Times of Oman

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CRAFT REFLECTS RICH HERITAGE OF OMAN The election of Oman to a top post at the World Craft Council reflects the recognition of the Sultanate’s rich heritage under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and His Royal attention to craft heritage. >A3

SATURDAY, March 7, 2015 /16 Jumada Al Ula 1436 AH

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GCC FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING

HM receives thanks from Kuwait’s Emir MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, in reply to His Majesty’s cable of greetings on his country’s National Day. In his cable, Sheikh Sabah expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation for His Majesty’s feelings and prayers, wishing His Majesty a good health and wellbeing and the Omani people progress and prosperity. — ONA

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from President José Eduardo dos Santos of the Republic of Angola in reply to His Majesty’s cable of greetings on the occasion of his country’s National Day. In his cable, President Santos expressed his sincere thanks for His Majesty the Sultan’s greetings, wishing His Majesty a good health and happiness and the relations between the two countries further progress. — ONA N AT I O N A L D AY O F G H A N A

HM sends greetings MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of congratulations to President John Dramani Mahama of the Republic of Ghana on the occasion of his country’s Independence Day anniversary.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his sincere congratulations and best wishes to President John Dramani Mahama and the people of Ghana. — ONA

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called ‘Yaqeen’, a system of biometrics, will link investigation departments of ROP MAKING A POINT: US Secretary of State John Kerry with an official from the Omani delegation, during a meeting of the GCC foreign ministers in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, on Thursday. – AFP

in all wilayats

FAHAD AL MUKRASHI

Kerry meets Alawi in Saudi Arabia RIYADH: US Secretary of State John Kerry met separately with Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Oman’s Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, before he met the foreign ministers from the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in Riyadh on Thursday.

In November 2014, Oman had hosted the meeting between top leaders of Iran, European Union (EU) and the US in Muscat to discuss Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Iran’s nuclear negotiating team and officials from the P5+1 — the US, France, United Kingdom, Russia and China, plus Germany — had met then. On Thursday, Kerry reportedly reassured the GCC foreign ministers that a possible nuclear deal with Iran would not damage their interests.

Kerry also met the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.

Kerry arrived in Riyadh late Wednesday from Montreux,

Switzerland, where he said he had made progress in talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Kerry briefed the GCC foreign ministers about his latest talks with Iran on the nuclear deal.

Kerry arrived in Riyadh after talks with Zarif, aiming to seal a nuclear deal with Tehran ahead of a March 31 deadline.

China, one of the six countries involved in the Iran negotiations, which aims to establish a framework accord by late March, said on Thursday that an agreement might be at hand. “We do think that it is the last stage and hopefully we could reach an agreement,” said Wang Qun, director general of the arms control department of China’s Foreign Ministry.

“We believe these (talks) will lead to a peaceful solution and will resolve controversial points,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al Jaafari told an UN-sponsored conference in Geneva. — With inputs from ONA/AFP/Reuters

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Biometric link to help police fight crime The new project

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HM receives thanks cable

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fahad@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: In a move that will help expedite the process of solving crime cases, investigation departments of the Royal Oman Police (ROP) in all wilayats will soon be linked through a system of biometrics.

The new project, called ‘Yaqeen’, aims to reunite all the biometrics in one framework, an ROP official told the Times of Oman. The new system will help in resolving crimes faster as well as in tracking and nabbing culprits, said the official.

“There will be a unified server for the biometrics in the wilayats to make it easier for investigation departments to access information from anywhere,” said the official.

The new system will also help in preventing crimes, added the official but did not specify how.

New laboratories The official further added that new laboratories with superior technology will be built in some wilayats this year to improve the performance of criminal departments nationwide.

Mohammed Al Wahaibi, Majlis Al Shura member, said that such a move will lead to a significant

13,044 was the number of crimes in 2014, which has dipped from 15,346 in 2013. The dip is attributed to better control and intensive patrolling

decrease in the crime rate in the country. A person would now think twice before committing a crime as it would become easier to catch the culprit, he explained.

The ROP recently screened a short film titled Hisar, or Siege, dealing with the most important issues that have been accomplished by the Economic Crimes Combating Department.

The officials arrested members of a gang who stole large amounts of money from ATMs after inserting magnetic disks and re-programming the kiosks.

According to the ROP, the number of crimes dipped from 15,346 in 2013 to 13,044 in 2014 — a remarkable drop of 15 per cent.

They attributed it to better control and intensive patrolling.

“There is an increased level of awareness among citizens and residents. They have been coming forward to report crimes,” said the police.

Oman has been a pioneer in offering e-Government solutions in the Gulf. In 2002, it became the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country to offer electronic ID cards to its citizens.

A state-of-the-art biometric identification system was launched by Bank Muscat in collaboration with the ROP last year.

“To validate banking transactions at all Bank Muscat branches, the identification card is required to be inserted into the biometric machine and customers have to validate their identity by scanning their finger print on the machine,” said a press statement.

In January 2015, the ROP had launched the biometric or e-Passport as part of the Government’s objective to provide enhanced services and protection to its citizens through the use of secure technology.

Recently, the directors of Inquiries and Criminal Investigations departments of the ROP held a meeting at the Directorate General of Inquiries and Criminal Investigations under the auspices of Major General Hamad bin Sulaiman Al Hatmi, assistant inspector general of police and customs for operations, in the presence of Mohammed bin Ali Al Hadidi, deputy attorney general.

Brigadier Rashid bin Salim Al Badi, director general of inquiries and criminal investigations, said that they reviewed last year’s achievements and discussed the plan for next year.

The meeting included a visual presentation on Yaqeen.

It also included a documentary on the major cases solved by the Economic Crimes Combating Department.

The meeting discussed a number of issues including major cases, the lessons learnt and the best practices for a quick response to identify criminals.

The meeting also discussed preventive role in reducing crime rate. — With inputs from ONA

ANNUAL REPORT

Muscat’s living standards third best in region Times News Service

Wadi Tiwi, the scenic and popular picnic destination that attracts all

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M U S C AT B O O K FA I R C O N C L U D E S T O D AY

TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES

A book fair with a difference MUSCAT: More than 633 publishing houses and 481 publishers from 24 countries participated in the Muscat International Book Fair that concludes Saturday.

A total of 180,000 titles listed on the site can be accessed through the website of the book fair.

“The Muscat International Book Fair is one of the largest cultural events in the Sultanate and is a great opportunity for imbibing knowledge and cultural dialogue, a meeting of ideas and innovators through a variety of cultural events. It also presents the most beautiful cultural landscape of Oman, especially the national institutions sponsoring this event,” said the organisers.

The book fair, which began on February 26, is in its 20th session and coincides with the celebrations of Nizwa as the capital of Is-

lamic culture. Nizwa is the guest of honour at the fair for its history, intellectually deep roots and a proud civilisation with all the ingredients of science, knowledge and variety of human thought.

The book fair has many publications highlighting the historic city of Nizwa and some paintings that convey its salient features.

The fair covers an area of 7,848 square metres and has 872 stands of book publishers from the Sultanate and other countries showcasing different books on literature, culture, science and religion in addition to language, art, politics, economy, and children’s books.

The fair also has many cultural and literary events in addition to special events for children.

Numerous civil society organisations are also participating. A

cultural programme was held in coordination with the book fair and a number of cultural institutions in the Sultanate.

Seminars and lectures were held in the Ibn Duraid and Al Outibi halls as part of the event.

Dr Abdulaziz bin Othman Al Twaijri, director general of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, conducted a lecture on ‘Modernisation of Islamic Thought’. A seminar on Nizwa scholars and their role in thought production was also held at the fair.

The Ministry of Education held a workshop on children’s literature, which was organised by the Department of Development of the Arabic Language Curricula.

The fair also saw the signing of a large number of publications by Omani and non-Omani authors of in Al Farahidi hall. -ONA

OMAN

Public toilets at Muttrah

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Muttrah will soon have swanky public toilets at their disposal, said a municipal member representing Muttrah. >A3

REGION

Ancient city bulldozed

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The UN condemned as a “war crime” the bulldozing by the IS militant group of the ancient city of Nimrud. >A4

INDIA

BBC documentary ban

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Editors Guild of India urged the government to revoke the ban on the broadcast of the BBC documentary. >A5

MUSCAT: Muscat has the third best standard of living in the region, according to the latest annual global Quality of Living report published by HR consultancy Mercer.

The international human resources consultancy’s annual Quality of Living survey has revealed that Oman’s capital city occupies 104th position in global rankings, placing it among the top three cities in the Middle East. Dubai has maintained its regional top spot in the rankings, being placed 74th globally.

Abu Dhabi comes second with its global rankings at 77.

Muscat is followed by Qatar’s capital Doha, which occupies the 108th position.

“The results prove that Muscat is the ideal destination for any residents or expatriates in the region,” said Mohammed Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan, president of the Bangladesh Social Club Muscat.

Citizens believe the factors that have helped Muscat maintain a top spot in the Middle East include the city’s stable economic and political environment.

“In addition, Oman’s recent investment in its tourism sector has contributed significantly to its ranking globally,” said Mohammad, a citizen.

Most cities from across the MENA region, maintained a stable ranking compared to last year, according to the report.

Quality of living rankings Rank City 1 Vienna

Country Austria

74

Dubai

UAE

77

Abu Dhabi

UAE

104

Muscat

Oman

108

Doha

Qatar

125

Kuwait City

Kuwait

130

Manama

Bahrain

163

Riyadh

Saudi Arabia

230

Baghdad

Iraq

Source: Mercer

Graphics

Mercer’s survey, which ranks 230 cities, takes into account a city’s political and social environment, medical care and health considerations, public services, recreation facilities and the natural environment.

Globally, Vienna has the world’s best living standards, with European cities dominating the top of the ranking along with cities in Australia and New Zealand.

Singapore (26) is the highestranked Asian city, whereas Dubai (74) ranks first across the Middle East and Africa. Montevideo in Uruguay, at 78, takes the top spot for South America.

Baghdad, Bangui and Port-AuPrince were ranked at the bottom of the Mercer survey for 2015.

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The unanimous election of Oman as vice president of the World Craft Council reects the potential of local handicrafts Artisans boost Omani heritage >A3

Wadi Tiwi pools, greens attract all Wadi Tiwi, which is located near Sur, is a popular picnic destination and a favourite spot of photographers as well. Times of Oman lensman Shabin E drove down to capture the beauty of one of the most beautiful wadis in the Sultanate

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Muttrah to get new public toilets FAHAD AL GHADANI fahadnews@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Muttrah residents and visitors will soon have swanky public toilets at their disposal, said Salim Al Ghammari, a Muscat Municipal Council member representing Muttrah.

Speaking to Times of Oman, Al Ghammari said that he, along with other members and officials, visited the area and earmarked three spots where the toilets would be installed.

“We have visited Muttrah recently and decided to make a change from the areas where the toilets were allocated earlier,” he said.

He explained that the toilets had earlier been planned at the Muttrah Corniche, adding,

“It does not look good to have public toilets at the Corniche.”

He said that the three places in Muttrah where they had chosen to install toilets were near the Fish Market, Riyam Park and inside the Muttrah Souq.

“The one inside the Souq will have two toilets serving males and females,” said Al Ghammari.

“The same concept has been used in Qurum and Azaiba beach areas,” he said.

The toilets are being established in the Muttrah area because many people, especially visitors, spend their leisure time at the Corniche and the Souq. A number of public toilets have been installed in different areas in Muscat and Dhofar.

“Such projects cover public places like beaches, parks and commercial areas,” said Al Gham-

mari. The Council has forwarded the suggestion to the Muscat Municipality and is awaiting their approval.

One can gain access to the toilet by depositing 50 baisa in the coin box located near the entrance. The doors open and close automatically. However, the user can open the door from inside at any time by pressing the push button or by using the emergency door handle.

Each user must not use the toilet for more than 20 minutes.

The facility would be air-conditioned and disabled-friendly. It would have automatic cleaning and disinfectant system working after each use or at every 55 second cycle. Continuous use for an hour would generate an income of 150 baisa, and if used for 12 hours in a day, it would generate OMR1,800.

TA I S M E V E N T

Students unite voices for grand finale of choirs fest

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES: More than 50 craft training and employment programmes for more than 600 craftsmen were conducted in 2014 and 2015.–ONA

Artisans boost Omani heritage The unanimous election of Oman as vice president of the World Craft Council reflects the potential of local handicrafts

UNITING DIVERSITY: The twelfth annual Festival of Choirs, was held under the direction of conductor Dr Christopher Aspaas, at the American International School of Muscat (TAISM).–Supplied photo

TARIQ AL HAREMI MUSCAT: More than 200 students were hosted by the American International School of Muscat (TAISM) for the Grand Finale of the twelfth annual Festival of Choirs, under the direction of conductor Dr Christopher Aspaas.

The students, representing 20 international schools, did not audition to represent their schools but, rather, the choral directors created a selection process to determine which singers would best represent their schools, to create a vocally-balanced ensemble of sopranos, altos, tenors and bass.

“The rehearsals were intense.

There was a lot of singing going on, but everyone was focused,” said Juan Quintana, a TAISM student who was performing in his first Festival of Choirs event.

“Aside from singing, we have to be well connected with our group to maintain a level of understanding with one another and to keep our flow of music going smoothly,” he added.

About the diversity of the students who represent 40 nationalities, Dr Christopher Aspaas said, “There are so many more schools involved, as well as students.

It’s good to see some diversity in the choir.”

Aspaas has travelled from Minnesota, USA to serve as TAISM’s Festival of Choirs conductor for the third time, having conducted the festival in 2007 and 2008.

When asked about the sort of challenges he faced while rehearsing, he said, “The language was a bit of a challenge. We have a diverse number of students, so the language was a task, in terms of getting the normal vowel sounds out.”

The concert presented the choir groups singing together, before separating the boys and girls so that each group would highlight their differences in tone, depth, strength and overall vocal techniques, while singing a variety of songs.

With the boys and girls joining together again, a song com-

posed specially for TAISM by Kyle Pederson, entitled Kooloona Wahed, had its premiere at the 12th Festival of Choirs.

Translated as ‘We Are All One,’ the phrase captures the reality that though there are “many” kinds of people—with varied lifestyles, beliefs, and experiences — they remain “one” at a fundamental level. As students from all backgrounds join their voices in singing this piece, the message of unity rang out.

TAISM founded the first Festival of Choirs in 2002 under the guidance of choral music teacher Melanie Brink and TAISM’s Director, Kevin Schafer, which involved only four schools at the time.

TAISM families hosted the visiting students in their homes, and organisers designed special ways for students to connect with one another through communitybuilders, games, challenges, and social events.

Since the founding of the Festival of Choirs, over two thousand students have participated.

MUSCAT: Election of Oman as vice president of the World Craft Council reflects the recognition of the Sultanate’s rich heritage under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and his patronage to local craft.

Oman boasts 13,000 craftsmen, according to the Public Authority for Craft Industries (PACI), which also observes March 3 as ‘Omani Craftsman Day’.

PACI has revamped its system to support artisans and heritage craft in all fields, achieving the highest levels of care, support, and productivity on the directives of His Majesty. It ensures that craft industries remain a key pillar of national identity and culture.

The ultimate goal behind observing Omani Craftsman Day, on the anniversary of the establishment of PACI on March 3, 2003, through a Royal decree was of promoting craft industries in various forms all over the Sultanate.

The establishment of the PACI demonstrates the importance of the craft sector and its contribution to the cultural, social and economic levels. The cultural importance of the craft sector is demonstrated in it being an inherited art that must be revived and transferred from one generation to another.

The economic importance of the sector is reflected in the number of Omanis who have established a nucleus of small and medium craft projects that contribute to strengthening the

‘ H A P P Y, W I S E , A N D O T HE - RWISE’

Gallery Sarah to host Dudchenko exhibition Times News Service MUSCAT: Gallery Sarah, which is part of the Bait Al Zubair Museum complex, will present ‘Happy, Wise, and Otherwise’, a solo exhibition by renowned Oman-based artist Anna Dudchenko from March 15.

Located in the historical part of Old Muscat, Gallery Sarah is a unique contemporary art gallery which opened its doors in 2013.

The gallery exhibits artworks including, but not limited to paintings, graphics, calligraphy, installations, sculpture and photography. Apart from trying to create a strong connection between established and emerging Omani artists and the international art world, Gallery Sarah also supports and has an appreciation for work by a wide variety of talented Arab artists from around the Gulf and many international artists.

Dudchenko may not be your idea of an Omani artist. She is of Russian origin but she has been living and working in the Sultanate of Oman since 1999. This exhibition coincides with the 30th anniver-

sary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and the Sultanate of Oman.

With her Western background that includes Masters in Fine Arts, Art History, and English Linguistics, Dudchenko has become one of the most active figures on the Omani art scene. For the last ten years her exhibitions have grown to become a major attraction for art collectors and art lovers alike and, apart from exhibiting internationally in various art fairs, she holds her art exhibitions annually in Muscat. Dudchenko’s style is a bright example of art without rules, wild mixture of beauty and foolishness, with a touch of humour, madness, and extreme individualism.

In 2010 one of her paintings, ‘The Jewel of Muscat’, was given to the President of Singapore as a gift from the Omani Government.

In 2011, three of Anna’s paintings became part of a modern art collection acquired by Bait Al Zubair Museum. In 2012, she produced a set of paintings for Amouage, the world-renowned luxury perfume house. These paintings were spe-

cially commissioned for the company’s new headquarters.

In two consecutive years, 2013 and 2014, she has been shortlisted for Strabag International Art Award in Vienna, Austria. Anna has also been a contributing writer for Art Radar Asia and Art Asia Pacific. Occasionally, she works as a curator and art consultant for different galleries as well as private companies.

‘Happy, Wise, and Otherwise’ is Dudchenko’s 11th solo exhibition, where the artist mixes philosophy with humour, sadness with happiness, craftsmanship with freedom of expression, and uses her excellent academic skills to explore new subjects.

Her latest collection of unique, partially-surrealistic pencil drawings is going to make you laugh.

Gorillas, chimps, apes, and monkeys featured by the artist have perfected the art of chilling, the art of doing nothing without being bored. They know way better than humans how to enjoy a lollipop, chill on the golf course, drink and laugh, look pretty, and contemplate life. Some reviews have

Anna Dudchenko portrays gorillas, chimps, apes and monkeys who have perfected the art of chilling, the art of doing nothing

labelled this controversial project as ‘black humour’ but, according to the artist, she was just having a laugh.

The art exhibition will run from March 15 to 31, between 9.30am and 6pm, from Saturday to Thursday.

economy of the Sultanate and add to the diverse sources of income while reducing the dependence on oil. In its efforts to improve the innovative and creative output of the artisans, Al Ajyal College for Sciences of Craft Industries and Traditional Professions serves as one of the main contributors to the modern Renaissance of Oman.

The Sultan Qaboos Competition for craft excellence, organised every two years, reflects the Royal attention to the cultural and national value of craft products.

Four craft centres The PACI is currently constructing four craft centres in Dhofar governorate and is in the final stages for a craft centre in Khasab in Musandam governorate, apart from setting up a number of other centres in some wilayats to strengthen the system of craft centres. It aims to become the basic structure and the main pillar of the PACI’s strategy to promote the craft sector.

PACI has launched a variety of initiatives such as financial and technical support in addition to the design consultancy, services evaluation and craft selection of products that meet Omani specifications approved by PACI for advanced craft heritages.

The PACI has implemented, for the first time, the Craft Portfolio Initiative which aims at qualita-

tive and leading insurance benefits for artisans by modern and innovative techniques that contribute to strengthening production and development.

PACI statistics indicate that till the end of 2014, there were more than 13,000 artisans in all governorates. The number of craft projects that have been launched in 2014 amounted to more than 20 which attracted many nationals who supply the local market with products made according to approved standards and as per requirements.

More than 50 craft training and employment programmes for more than 600 craftsmen were conducted in 2014 and 2015.

At the legislative level, a Craft Industries Law has been drafted and is being reviewed by the competent authorities. The PACI also adopted a regulation for the Sultan Qaboos Competition for Craft Excellence that promotes productive and developmental competitions, according to global standards and mechanisms.

The unanimous election of the Sultanate as vice president of the World Craft Council reflects its recognition under the wise leadership of His Majesty and for the attention it gives to its heritage.

Delegations from brotherly and friendly countries visited the PACI recently to get acquainted with the Sultanate’s experience in developing the artisan sector.– ONA

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REGION

We have also traditionally called upon the peoples of the region to recognise the irreplaceable value and cultural necessity in protecting their cultural heritage Stuart Gibson, Unesco expert on museums

C I V I L WA R

RALLY AGAINST FOREIGN INTERVENTION IN YEMEN Yemeni supporters of the Houthi movement shout slogans during a rally against US intervention in Yemen on Friday in the capital Sanaa. Yemen, a key front line in the US war against Al Qaeda, has been gripped by unrest since longtime president Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down in early 2012 after a bloody year-long popular uprising. - AFP

South Sudan peace talks collapse ADDIS ABABA: South Sudan’s warring leaders failed to reach a deal to end more than a year of civil war, mediators said Friday, with the latest collapse in peace talks paving the way for possible sanctions.

Ethiopia’s prime minister said South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar missed a deadline to reach a peace agreement by midnight Thursday, and that further talks on Friday “did not produce the necessary breakthrough.”

“This is unacceptable, both morally and politically,” Hailemariam Desalegn said in the statement issued by the east African regional bloc IGAD, which has been trying to mediate a peace deal.

Criticism Hailemariam also gave IGAD’s harshest criticism yet of Kiir and his former deputy Machar, whose personal feud has exploded into ethnic massacres, gang rapes and the forced displacement of civilians, pushing the country to the brink of famine.

“Continuing a war flagrantly disregards the interests of you, the people,” he said, addressing the people of South Sudan, whose country only gained independence from Khartoum in 2011 after a long, bitter war. - AFP

A R M Y O P E R AT I O N

Top Qaeda leader, commanders killed in Syria BEIRUT: The military chief and several top commanders of the Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Nusra Front have been reported killed in northwestern Syria, where the militia has been making major gains in recent months.

Syrian state media, a monitoring group and a local activist reported that Abu Hammam Al Shami had been killed, but provided contradictory information on the circumstances of his death.

Official Nusra sources did not announce the death of the militant, a Syrian national believed to have fought with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

“Shami... was killed with a number of other leaders during a special operation by the army” in Idlib province, Syrian state news agency Sana reported, without specifying a date.

Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, also said the commander had been killed but that the circumstances of his death were unclear.

“Shami died of injuries on Thursday, but it is not clear when he sustained them,” Abdel Rah-

man said. He said Shami may have been one of five Nusra leaders wounded in an air strike in Idlib province on February 27 by the US-led coalition attacking militants in Syria.

An official Nusra statement that day named two commanders killed in the strike but did not mention Shami.

Local Syrian activist Ibrahim Al Idlibi said Shami had been killed in the February raid but that Nusra had not published his name due to the “sensitivity” of the information.

Reports of Shami’s death came as the Al Qaeda affiliate consolidates gains in northern Syria.

Already the most powerful military force in Idlib province, Nusra handed a major defeat to one of its rivals — the Westernbacked Hazm movement — at the weekend when it seized Hazm’s base in Aleppo province.

Nusra also claimed to have led a spectacular assault against a regime intelligence headquarters in Aleppo city on Wednesday, blowing up a tunnel near the building before storming the surrounding area. - AFP

RUBBLE: A damaged house which activists said belonged to Nusra Front and was destroyed by an apparent Syrian army air strike is pictured in south Salqin, Idlib on Friday. - AFP

IS bulldozes ancient Iraqi city of Nimrud Nimrud was the latest victim of what appears to be a systematic campaign by the militants to obliterate Iraq’s rich heritage

BAGHDAD: The United Nations condemned as a “war crime” on Friday the IS group’s bulldozing of the ancient city of Nimrud, the militants’ latest demolition of Iraqi cultural treasures.

After rampaging through Mosul’s museum with sledgehammers and torching its library last month, IS “bulldozed” the nearby ruins of Nimrud on Thursday, the tourism and antiquities ministry said.

Antiquities officials said IS had moved trucks last week to the site, which overlooks the Tigris River, 30 kilometres (18 miles) southeast of their main hub of Mosul.

“Until now, we do not know to what extent it was destroyed,” one official said.

Nimrud was the latest victim of what appears to be a systematic campaign by the militants to obliterate Iraq’s rich heritage.

“I’m really devastated. But it was just a matter of time, now we’re waiting for the video. It’s sad,” Abdulamir Hamdani, an Iraqi archaeologist from Stony Brook University in New York said of the propaganda film of the destruction that IS will likely release.

He said the site’s guards were denied access to Nimrud, which was founded in the 13th century

PRIDE OF IRAQ: A file picture taken on July 17, 2001 shows Iraqi workers cleaning a statue of winged

bull at an archeological site in Nimrud, 35km southeast of the northern city of Mosul. - AFP

BC and was once considered the jewel of the Assyrian era.

Its stunning reliefs and colossal statues of winged bulls with human heads guarding palace gates filled the world’s museums in the 19th century. A collection of 613 pieces of gold jewellery, ornaments and precious stones discovered in a royal tomb in 1988 has been described as one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century.

“Their plan is to destroy Iraqi heritage, one site at a time,” said Hamdani.

“Hatra of course will be next,” he added, referring to a 2,000-yearold Unesco-listed site about 100 kilometres south of Mosul known for its beautifully preserved temples blending Hellenistic, Roman and Eastern influences.

Irina Bokova, the head of the UN’s cultural body Unesco, condemned the destruction of Nimrud “with the strongest force”.

“We cannot stay silent. The deliberate destruction of cultural

heritage constitutes a war crime, and I call on all political and religious leaders in the region to stand up against this new barbarity,” she said on Friday.

‘Killing civilisation’ Unesco has called for tougher action to protect the many heritage sites in one of the cradles of civilisation but little can be done in areas under militants control.

The destruction was met with condemnation and sadness on Baghdad’s Mutanabi Street, a favourite haunt of Iraqi intellectuals.

“After they killed the human spirit, they began killing civilisation,” Ibrahim Dawood, a writer and poet, said of IS. “A civilisation considered the pride of Iraq and the world was erased in minutes,” said Adel Abdullah, a health ministry employee.

IS attempts to justify the destruction by saying the statues are idolatrous, but experts say the militants traffic antiquities to fund

their self-proclaimed “caliphate” and only destroy the pieces that are too bulky to be smuggled.

Stuart Gibson, a Unesco expert on museums, said pressure from the international community would have little effect on IS. “We have also traditionally called upon the peoples of the region to recognise the irreplaceable value and cultural necessity in protecting their cultural heritage,” he said.

“Unfortunately today the people in the region are exhausted and terrified. The remainder of us can only stand on the outside looking on in absolute despair.”

IS still controls large parts of northern and western Iraq, but has been losing ground under mounting military pressure from Iraqi and Kurdish forces. Baghdad launched a huge offensive Monday to retake the city of Tikrit, in what commanders have said was a stepping stone toward an even larger operation to free Mosul. - AFP

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INDIA DUTY ON GOLD

4,000 STRANDED AFTER KASHMIR SNOWFALL Vehicles stranded near Jawahar Tunnel on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Friday. Jammu and Kashmir is likely to receive more rain and snowfall in the next 24 hours even as the Jammu-Srinagar highway remained closed for the fifth day on Friday. The closure of the highway has left more than 4,000 people stranded in Jammu. Meanwhile, the minimum temperature in summer capital Srinagar was 0.9 degree Celsius Friday. - PTI

Gold seizure at Mumbai airport surges by 300% MUMBAI: Gold seizure by Customs at the Mumbai international airport has increased by over 300 per cent this fiscal till February compared to same period last year.

“During the last fiscal we had seized 272 kilograms of gold till February 2014, but this year we have seized 856kg of gold,” Milind Lanjewar, Additional Commissioner of Customs said.

Lanjewar attributed this surge in the seizure to the rise in duty and other levies on gold.

Meanwhile, the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Mumbai Customs seized around five kilograms of gold in the operation carried in the intervening night of Thursday and Friday at the Chatrapatti Shivaji International Airport here.

In the first case, 16 gold bars weighing around 1,860 grams were seized from under the seat of a flight. The flight landed in Mumbai from Doha and the Customs officials said that they seized the gold worth Rs45 lakhs based on specific intelligence.

“Its an unclaimed seizure...we are investigating the case,” said a source. In another seizure, gold bars weighing 1,000 grams valued around Rs24 lakhs were recovered from the toilet of an aircraft from Dubai. - PTI

CUSTOMER CONFIDENCE

Air India is set to hire PR firm for image makeover NEW DELHI: With frequent delays and cancellations of flights denting its reputation, national carrier Air India has planned to engage an image make-over firm to regain the customers’ confidence.

The airline recently floated tenders, inviting technical and commercial bids from interested PR firms. March 30 is the last date for submission of the bids.

“Air India has been under a lots of media exposure in the recent times due to various reasons. It is common amongst the service industry to appoint PR agencies to project the right image to the users of services,” an AI official said.

“The appointment of such an agency is aimed at enhancing public and media perception of Air India as well as manage more effectively our public relation and corporate communications,” said the official.

Similar exercise Last year also, the airline had undertaken a similar exercise but it failed to rope in any agency, forcing it to initiate the process again.

Airlines world over have strong PR agencies to project the right image to the travellers and support the company in corporate communications, he said.

“The national carrier has strong brand equity and has been rated better than its competitors in the Indian market by a leading agency recently. Several important features which have an impact on public perception of the airline has to be highlighted in the proper perspective.

More often than not these as-

AI operates across 66 domestic and 33 overseas destinations with a fleet of 128 aircraft including that of its international budget arm Air India Express and regional service Alliance Air

Revoke ban on BBC’s documentary: Editors The Editors Guild of India appealed to the to revoke the ban forthwith and enable the people to view the positive and powerful documentary touching on the

PROTESTS: Activists of the Communists Party of India(CPI) burn an effigy representing the rapists of Delhi student, Nirbhaya, during their protest in Hyderabad on Friday. - AFP

Annie Raja General Secretary of NFIW

freedom, dignity and safety of women

pects are not highlighted resulting in wrong public perception,” the official added.

With AI joining Star Alliance, it was necessary to highlight the broad connectivity and numerous marketing initiatives taken by the carrier recently, he said.

AI operates across 66 domestic and 33 overseas destinations with a fleet of 128 aircraft including that of its international budget arm Air India Express and regional service Alliance Air. Air India was judged a more trusted brand than private carriers including IndiGo in the 2015 Brand Trust Report, India, released in Mumbai last month.

The state-run airline, last month also had bagged the National Quality Excellence Awards for Safety and Environmental Sustainability. - PTI

A ban is not the solution, it cannot ensure women’s constitutional rights. It needs political will and social commitment

Central government

NEW DELHI: Editors Guild of India on Friday appealed to the Indian government to revoke the ban on the broadcast of the BBC documentary, depicting the aftermath of the brutal gang rape and murder of Nirbhaya in 2012, saying the move was “wholly unwarranted”.

The Guild said in a statement here that the documentary, ‘Storyville: India’s daughter’, portrayed the courage, sensibility and liberal outlook of a family traumatised by the brutality inflicted on their daughter, the continuing shameful attitudes towards women among the convict as well as the educated, including lawyers.

It said their rationale that the ban was in the interests of justice and public order as the film “created a situation of tension and fear

amongst women” and the convicts would use the media to further his case in the appeal that was subjudice, seems to be an after-thought.

