Times of Oman - January 19, 2016 by Muscat Media Group

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6 085010 120010 FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN

On the occasion of the inauguration of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, 2001

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’ The mosque continued to play a role as a source of learning and thought throughout the Islamic arena during the Golden Age of Islam and had a powerful inﬂuence on the life of the community. It was not merely a place of worship, but also a school of major importance which played a leading part in spreading learning and culture. It was on this basis that we decided to make this blessed mosque a centre of culture and thought that, with God’s good grace and assistance, would contribute to the revival of the Islamic heritage – God willing – and highlight the civilized values of the Muslim nation while modernising its approach to dealing with Islamic affairs and issues.

TUESDAY, January 19, 2016 / 9 Rabi Al Thani 1437 AH

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F O R D O I N G NAT I O NA L D U T Y

HM confers Oman Civil Order MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said conferred Oman Civil Order “Third Class” on Dr. Moosa bin Ja’afar bin Hassan, Advisor to the Sultanate’s permanent delegation to UNESCO, in appreciation from His Majesty

the Sultan for his role in carrying out his national duty. The order was handed over by Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal bin Saud Al Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court, when he received Dr. Moosa on Monday. -ONA

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Two-year expat ban rules now stricter Now expats, who

M A D I NAT A L I R FA N U R B A N C E N T R E

Omran to develop largest mixed-used urban centre

leave Oman, will not be allowed back to work for two years, even if they have

Times News Service

completed contract

MUSCAT: Following the directive of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) is designing Madinat Al Irfan Urban Centre, Oman’s largest mixed-used urban development. On completion, it will become a leader of smart and sustainable city technology and a benchmark for all future urban developments across Oman. The company has already done rigorous masterplanning for the project. Highlighting key aspects and latest progress of Madinat Al Irfan’s concept master plan, Omran hosted an executive brieﬁng on Monday, bringing together senior representatives from Oman’s public and private sectors. The executive brieﬁng is one in a series of ongoing public and private consultations hosted by Omran, involving high-level stakeholders, business community leaders and industry partners. The special event was attended by Dr. Omar bin Abdul Munim Al Zawawi, special advisor for External Liaison to His Majesty the Sultan, Dr. Mohammed Al Zubair, adviser for Economic TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES

OMAN

Suspicious transaction

The ROP received more than 260 complaints for ‘suspicious transactions’. >A3

and have a No Objection Certiﬁcate, says an ROP official

FAHAD AL GHADANI REJIMON K

fahadnews@timesofoman.com reji@timesofoman.com Omran’s Chairman, Dr. Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidi.

Planning Affairs to His Majesty the Sultan, Omran’s Chairman, Dr. Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidi, senior Government officials and senior members of the public and private sector. Set to become the largest mixed-use development in Oman, the Madinat Al Irfan Urban Centre will be developed over three phases and will be geared to complement the predicted population growth and trend towards urbanisation in the greater Muscat region. >A5

MUSCAT: If you leave your job and leave Oman, you won’t be coming back to work for two years ... even if you have a No Objection Certiﬁcate (NOC). That was the stark message from a top Royal Oman Police (ROP) official on Monday after a number of companies contacted Times of Oman saying the rules had been tightened. According to the official, it now makes no difference whether employees complete their contract or not, they will be simply denied clearance to work inside Oman for the two-year period regardless of service or possession of an NOC from their ex-employer.

1 1 I N T E R NAT I O NA L B A N K S

Oman borrows $1b to plug in budget deﬁcit Times News Service

OMAN

Need for local doctors

Oman’s need for local physicians is increasing consistently. >A5

MARKET

Investment potential

Iran’s 2nd solo exhibition to offer vast investment opportunities. >B1

MUSCAT: Oman’s government on Monday signed a $1 billion loan agreement with 11 international banks, including two regional banks, to partly fund an OMR3.3 billion deficit in the state budget. This is part of a major plan of the Ministry of Finance to meet the state budget’s deficit through a medium-term financial plan. Of the total estimated deficit of OMR3.3 billion for 2016, OMR600 million will come from net grants, OMR900 million from foreign borrowing, OMR300 million from domestic borrowing, and OMR1.5 billion from general reserves. Darwish bin Ismail Al Balushi, minister responsible for financial affairs, said the participation of such a large number of banks reflected the trust of global banking institutions in the strength and resilience of Oman’s economy and its positive outlook. Overseas markets “It is better to borrow from overseas markets than depend on domestic market for funds since it will not affect local liquidity. It will bring more international currencies, which can be used in the future,” said Mustafa Ahmed

Turquoise water woos tourists

ISO 9001:2008 Certiﬁed Company

Darwish bin Ismail Al Balushi, Minister Responsible for Financial Affairs.

Salman, chairman and chief executive officer of United Securities. “We suggest the government borrow from the overseas markets faster, without any delay in taking advantage of interest rates. Libor rate is still cheaper. Also, there is a demand in the market to provide loans to Oman,” added Salman. The loan facility was oversubscribed to the extent of $1.28 billion. Salman also noted that interest for overseas loans could be around 3 per cent, which is cheaper than the recent sovereign sukuk (Islamic bond) rate of 3.5 per cent. >A5

“The immigration department has stressed that the NOC letter is not valid anymore in this matter. Any expatriate worker who leaves Oman has to spend two years abroad before joining another company in Oman,” a top official at ROP told Times of Oman. “However, if he has plans to join the same employer, he can do it

without waiting for two years,” the official added. According to the official, the decision was taken based on Article 11 of the Immigration Code, which states that an expatriate worker who leaves Oman has to spend two years abroad before returning to Oman. Conﬁrming the new develop-

ment, Faisal Al Wahaibi, a public relations manager at a private company in Muscat, said he was denied visa for a new expatriate recruit by the immigration office even though he had the NOC. “I went yesterday to the immigration department to apply for a visa for an expatriate who left Oman a couple of months ago. But unfortunately, it was rejected,” said Al Wahaibi. He added that the news was a shock for him and other public relations officials (PROs) at the department. “At least, the ROP could have announced the new rule in media or maybe sent an official letter to companies,” Al Wahaibi said, adding the official informed him that the decision came into effect from the beginning of this month. Meanwhile, Nabil Nasir, another public relations official with a company, said he also experienced a similar situation. “My request was also rejected even though I showed the officer there the NOC letter,” Nabil said, adding that the certiﬁcate is not valid anymore now. “We have expected something to be there in this matter at the beginning for this year but this is quite hard for companies,” said Nabil. He added that at the end of last year, the immigration department had asked for the signing of NOC letter in the presence of old and new employers. “It was technically difficult for us. But at least it was possible to transfer an expat from a company to another without losing a clearance,” said Nabil. >A6

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

OMAN

If Omani students go to India, they will become familiar with India and its culture and they come back as ambassadors of India Indra Mani Pandey, India’s ambassador to Oman

‘Oman-India academic ties need to be boosted’ India’s Ambassador to Oman Indra Mani Pandey has called for more educational exchanges between the two countries

NHRC

Book published on human rights in Royal Speeches MUSCAT: A book under the title ‘Human Rights in Royal Speeches’, was published by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The 103-page book includes speeches of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said on different of occasions. The book analyses the noble meanings related to human rights in those speeches which played a role in the building of this nation, cemented pillars of equality and integrated the rights and obligations principle as well as protected them on this dear homeland.

In the introduction of the book, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Riyami, member of the State Council and Chairman of NHRC, said that since 1970, His Majesty’s speeches include royal hints about the importance of citizenship. He added that on many occasions, His Majesty gave royal directives to citizens to protect their rights and maintain them as they form the base for the Omani development. The book highlights the Human Rights Declaration’s articles that are compatible with His Majesty the Sultan’s speeches. -ONA

E D UC AT I O N

MOBIN MATHEW BLESSON

Indian school principals set to share views, ideas

mobinmathew@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Educational exchanges between the Sultanate and India should be encouraged, said India’s ambassador to Oman. “We should encourage Omani students to join Indian universities or colleges; we like educational exchanges between Sultanate and India,” Indra Mani Pandey told the Times of Oman. “If Omani students go to India, they will become familiar with India and its culture and they come back as ambassadors of India,” he added. He was sharing his thoughts on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Indian Education Exhibition on Monday. According to the ambassador, these kind of exhibitions help parents choose their children’s future. “One of the major concerns of every parent when their children complete their schooling is that which college or university they should go to. These exhibitions are making that easy for parents,” the Ambassador said. More than 21 universities from India are participating in the exhibition, which is taking place at the Haffa House Hotel. Some of the leading participants are Anna University, Manipal University, Thapar

Staff Reporter

INDIA CALLING: Parents can visit the stalls at the exhibition centre between 3:45pm and 9:45pm. The exhibition will conclude on Tuesday. – OK Mohammed Ali

More than 21 universities from India are participating in the Indian Education Exhibition, which is taking place at Haffa House Hotel

University, SDM Society, SRM University, Hindustan University, Datta Meghe Medical Science University, D.Y. Patil University, KJ Somaiya Group of Institutions, Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, MVJ Institutions, NITTE University, Sona Engineering College, Ramdeo Baba Engineering College and Jain International School. All the participating institutes

are recognised by the AICTE, UGC and respective government bodies in India. According to the Anna University spokesman, engineering courses still have a huge demand in India and a lot of people are opting to go for different streams of engineering. Lynx Ads, Muscat, World nation Expo, Oman and Indus Trade fairs India have sponsored the exhibition for

the 11th consecutive year. “This is the 11th consecutive year that we are organising such an exhibition,” Lijihas Ussain, organizer of the exhibition said. “Visitors will get an opportunity to interact with the faculty/ officials of leading educational institutions, get updated information on fee structure, eligibility criteria and programmes that are currently in high demand, few of the institutions are also offering spot admissions,” he added. The exhibition has been cosponsored by Manipal University, India and organized by WNE, Indus Fairs and Events (India) Pvt. Ltd, and Lynx, Muscat. Parents can visit the stalls at the exhibition centre between 3:45pm and 9:45pm. The exhibition will conclude on Tuesday.

MUSCAT: Students, as well as principals of Indian schools in Oman, are likely to beneﬁt from the annual principal conference that helps schools share their views and ideas. The 28th edition of the conference will be held at the Hormuz Grand Hotel, Seeb from January 20 to 23. According to M P Vinoba, principal of Indian School Ibri, the conference helps principals gain more ideas and deeper insight into the CBSE’s initiatives. “It (conference) helps us to share and exchange ideas and expertise among the Indian schools in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and it helps us in future,” Vinoba said. He is also the convener of the Oman Chapter of CBSE Schools and will be speaking on the sidelines of a press conference that will announce the Annual Principal Conference. The four-day conference, themed “Beyond the Horizon” will be attended by more than 100

principals from the GCC, and will have a series of sessions involving eminent speakers, who have a vast experience in various ﬁelds of education. They will deal with topics, such as “Leading a value based organization,” “School administrator or School CEO,” “Excellence in Education” etc. during the conference. “We also want to showcase the hospitality of Oman and the unity of the Oman chapter for the guests,” the convener said. According to other principals, who gathered at the press conference, the annual meet would help them learn a lot and become acquainted with the best practices followed by other chapters that they too can adopt. They also said the conference would act as a good platform to share their thoughts and views. Dr. Madiha Ahmed Al Shaibani, Minister of Education, will be the chief guest at the opening ceremony on January 20 and the guest of honour will be Indra Mani Pandey, Indian ambassador to the Sultanate.

EDEXCEL

Bangladesh school students come out with ﬂying colours

TOP SLOT: His Highness Sayed Mohammed bin Salim bin Ali Al Said, ambassador and chief of Pro-

tocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate, gives away the awards. – Supplied photo

Times News Service MUSCAT: Two students of Bangladesh School Muscat (BSM) have secured the first position in the Edexcel Country Ranking in Economics and Accounting respectively. Another BSM student stood second in the Edexcel World Ranking in Bengali. Twenty eight students from the school secured the top 10 Middle East ranks jointly for the June 2014 to 2015 session. His Highness Sayed Mohammed bin Salim bin Ali Al Said, ambassador and chief of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate gave away the awards to the students on the occasion of the 45th Victory Day celebration of Bangladesh. The Edexcel authorities had sent the details of the rankings to the school authorities and also awarded Academic Excellence Medals and Certificates. In the Bengali language, 11 students secured seven of the top 10 positions, excluding the first, third and eighth in the global rankings. Naima Jahan, student of BSM secured the first position in the Sultanate, in the country rankings in Economics, and at the GCE AS Level. Arfadul Alam Kayes secured the first position in the same ranking in Accounting at the IGCSE O Level. Meanwhile,

Shaidul Isalm secured the second position in the world rankings in Bengali Language at the IGCSE O Level. World ranking In the world ranking, Asif Mohammed Pervez secured the fourth position, Pujita Roy came in fifth, Shah Md. Talha Tanvir Rahman was sixth, Meem and Jinia Sultana were seventh, Sadia Nujhat Khan was ninth and Pushpa Rani secured the tenth position in Bengali language. In the Middle East overall qualification ranking, Meem, Akter Sadia Sharmin and Akther Shirin secured the fourth position jointly; Tariq Amna, Shah Md. Talha Tanvir Rahman, Jannatun Naiyem, Arif, Shaidul Islam, Lakhy Rani Das, Zunayed Habibe, Samiha Abdur Rahim , Razia Sultana and M A Faiyaz stood fifth; Amzad Homaira, Tawaz Tasmia, Joyram Shil, Taslima Yeasmin and Shirin Sultana came in sixth; Shahadat Hossain, Abdul Ahad, Jannat Akter, Jenat Khanam, Mohammed Helal and Mohammed Shakawat Hossain secured the seventh position. On her outstanding achievement, Naima Jahan thanked the Almighty Allah and the teachers, though she said she was a little disappointed for not securing the top position in the global rankings. She is hoping to achieve that

in the next examination. “At first, I would like to thank the Almighty Allah for giving me such an honour. I am grateful to my teachers and my parents for their continuous support and guidance. Standing first in the Sultanate is not enough, I want to secure the first position in the world rankings. Next time, I will try my best to achieve that. Insha Allah.” Jahan said. The school also organised a special award ceremony at the MP Hall of the school to honour the awardees, where it gave away medals and certificates to the outstanding students, along with the Edexcel medals and certificates. Iftakher ul Hasan Chowdhury, chairman, Board of Directors, Bangladesh Schools in the Sultanate congratulated awardees for their tremendous achievements and flying the school’s flag high. He also thanked the teachers for their enormous effort and dedication. Mohammad Alam, father of Arfadul Alam Kayes, thanked everyone and expressed his appreciation on this great accomplishment. “My son stood first in the whole Sultanate in a fierce competition amongst so many international students. What else can be better for a father? I am proud of my son. Lots of thanks to BSM,” said the proud father.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

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ROP REPORT

Increase in suspicious transaction complaints HAMDA AL BALUSHI

MUSCAT: More than 260 complaints about “suspicious transactions” were received in 2014 by the Royal Oman Police (ROP). A ﬁnancial report of the ROP said it had received 265 complaints about “suspicious transactions” during 2014, while in 2013, it was only 254. “Banks and money exchange companies came ﬁrst, where they reported around 260 complaints, which comprised 98 per cent of the total complaints,” the report added. DECISION

Team to identify health services finance options Times News Service MUSCAT: A team to identify best financing options for healthcare services and increasing the resources of the health ministry is being set up. Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Saidi, Minister of Health has issued the decision to establish a team for developing a proposal that shows the best financial options and alternatives for supporting and covering the provision of health care services and also means and ways of increasing the financial resources of the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health had adopted an investment approach, rather than the traditional approach for health financing. In this regard, it had established a new directorate within the organisational structure of the Ministry for Health’s investment and financial alternatives that dealt with setting policies and future strategies.

Among the complaints, 231 cases were referred to the public prosecution, 290 were discontinued by the unit, 171 were discontinued by the public prosecution, 279 were referred to the tax unit and ﬁve referred to the court. The report pointed out that 24 cases were of money laundering and other related criminal activities, followed by seven cases of violation of Omani Penal Code and ﬁve for violating labour laws, were reported. The reports showed that four cases were also recorded for violating banking laws, three for

violating the commercial register and trade laws and two for violating non-government organisation (NGO) laws. Five countries cooperated with the Sultanate in the ﬁeld of money laundering and counter-terrorism during the year 2014, compared with four in 2013, according to an ROP ﬁnancial report. The report also added that the number of “suspicious transactions” reported to the ROP was 1,001 between 2010 and 2014, out of which more than half took place between 2013 and 2014.

OMAN

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

For detailed coverage log on to www.timesofoman.com

ROP IN DRIVE TO RAISE AWARENESS ON DRUG ADDICTION DANGERS The ROP is distributing informative material among visitors to Muscat Festival, in which various aspects of drug abuse and the important role of the family, school, media and the society in drug prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, have been emphasised

ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI

elham@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: “Life is wonderful… Don’t spoil it with drugs.” This is a motto written on the side of a bus parked at the Muscat Festival in Al Amerat Park, where representatives of the Royal Oman Police (ROP) can be seen providing information to visitors about drug addiction. In a laudable initiative, several sections are displayed in the bus, featuring various types of chemical, natural and industrial substances. The bus also provides a platform for visitors to get to know some of the methods used by drug smugglers for drug trafficking, as well as some of the items that can give parents a clue about possible drug abuse by their children. Some sections also show the harmful impact of drugs on different body organs, including the liver, kidneys, heart, brain and skin. Informative material Informative material is being distributed among visitors, in which various aspects of drug abuse and the important role of the family, school, media and the society in

drug prevention, treatment and rehabilitation have been emphasised. In the brochures, it has been mentioned that drug abuse not only affects the addict, but the family and society, as well. People are advised to keep good company, resist peer pressure, avoid smoking and refrain from taking any substances that they do not know about when offered. Parents are advised to act good role models, keep a watchful eye on their children, explain the devastating effects of drug abuse to them pa-

tiently and seek help from experts when necessary. The ROP’s brochures also discuss the smokeless varieties of tobacco and their harmful effects, as well as abuse of psychotropic substances. People have been warned that abusing drugs for pleasure, ecstasy and amusement will lead to addiction. Volatile solvents In one of the brochures, the issue of addiction to sniffing volatile solvents has been discussed, which may be less known to the public. It says that sniffing volatile solvents in petrol, glue, paint, spray and shoe polish is rampant among teenagers and youngsters in many societies and has become a global menace. These solvents and gases are a set of chemicals, which are merely used for industrial and domestic purposes. It is very hard to identify their lethal effects, but their abuse may have an immediate impact on an addict’s body and mind. Sniffing these gases is an unusual behaviour and their abuse may cause swift poisoning without the addict being aware of it. These materials affect many organs in the human body, notably the liver, kidneys, bone marrow and the neurological system. According to ROP, most teenagers using these solvents do so without their parents’ knowledge. If parents ﬁnd out that the child is sniffing solvents, they should remain calm and explain its harmful effects and get help from experts if necessary. Parents are advised to monitor any changes in their children, notably an increase in bad breath, lethargy, lack of concentration and rashes around the mouth.

DOING GOOD WORK: In the brochures being distributed by the ROP, it has been mentioned that drug abuse not only affects the addict, but the family and society, as well. – Talib Al Wahibi

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‘Oman needs more local doctors’

GRADUATES ALL: White Coat Ceremony for ﬁnal year B.Pharm students, held under the patronage of Dr Mohammed Hamadan Al Rubaie, Director General of Pharmaceutical Affairs and Drug Control, Ministry of Health, saw 133 students receiving white coats, marking their entry into practical training in Pharmacy. –AR Rajkumar

While the need for physicians that come from among the local community is on the rise, the Sultanate does not have enough of them, said the vice dean of Oman Medical College

Staff Reporter MUSCAT: Oman’s need for local physicians is increasing consistently even as the country lacks sufficient number of such medical

professionals, Dr Yaseen Moosa Malallah Al Lawatia, Vice Dean of the Oman Medical College, emphasised at the White Coat Ceremony of the institution. “Need for physicians that come

from among the local community is on the rise but the Sultanate has insufficient number of Omani physicians,” Lawatia told the Times of Oman at the ceremony. White Coat Ceremony for ﬁnal year B.Pharm students, held under the patronage of Dr Mohammed Hamadan Al Rubaie, Director General of Pharmaceutical Affairs and Drug Control, Ministry of Health, saw 133 medical students receiving white coats, marking their entry into practical training in Pharmacy. They were cloaked by Vice Dean Dr. Yaseen Moosa Malallah AlLawatia and Professors Dr. Alka Ahuja and Dr. A.R. Mullaicharam. “Our graduates have strived

hard to reach these academic standards; our courses are challenging and are periodically reviewed by the West Virginia University,” Lawatia said. Highly competent “Our pharmacy graduates are highly competent and a majority of them qualify in the licensing exam conducted by the MOH,” he added. “The institutions of higher learning are the major providers of a nation’s knowledge, knowledge work-force and innovative technologies,” Dr. Mohammed Hamdan Al-Rubaie said in his address to the guests at the ceremony. He stressed that the pharmacist of today is required to be profes-

G O S H TA TA S H I G A M T I C H I

Indian drama draws big crowd made many contemplate their own situation. What added an edge to the conﬂict was the “Parlekar” in Sanjay (the very special strain seen in the typical Marathi middle class living in the Vile Parle (E) area). His home, neighbourhood, time-tested values, social ideas and middle class job are like his security blankets. Tear them away and you draw blood.

Times News Service MUSCAT: If you were looking for an evening of laughter, then you may have missed something. Indian drama “Goshta Tashi Gamtichi,” which was performed at the Indian Social Club’s (ISC’s) multipurpose hall this weekend, proved to be a huge hit among the Indian community. The play is the story of a father– son duo, separated by the generation gap. The mother as usual is caught up between the father and the son and tries to delicately balance the trio, and forms the crux of the story. Organised by the Marathi wing of the ISC, popularly known as 4M-Muscat Marathi Mitra Mandal–was praised by one and all. The success of such an award winning Marathi play in India and the world over certainly took forward the long tradition of contemporary performing arts culture in the western Indian state of Maharashtra in India, the organisers said. The play marked the theatre

NEW TAKE: The play is the story of a father–son duo, separated by the generation gap. – Supplied photo

acting debut of television actor Shashank Ketkar and ﬁrst time director Mangesh Kadam, who is seen as an actor. Leena Bhagwat also played a pivotal role in the play. The play was produced by Sonal Production and Natyasuman and recently completed its 250th show at Mumbai, on January 3.

NEW URBAN CENTRE

E D UC AT I O N

< FROM

A1 Master developer Oman officially appointed Omran as the master developer for the project in 2014, and is currently in the process of transferring the land to Omran. The brieﬁng follows the inaugural stakeholder event held in October last year. Since then, Omran has met community leaders, educational institutions, and representatives from student bodies, who were briefed on the new urban centre and had the opportunity to expand their understanding of the social impact of the Madinat Al Irfan development, while discussing common future goals for social and community growth. Commenting on the importance of the event, Saif Al Hinai, executive director of the Madinat Al Irfan Project noted, “Meeting with stakeholders and presenting the vision of Madinat Al Irfan is a critical part of our overall development philosophy, one which fosters transparency and constructive dialogue between stakeholders, investors, specialists and community leaders. Through this collaboration, we gain stakeholder support, and generate greater levels of participation from our partners in the business community in order to achieve our goals.” “Over the course of these engagements, we have been encouraged by the high levels of interest from private sector investors and partners involved in shaping the future of Madinat Al Irfan, a project which forms the cornerstone

Generation gap The story is as old as the hills, and draws upon the theme of generation gap. The deep divide between Sanjay Dikshit (Mangesh Kadam), a middle class Marathi Manus, and Kunal (Shashank Ketkar) his abrasive, with-it-son and his mother Vasanti (Leena Bhagwat) acting as the bridge

for growing the tourism and realestate sectors in the Sultanate,” added Saif Al Hinai. During the event, government officials and senior members of the business and finance community were briefed on the key components of the Madinat Al Irfan draft master plan, the first of which was the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre Precinct. The elements currently under construction within the first phase include a 22,000 square metre flexible column-free exhibition centre scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of this year. The centre has been sub-divided into five halls large enough to fit two football pitches. The Convention and Exhibition Centre will also include one of the largest state of-the-art auditoriums in the Middle East with an orchestra pit housing 3,200 seats. The precinct will also include the five-star JW Marriott Hotel and a four-star Crowne Plaza that are currently under development and available for private equity shareholding. Omran also announced seven plots available for investment. These plots will be fully serviced with key utilities (including water, electricity, sewage treatment, high speed internet, etc) available for hospitality, residential, commercial, and leisure development. As a key catalyst for tourism and urban development, Omran plans to designate the Madinat Al Irfan urban centre as a special development zone.

Honour for Oman GENEVA: Oman has been elected president of the International Bureau of Education (IBE). Represented by Ministry of Education, Oman took part in the 65th session of the Council of IBE, held in Geneva from January 13 to 15. The Sultanate was represented in the session by Dr. Hamoud bin Khalfan Al Harthy, Undersecretary of Ministry of Education for Education and Curricula. -ONA BORROWING

< FROM

A1 Good position Also, Oman’s debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio (a common parameter used for measuring the indebtedness of a country) is around 4 per cent, which is quite low when compared to most economies in the world, Anil Kumar N., senior vice-president, Asset Management, the Financial Corporation (FinCorp) earlier told Times of Oman. The country is in a comfortable position to raise funds from overseas markets. The government will be in a better position to borrow funds from wherever it is cheaper and available The agreement was signed on behalf of the Sultanate’s government by Darwish bin Ismail Al Balushi, Minister Responsible for Financial Affairs. - With inputs from Oman News Agency

Very popular Mangesh, Leena and Shashank proved why this show has remained on the top. 4Ms’ ﬁrst event of the year 2016 got an overwhelming response and was attended by more than 350 people. The audience also appreciated the efforts of all committee members for their hard work and for bringing them such a beautiful play. PNG Jewellers were the lead sponsors, along with Al Turki, Al Nisar, Khana Khazana, MK trading, Al Riyam Signs and the Al Eaman Dental Clinic. The organisers also thanked Dilip Kumar for the sets.

sionally competent, pro-active and prepared to undergo the process of rapid metamorphosis to acquire skills useful in advancing the pharmacy practice. “With the advent of strong and highly speciﬁc therapeutic agents and emergence of a wide spectrum of drug delivery systems, the pharmacist of today is required to keep pace with the rapid changes taking place in the practice of pharmacy,” he added. Pharmacist’s oath Raid Mahmood Al Sabri, Director of Pharmacy & Medical stores of Khoula Hospital, administered the pharmacist’s oath to the students at the ceremony.

On behalf of the ﬁnal year students, Ghada Khalifa Said Al Amri delivered a vote of thanks to parents and teachers. She recalled the journey that had brought them this far in their academic life and vowed to strive to do their country and families proud in the future. Khulood Mohammed Rashid Al Fannah Al Araimi and Mohiuddin P Mohammed Ali, directors, Oman Medical College and Dr Saleh Mohamed Al Khusaiby, Dean, Oman Medical College were also present at the ceremony, along with the special guest. The programme ended with a vote of thanks by Dr. P. Jayasekhar, Professor and Chair, Pharmacy Programme at OMC.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

OMAN

This decision was taken by the ROP and has nothing to do with the Ministry of Manpower Said bin Naser Al Sadi, advisor to the Minister of Manpower

Key Iron Age site of eastern Arabia found

TURQUOISE WATER WOOS TOURISTS The turquoise water of Wadi Dayqah and Quriyat beach acts as a catalyst for local as well as foreigners. Tourists come rushing to these locations to enjoy the tranquillity as well as the grand hospitality offered by the Sultanate. - Photo: Zheng Tan

The historical importance of Salut is directly linked to the beginning of the history of Oman

A M E R I C A N A S S O C I AT I O N

Top honour for SQU professor MUSCAT: Professor Nicolas Woodhouse from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) received Avicenna (Ibn Sina) Award for excellence service from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists – Gulf branch, in recognition of his outstanding contribution in the ﬁeld of diabetes and endocrine glands. The award was handed over to him at the fourth annual meeting for the Gulf branch and the third clinical conference for the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. Professor Nicolas is the professor of endocrinology and diabetes at Internal Medicine Department at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences in SQU. He is associate professor of metabolism operations in man and clinical biochemistry in pathology department at Sheffield University. -ONA

MUSCAT: With the support and supervision of the office of the Adviser to His Majesty the Sultan for Cultural Affairs, an Italian expedition from the University of Pisa has continued its work at the archaeological site of Khor Rori “Sumhuram,” Al Baleed, and Wabar, in the Governorate of Dhofar. The Italian mission was invited in 2004 to conduct a preliminarily study of what has now been conﬁrmed as be the Salut Ancient Castle and Village, at Buhla in the Governorate of A’Dakhiliya. The historical importance of Salut is directly linked to the beginning of the history of Oman; and thus related to the early arrival of the Arab tribes from other parts of Arabia. The site also provides early evidence of the Aﬂaj system in the Omani peninsula. This work resulted in a site that is now a prominent landmark in the area and can be safely visited and understood by tourists. The scope of the IMTO’s involvement in Salut has gradually widened over the years, and in 2010, an investigation into the Early Bronze Age tower site (ST1; roughly 2450-2100/2000 BC), located some 300 meters to the northwest of Hisn Salut, was started. Extensive excavations continued until late 2015, bringing to light a complex monumental water management system. Here, a remarkably dense scat-

MAJOR FIND: The site also provides early evidence of the Aﬂaj system in the Omani peninsula. – ONA

ter of Iron Age shreds had already been recorded, as well as the presence of buried large stone walls. Recently, an Iron Age stamp seal and occasional stone vessels fragments were collected from the surface of this area. Excavations at the northern edge of this terrace revealed that it contains a substantial stone wall that also comprises an occasional megalithic. More importantly, this wall does not seem to be just a containment wall for the aforementioned large terrace, but is rather the actual fortiﬁcation wall closing the settlement to the north. Its western end was in fact discovered, and ancient stratigraphy was unearthed against its southern face. The actual seat of Salut’s main settlement area, directly connected with Hisn Salut, and prominent among the other smaller sites was located during previous surveys conducted by the IMTO. This development allowed the team to name the site as Qaryat Salut Alathariyah, “Salut Ancient Village.” The importance of this discovery can hardly be overestimated. What the team appears to be facing is, especially when considered together with Hisn Salut, is the

most impressive Iron Age complex discovered so far in the whole Eastern Arabia. Besides, the presence of the intact, Iron Age surfaces at least in the part of the settlement located on the plain has already been veriﬁed. The stratigraphy along the hill slopes probably suffered from more impacting erosion, but original ﬂoors were anyhow discovered at least on the lower terraces, and indications about the presence of water drainage devices collected. A project for protecting the site from runoffs occurring after heavy rains was drafted and has already been partially realized with the erection of the site’s perimeter wall. Moreover, a few tombs crowning the crest of Jabal Salut, that is, the hill that faces Hisn Salut to the northeast, were fully excavated and philologically reconstructed, as well as a small, likely Late Iron Age (650-300 BC), shrine that had been erected directly above a cluster of dismantled tombs. After bringing these fundamental projects to an end, in December 2015, investigations were relaunched in the proximity of Hisn Salut, on the remaining slopes of the hill that hosts it and its surroundings. -ONA

UPGRADE

ITA signs deal to provide latest Microsoft software technology MUSCAT: For providing 90 government organisations with the latest Microsoft software solutions and technologies, the Information Technology Authority (ITA) introduced the Microsoft Licence Agreement 2015-2018 for the government entities. The agreement is in cooperation with ITA, Microsoft Corporation and Exceed IT Services, which is the company responsible for implementing the agreement. The event was held under the patronage of Dr. Salim Sultan Al

Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA, in the presence of Sheikh Saif bin Hilal Al Hosni, Business Development Manager for Microsoft Oman and Fawzi bin Hamed Al Harrasi, CEO of Exceed. Dr. Salim Sultan Al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA said: “This agreement is very important to the government entities in Oman where necessary licences for Microsoft software used at the government institutions help the ongoing efforts against cybercrimes and electronic piracy as per the

international conventions.” This event highlights the recent renewal of Microsoft Licencing Agreement, which seeks to upgrade Microsoft licencing for the government institutions. The upgrade includes 36,000 windows operating systems and office applications to the latest versions. Around 90 government entities are participating in this in which they will get beneﬁts divided into different categories including: entrepreneurship, capacity building, and business development. -ONA

TWO-YEAR BAN

A1 ‘It’s ROP directive’ < FROM

Said bin Naser Al Sadi, advisor to the Minister of Manpower, said that this has gone out of their hands. “This decision was taken by the ROP and has nothing to do with the Ministry of Manpower,” said Al Sadi. “We can talk about the work rule but for entrance and exit from the country comes under the ROP and we can’t interfere,” he added. It means that the only way an expat employee can join a new company is if he stays within Oman and his previous employer is prepared to lose the clearance from his quota of expat staff by granting an NOC. “It is shocking to hear this. We were expecting that in 2016, the government will ease the NOC regulations. But they have tightened it. It is a worrisome situation,” Mohammed Sanuallah, a Bangladeshi expatriate, said. An Indian expatriate also sounded the same concern. “Now, expatriates will be stuck in Oman. There are no choices. Have to stay back whatever may be the conditions at the workplace in terms of salary and other conditions,” Shameer PTK, the

Indian expat, said. He also added that his company official who went to the immigration department also conﬁrmed the ROP is denying visa even if there is NOC or release letter. A migrants rights activist said that the NOC already unduly restricts workers’ mobility, making it difficult for workers to leave their jobs. It means they will be unable to return for two years, and many who have paid high recruitment costs would be forced to continue working in less than favourable conditions. “This new policy is even more regressive and makes little sense if Oman wants to attract experienced workers. Barring workers who know the country and its economy, re-entry is simply bad for productivity and efficiency,” Rima Kalush, editor at migrantrights.org and a migrant rights’ activist, said. Earlier the ROP had said that if the expat leaves the Sultanate, then the former employer would not lose his clearance and the new expat can enter the Sultanate and join the new company without the need of spending two years outside Oman.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

REGION M A D AYA

Five starve to death in besieged Syrian town GENEVA: Five people have starved to death in the last week in the Syrian town of Madaya, where a single biscuit sells for $15 and baby milk costs $313 per kilo, despite two emergency United Nations aid deliveries to the besieged town, a UN report said. Local relief workers have reported 32 deaths of starvation in the past month, and last week two convoys of aid supplies were delivered to the 42,000 people living under a months-long blockade. Dozens more people need immediate specialised medical care outside Madaya if they are to survive, but aid workers from the U.N. and Syrian Arab Red Crescent have managed to evacuate only 10 people, the report said. “Since 11 January, despite the assistance provided, five people reportedly died of severe and acute malnutrition in Madaya,” said the UN humanitarian report, published late on Sunday. UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon said on Thursday Syria’s warring parties, particularly President Bashar Al Assad’s government, were committing “atrocious acts” and he condemned the use of starvation as a weapon of war in the nearly five-year-old conflict. The United Nations says there are some 450,000 people trapped in around 15 sieges across Syria, including in areas controlled by the government, IS militants and other insurgent groups. The UN made seven requests in 2015 to bring an aid convoy to the town, and got permission to deliver aid for 20,000 people in October, the report said. After several more requests, the Syrian government allowed a lifesaving aid delivery on January 11 and another on January 14. About 50 people left the town on January 11, the report said. The UN has asked Syria to allow the evacuation of a number of others needing immediate care. — Reuters

Iraqi troops searching for 3 ‘kidnapped’ US citizens The US State Department said it was working with the Iraqi authorities to locate Americans reported missing, without conﬁrming they had been kidnapped

BAGHDAD: Security forces in Baghdad were hunting for three US citizens who Iraqi lawmakers said on Monday had been kidnapped, which, if confirmed, would make them the first Americans abducted in the country since US troops withdrew in 2011. Unknown gunmen seized the trio from a private apartment on Friday in the capital’s southeastern Dora district, said Mohammed Al Karbouli, who sits on parliament’s security and defence panel. It was not immediately clear if their motives were political or criminal. Iskandar Witwit, deputy head of the same panel, gave a similar account citing senior security officials who said the civilians had been taken from the district’s Sihha residential complex. Majority sect militia fighters, seen as a bulwark in the fight against IS militants, have a heavy presence in that part of the predominately minority sect district. Witwit said the three were employed by a private company and two of them also have Iraqi citizenship. Dora was a bastion of the in-

