Times of Oman - July 2, 2015

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RAMADAN PRAYER TIMINGS Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Fajr (Tomorrow)

IFTAR 7.03PM FAJR 3.57AM

THURSDAY, July 2, 2015 / 15 Ramadan 1436 AH

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RUSSIA, INDONESIA

DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR STARGAZERS Stargazers in Oman and around the world saw an unusual sight on Wednesday night when Venus and Jupiter appeared close together in the sky. — O K Mohammed Ali

His Majesty the Sultan sends condolences MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of condolences to President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation on the death of former Russian prime minister Yevgeny Primakov.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere condolences and sympathy to President Putin, the deceased’s family and the Russian people.

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has also sent a cable of condolences to President Joko Widodo of Indonesia for the victims of aircraft crash, which went down in Medan town of North Sumatra.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere condolences and sympathy to President Widodo, families of the victims and the Indonesian people.

His Majesty the Sultan prayed to Allah the Almighty to rest the deceased’s soul in peace, grant their families patience and the injured a speedy recovery. -ONA

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12.16pm 3.34pm 7.03pm 8.25pm 3.57am

ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

‘Pay salaries into bank or face closure’ WAGE PROTECTION SYSTEM

2014 2015

When the system was introduced in January 2014, there were 2,125 employers and 91,404 employees under it. Those figures increased six times in the following 16 months. (In thousands)

January 213.2

Employees Employers

91.4

110.7

2.1

2.8

4.2

December

325.0 325.4 293.0 304.0 249.5 265.7 273.0

5.3

5.9

6.5

7.1

7.6

7.9

8.2

367.8

8.6

May

January

619.6 585.7 593.2

399.6 412.5 424.5

9.7

10.2

10.7

13.5

16.2

17.6

Employee-Employer proportion 43 to 1 42 employees per employer

35 to 1 Graphics

Source: Ministry of Manpower

See also >A6 ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI

elham@timesofoman.com PLEA TO OMAN GOVERNMENT

Independent body sought to protect rights of domestics REJIMON K

reji@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Oman trade union leaders have called upon the government to set up an independent body to protect domestic workers’ rights in the Sultanate.

“The government should constitute an independent body which can stand up for the rights of domestic workers in Oman. This will help them feel more secure,” Saud Salmi, a trade union leader in Oman, told Times of Oman.

“Domestic workers are the most vulnerable to abuse. Moreover, their voices are not heard,” Saud said, adding domestic workers’ rights should be added in the new labour law.

There were 242,019 domestic workers in Oman, including 132,164 females as of December, 2014, according to available data.

Another trade union leader

Saud Salmi, a trade union leader in Oman. – Supplied

said that he has come across many cases of abuse of domestic workers.

“Many fail to respect the services of housemaids. We should treat them as human beings and pay them decently for their services. Unfortunately, some don’t.

Moreover, they abuse these poor

workers also. So, if the government comes forward for setting up an independent body for these workers, it would be of great help.

It can help these workers feel secure,” Mohammed Al Khaldi, board member of General Federation of Oman Trade Union (GFOTU), told Times of Oman.

“Majority of the cases arise for non-payment of wages. Last year, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries discussed about unified job contracts, but it didn’t materialise. At least Oman government should initiate this, fix a minimum wage for domestic workers and show an example to others,” Mohammed added.

It is estimated that there are 2.4 million domestic workers in the six GCC countries.

Last week, Kuwait’s National Assembly passed a law regulating the labour rights of domestic workers. >A6

TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES

OMAN

Air ticket fraud

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A travel agency has been handed a fine for duping its customers. >A2

WORLD

$32b gift to charity

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Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal promised his $32b fortune to charity. >A14

MARKET

Merger of banks

3

Merger will create the country’s second-largest bank with. >B1

Omani director’s movie set for release after Eid

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D I R E C T O R AT E G E N E R A L F O R C O M B AT I N G NA R C O T I C S

Citizen arrested for possessing drugs Staff reporter

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BURAIMI: An Omani citizen was arrested by the Directorate General for Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances for possession and use of drugs.

Al Buraimi police found 1,732 tablets of psychotropic substances and 39 bottles of methadone from his possession. The suspect has been detained and investigation is on.

Two Asian nationals were arrested by the Directorate General of Inquiries and Investigations for stealing power cables. The police intercepted a truck loaded

with stolen items in the Buraimi Industrial Area.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Inquiries and Investigations, in co-operation with the Public Authority for Consumer Protection, arrested two Asian nationals for stealing air conditioning units in Hamsa and Buraimi.

Companies have been warned that new rules will punish the firms which don’t pay wages into banks

MUSCAT: Companies which do not pay their employees’ salaries through the banking system will be fined, and even face closure, under tough rules set to be brought in to enhance the Wage Protection System (WPS).

In line with Article 53 of the Labour Law, the WPS was introduced in January 2014 by the Ministry of Manpower and the

Central Bank of Oman (CBO), making wage payment in the private sector mandatory through authorised banks to ensure the employees’ rights and prevent labour-related problems.

In an exclusive interview with Times of Oman, Suhail Al Khusaibi, head of the WPS programme at the Ministry of Manpower, said at the moment there is no punishment for companies which do not comply with the rules, for a number of reasons. >A6

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OMAN Don’t litter a beautiful country like OMAN. Ensure proper disposal of garbage.

The (Sohar) fire broke out in a warehouse where electrical items and cables were stored.

Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulances tweet

New Bangladesh flights cater to growing traffic The national carrier, Oman Air, will launch

The increased flights will help more than 550,000 Bangladeshis working in Oman

services to Dhaka from August 2015, offering citizens and residents more choice within Oman

AIR LINKS: The service on its flagship A330 aircraft, will offer

four flights per week between Muscat and Dhaka. – File photo

Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan President, Bangladesh Social Club

Times News Service MUSCAT: Growing trade and tourism links between the Sultanate and Bangladesh is luring airlines to introduce more flights in this route.

The national carrier, Oman Air, will launch services to Dhaka from August 2015, offering citizens and residents more choice within Oman Air’s continually expanding network.

The launch of these new services is part of Oman Air’s ambitious programme of expansion

and follows the highly successful introduction to their network of services to Goa, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta.

Oman Air flies to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, which has more than 15 million inhabitants, and also to the port city of Chittagong. The new service, operated using its flagship A330 aircraft, will offer four flights per week between Muscat International Airport and Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

Regent Airways Meanwhile, another airline of Bangladesh, Regent Airways, is

planning to launch direct flights from Dhaka to Muscat and Chittagong to Muscat very soon.

“The new destinations and increased flights were part of the airlines $100 million expansion plans,” said the airline in a statement recently.

Reacting to the news, President of Bangladesh Social Club, Mohammed Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan, said that the increased flights will help more than 550,000 Bangladeshis who are the second largest number of expatriates, after Indians, working in Oman.

“Ever since diplomatic ties were established between the

two brotherly Muslim countries, Oman and Bangladesh have enjoyed excellent bilateral relations. Bangladesh is proud to be one of the closest friends of the Sultanate, where a large number of Bangladeshi skilled and semiskilled workers are contributing to the ongoing fast-track development activities in Oman. We are grateful to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said for so generously laying his trust in the abilities of the Bangladeshi workforce which are working in all sectors,” he said.

COURT ORDER

Travel agent fined for duping passengers Staff Reporter MUSCAT: A travel agent has been slapped with a fine by a primary court in Sohar for duping its customers.

The travel agency had issued fake flight tickets and incorrect booking data which eventually led to delay in the passengers’ travel plans.

The Primary Court slapped a fine of OMR16,800 and also ordered the agency to to pay back the customers OMR1,075 for seven tickets and compensate three

customers with OMR600. The court stated that the travel agency violated the consumer protection law’s Article 3, 13 and 2.

The travel agent had lured the customers by offering special deals. After the customers realised that they were duped, they approached the Directorate General for consumer protection and a case was filed in the court.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General for Consumer Protection in Batinah North urged people to purchase air tickets from accredited travel agents only.

WA R E H O U S E F I R E

Sohar blaze doused Staff Reporter MUSCAT: Fire-fighters managed to contain a fire which broke out in a warehouse in the Owhi industrial area of Sohar.

“The fire broke out in a warehouse where electrical items and cables were stored. Fire fighting units are present at the location,” the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulances, tweeted earlier.

Last Sunday, another warehouse was damaged in a massive fire in the same industrial area.

The fire, which started in a ware-

house, spread to nearby areas causing panic in the area but was doused by five fire engines. According to sources, rubber products and adhesives were stored in the warehouse that caught fire.

T HURSDAY, JULY 2, 2015

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MINISTRY ADVICE

‘Beware of fake donation calls’ Staff Reporter MUSCAT: Donors have been urged to be cautious while making contributions by the Social Development Ministry.

“It has come to our notice that there are many bogus calls for donations in social networking sites,” the ministry tweeted in its official twitter handle.

CIVIL SERVICE

601 vacancies announced MUSCAT: Ministry of Civil Service announced on Wednesday 601 job vacancies in the governorates and various ministries under the Civil Service Law. The ministry said that the job vacancies cover different qualifications and scientific disciplines. The announcement includes six vacancies for Master holders, 179 vacancies for bachelor holders, 110 vacancies for post-secondary diploma holders, 6 vacancies for professional diploma holders, 42 for general education diploma holders and 258 vacancies to holders of less than high school qualifications.– ONA INCREASED

Qatar Airways’ Salalah flights Staff Reporter MUSCAT: Qatar Airways will operate three more weekly flights to popular tourist destination Salalah from October 6, according to a statement from the airways. At present the airline operates eight flights per week. “From October 6, the total number flights to Salalah will be 11,” the statement said.

In addition to Salalah, the airline is adding its flight frequencies to Dubai, Jeddah, Peshawar, Kuala Lumpur, Belgrade.

“Such unacceptable acts spread more during Ramadan,” said Salim Al Khaldi, working in the public sector.

He added that he has encountered many calls through social media without noticing any official approval.

“It doesn’t mean that all the calls are fake but the public goes through dilemma identifying

which one is real or fake,” said Al Khaldi.

He added that public should not follow their feeling but they have to search and identify the approval of any donation act from the concerned authority.

Salah Al Hanshi, working in the private sector, similarly noticed different donation calls as he is not sure about their authenticity.

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TODAY’S DUAA ‘Our Lord! We have indeed believed: forgive us our sins, and save us from the punishment of the Fire.’

Reward for good deeds is Paradise The luxuries of Paradise surpass the imagination and defy description, AFTAB H. KOLA explains

W

hat are the rewards that are in store for us if we worship Allah with true intentions and do good deeds in this life? The Holy Quran and Sunnah without mincing words say it is the Paradise. References are plentiful in the Holy Quran and the Traditions which talk about Jannah, i.e., the Paradise. The reward for goodness is eternal goodness, and the reward for evil is torment and despair. Peace is thy word in Paradise.

The actual description of Paradise is beyond comprehension and we will never be able to understand until we actually enter it, but God has shown us glimpses of it in the Holy Quran. He has described it as a place essentially different to the life of this world, both in the very nature and purpose of life, as well as the types of delights which people will relish therein.

The Holy Quran categorically states in chapter An Nisa 4:124: ‘If any do deeds of righteousness, be they male or female, and have faith, they will enter Heaven, and not the least injustice will be done to them.’ The Holy Quran further affirms that Allah will admit those who believe and work righteous deeds, to Gardens beneath which rivers flow: they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearls; and their garments there will be of silk. (Al-Hajj 22:23).

He also says: [Other] faces that Day will be joyful, pleased with their striving, in a Garden on high, where they shall hear no [word] of vanity: Therein will be a bubbling spring: Therein will be thrones [of dignity], raised on high, goblets placed [ready], and cushions set in rows, and rich carpets [all] spread out. (Al-Ghashiyah 88:8-16).

Finest clothing will be the attire of those admitted in Paradise and entire atmosphere will be filled with happiness and peace. It

was narrated by Imam Muslim that Abu Bakr ibn `Abdullah ibn Qais reported on the authority of his father that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said that in Paradise there would be for a believer a tent of a single hollowed pearl the breadth of which would be sixty miles. It would be meant for a believer, and the believers would go around it and none would be able to see the others.

The Quranic descriptions of Heaven and Hell are certainly made in terms of this world. Adil Salahi, a prominent scholar writes, “The luxuries and enjoyments of Heaven are given descriptions which we understand, what is certain is that the comforts, luxuries, enjoyments of Heaven are far greater that we can imagine. If they were described as they actually are, we would not have understood those descriptions, because we have not seen anything similar to them. Thus, if we are told in the Holy Quran that the people admitted into Heaven recline on couches set up for them, it does not follow that the couches are similar to what we have in our houses. Nor is it necessarily accurate to say that they are set up in the same way as we set up our couches in our homes. What is certain, however, is that there are couches of some sort in Heaven which are suitable for reclining. It is certain also that they are set up and prepared for the believers to use them. The precise manner in which they are used is not given. It may be in the same way as we use our couches. But it is equally true that this may be in some other form. We would accept the Quranic descriptions of Heaven and Hell as we understand them, and need not try to define them in elaborate detail.”

Paradise is devoid of any impurities of this world. Eating and drinking in this life results in the need for excretion and its associated unpleasant odours. If a person drinks wine in this world, he loses his mind.

Women in this world menstruate and give birth, which are sources of pain and hurt.

Paradise is free from all of these discomforts: its people will not urinate, defecate, spit or suffer from any diseases. The Prophet (PBUH) answered a person when they asked how the people of Paradise will relieve themselves: “They relieve themselves by perspiring through their skins, and its fragrance will be that of musk, and all stomachs will have become lean.” (ibn Hibbaan) The Sahabah asked the Prophet (PBUH) about the buildings of Paradise and he replied with a wonderful description: “Bricks of gold and silver, and mortar of fragrant musk, pebbles of pearl and sap-

phire, and soil of saffron. Whoever enters it is filled with joy and will never feel miserable; he will live there forever and never die; their clothes will never wear out and their youth will never fade.” (Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi).

There will be no enmity between people nor ill-feelings: “And We shall remove from their breasts any (mutual) hatred or sense of injury (which they had, if at all, in the life of this world)...” (Quran 7:43) The Prophet (PBUH) said: “There will be no hatred or resentment among them, their hearts will be as one, and they will glorify God, morning and evening.”

(Saheeh Al-Bukhari).

The Paradise is full of trees bearing fruits of all kinds, and of types which we have not seen or imagined, They will be there for those who strived to do their best in this life.

The trees will bend their branches down for believers to reach them! All we need to do is to long for a particular one. Rivers of wine that does not intoxicate, rivers of honey, the purest of waters, and milk are all waiting for believers to enjoy.

Adil Salahi adds, “ As for the question of what do the believers do in Heaven, you should know that Heaven is not a place of work, but a place of reward. Work or action produces results. Heaven is that stage of the result. So, the preliminary stage, i.e., action, has finished by the end of every person’s term on this earth. The people in Heaven only enjoy the luxuries Allah provides them, which is their reward, i.e., the result of their actions, and express their gratitude to Allah by praising and glorifying Him.” The Holy Quran says: Be quick in the race for forgiveness from your Lord, and for a Garden whose width is that [of the whole] of the heavens and of the earth, prepared for the righteous. (Al Imran 3:133).

Hadith of the day ABU HURAIRA related that the Prophet said: If a person does not avoid false talk and false conduct during Siyam, then Allah does not care if he abstains from food and drink (Bukhari, Muslim).

T HURSDAY, JULY 2, 2015

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Fak Kurbah aids needy prisoners

FRIEND IN NEED: Fak Kurbah, a campaign launched by lawyers committee in coordination with Supreme Committee for Judiciary seeks to help those imprisoned over financial troubles.

FAHAD AL GHADANI fahadnews@timesofoman.com

Launched in 2012, Fak Kurbah managed to secure the release of 44 prisoners in its first phase in and improved to end struggles of 304 prisoners in 2014 in its second phase. The campaign, stopped in 2013, is trying to secure the release of more people in its third phase this year

MUSCAT: For ten prisoners jailed over their debts the first day of Ramadan was doubly blessed when they were released thanks to Fak Kurbah, a campaign by lawyers committee in coordination with Supreme Committee for Judiciary to help those imprisoned over financial troubles.

The campaign has managed to secure the release of 44 prisoners in its first phase in 2012 and improved to end struggles of 304 prisoners in 2014 in its second phase. “In our third phase, we are trying to secure the release of more people languishing in jails,” said a member of the Fak Kurbah.

“We are getting good support from the public. Our donations have reached around OMR100,000,” said the member.

Saif Al Wishahi, from in the private sector, welcomed the move saying that many of his relatives donate money to the campaign every time.

“This time, I too will be part of

it. I feel I will bring life back to one family, at least,” he said.

Similarly, Fawaz Al Farsi, a college graduate, said that everyone can participate in the campaign in his own way.

Spreading awareness “I am not employed as yet, but I make sure I participate in the campaign by spreading awareness about the campaign among my colleagues who would speak to their families and relatives,” said Fawaz.

He also said that he and his friends were keen to help the campaign succeed in this phase.

“The whole society should participate and appreciate such a move, and look for similar such efforts to strengthen the link between communities and individuals,” said Fawaz.

Fak Kurbah was first launched in 2012, stopped in 2013, and resumed in 2014.

The current campaign was launched under Dr Abdul Munim Al Hasani, minister of information, in Safeer Mall in Sohar.

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OMAN CABLES

HM the Sultan sends cables of greetings MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of congratulations to David Johnston, Governor General of Canada on the occasion of his country’s National Day. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere congratulations along with his best wishes of good health and happiness to Governor General of Canada and his country’s people further progress.

Somalia His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent another a cable of congratulations to President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud of Somalia on the occasion of his country’s National Day. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere congratulations along with his best wishes of good health and happiness to President Mahmoud and the peo-

ple of Somalia further progress and prosperity.

Rwanda His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of congratulations to President Paul Kagame of Rwanda on the occasion of his country’s National Day. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere congratulations and best wishes to President Kagame and his country’s people.

Burundi His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has also sent a cable of congratulations to President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi on the occasion of his country’s National Day. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere congratulations along with best wishes to President Nkurunziza and his country’s people. -ONA

Oman should follow Kuwait’s lead and protect the rights of their own domestic workers Rothna Begum, Middle East rights researcher at Human Rights Watch

‘Employer can not keep debit card of worker’ If any worker has any complaint, they can approach the ministry and file a complaint, said Al Khusaibi

ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI

elham@timesofoman.com

RIGHTS OF WORKERS: Suhail Al Khusaibi, head of the Wage Protection System programme at the ministry. – Ismail Al Farsi

MUSCAT: An employer does not have the right to keep a worker’s debit card and employees should treat their debit cards as their own ‘property’, said an official of the Ministry of Manpower.

“We have tried to clarify this subject by saying to the employees themselves that it is your own problem if you are willing to give your debit card to your employer

but it is not his right (to take it),” Suhail Al Khusaibi, head of the Wage Protection System (WPS) programme at the ministry, told Times of Oman.

Some workers have alleged that their employers deposit their salaries into their accounts, but as they have taken away their debit cards, they withdraw the money

THE NETHERLANDS

HM receives thanks MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from King Willem Alexander of the of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in reply to His Majesty’s greetings cable on the

occasion of his birthday.

In his cable, King Alexander expressed his thanks for His Majesty the Sultan’s greetings and best wishes to him and the people of the Netherlands.-ONA

and pay them less than what is mentioned in the contract.

If any worker has any complaint, they can approach the ministry and file a complaint, Al Khusaibi said, adding that the Wage Protection System is meant to deal with a number of issues related to delay in payment, no payment or salary cut.

RIGHTS OF WORKERS

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‘Oman should follow Kuwait’

“Kuwait’s parliament took a huge step forward last week by providing domestic workers with enforceable labour rights for the first time. Oman should follow Kuwait’s lead and protect the rights of their own domestic workers,” Rothna Begum, Middle East rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Times of Oman.

The new law in Kuwait grants domestic workers the right to a weekly day off, 30 days of annual paid leave, a 12-hour working day with rest, and an end-of-service benefit of one month a year at the end of the contract, among other rights.

Bahrain’s 2012 labour law affords domestic workers annual vacations as well as access to mediation in labour disputes – but it fails to provide other basic protections, such as weekly rest days, a minimum wage, and limits on working hours.

Saudi Arabia adopted a regulation in 2013 that grants domestic workers nine hours of rest in every twenty-four, with one day off a week, and one month of paid vacation after two years.

But domestic workers can be required to work up to 15 hours a day, whereas Saudi labour law limits other workers to 8 hours of work daily. However, currently Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman exclude domestic workers from their labour laws.

ALAWI RECEIVES IRANIAN OFFICIAL Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs received Hussain Amir Abdollahian, Deputy Foreign Minister for the Arab-African Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Wednesday. The leaders discussed bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concern. The meeting was attended by Ahmed bin Yousef Al Harthy, Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry for Diplomatic Affairs, the Iranian ambassador to the Sultanate and some foreign ministry officials. -ONA

W P S C O M P L I A N C E D AT E

January, 2016 A1 is the deadline < FROM

However, under a new system being introduced by the CBO, private companies will ‘most likely’ face punishment from the beginning of next year if they do not comply with the WPS regulations, the official said.

The exact date has not been officially determined and will be announced by the minister or the undersecretary but January 2016 is the date that companies should be aware of and prepare themselves for, added Al Khusaibi.

At the Sultan Qaboos Award for Excellence in eGovernment 2014, the Best eProject Collaborative went to the WPS project.

The punishment will include fines and closure of their services and they will face problems regarding visa issuance, he said.

He added that by January 2016 the CBO will be implementing a programme using Automated Clearing House (ACH) system to facilitate the WPS, which will probably be ready by the end of this year.

Al Khusaibi said that for several reasons a mild approach has been adopted for compliance with the WPS. According to him, sometimes companies deposit salary into workers’ accounts but because the information provided by either the company or the bank for the transaction is not complete, it is not sent for the WPS record.

The latest statistics show that by the end of May 2015, 619,627 employees of 1.6 million workers in the private sector have been registered in the WPS database, but Al Khusaibi says that the actual figure is much higher.

Due to incomplete transaction information, the number is lower

in the database, he said, adding that awareness campaigns have been conducted about each transaction.

The necessary information include the name of the employee, the civil number and the company’s commercial registration (CR) number and the transaction should be identified as ‘salary’ transaction, the official noted.

The procedure is that the company sends the money through the bank which is then sent to the CBO and finally to the WPS database. Therefore, if the information is not complete, it will not be recorded in the database, he said.

No excuse Al Khusaibi said the ACH system would leave companies with no excuse as it will ensure that all the information coming through the banks from the companies are correct and it will be sent to the authority concerned automatically.

He explained that employers have been given time to address these issues. The other reason has been that some banks may have been reluctant to open accounts for some workers, mainly those with a salary of less than OMR100, he said.

The authorities are doing their best to address this issue and it is a matter of time which will be resolved throughout the process, Al Khusaibi noted.

He said that the target of 100 per cent WPS coverage is expected to be achieved in mid next year, but it is hoped that it is met sooner. Even in other countries that have implemented the WPS, the process has taken several years to cover all the employees, he said.

T HURSDAY, JULY 2, 2015

90

people have been detained by authorities investigating the attack on Al Imam Al Sadeq mosque in Kuwait City

MOSQUE BOMBING

Kuwait arrests two policemen in crackdown KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait has arrested two police officers as part of a security crackdown on hardline militants launched after last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deadly bombing on a mosque claimed by IS militant group, newspapers reported on Wednesday.

The attack by a suicide bomber on Friday killed 27 people and injured more than 200, prompting

the government to declare it was at war with hardline militants would strike out at cells believed to be on its soil.

Security forces found weapons, ammunition, maps and slogans supporting IS militant group in a raid on the home of a student and another suspect who said they had received the weapons from the officers, Al Rai daily quoted

security sources saying.

About 90 people have been detained by authorities investigating the attack on Al Imam Al Sadeq mosque in Kuwait City, Al Qabas newspaper said on Wednesday, up from 60 reported by media on the previous day.

The Kuwaiti interior ministry was not immediately available for comment. - Reuters

REGION

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INDIA Landslides kill 38 in Darjeeling

DEBRIS: Rescue workers search for survivors amongst the rubble after a landslide at Darjeeling district of India’s West Bengal state on Wednesday. - Reuters

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Narendra Modi directed Union Minister Kiren Rijiju to visit landslide-hit Darjeeling to take stock of the situation

DARJEELING/SILIGURI: At least 38 people have been killed in a series of landslides caused by heavy rain in the three sub-divisions of Darjeeling district since Tuesday night.

Twenty-one deaths occurred in Mirik alone, where another 13 people were also reported miss-

ing, officials in West Bengal’s Disaster Management Department said. The remaining 17 died in Kalimpong-1 and 2, Lava, Sukhia block and Gorubathan, they said.

The landslides in 25 places in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong sub-divisions also caused extensive damage to national Highway (NH)-10 and NH-55, cutting off road link to the region.

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel were carrying out rescue operations and the Army’s help has been sought.

Twenty persons were also injured in the calamity and 15 people were reported missing at 8 mile and 11 mile areas in Kalimpong, SSB officials said.

Border Roads Organisation (BRO) men were engaged in

clearing the blocked roads. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is now in Murshidabad district, is on way to the affected places.

“I am monitoring the situation closely and will go there after the meeting in Murshidabad,” she tweeted. She said that the home secretary was already in North Bengal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed Union Minister Kiren Rijiju to visit landslide-hit Darjeeling to take stock of the situation. North Bengal Development Minister Gautam Deb said that the Army’s help had been sought for the rescue operation although various agencies were working there. NH 10 bore the brunt with the road link to Kalimpong, Lava, Lolegaon and Garubathan getting snapped.

NH 55 connecting Siliguri, Matigara with Darjeeling was also damaged mostly in Mirik and Rohini areas. A bridge on NH 55 has been washed away at Nimbujhora, the officials said. - PTI

CONTROVERSY

Lalit Modi drags Sonia, Varun into escalating row NEW DELHI: Levelling fresh allegations, Lalit Modi on Wednesday sought to drag Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and BJP leader Varun Gandhi into the escalating row involving the controversial former IPL chief.

Modi alleged that Varun had met him at his house in London and offered a deal to “settle” matters with Sonia Gandhi, a charge dubbed by the BJP MP as “baseless” and “nonsense”.

“Mr @varungandhi80 came to see me at my house a few years ago and said he can settle everything in @INCIndia with his aunt(Sonia). He wanted me to meet her sister from Italy.

I heard him next I heard from our common friend who introduced us that Auntie wants $60 million. Told them whaaaat are u nuts go HKG a kite. Can he deny that. I hope he does,” Modi alleged in a series of tweets.

Denying charge Vehemently denying the charge, Varun said, “This is absolutely baseless and it is beneath my dignity to respond to this nonsense.” The BJP also came to Varun’s defence, saying he is in a different party than Sonia Gandhi.

“Varun Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are in different parties and the world knows about the ties between the two families, BJP Spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.

In another set of tweets, “Please mr @varungandhi80 — let the world know what you told about what auntie wants witness is our good friend world renowned astrologer.

“Please clarify @varungandhi80 did u or did u not come to my house in London. Whilst staying at the Ritz hotel in lon(don) a few years ago — the auntie he refers to is #soniagandhi. The sister is #soniagandhi sister - just for clarity.” - PTI

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PAKISTAN

Border clashes between Afghan, Pakistani forces leave one dead An Afghan Ministry of Interior spokesman said the fighting began when Pakistan attempted to build an illegal structure on the border, while the Pakistani military said in a statement that the clashes were touched off

by Afghan firing

PESHAWAR/LAHORE: Border clashes between Pakistani and Afghan security forces broke out on Wednesday morning, officials said, killing at least one person and potentially undermining efforts by both sides to improve relations.

One Afghan border policeman was killed in the fighting near the border town of Angoor Adda, Afghan Ministry of Interior spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said in Kabul.

Pakistan’s military said two troops were injured and none were killed.

Setback to relations Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has tried to improve relations with his nuclear-armed neighbour, saying unless the two sides work together, they will never end the war with Taliban insurgents who threaten both countries. His overtures have drawn criticism among Afghan critics, and border clashes such as the one on Wednesday

One Afghan border policeman was killed in the fighting near the border town of Angoor Adda, Afghan Ministry of Interior spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said in Kabul

threaten to raise tensions. Afghan spokesman Sediqqi indicated that the fighting started when Pakistan attempted to build an illegal structure on the border. “Afghan border police intervened and exchanged fire. As a result, one Afghan border policeman was killed,” he said.

The Pakistani military said in a statement that the clashes were touched off by Afghan firing.

“An RPG-7 rocket and few rounds of small arms were fired on Angoor Adda gate from the Afghan side, due to which two Pakistani

B A L O C H I S TA N I N S U R G E N C Y

IN SHOCK: Pakistani relatives of two welders killed in an attack by gunmen react as their bodies are brought to a hospital in Quetta on Wednesday. — AFP

Gunmen kill three workers QUETTA: Two assailants on a motorcycle Wednesday shot dead three welders at a shop in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, in what police said was an ethnically motivated attack.

The city is the capital of Balochistan province, home to a longrunning nationalist insurgency aimed at seeking greater control over the province’s rich oil, gas and mineral resources.

Baloch separatist gunmen have previously targeted outsiders seen as settlers.

“Unknown gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead three welders at a shop and fled,” senior police official Abdul Razzaq Cheema said.

He said it appeared to be an “ethnic” killing as the victims were from Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province.

Aitzaz Goraya, another senior police official confirmed the shooting and casualties.

Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Rebels began their fifth insurgency against the state in 2004,

with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting.

Pakistan accuses neighbouring India of funding and arming the rebels.

