, your holiday travel

plans will most likely bring you, and millions of others, to the airport. To manage this, fi rst, avoid peak travel days. As your travel agent will tell you, the busiest days to fl y are those immediately before and after the ac-tual holidays. Book your fl ights two days before and after Eid, Christmas and New Year. Secure a Non-Stop Flight, or one involving the fewest connections and stops. Every time your plane touches the ground during peak travel times, the possibility of delays due to inclement weather or air-traffi c problems increases. If You Drive and park at the air-port lot, do not leave any valuables, such as electronic gadgets, or GPSs in plain view. Also remember to put jumper cables in the trunk in case the battery dies during your trip.

Take The Worry of getting to the airport completely out of the equa-tion by staying at an airport hotel the night before an early fl ight. The additional sleep is well worth it. In some cases, hotels will allow guests to leave their car in the hotel lot for the duration of their trip.Check in Early. As fl ights are sometimes overbooked during the holidays, it’s critical to check in ear-ly. Do web check-in, if possible.Keep a Positive Attitude, but also be mentally ready for setbacks. De-lays happen, and airlines do the best they can to keep their schedules on time. Bring water and snacks, an in-fl atable pillow and eye mask, a good book, your favourite music, MP3 player and a deck of cards. Boredom is the true enemy in these situa-tions, so be prepared to conquer it.

Minimise Your Travel TroublesHolidays are steeped

in traditions — visiting

long distance relatives

and friends, inching

the car through a traffi c

jam, and standing in

a queue at the airport

that just doesn’t move.

Follow these tips to

ensure a hassle-free

holiday.

The RS:X World

Windsurfing

Championships will

kick off with an opening

ceremony on October 18

and continue through to

the medal race on

October 24.

Phot

os: S

uppl

ied

LIFESTYLEC9W E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

TAKING IT TO THE EXTREME

If you are a fan of the English writer James Hadley Chase, there’s little chance you would have not read this book. The Vulture is a Patient Bird is one of the offb eat masterpieces of Chase’s fi ctional crime thrillers, pep-pered with his wry sense of humour, and worth reading, even if you are one of those who consider Chase’s novels as downmarket fi ction.

The story of this thriller revolves around a character called Max Kahl-enberg who is a rich recluse, yet a compulsive art thief who operates with a network of unscrupulous ele-ments who engineer vile missions to

steal the fi nest artworks from mu-seums around the world. The stolen treasures are stored in an under-ground museum in the Drakensberg mountains in South Africa where this ‘vulture’ resides in a sprawling estate engulfed by a jungle guarded by Zulu warriors.

Kahlenberg is a cripple bound to a wheelchair but manages to call his shots with the help of a remote. He patiently awaits a group of three men and a woman who intrude on his es-tate with a secret mission of retriev-ing a famous poison ring which he had once stolen from a rival collector.

The secret agents are unaware that Kahlenberg is awaiting them along with Hindenberg, his pet cheetah and his battalion of Zulu warriors, and that they would have to fall prey to a game designed to give him sadistic pleasure.

The story might appear a bit un-convincing as the quartet easily walk into the trap set for them but Chase’s treatment of the plot with humour and spicy sequences here and there make the story gripping. Like any Chase novel, you can fi nish this one in a couple of hours or fall back on it as a stress buster and take in the tale

in a few big gulps. I read this one 20 years ago but wouldn’t mind having another go.

- Reviewed by Hubert Vazhubert@timesofoman.com

The Vulture is a Patient BirdY O U R F A V O U R I T E B O O K

ARE YOU A PROLIFIC READER? Which is your favourite book? Pick one and send in your thoughts on it to

shafeeq@timesofoman.com

A crime thriller from the stable of James Hadley Chase

Author: James Hadley Chase

THE HOBBYIST

Gulzamin AhmedDune Buggy

Dune bashing takes lots of courage, skill, and experience. It’s not a child’s play.Why Do You Love Dune Bashing?Being diff erent in the crowd and experiencing the extreme is the key reason why I love dune bashing. Exploring the off roads, seeing far off unknown places, and conquering dangerous dunes has always been my passion.

How Did You Get Into It?I am working with the power sports industry for almost a decade but more than a profes-sion it’s my passion to live life to the extreme that motivates me.

How Can I Get Into It?You must own a specialised off road capable vehicle (I ride POLARIS RZR XP 1000) and handful of experience and professional skill to drive. Join with the experienced off road goers, train yourself to drive, and learn the techniques.

What’s Your Pro-Tip?Dune bashing takes lots of courage, skill and experience. I’s not a child play if you don’t know what you are doing. Safety precaution is must. Wearing safety apparel like helmet, goggles, gloves, and safety jacket is a must. Use seat belt all the time. Don’t try for something what you don’t know — you must practice enough before you go for the extreme.

CONTACT INFO/RESOURCESFOR DUNE BASHING IN OMAN

‘Fairtrade Auto Services (+968 9744 5272) organises off road crossings for its customers (you must own a product from Fairtrade Auto Services). Many vendors around Bidiyah, and Muscat are renting off road vehicles.

Abdul Hameed Siyabi @ Seefa +968 9554 4402, Fahad +968 9722 2669 @ Baushar, Saif Al Hajari-Arabian Oryx –Bidiyah - +968 9555 5460.

PHO

TO

: SU

PPLI

ED

FIND-IT-ALLC10 W E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

PRAYER TIMINGS

Dhuhr 12.02pm

Asr 3.27pm

Maghrib 6.01pm

Isha 7.11pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 4.43am

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

CITY CINEMAContact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68. www.citycinemaoman.netfacebook.com/citycinemaoman

SHATTI

Black Mass (Crime, Drama)(12+)(2D)Cast: Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton 11:45 pm Sicario (Action, Crime)(12+)(2D)Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro7:00, 9:30, 11:55 pm The Visit (Comedy, Horror) (15+)Cast : Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould2:30 pm The Intern (Comedy)(PG12)Cast : Anne Hathaway, Robert De Niro3:45, 7:45 pmHotel Transylvania 2 (Animation)(3D)PG6:00 pmHotel Transylvania 2 (Animation) (2D)PG2:00 pmPay The Ghost (Horror,Thriller) (15+)Cast : Nicolas Cage, Sarah Wayne Callies 5:00, 10:00, 11:45 pmThe Maze Runner: Scorch Trials (Action) Cast : Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario4:30, 9:15 pm (PG12)(3D)Everest (Adventure, Drama)(PG)(3D/IMAX)Cast : Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa 2:30, 7:00 pmEverest (Adventure, Drama)(PG)(2D)7:00 pm

MUSCAT GRAND MALL

Black Mass (Biography, Crime, Drama) 12+Cast: Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch 9:30 PMM aze Runner: The Scorch Trials: 3DCast: Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie03:15, 11:45 PM; (Action) (PG12)Gold Class: 06:30 PMSicario (Action, Crime, Drama) (12+)Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro12:15, 07:45, 11:55 PMGold Class: 02:00, 09:00, 11:15 PM

Moomins on the Riviera : 2D (Animation) 10:00 AM, 1:30 PM (PG)Everest : 3D (Adventure, Drama, Thriller) (PG)Cast : Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa 4:45 PMHotel Transylvania-2 : 3D (Animation) (PG)10:00, 11:45 AM, 02:30 PMGold Class: 12:15 PMCalendar Girls (Hindi) : 2D (Drama) (15+)Cast : Akanksha Puri, Ruhi Singh, Kyra Dutt7:00 PMPay the Ghost : 2D (Horror, Thriller ) (15+)Cast : Nicolas Cage, Sarah Wayne Callies 5:45, 10:00 PMThe Intern: 2D (Comedy ) (PG12)Gold Class: 04:15 PM

AZAIBA

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials – 3D (PG12) Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller Cast - Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie4:30, 11:55 PMBlack Mass – 2D (15+) Crime, DramaCast: Johnny Depp, Benedict, Dakota Johnson 9:00 PMEverest – 3D (PG) Adventure, Drama, ThrillerCast: Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa

2:15, 11:30 PMSicario – 2D (12+) Action, Crime, Drama 4:00, 06:15, 10:45 PMPay The Ghost - 2D (15+) Horror, Thriller 2:15, 11:45 PMHotel Transsylvania 2 – 2D (PG) Animation 2:00 PMHotel Transsylvania 2 – 3D (PG) Animation 3:30, 05:10 PMKis Kisko Pyaar Karoon – 2D (PG) 2:00, 06:45, 09:15 PM (Romantic)Calendar Girls – 2D (TBC) Hindi, DramaCast: Kyra Dutt, Akanksha Puri, Avani Modi 6:45 PMKunji Ramayanam – 2D (PG) Comedy Cast: Vineeth Shrinivasan, Aju Verghese4:30, 09:30 PMTrisha Illana Nayanthara - 2D (PG) Comedy Cast: GV Prakash Kumar, Anandhi7:00 PM

RUWI

Screen 1Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon (Comedy) – PGCast: Kapil Sharma, Elli Avram, Simran Kaur3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PMScreen 2

Jawani Phir Nahi Aani (Comedy) – 12+Cast: Humayun Saeed, Javed Sheikh3.45, 6.45, 9.45 PM Screen 3Calendar Girls (Drama) – 15+Cast: Akanksha Puri, Avani Modi, Kyra Dutt 3.45, 6.45, 9.45 PM

SOHAR

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials - 3D (PG12) Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller Cast : Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario4:30, 11:45 PMPay the Ghost - 2D (15+)Horror | ThrillerCast : Nicolas Cage, Sarah Wayne Callies 2:45, 10:00 PMAhwak - 2D (Arb) (TBC) Drama6:45 PMThe Intern - 2D (PG12) ComedyCast: Anne Hathaway, Robert De Niro12:30, 04:30 , 07:20 PMHotel Transsylvania 2 - 2D (PG) Animation| 2:45 PMHotel Transsylvania 2 - 3D (PG) Animation| 01:00, 05:45 PMSicario - 2D (12+) Action|Crime| DramaCast : Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin

12:30, 02:45, 07:00, 09:15, 11:30 PMKis Kisko Pyaar Karoon - 2D (PG) ComedyCast : Kapil Sharma, Elli Avram, Simran Kaur12:15 , 07:30, 11:15 PMCalendar Girls- 2D (TBC) DramaCast : Akanksha Puri, Ruhi Singh, Kyra Dutt03:00, 9:30 PMKunji Ramayanam - 2D (M) (PG) ComedyCast : Vineeth Sreenivasan, Aju Varghese9:00 PMTrisha Illana Nayanthara- 2D (T) Romantic Cast : G. V. Prakash Kumar, Anandhi, Manisha5:00 PM (PG)Black Mass - 2D (12+) Biography | Drama Cast : Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch11:55 PM