WIDENING CONFLICT

Rocket fired from Syria kills one in Turkish city ANKARA: A female school employee was killed and a female student wounded on Monday when a rocket believed to have been fired from Syria struck a school in southeastern Turkey, the local governor’s office said. Turkish army radar showed shots were fired into the border province of Kilis from IS outposts inside Syria, military sources operating in the area told Reuters, adding that the army had retaliated “in kind”. The wounded student was taken into surgery. Two other rockets, also believed to have come from Syria, landed in an empty field next to the school, the governor’s office said. Shocked women, children Footage broadcast on the website of the Hurriyet newspaper showed what appeared to be a body lying by the door of the school in Kilis town, the provincial capital, as shocked women and children were escorted from the building. Kilis is on the edge of a roughly 100-km (60-mile) strip of Syrian border territory controlled by IS. Turkish towns in the region

Turkish towns in the region have frequently seen artillery fire spill over during Syria’s civil war, about to enter its sixth year have frequently seen artillery ﬁre spill over during Syria’s civil war, about to enter its sixth year. Turkey’s armed forces have responded in kind. As well as suffering spillover from the war, NATO member Turkey, part of the US-led coalition against the extremists, has become a target for IS. A suicide bombing last week in Istanbul, blamed on the group, killed 10 German tourists. Bombings in Ankara and the border town of Suruc last year killed more than 135 people. Turkish tanks and artillery bombarded IS positions in Syria and Iraq in the days after last Tuesday’s bombing in Istanbul, killing almost 200 ﬁghters, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. — Reuters

VIGILANT: Iraqi security forces inspect a car at a checkpoint on the main road from Baghdad’s central Jaderiyah district to Dora on the southern outskirts of the Iraqi capital on Monday. — AFP

surgency against the 2003 USled invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and the site of intense sectarian bloodletting that peaked around 2006-07. Federal police now run most checkpoints there. The capital of Iraq has seen a proliferation in recent years of well-armed criminal gangs that carry out contract killings, kidnappings and extortion. Iraqi police set up extra checkpoints in Dora on Monday and sent out helicopter search parties. Two Iraqi army helicopters were seen hovering over the dis-

Two Iraqi army helicopters were seen hovering over the district, while police vehicles patrolled the streets, residents said

trict, while police vehicles patrolled the streets, residents said. The US State Department said on Sunday it was working with Iraqi authorities to locate Americans reported missing, with-

out conﬁrming they had been kidnapped. The Iraqi government has struggled to rein in the militias, many of which fought the US military following the 2003 invasion

and have previously been accused of killing and abducting American nationals. Iraq has seen a series of abductions of foreign nationals in recent months. At least 26 Qatari hunters kidnapped last month in the southern desert by unknown militants have not yet been found. In September, 18 Turks taken in Baghdad by an armed group were released following several weeks in detention. Extremists militants of IS have maintained a limited presence in Baghdad, regularly claiming bomb attacks against majority sect neighbourhoods. — Reuters

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

I take pride in our culture and civilization, however, when it comes to a healthy comparison, the Indian universities do not have any signiﬁcant global presence. The main reason for this could be the lack of interest in innovative thinking and research Ram Naik, Uttar Pradesh Governor

INDIA

PAT H A N K O T AT TA C K

YOUNG BRAVEHEARTS Children, who will be honoured with National Bravery Awards 2015, pose for a group photo during a press conference in New Delhi on Monday. Fifteen-year-old Gaurav Kawduji Sahastrabuddhe from western Indian state of Maharashtra, who sacriﬁced his life while saving his four friends, and 24 other young bravehearts will be given the National Bravery Awards this year for their extraordinary courageous feats. Sahastrabuddhe will be awarded with ‘Bharat Award’, the highest of the National Bravery awards, which his parents will receive on his behalf along with the parents of 13-year-old Shivansh Singh, also to be awarded posthumously for sacriﬁcing his life in a valiant effort to save his friend from drowning in Saryu river. The children will receive their awards from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 24 and will also participate in Republic Day parade. - PTI

Delhi court allows lie detector test on Punjab cop NEW DELHI: A court here on Monday allowed a National Investigation Agency (NIA) plea for a lie detector test on Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh in connection with the attack at the air force base in Pathankot. Court sources said that during in-camera proceedings, district judge Amar Nath directed the NIA to conduct the polygraph test on Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh within three days. The NIA earlier told the court that Singh’s statements on his alleged abduction were inconsistent and the lie detector test was required to ascertain the truth. Questioned The NIA had questioned Singh as he was suspected of helping the terrorists who attacked the Pathankot air base on January 2. The police officer had claimed that he along with his friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal was abducted by four or ﬁve heavilyarmed terrorists near Kolia village in Punjab prior to the attack on the airbase. Seven security personnel were killed in the attack. All six terrorists suspected to have crossed over from Pakistan also were shot dead by the security forces in the counter-offensive. - IANS

SUKMA

Naxal leader killed in police encounter RAIPUR: A Naxalite commander carrying a reward of Rs 100,000 on his head was killed in an encounter with police in insurgency-hit Sukma district of eastern Indian state of Chhattisgarh this morning, police said. The ‘black uniform-clad’ Naxalite, identified as Kartam Deva, was gunned down in the encounter that took place in the forest near Burumapad village, Sukma District Superintendent of Police D. Shravan said over phone. A joint team of District Police Force and Special Task Force had been sent for patrolling in the Kistaram police station area based on a tip-off. When the team was moving in the forest under Burumapad village, the Naxals attacked the police personnel, he said. Retaliation In retaliation, the policemen also fired at the ultras. The face-off continued for some time after which the Naxals fled from the area, Shravan said. Later, during a search of the spot, police found the body of the Naxalite. Four loaded guns, detonator and other material were recovered from the spot. The horns and skin of a deer were also seized from the place, the SP said. The deceased Naxalite was a Jan-militia platoon commander and carried a reward of Rs100,000 on his head, he said. The police force is deployed in the area and a search is on for the Naxals, he added. - PTI

Pranab: Falling standards of higher education ‘alarming’ President Pranab Mukherjee regretted that now universities or institutions of higher learning in India are not up to the mark

GREATER NOIDA: President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday expressed concern over the falling standard of higher education in the country even though he said the proliferation of private sector has led to greater access. “Some private institutions have ably complimented the efforts of the public sector institutions in meeting the high demand for the tertiary education of our society,” Mukherjee said after inaugurating the Shiv Nadar University here. He added that private institutions account for about 60 per cent of students enrolled in higher education. Stating that there were only 20 universities in 1950, Mukherjee said on Monday there are 712 universities in the country and the number of colleges has increased

ONE FOR THE ALBUM: President Pranab Mukherjee with UP Governor Ram Naik and industrialist and philanthropist Shiva Nadar at a function to inaugurate the Shiv Nadar University and award the ﬁrst HCL Grant, at Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh on Monday. - PTI

from 500 to more than 36,000. “Though (private sector) proliferation has led to greater access, its negative fallout on the standards is alarming. Its declining quality for standard, particularly in the areas of higher learning... “... if not reversed quickly, we will land ourselves in a scenario of having a large number of people with degrees but not enough manpower with proﬁciency to meet

the emerging requirement of our industrial and other sectors,” Mukherjee said. He cited the example of ancient Indian universities like Nalanda, Takshashila, Vikramashila and said that in the past, India has led the world in creating standards in the ﬁeld of higher learning, and institutions in the country should strive for the same again. “Almost like a parrot in all edu-

cational congregation, I draw the attention of audience, not one or two years, but almost 1,800 years, India led international community in the area of higher learning. “Universities like Takshashila, Nalanda, Vikramshila... attracted the brilliant minds in the form of students and teachers,” President Pranab Mukherjee said. He regretted that now universities or institutions of higher learn-

ing in India are not up to the mark. “We must come up to the international standards. The Nadar University, which has impressive infra, should be able to replicate these achievements,” he said. The president said that two Indian institutions, for the first time in 2015, have been ranked in the list of top 200 universities prepared by internationally reputed rating agencies. “I am happy that at least these two institutions have come up and I have no doubt that many more will join,” he said. Meanwhile, the president announced the winner of a Rs50 million grant from the Rs100 crore fund of HCL Foundation to support NGOs and individual social leaders. He gave the award to NGO ‘Going to School’ a charitable trust by former communications consultant at UNICEF Lisa Heydlauff. Also present, Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik said private universities co-exist with public universities and fill the gap of infrastructure and investment deficit experienced in higher education sphere in the country. “I take pride in our culture and civilization, however, when it comes to a healthy comparison, the Indian universities do not have any significant global presence. The main reason for this could be the lack of interest in innovative thinking and research,” Naik said. - PTI

I N K AT TA C K

AAP fears attack on Kejriwal, blames police for lax security NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday alleged that the ink attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, was part of a “big rehearsal” to possibly “physically harm” him in future and that deliberately lax security was being provided to him by Delhi Police. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashutosh claimed that “not a single” security person escorted the Delhi Chief Minister, who comes in Z-plus category, during his recent train journey from Punjab to the national capital after addressing a public rally there. “I can see a method or a pattern here. There’s a deep conspiracy and it’s a well known fact that Delhi Police directly reports to the Prime Minister’s Office and not the Home Ministry,” he told reporters at a press conference at Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s residence. “The attack signals that the incidents are part of a big rehearsal. The conspiracies are being tested

time and again. One also needs to look at the kind of hate being whipped up against Kejriwal by BJP and RSS,” he said. He said that the attack, where a young woman threw ink at Kejriwal in a public rally on Sunday was not only “shameful” but also serious as India has had a history of assassinations of top leaders including former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. “After assessing the threat perception, Centre itself gave Z-plus security status to the Delhi CM. We did not ask for it. Then how could a woman get this close to the CM and throw stuff at him? They can’t claim that they were caught unawares,” AAP’s Delhi Convenor Dilip Pandey said. Bhavna Arora, the woman, who claimed to be a member of the Punjab unit of Aam Aadmi Sena, was later detained by police and whisked away to Model Town police station for questioning. A case was also registered.

Reacting sharply to the incident, Sisodia on Sunday said the BJP was conspiring to attack Kejriwal and the entire Cabinet because they cannot stand the success of the odd-even scheme and AAP’s popularity among the masses. Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay rejected the allegations and insinuated that the incident could have been “stage managed” while Delhi police said the charges were “misconceived and unfounded”. Echoing Sisodia’s allegations, Ashutosh said the attack could be seen as an attempt to cause “physical harm” to Kejriwal. “The fact that it may have been an attempt to kill him can’t be ruled out.” He alleged that the security was scant at Kejriwal’s recent rally at Punjab’s Muktsar and very few Delhi Police personnel accompanied him. “Not a single policeman escorted him during his return journey in train,” he claimed. Pandey demanded that the Centre and the police hold “account-

able” those responsible behind the “lapse” in the Z-plus arrangements as part of which “22 policemen are to escort the CM.” “A red alert was sounded after the Pathankot attack. This is the readiness of police during a red alert? Was any personnel from Delhi Police been held accountable? This is clearly vengeful,” Pandey said. On Aam Aadmi Sena, Ashtosh said, “RSS and BJP have a history of propping up such organisations. We need to look at the kind of hate being whipped up against Kejriwal by them.” Arora, a resident of outer Delhi’s Rohini sub-city, came quite close to the lectern when Kejriwal was delivering his speech at the Chhatrasal Stadium, waved some papers towards him and then threw ink at the Chief Minister. There were ink stains on Kejriwal’s cheeks and some others standing close to him were also seen wiping off the liquid. - PTI

DETAINED: Policemen try to control a member of Aam Aadmi Sena after she splattered Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal with ink while protesting against alleged CNG scam, at a ‘thanksgiving’ rally following the success of his government’s odd-even scheme at Chhatrasal Stadium, in New Delhi on Sunday. - PTI

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INDIA

India, Israel set to enhance coordination on terrorism It was emphasised that the region around India and around Israel are both in turmoil. That there were special circumstances posed by terrorism that required coordination between the two countries

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Contending that India and Israel face challenges of terrorism, the two countries on Monday agreed to intensify coordination to deal with the menace as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met top Israeli leadership and discussed a wide-range of bilateral and regional issues. Swaraj, who is on her ﬁrst visit to West Asia as the External Affairs Minister, called on President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top leaders. “It was emphasised that the region around India and around Israel are both in turmoil. That there were special circumstances posed by terrorism that required coordination between the countries, especially between India and Israel,” an official here said, sharing details of the meetings. “It was agreed that the exchange of information (between the two countries) will continue in the future,” he added.

JOINT STATEMENTS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj deliver joint statements during their meeting in the occupied Jerusalem on Monday. - Reuters

Swaraj said she hopes get an assessment of the situation in the region and identify areas where the two sides can cooperate. She said, “India attaches the highest importance to the full development of bilateral ties with Israel. Our bilateral cooperation has grown in a number of areas over the past two decades but the potential of our relations are much more.” Netanyahu, who also heads the Foreign Ministry, said that there has been a great ﬂowering of relationship and friendship between the two countries in the recent years. “I take special pleasure in welcoming you here and sending my regards to my good friend and colleague Prime Minister Modi. The expression of this growing relationship has been in the visit of the (Indian) President, the ﬁrst

ever by an Indian Head of State,” he told Indian external affairs minister. He said the two countries are intensifying their contacts and cooperation in ﬁelds such as science and technology, cyber, defence and agriculture. “India and Israel are at the cutting edge of so many innovations and by working together we can do a lot more for our people and the world,” he said, adding that Israel admires India and view it as a great friend. Emphasising on the importance attached to India by Israel, he said his country is putting “special effort towards buildingaspecialrelationshipwitha special country”. President Rivlin pushed for a boost in bilateral economic ties during his meeting with Swaraj and said the two partners should

DALIT RESEARCH SCHOLAR

Protests over Dalit student’s suicide as minister booked

PROTESTS: Police detain a girl student during a protest against the Ministry of Human Resource Development in New Delhi on Monday, over the suicide of a PhD scholar Rohith Vemula at University of Hyderabad. - PTI

HYDERABAD/NEW DELHI: The protests over suicide of a Dalit research scholar rocked University of Hyderabad while police booked central minister Bandaru Dattatreya and three others for abetment of suicide and also for violations of the SC/ST act. A day after Rohith Vemula hanged himself in a university hostel room, protests broke out on the campus of the central university and echoed in the national capital, where students tried to lay siege to the office of Union Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani. Police used water canons and arrested several students as they broke the barricades. The protesters, carrying pictures of B.R. Ambedkar and raising anti-government slogans, clashed with police. The central ministry constituted a two-member committee to probe the suicide. The panel will submit report in two days. Irani, while expressing sympathy with the student’s family, declined to comment on the incident. She merely said the ministry had no administrative control over the central universities.

The varsity campus in Hyderabad remained tense since morning when police used force to take possession of Rohith’s body, which the students had locked in a room and were insisting should be visited by Vice Chancellor Appa Rao. Policemen in riot gear used batons to disperse the slogan-shouting students and arrested eight of them before shifting the body to Osmania Hospital for autopsy. The 28-year-old, a second year research scholar of science, technology and society studies department, was found hanging in his friend’s room in the hostel on Sunday. He was one of the ﬁve students expelled from the hostel and barred from all facilities except their classrooms following a clash with leaders of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The students belonging to Ambedkar Students Union (ASU) had been staging protest on the campus for last 15 days against this “discrimination” and “social boycott”. Hailing from a poor family in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, Rohith, in his six-page suicide note, said no one was re-

sponsible for his suicide. “I always wanted to be a writer. A writer of science, like Carl Sagan. At last, this is the only letter I am getting to write,” he wrote. His mother Radhika along with students and leaders of various Dalit groups staged a sit-in on the campus, demanding that the vice chancellor come to them and explain why her son was suspended. A Joint Action Committee (JAC) of various student groups blamed growing inﬂuence of right-wing groups on the campus for the incident. A JAC leader said nine Dalit students have committed suicide during last ﬁve years. They held central minister Bandaru Dattetreya, the vice chancellor, ABVP leader Sushil Kumar and Vishnu responsible for the suicide. A case for abetment of suicide and for violation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was booked against the four in Gachibowli police station on a complaint by a student. A police officer said that they will take further action after investigation. - IANS

quickly ﬁnalise the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). “It is important that we work to open a FTA between Israel and India — there can be no better way to celebrate 25 years of our relations, which we will mark next year,” Rivlin told Swaraj. Free trade agreement An Israeli team is currently in India for preliminary talks on Free Trade Agreement to ensure that whenever the delegations meet in full strength all related issues can be addressed with clarity and special attention is being paid for the revival of the talks, a few rounds of which have already been held, an Indian official here said. “We are both looking to the future. We know very well the challenges we face, at time same time, we must realise the opportunities. “Our friendship is deﬁned by

our working together for a better future for our peoples — in security, but also in cyber, hi-tech, medicine, agriculture and water,” the Israeli president said. Swaraj told him that IndoIsrael bilateral ties that are wide ranging have been growing “from strength to strength”. She hoped that the bilateral relationship that is so far concentrated around too many areas of defence and agriculture would expand to other areas which are emerging, especially water, sanitation and in the ﬁeld of education in particular. “We have the volumes and you have the technology”, she said, urging Israel to participate actively in the clean Ganga, smart cities, digital India and Make in India initiatives. Netanyahu, who has met Modi twice in the past year and a half, has said that “sky is the limit” that can be achieved between the two sides with “limitless” potential. The Israeli Prime Minister has in the past said that his Indian counterpart has told him that New Delhi needs Tel Aviv to achieve major developmental projects outlined by him. Israel’s Minister of Infrastructure Yuval Shteinitz, Deputy Foreign Minister Tsipi Hotovely and Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon also called on Swaraj to discuss ways to take forward bilateral cooperation. Lawmaker Tzipi Livni, a former foreign minister, also called on Swaraj. Swaraj will be meeting the Indian community in Israel. There are four groups of Indian Jewish communities in Israel with a strength of approximately 80,000. Her visit comes barely three months after the historic visit of President Pranab Mukherjee, the ﬁrst by an Indian Head of State to Israel, and aims at encasing on the goodwill generated by that visit. - PTI

B J P L AW M A K E R

‘Will win even if I contest as independent’

Shatrughan Sinha

KOLKATA: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Shatrughan Sinha on Monday asserted he can win elections even if he contests as an independent candidate and admitted he has been getting “feelers” from other parties for long. The Patna Sahib MP, who was sidelined by the BJP in the recent Assembly polls in Bihar, also said he gave his opinions whenever the prime minister or the party did a good or bad thing and was never “disgruntled or sulking”. “Since I am a good man in politics, I have been getting feelers from other parties for ages. That’s why I have been saying I don’t have any problem,” Sinha said here. “I have been winning by a record margin. Even if I contest as an Independent, it would not be a problem because a lot of people will support me,” he said. Sinha had won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls by a margin of over 264,0000 votes. He had often taken potshots at the party for the way it conducted the campaign in Bihar and even went on to term the grand alliance’s victory as “victory of democracy”. “I could see the writing on the wall. I tried to make everyone understand through various means including Twitter. I also heard that they could remove me from the party. I said no problem you could as you were in a decision making body, but they didn’t remove me,” he said. - PTI

A 10

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

PAKISTAN Court acquits Musharraf of Baloch leader Bugti murder In late 2006, Pakistani forces killed Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and dozens of other rebels at a hideout in Balochistan’s rugged mountains

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf, who came to power in 1999 in a bloodless coup against current Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was acquitted on Monday of the murder of a separatist leader in 2006, removing one of several cases against him. Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti led a tribal campaign to win political autonomy for Baochistan, Pakistan’s biggest province. He was killed in a battle between tribal militants and government forces in the restive province in 2006. But on Monday, an anti-terrorism court in the provincial capital, Quetta, acquitted him. “We aren’t satisﬁed with the judgment and will challenge it in court,” Sohail Rajput, the lawyer for Bugti’s family, told reporters outside the court. Musharraf ordered a military crackdown in Balochistan in late 2005 after being targeted by a rocket attack while visiting the province. In late 2006, Pakistani forces killed Bugti and dozens of other rebels at a hideout in Balochistan’s rugged mountains. Musharraf has also been charged in connection with the 2007 assassination of prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the murder of a prominent cleric since returning to Pakistan from exile in 2013. — Reuters

SUCCESSFUL DEFENCE: Pakistani former interior minister, Aftab Sherpao, third right, leaves the court after a hearing in Quetta on Monday. A Pakistani court acquitted former military ruler Pervez Musharraf over the 2006 killing of a Baloch rebel leader, one of three legal cases he faced after returning from exile, lawyers said. — AFP

REPRIEVE: In this photograph taken on November 14, 2014, Pakistan’s former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf smiles during an interview with AFP in Karachi. - AFP/Asif Hassan/Files

FORMER MINISTER

SETBACK: Pakistani lawyer for the family of late Baloch rebel leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, Sohail Rajput, centre, speaks after a hearing in Quetta on Monday. — AFP

BLOCKED IN 2012

Telecom body directive to unblock YouTube ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Monday issued directives to all internet service providers (ISPs) to remove viewing barriers from YouTube, the most popular videostreaming website. The website’s Pakistani domain has already been online for the past couple of days as part of a trial run, a PTA official said. “They have blocked the unwanted content which was the main point of contention and it has been solved,” the official said on the condition of anonymity as the authority is yet to issue a formal statement in this regard. The YouTube ban had been a dilemma for PTA, which has been credited for contributing to the expansion of telecommunication and internet services in Pakistan over the years. “We acted as a messenger in this case. You do realise the sensitivity of the matter. So we did what government told us to do,” the ofﬁcial added. The lifting of the ban comes after almost three and a half years as the popular video-sharing website was blocked in the country in September 2012 after a low-budget movie containing sacrilegious content sparked furious protests around the world. At the time, the country’s top court ruled the site should be banned until a way is found to block all blasphemous material. Google had removed the movie following a US court order but its shorter versions are still available online. Educational tool Last week, a Supreme Court judge had remarked that the YouTube is an educational tool and it should not be mixed up with other sites containing objectionable content. “As far as objectionable material is concerned, technical experts must address this issue,” Justice Faez Isa, a member of a two-judge bench, said while hearing a petition seeking a permanent ban on YouTube and abolition of obscenity. — Express Tribune

CONTROVERSY

Zardari aide Asim’s After criticism, android game based on remand extended Peshawar school massacre taken down by 10 more days KARACHI: An accountability court on Monday further extended the physical remand of former federal minister Dr Asim Hussain for ten days over his alleged role in illegal appointments and award of contracts in the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC). The NAB had obtained custody of Asim on December 11 in connection with an inquiry regarding misuse of authority in allotment of plots and encroachment of state land for Dr Ziauddin Hospital Trust, fraud with public by running a charity hospital on commercial basis, kickbacks and commission through fertiliser cartel for illegal curtailment and money-laundering. Deteriorating health While prosecution requested for an extension of 14 days, Asim’s lawyer opposed the request stating that 145 days have passed but the prosecution has not been able to prove anything against his client and that his medical health is deteriorating as cited in a medical report submitted previously.

Administrative Judge Saad Qureshi extended Dr Asim’s physical remand till January 27 and directed relevant authorities to take the accused to a psychiatrist and if recommended, he should be shifted to a hospital. On January 5, the court extended the physical remand of the former federal minister by two weeks. Harbouring terrorists Asim, chairman of the Sindh Higher Education Commission and a friend of former president Asif Ali Zardari, is facing charges of abetting and harbouring terrorists at his family-owned hospitals in Karachi. After spending 90 days in the custody of paramilitary Rangers, who detained him on August 26, he was handed over to the Karachi police for further interrogation. The police, however, relieved him of the charges and got him released, sparking a tussle between the federal and provincial governments. — Express Tribune

LAHORE: Following a barrage of criticism, the Punjab IT Board has taken down an android game based on the 2014 attack on the Peshawar Army Public School, conceding it was made in “poor taste”. Punjab IT Board Chairman Umar Saif, in a tweet, conﬁrmed that the game has been removed. The Punjab IT Board released the ﬁrst-person shooting game titled ‘Pakistan Army Retribution’ around the anniversary of the brutal attack, in which 146 people, mostly schoolchildren were killed. The game re-enacts the events of December 16, 2014, with the player assuming the role of a soldier and leading his team into the school premises. The ultimate task for the player is to neutralise the terrorists. Developers, however, seemed to have missed the mark in aiming to honour the army soldiers who participated in the operation, with many calling out the game for being insensitive and in poor taste. The IT Board took down the game on Monday from Google Play Store. A message now appears saying the content is not available in your country yet. — Express Tribune

MASS KILLING: Ambulances carrying schoolchildren make their way from the Army Public School that came under attack by Taliban gunmen in Peshawar on December 16, 2014. Taliban gunmen in Pakistan had taken hundreds of students and teachers hostage in a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar, and killed many. — Reuters ﬁle photo

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FIRST SNOWFALL IN TOKYO People walk along a street covered with snow as they head to a subway station in Tokyo on Monday. Tokyo had its ﬁrst snow of the season amid cold temperatures, with snowfall reaching six centimetres (2.4 inches) in downtown areas. — AFP

Bangladesh jails five rebels for 10 years DHAKA: A court in Bangladesh on Monday jailed five militants of a banned extremist group for 10 years over bombings in 2005 that formed part of a series of blasts across the country. The Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen group set off nearly 500 bombs almost simultaneously on a single day in 2005, including the capital Dhaka. Subsequent suicide attacks on courthouses by its militants killed 25 people and injured hundreds. Five members of the Jamaat-ulMujahideen group were convicted and sentenced for the explosions in the southeastern district of Rangamati, court inspector Mominul Islam said. “Six militants were charged with the bombings,” he told Reuters by telephone. “And five of them were convicted and sentenced to 10 years in jail, while one was acquitted.” The group, thought to have been lying low since six of its top leaders were hanged in 2007, is blamed for a spate of recent attacks, including the bombings of a Shi’ite shrine and the shooting of three foreigners, two of whom died. Last year, four bloggers and a publisher were killed in Bangladesh, amid a rise in extremist violence in which liberal activists, members of minority sects and other religious groups have been targeted. — Reuters

D E L AY E D E L E C T I O N S

Afghanistan parliamentary poll to be held in October KABUL: Afghanistan will hold postponed parliamentary elections in October, the top election official said on Monday, after last June’s deadline to choose a new assembly was missed because of political squabbling. Parliament’s ﬁve-year term expired last June, but elections were postponed because of security fears and disagreements on how to ensure a fair vote after a bitterly disputed presidential election in 2014. President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree last year extending parliament’s mandate until a vote could be held, a decision criticised by Afghans, who questioned whether the extension was legal. Worsening security If the elections go ahead as planned, they are likely to be held against a backdrop of sharply worsening security, with the Taliban trying to build on their campaign last year that included the brief capture of the northern city of Kunduz. The elections will be held on October 15, Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani, the head of the election commission, told a press conference in Kabul. — Reuters

Peace summit bid to bring Afghan Taliban to talks Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and US diplomats held talks as Taliban forces have stepped up their campaign in the last year to topple the Kabul government

KABUL: Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States sat down to talks on Monday aimed at laying the ground for a negotiated end to almost 15 years of war between US-supported government forces and Taliban insurgents now ﬁrmly on the offensive. Taliban forces have stepped up their campaign in the last year to topple the Kabul government, which has struggled since most foreign troops left at the end of

TOUGH TASK: Afghanistan, Pakistan, United State and China’s delegations at a meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday. — Reuters

2014. High-proﬁle suicide attacks and Taliban territorial gains in Helmand province have underlined how far Afghanistan remains from peace. The Taliban, who now control or contest more territory than at

SOUTH CHINA SEA

Manila planning tracking system for civilian flights MANILA: The Philippines plans to install a $1-million satellitebased system to track commercial flights over the disputed South China Sea, after China landed its first test flights this month on a reef it built in the Spratly islands. China’s increasing military presence in the Spratlys has stirred fears it could lead to an air defence zone the country controls, which would escalate tension with other claimants, and the United States, in one of the world’s most volatile areas. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have huge oil and gas deposits, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, through which about $5 trillion in trade passes every year. “In the absence of a radar in the area, the system will help track aircraft movements, enhancing safety and security,” said Rodante Joya, a deputy director-general of

the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. Joya said the Philippines would install the $1.05-million surveillance system on the island of Thitu, calling it by its Philippine name of Pagasa, to track about 200 commercial flights through the area each day. Blind spots The area in the South China Sea is among the blind spots in the Philippines’ airspace, he added. The Philippines and Vietnam protested against China’s test flights on the Fiery Cross reef this month, saying Beijing might impose an air defence identification zone, restricting flights by commercial airlines over the South China Sea. On January 7, China warned a small civilian plane carrying Philippine aviation officials who inspected Thitu, where the surveillance equipment is to be set up this year, as their craft flew near

Beijing’s man-made island. “The foreign ministry has been informed about the reported incident involving our civil aviation team,” presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma told reporters, adding that the foreign ministry was expected to make a statement on the matter. The Philippine civil aviation agency has limited radar coverage and the military is expected to sign a deal this year for three aerial radars to detect airspace intrusions as far as 250 miles (402 km) away, beyond the exclusive economic zone. Joya said the agency was waiting for approval from security and foreign affairs officials as the tracking system, or automatic dependent surveillance broadcast system, as it is called, is to be located on a military base in a disputed area. Seven civil aviation radar stations will also be added, he said. — Reuters

any time since they was ousted by a US-led intervention in 2001, will not attend the talks. Representatives from the four countries met in Kabul to revive a peace process that collapsed last summer.

Any further delay by the Taliban “to come to the table for talks now will further isolate them in the eyes of the Afghan people”, Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani said in his opening remarks. The ultimate goal of the diplo-

matic manoeuvring is to get representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban into direct negotiations. A previous round of talks took place in Islamabad a week ago. A suicide bomber who killed 13 people in eastern Afghanistan and a rocket which landed near the Italian embassy in Kabul on Sunday were a reminder of what is at stake. “The talks are strategically important for everyone involved, but are unlikely to go anywhere right now,” said S.Chandrasekharan, director of the South Asia Analysis Group.”The Taliban are making gains and the army is on the defensive. Until there is a stalemate, the talks are unlikely to succeed.” Afghanistan’s chief negotiator said last week Monday’s talks would focus on creating a plan to persuade the Taliban to give up violence. A statement on a Taliban website on Saturday did not rule out joining talks but rejected US .involvement, saying the country was to blame for a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of Afghans. “On the other hand, they take the ﬁrst row among peace negotiators,” the statement said. — Reuters

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here is some temptation to assign the blame for the current setback to Asia’s development as an economic powerhouse to the sudden and unexpected downturn in the rate of growth of the Chinese economy. In its 13th FiveYear Plan adopted by the Chinese Communist Party in October 2015 that will become operational in March this year, Beijing has lowered its sights. It is now projecting the rate of GDP growth at seven per cent a year in the 2016-2020 period compared to close to the almost 10 per cent a year it was able to sustain for three decades from 1980 to 2010. There are several authoritative voices from among China watchers who believe that the rate of growth may be even lower, perhaps closer to ﬁve per cent a year. China’s economic travails have been communicated through commodity markets and through the country’s imports of parts and components. For instance, China had emerged as a large market for Apple products. The company assembled its popular iPads and iPhones from the components imported mostly from East Asia. Such a slowdown is not happening without delivering shocks to the entire Chinese economy. The world — and that includes the authorities in Beijing — has recognised that the old model of economic development that had resulted in increasing the size of the Chinese economy 35-fold between 1980 and 2010 will no longer work. Once called the East Asian miracle by the World Bank, this model had a number of components. Four of these were of particular importance. The all-powerful state provided direction to entrepreneurs, both private as well as those operating in the large public sector. The entrepreneurs used low-wage labour to produce low-priced goods in quantities far in excess of domestic demand. The state worked with the involved entrepreneurs to ﬁnd external markets for the surpluses produced by their enterprises. The result of this approach was a large trade surplus that created enormous foreign exchange reserves for Beijing. Given the very high rate of domestic savings, the state did not need the accumulated foreign exchange reserves for development. They were saved. At one point, China had $4 trillion in foreign

exchange reserves. Most of these were parked in the United States, a significant amount in the form of US Treasury Bills. This model would have continued to produce results had the Western economies not been hit by what has been called the Great Recession of 2008-09. This resulted in a sharp downturn in the rate of economic growth in the West. The market contraction that resulted saw a major decline in Asian exports. Unlike a number of recessions following the end of the Second World War, the one in 2008-09 was not V-shaped, a sharp contraction followed by a sharp expansion. Instead, it is most likely to be Ushaped, a contraction followed by a long period of low growth and then recovery. Some analysts fear that this may turn out to be a W-shaped recession, two downturns before a modest recovery settles in. The Great Recession came at the time when demographic developments had begun to take a heavy toll on the economies of the West. The rapid ageing of populations in most of Europe and in Japan was changing the age-profile of populations in significant ways. Germany, with a median age of 47 years, was the world’s oldest population. This may be one reason for Berlin spreading the welcome mat for the million young refugees that arrived in 2016 from Syria and Afghanistan seeking asylum and work. This ageing was the result of sharp declines in human fertility in these countries accompanied by major advances in health sciences that prolonged life. Each year added to life expectancy increases the demand for services such as health care and welfare for the aged and the ageing. Already, services account for 86 per cent of America’s Gross Domestic Product. The markets in rich societies, therefore, cannot accommodate increasing amounts of cheap manufactures from large Asian economies. China and other large Asian economies will have to find other determinants of economic growth. China is attempting to do this in three different ways: by increasing domestic demand for domestically produced goods, by encouraging the flow of non-manufacturing wages into family incomes, and by diverting its large construction industry to invest in building infrastructure outside its borders. Beijing expects to invest as much as $400 billion in two dozen countries in building this infrastructure in the next five to 10 years. - Express Tribune

CLIPPINGS FROM OUR ARCHIVES JANUARY 2001 ROWAHI: Fisheries sector is a cornerstone of progress MUSCAT: Dr Ahmed bin Khalfan Al Rowahi, minister of agriculture and fisheries, opened the three-day international conference on fisheries, aquaculture fish-farming and environment in the northwest Indian Ocean at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) yesterday. In his opening speech the minister said, “fisheries were a cornerstone of our food security and a springboard for economic development. They were a useful and sustainable resource if they were properly managed.” He added that successive development plans had focused on developing the fisheries sector and increasing its contributions to the economy.

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1937: Howard Hughes ﬂies from Los Angeles to New York in seven hours and 22 minutes. 1945: The Red Army captures Lodz, Krakow, and Tarnow. 1947: The French open a drive on Hue, Indochina. 1950: Communist Chinese leader Mao recognizes the Republic of Vietnam.