Pashtun belt The desperately poor province is also riven by sectarian strife and extremist violence in its northern Pashtun belt, with middleclass Baloch increasingly viewing independence as their only hope for a more liberal and secular state. — AFP

PA NJG U R B O R D E R T O W N

Iran guards fire mortar shells QUETTA: Iranian border forces fired mortar shells at the border town of Panjgur late on Tuesday night. However, no loss of life or damage to property was reported.

According to security officials in Panjgur, Iranian border guards fired five more mortar shells late

on Tuesday night which landed in Pakistan, though no one was injured. “Five shells landed in Killi Nakar and Gorkadan area,” a security official said.

This was the third time in a week that Iranian border guards have fired mortar shells into Paki-

stan. So far, 13 mortar shells have been fired into Panjgur from the Iranian side.

Panjgur Deputy Commissioner Mehrab Shah and assistant commissioner visited Iran to record their protest over the border violations. — Express Tribune

security personnel were injured,” it said, adding that Pakistani troops then returned fire.

Local resident Sahib Noor said by telephone from the Pakistani side that the border was sealed on Wednesday and no one was allowed to cross. Another resident, Khan Wazir, said Pakistani and Afghan forces were still facing off from positions along the border at the end of the day.

Meanwhile, Pakistani officials Wednesday said they had killed a senior Al Qaeda commander

and three other militants in a raid earlier this week in eastern Punjab province.

Head of Al Qaeda network Pakistani police and counterterrorism forces raided a house in Ferozewala town, 18 kilometres north of the provincial capital Lahore early Monday, killing four alleged militants and capturing two.

“One of the four militants killed on Monday during a raid of law enforcement agencies near Lahore was the head of Al Qaeda networks in Pakistan and in Punjab province and his name was Abdali,” Shuja Khanzada, the home minister of Punjab province, told reporters.

Officials said they were acting on a tip-off when they raided the militants’ hideout and had received intelligence that the group were planning an attack on the provincial headquarters of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Pakistan’s

civilian intelligence agency.

Al Qaeda’s South Asian branch leader, Maulana Asim Umar, was the “mastermind of the plan,” Khanzada said. The claim could not be independently verified.

Two more militants were injured in the raid and arrested, the minister added, saying they had all trained in Afghanistan in an Al Qaeda camp for five months.

Cache of weapons seized A huge cache of weapons was also seized, including two rocket launchers, four suicide vests and 41 hand grenades.

Punjab-based militant groups have deepened their ties with the Taliban, which is allied to Al Qaeda, in recent years, though the province, which is the stronghold of the ruling party, has largely been spared the violence that has plagued much of the rest of the country. — Agencies

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INSTAGRAM OF THE DAY

Can military reform Pakistan’s politics?

Photo by: Ravikumar Kannaiyan

akistan is a country of contradictions, but nowhere are these contradictions as sharp as in the attitude and policies of the civilian and military leaderships. The military has been fighting an existential battle against an internal threat, with a focus and determination not witnessed before. Hardly a day passes when the army and paramilitary forces do not shed their blood to regain lost territory to militant groups, or to weaken them as a whole.

Already, the number of those martyred since 2003 is over 6,000, with thousands more having been injured and disabled. Yet, the military’s determination remains steadfast and unwavering.

In addition, General Raheel Sharif is committed with a passion to cleansing Karachi and Sindh of drug mafias, land grabbers and militant groups of political parties. The paramiltary Rangers are targeting their hideouts and have made strides in neutralising these criminal elements and putting immense pressure on political parties. The military top brass is of the firm view that unless the nexus of corruption and terrorism is not broken, it would not be possible to establish the rule of law and bring back normalcy in the country.

The soiled reputations of political leaders have indirectly contributed towards raising the stature of the military. This is allowing it greater space to expand its influence. There can be no two opinions that the curse of corruption and poor governance cannot continue, as it is bleeding the country white. This, however, gives rise to two questions: First, will the cleansing operation remain confined to Sindh, or is it only logical and fair that it is spread to other provinces and all institutions, including the armed forces; second, are we heading in the direction where the military assumes a virtual veto and control without formally taking over? More significantly, what is the future of a state when its dependence on the armed forces in matters of governance, security and policy formulation keeps growing? Surely, these questions can have a far-reaching impact on the very nature of the state and need to be addressed as it is our fragile democratic institutions that are teetering.

The Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP), once a major political party, is today in complete disarray and facing practical elimination, apart from rural Sindh. Unfortunately, Asif Ali Zardari, the cochairman, lacks moral and political legitimacy because of his poor reputation. The PPP’s political

standing is equally affected due to its bad governance in Sindh and colourless performance as the main opposition party in parliament. Zardari’s practice of taking major political decisions within a coterie of few family members and selected aides, rather than at the institutional level, has done great harm. Invoking the Bhutto name cannot take the party far. The electronic media has brought about great awareness and hollow slogans have outlived their usefulness. People expect result-oriented performance. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leadership, too, is beset with unprecedented challenges both in Pakistan and in the UK. The noose tightening around the MQM in the UK is more threatening for it in comparison to any of the court cases likely to be brought up against it in Pakistan. The onus of proving the innocence of the MQM’s top leadership in the UK rests with the party. On the other hand, proving MQM leaders guilty in Pakistan would require the prosecution to bring sufficient evidence.

The party’s supporters are holding together in these adverse circumstances but the MQM’s reputation has suffered seriously and major internal reforms are required to rehabilitate it. As Karachi and Sindh face crisis after crisis, the pressure on the PPP and the MQM keeps building and prospects of a soft coup or imposition of governor’s rule keep increasing. However, this would not be the right response as time and again we have experienced that when the establishment assumes power, it weakens political parties and promotes compliant political forces to advance its narrow institutional interests. This process started as early as 1958 during General Ayub’s time, with Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf going to the extent of treating political parties as rivals, even enemies.

However, with the return of civilian governments, the military’s role has become more selective and diffused. It has kept tight control over its traditional areas of interest. This aspect cannot be overlooked while assessing the quality of our political parties and their leadership. — Express Tribune

READERS’ FORUM Prince Alwaleed is truly an amazing man This refers to the online story, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed pledges entire $32 billion fortune to charity (July 1). What an amazing man! If more billionaires did this, the world would be a better place. Somehow, I don’t think they will. God bless him.

— Lorraine Paton , Muscat

Drug addiction affects many areas of life This refers to the online story, Oman draws up new plan to tackle drugs (June 28). I agree, drug addiction covers and affects many people and areas of life. I hope the government can tackle this growing problem.

— Ruby A. Takla , Muscat

Scan this QR code to send letters to the Readers’ Forum, containing not more than 200 words with full name, address and telephone number, may be sent by mail (Times of Oman, P.O. Box 770, P.C. 112, Ruwi).

In 2006, San Francisco approved the country’s first paid sick leave law. That year, Democrats also regained control of Congress, fuelling predictions that paid sick leave would become a hot topic of debate at the federal level bit.ly/paidsickleavemomentum

One Nations Iftar for all faiths an act of brotherhood This refers to the online story, One Nation’s Iftar unites people of all faiths (June 29). I really like the idea. It is very honourable and very humble at the same time. Oman will get rewarded for this act of brotherhood. Bravo!!

— Cecilia Gobio Marchesi , Muscat

Need to do away useless courses

This refers to the news story, Scientists discover billion-year-old fossil of peculiar ‘monster’ (July 1). This report made an interesting reading, however, I fail to understand why should we bother to know what happened so long ago. Instead, scientists and researchers should focus on today’s problems.

Such academic fields need to be abolished and instead joboriented education be imparted by educational institutions.

— Aizaz Sadriwala, Al Khuwair

CLIPPINGS FROM OUR ARCHIVES JUNE 1999 UNICEF to work for the needs of disabled Do those with special needs in Oman really have proper access to buildings here? This is one of the pertinent points that the UNICEF will address, and help ameliorate if necessary, and its renewed stint in Oman, top UNICEF (United Nation’s Children’s Fund) officials divulged to the Times of Oman recently.

In fact, the issue of access to the handicapped at shopping malls, supermarkets, hotels, or any building or establishment in Oman would be of paramount importance to the UNICEF, the officials stressed.

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PICTOGRAPH

1,583,919 EXPAT WORKERS in Oman, as of February 2015

1,369,841

214,078

Pakistan, Bangladesh and India

Other Countries

PAKISTAN

214,258 (14%)

INDONESIA

EGYPT

ETHIOPIA

PHILIPPINES

OTHER NATIONALITIES

BANGLADESH

546,487 (35%)

1543: England and Scotland sign the Peace of Greenwich.

1777 : British troops depart from their base at the Bouquet river to head toward Ticonderoga, New York 1838: Charles Darwin presents a paper on his theory of evolution to the Linnean Society in London 1916: The Battle of the Somme begins. Approximately 30,000 men are killed on the first day, two-thirds of them British

INDIA

609,096 (38%)

Source: National Centre for Statistics & Information

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PARIS: A blistering heatwave sweeping through Europe on Wednesday brought blackouts to France and fears of heat stroke for Wimbledon tennis fans, but meant a range of interesting ice creams for the continent’s zoo animals.

With temperatures pushing 40 degrees Celsius, the UN warned heatwaves were growing more frequent and intense due to climate change, and called on more countries to put warning systems in place to inform people of the dangers.

Emergency procedures At the Safaripark Beekse Bergen zoo in The Netherlands, staff had already put their emergency procedures in place -- including ice cubes for baboons, cold showers for the elephants, and special meat- and fruit-flavoured ice cream for the ringtailed lemurs. Not to be outdone, especially on the subject of ice cream, Italy’s main zoo in Rome offered gelato to its orangutans with a choice of flavours including fresh fruit and vegetables, or dried figs topped with eggs and insects.

Millions without power Humans were having a tougher time, with around a million homes in western France left without power overnight on Tuesday after the heatwave moved in from Spain, and another blackout striking Brittany on Wednesday morning, cutting electricity to 100,000 houses.

Wimbledon tennis tournament in London saw one of the hottest days of play ever recorded, just 0.3 degrees shy of the record 34.6 set in 1976. — AFP

US, Cuba restoring diplomatic relations This is a historic step forward in our efforts to normalise relations with the Cuban government and people and begin a new chapter with our neighbours in the Americas, said US President Barack Obama

HAVANA/WASHINGTON: The United States and Cuba on Wednesday formally agreed to restore diplomatic ties that had been severed for 54 years, fulfilling a pledge made six months ago by the former Cold War enemies.

US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro exchanged letters agreeing to reopen embassies in each other’s capitals, with the Cubans saying that could happen as soon as July 20.

“This is a historic step forward in our efforts to normalise relations with the Cuban government and people and begin a new chapter with our neighbours in the Americas,” Obama said from

the White House Rose Garden.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking from Vienna, said he would visit Havana later this summer to raise the US flag outside the US embassy, currently labeled the US interests section under the protection of the Swiss government. Obama and Castro seek to relegate to history 56 years of recriminations that have predominated ever since Fidel Castro’s rebels overthrew the US-backed government of Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959.

“Cuba is encouraged by the reciprocal intention to develop respectful and cooperative relations between our two peoples and governments,” Raul Castro, 84, Fidel’s younger brother and Cuban president since 2008, wrote in his letter to Obama.

Major achievement The Cuba deal marks a major achievement for Obama, who has been criticised for foreign policy stumbles, especially in the Middle East. It follows his recent victory in a congressional fight for fast-track authority that could undergird a landmark Asia trade deal and comes as Washington appears to be on the cusp of a nuclear agreement with Iran.

Following 18 months of secret negotiations brokered by Pope Francis and Canada, the two leaders announced separately but simultaneously in December that they planned to reopen embassies in each other’s capitals and normalise relations. The agreement also included a prisoner swap. —Reuters

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IS attacks kill 70 in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula CAIRO: IS militant group launched an unprecedented wave of attacks on Wednesday on Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai peninsula that killed at least 70 people, in a major challenge to President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.

F-16 warplanes bombarded the militants as they fought police and soldiers on the streets of the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid after striking military checkpoints in a surprise attack after dawn.

BILLOWING SMOKE: Smoke rises from a neighbourhood in Egypt’s North Sinai peninsula as seen from the border of southern Gaza Strip with Egypt on Wednesday. - Reuters

Violence The violence came two days after state prosecutor Hisham Barakat was assassinated in a Cairo car bombing.

He was the most senior govern-

ment official killed in the insurgency. In the capital on Wednesday, police killed senior Muslim Brotherhood member Nasser Al Houfi and eight others during a

raid on an apartment, security officials and a member of the extremist movement said.

The Sinai attacks, in which car bombs were used, were the most

brazen in their scope since militants launched an insurgency in 2013 following the army’s overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi. The victims included several civilians, according to security and medical officials, who said 38 militants were also killed.

“It’s war. The battle is ongoing,” a senior military official said.

“It’s unprecedented, in the number of terrorists involved and the type of weapons they are using.”

Militants took over rooftops and fired rocket-propelled grenades at a police station in Sheikh Zuweid after mining its exits to block reinforcements, a police colonel said.

F-16 jets struck the militants in several locations in the town, officials and a witness said. - AFP PHILANTHROPIC PLEDGE

Prince Alwaleed pledges entire $32b fortune to charity SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal on Wednesday pledged his entire $32-billion (28.8-billioneuro) fortune to charitable projects over the coming years.

The prince said in a statement that the “philanthropic pledge will help build bridges to foster cultural understanding, develop communities, empower women, enable youth, provide vital disaster relief and create a more tolerant and accepting world.”

The donation “will be allocated according to a well-devised plan throughout the coming years”, he said, but stressed there was no time limit for the donation to be spent.

Alwaleed said he would head a board of trustees tasked with spending the funds, adding the pledge would still be used after his death “for humanitarian projects and initiatives”.

In Saudi, Alwaleed, who holds no government rank, is unusual for his high profile and periodic comments about economic issues. At a press conference, he said his pledge was modelled on The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the US. “This is very much separate from my ownership in Kingdom Holding,” and there should be no impact on the publicly listed company’s share price, Alwaleed told reporters on the 66th-floor headquarters of the firm which he chairs.

As well as media investments, Kingdom Holding has interests ranging from the Euro Disney theme park to Four Seasons hotels and Citigroup. He is constructing a tower in the Red Sea city of Jeddah which is to rise more than one kilometre to be the world’s tallest building. - AFP

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Forex rates vs OMR1* US Dollar ................................. 2.58 Euro ............................................ 2.30 Pound ...........................................1.64 Indian Rs .............................164.93 Pak Rs ...................................260.08 Bangla Taka.......................199.48

Indian Rs ................................... 165.10 Pakistan Rs ............................ 263.50 Sri Lanka Rs ........................... 347.20 Bangla Taka.............................201.70 Phil Peso .................................... 116.55

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) .......15.05

Oman Crude............. (Spot) ........$62.03 Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) .........$61.83 Murban Crude ........ (Spot) .........$64.16 Arabian Light ......... (Spot) .........$61.93 N.Sea Brent............... (Spot) .........$62.81

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Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......14.50 Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ........... 142.00 Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) ............. 134.75 * Rates as of July 1 Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

BankDhofar and Bank Sohar plan due diligence for proposed merger Merger will create the country’s secondlargest bank with a market capitalisation of $1.81b and assets of $13.69b, said a report

A. E. JAMES

businesseditor@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: BankDhofar and Bank Sohar have entered into a nonbinding memorandum of understanding on its proposed merger, both financial institutions said in separate stock market filings here on Wednesday.

The two lenders agreed to proceed with due diligence, subject to receiving regulatory approvals, the disclosure statements noted. The

merger would create the country’s second-largest bank with a market capitalisation of $1.81 billion and assets of $13.69 billion, Reuters said in a report.

Talk of a potential merger between Bank Sohar and BankDhofar, Oman’s third-largest lender by market capitalisation, dates back to 2013, when Bank Sohar said it would consider a proposal from its larger peer to combine operations, the Reuters report added.

Bank Sohar shares edged up

0.54 per cent to close at 186 baisas, amid 1.59 million shares changing hand on the Muscat Securities Market on Wednesday.

This is a small market and the country has eight listed banks, including two Islamic banks, said Suresh Kumar, head of research at Al Maha Financial Services. “The merger is definitely good for the overall health of the financial sector (in the Sultanate of Oman),” added Suresh Kumar.

The move will result in a lot of synergies and advantages for the merged entity. A bigger financial institution will be in a better position to fund large projects, than small entities.

The banking regulator Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has been encouraging consolidation in the financial and insurance sectors, which may see the proposed merger between United Finance and

Al Omaniya Financial Services as well as merger between Al Madina Insurance and Vision Insurance.

Al Omaniya Financial Services has already submitted a bid to acquire United Finance.

Similarly, Al Madina’s board has expressed interest in fully acquiring Vision Insurance, but the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and satisfactory financial, business and legal due diligence.

In a small insurance market with many players like Oman, the proposed acquisition would enable Al Madina to achieve better returns on its capital.

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

REGULATORY APPROVAL: The Central Bank of Oman has been encouraging consolidation in the financial and insurance sectors, which may see the proposed merger between United Finance and Al Omaniya Financial Services as well as merger between Al Madina Insurance and Vision Insurance. – Times file picture

BANKING

REGIONAL RANKING

Bank Muscat tops Omani companies in ‘Forbes Top 500’

Banks in Oman see growing demand for personal finance ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI

elham@timesofoman.com Times News Service MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the biggest bank in the Sultanate, has topped Omani companies ranked in the Forbes Top 500 companies in the Arab World 2015.

The bank was ranked 44 in the Top 500 companies awards which celebrated the region’s corporate success. The rankings were based on financial performance as of December 2014 and featured publicly-listed companies across Arab countries.

AbdulRazak Ali Issa, chief executive, said: “Bank Muscat is immensely proud to be ranked again among the Top 500 companies in the Arab world. The recognition endorses the bank’s unrivalled position in Oman as well as the region, established by the global best practices.”

“The bank is proud to consistently top Omani companies in the Top 500 companies in the Arab world ranking. Time and again, prestigious global awards won by Bank Muscat reiterate its leadership position,” Ali Issa added.

“The Top 500 companies in the Awab World are the legacy of our time. They are bringing diversification to the region’s economies and carrying that success to international soil. The Top 500 is testament to an exciting time in the Middle East reflecting the passion and drive of formidable corporations,” said Forbes Middle East.

In 2014, Bank Muscat topped Omani companies in the Forbes Top 500 ranking and in 2010, the bank had the distinction of being

The recognition endorses the bank’s unrivalled position in Oman as well as the region, established by the global best practices AbdulRazak Ali Issa

MUSCAT: An increase in demand for personal finance products has been witnessed by banks in Oman, which also see the trend as an upward one.

Bank Nizwa, Oman’s first Islamic bank, says its personal finance products have been witnessing an organic growth due to the bank’s expanding network of branches, availability of a host of offerings and the growing sales team that cater to its growing customer base across the Sultanate.

Since the products are based on the ‘end-use’ Islamic personal finance solutions, they actually help customers in meeting dayto-day needs rather than taking cash, overspending and getting into debt, Asad Batla, head of consumer banking at Bank Nizwa, told Times of Oman.

Asked how Bank Nizwa sees the trend, Batla said, “The trend is definitely an upward one. Our strategy is paying off with more and more people understanding Islamic finance and looking into Sharia-compliant banking solutions as an alternative to conventional banking.”

Chief executive, Bank Muscat

the only Omani company to be listed in ‘The Forbes Global 2000’ featuring the biggest and most powerful listed companies of the world. In recognition of banking excellence, Bank Muscat is the recipient of all prestigious foreign, regional and local awards.

Innovative products Bank Nizwa’s innovative products include savings, current and investment deposits accounts as well as home, personal and auto finance solutions, he said.

“These solutions are sometimes season-dependent. For example, auto finance experiences a surge in demand during Ramadan and holidays,” said Batla. According

Asad Batla

Salim Al Kalbani

Yousuf Al Rawahi

to him, the suite of financing solutions available to customers includes financing of land, financing ready property or those under construction, andthe most popular offering for customers is home financing and building materials.

they have more options available to fulfill their needs,” he said.

The increase in loan demand also shows the constant efforts by BankDhofar to provide best customer experience through various products and services, said Al Kalbani.

Asked about the loans provided by the bank in 2013 and 2014, the official said that there was a significant increase in loan portfolio during this period, accompanied by an increase in the bank’s loan facilities including car loans, housing loans and education loans.

In addition, Yousuf Al Rawahi, deputy general manager - head of branches, retail and private banking at Ahlibank, says that the bank is seeing a ‘sustainable’ growth in loans, mainly auto and house requirements.

Commenting on the reasons behind the increase in demand, he said that there are new entrants in jobs being created with the growth in the economy and one of the requirements of individuals is to borrow for various purposes.

“As the concept of nuclear families increases, so will the requirement of personal needs, which are

often funded through bank borrowings,” Al Rawahisaid.

Home finance Recently, Bank Nizwa started offering customers the opportunity to transfer their home mortgages to avail of the bank’s Islamic home financing, said Batla. The head of consumer banking at Bank Nizwa also said that the bank is in the process of launching a range of Sharia-compliant credit cards, which is expected very soon.

Salim Al Kalbani,acting head of retail products, business and segments department at Bank Dhofar, also said that the bank has seen an increase in personal loans this year, as well as car loans, housing loans and education loans.

“The demand in personal loans in particular reflects the overall trend in consumers’ habits. People have access to different facilities offered by financial institutions across the Sultanate and

Overall trend Asked about the trend, the official said that the overall trend is increasing due to these factors as well asthe growth of inflation, increased housing requirements, and the increasing number of people moving to the capital area.

Asked about the personal loans provided by the bank in 2013 and 2014, Al Rawahi said, “Our bank has been increasing its market share consistently over the past two years. We are estimated to have around 7 to 8 per cent of the consumer market and have grown by around 3.5 per cent in the current year, whereas the market growth has been approximately 1.6 per cent.”

Asked which types of loans are in high demand, he said, “Loans are usually for housing, car and personal needs. On an average, growth is mainly in line with the overall outstanding in these segments. Most loans are for end use and some for funding lifestyle requirements.”

E U R O Z O N E S TA L E M AT E

Greek premier sets terms for bailout offer; Germany sceptical ATHENS/BRUSSELS: Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has told international creditors that Athens could accept their bailout offer if some conditions were changed, but Germany said it could not negotiate while Greece was headed for a referendum on the aid-forreforms deal.

In exchange for the conditional acceptance, the leftist leader, who has so far urged Greeks to reject the bailout terms in a referendum planned for Sunday, asked for a

€29 billion loan to cover all its debt service payments due in the next two years. With queues forming at many cash machines a day after Greece became the first advanced economy to default on the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and signs that supplies of bank notes were running low, Tsipras has been under growing political pressure to reach a deal.

Global financial markets reacted remarkably calmly to the widely anticipated Greek default,

strengthening the hand of hardline eurozone partners who say Athens cannot use the threat of contagion to weaker European sovereigns as a bargaining chip.

Tsipras asked in a letter to creditors to keep a discount on value added tax for Greek islands, stretch out defence spending cuts and delay the phasing out of an income supplement to poorer pensioners. “As you will note, our amendments are concrete and they fully respect the robustness

and credibility of the design of the overall programme,” the leftist Greek leader wrote.

Finance ministers Eurozone finance ministers were due to discuss the Greek request on a conference call at 1530 GMT, but the initial reaction from ministers and senior officials was that the letter contained elements that ministers would find hard to accept.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Greece had not ful-

filled its obligations. She did not exclude further negotiations, but ruled out starting them while Greece heads for the referendum.

“Before the referendum, no further talks on an aid programme can take place,” she said.

It was unclear whether the referendum would go ahead after Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis indicated on Tuesday that it might be scrapped if a deal could be reached.

Although the letter from Tsipras

was dated June 30, it arrived after the 19 Eurogroup ministers had ended a conference call on Tuesday evening. An EU official said it had been received around midnight, when the country’s international bailout expired when it defaulted on an IMF repayment.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble poured cold water on hopes of a rapid breakthrough, saying the letter had come too late and it was still not clear what Greece wanted. >B2

B2

TH UR S DAY, JU LY 2 , 2 015

MARKET MSM index closes flat

OMAN STOCKS

MUSCAT SECURITIES MARKET

INDICES Index .................................................High .................Low..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff % MSM30 Index ....................................... 6,429.20 ............... 6,416.72 ................... 6,429.05 ...................6,424.60....................4.45 ................... 0.07 Financial Index ..................................... 7,765.92 ............... 7,734.15 ....................7,765.92 ................... 7,740.25..................25.67 ................... 0.33 Industrial Index ................................... 8,338.94 ...............8,327.69 ....................8,331.14 ................... 8,329.73.....................1.41 ...................0.02 Services Index .......................................3,473.43 .............. 3,448.30 ................... 3,452.86 ...................3,468.00................ -15.14 .................. -0.44 MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................993.52 ..................990.88 .......................993.52 ...................... 992.57....................0.95 ................... 0.10 Trading Summary Volume ................Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded 14,425,367 ..................3,236,661 ..................1,214 ................15,039,417,282 ................ 13 ..................... 10 .................... 19 .........................42

Top gainer on Wednesday was HSBC Bank Oman, up by 2.26 per cent, while OIFC, which

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 1

declined by 9.75 per cent, was the top loser 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

MUSCAT: Muscat bourse’s general index - MSM 30 Index - ended on a flat note to close at 6,429.05 points, up by 0.07 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index increased 0.10 per cent to close at 993.52 points. Phoenix Power remained the most active in terms of volume as well as turnover.

The top gainer was HSBC Bank Oman, up by 2.26 per cent, while OIFC which decliend by 9.75 per cent, was the top loser.

As many as 1,214 trades were executed in the day’s session generating a turnover of OMR3.23 million with over 14.4 million shares changing hands. Out of 42 traded securities, 13 advanced, 10 declined and 19 remained unchanged. At the close of the session, foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of OMR273,000 while GCC and Arab Investors were net sellers at OMR273,000 followed by Omani investors.

Financial Index increased 0.07 per cent and closed at 7,740.25 points. HSBC Bank Oman, United Finance, Oman& Emirates and Bank Sohar increased by 2.26 per cent, 1.37 per cent, 0.86 per cent and 0.54 per cent respectively. Oman Takaful, Al Madina Investment , Al Madina Takaful and Gulf Investment Services declined by 8.40 per cent, 1.41 per cent, 1.14 per cent and 0.74 per cent respectively.

Industrial Index was marginally up by 0.02 per cent to finish at 8,331.14 points. Oman Fisheries, Gulf International Chemicals and Oman Cables increased by

1.85 per cent, 1.74 per cent and 1.32 per cent respectively. Al Anwar Ceramic and Al Hassan Engineering declined by 1.40 per cent and 1.02 per cent respectively.

Services Sector Index closed at 3,452.86 points, down by 0.44%.

Renaissance Services and Oredoo Oman increased by 1.07 per cent and 0.52 per cent respectively. OIFC, National Gas, Al Suwadi Power and Al Batinah Power declined by 9.75 per cent,1.13 per cent , 1.01 per cent and 0.51 per cent respectively.

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

OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN ......................................................15,000 ...............2,035........................2 ............0.137 ........... 0.137 ...........0.135 ............0.136 ............. 0.133............ 0.003............. 2.256 ................0.135 ..............0.134...................0.135 ................. 272,042,539 .......0.100 OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ............. 20,000 ...............4,677........................3 ........... 0.233 ...........0.234 ...........0.233........... 0.234 .............0.230 ........... 0.004............. 1.739.................0.234..............0.234...................0.236....................4,914,000 ..........0.100 OM0000002374............UNITED FINANCE ..................................................... 438,831 ............ 65,011......................19 ............0.148 ........... 0.149 ...........0.148 ........... 0.148 .............0.146............ 0.002............. 1.370 ................0.149 ..............0.148...................0.150................... 45,993,211 .........0.100 OM0000001707 ............OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY...................................... 96,752 ..........222,525........................6 ........... 2.295 ...........2.300 ...........2.295........... 2.300 .............2.270 ........... 0.030............. 1.322 ................2.300 .............2.275...................2.300 ................ 206,310,000 .......0.100 OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES .........................................8,229 ...............2,332........................5 ........... 0.285 ...........0.285 ...........0.280 .......... 0.283 .............0.280 ........... 0.003..............1.071.................0.280............. 0.280...................0.285...................79,832,730 .........0.100 OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING............ 82,500 ...............9,660........................5 ............0.116 ........... 0.119............0.116 ............0.117 ............. 0.116 .............0.001 ............. 0.862 ................0.119 .............. 0.118................... 0.119 ...................14,259,375 .........0.100 OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 1,591,132 .......296,107..................... 28 ............0.185 ........... 0.188 ...........0.185 ........... 0.186 ............. 0.185.............0.001 ............. 0.541 ................0.187 .............. 0.187...................0.190..................268,107,840........0.100 OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO.........................................................................65,664 ............ 50,946..................... 10 ............0.772 ........... 0.776 ...........0.772 ............0.776 .............0.772............ 0.004............. 0.518 ................0.776 ..............0.772...................0.776..................505,132,722........0.100 OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING................................................117,510 ............ 23,592.....................24 ............0.196 ...........0.204 ...........0.196 ........... 0.201 .............0.200 ............0.001 .............0.500 ................0.204 .............0.203...................0.204 .................. 30,165,075 .........0.100 OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 593,018..........327,026..................... 30 ........... 0.550 ........... 0.554 ...........0.550........... 0.552 .............0.550 ........... 0.002.............0.364 ................0.554..............0.552...................0.554................1,265,086,074 ......0.100 OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT .......................................................... 4,076 ............... 6,196........................3 ............1.520 ........... 1.520 ...........1.520........... 1.520 .............1.520............ 0.000.............0.000 ................1.520 ..............1.480...................1.520................. 304,000,000 .......0.100 OM0000001483............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ................................. 155,656 ............52,300.....................22 ........... 0.336 ...........0.336 ...........0.336........... 0.336 .............0.336 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.336..............0.332...................0.336..................450,478,644 .......0.100 OM0000001533 ............OMINVEST ............................................................................250 .................. 122........................1 ........... 0.486 ...........0.486 ...........0.486........... 0.480 .............0.480 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.486..............0.528...................0.000 .................177,800,304........0.100 OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS .............................4,177 .................. 982........................2 ........... 0.235 ........... 0.235 ...........0.235........... 0.240 .............0.240 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.235..............0.235...................0.242 ..................29,975,510 .........0.100 OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK ........................................................................ 2,100 ..................447........................1 ............0.213 ........... 0.213 ...........0.213 ............0.215 ............. 0.215............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.213 ..............0.213...................0.215..................306,382,771........0.100 OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ........................10,000 ...............1,200........................1 ............0.120 ........... 0.120 ...........0.120........... 0.120 .............0.120 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.120..............0.122...................0.123....................3,600,000 ..........0.100

Emerging stocks up Emerging-market stocks rose for a second day as Greece accepted creditor proposals to end a stalemate over its bailout programme and manufacturing gauges from Poland to South Africa climbed.