BURAIMI

Sicario 2D (Action, Drama, Crime) (12+)7:00, 9:15, 11:30PMMaze Runner: The Scroch Trails - 3D4:45, 11:30PM (Action, Sci-FI, Thriller) (PG12)Everest – 3D (Adventure) (PG)4:30PMHotel Transylvania 2 – 3D (Animation) (PG)4:30, 6:15PMPay the Ghost – 2D (Horror, Thriller) (15+)

10:00PMBlack Mass 2D (Crime, Drama) (12+)Cast: Johnny Depp, Dakota Johnson11:55 PMTale of Tales – 2D (Fantasy, Romance) (12+)Cast: Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel6:45PMKiss Kisko Pyaar Karoo– 2D (Romantic) 9:15PM (PG)Kunji Ramayanam – 2D (Comedy) (PG)8:00PM

SUR

Sicario (Action | Crime | Drama) (12+) 4:45, 07:00, 11:45 PMMaze Runner : the Scorch Trails (3D) (Action) 06:30 PM (PG12)Kunji Ramayanam (Mal)(Family) (PG) 11:15 PMKis Kisko Pyaar Karoon (Hindi) (Romance) 9:15 PM (PG)Everest (3D) (Adventure ) (PG) 04:15 PMBlack Mass (Biography | Crime ) (12+) Cast: Johnny Depp, Bendict Cumberbatch 9:00 PM

SALALAH

Pay the Ghost (2D) (15+) (Horror/Thriller) 12:30/10:10PMBlack Mass (2D) (12+) (Biography) Cast: Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch 11:55PMEverest (3D) (PG) (Adventure2:15PMHotel Transylvania 2 (3D)(PG) (Animation) 10:00AM/02:00/3:45PMSicario (2D) (12+) (Action/Crime/Drama) 10:15AM/07:00/09:15/ 11:45 PMThe Intern (2D) (PG12) (Comedy) 11:45AM/5:30PMMaze Runner: The Scorch Trials (3D) 4:30/11:30PM (PG12) Kiss Kisko Pyaar Karoo (2D) (PG) 10:45AM/ 07:45PMThe Visit (2D) (15+) (Fantasy/Romance) 1:15/ 10:00PMAhwak (2D) (PG12) (Arabic) (Comedy) 5:30PMTale of Tales (2D) (12+)( Fantasy/Romance) 3:00PMKunju Ramayanam (2D) (PG) (Mal)(Comedy) 7:45PM

BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking 24540855Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

The Visit (Comedy/Horror) Cast: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould12.00, 2.15, 6.15 & 10.00 p.m.CP No: 2445 ( 15+)Black Mass (Biography/ Crime/ Drama)Cast : Johnny Depp, Dakota Johnson11.55 p.m; CP No : 2465 (12+)Pay The Ghost (Thriller) Cast: Nicolas Cage, Sarah Wayne Callies8.00 & 10.15 pmCP No: 2446 (15+)The Intern (Comedy ) Cast: Anne Hathaway, Robert De Niro, Nat Wolff12.00, 1.45 & 8.00 pmCP No: 2447 ( PG 12)Ahwak (Arabic) (Comedy) Cast: Tamer Housney, Ghada Adel, Mahmoud Heimeida, Amal Rizki5.45 pmCP No: 2451 (PG 12)Everest (Adventure/Drama/Thriller)Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Elizebeth Debicki, Keira Knightly4.00 pmCP No: 2434 (PG)The Deadlands (Action) Cast: James Rolleston, Lawrence Makoare, Te kohe Tuhaka4:00, 11.55 pmCP No: 2435 (15+)

STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776Website: www.isurf.co.omKunji Ramayanam (Mal) (Dram/Com) 3-30, 6-30 & 9-30 Pm At Cinema MainCast: Vineet Srinivasan, Aju VargeesTrisha Illana Nayanthara (Tamil) (Act/Com) 3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 Pm Cinema-3Cast: G.V. Prakash Kumar, AnandiSubramanyam (Telugu) (Act/Rom)3-30 & 6-30 Pm Cinema-2Maya (Tamil) (Horror) 6-45 Pm At Cinema-4 ; 9-30 Cinema -2 Utopiayile Rjavu (Mal) (Drama/Com) 3-45 & 9-45 Pm At Cinema-4NEXT CHANGE: Pulli (Tamil) Rajni Murugan (Tamil) Singh Is Bling (Hindi) Programmes are subject to change

@MGM @RUWI

SICARIO(Action, Crime) (12+)Cast : Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del ToroTimings : 12:15, 7:45, 11:55 PMGold Class: 2:00, 9:00, 11:15 PM

@SHATTI

BLACK MASS(Crime, Drama) (12+)Cast : Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton Timings : 11:45 pm

@SOHAR

KIS KISKO PYAAR KAROON - 2D (PG) Cast: Kapil Sharma, Elli Avram, Simran Kaur Mundi, Manjari Phadnis, Arbaaz KhanTimings : 12:15, 7:30, 11:15 PM

CALENDAR GIRLS (DRAMA) – 15+Cast: Akanksha Puri, Avani Modi, Kyra Dutt, Ruhi Singh, Satarupa Pyn, Suhel Seth, Ronit RoyTimings: 3.45, 6.45, 9.45 PM

WEATHER

340

Maximum

270

Minimum

TEMPERATURE

40-90%RELATIVE HUMIDITY

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to extra@timesofoman.com

KRITHIKA VINOD September 30, 2014

NANCY SEBISeptember 30, 2003

HEER ALKESHKUMAR SHAHSeptember 30, 2013

WITH LOVE

LIFESTYLEC11W E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

Dreamy Wakan

Location: 23°08’33.2”N 57°44’01.8”E

Have you been able to capture the beauty

of an off -the-beaten-path destination in Oman?

Send your pictures with a caption

and geo-locator to: shafeeq@timesofoman.com

Dusit Continues Expansion in Oman

IN KEEPING with its expan-sion strategy to launch in exciting world destinations, Dusit Interna-tional announces its latest project in the Sultanate of Oman.

Executives from the Bangkok-based hospitality group Dusit International, led by Managing Director and CEO Chanin Do-navanik, joined executives from the Al Jarwani Group to ink a management agreement on a new dusitD2 hotel in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

The dusitD2 Palm Mall Muscat, scheduled for completion in 2017, will be located within the mixed-use Palm Mall development that will off er unique attractions in-cluding Oman’s fi rst snow village and the Sultanate’s largest aquar-ium. The upscale hotel will off er approximately 150 guest rooms and 100 suites with an enticing cu-linary off ering. Select rooms will off er stunning views of the mall’s aquarium and snow village. Lei-sure facilities will include a gym, spa and pool, while meeting rooms

and a ballroom will cater for busi-ness guests and special events.

Despite being a desert country, Oman possesses a diverse geogra-phy, making it an excellent destina-tion for adventure travellers keen to explore its rugged mountains, beautiful coastlines or awe inspir-ing sand dunes. Cultural tourism is also a major highlight in Oman which boasts multiple Unesco World Heritage Sites, such as the ruins of the necropolis of Bat, dat-ing back to 3,000 B.C.

“We are excited to add Oman to our list of international des-tinations, further strengthen-ing Dusit’s presence in the GCC region,” commented Donavanik. “The dusitD2 Palm Mall Muscat will off er the Dusit brand’s sig-nature warm, gracious service, combined with local hospitality customs and world-class enter-tainment facilities to provide a truly unique experience. We are confi dent that alongside our partners at Al Jarwani Group, we will be able to make this hotel a great success and a new land-mark in the region.”

Chairman of Al Jarwani Group, Mahmood Al Jarwani, also add-ed, “We are very happy to join hands with Dusit International. The Sultanate of Oman will soon experience the unmatched hos-pitality and service.”

HOSP I TAL I TY

DRIVE SLOWER LIVE LONGER

LIFESTYLEC12 W E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0, 2 0 1 5

PHO

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GR

APH

Y:

SUPP

LIED

EL NIDO Palawan, Philippines

Shockingly, Palawan has remained steadily under the radar, and it stays that way. El Nido alone is home to around 50 white sand beaches — it’s impossible to choose just one — all of which are set around dramatic limestone formations and boast the fi nest and whitest sand you’ll ever see. The water is so blindingly blue it makes the Caribbean Sea look murky in comparison, and the sunsets? Well, they’ll ruin you for life. Consider yourself warned.

BLINKY BEACH Lord Howe Island, Australia

While many of the continent’s best beaches can be found in Queensland, make no mistake — New South Wales fi rmly holds its own. Besides its excellent surf, Blinky Beach, on the east side of Lord Howe Island, is fantastically beautiful: It’s situated between Blinky Point and a promontory known as Mutton Bird Lookout, and boasts the requisite powder-white sand and azure waters. Behind it, you’ll fi nd tall dunes dotted with prickly spinifex and wild daisies.

GRACE BAY Providenciales, Turks and Caicos

Vacationers are almost always pleased with Grace Bay in Provo. The beach’s breathtaking surf and sand, plus its proximity to a golf course and plenty of shops and restaurants, leave most guests pleasantly satisfi ed. It is unbelievably clear, clean water with hundreds of shades of blues and greens and white sugar sand beaches.

EL CASTILLO Tulum, Riviera Maya, Mexico

When it comes to Mexican beaches, this one can’t be beat: It hugs the base of towering, 40-foot limestone cliff s. Its pale, silvery sand leads invitingly into the clear, shallow Caribbean Sea, and it’s fl anked by palms and lush vegetation on either side. Best of all, it’s located directly beneath the famous El Castillo ruins, which can be admired from the shore.

RADHANAGAR BEACH Havelock, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India

Where on earth do you know a beach with the softest white sand, situated just off a jungle and with a beautiful mountain as a back-drop? The reputed Time magazine named it as Asia’s best beach in 2004. Radhanagar beach, Havelock Island is very well known for its vast spreading and long white, sandy beach that sprawls across a wide area. With lush green trees on one end and aqua green, clear water on the other end, one can truly take a walk midst nature and forget all his woes.

WAIPIO VALLEY BEACH Big Island, Hawaii

This beach in Waipio Valley is one of the hardest to get to in Ha-waii — you must hike or drive down a treacherously narrow, steep road to reach your destination. But it’s well worth the trek: At the bottom, you’re rewarded with a mile-long black volcanic sand beach bordered by 2000-foot cliff walls and backed by thick rainforest. If that weren’t scenic enough, the Kaluahine and Waiulili waterfalls cut into the cliff s at the south end of the beach, and are accessible via a boulder-strewn trail along the surf.