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EURO FATE ‘LINKED’ TO MIGRANT CRISIS EU Chief Executive Jean-Claude Juncker echoed German Chancellor Angela Merkel in warning that the central economic achievements of the common market and the euro are at risk from incoherent, nationalistic reactions to migration and other crises

DESPERATE: Migrants and refugees walk on a snow covered street after crossing the Macedonian border into Serbia near the village of Miratovac on Sunday. More than one million migrants reached Europe in 2015, most of them refugees ﬂeeing war and violence in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, according to the United Nations refugee agency. - AFP

BRUSSELS/BERLIN: Is this how “Europe” ends? The Germans, founders and funders of the postwar union, shut their borders to refugees in a bid for political survival by the chancellor who let in a million migrants. And then — why not? — they decide to revive the Deutschmark while they’re at it. That is not the fantasy of diehard Eurosceptics but a real fear articulated at the highest levels in Berlin and Brussels. Chancellor Angela Merkel, her ratings hit by crimes blamed on asylum seekers at New Year parties in Cologne, and EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker both said as much last week. Juncker echoed Merkel in warning that the central economic achievements of the common market and the euro are at risk from incoherent, nationalistic reactions to migration and other crises. He renewed warnings that Europe is on its “last chance”, even if he still hoped it was not “at the beginning of the end”. Merkel, facing trouble among her conservative supporters as much as from opponents, called Europe “vulnerable” and the fate of the euro “directly linked” to resolving the migration crisis — highlighting the risk of at the very least serious economic turbulence if not a formal dismantling of EU institutions. Some see that as mere scare tactics aimed at fellow Europeans by leaders with too much to lose from an EU collapse — Greeks and Italians have been seen to be dragging their feet over controlling the bloc’s Mediterranean frontier and

eastern Europeans who benefit from German subsidies and manufacturing supply chain jobs have led hostility to demands that they help take in refugees. Germans are also getting little help from EU co-founder France, whose leaders fear a rising antiimmigrant National Front, or the bloc’s third power, Britain, consumed with its own debate on whether to just quit the European club altogether. So, empty threat or no, with efforts to engage Turkey’s help showing little sign yet of preventing migrants reaching Greek beaches, German and EU officials are warning that without a sharp drop in arrivals or a change of heart in other EU states to relieve Berlin of the lonely task of housing refugees, Germany could shut its doors, sparking wider crisis this spring. With Merkel’s conservative allies in the southern frontier state of Bavaria demanding she halt the mainly Muslim asylum seekers ahead of tricky regional elections in March, her veteran finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble delivered one of his trademark veiled threats to EU counterparts of what that could mean for them. “Many think this is a German problem,” Schaeuble said in meetings with fellow EU finance ministers in Brussels. “But if Germany does what everyone expects, then we’ll see that it’s not a German problem -- but a European one.” Senior Merkel allies are working hard to stifle the kind of parliamentary party rebellion that threatened to derail bailouts which

Many think this is a German problem. But if Germany does what everyone expects, then we’ll see that it’s not a German problem — but a European one Wolfgang Schaeuble Germany’s finance minister

kept Greece in the euro zone last year. But pressure is mounting for national measures, such as border fences, which as a child of East Germany Merkel has said she cannot countenance. “If you build a fence, it’s the end of Europe as we know it,” one senior conservative said. “We need to be patient.” A senior German official noted that time is running out, however. “The chancellor has been asking her party for more time,” he said. “But ... that narrative ... is losing the persuasiveness it may have had in October or November. If you add in the debate about Cologne, she faces an increasingly difficult situation.” He noted that arrivals had not fallen sharply over the winter months as had been expected. “You can only imagine what happens when the weather improves,” he said. Merkel and Juncker explicitly linked new national frontier controls across Europe’s passportfree Schengen zone to a collapse of the single market at the core of the bloc, and of the euro. Both would ravage jobs and the economy. “Without Schengen ... the euro has no point,” Juncker told a New Year news conference on Friday. Historic national resentments were re-emerging, he added, accusing his generation of EU leaders of squandering the legacy of the union’s founders, survivors of World War II. Merkel has not suggested -- yet -- that Berlin could follow neighbours like Austria and Denmark in further tightening border checks to deny entry to irregular migrants.

But she has made clear how Europe might suffer. “No one can pretend that you can have a common currency without being able to cross borders relatively easily,” she said at a business event last week. In private, German officials are more explicit. “We have until March, the summer maybe, for a European solution,” said a second German official. “Then Schengen goes down the drain.” A senior EU official was equally blunt: “There is a big risk that Germany closes. From that, no Schengen ... There is a risk that the February summit could start a countdown to the end.” The next summit of EU leaders one month from now follows meetings last year that were marked by agreement on a migration strategy as well as rows over failures to implement it. Of the 160,000 asylum seekers EU leaders agreed in September to distribute among member states, fewer than 300 have been moved. Berlin and Brussels continue to press for more distribution across Europe. But few place much hope in that -- one senior German official calls it “ﬂogging a dead horse”. EU leaders’ hope is for help from Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Berlin is pressing for more EU cash for Ankara, beyond an agreed 3 billion euros, which Italy is blocking. Some Germans suggest simply using German funds to stem the ﬂow from Turkey. EU officials say it is too early to panic. Arrivals have fallen this month, UN data show them running in January at half the 3,500 daily rate of December. — Reuters

MISERABLE CONDITIONS: Aerial view of a makeshift camp as containers (rear) are put into place to house several hundred migrants living in what is known as the ‘Jungle’, a squalid sprawling camp in Calais, northern France, on Sunday. — Reuters

‘Turkey efforts not enough to stem influx’ BERLIN: Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos said Turkey was not doing enough to reduce the number of migrants arriving in Europe and accused Turkish port officials of helping people smugglers. Turkey reached a deal with EU officials late last year to keep more refugees inside its borders and stop them travelling on. Thousands fleeing civil war in Syria have made the perilous journey from Turkey, across the Aegean Sea to Ankara’s long-term regional rival Greece, many of them dying on the way. “I greatly fear that Turkish people smugglers are getting support from the authorities,” Pavlopoulos said in an interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung published on Monday. “In particular, the port authorities act as if they don’t notice anything. There are cases in which smugglers have supposedly been helped. We have evidence for this,” he said. Turkish officials were not immediately available to comment. Turkey says it is doing what it can to contain the movement of migrants and curb criminal smuggling gangs while accommodating more than 2 million Syrian refugees. Pavlopoulos said Greece was still prepared to contribute towards the $3.27 billion pledged by the EU to Turkey to help care for Syrian refugees as long as Ankara fulfilled its obligations. “Up to now Turkey has not delivered,” Pavlopoulos, who is due to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel later on Monday, told the paper. The European Commission said earlier this month it was far from satisfied with Turkey’s containment of migrants. — Reuters

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PICTURESQUE People feed seagulls by the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday. — Reuters

Raul Castro

Castro to visit France on February 1 PARIS: Cuban President Raul Castro next month will make the first visit to France by a Cuban head of state since his brother in 1995 as he tries to carve out a larger role for the Communist-run nation since improving ties with the United States. French President Francois Hollande in May became the first Western president to visit Cuba in more than 50 years and has been positioning his country to capitalise on the thaw in relations. France was Cuba’s main creditor and last month as part of a deal between Cuba and the 15 rich creditor nations of the Paris Club it agreed to annul $4 billion in debt. Confirming the visit on February 1, Hollande’s office said “it marked a new stage in the strengthening of relations between the two countries.” — Reuters P E AC E N E G O T I AT I O N S

Xi to visit Riyadh, Tehran in attempt to defuse tensions BEIJING: China intends to retain a balanced stance in the Middle East, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Monday, as President Xi Jinping prepared to leave on an unusual visit this week to Saudi Arabia and Iran. Ties have worsened between two countries since Saudi authorities executed cleric Nimr Al Nimr on January 2. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming told reporters China was not taking sides. “If the Middle East is not stable, I’m afraid the world can’t be very peaceful. If a country or a region is not stable, it cannot realise development,” he added. “China ﬁrmly supports regional countries individually exploring a development path that suits their national conditions.” A Chinese president has not visited Saudi Arabia since 2009 when Hu Jintao went, and Jiang Zemin was the last Chinese president to visit Iran, going in 2002.

Meanwhile, in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif met Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince and defence minister, Mohammed bin Salman, upon arrival in Riyadh on Monday. Raheel stressed the need for opening up the communication channel between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the sources added. Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held consultations with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, Radio Pakistan reported. The “prime minister reiterated the people of Pakistan would always stand with the people of Saudi Arabia against any threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the kingdom.” “King Salman acknowledged and appreciated the sincere sentiments of the Pakistani people and leadership,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement said. — Agencies

MOROCCO

Rebel linked to Paris attacks arrested RABAT: Moroccan authorities have arrested a Belgian national of local origin directly linked to the attackers who carried out the Paris shootings and bombings in November that killed 130 people, the government said in a statement on Monday. The interior ministry gave only the suspect’s initials in Arabic and said he fought in Syria with Al Nusra front before joining the

IS extremist group. The suspect, whose initials could be translated to J.A. or G.A., was arrested on January 15 in the city of Mohammedia, the statement added.”He went to Syria with one of the suicide bombers of Saint Denis,” it said. Investigations showed that during his stay in Syria he has built solid ties with IS leaders including the ringleader of the Paris attacks. — Reuters

Iran vows to carry on missile programme The United States imposed sanctions on 11 companies and individuals on Sunday for supplying Iran’s ballistic missile programme in a move delayed by over two weeks so as not to endanger the release of US prisoners

DUBAI/ROME: Iran on Monday said new US curbs on the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile programme were illegitimate, vowing to continue developing its conventional military deterrent. The United States imposed sanctions on 11 companies and individuals on Sunday for supplying Iran’s ballistic missile programme in a move delayed by over two weeks so as not to endanger this weekend’s release of US prisoners. The new measures also came after the lifting of far more comprehensive nuclear sanctions. “The Islamic Republic will respond to these aggravating and propagandistic measures by pursuing its legal missile programme stronger than before and developing its defensive capabilities,” a foreign ministry statement said.

DIALOGUE: A handout picture provided by the office of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is sitting on the right, shows him meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano, left, during their meeting in Tehran on Monday. — AFP

Iran conducted a ballistic missile test in October, which the United Nations called a breach of a resolution prohibiting the country from developing missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads. Conventional payload Iran insists the missile was designed to carry a conventional payload. Foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari blasted Washington’s weaponry sales. Hardline newspapers Kayhan and Vatan-e-Emrooz splashed the news on their front pages, crowding out a triumphal speech by President Hassan Rouhani, who

on Sunday hailed the lifting of the nuclear sanctions. “Sanctions are back!” ran the Kayhan headline. The article pointed out that Tehran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had said new sanctions under any pretext would constitute a breach of the nuclear deal. Meanwhile, according to a diplomatic source Rouhani will visit Italy and France next week on his ﬁrst trip to Europe since the lifting of sanctions. The source said Rouhani would be in Italy on January 25-26 and leave for Paris on January 27. On his ﬁrst day in Italy he will meet the country’s president,

prime minister and business leaders. He is scheduled to meet Pope Francis on the second day, the source said. The visits were originally due to take place in November but were cancelled after the attacks by extremist militants in Paris. Meanwhile, Russia Helicopters hopes to deliver military helicopters to Iran now that sanctions have been lifted on the Islamic Republic, TASS news agency reported on Monday, citing the Russian ﬁrm. “The lifting of sanctions gives an opportunity to provide the Iranian side new helicopters,” TASS quoted the company. — Reuters

CRACKDOWN ON OPPOSITION LEADERS

Maldives rejects Amal Clooney’s criticism on democracy COLOMBO: Maldives Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon on Monday rejected international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney’s criticism that democracy was “dead” in the Indian Ocean island. Clooney, the international lawyer acting for jailed former leader Mohamed Nasheed, last week used a high-proﬁle interview with US news channel NBC News to condemn President Abdulla Yameen’s administration in the Maldives. Nasheed, who was the Maldives’ ﬁrst democratically elected president, is serving a 13-year

sentence on terrorism charges for the alleged abduction of a judge after a rapid trial last March in a case which drew international criticism. Clooney, in an interview with NBC, had said her client’s case showed that democracy is “dead in the Maldives”. Defending the Maldives, popular for its pristine beaches, scuba diving and high-end tourism, Foreign Minister Maumoon told Reuters that Clooney had “spun a compelling tale” but it was not true. “My appeal to the rest of the world is to have a good understand-

ing and not be persuaded purely by charm-ﬁlled Amal Clooney when she goes and gives some of these stories,” she said. Nasheed permitted to leave Maumoon’s comments came as Nasheed was permitted by the Maldives government to leave Male and ﬂy to Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he is likely to stay for some time before leaving for surgery in Britain, party sources told Reuters. There had been some confusion over whether the government would grant him permission to

travel or not, as Nasheed refused to nominate a guarantor, someone who could face criminal prosecution if Nasheed does not return to Maldives. Nasheed was ousted in disputed circumstances in 2012 for ordering the arrest of a judge. His conviction was condemned by United Nations, the United States and human rights groups as being politically motivated. In her NBC interview, she said: “Every opposition leader is either behind bars or being pursued by the government through the courts.” — Reuters

TARGET: In this photograph taken on November 10, 2013, former Maldivian president and presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed speaks to the press in Male. — AFP PHOTO/Ishara S. KODIKARA / FILES

A 16

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UK plans to expel migrants who fail English test: PM British Prime Minister David Cameron said some migrants to Britain who cannot pass an English test within 2-1/2 years of arriving may not be allowed to stay, in a move aimed at fostering greater integration by Muslim women

PARLEYS: Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron speaks with women attending an English language class during a visit to the Shantona Women’s Centre in Leeds, Britain on Monday. - Reuters

LONDON: Some migrants to Britain who cannot pass an English test within 2-1/2 years of arriving may not be allowed to stay, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday in a move aimed at fostering greater integration by Muslim women. Cameron said there were 190,000 British Muslim women who spoke little or no English and Britain needed to take on the “backward attitudes” of some men whom he said exerted damaging control over their wives, sisters and daughters.

“Someone can move to here with very basic English and there’s no requirement to improve it over time. We will change that. We will now say: if you don’t improve your ﬂuency, that could affect your ability to stay in the UK,” Cameron wrote in an article for the Times newspaper. “This will help make it clear to those men who stop their partners from integrating that there are consequences.” The government will invest £20 million ($28 million) in English classes for women in isolated communities, and from

October this year will begin testing those who have come in to Britain on a spousal visa to check if their language skills have improved. Cameron said while there was no direct causal link between poor English language skills and extremism, those who were not able to integrate into British society were at risk of being more susceptible to extremist ideologies. “Separate development and accepting practices that go against our values only emphasise differences and can help prompt the search of something to belong to,”

he wrote. But his comments were criticised by Muslim groups, who said the British leader was “denigrating” Muslims rather than working with communities to help tackle extremism. “The Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservative government are once again using British Muslims as a political football to score cheap points to appear tough,” said Mohammed Shaﬁq, secretary general of the Ramadhan Foundation. “Rather than focusing on the positive contribution of our faith

and community he focuses on the extreme minority of issues which clearly is not representative.” Shuja Shafi, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain said Cameron’s efforts will “fall at the first hurdle” if he were to link language skills and better integration to security, and to single out Muslim women. “Muslims are only one third of the minority population. Reports suggest a significant proportion of immigrants from Eastern Europe struggle with English,” Shafi said in a statement. - Reuters

LEBANON

Geagea to back rival Aoun for presidency BEIRUT: Lebanese Christian politician Samir Geagea will back his rival Michel Aoun for the presidency on Monday, local media reported, an apparent break with his allies that aligns him with a civil war era enemy. Media cited Melhem Riachy, a media official in Geagea’s Lebanese Forces Party, as saying Geagea would state his support for Aoun’s candidacy at a news conference later on Monday. The move boosts Aoun’s chances of ﬁlling the presidency that has been vacant for 20 months, but does not guarantee him the post. Beyond his existing allies, among them Hezbollah, Aoun needs the backing of other groups to secure the necessary parliamentary backing. The Lebanese president, who must be a Maronite Christian, is elected by parliament. Geagea’s move was a rare show of unity in a Christian community riven by political divisions for years. Geagea and Aoun took up arms against each other in the 1975-90 civil war in the so-called “war of elimination”. Geagea’s move may also kill off an initiative tabled by his ally the Sunni leader Saad Al Hariri that would have resulted in another Maronite politician, Suleiman Franjieh, becoming head of state in a power-sharing agreement. Aoun and Geagea, head of the two largest Christian parties in Lebanon, both opposed the Hariri initiative. Aoun is part of the rival March 8 alliance that includes Hezbollah and the inﬂuential Amal Movement led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. - Reuters

STUDY

Oceans heat fast, even with slower warming at Earth’s surface OSLO: The amount of heat soaked up by the oceans has surged in the past two decades in a sign of worsening global warming despite a slowdown in temperature rises at the Earth’s surface, a US study showed on Monday. The trend of warmer oceans, blamed on man-made emissions of greenhouse gases, is pushing ﬁsh stocks towards the poles, damaging coral reefs and nudging up world sea levels because water expands as it heats up. The report, examining ocean temperatures to depths of more than 2,000 metres (6,500 ft), found that “half of the total global ocean heat uptake since 1865 has accumulated since 1997”. The year 1865 is taken as the

start of wide use of fossil fuels. And more than a third of the surge in heat in the oceans since 1997 was at depths exceeding 700 metres — a part of the ocean rarely studied, the scientists wrote in the journal Nature Climate Change. “We expect that the deep ocean will absorb an increasing amount of heat,” lead author Peter Gleckler, of the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, told Reuters in an email. Man-made emissions The increase in the oceans’ uptake of heat has coincided with a puzzling slowdown in the pace of temperature rises at the Earth’s surface since the late 1990s, even

as man-made emissions of heattrapping gases have kept rising. That slowdown may now be over with record temperatures in 2015 and 2014. Understanding ocean heat “is vital to improving projections of how much and how fast the Earth will warm and seas rise in the future,” LLNL wrote in a statement. Most of the extra heat from man-made global warming ends up in the oceans. The scientists said it was hard to judge the role of ocean heat in what the United Nations panel of climate scientists calls a “hiatus” in surface warming, which had heartened those who doubt big man-made impact on the climate. “The ‘hiatus’ is a surface phenomenon. The Earth is still warm-

ing, and the oceans have been taking up the bulk of that heat,” Matt Palmer, a climate scientist at the British Met Office Hadley Centre who was not involved in the study, wrote in a statement. John Shepherd, of the University of Southampton, said it was unclear if the extra heat absorbed by the oceans would return to the atmosphere or stay in the depths. “It’s certainly not a cure for climate change, nor any reason to be less concerned with it,” he said in a statement on ocean warming. Last month, almost 200 governments agreed a deal in Paris meant as a turning point from fossil fuels, blamed for causing more heat waves, downpours and rising sea levels. - Reuters

GLOBAL WARMING: Picture shows giant tabular icebergs surrounded by ice ﬂoe drifting in Vincennes Bay in the Australian Antarctic Territory on January 11, 2008. Last month, almost 200 governments agreed a deal in Paris meant as a turning point from fossil fuels, blamed for causing more heat waves, downpours and rising sea levels. - AFP ﬁle photo

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Iran offers huge investment potential as sanctions lifted Centre. The exhibition will be inaugurated by Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, Oman’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, and, from the Iranian side, by the deputy minister of industry, mining and trade, the ambassador and a number of other Iranian officials.

Around 70 Iranian companies active in various ﬁelds have registered to participate in this year’s exhibition, which will be held at the Oman International Exhibition Centre

A large section of the exhibition will be dedicated to the automobile industry, featuring Iranian manufacturers of vehicle, tyre and spare parts Ali Akbar Sibeveih Iranian ambassador to the Sultanate

ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI

elham@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: A vast array of opportunities for trade and investment, especially in the car industry, will be presented at Iran’s second solo exhibition, which will be held in Muscat from January 26 to 30. This year’s exhibition will be held in a totally different environment considering the lifting of

the economic sanctions on Iran, Ali Akbar Sibeveih, the Iranian ambassador to the Sultanate, told Times of Oman in an exclusive interview. One of the matters of concern in Iran’s ﬁrst solo exhibition in Muscat last year was the restrictions on ﬁnancial transactions with Iran which has been resolved now, the

official said after the announcement of the ‘implementation day’ of the nuclear agreement reached between Iran and global powers. According to the ambassador, around 70 Iranian companies active in various ﬁelds have registered to participate in the exhibition, which will be held at the Oman International Exhibition

Auto industry Sibeveih said that a large section of the exhibition will be dedicated to the automobile industry, featuring Iranian manufacturers of vehicle, tyre and spare parts. In addition to Iran Khodro, a leading car manufacturer in Iran and the Middle East, a number of other Iranian car manufactures will put their products on display at the exhibition, he added. The ambassador said that a more diverse range of products will be showcased this year with the participation of companies involved in various ﬁelds such as steel and cement production, foodstuff,sanitary ware, household products and medicine. Trade priority Sibeveih highlighted the numerous opportunities for economic cooperation between Iran and Oman after the lifting of the sanctions and said that Oman is Iran’s priority in trade as it stood by Iran

during the time of hardship as a ‘loyal’ and ‘brotherly’ country. Even if any Western ﬁrm is interested in entering Iran’s market, the embassy would try to help it invest in and trade with Iran via Oman in a demonstration of Iran’s ‘loyalty’ to the Sultanate, he stated. He invited Omani companies, ministries and public to visit the exhibition and witness the technological and industrial advances made by Iran under the sanctions. Outcomes Sibeveih explained that Iran’s ﬁrst solo exhibition in Muscat received positive feedback from the visitors and led to the development of plans for cooperation in many sectors such as technology, foodstuff and carpet industries. He added that last year, around 90 companies took part in the exhibit and the biggest outcome of the event was the cooperation agreement between Iran Khodro and the Oman Investment Fund for setting up units for the assembly of certain Iranian-manufactured cars and production of spare parts in Duqm. A number of regional and East African countries have also expressed interest in importing Iranian products through Oman, the ambassador said.

CENTRAL BANK OF OMAN

Central bank issues treasury bills worth OMR17 million MUSCAT: A tender of Government Treasury Bills, issue number 557, was held at the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) this week. Total value of the Treasury bills amounted to OMR17 million, for a maturity period of 364 days, from January 20, 2016 until January 18, 2017. The average accepted price reached 98.380 for every OMR100, the minimum accepted price arrived at 98.200 per OMR100 whereas the average discount rate and the average yield reached 1.62445 per cent and 1.65137 per cent respectively. The Treasury Bills are shortterm highly secured ﬁnancial instruments issued by the CBO on behalf of the government, which helps the licensed commercial banks to gainfully invest their surplus funds, with added advantage of ready liquidity through discounting and repurchase facilities (Repo) offered by the Central Bank. Furthermore, Treasury Bills promote the local money market by creating a benchmark yield curve for short-term interest rates. Additionally, the Government (MOF) may also resort to this instrument whenever felt necessary for ﬁnancing its recurrent expenditures. — ONA

S H I P YA R D A C T I V I T I E S

Oman Drydock unveils ambitious plans for this year Times News Service MUSCAT: On the back of a very successful performance in drydockings, conversions and repairs in first half of 2015, Oman Drydock Company (ODC) has unveiled its action plan for the year 2016. This year the company plans to further extend its range of activities that include offering specialist services like complex painting, retrofitting, modification, restructuring and the installation of Ballast Water systems, ODC deputy CEO Dr Ahmed Al Abri, said. “We will also be targeting the industrial and offshore sectors for steel fabrication works,” he added. ODC is one of the biggest ship-

yards in the world and is based in Duqm, Oman’s new ports and logistics hub. During July to December 2015 the shipyard completed work for various clients like Maran, Dynacom, SCI, Springﬁeld, PIL, Mercator TMS, Synergy, Gulf Marine, Oman Shipping, Gas Cat, Maersk, CMA, Exmar, NYK, Red Sea and Sea Traders. Vessels worked on at the shipyard included Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), crude oil tankers, container ships, LNG and LPG carriers, chemical carriers, bulk carriers, as well as dredgers, ROROs and barges. “We are immensely proud of the work done in the last six months.

The wide range of contracts show world-class skills, facilities and expertise that we have,” Dr Al Abri said. In October 2015 ODC completed our third major conversion of an ore bulk oil (OBO) ship into a VLCC for Springﬁeld this year. These massive conversions are right at the cutting edge of shipyard engineering employing 500 men and deploying the considerable expertise of our Korean partner DSME. The conversion works entailed removing bulkhead covers and installing new swash bulkheads and making the vessels multi-functional for more efficient loading. Between the three conversions we

fabricated close to 120 blocks between 50 and 80 tonnes. This enabled us to build in larger portions, reducing on time and cost. We believe this track record in conversions sends a powerful message to the shipping industry and can catapult us further into the multibillion global conversion industry, he said. Dr Al Abri said that the company aims to further increase its activities in the LNG sector by utilising the knowledge and expertise of our partner DSME. “With world class facilities and geographical location we strongly believe we are one of the most advanced and best equipped yards in the world for LNG tankers,” he said.

FIRM COMMITMENT: The shipyard completed work for various clients between July and December, 2015. — Supplied picture

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

MARKET BANKING

Australian bank values its UK unit at $3 billion SYDNEY: National Australia Bank (NAB), the country’s biggest lender by assets, has valued its UK unit, Clydesdale Bank, at up to A$4.3 billion ($3 billion), according to initial public offering (IPO) pricing terms. The indicative pricing range was quite wide at 175-235 pence per share or a A$3.2 billion valuation for the unit at the lower end. But Bell Potter analyst TS Lim said NAB may have to settle for even less, given declines in share markets. “What they’ve put out is aspirational,” he said. “It could fall below, mainly because of market dynamics, but we won’t ﬁnd out until everything has been locked and loaded.” NAB, which bought the business in 1987, said it planned to quit the 177-year-old British bank in 2014 after facing a consumer backlash over methods used to sell loan insurance. Public share offer It is planning to sell 25 per cent of the unit in an initial public offering and spin off the rest to its shareholders. The unit’s shares are slated to be listed on the London stock exchange on February 2 after ﬁnal pricing on the same day. The Australian lender also said it may choose not to proceed with IPO or proceed with a smaller offering, in which case it would retain some ownership in the bank. Australia’s major banks are feverishly raising cash by issuing shares and selling non-core business units after new rules require them to have a greater amount of cash in reserve as a buffer for their loan books. In October, NAB sold 80 per cent of its life insurance unit to Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance for about $1.65 billion. Earlier in 2015, it sold U.S.based Great Western Bank for A$1.5 billion. Clydesdale said last week that trading in the three months to December was in line with expectations. - Reuters

Sohar Islamic to lend ﬁnance to Muscat Hills property buyers Bank Sohar’s Islamic banking window signed a deal with Muscat Hills to provide ﬁnancing solutions to Omanis, GCC nationals and expatriates to purchase property

Times News Service MUSCAT: Sohar Islamic, Bank Sohar’s Islamic banking window, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Muscat Hills to provide preferential Sharia-compliant ﬁnancing solutions to Omani citizens, GCC nationals and expatriates as well, interested in investing in freehold office or residential property developed and built by the company. The signing ceremony, which took place at the Bank Sohar head office in MBD, was attended by Rashad Ali Al Musaﬁr, acting chief executive officer; Salim Khamis Al Maskari, DGM and head of Sohar Islamic, representing Bank Sohar;

PARTNERS IN PROGRESS: Sohar Islamic’s construction and home ﬁnance programme is fully compatible with Islamic Sharia law and provides Islamic ﬁnance solution.- Supplied picture

and Sayyid Al Rawy Qais Al Said, chief executive officer and chairman, representing Muscat Hills. Flexible solutions Commenting on the MoU, Rashad Ali Al Musafir said, “The signing of this MoU between Muscat Hills and Bank Sohar allows us to forge a mutually beneficial strategic partnership between our two institutions. It is also in-line with our strategy for Sohar Islamic that aims to reach out to a broader client base; offering our innovative yet flexible Sharia-compliant financial solutions to customers looking to purchase property at Muscat Hills.” Sohar Islamic’s construction

and home finance programme is fully compatible with Islamic Sharia law and provides a comprehensive Islamic finance solution. This product is distinguished with its affordability and flexible terms which offer financing for up to 80 per cent of the property value, with a repayment period of up to 25 years at competitive profit rates and quick processing time. In addition, preferential profit rates are also provided to customers for the first and second year along with the facility to takeover. If required, instalment deferment options are also available for the convenience of the customer. Among the benefits of this programme is that the beneficiary

is not required to pay any early payment charges if the dues are repaid after one third of the tenure. The customer can also avail of bundled solutions with a preapproved auto finance limit. The programme also offers quick processing and co-financing and joint customer financing facilities. Commenting on the partnership, Sayyid Al Rawy Qais Al Said, said, “The location of our properties at the Muscat Airport Heights make them extremely desirable, especially given their future potential and other upcoming developments in the area. This is clearly reflected in the demand we have seen for our properties.” Finance options “Through this partnership with Sohar Islamic we will be able to offer our clients a broader range of financial options. Their home finance solutions are amongst the best in the market and will no doubt be a value proposition for those of our customers looking for a Shariacompliant financing for their new home or business,” he added The new property, under the management of Muscat Golf Course Projects and developed by Muscat Hills Development, encompasses a land area of 10,195 square meters and 68 per cent built-up area, totalling 24,324 square metres. Situated in close proximity to the airport, the seven-floor development, named ‘Muscat Hills Office Tower’, will encompass freehold office space

and hotel apartments that will be made available to both national and expatriates. Corporate finance “Our Islamic Construction and Housing Finance solution is one of comprehensive range of banking solutions covering a wide array of retail and corporate financing needs. Each and every one of these products are developed to the highest standards of international Sharia-compliance and include automobile finance, term deposits, savings and current accounts,trade finance and treasury services and more,” added Salim Khamis Al Maskari. Sohar Islamic - Bank Sohar’s Islamic Banking Window was launched in 2013. All products and services offered by Sohar Islamic that include Retail and Corporate adhere to the highest level of Sharia compliance, and are specifically designed to meet certain key criteria including a complete segregation of funds; stand alone and independent branches, separate sales staff, a strong Sharia Supervisory Board and Sharia Audit and Compliance unit; committed management; and the application of the world’s best Islamic banking software.

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FOREX MARKET

India spends $2.8b to prop up rupee Don’t litter a beautiful country like OMAN. Ensure proper disposal of garbage.

MUMBAI: India’s central bank governor Raghuram Rajan oversaw the biggest jump in currency reserves among major developing nations and he’s not afraid to use them to help the rupee. In a sign of intervention, the holdings fell $2.8 billion in the two weeks ended January 8 to $326.4 billion. Rajan may spend up to $20 billion in 2016 to anchor the rupee around 65 per dollar, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimates. A survey of strategists sees the currency holding steady this quarter, while options signal just a 36 per cent chance it will breach the record low of 68.845 per dollar by March 31. “We continue to expect the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to intervene to protect the rupee in case of an emerging-market selloff,” said Indranil Sen Gupta, a Mum-

bai-based economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.” Rajan has followed an extremely consistent foreign-exchange policy.” The rupee slumped to the lowest since September 2013 last week as China’s market turmoil sparked a global selloff, reviving memories of the currency’s tumble to the unprecedented low in August that year. Rajan said when China weakened the yuan last August that he would use reserves to stem rupee swings and wrote in a January 6 opinion piece for Project Syndicate that nations need to avoid ‘beggar-thy-neighbour policies’ such as competitive devaluations. Under Rajan’s leadership, currency reserves have swelled from a three-year low in September 2013 as he spurred dollar inﬂows by offering discounted currency

swaps to banks. The stockpile climbed 11 per cent last year, the most in the Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and China) group of the four largest emerging markets. The two-week decline is the steepest for such a period since September 2015, central bank data shows. Sovereign debt Rupee-denominated sovereign debt returned 8.1 per cent last year and 16.5 per cent in 2014, the best performance among major Asian markets for both the periods, Bloomberg Indexes show, as sliding Brent crude prices helped slow inﬂation and improve public ﬁnances for India, a net oil importer. Global holdings of local government and corporate notes increased by Rs505 billion last year after surging Rs1.67 trillion in 2014, with asset managers such

as Pacific Investment Management and PineBridge saying they plan to buy more of the securities. Renewed concern that China is headed for a hard landing has triggered losses in developing-nation stocks and exchange rates this year, with the rupee sliding 2.1 per cent since December 31. Worries about the health of Asia’s largest economy cast a pall over investors worldwide as policy makers in Beijing fight to prevent a vicious cycle of capital outflows and currency weakness that saw the yuan slide to a five-year low earlier this month. The Indian currency’s onemonth implied volatility, a gauge of expected swings used to price options, has surged 111 basis points in January, set for its biggest monthly increase since August. - Bloomberg News

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

MARKET AUTOMOTIVE

Renault sees sales growth accelerating on new vehicles PARIS: Renault forecast deliveries to grow at a faster pace in 2016 than last year as the carmaker expects more buyers to be lured by new models such as the Kadjar sport utility vehicle. Deliveries rose 3.3 per cent to 2.8 million vehicles in 2015, bolstered by 10 per cent growth in Europe, the French carmaker said on Monday in a statement. Renault forecast industrywide demand for new vehicles will grow 1 per cent to 2 per cent this year. Refreshed lineup Backed by a refreshed lineup, “our growth will accelerate in 2016 and we will improve our positions in all our regions,” Thierry Koskas, Renault’s executive vice president for sales and marketing, said. Renault has come under scrutiny after it revealed last Thursday that offices in France were searched by government fraud investigators as part of a probe into vehicle emissions. Scandal The shares plunged 10 per cent that day amid fears the carmaker could become embroiled in a Volkswagen-type scandal. France’s Environment Minister Segolene Royal sought to downplay the concerns, saying no fraudulent systems have been found on Renault cars, and shareholders and employees should ‘rest easy’. Renault shares declined 0.2 per cent to 75 euros at 9:21am in Paris. The company has lost about 3 billion euros in value since the search was made public. - Bloomberg News

Middle East linked values of mergers touch $56 billion Mergers and acquisition values in

The value of announced merger and acquisition transactions with any Middle Eastern involvement reached $56.2 billion in 2015, 13 per cent more than the value registered during the same period in 2014 and marking the best annual period since 2008

2015 showed a rise of 13 per cent compared to 2014, marking the best annual period since 2008, says a study by Thomson

Nadim Najjar

Reuters

Times News Service MUSCAT: Value of merger and acquisitions (M&A) with Middle Eastern involvement reached $56.2 billion in 2015, a growth of 13 per cent compared to 2014, thus marking the best annual period since 2008, according to a study by Thomson Reuters. Releasing the annual investment banking analysis for the Middle East region, Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, said that outbound M&A drove activity, up 34 per cent from 2014 to reach $35.2 billion, the highest annual total since 2008. Overseas acquisitions from the United Arab Emirates accounted for 46 per cent of Middle Eastern

Managing director, Mena, Thomson Reuters

outbound M&A activity, while acquisitions by companies based in Qatar and Saudi Arabia accounted for 36 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. Domestic and interMiddle Eastern M&A decreased 16 per cent year-on-year to $11.3 billion, it said in a research note. Inbound M&A also saw a marked increased, up 29 per cent to $5.4 billion. Healthcare was the most active sector, accounting for 24 per cent of Middle Eastern involvement M&A. Largest deal The largest deal with Middle Eastern involvement during the year was the $11.1 billion acquisition of South Africa-based Mediclinic International by Al Noor Hospitals Group. Morgan Stanley topped the full year 2015 an-

nounced any Middle Eastern involvement M&A league table with $18.4 billion in advisory credit. Nadim Najjar, managing director, Mena, Thomson Reuters, said: “The value of announced M&A transactions with any Middle Eastern involvement reached $56.2 billion during full year 2015, 13 per cenrt more than the value registered during the same period in 2014 and marking the best annual period since 2008.” On the other hand, Middle Eastern investment banking fees reached $636.4 million during full year 2015, 16 per cent less than the value recorded in the full year 2014 and the lowest annual period for investment banking fees in the region since 2012. “Middle Eastern equity and equity-related issuance totalled

$5.7 billion during the full year 2015, a 50 per cent decline from 2014 and the slowest annual period for equity capital markets issuance in the region in two years. Middle Eastern debt issuance reached $6.2 billion during the fourth quarter of 2015, a signiﬁcant increase compared to the value raised during the previous quarter,” Nadim Najjar added. Equity capital markets With respect to equity capital markets, 11 initial public offerings (IPOs) raised $2.6 billion and accounted for 45 per cent of full year activity in the region. Followon and convertible offerings accounted for 17 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively, the study said. Aabar Investments raised $2.2 billion from a convertible offering

in March, the largest equity offering in the region during the year. HSBC took ﬁrst place in the full year 2015 Middle Eastern ECM ranking with 16.5 per cent market share, it said. As for the investment banking fees, fees from completed M&A transactions totalled $213.1 million during full year 2015, a 4 per cent increase compared to a year ago and the only investment banking product in the region to see a year-over-year gain. M&A fees M&A fees accounted for 33 per cent of the overall Middle Eastern investment banking fee pool, the highest annual share since fee records began in 2000. Equity capital markets underwriting declined 33 per cent compared to last year, while syndicated lending fees totalled $278.6 million, down 16 per cent from 2014. Fees from debt capital markets underwriting declined 33 per cent year-onyear to $59.1 million. HSBC earned the most investment banking fees in the Middle East during full year 2015, a total of $62.9 million for a 9.9 per cent share of the total fee pool and up 2.1 wallet share points compared to a year ago. HSBC also topped the completed M&A fee rankings, while Nomura was ﬁrst for DCM underwriting.