The ringgit led currencies higher.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 0.3 per cent to 974.77 in London. Samsung Heavy posted the biggest gain on the gauge after winning a $4.7 billion order from Royal Dutch Shell. Equity benchmarks in Warsaw, Budapest and Prague advanced. Malaysian shares rallied the most this year and the ringgit climbed to a one-week high after Fitch Ratings upgraded its outlook for the country.

Poland’s WIG 20 Index rose 0.6 per cent as a purchasing managers’ index of manufacturing in June expanded faster than estimated. The FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index in Johannesburg headed for the biggest increase in a week. – United Securities/Bloomberg News

OM0000002549 ...........BANK DHOFAR ................................................................2,300 ..................644........................1 ........... 0.280...........0.280 ...........0.280 .......... 0.280 .............0.280 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.280..............0.275...................0.280 .................432,523,993 .......0.100 OM0000002614............ONIC. HOLDING .............................................................. 1,042 ..................500........................1 ........... 0.480 ...........0.480 ...........0.480........... 0.480 .............0.480 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.480..............0.482...................0.486...................83,243,160 .........0.100 OM0000003000 ...........ALMAHA PETROLEUM PRODUCTS MAR. ......... 7,500 .............16,425........................1 ............2.190 ........... 2.190 ...........2.190........... 2.190 .............2.190 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................2.190............. 0.000...................2.190.................. 151,110,000 ........0.100 OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 247,738..........429,829..................... 28 ............1.735 ........... 1.740............ 1.735 ............1.735 ............. 1.735 ............ 0.000.............0.000 ................1.740 .............. 1.740................... 1.745 ................1,301,250,000 ......0.100 OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. ....................48,092 ...............5,873........................8 ............0.122 ........... 0.124 ...........0.122........... 0.122 .............0.122 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.124..............0.124...................0.125................... 35,377,638 .........0.100 OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY ........................................................... 110 .....................46........................2 ............0.410 ...........0.420 ...........0.410........... 0.430 .............0.430 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.420..............0.420...................0.440 ..................26,015,000 .........0.100 OM0000004248 ...........SMN POWER HOLDING ...............................................1,310 ..................922........................2 ........... 0.704 ........... 0.704 ...........0.704........... 0.704 .............0.704 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.704..............0.704...................0.000 .................140,543,462........0.100 OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS ....................................................4,500 ................2,511........................3 ............0.558 ........... 0.558 ...........0.558........... 0.558 .............0.558 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.558..............0.550...................0.556...................29,295,000.........0.100 OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER................................................ 590,375 ..........116,489..................... 26 ........... 0.200...........0.200 ...........0.197 ............0.197 ............. 0.198............-0.001 ........... -0.505 ...............0.198 ..............0.199...................0.200 .................132,952,824........0.100 OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ...........................61,254 ...............8,284........................6 ............0.135 ........... 0.137 ...........0.135 ............0.135 ............. 0.136............-0.001 ........... -0.735................0.137 .............. 0.135...................0.137 .................... 7,943,834 ..........0.100 OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER .................................................. 556,757.......... 109,387......................17 ........... 0.200...........0.200 ...........0.196 ............0.196 ............. 0.198............-0.002 ............-1.010................0.198 ..............0.198...................0.200 .................140,023,643........0.100 OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS ........................................................... 357,608.......... 125,326......................17 ........... 0.354 ........... 0.356 ...........0.350........... 0.350 .............0.354 ...........-0.004 ............-1.130................0.350..............0.350...................0.360 ..................17,500,000 .........0.100 OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL............................................. 100,944 ..............8,825........................9 ........... 0.087 ...........0.088 ...........0.087........... 0.087 .............0.088 ...........-0.001 ............-1.136................0.088..............0.087...................0.089...................15,225,000 .........0.100 OM0000002168............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ................................ 20,000 ...............8,480........................1 ........... 0.424 ...........0.424 ...........0.424........... 0.424 .............0.430 ...........-0.006 ............-1.395................0.424..............0.422...................0.428 .................125,594,601 ........0.100 OM0000001962............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ................................... 269,376 ............18,863..................... 26 ........... 0.072 ...........0.072 ...........0.070........... 0.070 ............. 0.071............-0.001 ........... -1.408 ...............0.070..............0.070...................0.072...................14,500,597 .........0.100 OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE.............. 252,191............. 53,717.....................20 ............0.213 ........... 0.213 ...........0.213 ........... 0.213 .............0.236 ...........-0.023 ............-9.746................0.213 ............. 0.000...................0.213.................. 42,600,000 ........0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 5,725,992 ... 1,971,279...................330 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......32........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET .................................................................................................................................................................................

OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES ...................................................... 20,000 ............... 1,093........................4 ........... 0.054 ........... 0.055 ...........0.054........... 0.055 .............0.054 ............0.001 ............. 1.852 ................0.054..............0.054...................0.056....................6,875,000 ..........0.100 OM0000004511 ............ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK................................................21,000 ............... 1,669........................8 ........... 0.078 ...........0.080 ...........0.078........... 0.079 .............0.078 ............0.001 ............. 1.282 ................0.080..............0.078...................0.080 ..................79,000,000.........0.100 OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 8,122,104 ....1,217,579...................842 ............0.149 ........... 0.151............0.149 ........... 0.150 .............0.149.............0.001 ............. 0.671 ................0.150 ..............0.150................... 0.151 ..................219,390,219 ........0.100 OM0000001285 ............NATIONAL MINERAL WATER ............................... 19,399 ...............1,280........................1 ........... 0.066 ...........0.066 ...........0.066........... 0.066 .............0.066 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.066..............0.064...................0.070.................... 1,782,201 ..........0.100 OM0000001400 ...........OMAN FLOUR MILLS ...................................................2,000 ...............1,004........................1 ........... 0.502 ...........0.502 ...........0.502........... 0.502 .............0.502 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.502............. 0.000...................0.502 ..................79,065,000.........0.100 OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 339,871.............25,126......................13 ........... 0.073 ........... 0.074 ...........0.073........... 0.074 .............0.074 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.074..............0.074...................0.075..................111,000,000 ........0.100 OM0000002564 ...........AL HASSAN ENGINEERING....................................23,500 .............. 2,290........................5 ........... 0.097 ........... 0.100 ...........0.097........... 0.097 .............0.098 ...........-0.001 ........... -1.020 ...............0.100..............0.097...................0.100.................... 7,295,176 ..........0.100 OM0000004776 ...........TAKAFUL OMAN INSURANCE ..............................19,280 ...............2,106........................4 ............0.109 ........... 0.115............0.108........... 0.109 ............. 0.119............-0.010 ........... -8.403 ...............0.115 ...............0.113................... 0.115 ...................10,900,000.........0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 8,567,154 ...1,252,147...................878 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 8........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

INDIAN MARKETS

GREEK CRISIS

< FROM

Indian stocks gain; rupee rises B1 Signs of banknote shortage MUMBAI: Mumbai bourse’s S&P BSE Sensex crossed 28,000-mark and ended at nearly two-anda-half-month high at 28,020.87 and CNX Nifty also finished at 8,453.05 on fresh buying on the back of higher global cues as overseas markets stabilised.

Investors sentiment bolstered by six-month high jump in country’s eight core infra sectors and firm Asian cues,sidelining global scare of Greece default, a broker said. Shares of Capital Goods, Banking, Power, realty, auto, IT and teck sectors firmed up on good buying inquiries.

The secondline shares, midcap and smallcap indices also rallied tracking the broader segments.

The Sensex resumed higher at 27,823.65 and shot up further to

a high of 28,099.25 before ending at nearly two-and-a-half-month high at 28,020.87, showing a gain of 240.04 points or 0.86 per cent.

The Sensex had last ended at 28,442.10 on April 17, 2015. The CNX 50-share Nifty also ended at nearly two-and-a-half-month month high at 8,453.05, disclosing a gain of 84.35 points or 1.01 per cent. It had last ended at 8,606.00 on April 17, 2015.

Meanwhile, foreign investors sold shares worth Rs551.38 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional data. Global markets stabilized even as Greece ended updefaulting on its euro 1.55 billion loan ($1.73 billion) to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with creditors rejecting a last-ditch effort to buy more time.

Rupee appreciates The rupee snapped its five-day losing trend against the US currency, ending higher by 20 paise to 63.64 per dollar, on fresh selling of greenback by banks and exporters on hopes of a revival in foreign capital inflows.

The rupee opened higher at 63.76 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange as compared to 63.84 previously and firmed up further to 63.63 before ending at 63.64 per dollar, showing a gain of 20 paise. The rupee had gained 32 paise or 0.50 per cent in the last five trading days.

The domestic unit moved in a range of 63.80 and 63.63 per dollar during the day. The dollar index was trading higher by 0.21 per cent against its major global rivals. - PTI

“That did not provide further clarity,” he said, adding that there was “no basis” for serious negotiations with Athens at the moment.

“The Hellenic Republic is prepared to accept this Staff Level Agreement subject to the following amendments, additions or clarifications, as part of an extension of the expiring EFSF programme and the new ESM Loan Agreement for which a request was submitted today,” Tsipras wrote.

Any talks on a new programme would have to start from scratch with different conditions, he told a news conference in Berlin. European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said Greece’s deteriorating finances made the situation much more complicated to resolve.

Pensioners suffering On the third day of a bank closure, long lines formed at many cash distributors. Even with a withdrawal limit of 60 euros a day, there were signs of banknote shortages. Bankers said 50-euro and 20-euro notes were running low.

Around 1,000 banks around the country opened to allow pensioners to withdraw a limited sum in cash since many older people in Greece do not have credit or debit cards. Kiki Rizopoulou, a 79 yearold pensioner from Lamia in central Greece had to travel to Athens to collect her pension, spending 20 euros of the 120 euros she was allowed to take out. “I already have

Greece debt doubles IMF arrears With its failure to repay some €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) to the IMF, Greece became the first developed country to fall into arrears – the official euphemism for default – on payments to the fund

Money owed to IMF (in fund’s own currency – Special Drawing Rights, 1 SDR currently equals $1.26)

bn 4.0

Dec 1991: Arrears peak at SDR3.6 billion with 11 countries overdue 1993: Peru repays SDR621.0 million Vietnam SDR100.2m

3.5

May 2015 Arrears stand at SDR1.29bn $1.82 billion

1995: Zambia SDR830.2m

3.0

Greek default pushes IMF arrears account to $3.62bn

Jun 30, 2015 Greece fails to repay SDR1.23bn $1.8 billion

Sudan SDR979.9m 234.6m Somalia 81.1m Zimbabwe

2.5 2.0 1.5

1992: Panama repays SDR180.9m 2004: Iraq SDR55.3m

1.0 2000: Yugoslavia SDR101.1m

0.5

2008: Liberia SDR543.0m 2002: D. R. Congo SDR403.6m

0 1990

95

2000

05

Source: Finance Department, International Monetary Fund

to pay back 50 euros that I owe. It’s embarrassing,” she said.

The ruling Syriza party plastered Athens with posters calling for a “No” vote. But the hardship facing pensioners added to the pressure facing Tsipras, who has indicated he will resign if he loses the referendum.

The Tsipras letter contained only a single sketchy reference to labour market reform, which was one of the creditors’ key demands to make

10 Graphic News /

15 Graphics

the Greek economy more competitive, and no mention at all of frozen privatisations, another bugbear.

“The new framework will be legislated in autumn 2015,” it said without saying what measures it contained. Tsipras’ leftist government wants to restore collective bargaining rights scrapped under previous bailout-driven reforms, and opposes a demand to make collective layoffs easier in the private sector. - Reuters

T HURSDAY, JULY 2, 2015

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MARKET Gulf region set to spend $9.5b for ensuring cyber security Pricewaterhouse Coopers report says a whopping 42.8m information security incidents reported globally in 2014, up 48% from the previous year

Times News Service MUSCAT: An estimated $9.5 billion is expected to be spent by regional governments on cyber security by 2019 as governments and enterprises collaborate to implement strict laws and regulations for securing networks, says a recent report.

A recent Markets and Markets report has quoted experts as say-

ing that regional governments see cyber-crime as a growing threat and together are set to invest heavily on cyber security over the next four years.

Malware threats An industry on the rise, a recent report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers indicated a staggering 42.8 million information security incidents reported globally in 2014, up 48 per cent from the previous year.

According to a Cisco Annual Security Report, the Middle East faces increasing malware threats from cyber-attacks, particularly

in the energy sector which was in the global top five most-at-risk industries for malware in 2014.

The global energy sector was subject to a 300 per cent higher malware encounter rate than the median industry. And, with the Middle East home to more than 60 per cent of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (Opec) oil reserves, investment in cyber security is a critical issue for governments and corporations alike.

Making its debut in the region, Infosecurity Middle East will launch during the seventh edition International Security and National Resilience (ISNR) Abu

SHIPPING

Dhabi exhibition next year. The leading international event is an offshoot event from Infosecurity Europe, Europe’s number one information security exhibition and conference for over 20 years.

“We must remember the world of cyber space is constantly evolving. Continuous attacks globally and in the region on governments and businesses demand the constant development and progression of solutions and technology which are growing at staggering speed,” said Nicky Dawson, group exhibition director of ISNR Abu Dhabi.

Infosecurity Middle East “Cyber security was a key issue addressed during this year’s World Economic Forum and governments around the world, including in this region, have identified it as a threat to national security.

The launch of Infosecurity Middle East brings a proven authority within the global information security industry, with more than 20 years of experience in Europe, to the rapidly growing regional market,” Dawson added.

Under the guidance and direction of the UAE’s Ministry of

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

P O R TA L

Sohar Port carries out shipto-ship fuel oil transfer

Oman companies can post financial accounts online Times News Service

Times News Service MUSCAT: Sohar Port and Freezone completed another successful ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of fuel oil last week in a delicate operation conducted by Fendercare Marine, one of the world’s leading marine cargo transfer companies.

Accredited by no less than ten national and international regulatory bodies, Fendercare handles around 2,800 transfers per year and has an immaculate safety record. In 2013, Fendercare managed close to half a billion barrels globally without incident.

Sohar has taken an active role as a regional pioneer of ship-toship transfer services in its anchorage areas.

Especially with the current high demand for floating storage solutions, ship-to-ship movements of liquid bulk are critical.

Bigger is better when it comes to economies of scale, so although smaller vessels may bring in oil supplies, super-tankers are the more cost effective mid to longterm floating storage solution.

At present, some VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers, or supertankers) are being booked up to one year ahead by traders to facilitate additional, offshore storage space until global oil prices recover and physical stocks can be sold off.

As always in Sohar, safety and environmental protection are

Interior, ISNR was established as a platform for countries from around the world to see and source the world’s very latest homeland security solutions in one place, at one time.

For the three-day March 2016 ISNR event, there will be more than 500 exhibiting companies from 45 countries showing solutions to nearly 20,000 attendees from more than 90 countries, many of whom will form country delegations of buyers.

InfoSecurity is a highly respected international brand in the information security industry and in 2016 will be a co-located exhibition with ISNR Abu Dhabi to serve regional governments, critical infrastructure, major public institutions and IT security officers with the latest trends and innovative solutions to ensure the security of business information and IT infrastructure.

IN DEMAND: At present, some VLCCs or super-tankers are being booked up to one year ahead by traders to facilitate additional, offshore storage space until global oil prices recover. - Supplied picture

paramount to any marine side operations.

As a 50:50 partnership with Port of Rotterdam, Sohar prides itself on some of the strictest and best policed environmental policies in the region, both above and below the water.

Artificial reef Sohar has invested in an artificial reef project to help protect and grow fish stocks in the area around the port and to help support local fishermen. “Thursday’s transfer demonstrates that the marine side of our business is still booming,” said Andre Toet, Sohar chief executive.

“With all our recent successes and the phenomenal growth in investments we have seen on the landside of the Sohar operation, it is sometimes easy to overlook

what is happening out at sea.

Thursday also marked International Day of the Seafarer, and we celebrated the day by handing out 500 goody bags to mariners at our berths or moored in our anchorage areas,” he concluded.

Sohar will also be handling liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipto-ship transfers in the near future. The pioneering ship-to-ship transfers in Sohar will combine the latest technologies with international best practices to offer a revolutionary service, currently only available at the Ports of Rotterdam and Singapore.

A recent set of deadlines set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), will require ships passing through so-called Emissions Control Areas, to reduce the level of sulphur-oxide in their fuel supplies to just 0.1 per cent.

MUSCAT: A trial version of the electronic system of annual financial reports through the Invest Easy portal has been activated by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It enables commercial entities and companies to enter their financial accounts through the Invest Easy portal, a first-of-its-kind e-commercial registration service.

This service is optional aiming to prepare the investor to use the system when the ministry decides to make it mandatory for all institutions and companies in the future.This service helps the investor to manage the institution’s final accounts electronically through the Invest Easy

window without the need to attend in the ministry.

Easy integration It allows the ministry to identify active commercial institutions or companies and follow up the ones which are inactive commercially. Follow-up accounts electronic system aims to reduce the multiplicity of commercial registers and give institutions and companies the opportunity to integrate easily.

This service is one of 66 electronic services the ministry provides for investors through the portal, provided that the investor should have activated Identity Card or the application of Invest Easy in smart phones with activated SIM card.

CRUDE OIL

Iran faces hurdles to export oil even with nuclear deal LONDON: Iran nears a deal to ease oil sanctions after almost two years of talks, selling more crude remains a long way off.

The nation’s goal of increasing exports 50 per cent as soon as restrictions are lifted won’t be fulfilled, say Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Societe Generale. That would require an extra 500,000 barrels of daily output, which the banks say will take six to 12 months as Opec’s fourth- biggest producer complies with terms of a deal and revives aging wells.

The impact on prices will be limited, the banks predict.

“They’ve got to meet the requirements of any agreement, and that’s going to take time,” Jeff Currie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs, said by e-mail from New York on Monday.

The United States and five other global powers seek an agreement with the Gulf nation to curtail its nuclear programme in exchange for removing sanctions that have squeezed its oil trade and economy. Iranian oil exports have plunged 46 per cent since 2011 as a result of the restrictions, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Deal approaches Diplomats in Vienna are close to clinching the historic agreement, with both sides having shown the “political will” to finish drafting a long-term accord, European Union foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said on June 28. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif rejoined the talks Tuesday, saying he was there “to get a final deal.” The negotiations, now in their 21st month, have been extended to July 7 from June 30.

Oil prices have lost about 45 percent in the past year as Saudi Arabia, Iran’s rival for political sway in the Gulf, leads the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) in an effort to defend market share by pumping more oil.

While the announcement of a deal would trigger a ‘knee-jerk’ price drop, the slow pace of restoring exports would damp the impact, Societe Generale predicts.

Brent oil, the global benchmark, slid 1.5 per cent. - Bloomberg News

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FEATURE

E

Many had hoped that Hong Kong’s return to Chinese hands in 1997 would’ve prompted the Communist Party to try to import the city’s first-world banking system, openness and rule of law. Eighteen years on, the opposite seems to be happening.

Now, China’s bubbles are now Hong Kong’s problems.

verybody knows that China’s stock market is a rigged, non-transparent one. That’s a problem for Beijing certainly, but it’s also now a problem for Hong Kong, once considered the gold standard for global financial hubs.

Many had hoped that Hong Kong’s return to Chinese hands in 1997 would’ve prompted the Communist Party to try to import the city's first-world banking system, openness and rule of law. Eighteen years on, the opposite seems to be happening. China is exporting its financial bedlam to a city whose defenses may be woefully unprepared. Charles Li, the CEO at Hong Kong Exchange & Clearing, recently told Bloomberg News his market can easily handle the mainland inflows enabled by a new exchange link with Shanghai. What isn’t clear is whether Hong Kong regulators have the capacity to monitor and contain the risks associated with all that cash sloshing across the border.

Recently, solar company Hanergy Thin Film Power Group crashed, erasing a breathtaking $19 billion in 24 minutes. A day later, the chaos spread to the Goldin twins — Goldin Financial and Goldin Properties — which lost $21 billion, about half their market value, for no obvious reason. The three companies had been among Hong Kong’s best-performing stocks this year. Their downfall makes at least three things clear.

First, China’s bubbles are now Hong Kong’s problems. Mainland markets long ago abandoned the kind of value investing championed by the likes of Warren Buffett. Chinese punters care little about balance sheets, financial ratios or corporate strategy. What matters more are the links company officials are believed to have with top Communist Party officials — who got in on the ground floor, whose nephew or niece is on the board and whose mobile numbers are in the CEO’s contacts list.

Guanxi — a term covering connections or relationships — is valued above P/E ratios.

Rather than looking at company filings, investors scour Internet chat rooms to find out which corporate titans appear to be blessed with official favour. I can't pretend to know why Hanergy’s stock surged six-fold this year before the plunge, or why the Goldin twins jumped more than 300 per cent. Suffice it to say that investors believed more in the owners — Hanergy’s Li Hejun and Goldin's Pan Sutong — than the businesses. Once that aura cracked, in Li’s case because he chose not to show up to the company’s annual meeting, everyone rushed for the exits.

Hong Kong officials now need to start thinking in these terms and bolstering their defenses, which currently don't even include

so-called circuit breakers as in other major markets. The Securities and Futures Commission should increase its investigative and enforcement staff immediately. Authorities also need to reconsider the laissez-faire regulatory environment that’s long set Hong Kong apart in Asia, increasing oversight of unusual share moves and intervening where necessary. Officials might want to consider slowing mainland capital flows until data on buy-andsell orders can keep pace with trading activity.

Secondly, prospects are looking dicey in the solar sector. Fair or not, Hanergy's downfall will cast a pall over the renewable-energy realm. The crash coincided with one at Yingli Green Energy (down 37 per cent in US trading). Yingli now says there’s “substantial doubt” over its future.

Granted, short sellers and media outlets had long questioned Hanergy’s unproven technology, unconventional accounting regime and dependence on its parent for revenue. In December, analyst Charles Yonts of CLSA in Hong Kong asked rhetorically of Hanergy’s claims to have mastered thin-film technology: “Are they really that good?” Now, executives boasting of renewable breakthroughs from Japan (which offers some of the world’s mostgenerous incentives for clean energy) to the U.S. will face new levels of market skepticism.

China is, after all, where most of these innovations will be assembled. Even if issues at Hanergy and Yingli are company-specific, expect increased volatility in energy stocks for the foreseeable future.

Third, global investors should prepare for more uncertainty generally. Unprecedented central-bank cash is driving asset prices to record highs even as global demand underwhelms. China is a particular anomaly, with a stock market in the stratosphere despite the slowest growth since 2009. For better or worse, Beijing is likely to continue encouraging this stock bonanza because equity is about the only way companies can raise cash nowadays, given that the debt overhang throughout the economy.

If fundamentals were driving things, Shanghai shares might be falling; instead they're up about 42 per cent this year. Shenzhen shares are up even more, about 92 per cent, and it’s only May. The southern Chinese city will soon have its own Hong Kong market link, opening yet another channel for mainland money to overwhelm Hong Kong regulators.

As Bloomberg News reported Friday, over 100 Shenzhen stocks have surged more than sixfold each over the last year.

About the only sure bet in this market is that many of them will repeat Hanergy’s swoon.

— Washington Post-Bloomberg News

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ROUND-UP

Home Centre stirs up spirit of generosity with ‘Share a Table’ One of a series of such community gatherings was held for children of Association of Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities

MUSCAT: Home Centre, the region’s leading home retailer, is marking the holy month of Ramadan this year with an exclusive ‘Share a Table’ initiative that en-

courages a cross section of communities to come together and share a meal during Iftar celebrations.

As part of the initiative, Home Centre has lined up a series of Iftars across the region. One of a series of such community gatherings was held for children of Association of Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities, a nonprofit organisation that educates

children and young adults with special needs, says a press release.

Hosted recently at the Home Centre, Muscat City Centre, the grand Iftar gathered children and their families together.

Commenting on the initiative, Mederic Payne, CEO, Home Centre, said: “This Ramadan, we wanted to encourage people to share a table to spread the mes-

sage of generosity and hospitality.

At Home Centre, we believe that special bonds can start at the table.

Through our ‘Share a Table’ initiative, we wish to highlight the importance of cherishing family life through such special occasions.”

The venue was transformed to reflect a grand Iftar setting with Home Centre’s signature Ramadan collection. Festive centre-

6 7 Y E A R S C E L E B R AT I O N

pieces, fine china crockery and tableware, traditional lanterns and aesthetically crafted accessories set the mood for an Iftar to remember. A specially designed three-course meal was catered with special dishes based on the recipes featured in the Home Centre Ramadan Catalogue 2015.

The festival ambience was heightened with activities such as

face painting and balloon bending that kept the children entertained throughout the gala dinner.

A special gift was given out to every child as a surprise element at the event.

Sabah Mohammed Al Bahlani, CEO of Association of Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities, said: “We thank Home Centre for this gesture of goodwill towards our children and their families. Our children enjoyed every moment of the evening.

"They had elated smiles on their faces as they celebrated the Iftar with their loved ones and made new friends in a completely joyful and familial atmosphere. It is these small acts of kindness that make a special difference and reflect the true spirit of Ramadan.”

This Iftar demonstrated how the simple experience of dining together can bring incredible joy to people from different sections of society.

H O LY M O N T H

Building an icon: Land Rover creates one-of-a-kind ‘Defender 2,000,000’ MUSCAT: Celebrating 67 years of iconic Land Rover production, a unique vehicle has been built to commemorate the UK production of the two-millionth Series Land Rover and Defender.

With a bespoke design and an all-star cast of special guests helping to complete the momentous build, ‘Defender 2,000,000’ has been created to be a tribute to almost seven decades of Land Rover production in the Solihull plant, UK, says a press release.

In December 2015, collectors and Defender fans will be given the opportunity to own this unique piece of Land Rover’s history when it is auctioned by prestigious and globally renowned auction house, Bonhams. Reflecting Defender’s heritage, all proceeds will be donated to Land Rover’s humanitarian and conservation partners – the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Born Free Foundation.

Dr Ralf Speth, Chief Executive of Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Over 67 years, the Series Land Rover and in turn Defender has been the transport of choice for explorers, charity organisations, farmers and even royalty. Throughout history it has helped pioneers to reach the unreachable. What started life as an agricultural workhorse has transcended the automotive world to become a worldwide design icon.

I was honoured to join the production line team in Solihull to help build this unique vehicle. It was a special experience which will no doubt become a fond memory.

“The auction of this milestone vehicle is an opportunity to own

a piece of Land Rover’s history, as Defender enters its final phase of manufacturing in Solihull. Giving people the chance to buy this truly distinctive Defender to raise funds for the IFRC and Born Free Foundation is a suitable way to celebrate the role that Defender has played in supporting our humanitarian aid and conservation partners over the decades.”

During May 2015, a team of lifelong Defender fans were invited to join the Solihull production line to help build this one-of-a-kind vehicle, including adventurer Bear Grylls. Commenting while on the production line, Grylls said: “The Land Rover Defender has been there for me more times than I care to remember. They are so often the unsung heroes of our TV shows, working hard in the toughest conditions to get crew in and out of exceptionally challenging terrains.

Known and respected by me and many other adventurers for their rugged reliability - it was an honour to be asked to take part in the build of this very special car.”

Representatives from the IFRC

and Born Free also made the journey to Solihull to fit their part to the vehicle, including actress and founder of the Born Free Foundation Virginia McKenna OBE. The vehicle was publicly unveiled by Bonhams at Goodwood Festival of Speed, held from June 25-28. After completing a schedule of public appearances throughout the rest of the year, ‘Defender 2,000,000’ will be auctioned at a prestigious charity event, held at the Bonhams auction house in New Bond Street, London on December 16.

As part of the auction, Bonhams will host a specially curated Series Land Rover and Defender exhibition, to showcase the vehicle’s rich history and detail its journey to becoming a global automotive icon.

Robert Brooks, Bonhams Chairman, said: “Bonhams and Land Rover are quintessentially British brands, and so we are delighted to be auctioning the two-millionth Series Land Rover and Defender on December 16 at our global headquarters in New Bond Street. It’s an honour to offer this landmark

vehicle and I’ve no doubt there will be some spirited bidding.”

The ‘Defender 2,000,000’ vehicle features a plethora of distinctive finishing touches. A map of Red Wharf Bay, where the design for the original Land Rover was first drawn in the sand is engraved into the aluminium fender, which contrasts with the exterior Indus Silver satin paint. A unique ‘no 2,000,000’ badge sits on the rear of the vehicle, which is mirrored on the interior console. The design is finished with Santorini Black wheels and wheel arches, roof, door hinges, grille and mirror caps.

Inside, the leather seats also feature the ‘Red Wharf Bay’ graphic and ‘no 2,000,000’ logos have been stitched on the headrests.

A bespoke aluminium plaque, signed by everyone who helped to assemble the vehicle is fitted to the driver’s seat plinth.

On the front and rear, S90 HUE registration plates, a reference to the first ever pre-production Land Rover, registration ‘HUE 166’, complete this one-of-a-kind Land Rover Defender.