MATIRA BEACH Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Matira is perhaps the most famous of Tahiti’s beaches, and for good reason. The mile-long stretch of silky, powder-white sand slopes gently into a shallow emerald lagoon, and is backed by a thick curtain of palms and tropical foliage. Added bonus: It’s one of the only public-access beaches in Bora Bora, so you won’t need to pay fi ve-star resort prices to enjoy its beauty.

ANSE LAZIO Praslin, Seychelles

Anse Lazio, on the northwest tip of Praslin island, is known widely as the most beautiful beach in the Seychelles and is by far the most photographed. It’s no wonder: The beach is long and broad with velvety sand and shocking blue water, and it’s fringed with sway-ing palms and leafy takamaka trees. To add to the drama, it’s also framed by enormous granite boulders on either side.

TOP 10 BEACHES

For some travellers, the perfect beach trip

consists of white sand and blue waters. For

others, a family-friendly atmosphere defi nes

a beach’s excellence. And yet for others, an

off -the-grid setting is a top factor. In truth,

there isn’t one ideal strip of sand that would

suit everyone. Still, the ranking of the best

beaches in the world showcases what makes

a beach stand out: ambience, accessibility,

aff ordability, and approval among experts and

travellers. Before you grab your towel and hit

the sands, check out which places top the list.

BAIA DO SANCHO Fernando de Noronha, Brazil

Baía do Sancho on island paradise and environmentally protected area Fernando de Noronha has been voted the best beach in the world by Tripadvisor for the second year in a row. The bay with the crystal clear water on Noronha’s main island can be visited by boat or through a narrow staircase down the cliff s. The beach lies on a se-cluded bay on the main island of Unesco protected archipelago Fer-nando de Noronha, off the coast of Recife. It is best visited via boat, which will stop right in front of the bay to not destroy the corals un-derneath, or via a narrow staircase, which leads down the cliff s that tower around the bay.

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HONOKALANI Wai’anapanapa State, Maui

With its jet-black shore, lapis lazuli waters and thick, jungle-like foliage, Honokalani Beach is a photographer’s dream. Be-sides lying lazily on the “sand” — actually made up of tiny lava pebbles — there’s plenty to do: you’ll fi nd seaside lava tubes and sea caves carved into the lava cliff s along the shore. It’s wild, un-spoiled Hawaii at its best, and a necessary stop en route to Hana.

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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

W E D N E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 5

RENT D2

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon

for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifi eds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

New 1/2 B/R RES/ Comm.

fl ats near Medical College Bausher

directly from owner. contact:

92158031

Fully furnished 2 BHK apartments

available at Bareeq Al Shatti.

Contact 92888063

2BHK fl ats & shops available for rent

at Honda road in a brand new build-

ing (dish & split A/C provided in

fl ats). Contact: 91165807 / 92976611

Shops for rent at City Seasons hotel

Al Khuwair. Contact: 24394800

Small offi ce space for rent near

Ruwi Mosque & Badr Hospital.

Contact : 99512270

Flat for rent in Wadi Kabir near

Indian Primary School 2B and 1k.

Contact : 92222922

Flats for rent near Indian School in

Wadi Kabir. Contact 99777122

Single room available for Ex-

ecutive bachelor near Zakhar mall

behind Kamat Restaurant. contact

94271085

Deluxe 3 BHK Penthouse with Seaview,

ideal for offi ce / residence at Qu-

rum near PDO. contact 9772 1313 /

95070421

New Building in Mutrah, 2 B/D

Room Flat + Setting Room,3 Baths+

Kitchen with split unit Ac’s. Behind

Khimiji’s main offi ce/opposite to

Oman House Call 99419712

Flat for rent, 2 bedrooms, 1 sitting

room, 3 toilets next to

Al Hassan Company in W/K.

Contact: 99210008

For rent : showroom / storage space

available (area 290 SQM, 6M height)

facing Al Mina street, Jibroo.

Contact: 99360631 / 96760819

Wadi Kabir, 2 Bed Room Flat with

sitting Room, 2 Bath Rooms+ Kitch-

en. Opposite to Kuwaiti Mosque.

Close to Indian school.

Call 99419712/99261628

D2 W E D N E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

Shops for rent in Wadi Kabeer.

Contact: 99888390

Villa for rent - Al Seeb/Al Mawelah

- Block 5 - 4 bedrooms with

attached bathrooms , Majlis, 2 halls,

kitchen and storeroom.

split Ac and carpark -

Contact 99564616 / 99498448

2BHK with split AC near PDO Gate

No.2 Qurum available for immediate

renting. Contact : 94057023

2 BHK with split AC Al Khuwair -33

for residential & commercial use.

Contact : 94057023

New fl ats for rent in Darsait

Al Sahal. Contact: 99777351

Flats, shops for rent in Ruwi, MBD &

Mumtaz area. Contact 97293708

3BHK fl at Darsait Near I.D card

Medical 450/- R.O. Contact:

99358589 / 95570288

1& 2 BHK fl ats for rent at Wadi

Kabir, Wadi Adai, Hamriya, Al Khoud

and Mabela and shop at Al Khoud

land line. Contact : 24834644

GSM 93994401/ 02/ 03, 3 lines

1bedroom attached, toilet & kitchen

in AL Khuwair R.O 140/-. #95154331

3BHK , 3bathrooms , 2balconys

NRAL Hassan W/ Kabir R.O 320/-.

Contact: 99384640

2BHK close to Indian School Kin-

dergarten Wadi Kabir R.O 300/-.

Contact: 99476728 / 98484415

1BHK R.O 225/- close to Indian

Nursery, Darsait. Contact: 99476728

/ 98484415

Flat for rent in Wadi Kabeer (2 bed-

rooms, 1 Majlis, 3 toilets, 1 Kitchen &

hall. Contact: 95562646

Villa for rent in Wadi Kabeer. Con-

tact: 95562646 / 94059333

Fully furnished luxury 2 bedroom

fl at for rent at Ghala for short or long

term basis. # 99886386/ 99881653

1, 2 BHK in Azaiba. Contact:

99385835 / 99428143

Big room bathroom attached with

kitchen near Riyam Park Muscat RO

100. Contact: 95094028

1000 sq mtrs Industrial land in Gha-

la suitable for ware house workshop

etc. Contact: 24700120 / 92584715

One Bed room fl at with full furniture

available at ruwi high street, Rent

RO 200. Furniture cost RO 350.

Contact 99445675.

02 BHK Commercial / residential

(with Split A/C) fl at at Honda road.

Contact : 99342733 / 99795241

2 BHK residential fl at opposite

to AL Nadha Hospital. Contact :

99342733 / 99795241

500/1000 sqm industrial land with

compound wall at Misfah behind

Oman Oil fi lling Station. Contact :

99342733 / 99795241

2BHK, 2 Baths, Split A/C, Wadi ka-

beer towards Al bustan, Near Indian

Elementary School.

Contact 99441193, 93004802

2 bedroom villa in Sidab.

Contact: 95755953 / 95555162

1BHK Ruwi & 3BHK Bosher. Contact: 99024730

2BHK new Amerat with AC 230/-

R.O. Contact: 99024730

House for rent 4BR family hall,

fi tting room, dining room, kitchen,

store with A/C & satellite reception

at Mawaleh south , behind Sultan

discount center rent R.O 550/-.

Contact: 93653311

600 SQT commercial fl at for rent

opposite Oman fl ourmill Darsait

more details. Contact: 91214849/

99364735

Room Al Khuwair R.O 120/-.

Contact : 97799175

1BHK Mumtaz R.O 250/-.

Contact: 97799175

1,2 BHK Darsait. Contact :

97799175

2BHK Ghubra RO 325/-.

Contact: 97799175

1BHK Ghubra R.O 275/-.

Contact : 97799175

2 BHK Wadi Kabeer R.O 300/-.

Contact : 97799175

Villa for rent in Al Khuwair 33, 8

bedrooms & 5 bathrooms with park-

ing area near Taimur Mosque.

Contact: 99366624

1BHK fl ats available for rent in CBD

area. Contact: 98116480

Flat for rent in Hamriya. #99341112

2 bed room fl at at Al Khoudh

Commercial Street Souq.

Contact: 99224748 / 99332297

3500 sqr mtrs open Industrial land

for rent in Rusail. Contact 99792181

1000 sqr mtrs store in Mabela in-

dustrial area. Contact 99792181

New 1 & @2 Bhk Flat in CBD opposit

Al maya supermarket. #99792181

1 BHK fl at in Ruwi ( Honda Road).

Contact 99792181

2 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair. Contact

99792181

Commercial cum residential new

building looking for one company,

location Muttrah near Police Station.

For more details contact: 99364735

/ 95729711

Twin villa 6BR hall, kitchen at

Al Ansab-2. Contact: 99747560 /

99444786

1BHK fl at with A/C AL Khuwair

250/- R.O. #99358589 / 95570288

New fl ats for rent in Darsait,

Al Sahal. # 99311525

Flat and show room for rent

Al Khuwair 33, Al Ghubrah, Darsait

and Jibroo. Contact: 24485240 /

24485241 / 93651633 / 92109563

New deluxe villas at Madinat

Qaboos. Contact: 99369081

1,2 BHK fl ats in Wadi Al Kabeer.

Contact: 99369081

Furnished room for rent at

Al Khuwair R.O 225/- for family only.

Contact: 99251975

DAILY GUIDEW E D N E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 5 D3

Shop for sale or rent at Ruwi City.

Contact: 99103077

Shop for sale in Sohar- Offi ce

purpose in the main centre of Sohar

Contact – 99437086

Muscat hill luxury 4 bedroom

apartment 209 sq. meters under con-

struction for sale for RO 15000. only

10% paid. Balance in easy install-

ment. Expected completion in Jan 17.

98083217

Beauty Salon for sale in Azaiba

prime location behind Al fardan

building. With sponsor and 1 staff

and 1 ready visa clearance.

Contact: 95318629

Used Fabrication machinery for sale

: Fabrication machinery and tools

in excellent condition for immediate

sale. Contact 94652485/ 99273774/

99202278

Shop for sale in CBD area prime lo-

cation G. Floor + mezzanine low rent.

Contact: 90112434

Used air condition.

Contact : 97093793

Building material shop for sale at

Misfah near Oman Cement factory.

Contact : 99617464 / 95961577

Computer training centre for sale.

contact 94412557

Ladies parlor for sale at Ansab.

Contact: 98806430

Ice Cream & juices shop in Ruwi

good location for sale suitable for

beauty parlor also.

Contact: 92150455

For sale land in Amerat 3000 Sq.mt

with petrol pump permission.