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25-YEAR AGREEMENT

Saudi ﬁrm signs deal for power project in Jordan Times News Service MUSCAT: Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, which has presence in Oman in the form of independent power projects, has signed a 25year power purchase agreement with Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (Nepco) for the 485 mw Hussein CCGT independent power project. The plant will be located in Zarqa industrial area, 40km north-east of Jordan capital Amman, and will replace Jordan’s ﬁrst thermal power station — the Hussein Thermal Power Station, which has been operating since 1975 and has recently been decommissioned. The project, with a total investment cost of $460 million, uses GE Energy’s 9E turbines and runs on natural gas as the primary fuel, and light diesel oil as the secondary fuel. Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation III will be the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project, while the operations and maintenance will be undertaken by Central Electricity Generating Company of Jordan. Hussein CCGT project is an important project for ACWA Power in Jordan. This transaction goes a long way in demonstrating our commitment to the socio-economic development of Jordan and in supporting Nepco through provision of electricity reliably at the lowest possible cost in Jordan. The government of Jordan is to be commended on its approach to

stimulating private investment in the energy sector and for ensuring that adequate new capacity is brought to line to feed growing social needs and economic activity,” said Paddy Padmanathan, president and chief executive officer of ACWA Power. Rise in power demand Thamer Al Shahran, managing director of ACWA Power, said: “We are pleased to build up on our presence as one of Jordan’s largest power generators, in supporting Jordan’s increasing demand for power and a balanced fuel mix by rehabilitating Hussein with a much more efficient plant and more importantly ensuring that there was no effective loss in jobs due to the decommissioning of the old plant.” “We are proud to have offered an extremely competitive solution to Nepco with a tariff that is among the lowest witnessed in Jordan’s conventional power sector in the last decade. This transaction is yet another example where we could successfully push the envelope in order to offer the best value for money solution to our offtakers,” said Rajit Nanda, chief investment officer of ACWA Power.

ECGA OF OMAN SETS CREDIT LIMIT OF OMR2.13 MILLION Export Credit Guarantee Agency (ECGA) of Oman, at its ﬁrst executive committee meeting under the chairmanship of Said bin Saleh Al Kiyumi, chairman of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has adopted credit limit of OMR2.13 million. The share of the approved credit limits for domestic markets amounted to about OMR505,000 while the approved credit limits for Omani no-oil export market amounted to OMR1.63 million. — Supplied picture

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

MARKET OMAN STOCKS

MUSCAT SECURITIES MARKET

INDICES Index .................................................High .................Low..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff % MSM30 Index ........................................ 4,981.71 .............. 4,943.72 ................... 4,981.57 .................. 4,948.48................. 33.09 ................... 0.67 Financial Index .....................................5,891.44 ...............5,808.71 ................... 5,891.40 ................... 5,808.71................. 82.69 ................... 1.42 Industrial Index ................................... 6,522.55 .............. 6,484.32 ...................6,494.63 ................... 6,518.85............... -24.22 .................. -0.37 Services Index ...................................... 2,866.27 ...............2,859.10 ................... 2,864.71 ................... 2,861.63....................3.08 ................... 0.11 MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................819.00 .................. 815.89 .......................815.99 .......................817.40...................-1.41 .................. -0.17 Trading Summary Volume ................Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded 11,433,603.................. 3,229,272 .....................845 ...............15,292,343,555................ 19 ........................9 .................... 12 .........................40

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 18 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

REGULAR MARKET ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... – Times ﬁle picture

OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 1,444,123 ......207,990...................146 ............0.140 ........... 0.146 ...........0.140........... 0.144 ............. 0.137............ 0.007............. 5.109 ................0.145 .............. 0.145...................0.146...................21,610,800 .........0.100 OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE.............. 266,104 ............44,617..................... 53 ............0.163 ........... 0.170 ...........0.163 ............0.168 ............. 0.163............ 0.005............. 3.067 ................0.170 ..............0.169...................0.170...................33,600,000.........0.100 OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING .............22,214 ............... 1,777........................5 ........... 0.080 ...........0.080 ...........0.080........... 0.080 .............0.078 ........... 0.002.............2.564 ................0.080..............0.080...................0.084 ...................7,200,000 ..........0.100

MSM index ends higher

OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 1,632,764 ......652,575......................81 ........... 0.400...........0.404 ...........0.394........... 0.400 .............0.390 ............0.010 .............2.564 ................0.400............. 0.400...................0.402 .................916,729,039 ........0.100 OM0000001483............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ................................. 190,900 ........... 42,887......................15 ........... 0.225 ...........0.225 ...........0.224 .......... 0.225 .............0.220 ........... 0.005............. 2.273 ................0.224............. 0.222...................0.224 .................301,659,806........0.100 OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 243,104 ............13,424.....................44 ............0.055 ........... 0.056 ...........0.055........... 0.055 .............0.054 ............0.001 ............. 1.852 ................0.056..............0.056...................0.057...................15,948,935 .........0.100 OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK .................................................................... 100,272 ............18,495........................6 ............0.181 ........... 0.185 ...........0.181 ........... 0.184 ............. 0.181............ 0.003............. 1.657 ................0.185 ..............0.164................... 0.181 ................. 262,206,650 .......0.100 OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 326,102 ........... 42,393........................9 ............0.130 ........... 0.130 ...........0.130........... 0.130 .............0.128............ 0.002............. 1.563 ................0.130 ..............0.130...................0.134..................187,387,200 ........0.100 OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL...............................................64,550 ...............4,534......................13 ........... 0.069 ...........0.072 ...........0.069........... 0.070 .............0.069 ............0.001 ............. 1.449 ................0.070..............0.070...................0.071...................12,250,000.........0.100 OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ............ 249,597 ...........64,843.....................20 ........... 0.250 ...........0.264 ...........0.250........... 0.260 .............0.257 ........... 0.003..............1.167.................0.263............. 0.260...................0.263 ...................5,460,000 ..........0.100 OM0000001533 ............OMINVEST .................................................................... 452,326 .........202,643.....................20 ........... 0.444 ...........0.450 ...........0.444 .......... 0.448 .............0.444 ........... 0.004............. 0.901 ................0.446..............0.446...................0.488..................247,682,016 ........0.100 OM0000004735 ...........SEMBCORP SALALAH..................................................5,000 ............. 11,859........................3 ........... 2.350 ........... 2.375 ...........2.350........... 2.370 .............2.350 ........... 0.020............. 0.851 ................2.375..............2.350...................2.375..................226,233,552 .......1.000 OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 398,316..........250,142......................21 ........... 0.624 ...........0.628 ...........0.624........... 0.628 .............0.624 ........... 0.004............. 0.641 ................0.628..............0.624...................0.628..................408,792,976........0.100 OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER................................................ 100,100 ............18,704......................12 ............0.186 ........... 0.188 ...........0.186 ............0.187 ............. 0.186.............0.001 ............. 0.538 ................0.188 ..............0.180...................0.188..................126,203,949 .......0.100 OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER .................................................. 100,131 .............18,705......................12 ............0.186 ........... 0.188 ...........0.186 ............0.187 ............. 0.186.............0.001 ............. 0.538 ................0.188 ..............0.180...................0.188..................133,593,986 ........0.100 OM0000001087............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ................................... 9,977 ............... 1,736........................2 ............0.174 ........... 0.174 ...........0.174 ............0.174 ............. 0.174............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.174 ..............0.170...................0.180...................17,400,000 .........0.100

Oman Textiles was Monday’s top gainer, up

OM0000001145 ............PORT SERVICES CORPORATION ...........................5,000 ..................600........................1 ............0.120 ........... 0.120 ...........0.120........... 0.120 .............0.120 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.120.............. 0.110...................0.120...................11,404,800 .........0.100

10 per cent, while the top loser was Sharqiyah

OM0000001822............UNITED POWER ................................................................. 117 .................. 298........................1 ........... 2.550 ...........2.550 ...........2.550........... 2.585 .............2.585 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................2.550............. 2.500...................2.550....................2,068,000..........1.000

Desalination, down 5.15 per cent

OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ..................................... 1,020,882 .......128,881..................... 30 ............0.126 ........... 0.127 ...........0.126........... 0.126 .............0.126............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.126 ..............0.126...................0.130...................36,622,029.........0.100

OM0000001749 ............OMAN CEMENT .......................................................... 110,000............ 50,380........................5 ........... 0.458 ........... 0.458 ...........0.458........... 0.458 .............0.458 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.458..............0.420...................0.458.................. 151,539,701 ........0.100

OM0000003141 ............ACWA POWER BARKA .....................................................100 .....................66........................1 ........... 0.660 ...........0.660 ...........0.660........... 0.660 .............0.660 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.660..............0.594...................0.660 .................105,600,000 .......0.100

OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS .................................................. 10,136 ...............3,458......................17 ........... 0.340...........0.342 ...........0.340 .......... 0.342 .............0.342 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.340............. 0.340...................0.354................... 17,955,000 .........0.100

MUSCAT: Cautious buying in banking stocks lifted the MSM30 Index to 4,981.57 points, a gain of 0.67 per cent. The MSM Sharia index declined 0.17 per cent to close at 815.99 points. Bank Nizwa was the most active in terms of volume while Omantel led in traded value. Oman Textiles was Monday’s top gainer, up 10.00 per cent while the top loser was Sharqiyah Desalination, down 5.15 per cent. A total number of 845 trades were executed on Monday, generating a turnover of OMR3.22 million with 11.4 million shares changing hands. Out of 40 traded securities, 19 advanced, nine declined and 12 remained unchanged. At the session close, Omani Investors were net buyers for OMR494,000 while GCC & Arab Investors were net sellers for OMR353,000 followed by Foreign Investors for OMR140,000 worth of shares. Financial Index posted a sharp rebound of 1.42 per cent to close at 5,891.40 points. Al Anwar Holding, Bank Muscat, Al Sharqia In-

OM0000002275 ...........SHELL OMAN MARKETING ...................................12,000 .............23,760........................6 ............1.980 ........... 1.980 ...........1.980........... 1.980 .............2.000 ...........-0.020 ........... -1.000 ...............1.980..............1.800...................1.975 ..................188,100,000........0.100

vestments, NBO and Ahli Bank gained 5.11 per cent, 2.56 per cent, 2.56 per cent, 2.27 per cent and 1.66 per cent respectively. United Finance and Oman & Emirates Holding declined 1.71 per cent and 1.23 per cent respectively. Industrial Index declined 0.37 per cent to close at 6,494.63 points. Oman Textile, Construction Materials, Galfar Engineering and Gulf International Chemicals advanced 10.00 per cent, 3.57 per cent, 1.85 per cent and 1.17 per cent respectively. Al Anwar Ceramics, Voltamp Energy and Oman Flour Mills declined 4.00 per cent, 1.41 per cent and 0.49 per cent respectively. Services Index was relatively stable at 2,864.71 points, up 0.11 per cent. OIFC, Sembcorp Salalah, Phoenix Power, Ooredoo and Al Batinah Power gained 3.07 per cent, 0.85 per cent, 0.78 per cent, 0.64 per cent and 0.54 per cent respectively. Sharqiyah Desalination, Omantel and Shell Oman Marketing decreased 5.15 per cent, 1.02 per cent and 1.00 per cent respectively. — United Securities

OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 565,040 ......... 819,953..................... 53 ............1.450 ........... 1.455............1.450 ............1.450 ............. 1.465............-0.015 ........... -1.024 ...............1.450 ..............1.450...................1.455 ................1,087,500,000 ......0.100 OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING............ 30,000 .............. 2,400........................2 ........... 0.080 ...........0.080 ...........0.080........... 0.080 ............. 0.081............-0.001 ............-1.235................0.080............. 0.000...................0.084 ................... 9,750,000 ..........0.100 OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY ..................................................... 10,095 ...............4,239........................7 ........... 0.420 ...........0.420 ...........0.412 ........... 0.420 .............0.426 ...........-0.006 ........... -1.408 ...............0.412 ..............0.412...................0.420 ..................25,410,000 .........0.100 OM0000002374............UNITED FINANCE .......................................................79,245 ............... 9,130......................14 ............0.117 ........... 0.117............0.113 ............0.115 ............. 0.117 ............-0.002 ............-1.709................0.114 ...............0.115................... 0.117 ................... 35,737,968 .........0.100 OM0000002168............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ............................... 1,041,968 ......300,458......................12 ........... 0.285 ...........0.292 ...........0.280 .......... 0.288 .............0.300 ...........-0.012 ...........-4.000 ...............0.280............. 0.280...................0.292 ..................85,309,540.........0.100 OM0000004669 ...........SHARQIYAH DESALINATION .................................. 5,500 ............ 25,300........................6 ........... 4.600...........4.600 ...........4.600 .......... 4.600 .............4.850 ...........-0.250 ............-5.155................4.600 ............ 0.000...................4.590 ..................44,988,994 ........1.000 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 8,495,663......2,966,245................ 617 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......29........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000001053 ............OMAN TEXTILE HOLDING ...........................................578 ..................203........................2 ........... 0.352 ...........0.352 ...........0.346........... 0.352 .............0.320 ............0.032............10.000 ...............0.346..............0.346...................0.352.................... 2,112,000 ..........1.000 OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. ....................27,000 .................. 783........................2 ........... 0.029 ...........0.029 ...........0.029........... 0.029 .............0.028 ............0.001 ............. 3.571 ................0.029..............0.028...................0.029 ...................2,465,000 ..........0.100 OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 1,664,849 ...... 107,063..................... 38 ........... 0.063 ...........0.065 ...........0.063........... 0.064 .............0.063 ............0.001 ............. 1.587 ................0.065..............0.065...................0.066...................96,000,000 ........0.100 OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 982,393 ..........127,795................... 159 ............0.128 ........... 0.133 ...........0.128........... 0.130 .............0.129.............0.001 ............. 0.775 ................0.132 ...............0.131...................0.133..................190,138,190 ........0.100 OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES ..................................................... 128,167 ...............5,902........................8 ........... 0.047 ...........0.047 ...........0.046........... 0.046 .............0.046 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.046..............0.046...................0.048 ................... 5,750,000 ..........0.100 OM0000003083 ...........AL KAMIL POWER .............................................................100 .....................31........................1 ............0.310 ........... 0.310 ...........0.310........... 0.312 .............0.312............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.310 ............. 0.000...................0.310...................30,030,000.........0.100 OM0000004511 ............ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK................................................10,000 ..................630........................1 ........... 0.063 ...........0.063 ...........0.063........... 0.063 .............0.063 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.063..............0.061...................0.063...................63,000,000 ........0.100 OM0000001400 ...........OMAN FLOUR MILLS .................................................25,100 .............10,259........................8 ........... 0.408 ........... 0.410 ...........0.408........... 0.408 .............0.410............-0.002 ........... -0.488 ...............0.410 ..............0.410...................0.000 ................. 64,260,000 ........0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 2,838,187 ......252,665...................219 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 8........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BONDS AND SUKUK MARKET ...................................................................................................................................................................... OM0000004602 ...........BANK MUSCAT CONV. BONDS 4.5 ........................52,285 ................5,751........................3 ............0.110 ........... 0.110............0.110 ............0.110 ............. 0.110............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.110 .............. 0.110...................0.200 ..................33,302,402.........0.100 OM0000005971 ............B.MUSCAT COMPL. CONVR. B.B.3.5 .....................30,589 .............. 2,906........................3 ........... 0.095 ........... 0.095 ...........0.095........... 0.095 .............0.095 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.095..............0.095...................0.100...................30,795,353 .........0.100 OM0000004867 ...........BANK MUSCAT C C B 4.5 ........................................... 16,879 ............... 1,705........................3 ............0.101 ........... 0.101............0.101 ............0.101 .............0.103............-0.002 ........... -1.942 ...............0.101 .............. 0.101...................0.110 ...................32,283,910 .........0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................... 99,753 .............10,362........................9 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 3........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

STOCK MARKETS

ENERGY

Asian shares decline to 2011 levels on Shell exits Abu Dhabi’s oil price plunge, weak economic data Bab gas project as oil TOKYO: Asian shares slid to their lowest levels since 2011 on Monday after weak US economic data and a massive fall in oil prices stoked further worries about a global economic downturn. Spread-betters expected a subdued open for European shares, forecasting London’s FTSE to open modestly higher while seeing Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC to start flat-to-slightlyweaker. Crude prices faced fresh pressure after international sanctions against Iran were lifted over the weekend, allowing Tehran to return to an already over-supplied oil market. Brent oil futures fell below $28 per barrel, touching their lowest level since 2003. “Iran is now free to sell as much oil as it wants to whomever it likes at whatever price it can get,” said Richard Nephew, program director for Economic Statecraft, Sanctions and Energy Markets at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. MSCI’s broadest index of AsiaPacific shares outside Japan fell to its lowest since October 2011 and was last down 0.5 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei tumbles Japan’s Nikkei tumbled as much as 2.8 per cent to a one-year low. It has lost 20 per cent from its peak hit in June, meeting a common definition of a bear market. The volatile Shanghai Composite index initially pierced through intraday lows last seen in August before paring the losses and was last up one per cent. It was still down 17 per cent this month. On Wall Street, S&P 500 hit a 15-month low on Friday, ahead of Monday’s market holiday.

price fall takes its toll DUBAI: Royal Dutch Shell exited a natural-gas project in Abu Dhabi as the decline in energy prices deepens. Europe’s biggest oil company won’t develop the Bab sour-gas reservoirs with state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., or Adnoc, Shell said on Monday in an e-mailed statement. The project “does not ﬁt with the company’s strategy, particularly in the economic climate prevailing in the energy industry,” it said.

HIGH VOLATILITY: Japan’s Nikkei tumbled as much as 2.8 per cent to a one-year low. It has lost 20 per cent from its peak hit in June, meeting a common deﬁnition of a bear market. — Bloomberg ﬁle picture

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Nikkei hits 1-year low, enters bear market

Concerns about recession continue to mount globally

Spread-betters see subdued open for European shares

Oil plunges 2% after Iran sanctions are lifted

Copper gains breather as China tries to stabilise yuan

“The fact that US and European shares fell below their August lows, failing to sustain their rebound, is signiﬁcant,” said Chotaro Morita, chief ﬁxed income strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities. “We are coming to a

stage where we need to consider the risk of recession in the global economy,” he said. An unexpected drop in retail sales and the third consecutive monthly fall in industrial output in December added to the lat-

est indication that US economic growth braked sharply in the fourth quarter. Following that data, the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s closelywatched GDPNow forecast model showed the US economy is on track to grow 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter, slowing sharply from 2.0 per cent growth in the third quarter. Investors further cut back their Fed rate hike expectations, with short-term interest rate futures pricing in only one rate hike by the end of year, compared with two hikes priced in at the start of year. Outside the United States, the economic outlook appeared even bleaker, with the energy and raw material sector hit the hardest as China’s massive investment-led economy slows down. MSCI’s emerging stock index has dropped to 6-1/2-year lows.

Delaying projects Energy producers are cancelling or delaying projects, taking billions of dollars of write-downs and cutting thousands of jobs as the crude-price slump forces them to trim spending. About $380 billion of investments have been deferred to early next decade as companies go into survival mode, according to industry consultants Wood Mackenzie. Shell’s exit from the sour-gas project follows its decision last year to abandon drilling in Alaska after failing to ﬁnd commercial qualities of oil. The company also shelved the Carmon Creek oil-sands project in Canada in October. Adnoc picked Shell as its partner at Bab in 2013, giving the AngloDutch company a 40 per cent stake in the onshore ﬁeld about 150 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of Abu Dhabi city. The project was scheduled to begin gas sales in 2020. Sour gas typically contains high amounts of hydrogen sulphide, which needs to be removed before the fuel can be burned. That process can drive up costs. Shell’s relationship with Adnoc remains “very good,” Andrew Vaughan, Shell’s vice president for

– Bloomberg ﬁle picture

Shell’s relationship with Adnoc remains very good. We are still interested in the Adco concession Andrew Vaughan Shell’s VP for Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Syria Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Syria, said in an interview in Abu Dhabi. “We are still interested in the Adco concession,” he said. Shell said in November that talks continued with Abu Dhabi about taking a stake in Abu Dhabi Co. for Onshore Petroleum Operations, a unit of Adnoc focused on onshore oil ﬁelds. — Bloomberg News

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ROUND-UP

Bank Muscat lines up attractive personal finance offerings at MF Aimed at simplifying and enhancing convenience to help customers meet their financial requirements, Bank Muscat is offering personal finance at 4.5 per cent for Omanis and 5 per cent for expatriates

MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services provider in the Sultanate, in step with its ‘Let’s Do More’ vision and commitment to partnership in enhancing banking services, has lined up attractive personal finance offerings coinciding with Muscat Festival (MF), Oman’s tourism and cultural showpiece, being held from January 14 to February 13 in Al Amerat Park and Naseem Garden. A never to be missed opportunity for citizens and residents, the range of unique offers available only coinciding with Muscat Festival include special interest rate on personal loans; 6 months payment holiday on home loans, a conveni-

ent facility for vehicle finance and quick disbursement, and special offers include free Al Jawhar Platinum Credit Card for a year for each customer in privilege banking who apply for banking facilities, says a press release. Abdullah Tamman Al Mashani, deputy general manager – Institutional Sales & Product Development, said: “Coinciding with Muscat Festival, Bank Muscat is delighted to complement the celebratory mood in Oman with an exclusive range of personal finance offerings. In step with responsible banking, the focus of Bank Muscat is clear – create a sustainable financial platform for the nation

and people and thereby contribute to the country’s progress and development. Committed to supporting economic growth and sustainable development, the bank utilises every opportunity to reiterate partnership in building the nation by creating opportunities for individuals and businesses to grow and prosper.” Aimed at simplifying and enhancing convenience to help customers meet their ﬁnancial requirements, Bank Muscat is offering personal ﬁnance at 4.5 per cent for Omanis and 5 per cent for expatriates. The exclusive opportunity reiterates the bank’s commitment to extending the helping

U P G R A D AT I O N

hand to fulfil the financial needs of customers. This is the first time a finance offer of this kind with a range of add-on benefits is being made available to the largest banking family in Oman. What is noteworthy, is that these rates are valid for the entire tenure of the loan, so that customers do not face any unexpected surprises regarding the instalment and tenure, thus maintaining full transparency. The attractive baituna home finance at 4.25 per cent provides customers the unique option to buy their dream home and start repayment after six months. Committed to extending all possible support to achieve the objective of a ‘home for every family’, especially youth, the attractive baituna home finance offer with repayment holiday is positioned to give a boost to the real estate sector and benefit citizens across Oman to fulfil their dream homes. baituna facilitates access to prime residential projects in Oman as all leading property developers are associated with the bank. The attractive features of baituna home finance include low interest rates with maximum loan tenure up to 25 years for Omani

MEC hosts 16 students from South Korea MUSCAT: Middle East College (MEC) is hosting 16 students from Hanyang University, South Korea to participate in MEC Winter School 2016. The student delegates are in Oman to attend the MEC Winter School programme which commenced recently, says a press release. The 26-day programme comprises short courses, extracurricular activities, language classes in English and Arabic, exploring Islamic culture in Oman’s context and ﬁeld trips to industrial and tourist destinations in Oman. Moreover, the South Korean students are scheduled to conduct workshops on Korean culture and Korean language. It is worth mentioning that MEC has International Exchange partnerships with various educational providers from across the globe.

9001:2015. Faisal Al Said will be speaking about Ithraa’s journey as the first government organisation in the Sultanate to be certified in ISO 9001. Participants can expect an intensive and interactive session with a case study on transitioning from ISO 9001:2008 to ISO 9001:2015. There will also be sharing of lessons learned in various industries, specific to the region. The targeted audience comes from organisations that are currently certified as well as those which are planning to be certified in the near future. Marwa Ali Al Kharusi, an entrepreneur and founder of the company, said: “I was intrigued when I was told that one of the significant changes in the standard is replacement of the clause ‘management responsibility’ to ‘leadership’ and

that the role of the ‘management representative’ has been removed. Since ISO 9001 is the world’s leading quality management standard and people are keen to know about the revision, we decided to offer the programme.” Abdullah Al Jufaili, general manager of Sharakah, will also be sharing Sharakah’s story in implementing the ISO 9001 standard. “We very much value the importance of applying best practices and abiding by international standards. When the new management took over in 2011, one of our ﬁrst priorities was to implement quality standards and many consultants advised us to go for ISO 9001:2008. “We are delighted that we have been certiﬁed and we are in the process of upgrading to ISO 9001:2015,” said Al Jufaili.

alizz takes part in I Tech Exhibition MUSCAT: alizz Islamic bank had recently provided funding support to I Tech Exhibition 2015, inaugurated by His Highness Sayyid Taimur bin Asaad Al Said. The exhibition was organised by Muscat Expo, which took place at the Oman International Exhibition Centre for three days. The exhibition attracted a great number of visitors highlighting the latest ICT products and services, hi-tech gadgets; consumer electronics, and state-of-the-art technology across all sectors, with unique and exciting interactive and innovative launches, says a press release. Commenting on the exhibition, Aisha Al Kharusi, chief marketing officer of alizz Islamic bank said: “The support of the exhibition comes as the bank’s objective to contribute and participate in various exhibitions held in the Sultanate. The partnership between alizz Islamic and other institu-

PROPERTY EXPO

The exhibition attracted a great number of visitors highlighting the latest ICT products and services, hi-tech gadgets and innovative launches tions seeks to provide various supports as the bank’s role is not just limited to being an economic institution, but goes beyond that to provide support and assistance to the various events and exhibitions.” The bank is proud of its partnership with distinctive communities to achieve the aspirations of its members by providing banking solutions compatible with the provi-

sions and principles of the Islamic Sharia law that meets their needs and financial requirements such as finance residential and auto finance and personal finance. On another occasion, alizz Islamic bank also supported and participated in the Open Day that was organised by Oman Diabetes Association. The event was inaugurated by His Highness Sayyid Muhanna bin Asaad Al Said and was held at Al Amal Club in Ghala. Commenting at the event Aisha said: “We are pleased to be hands on with Oman Diabetes Association and raise awareness on educating our community on the dangers of the chronic disease. alizz Islamic bank continues to strengthen its role in social responsibility towards the community through the provision of support and care and participation of various activities and events that aim to increase community awareness in all aspects.”

AUTOCARE

Salim Associates organises roadshow MUSCAT: Salim Associates, one of the leading builders and developers in Kerala, India organised a three-day exclusive expo showcasing their hotel apartment project in Guruvayur and customised villas in Thrissur, at the Haffa House Hotel, Al Buraimi Hall recently. The road show of their project in Oman was officially inaugurated by Neelu Rohra, Second Secretary (Community Welfare), Embassy of India by lighting the traditional Kerala lamp. Neelu in her opening address wished Salim Associates every success in their new hotel apartment project and highlighted the importance of investment in the real estate market especially in Guruvayur, says a press release. While welcoming the guest and the audience, R. A. Salim, managing director of Salim Associates, explained their 27 years of successful growth in the property market. “Our current project Nandanam Habitat Hotel Apartment with 4 star hotel facilities offers a unique

customers. The low interest rate is a big attraction to avail the best home finance deals in the Sultanate. Citizens and residents can obtain easy and convenient credit approval across the bank’s 137 branches and dedicated baituna centres in the Sultanate. The Sayyarati auto finance available at low interest rates starting from 4 per cent is an opportunity for customers to buy the latest 2016 models. Customers can also avail of 1 year short-term loan facility at 3% which can be used for meeting the down payment requirements of the vehicle/dealer. Sayyarati financing is available for up to eight years for new and used vehicles, along with the lowest monthly payment option, on-thespot approvals and motor insurance with low premiums. Notably, customers are also not required to furnish post-dated cheques, making Sayyarati the easy, convenient and completely hassle-free way to own a new car. Payment instalments are automatically debited from customer account on a monthly basis. Customers can visit any auto dealership or Bank Muscat branches to avail Sayyarati finance.

WINTER PROGRAMME

SUPPORT

Alhuwiya ISO 9001:2015 Transition Programme to be held on February 2 MUSCAT: Under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Faisal bin Turki Al Said, director general of Investment Promotion at Ithraa, Alhuwiya International Management Consultancy will be hosting a programme in Muscat on February 2 at Crowne Plaza Muscat, as a response to the official publication of the ISO 9001:2015 recently. It will be led by Colin Macnee, UK delegation leader at ISO/TC 176 (the ISO technical committee responsible for Quality Management and Quality Assurance) and secretary of the ISO 9001:2015 update, says a press release. The one-day programme will cover the key changes to the ISO 9001 standard, its impact to government institutions, private entities and practitioners and what organisations need to do to transition from ISO 9001:2008 to ISO

opportunity to the investor to get a monthly income by renting out the apartment on a daily rental basis and it will deﬁnitely turn out to be a continuous source of income to the investors who own this hotel apartment project, considering the large number of yearly footfall of Guruvayur pilgrims. These apartments provide 4 star facilities including, swimming pool, health club, snooker club, wed-

ding hall, multi cuisine restaurant on the roof top and such unique facilities to you. Additionally, you can have a relaxed holiday on your own hotel premises with these facilities, when you visit Guruvayur,” said Salim. Dijesh, marketing in charge, in his vote of thanks explained elaborately the unique features of the hotel projects and requested the prospective investors to uti-

lise this opportunity which is at its right time to invest. Dijesh, a ﬂawless orator, briefed the audience on 27 years of Salim Associates' success story and the name and fame it has grabbed among its NRI clients from UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and other Middle East countries. The ceremony was also witnessed by some of its existing happy customers from Muscat. Dijesh announced that Salim Associates is planning to proceed with the road show of their projects in the whole Middle East and later on to South East Asian countries, European countries and American continent as well. The welcome ceremony to the guest by Hema Malini and group in the traditional Kerala attire added more colours to the inauguration, said Dijesh. Salim expressed his whole hearted appreciation to the Muscat Keralites and requested them to invest right now, for a bright stay back home, in Kerala, India.

Primewell offers three years warranty on tyres MUSCAT: Primewell tyres has introduced a three-year warranty on its tyres from the date of its manufacture. The warranty covers any tyre failures due to a substantiated defect in materials and/or workmanship, says a press release. After damage assessment by the representatives or authorised persons, the compensation amount is calculated by the degree of wear, applying the system called ‘Remaining Tread Depth’. Scenarios that are not covered by this exclusive warranty are the road hazard injuries like a cut, snag, bruise, impact damage or puncture to the tyre. Issues like improper mounting of the tyre, tyre or wheel imbalance as well as damages through use of unmatched rim size and improper tube and/or ﬂap are also not covered under the warranty. Other concerns when the war-

ranty is not applicable are when the tyre is repaired or retreaded or there is a human element of error involved, such as improper tyre storage, misapplication, improper maintenance like overloading or improper inﬂation pressure. The passenger car and light truck tyres with less than 1.6mm of tread depth remaining, or truck and bus tyres with less than 2.0mm of tread depth remaining also do not fall into the warranty. Uneven or rapid wear due to vehicle mechanical malfunction or rough driving style as well as sound related issues are not considered in the warranty. Eint Automotive, a successful division of the WJ Towell Group has been an industry leader in the autocare aftermarket segment. Primewell is the exclusive department dedicated to the sale and service of the world-class tyre Eint Automotive hold.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

ROUND-UP Bank Muscat raises 2016 al Mazyona prize money to record OMR10 million

His Highness Sayyid Faris bin Fatiq Al Said unveiled 2016 al Mazyona Savings Scheme and picked the winners of 2015 al Mazyona year-end prize draw

MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services provider in the Sultanate, sprung a surprise with the biggest prize money of OMR10 million for 2016 al Mazyona Savings Scheme. His Highness Sayyid Faris bin Fatiq Al Said unveiled 2016 al Mazyona Savings Scheme and picked the winners of 2015 al Mazyona year-end prize draw offering OMR1.5 million at the ceremony attended by senior bank officials and the media. Reaching out with a powerful call for savings, Oman’s flagship savings scheme has increased the prize money to OMR10 million in 2016 compared to OMR9 million in 2015. As on date, al Mazyona Savings Scheme guaranteeing more for everyone to share is the biggest prize money in Oman and the region, says a press release. The highlights of 2016 al Mazyona Savings Scheme include aspirational prizes of OMR1 million at the end of year and high value prizes for different segments, including women, children, youth and high saving customers. Adding excitement to festivals and national celebrations, the 2016 savings scheme rewards customers with special prizes. al Mazyona continues to be the only savings scheme to recognise and reward loyalty for customers based on their association with the bank. They can also win a bonus salary every month for transferring salary to the bank.

The enhanced prize money will be shared by more winners as customers from all regions are guaranteed to win prizes ranging from OMR1,000 a week to OMR10,000 a month, OMR100,000 every quarter and OMR500,000 at the end of year which is open to all customers. asalah Priority Banking customers have chances to win OMR50,000 monthly prizes, OMR250,000 quarterly prizes, and a jackpot OMR500,000 yearend prize. Prizes reserved for al Jawhar Privilege Banking customers include OMR25,000 monthly prizes and OMR50,000 quarterly prizes. A special prize draw offering OMR10,000 each for winners from 14 regions will be held in celebration of Eid Al Adha in July. An exclusive draw for Zeinah women customers coinciding with Omani Women’s Day is another highlight in which 10 customers will be rewarded with OMR10,000 each. On the occasion of the National Day, a special draw will be held offering OMR10,000 each for 10 winners. Notably, al Mazyona has reintroduced salary transfer prizes which is back by popular demand. Thirty customers transferring a minimum monthly salary of OMR500 are eligible to win an additional salary every month. There is no cap on the salary amount and this will truly be a bonus salary for the winning customers. Details of Oman’s ﬂagship savings scheme offering bigger prizes for more winners were unveiled to the media at the bank’s head office. Said Al Badai, Group DGM – Branches, said: “Continuing with the tradition of rewarding customers, Bank Muscat is proud to sustain the biggest prize money in Oman and the region. During the past 2 decades, al Mazyona has rewarded numerous customers and enriched their lives. Big prize money is not the only attraction of al Mazyona, which is designed to transform the lives of prudent savers. The scheme is targeted to accommodate all nationalities and segments, including ladies, youth, children, high savings balance customers and salary account holders, thereby inculcating a strong savings habit among citizens who will

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SCHEME

Biggest prize money in Oman and the region.

Guaranteed winners in all regions.

Exclusive prizes for ladies, children, youth and high saving customers.

Double-Your-Salary scheme.