Gulf Air commences annual Iftar meal box distribution initiative BAHRAIN: Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier, once again kicked off its annual Ramadan Iftar meal box distribution initiative last week that saw members of the airline’s workforce helping ensure the safety of drivers on the road and facilitate the breaking of their fast by distributing Ramadan Iftar meal boxes in the Seef District area.

Receiving much positive feedback from the public last year, members of the Gulf Air family are volunteering once again to distribute Iftar meal

boxes at busy intersections during the Maghreb prayer, says a press release.

The national carrier’s staff volunteers will continue to distribute Ramadan Iftar meal boxes, with items donated by Bahrain Airport Services, throughout Ramadan in different areas of Bahrain (such as the junction of Al Fateh Highway and Turfa bin Al Abd Street, and the junction of Bahrain Map leading to Services Road); as one of Gulf Air’s corporate social responsibility initiatives of the holy month.

H E A LT H Y L I V I N G

CASH GIFTS

Redefined Nissan Altima now comes with unmatched Ramadan benefits MUSCAT: The Nissan Altima, which breaks new ground for the mid-size sedan segment is handsdown the most engaging vehicle in its class. And if you’ve never driven an Altima before, get ready to have your notion of a mid-size sedan redefined, says a press release.

Benefits include: • Scratch & Win (two assured gifts): Customers buying the Nissan Altima will receive a ‘Scratch & Win’ card which will entitle them to two assured gifts comprising of free service up to lifetime of the car (minimum assured one year/10,000km PMS) and free fuel up to OMR1,000 (minimum assured of OMR50) • Cash gifts: Customers will also walk away with assured cash gifts of OMR750 on any Altima Variants.

• Unlimited benefits: Nissan assures customers free registration, six years’ extended warranty, easy financing options, a loan term up to eight years and attractive interest rates.

• Additional Ramadan highlight

of 2015: This year Nissan has introduced another exciting line up of Ramadan benefit for their valued customers. Customers who already own a Nissan model and are making a second purchase will receive additional incentives from SBA where customers enjoy 10,000km additional service, they will receive special interest privilege card and also be eligible for any trade-in benefits.

• Special EMI rate: Customers can avail special EMI rate starting from OMR130 on the Nissan Altima.

Grand raffle draw prize The grand raffle draw from Nissan is being held in association with Al

Wisal and Merge FM where participants can enter the draw to win a sleek Nissan Altima (2 vehicles to be won); just SMS <Nissan Altima> to 90448. The lucky winner can walk away with a brand new Nissan Altima.

Easy financing options SBA designed the Ramadan scheme to add to the pleasure and convenience of owning a Nissan model and ensure hassle and worry-free driving at all times. Nissan customers can also avail easy financing option of a loan term up to eight years with attractive interest rates from Bank Muscat. Flexible EMI’s can also be tailor made for any individual requirement from

in-house auto finance team.

Remote engine starter in Mid and Top Grades: Nissan vehicles are known to offer smoother ride comfort, more refinement and benchmark fit and finish, while delivering breathtaking performance and road-holding. Their ‘multidimensional performance’ means the driver can enjoy the full depth of a Nissan’s capabilities whether navigating the corners of a winding mountain road, cruising on a motorway or even travelling in an urban environment.

The Altima comes with the Nissan Intelligent Key that allows the owners to drive in comfort and style regardless of the rising temperatures of the Sultanate.

Suhail Bahwan Automobiles offers wide range of after sales service with modern technology and state-of-the-art facilities in strategic locations. Their practice of total ownership experience and customer-centric approach will ensure that customers of the Nissan Altima are given par excellence professional services for all car related needs.

ISD principal holds yoga session for teachers, students MUSCAT: In connection with the International Day of Yoga, Indian School Darsait conducted yoga training for the teachers and students. This training session was held in the school auditorium recently and was attended by 25 aspirants, says a press release.

Yoga is essentially a spiritual discipline based on an extremely subtle science which focuses on bringing harmony between mind and body.

It is an invaluable gift of ancient Indian tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature and a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.

It was conducted by the Principal Dr Sridevi P. Thashnath who is a certified yoga trainer. The students were trained in a large variety of techniques including neck bending, trunk movement, knee movement, breathing techniques, sitting postures, the various yogasanas — tadasana, vrksasana, pada-hastasana, ardhachakrasana, etc.

The students were impressed and inspired by the various splendid techniques performed by their principal and were determined to practice all that they had learned.

This was a first time experience for most of them and they thoroughly enjoyed it.

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TH UR S DAY, JU LY 2 , 2 015

ROUND-UP CUSTOMER CENTRIC

Malabar Gold offers exciting ‘Double your savings’ promotion

Stay cool with Geely’s free summer check-up As the temperature rises in Oman, Geely customers can avail a host of convenient solutions for their cars such as AC check-up, engine performance check-up, full washing on every service and repair absolutely free of cost

MUSCAT: To beat the heat and help your Geely stay cool this summer, Geely has launched a free summer check for its customers in the Sultanate of Oman.

This is the first service initiative

by Geely and it has been launched keeping in mind the growing popularity of the Chinese auto brand,

says a press release.

“Today, this brand is a common sight on Oman’s roads. In a short span of three years, Geely has made a remarkable impact on the motoring enthusiasts in the country. People are appreciative of the high quality, advanced features and reasonable pricing

of Geely cars. Even in other parts of the world like Europe and US, Geely is performing exceptionally well,” said a senior spokesperson of Towell Auto Centre (TAC), the sole distributor of Geely range of cars in Oman.

As the temperature rises in Oman, Geely customers can avail a host of convenient solutions for their cars such as AC check-up, engine performance check-up, full washing on every service and repair and BG engine oil with engine oil flush and AC evaporator cleaning, absolutely free of cost.

This summer offer that will surely thrill Geely owners in the country is valid until July 31.

It also coincides with Geely’s Ramadan offer that gives you a guaranteed cash gift of OMR1,000 on the Geely Emgrand X7 and Emgrand 8 models, OMR700 on

I F TA R B A N Q U E T

Customers can buy their favourite jewellery by using their credit/debit cards without paying any additional charge.

The customers can buy ‘8 gram’ gold coin without paying making charge

Gem Jewellery and Starlet Kids Jewellery.

All the stores in GCC and Far East also feature masterpieces from India, Pakistan, Bahrain, Turkey, Italy and Singapore with unique exchange offers and buyback policies. The jewellery chain also offers lifetime free repair and maintenance service for all its products.

PROMOTING GOODWILL

ahlibank celebrates Ramadan with its customers in Salalah SALALAH: In celebration of the holy month of Ramadan, ahlibank hosted an Iftar banquet for its customers at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Salalah. The event was held in the presence of ahlibank’s CEO Lloyd Maddock and the bank’s management and staff, says a press release.

“At the heart of our Iftar dinner is the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan which brings us all together in breaking fast and breaking bread as one big united family,” Abdullah Al Jabri, GM, Head of Al Hilal Islamic Banking Services said. “The season also presents us with a unique opportunity to serve and support our brothers and sisters in the company binding us in solidarity and trust.”

Commenting on the event, ahlibank’s CEO Lloyd Maddock said, “ahlibank has lined up a series of social, cultural and religious activities to mark the holy month of Ramadan. The month-long celebrations are targeted at the bank’s

Emgrand 7 model, OMR651 on the GC7 model, OMR500 on the GX2 model and OMR400 on the GC2 model till July 23.

“TAC has also announced new business timings from 7.30am– 1pm and 2pm–5.30pm for the greater convenience of our customers. All they need to do is to visit the nearest TAC service centre and avail these exciting free services. To book an appointment, they can also call on 24229100,” the senior spokesperson adds.

By bringing the Geely range to the Sultanate, TAC has reinforced its commitment to provide highquality products and services to its customers in Oman.

With a network of 11 showrooms, 13 service outlets and 10 parts outlets spread across Oman, TAC is one of the leading automobile distributors in the region.

MUSCAT: Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the leading jewellery retailer is giving their customers a great opportunity this summer to double their savings while purchasing their favourite jewellery from Malabar Gold & Diamonds.

Customers can buy their favourite jewellery by using their credit/debit cards without paying any additional charge. Also Malabar Gold & Diamonds gives their customers the advantage of converting their jewellery purchase into ‘easy payment plans’ in association with various banks through which they can enjoy flexible payment options for up to 12 instalments without paying any interest, says a press release.

To add more glitter to this occasion, the group announces another fabulous offer, this time the customers can buy ‘8 gram’ gold coin without paying making charge.

Customers can also browse through the new jewellery assortment added in to the most admired exclusive brands in the jewellery segment that includes Ethnix - Handcrafted Designer Jewellery, Era - Uncut Diamond Jewellery, Mine - Diamonds Unlimited, Divine- Indian Heritage Jewellery, Precia - Precious

management, staff and customers alike. This Iftar gathering in particular gave the management an opportunity to meet the bank’s customers first hand. We look forward to organising many more events like this in the near future as we build our customer base and introduce more products and services.”

As ahlibank marks the blessed

days of this holy month, the bank hosted the Iftar banquet at Salalah to reiterate their appreciation to their customers and recognise their continuous support.

The bank is appreciative of the fact that it would not have been able to arrive at where it is today without the trust and support of their valued customers.

Huawei’s Ramadan initiative launched MUSCAT: Keeping up with their policy of giving back to the communities they operate in, Huawei Oman recently launched a Ramadan campaign, wherein a Huawei branded bus will move around Muscat, to a new mosque each day and distribute packs of dates and water to those fasting.

This new initiative aims at promoting goodwill in Oman, in turn letting Huawei create strong roots in the country, says a press release.

“Ramadan is a holy and blessed occasion for everyone in the country and at Huawei, we wanted to be part of it, this is why we came up with this initiative which will not only bring people close to our brand but also make them feel like we are part of their community,” said Manoj Chandran, terminal sales manager of Huawei Oman.

The Ramadan bus was flagged off in the presence of top Huawei Oman officials on the exterior premises of Qurum City Centre (QCC). At the ceremony, 10 winners of the Huawei X1 tablets from Huawei’s previous ‘Huawei on Wheels’ campaign were also

chosen through a lucky draw.

Road shows “The road shows were a huge success in the regions and to every town we went to, people were excited to welcome us and they participated enthusiastically in the activities that we had in store for them. Through the campaign we were able to disseminate the message of our brand to more people in Oman,” Chandran added.

In the ‘Huawei on Wheels’ campaign, a Huawei branded bus

went around the entire country, starting from the Batinah region, all the way down till Dhofar, which lies in the South of Oman, covering several towns and villages along the way.

“Our previous initiative was mainly aimed at making our brand known to customers in the interior regions. We have some very interesting initiatives in the pipeline for this year, most of which aim to get us closer to consumer,” said Bill Yuzhaoyuan, terminal director of Huawei Oman.

IRRESISTIBLE OFFER

R A M A D A N C E L E B R AT I O N

Sohar Port supports local community

KR Group unrolls special exchange offer MUSCAT: Sohar Port and Freezone is continuing its commitment to supporting the local community through the distribution of hundreds of vouchers for families in need as part of the company’s Ramadan celebrations.

The first of the 375 vouchers were presented to families by Sheikh Said bin Humaid Al Harthy, Wali of Liwa, along with Sohar Port CEO Andre Toet, says a press release.

Sohar Port and Freezone had also donated vouchers to families in need, last year. Speaking on the success of the monthlong aid campaign, Andre said: “Ramadan is an extremely special time for charitable giving in Islam, it is also a time for understanding and compassion.

“Helping those in need is closely aligned with our commitment, here at Sohar Port and Freezone,

to creating a responsible and sustainable business which supports the local community.”

He added: “Since moving to Oman and experiencing the great culture of this country, I cannot help but admire the compassion and generosity that people demonstrate during this holy month.

I am incredibly proud that we are doing our bit and giving something back to the community during this time so that everyone can join in the celebrations.”

Families were selected from the Sohar and Liwa areas, based on household income. The final selection was made by the Wali’s Office in coordination with Social Development North Al Batinah Directorate.

With an average of seven people per household in the area, the campaign will reach over 2,500 individuals.

MUSCAT: This Ramadan the Khimji Ramdas Group is unrolling a spate of season’s special offers that provide customers the best combination of quality home products at attractive prices.

The bargains are on some of the company’s top-of-the-line products — La Germania and Siemens brand of cooking ranges. Until July 31 customers can exchange their old cooker for a brand new La Germania Italian Cooker and get OMR40 off on their new purchase, says a press release.

Brand new The cooker being exchanged can be of any brand and in any condition but shopper still get to take home a brand new world class La Germania cooking range!

La Germania cooker exchange offer is available exclusively from KR Bait Al Ahlam showrooms across Oman. (Ruwi, Ghubra, Seeb, Sohar, Nizwa, Ibra, Sur and Salalah).

There is an equally irresistible offer on Siemens cooking ranges, where customer get a Siemens hand mixer free on purchase of a Siemens 90cm x 60cm cooker.

Both offers are available for the entire months of June through July at all Khimji Ramdas Bait Al Ahlam outlets across Oman Ruwi, Ghubra, Seeb, Sohar, Sur, Ibra, Nizwa and Salalah.

The Siemens cooking range offer will also be available at hypermarkets and dealer outlets across Oman.

“At Khimji Ramdas, we stock consumer brands that have been through rigorous quality checks and are known world-wide for their excellent functionality. Both La Germania and Siemens brands are the best in the category of kitchen appliances; they are both the world’s number one in terms of safety, efficiency and style,” said V. Jayachandran, general manager, Appliances and Kitchens Division, Khimji Ramdas.

Customer service assurance “The advantage of buying products from either brand at Khimji Ramdas is that you are guaranteed customer service assurance. Our staffs are always willing to address any queries for more details on our toll free number 80075000,” .

As customers know, the house of Khimji Ramdas is synonymous with quality and is responsible for bringing much of world’s best brands to households in Oman.

The company is well known for representing brands that surpass standards set on quality and performance. Not only that the company provides efficient after sales support to its discerning customers with its pan Oman service availability in shortest possible time.

La Germania Bertazzoni La Germania a 133-year-old family-owned cooking appliance manufacturer based in Italy is known for household cooking appliances that

show progressive design and engineering, setting new standards in good cooking.

La Germania offers different styles of products to match and complement any style ideas for any kind of kitchen set. The cookers boast striking features that provide best control over the cooking process thereby making it convenient and enjoyable. All range sizes have full glass oven doors, providing better insulation, easy cleaning and smart good looks. They are well engineered with durable materials and finishes, designed for all the demands of the modern home.

Siemens Siemens is Germany’s number one brand and is known for its technical excellence. Every appliance that leaves the factory is engineered to the highest standard and perfected to the last detail. Siemens cookers are known for uncompromising safety features that ensure safety and convenience.

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Hyundai tops in J.D. Power IQS company’s 2015 Initial Quality Study which surveyed 84,000 customers, the Hyundai Tucson reported with fewer problems with their vehicles than any other small SUV or small car

MUSCAT: Hyundai has reaffirmed its position as one of the world’s leading automotive manufacturers thanks to prestigious awards from international awards body J.D. Power.

As part of the company’s 2015 Initial Quality Study which surveyed 84,000 customers, the Hyundai Tucson and Accent have been reported with fewer problems with their vehicles than any other small SUV or small car, respectively, says a press release.

Overall Hyundai ranked fourth among all brands in the J.D. Power 2015 US Initial Quality StudySM

ROUND-UP PROMOTION

Irresistible Ramadan offer on Renault Duster MUSCAT: Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, the exclusive importers and distributors of Renault vehicles in Oman, have announced an irresistible Ramadan offer on the Renault Duster, says a press release.

As part of the

and Accent have been

(IQS) and second among non-premium automakers, putting the Korean brand ahead of its Japanese counterparts.

“Nothing motivates us more than receiving the verification of quality from our customers,” said Jin (James) Kim, Vice President and Head of operations in Africa and the Middle East. “The overall ownership experience of the people who buy our cars is based on our modern premium brand direction which provides vehicles with innovative technologies, while ensuring highest levels of initial and long-term quality and services they can rely on.”

IQS, now in its 29th year, serves as the industry benchmark for new-vehicle quality measured at 90 days of ownership. In total, Hyundai had four models ranking in the top two in their segments, including segment awards for Tucson and Accent, and second-place finishes for Elantra and Santa Fe. The Hyundai overall score was 95 problems per 100 vehicles, 17 problems fewer than the industry average. The 2015 Hyundai Tucson was awarded for the highest

initial quality in the small SUV segment and the 2015 Hyundai Accent earned the highest honour in the small-car segment for the second year in a row.

“SUV sales accounted for 21.9 per cent of our total sales during 2014 (74,419 units) therefore the international recognition from our customers is invaluable and something we are incredibly proud to have achieved,” added Kim. “It is also worth noting that the Accent was our second bestselling model last as it recorded a boost of 9 per cent totaling 79,013 units sold, so it is great to see that our key models are receiving this type of recognition.”

This year’s results mark the fourth time Hyundai has finished among the top four brands overall.

The 2015 IQS is based on responses from more than 84,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2015 model-year vehicles surveyed after 90 days of ownership. The study is based on a 233-question survey designed to provide manufacturers with information to facilitate the identification of problems and drive product improvement.

Ramadan benefits: • Scratch & Win (Two assured gifts) 1. With a unique scratch and win card, customers are eligible to win assured high value gifts from any one of the products comprising LG 65” Ultra High Definition LED Curve TV, Apple iPhone 6-16GB, Lenovo Laptop-Intel Core i5 or a LG 42” LED TV. 2. Customers will also be eligible to win an assured service package gift up to five years/ 100,000km periodic maintenance service (with minimum assured service package of two years/ 30,000km periodic maintenance service) • Cash gifts: Customers will also walk away with assured cash gift of OMR400 on purchasing the Renault Duster 2.0L PE / 2.0L SE • Other benefits: Customers will be entitled to receive free registration for first year for Oman only and free extended warranty period of up to six years/ unlimited mileage. Further, customers will also receive AAA Roadside Assistance card for the first year only and as supported by AAA Oman.

• Grand raffle draw: Customers purchasing any of the Renault models during the Ramadan month will also get a chance to enter a mega raffle draw which will be held on August 23. The grand prize winner will walk away with a new 2015 Renault Duster 2L PE.

• Easy Financing options: Suhail Bahwan Automobiles designed the Ramadan scheme to add to the pleasure and convenience of owning a Renault model and ensure hassle and worry-free driving at all times. Customers can also avail easy financing option with attractive interest rates. Renault has always made pioneering efforts to offer world class facilities and services to its valued customers.

The reliable Duster The Renault Duster, a strong and reliable SUV with genuine offroad ability is versatile and combines a spacious interior with saloon-car comfort. The Duster’s compact footprint and high ground clearance ensures that it is meant for all kinds of roads.

The Renault Duster is designed to face all types of terrain, globally. In order to meet these wideranging needs, Renault Duster is available in both 4x4 MT and 4x2 AT version. The 4x2 AT version has been designed for customers who want good ground clearance and a reassuring elevated driving position, as well as loose-surface

ability, but who don’t have a real need for all-wheel drive.

Today’s all-terrain vehicles are often synonymous with bulk, but the Renault Duster is an antidote to that idea. With a length of 4.31 metres and a width of 1.82 metres, the Renault Duster is very compact but roomy. From the front, it exudes an impression of toughness: the wide wheelarches, the imposing lines of the chrome grille and the sump guard clearly emphasise the 4x4 DNA of the Renault Duster. Seen from the side, the high ground clearance, clearly defined wheelarches, protective mouldings encourage the driver to tackle even the toughest roads and tracks.

SBA is largely committed to supporting Renault Oman’s growth in the Sultanate through major emphasis on customer satisfaction and by providing worldclass after-sales services in Oman. With a national network of more than 80 showrooms, service centres and parts outlets, SBA has further built upon its legacy of trust, excellent customer service and providing value for money to each of its customers.

N E W PA S S E N G E R T E R M I NA L

Ooredoo ‘on air’ at new Salalah Airport MUSCAT: Ooredoo’s network services were successfully ‘on air’ as the first plane landed into Salalah International Airport’s new passenger terminal last week.

In addition to being the first telecom operator to provide coverage across the entire airport, Ooredoo ensured that it greeted arriving passengers with its recently relocated kiosk on the airport grounds, offering new and existing customers a wide array of products and services in the vibrant Ooredoo brand style, says a press release.

Key partner A key partner in this national project, Ooredoo led the Network Solutions Plan for the newly constructed airport terminal, provid-

ing indoor and outdoor coverage by implementing state-of-the-art technology and ensuring operations are at full capacity. The team also spearheaded one of the most advanced radio coverage solutions in the market, which was designed to support any future technological expansion plans.

New terminal “The new terminal was strategically completed ahead of the Salalah Tourism Festival to cater to the continuously increasing number of visitors to the picturesque city during the summer months.

“We are also fully prepared for the influx and look forward to continuing to offer our customers the best communications experience as they enjoy their holiday and

share moments with their friends and family,” said Sultan Al Wahaibi, director of implementation and infrastructure.

He added, “Playing such a key role in the project has been a privilege and a challenge, one we have proudly met and surpassed and we remain steadfast to continue expanding our network across the country, reaching more people and enriching their lives with smarter, faster and reliable services.”

With more than 2 million passengers expected to pass through Salalah International Airport’s doors every year, Ooredoo will be offering its full range of products and added-value services at its stand-alone kiosk including special seasonal promotions and opportunities to win great prizes.

ACCOLADE

Alpha Oman wins award for leadership in quality MUSCAT: Alpha Oman has received the International Star for Leadership in Quality Award to acknowledge strong commitment to quality and excellence.

John Saji, managing director, received the prize on behalf of Alpha Oman at the Concorde Convention Hall Paris, from Jose E. Prieto, president of BID Group.

International Star for Leadership in Quality Award recognises commitment to quality, leadership, technology and innovation, says a press release.

In his acceptance speech John Saji highlighted the need for professionalism, teamwork, openness to new ideas and the need for business leaders to be courageous when calculating risk. He also highlighted, “Excellence creates

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John Saji, MD, received the prize on behalf of Alpha Oman at the Concorde Convention Hall Paris, from Jose E. Prieto, president of BID Group the leader. Alpha’s mission is to provide outstanding quality, service and value so that we make every customer in every time smile.

Alpha makes quality a core focus for continuous Improvement of management to maintain leadership in its sector and community.”

HJB FETES INDIAN ENVOY Hasan Juma Backer (HJB) Trading & Contracting under the patronage of Ahmed Hasan Juma, vice chairman and Krishnakumar Taori, group general manager hosted a farewell dinner recently for J. S. Mukul, Indian Ambassador to Oman, at Grand Hyatt Afrah Ballroom. The function was attended by all ambassadors and other dignitaries in Oman. — Supplied

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Lulu opens its new outlet in Sohar

INAUGURATION: Eng. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Dheeb, undersecretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry inaugurating the Lulu Hypermarket in Sohar along with M. A. Yusuff Ali, managing director, Lulu Hypermarket. — Jun Estrada/TIMES OF OMAN

The new store not only offers a valuefor-money shopping experience to local residents but it has also created new jobs for locals, which is positive news in the current financial climate

Times News Service SOHAR: Boosting its retail presence in the Sultanate, Lulu Hypermarket, the largest retail chain in the GCC region, opened its new outlet in Sohar yesterday. The much-awaited store threw open its doors to public amid much fanfare after a formal inauguration ceremony.

The new hypermarket was officially inaugurated by Eng. Ahmed

bin Hassan Al Dheeb, undersecretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the presence of several high-ranking officials from various government departments and representatives from local business communities. M. A. Yusuff Ali, managing director, Saifee T Rupawala, CEO, Ashraf Ali M. A., executive director, Ananth A. V., regional director of Lulu Oman and other top officials of the group were also present on the occasion.

Situated at a prime location of Sohar, the hypermarket has been designed taking into consideration the residents’ comfort and convenience. Spread over three levels covering an area of about 200,000 square feet, the new outlet is the 117th store of the Lulu Hypermarket chain in the region.

The outlet will showcase a fresh food section comprising fruit, vegetables, dairy products, meat, fish, and a huge area dedicated to department store which includes high-fashion garments, electronics, IT products and home appliances. The hypermarket will feature the widest choice of worldclass brands and product lines at the fairest prices all under one roof, offering customers a wholesome shopping experience.

There is also an unmatched array of lifestyle and fashion brands with separate sections for formals,

We are grateful to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and the government for its vision and policies which are a source of encouragement for us to continue our endeavours in this country and contribute to its economic growth M. A. Yusuff Ali Managing director, Lulu Hypermarket

casuals, ethnic and party wear for men, women and kids, undoubtedly leaving the shoppers spoilt for choice. Tech savvy shoppers also have plenty to choose from the huge collection of latest electronics and IT gadgets at never-before prices. The outlet has also introduced inaugural offers and attractive prices for a range of products.

The Sohar Hypermarket will soon boast of an extensive food court on level 3, which will host some of the best and popular fastfood outlets. Besides, the hypermarket will also have an entertain-

ATT R AC T I V E P R I Z E S

Annual event ‘Winning Moments,’ is one of Oman’s much awaited annual promotional event, held by Best Cars.

The spokesperson elaborated on the ‘Winning Moments’ scheme, “From June 15 to August 13, any customer purchasing a car from Best Cars will be eligible to participate in a raffle comprising 10 Samsung Galaxy E5 mobile phones.

The raffle will be conducted at Best Cars Wattayah showroom in Muscat. Customers will be eligible for the raffle only upon taking delivery of the vehicle from Best Cars during the campaign period after completing all necessary formalities and not against booking.”

Besides increasing the levels of excitement through attractive prizes, Best Cars has built a strong reputation for offering some of the most affordable,

nomic growth. The stable political environment and robust economy have certainly provided a conducive environment for us and given us the confidence to make Oman our top priority to work towards our goals.”

“Providing job opportunities to local youth is one of our core focus areas and we will continue to recruit more nationals into our operations in different categories in senior and mid-level positions.

The talent pool of Omani nationals and their industrious, hardworking and honest attitude have inspired us to successfully integrate several locals into our workforce, thus strengthening the backbone of our operations,” he added.

Lulu’s winning formula of valuefor-money and quality shopping will be a matter of delight for the residents of Sohar who will cherish the pleasurable shopping experience that this hypermarket has to offer.

Lulu Group has always tried to be a one-stop shop for the multiethnic community of the region with an international assortment of products as well as staff of different nationalities, justifying its tagline “Lulu, where the world comes to shop”. The innumerable shoppers who patronise Lulu daily are the true testament to the popularity of its brand.

NEW BOARD

Best Cars’ ‘Winning Moments’ promotion excites customers MUSCAT: Best Cars is enjoying the attention of its loyal and new customers thanks to its popular annual scheme ‘Winning Moments’ that never fails to excite people looking for the best bargain on quality used cars.

“It is now time to enjoy ‘Winning Moments’ with Best Cars — Oman’s largest multi-brand automobile hypermarket,” remarked an official.

ment area for children on the same level with a dedicated play area, kids rides and video games. The hypermarket also offers third-party tenancy for additional services like cosmetic shops, mobile phone, optical shops, money exchange, pharmacy and other convenient stores, ensuring the one-stop shopping convenience that the Lulu Group is renowned for.

The hypermarket is designed with pleasing interiors and newgeneration fit-outs which are increasingly tailored to meet the needs and modes of shopping.

Another key element of the design is the well-planned retail floor layout, which sets out ample space for aisles. The aisles are designed with enough space for customers to walk through the store without bumping into each other. The hypermarket also has extensively laid out counters and generous parking space. With its functional structure and modern facilities, the new outlet is expected to become the favourite shopping destination for the residents of Sohar.

The new store not only offers a value-for-money shopping experience to local residents but it has also created new jobs for locals, which is positive news in the current financial climate. The outlet will employ around 250 locals in senior and mid-level positions in various operations.

Commenting on the Sohar project, Yusuff Ali said: “We are glad that Lulu has achieved another milestone in its development with the opening of the new Sohar outlet. All through the past years, the Sultanate has provided a favourable atmosphere for Lulu’s progressive growth. We are grateful to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and the government for its vision and policies which are a source of encouragement for us to continue our endeavours in this country and contribute to its eco-

great quality used vehicles.

“At Best Cars we constantly seek to introduce our customers to a hassle-free used vehicle ownership cycle. Hence we only include the finest, most well-used vehicles in our assets, thereby providing potential customers with a huge range of vehicles to choose from and immediately make a lasting buying decision,” he added.

Best Cars (main showroom) is located at the most convenient place in the heart of the automobile market in Wattayah, Muscat. Best Cars is the ideal choice in Oman since it is a professional set-up with a proven system for evaluating vehicles.

Delightful customers Many customers have expressed their delight with not just finding their dream car, but also with the prices they have obtained for their trade-in vehicle, the hassle-free documentation, personalised care and overall professionalism of the

staff. No surprise then that many customers heartily recommend Best Cars to their friends and family calling it the ‘Best Bet’ to procure a vehicle of their choosing.

Best Cars not only offers a choice of pre-owned vehicles in the premises but also updates its user-friendly website ‘www.bestcarsoman.com’ with new arrivals. Customers can login and view complete details, along with the vehicle’s photograph.

They can also register their requirement and be informed as soon as their desired vehicle is available. Best Cars also provides financing facilities for customers who want to purchase pre-owned vehicles on instalments. It has set new standards in buying and selling quality pre-owned vehicles.

Value-conscious customers appreciate the hypermarket as a trusted source for quality pre-owned vehicles from the renowned Saud Bahwan Group.

Filipino Social Club election on July 11 Times News Service MUSCAT: Filipino community in Oman is gearing up to elect the new Board of the Filipino Community Social Club (Filcosoc) on Saturday, July 11.

The Comelec Committee created by virtue of Filcosoc Board resolution number 07/2015 comprises Florentino Rhen G. Cruz as its chairman and Rodrigo Desiatco and Elizabeth Ramos as its members.