Contact 99323957 / 92702891

FOR SALE

FOR RENT

ACC. AVAILABLE

UNIVERSAL SCRAP BUYERS AT

AMAZING PRICESConvert ANY type of Scrap into Money by selling us the scrapGreat prices are guaranteed

for our clients!Call this number now for

urgent response - 96059470

*Kindly note that the scrap should be 50 tons onwards

AFFORDABLE QUALIFIED STAFF AVAILABLE:

Hurry and call this number now! 95967902

Our professionals give YOU:

CLASSY, CREATIVE AND AFFORDABLE INTERIOR DESIGN

Hurry now and call this number 91494149

SITUATION WANT-M.V. FOR SALE

Nissan Altima 2005 automatic.

Contact: 99454425

40 Feet Atlas Trailor 2010.

Contact: 99454425

Toyota YARIS. Model 2008. KM

69000. Expat driven, All services

at Toyota. Very clean. Rate: 2900.

Contact 99445675.

Mitsubishi 10 ton Truck 2006

model company body, registra-

tion valid till May 2016 for sale.

Contact: 95150329

Lexus GX 460, 2013.

Contact : 99336093

AVAILABLE

Party & Wedding equipment rentals.

Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-

ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery,

Crockery, Glassware, Chafi ng 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

FOR HIRE

Trailor with driver for hire.

Contact: 92303774

Bobcat Grader and roller for rent.

Contact: 94584688

*Classifi ed Advertisement space

booking with text, should be done

till 12.00 noon for next day’s

publication. * Subject to space

availability

NRI

Plot for sale 10 cent plot facing the

lake for sale in Kollam town, 2 km

away from Mulangadakam temple.

Please contact: 00968 91271516

Old Goan Portuguese house for sale

location Parra Bardez North Goa

build-up area 150 sq mtr Total area

400 sq mtr price 1.85 CR negotiable

India. Contact: 919225903788 Oman.

Contact: 93277007

(call after 7 pm)

MATRIMONIAL

RC, Keralite ( Kottayam) male,

27 yrs, Civil Engineer, working in

Muscat from decent family looking

for suitable alliance.

Contact : 95035953

31 years RC boy, M. Com MBA - work-

ing in Sohar - Seeks alliance from

Christian families -

Contact 94219830

Seeking alliance for our son from

Muslim families. Interested families

Contact: 99889590

LOST

CHANGE OF NAME

Room for rent available in a fl at for

Executive bachelor at Azaiba behind

AL Meera Market with attached bath

with cot & A/c, rent RO 175/- per

month including water & Electricity.

Contact 96404166 / 97433992

Two bed rooms with 2 toilets and

sharing, Kitchen available near

Al Falaj hotel. Contact: 90269652

Large room furnished sep / entrance

Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99336206

Furnished room available in Ruwi

for bachelor. Contact: 93086584

2BHK available for offi ce Ghubra.

Contact: 99269751

Single exclusive room available

for Executive bachelor furnished

separate toilet, kitchen sharing Wadi

Kabir behind Golden Oasis hotel.

Contact: 99335145

Single room, bath Darsait R.O 140/-.

Contact: 93289652

Sharing accommodation for Indian

family Ruwi high street.

Contact : 99895616

A big room in available near Ham-

riya R/A for Muslim couple / small

family / Executive bachelor rent

150/- per month including W+ E.

Contact: 99495131

Accommodation available for

indian executive bachelor’s

(no kitchen).RO:125 including water

and electricity

Contact no. .. 98145825, 98949724

NOTICE

Jenaah Al Naser Al Dhaabi for Trad

ASSO company which is recorded

under the commercial register

number 1040887 in the treading

& industry Al Batinah is going to

change its legaly shape from ASSO

company to Joint company And in

accordance with Article 13 of the

Commercial Companies Law No.

4/74 . And change name to Taaj

Soahr Al Momayaz for consturution

joint company . This is to inform any

body who concerns about that to 2

months from the date publishing

this advertising.

Declaration of converting the legal form Radiance Trading and Con-

tracting solidarity announces useful

commercial register images under

number (1019903) It’s in the process

of converting the form of a company

of solidarity to the limited company

liarits in accordance with Article 13

bis 2 of the commercial companies

law No. 74/4 , as amended , and

modify its trade name to Radiance

Modern Trading & Contracting LCC

and therefore all of his objection to

that he has to submit the reasons

for his objection to the department

of Trade and Industry South Eastern

province within two months from

the date of publication of this an-

nouncement.

I Abdurahiman Moideen (holder

of Indian Passport No. F 7857611)

son of Moideen having permanent

residence in Puvvathodi House, Post

Velimukku Dt. Malappuram, Kerala

(complete postal address in India)

and presently residing in Muscat

P.O. Box. 3129, P.C 112 Ruwi (complete

postal address in Oman) intend to

change my name from Abdurahiman

Moideen (old name) to Abdurahiman

Puvvathodi (new name) for all prac-

tical 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.

1 & 2 bedroom fl ats available for

rent in wadi-kabir (opp: pencil bldg),

ideal for company staff / families -

bulk corporate deal possible.

Contact: 97677170

Juwal Mia has lost Bangladeshi

Passport No. BA 0363290. Finder

please handover to ROP

Rahim Qadar has lost Pakistani

Passport No. CW 9155142. Finder

please handover to ROP

CATERING

DAILY GUIDED4 W E D N E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifi eds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DESIGNER

DOMESTIC HELP

DOMESTIC HELP

DRAUGHTSMAN

DRAUGHTSMAN

EDUCATION

ENGINEER/TECH/MECH

ENGINEER/TECH/MECH

ADMIN

ACCOUNTANT

BEAUTICIAN

DRIVER

MEDICAL

SEC/OFFICE

MANAGER/SUP

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANT-SIT. WANTED

SITUATION WANT-SIT. WANTED

SALES / MARKETING

ADMIN

DRIVER

Required heavy duty truck driver

holding Omani driving license w/ 5

years experience please

Contact 92001111

Driver with Oman driving licence

needed. Visa available.

Contact 94288863

Looking for an experienced house driver for an Omani family. Inter-

ested candidates may

Contact: 96203333

Urgently Required: MEP Engineer-

Degree holder and with 7 years

experience in building construction,

MUST have NOC and immediately

join. Apply, fax 00968–24605955,

emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com,

sbeoman@yahoo.com

Biomedical Engineer is required, preferably with Oman exp.

Contact: 99337840

Reputed metal fabrication company

seeks fabrication supervisor, structural steel fabricator, Machine maintenance Technician and Electrician. Contact: 99102383

Email: hr@khancogroup.com

Housemaid (exp 20 years)

looking for English, family.

Contact: 99564133 / 96534195

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

Required Salesman, Store keeper,

Private driver, preferably with good

experience and communication

skills. Contact: 91408759 Email:

hanaa.alritaj@gmail.com

A leading Construction Company in Muscat urgently requires the

following candidates: - 1) Electrome-chanical Supervisors 2) Electrical Foreman 3) Plumbing foreman 4) Electricians 5) Plumbers. Send CV : hr.azatllc@gmail.com

or call 99344279

Sir Lankan Secretary with experi-

ence in recruitment fi eld.

Contact: 92809528

Cooks & helpers for café. Contact: 95529970

Restaurant Staff urgently required Tandoor roti maker, waiter/ helper

required in restaurant in Saham.

Contact : 98029701 / 95821905

Required Catering Supervisor, Chef, Asst. Cook & Chapathi makers for a catering Company in

interior area. Apply with NOC.

SMS : 99242984

Light driver looking for full time job.

Contact: 95154610

4 years exp driver need a job.

Contact: 94208089

Pakistani driver with car.

Contact: 91248202

Driver looking for job. Contact:

92303744

Light driver Pakistani age 24 years.

Contact: 97106232

Indian driver with experience in

Oman. Contact: 96255558

Looking for driver job.# 93650209

Bangladesh 24 years, 2 years expe-

rience. Contact: 97806144

Light driver with car Hyundai

Accent 2016. Contact : 94039796

Bangladeshi light driver (AG) 48)

expe, 14 years, need job & visa have

release paper transpire. #99165961

Driver. Contact: 95084826

Pakistani male light vehicle driver

looking for job. Contact: 96474528

Driver with car. Contact :91452930

Wanted driver. Contact 95112461

An Omani Co. located at Muscat

start a new workshop with three

divisions: Steel, Carpentry and

Aluminum and looking for experts Supervisor and Foremen. The can-

didate must have minimum 10 yrs.

experience and

GCC driving license. Send C.V to

kwk585@gmail.com

General Foreman. Required Fore-man (MEP) with 4 to 5 years experi-

ence for maintenance of building.

Having valid Omani driving license.

Contact: 94652485

E-mail: realconsco@gmail.com

Required Sales Manager for a hotel

supply company with minimum

5 years experience.

Contact: 92035162

Omani Receptionist required recep-

tionist, well presented with excellent

communications skills and telephone

manner, fl uent in Arabic and English

required for Ruwi offi ce. Candidates

should be familiar with MS English

and Arabic offi ce suite. Send CV and

covering email to

mj-co@omantel.net.om

Wanted Accountant for an insurance

brokerage offi ce. Interested please

send CV on fax: 24601729

ADMIN

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

Civil Engineer B.Sc -6 years experi-

ence with constructions companies

- 1 years in Oman - qualifi ed as Site

Engineer & Planning Engineer.

Contact+968-94682217

B.E in Mechanical post Gradua-

tion Diploma in piping Engineering.

Contact : 94786570

Email: asim.hajwani6@gmail.com

Automobile Engnr Indian with 7 yrs

experience 2 yrs Toyota and 5 yrs

Jaguar corporate experience looking

for suitable job in Oman. Contact im-

mediately: 93709706 currently on

visit visa for 10 days only

Civil Engineer Pakistani 12+2 years

Oman experience D/L required

placement. Contact: 94392616

Building site supervisor, since

March 2010 in Oman with Omani

D/L looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 93061107

Mechanical Engineer (UK ) 28

years, male looking for suitable

placement with valid Oman driving

license having 3.5 years experience

in Oman NOC available. Contact 968

97612297 immediate availability.

Email: ymirza11@caledonian.ac.uk

Mechatronics (Electrical, Mechani-

cal) Engineer, 3 years of experi-

ence. Contact: 91234024 Email:

ammar.r.elerris@gmail.com

Indian male 29, having 7 years exp

in construction fi eld& Auto Cad in

Oman. Having valid driving license.

Fluent in English & Arabic. Looking

for suitable job in reputed fi rm.