Big boost to inculcating savings culture in Oman.

be responsible for the future development of Oman.” Abdullah Tamman Al Mashani, Deputy General Manager – Institutional Sales & Products Development, said: “At a time when expectations on ﬁnancial rewards and incentives are low due to prevailing economic situation, Bank Muscat is proud to further elevate the unique al Mazyona experience. The bank understands customer expectations and al Mazyona 2016 scheme continues to reﬂect innovative customer segmentation based on two principles - region and demographics – ensuring a higher winning chances to all customers across the Sultanate, including ladies, youth, children and high savings balance customers. The 2016 al Mazyona scheme offers exciting weekly, monthly, quarterly, special and year-end prizes. Winning with al Mazyona has never been simpler as customers are not required to block their money for long or wait for a long time to win big prizes.” Al Mashani added: “al Mazyona customers have plenty of reasons to smile throughout the year, thanks to the new scheme that offers winning chances for customers in all regions. With OMR10 million, al Mazyona offers the biggest prize money in the savings scheme history in Oman and the region.” Win OMR1,000 every week: With 30 weekly prizes, including two for Zeinah women customers, reserved for every region, customers have a very good chance to win OMR1000 with just a minimum

balance of OMR100. Customers get one chance for every OMR100 balance. Women customers are eligible to participate in the other prize draws in addition to the two weekly prizes exclusively reserved for them by becoming a Zeinah account holder. Win OMR10,000 every month: Customers maintaining a minimum balance of OMR1000 get a chance to win OMR10,000 every month. For every OMR1000 balance, customers are entitled to 10 winning chances. In all, 28 monthly prizes, are reserved for customers covering all the regions. The more the balance, higher the winning chances. Win and celebrate during festivals and National Day: Customers maintaining a minimum balance of OMR1000 get a chance to win OMR10,000 each to be distributed to 14 customers during Eid Al Adha. Similarly 10 Zeinah customers can win OMR10,000 each on Omani Women’s Day and 10 customers can win OMR10,000 each on National Day. Year-end prizes OMR1 million: The grand OMR1 million year-end prizes will be shared by two winners, including 1 reserved exclusively for asalah Priority Banking. Customers maintaining a minimum balance of OMR1,000 are eligible for the grand prize draw offering OMR500,000 each. Customers get 10 chances for every OMR1,000 balance. The higher the balance, higher the chances to win. asalah Priority Banking customers: The asalah Priority

Banking customers maintaining a minimum balance of OMR30,000 are eligible to participate in all al Mazyona prize draws, in addition to exclusive draws earmarked for them. The high savings balance customers have exclusive monthly prizes of OMR50,000, quarterly prizes of OMR250,000 and yearend prize of OMR500,000. Privilege Banking: Al Jawhar Privilege Banking customers maintaining a minimum balance of OMR10,000 in their savings accounts are eligible to participate in all al Mazyona prize draws, in addition to exclusive monthly prizes of OMR25,000 and quarterly prizes of OMR50,000. Zeinah account holders: Targeted at Zeinah women customers maintaining a minimum balance of OMR100, al Mazyona offers two weekly prizes of OMR1000 each, in addition to an exclusive Zeinah draw coinciding with the Omani Women’s Day offering a total of OMR100,000 to be shared by 10 winners. Children’s account holders: By maintaining a monthly balance of OMR50, al Mazyona Children’s account holders get a chance to win 20 monthly prizes of OMR100 each. al Mazyona children’s account holders are also eligible for other al Mazyona prizes by maintaining a minimum balance of OMR100. Shababi account holders: Youth customers opening a Shababi account with just OMR10 get a chance to win OMR300 every month. In all, there will be 30 winners every month in the youth category. Shababi account holders are also eligible for other al Mazyona prizes by maintaining a minimum balance of OMR100. Double-Your-Salary scheme The ‘Double-Your-Salary’ entitles customers maintaining a salary account with the bank to win a free bonus salary every month. There are no pre-conditions attached to the scheme, except that the salary must be transferred to any Bank Muscat branch in Oman. All customers who transfer their salary to Bank Muscat get a chance to double their salary through the bonus salary prize. While custom-

ers may earn their salary only once a month, with Bank Muscat they have a chance to win an additional bonus salary every month. The prize scheme is open to all customers with a minimum monthly salary of OMR500. For instance, a customer whose salary is OMR500 can win an additional salary prize of OMR500 whereas another customer whose salary is OMR3000 can win back an equivalent bonus salary of OMR3,000 and so on. In all there will be 30 winners every month who will gain a bonus salary with al Mazyona savings account. Reward for loyalty: A continuing attraction is that the winning chances get multiplied by the number of years customers are associated with al Mazyona savings scheme. For example, if a customer has been saving for 5 years, his chances of winning get multiplied by 5 times and similarly if he has been maintaining al Mazyona savings account for 20 years, his chances get multiplied 20 times and so on. This benefit is unique only to al Mazyona savings scheme holders and no other bank offers this, as on date. Certification and validation of al Mazyona draw: In order to maintain the tradition of providing complete transparency of the scheme, al Mazyona prize draws will be tested and certified by accredited external auditors. Bank Muscat pioneered this proactive step and is proud to continue this tradition in Oman for communicating good governance and transparency. Over the years, al Mazyona has succeeded in inculcating a strong savings culture in Oman. The objective of al Mazyona is to create a lifetime change for winners and allow them to invest the prize money in things that will make a lasting difference and the well-being of their families. The underlying principle of the scheme is that the greater the deposit balance and longer the relationship, the higher the chance of rewards. Customers can win more by saving more with Bank Muscat. The flexible scheme makes regular saving easier and is available across the largest network of 137 branches in Oman.

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ROUND-UP PROMOTION

Rasasi Perfumes has New Year offers for customers in Oman MUSCAT: Rasasi Perfumes is giving its Omani customers the perfect opportunity to enjoy a fragrant start to the New Year. The region’s leading perfume brand has announced an array of offers and complementary gifts on purchases to celebrate 2016, says a press release. “Rasasi Perfumes is delighted to celebrate the beginning of 2016 with an array of great deals and offers for its valued customers. We had a phenomenal 2015 and we are ringing-in the New Year with a renewed pledge to serve our customers better. “Our customers in Oman appreciate our selection of alluring scents and we are now offering some of the best deals on our popular perfumes, including the premium range, as a way of expressing our gratitude,” said Salim Kalsekar, managing director, Rasasi Perfumes. Rasasi’s New Year promotion

Atana Hotels honours Dar Al Atta’a employee The 2015 Dar Al Atta’a Employee of the Year Award was presented to Ahmed Abdul Aziz, ﬁnance manager

MUSCAT: In line with its corporate philosophy of giving back to the community, Atana Hotels has joined hands with prominent charity organisation Dar Al Atta’a in honouring the winner of the Dar Al Atta’a Employee of the Year 2015.

Under this collaboration, Atana Hotels will be providing two nights’ stay full board at Atana Musandam complete with dhow cruise and mountain safari to the winner and his family. Also, they will be getting a Muscat-Khasab return ticket, sponsored by Khimji’s House of Travel, says a press release. The 2015 Dar Al Atta’a Employee of the Year Award was presented to Ahmed Abdul Aziz, ﬁnance manager. Aziz has worked for the charity organisation for seven years and is known as an honest and well-respected team player, dedicated to the cause of helping the underprivileged in the Sultanate of Oman. Starting as a part-time accountant at Dar Al Atta’a in 2009, Aziz has worked his way up through the ranks by taking proactive initiative to identifying problems and devis-

ing solutions. Aziz is responsible for ensuring that all donations are accounted for, audited and properly distributed, and he is always willing to put in extra time to work with the team of volunteers on various initiatives. Appreciating Atana Hotels’ support, Maryam Al Zadjali, chairperson of Dar Al Atta’a, said: “This initiative by Dhiaffa and Atana Hotels will certainly boost our employees’ conﬁdence and motivation. Due to our limited resources we are not able to provide the staff at Dar Al Atta’a with the same kind of privileges that their counterparts in other companies receive. This initiative is an amazing gesture by Atana and we look forward to many more collaborations in the future.” Outlining Atana Hotels’ social responsibility vision, Pascal Eppink, managing director of Dhi-

affa, a subsidiary of Omran which manages Atana Hotels, said: “We are delighted and proud to be part of the Dar Al Atta’a network and we have committed to taking our cooperation further. In 2016 Atana Hotels will be part of Dar Al Atta’a’s quarterly as well as yearly employee motivational initiatives by sponsoring hotel stays and relaxation packages for the winners.” Aziz in his note of thanks said: “I would like to thank Atana ﬁrst of all for their trust in Dar Al Atta’a and also the board members of Dar Al Atta’a for selecting me for the award. Working with my colleagues at Dar Al Atta’a is like working with own family and it is great to support such a noble cause. This award will only motivate me to work even harder to contribute towards taking Dar Al Atta’a to greater heights.”

includes special offers on its exquisite Oriental range including popular products and premium range La Yuqawam and Boruzz. Customers can beneﬁt from the complimentary gifts and amazing deals on the highly desired Boruzz fragrances and gift sets. The collection was nominated as the top perfume launch of 2015 by a number of prestigious publications and received wide recognition as the most desirable perfume collection by regional fashionistas.

PROFESSIONAL SET-UP

OmanAd gears up for event management MUSCAT: Oman Advertising Agency (OmanAd), one of the leading agencies in advertising, media and publishing industry in Oman, is all set to cater to the requirements of governments and corporates in their event management and exhibition stall designing and fabrications. With focus on providing superior services and client satisfaction above all the experience of managing numerous events under their belt; clients can rest assured that their events and exhibitions are being managed by professionals, says a press release. With the help of 3D designs, cutting edge AV equipment and experienced fabrication and event management team OmanAd offers venue booking and arrangements, creative backdrops, stages, sound and lighting systems, on-

line interpretations, marketing collaterals, corporate give aways, photography, videography, press coverage which can turn your business, corporate and entertainment events like product launch, seminars, conferences, workshops and trainings, board meetings, road shows, motivational and team building events, corporate and networking gathering, staff gathering, family gathering into a memorable affair. “Our specialised event production division works hand-in-hand with you to understand your vision, mapping out your speciﬁc requirements and provide the most ﬁtting solutions. We will partner with you to plan a successful event tailor made within your budget and can be contacted at info@ omanad.net,” states Mohammed Ayoob, GM of the agency.

H E A LT H C A R E

Kims Oman provides exclusive orthodontic treatments MUSCAT: Dr Sivaram Subbiah, Specialist Orthodontist at Kims Oman Hospital recently composed a medical study including a detailed and comprehensive research on orthodontic treatments and procedures, its advancements, types and advised age group. These treatments are being efficiently delivered at Kims Oman Hospital, says a press release. “Orthodontic treatment not only helps in the ideal arrangement of the teeth but also helps to treat

the position of the jaws in growing teens,” said Dr Sivaram Subbiah. He addressed the changes and advances in orthodontic treatments which include the size of the braces as what is used nowadays are much smaller and more comfortable to the patient than before. Also, advanced wire technology which has greatly reduced the forces placed on teeth resulting in less discomfort to the patients. One of the more recent advancements is the development of tem-

porary anchorage devices (TADs). TADs are mini-implants that can be placed in the mouth in conjunction with braces and have allowed orthodontists to correct certain bite issues that were previously considered impossible without surgery. Additional advancement is the use of 3-D imaging and Xrays. Moreover, elastic rubber bands used to hold the wire onto the braces come in a variety of colours. Kids can choose the colour of their elastics, allowing them to

have more personal involvement in the experience. With regard to types of braces, Dr Subbiah mentioned several types which have been changed over the years. For example metal brackets are smaller, smoother, more reﬁned and more comfortable than they used to be. Metal braces are still the mainstay, but other types include clear ceramic braces and aligners, such as Invisalign. Furthermore, when braces are removed the patient is given a retainer to help keep

the teeth from moving back to their previous position. Dr Subbiah stressed the importance of getting an orthodontic treatment. “There are several risks of not getting orthodontic treatment as crooked teeth can be more difficult to keep clean making you more prone to tooth decay and gum disease. The goals of orthodontic treatment are to provide a perfect bite, ideal function of teeth and to create a beautiful smile.”

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

ROUND-UP

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Star-studded mega International Mushairah to be held on Jan. 28 A great collection of top Urdu poets from India, Pakistan, USA, UK, Japan and other countries is sure to attract the cream of Urdu-loving communities in Oman

SHAHZAD RAZA shahzad@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: A galaxy of top Urdu poets from around the world will be the highlight of the ﬁrst ever International Mushairah in Oman, being organised by Alpha Events Oman, one of the leading event management companies in the Sultanate, at 8pm on Thursday, January 28 at Al Falaj Hotel. Presented by Ittfaq Travel and Tourism and Double Road Tyres of Best Ittfaq, the Mushairah will be participated by legendary poets like Anwar Masood, Popular Meeruthi, Abbas Tabish, Wasi Shah and a host of prominent poets from various parts of the world. Mohsin bin Khamis Al Balushi,

adviser to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, will be the chief guest, while Syed Ayaz Hussain, ambassador of Pakistan to the Sultanate of Oman, will be the guest of honour. In another first, Mian Muhammed Munir, presenter of the International Mushairah, who is also chairman of Pakistan Social Club-Oman, will honour Anwar Masood with the first ‘Muscat Urdu Adab Award’ along with a gold medal. Times of Oman is the media partner of this grand literary event. A great collection of world renowned Urdu poets and poetesses, who are sure to attract the cream of Urdu-loving communities in Oman, will be flown in participate in the International Mushairah. Anwar Masood: Legendary poet Anwar Masood has no parallels in the genre of humorous poetry, which becomes twice as effective when he delivers it in his own inimitable style and complete mastery in both Urdu and Punjabi

languages. Recipient of several national and international awards and author of many bestselling books, Anwar is considered one of the biggest draws at any Mushairah in the world. With a perceptive mind and a sharp sense of humour, Anwar can be both entertaining and instructive at the same time. He has also penned many masterpieces of Punjabi poetry too, like Ambri and Bunyan. Popular Meeruthi: The most

TOP PERFORMER

prominent Indian poet of humour and satire Popular Meeruthi’s funny poetry is a source of delight and infotainment. He is also considered a symbol of success in any Mushairah he attends all over the world. He has been blessed with an extraordinary ability to make people laugh with his humorous poetry. Popular has huge following in Oman too, and his unique way of recitation adds to the appeal of his irresistible poetry and presence.

Abbas Tabish: Leading Urdu poet and the king of modern Ghazal, Abbas Tabish is perhaps the hottest property in the Urdu poetry world today. Holder of “State Medal of Excellence”, Abbas is equally popular in Pakistan and India. He has inspired thousands of fans with his extraordinary and incredible creativity with words and verses worldwide. His recently published book Ishq Aabaad is selling like hot cakes. Wasi Shah: Immensely popular among the younger generation, Wasi Shah is one of the most famous poets from the subcontinent with dominant romantic shades celebrating love and life. Wherever Urdu is spoken and understood, Wasi Shah is not only known but loved too. His books sell like hot cakes, for he has become the ultimate name in beautiful, emotionﬁlled Urdu poetry. As an outstanding and eminent poet, writer and TV anchor, Wasi Shah is an established crowd puller in his country

and abroad with countless prestigious awards to his credit. Super eight Widely reputed, noted and senior Urdu poets and poetesses including Sarwat Zahra (UAE), Rehana Qamar (USA), Ambreen Haseeb Ambar (Pakistan), Khalid Sajjad Ahmed (Kuwait), Arshad Meena Nagri (India), Amir bin Ali (Japan) and Adnan Baig (UK) will complete the dream lineup on stage. “With such a huge star cast, International Mushairah of the highest order promises to be a smashing hit,” said Fahad Awais Munir, managing director of Alpha Events Oman. “This familyoriented grand literary evening, will be absolutely free to the audience”, he added. Fabulous gifts and prizes will be distributed among the audience. Further information can be had from Qamar Riaz (98985106), prominent local poet and a member of the organising team.

‘DOUBLE DARE BOX’

Discover a new favourite with Pizza Hut’s latest innovation

Higer brand focuses on safety, reliability MUSCAT: Higer, an award-winning Chinese automotive brand, has won wide appreciation in Oman because of its impressive range of vehicles that deliver good performance and efficiency. Its quality product range comprises buses, coaches and pick-up trucks that boasts of high standards of safety and reliability, says a press release. A senior spokesperson of Towell Auto Centre (TAC), the sole distributor of the Higer range in Oman, said: “Higer’s unimpeachable reputation of safety and durability makes it the perfect vehicle for Oman. Higer is trusted for its commitment to research and innovation and this trust is reﬂected in its global popularity — be in Europe, America, Africa, the Middle East or South East Asia. Higer has also made its way to China’s Top 500 Most Valued Brands, becoming the fastest growing company in China’s bus industry. Safety is Higer’s primary concern, whether it is of children in our secure school buses or of adults in our pick-up trucks and coaches.” In order to enhance product development and make vehicles more robust and dependable, Higer has established an advanced customeroriented R&D process and imported and integrated the most advanced safety technologies to protect both drivers and passengers. The Higer pick-up has a new generation look, and is a high-grade

Higer’s unimpeachable reputation of safety and durability makes it the perfect vehicle for Oman. Safety is Higer’s primary concern, whether it is of children in our secure school buses or of adults in our pick-up trucks and coaches Senior spokesperson Towell Auto Centre light duty vehicle. Available at a starting price of just OMR4,749, Higer pick-ups have gained popularity because of their durability and strength. The Higer pick-up has enhanced interiors, and is available in single and double cabins. The powerful 2.2 litre 4 cylinder engine, 5 speed manual trans-

mission is ideal for long drives. Its remote control key, power windows, 3 point seat belt, rear parking sensor, and plush interiors ensure comfort. In addition to being sturdy, the Higer pick-up truck is economical to maintain, making it the superlative choice to transport heavy loads across long distances. The Higer Star School bus is the only school bus in Oman to have an Anti-lock braking (ABS) system. The ABS system allows the wheels on a motor vehicle to maintain tractive contact with the road surface according to driver inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and avoiding uncontrolled skidding. Since its launch in 1998, Higer has built a reputation of safety and reliability, and has become one of the top suppliers for buses worldwide. Its safety features give peace of mind to parents and school authorities alike.

MUSCAT: Pizza Hut is tempting pizza aﬁcionados in Oman with the launch of the ‘Double Dare Box’. The innovative pizza box has two sliding compartments and includes one old-favourite pizza and one new creation. The new creation is from a range of signature pizzas launched as part of the ‘Double Dare Box’ promotion, says a press release. This limited time offer is available for takeaway or delivery, presenting customers with the opportunity to place an order for ‘something nostalgic’ from their list of all-time favourite pizzas and ‘something new’ from the exciting new signature creations. Commenting on the launch of the ‘Double Dare Box’, Vivek Pande, CEO, Khimji Ramdas Lifestyle Group, said: “The ‘Double Dare Box’ allows customers to experience something new without having to let go of their old favourites. After a series of trials and incorporating customer feedback we have come up with six new pizza creations.” The six signature creations include Sweet Chick, Bacon Bomb-

shell, Garden Party, Lamb-licious, Carnivore and Pepperoni Primo and are available in pan, classic, thin n crispy and stuffed crust. “The only thing bigger than a pizza is two pizzas. The two sliding compartments of the ‘Double Dare Box’ house two sumptuous pizzas making it a perfect meal to be enjoyed with family and friends. The ‘Double Dare Box’ not only satiates our customers’ need to devour their personal favourites

but also allows them to discover pizzas with brand new toppings and ﬂavour proﬁles. This latest product innovation is in line with our commitment to constantly present our valued customers with unique and memorable food experiences,” stated Yogesh Shah, general manager, Khimji Restaurant Division. The ‘Double Dare Box’ comes with a 2.25 litre Pepsi bottle making it the perfect meal for the entire family.

SPREADING HAPPINESS

omanoil’s Farah Campaign rolls into 2016

Perfect for tourism needs Higer has an extensive range of 50 seater coaches. Its coaches have been used proliﬁcally to travel from Muscat to Salalah and Dubai. Perfect for tourism needs, Higer’s coaches are safe and comfortable and ensure a quiet and smooth ride. By being the sole representative of Higer in Oman, TAC has strengthened its commitment to provide superlative products and services to the country.

MUSCAT: Spreading joy, optimism and inspiration, Oman Oil Marketing Company’s (omanoil) nationwide happiness campaign has successfully transformed the lives of people across the length and breadth of Oman. Designed to share the brighter side of life and connect with local communities, the company’s team of special Farah ambassadors travelled to fuel stations in the Governorates of Muscat, Al Batinah, Al Sharqiyah, Ad Dakhliyah, and Dhofar, showering customers with fun, personalised service and gifts, says a press release.

Adding to the campaign’s success are two #omanoil_farah YouTube ads that have gone viral, receiving over 49,000 views with a collective watch time of 480 hours. Social media photos and videos of the Farah ambassadors Muhammad Al Hanae, Waheed Al Balushi and Mohammed Al Balushi have also been receiving wide acclaim as they are liked and shared ten thousand times over. Al Moatasam Al Amri, Farah Campaign Manager, said, “Farah is all about bringing joy to customers, seeing them smile, and giving them a feel-good experi-

ence they can share with others. The responses we have received have been remarkable, from the thousands of views our videos have garnered to the immense support we have received on social media. People recognise that this campaign is not just about showing how good it is to be happy, it is also our unique way of giving back to the community and saying ‘thank you’.” Kicked off in late 2015 under the theme ‘Feel Good’, the campaign stemmed from the company’s desire to create joyous memories and see its customer’s smile.

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Top duo make hay in Melbourne as ‘fixing’ cloud casts a shadow As the sun shone and more than 70,000 fans streamed through the gates at Melbourne Park, the great and the good of tennis officialdom ﬁled into a room in the bowels of Rod Laver Arena to defend their record on battling corruption

MELBOURNE: It was very much business as usual for Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams at the Australian Open on Monday, even if allegations of widespread match-fixing cast a shadow over the opening day of the year’s first Grand Slam. As the sun shone and more than 70,000 fans streamed through the gates at Melbourne Park, the great and the good of tennis officialdom filed into a room in the bowels of Rod Laver Arena to defend their record on battling corruption. On the pristine blue showcourt only a few metres away, however, first Williams, then Djokovic gave notice that they had no intention of relinquishing lightly the dominance they exerted over tennis last year. Williams had not completed a set since her dream of winning all four grand slams in one year was dashed in the U.S. Open semifinals in September, yet she proved far too strong for Italian Camila Giorgi in their first-round match. Dispelling any doubts about her fitness and form, the 34-yearold American moved freely on the troublesome knee that forced her to quit the Hopman Cup midmatch two weeks ago. “It’s great. It was an hour and 43 minutes and I didn’t feel it at all,” the six-times Australian Open champion said after her 6-4, 7-5 victory. “Okay, I haven’t played in a long time, but I have been playing for 30 years ...” Djokovic, who also won three Grand Slams last year, has been far more active than Williams in recent months but has not been beaten since August, a run that

PERFECT START: Serena Williams of the US celebrates after victory in her women’s singles match against Italy’s Camila Giorgi on Day One of the Australian Open. – AFP

EASY OPENER: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his ﬁrst round match against South Korea’s Hyeon Chung. – Reuters

Djokovic admits indirect fixing approach, questions betting sponsors MELBOURNE: World number one Novak Djokovic said a member of his staff was approached about fixing a match early in his career, and he questioned whether betting companies should be allowed to sponsor big tennis tournaments. The reigning Australian Open champion was speaking after the sport was rocked by allegations that the authorities had failed to deal with widespread match-fixing. Djokovic said that as far as he was aware there was no longer a problem with what he described as a “crime in sport” at the top level of tennis, but added that he had once been approached indirectly to throw a match. “I was not approached directly, I was approached through people that were with my team,” he said, after cruising

never looked like ending in his 115-minute clash with South Korean teenager Chung Hyeon. Elder statesman The 28-year-old played very much the elder statesman after the 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory, complimenting his 19-year-old opponent on his game but advising him to come

through his opening match at the tournament against South Korean teenager Chung Hyeon on Monday. “Of course, we threw it away right away. The guy that was trying to talk to me, he didn’t even get to me directly. There was nothing out of it. “Unfortunately, there were some, in those times, those days, rumours, some talk, some people were going around. They were dealt with. In the last six, seven years, I haven’t heard anything similar.” $200,000 offered In 2007, Djokovic said an approach had been made offering him $200,000 to throw a match at the St Petersburg Open in Russia, a tournament he did not ultimately play in. The 28-year-old Serb said that although he was conﬁdent

back and try again when he had more experience. “A nice opening match with real Australian summer conditions,” said Djokovic after embarking on his quest to match Roy Emerson’s record of six Australian Open crowns. “You try to stay composed, not get carried away by heat. Of course, there were some long ex-

there was no longer a problem at the top level, he could not speak for further down the tennis rankings. Djokovic was also asked about the propriety of betting companies being sponsors of major tennis tournaments, even if there had never been allegations that such companies were involved in any wrongdoing. William Hill became the ﬁrst “official wagering partner” of the Australian Open last year, and this year advertisements for the British bookmaker adorned the three main showcourts at Melbourne Park for the ﬁrst time. Critics, who say the relationship sends out the wrong message, have called on Tennis Australia to end it, and Djokovic said there should at least be a debate. “Well, this is a subject for discussion, I think, today

changes that got both of us a little bit short on air. “But I think physically I was really good on the court. I managed to play the best tennis when I needed to.” Finding that extra gear when required is one of the factors that have helped Roger Federer to 17 grand slam singles titles but the

and in the future. It’s a ﬁne line. Honestly it’s on a borderline, I would say,” he said. “Whether you want to have betting companies involved in the big tournaments in our sport or not, it’s hard to say what’s right and what’s wrong. “One of the reasons why tennis is a popular and clean sport is because it has always valued its integrity,” he added. William Hill defended its association with Tennis Australia. “Close partnerships between regulated and licensed betting operators like William Hill and sporting bodies are part of the solution to integrity issues, not part of the problem,” said group director of security, Bill South, in a statement. Tennis Australia did not have an immediate comment to make. - Reuters

Swiss barely needed to move out of ﬁrst in his opening match against Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili. The 34-year-old’s 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 victory set him on a path he hopes will end with a ﬁrst title in one of the sport’s majors since he triumphed at Wimbledon in 2012. His next hurdle is Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov, who might as

well have “tricky” appended to his name. “Dolgopolov is a different player, a different level,” Federer said. “He’s got the fitness, the power, the speed, tennis IQ, all that. It’s going to be a big challenge.” Maria Sharapova was the other former champion in first-round action on Monday and she too eased past a younger challenger, beating Japan’s 21-year-old Nao Hibino 6-1, 6-3. With 128 players playing on the courts around Melbourne Park, there were bound to be upsets, on grounds of reputation if not current standing. American Sloane Stephens, a semi-finalist at Melbourne Park three years ago, had a very bad day at the office and was sent packing by Chinese qualifier Wang Qiang. Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki suffered a similar fate at the hands of Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, while Sam Stosur, the former U.S. Open champion, made her now traditional early exit from her home grand slam. Nearly all the big names were grilled about their reaction to the match-fixing report, which broke a couple of hours before play started and had echoes of the stories which created turmoil last year at the governing bodies of world soccer and athletics. “I think it’s always a disappointment when stories come out like this just before the big event, because it does detract,” ATP tour chairman Chris Kermode said. “(But) I think it will be seen that tennis is in a very, very good place ...” - Reuters

H O C K E Y F E S T I VA L

UTSC gearing up to host Starcare Cup Gulf hockey fiesta Sports Reporter MUSCAT: The United Thalassery Sports Club (UTSC), in association with the Oman Hockey Association, is gearing up to organise the Starcare Cup Gulf Hockey Fiesta at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on February 26. The fiesta, which is mainly sponsored by Starcare Hospital, is the first of its kind hockey event to be organised in the Sultanate that will see participation of teams from all GCC countries. The UTSC officially announced the launch of the regional hockey extravaganza during a media event organised at the Hotel Haffa House on Monday in the presence of Oman Hockey Association (OHA) General Secretary Mohammed Redha Taqi Al Lawati and Starcare Hospital CEO Dr Mohammed Naseem. Speaking on the occasion, UTSC representative Sharzina Raffi said: “Over the years we have been conducting several sporting events, including cricket and football. But hockey has been our main sport in which we were able to organise a number of events and successfully involve all the hockey lovers. “But this Starcare Cup Gulf

BIG EVENT: United Thalassery Sports Club official Sharzina Raffi, right, speaks as Oman Hockey Asso-

ciation General Secretary Mohammed Redha Taqi Al Lawati, centre, and other officials look on during the official launch of the Starcare Cup Gulf Hockey Fiesta at Hotel Haffa House. – JUN ESTRADA/Times of Oman

Hockey Fiesta is entirely different from what we have hosted so far. It’s a bigger event that has attracted a lot of interest from teams and hockey enthusiasts of all GCC countries. “It’s for the ﬁrst time hockey teams of all GCC countries will be coming to Oman. So it’s a huge re-

sponsibility. We are working hard to have all arrangements in place. We are hoping to organise a very successful event,” she added. “We are also hopeful of getting Asian Hockey Federation’s recognition for the event. AHF CEO ‘Dato’ Tayyib Ikram during his recent visit to Oman has promised to give

the event an official recognition. The formalities are under way and once they are completed we are hopeful of getting the AHF recognition for our event,” she added. Star attraction India’s star goalkeeper and vicecaptain Parattu Raveendran

Sreejesh will be the chief guest at the Fiesta. “We are delighted to announce Indian star Sreejesh will be the chief guest at the event,” she added. “We would like to thank our main sponsors Starcare Hospital as well as the Oman Hockey Association, without whose support it would not have been possible for us to organise an event of such magnitude,” she said. The UTSC official also thanked S.A.S. Naqvi, the former Oman national hockey coach and OHA consultant, and Team Coorg for their continued support to the UTSC activities. Giving the details of the Fiesta, Event Director Salih Thatcher said: “This event has a lot of signiﬁcance as it is for the ﬁrst time we will be hosting teams with expatriate as well as the local citizens from all six GCC countries.” “We will be hosting teams from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE. In all there will be 12 teams, including six local teams, one of which will be Oman Veterans squad,” he said. “We are expecting a large turnout of local hockey lovers as well as those from outside for the daylong event, which will start at 8 a.m.

and will last 8 p.m.,” he added. A ‘dream’ event Speaking on the occasion, Starcare Hospital CEO Dr Mohammed Naseem described the Fiesta as a ‘fantastic initiative’. “By no means it’s a small tournament. It’s a huge event that has the potential to feature in the list of global hockey events in the near future. As an organisation in the forefront of making efforts to encourage the community to living a healthy life, Starcare is delighted to support the Gulf Hockey Fiesta,” he said. Meanwhile, famous hockey personality S.A.S. Naqvi said: “It has been my dream to have Gulf Cup of hockey. But I would like to thank UTSC for hosting a hockey event with involvement of all GCC countries. Hopefully, one day the Gulf Cup of hockey will come into existence and I wish Oman will host a Gulf Cup of hockey.” While congratulating the UTSC for their commitment to hockey, he said: “I have no doubt that Starcare Cup Gulf hockey ﬁesta will be a memorable event for only hockey lovers of Oman but all the GCC countries.”

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

SPORTS FOOTBALL

OFA, Ministry of Education discuss plans for girls football programme MUSCAT: The Oman Football Association (OFA) held a meeting with a committee from the Ministry of Education (MoE) to discuss plans to launch a grassroots football programme for girls. The Ministry of Education Committee comprised Aisha Al Jabri, a sports activities specialist at the MoE, Aliya Al Zeedi, who is with the directorate for curriculum development at the MoE, and Munira Al Ghassani, who is part of the Private Schools Department at MoE. The OFA was represented by Khalid Al Lahori, head of Develop-

ment and Education in the Technical Department, and Basma Mohammed, Events Officer from the Commercial and Communications Department. During the meeting, the officials discussed plans for a football festival for schoolkids, coaching courses for Physical Education Teachers as well as topics pertaining to the development of football for schoolgirls. The OFA officials also met with the head of sports in GuTech to conduct a beginner football course for girls and futsal coaching course which will start in February.

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Pacer Tait recalled to Australia’s T20 side The 32-year-old, who last played for Australia at the 2011 World Cup, has shown impressive form in the country’s domestic T20 ‘Big Bash’ tournament

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Gayle smashes 12-ball 50 MELBOURNE: West Indies batsman Chris Gayle smashed 50 from 12 balls for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League on Monday to match India’s Yuvraj Singh’s record for the fastest half century in Twenty20 cricket. Left-hander Yuvraj achieved the feat against England in a group match at the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007 in South Africa, smashing fast bowler Stuart Broad for six sixes in one over.

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Opening batsman Gayle plundered 21-year-old Adelaide Strikers bowler Greg West, playing his second T20 match, for 27 runs in the ﬁrst over and hit the last four deliveries for six. His seventh maximum took Gayle past his half century as he deposited spinner Travis Head over the long-on boundary. Head dismissed him ﬁve deliveries later for a 17-ball 56 with Gayle caught by wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman from a top edge. - Reuters

BACK IN THE SQUAD: Shane Watson, left, and Shaun Tait.

MELBOURNE: Explosive paceman Shaun Tait is in line for his ﬁrst international in ﬁve years after being named in Australia’s 17-man squad for the three-match Twenty20 series against India. The 32-year-old, who last played for Australia at the 2011 World Cup, has shown impressive form in the country’s domestic T20 ‘Big Bash’ tournament. “Shaun Tait returns on the basis that he is the quickest bowler going around in Australia at the moment and he offers us that explosive option if we choose to use it,” selector Rod Marsh said in a statement on Monday. All-rounder Shane Watson was snubbed for the ongoing one-day series against India but has been named in the T20 squad for the matches in Adelaide (January 26), Melbourne (January 29) and Sydney (January 31). The matches form Australia’s last auditions for the World T20 championship in India, which starts in March, and off-spinner Nathan Lyon has also been given a chance to push his case. Lyon, long overlooked for limited overs duty, joins leg-spinner Cameron Boyce and spin-bowling all-rounder Glenn Maxwell among the slow bowling options. “Our choice of Nathan Lyon comes off the back of good form in the KFC BBL and we decided the time is right to have another look at him in the shorter forms of the game,” Marsh said. Former T20 skipper George Bailey and Mitchell Marsh have been omitted from the Aaron Finch-captained squad.

Surprised Watson eyes World T20 spot SYDNEY: Australian allrounder Shane Watson admitted his call up to the squad for a home T20 series against India has come as a “pleasant surprise” after he was overlooked for the ongoing ODI series against the same opponents. Since his ﬁnal appearance in September, Australia have preferred Mitchell Marsh to Watson, who retired from Tests after last year’s Ashes series in England, for the all-rounder slot in the one-day team. The 34-year-old, once the golden boy of Australian cricket, conceded that he may never be picked for the 50-over format again after he failed to earn selection for the ﬁvematch series against India that the hosts currently lead 3-0. “It is a pleasant surprise,”

Test skipper Steve Smith and swashbuckling batsman David Warner will only play the opening match as they prepare for the New Zealand tour starting in February. Australia also made two changes to their one-day squad for the remaining two matches against India after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.

Watson told reporters on Monday, indicating his form for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League had contributed to the call up. “It came down to me really wanting to play for the Thunder and doing well for them over this BBL, and whatever happened from there with the Aussie side of things I wasn’t worrying about it at all anymore. “After being dropped from the one-day squad, I knew that my international days were probably nearly over. So it’s nice to get that surprise and get that call from (chief selector) Rod Marsh yesterday.” Watson’s rise to prominence after a poor start in the BBL forced selectors to take notice and he could also be in line for a spot in Australia’s

Lyon has been named in place of paceman Joel Paris, with Warner recalled at the expense of Usman Khawaja after missing matches for the birth of his second child. One-day squad: Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, George Bailey, Scott Boland, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun

squad for the World Twent20 in India, starting in March. Watson said he worked with former South Africa allrounder Jacques Kallis, who also plays for Thunder, made a few adjustments and has felt good about his batting again. “It’s very nice to still be one of the old guys even though I don’t feel that old. Thirty-four didn’t seem that old when I was playing but it is nowadays with the amount of cricket that’s being played,” added Watson, who has been a regular feature in Indian Premier League . “That would be the goal (World T20) that’s for sure. It’s nice to know I’ve had a lot of experience over in India, playing a lot of IPL tournaments and having some success over there as well.” - Reuters

Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Matthew Wade. T20 squad: Aaron Finch (capt), Scott Boland, Cameron Boyce, James Faulkner, John Hastings, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Shaun Tait, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Shane Watson. - Reuters

AL AROUBA STAY TOP, FANJA RALLY TO HOLD MUSCAT Al Arouba defeated Salalah by a 3-1 margin in week 14 action of the Omantel Professional League at Sur Sports Complex on Monday. The victory helped defending champions Al Arouba take their points tally at the top of the table to 28. Fanja fought back from a goal down to hold Muscat to a 1-1 draw at Seeb Sports Stadium and maintain their second place with 24 points. At Salalah Spots Complex, hosts Dhofar played out a goalless draw with Al Shabab. Dhofar are now in third with 23 points, same as Suwaiq, who were also involved in a 0-0 draw with Al Nasr at Sohar Sports Complex. Al Nasr (22) are in sixth behind Sohar (22). Al Musannah, who defeated Al Nahda 3-1, occupy the seventh place. — ISMAIL AL FARSI/Times of Oman

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

SPORTS C O M M E N TA RY

Umesh Yadav is disgusting, but why isn’t anyone telling him the truth?