The Guild appealed to the Central Government to revoke the ban forthwith and enable the people to view the positive and powerful documentary touching on the freedom, dignity and safety of women.

The documentary includes an interview conducted by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin and BBC, of Mukesh Singh, the driver of the bus in which the 23-year-old paramedical student was brutally gangraped on December 16, 2012.

Mukesh has made derogatory statements against women in the documentary.

The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) on Thursday strongly opposed the blanket ban on the documentary by BBC and demanded action against the defence lawyers in the case, M. L. Sharma and A P Singh.

“This is a knee jerk reaction that constitutes an attack on the freedom of expression. Furthermore, the film reveals the reality of the brutality of rape without sensationalizing it. The statement made by one of the convicts in the film, is to say the least, shocking, heinous and condemnable.

The attitude “This is the attitude that was reflected in the crime by this person and others. But it cannot be denied that this is the dominant patriarchal attitude on rape in our country and has been voiced at many different levels of society and even sometimes by influential people within and outside Parliament,” Sudha Sundararaman, national vice-president of AIDWA said.

“The statements made by the defence lawyers are disturbing, atrocious and hateful which will incite violence against women.

FIR should be filed against them,”

said General Secretary of AIDWA, Jagmati Sangwan.

The National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) also opposed the banning of the documentary and said, “There is nothing new in what Mukesh Singh said. It is also not different from the opinions expressed by leaders of different political parties, head of Women Commissions and heads of RSS and VHP and Khap Panchayats etc.

NFIW is of the opinion that the Government at the Centre as well as in States should take note of all the anti-women statements and should take all necessary steps to stop people, whoever they may be, from making such criminal suggestions and statements against women.

“A ban is not the solution, it cannot ensure women’s constitutional rights. It needs political will and social commitment,” said Annie Raja, General Secretary of NFIW. - PTI

ARDENT USER OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Modi among 30 most influential people on Internet: Time NEW YORK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been named among the 30 most influential people on the Internet by Time magazine in a list which also features US President Barack Obama.

The list, which analysed socialmedia followings, site traffic and overall ability to drive news, also includes British author of the Harry Potter series J. K. Rowling and singers Taylor Swift and Beyonce.

Time said the Indian Prime Minister has roughly 38 million followers on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, putting him ahead of any other leaders in the world except Obama.

“And unlike many of his contemporaries, Modi recognises that social media can be invaluable when trying to reach India’s 200 millionplus online population directly,” the Time magazine said.

Ardent user Modi, an ardent user of social media to communicate with people, announced in an unconventional way, Obama’s strategic visit to India in January this year.

He took to Twitter to make the announcement, “bypassing traditional media outlets,” the magazine said.

Time said given the power of the

social media, anyone with a web connection can start a global conversation.

“Yes, it helps to be famous in real life. But the rise of social networks has levelled the playing field, allowing unknowns to command audiences rivalling those of realworld leaders, even if by accident,” it said.

On Obama’s virtual influence, Time said the US President is the most-liked world leader on Facebook and the most-followed on Twitter.

“But more impressively, Obama is able to meme himself to push an agenda,” Time said citing a

video he featured in for American internet news media company Buzzfeed. In it US president used a selfie stick among other props to remind millennials to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Within days, the video had been viewed more than 50 million times.

The list also includes reality star Kim Kardashian, singer Justin Beiber, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Chinese actress Yao Chen, singer Shakira, photographer behind the hugely popular blog Humans of New York Brandon Stanton and TV personality Jimmy Fallon. - PTI

POPULAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has roughly 38 million followers on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, putting him ahead of any other leaders in the world except Obama. - PTI

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S ATUR DAY, M A RCH 7, 2 015 Congress and friends should help passage of legislations in Rajya Sabha in the larger interest of the country M Venkaiah Naidu, Parliamentary Affairs Minister

INDIA

FROM MARCH 10

PRESIDENT GREETS NATION ON HOLI Foreigners along with locals celebrate Holi festival in Mumbai on Friday. President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday greeted the nation on the occasion of Holi and urged the citizens to promote Indian’s composite culture. ‘Warm greetings and good wishes to all fellow citizens on the joyous occasion of Holi,’ Pranab said in a statement. ‘Let us use this spring festival to spread the fame and fragrance of our composite culture far and wide,’ the statement added.- PTI

PM to visit Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri Lanka NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave on March 10 on a three-nation visit —Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka — the External Affairs Ministry announced on Friday with no mention, however, of the Maldives, which was being considered earlier.

On his first trip abroad in 2015, the prime minister will be visiting the three countries from March 10 to 14, the ministry said.

On March 11, in Seychelles, Modi will hold bilateral discussions with President James Alexis Michel to strengthen bilateral maritime ties and enhance development cooperation.

Modi will be in Mauritius on March 11 and 12 where he will have extensive meetings with his Mauritian counterpart, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, to further enhance the relations.

The Indian Prime Minister will also be the Chief Guest at Mauritius’s National Day celebrations.

L A C K I N G N U M B E R S I N R A J YA S A B H A

Naidu seeks opposition support for passage of key bills in parliament CHENNAI: Lacking numbers in Rajya Sabha for passage of key bills, the government today appealed for opposition support, saying “Congress and friends” should back it to give “push for development” considering the larger interest of people’s welfare.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the measures were part of the government’s efforts for a “push for development” initiated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Congress and friends should help passage of legislations in Rajya Sabha in the larger interest of the country,” he told reporters at the airport here in the capital city of south Indian Tamil Nadu state.

While the insurance and coal bills were passed in Lok Sabha, the government is faced with the tough task of ensuring their passage in the Upper House where it lacks the numbers.

Maintaining that the land acquisition bill was ‘pro-farmer’, Naidu said land was required for various purposes, including for irrigation schemes and constructing dams, which would benefit farmers.

“How can you construct dams, irrigation tanks, airports and (lay) new railway lines without acquiring land. From 1894 to 2013 there

Gogoi terms Dimapur lynching ‘barbaric’ One person, suspected to be part of a mob that lynched a rape suspect after pulling him out of a jail in

M Venkaiah Naidu

Dimapur town of in police firing

WRECKAGE: Security personnel near a vehicle which was torched by a mob during a mass protest where they pulled out a rape accused from a district jail and lynched him in Dimapur, Nagaland on Thursday night. - PTI

GUWAHATI/KOHIMA: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday condemned the lynching of an Assamese youth in Nagaland for allegedly raping a girl and termed the incident as “barbaric, heinous and inhuman”.

The opposition All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) too has condemned the incident as “unfortunate” and demanded a CBI inquiry into it.

“The manner, in which the youth was dragged out of custody

and killed brutally by a mob on the streets, is highly condemnable,” Gogoi said in a statement.

At the same time, the chief minister said the alleged crime committed by the youth is equally condemnable but law should have been allowed to take its own course. Gogoi also said that the incident has been taken up at both chief ministerial and chief secretary levels.

Meanwhile, one person, suspected to be part of a mob that lynched a rape suspect after pulling him out

Nagaland, was killed was a land acquisition act. “Was this anti-farmer? The Prime Minister has said that if you have any meaningful suggestion you can make it,” which the government will incorporate, he said.

The earlier BJP government under A. B. Vajpayee had initiated, among others, rail, road and rural connectivity and “Modi is also doing this and the opposition should support it,” he said.

He denied that the NDA government was becoming unpopular in the wake of BJP’s loss in Delhi Assembly polls, saying only a local party (AAP) had prevailed over it and not Congress or others. -PTI

The Sri Lanka leg of the trip will be spread over March 13 and 14. During his visit, Modi will hold meetings with Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and other senior leaders across the political spectrum in the island nation.

Modi’s visit will provide opportunities for building on the close contacts at the highest political level and enhance mutual cooperation and understanding on major issues of common interest, the ministry said.

Modi’s visit is the first official visit to Sri Lanka by an Indian prime minister in 27 years after the 1987 visit by then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. He will accorded a ceremonial welcome including a Guard of Honour and Gun Salute.

“The visit of the Prime Minister to our friendly maritime neighbours is reflective of India’s desire to further strengthen our ties in the Indian Ocean region,” the MEA added. - PTI

of a jail in Dimapur town of Nagaland, was killed in police firing even as the situation there was stated to be under control.

Situation ‘under control’ One person was injured in police firing on the mob and he later succumbed to his injuries, Meren Jamir, Superintendent of Police of Dimapur, said, adding in all four to five people had sustained injuries in the action.

He said curfew remained in force in Dimapur where the situ-

ation was “under control.” Jamir said police could not prevent the mob attack on the jail as the securitymen were vastly outnumbered and there were several school children in the mob.

Asked to comment on reports that the rape accused was a Bangladeshi immigrant, Jamir said “I cannot tell you anything on that now and it is a matter of investigation.”

Posse of riot police personnel patrolled the streets of Dimapur.

Chief Minister T. R. Zeliang said a high-level inquiry has been ordered into the mob attack to ascertain if there had been any lapse in security.

The Centre meanwhile on Friday sought a report from Nagaland government on the lynching of the rape accused by a mob and put neighbouring Assam on high alert in the wake of the incident.

“We have sought a report from Nagaland government about the incident and how a mob entered a jail and pull out an inmate,” a Home Ministry official said in New Delhi.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that he has already discussed with senior officials about the incident and asked them to take necessary action. Neighbouring Assam was put on high alert by the Centre following the incident in Dimapur. - PTI

COALITION GOVERNMENT

Poll mandate a historic opportunity, no digging of past, assures Sayeed JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed on Friday said he has been given a historic opportunity by the people to “connect and further gel” the three distinct regions of the state — Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh — and assured there will be “no digging of the past”.

The government has come with a positive agenda to change the system of governance and ensure justice for all.

“The verdict of the people in the Assembly polls is a great opportunity to connect and further gel the three distinct regions of the state.

“There will be no digging of the past and the initiatives taken between 2002 and 2005 will move forward to firmly put the state on the development map of the country,” Mufti said while chairing his maiden meeting of Administrative Secretaries after assuming office.

Mufti said that his government will soon make guidelines to make heads of the departments accountable and responsible so that they perform to the best of their ability.

“You are my tools of governance. J&K has to deliver on development front so that people of the state, who have suffered for long, feel the change coming on the ground,” he said.

While referring to his previous tenure as chief minister, Mufti said that after becoming Chief

J& K has been in pain for a pretty long time.

When a part of the country is in pain, it needs attention COMMITTED: J&K Governer N N Vohra greets Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Mohammad Syeed after being sworn in as CM as Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks on, during the swearing-in ceremony, in Jammu last Sunday. - PTI

Minister, he took several initiatives like Cross-LoC trade that are seen as historical steps.

Praise for NDA government He praised the former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and the NDA government of that time, saying it took several confidencebuilding measures to help bring in peace and stability in the state.

Stressing that governance has to be made people-friendly at the grassroot level, the chief minister said he would ensure that powers are delegated to the officers for effective administrative disposal.

“J&K has been in pain for a pretty long time. When a part of the country is in pain, it needs attention,” he added.

The chief minister also called for making pivotal Government institutions like the Accountability Commission and the Public Service Commission functional so that the people are facilitated and trust deficit in government institutions is removed.

“Time-bound delivery of services to the people of the state must be prioritised,” he said.

While identifying key sectors of public delivery like Health, Edu-

Mufti M. Syeed J&K chief minister

cation, Agriculture, CAPD, Power and PHE, the chief minister directed the chief secretary to prepare a detailed presentation on functioning of these departments for review of the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, BJP president Amit Shah on Friday had a meeting with the RSS top brass here, seen as significant against the backdrop of the party’s alliance with PDP in Jammu and Kashmir and Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s statement giving credit to Pakistan and separatists for the peaceful assembly polls there. -PTI

SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015 Previously, members of minority communities used to come out and protest alone but with so much intolerance in society, the general public needs to join minority communities. This way, all religious groups will stand united and show their dissent against the state Khurram, National Student Federation worker

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PAKISTAN S E NAT E E L E C T I O N S

ARRESTS OVER ILLEGAL FISHING A Pakistani policeman guards arrested Indian fishermen at a police station in Karachi on Friday. Pakistani coast guards arrested 46 Indian fishermen and seized their eight boats for illegally fishing in Pakistan’s territorial waters. — AFP

PML-N wins big in upper house polls ISLAMABAD: Consolidating its grip on power, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslin League-Nawaz (PML-N) has won 18 out of the 48 seats being contested for in the Senate elections marred by controversies and allegations of vote buying.

According to unofficial results, PML-N got the lion’s share in the polls, winning 18 seats but still has 26 senators in the in the 104-member House, one behind the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) that has 27 senators.

PPP won eight seats as cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, making an entry into the Senate for the first time, won six.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) won four seats. The Balochistan National Party (Mengal) and the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) also returned to the Upper House.

With PML-N continuing to remain a minority government in the Senate, the race for the coveted slots of chairman and deputy chairman was being hotly contested and the role of smaller parties now cannot be underestimated.

Chairman Senate, the Upper House of bicameral parliament, is considered an important official figure as he works as acting president if the sitting president falls ill, goes abroad or dies.

Of the 104 members of the House, half of senators retire after three years and this year 52 senators hanged their boots after end their six year term.

Elections were postponed on four seats. — PTI

HOLI FESTIVITIES

Human chain formed to protect minorities KARACHI: A day after Sindh University students from the Hindu community were stopped for celebrating Holi, the National Student Federation displayed a heart-rending gesture to show solidarity with the minority community.

The student organisation formed a human shield outside Swami Narayan Temple, Light House, in Karachi as people celebrate Holi at the grand temple.

“If the state cannot provide protection to minority communities, the public has to take a stand,” Central Organiser NSF Khurram Ali told The Express Tribune.

Amid increasing cases of violence, many Hindu families from Balochistan and Sindh have decided to migrate to India.

“Previously, members of minority communities used to come out and protest alone but with so much intolerance in society, the general public needs to join minority communities,” Khurram said.

“This way, all religious groups will stand united and show their dissent against the state.”

Earlier, a bunch of students at the Sindh University (SU) were manhandled by private security guards after some teachers complained they were creating nuisance on the premises. — Express Tribune

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

Concerns mount over new Karachi nuclear reactors The risks are there. You cannot discount them, but you prepare for them.

We are a nuclear power, so don’t underestimate us, said Khawaja Asif, Minister for water, power and defence

The new ACP-1000 reactors will stand less than 20 miles from Karachi’s densely populated metropolis. Many have questioned whether this was the best place to build the nuclear reactor

KARACHI: A real nightmare could be unfolding in Karachi as Pakistan will be supplied with two large nuclear reactors from China to aid the country in its energy crisis, The Washington Post reported.

There has always been fear among world leaders that terrorists may try to steal one of Pakistan’s nuclear bombs and detonate it in a foreign country. However, some have said that the real nightmare could be unfolding in Karachi after the reactors are supplied.

The new power plants which comprise a new design are not yet in use anywhere in the world and will be each supplying 1,100 megawatts to Pakistan’s national energy grid.

The reactors are being built next to a much smaller 1970s-era reactor located on a popular beach where fishermen still make wooden boats by hand.

The new ACP-1000 reactors will stand less than 20 miles from Karachi’s densely populated metropolis of 20 million residents.

Many have come forward in argument against the government’s nuclear ambitions, questioning

whether this was the best place to build the nuclear reactor.

“You are talking about a city one-third the population of the United Kingdom,” said Abdul Sattar Pirzada, a Karachi lawyer who is seeking to get the project halted.

“If there would be an accident, this would cripple Karachi, and if you cripple Karachi, you cripple Pakistan,” he added.

Recommendations put forward by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission pertaining to nuclear power plant construction state that any new reactor should be situated away from a very densely populated area, preferably with

fewer than 500 people per square mile within a 20 mile radius.

The same zone where the power plants would be constructed holds about 6,450 people per square mile a Pakistani nuclear physicist wrote in Newsweek Pakistan last year.

Concerns have been expressed by some US diplomatic officials about China’s role in providing nuclear energy to Pakistan.

Pakistan still remains to be one of the few developing nations which is still pursuing civilian nuclear energy options since the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011.

With three operative nuclear power plants, Pakistan has turned to China for help in expanding the capacity of these plants. Efforts are underway to double the size of the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant in Punjab, as well as to build the new Karachi reactors.

“The risks are there. You cannot discount them, but you prepare for them,” said Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s water, power and defense minister. “We are a nuclear power, so don’t underestimate us,” he added.

The ACP-1000 reactor was developed by China and cost about $5 billion each to build. The design of the reactor is based on one that France built in China in the 1980s.

Despite Pakistan’s refusal to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the international ban on the transfer of nuclear technology to Pakistan, the China National Nuclear Corporation will still be supplying the ACP-1000 reactor to Pakistan.

“We are going to be the guinea pigs,” said Arif Belgaumi, a Karachi architect who wants the international community to pay closer attention to the government’s plans.

“China’s expanding civilian nuclear cooperation with Pakistan raises concerns and we urge China to be transparent regarding this cooperation,” the US Embassy said on Thursday. — Express Tribune

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Will Boris Nemtsov’s killers be ever caught?

E

ventually they’ll arrest someone for murdering Boris Nemtsov, especially after President Vladimir Putin was said to be giving the case his personal attention. The authorities have already begun to spin conspiracy theories, including the outrageous suggestion that he may have been killed by political allies to create a martyr.

What will remain is not a murder case, but the image of the opposition politician who had once personified so many of Russia’s hopes, lying dead within sight of the Kremlin fortress and the whimsical cupolas of St. Basil’s Cathedral. Tall, handsome, witty and irreverent, Nemtsov was one of the brilliant young men who burst onto the Russian stage at that exciting moment when Communist rule collapsed and a new era seemed imminent. Only 32 at the time, he was even younger and more impatient than the others.

A physicist by training, he had cut his political teeth opposing the construction of a new nuclear plant in his city. Appointed leader of the province of Nizhny Novgorod by Russia’s new president, Boris Yeltsin, and confirmed in the office by the provincial legislature, Nemtsov embarked on a whirlwind campaign to transform the region, drawing enthusiastic support from a number of Western agencies. No matter that the province was a centre of the military and nuclear industries that had been closed to foreigners for decades; no matter that there wasn’t even enough paper money for the privatization program.

Nemtsov couldn’t wait for Moscow to get its act together. He pushed ahead on his own, even issuing his own money — chits — to be exchanged eventually for rubles that came to be known as “Nemtsovki.”

This was long before Putin made the West the enemy again and the scapegoat for all of Russia’s failures. Nemtsov and the other “boys in pink shorts,” as their detractors called the young reformers — Yegor Gaidar, Grigory Yavlinsky, Anatoly Chubais, Boris Fyodorov — looked to the West for their models and hopes. Nemtsov proudly adopted the Western title of “governor” instead of the bureaucratic “head of administration” used in Soviet.

With time he became one of the most outspoken and constant critics of the corrupt autocracy Putin developed, and, more recently, of Russia’s assault on Ukrainian independence. He received regular death threats and was arrested three times, but, as Putin steadily dispersed the opposition with threats and arrests, Nemtsov’s voice became ever more faint. But he never stopped.

In his last days, he had been organising a mass march against the war in Ukraine, which turned, instead, into a memorial march for him. Some marchers on Sunday carried placards reading, “I am not afraid,” and others vowed to carry on Nemtsov’s work. But, from afar, it seemed more a memorial march for the hopes and dreams that lay alongside Nemtsov’s murdered body in the middle of the night on the bridge to Red Square. - The New York Times News Service

COMMENTARY

Of Eliot’s masterpiece and Kremlin murder JUSTIN YIFU LIN

For the greater good

T

he arrest of 471 parents by the Peshawar police under the Maintenance of Public Order laws for refusing to allow polio drops to be administered to their children may seem to be a draconian step. But given the situation we face currently, it is a welcome measure. Such steps are required to stem the polio epidemic sweeping across the country, with at least 306 cases reported last year. The inability to stop the upsurge of polio cases has inflicted immeasurable harm on our children and has damaged Pakistan’s international standing. The country is now responsible for at least 80 per cent of global polio cases. Because of the problems in administering polio vaccines, dozens are now falling victim to the disease each year.

It has now become necessary to break the existing deadlock. ‘Refusals’, or the denial of polio drops to their children by parents, have emerged as a major factor in our tale of polio-related woes. The stance taken by parents is spurred on by propaganda from extremist clerics about damaging substances in polio drops causing sterility or other negative effects. The strategy adopted by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government to address this issue, under its ‘Sehat ka Insaf’ drive reflects a true determination to solve the problem. Initially religious leaders, working with the government, are sent to the homes of parents who have refused vaccination.

Arrests follow in the limited cases where there is refusal even after this. This is a necessity given that refusals by parents endanger not only their own children but others as well. We must hope the tough action taken, with the Peshawar administration prepared for more arrests, will help persuade communities to act with greater wisdom and cut through the fog of misinformation deliberately created by militant forces to hold back the anti-polio campaign. It is important that the federal and provincial governments all over the country ensure that each child is vaccinated against polio. The tough actions being taken, then, deserve to be appreciated. - The Express Tribune

Syria will keep bleeding until the last man standing The regime in Syria is perhaps battered, discredited and unacceptable, but is unlikely to be dislodged soon by force. It is in a destructive and horrific stalemate, which intensified military action offers no real prospect of breaking. However, what is looming now is even more dangerous and threatening. Syria appears to keep bleeding until the last man is standing. The fight there for liberation from autocracy has long been hijacked by radical and extremist forces.

Syrian participation in the mutiny has diminished to almost zero and Syrians have now been replaced by fighters pouring in hoards into the country from beyond its shores. In Syria, the struggle has already turned into

a radical extremist movement, which is more dangerous.

Shahid Memen Wadi Kabir

Rents eat away almost 30 per cent of our earnings To get the right accommodation —by right we mean a decent place within our means — in Muscat isn’t always easy. Not that there is a dearth of flats and houses in the city. In fact, they are in plenty but are often beyond our affordability.

This makes renting an accommodation in and around Muscat a real challenge for most. On an average, renting a flat easily eats away almost 30 per cent of the earning, which is very high from any standard. This forces a majority of the residents in Muscat to either forget bringing in their

Putin has announced that he will personally oversee the investigation into the assassination. We can be all but certain that some culprit or another will be ‘found’, and that his crime will be part of a conspiracy by the CIA or Ukrainian authorities

I

n his play Murder in the Cathedral, T. S. Eliot describes the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, as a silently ordered hit. The English king, Henry II, did not need to give a direct order; his knights knew what to do with somebody seen to be undermining the state. Eliot may have set his play in twelfth-century England, but he wrote it in 1935, barely two years after Adolf Hitler had come to power in Germany.

So it is, at least in part, a cautionary tale about the rise of fascism in Europe. Sadly, it has lost none of its relevance. Today, Eliot’s masterpiece can be read as a warning about the path being taken by Russia, where politics under President Vladimir Putin has been growing murderously medieval.

One by one, Putin’s critics have been eliminated. In 2006, the journalist Anna Politkovskaya was gunned down in an elevator, and Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent who had been critical of Putin, died of polonium poison while in exile in London. In 2009, Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer campaigning against corruption, died in prison after being denied medical care for life-threatening conditions. The same year, another lawyer, Stanislav Markelov, a champion of human rights, was shot following a news conference.

The murder of Boris Nemtsov, a leading opposition politician and a former deputy prime minister under Boris Yeltsin, should come as no surprise. But it should come as a shock — and as a wake-up call for those Russians who until now have tolerated a culture of lawlessness and impunity, unseen since the darkest days of Stalin’s personal rule in the Soviet Union. Before his death, Nemtsov was said to be working on a report titled “Putin and the War,” providing proof of Russia’s involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. He was scheduled to lead a protest against the war two days after his murder. Some have wondered if Putin was afraid of what Nemtsov had uncovered, and thus ordered the assassination.

That is unlikely, at least in terms of someone receiving a direct order from Putin. Simply put, orchestrating Nemtsov’s murder was not worth the trouble; after all, the Kremlin’s propaganda machine would have had little problem twisting Nemtsov’s report to Putin’s benefit.

Indeed, even Nemtsov’s brazen murder is unlikely to hurt Putin politically. His popularity now stands at 86 per cent. For many Russians, Nemtsov’s opposition to the war in Ukraine made him a traitor, whose death was justified — indeed, almost demanded — by national necessity.

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If you cannot convince them, confuse them HARRY S TRUMAN

Putin has announced that he will personally oversee the investigation into the assassination. But those leading the effort have already indicated its likely conclusion: Nemtsov’s murder was an attempt to destabilise Russia. We can be all but certain that some culprit or another will be “found,” and that his crime will be part of a conspiracy by the CIA or Ukrainian authorities.

The Kremlin is no stranger to twisting the truth to fit its needs. Before Russia’s annexation of Crimea, it argued that the United States had hired snipers to fire at pro-Western protesters in Kyiv in order to blame Russia for their deaths. When a Malaysian airliner was shot down over Ukraine — most likely by pro-Russia rebels — the official Kremlin story was that Western secret services downed it to undermine Putin’s reputation.

Allegations like these have whipped up nationalism, hatred, and anti-Western hysteria, distracting Russians from Putin’s culpability for their country’s economic crisis. As menacing as Putin’s Russia may be, however, nothing about it is original. In 1934, Joseph Stalin, too, ordered a thorough investigation into the murder of a rival: Sergei Kirov, the head of the Communist Party in Leningrad. The NKVD, the precursor to the KGB, orchestrated the assassination on Stalin’s order, but the inquiry gave the Soviet dictator a pretext for eliminating other opponents.

The search for Kirov’s murderers eventually culminated in the Great Terror, a massive purge of Party leaders, military commanders, and intellectuals.

Putin may not have ordered the hit on Nemtsov or any of the others. But, like Stalin, he has nurtured a climate of fear and lawlessness, in which those who rally behind the Kremlin feel a duty to eliminate the leader’s opponents however they can, and in anticipation of his will.

In the first decade of this century, it was easy to love Putin. He made Russians rich, cosmopolitan, and respected. Today, as low oil prices and Western sanctions bite, he is making them poor and nearly universally despised. On March 1, the day Nemtsov was to lead his protest, tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets with slogans like “Nemtsov is love, Putin is war.” Could it be that Russia’s culture of impunity has reached an inflection point? Putin’s regime relies on the promise of economic prosperity, without which it could begin to unravel — if not as a result of mass protest, then because insiders no longer have a stake in its political survival.

At that point, when Putin is at his most vulnerable, his allies will have to act carefully — and keep looking over their shoulders. - Project Syndicate

families or live alone in shared accommodations — often in abject conditions.

Vijay Ramesh Ruwi

reader or book lover. Libraries are a bridge between the informationrich and the information-poor.

Oman needs to continue to bridge the gap.

Nadeem Al Ghubra

The Sultanate is in need of a good public library On any given day, the Seattle Public Library in Washington attracts more readers and visitors than a football match played out between two most famous teams. One simply needs to visit a good library to see how these store houses of knowledge and information educate and enrich lives of people. It is indeed a matter of regret that we in Muscat or elsewhere in Oman are denied of this privilege. As a matter of fact, neither Muscat nor Oman offers any good public library to a keen

Is Virat Kohli becoming a liability for Indian team?

Is Virat Kohli becoming a liability to the Indian cricket team? He is increasingly becoming abusive on and off the field. He has lately been heard abusing a journalist.

Kohli is a talented cricketer but that does not give him the licence to be abusive and arrogant. I think he ought to learn a lot from peers like Sachin, Dravid, Laxman and Saurav.

Raju Raman Qurum

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

SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015

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WORLD

The Scottish National Party would enter into any agreement with Labour with one overriding aim: to break up the United Kingdom. Slowly, but surely, they would try to prise the UK apart. And that is why Labour must reject it John Major, UK’s former prime minister

A S T E R O I D B E LT B E T W E E N M A R S A N D J U P I T E R

Spacecraft enters dwarf planet Ceres orbit for 16-month study CAPE CANAVERAL: A U.S. space probe slipped into orbit around Ceres, a miniature planet beyond Mars believed to be left over from the formation of the solar system, NASA said on Friday.

Launched in 2007, the Dawn spacecraft made a 14-month tour of the asteroid Vesta before steering itself toward Ceres, the largest body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Dawn shifted its path to allow itself to be captured by Ceres’ gravity at 7:39am EST (1239 GMT), becoming the first spacecraft to orbit a dwarf planet.

“We feel exhilarated,” lead researcher Chris Russell at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a statement after Dawn radioed back to Earth.

NASA’s New Horizons probe is scheduled to fly by another dwarf

planet, Pluto, in the far reaches of the solar system later this year.

Like Ceres, Pluto was once considered a full-fledged planet, but was reclassified after the discovery of similar bodies.

Dawn will spend about a month repositioning itself from its initial orbit about 38,000 miles (61,000 km) above Ceres to the first survey altitude of 2,730 miles (4,400 km).

By the time the mission ends in

June 2016, Dawn will have flown as low as 375 km above the surface.

Scientists already have a mystery to solve. Last month as Dawn neared Ceres, it relayed images of startlingly bright spots on the surface, which could be patches of subsurface ice exposed after an asteroid or comet impact. They also could be deposits of salt or other minerals.

“These spots were extremely

surprising,” Dawn scientist Carol Raymond of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, told reporters on Monday.

Scientists suspect Ceres may have had an underground ocean early in its history that later froze.

Europe’s Herschel telescope last year detected water vapor around Ceres, a clue that impacting bod-

Obama admits Ferguson may not be an isolated incident The US president was speaking

There are circumstances in which trust between communities and law enforcement have broken down. Individuals or entire departments may not have the training or the accountability to make sure that they are protecting and serving all people and not just some

after the Justice Department uncovered a cache of racist emails and evidence of multiple rights violations

Barack Obama US President WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama said he believes deep racism unearthed in Ferguson, Missouri’s police department is not common but could exist elsewhere in the country.

“I don’t think that is typical of what happens across the country, but it’s not an isolated incident,” Obama told Sirius XM radio in an interview broadcast on Friday.

Obama was speaking after the Justice Department uncovered a cache of racist emails and evi-

dence of multiple rights violations in the jurisdiction where police shot dead an unarmed black teenager August 9, 2014, sparking civil unrest and a national outcry.

“There are circumstances in which trust between communities and law enforcement have broken down,” Obama said.

“Individuals or entire departments may not have the training

or the accountability to make sure that they are protecting and serving all people and not just some.”

Searing report Despite what Attorney General Eric Holder called a “searing report” into Ferguson’s police department, the government will not prosecute the white policeman responsible for killing teenager Mi-

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LOS ANGELES: Actor Harrison Ford had to be pulled from his vintage World War Two aircraft after his crash landing at a Los Angeles golf course because the plane was leaking fuel, a surgeon who came to Ford’s aid said in a television interview aired on Friday.

Ford’s 1942 single-engine plane took off on Thursday from Santa Monica Airport, and a short time later he reported engine failure to air traffic controllers and turned around in an attempt to return.

He clipped a tree and crash landed short of the runway at nearby Penmar Golf Course.

The 72-year-old actor, who starred in some of the biggest films of the 1980s, is expected to make a full recovery from injuries that his publicist said are not life threatening.

Fire officials have said Ford was taken to a local hospital, where he was listed in fair to moderate condition.

Spine surgeon Sanjay Khurana told ABC News in an interview that aired on Friday that he was playing golf when the plane came down on the course.