Contact - 99650569

BE (Civil) Indian male with 20 years

experience with reputed consul-

tancy companies & working for one

of the prestigious project of Muscat

since 2008 seeks suitable position.

Contact: 92511428,

Email: manoj_t2000@yahoo.com

Mechanical Engineer, 24 having

knowledge in HVAC looking for suit-

able placement. Contact: 95434381

Email: shuhaibusman313@gmail.

com

Agriculture Engineer Egyptian in

Oman available till 10th Oct experi-

ence 5 years. Contact: 90155723

Sudanese Telecom Engineer 5 years experience in Oman.

Contact: 93391008

Electrical and Electronics Engineer with one year experience and GCC

licence holder seeking a job

mail – shyjalpk@gmail.com

Young Electrical Engineer looking

for suitable placement. Having spe-

cialization in electronics.

Contact 99227861

Urgently required Gulf experi-enced Beautician for a well known

parlor in Muscat. Send the details to

1974ambi@gmail.com or

contact 0096896789862

Urgently required experienced Beautician. Contact 96616731 or

send CV to pbm.ibra@gmail.com

A leading Construction Company in Muscat urgently requires Draughtsman (Civil).

Send CV : hr.azatllc@gmail.com or

call 99344279

Wanted a Lab Technician with valid

M.O.H license and N.O.C to work in

a polyclinic. Salary R.O 450/- per

month (package).Contact: 96493058

(2 pm to 4 pm).

Email: ap_sdsudhi@yahoo.com

Required Graphic Designer (mini-

mum 2 years experience) Client Ser-

vice Executive with Omani license

(minimum 2 years experience) visa

available. Contact: 96727631 send

CV to dollydhian@gmail.com

Indian Civil Auto cad Draftsman looking suitable placement 5 years

experience. Contact: 97465102

Urgently needed female Dermatologist with minimum 5 yrs

experience. Send CV :

elixirhealthcenter@yahoo.com

P.S. details of salary and benefi ts will

be sent after submitting the CV

Looking for pharmacist with a valid

MOH license to work in Bidbid. Send

CV to abumustafaclinic@gmail.com

Required urgently General Physi-cian Gynecology, Pharmacist, LAB Technicians staff nurse. Contact: 95133572

Email: kunoozghala@gmail.com

Wanted Nurse for dental centre in Mawaleh South & Qurum.

Contact 93431024,

Email : drasyanaseem@gmail.com

Required Pharmacies with license,

needed for clinic in Al Khoudh ,

Contact :+968 97696502 , mail CV to

towershr70@gmail.com

Experienced Manager in HR, Ad-

ministration and Finance. More than

10 years gulf experience including

four years in Oman. Having Oman

Driving License and NOC

Contact 93264005

Indian female 24 years BE Elec-

tronics now in Oman visiting visa

searching job for any Administra-

tive Sectors telecommunicat-

ing, banking, teaching. Contact:

95935867 / 99536948 Email:

anjujose011@gmail.com

Indian male BBA Graduate 12 years

experience in Administration level

15 months exp in Oman having NOC

available looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact : 91458388

Indian Female MBA, 3 years expe-

rience in Admin MIS, family Visa.

Contact 98234427,

jkjsmith01@gmail.com

Indian male 25 years MBA (HR)

Now in Oman visiting visa search-

ing job for Administration, HR Cus-

tomer relation. Contact: 90196322 /

91049868 Email:

nithinvarghese19@gmail.com

Filipina, 10 yrs experience in

Fashion Retail, Shipment, Logistics,

Inventory, Warehouse Control and

Store Management is seeking

employment. Call +971565833126

or 97728418.

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

A private School looking for an Eng-

lish teacher, preferable (Philipino

- Jordanian) Nationality for more

information. Contact: 98982088

Post Graduate researcher required. Contact 99229700

A well – known private School require English, Mathematics, Science, Computer and KG Teachers. Contact: 96910649

Email: staffi ng.oman@gmail.com

Required Graduate with Omani driving license preferably Indian

willing to travel outside Muscat.

Contact: 99454425

Required Salesman, Tailor & Barber. Contact: 96964767

Required experienced Sales & Marketing Executive for sports

club. Preference will be given who

has experience in Oman and valid

driving license. Please send your

CV to dasanthas1@gmail.com or

saud7kh7@gmail.com

Sales Incharge 5 years experience

(Oman) language English, Arabic.

Contact: 24566813 Email: hammad-

hassan5786@gmail.com

Sales man (Dairy) 2 years exp as a

Sales man with FMCG in GCC , Loca-

tion Muscat, Barka, Khaboura , Ibri,

Izki & Al Kamil, key skills Salesman

(Dairy) & Sales (Dairy) / business

development. Contact: Ahmed

Al Salami 96929227 Telephone:

26940215 Fax: 24811565 Email:

ahmed.alsalmiy@unikai.com

Looking for a Staff has experience

in Oman in real estate and real estate

valuation. Interested Contact:

mobile: 99109094

Email: aburashid94dd@gmail.com

Marketing Manager with Oman

experience & driving license.

Contact: 95766844

Looking for qualifi ed, good commu-

nication and computer skills candi-

date with experience for position of : Sales Manager to work in high-end

window tinting business. Minimum

academic requirements: bachelor’s

degree and own a driving license.

Kindly email your CV to

abdullah.alhinai86@gmail.com

Required experienced Sales / Marketing Executives having light

license. Send your CV

ocean@omantel.net.om

Part Time Accounting, Accounts

Finalization, Audit Preparation,

Internal Audit, Accounting System

for New Companies,

Contact: 96975454,

email :ibfc.gcc@gmail.com

Indian female B.Com Graduate

2 years Oman experience in tally

ERP 9 seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 95186652

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, WITH

13yrs experience, 6 yrs Oman in

manufacturing, trading & con-

tracting Cos, capable of handling

all accounting, fi nance, bank-

ing, L/C, import, export & fi na-

lization seeks placement. NOC

Available. Call+968-98932752,

mail:jjohnmuscat@hotmail.com

B.Com (Indian Male) with 5 years

experience (2 years GCC) in

Accounts & Audit fi eld.

Contact:95584531/

razikthumbe@gmail.com

Indian male, 34 years MBA fi nance,

having 9 years experience, looking

for suitable placement presently on

visit visa. Contact: 92914869 Email:

noblev1982@gmail.com

Indian female 28 years M.Com,

Accountant having 6 years experi-

ence in Accounts, fi nalization, Tally

currently on visit visa.

Contact : 95595083 Email:

merlinfernandes16@yahoo.in

Part time accountant, senior ac-

countant, doing all type of ac-

counting works, up to fi nalization.

contact.95254864

Indian male 23 yrs B.com having

3 yrs accounts exp in India looking

for suitable placement presently

on visit visa. Contact :94131842 /

93516968,

Email: jithujithin05@gmail.com

Part time Accountant, up to fi na-

lization, looking for job after 5 pm

(location prefer – MSQ to AL Hail).

Contact: 95694737

ACCA fi nalist, Recent B.Com Gradu-

ate, Indian female, looking for full

time employment in Accounting

and Audit. +968 96964379,

sangeethaumesh5@gmail.com

Accounting B.Com male Diploma

in computerized professional Ac-

counting, professional & manual

accounting, 25 yrs, Indian, 25

yrs, Keralite, India. Contact:

0091 9746838659

Email: jijesh567@gmail.com

Finance Manager 26 years experi-

ence including 22 years Oman with

NOC. # 91302906 / 91335205

Accountant Indian female on

visit visa, degree B.Com exp Tally

ERP-9 fi nalization of Accounts, Tax

Accounting, Stock maintenance,

pay roll, etc. Contact : 91551164 /

91175456,

mk.jothipriya@gmail.com

Chief Accountant, 12 years Oman

experience looking for suitable

position. Contact: 99513082

Accountant with 8 years U.A.E

experience, on visit visa, looking for

a job. Contact : 96166512

Senior Accountant 10 years experi-

ence, looking for accounts parttime

works and fi nalization works.

Contact: 96247295

Accountant 7 Years Experience

with D/L and NOC. #97712084

Indian male, 27years, MCom,

having 2years experience in

Accounts looking for suitable posi-

tion. Presently on visit visa.

Contact 93455055|

gibingeorge88@gmail.com

Required one Waiter cum house boy for a Royal Omani family in

Al Khoudh. 2 to 3 years experience

candidates should send their CV on

fax no 24811352

or contact Mr. Tauqir Ahmed on

GMS no 92174983

Urgently required a Indian Diploma

Civil Engineer with 1-2 years of

experience and should valid G.C.C

driving license.

Email: smtcoman@gmail.com

A Mechanical Engineer with sales-

manship experience of 5 years &

above preferable with Oman drivers

license and NOC.

Please forward your CV to

almaadhi.trd@gmail.com

Building material Salesman, Electrician cum Plumber & C.C.T.V Technician. Contact: 99383044

25 yrs female Indian with B.Com

MBA looking out for a job in fi nance

/ marketing / HR fi eld with a work

experience of 1 year, 3 months at

Bank Muscat & 7 months at India.

Contact: 94657403 / 95537261

Jordanian Accountant (ACPA) with

more than 15 yrs experience in Oman

(Accounts, Purchase & fi nance.

Contact: 92881223

Email: kamal_sarhan@yahoo.com

ARCHITECT

Sr. Architect male 5 yrs exp having

NOC looking for suitable position.

Contact: 91546108 Email: morsh-

edarch@yahoo.com

Senior Architect, Indian male

15yrs exp. having DL& NOC, Look-

ing for suitable position.

Contact: 97239313 Email:

abdul_muq2000@yahoo.co.uk

14 years of gulf experience in HR /

Admin & logistics fl uent in Arabic

/ English with D/L looking for suit-

able position. Contact: 95824598

Indian 17 yrs experience in Admin

and have knowledge in Accounting

seeks job. Have driving license and

release. Contact : 99573353

HOSPITALITY

DAILY GUIDEW E D N E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 5 D5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

MEDICAL

IT

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

MISCELLANEOUS

SECRETARIAL & OFIC.

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

Omani female Arabic and English

speaking searching for job.

Contact 92387170

Procurement Manager: Indian male

(B.Com) having 6 more years of

purchasing experience in civil con-

struction & MEP sector is looking for

a suitable position(NOC available).

GSM:97700967

Project Manager (B.E. Arch) in

Interior décor fi t outs & MEP having

8 years experience looking for a

suitable post in a reputed fi rm. NOC

is available. Contact: 91528851

Sudanese procurement Manager three years experience in Oman.