Under-pressure Dhoni gets board’s backing

he most ridiculous moment at Melbourne was when Umesh Yadav gathered the ball at square leg and denied himself a great opportunity to run Glenn Maxwell out. A direct hit would have ended Maxwell’s innings, giving India a chance to win as Australia were 36 runs still behind, with just three wickets and 32 balls left. Still, even when everyone merrily roasts Yadav and Co and MS Dhoni happily scapegoats the fall guys, it’s not out of place to pose the question: are the Indian bowlers getting just deserts for their misdeeds or are they sitting ducks for the big shots who failed to do what they are fabulously paid for? Yadav got the breakthrough for his team off the first ball of the eighth over with a perfect delivery that forced Aaron Finch to edge, but the next ball to Steve Smith, the new batsman, was a wide down the leg side. An extra run, an additional ball and a waste of opportunity to put pressure on the new guy at the crease, all right, but was it the first time he was doing something like that? Absolutely not. Yadav had done it before. He has a disgusting focus on leg stump which, in an ODI game, offers batmen an opportunity to play their shot and there is always a risk of conceding a wide. At Melbourne, Yadav began his next over with a good delivery pitched outside off stump that beat Shaun Marsh as he tried to drive, and you hoped he would test and tempt the batman with a few more of the similar stuff. That never happened. Whose job is it to tell the bowler when he is not bowling to plan? On the field, obviously, it’s what a captain does: getting the guys to stick to plan. There’s no point blaming the bowler at the news conference after losing the match for sending down two balls in a row down the leg side, both of which were patted to the fine leg boundary, for the simple reason that the joker in the 33rd over comedy was Yadav. He should have been made aware of, and warned against, his foolish indulgence a long time before that stupid double trouble. Off the field, it’s the responsibility of the coach to get the team to deliver, so Indian team director Ravi Shastri is just as responsible as Yadav and other wayward bowlers

swirling over the and sloppy fielders for the Indian failure. Indian fast bowlers are not world class. But are the guys managed well to get the best out of them? It’s convenient to blame the lack of resources for poor performances, but what’s happening right now is pathetic management of the available resources. You need the skill and build of a Mitchell Johnson to get the ball to travel at speeds above 145kmph fairly consistently to put fear in the mind of batsmen, but you only need a bit of discipline and commitment to stick to a good line and length, which is common. Skill is inborn, discipline is acquired. The Australian bowlers are lucky to get away with their performances. Conceding 300-plus runs in back-to-back matches, and nearly 300 in the third one, on their home turf was poor by any yardstick. The Indian bowlers’ inability doesn’t look just as horrible if the facts and figures from both sides are put alongside on a common canvas. The difference between the two teams is not in the playing eleven, but in the backroom staff. That’s where the Australians cocked a snook at the Indians. Darren Lehmann and his team did their work well to draw a winning strategy and Smith and his boys executed the plan on the field. That’s team-work. It’s time India got to think a bit unconventionally. Ideas such as one of the top batsmen scoring a century, the rest of the guys batting around him, the guy lasting until the final over, waiting for the death overs to accelerate or make up for the overs wasted, etc. etc. might not work always. There was an Indian century in all the three matches, but the Australians got to their targets without anyone scoring a century in the big run chases in the two of the three games. Finding out how they did it is some homework for Shastri and his team. The writer is a freelance contributor based in India. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of Times of Oman

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PROMOTION: BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur, right, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson, second right, former Indian cricketer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Sachin Tendulkar, second left, and UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia Karin Hulshof during the launch of ICC’s CSR initiative ‘Cricket for Good and Team Swachh’ campaign, in association with UNICEF and BCCI. – AFP

India will get full-time coach after World T20, says Thakur NEW DELHI: BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur on Monday said the Indian cricket team will have a full-time coach after the World T20 and the high-profile advisory committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Saurav Ganguly will have a say in the appointment. Thakur also threw his weight behind under-fire skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, as the team slumped to three successive losses in the ongoing fivematch ODI series in Australia. “There has been a demand for a full-time coach for a long time. We had decided that Ravi Shastri will be the Team Director till the World T20. We do not want to do anything between the season but we also need to decide on the future. We will be playing 13 Tests next season. Like a team is selected series to series, we need to have full-time coach,” Thakur

Uncapped Bumrah to replace Shami in T20 squad

Speculation has been

responded to a query from PTI on the sidelines of an ICC promotional event here. Thakur did not get into the details about whether the BCCI would continue with Shastri, only hinting that even the former India all-rounder could be considered for a long-term role. “The decision will be taken in consultation with the Advisory Committee (Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly). We might decide on a coach even before World T20 but the announcement will only happen post tournament.” Asked about what can be expected of the senior players like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra — all three are part of T20 squad, Thakur was cautious. “Let them go and play. I am sure they would also want their performance to do the talking,” he said. - PTI

future of the 34-yearold who quit Tests in late 2014 but remains in charge of the team in shorter formats

NEW DELHI: Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s job as India’s limitedovers captain is safe despite the team’s third successive one-day series defeat, the country’s cricket board (BCCI) said on Monday. Speculation has been swirling over the future of the 34-year-old who quit Tests in late 2014 but remains in charge of the team in shorter formats. The recent results, however, have not really enhanced the reputation of the man who led India to virtually every honour across formats. Under him, India lost their first ODI series in Bangladesh in June last year and went down to a visiting South African team in October. On Sunday, Dhoni’s men succumbed to their third successive defeat in Australia who took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, chasing down big totals in Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne. While some pundits believe Test captain Virat Kohli should take over the limited-overs duties as well, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur insisted Dhoni was the right man to lead India in shorter formats. “The kind of performance we have had from Dhoni and the team under him in the last eight-nine years, I think it’s unfair to question his leadership after just one series,” Thakur told reporters. “Dhoni is one of the most successful captains of the country. Under him, we won the World Cup in 2007 (T20) and 2011 (ODI). Team India rose to number one both in Tests and ODIs under his leadership. “Unfortunately we lost all three matches so far, and we’ve noticed our bowling limitations too, not being able to defend big totals. “It’s a concern and the selectors and team management would assess the performance keeping the Asia Cup and the Twenty20 World Cup in mind,” Thakur said. Dhoni himself felt more than his captaincy, the team needed to look at the grey areas and how to fix

If you are getting a chance to play for your country, irrespective of the situation, it isn’t unfair. As captain that’s what you have to communicate to these youngsters Mahendra Singh Dhoni India Captain

them. “It’s not about the leader. I’m there (now), somebody else will come later,” the stumper-batsman said after the loss in Melbourne. “What is more important is to see the areas we are lacking in, the departments which have to improve when it comes to shorter formats.” ‘Brave youngsters’ The likes of Barinder Sran and Manish Pandey are going through a trial by ﬁre n just their debut series but Dhoni feels there is nothing unfair about putting them up against a rampaging Australia as the team needs a ‘brave’ bunch of youngsters going forward. The youngsters have not quite made a resounding impact but by Dhoni’s own admission, it is too early to judge them on performance. Sran has been decent in his three outings so far, bagging three wicket in the process. Pandey came in to bat at 276 for 4 with four overs left in the Brisbane ODI. Despite his IPL showings, he is not a slam-bang cricketer and yet had to go for it, managing 6 runs off 5 balls in the end. “If you are getting a chance to play for your country, irrespective of the situation, it isn’t unfair. As captain that’s what you have

to communicate to these youngsters,” said Dhoni in Melbourne, the venue of the third ODI. “There is a lot of scrutiny and players who tend to bat at Nos. 5 or 6, they tend to think of surviving till the end and show off as if they are hitting, remain not out in the end and are happy with it. That’s not the kind of culture you want in the team,” he added. Dhoni said the exposure so far may not be a clear indication of their talent but their character is certainly revealed. “When it comes to these youngsters, Pandey in the last game and today with Mann and Dhawan, there was no hesitation of playing a big shot. When you play tough games, it gives you more experience than playing just a normal ODI. This is what has happened with them. You can’t really judge their performances because they have only batted 12 to 15 balls. But you can judge their character based on those few deliveries.” “That is something you have to encourage, and at the end of the day the captain and the selectors have to look at that speciﬁcally. Because it tells you a lot about the character of these individuals, and you want brave people in the side. Winning and losing keeps happen-

MUMBAI: Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will replace injured Mohammed Shami in India’s squad for the three Twenty20 internationals against Australia, the country’s cricket board said on Monday. The 25-yearold has not played international cricket since ﬁnishing as India’s second-highest wicket taker at last year’s World Cup with 17 victims. Shami underwent surgery in March and was named in the squad for the limited-overs series in Australia, only to be ruled out again with a hamstring injury. The 22-yearold Bumrah sprung to prominence playing for the Mumbai Indians franchise in the Indian Premier League and is the joint-highest wicket-taker in his country’s domestic Twenty20 competition this season. - Reuters

ing, but you want good characters in the side,” the skipper added. While it was about scoring a few more runs in the first two games, much about the defeat in the third ODI was to do with fielding. At the same time the bowlers weren’t left alone either. “If you see the squad for this series, it is a relatively inexperienced bowling lineup. Ishant Sharma has played a lot of international cricket but he is not someone who has been consistently part of the format. Umesh Yadav has been on and off and there are others who have made their debuts here,” said Dhoni. “So we have to assess right now is how good the individuals are and what are they doing and what’s their rate of development. I have always said that you have to groom youngsters. We won’t find the complete product and we have to groom them, make them play and you will that they will service the team for a long time.” - Reuters, PTI

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

SPORTS Team Delft Challenge to race in SATT The team, composed of a group of young Dutch students, is set to go head to head on February 14 in Dubai to face a unique sailing challenge, spanning 730 nautical miles in the GCC in 15 days

READY FOR THE CHALLENGE: Team Delft Challenge will be competing in the EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour for fourth year. – Supplied photo

MUSCAT: Team Delft Challenge has announced they will race the offshore sailing event organised by Oman Sail, EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour (SATT). The team, composed of a group of young Dutch students, is set to go head to head on February 14 in Dubai to face a unique sailing challenge, spanning

730 nautical miles in the GCC in 15 days. Their meticulous preparations ahead of the start, involving months of training, show enthusiasm levels running at an all-time high. Wouter Sonnema’s young team decided after coming fourth last year that they would dispense with professional help on board and ‘do

the race on our own’ in order to get more out of their EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour experience. “We will have to manage our own difficulties and challenges,” said skipper Sonnema who is studying Civil Engineering at Delft University of Technology. “We have therefore had a more

PREMIER LEAGUE

intense preparation this time which started soon after the 2015 race. We have competed in several Farr 30 one-design races in Sweden with the Farr30 Youth Challenge, who have become our partners. It was set up by Pierre Gronberg who is just 17 of age. In September, we sailed his boat

back to our home port Scheveningen where we have been training ever since. “In addition, we have each been sailing together with different coaches and trying to increase our knowledge on all needed areas so hopefully we can compete this time without a professional coach or sailor and achieve the same result as last year. Like many of the young adventurous teams in EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour, the new route poses only opportunities rather than threats. “The whole team is looking forward to the new route,” added Sonnema. “In the past three years, we have had two different routes, both challenging in their own way. This year the route will bring all of the challenges from together from those years into one big new test, especially the long leg since it will require continuous concentration, accurate preparations and a great spirit. We are looking forward to it! “Due to the coefficients allocated to every leg however, we have to stay focussed till the end - the last leg will be counted double and is likely to inﬂuence the ﬁnal results. Staying focused till the end will be a key factor but we have been

training hard on that.” Training aside, Team Delft Challenge will rank as one of the favourites for a podium place simply because between them, they have racked up so much experience though in widely different disciplines. Coen Bouhuijs, Stijn Seuren and Jochem Nonhebel have raced J22s and bigger yachts as have Jurjen Streng and Marcel Ceelen who returns after two year absence. Gronberg, Jelger Rozendaal and Sonnema all came up the ranks through Optimists, Lasers and now Farr 30s. “EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour is a great sailing race which brings challenging conditions and good teams both professionals and amateurs,” Sonnema continued. “For us as a student team, it is great to race against professional and amateur teams at the same time because it makes us to sail as fast as possible during the whole race. We also learn a lot while racing and observing the other teams, always trying to improve ourselves.” Crew List: Jelger Rozendaal, Coen Bouhuijs (project manager), Jochem Nonhebel, Jurjen Streng, Stijn Seuren, Marcel Ceelen, Pierre Grönberg, Wouter Sonnema (skipper).

JUNIOR CRICKET LEAGUE

Facile wins for Raha, Assarain MUSCAT: Raha defeated Sinha by 45 runs in a Muscat Pharmacy and Stores-sponsored Premier Division cricket match at the Ministry of Sports Affairs Ground during the morning session on Friday. Batting ﬁrst, Raha put on 148 for ﬁve in 20 overs. Shahid Naseem top scored with 50. In reply, Sinha were restricted to 103 for seven in 20 overs. Adnan claimed a two-wicket haul for Raha. Brief scores: Raha 148 for 5

in 20 overs (Shahid Naseen 50) bt Sinha CT 103 for 7 in 20 overs (M. Adnan 2/21). Points: Raha - 3; Sinha CT – 0. OCT Muscat A beaten In another Premier Division match, Assarain eased to a ninewicket victory over OCT Muscat A at the Ministry of Sports Affairs ground during the morning session on Friday. Batting ﬁrst, OCT Muscat A were bowled out for 114 in 45.5

overs. Ahmed Raza and Shiju claimed four and three wickets respectively for Assarain. In reply, Assarain raced to 115 in 13 overs for the loss of just one wicket. Naseem Khushi and Arun Poulose scored 66 not out and 37 not out respectively. Brief scores: OCT Muscat A CT 114 in 45.5 overs (Ahmed Raza 4/26) lost to Assarain 115/1 in 13 overs (Naseem Khushi 66 n.o.; Arun Poulose 37 n.o). Points: Assarain - 3, OCT Muscat A – 0.

WINNING START: Assarain team pose for a group photo after their win over OCT Muscat A.

CHAMPIONS: The Indian School Muscat team pose for a group photo along after winning Under-16

Division title.

ISM emerge U-16 champions MUSCAT: Indian School Muscat (ISM) defeated Pakistan School Muscat (PSM) by four wickets to emerge the champions of the Under-16 Division tournament at Municipality Ground I on Saturday. In the ﬁnal of the Al Turki Enterprises-sponsored tournament, PSM batting ﬁrst, were bowled out for 126 in 20 overs. Ubaid top scored with 40 runs. Vikram and Vrishabh claimed three and two wickets respectively for ISM. In reply, ISM scored 129 for six in 20 overs. Paritosh and Vikram scorerd 23 and 21 runs respectively. Manzoor ad Usama claimed two wickets each for PSM. Brief scores: PSM 126 in 20 overs (Ubaid 40; Vikram 3/14) lost to ISM 129 for 6 of 20 overs (Paritosh 23, Vikram 21; Usama 2/25).

ISM B down PSM In a U-13 Division match, Indian School Muscat B (ISM B) defeated Pakistan School Muscat (PSM) by 43 runs at the Municipality Ground III during the afternoon session on Friday. Batting ﬁrst, ISM B scored 200 for four of 20 overs. Zaheer top scored with 71. In reply, PSM scored 157 for seven in 18 overs. Ahmed top scored with 42. Viraj claimed three scalps for ISM B.

FINE TON: Mohammed Rayyan of Gulf Cricket Centre. Brief scores: ISM B 200 for 4 in 20 overs (Zaheer 71) bt PSM 157 for 7 in 18 overs (Ahmed 42; Viraj 3/31). Points: ISM B – 2, PSM - 0.

GCC too good for BOC In another U-13 Division match, Gulf Cricket Centre (GCC) eased to an eight-wicket victory over Bosher Olympic Centre (BOC) at the Municipality Ground III. Batting ﬁrst, BOC scored 190 for three in 20 overs. K.K. Rajan and Shreyas R. scored with 40 and 45 not out respectively. Shounak claimed two wickets for GCC. In reply, GCC scored 191 for two in 19.2 overs. Rayyan scored a fantastic unbeaten 135. Brief scores: BOC 190 for 3 in 20 overs (K.K. Rajan 40, Shreyas 45 .o.; Shounak 2/13 ) lost to GCC 191 for 2 in 19.2 overs (Rayyan 135 n.o). Points: GCC – 2, BOC - 0.

ISWK beat MCCC A In another U-13 Division match, Indian School Al Wadi Al Kabir (ISWK) posted an easy ninewicket victory over Muscat Cricket Coaching Centre A (MCCC A). Batting ﬁrst, MCCC A scored 86 for seven in 20 overs. Arjun Dhiman top scored with 22 runs. In reply, ISWK raced to 89 for one in 6.3 overs. Aman Preet top scored with an unbeaten 41 for ISWK.

ISM A beat MCCC C Meanwhile, ISM A defeated MCCC C by nine wickets in another U-13 Ddivision match. Batting ﬁrst, MCCC C scored 106 for ﬁve in 20 overs. Aayan Khan claimed four wickets for ISM A. In reply, ISM A scored 107 for one in 9.4 overs. Azam Ali top scored with an unbeaten 59.

Brief scores: MCCC A 86 for 7 in 20 overs (Arjun Dhiman 22) lost to ISWK 89 for 1 in 6.3 overs (Aman Preet 41 n.o). Points: ISWK – 3, MCCC A – 0.

Brief scores: MCCC C 106 for 5 in 20 overs (Abhas 26; Aayan Khan 4/15) lost to ISM A 107 for 1 in 9.4 overs (Azam Ali 59 n.o). Points: ISM A – 3, MCCC C - 0.

ABBASS, SUFYAN STARS OF OCT SEEB’S VICTORY Abbass Abdulaziz Al Balushi and Sufyan Mahmood played stellar roles as OCT Seeb recorded a 64-run victory over Design United Engineering in a Oman Cricket-organised B Division match recently. Abbass top scored with 98 runs and Sufyan Mahmood claimed four wickets to bundle out Design United.

LIFESTYLE

SECTION

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

Dining

FLAVOURS

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lanning to go to Egypt? Don’t forget to take a sip of Karkede. You will fall in love,” the staff from the embassy of Egypt in Muscat had said while he handed over my passport and the necessary travel documents. This was way back in the year 2009, when I was literally over the moon at the thought of being able to visit the land of the Pyramids. Food was perhaps the last thing on my mind and I was taken aback by his statement. An Egyptian going ga ga over a beverage more than their heritage, history, and most of all the most sought after Pyramid, was quite unexpected. Nevertheless besieged with history, I landed in Cairo a few days later. While I waited to go on a cruise down the River Nile, I was welcomed by a purplish drink. “Welcome to Egypt. This is Karkede and you must try this,” said the cordial staff at the lobby. He endorsed the drink in almost the same enthusiasm as the staff at the Egyptian embassy in Muscat had done and I could not say no. I embarked on an Egyptian food voyage, with history in heart and a glass of Karkede. Karkede is hibiscus tea made out of dried red hibiscus ﬂowers boiled in water and in which sugar is added. “The unique feature of this drink is that you can have it both hot and cold,” he added. He also told about Egyptians’ love for this drink, which was sold at almost every nook and corner of the city. It was also known to be a preferred drink of the pharaohs, he said. During my four days cruise, while I got plenty of time to seep into history, each time the cruise docked at a particular historical site, I also realised that when it comes to their food,

When it comes to food, the portions reveal an inclination towards generosity. Never expect small portions if you are in Egypt the portions reveal an inclination towards generosity. Never expect small portions if you are in Egypt and that’s exactly the lesson that I mastered right on the ﬁrst day itself. While the meals, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner, in the cruise had plenty for us to choose from catering to different palates of different regions, it was natural for most of the tourists to be drawn towards Egyptian cuisine. Egyptian cuisine caters to all types of palates and even if you are a vegetarian you will have plenty of choices. On the ﬁrst day, a cotraveller recommended us to try Taameya. Being a complete novice on Arabian cuisine dur-

ing those days, it never occurred that Taameya was actually falafel, a popular snack in Egypt. It was followed by Koshari, a famous street food made of rice, lentils, fried onions, and pasta and coated in a thick tomato sauce. It’s an all-time Egyptian favourite. It was not all. The next few days at the cruise, food was novel in all aspects as we were introduced to the authentic Egyptian cuisines. From exquisite dishes like Hamam Mahshi; small pigeons stuffed with rice and wheat and then roasted, and Mouloukhiya; a stew cooked with chicken or lamb chunks flavoured with coriander and garlic, to the famous ones like Baladi or vegetable salad, Dolma; stuffed vine leaves and Ummaali, the most sought after dessert. We also had milk cake called Aziaiya and Sheikalama, almond coconut cookie. While Egyptian cooking is mostly done by baking, grilling, sautéing, and smoking, the spreads each day made it evident that Egyptians are ardent meat and fish lovers. They are liberal while using spices and seasoning, and that is reflected in their choice of food. Like other Middle Eastern cuisine, in Egypt too, no meal is considered complete without bread that is usually made with a mixture of whole meal and white flour. And if you are in Cairo, while there are plenty of up market eateries don’t miss the food sold in the streets at the heart of the city. But if you aren’t and still want to taste their street food right here in Muscat then a visit to Kusharina is in order. (Kusharina is in the Badr al Qurum Building, Ras Al Hamra Street, in Qurum next to Chez Sushi. They have no contact number at this time). This new Egyptian joint serves the finest roadside delicacies of Egypt from their bright, hip space. Their Koshari is not to be missed. swati@timesofoman.com

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

PRAYER TIMINGS

FIND-IT-ALL @MGM

@RUWI

SUR The Fifth Wave (Sci-Fi) (PG12) Cast: Chole Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson 6.45, 8.45, 11.30PM Wazir - (Hindi) (Action | Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar 4.30PM Charlie (Malayalam) (Comedy) (PG12) Cast: Dulquer Salman and Parvathi Menon 10:45PM The Revenant (Adventure) ( 12+) Cast : Leonardo DiCaprio & Tom Hardy 6.45PM Ride Along 2 (Adventure) ( 15+) Cast : Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Sumter 4.45, 9.30PM

@PANORAMA

CITY CINEMA Contact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68 www.citycinemaoman.net facebook.com/citycinemaoman SHATTI The 5th Wave (2D) (Sci-F) (PG12) Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson 2:45, 7:00, 9:15, 11:30PM The Revenant (2D) ( Drama) (12+) Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 3:00, 8:45PM Ride Along 2 (2D) (Action) (15+) Cast: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Sumpter 5:00, 9:45, 11:45PM The Hateful Eight (2D) (Comedy) (12+) Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell 2:30, 5:45, 11:45PM Suffragette (2D) (History) (12+) Cast: Carey Mulligan, Anne-Marie Duff 7:45PM Norm of the North (2D) (PG12) Voice over: Rob Schneider, Heather Graham 6:00PM

The 5th Wave (2D) (Sci-F) (PG12) Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson 2:00, 9:15 & 11:30PM Gold Class - 3:30 & 11:00PM

Chalk N Duster (Drama / Social) – PG Cast: Shabana Aazmi, Juhi Chawla 6.45 PM

PANORAMA MALL Ride Along 2 (Action, Comedy)(2D)(15+) Cast: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Sumpter 2:45, 7:45, 9:45, 11:45PM Ride Along 2 (Action) (2D)-VIP LOUNGE 6:00PM The Fifth Wave ( Sci-fi) (2D) (PG12) Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson 2:30, 9:30, 11:45PM The Fifth Wave (Sci-fi)(2D)-VIP LOUNGE 3:30, 11:00PM Norm Of The North (Animation)(2D)(PG12) Voice Overs: Rob Schneider, Heather Graham 2:15, 4:45PM The Hateful of Eight (Drama) (2D)(12+) Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell 4:45, 8:30PM The Revenant (Adventure, Drama) (2D) (12+) Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 6:30, 11:30PM The Revenant (Adventure, Drama) (2D) (12+)-VIP LOUNGE; 8:00PM Bajirao Mastani (Drama)(2D)(PG12) 5:30PM Daddy’s Home (Comedy)(2D)(12+) Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg 3:45 PM

MUSCAT GRAND MALL Ride Along 2 (Action | Comedy) 15+ Cast : Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Sumpter 12:00, 7:15 & 11:45PM Gold Class - 6:00PM The Fifth Wave (Adventure | Sci-Fi) PG12 Cast : Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson 2:00, 9:15 & 11:30PM Gold Class - 3:30 & 11:00PM Norm of the North (Animation) PG12 Voice over: Rob Schneider, Heather Graham 11:30AM & 7:00PM The Revenant (Adventure | Thriller) 12+ Cast : Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 4:15 & 8:45PM Gold Class - 8:00PM The Peanuts Movie - (Animation) PG Voice over:(Noah Schnapp, Bill Melendez 3:15PM The Good Dinosaur-3D (Animation) U 1:15 & 5:00PM

Daddy’s Home (Comedy)(2D)(12+) Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg 3:45 PM

Voice Overs:Jiao Xu, Guanlin Ji, Ying Huang 2:45, 4:45PM Chalk n’ Duster - 2D (PG) Drama/ Social Cast – Juhi Chawla, Shabana Azmi 6:15, 8:55PM

AZAIBA Wazir – 2D (PG12) Hindi | Action| Thriller Cast – Amitabh Bacchan, Farhan Akhtar 2:00, 10:00, 11:15PM Dilwale – 2D (PG12) Action, Romantic Cast – Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol 4:00, 11:20 PM Bajirao Mastani – 2D (PG12) Drama Cast – Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone 3:15PM The Revenant – 2D (12+) Adventure | Drama Cast – Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 2:30, 11:45 PM Charlie – 2D (PG12) Comedy/ Romance Cast – Dulquer Salman, Parvathi Menon 6:30 PM Thaarai Thappattai (Tamil) – 2D (TBC) Action/ Drama Cast – S Sasikumar, Varalaxmi, Pragathi 8:45 PM Nanakku Prematho (Telugu) – 2D (TBC) 6:55 PM Ho Mann Jahan (Urdu) – 2D (PG) Drama Cast – Mahira Khan, Sheheryar Munawar 5:30, 8:40PM Dragon Nest: Warriors’ Dawn - 2D (PG12) Animation/ Adventure/Family

RUWI Screen 1 Wazir (Action / Thriller) – PG12 Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar 3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM Screen 2 Bajirao Mastani (Romance) – PG12 Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh 3.45, 9.45 PM Chalk N Duster (Drama / Social) – PG Cast: Shabana Azmi, Juhi Chawla, Arya Babbar 6.45 PM Screen 3 Dilwale (Action/Romance) – PG12 Cast: – Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan 3.45, 9.45 PM Ho Mann Jahan Urdu - (Musical/Drama) Cast: Mahira Khan, Sheheryar Munawar, Adeel Husain (TBC) 6.45 PM

SOHAR Dilwale - 2D (PG12) Action | Comedy Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan 7:00PM The Revenant - 2D (12+) Adventure | Thriller Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 2:45, 11:30PM Wazir - 2D (PG12) Action| Thriller Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar 9:55PM The Fifth Wave - 2D (PG12) Adventure Cast : Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson 2:30, 9:30, 11:45 PM The Hateful Eight - 2D (12+) Comedy Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russel, Jennifer Jason Leigh 4:35, 11:00 PM Ride Along 2 - 2D (15+) Action | Comedy Cast : Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Sumpter 3:00, 7:35, 11:55 PM Suffragette- 2D (12+) Biography | History Cast: Carey Mulligan, Anne-Marie Duff 5:00 PM Nanakku Prematho -2D (Telugu) (TBC) Action Cast: Ntr Jnr, Rakul Preet Singh 8:15 PM Charlie - 2D (M) (PG12) Comedy| Romance Cast: Dulquer Salman, Parvathi Menon, Aparna Gopinath 5:45 PM Norm of the North - 2D (PG12) Animation Voice Overs: Rob Schneider, Heather Graham 2:45, 4:30 PM Thaarai Thappattai - 2D (T) (TBC) Action

Cast: S Sasikumar, Varalaxmi, Pragathi 8:45 PM Chalk and the Duster - 2D (PG) Drama Cast: Shabana Azmi, Juhi Chawla, Arya Babbar 6:15 PM

BAHJA CINEMA

BURAIMI Ride Along 2– 2D (Action, Comedy) (15+) Cast: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Sumpter 5:15, 7:30, 9:30, 11:30PM The Revenant– 2D (Adventure, Drama) (12+) Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 3:45, 11:00PM The Fifth Wave– 2D (Sci-Fi) (PG12) Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Maika Monroe 3:30, 5:30, 9:45, 11:45PM Thaarai Thappattai– 2D (Action) (TBC) Cast: S Sasikumar, Varalaxmi, Pragathi, R K Suresh 7:15PM Wazir – 2D (Action, Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Aditi Rao Hydari 3:15, 6:30PM Charlie– 2D (Comedy, Romance) (PG12) 8:30PM

Ride Along 2 (Action / Comedy) Cast: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Sumpter 4.00, 8.00, 10.00, & 11.55 PM CP No: 112 (15+) Suffragette (Drama / History) Cast: Carey Mulligan, Anne-Marie Duff, Helena Bonham Carter 2.00, 4.00, 10.00, & 11.55 PM CP No: 113 (12+) Dragon Nest: Warriors’ Dawn (Animation / Adventure / Family) Voice Overs: Jiao Xu, Guanlin Ji, Ying Huang 2.00 & 6.00 PM CP No : 114 (PG12) Echo Effect (Action / Thriller) Cast: Michael Jai White, Max Ryan, Steve Austin 8.00 PM CP No: 103 (12+) Daddy’s Home (Comedy) Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini 6.00PM CP No: 3061 (12+)

TO MUSCAT (RUWI) Arrival Operating time days

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FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

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05:30 05:30 05:30

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06:45 08:30 10:00

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

06:30 06:30 08:00 13:00 13:00 16.00 16.00

07:00 07:00 13:30 13:00 13:00 13:00 17:00

Sohar Buraimi Buraimi Sohar Buraimi Sohar Buraimi

08:50 Daily 11:00 Daily 14:30 Daily via Ibri 15:45 Daily 17:40 Daily 18.35 Daily 20:20 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52) 17:30

Sinaw

Nizwa Yanqul

20:50

Daily

16:50 19:30

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EVELYN SUZANNE SUMITH January 19, 2014

RELATIVE HUMIDITY

40-80%

07:00

Ruwi

10:25

Daily

08:40 11:00

Daily Daily

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06:00 06:00

Nizwa Ruwi

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

10:20 12:30

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TO SUR (ROUTE 55) Sur Sur

15:40 15:40

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17:55 20:20

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TO SUR (ROUTE 55) 12:00 18:45

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Fahud Yibal

Salalah Marmul Salalah Salalah

20:00 20:30 23:30 07:40

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Marmul

Dubai

16:50

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Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai

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Fahud Ruwi

13:15 17:30

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Ruwi Marmul Ruwi Ruwi

19:50 13:15 22:30 07:30

LISTINGS

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Marmul

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Daily Daily Wed,Thur Wed,Thur Daily Daily

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Daily

10:50 13:40 16:15 19:10 18:45 21:35

Daily Daily Thur-Fri Thur-Fri Daily Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201) 07:30 07:30 13:00 13:00 15:30 15:30

Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

07:00 07:00 07:00

16:00 16.00 16.00

Fujairah Sharjah Dubai

11.45 13.30 14.00

Daily Daily Daily

Sharjah Fujairah Ruwi

16:30 18.15 23.00

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

Daily Daily Daily Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)

07:00

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201) 06:00 06:00 13:00 13:00 15:00 15:00

10:45 19:00

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102) 15:00

Ruwi Ruwi

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100) Daily Daily Daily Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101) 06:00

06:00 14:30

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

10:30 11:15

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (ROUTE 100) 07:00 10:00 10:00 19:00

Programmes are subject to change

Minimum

ROYAL OMAN POLICE 07:30 14:30

Next Change : 2 Countries (Mal) Airlift (Hindi) Dictator (Telugu) Rajani Murugan (Tamil)

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54) 08:00 08:00

08:55 Daily 11:40 Daily 20:20 Daily via Ibri 14:55 Daily 17:40 Daily 19:20 Daily 22:15 Daily

Charlie ( Mal) ( Drama\Comedy) Cast : Dulquer Salmaan & Parvathy 9:30 PM Cinema Main; 3:45 & 6:45PM Cinema-3 Nannaku Prematho (Telugu) (Act | Rom) Cast: J.r NTR & Rakul Preet Singh 3:30, 6:30 & 9:30PM Cinema - 2 Soggade Chinninayana (Telugu | Comedy) Cast: Nagarjuna, Ramya Krishna and Lavanya Trirati 3:30 & 6:30 PM Cinema Main; 9:45PM Cinema -3 Thaarai Thappayyai (Tamil) (Drama ) Cast : Sasi Kumar & Varalaksmi 3:45, 6:45 & 9:45PM Cinema-4

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54) 14:30 14:30

Sohar Ruwi Ruwi Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi

Daily Daily Daily

Film information 24791641 / 24786776 Website: www.isurf.co.om

WEATHER

15:00 15:00 15:00

16:30 18:00 19:30

STAR CINEMA

WITH LOVE

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (ROUTE 36) Quriyat Sur Jaalan

Film information 24540856 / Advance Booking 24540855 Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

SALALAH The Revenant (2D) (12+) (Action|Drama) Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 11:00AM & 2:25PM Ride Along 2 (2D) (15+) (Action|Comedy) Cast: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Sumpter 10:45AM, 2:00, 4:25, 9:55, 11:30PM Suffragette (2D) (12+) (History Biography) Cast: Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham 7:00PM The Fifth Wave (2D) (PG12) (Adventure) Cast: Chloe Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson 2:15, 9:30, 11:55PM The Hateful Eight (2D) (12+) (Comedy) Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell 11:15AM, 6:50 & 11:45PM Dilwale (2D) (PG12) (Action |Comedy) 3:55PM Charlie (2D) (12+) (Malayalam) (Comedy) 9:00PM Norm of the North (2D) (PG12) (Animation ) 12:45, 5:20PM Nanakku Prematho (Telugu) (2D) (TBC) Cast: Ntr Jnr, Rakul Preet Singh 6:30PM

LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI) Destination

12.22pm 3.28pm 5.49pm 7.03pm 5.32am

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

CINEMA SCHEDULE

Dept time

Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Fajr (Tomorrow)

Daily Daily Daily

Afghanistan Algeria Bahrain Bangladesh Brazil Brunei China Cyprus Egypt France Germany India Indonesia Iran Iraq Italy Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya South Korea Kuwait

24698 791/4 24605 593 24 605 074/133 24 698 660 24640100 24 603533 24 696782 24 699815 24 600 982/411 24681 800 24835000 24684500 2469 1050 24 696 944/7 24603642 24693727 24 601 028 24692760/1/3 24 692418 24 697664 24 691490 24 699628

Lebanon Libya Malaysia Morocco Nepal Netherlands Pakistan Palestine Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Senegal Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Switzerland Syria Tanzania Thailand Tunisia Turkey UAE United Kingdom United States Yemen

24 693208 24603466 24698329/643 24696152/3 24696177 24603706 24603439 24601312 24605335 24 691 153/2/4 24602894 24601705 24694139 24697977 24647300 24691101 24697841/2 24697875 24603267 24697904 24601 174 24 602684/5 24603486 24697050/1/2 24400000 24609000 24643400 24600815

PHARMACIES Round the clock Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi 24783334

Apollo Medical Centre, Hamriya Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi Salalah Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra Muscat Region Apollo, Al Hamriya Muscat, A Seeb Market Muscat, Al Khuwair Muscat, Al Hail South Dhofar Region Muscat, Al Nahdha Road, Salalah

24782666 24702542 23291635; 24503585 24787766 24421691 24485740 24537080

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 Lifeline Hospital Salalah 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

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

LIFESTYLE RECIPE

SAVOURY FRENCH TOAST Ingredients • 2 eggs • 4-5 chopped small button mushrooms • 2 Kraft cheese slices or grated cheddar cheese (4 tbsp) • 4-5 thinly sliced shallots • 2 stalks of spring onion greens • 1/2 thinly diced red bell pepper • Salt as per taste • 2 bread slices (cut into halves)

By using some of these easy substitutes, you can turn dessert from an occasional splurge, to an everyday treat

enying a sweet tooth can be difficult if you are trying to eat a healthy diet. The problem is that denying that sweet tooth for too long can lead to bingeing. A better option is to ﬁnd healthier ways that you can enjoy sweets by making desserts with healthy recipes. Even if you have some favourite recipes on hand, it’s easy to make a few changes to make the dessert a bit better for you. By eliminating ingredients that are high calorie and high fat, you can enjoy healthy desserts that won’t sabotage your healthy diet. If you’re not sure where to begin, here are some tips to help you get started. Cut Back on Sugar One of the best ways to make des-

sert recipes healthier is to cut back on the sugar within the recipes. You can quickly reduce carbs and calories when you reduce the sugar in your recipe. You can usually reduce the sugar by 1/2 without hurting the taste of the recipe. You can even replace the remaining sugar with honey or maple syrup. Replace Unhealthy Fats Many desserts contain lots of unhealthy fats. If you replace about half of the oil, butter, or shortening with a better option, you can really make the recipe healthier. Applesauce or mashed bananas make great substitutions. Your ﬁnished result will still be nice and moist, but you’ll signiﬁcantly lower the fat and calories in the dessert.

KNOW YOUR SPICE

Mahlab What is it? This differently fragrant spice is very unheard of. Also called mahlebi or mahaleb, it is made from the stones of a small, black cherry tree. It is oval in shape with a ﬁnely wrinkled skin and a cream-coloured interior. The powdered spice is yellowish, similar to mace. This spice is generally used in Middle Eastern cuisine. The ﬂavour is a mixture of sour cherries and bitter almonds.

History Mahlab has been in use since centuries in the Middle East, especially for ﬂavouring baked goods. It was occasionally used in Greece for ﬂavouring cakes, pastries, and bread.

dered and made into a paste with honey, sesame seeds, and nuts. It is eaten as a dessert or a snack along with bread. This spice can be used both in sweet and savoury dishes. It can be used in marinades too.

Cooking with it Mahlab is used widely in Mediterranean countries and the Middle East, especially Turkey, in breads, biscuits, sweet cakes, and pastries. In Egypt Mahlab is pow-

Select and Store Store in airtight containers. Use a pestle and mortar. Coffee grinder can also be used. Mahlab is generally used in very small quantities. swati@timesofoman.com

Eliminate Extra Ingredients Sometimes there are ingredients that are extraneous, which means you can eliminate them without a problem. For example, if you’re making a cake, do you really need all that icing on the cake? You can eliminate icing on some cakes and still have a great taste without all the calories that come along with the icing. Look for Lower Fat Milk Substitutes Many recipes call for the use of whole milk, which adds quite a bit of fat and calories to the ﬁnished dessert. You can lower the calories and fat signiﬁcantly by simply going with a lower fat milk option, such as 1% milk or skim milk. You may be able to use low fat non-dairy milks

like soy milk or rice milk as well. Cut Back on Ingredients High in Calories It’s also a great idea to cut back on the ingredients that are high in calories to make your desserts a lot healthier. For example, if you have a recipe that calls for 11/2 cup of chopped pecans, cut that back to 1/3 cup only. It won’t hurt the recipe and you’ll shave off a lot of calories without affecting the taste. These are just a few of the substitutions you can make if you want to start enjoying healthier desserts. Of course, there are other substitutions you can learn about as well. Take the time to do some research to ﬁnd out more hints that will help you enjoy sweets without ruining your healthy diet. —Ellen Gray/Article City

—Oneza Tabish

The contributor is a ﬁnancial analyst and banker by profession. As cooking has been her hobby and passion she launched the Facebook page ‘What’s Cooking Oman’ — a Facebook group with more than 6,000 members where people share their simple yet unique recipes.

Photography: Supplied

Desserts Can Be An Everyday Treat

Preparation • Whisk the eggs well and add mushrooms, cheese, shallots, spring onion greens and bell peppers to this. Season it with salt. • Whisk again really well till the mixture is nice and frothy. • Now dip the bread slices in this mix and shallow fry till golden brown. • Your tasty toast is done in a jiffy. • Serve with coffee or tea.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

LIFESTYLE

Oats ONEIENT ED INGR

FIVE

S WAY

Oats have always been the top favourite for breakfast but this versatile food packed with all the necessary nutrients can be part of our every meal. Use your creativity and come up with some exciting ways to include them in your diet. Here are ﬁve different ways.

Lemony Oats

Oats Soup

Oats Idli

Oats Fritter

Oats Barﬁ

If you are bored of the usual morning bowl of oats then try lemon oats for a change. Dry roast one cup of oats. Heat 2tsp oil, and add ½ tsp mustard seeds, 1tsp split gram dal, 1tsp Bengal gram, red chilli, curry leaves, asafoetida, and sauté. Add turmeric powder, salt, and little water. Add oats and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with roasted peanuts and a dash of lemon juice.

If you want a hearty soup add oats in it. They are not only ﬁlling but also tasty too. Chop seasonal vegetables. Heat oil in a pan. Sauté chopped onions and garlic. Add the veggies and the oats and fry for some time. Add water and boil. Once done add milk and simmer. Season it with pepper powder, oregano, and salt.

Idli is a famous south Indian breakfast made of rice and dal batter. For a variation use oats in place of rice. Dry roast oats for 3 minutes and powder it. Heat oil and fry. Add semolina and fry. In a bowl take all the ingredients and add salt, yoghurt, lemon juice, and water as required and make a batter. Add fruit salt and steam them in greased plates, as done with idlis.

Oats fritter make an interesting snack. We all love fritters and adding oats to them make them a healthier option. Soak oats for 5 minutes, add gram ﬂour, red chilli powder, salt, coriander leaves and mix. Shape it in small balls and fry the fritters. When they turn golden brown and crispy, remove from oil and place it in paper towel and drain the oil. Serve hot.

Boil sugar and water on a medium ﬂame. Add a pinch of cardamom powder. When it thickens and gets a string consistency, add 11/2 cup of powdered oats to it. Then add 1tbsp of coconut oil in the mixture and stir. When the mix becomes thick transfer the mixture to a greased tray. Once cool, cut into desired shape.

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M T U E S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 9, 2 0 1 6

SECTION

CONNEC T H E D A I LY G U I D E

RENT

VACANCY

CARGO

T U E S D AY, JA N UA RY 1 9, 2 0 1 6 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classiﬁeds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DAILY GUIDE FOR RENT

*Tourist visa arranged

FLATS FOR RENT

New flats for rent at Darsait near to ministry of sports, Mumtaz area the flats include 1 living room, 2 Bedroom, kitchen, 3 toilets every room with split A/C & high Quality finishing, rent per flat is R.O 340/-. Interested candidates please Contact: 00968- 92225523 2 bed rooms flat with hall, 2 bathrooms in Darsait near Muscat Municipality. Contact: 92584715/ 24700120 1000 sqmtrs industrial land for rent in Ghala suitable for warehouse workshop etc. Contact 24700120 / 92584715 1& 2 BHK flats for rent at Hamriya Wadi Adai, Al Khoud, Mabela & shop at Al Khoud & land line Contact: 24834644 GSM 93994401/02/03 3 lines 2BHK modern & spacious flats with split AC for rent in Qurum near PDO Gate No.2. Contact: 94057023

In a Luxury Building in Al Seeb Market Near Police station Call: 99888007 - 99473500 2 BHK ﬂat New Bldg for rent in Al Amerat.Contact 99353899 New deluxe 1,2,4 bedroom villas, ﬂats at Darsait near Indian School and Al Falaj area. Contac: 99369081 500 square meters workshop space, ready to use, for vehicle repairs, welding and other small industrial units , Misfah Industrial area block 2 near Baladiyah camp. Contact: 94030814 Villa for rent 4 spacious bath attached bedroom private swimming pool Gymnasium (common) with electrical equipment with free maintenance secured compound at Madinat Al Ilam. Contact: 98027975

We have 1 BHK, 2BHK ﬂats in Mabela 7 new building. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

We have 1BHK / 2BHK ﬂat for rent in Ghubra, Ghala, Azaibah, Bousher & Darsait. #93782735 / 99208033

We have Staff accommodation in Bowshar # 93782735 / 99208033

We 1000 SQM Ware house in Misfa & 2000 SQM open land for rent in Misfa near cement factory. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

We have 150 SQM offices in Ghubra main road prime location. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033 3BHK ﬂat for rent in Ghubra. Contac: 99328070 Store / warehouse for rent 52 sqm at Maabela Sinaiya. Contact: 92454170 02 BHK Commercial / Residential (with split AC) ﬂat at Honda road. Contact: 99342733 / 99795241

2BHK new bldg for families Al Khuwair 17/2. Contact: 91403136

Flats shops & store for rent in Ruwi, MBD area & Honda road. Contact: 92589235/ 94579531

1000 sqm industrial land with compound well & two rooms at Misfah. #99342733/ 99795241

02 BHK residential ﬂat opposite to Al Nadha hospital. Contact : 99342733 /99795241

8 BR Villa Shatti Qurum. Contact: 99024730 Flats shops & store for rent in Ruwi MBD Honda road. Contact: 92433127 / 97293708 1 & 2 BHK C.B.D & Ruwi. Contact: 99024730 2BHK ﬂats with split AC available for rent at Al Khuwair 33. Contact: 94057023 Warehouse for rent in Ghala Industrial use 1000 sqm , 8m height with office & A/C with open area 200 sqm near Al Suqri workshop only R.O 3.5/- sqm. Contact: 99360453

Flat for rent (Walja) Ruwi 2 rooms, 2 toilets & kitchen for enquiry. Contact: 95464608 or 95464607

Flats available for rent at Al Ghubra. Contact 99876576 & 93656672

Flats for rent 2BHK, 1 BHK with AC new building at Wadi Al Kabir behind Muscat Bakery. Contact: 92103604

2BHK ﬂat for rent Darsait near ISM. Contact: 95158570 / 99102255

Single bedroom flat behind German Embassy near to Al Nahdha Hospital and single bedroom flat near to Indian School Al Ghubrah. Contact: 99203954 2 bedroom centrally air conditioned flat in CBD, Central Bank area. Contact: 24714625 / 99053493 2 BHK near Khamis shoes Honda road Junction. Contact: 99737562 2 bedrooms, kitchen, toilet, car park R.O 220/- & 1 bedroom, kitchen, toilet R.O 140 in Al Khuwair. Contact: 95154331

Brand new Twin Villas in Mawaleh South 4BR; 2Halls; External Kitchen and Maids room. Contact: 99414106 To let rooms in Qurum. Contact: 99664703 1 BHK near Medical Darsait R.O 170/- . Contact: 95076261 Commercial / residential ﬂats in a new building for rent near Muttrah Police Station residential 1BHK / 2BHK more details. Contact: 99364735 / 95729711 2BHK Sitting room, 3 bathrooms, split AC big balcony 300/- R.O in Wadi Kabeer. Contact: 99324402

T U E S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 9, 2 0 1 6

DAILY GUIDE

FOR RENT

NEW Flats & Showrooms for Rent 1/2/3 BHK Flats & Showrooms at Muttrah, near Oman flour mills, 10 min. from corniche. equipped with split/ cassette unit ACs, internet points, freeto-air dish connection, CCTV monitored, basement parking. Rent RO.250/350/450 (Negotiable) per month.

Contact : 99229263; 93221054; 95215289

FOR SALE

FOR RENT

2BHK, 3 washroom Flat with Split Air Conditioners Near Lulu Darsait CONTACT :

1BHK ﬂat near Star Cinema 220/Contact 99358589 /95570288 Single BHK ﬂat available in Honda road Ruwi. Contact: 24833972/ 24833974/ 99367448

93202733

Flat for rent in CBD area - Ruwi Two rooms and a large hall

Flats for rent in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99376454

•Office spaces for rent in Al Hail on the main road On the same building of Al Khamis Shoes at Al Hail

2 BHK Flats for rent Muttrah near Oman house S/ AC. Contact: 97007934 / 92629232 Flats for rent in Muscat. Contact: 99262605.

•2 bed room ﬂats in Qurum 29 for rent next to ABA New building -split AC - Good location

Contact No: 96177505

Profs/ Jack. Contact 93219378 2 Room + hall & kitchen ,3 toilets in Bareeq Al Shatti 750 RO. Contact: 99314314 1BHK Mumtaz R.O 250/-. Contact: 97799175 / 92144045 7 Bedrooms villa in Ghobrah North. Contact - 96420432 1,2 BHK Ghubra R.O 300/-, 325/- & 350/-. Contact: 97799175 600 SQT commercial flat for rent opposite Oman flourmill Darsait more details. Contact:91214849/ 99364735 One flats for rent 2 bedroom all with bath al Ghobrah north near Indian school (hot burger restaurant) Tel. 9976610 3 BHK flat near Darsait ID medical. RO 420/- Contact – 99358589 / 97079146 / 95570288 1 bedroom flat at Ruwi Mumtaz area. Contact : 95282986

FOR SALE

Flat for Rent 1/2 BHK Flat at Muttrah, near Oman ﬂour mills, 10 min. from Corniche.Equipped with split unit ACs, internet points, free-to-air dish connection, CCTV monitored, basement parking. Rent RO.250/350 per month. Contact:99229263; 93221054; 95215289

FOR RENT

Flat in Khoud near Mazoon Mosque with 3 bedrooms, living room, 3 toilets, RO 250/- with A/C. Contact 95328147 Flat for rent in Wadi Al Kabeer near the Kuwaiti Mosque, for more information. Contact: 99425958 Apartment for rent in Muscat Sidab beside road ground ﬂoor 3 bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms. Guestroom, Kitchen & hall. Contact: 99277377 Furnished offices in business center behind Al Burj Hotel Ruwi with all facilities included. Contact: 99331181 Fully furnished deluxe villa behind Khimji Mart Darsait. Contact: 99331181 1& 2 bedroom apartments available for rent at Ghubra near Grand mall, 6 bedroom villas available for rent Al Mouj (Wave) at Al Hail. Contact: 99833747

FOR HIRE

WANTED

AVAILABLE

BUILDING

FOR SALE MUMTAZ AREA (NEAR RUWI HOTEL)

CONTACT - 99353931 Bobcat available for rent. Contact 97623299 Low bed Trailer (PDO – SPC) available monthly / daily for Rent. Contact: 96633970

MV SALE Ford focus, 2012 model, expatriate driven and fully company maintained, in good condition. Contact: 968 97608174 Tucson Automatic 2007 V – 6, net R.O 1600/-. Contact: 99384640

Used home furniture and household appliances in good condition for sale. (Else 3bhk can be taken for rent along with furnitures.) Contact: 99738104 Big CoffeeShop for sale at Maebeela South to invest at fast meals and restaurants. Fully equipped with all items. Contact us @ # :99377622 Dental Lab for sale Seeb. Contact: 99826435 Restaurant space for sale or partnership basis, good location in Barka area. Contact: 95918538

Volks Wagen Tiguan model 2014 For Sale 13,700 KM only (Low Mileage) Excellent Condition. For enquiry call 95438037

Restaurant & Coffee Shop for sale in Ghala area. For details contact 99072003 / 99299712

Toyota Hiace for sale good condition 2010 model. Contact 94203204

A well running coffee shop for sale at Wadi Kabir near KFC. Contact: 92772825

Mitsubishi Lancer 1.3 L, 2006 model, manual transmission, Expat driven. Contact: 99741828

Luxury villa for sale at Al Hail South building area 375m land area 323, 6 rooms, 3 halls, 7 toilets. Contact 99839898

Hummer H2 model 2006, 178000 km, Full options Number 1 Army edition.OMR 7200. Contact -99466773

Beauty Salon for urgent sale in Azaiba prime location behind Al Fardan building. With sponsor and 1 staff and 1 ready visa clearance. Call: 95318629 / 95169411

Chaverlet Epica 2004 model RO -700, for sale. Contact 92194205

3Ton Forklift, Special made for Oman market, Japanese Isuze C240 Engine, Cascade side shifter, High amount exhaust, 3m lifting height, Solid tyres, One year warranty. Contact: 98883445

BMW 318/ 2003 for sale. Contact 96364990

Restaurant for sale in Dibba. Contact: 96446640

Party & Wedding equipment rentals. Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirting, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery, Crockery, Glassware, Chaﬁng Dishes, Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound Systems and spectacular lighting. Call Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering and Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound & Light. ww.tunesoman.com, E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

IELTS Coaching (academic) required nearby wadi Kabir area. Please call on mobile or msg on Whats up. Mobile no: 92927880/99012165

ACC. AVAILABLE Single bedroom ﬂat behind German Embassy, near Al Nahdha Hospital. Contact 99203954 Furnished bedrooms for Indian Executives / couple at Al Ansab. Contact: 96366282 Furnished room & bath Darsait R.O 140/-. Contact: 93289652

ACC. AVAILABLE Furnished sharing accommodation in ruwi near O.K. Center for non-cooking indian bachelor. Contact - 98805474 Furnished room for Indian in Al-Khuwair 33. Contact 95234062 Furnished room at Hilat Al Saad with TV, AC, fridge near main road. Contact : 95714202 Couple or bachelor room in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 91165580 / 95264549 Room available Walja. Contact : 95382651 / 95382650 Semi furnished spacious room with attached washroom separate entrance near Indian school Al Ghobrah for non cooking Executive Indian bachelor. Contact: 95146361/92657598 Semi furnished separate room for non-cooking Asian bachelor, behind Shell ﬁlling station, Ghoubra round about. Contact: 94263390 Room available now kitchen bath sharing with lift, dish Wi-Fi near Mars Al Khuwair rent 120/-. Contact: 95262516

Fully furnished bedrooms in a luxury villa at Ansab for Executives / couples. Contact: 98458542 Single room for expat Indian bachelors near Al Aktham restaurant Al khuwair for RO 120. Water and electricity included. Contact 98803261 Furnished room in new building for working Muslim lady/ Muslim couple only. Location AINT, Darsait. Contact - 99008069 Furnished room with a/bathroom in Al Khuwair33 for Indian Executive. Call: 95234062 Spacious semi furnished room with separate bathroom for executive bachelor opposite OC centre Ruwi. Call: 92273779 Room for rent with furniture. Al Bustan villeage. Contact 93687466

*Classiﬁed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

T U E S D AY, JA N UA RY 1 9, 2 0 1 6 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classiﬁeds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION SITUATION WANTED VACANT URGENTLY REQUIRE for a reputed Excellent Grade Catering Company

1. Arabic Cook (having experience in the field of Catering with knowledge in preparing Oman Cuisines). Interested candidates may mail their resume to mast.ll.oman@gmail.com or hr@mast-oman.com

SITUATION VACANT REQUIRED

Auto Electrician cum A/c Mechanic

SALES EXECUTIVE

Candidate must have a minimum 2 to 3 years’ experience in assembly, installation, maintenance and repairs of automotive refrigeration, air-conditioning systems and chiller units.

for Workshop

for furniture & building material, minimum experience 5 yrs.

He should be well conversant in repair and troubleshooting of electrical faults and experienced in using computerized diagnostic systems.

Send CV at Email : careeroman@yahoo.com

He should be ITI/DME (Auto) qualified.

Interested candidates email cv on

krauto@kr.om or contact on 99440518 FOR COMPANIES SEEKING OMANI EMPLOYEES

ASSISTANT RETAIL MANAGER • To support GM in developing Muscat based stores • 5 years past Retail store operations experience • Omani or Expatriate (must have NOC if moving jobs) • Omani /GCC Valid Driving License • Team player & good communicator • Written & spoken English

Email: recruitment@aflaggroup.com

URGENTLY REQUIRED

We have a batch of skilled Omani candidates in Administration, HR, Account & Reception ready to join different companies in a month

A leading company in travels & tourism, accredited by IATA requires:

Sales Executive for Travels & Tourism: Experience not less than 3 years in one of the travels & Tourism, must have a driving license.

Sales Executive for Car Rental: Experience not less than 4 years in one rent a car company, must have a driving license. Notes: - You must determine which position did you applied for it as email subject - The company will not see at any demand without subject.

Email: nrtvacancies@gmail.com

We will also provide training for Omani candidates as per your need like Cashier, Teller, HR, Admin, Sales, Stores, Customer service etc., • The Institute will identify the potential candidates, interview them and select the suitable candidates in consultation with your officials. • The entire cost of training will be borne by the Government. During training the company will not incur any cost like salaries & training. • The Institute will train them for a period of 6 to 8 months as per the program. • From the date training starts with us, you are fulfilling the omanization requirement. The candidate will stay at least for a year without leaving the job.

For any queries contact us: 26862210, 93677745 & 93677795 Fax: 26861710 email: ojt@aifas.net, www.aifas.net

A LEADING TRADING AND CONTRACTING COMPANY IS LOOKING FOR AN EFFICIENT

Wanted a Structural Supervisor

FEMALE SECRETARY WITH MINIMUM 5 YEARS EXPERIENCE. SHE SHOULD BE FLUENT IN SPOKEN AND WRITTEN ENGLISH. MUST BE FULLY COVERSANT WITH WORD/EXCEL PROGRAMMES AND BE PLEASANT/PRESENTABLE.

having experience in steel fabrication and erection for a well established fabrication company in Barka. Candidates should have experience in Oman & should BE capable to handle various jobs independently He should have good experience in fabrication field with NOC and driving license.

SALARY ETC….GOOD PACKAGE WIL BE NEGOTIATED FOR THE RIGHT PERSON.

FAX CV TO 24619102 OR E MAIL; artco@omantel.net.om

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE Required female Accountant postgraduate in commerce email: mailcv7@gmail.com fax: 24784202 We are looking for Chief Financial Officer, Male 4045 years old, Bachelor of Science in Accountancy with 5 - 15 yrs. of experience. Contact: +968 24702133 Email: admin-dept@daud.om

ADMIN A well reputed trading company requires Customs Clearance Incharge (Omani National) for its logistics division with minimum 3 years experience in the same ﬁeld. Please Send Your C.V. to: jobsnow2015@yahoo.com

CATERING Wanted experienced English speaking Continental Cook for reputed house in Qurum. Contact 99466062

DOMESTIC HELP Looking for housemaid urgently clearance available good salary yearly ticket. TEL 24446920 / 99238121, mail: ravi.ztc@omzest.com

DRIVER Heavy duty driver with valid Oman Heavy Duty license, with 4 years experience. PDO License holder preferred. Call: 99221683 Driver available with release. Contact: 93885404

ENGINEER/TECH/MECH

Please send CV to jobsteel85@gmail.com / 95412589

Crankshaft Grinding Technician, Engine block boring Technician, turner required urgently for immediate appointment. call or whatsapp 98898273

SALES / MARKETING

IT Required male Omani / Filipino, 24 – 35 yrs as IT Coordinator. Fluent in English, to handle all Web Designing aspects, Mail Campaigns management, Technical Support / Troubleshooting. Contact 91371231

MEDICAL We require licensed General Practitioner, General dentist and male Asst. Pharmacist. Contact 93129219 or CV to clinicrecruitment2015@gmail.com Urgently required General Practitioners (male), lab technician, Staff Nurse & Receptionist (female, Arabic & English speaking) for a reputed Medical Centre, Salalah. Email : hrmdimc2010@gmail.com Urgently required Lab Technician with MOH license. Attractive Salary with Accommodation. Contact: 97091664. Email: mmcmuscat@gmail.com

Wanted Driver. Contact: 91025698 Reputed Construction Company require experienced light Vehicle Driver. Contact 95526871

ENGINEER/TECH/MECH Required Maintenance Technician (male - 1) - should have knowledge of new devices & 3 years Oman experience. Contact: 94441111 Send CV to email: gsheild9@gmail.com Reputed Consultancy office requires a Mechanical Design Engineer with minimum 8 years experience in design of HVAC systems and plumbing services. Please send your detailed resume to: info@designunitoman.com Urgently Required: Window Aluminum Manager, Window Aluminum Engineer and Window Aluminum Foreman with an experience in Italian Aluminum Doors and Windows, MUST have NOC and immediately join. Apply, fax 00968–24605955, emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeoman@yahoo.com

Wanted Nurse for a Dental centre in capital area. Interested may contact 93431024 or send CV to – drasyanaseem@gmail.com Wanted Gynecologist, General Practitioner, Assistant Pharmacist for immediate appointment. Contact 97884856/ mail CV to – sarita_h23@yahoo.com A reputed medical complex in Salalah requires to ﬁll the following positions, Staff Nurse & Dental doctor with MOH license, dataﬂow and NOC. Contact: 92728472 High class Medical Center in Salalah requires good looking Staff Nurses and medical orderlies, excellent English. Interested candidates please send your CV to mdcsalalah@gmail.com Required experienced Dentist with MOH license to manage dental clinic in Muscat. Email: akdmuscat@hotmail.com Female marketing for medical centre in Al Khuwair with driving license. Contact: 99010755 Email: akdmuscat@hotmail.com

3 SALESMEN Requires minimum 3 years experience and valid Omani driving license.

Interested candidates please Fax your CV to 24601724 or Email on saab2803@gmail.com

SITUATION WANTSIT.WANTED ARCHITECT

A leading Trading Group is looking for Sales Executive having experience in construction equipment / building materials with driving license & release / NOC. Email CV to alhajoil@omantel.net. om or fax : 24701683

Urgently Required: Senior Quantity Surveyor with an experience in building construction MUST have NOC and immediately join. Apply, fax 00968–24605955, emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeoman@yahoo.com Civil Site Supervisor for telecom tower projects across Oman. Send CV to fyjo@spec-link.com or call +968 9946 7227

Well reputed Marble Company looking for

Looking for a foreign staff has experience in Oman in real estate ﬁeld. Contact Email: aburashid94dd@gmail.com

MEDICAL Wanted female Staff Nurse with prometric pass/MOH license for a clinic at Musannah. # 99645150 Urgently required PHARMACIST with MOH license or Prometric passed. Attractive Salary with Accommodation. Contact: 97091664. Email: mmcmuscat@gmail.com Wanted urgently lady Doctor GP or DGO for immediate appointment. Contact : 99310590 Email: tjmaluke@gmail.com Urgently required Lab Tech & Radiologist for medical Center in ruwi interested candidate kindly send short CV bmdcsg@yahoo. com or cont: 95220350 Required female Nurse with MOH license dental clinic in Al Khuwair. Contact: 99010755 Email: akdmuscat@hotmail.com Wanted GP Doctor with MOH license, job location in Muscat with good salary and beneﬁts. Drop your cv at 0careerhr1972@gmail.com.

MISCELLANEOUS Sales Ladies wanted for Ladies Boutique. Age: 20-35 yrs. Al Khoudh. Call -91159905 Send CV to sameer916@hotmail.com Urgently required for a reputed company in Oman (Tyre, Battery & Lubricant division) Sr. Executives/Executive-5 nos (Sohar, Nizwa & Muscat), Techno Commercial Professional-5nos, Driver (Omani)-1no. Required minimum 3-5 yrs experience in the same ﬁeld with market exposure holding valid Omani driving license or GCC. Kindly fwd your CV’s to ashwin@taasintl.org Contact: (+968)93891700 Required lady photographer for studio. Contact: 99020458 Email: mohdautocentre@gmail.com Store keeper (any nationality) for multi divisions (house ware, Toys, sports & foodstuff) must have at 4 years of experience in Oman. Attractive package will be offer to selected candidate. Contact: 00968 92802204 Email us your CVs onto: info@alliusie.com

SALES / MARKETING Sales Executive required in Muttrah, Muscat Oman experience & driving license is must. Contact: 91710453 / 24711695 Email: salesaetOman@gmail.com Required Salesman for Electronic & mobile devices (male - 2) should have 3 years Oman experience. Contact: 94441111. Send CV to email: gsheild9@gmail.com Marketing Executive required for tyres & batteries. Contact: 99020458 Email: mohdautocentre@gmail.com Urgently required Sales Executive with experience in printing press line with driving license. Contact: 00968 95948142 Email: al_bpp@yahoo.com An excellent grade company requires Sales Executive for their Aluminium division. Min 3 to 5 years GCC experience in the same field with D/L may kindly send CV to info@sunubunited.com or sunubunited@gmail.com Looking for Sales Executive for a fiberglass Company in Oman. Should have 5 yrs experience in fiber glass / construction field. Should have valid driving license. Email : mfbarka1@omantel.net.om, Contact: 00968 98634898 fax: 26881211 Urgently requires Assistant Marketing Manager & Marketing Executive with experience (preference will be given to Educational / Training exp) and Omani driving License. Mail your CV to: jobs@aifas.net or call 93677795 An excellent Grade company requires Foreman / Supervisor for their false ceiling division. Min 5 to 8 years experience in handling the projects & execution, kindly send CV to hrjobs1679@gmail.com

Tyres company seeking for Sales man, minimum 2-3 years experience. Send CV to saeed@liwainvestments.com

20+ years experience Architect M.B.A 10 years Muscat experience (with NOC) looking for job opportunity. Contact: 91709408 / 92981814 Architect, Indian Female with 04 years of work experience in Qatar, Oman & India seeking suitable position. Email: shaazneen.s@gmail. com, Contact : 96635846 Diploma Architect 3Ds Max (interior, exterior) AutoCAD seeking suitable position. Contact 98907341 Email: susuhu009@gmail.com

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Urgently requires Assistant Marketing Manager & Marketing Executive with experience (Preference will be given to Educational / Training exp) and Omani driving License. Mail your CV to: jobs@aifas.net or call 93677795 The Arabian Institute, Al Suwaiq.

Accountant / Chief Accountant 24 years experience including 6 years in hotel industry, now on visit visa seeks suitable placement. Contact: 92475105 Email: johnkgeorgel10@gmail.com

SKILLED LABOR

Sudanese National Bachelor of Accounting 7 years experience electronic accounting and auditing. Contact: 94872045 Email: hussainhassan1@hotmail.com

Looking for experienced construction laborers as a subcontractor for a villa construction in Mawaleh. Contact: 96203333 Immediate Requirements for experienced Tailors (Designer wears, casual clothing). Please call for interview 99471085 We are looking for a person who is expert in cold room, cold store, duct AC, chiller and other cooling systems. Contact: 96406340 / 99807720

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE Experienced Secretary required for Ruwi office. Must have high standard of competence in MS Office suite and excellent Arabic / English communication skills. Send CV and covering Email to mj-co@omantel.net.om

TOURS/TRAVEL Travel agency in Ruwi urgently requires experienced ticketing staff preferably with IATA qualiﬁcation. Contact 95595830

SITUATION WANTSIT.WANTED ARCHITECT

Salesman require for building material with driving license & 10 years working experience. Fax your C.V 24833043. (Mustafa Hardware Store)

Architect looking for freelance work in (design plans and 3dmax). Contact: 96041201

An excellent Grade company requires experience Salesman for indoor and outdoor with Oman driving license. Mail your CV to salesppeoman@gmail.com

Architect, Indian Female with 04 years of work experience in Qatar, Oman & India seeking suitable position. Email: shaazneen.s@gmail. com, Contact No: 96635846

Female Accountant with 10 years experience. 93726921 Part time accountant, up to finalization of accounts, looking for job after 5PM (Location prefers –n MSQ to AL Hail) Contact: 95694737 SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, with 13yrs experience, 6 yrs Oman in manufacturing, trading & contracting Cos, capable of handling all accounting, finance, banking, L/C, import, export & finalization seeks placement. NOC Available. Call+968-98932752, mail:jjohnmuscat@hotmail.com Accounts & finance Indian male 35 years B.Com M.B.A (F) 7 years experience valid Oman D/L family visa N.O.C available. Contact: 93257426 / 95230114 Email: sibigeorgep@gmail.com SENIOR ACCOUNTANT-M. Com Finance-Indian with 7 years experience in Finance & Accounts up to finalization. Currently employed in Oman. Having D/L & NOC. Mob: 94122464, cammk13@gmail.com Part time Accountant with 15 yrs exp. in Accounts Finance, Tax Audit Management.Contact: 95857199 Indian lady, bachelor degree in Preparatory Programme (BPP) and Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), completed training course in MS Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook from KTI looking for full time / part time job opportunity in Oman. Contact 92437568, 96795853, Email: linda_navs@yahoo.com Part-time accounting, tax report, auditing & bank loan assistance. Contact 91720465

T U E S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 9, 2 0 1 6

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED D.M.E, Indian, 12 yrs experience in Oman, in Project Estimation, Execution, Quality & marketing working as Estimation Engineer in acid & water tanker, semi trailor company, with heavy driving license & will get NOC, seeks suitable job in Oman.

EXPERIENCED TEAM TO PROVIDE TECHNO- COMMERCIAL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS, FEASIBILITY, ERP WITH BI TOOLS, ADVISE ON FINANCIAL, HR, RISK GENERAL MANAGEMENT, GUIDE STARTUPS RESTRUCTURING, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT. Contact – 96500729 Email: k.profitoman@ gmail.com

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

SPECIALIST AVAILABLE FOR EXPLOSIVE GROWTH IN TERM OF RESTRUCTURING ALL MODULES OF BUSINESS WITH 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, BUSINESS SOLUTIONS, MANUFACTURING, TRADING, APPLICATIONS, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT. CONTACT – 93343251 / profitoman@ gmail.com

ADMIN

DRIVER

Contact - 98968495 ACCOUNT. & FINANCE Indian male good experienced in Accounts, ERP Tally 9 & Admin in India & Oman, presently on visit visa, looking for suitable placement. Contact 94834687 Indian male 25 yrs, Graduate in commerce, overall 5 yrs exp in accounts/ finance field. On visit visa. Immediately available. Contact – 92836216 / muhammad.tausif623@gmail.com Indian Accountant professional with 3 years experience currently on visit visa looking for suitable job openings. Contact: 92390604 Email: sachinkokkatt@gmail.com Indian male 28 MBA & M.Com finance 5 yrs exp in Accounts & finance. NOC available seeks suitable placement. Contact: 93939421 Email: baleeq.ams@gmail.com Indian male well experienced in Accounts, ERP Tally9 & Admin in India and Oman currently on visit visa looking for a suitable job. Contact: 94834687 Accountant / account assistant, BBA, M.Com, Tally, Peach tree on valid visa in Oman. Contact : 98269281 Indian male, MBA (finance), 1 year experience in Oman having Oman D/L and NOC on visit visa looking for a suitable job. Contact 94109375 Indian Male Accountant 10yrs Exp. in OMAN Retail & Furniture Co. (Release Available) GSM.92564955 Indian male MBA finance 12 years experience in Oman as Accounts / Admin manger, seeks suitable placement on visit visa. Can join immediately. Contact: 96055815 Email: shaikhussain111@gmail.com Indian male B.Com, MBA with 10 yrs experience (5 yrs in Oman) in accountant receivable, account payable, sales collection, credit control with valid D/L, looking for suitable placement. NOC available. Contact: 93240480 ACCA with more than 1year experience in an audit firm looking for a suitable position in accounts, audit section in a company, having Oman driving license. Contact: 98428098 Indian male 34, MBA finance looking for finance / other management jobs in Sohar have 9 years experience (2 yrs in GCC) with valid Oman D/L. Contact: 92887936 Email: shaniyas@gmail.com Presently working as Chief Accountant having 16 years experience in accounts in Oman having Oman D/L seeking suitable placement, release available. Contact: 95060390 Indian with more than 30 years experience in construction accounts (Financial and Cost) and administration seek suitable placement (part/full time) in Oman or UAE. Contact.98598099 Indian male, 27 B.Com, +3 years experience in Qatar GCC driving license, interested in Marketing now on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact: 92993512 Indian male Accountant looking for a suitable placement in Salalah. More than 20 years experience in accounting job (up to the finalization of accounts) 8 years working experience in Middle east in Dubai, Muscat & Salalah. Contact: 91325029 Indian male, Oman 8yrs exp looking for any suitable vacancy for Accountant / Asst . Accountant / Office Admin, local release available. Contact: 98492752 Email: atiquehazique@rediffmail.com Pakistani male B.Com with accounts experience and Oman driving license seeking for suitable placement. Contact: 94756263

Indian male, 28, Post Graduate, 6 years exp. in Oman in Sales and Credit Control , with valid Oman D/L looking for suitable placements. NOC available. Ph: 9206 6523

14 years of Gulf experience in HR/ Admin & logistics ﬂuent in Arabic & English with D/L looking for suitable position, NOC available. Contact: 95824598

Experienced Light Duty Driver, Fluent in English, Arabic Well knowledge of Oman Areas Seeking Suitable placement Contact 97950869

28/male/MBA - ﬁnance/B.Com Accountant with 4 years of Dubai/ India experience looking for a suitable placement. shobinkarikkan1987@gmail.com Contact 90187483

Indian male MBA- UK 18 yrs Gulf exp in Administration/ HR & Public relationship. Fluent in Arabic/ English with D/L. Looking for suitable position. Contact - 99897280

Job for driving. Contact: 98982410

Filipino male with 13 years HR and Administration managerial experience. MBA & CIPD holder. Currently looking for job in Oman. Interested employer pls call 97728418.