DISASTER: The airplane sits on the ground after crash landing at Penmar Golf Course in Venice, US, on Thursday. — Reuters

Khurana told ABC News about the star from the “Star Wars” movie franchises.

Harrison Ford

“He’s obviously an iconic individual and when he lay there as I was trying to check his airway, his blood pressure, it was obvious by his face it was Harrison Ford,”

Obviously moaning “He was obviously moaning and in pain,” the surgeon told ABC. “My task, if you will, was to get him out of the airplane in a somewhat urgent manner because the fuel was leaking.”

The plane remained at the crash site on Friday morning as the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration probed what caused it to crash. — Reuters

chael Brown. Brown’s family are planning to sue in a civil case.

The death prompted weeks of sometimes violent protests, and ignited a national debate about race relations and law enforcement.

Obama convened a task force which issued almost 60 recommendations to police that are designed to rebuild trust.

The measures include introducing external investigations “in cases of police use of force resulting in death, officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death, or in-custody deaths.”

Earlier Lawyers for Michael Brown’s family said on Thursday they are planning a civil case against the police officer who shot and killed the unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri last August.

The announcement came a day after the US Justice Department said, after a lengthy civil rights investigation, that it would not prosecute officer Darren Wilson in the racially-charged case.

“We are officially in a process of formulating a civil case that we anticipate will be filed very shortly on behalf of the family,” lawyer Anthony Gray told reporters in St Louis, Missouri.

A second lawyer for the Brown family, Daryl Parks, said the wrongful death suit would name Wilson as well as the city of Ferguson, a suburb of St Louis.

Members of Brown’s family, including his mother Lesley McSpadden and father Michael Brown Sr, attended Thursday’s press conference, but made no statement. — AFP

ies may periodically send plumes of watery material shooting into space. Dawn will try to confirm those findings.

The mission, which is costing NASA about $473 million, is the first to include stops at more than one extraterrestrial body.

Dawn is outfitted with an ion electric propulsion engine, which requires far less fuel that traditional chemical engines. — Reuters POST-POLL SCENARIO

‘Labour pact with Scottish nationalists may break UK’ LONDON: A post-election deal between the opposition Labour Party and Scottish nationalists to rule Britain could break up the country, former prime minister John Major warned on Friday, as nationalists stepped up their efforts to woo Labour.

Major’s comments underline how Britain’s most unpredictable election since the 1970s is stoking uncertainty about who will govern the world’s sixth-largest economy after May 7. Polls show neither of the main parties is likely to win outright.

Labour face heavy losses in Scotland at the hands of the Scottish National Party (SNP). A deal between them could be Labour’s best chance of entering government.

Major, a member of Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives, has left frontline politics. He said Labour had a duty to all Britons to rule out such a deal.

“If such an alliance were to happen, the consequences could be profound. Sworn enemies would have come together, with separate motives and agendas, and the aftershock would be felt by us all,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper. — Reuters

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S ATUR DAY, M A RCH 7, 2 015 We recovered the gold both in the form of bars and ornaments from Son Young Nam, the First Secretary of the North Korean Embassy in Dhaka Moinul Khan, Bangladesh official

WORLD CRIME

Bangladesh seizes $1.4m in gold from N. Korean diplomat DHAKA: Bangladeshi customs officers caught a North Korean diplomat trying to smuggle an estimated $1.4 million worth of gold into the country, a senior official said on Friday.

“We recovered the gold both in the form of bars and ornaments from Son Young Nam, the First Secretary of the North Korean Embassy in Dhaka,” said Moinul Khan, Director General of the Custom Intelligence department, adding the gold weighed about 27 kg (60 pounds) in total.

The diplomat was released after his confessional statement, but Bangladesh is seeking to press charges.

Beyond diplomatic norms “What he did is beyond diplomatic norms,” Khan told Reuters, adding that a visitor can legally bring up to $1,282 worth of gold into Bangladesh.

Khan said the diplomat had passed through the green channel at Dhaka international airport on a late arriving Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore. Customs officials then asked to scan his hand luggage.

“He told our officials there was nothing to scan,” said Najibur

Rahman, chairman of the National Board of Revenue.

“Later we informed our foreign ministry and he was released on Friday under the Vienna Convention,” Najibur told Reuters.

A case has been filed against him with the customs department, Khan said. “We have also initiated the process to file a criminal case against him.”

The North Korean embassy in Dhaka was not available for comment on the issue.

Khan said Pyongyang would soon be informed of the case and further action would be taken via government channels.

The smuggling of gold, mainly from Dubai, has increased in recent months but this is the first instance of a diplomat being involved, the official said.

North Korea is internationally isolated and under economic sanctions over its nuclear tests.

Sanctioned by the United States since the 1950s and later by the UN, North Korea has been shuffling money for decades from illicit drugs, arms and financial scams and is now more expert at hiding it to fund its weapons programmes and its leaders’ opulent lifestyles, diplomats say. — Reuters

INTERACTIVE 3D MUSEUM A student poses in front of a 3D mural of a fish during a class field trip at the Art In Island Museum in Quezon City, metro Manila, Philippines, on Friday. The Art In Island is considered one of the biggest interactive 3D museums in Asia. The museum holds some of the largest 3D painted murals which encourages guests to be part of the art, a representative of The Art In Island said. — Reuters

H E A LT H C R I S I S

MERS kills 10 more in Saudi Arabia RIYADH: MERS virus has killed 10 more people in Saudi Arabia over the past week, pushing the death toll above 400, as health officials broaden their campaign to halt its spread.

Saudi Arabia is the country worst-hit by Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

The latest deaths occurred between February 27 and March 5, adding to a surge of cases that killed 30 people in February alone.

Deaths in Riyadh Six of those deaths were in Riyadh, health ministry data show.

A total of 936 people have been infected with MERS since it was first identified in the kingdom in 2012, and 402 of them have died.

On Wednesday the health ministry said it started a new phase of a public education campaign to help prevent the spread of the virus. — AFP

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Minister defies Erdogan’s move over top bank Deputy Prime Minister Bulent

A president should only lead the way. A president’s statements could be misinterpreted.

The Westerners tend to become concerned over such rows

Arinc, a close Erdogan ally, said that the bank was ‘doing its best’ and was acting in a ‘wise and cautious way’ when taking decisions on its

Bulent Arinc

monetary policy

ANKARA: Turkey’s deputy prime minister spoke out against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, saying it was “not right” for the country’s leader to “threaten” the central bank.

Erdogan has rattled markets in recent weeks with his fierce criticism of the nominally-independent central bank over its reluctance to aggressively lower interest rates.

But Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc, a close Erdogan ally, said that the bank was “doing its best” and was acting in a “wise and cautious way” when taking decisions on its monetary policy.

“It was not a right thing to threaten the central bank. From now on nothing should be spoken against the bank,” Arinc said in a live interview with private NTV television.

“A president should only lead the way. A president’s statements could be misinterpreted. The Westerners tend to become concerned over such rows,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister, Turkey

The central bank has pruned rates it rates recently but by far less than Erdogan wants to stimulate flagging growth ahead of June legislative elections.

The row has sent the Turkish currency to a series of historic lows during the past month.

The lira has since mid-January dropped more than 11 per cent in value against the greenback.

Record low In afternoon trading on Friday, the lira hit a new record low in value of 2.6330 to the dollar, having broken through the psychological barrier of 2.6 on Thursday.

“I believe that the constant criticism of the central bank governor and the doubts cast over the (economy) through the bank may have had an effect on the rise of the dollar” against the lira, said Arinc.

Meanwhile Erdogan blames the lira’s weakness on speculators and what he calls an “interest rate lobby” that tries to hamper Tur-

key’s growth through higher rates.

He warned Friday that “those who invest excessively in the dollar may end up being disappointed.”

Erdogan also said that he would hold talks with central bank governor Erdem Basci and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan after the latter returns from a visit to New York.

Babacan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek have been meeting foreign financiers in New York since Wednesday in a bid to allay concerns over the country’s economic management.

Davutoglu told reporters in New York that he had spoken with Basci about the lira’s fall, saying “every kind of measure” on the issue would be taken if necessary.

There have been rumours in the past days that Basci and Babacan -- the Turkish officials most trusted by the markets -- were set to resign. — AFP

HEAD OF GROUP 24 MOVEMENT

Tajik opposition leader shot ISTANBUL/ALMATY: An outspoken critic of veteran Tajik leader Imomali Rakhmon has been shot dead by an unknown assailant on a street in Istanbul, Turkish media reported on Friday.

Umarali Kuvvatov, who had been living in exile in Turkey and was head of the “Group 24” opposition movement, was killed with a single shot to the head at around 10:30 pm (2030 GMT) on Thurs-

day evening in the city’s Fatih district, Dogan news agency said.

Istanbul police declined to comment on the case.

Investigation Turkey’s anti-terrorism police unit and murder squad are handling the investigation into the killing of the 47-year-old businessman, Dogan said.

Kuvvatov had accused President Rakhmon, a 62-year-old

former head of a Soviet state farm who has governed the impoverished Central Asian republic since 1992, of rampant corruption and nepotism.

Kuvvatov had worked for a business of one of Rakhmon’s close relatives. He took to politics after he fell out with Rakhmon’s clan due to an apparent clash of business interests, said Alexander Knyazev, a Kazakhstan-based Central Asia analyst. — Reuters

SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015

S P O R

GEARING UP: Omani athletes train at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex ahead of the fourth GCC Women’s Games. – Supplied photos

Oman all set for fourth GCC Women’s Games The fourth edition of the Gulf women’s multi-sport event,

S F I FA L E T T E R

‘No need for OFA EGM’ MUSCAT: The governing body of world football, Fifa, has conveyed to the Oman Football Association (OFA) that there is no need to organise an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) as demanded by some clubs.

According to a press release issued by the OFA, the association on Wednesday received a letter from the Fifa informing that the EGM scheduled for March 7 does not meet the quorum required for holding the same as per article 2/28 of the constitution as two out of 12 clubs have withdrawn their demand for the meeting.

The OFA board held an emergency meeting on Thursday and declared that ‘the meeting scheduled for March 7 as per Fifa letter will not be legal as it does not meet the quorum’.

However, the OFA has decided to hold the scheduled meeting as a consultancy meeting and to discuss the issues raised by the clubs.

which lasts till March 18, is been termed as the celebration of the region’s women’s sports

MUSCAT: With the Sultanate’s teams and athletes gearing up for the challenge and the teams from other four participating nations starting to arrive in Muscat, the stage is set for 2015 GCC Women’s Games.

The fourth edition of the Gulf women’s premier multi-sport event, which lasts till March 18, will see more than thousand athletes, technical and administrative officials as well as dignitaries from all GCC nations, with the exception of Saudi Arabia, arriving in the capital city for what is been termed as the celebration of the region’s women’s sports.

The Games will be officially inaugurated by Dr. Madiha bint Ahmed Al Shaibani, the Minister of Education, at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex at 7.30 p.m. on Sunday.

Games Organising Committee Chairman Rashad bin Ahmed Al Hiani revealed their readiness to host the Games.

“All preparations have been completed, everything is in place and we are ready host the GCC Women’s Games,” Rashad Al Hiani, who is also the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Sports Affairs, said.

Oman Women’s Sports Committee Director Saada Salim Al Ismaili had earlier said they are aiming to host a memorable Games.

“All of us have been working

READY FOR THE CHALLENGE: Oman basketball, left, and bowling teams pictured during their respective training camps.

hard. And we want to make the Games a grand success.”

“The GCC Women’s Games are a great opportunity for us to showcase our organisational abilities as well as the talent of our Omani sportswomen. And more importantly it is a great opportunity to bring all these women athletes together and also know more about each others cultures,” she added.

Oman’s prospects The fourth edition of the Games has two new sports added to the list and that has enhanced the hosts’ prospects of winning more medals. The new sports included in the 10-descipline list are tennis and handball.

Oman, who won overall third place in the third edition held in Bahrain in 2013, are expected to win maximum number of medals in tennis with the Sultanate’s star Fatma Al Nabhani leading the way both in the singles and doubles as well as the team events.

The others sports include athletics, bowling, basketball, taekwondo, volleyball, shooting, endurance horse racing and athletics for physically challenged.

All the competitions, with the exception of bowling, shooting and equestrian (endurance) events, will take place at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Bowling competitions will be held in Oman Bowling Centre in Al Khuwair, shooting at Ghala Shooting Range and equestrian events at Al Rahba Farm in Barka.

Teams ready Meanwhile, the officials informed that all Omani teams and athletes are gearing up for the Games after undergoing training camps both in the Sultanate and abroad.

The handball team, coached by Tunisian Hamdi Sunossi, are aiming for the top honours after undergoing rigorous training sessions.

The team have been training since January when they started with a camp in Sohar.

They have now moved to Muscat and have also played a few practice matches with the governorate and schools teams.

Coach Hamdi has also roped in a few new players and is confident of team doing well at the Games.

The basketball team, under Omani coach Abubacker Al Jahwari, underwent external train-

ing camps during which the team played a few friendly games against a Bahrain club team and back home they played practice matches against Sri Lankan School team.

They begin their campaign against Kuwait on March 8 when Bahrain are scheduled to play the UAE in the other game.

On March 9, Qatar take on the UAE and Kuwait meet Bahrain.

The following day, Oman play Bahrain and Qatar clash with Kuwait.

After a rest day, the competition resumes on March 12 with the UAE squaring off against Kuwait and Oman facing Qatar.

On March 13, Oman will play the UAE and Bahrain take on Qatar.

Oman shooting team have been practising at Ghala Shooting Range on a regular basis and are ready for the competitions which run from March 9 to 11.

The team, who underwent a training camp in Iran recently, are confident of doing well at the Games.

The Omani athletics team are expected to win many medals during the competitions which run till the final day of the Games.

Omani athletes with the special

needs are also expected to do well thanks to their performances at the various regional and international events in recent times.

According to team manager Ismail Al Kindi, the team have improved remarkably after participating in several tournaments in 2014. Their competitions, which will include discus throw, javelin throw and shot put, will run from March 10 to 12.

Making debut The bowling team, being coached

by Ismail Al Zadjali, underwent a 10-day camp during which the focus was on making overall improvements in aspects of the game.

The bowling competitions, which will include both individual and pairs events, will run from March 15 to 18.

The Sultanate’s equestrian team, meanwhile, will be making their debut at the Games.

The team and their horses, with the support from Royal Cavalry, have been shaping up well and are expected to do well in their competitions which will begin with mandatory medical checks of the horses at 9 a.m. on March 9.

FOOTBALL

OMAN WIN TOP HONOURS AT TENT PEGGING EVENT IN ABU DHABI Oman emerged the winners of the tent pegging competition organised as part of the Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan International Equestrian Festival in Abu Dhabi. At the two-day tent pegging competition, Oman took the top honours after winning a total of nine medals, including four gold, three silver and two bronze. Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan handed over the trophies in the presence of Mohammed bin Isa Al Fairuz, chairman of the International Tent Pegging Federation (ITPF), Sheikh Anis bin Mohammed Al Maamari, Vice-chairman of Executive Affairs at ITPF, and Dr. Juma bin Rashid Al Mashaikhi, General Secretary of the Oman Equestrial Federation. — Supplied photo

Blatter calls on Iran to allow women into stadiums ZURICH: Fifa President Sepp Blatter has asked Iran to end its ban on women watching football matches, describing the situation as intolerable.

“When I travelled to Iran in November 2013, I was not only confronted with huge popular enthusiasm from football but also a law forbidding women from attending football matches,” he wrote in Fifa’s weekly magazine.

“I raised the topic at my meeting with the President of Iran Hassan Rouhani, and came away with the impression that this intolerable situation could change over the medium term.

“However, nothing has happened. A collective “stadium ban” still applies to women in Iran, despite the existence of a thriving women’s football organisation.

“This cannot continue. Hence, my appeal to the Iranian authorities; open the nation’s football stadiums to women.”

During the Asian Cup in Australia this year, Iran’s support included thousands of women who were free to show up in Australia, without any dress restrictions.

Their female supporters also

become a big hit with local media, prompting the Iranian authorities to remind the players to be wary of posing for photographs that may be posted on social media.

Iran is bidding against the United Arab Emirates to host the 2019 Asian Cup and the ban on women is expected to damage their chances of being awarded the tournament.

Blatter also criticised the continental confederations for failing to elect any women onto the Fifa’s executive committee.

The committee includes three women, one with voting rights and two co-opted, but they are elected directly by the Fifa Congress following a change to the statutes in 2011.

“This was hard work because the members of Fifa’s executive committee are elected by the national associations in their (continental) Congresses and...there was never, never a proposal for a woman to be finally in Fifa,” Blatter said. “We had to take the decision, and I did it in 2011 at the end of the Congress, I said we must have at least one woman on the executive committee.” - Reuters

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Tendulkar and Dhoni contenders for greatest ODI cricketer award Australia’s former swashbuckling opener Adam Gilchrist, Pakistan pace legend Wasim Akram and West Indies great Viv Richards are the other three nominees

NEW DELHI: The iconic Sachin Tendulkar and Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni are among five leading contenders vying for the crown of the greatest ODI cricketer of all time.

Australia’s former swashbuckling opener Adam Gilchrist, Pakistan pace legend Wasim Akram and West Indies great Viv Richards are the other three nominees, as per an exercise conducted by an online cricket magazine ‘Cricket Monthly’.

The winner — determined by a jury of 50 players, commentators

and cricket writers from around the world — will be announced next week.

The jury’s choice of the five greatest comprise two gamechanging wicketkeeper-batsmen, a magician fast bowler, and two batting greats.

In terms of longevity and batting stats Tendulkar has no equal.

Arguably the greatest batsman in contemporary cricket, Tendulkar rewrote many records during a glorious career spanning 23 years. He amassed a mammoth 18,426 runs in 463 one-

LEADING CONTENDERS: Sachin Tendulkar, left, and MS Dhoni.

dayers at an average of 44.83.

The diminutive right-hander has an astonishing 49 hundreds in the format, including a double hundred — the first in this form of the game.

Tendulkar also has a mammoth tally of 96 ODI 50s to his credit.

Dhoni — the only current player in the top five — has emerged as one of the greatest finishers in One-day Internationals.

His power-packed, inventive strokes powered India to triumph from the jaws of defeat, not once but many a times.

He played a key role in his team’s triumph in the title clash of the 2011 World Cup. Gilchrist’s ODI career spanned over 12 years — 1996 to 2008 — during which he set the stage ablaze with his explosive strokeplay that won Australia count-

SIX-A-SIDE TOURNEY

CRICKET

Royal Navy of Oman clinch hockey title

MUSCAT: The Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) defeated Bausher Club via shootout to emerge the winners of a Six-a-Side Hockey Tournament organised by Oman Club here recently.

The tournament, organised by

less matches, including the 2007 World Cup final against Sri Lanka.

Through the late ‘70s and ‘80s, Richards dominated the one-day arena like no other cricketer, and helped his side to two World Cup victories in 1975 and 1979.

During a career that spanned nearly two decades, Akram, often called the ‘Sultan of Swing’, could do anything with the ball.

He belonged to the rarest of rare category, somebody who could bowl six different deliveries in an over. He finished with 502 wickets — still comfortably the most for a fast bowler in ODI. He was Man of the Match in Pakistan’s title triumph in 1992 final.

The jury includes legendary cricketers Ian Chappell, Clive Lloyd, Martin Crowe, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith; veteran commentators Tony Cozier, Mark Nicholas, Mike Haysman and Sanjay Manjrekar; and respected writers Gideon Haigh, Mike Coward, Suresh Menon and Mike Selvey. — PTI

Oman Club in a bid to revive flagging interest in hockey, attracted 14 teams, including Dubai Hockey Club from the UAE. In the semifinals, Bausher Club defeated Seeb Club while RNO prevailed over UTSC. Seeb Club

defeated UTSC for the thrid place.

The other teams who took part in the tournament are Nujoom Seeb, Pioneers, Ahli-Sidab, Muscat Foxes, Friends XI, Team Coorg A, Team Coorg B, Muscat Club and UTSC.

Oman Hockey Association consultant SAS Naqvi inaugurated the two-day tournament.

Khamis Said Al Salimi, ViceChairman of Oman Club, presided over the final and handed over the trophies. Basim Khatir was de-

clared the best player of the tournament and Mahmud Al Hassani was adjudged the best goalkeeper.

Khalid Al Battashi of Bousher Club emerged the top scorer of the tournament. The tournament was supported by Procari Sweat.

Pietersen shows county interest LONDON: Exiled England batsman Kevin Pietersen on Friday revealed he has received offers from several prospective English county employers.

New England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves hinted last weekend there is still a possibility of a return to international cricket for Pietersen, who was axed from the national team last year, as long as he first commits to playing county cricket again.

Leicestershire Chief Executive Wasim Khan told Cricinfo he had been in touch with Pietersen’s agent about the possibility of a deal with the 34-year-old, between his existing commitments at the Indian and Caribbean premier leagues.

Wasim told Cricinfo: “I approached his agent about his T20 availability. “But he said it was unlikely he would play any T20 (in England) due to his full CPL commitments.” - AFP

AL NASR AND DHOFAR WIN, AL AROUBA HELD Salalah giants Al Nasr and Dhofar recorded hard-fought victories while leaders Al Arouba were forced to share the spoils in week 17 action of the Omantel Professional League on Friday. In a match played at the Seeb Sports Stadium, Al Nasr edged Al Shabab 2-1 to move to second place with 29 points same as Sur who are now in third place but played one game less. At the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Dhofar blanked Fanja 2-0 and they are now in fourth place with 28 points. At Buraimi Sports Complex, Al Arouba were held to a goalless draw by Al Nahda. Al Arouba are still on top with 33 points. — JUN ESTRADA/Times of Oman

SAT URDAY, MARCH 7, 2015

TODAY’S MATCHES

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POOL B: SOUTH AFRICA V PAKISTAN (5:00AM OMAN TIME) POOL B: ZIMBABWE V IRELAND (7:30AM OMAN TIME)

Four out of four S TA N D I N G S POOL A

Set a modest 183 to win by the West Indies in the Pool B match, the Indians

Teams New Zealand Sri Lanka Australia Bangladesh England Afghanistan Scotland

M 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

W 4 3 2 2 1 1 0

L 0 1 1 1 3 3 4

T 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

N/R 0 0 1 1 0 0 0

Pts 8 6 5 5 2 2 0

Net RR +3.589 +0.128 +1.804 +0.182 -1.201 -1.953 -1.423

4 4 4 5 3 4 4

4 3 2 2 2 1 0

0 1 2 3 1 3 4

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

8 6 4 4 4 2 0

+2.246 +1.950 -0.385 -0.511 -1.137 -0.723 -1.691

M.S. DHONI

45* runs from 56 balls 3 fours, 1 six

POOL B

made hard work of the run chase before captain Mahendra Singh Doni steered

India South Africa Pakistan West Indies Ireland Zimbabwe UAE

them home and also into the quarterfinals

PERTH: Defending champions India survived a scare to beat the West Indies by four wickets at Perth’s WACA Ground on Friday to remain unbeaten in the World Cup and so secure a place in the quarter-finals.

Set a modest 183 to win by the West Indies in the Pool B match, the Indians made hard work of the run chase before captain Mahendra Singh Doni steered them home. Dhoni’s calm 45 not out enabled India to make it four wins from four after they looked in real trouble at 134 for six.

The skipper and Ravichandran Ashwin (16 not out) put on an unbeaten 51 for the seventh wicket, as the unlikely West Indian challenge finally wilted.

Victory kept India on target to claim top spot in the pool, while the West Indies’ last eight hopes are no longer entirely in their own hands after two wins from five matches.

“It was a difficult wicket, with movement and bounce early on.

There was a bit of swing for their fast bowlers but I don’t think it misbehaved as much as it did in the first 10 overs of the first innings,” said Dhoni.

“Our bowlers stuck to their line and lengths. A lot of batsmen got out to short-pitched balls.”

West Indies skipper Jason Holder said he had no regrets about batting first.

“I always thought the wicket was going to be a good one. The batsmen did not stick around long enough. We didn’t apply ourselves well enough and never caught up in the game,” he said.

On a lively pitch that offered

pace, bounce and movement, the Indians were clearly unsettled by a short-pitched barrage from the West Indies, which wound back the clock to their halcyon days at a venue their great pace attacks relished.

Jerome Taylor (two for 33) sparked the West Indies early on, claiming the wickets of opener Shikhar Dhawan (nine) and Rohit Sharma (seven), while Andre Russell also claimed two for 43.

However, their cause wasn’t helped by conceding 19 wides, nine from Russell’s bowling. Such a competitive match had seemed highly improbable when the West Indies slumped to 85 for seven.

However, a fighting half-century from Holder, batting at number nine, and some shoddy Indian fielding, helped revive the West Indian cause.

Holder’s highest score in oneday internationals was just 22 until the West Indies’ previous match against South Africa, but made it consecutive half-centuries with some clean hitting.

He was the last man to fall, caught at long on by Virat Kohli for 57 from the bowling of Ravi Jadeja (2-27), having faced 64 balls and hit four fours and three sixes.

Holder’s recovery mission was assisted by India also dropping four catches.

Opener Chris Gayle’s innings of 21 at the top of the order set the tone for a number of the West Indian batsmen, who were seemingly content to gift their opponents cheap dismissals as India’s title defence continued to gather momentum.

Gayle appeared to hold the key to his side posting a big total, and there were danger signs when he struggled to get bat on ball early, playing and missing repeatedly against opening bowlers Umesh

It was a difficult wicket, with movement and bounce early on. There was a bit of swing for their fast bowlers but I don’t think it misbehaved as much as it did in the first 10 overs of the first innings MS Dhoni India captain

Yadav (two for 42) and Mohammed Shami (three for 35).

Despite losing partner Dwayne Smith for just six, continuing his lean tournament, Gayle reverted to type when he tried to hit his way out of trouble. He played a couple of big shots, but was also dropped on the boundary twice in quick succession.

Another near chance ended with the run out of non-striker Marlon Samuels (two), after the big left-hander didn’t respond to his partner’s call for a single.

Gayle’s own luck ran out when he lofted another shot high to the boundary, where Mohit Sharma completed the catch from the bowling of the returning Shami.

His departure left the West Indies reeling at 35 for three and Denesh Ramdin was bowled by Yadav from the very next ball. - AFP

WEST INDIES D. Smith c Dhoni b Shami 6 C. Gayle c Sharma b Shami 21 M. Samuels run out (M Sharma/Kohli) 2 J. Carter c Shami b Ashwin 21 D. Ramdin b Yadav 0 L. Simmons c Yadav b Sharma 9 D. Sammy c Dhoni b Shami 26 A. Russell c Kohli b Jadeja 8 J. Holder c Kohli b Jadeja 57 J. Taylor c and b Yadav 11 K. Roach not out 0 Extras: (lb-5, w-16) 21 Total (all out, 44.2 overs) 182 Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Smith), 2-15 (Samuels),

MAN OF THE MATCH: Mohammed Shami celebrates after claiming one of three wickets he scalped. – AFP

3-35 (Gayle), 4-35 (Ramdin), 5-67 (Simmons), 6-71 (Carter), 7-85 (Russell), 8-124 (Sammy), 9-175 (Taylor), 10-182 (Holder) Bowling: Shami 8-2-35-3 (5w); Yadav 101-42-2 (5w); Ashwin 9-0-38-1 (1w); Sharma 9-2-35-1 (4w); Jadeja 8.2-0-27-2 (1w) INDIA R. Sharma c Ramdin b Taylor 7 S. Dhawan c Sammy b Taylor 9 V. Kohli c Samuels b Russell 33 A. Rahane c Ramdin b Roach 14 S. Raina c Ramdin b Smith 22 M.S. Dhoni not out 45 R. Jadeja c Samuels b Russell 13 R. Ashwin not out 16

Extras (b-1, lb-3, w-19, nb-3) 26 Total (six wickets, 39.1 overs) 185 Did not bat: M. Sharma, M. Shami, U. Yadav Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Dhawan), 2-20 (Sharma), 3-63 (Kohli), 4-78 (Rahane), 5-107 (Raina), 6-134 (Jadeja) Bowling: Taylor 8-0-33-2 (1w), Holder 7-029-0 (1w), Roach 8-1-44-1 (2nb,5w), Russell 8-0-43-2 (1nb,9w), Smith 5-0-22-1 (3w), Samuels 3.1-0-10-0 Result: India won by four wickets Man of the match: Mohammed Shami Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena, Nigel Llong TV umpire: Billy Bowden (NZL) Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

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S ATUR DAY, M A RCH 7, 2 015

C O M M E N TA RY

Australia fear nothing, even defeat, says Finch After losing to New Zealand and taking just a point from their washed out match against Bangladesh, Australia probably need to beat Sri Lanka to ensure they finish in the top two in the pool and avoid India or South Africa

SYDNEY: Australia are not sweating on Sunday’s crunch Pool A match against Sri Lanka, even if defeat at the Sydney Cricket Ground would make their path to the final more difficult, opener Aaron Finch said on Friday.

After losing to New Zealand and taking just a point from their washed out match against Bangladesh, Australia probably need to beat Sri Lanka to ensure they finish in the top two in the pool and avoid India or South Africa in the last eight. “I don’t think it matters who you play, to win the World Cup you have to beat the best teams in the world,” Finch told reporters.

“This is a big game, it’s important. You don’t want to finish in the bottom two in your group, it does make it a little bit harder in your path to the final, if you go that far.

“But, in general, we’ve been playing some really good cricket lately so it’s not something we’re N O T S AT I S F I E D

BRAVE FACE: Aaron Finch thinks that to win World Cup you have to beat the best teams in the world.

afraid of. We’re not afraid of losing, we think that if we stick to the basics, we can get the job done.”

Australia have such depth in their squad that they were able to drop stalwart all-rounder Shane Watson for their record 275-run victory over Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Although Finch scored a century against England in Australia’s World Cup opener, he followed that with innings of 14 against New Zealand and four against the

Afghans in Perth. He admitted to being nervous before every match but was not at all concerned about his form.

“I think I’m playing well, I guess a poor decision in Auckland, a halfdecent ball and a nothing kind of shot in Perth,” he said.

“So there’s a few things to work on, but I still think I’m hitting the ball well, I’m batting well in the nets, I’m training as well as I can.

“So I think it’s only a matter of

time before I get runs again, hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.”

The 28-year-old showed his value to the team as a fielder on Wednesday after replacing Watson at first slip and taking a stunning catch to dismiss Afghanistan’s Nawroz Mangal off the bowling of Mitchell Johnson.

“I think I made it look better than it was,” he laughed. “It was a nice height for a diving catch and a nice pace.” - Reuters

South Africa and Australia are keen to avoid each other

B

angladesh’s spirited chase of Scotland’s 318 means that the Scots have yet to register a win in three World Cup appearances in different parts of the world. Despite the fervent pleas and exhortations of the English commentators covering the game, the Scots were unable to produce that something extra that would have stopped Bangladesh and not just help register their first win in the World Cup but also make it easier for England to qualify for the quarterfinals.

As the tournament progresses, there are battles within battles. There is the obvious one of getting into the knockouts, and then there is the battle to prove that the associate members deserve to play in the World Cup. In that respect, a win over a Test playing nation is considered a huge blow for the associates. Ireland delivered one such by overhauling West Indies’ 300 plus total, and if Scotland had done that then the flag bearers of the associates would have had another big reason to wave their flags vigorously. Like any full member team in the competition, the associates will have the odd bad game like UAE had against India and Afghanistan against Australia, but the commitment and determination that they have shown is terrific to see.