Contact: 93391008

Senior Manager Indian, 30 years in

FMCG Business in Oman looking for

better opportunity at management

level. Contact 99231513

Dynamic result oriented hospitality

professional with 20 years of inter-

national exp. MBA in Hotel Manage-

ment, specializing in Hotel/Restau-

rant start ups, concepts & Franchise

development with proven records.

Seeking for Challenging positions

in reputed groups as GM/COO/CEO/

Business Head. (NOC available)

Contact : 96059470

An Indian female GNM Nurse hav-

ing 10 yrs experience in Indian with

Oman MOH license seeking suitable

placement currently in Oman.

Contact: 97895004

Email: sandhyamol26@gmail.com

Indian male Nurse, prometric

passed seeks suitable placement.

Contact 97284508I

33 years, Indian male Dentist hav-

ing 7 years of experience with MOH

license is seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact: 91559265

Email: praveengp_82@yahoo.com

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

Well experienced management

fi nance specialist having 18 years

experience available for placement.

Contact.95602518

23, Male, ACCA Affi liate, OBU Bsc,

2.5 years of experience in audit and

fi nance in Big 6 Firms, Looking for

permanent placement in similar

fi eld. 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

Qualifi ed,B.COM with 7+ yrs exp in

receivables and credit control in

Oman looking for suitable place-

ments. NOC available.

Contact 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

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

Looking for a suitable job as Jr.

Accountant/ Jr. Administration in

a reputed company. NOC Available.

GSM # 93004738.

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, 8 years ex-

perience ,Oman driving licence,Noc

available. Seek Suitable opportunity.

GSM- 98184170

ACCOUNTANT, Male, 8 years experi-

ence, presently working in Oman as

a Senior Accountant with oman Driv-

ing license. NOC available, seek suit-

able opportunity. GSM: 97705854

Chemical Engineer Indian 2 years

of experience in production fi eld

Contact: 91247222

Email:sahadpoonchola@gmail.com

22, Indian female,Chemical Engineer

with valid Omani driving license

seeking internship/job opportunities

in oil and gas/perfumery and cos-

metics sector. Currently on family

visa.Contact: 97242506

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

Indian female, MBA, 25yrs Having

4yrears of experience in MNC, hands

of experiences in recruitment and

administration, fl exible for

any suitable job placements

currently in visting visa.

Contact Tel : 98864639

Email : neethuvijayan06@gmail.com

Indian Male, 26 Yrs, Business

Management, 6 years in Oman.

Knowledge of MS Offi ce 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 fi nance 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

Indian female with MBA in fi nance

seeking immediate placement.

Contact: 968-93316493

Civil Engineer B.Sc -6 years experi-

ence with constructions companies

- 1 years in Oman - qualifi ed as Site

Engineer & Planning Engineer .

Contact+968-94682217

ACCOUNTANT: Indian male 25 hav-

ing 4 years experience in accounting

& having well knowledge in tally.

Contact:968094535881,

0091 9037622048,

Email: vishnuraj889@gmail.com

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

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/con-

tact no 944958080 and 99758186.

Civil Autocad Draughtsman part

time work for job mob :96023726

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 certifi cate 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 certifi cations,

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 certifi ca-

tions, seeking for suitable placement

in any related industries.

Contact 98045482

27, male, ACCA fi nalist, have pro-

fessional experience up to fi naliza-

tion of Accounts, Statutory and in-

ternal audit, expertise in using tally

and focus & Oracle Software, have

3.5 years experience in accounts till

fi nalization, seeking for permanent

replacement ,GSM-97654769,email

id-abdullah.nooralam@yahoo.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 male 22yr BBA with LOGIS-

TIC Diploma, exp in tally and data

entry seeking in suitable placement.

Contact; 90151739

email shakeeb.mp280gmail.com

Mechanical Draftsman, Indian male

27, Diploma in Mechanical Engineer-

ing having 7 years of experience

in Auto CAD looking for a suitable

placement. Contact : 97351786 /

96143708 E-mail :

mohammednazeer07@gmail.com

ACCA Affi liate, OBU Degree, 2.5

years experience in audit and

fi nance in Big6 fi rm, Looking for

permanent placement. NOC release

available. Contact: #95140445,

a.saran891@gmail.com

B.Tech EEE with 4+ years experi-

ence in the fi eld 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 fi ve

years of experience in Finance & Ac-

counts including GCC, looking for a

suitable opening. Having UAE driv-

ing license. Contact no..91391802.

Senior Accountant. 8 Years experi-

ence. NOC available. Oman driving

license. Seek suitable opportunity.

GSM- 98184170

B.E Mechanical Engineer with 2

years’ experience in HVAC fi eld 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

fi eld. Contact:92700670

Email: jobcareer44@gmail.com

MBA Finance with more than fi ve

years of experience in Finance & Ac-

counts including GCC, looking for a

suitable opening. Having UAE driv-

ing license. Contact no..91391802

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

Indian Male Nurse with Moh

licence & Noc seeking a job with

Family Status gsm:95817579.

E.mail:vasudevanv2005@gmail.com

Part- Time Accountant, well experi-

ence senior accountant ,doing all

type of accounting works, Finaliza-

tion, Budgeting available.

Contact 98803439

Sudanese/Bsc IT/26/2 years expe-

rience/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

Indian male Accountant, 12 years

experience, looking for a full time

or part time job, experience in tally

also. Contact 98983122

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

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

INDIAN MALE 24 YEARS,B. Tech

(Electrical & Electronic).Having 2

years experience as Electrical Site

Engineer in Constructions. Done

IOSH & NEBOSH- IGC certifi cations.

Seeking for suitable placement

in constructions or in any related

industries. Contact no: 98045482,

Email: shannu.hse@gmail.com

Admin, having 10+ years experi-

ence in Admin/HR/Logistics/Time

Keeper, in reputed companies. Pres-

ently working in Muscat.

Contact- 968 94369965

mail - satya1528@gmail.com

Indian male more than 10 years

gulf experience in Offi ce / Sales

Coordinator, Admin, Secretarial and

purchase with good computer skills.

Having Driving license and NOC

available, looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact 95149624

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

Egyptian very good marketing and

sales skills experience 10 years in

tourism. Contact : 90155723

Indian male with 18 years of

Indian and Overseas experience in

hospitality industry, with excellent

cooking, operational, managerial

and communication skills seeking

a suitable job from reputed groups

and organizations. On a visit visa.

Contact: 95363751

31 year Indian male PG in HR , with

5 yrs Professional experience in

HR in Construction Oil & Gas Oman

seeking for a suitable placement.

Contact me on 93488914, email-

Kaarthickshankar@gmail.com

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

26, Male, Indian, BBA (Finance),

MBA(HR), Looking for suitable place-

ment in Finance/HR/Marketing.

Contact immediately.

Contact 98176105,

nruknaddin@outlook.com

Project Manager (Interior fi touts dé-

cor & MEP) B.E. Arch having 8 years

experience looking for a suitable

position in a reputed company.

Local release is available.

Contact: 91528851

M.Tech BE civil 9 yrs experience

Project Management Indian male

(34 yrs) with NOC seeks suitable

placement in construction industry.

Contact : 99156291 / 95281545/

00919579666999 (Whatsapp)

Email: kashidss@gmail.com

HSE Engineer (Indian, 26 yrs),

B.Tech Mechanical, Nebosh, 5 yrs

experience in oil & gas construction.

Contact 94616721

B.E Arch with 8 years experience as

2 Project Manager in Interior fi touts

décor & MEP works looking for

suitable. Local release is available.

Contact: 91528851

Indian male diploma in Civil Engi-neering with 20 years experience

in interior fi tout with valid driving

license NOC and local release avail-

able. Contact: 98048410

Professional Civil Engineer 25 yrs

experience with N.O.C Management

and Supervision with D/L.

Contact: 97290338

Bangladeshi Diploma Civil Engineer

3 years experience in Bangladesh 2

years in Oman.

Contact: 93796905 / 97319361

Civil Engineer, Indian M 29 5yrs

exp. having DL & NOC Looking for

suitable position. Contact: 94576233

Email: suhailmullah@gmail.com

Degree Engineer Civil, 6 years expe-

rience Oman D/L, N.O.C available for

a suitable position.

Contact: 93523507 / 95961336

Indian male BE civil project Engi-

neer 15 years Oman experience in

building projects with valid D/L NOC

available. Contact: 92178471

BE Electrical Engineer 8 years

experience 4 years in Oman with

Oman driving license.

Contact 96942032

Civil Engineer (Diploma) seeking

for placement. Contact: 95200650

Electrician 3 years experience in

Building lines in Oman and other

related experience also. NOC avail-

able. Stay till 29.09.2015. Contact:

94057129 / 95964419 Email:

raheemdadbaloch@hotmail.com

Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need

suitable 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 placement.

Contact : 91823331

Email: kannasekhar46@gmail.com

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 fi eld on visit visa look-

ing for suitable job.

Contact 99191535

Email: fareed029@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 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

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

Oracle ADF Developer, Msc (IT), 2

yrs of Experience in Software De-

velopment (Oracle ADF, sql, pl/sql),

Oracle OCA & SQL Expert, Currently

on visit visa. # +968 93755858 /

92141644 Email :

shiralkarmuzammil@yahoo.com

Indian male 25 years MCA, CCNA

Certifi ed MCSE2012 having 16

months experience in network and

system administration looking

for suitable placement. Contact

97703253 / 92365310 Email:

albinmperakkattu@gmail.com

Software Engineer, 6 yrs exp in

software projects & development

(Java,PL/SQL Unix) on visit visa.

Contact: 99487493

Indian male, 29 yrs, B. Eng in CS,

CCNP, JNCIA, MCSA, MCITP, ISO/

IEC27002, 8 yrs exp in IT, Network-

ing and Server support. #98285401

Email: maneshm3@gmail.com

CCNA MCITP Network support/ Net-

work technician with 2 yrs experi-

ence Indian male having bachelors

degree on visit visa.

Contact 93080871,

email :sean.f.peters@outlook.com

Filipino (male) 37yrs. old hav-

ing 8 years experience in

operation(shiping&logistics)

currently on visit visa looking for a

suitable job GSM:97121525

Filipino lady looking for Reception-

ist Sales girl having good experience

in Muscat. NOC will be available

ready to join immediately. Contact:

92664896 / 91107941. After October

1st week. Contact: + 639759460269

Indian male more than 8 years

experience in UAE in Offi ce , Sales

Marketing with good computer

skills having driving license looking

for suitable placement.

Contact : 99369081

Email: shazulashraf60@gmail.com

Indian male, U.K Post Graduate M.A,

MBA, 3 years Experience, looking

position within Marketing, Branding,

Business Development & PR.