Indian young smart driver 5 years Oman exp speaking English Arabic, Hindi looking for job. Contact: 94524433

8+ yrs exp in Admin & Accounts (3 yrs in Oman) MBA, Indian female, seeks placement. #97243806 Accounts & finance: 32 yrs Indian male (B.Com) having 7 years Oman experience Oman D/L & NOC available, looking for suitable placement.# 98093515 / 97494322 Senior Accountant, well experience & Qualified looking for part time accounting after 4 pm.Contact:91126314 Accounts part time services available to handle all accounts up to finalization, consulting & audit works. Contact: 96247295 Chartered Accountant - Indian, 9 yrs + Exp (7 yrs in Oman & UAE) in Finance, Accounts & Auditing, seeking suitable position in Muscat/ Dubai, Can Join Immediately, NOC Available , Contact : 98707434 / Email: casmart007@gmail.com Indian male 30 B.Com (Accounts) exp 6 yrs in East Africa & 1 yr exp in Oman .NOC available looking for suitable placement. #: 94613626 Email: sharis.shaheer@gmail.com Available Indian Graduate (B.Com) / CA Final (Appeared) having 3 years practical Auditing & Accounting Experience. Currently in Oman on Visit Visa. Contact 91418637 Total 24 yrs exp. 15 years served Oman LLC SAOG, SAOC Contracting, trading manufacturing company as Finance Commercial Manager looks after finance logistics, procurement, ERP, oracle, tally focus internal control implementation B.Com PGDBM, ICWA (Inter). Contact: 91721545 / 95788723, Email: manojpanda111@hotmail. com Accounting B.Com, 2 years experience in Indian tally ERP9, Peachtree, accounting, QuickBooks accounting SMACC , busy advanced excel PowerPoint E filing of statutory return visit date 24/12/2015 visit exp 23/1/2015

ADMIN Indian female Graduate over 6 years experience in Admin operations business support excellent MS Office skills looking for suitable job. Contact: 94231020 Indian Female MBA, 3 Year experience in Admin MIS, Family Visa. Contact 98234427, jkjsmith01@gmail.com

Indian Female, MBA-HR having 8+ experience in Administration/ HR, Customer Support, Office Coordinator with good Computer skill, Now on Visit Visa,looking for suitable position. Contact: 90196235 Indian female 29 MBA (HR) BSc Oman & India, 3 years exp in Admin & HR seeks suitable placement. Contact: 95619537 Indian female 27 yrs with 5 yrs HR /Admin experience seeking suitable placement with valid Oman driving license. Contact: 98236033 Indian female, Masters in HR, having 4 + years Oman experience in media management and HR, looking for openings in HR, Education, Admin, Corporate communications. Contact 98252030

CATERING

Having Oman D/L seeking suitable placement of driver. Contact: 92789805 Light Driver, 4 yrs exp in Oman. Contact: 94608755 Looking for driver job 3 years Oman experience. Contact: 98244078 / 93798802

EDUCATION Indian female, post-graduate in English with ten years’ experience in media and teaching, on visit visa seeks opportunity in media/ teaching. Contact 91447078, e-mail graceserene@Yahoo.com

Interior designer Indian male with 4 years experience / 3Ds Max, AutoCAD .Now on visit visa seeking suitable placement. Contact: 94886507 Email: vizhue07@gmail.com

Indian female B.ED, BCA & IELTS certiﬁed with 6 months Oman exp in teaching primary students looking for teacher job. Contact: 97384206 Email: rani_sweet786@live.com

25 years male BA. English , Qualiﬁed as mast in digital animation having 5 yrs ex in character animation specialized Auto Desk mago and motion building software knowledge, seeking suitable placement. Contact: 97917357

DOMESTIC HELP Maid from Mumbai looking for house hold work in Al Khuwair only. Contact: 95896415 Male 26 in looking for Office boy / Receptionist job. Contact 94640906 Looking full time job. Contact: 99153378

DRIVER Driver with car available for part time job. Contact: 96320385

Indian male seeking office driver cum admin job having NOC and 5 years experience with valid Oman driving license. Contact: 97942787

Light driver need job exp 4 years English & Arabic speaking. Contact: 94208089

Pakistani female Graduate plus Post Graduate diploma in logistics 6 years experience in shipping, ofﬁce administration and customer service. Fluent English and very presentable on visit visa. Contact: 91528567

Light driver Ruwi. Contact: 95779594

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN

Driver 2 years job visa Indian male (31 yrs). Contact: 96525311

Indian female 33 years M.Com B.ED 2 years Asst Acct in Oman 1 year teaching experience in India, looking for job. Contact: 96283103 / 99719124, Email: thekkutt@gmail.com

Pakistani male light driver 10 yrs in UAE & 1 yr in Oman. Contact: 93709393

Indian female M.Sc B.Ed Mathematics having 2 years experience in teaching currently on family visa. Contact: 96007081 Email: surocs@gmail.com

Cooks (Arabic Indian) gulf exp looking job. Contact: 99531802

Indian having more than 10 years experience (7 years in UAE) as project secretary, document controller, site administrator, site store keeper on visit seek suitable placement. Contact 92196001

Young Omani male have experience 12 years as P.R.O, CLERK, Helper supervisor Admin supervisor, H.R Manager have diploma in H.S.E, IT and P.D.O license looking for H.R position or P.R.O license, looking for H.R position or P.R.O part time or full time. Contact: 95933288

27 years, 1 year experience, with D/L. Contact: 97369716

Light driver Indian 4 yrs exp in Oman having own car need job. NOC available. Contact: 93053917

Light driver looking for job. Contact: 95219183 Light duty. Contact: 96995762 Driver for suitable job K.S.A 12 years & 4 years in Oman, with release. Contact: 93885404 Bangladeshi male light driver exp 14 years need job and visa transfer, release paper available. Contact: 99165961 Driver with new car looking for job.contact: 95873286 Bangladeshi male 48 yrs, light driver 14 yrs of exp, need job & visa. Contact - 98326656 Driver (light & heavy duty) valid gulf /Indian) looking job. Contact: 95175192

ENGG. / TECH./MECH. Mechanical Engineer (B.Tech) with 2 and half years experience Indian male 24 years in visit visa. Contact: 96620482 / + 91 9605423272 Email: bijumonps@gmail.com Indian male 24, B.Tech Electrical & Electronics Engineering & P.G diploma in automation & Scada with 2 years experience in power transformer & generator testing and maintenance, looking for suitable placement. Contact: 95340253 Email: seanjohnson176@gmail.com B.Tech (IT) Indian Male 2 years Oman experience in I.T & Networking, holding Oman Driving License, presently on employment visa, seeks for a suitable placement. Ready to join immediately. NOC available. Contact: 92462578 Architect Engineer with 3 years experience in Muscat looking for a suitable job Contact: 91262904, Email: saeedbakayeh@gmail.com Indian female, BE in EEE having 3yrs exp in Software & 1 yr Experience in Marketing & Admin in Muscat, looking for suitable placement. Tel:93422434 ELV Sr. Presales Engineer +7 years experience in UAE, Qatar & Oman having valid Oman D/L & NOC. Contact : 93384285 Indian male Diploma Civil Engineer have 1 yr. experience, on visit visa looking for suitable job (certiﬁcate attested). Contact: 92667406 / 99210411, Email : manojgvh@gmail.com

ACCOUNTANT

Indian male with 18 years of experience in Gulf operations, accounts, purchase, sales, Admin & HR, looking for a Sr. position in a medium size company.

Contact: 95503646

Contact: 99889396

Email: srjobsinoman@yahoo.com

ENGG. / TECH./MECH. Electrical & Instrumentation Engineer, Gulf Experience, 3 Year, Immediately available.Contact- 95691800 Email: fasalf@gmail.com Indian male Electrical Engineer, having 6 years gulf experience in designing, assembling, commissioning execution etc having valid GCC license too looking for a suitable. Contact: 00968-98052942 Email: azamjeelani78@gmail.com Civil Engineer 11 years experience in construction having driving license & NOC. Contact: 94194399 Email: shiblyrock@gmail.com Male 29 years (BE) MEP Engineer 8.5 years of experience in building construction. Seeking a suitable job. Contact -95119765/ Email id jayachandranmep@gmail.com NOC available Procurement Engineer (27 years Single Male with Oman Driving License) having 7 years experience (UAE 2, Oman 3) with expertise in MEP, Water, Electro-mechanical, Instrumentation seeking suitable placements. (Contact 95852033, hemal1988@gmail.com Indian male, Mechanical Engineer having 1year experience, on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact: 97416564, Email:jovinmathias@gmail.com Transmission Cable Technician / Cable Splicer: Saudi Aramco & Saudi Electricity Co License Holder. Experience 5yrs, Age 29yrs, Nationality Pakistani: KSA Valid Driving License. Immediately Available. Contact: 92850409 Email: usman0083@gmail.com Electrical Engineer Indian (29) , 7 years exp in Oman, 33KV, 11 KV projects in MZEC & MEDC having CEP 1 & NOC with D/L. Contact: 99822373 Need job for experienced mason, electrician & welder. Contact: 93015630 Telecom Engineer and HSE Advisor with 6 years experience in Oman with PDO requirement, ﬂuent in Arabic and English with valid driving license searching for job. Contact: 96355678 16+ yrs of Techno commercial experience in ELV systems seeking suitable position in mid management level. Local release available. Contact: 98143907 Email: mazher2005@yahoo.com Indian male 22 years, B. Tech in Chemical Engineering, currently working as a trainee chemist in India, looking for suitable placement. Contact: 00968 93214375 or 92739839

Mechanical Engineer male 26 yrs, with 4 yrs of experience in manufacturing oil & gas retail, brand promoting, marketing, logistics having valid Omani D/L seeking for a suitable placement. Contact: 97098676 Email: ja237le@gmail.com B.Tech Mechanical Engineer experience from Singapore India with CSWIP certiﬁcate in holding for placement. Contact: 98919114 Chemical Engineer MBA holder ITC certiﬁed in supply chain management, ERP familiar 5 years experience. Contact: 94690325 Email: phahad.hashim@gmail.com Operating Engineer MBA holder 5 years experience in electroplating and coating of metals. #94690325 Email: phahad.hashim@gmail.com B. Sc Civil Engineer 27 yrs Oman in Ministry private sector as Project Manager, Senior Structure Engineer in consulting office looking for suitable placement, NOC available. Contact: 99349578 Email: farooqatm@hotmail.com 5 years of experience in Business Analyst & Product Management with Engineering in ECE on visit visa Contact: 91374247 Indian male, Mechanical Engineer having 1year experience, on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact:97416564, Email:jovinmathias@gmail.com BE Civil Engr - 5-10 yrs Exp Diploma Civil Engr - 5-7 yrs Exp Civil Foreman - 10-15 yrs Exp All must have valid DL send CV to jnstpmco@gmail.com Mechanic Diesel Engines & Hydraulic, 25 years Experience in Multinational Companies. M Arshad 91685048 Indian male, Diploma Civil Engineer having 2years experience, on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact:97376450, Email:shanavasshaj@gmail.com Structural steel supervisor / foreman 12 and half yrs Gulf exp fabrication & erection NOC available. Contact +91 9061761881 / +91 9446149459 Electrical Engineer: Indian male, 30 yrs having 5 yrs of experience in industrial automation & utility maintenance in India (MRF tyres), holding valid Oman D/L. Contact 92789995, email : akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com Mechanical Engineer M.Tech 2 years experience as HVAC design Engineer, Revit MEP, AutoCAD. Contact: 90150913 Email: rahmanmechengg@yahoo.in

Mechanical Engineer 4 years experience (3 years HVAC 10 months piping stress) knows more than 10 softwares, Indian Muslim (27) job visa. Contact: 90486758 Email: afsalhyder@gmail.com

Civil Diploma Engineer cum Quantity survey male 6 years experience in Oman valid Oman D/L. Contact: 93747759 Email: jaleelvanimalkp@gmail.com

M.Tech in Manufacturing Engineering with 2 years of experience, on visiting visa looking for a suitable job. Contact: 91417949 Email: dannyrangde@gmail.com

HSE Engineer (BE Mech + Dip in Safety+ NEBOSH + OSHA), 10 yrs exp, NOC Available, seeking suitable placement: Mob: 97061817 email: jayanammu1977@gmail.com

Indian male 25 years Mechanical Engineer (2 years experienced) seeking suitable placement. Contact: 93655805

Instrument Engineer B.Tech Indian male, 24 yrs, 1 yrs experience in reputed oil & gas companies, currently on visit visa, seeks suitable job. Contact: 92007218 Email: ahmed0515@gmail.com

Omani national, female fresh Graduated in Civil Engineer seeking a position. Contact : 97760811

Sudanese Structure Civil Engineer 2 years experience resident Omani license. Contact: 94393880

Mechanical Engineer (UK) 28 years, male having 5 years experience in technical sales and service Engineer, looking for suitable placement and having valid Oman driving license. NOC available immediate avail slit. Contact: 968 97612297 Email: ymirza11@caledonian.ac.uk

Bangladeshi male Diploma in Civil Engineer with D/L 5 years exp, 4 years in Oman has exp. in building construction seeking a suitable placement. Contact: 96732988

BE Mech specialization welding technology 11 yrs quality cont Engineer by Steel Cons EPL Installation desalination plant (Gulf). Contact: 96603299

Sudanese Telecom Engineer, 5 years experience, 3 years in Oman PMP certiﬁcate. Contact: 93391008 Email: momen.awadallam@gmail.com

General Manager / Operations / Commercial / Procurement Manager

With 8 years of experience (working in Oman since Jan 2013) is looking for a change. Experienced in all aspect of accounting up to finalization of accounts. Also experienced in Insurance underwriting and claim settlement. NOC will be available

7 Yrs Exp. PM in Mech. Engg in the ﬁeld of Building Const. Oil & Gas Seeking Job.94625598 Senior Telecom Engineer 4 years experience in Oman valid driving license MBA project management. Contact: 95688953 Email: johan.joy@gmail.com Civil Engineer (Diploma) having 11 years experience in building construction, looking for a suitable placement , having Oman driving license. Noc available. Contact: 95075365 Email: azharraaz@gmail.com

T U E S D AY, JA N UA RY 1 9, 2 0 1 6

DAILY GUIDE

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classiﬁeds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

SITUATION WANTED SIT.WANTED ENGG. / TECH./MECH. Procurement Engineer (27 years single male with Oman Driving License) having 7 years experience (UAE 2, Oman 3) with expertise in MEP, Water, Electromechanical, Instrumentation seeking suitable placements. Contact 95852033, mail: hemal1988@gmail.com Project Civil Engineer, BSc, 6 years experience in Oman, building construction Fluent Arabic, English and good Hindi Release and NOC Available). Tel: 97858589 Indian male, 25 yrs, Diploma in Hardware & Network Engineering having 4 yrs experience now in Oman, on visit visa seeking suitable placement. Contact 98779754 / 92720311 Civil Engineer diploma, 4 yrsexp seeks suitable position ina reputed company. NOC available. Contact – 96789711 Sudanese Mechanical Engineer 8 years experience HVAC, MEP, MPM in management. Contact: 97986890 Automation Engineer, Graduate Electronics and Communication Engineer with 2 years of experience in programming testing and commissioning, troubleshooting of automation control systems (PLC, SCADA, HMI) . Installation, calibration, operation and maintenance of electrical and equipments. Contact: 94469841 Email: sreeharita.181@gmail.com Indian Electrical Engineer Btech, female 24 seeking job, presently in oman having 2 year experience in design and estimation of Ht &Lt projects. Contact 968 97436557, Mail id : sibinanoop1@gmail.com Diploma in Electronics, 2 years exp in telecommunication. Contact: 94519571 Email: telecommunicationvishnumadhull @gmail.com Male (23) BE Electrical Engineer looking for job as Electrical Engineering job experience 6 months in MEP designing & electrical designing job. Contact 98209070 Email: punivinlal@gmail.com Indian female civil engineer B.Tech having 3 years experience sound knowledge of software, REVIT STAD PRO structural detailing currently on family visa seeks suitable placement. Contact: 95345591 Civil Engineer diploma holder having 7 years experience of Site Engineer with valid Omani D/L looking for suitable placement. Contact: 93294965 Email: hamza.nazeer717@gmail.com Civil Engineer (BE) having total 5 years experience in building construction looking for a suitable placement. D/L available Contact# 94450270 Sudanese Architectural Engineer 2 years experience in Oman, Revit, AutoCAD 3Ds max Archicad looking for suitable job. Contact: 94722356 Email: maya40999@hotmail.com Diploma in Mechanical Eng piping system in AutoCAD work, 21+ years experience with Driving license. Contact: 95267113 Email: rkakkaryil@gmail.com Mechanical Engineer M.Tech 2 years experience HVAC design & site Engg revit MEP Auto CAD. Contact: 90150913 Email: mahmanmechengg@yahoo.im Bachelor Civil Engineer 6 Years in Oman experience Valid Driving License seeks suitable placement Phone 97619722 Email – golamrob@yahoo.com Indian Male 23 years B.Tech Civil having 2 years experience in quantity survey and site management looking for suitable placement. Contact:- 95042656 Mechanical Engineer with 3 Yrs experience in international Oil & Gas company looking for job Contacts: Tel: 90164236 Email: mustafaoshi-62@hotmail.com Sri Lankan Engineer (27 Years old) – B.Sc Engineering (Hon) Mining / Geotechnical Presently in Muscat, 1.5 years experience. Contact 91295802 / acmfaslan123@gmail.com Indian female, 31 yrs, 7 yrs experienced as AutoCAD civil draftsman (2 yrs experience in Oman) currently in Oman seeks suitable. Contact 96789441 Email: simi5304@gmail.com

Civil Engineer 8 years experience in Oman as a project engineer for governmental & private projects. Contact – 90164912 Mechanical Engineer 6 years Oman experience in projects , maintenance, materials Indian male with Omani D/L seeking suitable job. Contact: 94252769 / 95505471 Email: rami.mech@gmail.com Diploma in Automobile Engg male 26 yrs, working as Service Advisor for 2.5 yrs seeking suitable position. Contact: 94744933 Email: shuhaibmost007@gmail.com Civil Engineer (B.Tech), Indian male 24 years with 1+years Indian experience,(Certiﬁed in Staad Pro/ Quantity Survey/ Auto Cad).Looking for a Suitable position. Available In Sultanate of Oman (Muscat) on Visit Visa. Contact: 92835952. E-mail: mohammedamair.bin@gmail.com Road and Construction Engineer with 5 years exp in Oman. Contact: 97667113 Civil Engineer 6 yrs Exp in Oman with license. Contact: 98975518 Electrical Engineer with 18 years exp in UAE. Contact: 98148034 Email: shassalih66@gmail.com

HOSPITALITY Hospitality/Hotel/ Restaurants Dynamic result oriented hospitality professional with 20 years of international exp. MBA in Hotel Management, specializing in Hotel/Restaurant 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

IT Indian male (29) MCA Post Graduate 4.6 years experienced skilled in System and Network administration seeking job in IT sector now on visiting visa. Contact: 92805363 Email: anukkuttan1986@gmail.com Sudanese Network Administrator 1 year experience with (MCSA, CCNA, CCNP) have valid driving license. Contact: 92394485 Indian female MCA Graduate, holding valid driving license seeking suitable placement. Contact: 99466062 Network Engineer degree Computer Science CCNA, MCSA experience NOC. Content: 92346191 Dynamics AX 2009 / 2012 R2/ R3 Microsoft certiﬁed professional MCA & BCA Having 15 yrs of total exp & 6 yrs of relevant exp seeking for suitable position. NOC is available. Contact: 93469493 Email: axcertprof@gmail.com Indian male IT professional, 3 years experience, CCNA, MCITP, RHCE have GCC driving license on visit visa (last date 25th Jan). Contact: 93311963 Email: sajal035@gmail.com Indian male 27 yrs Master in Computer applications currently in Muscat with Oman driving L/C seeking suitable placement. Contact: 93191800 Email: vijilraj60@gmail.com B.C.A IT, System Support Engineer 2 years exp visit visa, Microsoft certiﬁcation. Contact: 95492886 Email: samips49@gmail.com Indian Male, IT System Engineer having 4 yrs of experience in system administration.CCNA,MCSE, Linux. Looking for suitable job. Contact :91272867 GCC experience projects & business Management professional for IT & ELV systems seeking suitable job. Contact: 93522472 B.E (CSE) Indian male 2 years of experience in System and Network Admin, presently on visit visa, seeks for immediate placement. Contact: 93832694 Email: bailfupp006@gmail.com Indian male 26 years BSC IT with 4 years experience currently on visit visa looking for IT support job knowledge of networking, programming languages, windows / Linux environment. Contact: +968 95369856 / 24781651 Email: mark.tony.alphonso@hotmail.com

10 years Oman experience ICT Sector, capable of handling large accounts, looking for suitable Senior Executive position. Contact: 98987654 Omani seeking placement 6 years excellent exp in networking, hardware and software and software. Contact: 95356166 INDIAN MALE - 29 years - (certiﬁed Computer hardware & network engineer) with six (6) years experience on VISIT VISA looking for suitable employment in system network administration Contact : Mr. SAJEEV KP, GSM : 94256964 mail ID : saji217@gmail.com Indian male 23 years , 3 years experience in IT as Linux Administrator at Wipro Technologies looking for a suitable placement. Contact: 92889678 Email: amalpathikal@gmail.com B.Tech (IT) Indian Male 2 years Oman experience in I.T & Networking, holding Oman Driving License, presently on employment visa, seeks for a suitable placement. Ready to join immediately. NOC available. Contact: 92462578

LOGISTICS More than 8 years of gulf experience & qualiﬁed executive in Air freight & Sea freight, proven work experience in logistics coordination, shipment, export and import Coordination, cross shipments and client relation etc. Contact: 95149624 / 0097150-3462492

MEDICAL Nurse (male) Indian available with 3 years of experience & cleared prometric 64% & data ﬂow. Contact: 94035637 Male nurse MOH licensed having NOC completed BLS, ACLS total 6 yrs exp seeking suitable job, join at anytime . Contact : 91322744 An experienced Sudanese female Dentist with MOH license looking for job. Contact: 96436517 /97396088

MANAGER Indian male with more than 14 yrs of experience in Business development / marketing Oman D/L looking for managerial position in Business development / marketing. Contact: 93400177 Logistics All rounder Indian male 23 years experience administration material management, supply chain, warehouse, purchase, marketing, inventory, accounting, Oman D/L. NOC available. Contact: 95980115 The Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 15 Years Inside and outside Oman following activities: construction(Very strong and qualified to bringing business for civil work Or any type of the construction work for many million per year with a good experience in pricing and collect payment and cash management of the company & marketing projects & investments& tenders & real estate. Contact 92385033 25 years experienced Supervisor in plumbing & firefighting available, NOC & driving license. Contact: 95703680 25 years Gulf experienced Manager in operations, projects, properties, holding valid Oman driving license, with NOC, looking for suitable opening. Contact: 91283701 Indian male, with experience in operations management, information security, purchase & stores mgmt, hold UAE driving license, on visit visa, seeks suitable job. Contact 91904541 Email: naushers@yahoo.com The Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 15 Years Inside and outside Oman following activities: tenders& real estate& construction & marketing projects& investments & transportation & Marine services& companies management& develop business. Contact :- 92385033 Indian male 8 yrs exp in Oman working as housekeeping supervisor in star hotel, seeking for a job NOC available. Contact – 91753210

MANAGER

MISCELLANEOUS

MBA (marketing) with 17 years experience in freight forwarding/ logistics industry in GCC & Oman. Presently working as branch manager in Muscat. Looking for a suitable position. Release and NOC available. Contact: 99856331

MBA graduate having 6 years exp in Sales & Marketing, 4 years with PEPSI, India, having international driving license permit seeks suitable placement. Cont : 95308167, Email : samir.pag@gmail.com

Chief Accountant , 7 years experienced (out of 25 years experience in accounts) worked in reputed group companies. Currently procuring MBA ﬁnance and having Omani Driving License seeks suitable openings from reputed companies. Contact : 95598477 / 98803439

Purchase MGR / Transport in charge 9 yrs exp in Oman having D/L & NOC join immediately. Contact: 90187891 Email: mohammedshariff35@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS Indian Female, 24 Years - MSc Biotechnology. Worked in International Crops Research Institute For The Semi Arid Tropics for project work as trainee. Looking for suitable job. Mobile: 92619048, Email: anusreeg1991@gmail.com Indian male 25, On Visit Visa MBA (HR & Marketing) experienced in Sales, Looking for Suitable Position, Contact 92788018, shinemoncherian@gmail.com Female 31, MBA 4 Years of cross culture experience in Insurance Sector seeking a suitable job opportunity Contact Shubha: 97217626/94377477 Shubhanair17@gmail.com Indian female on visit MBA (International Business- Marketing & Logistics), BE (Computers & Science Engg.) Trained in SAP-BI/ BW with 1 year experience seeking for job Contact: 90228586 Email:fathimasha16@gmail.com Graduate, computer literate, experienced in sales, credit control, accounts, Omani D/L , seeks suitable placement. Gsm 98805474

PROJECTS Indian male 28, MBA, Six Sigma Green Belt with 6 months experience in Operations in Oman. Looking for Suitable Placement With Valid D/L & NOC. Contact 92013737.

SALES / MARKETING Indian male with more than 15 years experience in construction, agriculture, industrial tools, air coolers & personal protective equipments looking for suitable position in sales & marketing valid Oman D/L. Contact: 92406527 Indian male 26, with more than 4 years experience in Sales and Marketing having valid GCC license on visit visa seeks suitable position. Contact: 92423161 PG diploma in Strategic Management having two years experience in Marketing and Management currently on visit visa seeking for suitable job. Contact : 93406821 Email: sayeedminhaj@gmail.com Indian male Sales Engineer 18 years experience (pneumatics, electric, air compressor, garage equipments etc) including 5 years Gulf experience currently employed in Oman with D/L looking for suitable position, NOC available. Contact 94425942 Indian 16 yrs sales / marketing all Oman experience, on visit visa with D/L. Contact: 90205082 B.Tech Electronics Indian male experience in Technical & marketing 2 years Oman driving license. Contact: 98627362 , email : shah9746099350@gmail.com Assistant Purchase Manager experience 9 years at Oman in Construction Company skills driving license. Contact: 98894178 Email: amerfawzy2000@yahoo.com MBA Graduate (Indian) 2 years experience in Auto sales & marketing looking for suitable job in automatic industry. Contact: 94676974 Email: dabdulmuqsit@gmail.com Digital Marketer SEM/SMM SEO. Contact 93594114 Email: abeyve@gmail.com Sales Coordinator, BBA MBA (pursuing) tally on valid visa in Oman. Contact : 98269281 Indian male, MBA Marketing having 2.5 years Sales experience immediately looking for a suitable position. Contact: 91415145, Email: shariqs88@gmail.com Indian female M.Sc in computer application, having experience in Muscat looking for suitable placement available to join immediately. Contact: 94591608

Indian male 7 years experience in procurement with D/L, UAE & Oman, transfer available. Contact: 97085435 Indian male 34 Yrs, Dual MBA Finance and marketing with IT skills, 7+ yrs of experience, Looking for suitable placement. Contact : 94879615, Emailsajan_chacko1981@yahoo.com Indian male 29 yrs having 6 years Oman experience in hotel industry & sales looking for a suitable placement. NOC available having Oman driving license. #91059015 Email: nidhin.lal86@gmail.com MBA (logistics and supply chain) 3.5 years freight forwarding experience operations & sales, back office operation Oman, Yemen & UAE. Contact: 92549913 Email: jansunil1989@gmail.com Marketing Communication Coordinator: Indian, M.Com with 20 years Gulf experience in Marketing Communications, ATL& BTL branding exp. with Oman D/L. Contact- 93031168 Purchaser having experience in heavy light vehicle parts for 15 yrs looking for job, Oman with valid D/L, NOC available. Contact 91452832, Mr. Gurunath Executive Post, Omani Driving License, MBA 14 years Experience in Multinational Groups in Sales & Marketing. M.Z. 96220975 Indian male, MBA 25 Yrs, 1 year experience in Auditing and 10 Month in sales, currently on visit visa seeking suitable placement. Contact: 92054304 34 yrs, Indian male 7 years sales & marketing exp have valid D/L. Contact: 99869456 34 yrs, Indian male 9 yrs experience in Oman have valid D/L 2 Yrs sales & marketing experience. Contact: 99858456 25 years experienced Supervisor in plumbing and ﬁreﬁghting available, NOC and driving license. Contact: 95912720 Sales & Marketing Executive MBA with 3 years experience in sales looking for suitable placement. Contact: 91345727. Indian female (M.Tech in Power system) having Gulf experience seeking suitable placement in Oman, now in family visa. Contact: 94306164 / 91001194 B.Com male 2 yrs experience in sales Computer knowledge, seeking suitable placement. Contact: 98371144 email: nabilnazar22@gmail.com 30 yr old experienced available with NOC & Oman driving license 6+years experience in chemicals Industry. Contact: 96675065 15 years experienced Indian seeking suitable job in area purchase, logistics & supply chair. Contact- 96388496 Email: ranju.uma@gmail.com 5 years experience in Sales currently looking for a placement. Contact: 93458869

SKILLED / UNSKILLED Mason, SH / carpenter, steel ﬁtter gulf & Indian exp looking job. Contact: 95175192 37 years, Indian male, X- Ray welder 7 years experience, looking for job on visit visa now. Contact: 91360190 / 98223683

TECHNICIAN /MECH. Instrumentation & controls Technician with 2-3 years experience preferably in water sector and having valid driving license call Ph:+968 99450811 Send CV to shiju@spec-link.com

MISCELLANEOUS Indian male B.Eng. in IT, CCNA, MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT/ networking/ server, valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement in IT/ Network/Server support. #92607532

Indian male having 6 Years of Experience in Oman Having Valid Driving License working as a Purchase officer, looking for a suitable Position, NOC Available. Contact: 95132564 / 96456071, E-mail:naji1988@gmail.com Indian female 22 years 1 year experience in Secretary & Accounting, Tally, looking for suitable job on visit visa. Contact: 97084473 Email: jumihasin10@gamil.com Relationship Manager, Indian male 28 yrs, BBA, MBA 5 year’s exp, currently working in India computer skilled. Contact: 0091 974710108 / 95071632 BE Mechanical Engineer / MBA Indian male 25 yrs, currently working in Qatar skills MEP designing surveying, Oracle, AutoCAD, SAP. Contact: 97474470866 & C/O in Oman 95071632 Indian male 25 yrs, MBA in marketing on visit looking for a job in Sales and Marketing. Contact: 91270215 Email: nibuvarughese13@gmail.com Bangladeshi Male, University MA, 5 years experience in IT sales & marketing working as sales coordinator in Oman; searching better job. Phone: 91997605, email: mohamednazrulislam2@gmail.com Indian Male 28yr age having 7year gulf+ Indian experience in HR/Admin ﬁeld, looking for suitable placement. Contact:97914340, Email: rajkv3086@gmail.com Part- Time Accountant, well experienced senior accountant ,doing all type of accounting works, Finalization, Budgeting available. Contact : 98803439 Indian male Executive Secretary having vast experience in admin, logistics & procurement well versed with computer seeks suitable placement. Contact : 99514286, Email : azimmohd@yahoo.co.in Sri Lankan Male, 23 years old with 3 years of Sales experience and basic accounting knowledge (AAT and Tally) Seeking for a suitable position. Contact-94864296

LOST Gannavarapu Venkatalakshmi has lost Indian Passport No: H 6890631. Finder please handover to ROP.

CHANGE OF NAME We, Kailash Gidwaney (name of father as per the passport holder of Indian passport No Z 2676956 and Pratibha Gidwaney (name of the mother, holder of Indian passport No. AB 205384) having permanent address in 4/2 Meher Ali Road Circus Evenue Beniapukur Kol - 17 (W.B) (complete postal address in India) and presently residing at the following address in Muscat, P.B No. 07 PC No. 130, Sultanate of Oman, hereby solemnly affirm and declare to change the name of our child miss /master Rohak Gidwaney (name as per present passport) , holder of Indian passport No. K 3690143 date of issue 12/08/2012 issued at Muscat. The name of our child will be henceforth known as Rohan Gidwaney (new name) for all purpose. Any objection towards change of name of our minor child may please be communicated to Embassy of India, Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters, Al Khuwair, PB No. 1727, PC 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman. I Mohammed Nijam (holder of Indian passport No. M 7000065) Son of Niyamat Ali having permanent residence in Vill & Post Kaymsar Teh – Fatehpur, Distt Sikar (complete postal address in India) and presently residing in Post Box No. 3821 PC. 112 Ruwi (complete postal address in Oman) intend to change my name from Mohammed Nijam (old name) to Nijam Khan (new name) for all practical purpose. Any objection towards my name change may please be communicated to Embassy of India, Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters, Al Khuwair, P. Box No. 1727, Postal Code 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman.

T U E S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 9, 2 0 1 6

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED CARGO

TOURS

MATRIMONIAL Christian Orthodox girl 24 yrs, BSC MLT working in Government Hospital Thiruvalla, seeking suitable alliance from Orthodox family. Contact: 99734325 / 99898130 Menon / Nair boy 30 years, looking for a girl, preferred from Ottapalam area. Contact: 99505473 Hindu nair age 64, looking for a suitable girl. #0091 755900189

SITUATION WANTTOURS ED

RENT A CAR

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine Tours contact 98029602, 92808636 We arrange tours & accommodation at all the beautiful places in Oman. Contact 99839898

DRIVING

TRANSPORTATION

Nair boy 27 years Keralite working in Canada looking for qualiﬁed girl. Contact: 99361442

Transportation.Contact: 99099714 Transportation Al Khuwair. Contact: 92711421

Indian female, 25 yrs, belongs to Christian Orthodox family, B.Sc Nurse presently working in Bangalore – India, looking for appropriate spouse. # 99423483

Pick and drop. Contact: 96692774 Transportation. Contact99542393 Transportation. Contact: 91310107

NRI Plot for sale Shadnagar Municipality, Mahboob Nagar District, walk able distance to existing colonies, national highway and basic amenities at reasonable price. Contact – 0091 8686631669 1100 sqft Property for sale opposite to SPFort Hospital, Trivandrum. Contact 91254791, 91 8893226226 Kollam byepass 5-10 cent for sale. Contact: 96157394

NRI For sale 142 cents prime land 7 kms from kozhikodu Medical College Hospital in full or plots bus route and electricity available. Expected price 2.25 lakhs per cent negotiable. Contact person : Dr. Robins 0091- 9447322230 Jayadas 0091- 9446848957

Transportation available Ruwi to Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba. Contact: 91103909 Transportation. Contact 99508282 Transportation. Contact:99664703 Al Sharouq rent a car. Contact: 99222617 Silver car, car rental at good rate. Contact: 96166155/93530540

Transportation. Contact 96173326 Transportation. Contact 94510847 Transportation Contact:99077395

Plot, propeties for sale in prime location in pune Contact 95272138, (+918390982975)

25 - 50 seater bus with PDO & BP speciﬁcation for monthly rent & small car with driver. # 99839898

Transportation taxi mini bus. Contact: 93091106

T U E S D AY, JA N UA RY 1 9, 2 0 1 6

DAILY GUIDE

SITUATION WANTED SERVICES

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classiﬁeds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

SITUATION WANTED EDUCATION/CLASSES/TRAINING/COMPUTER/WEBSITE Spoken Arabic class for Non Arabic Speakers & English class for Malayalam Speakers

in Azaiba and Ruwi

• Learn in two months • Satisfaction guaranteed

Tel: 95244310

IELTS PREPARATION Target Band 8.0

Classes for Spoken English TOEFL / GRE / GMAT / SAT Excellent Guidance and Coaching Satisfaction Guaranteed EAGLES INSTITUTE 92325542 | 93657915 | 93657917 | Email: engominst@gmail.com

Karate and self defense classes at Azaiba 18 Nov Street. RO 10 per month twice a week Monday and Tuesday 6. 30 TO 7. 30. PM. CONTACT 98294551

SITUATION WANTBUSINESS ED

SERVICES We Provide Cleaners, Oﬃce boys, Cleaning Contracts, General cleaning etc. Al Mudakhir National Est. LLC Contact : 94277020

A/C maintenance & servicing, fridge, washing machine & dish washer repairing, painting & cleaning services, electrical & plumbing. Contact: 99447257 / 97014234 / 24504281 We are providing services like Accounts, Auditing, Tax Reports, Feasibility Study, Bank Loan Assistance & L L C Registration ASAS AUDIT & CONSULTANCY Contact at 91720465/94319719 Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS- 99320217 /24788722 *Classiﬁed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your marble.Contact 24793614/ 99314807 House shifting & transporting. Contact 92490422 Water prooﬁng ABUQABASContact 99320217/24788722 We provide loading unloading helper for contracting. Contact: 94777137 Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile polishing, pest control & anti-termite treatment, general cleaning painting,Plumbing, Electrical, shifting. Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C. Contact: 24810137, 99450130

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/24792998 Split & window A/c servicing & maintenance. Contact: 93769089 / 95323517 Pest Control Treatments. Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723 Cleaning & Carpet Shampooing, Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723 House shifting. Contact: 99657644/98518013 Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and Cont Maintenance services electric, plumbing and A/C. Contact: 96524904 / 94285064

Canadian Consultancy company (recruitment & immigration) is looking for a partner company in Oman. For contact 00973 39990830 eurogulf.ca@gmail.com,

GOOD NEWS 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 backache, paralysis, arthritis etc & massage, All Season (Vaidyaratnam). Contact 24475280 / 95371664 / 92504980 www.siddhayur.com

WEB, ERP and Business Intelligence (BI) creation and management at rock bottom price. Contact: http//webviewoman