As the qualification battle hots up, it is not simply about getting there but also finishing in a position where they do not have to play a strong team. So South Africa and Australia are keen to avoid each other till the final. South Africa’s game against Pakistan will be watched carefully, as it

will give an indication as to which team will be the fourth team from group ‘B’ to get into the knockouts.

Pakistan’s batting has been its main concern for it has been inconsistent, and it will be tested against the South African new ball attack. The South Africans, despite losing to India, still harbour hopes of finishing on top of the group and are waiting for India to slip somewhere.

In the other group too, Australia, having had a washout against Bangladesh and so sharing points with them, know they need to win all their games so as to avoid South Africa in the quarterfinals. They now play Sri Lanka who have played some sublime cricket. Kumar Sangakkara is finally getting the recognition as one of the greats of the game, and even though the subcontinent always knew that, it is good to see the blinkers being lifted off Australian eyes.

Lanka will depend on him once again, though another terrific player, Tillakaratne Dilshan, is also in tremendous form, and the talented Thirimanne got a delightful hundred in the big chase against England. As with other teams, it’s the bowling that is the main worry for the Lankans.

These matches should be terrific watching, for there will not only be hard, competitive and top class cricket, but performances that will be great memories of this World Cup. - PMG WRITING THE SCRIPT

C A P TA I N ’ S V I E W

Captain Dhoni demands more from Jadeja

Misbah backs bowlers to slam brakes on rampaging South African batsmen

Pollock sees S. Africa v Australia final

PERTH: Holders India marched into the quarterfinals of the World Cup with their fourth consecutive win but all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s form with the bat has left captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni a worried man.

Left-arm spinner Jadeja walked into bat at number seven on Friday with India tottering at 1075 but his innings ended with a miscued hook shot off Russell after a 27-run stand with Dhoni.

Dhoni, who took India home with an unbeaten 45, was not amused and told Jadeja it is time to step up. “He needs to improve and needs to step up really. We have a lot of faith in him but at the end of the day you can’t really play with hope,” he said.

“What you want is actual performance on the field. He has that capability, he is definitely talented. He needs to keep believing in himself.”

India also have Akshar Patel in their squad, who bowls leftarm spin and bats in the lower order. Jadeja has been preferred over him because of his batting.

The fast bowlers have bowled with good pace and have managed to peg back the batsmen with their short deliveries. “What the bowlers are doing really well right now is they are hunting in packs,” Dhoni added. - Reuters

AUCKLAND: Pakistan captain Misbah Ul-Haq insists his bowlers can slam the brakes on South Africa’s batting superstars in Saturday’s World Cup clash in Auckland with AB de Villiers their prime target. South Africa have blasted totals of 400-plus in their last two Pool B matches with De Villiers notching one-day international cricket’s fastest 150 during his 66ball 162 against the West Indies.

If his brash approach was not enough, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis notched magnificent hundreds against Ireland while Rilee Rossouw provided impetus in the final overs. David Miller and JeanPaul Duminy also hit hundreds in the win over Zimbabwe.

“I think our bowling is doing really well and we are confident that we have got the bowlers who can get wickets against any team,” Misbah said on Friday.

“We played South Africa in 2013 and 2014 and we know how these batsmen play and we are confident that we have the bowling to put them under pressure.”

Pakistan defeated the Proteas 2-1 in South Africa in November 2013, but only leg-spinner Shahid Afridi from that attack is at the World Cup. Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez were suspended due to illegal bowling actions before the tournament.

AUCKLAND: Former South African great Shaun Pollock Friday predicted the Proteas would win a first World Cup by beating Australia in the final, helping to make-up for his own personal setbacks against the four-time champions.

“If you want to write a perfect script for South Africa then it will be to beat New Zealand in the semifinals in Auckland and then go on to play the final against Australia and win at Melbourne,” Pollock told reporters.

South Africa have never gone beyond the semifinals of the World Cup since their readmission to international cricket in 1991.

Pollock was part of the squad in 1996 when South Africa lost to the West Indies in the quarterfinals in Karachi before he took five wickets in the tied semifinal against Australia at Birmingham in 1999. Eventual winners Australia qualified for the final on account of winning the group match against South Africa.

Pollock was then captain in 2003 when South Africa crashed out in the first round.

South Africa were also losing semifinalists in 2007 and went out in the quarterfinals in 2011.

“For me, top four teams will be Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and India,” said Pollock. - AFP

AB is best batsman in the world in limited overs cricket, but we can contain him Misbah Ul-Haq Pakistan captain

Ajmal was cleared last month but was not named in the squad while Hafeez injured his ankle.

Also missing from that 2013 team is left-arm seamer Junaid Khan who had to withdraw with a leg injury. Misbah admitted South Africa captain de Villiers is hard to stop and that they need to dismiss him early. “AB is the best batsman in the world in limited overs cricket,” said Misbah of his counterpart.

“Obviously we have good bowlers who can put him under pressure but the only way to stop him is to get his wicket. If he stays there it’s not easy to stop him.”

Paceman Mohammad Irfan is

fit for the Eden Park match after injuring a hip muscle in Wednesday’s 129-run win over the UAE in Napier but batsman Haris Sohail has a swollen heel. “Irfan is fit. He bowled three or four overs in the nets and is feeling OK, there are no issues with him,” said Misbah of the giant fast bowler. “Haris has a swelling on his heel — let’s see how he responds to treatment.”

If Sohail is ruled out, then Sarfraz Ahmed will fill in. “Everybody is determined. We all know that it’s an important game for us if we want to progress in this World Cup,” said Misbah of his team who have two wins in four matches.

South Africa already have one foot in the quarterfinals after three wins in four matches. There is a forecast for showers in Auckland on Saturday and should the game not be completed, the sides will be awarded a point each.

“You can’t control the weather so you need to be prepared and hope that it’s a full game and go into it with positive thoughts that you can win,” said Misbah.

Pakistan have never won a World Cup match against South Africa, losing in 1992, although they still captured the title. They also lost in the 1996 and 1999 World Cups. - AFP

SAT URDAY, MARCH 7, 2015

A15

READY FOR ANOTHER WIN

Porterfield promises no Irish ‘hangover’ against Zimbabwe

TRAINING SESSION: Zimbabwe coach Dav Whatmore, fourth left, speaks to team members during a training session at the Bellerive Oval ground ahead of their match against Ireland. – AFP

Plenty to play for as Ireland face Zimbabwe The Irish are just ahead of Zimbabwe in the standings with four points from three matches compared to the Africans’ two from four

DIFFERENT GAME: Ireland cricketer John Mooney, second left, followed by Gary Wilson, left, William Porterfield, second right, and George Dockrell, right, runs with a rugby ball during training. – AFP

FA C T B O X

HOBART: Ireland and Zimbabwe face each other in a Pool B clash at Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Saturday in a match that could have a key bearing on both sides’ chances of reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup. The Irish are just ahead of Zimbabwe in the standings with four points from three matches compared to the Africans’ two from four.

Zimbabwe have two handicaps going into the match against Ireland, arguably the most impressive of all the four non-Test or Associate sides at this World Cup. They will be without captain Elton Chigumbura after the 28-year-old all-rounder suffered a thigh injury when he tripped and fell while chasing a ball in Sunday’s 20-run loss to Pakistan at the Gabba in Brisbane.

The nature of that defeat was also something of a body-blow to Zimbabwe, whose only win at the tournament so far was a hardfought success over the part-timers from the UAE. Zimbabwe held Pakistan to a modest 235 for seven but, despite several batsmen getting starts, they came up short in their chase.

“We needed a partnership but unfortunately 50 and 30-run part-

ZIMBABWE Captain: Elton Chigumbura Coach: Dav Whatmore Squad: Chamu Chibhahba, Sikander Raza, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine, Solomon Mire, Elton Chigumbura, Tawanda Mupariwa, Tinashe Panyangara, Tendai Chatara, Regis Chakabva, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Prosper Utseya Results so far at 2015 World Cup: Lost to South Africa by 62 runs, Beat UAE by four wickets, Lost to West Indies by 73 runs (D/L method), Lost to Pakistan by 20 runs Remaining fixtures: March 14 v India, Auckland Best performers: Williams (193 runs), Taylor (174 runs); Chatara (seven wickets) IRELAND Captain: William Porterfield

nerships won’t get you over the line,” said Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor.

“It is extremely difficult to comprehend this loss. We were cruising nicely but again we found ways to get out at crucial periods -- some soft dismissals as well.

“That’s been a major downfall for us in the last four games, crucial periods when batters

Coach: Phil Simmons Squad: William Porterfield, Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce, Niall O’Brien, Andrew Balbirnie, Gary Wilson, Kevin O’Brien, John Mooney, George Dockrell, Max Sorensen, Andrew McBrine, Peter Chase, Alex Cusack, Stuart Thompson, Craig Young Results so far at 2015 World Cup: Beat West Indies by four wickets, Beat UAE by two wickets, Lost to South Africa by 201 runs Remaining fixtures: March 10 v India, Hamilton, March 15 v Pakistan, Adelaide Best performers: Joyce (121 runs), Niall O’Brien (110 runs) Stirling (104 runs); Dockrell, Kevin O’Brien (four wickets) Head-to-head Played: 5 (Zimbabwe won three, Ireland won one; no result - one) Last match: September 30, 2010: Ireland won by 20 runs at Harare

have needed to get through those initial periods, then finding ways to get out. “It’s not helping the team’s cause.”

However, Taylor insisted Zimbabwe were not that far away their best form.

“We feel we are 80 percent there. We think if we can close that gap a little bit more, I think we are heading in the right

direction for a good win against Ireland.”

The Irish too will come into this match on the back of a defeat, a 201-run thrashing by South Africa where the Proteas pair of Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis both scored hundreds in a massive total of 411 for four.

It was Ireland’s first loss in Pool B after wins over the West Indies and the UAE. But given South Africa made 408 for five against the West Indies in their preceding match, this defeat may be easier for Ireland to brush aside as ‘one of those things’ than Zimbabwe’s loss to Pakistan will be for the Africans.

“You’ve got to put it behind you pretty quickly,” said Ireland captain William Porterfield. “The tournament’s back-end fixtures come pretty quickly.

“Every game is a two-pointer for us and Hobart is no different.

Two points are up for grabs and they are a pretty big two points for us.”

Whatever the outcome of Saturday’s match, it will do well to match the excitement of Ireland and Zimbabwe’s only previous World Cup encounter when the teams played out a thrilling tie at Sabina Park, Kingston, during the 2007 edition in the Caribbean. - AFP

HOBART: Ireland captain William Porterfield has insisted there will be no lingering mental scars from their heavy defeat by South Africa when they face Zimbabwe in their next World Cup match on Saturday.

The Irish head into this weekend’s Pool B encounter in Hobart on the back of a 201-run-thrashing

by South Africa, where Hashim Amla (159) and Faf du Plessis (109) were the main contributors to a huge South African total of 411 for four.

Nevertheless, that match was still only Ireland’s first defeat of the pool stage followings wins over both the West Indies and the United Arab Emirates.

They now have four points from three games, compared to Zimbabwe’s two from four heading into this weekend’s match at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval.

“The mood is very good,” Porterfield said on Friday.

“That’s the biggest thing for myself, that things haven’t changed.

“You can see if moods tend to drop or not, and that hasn’t been the case.

“After that (South Africa) game I thought we did that pretty quickly and the lads’ focus was turned

straight on to this game, which is great.”

Ireland have now beaten at least one Test nation in three successive World Cups and their opening four-wicket win over the West Indies at this edition was no shock upset.

Porterfield said his side now expected to win matches, rather than hoped to be competitive.

“I think that’s how we approach our every day mindset and you’re only going to get that mindset from having prepared the right way and know that you’re on top of your own game and you’re feeling 100 percent confident and back everything that you’ve done,” he explained.

Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor said winning on Saturday was “non-negotiable” for the Africans, but Porterfield said the stakes weren’t as high for Ireland.

“We’re halfway through our group campaign. I don’t think it’s crunch time for ourselves.

“We’re two from three. We’re going out there tomorrow to make it three from four.

“If you start looking too far ahead in games and things like that and the competition, then you’re taking your eye off the ball.” - AFP

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‘PREDICTABLY UNPREDICTABLE’

Pakistan face South Africa test FA C T B O X

Standing between Pakistan and a place in the next round are South Africa and then a dangerous Ireland side but coach Waqar Younis believes his team was peaking at the right time

AUCKLAND: Pakistan hope their resurgence in the World Cup continues against South Africa at Eden Park on Saturday with the Proteas’ coach warning of the Asians’ “predictable unpredictability”. The 1992 champions need a victory to keep their hopes alive for a quarterfinal place after losing their first two games before winning the next two.

Standing between Pakistan and a place in the next round are South Africa and then a dangerous Ireland side but coach Waqar Younis believes his team was peaking at the right time.

“We have picked up momentum in the last two games,” said Waqar, after his side beat the United Arab Emirates by 129 runs in Napier.

Waqar admitted his team needs to lift its game more against a big team like South Africa who have won three of their four matches, scoring 400-plus totals in the last two. “We need to win against a big team like South Africa to tell the world that we belong at the World Cup and we have done it before,” said Waqar of Pakistan’s 2-1 one-

THINKING STRATEGIES: Pakistan cricket coach Waqar Yuonis, right, and Mushtaq Ahmed, left, attend a team training session ahead of their 2015 Cricket World Cup match against South Africa. – AFP

day series win in South Africa late in 2013. But Pakistan have never beaten South Africa in a World Cup match, losing to their African rivals in 1992, 1996 and 1999.

Pakistan will also hope their spearhead Mohammad Irfan regains full fitness after injuring a hip muscle in the match against UAE. Although Waqar was confident the fast bowler would be fit, the seven foot Irfan will be assessed during Friday’s practice session.

Opener Nasir Jamshed has scores of nought, one and four in the last three matches but Pakistan’s reluctance to try Sarfraz Ahmed at top of the order may

MISBAH ASKS

save Jamshed. Pakistan will seek a huge improvement in their batting against a fierce South African attack which includes Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Kyle Abbott.

The pace attack is backed by wicket-taking leg-spinner Imran Tahir who has nine wickets in four matches. South Africa, who can make the quarter-finals with a win, will have JP Duminy fit again after missing the last two games due to a side strain. He is likely to replace Farhan Behardien.

“A guy like JP will definitely get back in the mix. He has been one of our best players over a period of time,” coach Russell Domingo

said, who was cautious over the return of seamer Vernon Philander.

“We need to make sure Vernon is 100 percent ready to go because we need to be careful with a hamstring strain with the important stage of the competition still to come.” Domingo said South Africa can challenge Pakistan with AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis all scoring hundreds in the last two games.

De Villiers was in astounding touch during his 66-ball 162 against the West Indies on February 27 — the fastest 150 in One-day Internationals.

“They’ve got some great bowl-

ers. The tall man Irfan has been bowling really well at the moment and I think Wahab Riaz has bowled the quickest ball in the competition thus far — 154,” said Domingo.

“They are definitely a bowling attack that needs to be respected and we need to take care against them,” said Domingo, who believes chasing a target is Pakistan’s weakness.

“Pakistan’s record of chasing scores — I don’t think they have chased over 260 in the past six years — is a defining factor in terms of winning the game,” Domingo said.

“Pakistan’s unpredictability is

SOUTH AFRICA Captain: AB de Villiers Coach: Russell Domingo Squad: De Villiers, Hashim Amla, Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn Results so far at 2015 World Cup: Beat Zimbabwe by 62 runs Lost to India by 130 runs Beat West Indies by 257 runs Beat Ireland by 201 runs Remaining fixtures: March 12 v United Arab Emirates, Wellington Best performers: Amla (257 runs), Du Plessis (250 runs), De Villiers (241 runs), Miller (226 runs); Tahir, Morkel (nine wickets each) PAKISTAN Captain: Misbah ul-Haq Coach: Waqar Younis Squad: Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, Haris Sohail, Misbah-ul-Haq, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Younus Khan, Safraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah, Ehsan Adil Results so far at 2015 World Cup Lost to India by 76 runs Lost to West Indies by 150 runs Beat Zimbabwe by 20 runs Beat UAE by 129 runs Remaining fixtures: March 15 v Ireland, Adelaide Best performers: ul-Haq (221 runs), Shehzad (141 runs); Wahab, Sohail Khan (eight wickets each) Head-to-head Played: 71, South Africa won 47, Pakistan won 23; no result - one Last match: Nov. 30, 2013 - South Africa won by four wickets at Pretoria

not a challenge because they are predictably unpredictable, if that makes sense. Their strength lies in the predictability of their unpredictability,” Domingo said. - AFP

HIGH HOPE

Out of the box? Should Steyn confident World Cup luck will turn we open with Irfan?

AUCKLAND: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq hit back at criticism from ex-players who advised him to think out of the box, asking should hapless tailender Mohammad Irfan be sent in as a World Cup opener?

Pakistan’s top order has flopped in the last four games with opening stands of 11, 0, 1 and 10 which put enormous pressure on the middle-order.

Pakistan tried veteran Younis Khan as opener in the first match against India after regular starter Mohammad Hafeez withdrew from the tournament following a calf injury just a week before the start of the World Cup. But that didn’t work.

Recalled opener Nasir Jam-

shed, who replaced Hafeez in the squad, fell for nought, one and four in his three innings, leaving Pakistan to consider using wicket-keeper/batsman Sarfraz Ahmed as opener in Saturday’s crucial match against South Africa in Auckland.

When asked what he thinks of former captains, Javed Miandad and Ramiz Raja’s advice of thinking out of the box, Misbah quipped: “Out of the box? Should we open with Irfan?”

Irfan, the 7-foot fast bowler, is a ‘bunny’ with the bat, scoring just 43 runs in the 44 one-day matches he has played.

Misbah said that Sarfraz Ahmed is being considered as an opener. — AFP

AUCKLAND: South African spearhead Dale Steyn said Friday he believed a good personal return in a World Cup match was just around the corner.

The Proteas will head into Saturday’s pool clash against Pakistan in Auckland with Steyn, widely regarded as the world’s best fast bowler, having taken just five wickets in four matches at the tournament.

Steyn, 31, has been overshadowed by Morne Morkel (nine wickets), leg-spinner Imran Tahir (nine) and Kyle Abbott (six in two matches) in South Africa’s three wins in four Pool B games.

South Africa will, however, still look to Steyn to exploit Pakistan’s top-order frailties at Eden Park.

And Steyn said he was not too far off his best form. “I don’t think I’ve bowled too badly. I think against

Dale Steyn

Zimbabwe I actually wanted to bowl quite quick and run in and try to knock them over,” said Steyn of a match in which he had figures of one for 64 in nine overs.

“I just ignored that (basic) instinct, and just wanted to run in and blast them where it didn’t work. After that I think I got better and better. I haven’t taken the wickets that I want to take, but that’s the World Cup. In a World

Cup you don’t have anywhere to hide. There are only ten wickets to take, and when Imran takes five or Abbott takes four, there is not much for the other bowlers to take.

“So you have to do what you have to do in order for your team to win. I’m happy with that. I feel if we make our way all the way to the final, I’m due to have a good game somewhere in there.”

‘Phenomenal’ De Villiers Asked how will he handle bowling to South Africa captain and dynamic batsman AB de Villiers, Steyn jokingly said: “I’d trip him on his way out of the hotel tomorrow morning and hope that he breaks his ankle. “I don’t know,” he added with a laugh.

“He’s a phenomenal player and seeing the ball like no other player has seen a cricket ball before, and he’s playing shots that I don’t think most

people have seen before.

“Hopefully, he comes out and executes those same skills tomorrow and going forward in this competition. It’s like watching ‘The Matrix’ movie, really.”

De Villiers smashed the fastest 150 in one-day international cricket during his 66-ball 162 against the West Indies at Sydney last week. Steyn said the shorter boundaries at Eden Park would mean little to his skipper.

“I really don’t think it (the dimensions) matters really. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big ground or small ground, you’ll still find a way.

That is the beautiful thing about really good players. Great fast bowlers don’t have to worry about whether the track is flat or green.

They’ll find a way to get wickets.

And great batsmen will find a way to score runs.” — AFP

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MARKE

SAP PLANS TO REDUCE MORE THAN 2,000 JOBS SAP plans to cut about 2,200 positions, adding to a similar reduction last year as Europe’s biggest software company pivots its business toward less profitable applications delivered over the Internet to keep up with nimbler rivals. >B3

SHARE SALES

Dubai firm Abraaj to sell control of K-Electric by 2016 DUBAI: Abraaj Group, the Dubaibased private equity majority owner of Pakistan’s K-Electric, plans to exit Karachi’s power distributor by late 2016.

Abraaj plans to reduce its 66 per cent stake, held with two other investors, through share sales to 26 per cent in a phased manner and then sell the remainder with management control, said Tabish Gauhar, K-Electric’s chairman and country representative for Abraaj.

The company was sold to private investors a decade ago and earned its first profit in 2012.

“We want to complete the success story,” Gauhar said in an interview in Karachi on Thursday.

“We are answerable to our foreign investors that we can take money out of Pakistan with a decent rate of return.” Abraaj invested $360 million to buy a stake in the company in 2008.

The company is in talks with about five potential investors in East Asia and the Middle East over the sale of management control, he said. The company after taking over has dealt with workers taking

stock has climbed 26 per cent over the past year, matching the performance of the benchmark KSE100 Index. The company sold 775 million shares last month through the Karachi Stock Exchange, almost doubling the free float. K- Electric’s net income more than tripled to Rs10.1 billion in the three months ended on December 31 from a year earlier.

Seventh biggest The company is the seventh biggest by market value among the 100 companies in the benchmark index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It ranked 64th when the Abraaj Group took over in 2009.

CLOSE WATCH: The power distributor’s shares fell 0.3 per cent to Rs7.98 in Karachi at 10:36am local time, giving the company a market value of Rs220.4 billion ($2.2 billion). — Bloomberg file picture

illegal possession of office equipment and vehicles for decreasing workforce and electricity theft in the violence hit city.

“A new management will stand to benefit in the longer run given the city’s rising demand and the company being the only provider

of electricity,” said Abdul Azeem, head of research at Spectrum Securities in Karachi.

panies by September, Privatisation Commission Chairman Mohammad Zubair said last month.

In the meantime, K-Electric will participate in the sale of stateowned utilities in other Pakistani cities. The government plans to sell the first of nine distribution com-

The power distributor’s shares fell 0.3 per cent to Rs7.98 in Karachi at 10:36am local time, giving the company a market value of Rs220.4 billion ($2.2 billion). The

The utility plans to invest $2 billion in the next three to five years on building a plant in collaboration with Chinese companies that will produce 660 megawatts a day, improving the transmission and distribution network and taking a 25 per cent stake in Engro’s LNGbased power plant, Gauhar said.

The company will also convert two units of its Bin Qasim power plant to run on coal by 2017.

US banks pass stress test would suffer the most from trading losses, estimated at $23.6 billion. The heaviest damage was to consumer lending, with 39 per cent of projected losses from such activity as mortgages and credit cards.

Goldman Sachs’s small buffer over the required minimum would appear to leave the firm with less than $1 billion in excess capital to pay out to shareholders. In 2014, the bank returned $6.52 billion in dividends and share repurchases.

It’s the first time since the central bank started stress tests in 2009 that no firm fell below any of the main capital thresholds – Bloomberg file picture

NEW YORK: The Federal Reserve said all 31 big banks subjected to a stress test have sufficient capital to absorb losses during a sharp and prolonged economic downturn.

It’s the first time since the central bank started stress tests in 2009 that no firm fell below any of the main capital thresholds. Goldman Sachs Group surpassed the eight per cent minimum for total risk-based capital by 0.1 percentage point, potentially restricting its room to return capital to shareholders.

The annual tests, using hypothetical scenarios that are not forecasts, are the cornerstone of the Fed’s efforts to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis and to gauge the ability of banks to withstand economic turmoil.

The largest US-based banks “continue to build their capital levels and to strengthen their ability to lend to households and businesses during a period marked by severe recession and financial market volatility,” the Fed said in a statement.

The Fed uses the exams to prod lenders into building up capital buffers. Banks that don’t meet a second round of tests released next week may face restrictions in buying back stock and paying dividends.

This year’s results are being released as the Fed faces scrutiny from lawmakers critical of its supervision of the biggest banks.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen countered the criticism, saying this week the central bank works hard to avoid the trap of “regulatory capture,”

or the risk that bank examiners get too cozy with the firms they oversee.

Six largest Bank of America was the only bank among the six largest to improve in every capital measure from its performance in last year’s test. Wells Fargo surpassed every minimum by at least two percentage points. Morgan Stanley’s ratio in three capital measures fell in a severely adverse scenario to within one percentage point of the required minimum.

Loan-loss estimates for the 31 banks totaled $490 billion under a hypothetical severely adverse scenario, down from $501 billion for the 30 banks tested last year.

The losses include a $102.7 billion hit to trading. JPMorgan Chase

GAS FIELDS

BP plans $12b Egypt investment LONDON: British energy giant BP said on Friday it would invest $12 billion (11 billion euros) in gas fields in Egypt together with Russian-owned partner DEA, calling it a “vote of confidence” in the country.

“The WND (West Nile Delta) project investment is the largest foreign direct investment in Egypt,” BP’s chief executive Bob Dudley said in a statement after final agreements were signed.

“WND production is key to Egypt’s energy security,” he said, with BP announcing that all the gas would be fed into the national grid and would eventually double BP’s supply to the domestic market.

Hesham Mekawi, BP North Africa’s regional president, said the agreements marked “a critical milestone in the Egyptian oil and gas history”.

BP said that during the construction phase the project would employ thousands of people.

The aim is to develop five trillion cubic feet of gas resources and 55 million barrels of condensates, with production expected to begin in 2017.

BP’s chief executive Bob Dudley. — Bloomberg file picture

Investment climate “The project underlines BP’s commitment to the Egyptian market and is a vote of confidence in Egypt’s investment climate and economic potential,” the statement said.

Gas will be produced by two BP-operated offshore blocks — North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater — with a potential for future exploration.

BP holds a 65-per cent stake in the project, while DEA owns the remaining 35 per cent.

DEA was the oil and gas unit of

German power giant RWE, which was sold to a Russian-controlled investment fund, LetterOne, earlier this week.

LetterOne is based in Luxembourg, but controlled by Russia’s Alfa Group which belongs to billionaire entrepreneur Mikhail Fridman.

BP is already one of the largest foreign investors in Egypt, with investments totalling more than $25 billion over the past five decades. It has existing operations in the Gulf of Suez and the East Nile Delta. — AFP

Citigroup losses Citigroup lost the most among banks in an accounting line known as accumulated other comprehensive income, which measures losses that can erode equity, even if they aren’t immediately reflected in the firm’s net income.

The New York-based bank’s losses in that category were estimated to reach $20.5 billion, or about three quarters of the industry’s total, under the severely adverse economic scenario. Under the less severe scenario, the bank’s $29.3 billion in losses accounted for about one third of the total.

The Fed didn’t specify what part of Citigroup’s business fueled the loss estimate. Accounting rules require banks to record unrealised gains and losses from items such as “available-for-sale” security holdings and foreign-currency moves under that line item.

The adverse scenario assumes a weakening in global economic activity while domestic inflation spurs an increase in Treasury yields. Short-term rates would reach more than 2.5 per cent in 2015 and 5.25 per cent in 2017.

Banks also had to account for a mild, three-quarter US recession starting in the last quarter of 2014, during which time real gross domestic product falls half a per cent and unemployment rises above seven per cent, going on to reach eight per cent by the end of 2016.

Under the severely adverse conditions, stocks fall by 60 per cent by the fourth quarter of 2015 and housing prices drop by about 25 per cent. Unemployment peaks at 10 per cent, gross domestic product declines by 4.5 per cent and the price of oil rises to $110 per barrel.

Long-term Treasury yields fall to one per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014 and then rise slowly.

The first round of tests analyses whether companies have enough capital to withstand nine quarters of stressful economic conditions.

The second round, to be released March 11, assesses their ability to weather losses and still pay dividends, buy back stock or make acquisitions. — Bloomberg News

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Wind power The utility may set up a 100-megawatt wind power plant in the coastal area of Sindh to feed electricity to the national grid, Gauhar said. A decision is expected next month.

The company has an installed capacity of 2,341 megawatts a day, according to its website, and used to receive 650 megawatts from the national grid before an agreement with the government expired in January.

K-Electric hopes the government will renew its contract for five years, allowing the utility to send its surplus electricity to the national grid, Gauhar said. The utility may also buy a stake including management control of a power distribution company in Nigeria, he said, without giving details.

K-Electric, that was established in 1913 and nationalised in 1952, distributes electricity in Karachi, a city of more than 20 million people. In 2005, 71 per cent of the company was sold to an overseas consortium by the government which retained a 26 per cent stake.

— Bloomberg News

ECONOMY

Payrolls climb more than forecast in US WASHINGTON: Employers added more jobs than forecast in February and the unemployment rate dropped to 5.5 per cent, the lowest in almost seven years, showing the labor market is sustaining progress after the best annual performance in 15 years.

The 295,000 advance in payrolls last month followed a 239,000 January increase that was smaller than previously reported, figures from the Labour Department showed Friday in Washington.

The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 235,000 increase. The unemployment rate fell from 5.7 per cent while hourly earnings rose less than forecast. The report underscores a lingering appetite among companies to boost headcounts as increased purchasing power from cheaper fuel supports consumer spending. A missing link continues to be faster wage growth that will be needed to ensure household purchases accelerate.

“There is solid momentum in the US labour market,” Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina, said before the report. “We feel comfortable that we are going to see a pickup in wage growth as firms have to attract and retain workers, given an improving economic backdrop.” — Bloomberg News

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MARKET China leaders grapple with rising inequality

ECONOMY

A broadening in prosperity is central to prospects for ROBUST GROWTH: On Friday, the Nikkei 225 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 219.16 points to close at 18,971.00. — Bloomberg file picture

consumption to take

Investors in Tokyo eye Japan’s GDP figures next week

driver as debt-

TOKYO: Tokyo investors will be eyeing revised Japanese GDP figures next week after the release later on Friday of US jobs data, as the benchmark Nikkei index marches toward the 20,000 level.

Preliminary data has shown that Japan’s economy limped out of recession in the last quarter of 2014, with a weaker-than-expected 0.6 per cent expansion between October and December — or 2.2 per cent on an annualised basis.

That followed two consecutive quarters of contraction that came as an April sales tax rise hammered consumer spending.

Investors will be looking to the finalised growth data on Monday to see if they are revised down.

“Buying sentiment is expected to remain strong next week as the (global) economy is on track for a recovery,” said Kenzaburo Suwa, strategist at Okasan Securities in Tokyo.

“So it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Nikkei hits the 20,000 mark.

First, we need to see how the US unemployment rate looks, but we expect strong figures.”

On Friday, the Nikkei 225 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 219.16 points by the close to 18,971.00, with the index sitting at 15-year highs. The Nikkei tacked on 0.92 percent over the week.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares added 1.12 percent, or 17.12 points, to end at 1,540.84. It rose 1.11 per cent over the past week.

Investors were eyeing a monthly US jobs report that if strong enough could support a Federal Reserve in-

terest rate increase, a move likely to push the dollar up against the yen, which boosts the profitability of Japanese exporters.

In forex markets, the greenback fetched 120.01 yen, against 120.14 yen in New York but it was still up from 119.85 yen in Tokyo earlier on Thursday.

The euro remained weak as the European Central Bank said it would begin a 1.1-trillion-euro ($1.2 trillion) bond buying programme, known as quantitative easing (QE), next week. ECB chief Mario Draghi also said that the ECB was raising its growth forecasts for the 19-nation bloc, although he added that inflation would come in at zero this year, lower than previously projected.

“Investors are positive on QE in Europe and the raising of the growth target, plus there was no really bad news from the US,” Andrew Sullivan, head of sales trading at Haitong International Securities, told Bloomberg News.

On Friday, major exporters rose with Canon gaining 2.04 per cent to 4,000.0 yen, Konica Minolta up 1.45 per cent to 1,255.0 yen, and Toyota rising 1.58 per cent to 8,190.0 yen.

Japan’s biggest bank Mitsubishi UFJ was up 2.83 percent at 778.5 yen.

Shares in Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings jumped 1.91 per cent to 3,771.0 yen after the leading Nikkei business newspaper reported the non-life insurer had decided to take a roughly 15 per cent stake in French reinsurance giant Scor for more than 110 billion yen ($910 million). — AFP

over as a growth fuelled investment is reined in

BEIJING: More than three decades after China’s Communist Party allowed some people to get rich first, the country’s top leaders are still grappling with how to spread the benefits of the economic boom such freedoms triggered.

“The only way to build a country is to enrich its people,” said Premier Li Keqiang at the annual meeting of the legislature in Beijing on Thursday, flagging income distribution as among primary concerns. He also vowed to extend a campaign against corrupt officials who enrich themselves, a clampdown that’s spread to the military and state-owned enterprises. A complementary step: cutting pay for public-company chiefs.

A broadening in prosperity is central to prospects for consumption to take over as a growth driver as debt-fuelled investment is reined in. Li on Thursday announced a target of about seven per cent for this year’s economic growth, which would be the slowest annual expansion since 1990.

“Inequality is a big concern for Chinese policy makers,” said Liu Li-Gang, chief economist for greater China at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in Hong Kong.

“China calls itself a socialist economy but its Gini ratio is now as high as the US,” he said, referring to a globally comparative measure of inequality.

The government has made some progress with policy reforms, for example in the area of medical insurance and rules on land ownership, and will likely do more, Liu said.

UNCERTAIN TIMES: At least six regions have raised their minimum wage levels this year, the highest of which is 2,030 yuan per month in the southern coastal city of Shenzhen. — Bloomberg file picture

Policy tension “The 40 per cent is a national goal, and local governments have different thoughts,” said Zeng Xiangquan, director of the Chinese Institute of Employment Research at Renmin University of China.

“Local governments used to suppress minimum wage levels to shave labor costs to attract business, then in recent years they had to raise the level rapidly to retain labour for businesses, and now they need to find the balance.”

At least six regions have raised their minimum wage levels this year, the highest of which is 2,030 yuan per month ($324) in the southern coastal city of Shenzhen. China doesn’t have a national minimum wage standard, and each province, city or district can have a different monthly rate.

Inequality is a big concern for Chinese policy makers. China calls itself a socialist economy but its Gini ratio is now as high as the US Name Designation

In 2013, the government set plans to squeeze the wealth gap by aiming for minimum wages of at least 40 per cent of average salaries by 2015, a target that’s unlikely to be met as the economy’s expansion slows.

While minimum-wage growth is outstripping the pace of gross domestic product expansion, the increases are slowing. In 2014, the weighted average of minimum wages climbed 14 per cent, according to China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, down from 17 per cent in 2013, 20 per cent in 2012 and 22 per cent in 2011.

Because those with lower in-

C O R P O R AT E

His idea was MESH, a series of mix-and-match buttons, lights and sensors that make inventing as easy as pairing an Apple iPad with some wireless headphones. By linking the little, colour-coded blocks with a mobile application, tinkerers can create devices that trigger cameras, send rain alerts or silence an alarm when a door swings.

“Anyone should be able to become an inventor,” Hagiwara, 36, said in an interview at Sony’s Tokyo headquarters. “We want to enable people to do in two minutes what used to take two weeks, or wasn’t possible at all.”

MESH uses the same sensors as the average smartphone to monitor changes in the real world and puts them into modules — each the size of a pack of chewing gum — that people can repurpose for

— Bloomberg News

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M O N T H LY S U RV E Y

Sony aims to use crowd-funding for innovation TOKYO: Takehiro Hagiwara knows big ideas often start with small problems. For the morning-hating Sony engineer, that was a do-it-yourself alarm smart enough to ring until he got out of bed and shut the bathroom door.

comes consume a larger portion of their salaries, consumption and growth benefit from a better distribution of income, according to Zhao Yang, chief China economist at Nomura Holdings in Hong Kong. To meet the government’s 40 per cent target, minimum wages need to be raised by over 20 per cent on a weighted-average basis this year, he estimated.

None of the regions that have announced raises this year have met Zhao’s standard. Beijing’s minimum wage was increased 10 per cent to 1,720 yuan, leaving it less than 30 per cent of the city’s average wage in the first three quarters of last year.

Shenzhen raised the level 12 per cent, down from last year’s 13 per cent. Sanya, a Miami-like resort town, lifted the minimum salary 13 per cent, and Changsha in the populous Hunan province increased by 10 per cent.

do-it-yourself projects. Want your snail mail to generate notifications the same way your e-mail does? Stick a blue accelerometer on the mailbox door and ask the application to let you know when it’s opened. Add a camera and a light-emitting diode to check whether the delivery’s worth a trip to the box.

Hagiwara’s bid to unleash your inner inventor was born out of Sony’s own push to revive its culture of innovation. MESH — for “make, experience and share” — is one of several in-house projects overseen by Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai to get ideas flowing at the company that gave the world the Walkman.

Innovators wanted Hagiwara, who designed algorithms that guess your taste in movies or music, was among the first Sony workers to step forward after Hirai started the program in April. The CEO meets personally with developers in the unit to test prototypes and give feedback.

– Bloomberg file picture

A three-block starter kit is available for $119 and includes a button, an LED and accelerometer, which knows whether it’s been shaken, flipped or tapped. For more advanced tinkerers, there’s also a general-purpose block, into which users can plug a variety of sensors, motors and connectors.

The iPad app is free and Sony has no immediate plans to make a version

that works on Google’s Android system. Whether MESH will be marketed under the Sony brand or independently is unclear, Hagiwara said.

Hirai’s program has also produced a fashion watch with an e-paper face and wristband that turns its entire surface area into a display. Another one is the Qrio smart door lock. Flight home delayed? Share your virtual house

keys with the neighbors via Facebook so they can feed the cat.

“The speed with which we got these up and running is unlike anything we’ve experienced in Sony before,” Hirai told reporters in Tokyo last week. “We have three more projects that are on the cusp of becoming a business. I’m dying to tell you about it but can’t say more yet.”

To gauge interest in innovations like MESH, Sony has turned to crowdfunding. Early adopters can get their own MESH blocks by supporting their campaign on Indiegogo by Saturday. Asking backers to pre-pay is a quick way to jumpstart manufacturing and attract a community of developers. The effort has exceeded its goal of raising $50,000, with more than 490 funders as of Thursday in Tokyo. MESH already has competitors, such as LittleBits Electronics which sells more than 60 modules that link magnetically. A pack of 10, including a motor, light sensor, dimmer and LED, retails for $99. — Bloomberg News

UK hiring for permanent jobs increase LONDON: The number of Britons finding permanent jobs through recruitment agencies grew in February at the fastest pace since October and stiff competition for candidates continued to push up starting salaries, a survey showed on Friday.

The monthly survey from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation showed the volume of permanent placements made by its members last month hit a four-month high in February, helped by improving demand across British businesses.

The survey is the latest in a string of surveys to suggest Britain’s economy started 2015 strongly — good news for Prime Minister David Cameron two months before the next national election.

“Recruiters are reporting talent shortages across the economy as businesses expand in response to increasing demand. This is a major challenge for employers. However, those seeking work are feeling the benefit,” said RE chief executive Kevin Green. — Reuters

SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015

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MARKET MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS

Got a phone charger? No, just a wireless pad on a desk BARCELONA: “Got a phone charger you can lend me? No, I need the new type... Oh, forget it.”

To ease the stress of a dying mobile phone battery and the hassle of bundling wires into your bag, designers are hoping to make 2015 the year of the wireless charger.

3,000 hotels, restaurants, airports and public spaces. It says its system can be used in 80 models of mobile phone and various types of car.

Companies at the Mobile World Congress, a top telecom fair which wrapped up on Thursday in Barcelona, Spain, promised that soon you will just place your phone on a table or lamp stand for it to absorb electricity through a wireless surface.

South Korean giant Samsung included wireless charging capability in its new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S6, unveiled on March 1 in Barcelona.

Swedish furniture-maker Ikea meanwhile announced a line of bedside tables, lamps and desks equipped with wireless charging spots to be launched in Europe and North America in the coming weeks.

“This is probably the year of the wireless charger,” said Kevin Curran, a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, ahead of the mobile fair.

SLEEK AND HANDY MODELS: Visitors inspect smartphones on display at the Mobile World Congress in

Barcelona, Spain. The event, which generates several hundred million euros in revenue for the city of Barcelona each year, also means the world for a week turns its attention back to Europe for the latest in technology, despite a lagging ecosystem. — Bloomberg News

“A lot of the top-end phones now by default are coming with a wireless charger. You just have to put the phone onto a mat or onto a stand.”

If a phone has a wireless charging receptor, just placing it over the charging pad on one of these items will transfer power to it.

SECURITY BREACH

Apple Pay seen hit by tech fraudsters SAN FRANCISCO: Some banks have begun to make changes in how they activate customers’ credit-card accounts to use Apple’s new mobile-payment system after reports of fraudulent transactions, according to industry consultants.

“It comes down to making sure that the data that is being provisioned to a device is to a device of a cardholder,” said Al Pascual, director of fraud and research at Javelin Strategy & Research, who also was aware of some banks making changes to their activations.

Major banks and credit-card companies teamed up with Apple to develop Apple Pay, which uses the world’s largest payment networks’ tokenisation products, a system that replaces some account information with a digital ID for online and mobile purchases.

The Qi consortium claims its standard is the most widely used in the world with charging points in

In addition to seeking new placements for the affected workers, SAP will offer voluntary severance and early retirement programs, Ries said. He declined to say how much the restructuring will cost the Walldorf, Germanybased company

of jobs affected will amount to about three per cent of Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple, unveils the Apple Pay during a product announcement on September 9, 2014. — Bloomberg News

SAP’s worldwide workforce of 74,000, according to personnel chief

“Apple Pay is designed to be extremely secure and protect a user’s personal information,” the company said on Thursday in an e-mailed statement.

New products Apple Pay is one of several new services being introduced by the Cupertino, California-based technology company as it looks to encompass more of its users’ digital lives.

The mobile payment market is expected to rise to $142 billion in 2018 from $52 billion last year, according to Forrester Research.

Banks, such as First Tech Federal Credit Union, have seen fraudulent transactions since introducing Apple Pay. “There’s still some ability to have some fraud on a transaction, we are seeing a little bit of that,” said Terry Rodrick, vicepresident of cards and payments at the credit union, which serves 387,000 people. — Bloomberg News

Stefan Ries

FRANKFURT: SAP plans to cut about 2,200 positions, adding to a similar reduction last year as Europe’s biggest software company pivots its business toward less profitable applications delivered over the Internet to keep up with nimbler rivals.

The total number of jobs affected will amount to about three per cent of SAP’s worldwide workforce of 74,000, according to personnel chief Stefan Ries. It’s uncertain how many jobs will go in the company’s home market of Germany.

“It’s not about cost savings but rather being fit for the future,” Ries said in an interview.

The downsizing, SAP’s second under Chief Executive Officer Bill McDermott, comes as sales of software sold to businesses under traditional licenses gives way to prod-

Amazon sets up shop in China storefront carries the message: “It’s Day 1.”

Amazon and Alibaba are considered competitors in some areas but unlike the US firm the Chinese company has no product stocks of its own, simply providing a trading platform.

“We welcome Amazon to the Alibaba ecosystem and their presence will further broaden the selection of products and el-

Potential value Analysts said it was tricky to estimate the potential value of the market for wireless chargers.

The Wireless Power Consortium estimates that 50 million chargers were sold in 2014.

According to technology consultancy Gartner, in that year consumers bought 1.8 billion handsets -- which typically come with a charger included.

“In the next few years they will all have wireless chargers inbuilt,” Curran said. — AFP

SAP plans to reduce more than 2,000 jobs

O N L I N E R E TA I L E R

SHANGHAI: US online retail giant Amazon has set up shop on the business-to-consumer platform of Alibaba as it seeks a greater presence in the massive Chinese market.

The Seattle-based firm is offering food, women’s footwear, toys and kitchenware through its store on Tmall.com which was “quietly” launched on Thursday, Chinese media reported. Amazon’s

Ikea opted for the Qi standard — a system developed by the Wireless Power Consortium, an alliance of some 200 different companies founded in 2008.

The total number

The effort is an attempt to thwart criminals who have been typing stolen credit-card numbers into Apple Pay and trying to make purchases with their iPhones.

The breaches follow Apple’s October introduction of the service, which lets owners of the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus load their credit and bank cards on their smartphones and use them to make purchases at cash registers equipped with a proper wireless connections.

“This is a black eye that needs to heal through improved authentication procedures,” said Richard Crone, chief executive officer of Crone Consulting. Some banks are now requiring users to call them to activate Apple Pay, to ensure that their identities haven’t been stolen, he said.

The piece of furniture itself is not wireless, drawing its power from the mains, but no wire is needed to plug into the phone.

Different rival technologies for wireless charging have emerged over recent years.

For their devices, Samsung and

Product announcements The product announcements at the Barcelona show “will allow a big step forward,” eventually freeing users of cumbersome charging wires, said Inge Tauber of the German company L&P Automotive, part of the Qi project.

“People have no need to fear that their chargers will become obsolete, because these bases will be compatible with the new generations of smartphone.”

Even smartphones that were not made with a wireless charging receptor can be fitted with adaptors in the form of an outer case or other minor accessory costing from about 10 euros ($11).

Wireless charging race Qi is competing with two other standards, PMA and A4WP, which between them group some 200 other telecom, computing and electronics firms.

The PMA and A4WP camps will

merge in mid-2015 “to accelerate the growth of this nascent market,” they said in a statement.

Tauber denied this competition would hold back the industry from developing a common standard for compatible charging pads. She reckoned it would drive it towards a “homogenous standard”.

Makers of smartphones have so far failed to find a common standard for any kind of charger, despite attempts such as the European Union’s bid to impose universal chargers by 2016.

evate the shopping experience for Chinese consumers on Tmall,” an Alibaba spokeswoman said in a statement provided to AFP on Friday. Tmall is estimated to hold more than half the market in China for business-to-consumer transactions.

Amazon is not new to China.

It had earlier opened an official store on Tmall for its Kindle ebook reader last year. — AFP

SAP’s Chief Executive Officer Bill McDermott. — Bloomberg file picture

ucts they rent in an arrangement called cloud computing. Web-delivered software, which stretches payments over time, requires engineers with different programming skills and is putting a dent in profit margins at SAP, which is the biggest maker of applications for supply chain, financial and human resources management.

In addition to seeking new placements for the affected workers, SAP will offer voluntary severance and early retirement programs, Ries said. He declined to say how much the restructuring will cost the Walldorf, Germanybased company.

Shares of SAP fell 0.2 per cent to 63.46 euros 9:22am in Frankfurt.

The stock had advanced 9.1 per cent this year.

Siemens, IBM SAP, founded in 1972, isn’t alone among old-line tech companies in paring jobs amid a shift in technology buying patterns. International Business Machines (IBM), Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft have each sliced tens of thousands of positions in recent years.

Closer to home, German engineering giant Siemens last month announced cuts of about two per

cent of its global workforce. Dismissing workers in Germany can be fraught with complication because of negotiations with employee works councils and legal protections for workers.

Ralf Herzog, the chairman of SAP’s works councils, said the groups received information on Thursday afternoon about “a very high level” of job cuts. Since the program is “apparently voluntary,” SAP “seems to have learned from its experience” with previous measures, he said.

On a net basis, SAP has been increasing its headcount every year since 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. — Bloomberg News

S ATUR DAY, M A RCH 7, 2 015

FEATURE O B I G G E S T E X P O RT

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hen Probo Junio got a visa to work in Australia, he thought he had won a ticket to the good life. In 2013, the 45-year-old boilermaker left his hometown of Cebu in the Philippines, where he was getting paid about $10 a day, to work in Karratha in Western Australia for $30 an hour. Enough to support his relatives and build a new life Down Under. What Junio didn’t expect was that Australia’s booming resources industry would go bust less than two years later, taking his job, and leaving him just 60 days to find work or go home.

“It’s very difficult because most of the companies don’t want 457 visa holders,” he said, referring to temporary permits for skilled workers.

Across the country, people like Junio are falling victim to downsizing. Jobs, once plentiful and well paid, are scarce.

Real estate prices in boom towns are sinking and even the notoriously high coffee prices in mining capital Perth have levelled off at under $4. Prices of iron ore and coal, the country’s two biggest export earners, have plunged during the last two years amid falling demand from China, in the wake of its economic slowdown.

Just a few years ago, foreign workers were flooding into Australia, lured by huge pay as the resources industry scrambled to fill positions. Truck driving and cooking jobs offering $100,000 a year made headlines abroad.

But those workers, like Junio, are now hard-pressed to find work, especially if they are on temporary visas. Even permanent residents have to take lower pay.

“There is reality coming into the marketplace about salaries,” said John Downing, who runs global resources recruiting firm Downing Teal, adding that salary expectations have fallen 10 per cent to 25 per cent.

Coffee prices in mining capital Perth have levelled off at under $4.

Nobody in the streets.

“For Lease” signs are everywhere in West Perth, the headquarters of many mining, oil and gas companies.

“You could shoot a cannon down those streets,” said resources analyst Peter Strachan. “There’s nobody there.”

Commercial vacancy rates in the city are near a 20year high of 15 percent as resources companies downsize or shut down, said Joe Lenzo, of the Property Council of Australia. The real estate market has also been hit in the coal country of Queensland, across the continent.

“Owner will throw in a brand new car,” read advertisements for houses in the coal-mining town of Moranbah.

“Just pick your favourite colour.”

Such ploys were unheard of two years ago, when investors were snapping up property and shift workers were “hotbedding”, or rotating use of beds. But the bottom has fallen out of the Moranbah real estate market after coal prices slumped.

“If you bought a property for $1 million, you’d be lucky to have it valued at $400,000,” said John Wood of Moranbah Real Estate. “People are walking away.”

And it’s not just real estate.

“The impacts are right across the board,” said Dawson Wilkie, the director of a civil engineering firm in the coastal city of Townsville. His firm had been set to make $300,000 to $400,000 on a $40-million upgrade to the Townsville airport, a hub for “fly-in, fly-out” mining workers, but the plan was shelved. Wilkie has just five contractors now, down from 20 in the boom times. It may be the worst of times, but old hands expect things will improve.

“Just as a lot of people thought the boom would never end, some people might think the bust will never end,” said recruiter Downing. “We will go through better times.” — Reuters

WO Y E A R S

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WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

LIFE & STYLE

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cholars have argued for two centuries about the identity and homeland of those who spoke this parent language, but a surprisingly sudden resolution of this long-standing issue may be at hand.

Many origins have been proposed for the birthplace of the Indo-European languages, but only two serious candidates are now under discussion, one of which assumes they were spread by the sword, the other by the plough.

Historical linguists can reconstruct many words of proto-IndoEuropean from their descendants.

For example, there was probably a word kwekwlos meaning wheel, which is the ancestor of kuklos in classical Greek, of kakra in Old Indic and - because K shifts to H in Germanic languages - of hweohl in Old English, itself the ancestor of wheel in modern English.

From the reconstructed vocabulary, the speakers of proto-IndoEuropean seem to have been pastoralists, familiar with sheep and wheeled vehicles. Archaeologists find that wheeled vehicles emerged around 4000 B.C., suggesting the proto-Indo-European speakers began to flourish some 6,500 years ago on the steppe grasslands above the Black and Caspian seas. This steppe theory, favoured by many linguists, holds that the protoIndo-European speakers then spread their language to Europe, India and western China, whether by conquest or the appeal of their pastoral economy.

This theory was challenged by Colin Renfrew, a Cambridge archaeologist who proposed in 1987 that the languages had been spread by the Neolithic farmers who brought agriculture to Europe. Under this scenario, the homeland of proto-Indo-European was in Anatolia, now Turkey, and its speakers started migrating some 8,000 to 9,500 years ago.

Many origins have been proposed for the birthplace of the Indo-European languages, but only two serious candidates are now under discussion, one of which assumes they were spread by the sword, the other by the plough

Renfrew’s proposal carried weight because the expansion of farming peoples is an accepted mechanism of language spread, and the migration of Neolithic farmers into Europe is well documented archaeologically.

Linguists objected that protoIndo-European could not have fragmented so early because the wheel wasn’t invented 8,000 years ago, yet many Indo-European languages have related words for wheel that must be derived from a common parent. But Renfrew argued that, long after their dispersal, these languages could all have borrowed the word for wheel

along with the invention itself.

The standoff between the steppe and Anatolian theories of IndoEuropean origin persisted until 2003. Two New Zealand biologists, Russell Gray and Quentin Atkinson of the University of Auckland, entered the fray with an impressive method of constructing datable trees of language descent.

Historical linguists had drawn up trees of how proto-Indo-European had split into its daughter languages, based on sets of related words known as cognates.

The word for water is wasser in German, vatten in Swedish and nero in modern Greek. The simi-

lar English, German and Swedish words are said to be cognates, derived from an inferred proto-IndoEuropean word wodr, but the nero of modern Greek is not.

Linguists had hoped that by comparing languages in terms of how many cognates they shared, the Indo-European tree could be dated. But after discovering that the rates of language change varied widely from one branch to another, they largely gave up.

Gray and Atkinson realised that statistical methods developed by biologists for tracking the evolution of genes and proteins addressed many of the problems that

exist in reconstructing trees of language descent. They represented each Indo-European language as a string of 1s and 0s, depending on whether it shared cognates for a list of words known to resist change. They then computed the likeliest of the many possible trees that would give rise to the observed data.

Their preferred tree of IndoEuropean languages had the same shape as that constructed by historical linguists. But its lower branches could be dated from historical events like the split between Latin and Rumanian when Roman troops withdrew south of

the Danube in A.D. 270. And with the lower branches anchored in time, they could date the root.

Proto-Indo-European, they calculated, was spoken 7,800 to 9,800 years ago.

That conclusion provided striking support for the Anatolian theory. Gray and Atkinson, with Remco Bouckaert and colleagues, dropped a second shoe in 2012 when they applied to the dispersal of proto-Indo-European a statistical model developed to track the geographical spread of viruses. It showed “decisive support for an Anatolian origin over a steppe origin,” the authors concluded in an article in Science.

It seemed that with the biologists’ help, the archaeologists’ Anatolian theory had triumphed over the linguists’ steppe hypothesis.

But two findings reported recently have abruptly tilted the weight of evidence toward the steppes.

Patterns in the DNA bear evidence of a migration into Germany some 4,500 years ago of people from the Yamnaya culture of the steppes, the first to develop a pastoral economy based on wagons, sheep and horses.

So extensive was this migration that three-quarters of the ancient people sampled in Germany bear Yamnaya-type DNA, says a team led by Wolfgang Haak of the University of Adelaide, Australia, and David Reich of Harvard Medical School. Their report was posted on bioRxiv.

If so much of the population was replaced, the newcomers’ language probably prevailed, and the migration plausibly represents an expansion of Indo-European speakers from the steppes.

“These results provide support for the theory of a steppe origin of at least some of the Indo-European languages of Europe,” the authors say. — Nicholas Wade/The New York Times News Service

B6

S ATUR DAY, M A RCH 7, 2 015

ENTERTAINMENT CINEMA SCHEDULE

BAHJA CINEMA Outcast (2D) (Act/ Adventure) (15+) Cast: Nicolas Cage, Hayden Christensen, Andy On 9:30, 11:30 PM American Heist (2D) (Act/Adv) (15+) Cast: Adrien Brody, HaydenChristensen 9:45, 11:45 PM Chappie (2D) (Action / Sci Fi) (12+) Cast: Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman 3:00, 5:15 PM The Protector 2 (2D) (Action) (15+) Cast: Tony Jaa, RZA, 7:30 PM Project Almanac (2D) (Sci Fi)(PG12) Cast: Amy Landecker, Sofia BlackD’Elia, 3:45, 5:45 PM Still Alice (2D) (Drama) (PG) Cast: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, 5:30 PM Asterix (2D) (Animation) (PG) Cast: Roger Carel, Lorànt Deutsch 2:00 PM Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (2D) (Action/ Crime) (12+) Cast: Sam Worthington, Anthony Hopkins, 9:45, 11:45 PM Life After Beth (2D) (Com/Dr) (15+) Cast: Aubrey Plaza; 7:45 PM Focus (2D) (Comedy | Crime) (18+) Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie 3:15, 7:30 PM

Focus (2D) (Comedy/Crime) (18+) 6:00 PM, Gold Class: 9:00 PM The Protector (2D) (Action) (15+) Cast: Tony Jaa, RZA, 12:15 & 4:00 PM Gold Class: 3:00 PM The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water (2D)(Animation) (PG)

12:00 & 4:00 PM American Heist (2D)(Action) (12+) Cast: Hayden Christensen, Adrien Brody, 2:15, 10:00 & 11:45 PM Gold Class: 1:00, 7:00 & 11:15 PM Kidnapping Mr. Heniken (2D) (Thriller) (12+) Cast: Anthony Hopkins; 8:15 PM Asterix (2D)(Animation) (PG) 10:15 AM & 2:00 PM Chappie (2D) (Action/Sci Fi) (12+) Cast: Sharlto Copely, Dev Patel, Watkin Tudor Jones; 5:45 PM Project Almanac (2D) (Act) (12+) Cast: Jonny Weston, Sofia Black D’Elia 8:00 PM Life After Beth (2D) (Hor/Com) (15+) Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Dane Dehaan 10:00 PM Outcast (2D) (Act/Adevnture) (15+) Cast: Nicolas Cage, Hayden; 11:45 PM Still Alice (2D) (Drama) (PG) Cast: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin Gold Class: 5:00 PM

SCREEN 1 Dirty Politics – Hindi (Drama) (15+) Cast: Jackie Shroff, Anupam Kher, Om Puri, Nassaruddin Shah, Mallika Sherawat 3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM SCREEN 2 Enakkul Oruvan– Tamil (Thriller ) – PG12 Cast: Siddharth, Deepa Sannidhi, Srushti Dange; 3.45, 6:45 PM Badlapur – (Action | Drama) (15+) Cast: Varun Dhawan, Huma Qureshi, Yami Gautam; 9.45 pm

SCREEN 3 Badlapur – (Action | Drama) – 15+ 3.45, 6.45 pm Enakkul Oruvan– Tamil (Thriller ) – PG12 Cast: Siddharth, Deepa Sannidhi, Srushti Dange; 9.45 PM

Still Alice – 2D (PG) (Drama) Cast: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart; 5:00 PM Dirty Politics – 2D (TBC) (Drama) Cast : Jackie Shroff, Om Puri 8:45 PM

Chappie – 2D (12+) (Act | Sci-Fi) Cast: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel 3:15, 7:45, 11:45 PM American Heist– 2D (15+) (Action) Cast: Adrien Brody, Hayden Christensen, Jordana Brewster 1:30, 2:45, 5:30, 8:00, 10:00, 11:45 PM Outcast (I)– 3D (15+) (Act | Adv) Cast: Hayden Christensen, Nicolas Cage; 4:30, 6:15, 9:45 PM Kidnapping Mr.Heineken – 2D (TBC) (Action | Crime |Drama) Cast: Sam Worthington, Anthony Hopkins, Jim Sturgess 3:45, 9:45 PM Life After Beth – 2D (15+) (Com |Hor) Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan 5:30, 11:30 PM Enakkul Oruvan – 2D (T) (PG12) (Thriller) Cast: Siddharth, Deepa Sannidhi 1:15, 7:15 PM Project Almanac – 2D (PG12) (Science Fiction) Cast: Jonny Weston, Sofia Black D’Elia 3:00, 6:45, 11:15 PM

American Heist – 2D (15+) (Act/Adv) Cast: Adrien Brody 4:45, 6:30, 10:00, 11:45 PM Life After Beth – 2D (15+) (Com/ Hor) Cast: Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon 4:45, 8:15, 10:00 PM Clash of Empires: Bloodlines - 2D (12+) (Action/Adventure) Cast: StephenRahman Hughes, Gavin Stenhouse, Jing Lusi, Rahim Razali, Ummi Nazeera 2:50, 6:15, 11:45PM Kidnapping Mr. Heineken – 2D (12+) (Drama/Act) Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Jim Sturgess, Sam Worthington, Ryan Kwanten 3:00, 5:15, 8:15 PM Chappie – 2D (12+) (Action/Adventure) 3:00, 7:00, 9:15, 11:30 PM

Clash of Empires: Bloodlines (Action | Adventure) (12+) Cast: Stephen Rahman Hughes, Gavin Stenhouse, Jing Lusi 4:30, 11:45 PM

Life After Beth (Comedy)(15+) Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly 2:45, 6:30, 8:15 PM American Heist (Action) (15+) Cast: Adrian Brody, Hayden Christensen, Jordana Brewster 4:30, 8:00. 9:45 PM Kidnapping Mr. Heineken-3 (Action | Crime | Drama) (12+) Cast: William Brookefield, Anthony Hopkins, Jim Sturgess 2:45, 6:15, 10:00, 9:30, 11:30 PM

Focus (2D) (18+) (Com | Crime ) Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie 12:45, 2:00 PM American Heist (2D) (15+) (Action) Cast: Adrien Brody, Hayden Christensen; 12:30, 4:15, 9:30, 11:15PM Outcast (2D)(15+) (Act/Adventure) 11:00AM, 9:45, 11:45 PM Chappie (2D)(12+) (Act| Sci-Fi) Cast: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman; 10:30AM, 2:15, 11:45 PM Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (2D)(12+) (Action| Crime | Drama) 2:30, 6:00, 7:45 PM Project Almanac (2D)(PG12)(Thr) Abkarian; 10:45AM, 4:15 PM Life After Beth(2D)(15+) (Com |Hor) 12:30, 4:45, 6:00 PM Enakkul Oruvan (2D)(PG12) (Thr) Cast: Siddharth; 6:30 PM Dirty Politics (2D)(15+) (Drama) Cast: Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah 9:00 PM Youm Maloush Lazmah (2D)(12+) (Com) Cast: Noah Taylor, Jacki Weaver 7:30 PM

American Heist (Action) Cast: Andrien Brody, Hyden Christense, Jordana Brewster 2.00, 8.00, 10.00 & 11.55 pm CP No: 598 (PG 12) Project Almanac (Thr)( PG12 ) Cast: Jonny Weston, Sofia Black 2.00, 8.00 & 10.00 pm, CP No: 600 Life After Beth ( Horror ) Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Dany DeHan, John C.Reilly 6.00 & 11.55 pm, CP No: 601 (15+) Still Alice (Drama) Cast: Julianna Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart 6.00 pm, CP No: 599 (PG) Asterix (Animation) Cast: Rogger Carel, Lorant Deutsch 4.00 pm, CP No: 602 (PG) Focus (Comedy/Thriller) Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie 4.00pm, CP No:559 (18+)

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

STARS CINEMA Film information 24791641 / 24786776

Fireman (Mal) (Act/ Thriller) Cast: Mammootty, Nyla Usha 10:00 pm at Cinema Main 3:45 & 6:45pm at Cinema -3 Ennakul Oruvan (Tamil) (Com/Rom) Cast: Sidarth and Deepa Sannidi 6:30 pm at Cinema Main 9:45 pm at Cinema -3 & 4/ Friday 3:30 pm Cinema 2, 9:45 Cinema 3&4 Kakki Sattai (Tamil) (Com/Rom) Cast: Shiva Karthikeyan, Sri Diya 3:00pm at Cinema Main/ 6:30 & 9:30pm at Cinema-2 Temper -Telugu (Act) Cast: Jr Ntr, KajalAgarwal; 3:30pm at Cinema 2 From Friday 3:45pm at Cinema 4 Badlapur (Hindi) (Act) Cast: Varun Dhawan and Yami Gauthami 3:45 & 6:45pm at Cinema-4; From Friday: 6:45 pm at Cinema 4

For More Information 24789032, 24786776 Website: www.isurf.co.om

ACES ON BRIDGE

How does he get from there to here?

SUDOKU

2 7

9

1 3 8 4 2

2

6 5 1 7 4 2 9 4 7

9 5 3 1 5

9

7 8

6 5 9 2 7 8 1 1 4

HOW TO PLAY Fill the empty cells with the numbers 1 to 9, so that each number appears once in each row, column and area.

— Seven Galaxies

3 7 2 1 4 9 5 6 8 4 6 1 2 5 8 7 3 9 8 5 9 6 3 7 2 4 1 2 3 5 8 9 4 6 1 7 6 8 7 3 1 5 4 9 2 1 9 4 7 6 2 8 5 3

MARMADUKE

B I G NAT E

ACROSS 1 Pouch 4 “Cope Book” aunt 8 Swain 12 Lubricate 13 Kentucky natural resource 14 Ballpark figures 15 Bubbly 17 Greet the dawn 18 Jetsons’ dog 19 More gung-ho 21 Above, poetically 23 Pollution control org.

24 Royal castle 28 Raw-fish delicacy 32 RV haven 33 Tiny mark 35 Abraham Lincoln’s boy 36 Go furtively 39 Fox hunter’s cry 42 Muscle spasm 44 Look at 45 This very moment (2 wds.)

49 Chill out 53 — vera 54 Scornful

56 Lions’ quarry 57 Ambler of spy novels 58 Bear’s digs 59 NaCl 60 Rookie socialites 61 Mexican Mrs. DOWN 1 Comfy seat 2 Puts on the radio 3 Sour, as cream 4 Canyon effects 5 Pierre’s monarch 6 Thick head of hair 7 Seaweeds 8 Department division 9 Qatar ruler 10 Nave neighbour 11 Tech-support caller 16 Walked heavily 20 All-purpose MDs 22 Fishing gear 24 Mo. fractions 25 Charged particle 26 Kilt-wearer’s refusal 27 Nonsense!

29 Farm structure 30 Nasty laugh 31 Veiled oath? (2 wds.)

34 — kwon do 37 Offer evidence 38 Family members 40 Half of a song 41 Peggy and Spike 43 Like a spy’s

message Sprees Arm bone Kind of mate Wolf lead-in Can opener targets Say it’s so TV warrior princess 55 Curved bone 45 46 47 48 50 51 52

Answer to previous puzzle

SHANI Davis, who won the men’s 1,000 metre speedskating races at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, said, “Mentally, my key is just focusing on the little things I need to do in a race, whether that’s tempo, turn entry, start speed, things like that. I’m not thinking about that much before or during a race. I just trust in my ability and all the hard work I put in and let the race come to me.”

Some bridge players play on autopilot, but it will not often work well. The tempo — timing — and entry situation can be critical, as in this deal.

How should South play in three no-trump after West leads his fourth-highest spade?

South is too weak to respond two clubs and arguably too strong for a weak jump response of three clubs (if you use that gadget).

South starts with only four top tricks: one spade, two hearts and one diamond. He can guarantee a second spade trick by playing low from the dummy at trick one. But he will still need to get several club tricks. And a defender with the club ace who learned the game before breakfast this morning will know not to take the first club trick but to wait until the second, when dummy is playing its last club. Then, for South to cash his four club winners, he will need a hand entry. Where is that entry?

It must come from spades, and will do so only if declarer takes the first trick with dummy’s spade ace. He must not run the lead to his hand. After driving out the club ace, if the defenders shift, South will win and play a spade himself to generate that hand entry.

— By Phillip Alder

S. G. AARADHYA

MOHD SADIQ MOHIUDDIN

March 7, 2014

March 6, 2011

NABEEL AHMED

SHANE CARVALHO

March 7, 2005

March 6, 2012

5 2 6 9 8 3 1 7 4 7 1 3 4 2 6 9 8 5 9 4 8 5 7 1 3 2 6

Previous puzzle Solution

CROSSWORD

WITH LOVE

BORN LOSER

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to extra@timesofoman.com

KIDSPOT

H E A LT H C A P S U L E

SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015

PRAYER TIMINGS

Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Fajr (Tomorrow)

Y O U R B I R T H D AY

BORN today, you are not likely to live a life that is in any way conventional or routine. Indeed, from your earliest childhood, you will have a sense that you are meant for something unconventional, and you will find yourself following a path that leads to one unusual self-discovery after another. Then one day, suddenly, you will realise just who you are — or, rather, who you have become — and you will be able to step out onto the world stage with confidence and strength, eager to take your place among those known for risk-taking and accomplishment. Indeed, the truth is that only you may know exactly what you are destined for in life — and you may, for quite some time, keep it a closely guarded secret.

You may be unusually messy and disorganised on the home front, with nothing ever put in the same place twice. Indeed, the “system” you establish at home is really no system at all, but the result of your inability to put things back where they belong!

Some daily tasks may therefore become much more difficult than they have to be.

Also born on this date are: Aidan Quinn, actor; Micky Dolenz, actor and musician; Freddie Prinze Jr., actor; Alan Hale Jr., actor; Cyd Charisse, actress and dancer; Jim Rice, baseball player; Camryn Manheim, actress; Lynn Redgrave, actress

12.23pm 3.46pm 6.17pm 7.27pm 5.09am

Sunset Sunrise (Tomorrow) High tide Low tide

6:12pm 6.24am

10:23pm 4.09pm

FIND-IT-ALL

10.28am 4.35am

W E AT H E R

AIRLINES

C

lear to partly cloudy skies over northern Governorates of the Sultanate with chances of isolated rain. Mainly clear skies over rest of the Sultanate with chances of dust rising winds over deserts and open areas, and chances of late night to early morning low level clouds or fog patches over al-Buraimi governorate and along the southeastern coast.

EXPECTED WINDS: Along the southeastern coast winds will be southwesterly light to moderate occasionally fresh and over the rest of the Sultanate it will be northwesterly light to moderate occasionally fresh change gradually to northeasterly over most of the Sultanate.

SEA STATE: Moderate to rough along west Musandam and southeastern coasts with maximum wave height of 3.0 metres and moderate along rest of Oman’s coast with maximum wave height of 2.0 metres.

HORIZONTAL VISIBILITY: Good over most of the Sultanate becoming poor during dust rising winds and fog patches.

THE NEXT 48 HOURS OUTLOOK: Clear to partly cloudy skies over most of the Sultanate. Chance of late night to early morning low level clouds or fog patches along the southeastern coast. Chances of dust rising winds over deserts and open areas.

Max

OMAN

WORLD

Max 29 Min 16 Max 3 Min 1

Max 27 Min 17

Max 25 Min 19 Max 16 Min 7

Max 26 Min 17

Max 3 Min -3

Max 31 Min 14

Max 32 Min 13

Max 33 Min 16

Max 27 Min 17

PISCES

Max 31 Min 17

[Feb. 19-March 20] You may not be aware of the shortage of time you are facing. This is not something to be feared, but rather embraced.

Max 30 Min 23

Max 28 Min 13

Max 32 Min 22 Max 26 Min 18

Source: www.met.gov.om

[March 21-APRIL 19]

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI)

You’re after something a little more adventurous, and your curiosity is likely to lead to something that gets your blood pumping.

TAURUS [APRIL 20-MAY 20] You’re usually not tempted to show off merely to demonstrate your prowess, but the opportunity to do so may be irresistible.

GEMINI [MAY 21-JUNE 20] Things may get rather hectic, and you must figure out how to pass important messages along with a minimum of trouble.

CANCER [JUNE 21-JULY 22] You may be given carte blanche, allowing you to go where you wish to go and do what you wish to do, with few or no restrictions.

LEO [JULY 23-AUG. 22] You are eager to see a miracle of sorts come true, but it’s not likely to happen if you don’t take a more active role in the day’s affairs.

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (Route 36) Dept Destination Arrival Time Time 15:00 Quriyat 16:30 15:00 Sur 18:00 15:00 Jaalan 19:30

GULF Abu Dhabi Doha Dubai Kuwait Manama Riyadh

26 26 28 27 23 26

18 16 17 10 17 14

WORLD Athens Baghdad Beijing Berlin Boston Cairo Colombo Frankfurt Hong Kong Istanbul Johannesburg Kuala Lumpur Lisbon Paris Perth Singapore Tokyo Toronto

13 27 14 13 2 29 33 12 21 11 27 34 21 16 31 36 7 1

9 8 1 3 -4 14 24 1 18 6 16 24 9 3 19 26 5 3

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41) 06:30 Sohar 06:30 Buraimi 08:00 Buraimi 13:00 Sohar 13:00 Buraimi 16.00 Sohar 16.00 Buraimi TO SINAW (Route 52) 17:30 Sinaw

[AUG. 23-SEPT. 22] For quite some time, you’ve been saying you’ll cross a certain bridge when you come to it. Today, very likely, you’ll do just that.

LIBRA L [[SEPT. [S S 23-OCT. 22] It’s time to make things more family-friendly in ways that are unique to you. Everyone close to you will appreciate your efforts.

SCORPIO S [[OCT. 23-NOV. 21] You can play an important role in the cultural affairs of your community.

Some may think that you have an ulterior motive. Do you?

SAGITTARIUS S [[NOV. 22-DEC. 21] You’re in no mood for the ordinary.

The exceptional is surely within your reach, provided you’ve thought about what you really want.

CAPRICORN [DEC. 22-JAN 19] This is a good day to wander more freely than usual through unfamiliar territory. Never fear; your major duties will surely wait for you!

AQUARIUS [JAN. 20-FEB. 18] Why torture yourself with thoughts of things that can never come to pass?

There is one dream that can actually come true.

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (Route 36) Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily 05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily 05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

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

Daily Daily Daily via Ibri Daily Daily Daily Daily

20:50

Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41) 07:00 Sohar 07:00 Ruwi 13:30 Ruwi 13:00 Sohar 13:00 Ruwi 13:00 Sohar 17:00 Ruwi TO SINAW (Route 52) 07:00 Ruwi

To Yanqul (Route 54) 14:30 Nizwa 14:30 Yanqul

16:50 19:30

Daily Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54) 08:00 Nizwa 08:00 Al Araqi

10:20 12:30

TO SUR (Route 55) 07:30 Sur 14:30 Sur TO FAHUD - YIBAL (Route 62) 06:30 Fahud 06:30 Yibal

08:55 11:40 20:20 14:55 17:40 19:20 22:15

Daily Daily Daily via Ibri Daily Daily Daily Daily

10:25

Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54) 06:00 Nizwa 06:00 Ruwi

08:40 11:00

Daily Daily

Daily Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54) 15:40 Nizwa 15:40 Ruwi

17:55 20:20

Daily Daily

12:00 18:45

Daily Daily

TO SUR (Route 55) 06:00 Ruwi 14:30 Ruwi

10:45 19:00

Daily Daily

10:30 11:15

Daily Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (Route 62) 12:30 Fahud 12:30 Ruwi

13:15 17:30

Daily Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (Route 100) 07:00 Salalah 20:00 10:00 Marmul 20:30 10:00 Salalah 23:30 19:00 Salalah 07:40

Daily Daily Daily Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (Route 100) 07:00 Ruwi 19:50 10:00 Marmul 13:15 10:00 Ruwi 22:30 19:00 Ruwi 07:30

Daily Daily Daily Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101) 06:00 Marmul

Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101) 06:00 Marmul

16:30

Daily

Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (Route 102) 15:00 Salalah 07:00

Daily

16:50

SALALAH TO DUBAI (Route 102) 15:00 Dubai 07:00

VIRGO

TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

Operating Days Daily Daily Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201) 06:00 Sohar 06:00 Dubai 13:00 Sohar 13:00 Dubai 15:00 Sohar 15:00 Dubai

08:30 11:30 15:30 18:30 17:35 20:55

Daily Daily Wed,Thur Wed,Thur Daily Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204) Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily 07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily 07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201) 07:30 Sohar 07:30 Ruwi 13:00 Sohar 13:00 Ruwi 15:30 Sohar 15:30 Ruwi

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

Daily Daily Thur-Fri Thur-Fri Daily Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204) Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily 16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily 16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

LISTINGS

PHARMACIES Round the clock Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24783334; Appolo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24782666; Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24702542, Salalah: 23291635; Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra: 24503585; Ruwi 24811715 Muscat Region Apollo, Al Hamriya. Tel: 24787766 Muscat, A Seeb Market. Tel: 24421691 Muscat, Al Khuwair. Tel: 24485740 Muscat, Al Hail South. Tel: 4537080 Dhofar Region Muscat, Al Nahdha Road, Salalah.

Tel: 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 ROYAL OMAN POLICE Emergencies and inquiries: 9999 General Directorate of Passport and Residence: 24569603 Directorate General of Customs: 24521109 Traffic violations inquiries: 24510228 Public Relations Admin: 24560099 ACCOMMODATION Al Bahjah Hotel: 24424400 Al Bustan Palace: 24764000 Al Khuwair Hotel Apartments: 24478171 Al Madina Holiday Inn: 24596400 Al Maha International Hotel: 24494949 Al Fanar Hotel: 24712385 Al Falaj Hotel: 24702311 Al Qurum Resort: 24605945 Azaiba Hotel Apartments: 24490979 Beach Hotel: 24696601 Bowshar Hotel: 24491105 Coral Hotel Muscat: 24692121 Crowne Plaza Muscat: 24660660 Crystal Suites: 24826100 Golden Tulip Seeb: 24510300 Grand Hyatt Muscat: 24641234 Haffa House Hotel: 24707207 Hotel Muscat Holiday: 24487123 InterContinental Muscat: 24680000 Majan Continental Hotel: 24592900 Marina Hotel: 24711711 Midan Hotel Suites: 24499565 Mina Hotel: 24711828 Muttrah Hotel: 24798401

Nuzha Hotel Apartments: 24789199 Oman Dive Centre: 24824240 Park Inn: 24507888 Qurum Beach House Hotel: 24564070 Radisson Blu Hotel: 24487777 Ramee Dream Resort Seeb: 24453399 Ramee Guestline Hotel: 24564443 Ruwi Hotel: 24704244 Safeer Hotel Suites: 24691200 Sheraton Oman Hotel: 24772772 Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa: 24776666 The Chedi Muscat: 24524400 The Treasurebox Muscat Hotel: 24502570 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:

SATURDAY

Min

L O N G D I S TA N C E B U S T I M I N G S ( O M A N N AT I O N A L T R A N S P O R T C O M PA N Y S A O C ) * S U B J E C T T O C H A N G E

ARIES

B7

24784545, Swiss International Airlines: 24796692, Thai Airways: 24705934, Turkish Airlines: 24703033 MUSEUMS Bait Al Baranda: Corniche (seafront opp fish market), Open from Saturday to Thursday 9am to 1pm and 4 to 6pm Natural History Museum: Al Khuwair, Tel: 24604957, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm; Thursday: 9am to 1pm Museum of Omani Heritage: (former Omani Museum), Madinat Al Alam, Sat-Wed 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday 9am to 1pm, Tel: 24600946 Armed Forces Museum: Bait Al Falaj, Tel: 24312651, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm; Thurs 9-12pm and 3-6pm; Fri 9-11am and 3-6pm. Al Hoota Caves 24498258; Turtle Beach 96550606/96550707 Children’s Science Museum: Shatti Al Qurum, Tel: 24605368, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pm Oman-French Museum: near Muscat Police Station, Tel: 24736613, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm, Thurs: 9am to 1pm Bait Al Zubair, Muscat: Tel: 24736688, Al Saidiya St., Muscat museum@baitalzubairmuseum.com Open from Sat to Thurs: 9:30am to 6pm.

National Museum Ruwi: Tel: 24701289, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pm Sohar Fort Museum: Tel: 26844758, Open from Saturday to Wed: 8 to 1:30pm Thurs: 9am to 1pm Muscat Gate Museum: at Al Bahri Road, Muscat open from Sat to Wed 8am to 2pm

SUNDAY

FLT NO

ARRIVALS FROM

FLT NO

ARRIVALS FROM

WY676 WY682 WY406 WY636 WY648 WY816 WY910 WY3916 PK229 TK774 QR1132 ET624 EK866 GF560 EY384 FZ041 MS930 WY658 WY638 WY902 WY324 WY412 WY114 WY144 WY154 WY674 WY644 WY668 WY602 WY432 WY202 WY102 WY3914 FZ043 WY272 G9114 WY236 WY242 PK191 WY346 WY252 EK862 WY282 QR1128 IX443 EY382 IX549 9W530 WY604 WY844 WY918 WY372 FZ037 WY384 IX337 WY904 PA450 WY716 WY3302 NL771 WY818 WY606 BG023 IX817 WY920 WY906 WY632 SV532 FZ045 WY328 MP95 WY204 WY292 WY246 WY3304 WY610 WY264 WY232 WY216 WY664 QR1126 EK864 GF564 WY822 WY694 G9116 WY646 FZ047 PK259 WY338 WY614 WY224 WY124 WY386 4H561 KL441 WY624 AI973 6.00E+81 WY914 WY312 WY374 9W534 FZ049 WY254 WY684 AI907 QR1134 UL205 GF566 EY388 WY672 BA073 WY908 AI985 WY662 LX242 9W540 LH618 WY654 WY928 WY696 WY717

JEDDAH 0005 RIYADH 0005 CAIRO 0005 ABU DHABI 0005 KUWAIT 0010 BANGKOK 0015 SALALAH 0030 SALALAH 0205 LAHORE 0215 ISTANBUL 0215 DOHA 0345 ADDIS ABABA 0350 DUBAI 0355 BAHRAIN 0405 ABU DHABI 0405 DUBAI 0415 CAIRO 0430 BAHRAIN 0640 ABU DHABI 0650 SALALAH 0655 KARACHI 0700 AMMAN 0705 FRANKFURT 0715 MALPENSA 0720 ZURICH 0720 JEDDAH 0730 KUWAIT 0735 DOHA 0735 DUBAI 0805 TEHRAN 0815 BOMBAY 0815 LONDON HEATHROW 0820 SALALAH 0840 DUBAI 0850 JAIPUR 0855 SHARJAH 0915 HYDERABAD 0920 DELHI 0920 TURBAT 0930 ISLAM ABBAD 0930 MADRAS 0940 DUBAI 0940 BANGALORE 1000 DOHA 1010 COCHIN 1010 ABU DHABI 1015 TRIVANDRUM 1020 TRIVANDRUM 1035 DUBAI 1110 MANILA 1110 KHASAB 1115 COLOMBO 1140 DUBAI 1200 MALE 1205 CALICUT 1210 SALALAH 1215 LAHORE 1215 ZANZIBAR 1225 MUKHAIZNA 1230 PESHAWAR 1300 BANGKOK 1305 DUBAI 1330 DACCA 1345 MANGALORE-ABU DHABI 1440 KHASAB 1445 SALALAH 1445 ABU DHABI 1530 JEDDAH 1550 DUBAI 1555 LAHORE 1600 AMSTERDAM 1645 BOMBAY 1710 CALICUT 1720 DELHI 1730 MUKHAIZNA 1730 DUBAI 1730 LUCKNOW 1735 HYDERABAD 1740 TRIVANDRUM 1740 DOHA 1745 DOHA 1745 DUBAI 1750 BAHRAIN 1810 KUALA LUMPUR 1910 DAMMAM 1910 SHARJAH 1915 KUWAIT 1925 DUBAI 1945 PESHAWAR 2000 KATHMANDU 2010 DUBAI 2030 COCHIN 2045 MUNICH 2105 MALE 2110 DACCA 2115 AMSTERDAM-DOHA 2120 DUBAI 2125 DELHI 2125 BOMBAY 2130 SALALAH 2140 CHITTAGONG 2140 COLOMBO 2140 COCHIN 2140 DUBAI 2145 MADRAS 2155 RIYADH 2155 MADRAS 2200 DOHA 2210 COLOMBO 2225 BAHRAIN 2240 ABU DHABI 2250 MEDINA 2250 LONDON HEATHROW-ABU DHABI 2255 SALALAH 2305 AHMEDABAD-BOMBAY 2310 DOHA 2315 ZURICH-DUBAI 2320 BOMBAY 2325 FRANKFURT-ABU DHABI 2330 BAHRAIN 2340 SALALAH 2345 DAMMAM 2350 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 2355

WY406 WY682 WY676 WY648 WY816 WY910 WY916 NL669 PK225 TK776 QR1132 ET624 EK866 GF560 EY384 FZ041 WY114 CV732 WY658 4H562 WY638 WY902 WY686 WY324 WY144 WY154 WY692 WY674 WY644 WY668 WY132 WY602 WY3932 WY202 WY102 FZ043 WY272 NL768 G9114 WY342 WY236 WY242 WY226 WY212 WY252 EK862 WY282 QR1128 EY382 IX549 WY3922 WY3302 WY604 WY918 G9841 FZ037 WY384 IX337 WY904 WY818 WY606 WY906 WY920 WY920 WY632 FZ045 WY664 WY348 WY204 WY292 WY610 WY246 WY264 WY232 QR1126 EK864 GF564 WY3306 WY822 G9116 WY254 WY646 TG507 WY434 FZ047 WY338 WY614 WY848 WY124 WY386 KL441 AI973 WY624 6.00E+81 WY374 WY312 FZ049 AI907 WY414 QR1134 UL205 GF566 WY672 WY672 EY388 WY326 BA073 WY908 AI985 WY662 LX242 9W540 LH618 WY612 WY654 WY696 WY717

CAIRO 0005 RIYADH 0005 JEDDAH 0005 KUWAIT 0010 BANGKOK 0015 SALALAH 0030 SALALAH 0125 SIALKOT 0200 KARACHI 0210 ISTANBUL-BAHRAIN 0255 DOHA 0345 ADDIS ABABA 0350 DUBAI 0355 BAHRAIN 0405 ABU DHABI 0405 DUBAI 0415 FRANKFURT 0630 LUXORE 0635 BAHRAIN 0640 JEDDAH 0645 ABU DHABI 0650 SALALAH 0655 RIYADH 0700 KARACHI 0700 MALPENSA 0720 ZURICH 0720 DAMMAM 0725 JEDDAH 0730 KUWAIT 0735 DOHA 0735 PARIS 0800 DUBAI 0805 SOHAR 0815 BOMBAY 0815 LONDON HEATHROW 0820 DUBAI 0850 JAIPUR 0855 LAHORE 0900 SHARJAH 0915 LAHORE 0920 HYDERABAD 0920 DELHI 0920 COCHIN 0930 TRIVANDRUM 0940 MADRAS 0940 DUBAI 0940 BANGALORE 1000 DOHA 1010 ABU DHABI 1015 TRIVANDRUM 1020 DUQUM OMAN 1045 MUKHAIZNA 1045 DUBAI 1110 KHASAB 1115 RAS AL KHAIMA 1120 DUBAI 1200 MALE 1205 CALICUT 1210 SALALAH 1215 BANGKOK 1305 DUBAI 1330 SALALAH 1445 KHASAB 1445 KHASAB 1445 ABU DHABI 1530 DUBAI 1555 DOHA 1600 ISLAM ABBAD 1625 BOMBAY 1710 CALICUT 1720 DUBAI 1730 DELHI 1730 LUCKNOW 1735 HYDERABAD 1740 DOHA 1745 DUBAI 1750 BAHRAIN 1810 MUKHAIZNA 1845 KUALA LUMPUR 1910 SHARJAH 1915 MADRAS 1920 KUWAIT 1925 BANGKOK-KARACHI 1935 TEHRAN 1940 DUBAI 1945 KATHMANDU 2010 DUBAI 2030 JAKARTA 2055 MUNICH 2105 MALE 2110 AMSTERDAM-DOHA 2120 DELHI 2125 DUBAI 2125 BOMBAY 2130 COLOMBO 2140 CHITTAGONG 2140 DUBAI 2145 MADRAS 2200 AMMAN 2205 DOHA 2210 COLOMBO 2225 BAHRAIN 2240 MEDINA 2250 MEDINA 2250 ABU DHABI 2250 KARACHI 2255 LONDON HEATHROW-ABU DHABI 2255 SALALAH 2305 AHMEDABAD-BOMBAY 2310 DOHA 2315 ZURICH-DUBAI 2320 BOMBAY 2325 FRANKFURT-ABU DHABI 2330 DUBAI 2335 BAHRAIN 2340 DAMMAM 2350 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 2355

FLT NO

DEPARTURES TO

FLT NO

DEPARTURES TO

AI986 LX243 9W539 BA072 SG062 WY715 LH619 WY251 WY201 WY235 WY281 WY345 WY601 WY241 WY431 WY271 WY643 WY821 WY637 WY657 WY371 WY123 WY667 WY323 WY383 WY901 PK230 TK775 ET625 EK867 FZ042 QR1133 EY385 MS931 GF561 WY3301 WY603 WY903 WY917 WY263 WY291 WY215 WY327 FZ044 WY385 WY245 WY231 G9115 WY815 PK192 WY203 WY905 WY605 WY373 WY337 WY717 EK863 WY311 EY383 IX554 QR1129 IX442 9W533 WY919 WY631 WY223 IX350 FZ038 PA451 WY253 WY3303 WY663 WY101 WY113 WY153 WY645 WY143 WY927 WY131 WY609 WY693 NL668 WY405 BG024 IX818 WY671 WY683 WY675 SV533 FZ046 WY613 WY913 MP95

BOMBAY 0005 DUBAI-ZURICH 0020 BOMBAY 0025 ABU DHABI-LONDON HEATHROW 0025 AHMEDABAD 0030 ZANZIBAR 0040 ABU DHABI-FRANKFURT 0050 MADRAS 0110 BOMBAY 0120 HYDERABAD 0135 BANGALORE 0150 ISLAM ABBAD 0150 DUBAI 0150 DELHI 0155 TEHRAN 0155 JAIPUR 0200 KUWAIT 0200 KUALA LUMPUR 0205 ABU DHABI 0205 BAHRAIN 0205 COLOMBO 0210 MUNICH 0210 DOHA 0225 KARACHI 0225 MALE 0235 SALALAH 0240 LAHORE 0315 ISTANBUL 0315 ADDIS ABABA 0450 DUBAI 0455 DUBAI 0510 DOHA 0520 ABU DHABI 0525 CAIRO 0530 BAHRAIN 0745 MUKHAIZNA 0800 DUBAI 0800 SALALAH 0800 KHASAB 0815 LUCKNOW 0920 CALICUT 0920 TRIVANDRUM 0920 LAHORE 0930 DUBAI 0935 MALE 0940 DELHI 0955 HYDERABAD 0955 SHARJAH 1005 BANGKOK 1010 TURBAT-GWADUR 1015 BOMBAY 1030 SALALAH 1030 DUBAI 1030 COLOMBO 1040 KATHMANDU 1040 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 1045 DUBAI 1055 CHITTAGONG 1100 ABU DHABI 1105 TRIVANDRUM 1110 DOHA 1115 COCHIN 1115 COCHIN 1135 KHASAB 1145 ABU DHABI 1220 COCHIN 1235 CALICUT 1310 DUBAI 1315 LAHORE 1315 MADRAS 1315 MUKHAIZNA 1330 DOHA 1330 LONDON HEATHROW 1400 FRANKFURT 1400 ZURICH 1405 KUWAIT 1405 MALPENSA 1415 SALALAH 1415 PARIS 1420 DUBAI 1420 DAMMAM 1430 SIALKOT 1430 CAIRO 1430 CHITTAGONG-DACCA 1500 MANGALORE 1530 MEDINA 1535 RIYADH 1605 JEDDAH 1630 RIYADH-JEDDAH 1650 DUBAI 1700 DUBAI 1700 SALALAH 1735 DUBAI WORLD CENTRESINGAPORE 1815 DUBAI 1820 DOHA 1845 RIYADH 1845 SALALAH 1850 BAHRAIN 1855 KUWAIT 1900 DOHA 1900 DUBAI 1905 DAMMAM 1910 BAHRAIN 1920 SHARJAH 2005 SALALAH 2015 DUBAI 2025 DUBAI 2040 ABU DHABI 2040 KARACHI 2100 SALALAH 2110 JEDDAH 2215 DUBAI 2225 DOHA-AMSTERDAM 2230 BANGKOK 2235 TRIVANDRUM 2240 BOMBAY 2245 MADRAS 2300 DELHI 2310 DOHA 2320 BAHRAIN 2325 COLOMBO 2335 ABU DHABI 2350 JEDDAH 2350

AI986 LX243 9W539 BA072 LH619 WY685 WY211 WY251 WY201 WY225 WY235 WY341 WY281 WY601 WY241 WY271 WY643 WY637 WY821 WY657 WY123 WY667 WY323 WY691 WY383 WY901 WY847 PK260 NL772 TK777 ET625 EK867 FZ042 QR1133 EY385 WY3931 WY3301 WY3921 4H562 GF561 WY903 WY603 CV732 WY917 WY291 WY263 WY347 FZ044 WY385 WY231 WY245 WY843 G9115 WY815 NL769 WY905 WY203 WY605 WY373 WY253 WY337 WY717 EK863 WY311 EY383 IX554 QR1129 WY3303 WY919 WY663 G9842 WY631 IX350 FZ038 WY433 WY113 WY101 WY413 WY645 WY153 WY143 WY927 WY609 WY405 WY3305 WY671 WY675 WY613 FZ046 WY913 WY623 WY325 QR1127 WY681 WY907 GF565 WY647 WY661 EK865 WY695 G9117 WY909 WY611 WY635 FZ048 TG508 WY915 FZ050 KL442 WY817 6.00E+82 AI908 AI974 QR1135 GF567 UL206 EY381

BOMBAY 0005 DUBAI-ZURICH 0020 BOMBAY 0025 ABU DHABI-LONDON HEATHROW 0025 ABU DHABI-FRANKFURT 0050 RIYADH 0105 TRIVANDRUM 0110 MADRAS 0110 BOMBAY 0120 COCHIN 0125 HYDERABAD 0135 LAHORE 0150 BANGALORE 0150 DUBAI 0150 DELHI 0155 JAIPUR 0200 KUWAIT 0200 ABU DHABI 0205 KUALA LUMPUR 0205 BAHRAIN 0205 MUNICH 0210 DOHA 0225 KARACHI 0225 DAMMAM 0235 MALE 0235 SALALAH 0240 JAKARTA 0245 PESHAWAR 0310 PESHAWAR 0330 BAHRAIN-ISTANBUL 0350 ADDIS ABABA 0450 DUBAI 0455 DUBAI 0510 DOHA 0520 ABU DHABI 0525 SOHAR 0600 MUKHAIZNA 0715 DUQUM OMAN 0745 DACCA 0745 BAHRAIN 0745 SALALAH 0800 DUBAI 0800 HONG KONG 0805 KHASAB 0815 CALICUT 0920 LUCKNOW 0920 ISLAM ABBAD 0920 DUBAI 0935 MALE 0940 HYDERABAD 0955 DELHI 0955 MANILA 1000 SHARJAH 1005 BANGKOK 1010 LAHORE 1030 SALALAH 1030 BOMBAY 1030 DUBAI 1030 COLOMBO 1040 MADRAS 1040 KATHMANDU 1040 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 1045 DUBAI 1055 CHITTAGONG 1100 ABU DHABI 1105 TRIVANDRUM 1110 DOHA 1115 MUKHAIZNA 1115 KHASAB 1145 DOHA 1145 RAS AL KHAIMA 1210 ABU DHABI 1220 CALICUT 1310 DUBAI 1315 TEHRAN 1330 FRANKFURT 1400 LONDON HEATHROW 1400 AMMAN 1405 KUWAIT 1405 ZURICH 1405 MALPENSA 1415 SALALAH 1415 DUBAI 1420 CAIRO 1430 MUKHAIZNA 1515 MEDINA 1535 JEDDAH 1630 DUBAI 1700 DUBAI 1700 SALALAH 1810 DUBAI 1820 KARACHI 1830 DOHA 1845 RIYADH 1845 SALALAH 1850 BAHRAIN 1855 KUWAIT 1900 DOHA 1900 DUBAI 1905 DAMMAM 1910 SHARJAH 2005 SALALAH 2015 DUBAI 2025 ABU DHABI 2040 DUBAI 2040 KARACHI-BANGKOK 2040 SALALAH 2110 DUBAI 2225 DOHA-AMSTERDAM 2230 BANGKOK 2235 BOMBAY 2245 MADRAS 2300 DELHI 2310 DOHA 2320 BAHRAIN 2325 COLOMBO 2335 ABU DHABI 2350

WY623 QR1127 WY681 WY907 GF565 WY647 WY661 EK865 WY695 WY653 G9117 WY909 WY611 FZ048 WY635 PK226 WY915 4H561 FZ050 KL442 WY817 9W529 6.00E+82 AI908 AI974 QR1135 GF567 UL206 EY381 WY673

ETA

ETD

ETA

ETD

B8

S ATUR DAY, M A RCH 7, 2 015

EXTRA

WHICH IS THE BEST C KING IL? FR M EXTRA VIRGIN LIVE IL T C C NUT n an idle and drizzly m rning in L nd n, what better way t ward ff the February blues than t wander ff Kensingt n High Street int the nurturing warmth f the high-end f d sh p Wh le F ds Market.

Drawing in a lungful f fresh raspberry-meringue-basilf caccia-scented air, I start n a quick turn f the aisles, marvelling with every step at their Émile Z la-esque displays f healthy splend ur. Pride f these, r m st arresting, is a retr c c nut il t wer. Every single jar is screaming “buy me, eat me”. But it’s n t just ne display; each c rner I turn ar und, there seems t be yet m re c c nut il.

Y u d n’t have t find y urself in the envir ns f ne f L nd n’s f d hubs t witness the big sell f this fashi nable ingredient.

Visit cad , and it w uld seem that there are m re brands f c c nut il n ffer than the live variety. In fact, g int any health f d st re, and y u will be hard pushed t leave with ut being beck ned ver by its waxy, lilywhite finger. Because, apparently,

it is very g d f r us, and n t nly can we c k with it, we can use it as a face cream, a hair c nditiner, an eyelash extender and makeup rem ver. And, sh uld we be in any d ubt ab ut its virtues, m st jars state that they are “raw”, “extra virgin” and “c ldpressed”, and many are rganic.

F r the c k, it is easy t see its charms. Vegetables r ast up a treat with delicately crisp edges, and stir-fries are alt gether m re ex tic, infused with a pr n unced and yet discreet scent f c c nut. It gives new meaning t the expressi n “melts in the m uth”, turning int a rich, limpid il ab ve 24C, s lusci us that it reminds me f lard. Which is when I start t feel a slight sense f unease. Delving a little deeper, it w uld seem that its virginal appearance c nceals a darker side.

Virgin c c nut il is pr ving t be an enigma. It c ntains m re saturated fat than any ther type, ab ut 92 per cent c mpared t butter’s 52 per cent (lard c mes in at a m dest 40 per cent). Ab ut 50 per cent f this is lauric acid, a medium-chain triglyceride r

MCT that is kn wn t raise HDL r “g d” ch lester l. And this is where the battle lines are drawn.

There are th se in the medical pr fession wh refuse t supp rt the pr duct with ut l ng-term clinical trials examining its effect n heart health, and wh maintain that anything that raises ch lester l is bad f r y u, peri d.

S eating gener us am unts f saturated fat can never be rec mmended. n the ther hand, it is als widely being t uted as having a high sm ke p int. (This is the temperature at which an il breaks d wn int t xic l gical c mp unds, and damaging free radicals are released.) H wever, as Judy Ridgway, the live il expert, p ints ut, “Virgin c c nut il is a really great pr duct, but its sm ke p int is ab ut 170C (c mpared t ab ut 200C f r live il). S it’s n t true t say that c c nut il has a high sm ke p int. Refined c c nut il has, virgin c c nut hasn’t.”

S , were y u t take a measured view, yes it is pr bably better f r y u than butter, but still s mething t eat in m derati n, and n t with the kind f aband n y u

might with extra virgin live il, which is an unsaturated fat. And als , y u sh uld be a bit careful ab ut h w y u c k with it. In sh rt, a l vely pr duct but the health benefits are m re testim nial than clinical. n my next visit t Wh le F ds, giving the c c nut il m untain a slightly wide berth and wistfully regretting that my kitchen w n’t be permanently scented with B unty in future, ut f the c rner f my eye I spy their il shelf. In particular, a b ttle f rapeseed il the c l ur f liquid sunshine, shyly hiding next t a team f “extra virgin live il” big hitters. If c c nut il is currently behaving like a glam ur m del in full view f the paparazzi, the new generati n f rapeseed ils seem t be suffering fr m the pp site afflicti n by hiding their light under a bushel.

N flies n this ne, it nly c ntains six per cent saturated fat, which is less than half that f live il, and m re mega 3, as well as having a higher sm ke p int f 238C. It wasn’t that l ng ag , maybe 10 years, that rapeseed il, like c c nut, meant

refined. The fact that we have all been guzzling the stuff in the guise f vegetable il f r years is s mething that has passed many f us by. Why w uldn’t it? That b ttle in the cupb ard has by design been chemically stripped f any character that might give the game away ab ut its pr venance.

It might be s y, palm, sunfl wer r rapeseed. Heated and pressed t within a whisker f its pulp, every last dr p f il will have been extracted, regardless f the means – which invariably inv lves chemical s lvents – and subsequently de d rised.

This is where the expression “c ld pressed” enters, as a guarantee f purity. F r the pr ducer, it means settling f r ab ut half the il that might have been extracted had heat and s lvents been applied. And hence the price p int f rapeseed, which is in the mid-market live il league.

But s me f these ils are truly fabul us. Waitr se, as well as selling the excellent pi neering brands Hillfarm and Farringt n’s, has n w intr duced eight small, l cal pr ducti ns in select st res.

F r any ne d ubting the p tential

f rapeseed, d get h ld f a b ttle f Bell & L xt n, which w n a Great Taste Award in 2013, bef re making any judgements. It changed my wn percepti n. It’s alm st t g d t c k with.

If I have ne niggle with these new niche ils, it is the c nfusing use f the term “virgin” r “extra virgin”, which means s mething c mpletely different depending n whether it is a seed, a nut r fruit. As the standard bearer, “extra virgin live il” legally requires that the il c nf rms t chemical and tasting standards, by c ntaining less than 0.8 per cent leic acid, and it has t be passed by a tasting panel as being fit f r the club. “There are any number f faults that it might have,” says Charles Carey f the il Merchant, wh pi neered estate-b ttled live and highquality nut ils in the UK. In the case f nut ils, “extra virgin” simply signifies unrefined, while c c nut “extra virgin” specifically indicates that it d esn’t c ntain any trans-fatty acids r fats. “Extra virgin” rapeseed, h wever, is pen t interpretati n.

— Annie Bell/The Independent

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W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M S AT U R DAY, M A R C H 7, 2 0 1 5

SECTION

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

RENT

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VACANCY

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CARGO

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*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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S AT U R D AY, M A R C H 7, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

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

FOR RENT

OFFICES FOR RENT Premium offices to let a very good location on the main road very close to Zakher Mall, Al Khawiar. Business Center has offices with sizes of 50m2, 110m2, 180m2, 207m2, 230m2, 437m2.

Showroom also available at Business Center, Area 500m2 with central A/c.

Offices with Central Air-conditions, Security System with CCTV cameras, and Security presence in the building.

Contact: 97377355 / 97307476, Email id: aaleem@ggcoman.com

Flat at Darsait. Contact 99326879 Bachelor villa at Ansab.

Contact 98458542 1BR/BTR, kitchen for Indian family ladies near Ruwi church.

Contact 99746379 Room for rent Al Khuwair.

Contact 99743569/97004265 2 Bedrooms flat in Al Ghobrah near Oman oil 18 November Street.

OMR 330. Monthly. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 85 SQM shops in Ruwi only on 350/- OMR. Contact – 95122188 / 96441499

2BHK /1BHK Commercial & residential flat at Honda road.

Contact 98087644 Prime location Showroom in Qurum Available for Rent. Main roan facing.

Please contact: 92944717 Small office room for rent Azaiba Nov 18 street. Contact 98563322 Room for rent Honda road. Contact 92540125/ 97605342/ 94053366 Flat for rent in Amerat and fifth region 5/2 ground floor two-bedroom and two bathroom and a kitchen to call 99196066 Abdul Amir Well maintained 2BHK, with split A/C’s and basement parking, near KM Hypermarket, Al Khuwair is available from 01.04.2015. Rent OMR 375 pm. Contact 96181229 Shop for rent Honda road.

Contact 95204636 Fully furnished flat one bed room hall and kitchen for sharing. Opp. Star Cinema Ruwi. Contact 99324543 Flat in Wadi Al Kabir, 2BHK. Contact 95099787 1& 2BHK at Honda road Ruwi.

Contact 99224748/ 99332297 For rent in a quite area in South Mabela commercial services, kids area, near the Masjid close to Al Noor round about, spacious apartment separate entrance. Contact 99766760 Qurum Flat in front Qurum park Fahud Road have 3 Bedroom +sitting room +Family hall +3 toilets +kitchen with AC For 500 Rials.

Contact 95999904

Full furniture for rent for family.

Contact 99251975 Showroom, 1BHK, 2BHK, Al – Azaiba North behind Al - Fair. Contact 99565364 / 95497323 Industrial /commercial shops at Wadi Kabir 4 x 5.6 x 4.6 MTR height.

Showroom with mezzanine & office at Al Noor Street near Switz bakery & Al Masa hall corner building all on roads & parkings in front of shops & show room. #99065900 or 99354975 Al. Khuwair 33 Flat near Taimur Mosque have 2 Bedroom +Sitting room +dinning +2 toilets +kitchen +balcony with AC for 375 Rials.

Contact 95999904 Furnished room available on Seeb share with small family for couple working ladies. Contact 96996938 1 Bedroom attached toilet Al Khuwair area only for ladies or husband and wife without children. Contact 9:00 pm to 7:00 am 95765719 Flats shops and store for rent in Ruwi, Honda road, Rex Road. Contact 95902218/ 92433127 / 97293708 Room with A.C Al Khuwair R.O 110/-.

Contact 97799175 5BHK Semi furnished villa, Qurum 29.R.O 950/-. Contact 97799175 1BHK flats at Muttrah.

Contact 93231403

Ghubra north Flat in front of Al Maha hotel have 2 Bedroom +Family hall +3 toilets +kitchen +balcony with AC For 350 Rials. Contact 95999904

Single room with A/C having separate entrance for non –cooking Indian Executive, near Rawasco, Al Khuwair rent 130/- including (W& E). Contact 92888691/95397442/97201100

New Villa in Baushar Officers heights have 5 Bedrooms +sitting room +Dinning +6 toilets +kitchen +maid room With AC & parking,Rent 700 Rials. Contact 95999904

1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in Misfah Industrial area near to Khan co. OMR 1,500 Monthly. Electricity and boundary wall will be provided.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Deluxe 3 bedroom apartment for rent in Mumtaz area for more information. Contact 99336263

For rent from owner directly 4 nos of luxurious spacious 3 BHK plus big family hall apartments, 1 no of luxury spacious 2 BHK plus big family hall apartment in al Khoudh 6 close to Sultan Qaboos university, next to shopping area and has easy access to express highway. Contact: 99436348/97600322

Half Villa in Ghubra North in front of Indian school first floor have 3 Bedroom +Sitting room +family hall +3 toilets +kitchen +balcony with AC for 450 Rials. Contact 95999904

Spacious 2 BHK flats in Ruwi MBD area only on 350/- OMR.Contact – 95122188 / 96441499

2 BHK Flat, 3 Bath with Spacious Balcony in Al Ghobrah Behind Oxy / Bahwan Residency Area. Ready for Immediate Occupancy.

Contact: 94045125 We have commercial villa in Al Khuwair 33 New villa 2 floor bedroom, with lift very nice location, ideal for big company. Contact 93782735 We have 150 sqm office in Ghubra main road prime location Glass partition ready with 2 toilets & pantry, ideal for office. Contact 93782735 2BHK with split A/C in W.K behind Sana furnishing. Contact 96708000 1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in Misfah Industrial area near to Khan co. OMR 1,500 Monthly. Electricity and boundary wall will be provided.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Flat Wadi AL Kabeer, 2BHK, sitting room, 3 bathroom balcony split /AC 300/- R.O Contact 99324402 Al.Khuwair studio behind platinum hotel rent 130/-R.O PDC. Contact 99879939 AL Khuwair behind platinum hotel 4 BHK, 3bathrrom, sitting dinning split AC. Contact 99879939 2& 3 BHK Darsait near I.S. M School.

Contact 99024730 2& 3 BHK Darsait near I.S.D school new, with A/C. Contact 99024730 1& 2 BHK Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99024730 3BR top class fitting flat ideal for top executives Mumtaz area, Ruwi.

Contact 91287824 1BHK near Oman house behind Khimji, HO. Contact 95865686 2BHK flat in Muttrah for rent (R.O 290/-) immediate occupancy.

Contact 99321580 Sharing room available near Oman house – Muttrah. Contact 99467054 Flat Wadi AL Kabeer, 2BHK, sitting room, 3 bathroom balcony split /AC 300/- R.O Contact 99324402 1BHK available Ghobrah near Al Maha International Hotel.

Contact 99269751 Deluxe 1 bedroom flat, ideal for office / residence at Qurum near PDO. Contact: 97721313 / 95070421

We have brand new villa in ANSAB, for rent 4 bedroom, sitting hall, majlis, dining hall, maid room laundry room covered car parking.

Contact 93782735 We have 2BHK, 3BHK, flats, office & 4 BHK villas available for rent at Ghubra, Ghala, Ruwi , Mabela7 and Darsait. Contact 93329476 1BHK flat Wadi Kabir, 250 RO split AC & maintenance.

Contact- 95439351 4 BHK Wadi Kabeer near Lulu Hypermarket. Contact 97007934 / 92629232 Flats in Mumtaz 2 bedrooms sitting room, kitchen, toilet, Way no 3352 building no 3447 & 3668 .

Contact 98003444 2BHK in Muttrah near Oman house with split ac. Contact 97007934 / 92629232 Attached single bedroom with A/C at Al Khuwair for Exe - bachelors.

Contact 99636550 Furnished room with AC for expatriate in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99689315 Villas & flats at Ansab.

Contact 98458542 2BHK Al Hail North near main road. Contact 99330385 1000 sq mtrs industrial land for rent in Ghala suitable for Ware house workshop. Contact 24700120 / 925 2 B/R Luxury Fully Furnished @ AZAIBA. 2 B/R Luxury Fully Furnished @ Al Khuwair 33.

1 B/R Luxury Fully Furnished @ Al Khuwair. 5 B/R Fully Furnished villa @ Madinat Al Ilam.

3 B/R Furnished flat at Al Khuwair 25. Available for Daily, Weekly and Yearly Lease Contract. Contact: Atlas Real Estate & Rent A Car LLC. 99249069 / 93201688/92888376, Email: info@alshahiintl.com

Beautiful office space available in Ruwi MBD area only on 2/- OMR per sqm.Contact – 95122188 / 96441499

We have all kind of crockery items for rent. Items include: tables, buffet tables, chair, buffet, plates, glasses, spoons, table clothes, carpets.

Call 97180999 Villa for rent with 4 bedroom at Al Khodh, Rent 750/-RO. Contact 92888115 Fully furnished 1 bedroom penthouse Wadi Kabir behind Sana Hassan, monthly RO 300/-.

Contact 99349990 Prim location, nice finishing villa for RENT. 2 big bedrooms . Main large sitting room. Small maid room. Kitchen and 3 bathrooms.

At Alkhuwair. near Holiday Inn & Oman Club. 99426662, PDC only.

For families & college girls.

1 / 3 BHK Flat Ghobrah, close to ISG Way 4041, building 4390.

Contact 99319880 Villa Al Khuwair, 8 bedroom, 7 bathroom, 3kittchen. 950/-.

Contact 99358589/ 5121126/95570288 6 bedroom villa for rent at Al Mawalah near City Center Seeb.

Contact 99654252 2BHK flat Al Khuwair with split A/C. 350/- Contact 95121126/99358589/97079146 1BHK flat available at Darsait near medical. Contact 24705742/24705639 Family flats and villas at Ansab.

Contact 98458542 Flats/villas owned by ROP pension fund available for rent in Muscat.

Contact 99349526 Industrial Land in Misfah.

Contact 93009999

Flats and shops. Contact 93009999

If require flats for rent in Wadi Kabir please send messages through Whatsapp or call – 99376454

2BHK apartment fro at Qurum near PDO, Gate 2.

Contact 94057023

1B/R available for Bachelors in REX ROAD, Ruwi.

Contact 99889590

FOR SALE Coffee shop for sale a well running coffee shop for at Wadi Kabir Sanaya.

Contact 94159356/91039293 Shop for sale or rent in Ruwi.

Contact 99103077 Shop for sale Honda road.

Contact 94053366 / 97605342 Fuel tanker, fork lift. #99199374 Ladies parlour for sales at Al Ansab.

Contact 98281849 5 Flats of 1 bedroom for Sale in Boushar: OMR 35 Thousand each.

Monthly income OMR 270 Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Supermarket shelving and tube light fitting. Contact 99386170 Well running multi – cuisine restaurant in AL Khuwair for sale only serious buyers May. Contact 98519517 Clinic For Sale One Established new Clinic in Muscat, with Valid License & Clearance, for sale ASAP interested Parties can contact 91283188 or send your inquiries to mohamedsfarah@hotmail.com A Reputed & profitable restaurant located strategically in Mabela in industrial state road no 6 is available for immediate sale interested parties may. Contact Mr. .Faisal Khan at phone 99059013 for details & visit.

2 Prime Movers Man 2008 with 40 ton petrol tank each working at the moment in Al Maha. Price OMR 35 Thousand each. Tel: 97000155 or 92688692 23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture land with water well in Al Salwa, Barka.

OMR 260 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Brand new highly finished luxury twin villa for sale in Mawaleh Phase -1 land area for each villa 300,00 m2 builtup area for each villa 433.50 sqm both villas with separate krooki. Contact 99164959

S AT U R DAY, M A R C H 7, 2 0 1 5

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DAILY GUIDE

ACC. AVAILABLE Sharing accommodation available near Walja School for Indian bachelor. Contact 99459121 Spacious 3 BR long hall, 3 bathrooms new spit A/Cs - Qurum (PDO Road) Direct owner.

Contact 99431708/ 24571963 Furnished single /sharing room for EXE. Bachelor at Rex Road (Kannada, Telugu, Tamil).Contact 92873832

WANTED Clinic required, One Established new Clinic in Muscat, with Valid License & Clearance is required to purchase interested Parties can contact 91283188 or send your inquiries to mohamedsfarah@hotmail.com

BUYING/SELLING Looking for purchase of Used Portable Compressor (350 CFM, 7 Bar Pressure) powered with Diesel run Generator.

Kindly Contact 99014686 or operation@khancogroup.com

FOR SALE Commercial kitchen equipment for sale. cont; 99024519 We are dealing with sale of all beauty salon equipments, furnitures & cosmetics. #942888 61 / 942888 63 3 floor building in Muttrah behind Police. Generating income of OMR 18 Thousand annually. Neat and well maintained. Built on 197 sq mtrs land. 2 tailor shops on ground floor and 6 flats. OMR 207 Thousand.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Want Company engaged in selling food to sell coolers non repairable (scrap) quantity: 192 pieces.

Contact 93650084 Offices: 24614874 Dental Clinic with license for sale in Sohar. Contact 92816015 Commercial registration with excellent name Grade A for business software for sale. Contact 92959251 Shop for sale prime location at Al Khoud Souq Tejari. Contact 99083308 Port cabins – New & refurnished Porta cabin for sale and rent.

Contact 96723468 Shop for sale at Ruwi.

Contact 99103077

Room for rent at Al Ansab.

Contact 98806430 Furnished rooms for Indian bachelor in Al Falaj Ruwi & lady in Wadi Kabir. Contact 95941515.

Room available at Honda road.

Contact 99366591 Single room with attached bathroom, kitchen near Muscat Palace family or bachelor OMR 90/-.

Contact 95094028 Gubrah furnished room, attached bath dish TV, WIFI, kitchen available for Executive single person, couple.

Contact 99658689 Room in CBD area for non cooking Executive bachelors free WIFI, Advance deposit. Contact 95934642 Separate room with toilet available at Ruwi near Badar Al Sama hospital.

Contact after 5 pm 99504291 Furnished single room with attached bathroom and split A/C available for executive bachelors opposite Mars hyper market Barka.

Contact 92973534

ACC. AVAILABLE Furnished 1 bed room available near Indian School, Seeb for small family.

Contact 91354846 RO-130, big room in Darsait for family / ladies with Kerala family.

Contact 95323562 Furnished room with attached bath for non-cooking bachelor in Ruwi, R.O 150/-. Contact 92478852 Flats in Darsait of 1 room, hall, 2 toilets and kitchen.

Contact 99357586 / 97500025 Single furnished room in Ruwi.

Contact 24833609 Rooms for bachelors with A/C bed near CBD/ ONTC, Ruwi R.O 100/-.

Contact 96585123

FOR HIRE

TRUCK FOR HIRE Isuzu 10 ton cargo body truck

Contact: 95346950 Running truck wash for rent in Ouhi Sunia Sohar. Serious people can. Contact on 97864747 50 seater bus with PDO specification for rent or lease.

Contact 99839898

Established Restaurant for rent with sponsorship.

Contact 97628242

Room for SRI LANKAN Executive at Al Khuwair. Tel 96536307

Accommodation available for South Indian family, one bedroom with attached toilet, kitchen, hall in a villa, Al Ghubrah. Contact 99209160

Sharing accommodation available in Al Khoudh. Contact 98292798

Fully furnished at W. Kabir.

Contact 99325387

Single room MBD Ruwi.

Contact 95698714

Room for executive bachelors (no Kitchen) including W/E. 125 RO. Contact 98949724

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

Bachelor Accommodation Available in Bausher area with Free Wi-Fi, Split AC & Bed, Car parking, close to Spar Express. 80 Rials only. Contact: JP 94267848 / Ahmed - 98333093 3 Bedrooms flat in Al HailContact 92817777 Sharing bed room with ac near Hamriya R about main road Ruwi.

Contact 93677898.

ACC. WANTED Wanted a 2 bedroom flat in around Ruwi area. Gsm 99761216

Dodge Nitro 4.0 ltr engine 2007 model 130000 kms, red colour, registration valid for one year. RO.2700/-.

Contact - 91251966

Car sale Land Rover L.R 3 & model 2008 K.M 140000, company maintenance. Single person Use (doctor). Contact 99372860

Prado 2009. Contact 99336093

Toyota Camry white 2011 km -51000 R.O 4800/-. Contact 99561562

AVAILABLE

Sharing family flat near Indian School Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99335057

Single room, separate bathroom for working girls/couple behind Al Nahdha hospital. Contact 95871148 (after 4 pm)

M.V. FOR SALE

(2012 FVR) with UAE experienced driver available for long term / short term rent.

LOST Ragesh Erishnan has lost Indian Passport No. H 3355415. Finder please handover to ROP Paramasivam Santhosh kumar has lost Indian Passport No. L 3314934. Finder please handover to ROP

Sunny 2009, 100k km, R.O 2500/-.

Contact 93289652

LOST Sri Sugiarti Bt Nur has lost Indonesia Passport No. AR 515147.

Finder please handover to ROP Asih Suarsih has lost Indonesia Passport No. AP 740125. Finder please handover to ROP Rasheda Bebe has lost Pakistani Passport No. LU 3094311. Finder please handover to ROP Mohmeed Nasar has lost Bangladeshi Passport No. AD 6000347.

Finder please handover to ROP

Mazda 323 2001 model.

Contact 92582523 Trucks & cars for sale quantity: 16 vehicles. Contact 96724225 / 99513419 office: 24614949

CHANGE OF NAME Shomookh Al Khishba Al Dhabiyah Joint Company which is recorded under the commercial register in directorate general for trade industry number 1129780 is going to change its name to Al Assa International joint company.

This is to inform anybody who concerns about that.

*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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S AT U R D AY, M A R C H 7, 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

SITUATION WANTED ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ADMIN Urgently Required: Purchaser, Administration and Accountant with NOC and immediately join.

Apply, fax 00968–24605955, emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeoman@yahoo.com.

BEAUTICIAN

22 years of experience in Multinational Companies & reputed firms in Financial Management, Project Management, Budgeting and Cost control, seeking a strategic Financial/Management Accounting role in a dynamic organization . Please contact Mob. +971-506178139, Email.georg_vargis01@yahoo.com

Urgently requited Indian experience Beautician in location Al Hail near Al Khamis Shoes.

Visa available Good salary + food + accommodation.

Contact 92284899/ 92139922

MBA finance graduate Indian male on visit visa one year’s internship experience in financing/marketing looking suitable marketing /finance position. Contact 95394938 safeer. buzz@gmail.com Internal Auditor MBA (fin) Indian male having 8 years Oman experience with valid Omani D/L & Noc available. Contact 92274373 E mail: willy316@gmail.com

CATERING Wanted experienced Indian Chef for reputed house in Qurum.

Knowledge & experience in Indian, Continental and Chinese food is must. Contact 99466062

Young Indian graduate, experience in Logistics and Accounting/ Sales and Marketing seeks placement. Immediate availability. Call: 97374480

DRIVER

Indian male, B.COM, currently in Oman on Visit Visa, Urgent seeking suitable Job Accountant / Administrative/ HR dept. have 6y. UAE experience, Valid Driving License, Knowledge of Internet ,Tally ERP9, Microsoft Office. MS EXCEL, immediately available.

Contract +968-92718733 , Email : sahashankar@gmail.com

Expatriate heavy duty drivers / crane operators and forklift operators with PDO license and Noc. Contact 99465358/99348352 Looking for a House Driver with at least 3 years experience.

Contact : 92807807

Indian female, M. Com with 6 years experience in finance, HR & Administration with Oman D/L .

On family joining visa.

Contact 99864846 Email: b_ralitha@yahoo.com

Wanted driver. Contact 95112461 Required a private driver from India. Contact 92345861

DOMESTIC HELPER Wanted urgently an Indian House Driver and a Part Time cook for an Omani family. Kindly send your cv to alraid@alraidgroup.com or contact on 24567070 Require House maid in Mabela.

Contact. 95200180

ENGI./ELECT./TECH..

Urgently Required: Civil Engineer experience in building construction with NOC and immediately join. Apply, fax 00968–24605955, emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeoman@yahoo.com.

A Fast Growing Construction Company Requires, Site Engineer (1no) (Diploma)- 3 to 5 yrs Oman exp, Civil Foreman (1no) 6 to 8 yrs Oman Exp, Light duty Expatriate Driver (1no), Omani Driver (3Ton) - 1no. Those are having Oman driving license & NOC / Release can apply Contact # 96920919 and send your CV to builtinsharp@gmail.com A/C Mechanic, Electrician plumber, computer hardware etc.

Contact 99447257 / 97014234 mansur75@hotmail.co.uk A leading MEP Contracting Company urgently requires the following with minimum 3-4 yrs experience. 1) HVAC Estimation Engineer. Those who are interested may contact on 99221471, Email : Kevin@airmechoman.com , fax 24447061 Wanted Civil Engineer, Email: almoosaengineering@gmail.com Required Sales Engineer for the sale of building Material, with 3-5 years experience in Oman, holding a valid Omani driving license. Qualified candidates mail in your CV to migc.vacancies@gmail.com Leading metal fabrication group requires Sales Engineer, minimum 2 yrs exp. with valid Oman D/L. Contact: hr@khancogroup. com 99102383

IT

MEDICAL Urgently required a female nurse with MOH license to work permanent or leave vacancy for a reputed clinic. Salary Negotiable. Contact 94618483 Wanted Pharmacist (B Pharm), Staff Nurses (female) with or without MOH license for a polyclinic near Sohar. Excellent salary package. Contact 99006915, email : alhinaee.clinic@yahoo.com Urgently required Pharmacist.

Contact 94200385/ 95206905/ 97433142 Email: anitho@gmail. com Hala Medical Center, Sinaw require G.P, Gynecologist, Pediatrician, Staff Nurse, Lab Technician Radiographer & Lady Receptionist. Contact 99795113 Email: halamedicalgroup@gmail.com Wanted Doctor with or without MOH license for a Polyclinic.

Excellent salary with accommodation and commission. Contact: 97091664.

Email: mmcmuscat@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING Urgently IT Marketing Eng. 2 years experience in Oman. Driving License.

Email - darr_al_maan@yahoo.com GSM 99058770 Urgently needed sales and marketing personal with logistic experience in the Sultanate of Oman pls. sent your c.v. to kttoman@omantel.net.om or P. O. Box. 505, P.C114, Jibroo, S. Of Oman tel. : 24711071/fax :24711064 Urgently required Omani national Sales Executives (indoor & outdoor) for marble & granite company in Muscat. Please send your CV to nimmu.n@gmail.com or Contact 94552924 We Al Mayar Co LLC are seeking talented experienced Sales Executive for the FMCG, Electrical and Electronics sale. The interested persons can send their CV s to ultrasales@almayarllc.com and pnoman@gmail.com Marketing Executive for digital printing company. Contact 94356769/ 96936564

SALES / MARKETING SKILLED / UNSKILLED Wanted Salesman with driving licence and car. Gsm : 98805474 or email id: jobssales2015@gmail.com Required Salesman.

Contact 96964767 Our company CHABROS LLC is seeking for Indian salesman.

Have an experienced in building materials. Please send CV to chabros@omantel.net.om Wanted part time Marketing Executive to sell beautiful property project to NRI’s. Attractive terms offered. Contact 97445835 Looking for an experienced sales man for building materials and electrical shop in Amerat, candidate should be fluent in speaking Arabic & Hindi. Contact 92418044 Required Business Development Executive for a clearing and forwarding company. Please mail CV to wisal.international@gmail.com

Urgently required Omani IT software professional fluent in Arabic and English with 2 years experience Email: mhca@mhabibgroup. com fax: 24564459

Urgently required SALES EXECUTIVES for a reputed company dealing in TRUCK SPARE PARTS. Fresh graduates are also welcome.

Attractive salary packages. Send CV: Jibalmansur@gmail.com 97988908/ 95415900

IT Sales Executive GCC Experience - 2+ Years Valid Driving license Graduate in IT With MBA or Marketing back ground in IT field.

E mail : towershr70@gmail.com, info@towersinternationalgroups.com

Urgently required out door sales executive for furnishing company with valid Oman license and minimum 3 years experience in furniture field. Contact 93231403 or mail: rainbowfurnishing156@gmail.com

Required IT Technician for computer shop. Send your CV at khalid@rayyancomputer.com

Urgently required an excellent grade construction firm based in Muscat has immediate vacancy for Marketing Executive minimum 5 years experience with D/L. Email your CV to info@omannc.com

Shawarma/BBQ/ Tandoor / helpers wanted. Contact 95529970 Urgently required experienced store keeper who can look after store and logistics for a reputed company in Muscat. Pls forward your CV to accounts@ies-oman.com Required Electrician for Maintenance Company.

Contact 97205114 For a reputed contracting company urgently required, tiles Mansons, general Mansons, furniture carpenters, painters, carpentry foremen, civil foreman with license, accountant, and electrician cum plumber. Contact: - 99889450/99343461, fax no: 24619716. E mail:goldenrayconstruction@gmail.com

TOURS Sales Manager for luxury yacht in Muscat. Experience in Oman market preferred. Email cv and photo: alibadawy@gmail.com.

Wanted experience candidate for tours and rent a car.

Email: almoosarentacar@gmail. com, Fax: 24796040 Temporary boatman wanted for month of April and May 2015.

Contact 99466062

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

Part Time Accounting, Accounts Finalization, Audit Preparation, Internal Audit, Onsite Tally Training, Inventory Management Contact : 96975454, email : ibfcoman@hotmail.com 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 Indian M.Com Finance exp 1 year now in visiting visa.

Contact 96970734 B.Com India. Languages : English, Hindi & Malayalam.

Contact 92954613 FCCA- Qualified from UK with 9 years of experience in Big 4 & Top 30 UK firms. Currently working as Manager Finance & Accounts for more than 2years. NOC available, please contact 9259 3748.

Indian female B.com CA Inter 3 years internship completed 2 years accounting experience currently on visit visa seeking for suitable job . Contact 94682798/95736496 Email: giby2605@gmail.com Indian male with one years experience in logistics, cargo operation and accounts seeks suitable placement. Contact 97826180 Email: nihalsiddheeque@gmail.com MBA Finance (Indian) with 3 years experience in Accounts & Finance field. Looking for suitable position.

Contact- 94276956/ irshadbhk@gmail.com MBA (finance & accounts) having 3 years working experience as accountant possessing good skills in tally , ERP seeks suitable placement currently available on visit visa.

Contact 97095686 Indian male B.com professional looking for suitable job, 2 years experience finance and marketing.

Contact 95983091 Email: akhil.mathew556@gmail.com India Accountant: Male, M com, 7 Yrs experience in Accounts up to finalization, having knowledge of ERP, Tally, seeks suitable placement. Contact:93950138 Email: lijinrajan123@gmail.com Accountant / Purchase manager (Release Available) 29yrs Indian male having 7yrs experience in Oman seeking suitable placement Mob:95325041,email:vijayapalanbinu.aniyan@gmail.com Indian B.Com Graduate having 7 years of experience in logistics in Dubai and 2 years of Oman experience in accounts with valid D/L is looking for a suitable placement.

Contact 00968 91234320 Indian male (34), B. Com with computer application , 3 years experience in Muscat as Accountant . Having valid Oman D/L, looking for a part time job.

Contact 91586632

ACCA finalist and BSc from Oxford Brookes University UK, having 18 months working experience, currently in Muscat on visit, seeking immediate and suitable position.

Contact : 95375282 A Fresh ACCA Affiliate, Pakistani male, 24 yrs, open for positions of Accounts, Audit and finance.

Contact 94541539 email: wasiqnasir_3@yahoo.com Finance Manager, CPA, with more than 15 yrs. of experience in GCC. Fully knowledgeable in Finance, General & Management Accounting .

NOC available. Contact 96209331 MBA HR&FINANCE Indian Female with 2 years work experience in leading MNC looking for suitable placement in HR / FINANCE, Contact: 99791008 / 93888576 Part time Accountant, up to finalization, looking for job after 5 pm (location prefer - Qurum to Al Khoudh). Contact 92917574 Looking for part time job as accountant having experience up-to finalization. Contact. 99002390 Indian 34 yrs B.Com CA Inter pass 12 yrs exp in Audit A/C, Finance on visit seeks suitable placement.

Contact 95585069 Indian male, 25 yrs,MBA (Finance) 3 years experience as Accountant immediately available.

Contact 968 99485943, Email : hyd.mushu@gmail.com Accountant B.Com CIMA finalist 8 yrs experience. Contact 95522109

ADMIN/HR B.Sc Graduate with 6 yrs of exp in HR & Administration looking for suitable positions.

Contact 91507099 Indian, Male, 30 Years, B.COM, 8 Years’ Experience as HR / Administration in Oman, seeks suitable placement, NOC Available, Contact No. 00968 94652591 Over 14 years of gulf experience in Admin /HR /Logistic fluent in Arabic & English with D/L , looking for suitable position. Contact 95824598 Indian female with excellent communication skills, confident, dedicated to work and enthusiastic.

Knowledge about ms office. Has 6 years of experience in customer service, telecommunication, HR.Looking for immediate placement. Contact # 97348819 Young Indian male with 5 years Muscat experience in admin, purchase & Masters from UK seeks placement. Possess driving license.

Contact 94400671

ARCHI./ DRAUGHTSMAN Indian Female Architect with 3.5 years experience looking for suitable job (1.5 years experience in Oman) B. Arch. Contact 96146645 Email: anjuovil@gmail.com AutoCAD operator, Indian male 3 yrs experience in Auto CAD 2D & 3Ds Civil Draftsman, MAX and Photo shop, presently on visit visa seek suitable placement.

Contact 91764358 Email: mohdsiraj02@yahoo.com

Pakistani male, 25 yrs, MBA Finance, 1.6 yrs exp in Accounts seeking placement in Accounts, Administration or Business Management. # 92651927 / 94250149

Auotcad knows 3D,REVIT, MAX Ph : 97103168

Accountant with bachelor degree in Business Administration & Accounting from Majan College with 1 year experience in Oman.

Contact 96132149

Indian cook, Tandoori cook, male, 32 yrs, having 4 yrs of experience in Muscat in India, looking for a cook job in Hotel. Contact 93753523 / 98744307 / 92175119.

Indian male 26 years, with 4 years experience in accounts and administration looking for suitable placement. Contact 93008891 Female with MBA finance, financial and tax professional four and half years of experience seeks suitable opportunities in reputed organizations. Contact- 99792457 Email: msparveen1@gmail.com Indian male, B.Com, Accountant – 6yrs exp in Oman, NOC availableReady to join.contact: 98162671 ; email: prasanths3@gmail.com Indian Male, 25 yrs currently in Oman on visit looking for suitable vacancies in accounts, B.Com completed 1 yr experience. Contact 92024380 B.com doing CA Accounts/ office job male now working in Oman Noc, release available. Contact 92715465 Email: alsabathehm@gmail.com Indian male- B.Com/B.Ed/15 years Exp – 5 in Oman, seeks job in Accts/Sales/Logistics have NOC and Oman D/L with car.

Contact – 92919625/93511425/ 93424828; Emailseshadricpioman@gmail.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 Indian Male, MBA 2 yrs experience in Accounts, Admin & HR on visit visa. Contact 92045306 Accounting up to finalization, auditing & contact for tally ERP software Contact– 91720465 Male, total 17 years experience in India & Oman - India - 9 years & Oman - 8 years In the field of procurement, material controller and accountancy - Local release available (Noc) Cont no. 91680124 , 98606546

ADMIN/HR Indian male MBA 32 yrs having 10 yrs of exp seeking suitable placement in Admin/ HR/ Operations/ Coordination/ Logistics etc. Holding valid Oman D/L .Contact - 99054786 Indian male MBA 35 years having 12 years of experience in Oman seeking placement in Admin /HR operations /accounts holding valid Oman D/L. Contact 96055815 Noc available can join immediately Email: shaiks111@gmail.com

CATERING

DESIGNER 3D designer Indian male, good experience with 3 omax photo shop 1llustratori. Contact 93909636 /98461278 Keralite Bachelor professional building designer with AutoCAD, 3D Max & Accounts.

Contact 96535497, email : bhaviwky90@gmail.com Indian female, 25yrs BscFASHION DESIGNING, 3yers experience in designing field and teaching. looking for a sutable placement. Contact: 98785310.

Email: vinaya.m.nair@gmail.com

DRIVER Light Driver having own visa looking for job as driver.Contact 92303692 Tower crane operator having visa NOC. Contact Atthar har 97377834 Light duty Driver wanted. Contact 95667138 Experienced driver Indian with 4 wheel driver landcruiser.

Contact 91690870 Looking for job LVD experience, 2 years in Oman. Contact 96534239 Light duty driver with 2 yrs exp seeks job. Contact 97311715 Light driver having only visa looking for job as driver. Contact 93308178 Driver available 5 years experience Oman driving light.

Contact 92505581 With car driver available and only driver. Contact 96771598 Light driver looking for job.

Contact 92791678 Light duty driver looking for job, 2 yrs exp. Contact 98356230 Light driver looking for job.

Contact 91376612 LV Driver- 2 yrs Exp-know English- Contact 95292064

ENGG. / TECHNICAL Indian male 24 years, Mechanical Engineer,pdms.1 yr experience in pipeline,16years in oman seeking immediate placement # 95775742

S AT U R DAY, M A R C H 7, 2 0 1 5

C5

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED

MISCELLANEOUS

SALES / MARKETING

Indian male M. Sc Graduate with telecom AV experience for 6 years looking for suitable position. Contact 00971-557041574 / 95135218 email: nazid83@gmail.com

Indian male, graduate with 7 years experience in hospitality industry, sales & marketing .M.B.A in human resource management. # 92115860

Logistics Officer, Experience in Store keeping. Contact : 99505934

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

EDUCATION MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

Chemical Engineer B.Tech Indian male 2+ years of experience seeking suitable placement.

Contact 92545630 Email: vkarun77@gmail.com MS in Engg Management (UK), B. Tech in CS, 5+ years of exp in project management /sales /business development, MOB: 92798469 Chartered Electrical Engineer 5 yrs experience with core strength in design, installation, commissioning and testing effective skills in preparation of BOQ. Estimations, switchgears substations commercial and residential buildings Contact 94638744/ 96473165 Email : ceng.shaz@gmail.com Elet.Engr 9+ yrs exp Noc available can join immediately.

Contact 99148940 Email: jobluk.om@gmail.com M.Tech Manger /Civil Engineer with PMP, Indian male, 18 yrs experience (including 4 yrs in Dubai and 3yrs in Oman) in construction field for multi million projects like five star hotels , waterfront, properties , high rise buildings, luxurious villas and ROP projects seeking placement , Noc available , ready to join .

Contact 91158903 / tuminousmercury@gmail.com Civil Site Supervisor, 3 yrs Diploma, Certificate attested, Experienced, Knows 3D, Autocad, Revit Ph : 99506977 Civil Engineer (Diploma) 23 yrs, Indian male 1 yr exp. Contact +919645285855 / 97050267 mail id: unnikrishnan1334@gmail.com HVAC Engineer (heating ventilating air conditioner) qualification B.E (Mechanical Engineer) 3 years experience (India) presently family visa. Contact +968 94271486 Indian female, 25 yrs, M.Sc Software Engineering having 2 yrs experience in IT & Admin, on visit visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact 96985150, Email : anucherian@gmail.com Indian male with 5 yrs experience in CCTV, (AV technician) and 4 yrs experience as Supervisor / billing section on visit visa.

Contact 93570126 Indian male 27, B.A Economics, Diploma in fire & safety engineering, NEBOSH, IOSH, OSHA, certification, 4 years experience as Safety Officer in India on visit visa.

Contact 91092826 Civil Engineer (Diploma) 3 yrs exp seeking for placement.

Contact 95200650 Qualified Chemical Engineer over twenty years experience in water and waste water with Oman driving license and Noc available for suitable job. Contact 94479435 B.E /B.Tech civil 2-3 years.

Contact 93850875/95283064 Civil Engineer having 4 and Half years experience in building construction looking for suitable placement valid D/L available.

Contact 92153392 Diploma in Architect 2.5 years experience in Oman having driving.

Contact 92967404 Project Engineer Indian male 3yrs dip12 yrs experience all kind mechanical civil, interiors decoration job Oman driving license.

Contact 93260559 Mechanical Engineer 30 years experience fabrication erection production on visit visa. Contact 93663121 Electrical Engineer B.E Engineer, 6 years experience in Dubai, Bahrain with G.C.C. professional licenses holding GCC driving license.

Contact 98063081 Email: imran.engr08@gmail.com Mechanical engineer (B.Tech in Mechanical) with certified quality controller –NDT level 2 qualified as per ASNT – SNT - TC - IA having experience in sales and marketing in India, presently on visiting visa seeks suitable placement. Contact 92417032 Email: joel.aries@gmail.com

Civil Engineer B Tech, Site Engineer Experienced, Drafting on Visit Visa Ph : 91642050 Project Manager BSC Civil Engineering with MBA have Oman experience with 9+ years.

Contact 97046565 Quality Assurance Design, BTech Elec, MBA (TQM) , IT Infrastructure(WLAN , TETRA) Security systems(CCTV AACS),Project control Engineering, Document Control / CAD Managing /Change management, Exp in Major projects, NOC available Ph : 99506977 Project Engineer, civil engineer BSC, Building Construction 5 Years Exp in Oman fluent Arabic, English and good Indian .Contact - 97858589 Sudanese Mechanical Engineer 6 yrs. exp (generators, solar, A/C sales, control) 5 months (HVAC) Omani D/L. Noc vehicle.

Contact 97452159 Email: mohamedkarrar.mk@gmail.com B.E Mechanical Engineer, Indian male, 4 yrs experience in sales, Seeking suitable job on visit visa.

Contact 96137079 , 93095565, Email : elangovivek@yahoo.co.in Looking Part time Job in HVACContact - 93198128 Quantity Surveyor (Civil Building) looking for Part time job Contact no:-94391712 E-mail addressinayathhussain@yahoo.com Indian B.Tech Mechanical Engineer, 26 yrs, 4 yrs experience in HVAC/MEP. Contact 94669629, rajeevhpd15@yahoo.com Procurement Engineer Indian male, 6 years exp in oil & gas sector in Oman & Bahrain currently on visit visa looking for suitable placement .Contact 92967443 Civil site Engineer diploma holder 9 am want job my exp, 8 years Oman & Dubai. Contact 95714327 B.Tech Mechanical Engineer (Automobile)&Diploma in QC with 2yrs experience in oil & gas company seek suitable placement job currently on Visit Visa. Contact no.96071081, 99214308 , Email: rahulvarikkat@gmail.com Sudanese male, Architect 3 years experience in Oman as an Architectural designer and Site Supervisor, designing software known (Auto CAD, 3D Max, revit, ArchiCAD, photo shop and primavera. Contact 92327536 Email: ahmedstar89@hotmail.com Indian male, 28 diploma in fire and safety Engineering computer hardware net working 1 yr customer service experience trouble shooting technical support on visit visa.

Contact 91025050 / 98856803 Email: purujith8797@gmail.com BE/EEE Electrical Engineer Indian male 25 years having 2.5 years experience currently on visit visa looking for suitable placement.

Contact 00968-96522624 / 92770316 contact India +91- 9994024477 / 9597539520 Electrical Engineer Indian male 29 years, having 5 years of experience in Industrial Automation & utility maintenance in India (MRF Tyres) seeking suitable placement.

Contact 92789995 Email: akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com Electrical Engineer experience 2008-2015 in Oman and experience 2004- 2008 outside Oman, 34 years.

Contact 96968275 / 97445304 Email: alsada_1981@yahoo.com Bachelor in Telecommunication Engineering from CCE ,CCNA certificate IELTS, score 7 experience certificate from Central Bank of Oman.

Contact 95331455 / 92210958 Indian Male, 5 yrs exp.

Hardware & net working Engineer on short visit requires suitable placement. Contact 92458622 B.Tech Electronics and Biomedical Engineering, female with approximately 2 years in medical field is seeking any job position.

Contact 94652908 mail id: aswathiraviraj@gmail.com

Telecom Engineer with 4.5 years Oman experience looking for a suitable opportunity, interested even in Marketing also. Possess valid Oman driving license. Contact 94145460 BE 2 yrs exp electrical projects AutoCAD design/ commission available attested. Contact 97835922 Email: anascadd11@gmail.com M. Sc Mechanical Engineer 5 years experience in crusher plants production manufacturing release visa CAD/CAM. Contact 92156387 / 97838220 Electronics & Communication Engineer with 4 years Oman experience in telecom field looking for a suitable opportunity. Interested in marketing also. Possess valid Oman driving license. Contact 94145460 DAE (Civil) having 3.5 years Experience 2 years from Oman with driving licences, seeking for suitable position in Construction field NOC and release available . Contact 96968554 Email: mehranahmad26@yahoo.com 24 years Indian female diploma in computer science and engineering now on visit visa seek suitable placement. Contact 96314974/99107369 Sudanese Mechanical Engineer 11 years exp in oil & gas industry.

Contact - 95928035 Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need suitable job of construction 12 yrs exp.

Email: mohd.ateeq.khan@gmail.com Mechanical Engineer, Gulf Exp in Design and Manufacturing Ph: 97097688 Generator maintenance in charge with 4 yrs experience with Cummins, caterpillar, kirloskar and voltas. Contact - email: shibinmundakkal@gmail.com Aircraft Maintenance Technician with one year experience seeks suitable placement. Contact amaljohn2002@gmail.com Diploma of Associate Civil Engineering, Diploma of AutoCad, having 3.5 yrs experience, 2 yrs experience of Oman in Building Construction, valid transferrable ID Card.

Contact 94378581 Experienced female Electrical Engineer. Contact 93800906 Civil Engineer with 12 years Experience Looking For Job. Contact 98162295 Indian Male, IT Support Engineer, 2 yrs in Oman & 5 yrs Indian experience. Contact 97311847 Indian male, 26 yrs B-Tech (ECE) with MBA in Marketing / HR looking for a suitable placement. Currently on visit visa valid up to 30 January 2015. Contact 93754428, email : shijosirius709@gmail.com B.Sc Electrical Engineer, more than 16 years experience, 3 years in Oman experience in EPC contract, power plant – grid station – primary substation – SCADA system – test and commissioning engineer – DCRP approval.

Contact 96964917 Muscat Arabic and English / Oman driving license

EDUCATION Indian Female, BE (Electrical and Electronics), M.Tech (VLSI Design and Embedded Systems) with 3.5 yrs experience in teaching/education field, seeking suitable teaching/nonteaching job in Muscat.

Contact 93686493 Email: n.akshatha12@gmail.com Indian Female (M.Com, B.ED) 2Yrs Experience in teaching seeks suitable placement . Specialization in ( Accounting, Business studies, Human resource management, Economics). Presently in Visit Visa Status. Contact:97342709, Email: sininair27@gmail.com Indian female 25 years MSC polymer chemistry holder seeking suitable placement. Currently on visit visa. Contact 96128290 Email ID: najeeb27@gmail.com Experienced Librarian seeks suitable position. Contact 92887119

1 year experience in teaching all subject to KG classes, currently working as a teacher in Oman, seeking suitable placement, Family visa.

Contact 92178304 / 99036256

INFORMATION TECH 28 years male M. Sc, 7+ years experience in WEB developer and designer currently working at Microsoft India seeking suitable placement. Contact 93936878 Omani citizen searching a job in the field of computer Especially in data base professional in operating oracle SQL , PL/ SQL , form6i , Report 6i .

Contact 96977368 Email: talaloml@yahoo.com BSc. Computer Engineer having skills in IT Support, Networking and Technical Sales. Looking for a job opportunity. Mobile: 9127 9617, Email: Javaid_iqbal1@hotmail.com Seeking IT job (on contract basis) having 8 yrs exp , with ( COT NET, SQL SERVER, ORACLE , BO reporting , application maintenance, IT support , ERP support & development) valid IT visa up to 11-07 2016 and D/L Oman.

Contact 92064496 India, Male BCA, IT Engineer, hardware, networking MCSA, CCNA, ITIL, Office administration, Accounts Email: e.mustafa@live.com Required suitable possistion for the experinced B Tech (hard ware) Engineer. Contact: - 99343461/ email: msureshbabumct@g mail.Com

19years UAE experience in management sales and business development, additional Indian experience valid UAE D/L, on express visa.

Contact 91602809 Email: thomasalexander210@gmail.com Indian male, looking for a senior management position, 25 years of experience in GCC with multinational consulting firms, currently working as contracts/project manager, seeks immediate placement. #99376691 Emails: 1962jobs@gmail.com Indian male Graduate with 20+ years of Administration, Operations & Management experience in IT, Oil & Gas & Hospitality Industry. 12 years in Oman with vast contacts, very strong management, operational, communication and interpersonal skills, can handle any size of business and projects whether it’s in initial stage or established. Can join immediately.

Local release available on request.

Contact: 9906 4589 Indian female with nine years of experience in 5 Star hotels as Assistant Food & Beverage Manager looking for a suitable placement in a reputed Star hotel. Contact: 91219787 Qualified Manager: (12+ yrs. Oman Exp.) Vast knowledge in A/c & Admin, Costing, Banking, Credit Control, Insurance, International Purchase/Logistics & Finance, With D/L looking for suitable position.

Gsm: 93826090 Email: jskanchan01@gmail.com

MEDICAL

B.Tech IT Engineer, Indian male with 3yrs of exp. as System administrator, IT support, Networking, installing active directory, DHCP, DNS, RAS, exp. in handling SQL database, currently in Oman on visit visa, with valid Qatar driving license and immediate available. Contact: 93925281

Female Dentist Indian, 28 years Dental Surgeon, 3 years of experience, Oman prometric passed with 64%, looking for a suitable placement in Muscat region.

Contact 91377681 Email: hashmisarwat@gmail.com

ERP Software professional, Indian male, 20 yrs (5 yrs Oman) experienced. Interested in ERP/ CRM, Development, Implementation, support position. Contact 93501977 Email: go4nadeem@gmail.com

33 years, Indian Dentist with 7 years of experience in India and passed prometric exam seeking for suitable placement in Oman.

Contact 91022744 Email: praveengp_82@yahoo.com

Indian Female, MCA, 2 years experience in Oman seeks suitable placement in IT or Admin, contact no: 95094154, 99436069, Email: ramanrami@rediffmail.com

24 years old Indian BSC Nursing, 2years experience, looking for a job as a staff nurse. Contact 94035637 /95068075

Indian male 25 B.Tech (IT) Engineer 2.5 yrs exp in hardware networking.

Currently on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact – 94359564 SAP BO/BODS consultant 6 years experience with EMBA (IT) B. Tech (IT) OCP, OCA, ITIL & AIX qualified seeks suitable posting.

Contact 92532996 / 95740250 Email: elango2840@gmail.com Hardware specialist B.Tech M.Tech electronics with 10 years experience seeks suitable opportunities in reputed organizations.

Contact 91289459 Email: shrn.shrf@gmail.com B.Tech IT Professional, Indian Male with 3 yrs of Exp. In System Admin, IT Support, Networking, Installing Active Directory, DHCP, DNS,RAS, configuring maintaining and managing servers, configuring cisco routers, Exp in handling SQL database, With Valid Driving Licence. Contact - 968 98863507 IT Prof, MCA having 6+ yrs exp, seeks suitable position.

Contact 94543668

Medical- Indian female, 27 yrs, masters in hospital administration, fellowship in HTA studied in a super specialty medical sciences and research center in India and done project in an established hospital in sultanate of Oman.

Contact 93200827, 91026506 Indian male Pharmacist (B.Pharma) 5 1/2 years experience in Oman seeking suitable placement in Muscat. NOC from the present employer available.

Contact +968 98525100 Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf experience) looking for a suitable job (NOC available) Contact-93344378 Female pharmacist with 3 years experience and MOH license currently in Oman , CONTACT 92455124

SALES / MARKETING Indian female 7 yrs experience in Admin /Sales Coordination in Oman with valid Oman driving license urgently seeks suitable placement.

Contact 94176308

Indian Male, 34, 9+ years extensive experience in digital / online marketing, strategies for top corporate houses and brands in India. Also 9 months experience in Oman. NOC Available. Looking for a senior management position. Immediate Joining. Contact: 93137300 MBA (marketing & operations) with 2 years experience in marketing & operations looking for suitable placement, presently on visit visa.

Contact 97920125 Email: hareeshg111@gmail.com Purchase Manager with 14 years experience in construction industry with valid D/L & NOC. #92884811, Email : bati.rajesh@gmail.com Indian male , 38 years , 15 years of Oman experience and proven track record as sales & marketing manager ( electrical /lighting / security systems ) with valid Oman D/L Noc –letter looking for a senior level suitable placement in a reputed organization . Contact 92208744 Email: abpadmakumar@gmail.com 10 years experience in sales & customer service having Oman D/L seeking suitable position. # 94480533 Experience in sales seeking suitable placement N.O.C & D/L available.

Contact 91269031 Experience in sales seeking suitable placement D/L and NOC available.

Contact 99196353 Indian male Graduate 4 years experience in Sales & marketing in Oman, with Oman D/L holder seeking suitable placement. Contact 92878855 Indian male with MBA in international management and BSC in hotel management & diploma in event management with, 4 years experience in this field looking for job.

Contact 96146645 Mail: sarathmcc549@gmail.com Well experienced restaurant Manager with Ample knowledge of sales and operations seeking suitable placement Noc available.

Contact 92953199 Indian male, MBA in Marketing, 10 years experience with UAE driving license looking for suitable placement. Contact 98125226 Email: jobapplication1199@gmail.com Indian Male 31 Yrs M.B.A having 9 years experience 5 yrs in India and 4 yrs in Oman Having knowledge in Group Marketing/Sales/Media/ Advertising with valid Oman driving license seeking suitable placement .Contact 92016431 Young female, having experience of working in Oman with expertise in the field of Event Management, Advertising, Marketing and Hotel Management. Currently on a visit visa. Seeking for a suitable Job. Contact 96153578 6 years Oman experience in Sales seeking suitable placement. NOC available. Contact 99669137 Indian male 29 yrs having two yrs exp in sales seeking suitable replacement in sales store keeper back office support, warehouse assistant admin.

NOC available. Contact 94142747 Email: oasis0987@outlook.com

SKILLED / UNSKILLED Welder, 3G, 6G, TIG, Exp in Fabrication , Gulf Exp Ph : 97103168 Care taker, Gulf Exp knows Hindi, Arabic Ph: 94238840

SECRETARIAL/OFFICE

Looking for job Tunisian Bachelor with experience 5 years in Network/IT. Cont.:91368102

Indian male, B.Com, 20 yrs experience in Sales & Marketing having UAE light D/L looking for suitable post. Contact +91 9946699062, email : sajim40@gmail.com

MCA, MBA, CCNA, MCSE, Indian male with 10 years of experience, holding Oman driving license on visit visa seeks any suitable placement. Contact 92716116 / 91266535 Email: sijuayur@gmail.com

Indian male 22, holding BCA, seeking jobs in Desktop Supporting, data cable termination, cum Office Asst now on visit. Contact 95110487

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian Male, 7 yrs experience in building materials trading having Oman D/L, immediate release available. Contact 98676713

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

Indian Male having 7 yrs in experience in Oman Sales & Marketing Office Automation Printer, Copier, MFP, IT products & Stationery. Looking for Suitable Placement NOC Available Contact :97384748

Indian female, well experienced in secretarial, administration, customer care & supervisory jobs.

5 years experience in Muscat.

Immediately available for joining.

Contact: 92139298

Philipino male 27 on visit visa is looking for suitable job.

Contact 98588717 Store keeper 26 yrs, 6 yrs experience 4 yrs in Oman NOC/release available. Contact 97657823

Indian Male more than 10 years gulf experience in Office / Sales Coordinator, Admin (employees visa processes), Secretarial and purchase with good computer skills. Having Driving license and NOC available.

Looking for suitable placement.

Contact 99709336

C6

S AT U R D AY, M A R C H 7, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

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

SITUATION WANTED SERVICES

WEBSITE

COMPUTER

MANPOWER

CLASSES

Learn Baking cakes, cup cakes & Icings, Handicrafts.

Contact 95941515.

Tutoring ACCA/CAT subjects, passing exams by expert lectures.

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BUSINESS

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DRIVING

MATRIMONIAL

Wanted Finance Partner for frozen fish shop around RO 6000/-.

Contact 98796982

TRANSPORTATION TRANSPORTATION

Transportation. Contact 93405941 Transportation. Contact 99664703

Kerala Jacobite, 28 yrs / male Nurse working in private hospital in Muscat, inviting proposals from employed girls in Muscat.

Contact 99206413 Muslim boy age 27 height 5,6 B.Tech petroleum engineering , working in Oman parents , residing in Qatar, looking for beautiful professional girls preference , GCC settled family, Ernakulam / Thrissur/ Malapuram Dist. Contact +974 33446790, 968 91256474

Transport available. #95356877 Transportation. Contact 98518979 Transportation available.

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Indian Sunni family with Omani nationality seeking proposals from Indians with Omani nationality for their daughter aged 23.

Contact 99641047 Ezhava girl , 30, BTech, MBA, working in Kerala as deputy manager in a nationalized bank looking for a professionally qualified boys.interested please contact: 9727 1526

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/24792998 MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your marble. Contact 24793614/ 99314807 Cheapest prices all types window, curtains and Blinds.

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Contact: 99002390

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Contact 92326955 Feasibility study, market research, financial analysis of companies. (968) 99229700

NRI

A/C maintenance & servicing & washing machine & dish washing repairing, painting & painting & cleaning services & electrical & plumbing. Contact 99447257/97014234/24504281 Pest control & cleaning services professionals in pest control service bedbugs treatment, rodent, treatment, snake treatment and termite treatment, pre and post construction. Contact 93098450, 96408964, fax : 24472116

Attractive, savings, investments and insurance plans from SBI life (A Group Co of State Bank of India) Contact Mr. John Moras (95778431)

S AT U R DAY, M A R C H 7, 2 0 1 5

C7

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

RENT A CAR

C8

S AT U R D AY, M A R C H 7, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

Indian, Arabic, Chinese dishes, Buet Lunch (On Friday) Indoor & Outdoor, Catering, Party hall available Take Away & Home Delivery

Party booking & sugges ons 99320065, 99341643

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