Contact: greetings111@hotmail.com

BBA Graduate with 3 years experi-

ence in Sales & Marketing valid

Omani D/L looking for job.

Contact: 97378073 Email:

samaanmohammed@gmail.com

Indian male MBA having 4 yrs Gulf

experience in logistics and Counter

Sales currently on visit visa and

looking for suitable job.

Contact 96695541

Looking for Driver & Salesman

vacancy 10 years Oman experience

Oman license holding.

Contact 98234893

Indian male 30 yrs, B. Sc food

science and quality control 7 years

experience in G.C.C 3 years experi-

ence in laboratory related jobs, valid

Oman driving license.

Contact: 93405643

Wanted salesman job, with driving

license. Have exp. ins selling goods,

experience in shops special experi-

ence in car parts seeking any job

related to selling. Contact: 94162434

Indian male 35 years BBM, diploma

in A/C, 5 years experience as Sales

Executive in Oman with valid D/L

and NOC seeking suitable placement

in Muscat area. Contact : 92683606

Email: abhi.abrahm09@gmail.com

MBA 15 years experience in Sales &

Marketing in telecom, FMCG, pres-

ently in India C/O Saif Kazi.

Contact : 99625957

Email Id: a_kazi123@yahoo.co.in

Indian male 25 yrs BBM Graduate

3 yrs of experience Sales / Market-

ing in Oman looking in suitable

placement. Contact : 93185316

Email: karsh794@gmail.com

Indian Female, MBA-HR having 8+

experience in Administration/HR,

Customer Support, Offi ce Coordina-

tor with good Computer skill, now on

Visit Visa ,looking for suitable posi-

tion. Contact: 90196235

29 years Indian female (MBA-

Finance) with 4 yrs experience in

Accounts, seeking suitable place-

ment in Accounts/Admin/HR. NOC

available. Contact:96141283

ACCOUNTANT: Indian male 25

having 4years experience in ac-

counting & having well knowledge in

tally. Contact:968 094535881, 0091

9037622048.

Email: vishnuraj889@gmail.com

ACCA fi nalist, Recent B.Com Gradu-

ate, Indian Female, looking for full

time employment in Accounting and

Audit. Contact +96896964379,

sangeethaumesh5@gmail.com

Admin, having 10+ years experience in

Admin/HR/Logistics/Time Keeper, in

reputed companies. Presently working

in Muscat. Contact- 94369965 ,mail -

satya1528@gmail.com

Indian male . 14 yrs experience in

maintenance & Supervisor in hotel

fi eld ( Electrical . Ac Mechanical &

Plumber ) N O C available

mob : 95 25 36 40 . email =

hareeshma24@yahoo.com

Indian male B.Eng. in

IT,CCNA,MCSA,MCSE, 2.5 yrs + exp.

in IT support, networking and server

support valid Omani D/L seeking

suitable placement in IT/Network/

Server support. Contact 92607532

ACCA Affi liate, Indian Male, Fresher,

looking for full time employment

in Tax and Audit.+968 91291520,

shahidazeez5@gmail.com

Indian Male, 24 years old recently

completed M.Tech in Off shore Struc-

tures from NIT Calicut, looking for

suitable position.

Contact : +91 9833 2485 68,

Email: shihabpatel91@gmail.com

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

D6 W E D N E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 5

SITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANTED

SIT.WANTED

Female MBA gold medalist, with

computer profi ciency, Oman driving

license looking for job opportunity

in event management companies in

Muscat. Ph : 99012949

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, Indian

male,29 years.8 years experience

.Presently working in Oman as a

Senior Accountant with oman Driv-

ing license. NOC available. Seek suit-

able opportunity. GSM: 97705854

Two year experience in Oman,

experience in sales, purchase and

system admin, Having GCC license.

Contact number 97475860,

Yadhukrishnan08@gmail.com

Indian Male, 32 yrs, MBA-HR, Train-

er & Faculty worked on Omanisation

& nationals development activities

with 10 yrs of experience seeking

suitable job. Contact : 93891401

saiprasad_18@yahoo.com

Sudanese 29 male (Bsc computer

science,diploma computer engineer-

ing), 6 yrs. experience dba oracle pl-

sql , ms sql-server ,ms visual studio

vba,network Omani Driver licence

language English, Arabic

Tel: 91415886

Piping Design Engineer, Indian

male 27, looking for suitable place-

ment in Piping Design & Engineer-

ing. Having 7 years of experience in

AutoCAD. Also familiar with PDMS

(11.6 Version),CAESAR ll. Contact :

97351786 / 96143708/97357143

Indian female, 24yrs, M.COM (Ac-

counts) having 3 yrs experience

in Accounts, HR, Administration,

Customer Service. Good Computer

Profi ciency seeking Suitable Posi-

tion. Visa Transfer/NOC Available.

Contact: 99654913

Diploma in civil engineering having

an experience 24years (20years

in Oman) experience in Estimator

/ quantity surveyor looking for a

suitable placement, willing to join

immediately Contact : 96328687

Indian male B.Eng. in IT,CCNA,

MCSA, MCSE, 2yrs + exp. in IT sup-

port, networking and server support

valid Omani D/L seeking suitable

placement in IT/Network/Server

support. Contact 92607532

Indian male, 14 yrs Experience in

Maintenance & Supervisor in hotel fi eld

( Electrical. Ac Mechanical & Plumber )

N O C available #95253640 .

email = hareeshma24@yahoo.com

ME Civil- structural Engineer, 8 Years Structural engineer ex-

perience, Looking for Structural

Designer, supervisor or site engineer

Position. Iranian male. #93696929,

Email: mhsaz1359@gmail.com

Indian Male 26 years MCA, MCSE

2012 certifi ed, Microsoft Exchange

Server Administration, having 1 year

experience in IT/System Administra-

tion looking for suitable placement.

Contact Mob : 00968 92745708

Email: nabeelmmkty@gmail.com,

Light duty driver, Young and honest.

Can speak Arabic, Hindi and under-

stand English. Release available.

Ph.92854775 / 93487450

Indian female with MBA on visit

visa seeking immediate placement.

Contact - 968-93316493

27,male,ACCA fi nalist, have profes-

sional experience upto fi nalization

of accounts, statutory and internal

audit, expertise in using tally and

focus & oracle software, have 3.5

years experience in accounts till

fi nalization and statutory audit,

seeking for permanent replacement

,GSM-97654769,email id-

abdullah.nooralam@yahoo.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, B.com, MBA, having

5 years experience (3 years in U.A.E)

is currently seeking suitable op-

portunities within fi nance/accounts/

admin dept.Contact:93953613,

allen.mathew83@gmail.com

B.Com graduate, 11 years experi-

ence in Accounts, 9 years Oman

experience , Oman valid driving

license, looking for suitable post.

Mob:92758404 NOC Available.

Indian male 27 years B.E & MS Me-

chanical Engineer working in Delhi

for last 4 years inJcb India pvt. ltd.,

seeks placement in Oman.

Contact: 93393768

Driver looking for job exp 2 yrs.

Contact: 98522914

Indian female B. Com MBA fi nance

,5 years experience in oman as an

account seeking suitable placement.

Contact 99044292

Indian Male 22 Years , Graduation

In Electronics Seeking Jobs In Su-

pervisory , Sales & Sales Co-ordina-

tion Fields , Good Communication

Skill Contact 96141317,

E-mail: akhilek5@gmail.com

DIPLOMA+B.E.(CIVIL ENGINEER),

Indian, 4 years of experience, cur-

rently on visit visa; Seeking Right

Position. GSM:91570703.

Indian male 23 years Graduate,

working as a sales coordinator cum

purchase & offi ce coordination 2 yrs

in oman Having oman license & NOC

looking for suitable job in Muscat

Email:yadhukrishnan08@gmail.com,

GSM:97475860

ME. Civil Engineer, Structural

Designer, 3 Years Structural Design,

6 Years Str. Engineer Experience,

Looking For Structural Designer Po-

sition. Iranian Male. #93696929,

Email: mhsaz1359@gmail.com

Male Graphic designer cum anima-

tion, non linear editing VFX, seeking

suitable position.

Contact: 97792661 / 96229406

B-tech Electrical Engineer with

more than 2 years of experience in

erection and designing of HT and LT

electrical systems. Seeking for

suitable job in Muscat. #98269366.

Email: sijincleetus@gmail.com

Indian Female BSC nurse with 8+

years of experience including 3

years of GCC exp. Oman Prometric

passed with 57 %. Currently in Oman.

Contact : 98034384

Data Entry operator cum Buyer,

Indian male,26years.BA, Computer

profi ciency :Operating system (Win-

dows 2000xp & Windows7) E plus

and Tally ERP9, 4 yrs Experience in

Oman seeks suitable placements.

Mob: 95360255

Senior Accounts Professional,

Indian Male, 36 years, M.Com, MBA

(Fin) 9 years in Oman, with valid

Oman DL and NOC available. Capable

to handle accounts up to fi nalization.

Contact 9602 3965.

Driver 5 years exp know English,

Arabic,& Hindi Education B.A.

Contact : 91615715 / 99512270

Indian Male 24 years, Looking for a

Suitable Job in Telecom / Network-

ing, 1 year sales experience. M. Sc.

Communications Engineering &

Valid Driving license. Ph: 91280121.

Email: jackrprasad@yahoo.com

Indian lady 30 years Graduate hav-

ing work experience in India and

Oman looking for Admin or any other

suitable job. Contact : 95676957

Indian male, 39 yrs, MSC Computer

Science 10 years experience IT sup-

port, FMS Engineer, bank experience

looking for suitable job. #94276449

Indian, presently on visit visa

in Salalah looking for job B.com

failed UAE experience in accounts,

commercial Admin & warehouse.

Contact: 92754071 /93346931

Email: sathyanathanuk@gmail.com

MBA (Marketing /HR) with 45 years

exp in business development and

marketing, having valid Oman driv-

ing license seeks suitable placement

currently available on family visa.

Contact 97618033

Email: vjgeorge12@gmail.com

Indian, male, 41 years, CA Inter,

Persuing CA fi nal. Now on express

visa. 7 years of Experience in OMAN

as Finance and Accounts Manager in

Trading , Construction and Firefi ght-

ing industry. 21 Years of exp. seeking

suitable Managerial positions. No

visa issues. Immediate joining.