All interested Filipino members of the Filcosoc were eligible to submit their certificate of candidacy till June 30.

“Certificate of candidacy is

available at the Filcosoc Facebook page or you may approach any of the Comelec members.

Further details can be had at 99313512,” said an official of the Filipino Social Club.

Miting De Avance of all qualified candidates will be on Friday, July 10 at a venue to be an-

nounced later. The guidelines for the election have been posted on the Filcosoc Facebook page.

“We have invited all the interested Filcosoc members who would like to level up their community service to come forward and be the next members of the Filcosoc Board,” added the official.

‘ I F TA R S A I M ’ C A M PA I G N

Bank Nizwa distributes Ramadan food essentials MUSCAT: Bank Nizwa’s volunteer programme ‘Masoliyati’ has recently launched its ‘Iftar Saim’ campaign, where the bank’s employees distributed Ramadan food essentials to families in need across the Wilayats of Nizwa and Sohar.

The programme also joined hands with Dar Al Atta’a, the nonprofit volunteer-based charity, providing food hampers enough for the entire month for families in the areas of Jabal Aswad, Siya, Masirah, Al Hamra and Salalah, says a press release.

Bank Nizwa first launched the ‘Masoliyati’ programme during Ramadan of last year, introducing a volunteer platform that stems from the Islamic value of ‘giving’.

The programme identifies volunteer opportunities for staff, while allocating financial resources to help less fortunate families across the Sultanate.

Through such initiatives, the bank has successfully been able to engage people and enrich their lives financially, environmentally and socially.

“We launched the ‘Masoliyati’ programme to encourage staff to make a difference in communities across Oman. This year and during the month of giving, we are instilling the values of sharing, compassion and empathy.

Community outreach “In order to ensure an impactful community outreach programme, our volunteers took responsibility and helped with the packing and distribution of food boxes,”

said Dr Ashraf Al Nabhani, general manager, Corporate Support at Bank Nizwa.

Today, Bank Nizwa’s ‘Masoliyati’ programme has conducted several volunteer activities including an ‘Iftar Saim’ programme in more than 10 mosques during Ramadan of last year, beach clean-ups to preserve and protect Oman’s picturesque coastline, in addition to blood donation drives to increase awareness on the importance of timely access to safe blood.

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ENGLAND COACH BAYLISSS PICKS RASHID AND FINN Uncapped Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid and Middlesex fast bowler Steven Finn were both called into a 13-man England squad announced Wednesday for next week’s first Ashes Test against Australia in Cardiff. >C3

Djokovic, Sharapova breeze as Wimbledon endures record heat

EYEING THE BALL: Bernard Tomic of Australia keeps his eye on the ball during his match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France. He will face Novak Djokovic in the next round. – Reuters

Defending champion and top seed Djokovic reached the third round with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Jarkko Nieminen which brought down the curtain on the Finn’s All England Club career, while fifth seeded Nishikori pulled out of the match against Santiago Giraldo due to calf injury

LONDON: Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova breezed through at a sweltering Wimbledon on Wednesday where temperatures soared to a record 35.7 degrees while injury-plagued Japanese star Kei Nishikori was forced to withdraw. Defending champion and top seed Djokovic reached the third round with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Jarkko Nieminen which brought down the curtain on the Finn’s All England Club career.

Djokovic will take on Australian 27th seed Bernard Tomic for a place in the last 16 as the Serb

continues his bid to win a third Wimbledon and ninth Grand Slam crown. It was Djokovic’s sixth career win in seven meetings against the 33-year-old Nieminen and the two men exchanged a warm embrace at the net once their 92-minute Centre Court duel had ended.

“It was his last Wimbledon so I congratulated him on a great career,” said Djokovic after firing 36 winners. “He’s been around for many years and he’s one of the nicest guys off the court and a great fighter on it. It was a pleasure to

play him.” Tomic made the third round by defeating Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) Fourth seeded Sharapova, the 2004 champion, outclassed Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp 6-3, 6-1 in just over an hour and next faces Romanian 29th seed IrinaCamelia Begu.

Sharapova, 28, hit 23 winners as she booked her place in the third round. With temperatures at Wimbledon at a record high of 35.7 Celsius — beating the previous mark of 34.6C in 1976 — the tournament heat rule was being used in women’s matches.

That allows a 10-minute break between the second and third sets although the rule does not apply to men. However, Djokovic, who has played in 40 degrees at the Australian Open, said: “It wasn’t as bad as I thought. People were talking about it and predicting really difficult conditions. But I didn’t find it as difficult as I thought it might be.”

Fifth-seeded Nishikori had been scheduled to face Colombian world number 60 Santiago Giraldo on Centre Court for a place in the last 32.

But the 25-year-old admitted that the left calf injury he suffered

CRICKET

Ajinkya Rahane surprised to be named stand-in India captain

GEARING UP: Ajinkya Rahane trains in a gymnasium in Mumbai after being named captain. – PTI

MUMBAI: Ajinkya Rahane admits he was stunned to be named India captain for their upcoming Zimbabwe series, after being dropped just a week earlier, and while he plans to draw inspiration from past skippers he also wants to make his own mark on the team.

Rahane, who averages a tad over 30 in One-day Internationals, played the first of India’s three-match series against Bangladesh at Mirpur and scored nine off 25 balls as they went down by 79 runs.

He was dropped for the next two matches, with regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni saying the 27-year-old’s batting was more suited to pitches offering more pace.

But that did not stop India from putting Rahane in charge of a second-string squad for this month’s

tour of Zimbabwe for three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals while resting Dhoni and a host of other senior cricketers.

“The decision of naming me captain did come as a surprise because I wasn’t thinking about captaincy ever,” Rahane, who has played 55 ODIs, told the Indian cricket board’s website (BCCI.TV).

“I didn’t know how to react when I heard the news.

“Once the news slowly began to sink in, I became really confident of handling this new responsibility.”

The 2-1 ODI series loss was India’s first to Bangladesh, and another loss against Zimbabwe would not go down well with the country’s cricket-crazy fans despite the lack of senior players in the touring party.

Rahane, a regular in India’s test side, has had the opportunity to play under Dhoni, new Test cap-

tain Virat Kohli and also former skipper Rahul Dravid while playing for the Rajasthan franchise in the Indian Premier League.

He said he would tried to emulate different qualities from all of them. “Firstly, playing under MS Dhoni I would observe how he would be calm on the field. He has a very peculiar and calm way of handling situations,” the Mumbai batsman added. “I would like to take that quality from him.

“What I would like to take from Virat Kohli would be controlled aggression. You can see that quality in his batting and his captaincy.

“And finally, Rahul bhai is someone who likes to keep things really simple on the field, which I got to know while playing under him with the Rajasthan Royals.

“Having said that, I have my own set of ideas and I know what I have to do on the field.” - Reuters

COOL GOING: Russia’s Maria Sharapova returns to Netherlands’ Richel Hogenkamp during their women’s singles second round match. – AFP

last month in Halle, which had forced him to retire in the semifinals, was still a factor during his five-set win over Simone Bolelli in the first round at Wimbledon on Monday.

“It got worse in the fifth set of that match, it hurt so much,” said Nishikori. “It hurt to walk and run today so I decided not to play.”

As Giraldo goes on to face either German teenager Alexander Zverev or American wildcard Denis Kudla for a third round spot, Nishikori was left contemplating another injury setback in his career.

Raonic faces Kyrgios Nishikori, the US Open runnerup last year, didn’t play from April 2009 until April 2010 after undergoing surgery on his right elbow.

Last year, he was forced to quit his Madrid Masters final against Rafael Nadal with a back injury which was still affecting him by the time the French Open came around. Nick Kyrgios, the temperamental Australian who knocked out Rafael Nadal last year, ranted and raved at officials for the second match in succession as he beat Argentina’s Juan Monaco 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 6-4.

The 26th seed faces Canadian

seventh seed Milos Raonic who hit the third fastest serve in tournament history of 145mph in his 6-0, 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/4) win over 37-year-old German Tommy Haas.

Raonic, a semifinalist in 2014, hit 29 aces and 61 winners.

Later Wednesday, fourth seed and French Open champion Stan Wawrinka takes on world number 48 Victor Estrella Burgos, only the second Dominican Republic player to take part in a Grand Slam.

In other early second round matches, Bulgarian 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov defeated Steve Johnson of the United States 7-6 (10/8), 6-2, 7-6 (7/2), Belgian 16th seed David Goffin saw off Britain’s Liam Broady 7-6 (7/3), 6-1, 6-1 and French 21st seed Richard Gasquet got the better of compatriot Kenny De Schepper 6-0, 6-3, 6-3.

Cilic survives scare A double fault by the narrowest of margins allowed Marin Cilic to complete a great escape at Wimbledon on Wednesday as the U.S. Open champion lived to fight another day with a 6-3 4-6 7-6(6) 4-6 7-5 victory over journeyman Richard Berankis.

The Lithuanian appeared to be on the verge of pulling off a shock

upset when he held two break points at 5-5 in the fifth set.

But Croatian Cilic saved the first with a forehand winner and blew out his cheeks in relief when he saw Berankis’s forehand drop long on the second.

One game later it was all over as Hawkeye confirmed Berankis’s second serve at match point down had missed the line by millimetres, allowing Cilic to book a third-round clash with American John Isner.

Haas not to quit Tommy Haas once had the tennis world at his feet. Unfortunately it’s been his right shoulder that has tripped him up. Haas has been under the knife so often that he jokes having titanium in his shoulder might be the only solution to his career-long injury horrors.

But the 37-year-old Floridabased German insists he has no plans to quit a sport that has brought him joy and heartbreak in equal measure and came to its latest halt in a second round Wimbledon defeat on Wednesday.

Haas lost to Canadian seventh seed Milos Raonic, buried beneath a barrage of 29 aces and 61 winners. — Agencies

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TH UR S DAY, JU LY 2 , 2 015

SPORTS

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Sri Lanka enter new era in decider Jayawardene quit a year ago, leaving

We are going for a win, We won’t be happy with a draw. Whatever the outcome of the game is, we have just got to play positive cricket

Angelo Mathews’ men the unenviable task of going into the decider at the Pallekele International Stadium with a

Angelo Mathews

young, inexperienced

PALLEKELE: Sri Lanka will get a glimpse of a future without their batting greats when the decisive third and final Test against Pakistan begins in Pallekele on Friday.

For the first time in 15 years since Kumar Sangakkara’s debut in July 2000, Sri Lanka will take the field in a Test without either him or Mahela Jayawardene in the ranks.

Sangakkara, Test cricket’s leading current run-getter, committed himself to playing just two Tests against

Sri Lanka captain

Pakistan and two more against India in August before retiring.

Jayawardene quit a year ago, leaving Angelo Mathews’ men the unenviable task of going into the decider at the Pallekele International Stadium with a young, inexperienced batting unit.

Mathews is now the leader of the pack with 48 Test appearances, but none of the other frontline batsmen have reached the 20-match mark.

BCCI MULLS

the P. Sara Oval in Colombo by seven wickets on Monday to level the series after Pakistan had take the first match in Galle by 10 wickets.

Both Mathews and his counterpart Misbah-ul Haq promised an entertaining finale at Pallekele, with both captains insisting they will play aggressive cricket in a bid to clinch the series.

“We are going for a win,” said Mathews. “We won’t be happy with a draw. Whatever the out-

come of the game is, we have just got to play positive cricket.”

Misbah concern Misbah hoped his team will be inspired by Sri Lanka’s comeback in Colombo after being routed in the first Test. “We are definitely going into the Test determined to win and we have the example of Sri Lanka, the way they bounced back,” Misbah said.

Misbah will be concerned by his

D AY- N I G H T T E S T

Performance-based incentives for Indian players likely NEW DELHI: Encouraged by the financial model followed by Cricket Australia and England and Wales Cricket Board, the BCCI is planning to introduce a performance-based incentive for the Indian team for each and every home and away series.

There was an initial blueprint that was drawn at the Board’s finance committee meeting that took place in the capital here today. While BCCI’s finance committee has agreed in principle on going the corporate way where profit sharing will be directly proportional to the board’s revenue, the members discussed the possible ways of doing it.

“It’s obviously going to be difficult to fill Mahela and Sanga’s shoes,” said Mathews. “It will take time. Most of the time we won’t get the result we want, individually, or as a team. But we’ve got to be patient with them.”

Upul Tharanga, Jehan Mubarak and Kusal Perera are waiting in the wings to fill the number three position vacated by Sangakkara, who has 12,305 runs from 132 Tests.

Sri Lanka won the second Test at

bowlers’ inability to support legspinner Yasir Shah and the batting debacle in the first innings in Colombo when they slipped from 74-2 to 138 all out.

Shah is the most successful bowler in the series from either side with 17 wickets, but Pakistan’s next best is left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar with six wickets.

Worse, pace spearhead Wahab Riaz is injured and off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez is not available since he needs to undergo mandatory tests after being reported for a suspect action in Galle.

The tourists may drop seamer Junaid Khan, who has taken just one wicket in the series, and pick two from Rahat Ali, Imran Khan and Ehsan Adil to share the new ball.

Sri Lanka, by contrast, appear a more settled bowling unit as they head to a venue where all three previous Tests have been drawn.

Seamer Dhammika Prasad dominated the Colombo Test with seven wickets, debutant off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal claimed five wickets in the first innings and fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera produced fiery bursts.

Leading spinner Rangana Herath, who was expected to be Pakistan’s chief tormenter after grabbing 23 scalps in two Tests against them last year, has managed only two wickets this time. - AFP

According to BCCI sources, it was IPL COO Sundar Raman, who provided a presentation for the finance committee members where it was intimated that Cricket Australia, ECB and BCCI’s next door neighbours PCB also follow an incentive-based model in their respective countries.

“Till now, BCCI normally gave handsome incentives to cricketers during triumphs in big tournaments like 50-over World Cup, World T20 or ICC Champions Trophy. But from now on, the BCCI is planning to have incentives for each and every series played at home and away,” sources said. - PTI

World Cup’s best Starc lashes Australia’s day-night Test MELBOURNE: Australia paceman Mitchell Starc has expressed concerns about the pink ball to be used in the first day-night Test, saying it behaved “very differently” to the usual red ball and crowds might not even be able to see it. Starc, who was named the player of the World Cup in March, also questioned the efficacy of the format as a measure of a cricketer’s career, suggesting night tests might need to be recorded separately given the vastly different conditions on offer.

The 25-year-old left-armer was involved in a round of Sheffield Shield day-night trial matches in Australia but was not convinced by the concept. “It doesn’t react anything like the red ball, in terms of swing and the hardness of it anyway,” he told media in England, where Australia are preparing for the Ashes. It goes soft pretty quickly, I didn’t see a huge amount of reverse swing in that game and I don’t think it swung from memory too much until the artificial light took over.

“It definitely reacts very, very differently to the red ball. The other thing as well is, personally, I couldn’t see the thing at night on the boundary. I couldn’t see the ball. So I’m not sure how the crowd are going to see it. I understand the

pink ball has changed a lot from when it first came in for trials. It’s improved a lot, so Kookaburra has done well there. But time will tell if it works with the crowds and the viewership and the way that cricketers respond to it.”

The first day-night test will be played between Australia and New Zealand on Nov. 27, the third and final match of their series, with administrators hopeful the format can translate to improved crowds and broadcast revenue.

After Tuesday’s announcement, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland insisted the ball was ready for use after years of development and testing.

Starc’s skepticism was at odds with some of his team mates, including batsman Steven Smith and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who both welcomed the initiative.

Australia Test opener Chris Rogers, however, has effectively ruled himself out of playing night Tests given his colour-blindness affects his vision of the pink ball.

“He’s not the only player out there who is going to be affected by seeing the ball,” Starc said.

“Whether you have to start a whole new set of stats for the pink ball as you do with the red and white ball — it throws up a huge number of questions.” - Reuters

EXPRESSING CONCERNS: Mitchell Starc questioned the efficacy of

the format. – File photo

NEW ZEALAND CRICKET

Santner, Elliott earn central contracts WELLINGTON: Rookie allrounder Mitchell Santner and veteran Grant Elliott have been rewarded for their recent strong performances by being included in New Zealand’s list of centrally contracted players on Wednesday.

Santner made his debut on New Zealand’s just completed tour of England and impressed with his left arm-spin and lower-order batting in the limited-over series.

The 23-year-old, viewed as a potential successor to the retired Daniel Vettori, has been singled

out for his bowling but coach Mike Hesson said he expected his talents with the bat to become more prevalent over the next 12 months.

“Mitch is a player of genuine all-round ability,” Hesson said in a New Zealand Cricket statement.

“His appearance on this list is recognition of where we see his skills in all three forms of the game. My feeling is that well see a lot more of him with the bat, in particular, as he gains more experience.”

The 36-year-old Elliott also

earned a central contract after an impressive World Cup. He struck South Africa strike bowler Dale Steyn for a six to give the co-hosts an epic four-wicket victory with a ball to spare in their semi-final at Eden Park in March “Grant hasn’t had a contract for a while but returns on the back of excellent recent form, including the World Cup,” Hesson added.

Fast-medium bowler Doug Bracewell has also been added to the list after impressing Hesson on the tour of England.

Local media reported on Wednesday the player ranked at the top would receive about N$200,000 a year plus match payments. The players ranked 18-20 receive about NZ$81,000.

Central contracts list: Corey Anderson, Doug Bracewell, Trent Boult, Mark Craig, Martin Guptill, Grant Elliott, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson. - Reuters

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SPORTS CRICKET

Harris suffers Ashes setback

Rashid & Finn in England squad for the Ashes opener Rashid, 27, who has played both One-

Ryan Harris of Australia.

day International and Twenty20, but

LONDON: Australia fast bowler Ryan Harris’s hopes of being fit for next week’s first Ashes Test suffered a blow on Wednesday with a recurrence of the knee trouble that has blighted his career. The setback ruled him out of the team’s final warm-up match against Essex.

The 35-year-old paceman underwent major surgery to his right knee last year and put himself on a lengthy fitness programme in a bid to be fit in time to face England at Cardiff ’s Sophia Gardens from July 8.

Although officials labelled Harris’s latest injury, which saw him replaced by Peter Siddle for the four-day game against Essex, as nothing more serious than “soreness” it may well be enough to keep him out of the side when Australia launch their defence of the Ashes.

Harris missed Australia’s recent series win in the West Indies in order to be present for the birth of his child. “We pulled him out because he’s sore, he’s going to get some scans done and we’ll have a better idea in a day or two,” Australia coach Darren Lehmann said.

The match against Essex saw home captain Ravi Bopara, the England all-rounder, win the toss and field despite soaring temperatures expected to hit 34 degrees Celsius.

Opener Chris Rogers (21) was caught behind off Thomas More and David Warner blazed his way to 94 before falling just short of a hundred. - AFP

not Test, cricket for England took eight wickets and performed well with the bat during England’s recent 3-2 50-over series win at home to World Cup finalists New Zealand

TAKING CHARGE: England coach Trevor Bayliss poses ahead of the press conference where he announced the team. – Reuters

LONDON: Uncapped Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid and Middlesex fast bowler Steven Finn were both called into a 13man England squad announced Wednesday for next week’s first Ashes Test against Australia in Cardiff.

Rashid, 27, who has played both One-day International and Twenty20, but not Test, cricket for England took eight wickets and performed well with the bat during England’s recent 3-2 50-over series win at home to World Cup finalists New Zealand.

The 26-year-old Finn played the last of his 23 Tests in the 2013 Ashes opener at Trent Bridge but has worked his way back into the squad after suffering problems with his bowling action.

Rashid was not included in England’s 14-man pre-Ashes training camp in Spain, where most of the

Test squad met with their new Australian coach Trevor Bayliss for the first time.

Pace bowlers Liam Plunkett and Mark Footitt, who did make the trip, were not selected in a squad captained by Alastair Cook for the First Test at Cardiff ’s Sophia Gardens starting on July 8, where England will begin their bid to regain the Ashes following a 5-0 thrashing in Australia in 2013/14.

All the 11 England players who featured in both Tests during the 1-1 drawn series with New Zealand were included for the Ashes opener.

‘Positive’ Bayliss Rashid said he was looking forward to working with Bayliss, a former Sri Lanka and New South Wales coach.

“I haven’t actually spoken to him yet, I got a little message from one

of the selectors congratulating me, telling me I’m in the squad for the Ashes,” Rashid told Sky Sports. “(Bayliss is a different coach, positive coach, different mindset so I’m really looking forward to working alongside him and seeing what he’s got to offer.”

Rashid’s selection appeared to put pressure on off-spinner Moeen Ali’s place in the side.

However, Bayliss said it was possible that England could field two specialist slow bowlers depending on the state of the Cardiff pitch.

“I obviously watched a lot of the one-day series on the TV and he played very, very well so it does give us an option in being able to spin the ball both ways,” Bayliss said.

“We want to give ourselves the option to play two spinners if we get down there and the conditions

TEST SERIES

Aussie wicketkeeper Haddin won’t back down in Ashes war of words LONDON: Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has insisted there will be no changes in his on-field approach despite calls for an end to ‘sledging’ during the upcoming Ashes series against England.

Ahead of next week’s first Test in Cardiff, England paceman James Anderson has contrasted the sporting atmosphere which prevailed during his side’s recent series with New Zealand to the bitterness of the last Ashes campaign, which Australia won 5-0 on home soil in 2013/14, and urged an end to ‘sledging’ or verbal abuse of opposition players on the field.

But Brad Haddin, much criticised for the way in which he gave departing New Zealand batsmen ‘send-offs’ during Australia’s World Cup final victory in Melbourne in March, was quick to point out that Anderson himself had not been shy of dishing out the ‘verbals’ during previous Ashes campaigns.

“They start half of it! What about Jimmy Anderson? He has called for peace hasn’t he? He better look at himself in the mirror,” said Haddin in the build-up to Australia’s four-day tour match against Essex in Chelmsford starting Wednesday.

“I have never played in an Ashes

We will play the way we play, which works for us, and if you like it, you like it Brad Haddin campaign where things have got out of hand, this one will be no different,” said the 37-year-old Haddin, a veteran of 65 Tests.

“The tradition of the urn deserves that, to play the brand of cricket we play, and England play. We have not won (an Ashes series) here (England) for 14 years now.

“The Ashes will be played in the great spirit (they) always have (been), but it will be contested.”

Haddin also said thought of Australia adopting the approach of New Zealand, who have long since abandoned ‘sledging’, was a non-starter.

“We are not New Zealand. We won the World Cup final. We will play the way we play, which works for us, and if you like it, you like it,” he said.

The forthcoming five-Test series will be England’s first under Australian coach Trevor Bayliss, someone Haddin knows well from their time together at New South Wales and in the Big Bash League with the Sydney Sixers.

Haddin believes Bayliss will do a good job for England, just as he did while coaching Sri Lanka from 2007-2011.

“Trevor has had a massive influence on my career. It first start-

ed as captain as New South Wales, he gave me the chance to do that,” said Haddin.

“He is a great person and takes a lot of the anxiety out of the changing room and gets cricketers enjoying the game, will never rant and rave, is pretty even tempered.

“He is a really good appointment, and the bottom line with Trevor is he is a good man.”

Meanwhile Haddin said he had no qualms about one of his compatriots being in charge of the ‘old enemy’.

“No, I could not care less,” he said. “Trevor is a career coach, he has had some wonderful success with Sri Lanka and New South Wales, everywhere he has been.

That is no different to players who want to test themselves at the highest level.

“I called him to congratulate him on his role and said ‘I will talk to you after the fifth Test’.”

Haddin added: “Ashes campaigns are totally different beasts to any other cricket, but no matter what has happened on the pitch with the result, at the end of the fifth Test, the doors of both changing rooms have been opened, and that has happened ever since I have been involved. We will all share a bubbly with him and maybe he might buy one now he has some pounds.” - AFP

suit two spinners then we’ve got the option.”

But Bayliss said Finn had been included as cover for England’s seam-bowling trio of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Mark Wood.

“Certainly during the one-day series it looked like he was back on song and bowling well, he’ll be there as a back-up to the guys that have come off a good series against New Zealand,” Bayliss explained.

Turning to the recent four-day get-together in Spain, Bayliss said: “It was fantastic from my point of view to get to know the players, the boys worked hard and the time went really quick, which is a good sign I think.”

And he said it would not take him long to get up to speed with his new squad.

“I think anywhere you go, any team you do you’ve pretty much

got the same 11 personalities in any team, just a different face and a different name, and it’s very similar with this as well.”

Meanwhile Australia coach Darren Lehmann said England’s squad was no surprise to him.

“Pretty much as we thought it would be so we’ll have to play well,” Lehmann said. “They’ve got some quality players but we’ve got a lot of blokes who have played county cricket, so we know them.”

England squad: Alastair Cook (Essex, capt), Adam Lyth (Yorkshire), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Jos Buttler (Lancashire, wkt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Mark Wood (Durham), James Anderson (Lancashire), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire). - AFP

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TH UR S DAY, J U LY 2 , 2 015

SPORTS Tour de France 2015 all set for Battle Royale on wild course The first goal will be to make it to the first rest day after riding on cobbles, through potentially bunchsplitting winds and mastering dangerous courses as well as a tricky team time trial

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PARIS: Alberto Contador will cement his status as the best grand tour rider of the modern era if he emerges as the winner of the Big Four’s battle royale at the Tour de France — the most highly anticipated race in decades.

The Spaniard is looking to achieve the Giro d’Italia/Tour double for the first time since the late Marco Pantani in 1998 but the competition has never been fiercer for the seven-time grand tour champion who will retire at the end of next year.

Chris Froome, the 2013 champion, and Nairo Quintana, who hopes to become the first Colombian to win the Tour, look fresher while defending champion Vincenzo Nibali will also be in the mix on a treacherous course.

The first goal will be to make it to the first rest day after riding on cobbles, through potentially bunch-splitting winds and mastering dangerous courses as well as a tricky team time trial, a discipline Team Sky have failed to master lately. “Organisers want to create a show every day, but they put the riders at risk,” Eusebio Unzue, Quintana’s Movistar team manager, told Reuters.

Last year, Froome and Contador crashed out of the Tour and Nibali powered to victory as Quintana had skipped the race.

This time, all four should be in decent shape when the three-week race starts in Utrecht, Netherlands, on Saturday. Should they fail, a swarm of second fiddles or young guns led by France’s Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet, will be ready to seize their opportunity in a very mountainous Tour.

“If one of them (Pinot, Bardet or American Tejay van Garderen) attacks and we start looking at each other, it could change the Tour,” said Quintana, whose ability to attack far from the finish could disrupt Froome’s well-oiled Team Sky machine.

Aggressive Nibali Nibali, whose Astana team came close to losing their licence over doping problems, have looked out of from lately but he retained his Italian title last weekend in aggressive fashion, suggesting he has the legs to unsettle his rivals in the first week on the cobbles, just like he did last year.

Contador, similarly, will use every opportunity to aggress Froome, and the Tinkoff-Saxo rider has probably marked the dangerous descent from the col d’Allos (stage 17), the highest point of the Tour, as an attacking chance. The last Tour featuring so many big guns was probably the vintage 1986 edition won by American Greg LeM-

TOUR DE FRANCE 2015: Top cyclists on stage during a presentation ceremony of the forthcoming Tour de France 2015. – Picture courtesy letour.com

Quiet and unassuming Quintana focused entirely on Tour de France bid PARIS: Quiet and unassuming he may be, but for many people the explosive Nairo Quintana will be the man to beat at the Tour de France this year.

The 25-year-old Colombian has been keeping himself out of the limelight during the Tour build-up, training back home in Tunja and avoiding the traditional Tour warm-up events.

Yet although he goes quietly about his business, he has been racking up the results nonetheless, winning the prestigious Tirreno-Adriatico race back in March, triumphing on the one true mountain stage and doing so by enough to ensure overall victory.

And in a Tour that is heavily weighted in favour of specialist climbers, Quintana has the perfect platform to launch his bid to go one better than he managed two years ago when finishing second to Chris Froome and capturing the polkadot king of the mountains and white young rider jerseys along the way.

All his best results have come in tours that include mountain stages, winning the Tours of Murcia in 2012, Basque Country and Burgos in 2013, San Luis and Burgos in 2014 and now Tirreno-Adriatico this year.

He also won the youth Tour de France in 2010 and the Giro d’Italia last year.

This year, it would seem, his entire focus has been on the Tour and he will have plenty of opportunities to use his

ond.; This year’s race also features a handful of outsiders, such as Pinot, Bardet, Van Garderen and also France’s Warren Barguil and Britain’s Simon Yates, plus Spanish veterans Alejandro Valverde

In a Tour that is heavily weighted in favour of specialist climbers, Nairo Quintana has the perfect platform to launch his bid to go one better than he managed two years ago when finishing second to Chris Froome and capturing the polkadot king of the mountains and white young rider jerseys along the way

climbing strengths with six summit finishes.

Quintana is the lightest of the four overall contenders and widely seen as the best climber in the world.

He has also made a habit of starting slowly in Grand Tours and coming on strong in the final week, in which there are four mountain stages, so that should suit the Movistar leader.

He has a genuine foil in the

and Joaquim Rodriguez.

Even if first-week stages usually reserved for them will finish uphill (Mur de Huy, Mur de Bretagne in stages 3 and 8), the sprinters will get their chance to shine.

form of Alejandro Valverde who, while not a strong enough three-week contender to win, is good enough to ensure that the other main contenders cannot ignore him.

Valverde has won the Vuelta a Espana in the past and was fourth on the Tour last year, so the likes of Vincenzo Nibali, Chris Froome and Alberto Contador would be obliged to chase him down if he attacked, leaving

All signs point to a duel between the resurgent Mark Cavendish of Britain — looking to improve from his 25 stage wins — and man-ofthe-season Alexander Kristoff of Norway in the absence of Ger-

Quintana to sit and wait for his own opportunity.

Stubborn Quintana is also blessed with a certain stubbornness that sees him seemingly prepared to throw away any hopes of victory rather than take responsibility for the chasing down of rivals.

Such apparent nonchalance often forces others to do the chasing while Quintana saves

man Marcel Kittel, with another German, Andre Greipel, looking to snatch stage wins. They will be challenged in the points classification by Germany’s John Degenkolb, Slovakia’s Peter Sagan and

energy, allowing him to make his move later on when others are tired.

But he also has weaknesses, not being a strong time-triallist nor particularly daring on descents.

This year’s Tour route gives plenty of encouragement for the opportunists ready to attack from anywhere in any situation.

Nibali and Contador may not be able to beat Quintana in the mountains, but they can probably put time into him in other areas.

Another issue for Quintana is the weight of history, as no Latin American has ever won the Tour. Yet the diminutive Colombian has never showed signs of nerves affecting his game.

At last year’s Giro he trailed compatriot Rigoberto Uran by three-and-a-half minutes at one stage following a 40km individual time-tiral, yet he eventually beat his countryman by more than three minutes overall.

Quintana didn’t panic when he was behind and simply used the attacking opportunities he had to ride away from his rivals and put time into them.

And it is that knowledge of his climbing skills that should give him an edge on such summit finishes as Plateau de Beille, La Toussuire and Alpe d’Huez.

Quintana knows he will have several uphill finishes to try to make his rivals crack and the tiny Colombian has the ability to do exactly that. - AFP

Frenchmen Bryan Coquard and Nacer Bouhanni.

For the first time an African team will be on the Tour when MTN-Qhubeka line up at the start in Utrecht. - Reuters

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HOCKEY

Rio dream still alive for Indian eves ANTWERP: A day after being thrashed 0-7 by top-ranked The Netherlands, India are still nurturing the Olympic qualification dream as they brace for a play-off fixture against lowly Italy in the women’s Hockey World League Semifinals, here on Thursday.

For the Rio Olympic dream to sustain, India will have to come out victorious in tomorrow’s 5-8 position classification match against Italy, who showed their mettle in the quarterfinal encounter with Australia.

With the Olympic qualification berths likely to filter beyond the semifinalists, India are eager to put up an improved show in the play-offs for the fifth to eight spots.

Reigniting the players’ selfbelief would be the prime task for the team management following the 0-7 loss to reigning World and Olympic champions The Netherlands, who were a street ahead of the Indians in quality.

The Indian girls would be looking to plug gaps in their defence as they go into the game against the fast-improving Italian team, placed three spots behind India’s No. 13 world ranking.

Inspired Italians The Italians will be inspired by their show against World Cup silver medalists Australia.

Only two penalty corner conversions, one in each half, separated Australia from minnows Italy. Italy are no mean opponents and the Indian girls realised this when they lost a five-Test series in December.

Italy won two Tests, India won one and two others ended in draws. “Italy would be the opposition you look for such a game,” said Indian women’s hockey team chief coach Mathias Ahrens, hoping his wards would be able to turn the tide after being at the receiving end in successive matches against Australia and The Netherlands.

“But the Italians are a very good side and their ability has been on view at this tournament,” said Ahrens.

“The qualifying dream is still alive. The girls wanted so much going into the contest against The Netherlands. It may not have been realistic, but I do understand that from the girls’ perspective,” said Ahrens.

“There is always a lot at stake for the Indian players.” - PTI FOOTBALL

Martinez joins Atletico Madrid LISBON: Porto’s highly-rated Colombian striker Jackson Martinez has signed for Atletico Madrid for a transfer fee of 35million euros, the Portuguese club announced late Tuesday.

The 28-year-old forward will replace Croatian Mario Mandzukic who has moved from Spain to Juventus in Italy for 19million euros. Martinez has been the top scorer in Portugal for the last three seasons having joined Porto from Mexican outfit Jaguares de Chiapas.

He scored 21 goals in 29 league appearances as Porto finished as runners-up to Benfica last season. Martinez had previously agreed a move with AC Milan, and had been targeted by Arsenal, before instead opting for a switch to Atletico. — AFP

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SPORTS

Optimist sailors to train in Greece ahead of world meet The five best performing youth sailors will be selected for the World Championships, while six sailors will represent Oman in the IODA Optimist African Championship in Algeria in September and the 2015 Optimist Asian and Oceanian Championship in Doha in October PICTURE FROM THE PAST: Young Optimist sailors competing during the Youth Sailing Regatta held recently. – Supplied photo

MUSCAT: Eight of the Oman Sail National Optimist Squad sailors will head to Nea Makri on the east coast of Athens in Greece for a two-week training camp until 15th July. The sailors will train at a local sailing club where the windy and warm conditions will provide the perfect preparation for the World Optimist Championships, taking place in Poland in August.

The five best performing youth sailors, part of the Omantel Youth Programme, co-sponsored by Oman Shipping Company, will be selected for the World Championships, while six sailors will represent Oman in the IODA Optimist African Championship in Algeria in September and the 2015 Opti-

mist Asian and Oceanian Championship in Doha in October.

Selection will be made after considering both performance and development.

Rashid Al Kindi, Oman Sail’s National Youth Team Manager, said, “We are aiming for a strong performance throughout the summer events, with huge potential for medals and team prizes. The training camps will provide a vital opportunity for the National Optimist Squad to experience new conditions and prepare for the World Optimist Championships.

“The camps are about more than sailing, they offer a great opportunity to work on fitness,

boat handling, team tactics and gauge progress, as well as perfecting technique to give our sailors the ideal preparation ahead of the events.“ The Youth Programme is designed to develop inspirational sailing performances among Oman’s generation of talented young athletes.

“It has become a blueprint for youth sport across the region over the past few years, laying strong groundwork for winning a range of team and individual gold medals in GCC Championship events.

The programme emphasises the health benefits of sailing as well as instilling discipline and dedica-

tion in the sailors. Sailing is a requires a combination of boat speed, handling and teamwork as well as a thorough understanding of racing rules and strategies in order to force errors from the opponents and turn strong positions into winning ones.

A busy summer schedule has been designed to nurture both the sporting and personal skills of the sailors and establish a solid foundation from which the sailors can develop those abilities for long term benefit of the Sultanate in international competition, with the ultimate goal of winning a medal in sailing at the Olympic Games.

Following the training camp in Greece, the Optimist sailors will also take part in training in Sur from 5-10 August, ahead of the National Optimist Championships, the highlight of the summer season in Oman.

Held for the first time last year, the Championships showcased the possibilities available through sailing and gave the promising young sailors their first taste of high level competition.

Laser 4.7 sailors in the Youth Programme will take part in a training camp in Mussanah in July ahead of the World Laser 4.7 Championships in Medemblik, Holland in August.

RAMADAN CRICKET

Five-star Humayoon bowls Al Nafeesa to victory MUSCAT: Humayoon notched a unique bowing record in the Pakistan Social Club organised Omantel Ramadan Cricket Tournament 2015 being played at the Pakistan School ground.

Unbelievable bowling by Humayoon gave Al Nafeesa a massive four-wicket victory over Gtacs.

Gtacs batting first scored 50 runs in 8 overs with Umair top scoring with 24. Humayoon was

the chief wrecker as he scalped five wickets without conceding any runs in his two-over spell/ In reply, Al Nafeesa scored 51 for 6 with Naveed (24) and Usman (12) contributing. Humayoon was adjudged the man of the match.

In the other match, Saud Travel batting first put on 121 for 2 in 8 overss. Faisal (51) and Ayyaz (33) amassed most of the runs. In reply, King Smasher could manage only

MUBIN STARS IN NATIONAL GAS WIN National Gas defeated Ruwi Kings by 21 runs in the opening match of the Independence Cup League Tournament of the 6th Al Turki/NMC Cup 2015 being played at the Al Rifa ground at the Azaiba Beach. The tournament is being sponsored

by Al Turki Enterprises and National Metal Cans.

Batting first National Gas scored 78 for 6 in 8 overs with Mubin scoring 19 runs. Man of the match Mubin later claimed two wickets for 14 runs to restrict Ruwi Kings to 57 for 6 in 8 overs. Nitin (24) top scored. — Supplied photo

100 for 2 in 8 overs and lost by 21 runs. Mohsin (36) and Adil (24) were the main contributors. Faisal was declared the man of the match for his half century.

Meanwhile, the Salalah edition of the PSC Omantel Ramadan Cricket was inaugurated in by by Raja Mohammah Ashraf.

In the two matches played, Badshah XI trounced Tely boys and Jinnah XI lost to Sialkot CC.

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Struggling for goals, but Messi happy to make assists instead Coach Martino demands more despite six-goal semifinal haul

The Argentina forward, who has yet to find the net

CONCEPCION: Coach Gerardo Martino believes Argentina can improve on Tuesday’s 6-1 Copa America semifinal demolition of Paraguay, adding that aspects of the goalless draw against Colombia in the previous round had pleased him more.

Martino’s main gripe was that Argentina had failed to press the Paraguayans hard enough to win back possession when they lost the ball.

“Our play was much better than in the match against Colombia,” he told reporters, referring to the tense quarterfinal clash that was settled in a penalty shootout.

“But in terms of winning back the ball, anywhere on the pitch, I think we were better in the game against Colombia than in today’s game.

We didn’t press well, either when we were in their half of the pitch or when we were forced backwards.

“I’m happy about the 6-1 scoreline and playing in the final but if there’s something that needs correcting I’ll correct it, whether we draw 0-0, lose or win.”

Argentina maintained their

from open play in five games at the tournament in Chile, set up three goals for his team mates in a 6-1 drubbing of Paraguay that secured a clash against the hosts in Saturday’s final

CONCEPCION: As Lionel Messi has developed during his career he has become an ever-more prolific provider of assists as well as a lethal goalscorer and he gave another wonderful display of creativity at the Copa America on Tuesday.

The Argentina forward, who has yet to find the net from open play in five games at the tournament in Chile, set up three goals for his team mates in a 6-1 drubbing of Paraguay that secured a clash against the hosts in Saturday’s final.

It was the first time Messi made three assists in a single game for his country and only the second time in his career after he achieved the feat playing for Barcelona in a King’s Cup match against Levante in January 2014.

The 28-year-old has 31 assists for club and country so far in 201415, two short of his record of 33 from 2011-12.

“It really doesn’t bother me that I am not scoring,” Messi told reporters after the match in Concepcion.

“Hopefully my goal will come in the final,” he added. “The important thing is to lift the national team as high as possible and it doesn’t matter who gets the goals.”

Messi is attempting to win the Copa America to cap a superb sea-

ACROBATIC: Argentina’s Lionel Messi kicks the ball during a Copa America semifinal soccer match against Paraguay at the Ester Roa Rebolledo Stadium in Concepcion, Chile. – AP/PTI

son when he helped Barca win a treble of Champions League and domestic league and Cup titles.

He has bounced back in style from a disappointing 2013-14 campaign, when Barca failed to collect major silverware and Argentina were beaten 1-0 by Germany in the World Cup final.

Argentina are trying to win the

Copa America for the first time since 1993, having lost to Brazil in 2004 and 2007 before being knocked out on penalties in the quarterfinals on home soil in 2011.

“Winning the Copa America would round off something spectacular,” Messi said.

“I think we are coming into the match in good shape, but we will

be playing a team with very good individual players.

“Both sides always try to play good football and not leave the opponent any time on the ball.”

If he wants to score in Saturday’s final, Messi knows the man in the Chile goal he will have to beat very well: Barcelona team mate Claudio Bravo. - Reuters

IN COMMAND: Argentina’s coach Gerardo Martino shouts out instruction to his wards during the semifinal. – AFP

NEW SIGNING

FOOTBALL

Robinho leaves Santos, expected to join Guangzhou SAO PAULO: Brazil forward Robinho ended his third spell at Santos on Tuesday with local media reporting he was set to join up with former Selecao coach Luiz Felipe Scolari at Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande.

The 31-year-old former Real Madrid, Manchester City and AC Milan attacker, known for his elaborate stepovers, said he was hopeful of returning to Santos in the future after the club said they could not afford to match the offers from overseas. “Unfortunately it will not be possible to renew my contract. But Santos FC will always be in my heart,” Robinho said in a statement.

“FC Santos will go great, because it is above any player. I will try to remain happy doing what I like best, which is play football and hopefully one day return.”

Brazil media said Robinho, who was part of the Brazil side

utter dominance of Paraguay in the tournament with two goals before the break and four in the second half to set up a final showdown against hosts Chile.

Angel di Maria scored twice with other goals coming from Marcos Rojo, Javier Pastore, Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain in a superb team display, orchestrated by an inspired Lionel Messi.

Argentina have played well throughout the tournament but until Tuesday had scored only four goals in as many matches as they struggled to kill off their opponents.

However, their victory was the biggest in a Copa America semi-final since 1997, when Brazil hammered Peru 7-0, and was Argentina’s biggest win over Paraguay in the tournament since 1947, when they beat them 6-0 in Ecuador.

They have played Paraguay 24 times in the 99-year history of the tournament and have never lost. Likewise, the two finalists have played each other 24 times in the Copa America and Argentina have yet to lose. - Reuters

that exited the Copa America on Thursday following a quarterfinal penalty shootout defeat by Paraguay, would be joining fourtimes reigning Chinese champions Guangzhou.

The Chinese club appointed 2002 World Cup winning coach Scolari earlier this month after sacking Italian Fabio Cannavaro after less than half a season in charge. Scolari has been quick to make changes and signed Brazilian midfielder Paulinho from English outfit Tottenham Hotspur on Monday for a reported fee of around $15 million.

Guangzhou, 2013 AFC Champions League winners, are not the only Chinese club to have lavished money on expensive internationals with Shanghai Shenhua paying $14.5 million to Turkish side Besiktas for Senegal international Demba Ba this week. - Reuters

Bayern sign Brazil’s Costa from Donetsk BERLIN: Bayern Munich completed their first big transfer of the off-season on Wednesday by signing Brazil international Douglas Costa from Ukraine side Shakhtar Donetsk for a reported 30 million euros ($33.3m).

The fleet-footed winger or striker has signed a five-year deal with the German champions and will battle for a place on the left wing with Franck Ribery, who is struggling with a persistent ankle injury.

“This is a dream come true for me. I’m looking forward to joining an awesome team,” Costa said in a press conference in Munich.

“I will do everything I can to meet the expectations put on me.”

Costa is the fourth most expensive signing in Bayern’s history after Javi Martinez (who cost 40 million euros), Mario Goetze (37 million) and Mario Gomez (35 million).

“Douglas Costa will be a good addition to our squad, he has good technical skills, a strong left foot and is extremely quick,” said Bayern’s director of sport Matthias Sammer.

The 24-year-old, full name

BIG BUY: Bayern Munich completed their first big transfer of the off-season by signing Brazil international Douglas Costa from Ukraine side Shakhtar Donetsk for a reported 30 million euros ($33.3m). – AFP

Douglas Costa de Souza, is on holiday now until the Bayern team is presented on July 11, and was only a spectator as head coach Pep Guardiola oversaw Bayern’s first training session to prepare for the new season on Wednesday with only 12 players available and most of his stars still on holiday.

Costa made the last of his nine

appearances for the Selecao in their Copa America quarter-final defeat to Chile last week when he missed a spot-kick as Brazil suffered a 4-3 defeat in a penalty shoot-out as it finished 1-1 after extra time.

He is Bayern’s third signing ahead of the new season after Germany Under 21 midfielder Joshua

Kimmich from second-division RB Leipzig and goalkeeper Sven Ulreich from VfB Stuttgart.

Bayern have recalled midfielders Julian Green, Pierre-Emile Hoejbjerg and Jan Kirchhoff have all returned after loan spells at other clubs as they bid to become the first German team to win fourth consecutive Bundesliga titles. - AFP

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T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 , 2 0 1 5

Culture WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

THE DIRECTOR Omani film lovers have reason to rejoice as renowned Omani actor-director Salim Bahwan’s much anticipated third film, Kissath Mahra (The Mahra Story), is set to be released just after Eid.

By T. A. Ameerudheen

TH UR S DAY, JU LY 2 , 2 015

LIFESTYLE

showed Arab society in a negative light,” he says, noting that he would never accept a role in a film that depicted Arabs or Muslims in a negative way. He makes a habit of consulting with the Ministry of Culture before accepting offers from foreign directors.

His yearning to study more about films led him to Bollywood where he became friends with many of the stalwarts of the industry. They took him under their wings and taught him the nuances of directing, which he turned to in 2011.

“I wrote the story for Search for the Impossible with myself in the lead. So I decided to act and direct it, and I am happy that movie fans enjoyed it. The sale of over 3,000 DVDs stands a testimony to their faith in me and my movies.”

Salim learned a lot while directing his first film, and he took those lessons and applied them well when he turned his attention to his next feature, Once Upon A Time. “We brought professionals from Bollywood and I focussed only on the script and direction. The film turned out to be a huge success.”

Third time may just be the charm for Salim, as he has gained maturity as a director, and continues to be a passionate actor, he feels he hit the mark on both counts in Kissath Mahra. “I’ve gotten good feedback...I am sure it will do even better than my previous films.” Fans around Oman can’t wait to see for themselves. (ameerudheen@timesofoman.com)

2011

began at a young age.

After watching a Hindi film starring Dharmendra at the Ruwi Theatre in 1971, a seven year old Salim knew he had found his calling. “As I walked out of the theatre, I made up my mind to become a film star.

Then I put in a lot of hard work to realise my dream.”

Actively taking part in theatre groups during his studies in different countries, upon returning to Oman in 1988, he began landing minor roles in Oman television dramas. Salim’s big break came in 1992, when he was chosen by a renowned Kuwaiti director for the television drama, Akhir Al Ankood (The Last Grape), for which he worked alongside leading actors from the Gulf region. “It was the turning point in my career. I never looked back after it.”

His acting career blossomed and in 2006, he finally got the chance to move from television to the big screen in the first Omani feature film, Dr Khalid Al Zadjali’s Al Boum.

Two years later, he acted in Mark Ratering’s English movie, Pirate’s Blood, as one of six heroes from six different countries. “It was a good learning experience. Working with professionals from different countries boosted my morale as an actor. I learned valuable lessons about film production.”

As his fame grew, Salim had to make some hard choices. “I rejected a proposal to work with Hollywood star George Clooney in a film that

2010

D

irected by renowned Omani filmmaker Salim Bahwan, and shot locally in Muscat and Musandam, this much anticipated film focuses on both a very local cultural struggle and the universal human story of longing. “It is a love story between Saeed, an assistant captain with the National Ferry Corporation, and Mahra. Both hail from Muscat. Saeed couldn’t marry Mahra as her father demanded a huge amount as dowry. However, they meet again after many long years during a ferry trip from Muscat to Musandam, which changes their lives.

The movie tells two stories: That of Mahra (the heroine) and that of Mahar (dowry),” Salim, explains. As in his earlier films, Salim will play the lead, Saeed, opposite to UAE actress, Rania Al Ali, who plays Mahra.

Kissath Mahra is Salim’s third directorial venture. His first two films, Baht An Mushtaheel (Search for Impossible) and Maraah Fi Alomer (Once in a Lifetime), were well received by film buffs in Oman. Little wonder, then, that Salim has reasonably good hopes about his third project. “My first film ran to packed houses in Muscat and Sohar for 26 days. The second one fared even better across Oman. Now, I am planning to release Kissath Mahra in theatres in Oman and United Arab Emirates through VoX Cinemas.

Expatriates too can enjoy it as the movie has subtitles in English,” says Salim, whose love affair with movies

2012

2013

2014

A BRIEF HISTORY OF OMANI FILM INDUSTRY

2006

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Photos: Supplied

Salim Bahwan’s second full length feature film, Oman’s forth feature, Once Upon A Life Time, was released, eclipsing the success of his earlier work.

First Omani female film director, Muzna Al Musafir’s second short film Cholo won award for the best script in the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

Dr Zadjali releases the third Omani full length feature film, Aseel, which centred around the struggles of a Bedouin boy as he tries to maintain his culture, his dreams, and his relationship with his camel.

Salim Bahwan makes his directorial debut with Oman’s second full length feature film, Search for the Impossible, which ran to full houses in many theatres across Oman and sold over 3,000 DVDs.

Ten Omani short films were screened in the third edition of the Gulf Film Festival in Dubai, including: The Guard (Director: Khalid Al-Kalbani), Bara’ah (Jasim Albutashi), Lamad (Al Motasim Al-Shaqsi), Niqab (Muzna Al Musafir), Leaking (Amjad Abdullah Al Hinai & Khamis Sulyem Ambo-Saidi), Al-Jahla (Sultan Al-Hussaini), A Rope Knot (Maryam Mohammed Al-Gheilani), Mashnaqah (Abdullah Al Maqimi), Al Menaz (Abdullah AlBatashi), Al Nathed (Mahmood Al Bimani).

The first full-length, Omani feature film, Al Boum, directred by Dr Khalid Abdul Rahim Al Zadjali, premiers at the fourth Muscat International Film Festival.

The 70-minute film showcased how Omanis deal with life, love, and development.

T HURSDAY, JULY 2, 2015

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CULTURE UPDATE

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Arnold confirms sequel of ‘Twins’ Arnold Schwarzenegger has shared that a sequel to the 1980s comedy Twins is coming. The movie, called Triplets, will reunite Schwarzenegger with Danny DeVito, who also starred in the first part.

However, it’s not clear if director Ivan Reitman will be returning to take the helm. The Terminator star confirmed that “Triplets is happening” — with a plan to introduce Eddie Murphy as a third brother. “We’re talking about a sequel, where we find out at the funeral of our mother,” he said. “Eddie Murphy loves the idea. I had lunch with Eddie Murphy over at my house, and talked about the thing,” he added.

Selena Gomez ignores Justin Bieber

Walk The Moon — Shut up and Dance

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Singer Selena Gomez reportedly ignored Justin Bieber when they found themselves at the same party. According to a source, Gomez was too busy with her friends and Ed Sheeran to “engage” with the Boyfriend crooner.

“Justin and Selena saw each other and didn’t engage whatsoever. Selena was too busy enjoying herself with Ed and her girlfriends. “Selena came with Ed and left with him shortly after Justin arrived.

It was obvious she wanted to avoid any drama,” a source told pagesix.com.

-IANS

BY SALEH AL SHAIBANY

Where is the Ramadan Spirit?

I SO TO SPEAK What do you think?

Scan below to have your say on Facebook/TimesofOman

Photos: Supplied

A Night Dive

t is another Ramadan and Muslims around the world are reflecting on their achievements of the past twelve months.

It is the month of blessing for the people with the right attitude.

Let me elaborate, some people go through the ritual of fasting in a mechanised manner. They just go along with it without really believing in the month and they say “Ramadan Kareem” when they don’t really mean it.

There are also those who take advantage of the month. One of the many blessings of the month include short working hours, loan repayment waivers, and an abundance of charity. The unscrupulous see the blessings as special perks

that they can take advantage of.

Employees go to their offices later than usual saying that they spent the small hours of the night “praying” when they were really watching late movies. Beggars knock at doors asking for charity when they don’t deserve it, and businessmen work out deceitful schemes to increase sales.

I was standing behind a man enquiring about the price of meat in a leading supermarket in Muscat on the first day of Ramadan. There was a look of utter shock on his face when he was told that it had increased by twenty per cent in the last twenty-four hours.

“Insurance and transport costs have gone up,” he was told.

The butcher did not fool anyone.

Live animals are shipped into the country a month before Ramadan and there was no reason for the meat to soar in price from the same stock. What about fruits and vegetables which are grown in the country? One thing for sure, farmers and fishermen do not make anything extra while shop owners turn Ramadan into a cash bonanza. The silence business slogan is that if you stay hungry the whole day then you must eat in the evening. Therefore you must pay the asking price. You are left with no choice but to wonder, where is the spirit of Ramadan?

When I was a young engineer at the airport, I caught my senior supervisor eating in his office during the day. He grabbed me by the throat and for a moment, I thought I

would never celebrate another Eid. He thought he had locked the door and was secured in his own little world of deceit.

“You breath this to anyone,” he snarled, spraying my face with fish curry as he spoke,“then you can forget your promotion!”

I did not expose him, partly because he was writing my annual report and partly for the simple fact that it was not my business. Many people like him go back home from work and pretend that they fasted.

They would also sit with their families during Iftar just to go along with the ritual. The outrageous thing is that they would celebrate Eid unashamedly and pray aloud for God to spare them so they could “fast” another Ramadan next year.

The good news is that people like my old office supervisor are a minority. The bad news is that their behaviour tends to corrupt youngsters. However, we can take for comfort that the majority are sincere. Fasting is not about staying hungry and thirsty, but about renewing your faith. It is also about believing, and without belief, we are like an empty shell that crumbles from the weakest of forces.

When you pass the test of fasting in the day, you would have the luxury to look at yourself in the mirror with greater confidence in the night. You would know that the face staring back is not that of a cheat.

With this knowledge, you can joyfully proclaim “Ramadan Kareem,” with no reservations.

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Just The Way You Are (2D) (Dance/Romance) (12+) (Language - Tagalog) Cast: Enrique Gil, Liza Soberano, Yves Flores 9:15 pm Papanasam (2D) ( Drama/Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Kamal Haasan, Gautami Tadimalla, Kalabhavan Mani 9:30 pm

11:30 pm Papanasam(Tamil) (Drama/Family/Thriller) – PG12 (2D) Cast: Kamal Haasan, Gautami Tadimalla, Kalabhavan Mani 9.30 pm Laila O Laila - 2D (M) (PG12) Action | Thriller Cast : Mohanlal, Amala Paul, Sathyaraj, Joy Mathew 9:00 pm

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FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

TEMPERATURE

05:30 05:30 05:30

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Daily Daily Daily

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06:45 08:30 10:00

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

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TO SINAW (ROUTE 52) 17:30

Sinaw

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Daily

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37 30

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Ruwi

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17:55 20:20

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

Daily Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (ROUTE 62) 06:30 06:30

Fahud Yibal

Salalah Marmul Salalah Salalah

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

Daily Daily

Marmul

Dubai

16:50

Daily

Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai

Daily Daily

12:30 12:30

Fahud Ruwi

13:15 17:30

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

RELATIVE HUMIDITY

35-80%

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16:30

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15:00

Salalah

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Daily Daily Thur-Fri Thur-Fri Daily Daily

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

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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)

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

10:20 12:30

TO SUR (ROUTE 55) Sur Sur

Premam (Mal) (Comedy) Cast: Nivin Pauly, Anupama Parameshwaran and Sai Pallavi 9-45 pm at Cinema 3

0

ROYAL OMAN POLICE 07:30 14:30

Papanasam(Tamil) (Drama/Family/ Thriller) – PG12 Cast: Kamal Haasan, Gautami Tadimalla, Kalabhavan Mani 9-30 & 945 pm at Cinema – 2 & 4

Minimum

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

Laila O Laila (Mal) (Romance / Thriller) Cast: Mohanlal, Amala Paul, Sathyaraj, Joy Mathew 10:00 pm at Cinema Main

0

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

Jurassic World (Action / Adventure) Cast: Chris Pratt, Judy Greer, Ty Simkins 9.30 pm CP No: 1495 (PG12) Guardian (Action, Thriller) (15+) Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino Fernandez 11:45 pm CP No: 1613 Cold in July (Crime / Thriller) (15+) Cast: Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson.

9:30 & 11.45 pm CP No: 659 (15+)

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

Appolo 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 Hamdan Hospital 23212340 International Medical Centre LLC 24794501/2/3/4/5 Kims Oman Hospital 24760100 24 Hrs Emergency 24760123 Lama Polyclinic, Sohar 26751128 MBD 24799077 Al Khuwair 24478818 Magrabi Eye and Ear Hospital 24568870 Muscat Private Hospital 24583600 Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, Al Khuwair 24477666 Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC 22004000 AIRLINE OFFICES Muscat Airport Flight information (24 hours) 24519456/24519223 Aeroflot 24704455 Air Arabia 24700828 Air France 24562153 Air India 24799801

Air New Zealand 24700732 Biman Bangladesh Airlines 24701128 British Airways 24568777 Cathay Pacific 24789818 Egypt Air 24794113 Emirates Air 24404400 Ethiopian Airlines 24660313 Gulf Air 80072424 Indian 24791914 Iran Air 24787423 Japan Airlines 24704455 Jazeera Airways 23294848 Jet Airways 24787248 Kenya Airways 24660300 KML Royal Dutch Airlines 24566737 Kuwait Airways 24701262 LOT Polish Airlines 24796387 Lufthansa 24796692 Malaysian Airlines 24560796 Middle East Airlines 24796680 Oman Air 24531111 Pakistan International Airlines 24792471 Qatar Airways 24771900 Qantas 24559941 Royal Jordanian 24796693 Saudi Arabian Airlines 24789485 Singapore Airlines 24791233 Shaheen Air 24816565 SriLankan Airlines 24784545 Swiss International Airlines 24796692 Thai Airways 24705934

T HURSDAY, JULY 2, 2015

C11

LIFESTYLE A Lasting Impression

GHAWI BAZAAR

Buy Local: Alghadev Palm Baskets Woven Alghadev Palm baskets are one of the most sought after products at Dar Al Herfya (World of Handicrafts), a boutique that specialises in locally produced products made by talented Omani men and women from villages in the interior.

WHAT

Photography courtesy of Adam Ball

After exhibiting Elemental, a collection of his newest pieces, at the Bait Al Zubair Museum, Adam Ball recalls Oman’s enthralling culture, beauty, and history. Logan Ross reports

A

dam Ball, a 38-year-old artist from England, has a unique, intricate style that earned his piece, ‘Involution’ a permanent place in Muscat’s Bait Al Zubair museum.

He says that his experiences in Oman have earned the Sultanate a permanent place in his heart.

“I exhibit internationally and get sent off all over the world,” said Ball. “I have been to the Middle East before, so I thought I knew what Oman might be like, but I was absolutely blown away by Oman as a country.

“There aren’t many places I could leave London for; I think I could live in LA, and I love Parma and Mallorca, but after this visit, I would add Muscat to my list — I enjoyed it that much.”

Adam spent the first few days of his time in the country opening the exhibition and installing his work. Then he had the opportunity to step away from the gallery and experience some of Oman’s vibrant culture.

Adam visited the souq, Muscat’s old town and Muttrah, but what excited him the most was his trip to Sharqiyah.

“We went into the desert, into Wahiba Sands, and we spent two nights there, and I have to say that is something that will live with me for a very long time,” said Adam. “Having dinner under the stars every night and watching the sun go down was incredibly peaceful and relaxing.”

Adam took inspiration from the beautiful

desert landscape and featured it as a backdrop for his Clarks Desert Boot redesign project, Clarks: Rebooted.

“Fourteen of us had been asked to reinterpret [The Desert Boot] and I had finished mine, which comes out in July, and I brought a pair with me,” said Ball. “I thought as we were in the desert, I’ll take a photograph of it.

As the sun was going down, it kind of captured what I was trying to do really well, which echoes very much into my work.”

B O L LY W O O D

Shah Rukh has punctuality issues with Rohit Shetty

Photo: Supplied

SUPERSTAR Shah Rukh Khan, whose last actor-director collaboration with Rohit Shetty — Chennai Express — chugged away to success, says it’s pathetic he can’t keep up with the “very punctual” filmmaker, who always reaches the set before the scheduled time.

The duo have once again joined hands for a new film titled Dilwale, which will see the classic Bollywood ‘jodi’ of SRK and Kajol back on the big screen. At an event for the launch of watch brand TAG Heuer’s new campaign, Shah Rukh spoke of his experience of working with Shetty. He said: “I think, director-wise, Rohit Shetty

is very punctual. It’s pathetic to work for him because he always reaches five to 10 minutes before time, and you’re always feeling, ‘Okay, I will go there before Rohit’.

But it never happens”.

Shah Rukh is infamous for arriving late at a lot of events, but taking all the criticism about it in his stride, he said: “I am the most punctual star. According to my time, I am always punctual.

According to other people’s time, I am not punctual at all.” “Most of the directors are more punctual than most of the actors, but Rohit Shetty is very punctual,” he added. -IANS

Oman’s beautiful environment and architecture affected Adam, sparking ideas that he will likely incorporate into future works.

“As an artist it’s really important to have your eyes open all the time, to constantly be looking, thinking, photographing,” Adam said. “It’s difficult to predict how what you experience and see will affect your art work. Often something that you’ve seen will come into your work a year later or two years later; almost as if it is coming in by osmosis.”

Adam will surely return to the Sultanate for inspiration. He has already been recommending Oman as a holiday destination to friends and family back in London. “I think one of the reasons I feel that Oman has had a lasting effect on me is because I think it’s rare in life to be somewhere on holiday that surpasses all of your expectations, and that’s what Oman did for me,” said Ball.

“Although [Oman] is progressing and changing very quickly, it doesn’t feel like it’s being taken over or ruined, it just feels like it’s developing, I think in a sensitive and interesting way,” said Ball.

With roughly 50 per cent of the Omani population under the age of 24 years old, Adam feels that the youthful energy creates an environment constructive to young artists. “Oman does have a young vibe to it and it’s a country that’s progressing with the next generation.”

A natural al product that can last up to o 200 years, these baskets made using Al Ghadev Palm leaves and camel leather eather can be used as a kitchen hen implement for serving food, or in a more modern way as decor. The walls of Alila Jabal Akhdar have been en adorned with these beautiful eautiful works of Omani craftsmanship. raftsmanship.

WHERE E These and nd other Omani mani handicrafts afts can be found at Dar All Herfya at Madinatt Sultan Qaboos in Muscat. at.

WHO Zuwaina a Al Rashdi launched d Dar Al Herfya to promote e Omani traditional handicrafts afts through quality ment, production development, rketing. and marketing.

HOW MUCH The price e ranges from OMR5 to o OMR600 depending upon n the size.

DETAILS LS P: 2494 9497 E: w.handicrafts@gmail.com dicrafts@gmail.com W: alherfya.om fya.om Have a favourite urite Omani product or shop? ut it: Tell us about en@timesofoman com ameerudheen@timesofoman.com

Photography courtesy of Dar Al Herfya

C1 2

TH UR S DAY, JU LY 2 , 2 015

LIFESTYLE Dibaj Oman - Modern Omani Fluorescent bracelets Find them at the Dibaj shop in Al Asfoor Plaza or (2456 7131)

Fyunka - Pop Cultural Brand Based in Jeddah Find her pieces at Boutique Muscat, Jawharat Shatti Mall (boutiquemuscat.com)

LOCAL FLAVOUR Adding accessories that draw on traditional Omani design,

modern takes on Khaleeji life, and the beautiful, ancient art of Arabic caligraphy add flair to any outfit.

Men’s Calligraphy Ring Order from Marka VIP (markavip.com/om; +962/6577 7711) Silk Arabic Calligraphy Scarves Find different colours and designs in the Mutrah Souq

Deema Oman, Modern Omani-style Fine Jewellery Order from Deema Oman directly (shadya@deemacollection.com; 96444200)

Dishdasha Inspired Cases from D Omani Artist Sofi Bahlani O Order from Safiya Arts O (Instagram @Safiya_Arts; 9527 6414) (I

SHARQ & GHARB “Great Minds” Arabesque Muscle-T Order one online at hautearabia.com

D

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 , 2 0 1 5

SECTION

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

RENT

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VACANCY

D4

CARGO

D7

D2

T H U R S D AY, J U LY 2 , 2 0 1 5 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DAILY GUIDE FOR RENT

FOR RENT

Commercial 3 BHK flat in Al Ghobra 18 Nov Street. RO 700/Contact 93191111

Building In Rusail Industrial ŶĞĂƌ ƚŽ ŵŝĂŶƟƚ KŵĂŶ comprising a store divisible area 266 sq. meters.

The building includes Studios ĂŶĚ ƌŽŽŵƐ ǁŝƚŚ ĚŝīĞƌĞŶƚ ƐŝnjĞ ƐƵŝƚĂďůĞ ĨŽƌ ŽĸĐĞƐ Žƌ residence.

Preferably to be leased to one company.

Ware house 450 sqm behind Majan hyper market near Bridgestone tyre Ghala. Contact: 92088800

2 BHK flat in Al Azaiba near sea, with split A/C. RO.340/Contact 93191111 For rent 3 industrial land.

Contact 92702891/ 95490842 For rent if require flats for rent in Wadi Kabir please send me messages through Whatsapp.

Contact: 99376454

Mob + 968 96177505

3 flats, 2 BHK near Ghala Church, Majan hyper market Ghala.

Contact: 92088800

Flat for rent in Mabela 7, 2BHK + 3 bathroom 220/-R.O. Contact: 92712996

2 bed rooms, kitchen, toilet & car park in Al Khuwair R.O 200/- .

Contact 95154331 Office space at Alasfoor Plaza Qurum. Contact : 24566217 /24564686

Double bedroom near Lulu Wadi Kabeer. Contact: 92022816/99468133/99719471

Apartment in Al Khuwair 33/1, 4 bedroom 550/-R.O. Contact : 99340055 / 97557555

Flat for rent Ruwi near Badr al Sama, 2 bed rooms, attach toilet in rooms big hall big kitchen.

Contact: 99345137

1.2.3 BHK flats. Contact: 92144045 Deluxe furnished / unfurnished flats Qurum. Contact: 24566217 / 24564686

1BHK with A/C Mumtaz. R.O 250/-.

Contact 9779175

Small old house for rent Al Ghobrah.

Contact 95112461

2BHK for commercial M.B.D R.O 300/-. Contact: 92144045

2 BHK commercial / residential flat at Honda Road.

Contact: 99342733/99795241

2BHK with A.C Darsait R.O 300/-.

Contact: 92144045

3000 sq mtrs Industrial landß, in Barka Sanaiya, with electricity 400KW, shed, staff accommodation and office. Ready to start any kind of factory. Contact 99384255.

Furnished room for rent at Al Khuwair R.O 225/- for family only.

Contact: 99251975

2BHK without A.C Ghobrah R.O 325/- Contact: 92144045 Fabulous AC flat at Al Khoud 3 bedrooms, hall and kitchen RO 270/- for rent. Contact: 99334699 Flat for rent in Walja Ruwi, 2 bedrooms, 2 toilets and kitchen for further enquiry. Contact: 95464607

New building in Wadi Kabir, 2 bedroom flats. Contact: 99313274

2BHK near Oman house behind Khimji, H.O. Contact: 95865686

Workshop for rent Ground floor 126 SQM. Workshop first floor 108 SQM furnished office with storage accommodation for 50 Labors.

Contact: 92410691

Room for rent, street 18Nov. Azaiba.

Contact: 99785561

Flat for rent in Wadi Al Kabir 1 bed and 3 bed near to Mars Hypermarket for info Contact: 98983353 / 99700887

For rent in Qantab European style 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, Guest toilet, fully equipped modern kitchen, covered car park for two cars, approximately 150 meters from the beach. For enquiries, please Contact: Yasser at 92606005

Six bed room twin villa Al Athaiba.

Contact: 99207840

Spacious well maintained 2BHK at Rex Road. Contact: 92227165

4 bed room flat at Al Hail South.

Contact: 99207840

Flat for rent 1BHK Rex Road Ruwi R.O 215/-. Contact: 92833408

Store space available opp.

Fatima Shopping Ruwi.

Contact: Mr. Sharath 98168577 1 Villa & 3 big Flats of 2/3 BHK with hall, Kitchen & ACs Al Khoudh 6, Close to express way, from owner.

Tel 97600322 alnehang@gmail.com 1 BHK flat in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181 1 BHK flat in Honda Road (Ruwi).

Contact 99792181 100 sqr mtrs office space in Al Khuwair. Contact 99792181

Brand new warehouse 3500SQM (2800SQM built up area) at Rusayl industrial area adjacent to Amiantit Oman with ceiling fans, light fittings, extract fans &provision for ACs. Contact: 94652485 /99273774/99202278

2BHK Wadi Kabeer R.O 300/-.

Contact: 92144045

Villa AL Ghobrah, 6 bedroom 1200/R.O. Contact: 99340055/97557555

Three new three bedrooms flats with servants rooms Al Khuwair 39.

Contact: 99207840

Flat for rent in AL Wadi AL Kabir next to Kuwaiti Mosque 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, balcony & 1 living room 220/-R.O Contact: 99425958

Deluxe 3 BHK Penthouse with Seaview, ideal for office / residence at Qurum near PDO. Contact: 9772 1313 / 9507 0421 2BHK / I BHK newly renovated flats at Wattaya R/O – Near the Mosque for Families. Preferably for one company. Contact : 96457757 9 am to 7 Pm. Shop /Comn /Resi building 1 & 2 bed flat available in Wadi Kabir (near Lulu). Contact: 99451168 One bed rooms flat RO 200/Wadi Al Kabir. Contact: 99451168 Flats shops and store for rent in Ruwi, MBD Honda road.

Contact 97293708 / 92433127

Apartments for rent near Indian school Ghobrah & AL Maha international hotel (2BHK with 5 split AC units) Contact: 94652485/99273774/99202278 Apartments for rent near Al Nahdha Towers/ Vachas hypermarket Azaiba Ghala (1& 2 BHK with split AC units) Contact: 94652485/ 99273774/ 99202278 2BHK with split AC near PDO Gate no -2 at Qurum. Contact: 94057023 1BHK, 2BHK, 3BHK new flat available at Mabela in front of Modern English School Contact: 96239126 Deluxe 1, 2 BHK flats in Darsait, AL Khuwair 1deal for office & residence. Contact 99369081 /99142314 Misfa land for rent 1000 SQM. Contact: 99451168 1 BHK flat in Al Khuwair, 2 months only. Contact 99792181 3 BHK Flat in Azaiba.

Contact 99792181 Labour Camp for Rent in Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99792181 AL Khuwair 2 rooms, toilet & Kitchen sharing prefer Indian couples or execute lades rent 200/- R.O include Elect & water. Contact: 99546410 House in North Al Mawaleh close of Al Bahja Center consists of 3 rooms, 1 council, sitting room, 3 bathrooms, 1 computer room, kitchen, and parking.

Contact: 93214010 / 92602050 Flats for rent near Indian School in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99777122

Flat at Darsait. Contact 99326879 2 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181 4 BHK single villa in Al Khuwair.

Contact: 97616158 4 & 5 BHK villa in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181 Luxurious villa in Mumtaz area, Ruwi with 3BR, 2 Lounges, Dining, car park, kitchen. Contact: 99430943 Villa for rent in Al Khuwair 33, 8 bedrooms & 5 bathrooms with parking area near Taimur Mosque.

Contact: 99366624

2BHK with split AC at Al Khuwair 33. Contact: 94057023 Office / shop near Oman house Muttrah. Contact: 99233116 New flats for rent in Wadi Kabir.

Contact : 92130703 / 96045478 Flat in South Al Hail, 2 bedrooms, Majlis, 2 bathrooms, kitchen RO 250/-. Contact 93221474 Flat in Ruwi Mumtaz 2 BHK RO 300 or 1 BHK 250 RO. Contact 98588240 For rent in Darsait new flats.

Contact: 99777351

Deluxe 3&4 bedroom, hall, kitchen spacious living area with split AC, at Ghobrah. Contact: 95282986

Luxury 3 BHK flat in Al Wattaya with split A/C & private parking.

RO.500/- Contact – 93191111

506sqm space with mezzanine available for rent in AL Wadi Al Kabir, Suitable for carpentry / Auto workshop and / or electrical shop interested parties may.

Contact: 24703981

Villa of 5 BHK in Al Ansab with split A/C. RO.650/- Contact – 93191111

2 BHK Flats for rent Muttrah near Oman house.

Contact: 97009734/92629232

Bath attached room for rent Al Khuwair.

Contact 99743569

2 BHK flat in Al Ansab with split A/C. RO.250/Contact – 93191111

Flat for rent in Mabellah 8th.

Contact: 97147240 For rent in Darsait, new flats.

Contact: 99311525 Flats/villas owned by ROP pension fund available for rent in Muscat. Contact 99349526

BUYING/SELLING All type of car scanner available easy car diagnostic for professional and self use Authorize LAUNCH and Autel dealer. GSM:92393972 www.omancartools.com Used furniture & Electronic items, office & house. Contact: 99834373

FOR SALE Wall papers, grass carpets sale & fixing. Contact: 99834373 / 97102699 Shawarma Double burner for sale.

Contact: 95395378 1.5 Acre full or as plots available for sale at Mulanthuruthy 18 Km from Ernakulam Asphalt road frontage.

Contact : 99235701 Email: jacobmathew@gmail.com New two story house (1550 sq. ft) and 7.25 cents land with comp. Wall near Kandassan Kadavu Church, just behind Convent high school.

Interested parties may Contact: Prakasan 91008235 / 99445159 Turkish MDF door with frame for sale, size 210 x 100 Price: RO 75/-.

Contact: 95899296 / 92141514 Telecom and net work accessories shop for sale Ruwi.

Contact: 99481931 6 bedroom, 6 bath rooms, sitting & dining villa at Qurum.

Contact: 99342733 Grade IT company with 5 clearances & oil Gas activity for sale serious buyers. Contact: 99329216 Car polishing shop for sale or lease.

Contact: 98903073 Fully decorated & Equipped kitchen cabinet and marble showroom for sale at Mabela industrial area road no – 10 only serious buyers can.

Contact: 99337670/97763560 Commercial land for sale 3000 m in quriyat road main high way can use as a petrol station license available asking price 350,000 For more information please call on 99070701 with out name Training center with license.

Contact: 91121277

T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 , 2 0 1 5

D3

DAILY GUIDE

MOTOR VEHICLE FOR SALE

AVAILABLE 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. www.tunesoman.com, E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

TRANSPORTATION

Chevrolet Epica 2008 very good condition. Contact 92802299

Land Cruiser 2012. Contact 99336093

2014 Grand Cherokee 5.7 liter full option, low mileage, under warranty, agency maintained expat driven.

Call 92502684. Immediate sale.

Expatriate driven Yaris 2008 model 100,000 kms & land rover 2005 model 93000 Kms, excellent conditions. Contact : 97094797

Prado ,2012. Contact : 99336093

Toyota Corolla 2012 exclusive model, Expat driven done 27,000 kms excellent condition.

Contact: 97717152

Sportage, 2013. Contact: 99336093 Transportation. Contact 99508282 Pick & drop any time. Contact: 98522914 / 99512270

NRI

Transportation. Contact: 98178135

Peugeot 206-2007 Model, expat driven. Contact 99209285

2 Prime Movers Man 2008 with 40 ton petrol tank each working at the moment in Al Maha. Price OMR 35 Thousand each. Contact 97000155 or 92688692

Suzuki Vitara 2007, 95000km, single owner, for sale. Contact 92183619

Transportation. Contact: 98505294

LOST

Transportation. Contact: 98244078

Rashid Mahmood has lost Pakistani passport No NQ 0159381. Finder please handover to ROP.

Krishna pillai Syamala has lost Indian Passport No. F 1774984. Finder please handover to ROP

Santhosh Sasidharan has lost Indian passport No H 7302524.

Finder please handover to ROP.

Mushtaq has lost Pakistani Passport No. AU 0842602. Finder please handover to ROP

Christian CSI Syrian boy, 31/178, fair, working as Business Development Officer in a reputed company Muscat.

Suitable proposals solicited. Email: jamesmails2010@gmail.com Contact: 98582078, M4 - Marry - 4083713

Sobuz Bapari has lost Bangladeshi Passport No. AF 80272780. Finder please handover to ROP

Firuj Somer has lost Bangladeshi Passport No. A 0332283. Finder please handover to ROP.

Indian Kerala male 31 years Hindu Ezhava working in Muscat looking for life partner.

Contact: 99893119

I Lad Daksha Amrit Bhai (holder of Indian passport No. H8450680) daughter of Narrotam Prajapati having permanent residence in 7/333 Jalaram Krupa, Nana Parsiwad, Valsad, Gujarat (complete postal address in India) and presently residing in C/O Khimji Ramdas LLC, Commodity Division, P.O. Box 19, Muscat (100) (complete postal address in Oman) intend to change my name from Lad Daksha Amrit Bhai (old name) to Daksha Amaratlal Lad (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.

Transportation. Contact: 95190627 Pick & Drop any time. Contact: 97014786

SITUATION WANTMATRIMONIAL

ACC. AVAILABLE For sharing accommodation room with toilet attached, kitchen sharing near clean building next to main road near Indian school Wadi Kabir, Indian couples family or bachelor.

Contact: 95345537 / 94672007 Furnished room attached bath room & kitchen for Executive bachelor / family, Honda road near NBO bank Ruwi. Contact: 98582078 Executive bachelor bed space available at Mumtaz area.

Contact: Mr. Sharath 98168577 Fully furnished room for a decent expatriate. independent kitchen, bathroom in Wadi Adai.

Contact 96243086 at 5p.m.

Excellent room with a/c, attached toilet for Indian Executive bachelor in Rex road. Contact 93993212 Single room rear Oman house Muttrah. Contact: 97477670

2.5 BHK Flat for sale having 1260 sq ft and Vehicle Parking space of 144 Sq ft. At Bhrama Avenue, NIBM Road, Pune. Contact 93068804 / 99263581

Spacious bedroom, T& K in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 96098443

ACC. AVAILABLE

Furnished single /sharing room for Exe. bachelor at Rex road near Kamat with WIFI available.

Contact 92873832

Excellent room, with A/C kitchen available for bachelor / family near ONTC bus station (Ruwi).

Contact: 95885736

Bed space available for ex- bachelors at Al Khuwair.

Contact: 94143636

Furnished room with attached bathroom in W/K. Contact: 97167857

Furnished bedroom with Sep – bathroom, sharing, and kitchen for ex- bachelors at AL Khuwair.

Contact: 99636550 Fully furnished 1BHK with all household items in Darsait near Lulu on monthly Basis. Contact : 99378397 One room for rent (A/C +bed +bath) at Al Khuwair. Contact: 99382008 Furnished room attached bath for lady in Wadikabir (Mars Hypermarket) – 95941515

Spacious room with bathroom and kitchen. Contact: 91214537 Sharing for non cooking executive bachelor in CBD area WIFI free, Advance deposit. Contact: 95094504 Independent rooms in Qurum / Al Hail. Contact 95529970 A/C room with separate balcony and big wardrobe available for noncooking bachelor in CBD area (near Stars cinema). Rent OMR125 inclusive of electricity and water charges.

Contact 96568110

Kerala Hindu Ezhava girl (28 yrs, 164 cm), Staff Nurse (MOH), seeks suitable alliance from Graduates / professionally qualified boys.

Contact: 91 9746343275 / +91 9747801255

ACC. WANTED Required a room or studio flat in Darsait / WadiKabir /Ruwi area.

Contact : 95405033

ACC. AVAILABLE Rooms available with separate bathroom for executive bachelors in azaiba near al meera hyper market.

Gsm 99053844

CHANGE OF NAME

I Mohammad Shamim (holder of Indian passport No. G 0200845) son of Mohammad Daud having permanent residence in C -2, Al Muhjir, Bldg. Flat 301, Millat Nagar, Andheri West , Mumbai 53 (complete postal address in India) and presently residing in Ruwi , P.O 1680, P.C 111, Near Old Indian Embassy, Flat No. 24 , Ruwi Oman (complete postal address in Oman) intend to change my name from Mohammad Shamim (Khan) (old name) to Mohammad Shamim (given name) Khan (Sur name) (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.

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

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T H U R S D AY, J U LY 2 , 2 0 1 5 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION SITUATION WANTED VACANT

ADVOCATE Law firm office at Shatti al Qurum looking for Indian legal advisor minimum 5 years experience in Oman. Whatsapp 99772277 sereen38@gmail.com

ADMIN Vacancy for Omani PRO Email: abid673@yahoo.com Mob 94192526 Urgently Required: Administration with an experience minimum in 3 years in building construction, required immediately join and MUST have NOC. Apply, fax 00968–24605955, emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeoman@yahoo.com.

Urgently Required: Administration with an experience minimum in 3 years in building construction, required immediately join and MUST have NOC.Apply, fax 00968–24605955, emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeoman@yahoo.com.

ACCOUNTANT Urgently required female accountant with an experience minimum 3years Email CV on cv.hrcharity@gmail.com Urgently required Junior Accountant. Please send CV: hr.azatllc@gmail.com

BEAUTY Wanted experienced Beautician for beauty parlor in Al Amerat 3.

Contact: 91107337

CATERING Reduced experience Waiter / Supervisor/ Juice maker, Shawarma maker. Contact: 95395378 Traditional Omani restaurant requires: Waitress for restaurant.

Delivery man with bike license preferred. Interested candidates send CV to: Email: omanhari@yahoo.com Contact: 95892831 Cook for hotel with Omani & Arabic food experience. Contact: 92808067 Requires experience Cook for an Omani family 1Nos. Contact: 99228046 Email: oman518@gmail.com Chinese / Arab / Continental cook & helper wanted. Contact 95529970 Family in Muscat seeking to hire an experienced butler. Hotel experience is preferred. Candidate must hold a valid driver’s license.

Please send CV’s on vacancyinmuscat@gmail.com

DRIVER Driver required for a Company, 2 years experience. Visa available.

Contact 24479922 Driver available with car and without car Education, B. A exp. 5 years, language Hindi, Arabic, English.

Contact: 98522914 Driver needed, preferably female.

Must hold valid driving license.

Contact 95591068 Required Omani Driver light / heavy duty & Marketing Executive.

Contact: 24816774 /99020458

DOMESTIC HELPER Office boy , exp. in Dubai, present in India. Contact 96693290 Housemaid wanted for an Indian family in Al Hail. Must be able to cook and take care of baby. Full-time position. 96532872

MISCELLANEOUS Mason, C.C.T.V, Technician, Electrician cum Plumber.

Contact - 99383044

SITUATION WANTED SIT. WANTED

ENGINEER Urgent requirement Civil Engineers Nos for Supervision 8 yrs experience. Contact: 99244481/24551029 Email: secons.engineers@gmail.com

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE Indian CA with 15 yrs exp working as Finance Head of MNC looking for Job. NOC Available. 94047434

Leading Construction Company requires Quantity Surveyor (QS) with 4-6 yrs Gulf experience. Send your CV : qsmuscat2015@gmail. com (NOC required).

Quantity Surveyor (Civil & MEP) -1 No., Project Engineer – 1No both with 7 yrs. Gulf experience.

Contact / Email: omaniantrad@gmail.com Reputed consultancy office require 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 Required for Engineering consultancy office a Supervision Staff for road project at Ibri region: Civil Engineer (B.Sc) RE with 12 years experience & Land Surveyor (Diploma) with 8 years experience.

Please email CV & certificate copy to alsarh@omantel.net.om Required Civil Engineer (buildings) Oman experience 5+ years, BOQ+ Tendering + site supervision.

Contact: 95218004 Email: alhilalint@yahoo.com Construction Company in Oman urgently requires following candidates: BE Civil Engineer, minimum 3-5 years gulf experience & Civil site foreman, minimum 5 years gulf experience, diploma not required.

Email: applyforoman@gmail.com Leading Construction Company requires Project Engineer, Degree holder with minimum 5 to 6 years experience in building construction line. (NOC require) Send your CV to – degree.engineer2015@gmail.com Leading Construction company requires HSE Officer with minimum 4 to 5 years experience in building construction line. Send your CV : hseoman2015@gmail.com (NOC require).

Required Civil Engineer (BE/ B. Tech) with minimum 2 years GCC experience and valid Oman driving license. Email: careerwithparamount@gmail.com Construction Company in Oman urgently requires the following: B.Sc Civil Engineer, minimum 3-5 yrs Gulf experience. Civil Site Foreman, minimum 5 yrs experience with operating knowledge of Tally. Please Email CV ; applyforoman@gmail.com

IT IND male WEB developer 5 yrs exp B.Tech (comp science) PHP, HTML MYSQL Java script CSS. Contact: 95990529 Email: renjith341@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS Well established company in selling chocolate, Arabian sweets and fresh flowers, opening ITS first branch in Muscat seeking: 1- sweets and chocolates Sales man 2- flower arranger (Asian/ Filipino Nationality) Contact: 94490011 Email: labelleoman@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS A company from UAE require 2 merchandisers in retail food supply, store keeper with English and invoicing experience. Email: yesterdaysun@hotmail.com

MEDICAL Urgent! Omani healthcare company looking for a smart proactive marketing executive cum product specialist with strong English communication skills, healthcare background and marketing experience in medical/pharmacy/microbiology/ biotechnology field. Omani driving license is a must. Mail your CV to: vacancymedeq@gmail.com Specialist physiotherapy is required from the Philippines preferably has a license to practice.

Contact :91257624 Email: belgouthii@yahoo.fr Required for a reputed Medical Center in Al Khuwair. General Practitioner Doctor, X- Ray technician.

Please send CV: absmc2013@gmail. com Fax: 24488660

MANAGER Urgently Required: Male – handles overall store operations of the Supermarket, Prior Experience a MUST, knowledgeable in MSOffice. Send CV to chanda@dolphin-oman.com or fax to 244-92718.

SKILLED Urgently required a silk Screen printer with good knowledge and release letter or NOC. Contact: 93280288 or send CV to albayanstamps@gmail.com

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE Required Office Assistant 160+25+Acc, Contact 99454425

SALES / MARKETING Required Sales & Marketing executive with valid D/L and NOC with 2 years Oman experience for Foodstuff Trading Company. Interested may send their CV to virjis@omantel.net.om A reputed media company required female Marketing Executives with minimum 3 years experiences in Public relations, publishing & advertising (with driving license).

Contact: 93946622 or FW: CV job0808@gmail.com Required male or female candidate with 5 years experience in renting of properties. Interested candidates may please mail to alqurumprop@gmail.com Looking for Outdoor Salesman for heavy equipment spare parts.

Contact - 93292015, Email: mail.om@gulfcenter.co

SALES / MARKETING Wanted part time female Sales Executive with D/L for a reputed company. Contact 94688874 Required Sales Executive, Graphic and Interior Designer in 3D design & PRO for Advertisement company in Oman having experience in Events, media & press conferences.

Submit CV to jobs.choiceadv@gmail.com Contact : 95306030 / 24478233 / 22021181 Looking for a Staff has experience in Oman in real estate and real estate valuation.

Contact : sms Whatsapp 99109094, aburashid94dd@gmail.com A leading marketing company is looking for outdoor Sales Executives on part time or full time basis in Salalah.

Contact – 92760281 / 96436719 Urgent required Salesman with good experience and can speak English. Contact -99468070 from 9am to 2pm Required 1 male 1 female experience minimum 2 years, preferable experience in travel tourism, good work ethic, driving license, and knows English & Arabic. Forward your resume or CV to: misfartourism@gmail.com Required Sales Executive with minimum 2 years experience in Rice / FMCG sales. Email: careerwithparamount@gmail.com A reputed shipping and forwarding company urgently require Operations Executive valid Omani D/L is must. Experienced hands in shipping field are preferred. Send your CV to applymd2015@gmail.com Minimum 2 years of experience with valid gulf light driving license interested candidates please Contact: 99222086 /98585851 Required Sales man - 1 Person Qualification. Gulf Experienced - Minimum 5 Years with Oman Driving Licence Language - English Education:- Any Degree Further Contact :Mr. Abdul Hameed Nashabat - Mobile No: 97414307 and -92807399 amn@yaqeeneng.com Urgently required Sales and Marketing Executive for Graphic designing company.

Contact: 96727631 mail: smartgraphic518@gmail.com

TOURS Required 2 male 2 female experience minimum 2 years, preferable experience in Travel tourism, good work ethic, fluent English, French, German (Dutch), Italian. Forward your resume or CV to: misfartourism@gmail.com

Male 26 yrs, MBA in Accounts and Finance, 2 years Experience in Management and Accounts Fields, and 1 year experience in Operations in Oman Looking for a suitable job.

Contact 94374745 Indian male 32 years MBA, 6 out of 14 years experience in Oman in accounts / finance having NOC and Valid Oman driving license last date in Oman 01/AUG/2015.

Contact: 94051463 Email: gkvenkatesh83@gmail.com Indian male, B.Com 1 year experience in Accounts, on visit visa.

Contact 98295101 Indian male, 30 years, CMA (Inter),M.com.4 out of 7 years experience in Oman in Auditing/ Accounts/ Finance. Having NOC and valid Oman D/L. Contact: 96746420 , Email: sijuthampi@ymail.com Part Time Accounting, Accounts Finalization, Audit Preparation, Internal Audit, Onsite Tally Training, Inventory Management Contact : 96975454, email : ibfc.gcc@gmail.com Dynamic, Young Accountant Professional with CPA and ACCA (in progress) 2/3 years experience up to finalization of accounts. currently in Oman on visit. Contact: 94704330 / 99094531 Indian male 22 yrs B. Com Graduate 1 year exp in Accounts, currently on visit visa. Looking for suitable job.

Contact 94341848 / Email – mohdhaji7272@gmail.com Diploma in Computer 10 years experience as an Accountant, female now in visit visa. Contact: 95453643 Accountant Indian male, 9 years experience in Oman can do up to finalization. NOC available can be joined immediately.

Contact: 94134085 Email: muscatoman95@yahoo.com Chartered Accountant with ICWA Inter having 5 years experience in Finance, Accounts, Costing, Budgeting, Insurance, Treasury & Banking operations - NOC Available + Oman Driving License Contact : 97881548 Email-financecost2@gmail.com Indian female 25 MBA looking for a suitable opening in Accounts, Admin/Hr. Contact 97013375 Accountant 8 yrs experience looking part time job.

Contact 99867456 Young, energetic 24, ACCA finalist, Advanced diploma in Accounting and business, seeking suitable placement in accounts, finance or audit. Contact: 92430152 Email: rau_dey@yahoo.com Indian male, 32 years, M. Com. 7 out of 9 years experience in Oman in Accounts/finance. Having NOC and valid Oman D/L. Contact 98277143, Email: anzarks@gmail.com Senior Document Controller MCA Indian male 9+ year’s total experience 5+ years experience in Gulf in oil & gas sector and construction field on visit visa in Oman.

Contact: 95388197 Email: rojanchristopher@gmail.com

Indian male, well experienced in accounts and admin looking for a suitable vacancy. NOC available.

Contact: 98717938 Indian male with total 5 year experience (2 years experience in Accountant cum sales co ordinator in a FMCG Company in Oman) in accounts field and NOC available. Looking for suitable job Contact 92130188 Motivated and energetic male 25 having 4 years of experience in finance with Master’s degree in Economics and CAT Certified seeking opportunity in Accounts/finance/ audit in a reputable organization.

Cell no: 00968-94626209 E-Mail: omerjawedshah@gmail.com Sudanese Accountant seeking job in Nizwa state experience 10 years 3 years in Saudi Arabia, 7 yrs in Sudan. Contact : 97796394 / 94003247 MBA Graduate with 6 yrs exp in finance/accounts/ auditing. Specialized in accounts payable dept, Oracle app user, proficient in Sap (fico) end user & tally 9.0. lean &six sigma certified trainer on visit visa.

Contact – 91967213 / 99064780 Finance Manager, CPA, with more than 15 yrs. of experience in GCC. Fully knowledgeable in Finance, General & Management Accounting .

NOC available.

Contact 96209331 Indian Accountant: Male, M com, 7 Yrs experience in Accounts up to finalization, having knowledge of ERP, Tally, seeks suitable placment.Contact 93950138 Email: lijinrajan123@gmail.com

ADMIN Over 14 years of gulf experience in Admin /HR /Logistics, fluent in Arabic & English with D/L looking for suitable position.

Contact: 95824598 Omani hard working have 6 years experience as PRO and 4 years as Admin officer and transport in change with 6 years as safety office on driving good English and PDO / DL seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 92959251 A Lady with 5 years experience in HR/Admin is looking for suitable job and can join immediately.

Contact : 94465835 Indian male, MBA, HR seeking immediate placement, on visit visa. Contact 92624333. Email : sheikhadnan@gmail.com Indian Female MBA 3 Year Experience in Admin MIS, Family Visa.

Contact - 98234427, jkjsmith01@gmail.com System administrator with 3 years experience hold a degree, MCITP, CCNA , CCTV biometric , seeking job in a company.

Contact: 99630084/98129845 Indian female 29 MBA (HR) BSc, 4 yrs exp in HR& Admin looking suitable placement.

Contact : 95619537 Indian female with 10 yrs of experience in HR/Banking/Operations seeks a suitable placement.

Can be contacted on 98919015 or sherianne.coelho@gmail.com

T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 , 2 0 1 5

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DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED MISCELLANEOUS Having 9+ years exp. in Admin, Purchase, Stores & Warehouse in reputed companies. Presently working in Muscat and seeking for suitable placement. Contact +968 97693456. email : muralimahdav77@gmail.com

ADMIN Indian male 2+yrs oman exp in HR. joing immediatly. release available.

Contact :93671437

AUTO CAD/DRAUGHTS20 Years exp Auto Cad 3DS Max available for teaching part time.

Contact - 94412557 Electrical draftsman AutoCAD switch gear & MEP control panel 7 years experience Qatar. Contact: 92546203/96228100

DESIGNER Interior Designer: Indian male 31, 8 years exp. in GCC, NOC available.

95217586 Architect designer experience in Architecture design in 2D, 3D visiting to site : 2 years experience (in Oman), fluent Hindi & English.

Email: zhussain9950@gmail.com Contact: 94253074

DRIVER Driver, 42 yrs seeks for suitable job KSA, 12 years Oman 4 years,.

Contact: 95796030 Light driver. Contact: 95779594 Light Driver experience 4 yrs.

Contact: 98779907 15 years experience driver in Oman can speak Arabic, English & Hindi.

Contact: 96656270 Looking for driving job.

Contact: 98219182 Driver looking for job.

Contact: 99507039 Light driver. Contact: 96313100 Pakistani, male light vehicle driver looking for job. Contact 97943750 Pakistani driving available.

Contact : 96913836

EDUCATION MBA, B.Com Indian female having two yrs exp as lecturer seeks placement in teaching filed. Presently on family visit visa. Contact – 96259171/ Email: bhumipandya@gmail.com Indian female MCA, Three years experience in teaching field, seeks placement currently on visit visa.

Contact: 93431567 Email: fivona.mel@gmail.com

ENGG. / TECHNICAL Controls & automation Engineer with 7 years experience in ( RO BOT /PLC/CNC programming , LV panel building , Installation & commissioning service & support of machines) mostly overseas experience for complete execution of Machine projects in China, USA, Thailand ETC. Contact : +97430847848, Email: bensonvar@gmail.com Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need suitable job of construction 12 yrs exp.

Email: mohd.ateeq.khan@gmail.com Indian female, B.Tech biotechnology with strong computer skills and 2 years experience as associate research analyst (Media Monitoring) in Nasdaq Oman seeking growth oriented jobs. Contact 92044603 /918056169148 or angeline.babithac@gmail.com.

Indian Male, IT Support Engineer, 2 yrs in Oman & 5 yrs Indian experience. Contact 97311847 Iraqi Engineer specialized in telecommunication net working & PC experience in nuking network and security systems. Contact: 92898329 / 99249124 Btech computer science graduate 2015 passout.. Android application marketing.. Having good communication skills and mindset to work in a team. Contact 91024385 Engineer with 3 yrs experience in Indian in MEP, HVAC& mechanical maintained field on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact 99191535 Email: fareed029@gmail.com

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

Indian male present in Oman can join immediately. Diploma civil with CAD & 3d. #: 92875345 /92887561 Email: jubincivileng@gmail.com

An experienced person who can handle complete office activities and purchases looking for suitable placement. Contact: 92360524

BE ,Electrical Engineer with 5 Years Gulf Experience in Underground cable & Overhead line in HT and LT, Distribution Substation, MEP. Oman D/L available. NOC available.

Contact: 95054644, 00918807888109, speninsam@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS

DEEE - Electrical Supervisor 10 years Oman experience. Ready for NOC, visa transfer and valued Oman red board light driving license.

Contact: 968 95298437 Indian female 23, B.Tech (Electrical & Electronics) & Diploma in Electrical CAD on Visit Visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 99278410 / 94027398, Email: renju.raghavan7@gmail.com Indian Civil Engineer (buildings) available immediately as supply contract. Contact: 93263834 Looking for purchase /contract post (full time) more than 12 yrs exp in purchase, contract, import, negotiation, ERP etc with engineering plus MBA background. NOC is available.

Contact 98009274, sanjeetnifft@gmail.com Civil Engineer, 8 years experience BOQ establishing, 5 years experience in Oman Building and S.T.P experience, good knowledge of computer, MS Excel, AutoCAD .

Contact: 99471944 Indian male Civil (B.E) with 2 yrs well known E tabs staad, safe looking for structural position. Contact: 98768045 / 96698342 Email: qadeertom@gmail.com 26 years Oman experienced person in automobiles, showroom & workshop areas seeks suitable replacement. currently working as General Manager in a local company.

Contact no: +968-92009700 CARPENTER-15 years gulf exp. Indian male looking for suitable post.

Present working in Crown Plaza.

NOC available. Please contact Jacob 96940120. jacob.sabu11@gmail.com B.Tech mechanical Engineer, Indian 1 years experience HVAC (MEP) available in Muscat on visit visa seeking suitable job.

Contact 93670280 Email: jinu.avm@gmail.com Indian male , diploma in electrical Engineering with 10 years of successful experience , presently available on visit visa seeking suitable positions in projects and maintenance electrical fields.

Contact: 91270686 Email: ajithgopa@rediffmail.com Iraqi male B.ch civil Engineering, 17 yrs experience in Oman experience in project management with valid Oman D/L NOC available and can join immediately looking suitable position in Muscat area. #93809093 Email: mohanad_kuba@yahoo.com Chemical Engineer with 04 years experience in petrochemical refinery sector seeking for & suitable position in petrochemical oil & gas, refinery EPC Companies. #00968 91748400

BE. Biomedical Engineer, 5 years experience in the same field (Hospital/company)looking for suitable placement. Contact:92084807 Email:bonnygeorge1005@gmail.com

IT

MEDICAL

Indian male, B.E ( computer science engineer), MBA (finance), OCA certified, having 5 years of experience in oracle Dba/ oracle apps Dba, seeks a suitable position in the field of IT. Contact: 96212062 email: zubairkhan11@gmail.com

Well experienced MOH Licensed Indian GP Doctor looking for locum / permanent position in the Capital area. Contact 98140024 email:drgpoman@yahoo.com

M.Sc 3+ years exp from France & India in IT Support Engineer / Hardware & Networking / Server support / scientific system support looking for suitable position. Indian, male on visit visa, contact 98898781/ anoopys@gmail.com Indian female BCA, MCA SAP ABAP certification, ASP. Net certification, 2 years of experience looking for a job.

Contact: 99109121 Business development manager IT & Non – IT, 7 years experience Oman driving license seeks position good prospects. Contact: 99329216 Indian male 25 yrs exp in Administration, Telecom, Optical Fiber Communication, Networking, MS Office.

Seeks any job. On visit visa.

Contact – 91385373 / sridharbsnlma1455@gmail.com Computer Networking/Facility Mgmt 5 Yrs of Exp Holds B.E(ECE), CCNA Looking for Good Opportunity, Indian - Visit Visa. Contact 91911792/ arafakdnl@gmail.com Network system Engineer B.E / ECE + CCNA & Ms certified with 4+ yrs exp looking for a job. Currently in Oman on visit visa. Contact: 92589502 Email: careersjegan@gmail.com

MCA Indian male 6 month experience India seeking suitable placement. Contact 00918547068891 Email: koneeradh@gmail.com Female Postgraduate searching suitable job. Contact 97792820 Bangladeshi Post Graduate seeks a job good command in English and computer ready to take the challenge. Contact 93982627 Email: saymun.riyad@gmail.com B.E computer science, female, 2 years experience in IT/ HR/Administration with GCC driving license, looking job suitable vacancy in IT/ HR/ Administration filed.

Contact: 97738624 Filipino Male looking for a job & have experience in sales, waiter, barista, technical support / customer service with good communication skills. Contact 91789465 Indian material controller/ store keeper seeking job in Oman NOC / Release available. Contact: 91946174

B.Tech mechanical Engineer 16 yrs experience 3 yrs exp in Oman now production manager in Galvanizing and steel fabrication area looking for suitable placement NOC available.

Contact: 93714500/91395765

Part- Time Accountant, well experience senior accountant ,doing all type of accounting works, Finalization, Budgeting available. #:98803439

CERTIFIED (CCNA) NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR 4 years experienced looking for Suitable placement.

Contact: 99002390

M.Sc Nursing in Obstetrics and Gynecology 3 yrs exp in teaching & 2 yrs at bed side looking for suitable position, Indian female on visit visa.

Contact: 96220839 Male BSC Nurse parametric passed ACLS BLS holder now in visit visa seeking for suitable post.

Contact: 96516406 Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf experience) looking for a suitable job (NOC available) Contact-93344378

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR Indian male, with 8 yrs exp. in Oman (BA- Graduate) working as a project Sales Coordinator, with Oman D/L, looking for suitable job, ready to join immediately with NOC. Contact 95245057

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian Female with over 9 yrs experience with good communication skills seeks jobs in customer service or sales field. Contact : 96108289, shijipaul84@gmail.com

Indian Male Web developer with 5 year experience. Indian, Male, 27 years, B Tech(Computer science), professional in php, html, mysql, javascript, css. Contact:95990529 Email:renjith341@gmail.com

Indian male Radiographer 3+ years of experience Diploma in Radiological technology, looking for suitable post. Contact: 98843139

SALES / MARKETING

Indian male B.Tech (ECE), MBA (HR) 2 years of experience in CCNA, CCNP and hands on practice in Linux and MCSE, looking for suitable job.

Contact: 93487225

IT

Indian female Dentist MOH Oman passed seeking a suitable placement in capital region.

Contact– 91377681 hashimsarawat@gmail.com

MCA, BCA with 2 yrs relevant experience seeking suitable opportunity.

Contact: 96377039 13 Years UAE experienced in MNC & reputed firms logistics distribution looking for a suitable placement, on visit visa contact 99838743, gani.dawood@gmail.com Male Indian BBM Graduate 8 years experience in logistics and ware housing in a reputed company valid driving license NOC available looking for suitable position. Contact : 96311786 Email: ubinfs@gmail.com

Indian female (MTECH) having Gulf experience in family visa seeking suitable placement in Oman.

Contact : 94306164 / 91001194 Indian male MBA 7 years experience in Hospitality industry, operation, sales & marketing looking for suitable vacancy. Contact 92115860 Email vibin.py@gmail.com Indian male looking for Sales Executive job 2 years experience in Indian completed B.B.A (visiting visa). Contact : 95462921 Pakistani male 34 yrs Intermediate 2 yrs exp in sales & marketing in Oman. Looking for suitable job.

Contact - 92146864 Indian male. 27, Post Graduate, 5+ yrs exp in Oman in Sales & Credit Control, with valid Oman driving License, NOC available, looking for suitable placements.

Ph: 9199 3376 Indian Male, B.Com Graduate, 23, with experience in Sales looking for suitable placements. .

Contact 98371144 Indian male 45+ yrs , 20 yrs exp as sales supervisor in India looking for indoor sales /stores /cashier or any suitable placement can speak Hindi , English, Malayalam, Tamil, kannada can join immediately on visit visa.

Contact 93086105/33016546 Indian female B.com Graduate having 8 years experience in Indian & 2 years experience in Oman as sales coordinator, secretary, customer service seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 95433987

TOURS & TRAVELS 25 Indian female B.S.C. Fashion Technology. 5 years experience in textile industry as a merchandiser and good in fashion marketing.

Currently available on visit visa, seeking for a suitable job.

Contact 96990368.

Email: simmy.missy@gmail.com

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER – Indian male seeking Electrical Engineer job with 2 years’ experience.

Contact: 94263445, E mail – janardhanan53@gmail.com ACCOUNTANT: Indian male 25 having 4years experience in accounting & having well knowledge in tally.

Contact:968094535881, 0091 9037622048 Email: vishnuraj889@gmail.com Indian male, MBA with 20 years of experience in back office operation, risk and operational management, financial management for Finance and Trading companies. Presently available on visit visa.

Contact: 91276221

Innovative Indian Male 29, B.E & M.Tech Web designer / developer with over 5.5 years of work experience in HTML 5, CSS 3, SEO, Digital marketing (DFP & DCM), Magento, CMS, Photoshop and Dreamweaver.

Can join ASAP. # 00968 9630 3055 / email: aditya.khandkar@gmail.com 10 YEAR Experienced PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER. Currently working at Kerala, India.

Seeks placement.

Contact: 95872030 , email: - sajith3969@gmail.com Indian male 48yrs with driving license looking for a job to work as driver / salesman. Residing at Al Khoudh. Contact: 99551310 Tunisian women looking for a job, khnows english,frensh, italian and arabic. Contact: 91171838 Young Indian Chartered Accountant, female, Having 6 years experience in Oman and India. Accounts and Finance Manager, Auditor. Urgently seeking suitable positions.

Contact-92530131, jobcareer44@gmail.com Indian female Nurse with 5 yrs of experience, presently working in Oman, seeking for suitable placement. NOC available can join immediately. Contact: 98329941 Email: ancyanish2011@gmail.com

32 years, Filipina with experience in Teleperformance, Manila call centre, now working as Waitress in Qatar seeking suitable post.

Contact 99022484

Looking for part time jobs in Muscat, Auto cad Draughtsman (Civil). contact:-+968-99070584 email: remluvp@gmail.com

Indian Female MA. B.Ed. with One year three months Teaching experience. Subject: EnglishSeeking for a Better placement.

Now working in Oman.

Contact 93961142, 92184408, Email:-anoopkesavan78@gmail.com

Indian female MA. B.Ed. with one year three months teaching experience. Subject: English Seeking for a Better placement. Now working in Oman Contact: 93961142, 92184408 Email:anoopkesavan78@gmail.com

Sudanese/ 26 years/ master of clinical pharmacy(1st class)/ 1 year experience/live in India/excellent communication in English(IELTS Certificate) and arabic/ pharmacist license/ hassan_kassala@hotmail.com 00919600413966-96387227

B.Sc. Mechanical Engineer Sudanese 3 yrs of exp. In industrial field available in Muscat on visit visa seeking suitable job .

Contact: 95868922, Email: almouthanaosman@yahoo.com

ACCA Affiliate, 2.5years experience in Audit/Finance in Global Big6 Firms and Oil company in Oman, Looking for suitable permanent placement. Release NOC Available.

Contact: #95140445, a.saran891@gmail.com Manager, Young Indian Male, MBA, BBA. Having excellent managerial experience (around 5 years) in leading Multi-National-Company.

Looking for suitable positions.

Contact: 92700670, fardhaan@gmail.com 24 Years, indian male 2.5 Years experience in admin & accounts, dubai.

Currently on visit visa. Seeking suitable placement in admin & accounts.

M: 93016252 EMAIL: shahabaskp@gmail.com Electrical Engineer, 29, Indian Male, having 7+ years exp. in reputed companies. Seeking suitable placement in any Oman.

Contact - 97693456.

Mail ID : venkatbadri23@gmail.com CCNA MCITP network support /network technician with 2 years experience indian male having bachelors degree on visit visa.

Contact : 93080871 sean.f.peters@outlook.com Video Editor 29 years Indian male with 8 years experience on visit visa looking for a suitable placement contact: 91275969 leomoorkoth@gmail.com Omani male , BBA ,with 6 year experience in HR &Admin looking for opportunity in HR & Admin in Muscat. Joint date after one month notice period . Mobile 92223279

Indian Male MBA with two year experience in H.R as a H.R Assistant, Now in India, Seeking for an urgent suitable position.

Contact:-98620260 / 93895992 , Email:-deepakmb4@gmail.com Indian male auto cad draughtsman (civil) 8 years experience, seeking for part time job mobile no: 0096899070584 email: remluvp@gmail.com 8 years successful experience.

Senior Accountant, Indian male, 29 years, presently working in oman as a senior accountant with oman driving license. NOC available. seek suitable opportunity. gsm: 97705854 Content Executive, freshers with good communication skills and willingness to learn may apply on job@socioholics.com Business development Manager/ Executive. Preferably minimum of 2 years experience. Valid driving licence can apply on job@socioholics.com Omani Mechanical Engineer, has 3 years experience ,has HSE, H2S, Riggers/Banks men Permit, Drawing / cad, SCBA, Safety Leadership and Initial Fire Response Courses. good with computer and English language looking for suitable job.

Contact 99224319-98454500 Indian male 22 Mechanical Diploma holder Engg with HVAC certified, having 1 year exp. seeking suitable position. Currently available on visit visa. Contact - 92835952 Tanzanian male, 25 yrs Accountant successful experience in Tanzania looking for suitable placement in any field. Contact : 96710154

24 years, Indian Chartered Accountant male with 3 yrs of experience is seeking suitable placement in Muscat, currently on visit visa & ready to join immediately. Kindly contact him on 98201476 or email at lokeshkaluri@gmail.com

Tunisian lady has Professorship in social and economical sciences and accounting, diploma in Experimental Sciences degree in English for media. Contact 95391050, aysser2013@gmail.com

Indian male 25 years B.tech computers (Having 3 years of experience in customer service/Admin/IT Support) looking for suitable position.

Visa Transfer/NOC Available immediate to join. Contact: 98402389, Mail: naresh6672@gmail.com

Indian male Diploma, Civil engineer 4.3 year experience at building construction and consulting company with Oman driving licence and N.O.C available seeking suitable placement Contact 95989500 email cv.shihabedappal@gmail.com

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DAILY GUIDE

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

SITUATION WANTED SERVICES

ACCOUNTANTS AND CONSULTANTS

SITUATION WANTED Filipino Male looking for a job & have experience in sales, waiter, barista, technical support / customer service with good communication skills. # 91789465 PART TIME ACCOUNTANT, Indian male, M. Com, 35 years, 12 Years exp. in Accounts, 8 years in Oman.

Knowledge upto finalization. Having valid D/L, seeks suitable Placement.

GSM: 96249124 Egyptian Civil Engineer, total experience 7 years - 2 years experience in Oman. I am looking for Project Engineer, I have good experience in site & office works.

Contact number:91148708 Indian Male 24 years, Looking for a Suitable Job in Telecom / Networking. 1 year sales experience. MSc. Communications Engineering & Valid Driving license.

Ph: 91280121.

Email: jackrprasad@yahoo.com.

ACCOUNTING – Indian male seeking accounting job with 2 years experience in accounting.

Contact: 94263445, E mail – contactantonyxavieranand@gmail. com Sudanese male: 27 yrs, 2 years experience in accounting, other experience (purchasing – HR - Coordinating and Office Management), looking for a job Omani Driving License, NOC. Contact: 94174403 24 year Indian Chartered Accountant male with 3yrs of experience is seeking suitable placement in Muscat, currently on visit visa & ready to join immediately. Contact him on 98201476 or email at lokeshkaluri@gmail.com Sudanese male (B.Sc, computer science) (diploma computer engineering), 6 yrs. experience DBA oracle PL-SQL, MS SQL - Server, MS visual studio vba, network. # 91415886 Syrian male 3yrs. exp in IT support, Networking, Security systems, Server support, IT sales and marketing.

Valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement. Contact 91055584 Over 15 years experience in Gulf.

Interior Architect, Lebanese Nationality, on visit visa seeking a suitable Placement. 96268005.

PRODUCTION OPERATOR – Indian male seeking production operator or related jobs with 4 years of experience in oil & gas field. #94263445.

Email: tonyxavier4u@gmail.com Indian Keralite Male 35 looking for Scaffolding supervisor post having 5 years of Supervisor and HSE experience in GCC Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Fluent in English Arabic and Hindi .

Contact 96155921, or mail fysal.nellaya@gmail.com Indian Male 28 yrs, having 7 years Gulf + Indian experience in HR and Admin field, looking for suitable placement. Contact: 97914340, Email: rajkv3086@gmail.com

WE ARE PROVIDING ACCOUNTING/ AUDITING TAX/ CONSULTING CONTACT: 24 567 251 / 95 498 033

COMPUTER

24 year Indian Chartered Accountant male with 3yrs of experience is seeking suitable placement in Muscat, currently on visit visa & ready to join immediately. Contact him on 98201476 or email at lokeshkaluri@gmail.com MCA IT Professional Indian Female seek placement in Teaching/ Non Teaching field. Presently on visit visa. 9588 7051, ashwininakod@gmail.com ACCA Affiliate, Indian, 2.5Years experience in Audit/ Finance in Big 6 Audit Firm and Oil Accounting in PDO, For Permanent Placement for Finance or Accounts or Audit. Release NOC Available on hand.

Contact #95140445, a.saran891@gmail.com Finance ACCA Affiliate, Worked as an Auditor with 2.5 Years Experience in reputed firm, Handled independent audit/finance assignments, Looking for permanent placement, NOC available. #95140445. a.saran891@gmail.com Piping Design Engineer, Indian male 27, looking for suitable placement in Piping Design & Engineering. Having 7 years of experience in AutoCAD. Also familiar with PDMS (11.6 Version),CAESAR ll. Contact : 97351786 / 96143708, E-mail : mohammednazeer07@gmail.com

WEBSITE

Sudanese male (B.Sc Computer science) (diploma computer engineering) 6 yrs. experience DBA Oracle plsql, MS sql-server ,ms visual studio vba, network. Contact :91415886 Indian male with 8 yrs experience in FMCG in Oman as Sales Supervisor looking for suitable placement.

NOC available. Gsm: 96495206 Indian Male, Graduate, 11 years Sales experience in Lighting / Industrial products, ready to join immediately. GSM: 9710 5356 Indian heavy duty driver with 8 years experience in oman available with NOC. GSM : 93601943 GSM : 94496457 Indian male, 28 yrs MBA (HR/M) 2 years experience in Indian Oman in HR & admin seeks suitable placements. NOC available. # 97484159 Email: rameshkapa86@gmail.com M.Sc 3+ years exp from France & India in IT Support Engineer / Hardware & Networking / Server support / scientific system support looking for suitable positions. Indian, male on visit visa, contact 98898781/ anoopys@gmail.com Looking for managerial post (full time ), More than Ten years of experience in Team Development ,Training, planning, Administration, Sales & Marketing, Advertisement and Credit Control and Logistics. #91076608 / 99322748. Release & noc available

Split & widow unit A.C servicing & repairing. Contact: 99557080 Split & window unit A.C servicing & maintenance.

Contact: 96236476 Window & split unit A.C servicing & maintenance. Contact : 93769089 / 95323517 House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422 WEB, ERP and Business Intelligence (BI) creation and management at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your marble. Contact 24793614/ 99314807

CLASSES

Split & window A.C servicing & maintenance. Contact 93769089/95323517

A/C Maintenance & servicing, fridge, washing machine & dish washer repairing, painting & cleaning services, electrical & plumbing. Contact: 99447257 / 97014234 / 24504281 Pest control Treatments, termites, cockroaches, bedbugs Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723

BUSINESS

Air condition maintenance split and window services AC specialist ducted and package type unites.

Contact: 98667326

House shifting. Contact 99708138

CLASSES

Indian Male 28 years MSM, B. Com having 6years experience in Gulf and India as a HR and Admin looking for suitable placement.# :97914340.

Email: rajkv30@gmail.com B.Sc. Mechanical Engineer Sudanese 3 yrs of exp. In industrial field available in muscat on vist visa seeking suitable job .

Contact: 95868922, Email: almouthanaosman@yahoo.com IT system and Printer engineer ME, 5Years bank IT Management exp in India looking for full time job visit visa contact 94462150

Carpet, curtain, sofa, floor, cleaning, shampooing, marble & mosaic tiles grinding, polishing and painting. Contact : 93630133 / 95821193 House shifting packing.

99657644 / 98518013

Admission Open: CAMBRIDGE / BILINGUAL CURRICULUM admission started in Al Burj Private School, Azaiba for KG and Grade I to IV. Please register soonest.

Contact: 93211417 / 92887809.

Learn Cup cakes, exotic cakes, Icing decorations, handicrafts.

Contact 95941515

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile polishing, pest control & anti-termite treatment, general cleaning painting, Plumbing, Electrical, shifting. Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C. # 24810137, 99450130

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/24792998 Water proofing ABUQABASContact 99320217/24788722 Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance.Contact ABU QABAS99320217 /24788722 Carpet, Sofa Shampooing. Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99884591 AC servicing maintenance fixing.

Contact: 99540621

Required investor for new company. Contact: 96996938 General Investors. Gsm-99674870

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DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED CARGO

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine Tours Contact- 98029602, 92808636

TOURS

RENT A CAR

RENT A CAR

Butter cup rent a car presents fantastic offers all vehicles are model 2016.

Contact : 97249449

RENT A CAR

GOOD NEWS Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain, backache, paralysis massage, steam bath, obesity, spondylitis IDEAL , CARE Ayurvedic Clinic 18 November street, Azaiba. Contact 99639695 / 99117987

SITUATION WANTMANPOWER

DRIVING

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know more about Islam, please call: 99425598, 96050000, 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 / 95371554 / 92504980 www.siddhayur.com

Manpower supply we can supply mason carpenters plumber’s electrician and all kind of helpers for supermarket & construction field on yearly / monthly basis.

Contact: 98597124 / 24422208 Email: burjj@omantel.net.om

Genuine Ayurvedic treatments & massage, Ayurvedic clinic at Al Khuwair. Contact 24478618 / 97263637 /93309131

Learn driving with professional only automatic. Contact 94022250

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

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DAILY GUIDE

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