Contact 98469311

Email:sebin30@yahoo.co.in

Indian male 63 years have 30 years

Muscat experience all offi ce work

sales business development insurance

administration accounts with Oman

driving license. Contact 99249412

Indian female LLB (Advocate) 2

years experience looking for suitable

post legal advisor company secretary

etc. # 93343190 / 94476387

Email: shafu1019@gmail.com

Indian Female Accountant, CA Final

(Group I cleared), 5+ year’s experi-

ence in the fi eld of Accounts, Audit

and Financial ERPs. Currently avail-

able in Muscat and seeking suitable

job opportunities.Ph:94704800

email id: vinithsavith@gmail.com

B.E (IT) 1 year exp complete school-

ing in Muscat needs job in software

/ net working / java/ WEB design or

marketing. #97136248 / 99313821

Indian female, B.Sc, PGDCA, cur-

rently on family joining visa, 2 years

working experience in oman as

customer care / sales co-ordinator,

immediate joining seeks suitable

placements. Contact no. (968)

95573205 / 95949230 / 95800792

Indian male 22 years ACCA affi liate ,

BSc, Graduate in applied accounting 2

months working experience seeking

suitable placement in Finance / Ac-

counts / audit immediately. Contact:

97378607 / 92558734

B-tech Electrical Engineer with more

than 2 years of experience in erection

and designing of HT and LT electrical

systems. Seeking for suitable job in

Muscat. Contact: 98269366.

Email: sijincleetus@gmail.com

Project Manager / Senior Engi-

neer, Indian Male BE Civil, 21yrs

experienced including Oman looking

for the Job Contact +918939295181

Email I’D 58031_bala@yahoo.co.in

Indian male 26 , graduate in me-

chanical engineering having 2 years

experience in fabrication production

fi led in India, looking for a suitable

job. mobile: +968-91384621

EMAIL : rmekhil@hotmail.com

Sr. Sales Executive, Indian Male,

Holding Valid Oman DL. Total experi-

ence in Oman of 15 years with 4 years

Rent a Car Co. experience. Looking

for Opportunities in any Industry for

similar sales role. # 95703233

email id “khetani_r@yahoo.com

29 years Indian female (MBA-

Finance) with 4+yrs experience

(Oman) in Accounts, seeking suit-

able placement in Accounts/Admin.

Contact:96141283

INDIAN MALE 23 YEARS,B. Tech

(Electrical & Electronic). Done IOSH

& NEBOSH- IGC certifi cations. Look-

ing for HSE engineer job in Oil Gas

Sector, constructions or in any re-

lated industries. Contact 98045482

Indian male. M.com holder with two

year working experience as an ac-

countant in India. Now at Muscat on

visiting visa. Seeks suitable place-

ment. Gsm:96947500,99463120,

:mohamedshafi kk5@gmail.com

ACCOUNTANT, Indian male,29

years.8 years experience .Presently

working in Oman as a Senior Ac-

countant with oman Driving license.

NOC available seek suitable opportu-

nity. GSM: 97705854

Civil site coordinator, Diploma,

Male 25, now present in Oman, Seek-

ing job in Oman. Contact 92887561,

jubincivileng@gmail.com

B-tech Electrical engineer with more

than 2 years of experience in erection

and designing of HT and LT electri-

cal systems. Seeking for suitable

job in Muscat. Contact:98269366.

Email:sijincleetus@gmail.com

Indian Female B.Sc., B.Ed.(Maths),

M.C.A residing in Al-Ghubra seek-

ing a teaching position as a Math

Teacher GSM.- 94231633

Female, Indian, 35 Yrs- house maid

available for Full/Part time work in

Muscat. contact- 96754303.

Indian male, ERP Functional Con-

sultant (SCM, MM, HRMS), Seeks

employment.Contact: 98478928,

Email: anand.desai2408@gmail.com

Indian male , 14 yrs Experience in

maintenance & Supervisor in otel

fi eld ( Electrical . Ac Mechanical &

Plumber ) N O C available#95253640

email hareeshma24@yahoo.com

Piping Design Engineer, Indian

male 27, looking for suitable place-

ment in Piping Design & Engineer-

ing. Having 7 years of experience in

AutoCAD. Also familiar with PDMS

(11.6 Version),CAESAR ll. Contact :

97351786 / 96143708, Email :

mohammednazeer07@gmail.com

Indian male 28YRS, 7Years exp. in

Architectural & structural Draughts-

man & 3d visualization, looking for a

suitable Post GSM: +971551965944.

Email:aboosufi yan@gmail.com

Syrian male 3yrs. exp in IT sup-

port, Networking, Security systems,

Server support, IT sales and market-

ing. Valid Omani D/L

seeking suitable placement.

Contact 91033395

8 yrs exp 2d, 3d Draughtsman (HOLDING OMANI DRIVING

LICENSE) seeking job.

Contact 97449630

Indian male MBA + TALLY , 29 years

& 7years experience in Administra-

tion and Manager level in Reputed

companies, Seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact 96297709 /

+91 9066130371,

Email: jomonjohnm9@gmail.com

Tunisian shoes designer wuth

40years expereince in designing

and manifacturing loocking for a job

in a related fi eld

Contact : 97816917

DAILY GUIDEW E D N E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 5 D7

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

Split & widow unit A.C servicing &

repairing. Contact: 99557080

Split & window unit A.C servicing

& maintenance.

Contact: 96236476

Window & split unit A.C servicing

& maintenance.

Contact: 93769089 / 95323517

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet

& sofa shampooing, Contact

99314807/24792998

House shifting & packing. Contact: 99657644 /98518013

General cleaning &

Shampooing. Ocean Center LLC.

Contact: 99344723/99357908

Water proofi ng ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

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

Used house & offi ce furniture

& electronic items. Contact:

99834373 / 96642500

Pest Control Treatments, Cockroaches, Ants, Rodents &

Termites, Ocean Center LLC.

Contact: 99344723/ 99357908

Supply fi xing Wallpapers,

all carpets. #99834373 /

96642500

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

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intel-

ligence (BI) creation and manage-

ment at rock bottom price. Contact:

http//webviewoman

SIT.WANTED

INDIAN MALE 23 YEARS, B. Tech

(Electrical & Electronic) having

4 years working experience as an

Electrical site Engineer. Looking for

suitable job in Oil Gas Sector or in re-

lated industries. Contact 98045482

Indian Female, M.Com & MBA with

1.5 years of experience in Reinsur-

ance Treaty seeking a good job

opportunity in Insurance & Reinsur-

ance Accounts or General Accounts.

Contact: +968 91920189, Email:

neethumano.manohar@gmail.com

CCNA MCITP network support / net-

work technician with 2 years experi-

ence Indian male having bachelors

degree on visit visa. #93080871

sean.f.peters@outlook.com

8 yrs exp 2d, 3d draughtsman

(HOLDING OMANI DRIVING LICENSE)

seeking job. Contact : 93790601

ME. Civil Engineer, Structural

Designer, 3 Years Structural Design,

6 Years Str Supervising Experience,

Looking For Structural Designer Posi-

tion. Iranian Male. # 93696929

Email: mhsaz1359@gmail.com

BSC Female Nurse having 8 years of

experience ( 3 years in gulf). Promet-

ric passed - 57%. Currently in Oman.

Contact : 98034384

ACCOUNTANT, Male, 8 years expe-

rience .Presently working in Oman

as a Senior Accountant with Oman

Driving license. NOC available seeks

suitable opportunity. GSM: 98184170

ACCOUNTANT, M.Com holder with

2 year working experience as an ac-

countant in Kerela-India, seeks suit-

able placement. GSM NO:96947500,

9 9463120, mail:

mohamedshafi kk5@gmail.com

Indian Male 22 Years, Graduation In

Electronics Seeking Jobs In Supervi-

sory , Sales & Sales Co-ordination

Fields , Good Communication Skill

Contact 96141317,

E-mail: akhilek5@gmail.com

Sudanese.male 32 years.B.SC

mechanical engineer.7years

experience.5 years experiance in

Gulf.working now in water pipeline

projects.fl uent Arabic and English.

have Omani driving license.looking

for good opportunity TEl:91117089

Filipino (male), 37 yrs. old, having

8yrs. experience in Operation (Ship-

ping & Logistics) currently on visit

visa looking for suitable job.

GSM: 97121525

Chartered Accountant with 7 years

of post qualifi cation experience,

seeking challenging job opportunity.

Experience in auditing/accounts &

fi nance/taxation/IFRS, etc.

GSM +968 95763680

Indian Female Interior Designer, 4.5

yrs experience, seeking immediate

mid-senior level position with fi rm

having lady clearance. NOC Avail-

able. Contact 93033072

Indian Male 22 years, ACCA Af-

fi liate with B..Sc. Degree in Applied

Accounting having three months

working experience seeking suitable

placement in Finance / Accounts /

Audit. Holding valid Oman D/L.

Contact 97378607 / 92558734

Indian female Nurse, Prometric

passed 64%, 5 years of experience,

MOH licensed, presently working in

Oman seeking a suitable placement

in reputed Hospitals, NOC available.

Contact: 98329941,

Email: ancyanish2011@gmail.com.

Female from India -MA. B.Ed. with

One year three months Teaching

experience. English seeking for a

urgent better placement, Now work-

ing in Oman. #93961142, 92184408

Email:-anoopkesavan78@gmail.com.

Video Editor 29 years Indian male

with 8 years experience on visit visa

looking for a suitable placement.

Contact: 91275969 /

leomoorkoth@gmail.com

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till

12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile

polishing, pest control & anti-

termite treatment, general clean-

ing painting, Plumbing, Electrical,

shifting. Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi

trading. L.L.C. contact 24810137,

99450130

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS-

99320217 /24788722

MANPOWER

Leading manpower agency to hire Recruiter from India housemaids. Contact: 99226093,

Email: fesalwardi48@gmail.com

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation. Contact98505294

Transportation in Muscat.

Contact: 95530908

Transportation for saloon car&

delivery van. Contact : 95530908

Transportation. Contact 99508282

Transportation available. Contact -955 70 429

CLASSES

DRIVING

COMPUTER

GOOD NEWS

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

We want regular fi nance on

short term or long term basis from

individuals of Omani nationals or

expatriates for trading business.

Contact: 99462591 or 93525028

Want regular fi nancing for profi table

small projects. Contact : 92162623

Required investors for diff erent

projects. Contact: 99674870

We will register LLC trade license

for foreign investors and do all

actions. Contact: 92833566

SITUATION WANT-

ED

BUSINESS

Ayurvedic massage backache,

joint pain, neck pain etc.

Contact 98254909

Ayurvedic treatment for backache,

paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,

All Season (Vaidyaratnam). Contact

24475280 / 95371664 / 92504980

www.siddhayur.com

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

D8 W E D N E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 5

RENT A CAR

RENT A CAR

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise

with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain

Marine Tours Contact- 98029602,

92808636

TOURS

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

SITUATION WANT-CARGO

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO