Times of Oman - January 10, 2016

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FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN

Speech of His Majesty at the opening of the 5th term of the Majlis Oman, 2011

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’

We have always believed it is important that there should be a wide range of different ideas and opinions, and that people should not be prohibited from thinking freely, because this is evidence of a community’s strength and its ability to benefit from these opinions and ideas to serve its aspirations for a better future and finer, happier life. However, freedom of expression does not mean that any one party has the right to force its opinions on others or suppress the rights of others to express their ideas freely, since this has nothing to do with democracy or law; and keeping up with the times does not mean imposing one’s ideas on other people.

SUNDAY, January 10, 2016 / 29 Rabi Al Awal 1437 AH

TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES

OMAN

‘Steps taken to tackle dropout of students’

1

Various measures are being taken by the Ministry of Higher Education to address the dropout issue in Oman, said a senior official. “The Ministry supervises the colleges to address this issue,” said Minister of Higher Education. >A2

OMAN

Oman must keep employing expats

2

The economic challenges arising out of low oil prices will probably last the whole year but Oman must retain the backbone of its expatriate workforce for the economy to boost growth. This is not the time to reinforce the Omanisation process. >A3

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3

Revamping the fuel subsidy will reduce financial risks posed to Oman and impart stability, a World Bank expert said.

The expert said the ministry has prepared the budget to enhance the efficiency of public spending. >B3

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Oman seeks foreign loans to ease economic pressure 500

There has been

302.9 78.4

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

-48.8

-113.2

-80.6

-82.6

2014

2015

2016

300

Net domestic borrowing

900

Net foreign borrowing

1,500

Financing from reserves

600

Net grants

-680.3 -1,000

in Oman’s financial

-1,500

after the government

40.2

-500

pressure on liquidity

system recently,

43.8 0 2005

considerable

-1,064.3

-2,000 -2,500

Budget surplus, deficit 2005-2016 In million rials

raised funds by way -3,000

of development

Surplus

-3,300 -2,500

Deficit

-3,500

bonds and a maiden Source: State Budget 2015 and State Budget 2016, Ministry of Finance

Graphics

sovereign sukuk

MARKET

‘Subsidy revision to impart fiscal stability’

wtimesofoman.com

A E JAMES

businesseditor@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Oman government’s plans to borrow as much as OMR900 million from overseas markets will ease pressure on both domestic liquidity and interest rates in the country.

Although the total foreign borrowing is estimated to be OMR1.03 billion, OMR130 million will be used for repaying maturing loans

this year, resulting in an estimated net flow of a OMR900 million fund, according to a state budget document made available to the Times of Oman (TOO).

“The plan looks very clear since only 10 per cent of the deficit financing will come from local borrowing, which can easily be accommodated,” said a senior market analyst, on the condition of anonymity.

“Borrowing from the local market is only OMR300 million, which will not disturb domes-

tic liquidity. This will give some comfort to local banks,” added the market analyst.

Debt-to-GDP Also, Oman’s debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio (a common parameter used for measuring the indebtedness of a country) is around 4 per cent, which is quite low when compared with most economies in the world, said Anil Kumar N, senior vice-president, Asset Management, the Financial Corporation (FinCorp).

“The country is in a comfortable position to raise funds from overseas markets. The government will be in a better position to borrow funds from wherever it is cheaper and available,” added Kumar.

“There is scope for going ahead for additional borrowing plans, which will help raise funds for development projects,” noted S Suresh Kumar, head of research at Al Maha Financial Services.

Of the total estimated deficit of OMR3.3 billion for 2016, OMR600

million will be from net grants, OMR900 million from foreign borrowing, OMR300 million from domestic borrowing, and OMR1.5 billion from general reserves.

Liquidity In fact, there was considerable pressure being exerted on liquidity in the financial system during the last few months after the government raised funds by way of development bonds and a maiden sovereign sukuk (Islamic bond) issue. >A6

MINISTRY OF HOUSING

Electronic registration to regulate real estate, end price manipulation registration of real estate brokers so that working offices are able to register via the Ministry of Housing’s website.

Times News Service

Nizwa, a hotspot for tourists ORGANIC

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MUSCAT: Manipulation and raising real estate prices will be a thing of the past following the launch of the Ministry of Housing’s electronic registration of real estate brokers, which will also provide listings of employment opportunities in real estate.

Salim Al Balushi, Director General for Real Estate Development at the Ministry of Housing, announced during the fourth quarter of 2015, that all legal articles would be written to organise the work of real estate brokerage offices and regulate the urban and real estate

growth in the country.

On November 18, 2015, the ministry, represented by the Directorate General of Real Estate Development, launched the electronic

FA R M I N G

Brokerage procedures The system will first start operation in the Muscat Governorate, and the other governorates will follow suit. The participating offices will be registered by the ministry and will ensure that their work and brokerage procedures, and work in the real estate market, follow the regulations of the law promulgated by Royal Decree (78/86) and its amendment issued

by Royal Decree (91/2010).

Al Balushi also said that the aim of these procedures is to register and organise the work of real estate brokers.

It will identify those offices that follow the laid down regulations in the brokerage profession.

The procedures will further protect the real estate sector from speculation, contributing to illegal manipulation and the raising of prices which are inconsistent with supply and demand.

Such abuses affect the credibility of the real estate market, due to the absence of a supervisory and controlling authority that is supposed to regulate the process. >A6

G E N E R A L E D UC AT I O N D I P L O M A

For the cause of pesticide-free vegetables 53,490 to appear

for exams today Times News Service

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REJIMON K

reji@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: A group of Indian expatriates in Buraimi no longer visit vegetable shops. From green leaves to tomatoes to bitter gourds, they have succeeded in growing these vegetables on their own for the last three years.

“It all started in a small way. Our aim was to have fresh and pesticide-free produce. Slowly, more and more like-minded people are joining the group. Now, there are at least 45 families in Buraimi, coordinating our farming mission,” Krishnadas Menon and his friends, who are all Buraimi residents,” told the Times of Oman (TOO).

“Growing vegetables in Oman is quite difficult. Climatic conditions are not that favourable. However, planning well in advance helps

NEW BEGINNING: The group uses social media networks to share ideas and coordinate organic farm-

ing in addition to conducting online research. – Supplied photo

us. During summer, extra care is needed, especially, when it comes to watering and all. In other seasons, it’s a little bit easy,” the group said. Depending on the season and farming calendar, the group brings seeds from India and other countries too.

“Whoever, returns from their annual leave brings in seeds for farming. In the past, we used to visit those returning from their home countries to collect medicines or sweets. Now, we eagerly wait to collect seeds. Some people land in trouble at the airport while bringing in seeds. However, when police officials get convinced about our

aim, they let us go,” Biju Thomas, who is part of the group, explained.

The group is also getting good support from nationals.

“Many were sceptical while we began farming. However, now, they are quite impressed in seeing our success. Some have even come forward to support our efforts to cultivate pesticide-free vegetables,” Ismail, another farmer from the group, said.

“We use only organic farming methods. It’s the future on farming,” Ismail added.

For the group, farming is also a lesson that needs to be passed on to the future generations.

“Our children join us in farming, and learn how to remain connected with nature. It’s a chance for them to teach us how they can nurture nature and grow together,” Asbel Justin, another member of the group, said.

The group uses social media networks to share ideas and coordinate farming in addition to conducting online research.

“It all began in a small way. Now, apart from buying onions, we never go to the vegetable shops. Our group is growing. Many nationals are also interested in house farming methods,” Menon and his friends added.

MUSCAT: Beginning today, some 53,490 students will appear for the General Education Diploma (GED) exams, for the 20152016 academic year, the Ministry of Education has announced.

The exams will be held in several governorates of the Sultanate on January 10. The first exam will be for the students of Islamic Education. Dr. Zuwaina bint Saleh Al Maskari, general director and supervisor of the exams, said 362 examination centres had been chosen which are quite safe.

The ministry has established committees that will monitor the maintenance of the centres.

Al Maskari added that all students must abide by the rules and regulations as published in a ministerial decision in 2015, especially regarding cheating and other malpractices.

The ministry will punish those who cheat or offer help to do so, be it the candidates or those who supervise the exams.

During the previous academic year of 2014-2015, the Ministry had penalised those who did not abide by the rules, by cancelling the grades of the subjects in which the candidates were found to have breached the rules.

Al Maskari said that candidates can only bring those tools that are allowed in the exams, i.e.

pens, rulers and erasers, in addition to any tools needed for the respective courses.

Candidates may not take any of the following into the examination centre — any electronic devices, such as phones, pagers, cameras, personal computers and data storage devices; newspapers and magazines; study books and diaries; anything related to the exam; handbags; sharp instruments and all sorts of weapons.

Civil ID cards Candidates must take with them their civil ID cards or whatever proves their identity. Those who fail to do so will not be granted access to the exam.

As for the possibility of reviewing the exam documents for students who would like to do so after the publication of the results, Al Maskari confirmed that after the publication of the results, it would be possible for students to hand in their applications to review the papers.

“Students can apply for a review of three courses only, applications will be accepted during the first week after the publication of the results, the student does not have the right to have access to his exam papers, the Ministry has formed committees to review the correction of the requested exam papers,” Al Maskari pointed out. >A6

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

OMAN CRIME FILE

Housemaid, partner arrested for stealing Times News Service MUSCAT: An Asian housemaid and her partner were arrested in Al Musanaa for allegedly stealing OMR12,000 worth of jewellery, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) reported on Saturday.

According to an ROP source, the accused were arrested after officers received a report about a theft in the Al Khayran area.

Following investigations, the housemaid was caught in Al Musanaa with cash and gold jewellery worth OMR12,000.

Her partner, a man of the same nationality, was also arrested on

the charges of assisting in the crime and violations related to labour law.

Drug smuggling foiled Meanwhile, police officers foiled an attempt to smuggle drugs at the Muscat International Airport, the ROP reported on Saturday.

Six Asian nationals, including two women, were arrested on charges of possession and smuggling Marijuana and other narcotics.

Five Omani nationals and an Asian expat were arrested in a house in Al Seeb for possession, smuggling and trafficking of drugs.

119,331

Was the number of students who enrolled in higher education institutions during the 2013-2014 academic year.

New measures taken to check student dropouts The total number of students enrolled in higher education institutions during the 2013-2014 academic year stood at 119,331, of which 68,786 were females and 50,545 were males

To prevent dropouts, the Ministry of Higher Education represented (by) cultural attachés follow up on the progress made by Omani scholarship students and advise them to enrol in areas of study that are compatible with their capacities and aptitude Dr. Rawya Saud Al Busaidi

Minister of Higher Education

– Supplied picture

ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI

elham@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Various measures are being adopted by the Ministry of Higher Education to address the dropout issue in Oman, said a senior official.

“The Ministry of Higher Education supervises the colleges of applied sciences, private universities and colleges, and internal and external scholarship programmes. To address this issue, the ministry has dealt with dropout cases in the colleges of applied sciences from different aspects,” the Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Rawya Saud Al Busaidi, stated in an interview with Times of Oman.

Academic advisor “Following admission to a college, each student has an academic advisor, whose role is to help him or her discover their potential and capabilities, and assist in exploring alternative paths to the degree if for any reason the normal pace of the degree

is disrupted, and to help develop a remedial plan on academic probation,” she explained.

She added that students, who fall under academic probation with a GPA of below 2.0, have three chances or semesters to get out of academic probation.

“Instead of withdrawal from the college, the student who does not meet the requirements for removal from the status of academic probation, but satisfies the requirements to receive a diploma may exit the college with a higher education diploma,” the official said.

A student contemplating full withdrawal from the college for other reasons must consult their academic advisor prior to formalising the decision in order to ensure that all alternatives are considered, Al Busaidi stated.

Commenting on external scholarships, the minister said, cultural attachés at Omani embassies abroad provide the students with the best possible living condi-

tions, reception and transport upon arrival, medical care and appropriate accommodation on their first arrival in the country.

“To prevent dropouts, the Ministry of Higher Education represented (by) cultural attachés follow up on the progress made

by Omani scholarship students and advise them to enrol in areas of study that are compatible with their capacities and aptitude,” Al Busaidi explained.

Message In her message to those who plan to drop out, the minister said, “They should seek advice from their academic advisor and other counselling bodies at the institution when facing issues concerning their studies.”

“They should also think carefully and assess the pros and cons of leaving the college by comparing the living standards of graduates and the living standards of the dropouts, keeping in mind that they need to help their families fi-

nancially through employment,” Al Busaidi noted.

Out of the total number of students who left their studies during the 2013-2014 academic year, 649 were studying at the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), 4,042 at private institutes, 23 at institutes of health science, nursing and pharmacy, 1,970 at higher colleges of technology, 675 at colleges of applied sciences, and 29 at the College of Sharia Sciences.

The total number of students enrolled in higher education institutions during the 2013-2014 academic year stood at 119,331. Out of this number, 68,786 were women and 50,545 were men.

The highest numbers of students belonged to private institutes (61,957), higher colleges of technology (34,165) and the Sultan Qaboos University (13,847).

During the 2012-2013 year, a total of 6,618 students did not continue with their studies, out of whom 2,241 were female and 4,377 were male. Concluded

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OMAN 2014 ANNUAL REPORT

C O M M E N TA RY

Sultanate must try to retain expat workforce SUNDAY BEAT SALEH AL SHAIBANY

T

he challenges arising out of the falling oil prices will probably last the whole of 2016, but the Sultanate must retain its backbone in the form of its expatriate workforce for the economy to stand any chance of revival.

This is not the time to reinforce the Omanisation process.

This is a challenging time to endure economic hardship and keep all resources intact. With oil prices at their lowest level since July 2014, the government’s actual revenues are expected to drop by as much as 60 per cent this year, compared with last year.

But it is wrong to predict doom and nail the problem in the petrochemical sector. Oman has other resources to tap into.

Oman must learn from countries such as Iran that have managed to remain afloat in troubled waters and through a decade of crippling sanctions. Iran adapted quickly and learned to hold on to its resources.

This is the time when Oman must look deeper and tap into its natural wealth, other than its oil resources, such as mining, farming and fisheries. Tourism is vastly under developed and so is property development.

Manufacturing, after the hype of the 1980s, has never really taken off. The retail business is another area that enjoys a lot of lip service, but not in practical terms. Financial cut backs are important during these times, but the efforts should be concentrated on wastefulness and not on essential services. Expatri-

A3

VITAL MANPOWER: Expatriates must not only be encouraged to stay, but more of them are needed

for diversification in areas other than oil for the expansion of the economy. - Times file picture

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ates must not only be encouraged to stay, but more of them are needed for diversification in areas other than oil, for the expansion of the economy.

Expatriate job losses Data shows that about 1.8 million expatriates live in Oman and if just 30 per cent leave the country in the coming months, as is envisaged now, the move will take away the purchasing power of the local markets of over half a million people.

Since most of these expatriates live in Muscat, the retail business in the city will take a severe knock. The absence of thousands of rials of spending in a short time will hit the economy hard, making it difficult to make a quick recovery. It will also have the opposite effect on the Omanisation process. Retail businesses will not be able to

employ any new Omani recruits because their profits margins will be severely hit. The exodus of expatriates will also hit the small to medium enterprise (SME) projects.

A reasonably high number of customers of SMEs are expatriates. At the same time, SMEs also depend on expatriates as employees.

The Ministry of Manpower is also going to tighten employment visas of expatriates this year to encourage Omanis to fill the vacancies left by foreign workers.

The decision is expected to hurt businesses, as well as the country’s own corporate sector.

While it is understandable that companies want to keep as few expatriates as possible to cut back expenses, Oman will lose its international appeal.

The local corporate houses will also lose the essential expertise that expatriates bring in into the country. The latter is much needed in the current times to overcome the stagnation of the economy.

One thing that both the private and public sectors must remember is that expatriates have

always been an important source of economic development.

However, on the other side of the coin, expatriates, once they see the net tightening, will voluntarily leave anyway because they see no job security.

Uncertainty The uncertainty will further derail the economy. It will also undoubtedly send a message to investors that Oman is no longer a destination of business prosperity. That will hurt foreign direct investments and put back years of the government’s efforts aimed at attracting much needed capital.

Statistics also reflect that only a small number of expatriates work in the oil sector. If that is the case, then why should expatriates, who are working in other sectors, bear the brunt of the cut back?

Most of these sectors, such as retail, property, finance and tourism, do not directly depend on the government’s contracts.

Whatever happens during the next 12 months, it will be a challenging year for both workers and employers.

Audit findings report submitted MUSCAT: In accordance with related articles in the State Basic Law, issued by Royal Decree No. 99/2011 and the Financial and Administrative Audit Law issued by Royal Decree No. 111/2011, the State Administrative and Financial Audit Institution presented the Majlis Al Shura, the State Council and the Council of Ministers with copies of its 2014 audit findings report submitted to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

The 2014 annual report has covered the audit findings of the state apparatus units in terms of revenues, public spending, the internal regulations, the final accounts and the state financial position among other aspects.

A number of state apparatus units audited by the State Administrative and Financial Audit Institution have positively responded to correction of violations and have carried the remedial measures and necessary adjustments.

The State Administrative and Financial Audit Institution has also followed a new method by inviting the heads of the state apparatus units and senior officials to attend video presentations organised by it on its audit results.

The State Administrative and Financial Audit Institution has also coordinated with the Public Prosecution with regard to the violations and cases stated in its reports. — ONA

GRC–MENA EVENT

Research Council organising major regional workshop MUSCAT: A regional meeting of the Global Research Council (GRC) for the Middle East and North Africa (GRC–MENA), will be hosted by The Research Council on January 10-11.

The meeting will see the participation of representatives from regional and international research and academic institutions supportive to scientific research.

The meeting will also be attended by a number of representatives of the regional and Arab members states of GRC. Best practices The meeting aims to exchange expertise and best practices on research and research competence at the local, regional and international levels. It also aims

Meeting aims to encourage research in basic sciences and exchange of expertise

to further develop the scientific research environment and technology at the regional an international level.

The meeting also aimed to encourage research in basic sciences and exchange of expertise and cooperation for the common interest in the field. — ONA

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

OMAN

The days they used to come for construction work have gone. Majority of them are coming as skilled workers.

Moreover, the situation in India has changed a lot.

Shaji Sebastin, Indian social worker >A5

HISTORICAL NIZWA A TOURIST HOT SPOT Located about 160 kilometres from Muscat, the ancient city of Nizwa retains its charm in the form of its old and cramped bylanes, mud structures, and the forts. Our photographer, A R Rajkumar, recently captured the charm of the city in his lens. The historical remnants are now a hot spot for tourists and documentary and movie makers alike.

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Sultanate’s diversifying economy changing expatriate demographics Since Oman’s government has shifted its focus to non-hydrocarbon revenues, as part of its move to diversify its economy, there has been a surge in construction activities in Sultanate. This is

DISCIPLINED WORKERS: There are currently 641,032 expatriate workers in the construction sector, topping the list of different job categories in Oman. - Times file picture

one of the main reasons causing changes to expat demographics

REJIMON K

reji@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: As the nation’s economy becomes more diverse, it is causing changes to the demographics of expatriates in Oman, according to those in the business community and social workers.

“Since the government has shifted its focus to non-hydrocarbon revenues, as part of its move to diversify its economy, there has been a surge in construction activities in Oman. This is one of the main reasons that is causing changes to expatriate demographics,” Ali Mohamed Taqi Abdul Reza, chairman of Njamat Al Fujra Trading and Construction, said.

When compared to the situation a few years back, an increase in the number of Bangladeshis coming to Oman can be seen, even as Indians remain the largest number of expats.

According to National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) data, in November 2013 the number of Bangladeshi in Oman was 496,761, by November

2015 they had risen to 572,340.

Meanwhile, the number of Indians in November 2013 was 600,349, while in November 2015 they had reached 659,576.

Educated Indians “Now, Indians come to Oman looking only for above mid-level jobs.

Educated Indians are not migrating to perform low-paid jobs. It is Bangladeshi workers who are filling that gap,” Ali Mohamed added.

An official from the ministry also confirmed that the number of Bangladeshis coming to Oman is high, when compared to Indians.

The NCSI data notes that in contrast to other expatriate workers, those with only preparatory level educations are topping the list.

The NCSI’s recent data reveals that almost 33 per cent, or 613,147 expatriates out of 1,906,040, have completed only preparatory level education.

While in November 2013 the number was only 537,969 out of 1,520,714 total workers, in November 2014 the number rose to 566,607,and the total number of workers were 1,558,452.

And in November 2015, the number again rose to 620, 206, with the total number of workers being 1,682,752.

“India is now in a better economic condition. Workers receive salaries in the same range as sala-

ries being offered in their home country. So, they are migrating less often. This is one reason that we changed our focus to Bangladesh to recruit workers,” Shahswar G Al Balushi, CEO, Oman Society of Contractors, told Times of Oman.

“Moreover, other than certificate holders, workers need skills.

Skilled workers to build Oman are in demand. So, this may be the reason that workers with preparatory level educations are coming more often,” Shahswar added.

Meanwhile, an Omani union leader said the merging of the needs of Oman and Bangladesh are the two main factors in the changes in expat demographics.

“Currently, Oman needs workers who can build more infrastructure. So, this may be the reason that more and more Bangladeshis are coming to Oman. Moreover, as Bangladesh’s economy is now more dependent upon remittances from migrants, they are promoting migration,” said Mohammed Khaldi, a board member of the General Federation of Oman Trade Union.

Meanwhile, the president of the Bangladesh social club said that as Bangladesh has realised the potential of migration and its benefits for its economy, there are more concentrated efforts to promote migration.

“Bangladeshi migrant workers have sent home $15.31 billion in remittances in fiscal 2015. It is

T H R E E - D AY E V E N T

Special Unicode regional forum to be held next month Times News Service Muscat: A special Unicode workshop focusing on the Middle East, Africa, Central and South Asia will be held at the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) from February 14 to 16.

The workshop is to be organized by GUtech and sponsored by The Research Council (TRC).

According to the organisers, a group of top-level computer scientists from Silicon Valley in the US and other countries will provide presentations about the creation of Unicode for the internet. Unicode has allowed for the writing of different languages for Internet usage.

“This tutorial workshop is a three-day event designed to familiarise the audience with Unicode and the concepts of internationalisation. It is the first Unicode event to be held in the Middle

East,” said Dr. Hussain Al Salmi, Deputy-Rector for Administration and Finance at GUtech.

Unicode provides a unique number for every character in the internet — no matter which platform, program, or language is being used. Linguists, cultural experts from different countries and many others contributed to the success story of the Internet Unicode.

According to Lisa Moore, Vice President of Unicode, Unicode has been developed by the worldwide Internet community. It started in 1991 with 7000 characters; today Unicode has encoded more than 130,000 different elements of writing. Throughout the three day workshop, experts will offer insights into Unicode.

Among the speakers, Richard Ishida of W3C Internationalisation Activity Lead will present a talk on the unique characteristics of non-Latin writing systems, and

illustrate the problems involved in using such scripts in products.

According to the organisers, his talk will not provide detailed coding advice, but offer the essential background information to understand the fundamental issues related to Unicode deployment across a wide range of scripts.

Unicode also created bidirectional algorithms, so that the Arabic language can be transcribed into English characters.

Addison Phillips, the principal engineer and internationalisation architect at Amazon.com, will speak about internationalisation and how to incorporate internationalisation into the design, implementation, and delivery of a software product. Amazon.com’s internationalisation architect demystifies this process for participants. This session is designed to provide an introduction to the topics of internationalisation, localisation and globalisation.

H I G H E R E D UC AT I O N E X H I B I T I O N

Top universities at career fair MUSCAT: A number of leading universities from the United Kingdom, the United States, Malta, and Pakistan will participate in a three-day exhibition organised by Oman International Trade and Exhibition.

Global Higher Education Exhibition — GHEDEX & the Omanisation Career Fair (OCF) — 2016, will begin at Oman International Exhibition Centre on April 19.

Some of the educational institutions in the Sultanate will also be participating in the expo.

The exhibition aims to provide an opportunity for Omani and expatriate students seeking quality education and opportunities for evolvement through internships and related career planning programmes to pursue their higher education goals.

Interview job seekers The exhibition is the only platform that provides for all the companies the opportunity to interview job seekers from all disciplines under one roof. It also

provides an opportunity to new graduates and other professionals the possibility of developing their careers by working in major private and public companies operating in the Sultanate.

Last edition of GHEDEX breaks 16 years record by attracting over 25,000 visitors, over 200 topnotch universities and colleges from over 23 countries, as well as 170 educational bodies and institutions accounting for international participation and 30 for local participation. — ONA

not only the highest in the country’s history, but also it contributes to 15 per cent of the GDP. The country is benefiting from remittances and, moreover, the lives of those who are migrating are changing in a positive way,” said Mohammed Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan, president of the Bangladesh Social Club Muscat.

“Efforts from the Bangladesh government to promote migration is resulting in the increase of Bangladeshi migrant workers.

And, moreover, Oman now needs more manpower for these projects. As Bangla people are capable to take up the responsibilities, they are being preferred more,” Shafiqul added.

Additionally, a Bangladeshi social worker in Oman said that poverty and unemployment are causing higher levels of migration to Bangladesh.

“Poverty and unemployment are pushing migration to higher levels in Bangladesh. Oman is considered to be a preferred migrant receiver country. So, Bangladeshis prefer to migrate to Oman,” Mohammed Sanaullah, a Bangladeshi social worker, said.

Recently, Nurul Islam, Bangladesh’s minster of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, told Times of Oman that the government is sending 3,000 workers as migrants to different parts of the world every day.

Talking about the rise in the numbers of expat workers, Sanaullah said that the increase in the number of construction works needed in Oman is the main reason behind the surge in arriving Bangladeshis.

“The boom in the construction sector all over Oman is resulting in the increase in the number of Bangladeshis coming to the country,” Sanaullah added.

There are currently 641,032 expatriate workers in the construction sector, topping the list of different job categories in Oman.

Shaji Sebastin, an Indian social worker who has been a resident of Oman for the last three decades, said that Indians are now arriving in search of mid- and senior-level positions.

“The days they used to come for construction work have gone.

The majority of them are coming as skilled workers. Moreover, the situation in India has changed a lot. For skilled workers, there are jobs available back in India itself and, moreover, the payment is also good. So, this may be the reason why there is not a huge migration happening from India,” Shaji added.

While analysing the NCSI data, it indicates that the numbers from other communities coming to Oman are not increasing at the levels of the Bangladeshis and Indians.

Not changed significantly For instance, from November 2013 until November 2015, the number of Pakistanis coming to Oman has not changed significantly. For in November 2013,the number of Pakistanis stood at 223,422, while in November 2014 there was a decrease to 215,909, and in November 2015 the numbers remained at 215,909.

Also, the number of Ethiopian workers have decreased, as in 2013 there were 44,838, in 2014 they fell to 35,692 and in 2015 there were 24,796. Further, since 2013, Oman has put tight controls on the recruitment of Ethiopian housemaids. Also, even though there has been an increase in the number of Indonesians coming to Oman since 2013, the 2015 data shows that there are only 33,651 Indonesians working in Oman.

In 2013, the number of Indonesians in Oman was 28,548, and by 2014 it had declined to 35,738.

Additionally, since March 1, 2015 the employment of Indonesian domestic workers in Oman has been suspended.

However, the number of Filipinos in Oman is increasing, reaching 33,964 in November 2015, while in 2013 it was 28,447 and in 2014 it was 30,933.

The other expat communities in Oman are Egyptians, Nepalese and Sri Lankans, totalling some 70,000.

A6

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

OMAN

Masirah in the Governorate of South A’Sharqiya has received a lot of bounty in the form of Blessed Renaissance in all fields.

Masirah a paradise for tourists

Indian school students shine in creative writing Four ISM students, Siddiqa Zaid, Heera Sen, Harleen Oshan and Eunice

Al Balushi added that the new organisation would provide employment opportunities for those seeking work in real estate.

Applicants would be required to pass a training course before receiving a licence, in coordination with the Ministry of Manpower.

He pointed out that no individual or real estate office will be permitted to practice real estate brokerage without a li-

cense, which must be obtained after registration and passing the training course, provided that the individual or company has a valid commercial registration, which includes real estate brokerage.

The practicing offices will be linked electronically to the ministry, in order to follow up on their activities and monitor supply and demand in the real estate market.

A1 Result notification

workshop, held at Sanskriti School, New Delhi, from December

MUSCAT: Students of Indian School Muscat (ISM) displayed class and elegance at the national level of the Regional Writer’s Workshop organised by non-profit organisation KATHA. Four students, Siddiqa Zaid, Heera Sen, Harleen Oshan and Eunice Thambiraja won grand prizes at the workshop, which was held at Sanskriti School, New

in real estate

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grand prizes at the

Times News Service

A1 Job opportunities < FROM

MINISTRY

Thambiraja won

26 to 29

N E W R E G U L AT I O N S

HONOUR: The literary award was conferred upon students who had gone through a series of rigorous selection rounds. – Supplied photo

Delhi from December 26 to 29.

More than 500 selected students displayed their creative writing skills at the workshop.

This literary award was conferred upon a few selected students, who had gone through a series of rigorous selection rounds.

Firstly, through the regional literary workshops conducted for shortlisted school students, who had submitted original entries in various genres and received a special invitation for the Regional

Writers Workshop.

They then underwent a thorough mentoring process by their respective mentors for a specific genre; submitted their final entries and were then chosen to represent their respective schools for the grand finale.

According to ISM officials, the student’s performance was a moment of pride. Four students of ISM were shortlisted to attend the Regional Writer’s workshop held in October last year and were again selected for the finale, where

all of them became recipients of the Grand Prize in their chosen genre—Fiction-Prose, Poetry and Non-Fiction.

Principal Srinivas K. Naidu, Vice Principal Deep Wilson and Assistant Vice Principal Geeta Chauhan expressed their appreciation for the participants and wished them success in all their ventures.

They also lauded the efforts of the Department of English and the School Literary Club for the selection and training of the participants.

The Ministry will also notify the students of the result after the committees have finished their work.

While addressing the students, Al Maskari said they had to take

into consideration their studies first and foremost and not stay up late, especially during the night before the exam. She stressed that candidates must arrive at the examination centres on time.

B U D G E T E S T I M AT E S

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A1 Sovereign sukuk Although budget estimates for domestic and foreign borrowings were pegged at OMR600 million (OMR200 million net borrowing from foreign markets and OMR400 from domestic market) for 2015, the actual borrowing was much higher in the after-

math of falling oil revenue.

The maiden sovereign sukuk issue from the government alone collected OMR250 million, while more than OMR400 million was raised by way of several development bond issues last year.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Oman Tourism College library opened to students Times News Service MUSCAT: Renovated and expanded library at the Oman Tourism College has been officially opened to students.

Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Sarmi, undersecretary for the Ministry of Higher Education, inaugurated the library in the presence of Sheikh Khalid Al Massan, chief executive officer of the Oman LNG Development Foundation. Dr Abdulkarim bin Sultan Al Mughairi, the college dean, as well as faculty and officials from the college, also attended the function.

Al Sarmi congratulated Oman LNG for its commendable efforts in enriching the academic environment at Oman Tourism College. Al Massan reaffirmed the LNG Development Foundation’s commitment to contributing to community development.

Al Mughairi thanked Oman LNG for its support, and requested the students to utilise the library to achieve their academic goals and fulfil professional aspirations.

The entire library renovation project was funded by the Oman LNG Development Foundation, as part of its Corporate Social Re-

MUSCAT SINGERS’ SPRING SEASON STARTS ON JANUARY 17

After their hugely successful concert in December, Muscat Singers said their spring season will begin on Sunday, January 17. Although the choir has attracted many new members since the arrival of its new Musical Director, Dr. Michael Buck, they are still keen to attract more talent. No previous singing experience is required, only a great deal of enthusiasm. Rehearsals take place at TAISM (The American International School, Muscat), Azaiba, every Sunday evening, from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. Anyone interested in joining can visit the venue on January 17 or get more information from the choir’s website: www.muscatsingers.org.

ENRICHING THE ACADEMICS: Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Sarmi, undersecretary for the Ministry of Higher Education, inaugurated the library. - Supplied photo

sponsibility programme.

Wi-Fi enabled The library is Wi-Fi enabled and now boasts of a host of worldclass facilities, such as a searchand-work area equipped with 63 new computers, a state-of-the-art computer lab for assignments, training and conference rooms, e-readers, touch screens for efficient book search and retrieval, and a self-borrowing machine.

The library has a rich collection of books and publications,

including magazines and journals from regional and international publishers. Publications that highlight various aspects of the Sultanate of Oman are other attractions.

Books available at the library cover a wide range of topics, including economics, banking, business, information systems, travel and tourism, hospitality, food and beverages, communication and languages, personality development and leadership, marketing, and fiction.

T OU R I S T D E S T I NAT I O N

Masirah waves attract surfers from world

NATURAL BOUNTIES: Tourists come to the Masirah Island to enjoy the weather, beautiful beaches

and surfing. – ONA

MASIRAH: It is a tourist attraction where people flock to enjoy the weather, the beautiful beaches of the island, most notably surfing, because the waves there are the highest in the Middle East.

Masirah Island in the Governorate of South A’Sharqiya has recently flourished as a tourist destination. Masirah has received a lot of bounty in the form of Blessed Renaissance in all fields.

Hotels in the wilayat experience an intense turnout of visitors, especially on vacation days.

The most important of these ho-

tels are the “Masirah Hotel,” “Masirah Resort,” “Dana Gulf” and “Serabis Hotel” in addition to a new hotel, which is now ready for operations and located in the centre of the city.

Many important islands There are also many important islands in the wilayat of Masirah, perhaps the largest island is (Marsis). It has an abundant number of birds, and the most famous bird is locally called “Taraa.”

There are other islands, such as ‘Shaanzi,’ ‘Kalban’ and ‘Sur Ma-

sirah,’ which is frequented by foreigners, who practice surfing and hold paragliding competitions.

The tourists are attracted mostly by the turtles scattered along the beaches of Masirah and those, which come out during the lunar days. The most famous turtle is ‘Al Rimani,’ which lays some of its eggs on the sands of soft beach and then returns to sea, travelling long distances in the depths of oceans and seas, reaching faraway countries of the world.

One of the famous tourist landmarks on the island is the “Mar-

sis Old Fort,” which is a witness to the history of the wilayat since olden times. The fort is located in the village of ‘Marsis,’ and it is one of the most important forts on the island.

An important monument on the island is the Islamic cemetery, which is located in the village of “Safaij,” where a German mission had discovered a number of antiquities, reported in a book about discoveries in the Arabian Sea, on the island of Masirah and the Al Halaniyat Islands, which was published in English.

That book is the result of surveys, archaeological and ethnological studies (that compare and analyse the characteristics of different peoples and the relationship between them) between the island of Masirah and the Al Halaniyat Islands carried out by the German archaeomining expert Gerd Weisgerber of the German Mining Museum (Bochum) and Ali bin Bakhit Al Shanfari, former director of Antiquities at the Ministry of Heritage and Culture through surveys and archaeological excavations conducted in these islands and the documentation of existing social life. -ONA

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

REGION

2016 is the year of eliminating corruption, there is no such things as acceptable corruption and non-acceptable corruption Haider Al Abadi, Iraqi Prime Minister

Air strike kills 39 in Syria as UN envoy visits Damascus Syrian government told UN envoy Staffan de Mistura on Saturday it was ready to participate but wants to know who would take part from the opposition

BEIRUT: An air strike reportedly killed dozens of people in a rebelheld town in Syria on Saturday as a UN envoy visited Damascus to advance preparations for peace talks planned this month despite opposition misgivings.

Agreement was also reached for aid to be delivered on Monday to an opposition-held town besieged by pro-government forces where United Nations says there have been credible reports of people dying of starvation, sources said.

Aid will be sent simultaneously to two villages blockaded by rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 39 people were killed in the air strike, which hit a court house and adjoining prison in the town of Maarat Al Numan in Idlib province. It did not say whether the air strike was carried out by Syrian or Russian jets, which have both bombed

AIR STRIKES: Residents help an injured man in a site hit by what activists said were air strikes in

the rebel-controlled area of Maaret Al Numan town in Idlib province, Syria on Friday. – Reuters

the area. The building was struck with four missiles and the number of dead could increase due to the large number of wounded, the Observatory said. Syrian officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The war has raged on since last month when the Security Council endorsed a plan for peace talks, a rare case of US-Russian agreement over a conflict that has killed 250,000 people. The talks are due to begin on January 25 in Geneva.

The Syrian government told

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura on Saturday it was ready to participate but wants to know who would take part from the opposition, Syrian state media reported.

Foreign Minister Walid Al Moualem also said it was important to see a list of groups that would be classified as terrorists as part of the new diplomatic process, flagging another potential complication.

Damascus views all the groups fighting to topple Assad as terrorists, including rebels who sup-

A7

port a political solution and are represented in a recently formed opposition council tasked with overseeing the negotiations.

Useful meeting A statement from de Mistura’s office described Saturday’s meeting as useful and said the envoy had outlined preparations. “The Special Envoy is looking forward to the active participation of relevant parties in the Geneva talks.

He will be continuing his consultations in the region,” it added.

Syrian rebels and opposition politicians have expressed doubts over whether the peace talks will begin as planned. Their concerns over the diplomatic bid include the absence of any mention of Assad’s fate.

Earlier this week, they told de Mistura that before negotiations the Syrian government must stop bombing civilian areas, release detainees and lift blockades imposed on opposition-held areas.

“Can the international community achieve the implementation of this pre-negotiation stage in the few remaining days? If it can, there is no problem. But I doubt they can,” Riyad Naasan Agha, a member of the opposition council, told Reuters. Another opposition official said on Friday the opposition would not name its negotiating team until the government did so.

The aid deal agreed on Saturday will result in humanitarian supplies being sent to the oppositionheld town of Madaya at the Lebanese border, and to two villages in the northwestern province of Idlib that are blockade by rebels.

Aid agencies have warned of widespread starvation in Madaya, where some 40,000 people are at risk. The United Nations said on Thursday that Damascus had agreed to allow access to all three areas, but did not say when the delivery would take place.

“Both date and time have been set. Aid will go to three towns on Monday morning, all at the same time,” said a source familiar with the matter. A second, pro-Syrian government source confirmed the details. — Reuters

FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET

GCC condemns interference in the region ABU DHABI: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries on Saturday condemned what they said was Iranian interference in the internal affairs of Saudi Arabia and the region.

“The ministerial council strongly denounced these acts by Iran and stated that Iran carries the responsibility for these terrorist acts,” it said in a statement after an extraordinary called to discuss tensions.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said on Saturday that Saudi Arabia may take further measures against Iran after cutting ties this week. Jubeir’s comments came in a press conference after an extraordinary meeting of the GCC foreign ministers. “We are looking at additional measures to be taken if it (Iran) continues with its current policies,” Jubeir said, without elaborating on what these measures could be.

“The escalation is coming from Iran, not from Saudi Arabia or the GCC .... We are evaluating Iran’s moves and taking steps to counter them..things will be clearer in the near future,” Jubeir said.

Jubeir also said his country had asked the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, of which Iran is a member, to convene an extraordinary meeting to discuss the aggression against its embassy.

Iran has said Saudi Arabia is to blame for the diplomatic crisis.

In a letter to the UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon published

by Iranian news agencies earlier on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif complained about Saudi Arabia’s “provocations” towards Tehran. — Reuters

RENEWED PLEDGE

Iraqi prime minister Abadi vows to stamp out corruption BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi on Saturday pledged to stamp out corruption this year amid criticism from the nation’s top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, that his government has done little to combat graft.

Sistani enjoys high stature among millions of followers and wields authority few Iraqi politicians would openly challenge.

Corruption within the officers

corp was one of the reasons of the Iraqi army’s failure to oppose the sweaping advance of IS in 2014, according to the findings of an adhoc parliamentary committee.

“2016 is the year of eliminating corruption, there is no such things as acceptable corruption and nonacceptable corruption,” Abadi said in a speech at a ceremony to celebrate the anniversary of the Iraqi police force in Baghdad.

Sistani on Friday renewed his calls to the government to reform the administration and combat corruption. “A year has lapsed and nothing has been achieved on the ground,” his representative, Sheikh Ahmed Al Safi, told the people in Karbala, south of Baghdad.

Meanwhile Abadi said more than 60 per cent of sorties against IS are carried out by the nation’s air forces and about 40 per cent by

the US-led coalition. Iraq’s army last month scored its first success against IS when it recaptured, with air support from the coalition, the city centre of Ramadi. Until then, it was the militias that were leading the fight against the hardline militants. Speaking at a ceremony in Baghdad broadcast live on state TV, Abadi said Iraq still needed foreign assistance for air cover, training and armament, but not for ground

operations. Abadi renewed his call for Turkey to withdraw troops deployed in the region of Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq which has been under IS control since 2014. “This is a frank invitation to Turkey our neighbor to pull out its forces from Iraq,” he said. “We will deploy every effort permitted by our rights and international law to make them leave,” he added.

Turkey deployed around 150

troops last month at the Bashiqa base, where it is training an Iraqi militia to fight IS, citing heightened security risks. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Turkish troops repelled an IS attack on the base, killing 18 militants, adding that this incident vindicated the presence of the protection force. The Iraqi army later denied that any clash happened recently. — Reuters

A8

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016 I believe that 50 publishing houses and 9 eminent authors bring with them to this World Book Fair around 5,000 titles so that through this exchange our people across both nations can be enriched Smriti Irani, Human resource minister

INDIA SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

NIA focuses on 10 points to unravel Pathankot attack plot NEW DELHI: Ten key points top the NIA’s agenda as it probes the audacious terrorist attack on the IAF base at Pathankot in Punjab that has caused fresh strains in India-Pakistan relations.

The National Investigation Agency, which took over the case on January 4 from Punjab Police, is to uncover the sequence of events from the time the terrorists, sneaked into India to the attack.

Some 36 hours of fighting at the base left seven security personnel dead. All six terrorists were also killed. The key points the NIA is investigating include mobile phone conversations between the terrorists and their suspected handlers in Pakistan, a Jaish-eMohammad letter, DNA samples of the terrorists, and their voice record samples.

Other issues being focussed on include ammunition the terrorists carried, their strategy, suspected involvement of locals, the route the terrorists took from the India-

Pakistan border, the accounts given by a Punjab Police officer, his friend and cook after their abduction by the terrorists just before the attack, and a Pathankot map found from the police officer’s car, an NIA officer said.

“A 20-member team of NIA, led by an inspector general, has been camping in Pathankot to supervise the investigation. Our focus is on the key points,” the officer said.

An officer of the rank of superintendent of police has been appointed the chief investigating officer of the case, he said.

The NIA took over the case by filing three separate First Information Reports (FIRs).These were filed in connection with the abduction of Gurdaspur Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh, along with his jeweller friend and cook, the earlier killing of taxi driver Ikagar Singh, and the terrorist strike at the Indian Air Force station.

Another NIA officer said that the lapses by the Border Security

dents who provided army fatigues and a walkie-talkie to the six terrorists after they infiltrated into Punjab, possibly on December 30.

The NIA officer said the DNA samples of the terrorists have been sent to Pakistan for establishing their identity. Voice samples of the terrorists have also been sought from Pakistan.

SECURITY CHECK: Punjab police personnel frisk a passenger during checking at a bus stand in Patiala on Saturday in the wake of the terrorist attack at Indian Air Force base in Pathankot. - PTI

Force (BSF) in preventing the infiltration from Pakistan into Bamiyal sector adjoining Gurdaspur in Punjab and Kathua in Indianadministerd- Kashmir were being investigated at the highest level.

The failure of Punjab Police, which looks after the security of areas near the border, was also under the scanner, the NIA source said. The NIA is also trying to establish the identity of local resi-

Lie detector tests The statements of the police officer, his friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal were being thoroughly analysed, the officer said. All of them will soon face lie detector tests.

The statement of the officer’s personal security officer, Kulwinder Singh, has also been taken.

The officer said the calls made from the mobile phone of the abducted victims were being analysed along with the number belonging to the dead Innova driver, Ikagar Singh.

The NIA team on Wednesday

Modi visits Pathankot air base, reviews situation Delhi that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Army chief Dalbir Singh and chiefs of NSG and BSF were present during the visit.

Officials of the National Investigation Agency, which has taken over the probe into the attack, also briefed the Prime Minister on the progress of the investigation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent about 90 minutes at the air base during which he was briefed about the attack and security measures put in place at the facility in its wake

PATHANKOT: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited the strategically important IAF base here and reviewed the situation with the Air Force chief and other top officials in the aftermath of last Saturday’s brazen attack by suspected Pakistani terrorists.

Modi spent about 90 minutes at the air base during which he was briefed about the attack and security measures put in place at the facility in its wake.

Air Force chief Air Marshal Arup Raha and National Security Guard officials briefed the prime minister about the attack and the counteroffensive launched against

TAKING STOCK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi watches a presentation on counter-terrorist and combing operation by the Defence Forces, at Pathankot Airbase, on Saturday. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh, and Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha are also seen. - PTI

the perpetrators with the help of maps, aerial pictures and operational photographs, defence sources said.

“Noted with satisfaction the decision-making and its execution, the considerations that went into our tactical response,” Prime Minister Office tweeted after his visit to the airbase.

“Also noted coordination among various field units. Lauded bravery & determination of our men & women on the ground. They are

our pride,” it said in another tweet.

Cache of weapons Modi also went around the scene of the audacious attack that exposed the chinks in the armour of the Indian security establishment and was shown the huge cache of weapons and ammunition recovered from the six slain perpetrators. Seven Indian security personnel were also killed during the assault.

The prime minister was taken

around the Military Engineering Service Yard where the terrorists were first engaged by the security forces and the two-storey billet for airmen’s accommodation where the last two terrorists were killed after the structure was blown up by the security forces, before undertaking an aerial survey of the forward positions along the IndiaPakistan border.

The base was kept out of bounds for the media.

An official press release said in

Combing operation Security forces had on Friday declared the sprawling Air Force station fully sanitised after a massive combing operation spanning over three days.

“The combing operation at the Air Force station is over,” a senior IAF official said, adding the entire area has been sanitised.

Six terrorists, believed to owe allegiance to Jaish-e-Mohammed were gunned down by the security forces after a four-day gun battle.

The operation to ensure that no terrorist was hiding was carried out jointly by Army, NSG and IAF’s Garud commandos.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had also visited the base on January five and admitted to “some gaps” that made the attack possible. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had called up Modi and promised action against the perpetrators of the brazen attack.

India has said it has handed over specific and actionable information regarding Pathankot attack to Pakistan. - PTI

took police officer Salwinder Singh to the place near Kolian village, 25 km from Pathankot, from where he was allegedly abducted in his car along with the two others.

The NIA team also took the officer to the place where he was dumped by the terrorists and to the spot where his car was found abandoned.

The NIA team is looking at what the officer did for nearly three hours after he and the others allegedly left a shrine in Kathua district at 9.30pm on December 31 — till they were allegedly abducted on the midnight of January 1.

The superintendent, who was transferred from Gurdaspur last week, had claimed that he, along with Verma and the cook, were stopped and abducted by four or five heavily armed terrorists near Kolia village.

He claimed that his senior officers did not initially take his information on the presence of terrorists seriously. - IANS STRING OF KILLINGS

J ‘ ungle raj is back’ in Bihar after cop shot dead: Paswan NEW DELHI: Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Saturday attacked Nitish Kumar government over the murder of an assistant sub-inspector of police in Hajipur, claiming a string of such killings showed that “jungle raj is back” and the chief minister is “helpless”.

“There are three ministers from Vaishali region in Nitish government including two sons of RJD chief Lalu Prasad of whom one is also Deputy Chief Minister.

“Still, all this is happening in Vaishali. What will happen to the security of people when the police are not safe in Bihar? Why the chief minister is so helpless and silent on all this?” Paswan, who is an MP from Hajipur, asked. Paswan will be visiting his constituency on Sunday to take stock of the situation. Training his guns at the ruling coalition in the state, the Lok Janshati Party chief claimed that this is the third such incident in Hajipur alone.

“He (Nitish) used to take pride in being called Sushashan Babu.

After engineers, doctors and traders, now even policemen are not safe. There is no government in Bihar. Extortion is being done openly.

The situation in the state has become worse than what it was in 1990 when RJD ruled the state.

When we used to say that jungle raj will be back if Lalu Nitish combine came to power, they used to react strongly. - PTI

43RD EDITION

Delhi World Book Fair opens with China as guest of honour country NEW DELHI: Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani on Saturday inaugurated the 43rd edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair which commenced here with China as the guest of honour country and a theme presentation of the cultural heritage of India.

The nine-day fair, touted as the largest in Asia, is hosting about 30 countries in which a series of programmes including panel discussions, dramas, classical and folk dances, workshops, discussions, authors’ meets, conferences, seminars and cultural programmes will be held.

Talking about the Chinese participation, Irani said, “I believe that 50 publishing houses and 9

eminent authors bring with them to this World Book Fair around 5,000 titles so that through this exchange our people across both nations can be enriched.”

China was invited to be the guest country after the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping here last year where he signed a memorandum of understanding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“During the visit of President Xi Jinpeng an MoU was signed with China’s role in WBF and I am happy to note that promise that we made through paper has fructified in person,” the minister said.

Referring to the growth of publishing business in both the countries the minister said, “Today we

celebrate the exponential growth of the publishing business both in India and China.”

Emphasising on the importance of publishing exchanges between China and India, Sun Shoushan, Vice Minister SAPPRFT said, “As one of the key international book fairs the NDWBF has set up an important platform for cultural exchanges of Indian classic and contemporary works which is now going on smoothly.

“The important publishing exchanges between China and India have played an important role in cementing the friendship between people and promoting cultural exchanges between the two countries,” he said.

This year the fair has introduced a special ‘Navlekhan’ programme which seeks to promote and publish young authors under the age of 40 writing in Indian languages.

Referring to the same Human Resource minister said, while this year they are being published in 6 regional languages by next year she assured that books in 22 languages recognised by the Constitution of India will be published.

Tickets to the fair, which is being held at the sprawling Pragati Maidan, will be priced at Rs 20 and sold from 9am till 5pm at 47 stations of the Delhi Metro network from January 9-17.

Schoolchildren and disabled are permitted free entry. - PTI

ELATED: Girl visitors pose at a pavilion during the 43rd New Delhi

World Book Fair at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, on Saturday. - PTI

A10

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

INDIA

Your achievements in the countries of your adoption are a matter of pride... It is our responsibility to protect you and take care of you. Indeed, we are you and you are us Sushma Swaraj, External affairs minister

D E AT H O F M U F T I M O H A M M A D S AY E E D

FRESH SNOWFALL IN HIMACHAL

Snow covered mountains glisten in the sun in Shimla on Saturday after recent fresh snowfall. Himachal Pradesh capital Shimla and its nearby hills on Friday witnessed sleet, pushing down the mercury by several notches. According to the weather office, western disturbances will be active again on January 11, resulting in more snowfall and rains. - PTI

Governor’s rule imposed in J&K NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR: Indian-administered-Kashmir was on Saturday night placed under Governor’s rule with the process of new government formation following the death of chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed taking some time.

“Governor’s rule has been imposed in the state of Jammu and Kashmir,” a Home Ministry spokesperson said in Delhi.

The president cleared the recommendation of the Union Home Ministry for imposing Governor’s rule on the basis of a recommendation from J&K Governor N. N. Vohra.

The state had to be put under Governor’s rule in view of the reluctance of Mufti’s daughter Mehbooba to take oath during the mourning period though her party has already conveyed to the Governor that 28 MLAs of the PDP legislature party backed her for the chief minister’s post.

Seventy-nine-year-old Sayeed

Government considering Aadhaar Card for NRIs

died on Thursday after a brief illness and since then there is a Constitutional vacuum.

PDP’s coalition ally BJP has also indicated that it would take a decision on new government formation once the four-day morning period is over on Sunday.

PDP and BJP dismissed speculation about any differences or new conditions between them over formation of new government.

“There are certainly no conditions from our side and there was no meeting of our leaders on government formation.

“We respect the right of the bereaved family of Mufti Sahib to mourn his death,” BJP state president Sat Paul Sharma said.

“There is no hurry on this issue. We will definitely be meeting after tomorrow’s ceremony for Mufti Sahib and take a decision,” he said. Sharma said it was a “historic” coalition between the BJP and the PDP in the state and “we would like it continue”. - PTI M I L I TA N T AT TA C K

Nine injured in Meghalaya market blast

Asking the diaspora to participate in BLAST SITE: Securitymen at the spot after militants triggered an improvised explosive device (IED) blast at William Nagar market in Meghalaya’s East Garo Hills on Saturday. -PTI

the government’s flagship programmes like Skill India, Digital India and Clean Ganga initiatives, Sushma Swaraj said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants the Aadhaar Card scheme to be

SPELLING OUT: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj delivers a speech at Pravasi Bhartiya Divas as Britain’s Minister for Employment Priti Patel looks on, in New Delhi on Saturday. - PTI

extended to NRIs

NEW DELHI: The government is considering giving Aadhaar cards to Non-Resident Indians and a decision on it will be taken soon, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Saturday while inviting the diaspora community to actively participate in India’s growth story.

In her address to the first limited edition of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, External Affairs Minister said it has been decided that women workers will be allowed to go to Gulf countries for employment only through government agen-

cies to ensure they are not duped by recruiting agents or firms.

The PBD, webcast by almost all Indian Missions and Posts, was organised for the first time by External Affairs Ministry (MEA) after the government’s decision to merge Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) with it.

Earlier MOIA used to host the event. January 9 was chosen as the day for PBD as it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, the “greatest Pravasi”, returned home from South Africa to lead India’s freedom struggle.

Asking the diaspora to participate in government’s various flagship programmes including Skill

India, Digital India and Clean Ganga initiatives, she said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants the Aadhaar card scheme to be extended to NRIs. “So far Aadhar card has been given to those Indians who live in India. It is not for non-resident Indians. But you will be happy to know that the Prime Minister wants the card to be given to the NRIs the way it is issued to people living in India.

“He even wants it for OCI (Overseas Citizens of India card) holders. The matter is under our consideration. No decision has been taken as discussions on it are underway. I hope soon you will

hear about it,” Swaraj said during an interaction following her address. The government has so far issued Aadhaar cards to over 92 crore citizens.

Under the programme, every citizen is to be provided with a 12-digit unique identification number for which biometric information is collected.

On restricting women from going to Gulf countries through the recruiting agencies, she said the decision has been taken to stop them from getting duped.

“We will send women only through government agencies,” Swaraj said during an interactive session with Indian missions

abroad. Calling upon the diaspora to be part of the India growth story, she said “It is time for you to come back to India.”

Effusive in praise of the prime minister, Swaraj said India’s engagement with the overseas Indians has increased manifold because of his constant endeavour to reach out to the community.

Swaraj also mentioned Modi’s Madison Square address in the US and at the Wembly in London.

“Your achievements in the countries of your adoption are a matter of pride... It is our responsibility to protect you and take care of you. Indeed, we are you and you are us,” she said. - PTI

SHILLONG: Nine persons, including a woman, were injured when militants triggered an IED blast at a busy market place in Meghalaya’s East Garo Hills district on Saturday, police said.

The police have evacuated the area as precautionary measure and an intensive operation was launched to search the market place to detect presence of any other explosive, IGP (Operations) G. H. P. Raju said.

The injured have been shifted to a civil hospital, Raju said.

The powerful improvised explosive device (IED) went off at around 12:45pm at the weekly market destroying portions of a liquor shop and its adjacent rooms and injuring the nine persons, he said. According to police, proscribed Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) militants planted the IED in the crowded market targeting civilians.

Raju said police will intensify counter insurgency operations in the coming days to flush out GNLA militants from this area.

The GNLA is an outlawed armed militant organisation active in the Garo Hills region since 2010. - PTI

R OA D - R AT I O N I N G E X P E R I M E N T

Delhi government not to extend odd-even scheme beyond January 15 NEW DELHI: Amid reports that the odd-even scheme may be extended, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai on Saturday asserted that the government has no intention to take the road-rationing experiment beyond January 15.

The pilot plan for cutting vehicular emission was launched on January 1.

Rai said that some confusion is also being spread that the plan was illegally imposed by the government, and claimed that under Section 115 of the Motor Vehicle Act, they have power to implement this scheme as such provisions were also made during the Commonwealth Games as per this law.

“Government is neither going to extend odd-even scheme beyond January 15 nor finish it before the 15-day trial period,” Rai said here, terming some of media reports of extending the car-rationing scheme as “false”.

He further said the traffic-restriction is just only for 15 days and after the trial period, government will study the data collected through it and will do a proper analysis,adding, it will then be able to take a final decision.

Rai, who on Saturday at his resi-

dence held a meeting of Coordination Committee with officials concerned on the scheme, said from January 1-8, traffic police, transport and revenue departments have issued 5,893 challans for the violation of odd-even rules so far.

“Out of these numbers, 2,912 challans were issued by SDMs and 2,260 by traffic police. Besides, enforcement wing of the transport department has issued 721 challans for violating odd-even rules so far,” he said.

Apart from this, 1,943 challans were issued by the transport department to auto drivers for different violations including refusal to drive. The government has also received 13,528 calls on its two helplines in the last one week and most of them were related to queries about the scheme.

Out of these calls, 395 were related to complaints against bus, auto drivers, and other issues.

According to the minister, in view of traffic rush on some road stretches during peak hours, government has decided to deploy additional teams of transport department and traffic police to manage traffic there from Monday.

The areas include, ITO, Ring

ed as challans during the odd-even scheme’s implementation period.

Rai said that once the car-rationing pilot plan is wrapped up, the government will constitute a committee to work out further modalities of the this proposed idea.

RALLY FOR A CAUSE: Aam Aadmi Party workers hold placards during the human chain to mark pollu-

tion free Delhi at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday. - PTI

Road, Outer Ring Road, Connaught Place, Mathura Road, Ashram, New Friends Colony, Nehru Place, Sarai Kale Khan, Hanuman Mandir Marg and Dhaula Kuan.

“Government has also decided to do a close monitoring on the assigned works of civil defence volunteers. Teams of SDM have also formed in this regard,” he said.

The fate of the odd-even vehicle scheme will be decided on January 11 by the Delhi High Court which had on Friday reserved its order on various pleas challenging the AAP government’s ambitious pilot project which will continue till then.

A bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath reserved the order after the Delhi

government informed it that the pollution level of particulate matter across the national capital showed a declining trend due to implementation of the scheme.

Meanwhile, seeking to promote cycling in the national capital, Delhi government on Saturday said it will provide subsidy on purchase of cycles, from the money collect-

Subsidy on cycle purchase “We have decided to give subsidy on purchase of cycles using the money collected through challans for odd-even violations, to promote cycling in the national capital. The government’s move is aimed at motivating people to use cycles as part of its drive of making Delhi pollution-free,” he said.

The penalty amount collected through violation of odd-even rules will be utilised to give subsidy to those who want to buy cycles, Rai further said.

“There are no cycle tracks on main roads in Delhi, but government appeals to people to at least use cycles in their colonies, mohallas where they can easily ride them and where the possibility of road accidents are also less.

“Instead of using bikes, people can use cycles for their small household works like buying milk,” he said. - PTI

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

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PAKISTAN

Russia, Pakistan to jointly set up LPG air-mix plants Pakistan and Russia are already working closely in the area of liquefied natural gas and have signed a government-togovernment deal for laying the NorthSouth pipeline from Lahore to Karachi for LNG supply

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Russia have agreed to deepen cooperation in the energy sector as they will jointly set up liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) air-mix plants in an effort to tackle the persisting energy crisis.

“For establishing the LPG airmix plants in Pakistan, Russia has nominated its company RusGaz

TIE-UP: State-run gas utilities have a huge pipeline network to

provide locally produced natural gas to consumers across the country, but they fall way short of meeting the growing demand.

Engineering; technical discussions have already been held and the two sides have proposed May 2016 as the timeframe for making the plants operational,” an official aware of the developments said.

Pakistan and Russia are already working closely in the area of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and have signed a government-to-govern-

ment deal for laying the NorthSouth pipeline from Lahore to Karachi for LNG supply. However, a commercial agreement has not yet been inked.

State-run gas utilities have a huge pipeline network to provide locally produced natural gas to consumers across the country, but they fall way short of meeting the

A1 1

growing demand.

The LPG air-mix plants will discourage the laying of new pipelines. Already, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has set up LPG air-mix plants in Balochistan.

In order to keep a check on LPG prices that normally go up during winter when demand rises, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has sent a summary to the Council of Common Interests (CCI) seeking approval for regulating the consumer prices of LPG, officials say.

The government believes that fixing of LPG prices by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), like other petroleum products, will lead to a fall in rates.

During the previous government of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the LPG air-mix plants were approved at a higher rate which sparked controversy. At that time, Ogra estimated that LPG air-mix could be injected into the SSGC system at $25 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) as prices were high.

The PPP government had planned to calculate LPG prices on weighted average basis and as a result all consumers, except for domestic consumers, were expected to face a price rise of up to 9.9 per cent with the injection of 50 mil-

lion cubic feet of LPG air-mix per day as approved by the Economic Coordination Committee.

However, now LPG prices have come down and the government is going to regulate the market to make the commodity affordable for the consumers. Therefore, officials suggest, it would be feasible to inject LPG into the pipeline network of gas utilities when prices stand lower.

In the past, Ogra had opposed the scheme, arguing that the LPG air-mix plants would lead to a sharp increase in the cost of gas for the end-consumers. The regulator, however, insisted in order to protect the consumers, the airmix plants should work as a standalone and not be made part of the larger system.

Still, the regulator pointed out that mixing of LPG and air was not feasible and the method had not been adopted for the same reason in other parts of the world.

Only Argentina has installed such plants, its officials told the ECC. — Express Tribune

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INSURGENCY

Blast kills two coast guards in Balochistan QUETTA: Two Pakistani coast guards were killed on Saturday when a bomb exploded under their vehicle, police officials said, in a town in the southwest which has been hit hard by years of separatist violence.

The blast, which also injured three coast guards, completely destroyed the vehicle during a patrol on the outskirts of Jiwani town in Balochistan province, the police officials said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion.

Jiwani lies in Gwadar district, whose port is at one end of the proposed $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor stretching from the Arabian sea to China’s Xinjiang region.

Separatist groups in Balochistan have waged violent campaigns over the past decade, saying the Pakistani state has failed to develop the impoverished region and instead plundered its natural resources.

Much of the separatist violence over the past decade has targeted government personnel and security forces as well as non-Baloch ethnic groups.

Baloch activists say thousands of people have disappeared and there have been hundreds of extrajudicial killings in security force crackdowns. — Reuters

PROPERTY SCAM

Graft probe launched against ex-army chief Kayani’s brother ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has launched an investigation against the brother of former army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani over his alleged role in a Rs17 billion Defence Housing Authority (DHA) City Lahore scam.

The DHA City project was launched in 2009 primarily to accommodate and facilitate the fam-

ilies of “shuhada (martyrs), war wounded and soldiers of Pakistan armed forces by allotting them small size plots in recognition of their services for the country.”

Kamran Kayani Kayani’s brother Kamran Kayani of Elysium Holding and Hammad Arshad of Globaco offered their services to facilitate DHA Lahore

to carry out the project by acquiring land.

However, they failed to deliver the plots to soldiers and families of shuhada and general public even after six years.

This prompted DHA to lodge a formal complaint against Kamran Kayani and Hammad Arshad with NAB. According to DHA officials, the

B I D T O S TA N D A R D I S E C U R R I C U LU M

Curriculum secretariat to be launched in February ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Education and Professional Training is all set to establish a national curriculum council secretariat to develop the “minimum standards” and structure of school curricula for centre and all the federating units.

The council secretariat will start functioning after a go-ahead from the inter-provincial education ministers committee (IPEMC), which meets in Islamabad on February 10-11.

The government has already approved a budget of Rs100 million for the council.

A delegation headed by Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Balighur Rehman also briefed President Mamnoon Hussain about the initiative on Thursday.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who is looking after a schools development and upgradation programme in the capital, also attended the meeting.

Provincial subject Provinces, particularly Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have been skeptical of the proposal maintain that the education was a provincial subject. The minister, it seems, has been successful in allaying their concerns and bringing all stakeholders on the board.

Rehman said Sindh govern-

Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Balighur Rehman said the ideology of Pakistan, religion, religious tolerance, culture and traditions will be part of curricula in addition to problem solving, creativity, innovations and character building

ment had a few reservations but in essence agreed to the proposal.

He said the secretariat will coordinate with federating units on development of minimum standards and will conduct seminars and workshops on curriculum

development. It will also provide professional and technical expertise to provinces and other units in curriculum development.

Rehman said that education was a provincial subject under the 18 Constitutional Amendment.

He, however, said that this forum was important to have minimum and basic standards of education.

“We will cooperate and move forward along with the federating units and help them implement the curriculum standards,” he said.

Senate Chairperson Mian Raza Rabbani criticised federal government last week for not fully devolving the health and education sectors to provinces as per the 2010 constitutional amendment.

Rehman said ideology of Pakistan, religion, religious tolerance, culture and traditions will be part of curricula in addition to problem solving, creativity, innovations and character building.

According to the documents shared with the president, four working groups have deliberated on social sciences, natural sciences, languages and policy and planning.

“We are not getting control of anything in education but coordinating with provinces to provide a level-playing field to every student in the country,” he concluded. — Express Tribune

‘SLEEPING BEAUTY’ DRIVE

Campaign helps cover 42 manholes KARACHI: After days of campaigning against Sindh, the man behind Karachi’s “Sleeping Beauty” campaign claims to have covered 42 manholes in the city.

Alamgir Khan, a member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), began the campaign on January 4, against the inability of authorities to cover the metropolis’s manholes that were left open for too long.

Having also faced the wrath of

the concerned authorities – who as claimed by Alamgir called his father to tell him that his car had been registered in a hit-and-run case – the young man kept on working on his campaign.

However, he himself took the initiative of providing covers to the city’s manholes after being supported immensely by the citizens on social media who praised Almagir’s passion.

‘Sleeping beauty’ campaign

gathers momentum as cantonment board takes notice “Thanks to Allah. We fixed 42 caps of manholes at Main University Road, Karachi. It took six hours (3pm-9pm) for this operation. It cost just Rs13,000.” he posted on his Facebook account on Saturday.

Hundreds of his followers then lauded him and his initiative and pledged their support to his cause.

— Express Tribune

Kayani’s brother Kamran Kayani of Elysium Holding and Hammad Arshad of Globaco offered their services

housing authority accepted the offer in good faith. However, Kamran and Hammad ‘played dirty’ and embezzled the hard earned money of the general public, they said.

DHA sources said Kamran played the lead role in getting the project due to his ‘obvious’ closeness to concerned quarters. When the contract was awarded to Globaco and Elysium Holding, Gener-

al Kayani was the country’s army chief.

NAB sources said the names of the concerned had been put on the Exit Control List and properties owned by them had been frozen.

It is pertinent to mention here that the same group is also involved in a corruption scandal in DHA Islamabad which NAB is investigating as well. —Express Tribune

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READERS’ FORUM Root cause of student dropout needs to be addressed This refers to news story, Call to stem high student dropout rate (January 9 ). In Arabic, we say, Yad Wahida La Tasafuq (One hand does not clap). The high dropout rate of students is a serious concern for Oman, something that must be stemmed. Being an educationist in Oman, I have witnessed the high dropout of students. The mentors and teachers must know how to motivate students so they can continue with their education. Teachers are leaders — the speed of a leader is the speed of his team. If the team fails, it is a failure of the leader. The management Scan this QR code and faculty must find out the root cause to send letters to the of the high dropout rate of students. The Readers’ Forum, student body is partly responsible for this containing not more than 200 words with as leaving school in such circumstances full name, address has a ripple effect. — Munawar Hameed and telephone Managalwala, Muscat number, may be sent

STEPHEN L. CARTER

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by mail (Times of Oman, P.O. Box 770, P.C. 112, Ruwi).

Why should only elite countries have the right to launch tests?

This refers to the story, Pressure grows on China to rein in North Korea after nuclear test (January 8). I can’t understand why there is such a hue and cry when countries carry out missile or satellites tests. It is ridiculous to say that only the elite countries have the right to do so. These countries should acknowledge that their imperialism has not ended until now. — Bert Owens, Sur

NEW INDIA ASSURANCE

“Insure with New India and be secure”

Tel: 24838800 | Fax: 24838899 | Email: niamct@omantel.net.om | Website: www.newindiaoman.com Be charitable before wealth makes thee covetous

SIR THOMAS BROWNE

Sanjeev Sanyal t has been more than a year and a half since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power on a promise to build a new India, one founded on a radical break with the past. It is still too early to gauge the impact of his economic and foreign policies, but there is one area where his government is making palpable progress: taming India’s entrenched elite. India has a population of 1.2 billion people, but it has long been dominated by a tiny elite: A couple of hundred extended families, totaling perhaps 4,000-5,000 people. Many countries have powerful elites with outsize influence, but in India, dynastic elites control the top echelons in every sphere of public life: Politics, business, the media, and even Bollywood.

Many of these dynasties have roots that stretch back to the colonial era, implying at least seven decades of dominance. Every point of leverage — from government contracts and industrial licences to national awards — is used to maintain this ecosystem of power.

Over time, ties of patronage and marriage have fused these dynasties into a discernable class, concentrated in central New Delhi, with a few pockets in Mumbai and a small presence in other parts of the country. Exclusive English-language schools, holiday homes in Goa, and summers in London or Switzerland have given them a shared world-view. Occasionally, new faces are admitted, but only if they do not interfere with the system’s perpetuation.

Unsurprisingly, the result has been the creation of a class of people with a strong sense of entitlement, who react to even minor challenges by closing ranks. They flaunt their power so often (usually with some variant of the phrase, “Do you not know who I am?”) that even those who do not “belong” sometimes use similar lines to try to bluff their way out of trouble.

One of Modi’s more symbolic blows to the old establishment has been his government’s success in evicting high-status squatters from hundreds of government bungalows in central Delhi. Few of the occupants of these sprawling official residences had the right to live in them. In some cases, they had been there for generations; when faced with eviction notices, some families argued that the bungalows had effectively become memorials to their fa-

mous ancestors and that they should thus be allowed to remain.

An even more visible change is the sudden increase in criminal charges — ranging from corruption to sexual offenses — being filed against members of the old elite. The homes of several senior civil servants have been raided recently as part of corruption investigations, and serious accusations of sexual harassment have been leveled against India’s top environmentalist, Rajendra Pachauri, who headed the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change when it received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Meanwhile, banks have begun to demand repayment from large borrowers accustomed to having their loans rolled over. Vijay Mallya, a businessman famous for his colourful lifestyle and string of failed ventures, is being investigated as a willful defaulter.

Much of this would have been unthinkable until a few months ago. And, inevitably, many accuse the government of carrying out political vendettas. On December 19, Sonia Gandhi, President of the Congress party, and her son, Rahul Gandhi, the party’s vice president, were forced to appear in court on corruption charges. In response, their party’s MPs brought legislative activity to a halt for days. The two were quickly released on bail.

The case against the Gandhis — as well as many other high-profile investigations — is likely to drag on for years. And, of course, in some cases the accused will be exonerated.

But the very fact that members of the old elite can be investigated and questioned is undeniable progress in a country where they have long enjoyed impunity.

What remains to be seen is whether Modi is able to cement these gains. The elite can be remarkably resilient, retaining the power to strike back at the first sign of weakness.

History — from post-revolutionary France to modern Thailand — has repeatedly shown that it is a mistake to write off the old establishment. - Project Syndicate Sanjeev Sanyal was Deutsche Bank’s Global Strategist and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. He is the author of The Indian Renaissance: India’s Rise After a Thousand Years of Decline and Land of the Seven Rivers: A Brief History of India’s Geography.

CLIPPINGS FROM OUR ARCHIVES JANUARY 2001 Council of State office holds fourth meeting MUSCAT: The Council of State office yesterday held its fourth meeting of the year under the chairmanship of Sheikh Hamoud bin Abdullah Al Harthy, president of the Council. After approving the minutes of the previous meeting, the council reviewed the list of procedures taken to implement the decisions of its past meeting. The council office then reviewed the letter it had received from the council of ministers on the draft law on regulating tourism and the Majlis Al Shura’s report on it, the office referred it to the legal committee to study it.

PICTOGRAPH

MINISTRY OF HEALTH CURRENT EXPENDITURES (In million rials) 2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

711.2 530.6 441.7 341.5

377.1

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1899: Filipino leader Emilio Aguinaldo renounces the Treaty of Paris, which annexed the Philippines to the United States 1912: The world’s first flying-boat airplane, designed by Glenn Curtiss, makes its maiden flight at Hammondsport.

1941: The Soviets and Germany agree on the East European borders and the exchange of industrial equipment.

0 Source National Centre for Statistics & Information

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

200,000

families affected by the quakes in Nepal are still living in temporary shelters at an altitude above 1,500 metres, where harsh winter conditions will continue through February

A1 3

ASIA RESOLUTION PRESENTED

FISHING IN A FROZEN RIVER

An aerial view shows people fishing for trout through holes in a frozen river in Hwacheon, south of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, in this handout picture provided by Hwacheon county office and released by Yonhap on Saturday. - Reuters

Sri Lanka kick-starts process to formulate its new constitution COLOMBO: Sri Lankan parliament on Saturday began a process to formulate a new constitution with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe presenting a resolution to set up Constitutional Assembly of all members for the purpose.

In a special session on Saturday, Wickremesinghe moved the resolution in parliament to set up Constitutional Assembly (CA) of all members and a steering committee of 17 members to draft the new constitution.

“We will have the whole parliament formulating the constitution unlike the previous instances when the constitutions were drafted outside parliament,” he said. The new constitution will replace the current executive president headed constitution adopted in 1978.

The resolution noted that there shall be a Committee of Parlia-

Propaganda is pushing us to ‘brink of war’: North Korea US and its allies have resumed psychological broadcasts and brought in strategic bombers, a top North Korean official told a propaganda rally, in the isolated country’s first official response to the sonic barrage across its border MASS RALLY: People take part in mass rallies held across the country vowing to carry out tasks set forth by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on Friday. - Reuters

SEOUL: South Korea’s loudspeaker broadcasts aimed at North Korea push the rivals to the “brink of war,” a top North Korean official has told a propaganda rally, in the isolated country’s first official response to the sonic barrage across its border.

North Korea’s fourth nuclear test on Wednesday angered both the United States and China, which was not given prior notice, although the US government and weapons experts doubt the North’s claim that the device it set off was a hydrogen bomb.

In retaliation for the test, South Korea on Friday unleashed an earsplitting propaganda barrage.

The last time South Korea deployed the loudspeakers, in August

2015, it triggered an exchange of artillery fire.

“Jealous of the successful test of our first H-bomb, the US and its followers are driving the situation to the brink of war, by saying they have resumed psychological broadcasts and brought in strategic bombers,” Kim Ki Nam, head of the ruling Workers’ Party propaganda department, said at Friday’s rally.

State media published images of the rally which appeared to show thousands of people gathered in central Pyongyang, holding signs glorifying leader Kim Jong Un, whose birthday was also on Friday.

Kim Ki Nam’s comments, which

are in line with routine propaganda rhetoric, were the North’s first official response to the South’s broadcasts, which it considers insulting. The broadcasts, in rolling bursts from walls of loudspeakers at 11 sites along the heavily militarised border, blared criticism of the North’s regime and “K-pop” music. North Korea later responded with its own broadcasts.

Deployment A South Korean military official said Seoul and Washington had discussed the deployment of US strategic weapons on the Korean peninsula after the test, but declined to give details.

Media said these could include B-2 and B-52 bombers, and a nuclear-powered submarine.

On Thursday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said he had told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that China’s approach to North Korea had not succeeded.

Wang also held talks with his South Korean counterpart, Yun Byung-se. Yun pushed Wang to “sternly punish” North Korea over the test, the South Korean foreign ministry said.

China is North Korea’s main economic and diplomatic backer, although relations between them have cooled in recent years.

South Korea’s nuclear safety

agency said it had found a minuscule amount of xenon gas in a sample from off the country’s east coast but needed more analysis and samples to tell if the trace came from a nuclear test.

South Korea said TV footage released by the North on Friday of what appeared to be a submarine launch of a ballistic missile was probably manipulated.

The deployment of such a weapon is some years away, said a military official who asked not to be identified. The images showed Kim Jong Un on the deck of a vessel watching a missile emerge from the water in a short and heavily edited clip. - Reuters

ment referred to as the “Constitutional Assembly” which shall consist of all MPs, for the purpose of deliberating on, and seeking the views and advice of the people, on a new constitution for Sri Lanka, and preparing a draft of a Constitution Bill for the consideration of Parliament in the exercise of its powers under Article 75 of the Constitution.

It said the Speaker of Parliament will be the Chairman of the Constitutional Assembly and there will be seven Deputy Chairmen of the Constitutional Assembly, who shall be elected by the Constitutional Assembly. A Steering Committee consisting of the Prime Minister (Chairman), Leader of the Opposition, Leader of the House, the Minister of Justice, and not more than 11 other Members of the Constitutional Assembly will be appointed by the Constitutional Assembly. - PTI D E A D LY Q UA K E

Nepal to start reconstruction work for a million homes KATHMANDU: Nepal will start repairs and reconstruction next week for nearly a million homes damaged by last year’s deadly earthquakes, the head of a state agency said on Saturday, nearly nine months after the disaster left hundreds of thousands homeless.

Two tremors last April and May killed 9,000 people, injured more than 22,000 and damaged or destroyed more than 900,000 houses, forcing many to brave freezing temperatures living in temporary shelters made from tarps and corrugated iron sheets.

“We realise that the victims are very much in trouble. We’ll start the reconstruction work from January 16,” Sushil Gyewali, chief of the National Reconstruction Authority, said.

The agency was launched in September but political squabbling has delayed the deployment of $4.1 billion pledged by foreign donors for reconstruction. UNICEF estimates that more than 200,000 families affected by the quakes are still living in temporary shelters at an altitude above 1,500 metres (4,920 feet), where harsh winter conditions will continue through February.

The delay has been blamed for more than a dozen deaths since the onset of winter, mostly of people over 65, according to domestic media reports. Gyewali said the agency would start training engineers, masons and other technicians and dispatch them to districts ravaged by Nepal’s worst disaster. Kathmandu has said it needs to train 50,000 people and has pledged up to $2,000 for each home destroyed by the quake. - Reuters

DRUG ABUSE

Afghanistan turns abandoned NATO camp into drug treatment base KABUL: Afghan officials have opened a new drug treatment centre in an abandoned NATO military base in Kabul, in the latest attempt to stamp out the country’s massive problem of drug abuse.

Afghanistan is one of the world’s biggest sources of opium, producing around 3,300 tonnes last year, despite a drop of 48 per cent in output. With the economy in ruins after decades of war and unable to provide jobs for young Afghans, demand for the temporary relief provided by drugs is high.

Camp Phoenix, a former training camp on the edges of Kabul set up by the US army in 2003, will take in around 1,000 homeless drug addicts who will receive food, medical attention and treatment, said Public Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz.

45-day course “We give them a proper shave, they will take a shower, winter clothing and treatment will follow,” he said, showing reporters around the facility, which offers a 45-day course

of treatment for homeless addicts.

“We will return them as normal members of society.”

The effort is the latest in a long series of anti-drug initiatives backed by the government and its international partners, but it is only a very small step to tackle a sprawling problem, and many remain sceptical.

Police regularly round up addicts who shelter in areas such as the Pul-e Sokhta bridge in the western part of the capital, but successive governments have been powerless to resolve the problem.

In May, a US-funded report said around 1.9 million to 2.4 million Afghan adults may be drug users, from among a population of about 30 million, with drugs found in more than 30 per cent of homes.

To counter this situation, the country has just 123 treatment centres, sufficient to treat just over 10 per cent of opium and heroin users. But even addicts who go through the centres often fall back into drug use.

“I have received five rounds of

new centre for treatment.

But officials have only limited ability to curb a billion-dollar industry protected by powerful regional interests and controlled in part by warlords and Taliban militants who use the proceeds to fund their insurgency.

REHABILITATION CENTRE: People sit in lines at a newly-opened treatment centre at Camp Phoenix,

after a police round up of suspected drug addicts in Kabul, Afghanistan, on December 27, 2015. Afghan officials have opened a new drug treatment centre in an abandoned NATO military base in Kabul, in the latest attempt to stamp out the country’s massive problem of drug abuse. - Reuters

treatment already, but am still using,” said Sayed Dawod, one of the addicts at the new centre.

“There is no proper treatment in Afghanistan.”

Ministers say they are aware of the threat from the drug problem, not just to public health but also how it feeds endemic corruption in the government, from police of-

ficials on up. Feroz was himself attacked on Sunday by a dealer who tried to stab him with an infected needle during an operation to collect addicts and take them to the

Committed “Leaders of the unity government know the threat illegal drugs pose to our society and they are committed to dealing with this,” said Salamat Azimi, the counter narcotics minister.

The failure of past efforts leaves many uncertain of success this time, however.

Najibullah, an addict who, like many Afghans, goes by one name, was dubious as he saw how few addicts got on the buses going to the treatment centres.

“This is for show,” he said.”If the government wants to bring about change and treat addicts properly, they have to put more pressure on police to arrest those who sell illegal drugs.” - Reuters

A 14

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

GLOBAL EYE

BRITAIN: Large flocks of starlings fly at dusk over the Somerset Levels near Glastonbury in Britain, on Friday. Despite a steady decline in annual winter visiting numbers of the migratory bird in recent years,

the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds estimates that approximately half a million are currently roosting in this area of south west England, providing spectacular daily murmurations as they arrive and leave their roosting spots.— Reuters

IRAQ: Iraqi policemen take part in a ceremony marking the 94th anniversary of the creation of the Iraqi police in the capital Baghdad on Saturday. —AFP

UAE: A modified off-road vehicle catches fire during sand dune drag racing event on Friday, as part of the Liwa 2016 Moreeb Dune Festival in the Liwa desert, some 250 kilometres southwest of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The festival includes a variety of races (cars, bikes, falcons, camels and horses) or other activities aimed at promoting the country’s folklore. — AFP

SOUTH KOREA: A participant reacts after catching a trout with his hands during an event promoting the Ice Festival on a frozen river in Hwacheon, South Korea, on Saturday. — Reuters

CHILE: An aerial view shows smoke and ash rising from the Chillan

volcano, south of Santiago, Chile, on Friday. — Reuters/Stringer

THAILAND: A girl has her helmet adjusted on the top of a tank dur-

ing the Children’s Day celebration at a military facility in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday. — Reuters

GERMANY: Fog is seen in the mountain valleys near the small Bavarian village Irschenberg, southern Germany, during warm winter weather with temperatures by four degrees on Saturday.— AFP

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

A1 5

WORLD INSURGENCY

PUTIN PRACTISES JUDO

Turkey kills 18 Kurdish militants DIYARBAKIR (TURKEY): Turkish security forces have killed 18 Kurdish militants in southeast Turkey, the military said on Saturday, in the latest clashes to blight a region still reeling from the collapse of a two-year ceasefire last summer.

Security sources said five people, four of them soldiers, had also been wounded in separate gun and bomb attacks in Diyarbakir, biggest city in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

The armed forces said in a statement that 16 PKK fighters had been killed on Friday in the town of Cizre, near the Syrian border, and another two rebels had been killed in the historical Sur district of Diyarbakir.

In Sur, one soldier was shot while another three soldiers and a public sector worker were also wounded in a bomb attack on Saturday, security sources said.

In the town of Silopi, near the Iraqi border, security forces seized 24 militants seeking to leave the town with local citizens, the military statement said.

The army said a total of 426 militants have been killed in the towns of Cizre, Silopi and the Sur district of Diyarbakir - all subject to a round-the-clock curfew - since security force operations began there around a month ago.

Turkish security forces have been battling militants of the

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin practises with Musa Mogushkov of Russian national judo team during a training session in Sochi, Russia, on Thursday.

— Reuters/Sputnik/Kremlin

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Security sources said five people, four of them soldiers, had also been wounded in separate gun and bomb attacks in Diyarbakir, biggest city in the mainly Kurdish southeast

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) since 1984 in a conflict that has cost more than 40,000 lives.

The PKK is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

A recent shift in fighting from the countryside to urban centres has left civilians caught in the middle.

According to figures from the pro-Kurdish HDP party, 72 civilians in the three southeastern towns under the curfew have been killed since December 14.

— Reuters

Criminal migrants should lose asylum rights: Merkel the law,” Merkel told journalists in Mainz, promising a reduction over the longer term in the flow of migrants to Germany.

The remarks were in stark contrast to her earlier optimism about the influx to Germany, which has taken in far more migrants than any other European country.

The remarks were in stark contrast to Merkel’s earlier optimism about the influx to Germany, which has taken in far more migrants than any other European country

COLOGNE / MAINZ (GERMANY): Migrants who commit crimes should lose their right to asylum, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, toughening her tone as police in Cologne confronted right-wing protesters venting their anger at mass assaults on women on New Year’s Eve. Police in the western city fired water canon to disperse protesters

HEIGHTENED TEMPERS: Police use pepper spray against supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement PEGIDA during a demonstration march, in reaction to mass assaults on women on New Year’s Eve, in Cologne, Germany, on Saturday. - Reuters

from the PEGIDA movement, which has seized on the alleged involvement of migrants in the New Year attacks and stepped up its calls for a halt to the influx.

Nearly two dozen asylum seekers were among those suspected of carrying out the attacks, police said this week, heightening tensions over immigration and fuelling criticism of Merkel’s refusal

to place a limit on the numbers of migrants entering the country.

“The right to asylum can be lost if someone is convicted, on probation or jailed,” Merkel said after a meeting of the leadership of her Christian Democrats (CDU) party that was overshadowed by the attacks in Cologne and other cities.

“Serial offenders who repeatedly rob or repeatedly affront women must feel the full force of

IGNITED BY LIGHTNING STRIKE

More towns evacuated as 2 killed in Australia bushfire PERTH: Two people have been killed, at least one other remains unaccounted for and more than 121 buildings have been destroyed by a bushfire that continues to burn out of control in Western Australia, police said on Saturday.

The remains of two men were found by authorities searching burnt-out buildings in the historic timber milling town of Yarloop, 120 km (75 miles) south of the capital, Perth, which was destroyed by the fire on Thursday, police confirmed.

The men, both believed to be in their 70s, haven’t been formally identified.

A state of emergency has been declared and residents evacuated from five nearby towns in the major beef and dairy farming area.

Dairy farmers near the fire have been forced to dump thousands of litres of milk since Thursday as road closures prevent tankers being able to reach farms and power cuts prevent production.

Holiday makers in nearby coastal resorts have also been

PHOTO GALLERY

LIVES IN DANGER: Smoke clouds from a large bush fire are seen behind a police road block at the turn off onto the South Western Highway near Pinjarra, Western Australia, on Friday. - Reuters/AAP

evacuated by ferry as exit roads remain cut and damaged by the fire.

The fire, ignited by a lightening strike on Wednesday, has now burned through some 67,000 hectares (166,000 acres) of land, is uncontained and has a 222

km perimeter. Firefighters have flown in from New South Wales to relieve fatigued local crews.

Another large fire in the state’s south east, west of the town of Esperance, is also burning out of control and threatening homes.

— Reuters

Welcoming stance Her welcoming stance and ‘we can do it’ slogan irritated many Germans, uneasy about the arrival of some 1.1 million migrants last year.

Under German law, asylum seekers are now typically only deported if they have been sentenced to at least three years in prison, and providing their lives are not at risk at home.

In Cologne, riot police fired water canon at PEGIDA protesters after some threw firecrackers and beer bottles at officers, a Reuters witness said.

Two people were injured in the clash, and police made a number of arrests.

Police had called on demonstrators, some of whom had chanted “Merkel must go”, to return to a square near the city’s train station, from where they had set out

on a march through the city.

A police spokeswoman said the PEGIDA protest had attracted some 1,700 people, half of whom she described as coming from the ‘hooligan scene’.

In all, about 1,700 police officers were on the streets of Cologne, where more than 3,000 people attended the PEGIDA rally and a rival demonstration.

The overall police presence dwarfed the number on duty on New Year’s Eve, when at least 120 women were robbed or sexually molested amid scenes of widespread chaos.

Site of attacks At a separate left-wing protest, a group of mostly women gathered close to the train station where many of the assaults happened.

Merkel’s conservative party said it wanted to reduce and control migration to Germany, and send those who had been refused asylum home promptly.

“We want to reduce the hurdles for the deportation and expulsion of foreigners who have committed a crime,” the party said in a statement.

Such a move would require a change to German law. — Reuters

AT O D D S W I T H S E R B S

Protesters set fire to Kosovo government headquarters PRISTINA: Demonstrators in Kosovo fought running battles with police and briefly set fire to government headquarters on Saturday in the latest violence in the young Balkan country over an accord with its former ruler Serbia.

The seat of government in the capital Pristina caught fire after it came under a hail of petrol bombs.

Firefighters quickly doused the blaze and police used tear gas to drive back several thousand opposition demonstrators.

They were rallying against a deal brokered by the European Union to give Kosovo’s ethnic Serb minority greater local powers and the possibility of financing from Belgrade.

Police pursued the protesters, who threw petrol bombs, stones and bottles and set light to an armoured police car.

Kosovo, which is majority Albanian, declared independence from Serbia with Western support in 2008, almost a decade after NATO air strikes drove out Serbian security forces accused of killing and expelling civilians from the ethnic Albanian majority during a counter-insurgency war. — Reuters

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Fugitive Joaquin

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‘El Chapo’ Guzman is captured at motel

After stopping his getaway car, the Marines took Guzman and waited for reinforcements at Hotel Doux, a motel on the outskirts of town. Los Mochis residents described gunfire and explosions from about 3:30am (0930 GMT).

Schools were closed as helicopters clattered overhead.

“The teachers were coming out terrified because they had heard the rumours that he was fleeing in the city’s drains,” said Ana Bertotti, 30, a housewife who crossed town to find her child’s kindergarten closed.

in an operation that killed five

LOS MOCHIS (MEXICO): Mexico recaptured the world’s top drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in a pre-dawn shootout and chase through drains on Friday, returning him to the same prison he escaped from six months ago, in a boost for the beleaguered government.

The head of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel was captured in a car wearing a filthy vest after fleeing through tunnels and drains from a raid on a safe house in the city of Los Mochis, in his native northwestern state of Sinaloa.

“Mission accomplished: We have him,” President Enrique Pena Nieto said on his Twitter account. “I want to inform all Mexicans that Joaquin Guzman Loera has been arrested.”

Trafficker For Pena Nieto, the capture of a trafficker who twice slipped out of Mexican prisons is a sorely-needed victory after his presidency was tarnished by graft and human rights scandals and the shame of the kingpin’s flight from the maximum security Altiplano prison in July. It also provides relief to US-Mexico relations, strained by suspicion of high-level collusion given the apparent ease with which Guzman gave Mexican authorities the slip after the United

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman is escorted by soldiers during a presentation at the hangar belonging to the office of the Attorney General in Mexico City, Mexico on Thursday. – Reuters

States requested his extradition.

Guzman now faces possible extradition to face trial in the United States. That process could take months, although US Republican party presidential hopeful Marco Rubio was among those calling for Washington to immediately pursue extradition.

Once featured in the Forbes list of billionaires, Guzman led a cartel that has smuggled billions of dollars worth of drugs into the United States and fought vicious turf wars with other Mexican gangs.

He was caught early on Friday after Mexican marines raided his safe house, killing five and capturing six of Guzman’s henchman. They pursued the drug lord

through the northern city’s drains and caught him after a car chase through the outskirts, Attorney General Arely Gomez said.

He was flown to Mexico City and later transferred in a naval helicopter back to the Altiplano.

Guzman, whose nickname means “Shorty”, first escaped prison in 2001 by bribing prison officials, and went on to dominate the world of Mexican drug trafficking.

Escape He was recaptured by Pena Nieto’s government in 2014 but escaped in July by capitalising on the drugtunneling skills his cartel honed on the US border. A mile-long tunnel equipped with electric lights, rails

and a motorbike came out directly into the shower of his prison cell and he simply slipped away. The escape heaped embarrassment on Pena Nieto, who had resisted a US request to extradite Guzman and had said previously that an escape would be “unforgivable”.

Dozens of people were arrested over the jailbreak, though details of who Guzman bribed and how his accomplices knew exactly where to dig into the prison remain scarce.

His recapture on Friday involved Mexican marines, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and US Marshals, a senior Mexican police source and a US source said.

Photograph One photograph widely circulated on social media, but that could not be independently verified by Reuters, appeared to show Guzman sitting handcuffed on a hotel bed, in a room that resembled those shown on the Hotel Doux website. He was wearing a vest and a poster was pinned on the wall behind him.

Another photo appeared to show Guzman without handcuffs and wearing the same vest in the back of a vehicle next to one of his top assassins. US officials and the DEA, which has had a bumpy relationship with its Mexican counterparts since traffickers tortured a US agent to death in 1985, took no credit and congratulated Mexico on the capture. “This notorious criminal is - and will remain - behind bars, until he faces justice in a court of law,” said DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg.

After coming under fire for failing to send Guzman to the United

States before he escaped the last time, Mexico said in July it had approved an order to extradite him north of the border.

On Friday, the US Justice department said its previous request to extradite Guzman to the United States still stands.

A senior Mexican official said the attorney general’s office would quickly move to determine how Guzman could be extradited, but that it could be months before he was sent out of the country.

Guzman’s lawyer in October appealed against possible extradition in case his client was captured.

Guzman is wanted by US authorities for various criminal charges including drug smuggling and money laundering.

In 2013, Chicago dubbed him its first Public Enemy No.1 since Al Capone, the gangster who won notoriety in the 1920s.

Believed to be 58 years old, Guzman was born in La Tuna, a village in the Sierra Madre mountains in Sinaloa state where smugglers have been growing drugs since the early 20th century. After Guzman’s first prison break, violence began to creep up in Mexico. The situation deteriorated during the 2006-2012 presidency of Pena Nieto’s conservative predecessor Felipe Calderon, when nearly 70,000 people lost their lives in gang-related mayhem.

After he managed to outmanoeuver, outfight or out-bribe his rivals to stay at the top of the business for over a decade, some security experts see in Guzman’s capture new hope for Mexico.

“This gives important credibility to the Mexican government.

And the fact is, they’re starting to move forward in implementing the rule of law,” said Mike Vigil, former head of global operations for the DEA. — Reuters

S Y D N E Y H A R B O U R F LY O V E R

THREE-MONTH JOURNEY: British aviator Tracey Curtis-Taylor pilots her biplane past Australia’s Uluru rock formation during her historic England-to-Australia journey, in this handout picture taken on Wednesday. – Reuters/Handout

British aviator completes epic flight in biplane SYDNEY: British aviator Tracey Curtis-Taylor flew her opencockpit biplane across Sydney Harbour and landed at the city’s international airport on Saturday, completing a three-month journey from England to retrace a pioneering feat of early aviation.

The 53-year-old aviator set out from Farnborough on October 1 to follow the flight path of legendary aviator Amy Johnson, who in 1930 became the first woman to fly solo between Britain and Australia. “I need a drink,” Curtis-Taylor told waiting media as she climbed from her 1942 Boeing Stearman.

“Seeing all the most iconic landscapes, geology, vegetation, just the best view in the world,” she said. “Very few people get to fly it like I just did.”

Braving sea spray and smog in her “Spirit of Artemis”, a reconditioned piston-engine plane, Curtis-Taylor crossed 14,000 miles (22,000 kilometres) and 23 countries using 8,000 litres (2,100 gallons) of fuel. She had struggled to secure supplies of “avgas”, or aviation gasoline, not readily available at many modern airports, and relied on a support plane that followed behind. “In doing something like this you have to be absolutely self-sufficient,” Curtis-Taylor told Reuters in an interview before her arrival. “We have done something like 54 stops and that is what takes the time.”

Her challenges included scrounging for fuel with the help of Aborigines after an impromptu landing in the Australian outback,

HISTORIC FLIGHT: British aviator Tracey Curtis-Taylor. – Reuters

and spending a day scraping salt off her propellers after flying over the Timor Sea. In the post-9/11 world of aviation security she also encountered wary airport officials, especially after the Paris attacks in November and the downing of a Russian airliner in Egypt the month before that. “Everything is in high alert,” Curtis-Taylor said.

Bad weather in Romania held the flight up for days, and she had to fly around war-torn Syria. She has met royalty and took a Saudi princess for a spin in the aircraft.

In Jordan, girls she met were amazed by her audacity at undertaking the journey at her age. It is a far cry from the world of 1930. At that time, most of Johnson’s stops lay within the British empire. Red tape was minimal. Johnson was just 26 and her flight ended in Darwin, Australia, which her successor Curtis-Taylor reached on January 1 this year. — Reuters

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MARKET Insurance sector set to grow 14% in Saudi

ECONOMY

Arqaam Capital official said that JOB INTERVIEW: The December advance in payrolls followed a

252,000 increase in November that was stronger than the previously estimated 211,000. Labour Department revisions added 50,000 jobs in November and October. – Reuters

the enforcement of

US hiring surges, but fails to ignite growth in wages

would propel

existing regulations

motor and medical premiums growth at a rate of 15-25% and

the job market’s resilience amid unease over China’s efforts to restore calm to its sinking markets.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 1.1 per cent to 1,922.03 in New York.

December payrolls The 2015 increase in hiring followed a 3.1 million gain in 2014, for the best back-to-back years since 1998-99. The December advance in payrolls followed a 252,000 increase in November that was stronger than the previously estimated 211,000. Labour Department revisions added 50,000 jobs in November and October.

The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 92 economists called for a 200,000 gain in employment. Estimates of economists polled ranged from increases of 135,000 to 250,000. The unemployment rate for all of 2015 averaged 5.3 percent, the lowest since 2007, when it was 4.6 per cent.

While employers continue to aggressively add to headcounts, worker pay has yet to show a sustainable pickup. Hourly earnings in December were $25.24 on average, down one cent from the prior month. They increased 2.5 per cent from a year earlier, less than the 2.7 per cent gain projected in a survey of economists.

The pool of available workers, those who are unemployed and those not in the labour force but want a job, totaled 13.8 million in December. - Bloomberg News

Jaap Meijer

14-16% respectively

Times News Service WASHINGTON: American labourmarket juggernaut rolled unabated at the end of 2015, cushioning the United States economy from weakness abroad, but failing to ignite the wage growth sought by Federal Reserve policy makers.

Employers added 292,000 workers to payrolls in December, exceeding the highest estimate in a survey and putting the gain for all of 2015 at 2.65 million, a Labour Department report showed on Friday. The unemployment rate held at a seven-year low of 5 pe rcent as almost a half million people entered the workforce, a separate survey of households showed.

While the surge in hiring is putting a dent in the pool of jobless workers, they still number in the millions, meaning companies don’t have to bid up pay to attract staff. The lack of more substantial wage growth helps explain why Fed officials have said they will nurture sustained gains in employment by raising interest rates only slowly.

“One reason we’re not seeing a lot of wage pressures is that there’s still a fair amount of slack,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist in Lexington, Massachusetts, for IHS. “Wages over the course of the year will begin to accelerate, but very gradually.”

Stocks tumbled in a late-afternoon selloff that sent major equity indexes to their worst weekly declines in more than four years, as investors found little relief in

We expect the Saudi insurance sector to be the least affected by weaker oil prices, budget cuts and the tightening liquidity as the enforcement of existing regulations will propel motor and medical premiums growth at a rate of 15-25% and 14-16% respectively

MUSCAT: Saudi insurance sector is set to maintain a strong annual growth rate of 14 to 17 per cent during the next five years, fuelled mainly by the enforcement of regulations, according to Arqaam Capital, the specialist emerging markets investment bank.

Jaap Meijer, managing director and head of equity research at Arqaam Capital said, “We expect the Saudi insurance sector to be the least affected by weaker oil prices, budget cuts and the tightening liquidity as the enforcement of existing regulations will propel motor and medical premiums growth at a rate of 15 to 25 per cent and 14 to 16 per cent respectively.”

“We estimate that SAMA’s (Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency) enforcement of mandatory medical

Managing director and head (Equity research), Arqaam Capital

and Third-Party Liability (TPL) insurance would account for half of the growth during the next five years, adding 3.5 million medical policyholders and 3 million insured vehicles,” Meijer noted.

“Motor holds the most growth potential as it lags considerably behind medical in enforcement, pricing and penetration. Compared to the current regulation, enforcement rate in medical of accounts for.70 to 75 per cent, motor TPL enforcement stands only at 40 per cent.

“There is a potential for the number of motor policyholders to double in size but at a lower average of SAR 1,200 per policy instead of the current sector average of SAR 1,750. We see the segment doubling premiums by 2018 on re-pricing, cost of inflation and additional two million

insured vehicles,” he added. “But the Saudi insurance sector has still to grapple with a number of issues.

A key weakness of the sector is its inadequate pricing, which means that more than half of insurers incur underwriting losses. Many barely profitable insurers rely on investment income or unwinding claims to remain profitable.

We expect higher interest rates to boost earnings by 5 to 8 per cent as well. Furthermore, participation in the government bonds program, if allowed by SAMA, may offer the largest upside potential,” the expert explained.

Risk criteria SAMA made actuarial pricing compulsory for all insurance companies in 2013, mandating insurers to price premiums in line with clearly defined risk criteria af-

ter intense competition pushed prices down, weighting heavily on underwriting profitability.

“The fragmentation of the sector and the depletion of capital are two other major challenges with many small insurers falling short of securing the necessary scale to generate sufficient profits and to maintain top-line growth in line with the market, ceding market share to insurers with more robust solvency and better economies of scale. In our view, consolidation in the sector could be a viable option in the future,” Meijer concluded.

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BANKING

Bank Muscat Al Jawhar privilege banking evokes strong response Times News Service

operation Council (GCC).

MUSCAT: Providing a distinct banking experience centred on the unique lifestyle of the customer segment, Bank Muscat Al Jawhar Privilege Banking has evoked a strong response. In keeping with the bank’s ‘Let’s Do More’ vision, Al Jawhar is the first-ofits-kind privilege banking service in Oman.

In the vibrant world of privilege banking, the distinctive identity says it all. Reflecting the elegant lifestyle of clients, Al Jawhar is an affirmation of the preferential treatment designed around their unique lifestyle and banking requirements. Customers with a monthly salary of OMR1,000 and above or savings deposit of OMR10,000 and above can avail Al Jawhar services.

Al Jawhar value proposition is based on three pillars of commitments to customers — Recogni-

Platinum debit card Highly secure, the platinum debit card features the Chip and PIN technology, ensuring added security for all transactions.

Al Jawhar Platinum credit card offers 1 per cent cash back on all transactions in addition to special offers and discounts at select merchant outlets. Adding value, Al Jawhar credit card benefits include airport lounge access and free travel insurance.

Designed to elevate privilege banking to unparalleled heights, Al Jawhar opens a new world of opportunities as preferential treatment and fast track service in branches make the experience truly rewarding.

With the widest reach in serving customers through a network of 137 branches in the Sultanate, excellence in service is the hallmark of Al Jawhar experience.

FIRST OF ITS KIND: Bank Muscat Al Jawhar Privilege Banking is

the first-of-its-kind service in Oman. Al Jawhar Platinum debit card is the key to a world of exclusive services. – File picture

tion, Convenience and Experience — that form the imprint of premium products and services.

The value proposition of recognition places Al Jawhar customers in a league of their own.

Notably, Al Jawhar Platinum

debit card is the key to a world of exclusive services. With worldwide acceptance, Al Jawhar Platinum debit card has daily cash withdrawal limit of OMR800 in Oman and OMR250 for foreign transactions outside the Gulf CoSLOWING REVENUE

Yahoo to reconsider sale of web business NEW YORK: Yahoo! is considering an outright sale of its business, marking what could hasten a significant shift in the company’s thinking as it faces pressure from activist shareholders.

Just last month, Yahoo executives put forward a plan to spin off its main Internet business, the latest of several strategies they’ve proposed over the past year to deal with slowing revenue. Now, that idea may be abandoned in favor of a sale, people familiar with the matter said.

The company may need a new plan in the face of an expected proxy fight by an activist investor, said the people, who asked not to identified because a final decision hasn’t been made.

Yahoo still hasn’t concluded that it has to sell and hasn’t hired a bank to run an official process or contacted potential buyers, they said. The Dec. 9 announcement was a strategic move by Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer to buy time to shape Yahoo into a more sellable asset, includ-

ing cutting costs, said the people.

“There is no determination by the board to sell the company or any part of it,” Yahoo chairman Maynard Webb said in a conference call when the plan was unveiled in December.

Yahoo assets Sarah Meron, spokeswoman for Santa Clara, California-based Yahoo, declined to comment. Yahoo shares rose 1.6 per cent to $30.63 at the close in New York. The stock fell 34 per cent in 2015.

By waiting longer, the market may also readjust its view of what Yahoo is worth, two of the people said. After accounting for a $27.7 billion stake in Alibaba, $7.96 billion stake in Yahoo Japan and $5.88 billion in cash and equivalents, Yahoo’s market value of $28.9 billion shows that investors consider the main business to be worth zero or less.

Starboard Value and stakeholders have been pushing for Yahoo to separate the Alibaba assets from its main business. - Bloomberg News

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

B3

MARKET TECHNOLOGY

Apple registers automobile domain names CALIFORNIA: Apple has registered domain names related to automobiles, adding to speculation about the company’s plans to develop an automobile.

The iPhone maker registered the domain names, which include apple.car, apple.cars and apple. auto in December, according to domain information provider Who. is. (http://bit.ly/1JzNbX9) MacRumors had first reported the news on Friday, but said the domain names could be related to Apple’s CarPlay, which lets drivers access contacts on their iPhones, make calls or listen to voicemails without taking their hands off the steering wheel. (http://bit. ly/1Oh5LzP) Car technology While never openly acknowledging plans to build a car, Apple has been aggressive in recruiting auto experts from companies such as Ford or Mercedes-Benz.

Car technology has become a prime area of interest for Silicon Valley companies including Google Inc, which has built a prototype self-driving car.

United States’ Apple shares snapped their three-day losing streak and were up 1.8 per cent, giving the biggest boost to the three major indexes. - Reuters

‘Revision in fuel subsidy to help impart fiscal stability’ A World Bank official said that studies conducted by the bank between 2012 and 2014 found that lifting of energy subsidies is good for society as a whole

MUSCAT: Revamping the fuel subsidy will greatly reduce financial risks posed to Oman’s government and impart stability, a World Bank expert said.

Lubna Abdulatif, a World Bank expert at the Ministry of Finance, said the ministry, in collaboration with a multilateral bank, has prepared the state budget in a bid to enhance the efficiency of public expenditure, reduce financial risks, which in turn impart financial sustainability.

She said revising public expenditure policies is of paramount importance as it gives priority to the policies that enhance the welfare of the Omani family, promote economic diversification, develop the private sector and create job opportunities. She also pointed out that revising the energy subsidy and lifting the subsidy on fuels is of great importance.

NEW YEAR

INFLATION FEARS: In the medium-to-long-term, lifting subsidies would have a positive effect on

growth and efficiency, which would also help absorb the possible effects on inflation in the short term, the World Bank expert said. – Times file picture

Abdulatif added that some believe that the welfare economy’s philosophy is the one which provides subsidy to energy.

Experience has proved that the subsidy on education, healthcare and economic diversification will have greater effect on enhancing social welfare.

Negative effect She also pointed out that providing greater subsidies for energy creates undesired social and economic effects. In the medium to long run, huge subsidies result in a substantial financial imbalance, have a negative effect on the priorities of the public expenditure and change the allocation of re-

sources by encouraging excessive consumption, capital-intensive industries and accelerating the exhaustion of natural resources.

World Bank official noted that the studies conducted by the bank between 2012 and 2014 found that energy subsidies need to be revised and that lifting such subsidies is good for the society as a whole.

“The World Bank studies also pointed out that the value of energy subsidy in the Middle East region stood at $237 billion (OMR91.25 billion), which represents 48 per cent of the total subsidies at the global level. The Middle East countries paid almost 8.6 per cent of their gross domestic product or 22 per cent of their

revenues for subsidy — a very high level, compared to the world average, which ranges between 0.7 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively,” she added.

Oil-exporting nations “Oil-exporting countries in the Middle East have borne the biggest share of this cost, which affected their abilities for financial sustainability and made them bear great financial risks. he equilibrium price for an oil barrel in 2015 for Bahrain and Oman, as estimated by World Bank, was more than $100,” added Abdulatif.

“Subsidies distort the market price and affect the proper alloca-

tion of resources. They encourage the smuggling of fuel, which may lead to a shortage of subsidised products. It is also a universally acknowledged truth that subsidies lead to excess consumption, streaming resources away from alternative uses and consequently affect expenditure on education, healthcare and infrastructure. It also leads to low energy efficiency and encourages capital-intensive technology, which in turn has a negative effect on the growth of employment opportunities.”

Abdulatif also said that in the medium-to-long-term, lifting subsidies would have a positive effect on growth and efficiency, which would also help absorb the possible effects on inflation in the short term.

High fuel prices would encourage companies to create job opportunities for the youth and encourage the growth of small and medium enterprises. Moreover, it would also encourage companies to rely on more efficient technology to address the energy of price hikes.

As per the simulation model provided by the World Bank to Egypt in 2014, reducing an energy subsidy by 25 per cent increases job opportunities and wages by 1 per cent. The experiences of many countries show that subsidies are not an effective tool for the distribution of income. - ONA

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REGIONAL AIRPORT

Larsen & Toubro Oman bags $93m deal to build Sohar airport terminal Times News Service LOST THE MOST: Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, the best-per-

forming billionaire in 2015, lost the most, his fortune dropping $5.9 billion this week. – Bloomberrg News

World’s billionaires lose $194 billion in first trading week BOSTON: World’s 400 richest people lost almost $194 billion this week as world stock markets began the year with a shudder on poor economic data in China and falling oil prices.

Forty-seven billionaires lost $1 billion or more during the worst week for United States stocks since 2011, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The combined drop was almost seven times the $29 billion lost in the first five trading days of 2015.

The 400 people on the index had a combined $3.7 trillion at the end of the week, compared with more than $4 trillion a year ago.

Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, the best-performing billionaire in 2015, lost the most, his fortune dropping $5.9 billion this week as shares of the world’s largest online retailer fell more than 10 per cent. Bezos is the world’s fourth-richest person with $53.7 billion and more than doubled his net worth in 2015 as investors cheered profits at Amazon.

The world’s richest person, Bill

Gates, fell $4.5 billion to $79.2 billion, while Spain’s Amancio Ortega, the second-richest, dropped $3.4 billion to $69.5 billion.

Global stocks tumble The combined loss among the billionaires represents a 4.9 per cent dip in their total wealth, according to the index, a slightly better performance than world equity markets so far this year.

Global stocks tumbled 6.2 percent for the week, according to the MSCI ACWI Index.

There were 11 billionaires among the 400 whose fortunes rose this week, including the five heirs to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The five Waltons added a combined $2.5 billion as Wal-Mart gained a little over $2 a share. Jim Walton, son of company founder Sam Walton, had the biggest gain, a $759 million increase.

The combined net worth of the 400 people on the index is $3.7 trillion, about equal to the gross domestic product of Germany.

- Bloomberg News

MUSCAT: Larsen & Toubro (Oman) has been contracted to construct the terminal building and associated facilities for a regional airport in Oman, which is said to be Sohar.

“Larsen & Toubro (Oman), a subsidiary of L&T, has bagged an order worth $93.1 million from a prestigious client to construct a regional airport in the Sultanate of Oman. The scope of work includes the construction of a passenger terminal building, an air traffic control (ATC) complex, cargo and other service buildings, including mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) works, special systems and external works,” L&T India said in a stock market filing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Although the statement did not mention the regional airport, it is learnt that it is the Sohar airport, which was awarded by the Tender Board few months ago. The project

THIRD PROJECT: This will be the third airport project to be execut-

ed by L&T in the country, after Salalah and Duqm. - File picture

is scheduled to be completed in two years.

This will be the third airport project to be executed by L&T in the country, after Salalah and Duqm. Like the Duqm regional airport, the terminal building of the Sohar airport is designed to handle half a million passengers per annum and the scope of work

(of third package) includes two air bridges connecting the terminal with aircraft.

First and second packages The first and second packages of the Sohar airport project were completed in 2015, which followed Oman Air starting its regular service to Muscat using a temporary

terminal building. The first two packages of the Sohar airport work included civil works and infrastructure work, such as constructing a four kilometre-long runway, 30 kilometres of airport service roads, as well as a rainwater protection system, the outer fence of the airport, a security fence, power plants, a wastewater treatment plant, pumping stations for water distribution network, a communications network, a fire system, a protection system of Aflaj, the final layers of the runway, aircraft taxiways, roads, a fuel station, runway lighting systems, an aircraft filling system and setting up equipment required for the operation of the airport.

The development of three additional regional airports — Sohar, Duqm and Ras Al Hadd — is part of a major government initiative to build airport infrastructure to meet the increasing travel demand of tourists, businessmen and the local community.

B4

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

FEATURE

The Ghosts of Baha Mar

THE STORY OF HOW A $3.5 BILLION RESORT WENT BUST

B

eyond the tropical waters, across palm- fringed sands and behind locked gates, looms Baha Mar — the largest and, at $3.5 billion, priciest resort in the Caribbean.

Here, no one frolics pool-side, pina colada in hand, or hits irons on the Jack Nicklaus golf course.

No slot machines jingle-jangle. The Flamingo, the Brasserie des Arts and the Cartier boutique lie dark.

On this bright October morning in the Bahamas, all 2,200 guest rooms are empty.

The quiet is almost spooky here on the outskirts of Nassau, where the waterscape frills of nearby Paradise Island give way to the vast ghost-resort that is Baha Mar. Just how the place ended up like this — in a bankruptcy so colossal that it’s jeopardising the Bahamas’s credit rating — is the biggest business story to hit this Caribbean nation for as long as anyone here can remember. It stretches far beyond the white beaches and across time zones, to none other than the State Council of China.

Turns out that even in paradise,

local aspirations can collide with China’s global ambitions. Baha Mar may have been dreamed up in the vacationland of the Bahamas, but the central government in Beijing controls the development bank and construction giant that will determine its fate.

And China, some Bahamians say, is playing tough as its state-run enterprises project money and influence around the world, including to this small island 180 miles off the coast of Miami.

Time is short. Bahamian officials have been counting on Baha Mar to invigorate the tourist economy. The developers claimed the resort could single-handedly generate 12 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product — provided it ever opens.

Understanding the island’s predicament requires going back more than a decade to 2005 when Prime Minister Perry Christie reached an agreement with a local businessman named Sarkis Izmirlian to help revitalise Cable Beach, the most popular beachfront destination on New Providence Island.

Izmirlian, then just 32, seemed a

natural choice. He’s from a wealthy family — his father is Armenian peanut tycoon Dikran Izmirlian — and lives on nearby Lyford Cay, a billionaire enclave. Izmirlian sank nearly $900 million into Baha Mar and recruited marquee-name partners like a Caesars Resort hotel.

Then the 2008 financial crisis hit, and would-be partners balked.

When China State Construction Engineering, the world’s secondlargest contractor, approached Izmirlian about stepping in, he said yes. The company directed him to Export- Import Bank of China, or Exim, which promotes trade and investment under the direction of Beijing.

Seeing a way into United States markets, China State Construction promptly invested $150 million.

Exim kicked in $2.45 billion in construction loans — with the proviso that Izmirlian could never fire the Chinese builder, no matter what, and that workers from China would do the job. Flush with Chinese money, Izmirlian declared four Baha Mar hotels would open by 2014.

All this was documented in court

filings, and supported by interviews with Christie and other Bahamians. The Chinese and Izmirlian declined interview requests.Endless haggling complicated by language barriers ensued -- about payments, invoices, workmanship, on and on.

Deadlines were set and promptly broken. Emails flew back and forth to Beijing.

Bankruptcy

In May 2014, Izmirlian appealed to an independent mediation service based in Washington, but the troubles multiplied. Pipes burst when inspectors tested the fire sprinklers and faulty balcony railings had to be reinforced, people with knowledge of the construction said. When Izmirlian complained, China delayed its money, one said.

As construction dragged on, Izmirlian and Christie flew to Beijing. There, officials assured them the resort would be ready to open on March 27. Upon his return, the developer hired 2,070 hotel workers, ran a global ad campaign and stocked the casino with $4.5 million in cash.

Baha Mar filed for bankruptcy in Delaware on June 29 — and all hell broke loose. China State Construction accused Izmirlian of disrupting the project with endless design changes. “Baha Mar’s decision to file for bankruptcy is the direct result of its failure to secure adequate financing and its mismanagement,” the Chinese company told the court.

As the dispute dragged into September, a Delaware judge dismissed the US bankruptcy and a Bahamian judge put provisional liquidators in charge, rendering Izmirlian’s $900 million investment nearly worthless. In October, they hosted negotiations at a nearby hotel. It was a bizarre scene, with Bahamian dancers gyrating in hot pants in the lobby as Chinese men in black suits hunched over laptops.

For now, Baha Mar faces mould and corrosion as it bakes in the tropical heat. Its pink and cream towers are ringed by a chain-link fence and blue tarps cover unused supplies. At night, lights pop on in several rooms — a move the Bahamians hope will ward of the desolate air of this Caribbean ghost. - Bloomberg News

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B5

ROUND-UP

New Renault Fluence makes driving easier

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW

Fitted with a new petrol engine that

BMW showcases its Vision Car at Las Vegas event

is powerful and dynamic (117hp and 156Nm), Fluence sparkles with energy

MUSCAT: Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, the exclusive importers and distributors of Renault vehicles in Oman, houses the upbeat Renault Fluence that comes in a new look with the 1.6 16V 115 CVT X-Tronic automatic gearbox and the 2.0 16V 140 CVT X-Tronic automatic gearbox.

Fitted with a new petrol engine that is powerful and dynamic (117hp and 156Nm), Fluence sparks with energy. With the CVT X-Tronic next-generation automatic gearbox, the 2.0 16V 140 combines responsiveness and low fuel consumption. CVT technology – Continuously Variable Transmission – allows for smooth gear shifting with instant responses and no bumps. The new Fluence is comfortable, dynamic and lively with low fuel consumption, says a press release.

The fantastic Fluence With its flowing and modern lines, the Renault Fluence features new, confident and more dynamic frontal design identity. Inside, the cabin carries over the major themes of the previous version but delivers finishes that are more sophisticated and a more high-tech ambience.

The redesigned front end enhances the new Fluence’s unique character which takes its inspiration from the Renault F1 and the aerodynamics of the F1 cars.

The focal point at the front is a prominent logo set vertically to a gloss black and chrome strips background. Meanwhile, the new Renault Fluence’s curvier lines and

full surfaces ensure a more dynamic, assertive stance, underlining the model’s status-enhancing look.

Exterior features The other exterior features include LED lights that enhance the overall appeal of the rear of the vehicle. To exalt the design of the Fluence, the vehicle comes with 17” Akihiro two tone alloy wheels in the LE version.

The reassuring side panels favour fluid, energetic lines. The design of the front bumper is bolder, with a large lower air intake that broadens towards the base: fog lights set against a gloss black surround have the effect of visually widening this lower intake, giving the front a sporty touch.

Finally, wheel arch openings that are two centimetres tighter than on the previous version provide the 2015 Fluence with an even more dynamic allure.

The insides of the headlamp units have been reworked in order to convey a more expressive and more upmarket effect. The headlight module is equipped with a lens, which concentrates the beam of light and ensures superb quality illumination at night. The metaleffect ‘eyelid’ and dark-coloured headlight mask add further depth to New Renault Fluence’s look.

The higher-end equipment levels are distinguished by the addition of a series of gloss black trim features, as well as brighteffect chrome.

High-end technology The new Renault Fluence is packed with high-end technologies designed to make driving simpler. The principal instrument inside the cabin incorporates a large round LCD screen, the main function of which includes a digital speed display and the white segments around the circumference of the LCD screen indicate the settings of the cruise control and the speed limiter systems. The multimedia functions on the new Renault Fluence include hands free mobile phone connectivity and audio streaming music with Bluetooth or with USB / Jack connection.

The Renault Fluence also offers a range of driver-assistance technologies, including the hands-free key card for no-touch locking and unlocking of doors, as well as pushbutton ignition in LE version. On the higher equipment level, the parking assist system of the new Fluence features four rear-parking sensors neatly integrated into the rear bumper. Another intelligent feature is the automatic parking brake, which applies itself as soon as the ignition is turned off and released once the engine is running again.

Notably, the Renault Fluence is equipped with climate control system that is specially designed to cope with the intense sunlight and high levels of humidity in the Oman market. In addition, an automatic dual-zone climate con-

LONG SERVICE EMPLOYEES

trol system is offered as standard equipment on the higher-end version LE. The Renault Fluence builds on the quality and safety standards of its predecessor. Reliability and durability have been the focus of detailed design work, guaranteed with extreme endurance testing, to meet the specific needs of the Oman market.

From its entry level model, the new Renault Fluence offers ABS with electronic brake force distribution, emergency brake assist, three-point front safety belts with pretensioners and load limiters, driver and front passenger airbags, three-point Isofix child seat anchorage for the outer rear seats and projector headlights. Available as standard or optional, depending on the equipment level, are safety key features such as stability control (ESP) with under steer control, front side airbags, as well as front and rear curtain airbags.

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

DUBAI: At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES, 6 to 9 January 2016) in Las Vegas, the BMW Group is presenting a Vision Car to demonstrate what the interior and the user interface of the future might look like.

The rapid advance of networking between driver, vehicle and environment is becoming increasingly intensive and is facilitating new services. One example of new technologies in seamlessly networked vehicles is provided by AirTouch. This feature empowers intuitive control of entertainment, navigation and communication functions using simple gestures made with a flat hand, says a press release.

AirTouch allows the display in a vehicle to be operated like a touchscreen without actually having to make contact with the surface. Sensors record the hand movements in the area between the central console and the interior mirror. This enables drivers or passengers to change the focus on the surface of the large panorama display. Simple confirmation selects the relevant menu item or activates an icon.

Sensors on the instrument dashboard permit 3D control.

One year ago, BMW already presented the new gesture control at the CES. This enables simple movements of a finger to carry out actions such as adjusting the loudness or accepting phone calls. Meanwhile, this technology is available as BMW Gesture Control in the new BMW 7

Series. AirTouch is now taking another big leap forward. Sensors are installed in the area of the instrument dashboard which respond to hand movements here and therefore permit three-dimensional control. A movement of the hand or a gesture activates the surfaces on the large panorama display.

AirTouch has another option to confirm an action. A concealed AirTouch button is located on the rim of the steering wheel. It is on the left and easy to reach with the thumb, and it lights up when a menu or icon can be activated.

One tap is sufficient to activate the desired program or change a setting. The passenger also has a button like this positioned on the side sill in the door area. Passengers are therefore able to use one hand to navigate through the menu and the other hand to confirm inputs very quickly.

The intelligent AirTouch menu control reduces the number of steps needed to make a selection.

For example, when activating the phone pad, the system automatically brings up contacts or call lists to the top select level so that a call can be made with just one further action.

AirTouch recognises which selection and control steps are required next and displays them in advance. This allows the driver to focus all their concentration on the road ahead or offers additional convenient control options when the vehicle is travelling in highly automated mode.

BETTER CONNECTIVITY

Emirates set to launch second daily service to Los Angeles

Waljat College felicitates its staff MUSCAT: Waljat College of Applied Sciences felicitated its staff members, who completed 10 and 15 years of service by presenting a memento and certificate of recognition recently.

The certificates were given in the presence of Dr Zuhoor Abdullah Salim Al Khanjari, chairperson of the Trustee Council, Dr S. L. Gupta, Dean of Waljat College, and M. M. Khan, Tanmay Mehta, Mohammed bin Mirza Al Balushi, Salem Al Bortmany, Saif Al Shmeli, Trustee Council members, says a press release.

The college extended congratulations to all on reaching this important service milestone. The loyalty, professionalism and commitment of the staff to the success of the college do not go unnoticed.

“The college acknowledges the hard work and dedication, and supports their contribution for its growth and success,” said Dr Zuhoor Abdullah Salim Al Khanjari.

The following staff members have been awarded appreciation and recognition certificates from Omzest. Suleiman Al Harrasi (Library), Suha Mohammed Al Zadjali (Admission & Registration Department), Binu Zachariah (IT Support), Dr Sadaf Zahra, Atiya Tabassum (Bio-Technology Engineering Department), Vijaya P., Sanjay Kumar, Shahid Ali, Vallikannu R. M., Sinymol S. B., Rajshree Deshpande (Computer Science and Engineering

Department), Shyam Sunder Purohit, Vikash Sharma (Electronics & Communication Engineering Department), Smita Prasad (English Department), Mithun Srivastava, Sayeed Aulia (Management Department).

Congratulating the faculty and staff members Dean, Dr Gupta stated, “The sole credit of this success goes to the hard work and dedication of the faculty the other staff members of this college.”

The college presently offers Bachelor of Engineering programmes in Biotechnology, Computer Science and Electronics and Communication Engineering, Bachelor of Computer Applications, Bachelor of Business Administration at graduate level and Master of Business Administration and Executive MBA programmes at post-graduate levels.

Approximately 3,000 students have so far graduated with Degree, Advanced Diploma and Di-

ploma certificates and are serving with distinction in government and private sectors.

Many of them have made a mark as entrepreneur within and outside the country. WCAS graduates have made their presence felt globally by hard work, dedication and high level of competence.

Waljat College of Applied Sciences (WCAS), Muscat was established in the year 2001 in academic partnership with Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, India — one of the top Deemed University pursuing academic excellences for more than 60 years.

The vision of the founder, Dr Omar Zawawi was to provide world class academic programmes with international recognition in the field of Engineering, IT and Management in the Sultanate of Oman in order to train and develop future leaders in emerging professional areas in tune with the needs of the nation.

DUBAI: Emirates announced that it plans to launch a second daily service from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Friday July 1.

The second Los Angeles flight will be operated with an Emirates’ Airbus A380-800ULR aircraft in a 3-class configuration with 14 private suites in First class, 76 seats in Business class and 401 seats in Economy class, says a press release.

The new service, flight EK217, will depart Dubai at 3pm and arrive in Los Angeles at 8pm. The return flight, EK218, will depart Los Angeles at 10:30pm and arrive in Dubai approximately 16 hours later at 1:30am.

The new service will supplement the current EK215 Airbus A380-800 flight departing Dubai at 8:55am and landing in Los Angeles at 1:55pm. The existing return flight, EK216, departs LAX 4:45pm and arrives in Dubai 7:35pm the following day.

The complementary flight times of Emirates’ new 2nd daily service will serve the growing customer demand for travel between Dubai and the western United States, as well as for those passengers connecting to Emirates’ vast global network of onwards destinations.

“Our existing service provides $677 million in annual economic benefit to LA and the surrounding area, contributes over $270 million in annual spending by visitors, and helps to support nearly 6,000 US jobs,” said Hubert Frach, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, West.

“So our additional service to LAX not only doubles our capacity to meet demand for our award winning service, but also increases our positive economic impact to the Los Angeles area.”

Los Angeles, California is the 2nd largest city in the United States. Commonly referred to as

the City of Angels, Los Angeles is a global city with a diverse economy in entertainment, culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine and research. While most often associated with its world renowned entertainment industry, LA is one of the largest manufacturing centres in the western US and supports a thriving aerospace sector as well.

In fact, LA County has 56,239 people employed in the aerospace and defence industry, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

A major export from Los Angeles is fruits and vegetables and these account for the largest portion of Emirates’ cargo exports out of Los Angeles, transported both in the belly hold of the airline’s wide body A380 aircraft as well as through two Emirates Boeing 777200F freighters each week.

The vast majority of these exports are transported to Dubai and Kuwait. Emirates also facilitates transport of garments, automobiles, machinery, and agricultural cargo to the Middle East, as well as medical equipment to Mumbai.

“Our new flight will create more choices and shorter connection times for many passengers travelling via Dubai and onwards to Los Angeles and surrounding areas,” continued Frach.

“Passengers wishing to travel beyond Los Angeles to nearby destinations in the US can take ad-

vantage of our partnerships with Virgin America and Alaska Airlines. For example, through Alaska Airlines, passengers can connect from LAX to cities such as Medford, Mammoth Lakes, Monterey, Portland, and Santa Rosa.”

More choices and shorter connection times Passengers travelling to Los Angeles via Dubai from several cities such as Basra, Tehran, Kuwait, Dhaka, Karachi, Sialkot, Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi, Colombo, and Seychelles as well as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok will experience improved connectivity.

Passengers travelling from Los Angeles via Dubai to Lahore, Peshawar, Mumbai, Chennai, Trivandrum, Ahmedabad, Colombo, Cape Town and Mauritius, as well as Singapore, Bangkok, and Hong Kong will also experience more choices and shorter connection times.

The new return flight, EK218, that will depart Los Angeles at 10:30pm for Dubai provides several opportunities for business and leisure travellers.

This later departure time will provide business travellers with a full day in Los Angeles before returning to Dubai in the evening.

Leisure travellers will also appreciate the full day they have in Los Angeles for sightseeing, shopping, or visiting friends and relatives, before returning to Dubai.

B6

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

ROUND-UP ‘Kia on Tour’ roadshow gets excellent response

G E N E R A L F OU N D AT I O N P R O G R A M M E

The latest Kia models

Middle East College GFP admissions close on January 28

were made available for test-drive at all the venues

MUSCAT: ‘Just Test Drive a Kia and Win a Trip to Australia’ stated an innovative and exciting roadshow campaign from Kia, bringing droves of people even closer to its popular models.

The roadshow campaign ended and the grand raffle for ‘Trip to Australia’ was held recently, says a press release.

“The response to our roadshow campaign was very enthusiastic,” the Kia spokesperson confirmed and added that apart from the Australia trip, there were many other exciting prizes such as Apple iPad Air, Samsung Tab, Wrist Watches, Microwaves, Bluetooth speaker, Power Bank and Kia souvenirs.

Kia’s much awaited annual ‘Kia on Tour’ Roadshow went around Oman covering Salalah (Gardens Mall), Nizwa (Lulu Hypermarket),

Avenues Mall- Muscat and Sohar (Safeer Mall). The latest Kia models were made available for testdrive at all the venues.

Visitors also participated in a ‘Kia QR code Contest’ at the roadshow venues or at the showrooms for a chance to a Samsung S5 Mini phone. Participants just needed to scan the QR codes and answer 3 simple questions correctly to be able to win Samsung S5 Mini phone.

Simultaneously, there was another Kia Quiz contest running on Kia Oman Facebook page, where one needed to just answer 3 simple questions correctly to win online Roumaan vouchers, upto OMR60 every week.

The unbridled response to the roadshow was amply evident in the happy remark by a lucky winner, “I am an ardent Kia fan and I often visit the Kia showroom in Wattayah. I got to know about the ‘Kia on Tour’ promotion from their friendly staff and like every year, I made sure that I attended the event. I am lucky this time that I won, as well!”.

Kia’s range of vehicles has built a strong reputation for embracing some of the most advanced technologies and luxury.

Thus allowing customers the privilege of indulging in the future while living in the present. Many of Kia’s class-leading features and technologies have been the subject

of inspiration for many automobile manufacturers eager to enjoy a fan base as vast as Kia. Reliable International Automotive (RIA), the distributor for Kia in Oman provides a rewarding ownership experience for customers. Excellent product attributes and unmatched facilities easily ensure their absolute satisfaction, every mile of the way. No wonder then that Reliable International Automotive has been ranked amongst the top Kia distributors worldwide and has been honoured with prestigious accolades including the ‘Good Partnership award, ‘Family Like Care’ Service award’, and ‘Kia ‘Distributor of Distinction’ award.

MUSCAT: Admissions and registration processes are going on at the Middle East College for the Spring Semester intake of students to various programmes offered by MEC in Engineering, Science & Technology and Business Studies.

The Spring 2016 admission to the General Foundation Programme (GFP) closes on January 28 and the admission to undergraduate programmes closes on February 18, says a press release.

MEC offers 19 programmes in both full time and part time in various specialisations like Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Supply Chain and Logistics, Hu-

man Resources, Software Technology, Multimedia Technology, Database Management Systems to name a few.

Moreover, the college also offers three Postgraduate programmes: MBA IT, MSc IT and MSc Electronic Engineering.

It is worth to be mentioned that MEC always seeks to provide the students with the best student experience through its vibrant campus life, diverse programmes and state-of-the-art facilities. It is affiliated with Coventry University, UK and University of Wolverhampton, UK and has collaborations with many educational institutions around the world for International Student Exchange programmes.

1 0 T H A N N I V E R S A RY O F S U H A I L B A H WA N AU T O M O B I L E S

‘Blood Donation Drive’ held as part of Nissan Oman community initiatives MUSCAT: Nissan from Suhail Bahwan Automobiles concluded their ‘Blood Donation Drive’ in association with the Ministry of Health to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles in Oman across their leading branches in Salalah, Nizwa, Sohar and Qurum.

The initiative was part of Nissan’s commitment towards the community which was a huge success and was supported by an overwhelming response from volunteers from the community, says a press release.

SBA, since the past decade, have emerged pioneers in introducing new schemes, programmes and events that keep them at par with current technological advancements keeping in mind their moral

social responsibility too.

A spokesperson from the ministry said, “We were thrilled to see the positive response from the local community who came forward to support the initiative. The participants and volunteers from the local community were enthusiastic and supported the drive. The event wouldn’t have been a success without the assistance and active participation from SBA officials.”

A senior SBA official said, “The initiative was an absolute success with over 90 employees, customers and members of the public who participated in the blood donation.

As an auto brand, we remain committed to playing an active role in supporting our broader community in the Sultanate and helping those in need.”

The blood donation drive was initiated by the Ministry of Health in response to the increasing need for medical emergency cases and blood disorders such as blood cancer, thalassaemia, sickle cell, and anaemia.

Senior SBA official added, “The aim of this blood drive is to con-

tribute to building up the blood stock which is desperately needed when donations drop down due to people being away. It is of critical importance to ensure that people actively think of regular blood donations; the process takes a little time and effort, yet, it can abso-

lutely save lives.”

SBA has been conducting such activities which is indicative of its social (moral) presence in Oman.

This goes to show that SBA has been successfully growing in operations and is consistently spreading its network throughout the Sultanate of Oman.

“Excellence in customer service can only be fully achieved by having an organisational culture and value system which places the customer at the heart of everything that an organisation and its people do. At Suhail Bahwan Automobiles this philosophy is a way of life. This is reflective of our relentless efforts towards our valued customers whom we provide with some of the best services all year round,” commented

a key spokesperson from Suhail Bahwan Automobiles.

“When it comes to providing good service, the firms that are able to build strong relationships with their customers are more likely to maintain a solid core of enthusiastic supporters.

“Quickly resolving issues and going beyond customers’ expectations encourages repeat business from patrons, and in many cases, we go further than that. High quality customer service helps to create customer loyalty. Customers today are not only interested in the product they are being offered, but also all the additional elements of service that they receive starting from the greeting when they enter a retail outlet,” the key spokesperson opined.

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ROUND-UP

Bank Sohar supports Al Noor Association The donation made to Al Noor Association for the Blind in Sohar will contribute towards the purchase of Perkins reading systems for its members

MUSCAT: Within the framework of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and having already supported Muscat, Dhofar and Nizwa branches of the Al Noor Association for the Blind, Bank Sohar has now extended its support to the Sohar Branch; marking its fourth contribution to the association during the year 2015.

This latest donation which was delivered to the association recently, will contribute towards the purchase of Perkins reading systems for its members, says a press release.

The donation cheque was handed over at Bank Sohar branch in Wilayat of Sohar to Mohammed Ismail Al Balushi, chairman Al Noor Association for the Blinds in Al Batinah and Buraimi Region, by Mazin Mahmood Al Raisi, Sr. AGM & NEW ADDITION

Head of Marketing and Customer Experience at Bank Sohar.

Commenting on the bank’s contribution to the association, Munira Abdulnabi Macki, GM of HR and Corporate Support at Bank Sohar said, “As one of the most prominent local banks within the Sultanate, we strongly believe in our capacity to contribute towards the betterment of the lives of those in need within our community. We also aim to ensure that our contributions bring about a positive and sustainable change with long term benefits to the community as a whole. By assisting associations

such as the Al Noor Association for the Blind, we can ensure these objectives are met. Their efforts over the years have successfully contributed towards the proper development of the visually impaired, helping them enhance their vision and thereby granting them access to better opportunities and choices in life.”

Thanking Bank Sohar for its continuous support, Yasser Said Al Zuhli, Board Member at Al Noor Association for Blind, said, “Bank Sohar has been one of our most prominent and consistent supporters since 2009. Their con-

tributions have greatly assisted us in helping people with vision impairments by providing them with the tools to make their journey towards a normal life a little easier. In doing so, several of our members have, over the years, turned their lives around and become much more self-sufficient.”

Bank Sohar strives to ensure that its contributions are carefully planned and evaluated in order to diversify and reach out to the maximum number of people especially those in most need of it, offering recipients positive support and making a meaningful change.

INSURANCE SOLUTIONS

McDonald’s AXA Gulf appoints new senior executives AXA Gulf has also announced Officer and member of the AXA introduces DUBAI: AXA Gulf announced the appointment of Cedric Char- the appointment Vincent Pluchet Gulf Executive Committee, renew dessert pentier as the new Chief Execu- who will be assuming an extend- porting to Cedric Charpentier.

These appointments came into tive Officer for AXA Insurance ed role as Chief Financial Officer in the Gulf. He replaces Jerome Droesch, who has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of AXA Partners based in the UK. Cedric Charpentier will report to Jad Ariss, the Chief Executive Officer for AXA Middle East and Africa, says a press release.

MUSCAT: Winter has just got a lot sweeter at McDonald’s Oman with the introduction of its all new dessert, CuppaCake.

Irresistibly warm and delicious, the new addition to the dessert menu will be available all day long in all stores for a limited time only and will be available until stocks last, says a press release.

CuppaCake offers a delicious treat with its hot chocolate sponge cake, laid on top of a rich hot chocolate sauce, topped off with vanilla ice-cream for a perfect combination of warm and cool indulgence. The CuppaCake is conveniently a portable snack, to be enjoyed via take away or in restaurant dining.

“We strive to offer high quality innovative products that cater to our customers’ tastes and we are thrilled to introduce this special dessert, which is perfect for winter here in Oman,” said Ali K. Daud, Development Licensee and President of McDonald’s Oman.

for AXA Middle East and Africa, reporting to Jad Ariss, as well as continuing his current Gulf Chief Financial Officer responsibilities reporting to Cedric Charpentier.

Furthermore, AXA Gulf has also appointed Franck Heimburger as Chief Sales and Distribution

B7

effect as of January 1, 2016 and are in line with AXA Group’s commitment to investing talented resources in key markets to further strengthen its brand positioning as the leading provider of diversified insurance solutions in the region.

INDIA PROPERTY ONLINE

‘Grihapravesh’ property expo set to be held on January 22 and 23 MUSCAT: India Property Online Pvt. Ltd., is one of India’s leading portal in the online real estate space.

Having redefined property shows in India and top international destinations like Dubai, Singapore and USA, IndiaProperty. com is all set for its 1st edition of Grihapravesh in Muscat on January 22 and 23 at Hotel Al Falaj, Ruwi, says a press release.

Over 50 top builders from India will showcase their projects this year from all the major cities in India like Kerala, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad. There would be something for everyone who wants to buy a house in India – from apartments, plots, villas and gated communities to projects ranging from INR 3 lakhs to 5 Crore.

Grihapravesh, the property expo conducted by IndiaProperty.com is the most trusted and longest running realty expo in India and abroad. It brings together the best selection of builders and projects under one roof and helps you make the right property buying decision while being far away from the country. For NRIs who are looking to invest in India, Grihapravesh

becomes the crucial link to the best of the realty industry in India.

With a lot of positivity surrounding 2016, it might be the right year to make your dream of buying a home in India a reality.

IndiaProperty.com offers onestop property marketing solutions serving builders, real estate agents and home owners, to sell or rent their properties, while offering a feature rich interface for property buyers to search and identify properties that match their requirement.

India Property has pioneered several innovations such as Assisted Property - India’s first online assisted buying service, Grihapravesh - India’s first series of virtual and offline property shows, 3D Virtual Tour and India’s first augmented reality based Real Estate Mobile Application amongst others. The portal has over 5 million registered users with over 700,000 property listings and 8000+ builders and agents using the platform to market properties.

Founded on the core promise of ‘We get you Home’, they constantly strive to simplify and add value to the property buying experience by providing an end-to-end purchase experience for the buyer.

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Porsche Sport Driving School brings race track theory to life

Porsche hosted some of the best automobile journalists from the GCC countries for a training at the Dubai Autodrome recently

Times News Service DUBAI: In every Porsche there is a sports car and at the Porsche Sport Driving School (PSDS), customers and enthusiasts alike learn more about the capabilities of the two-door and four-door models produced by the Stuttgart-based manufacturer on a race-track.

Managed by certified instructors, PSDS combines the theory of handling a powerful sports car, with the practice of driving in a controlled environment.

Focusing on fine tuning and honing driving skills, the training programme takes a participant through practical sessions starting with the basics of vehicle control, right through to mastering the race track and becoming a certified Porsche driver.

Porsche hosted some of the best automobile journalists from the GCC countries for a training at the Dubai Autodrome recently.

Designed to accommodate varying levels of ability and driver needs, PSDS features four course levels: Precision, Performance, Master and Master RS. The Precision stage consists of a one-day course for first time participants, where they are instructed on the basics of driving dynamics and how to respond correctly during critical scenarios. Fundamentals such as effective braking, basic principles of the racing line, lap-

ping, oversteering and understeering are all covered in a range of exercises throughout the day.

The next stage of progression for participants is performance, a course level that aims to further build on improving vehicle control, by introducing the importance of driving dynamics and vehicle control at low and high speeds.

Here drivers are also instructed on how to minimise unwanted loadchanging reactions.

Conducted in small groups, with performance analysed using video and data recordings, both the Master and Master RS levels are designed to further advance driving skills obtained in earlier stages of the programme. The Master RS phase also includes a workshop covering both theoretical and practical aspects, such as learning about the chassis and tyres in order to successfully transfer the power of a Porsche model to the road in the most efficient manner.

Ensuring that each participant

is able to extract every aspect of driving pleasure on offer, the PSDS instructor team consists of industry-leading experts who are constantly involved in the testing, racing and development of the Porsche’s sports cars.

Each course features a minimum of two instructors, advising,

monitoring and optimising the learning experience.

Porsche driver training modules take place on race tracks around the world, an environment where thanks to the brand’s unrivalled racing heritage and technology transfer philosophy – a process where technology developed on

the race track is implemented into its road legal sports cars – the brand’s sports cars are at home.

Whether sitting behind the wheel of a two-door or four-door model, attendees are able to experience the technologies that make Porsche models true race-track performers. For example, the Porsche

Doppelkupplung (PDK) – originating from advancements in the Porsche 956 race car, in 1984 and first debuted in the 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera sport car — is transmission technology which is available in the majority of models today.

When utilised on a race track, it enables the driver to maximise gear change opportunities whenever required, ensuring that the car’s performance is always at the optimum level.

Participants have the option of renting or bringing their own Porsche vehicle to the event, regardless of whether it is a two or fourdoor sports car.

For instance, the sporty Cayenne GTS with a 3.6-litre, V6 biturbo engine, which produces 440 hp and 600 Nm of torque, truly showcases during a PSDS that every Porsche is indeed a sports car.

Participants wishing to enrol on a PSDS course should contact their local Porsche Centre for details.

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW

Huawei launches Mate 8 Smartphone DUBAI: The Huawei Consumer Business Group globally launched the Huawei Mate 8 smartphone, a productivitydriven device with significantly enhanced power, efficiency and battery life at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016.

The Mate 8 continues Huawei’s track record of delivering highend devices that reflect global consumer demand and inspire loyalty

in their users, says a press release.

Featuring the most powerful chipset, a high-capacity battery and stylish design – including a unique mocha brown colour option – the Huawei Mate 8 is the ideal smartphone for today’s onthe-go professional.

The Mate 8 is designed from the ground-up for productivity and its hardware and software have been fine-tuned to provide

an elegant, efficient experience.

“With the Mate 8, we have delivered a device that meets the needs of a new style of business.

With this fast, impeccably designed smartphone, users can work more efficiently and free up valuable time to spend with friends, family and on personal pursuits,” said Kevin Ho, president, Handset Business, Huawei Consumer BG.

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Azarenka sounds Australian Open warning with Brisbane triumph Sania, Martina start 2016 with title win

The Belarusian dropped 17

BRISBANE: The world’s top women tennis pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis started the New Year on a brilliant note by clinching the women’s doubles title of the $1 million Brisbane International at the Queensland Tennis Centre here on Saturday.

The top seeded pair took just an hour and 10 minutes to beat German wild card pair of Angelique Kerber, who lost the women’s singles final earlier in the day to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, and Andrea Petkovic 7-5, 6-1 at the Pat Rafter Arena.

This is the Indo-Swiss pair’s 26th win in a row and the first title of 2016. They have now won six titles on the trot — the longest winning streak in the category since the 1994 season when Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva were on a 28 match-winning streak.

Also, this is the 29-year-old Sania’s second victory here after partnering American Bethanie Mattek-Sands all the way to the title in 2013 while Martina was the defending champion, having sealed the crown with German Sabine Lisicki last year.

The world’s top ranked combine took off well by breaking their opponents in the second game to go 2-0 up. But the wild card pair fought well and broke Sania and Martina twice to take a 4-2 lead. The first set turned out to be quite topsyturvy with both pairs regu-

games over five matches during the tournament to claim her first title since the Cincinnati Masters in August 2013

SECOND CROWN: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus celebrates with the

winner’s trophy after defeating Angelique Kerber of Germany in the women’s singles final at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on Saturday. – Reuters Q ATA R O P E N

BRISBANE: Victoria Azarenka displayed the form that could lead her to a hat-trick of Australian Open titles this month by brushing aside German fourth seed Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-1 in the Brisbane International final on Saturday.

The former world No. 1 has been plagued by injury over the last two years but, now ranked 22nd, she showed little sign of rust on her way to a second Brisbane crown.

The Belarusian dropped 17 games over five matches during the tournament to claim her first title since the Cincinnati Masters in August 2013.

The 26-year-old, who won her maiden Brisbane title in 2009, took control of the match against world No. 10 Kerber after an early trade of breaks and peppered the court with her powerful groundstrokes.

“I’m not sure I feel relief,” Azarenka told reporters.

“I wanted to win the title, but I didn’t feel, if this doesn’t happen the world is going to end. I just feel really excited and happy that I’m doing the right things. I’m excited to keep working hard.

“It just gives extra motivation to keep working hard and achieve better things.”

Kerber, the highest seed left after the withdrawals of Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza, had three break points

in the opening game of the second set but once Azarenka fended them off, she did not look back.

“I don’t know, but for me it’s always tough to play against her,”

SIX ON THE TROT: India’s Sania Mirza, left, Switzerland’s

Martina Hingis celebrate the trophy after defeating Germany’s Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic in their women’s doubles final match at the Brisbane International in Brisbane on Saturday. – AFP

larly failing to hold on to their service games. However, Sania and Martina first levelled the score at 4-all and then won on their serve to take a 5-4 lead one more time in the set.

Serving at 5-6 down and trying to push the set into the tiebreaker, Angelique and Andrea failed to do so with the top seeds taking the set in 46 minutes.

Kerber said after her sixth loss against Azarenka. I hope one day will come where I can beat her.

“Vika was the better player today, that’s all that I can say.”

TENNIS

Unlike the vigorously fought first set, the second one turned out to be more or less a walkover with Sania and Martina racing away to a 5-0 lead.

The German girls somehow managed to win the sixth game on their serve but it was a little too late as the Indo-Swiss pair clinched the crown with ease in the next few minutes. - IANS

Azarenka won back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2012 and 2013 and has reached the U.S. Open final twice, losing both to world No. 1 Serena Williams. - Reuters SHENZHEN OPEN

Djokovic routs Nadal in Doha final

Spirited Stephens bags Auckland title as Melbourne tourney looms

Radwanska triumphs in Shenzhen

DOHA: Novak Djokovic moved ahead for the first time in his long-running rivalry with Rafael Nadal when the world No. 1 thrashed the Spaniard to win the Qatar Open in Doha on Saturday.

Serbian Djokovic, appearing in his 16th consecutive final, won 6-1, 6-2 in little more than an hour and now has 24 career wins over Nadal, compared to 23 for the former world No. 1.

Djokovic dominated the 2015 season, winning three of the year’s four Grand Slams, and looks in the groove in the build-up to this month’s Australian Open.

Nadal has now lost nine of his last 10 matches against Djokovic in what is the most prolific rivalry in men’t tennis in the professional era. - Reuters

AUCKLAND: Sloane Stephens ground down unseeded German Julia Goerges 7-5, 6-2 to win the Auckland Classic on Saturday, the American ending a busy day at the office with a confidence-boosting triumph ahead of the Australian Open.

The world No. 30, a former semifinalist at Melbourne Park, secured her second WTA title, having made her long-awaited breakthrough at Washington in August. Although she overpowered the German in a dominant second set, Stephens was made to work hard for the title, needing to first wrap up her rain-interrupted semifinal with former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 7-6 (3) earlier on Saturday.

Their semifinal was suspended the previous evening with fifth

and coming back again in the afternoon,” Stephens. “You just have to keep going and do your best.”

The American, who stunned compatriot Serena Williams on her way to the Australian Open last four in 2013, was naturally delighted to claim an early-season title triumph ahead of the first grand slam of the season starting on Jan. 18.

“We have a really long season -- I have to play all the way until October — so to win a tournament in the first week of the year is amazing,” said Stephens, who later pulled out of next week’s Hobart International with a viral illness.

“But I’m going to have many more opportunities throughout the year, and I’m looking forward to all of them. It’s easier to look at it that way.” - Reuters

SHENZHEN: Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska celebrated her rise to the top four of the world rankings with a 6-3, 6-2 thumping of Alison Riske in the Shenzhen Open final on Saturday, her 18th WTA career title.

Radwanska had ensured she will replace Russian world No. 4 Maria Sharapova in Monday’s rankings by reaching the final of the tournament in China and backed that up with a routine win over her American opponent.

The former world No. 2 will now head to Sydney for her final warmup before the first Grand Slam of the season. “It’s the beginning of the year, so we’re all fresh compared to the end of the year. I’m feeling good,” the 26-year-old added. - Reuters

SECOND WTA TITLE: Sloane Stephens

seed Stephens leading 5-2 in the first set. Stephens quickly sealed the opener upon resumption before prevailing in a second-set dog fight on a windswept centre court

to set the platform for her triumph later in the day.

“You can never prepare for playing a set and then rain, then finishing the match the next morning

TENNIS

Kyrgios helps Australia Green lift Hopman Cup PERTH: Nick Kyrgios continued his impressive run of form ahead of this month’s Australian Open by powering the host nation to the mixed team Hopman Cup title against Ukraine in Perth on Saturday. Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova, playing for Australia Green, one of two teams representing the host nation, won their singles matches in straight sets against Alexandr Dolgopolov and Elina Svitolina respectively.

Kyrgios, who defeated world No. 2 Briton Andy Murray during his

four-match winning run this week, brushed aside the challenge from Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-4 after the 36th ranked Gavrilova had opened with a 6-4, 7-6 (6) win over Svitolina.

Australia’s only previous Hopman Cup title came in 1999 while the last time they reached the final was 13 years ago.

The victories at the Perth tournament will boost the confidence of world No. 30 Kyrgios as he prepares for the first Grand Slam of the season beginning in Melbourne on January 18.

The 20-year-old took the first set against Dolgopolov in 26 minutes before an early break in the second allowed him to cruise to victory. Kyrgios dedicated the win to Australian coach Darren Tandy, who died last month of colon cancer.

“It means a lot. It’s my first real title that I’ve won,” Kyrgios said.

“It’s the perfect way to start off the year. I haven’t lost a match yet.

I’m riding a lot of confidence going into the Aussie summer. I’m just really happy.” - Reuters

IMPRESSIVE SHOW: Nick Kyrgios, right, and Daria Gavrilova of the Australia Green team celebrate. – AFP

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SPORTS

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Indian bowlers star in win over Western Australia XI

BOWLERS TO THE RESCUE: India’s Ravichandran Ashwin, centre, celebrates with teammates after dismissing Western Australia’s Darcy Short during their warm-up one-day match in Perth on Saturday. – AFP

After managing 249

Injured Shami ruled out, Bhuvneshwar in

all out in 49.1 overs, the Indians packed Western Australia XI for 185 in 49.2 overs

PERTH: Rohit Sharma and Manish Pandey sparkled with half centuries but rest of India’s batsmen put up a lacklustre performance before the bowlers came good to hand the team a 64-run win over a second string Western Australia XI in the warm-up one-day cricket match on Saturday.

Having won the first practice Twenty20, the Indians once again managed to hit the right notes in bowling after an erratic batting performance at the WACA. After managing 249 all out in 49.1 overs, the Indians packed WA XI for 185 in 49.2 overs.

Electing to bat, the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side did not have the best of starts, losing two quick wickets but Rohit Sharma (67)

PERTH: Pacer Mohammed Shami was on Saturday ruled out of India’s limited-overs cricket series against Australia due to a hamstring injury and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will replace him for the ODIs and Twenty20s starting here on January 12.

“The BCCI medical team confirms that Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of India’s tour of Australia due to injury.

He sustained a Grade II injury

and Ajinkya Rahane (41) stitched an 88-run third-wicket partnership to help the visitors put up a respectable score.

Shikhar Dhawan (4) and Virat Kohli (7), who were top- scorers in the first warm-up T20 game on Friday, failed to get going as they fell to new-ball bowler Drew Porter, who bagged a five-wicket haul.

The WA bowlers kept pegging things back with regular wickets

to his left hamstring, which will restrict him from playing active cricket for about four to six weeks,” BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur said in a statement.

“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the replacement, who will join the team tomorrow,” he added.

Shami sustained the injury during a training session before the warm-up Twenty20 game against Western Aus-

and Rahane’s departure once again spelt trouble for the Men in Blue.

Pandey then put his hand up to contribute with a well-made 58 and stake his claim for a place in the middle-order in the absence of Suresh Raina.

Pandey, who hit three fours in his 59-ball stay, managed a 60-run seventh-wicket partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (26) to pace up the innings.

tralia. The latest breakdown is a massive setback for Shami, who had returned to the side after being sidelined for nine months owing to injuries.

It can be considered a lucky break for Bhuvneshwar, who was dropped following a poor home series against South Africa last year. The 25-year-old had claimed his seven wickets from five matches at an average of 49.57 and an economy rate of 7.13. - PTI

But the tail failed to wag and Rishi Dhawan’s (0) run-out didn’t help matters and the visitors could not last their full quota of 50 overs.

Porter (5-37) made life difficult for the Indian batsmen on a fast and bouncy track while leg-spinner James Muirhead chipped in with two scalps. Pace spearhead David Moody and leg-spinner Liam O’Connor bagged a wicket apiece.

In reply, the William Bosisto-

led side started on a cautious note against a disciplined Indian attack led by Umesh Yadav (one for 29), but soon hit a rough patch after losing a couple of wickets.

Yadav drew first blood with the wicket of Bosisto (13) and Ravichandran Ashwin (two for 32) soon sprung into action to send back D’Arcy Short (10).

Ravindra Jadeja (two for 38) and Rishi Dhawan (two for 28) also struck in quick succession as WA soon started losing their way. Jadeja trapped opener Jake Carder lbw for 45.

Left-arm spinner Axar Patel (two for 29) got wicketkeeperbatsman Josh Inglis for 17, while Ashwin struck again to get Porter (10) caught behind.

Jaron Morgan, No.7 batsma, made a fighting 50, but his innings came too late in the day with the asking rate and the target beyond their reach.

Jadeja, Patel and Gurkeerat Singh then bagged a wicket each to wipe off the tail.

Both the teams were allowed to play all 14 members of their squad in the 50-over game with only 11 allowed to bat and field at a time.

The first of the five One-day Internationals (ODIs) starts January 12 at the same venue. - PTI

CRICKET

Stokes better than I was at 24, says Botham LONDON: Former England allrounder Ian Botham has hailed current international Ben Stokes’ talent and said that he feels the youngster is better than what he was at 24.

Stokes broke Botham’s record and scored the quickest Test double century by an England player in the second game at Cape Town during the ongoing series against South Africa, bringing up his 200 in just 163 balls. He was eventually run out on 258 off 198 deliveries in England’s first innings during that drawn Test. It was the quickest ever score of 250 in Test cricket.

Botham held the earlier English record, reaching his double century in 220 balls in the third Test against India at The Oval in 1982.

Lot to achieve Stokes’s innings was also the second fastest double century in Test cricket history, with former New Zealand opener Nathan Astle heading the list. Astle had reached his double century off 153 balls against England in 2002.

Statistically, however, Stokes has a lot to achieve still, to match Botham. By the time Botham was 25 he had taken 14 five-fors and

scored six Test hundreds. To top it all he was the skipper of the side.

But Botham thinks otherwise.

“Ben Stokes could open the bowling like Fred did and will get more five-fors. He is probably better as a player, full stop. As a player he’s probably better than I was at 24, I don’t know. He’d certainly be up there,” Botham was quoted as saying by the British media.

“What I did was yesterday’s news, what he did is today’s news.”

The 60-year-old said the young all-rounder is getting better with time in all three departments of the game.

A massive fan “He is not a jack of all trades and master of none. He is actually probably master of the three most important assets you need: batting, bowling and fielding,” Botham said.

“His bowling can only get better. He has all the attributes: he has pace; he can swing the ball; he can reverse it; he can bowl orthodox. And he is terrific fielder close to the bat, in the covers or midwicket, backward point, on the boundary.”

Botham says he has no resentment that his record was overhauled. “I held that record for 33

years, so it was about time it got broken,” Botham said.

“I enjoyed watching Ben Stokes.

I have been a massive fan of his since I first saw him on the international scene. I think he has got tremendous, enormous potential to go all the way,” he added.

“That was one of those moments when you can just say ‘I was there’.

When you think back to Headingley ‘81, I know there were only about 10,000 people in the ground but I have met three-and-a-half million who say they were.

“Well, I was there for Ben Stokes.” - IANS

CRICKET

Shakib returns to training after time with family in US DHAKA: Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan has returned to the country after spending some quality time with his family in the United States.

The all-rounder was supposed to return on January 9 but flew back on Wednesday night and practiced at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Thursday, reports bdnews24.com.

Shakib’s sabbatical started after the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) when he attended to some commitments here before flying to the U.S. on December 28.

His wife Umme Ahmed Shishir had given birth to a daughter, their first child, at a hospital in New York in November last year during Zimbabwe’s limited overs series against Bangladesh.

He flew to the U.S. immediately after getting the news of Shishir’s admission to hospital and received the news of his daughter’s birth on the way. He then came back for the BPL. Shakib was in a lighter mood as he spoke to journalists about his daughter, Alaina Hasan Abri, who is about two months old now.

“I had never been too close to children before. But this baby girl was with me, sleeping on my chest. Doing the little things for my daughter felt good in a different way,” he said on Friday.

Shakib also surprised his wife on her birthday with a tour of New York on a helicopter. “Travelled a lot, had a blast. The vacation was great.” - IANS MOTORSPORT

F1’s first ever female driver passes away ROME: Maria Teresa de Filippis, best known as Formula One’s first ever female driver, passed away at the age of 89 on Saturday.

The Italian started in three Grands Prix in 1958 with her only finish coming at her debut at Spa in Belgium where she was the last classified finisher in 10th. Earlier that year she had failed to qualify her Maserati 250F in Monaco and again failed to make the grid a year later for Porsche, reports autosport.com.

De Filippis walked away from the sport following the death of her team owner Jean Behra later that year, saying in an interview to The Observer in 2006: “Too many friends had died.”

Her introduction to racing came as a result of a bet between her brothers over how fast she could drive which resulted in her entering — and winning — her first event in a Fiat 500. De Filippis said men were initially doubtful of her ability, although the only time she experienced true prejudice came in France.

“The race director said ‘the only helmet a woman should wear is the one at the hairdresser’s’ — that was the only time I was prevented from racing.

Apart from that I don’t think I encountered any prejudice — only surprise at my success,” she told The Observer.

After starting a family, de Filippis returned to motorsports when she accepted an invitation in 1979 to join the Club Internationale des Anciens Pilotes de Grand Prix F1 for retired drivers. - IANS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

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SPORTS

PREMIER DIVISION: Enhance CT pose for a group photo after their victory over Sinha. – Supplied photo

C DIVISION: Al Mardhuf Shopping celebrate after their victory over Ooredoo B. – Supplied photo

Enhance ease to victory over Sinha Brief scores: OCT Al Amerat 113 in 24.2 overs (Abdul Aziz 32; Asmeer 4/35) lost to Renaissance 115 for 3 in 11.4 overs (Jahanzer 43, Waruna 32; Nasser 2/38). Points: Renaissance – 3, Al Amerat – 0.

Batting first, Sinha were bowled out for 126 in 29.2 overs. In reply, Enhance reachedtheir target in 23.2 overs scoring 127 for the loss of three wickets

MUSCAT: Enhance CT eased to a seven-wicket victory over Sinha in a Muscat Pharmacy and Storessponsored Premier Division match at the MOS Ground during the morning session on Friday.

Batting first, Sinha were bowled out for 126 in 29.2 overs. Nalinda scored 26 while Dhammika made 21. Zafar Iqbal claimed four wickets while Fayaz and Nester bagged two scalps each for Enhance.

In reply, Enhance batted for 23.2 overs to score 127 for three and

claim the bonus point too. Ravi Baradkane and Khawar Ali scored 39 runs each. Niluka Dilshan claimed two scalps for Sinha.

Brief scores: Sinha CT 126 in 29.2 overs (Nalinda 26; Zafar Iqbal 4/9) lost to Enhance CT 127 for 3 in 23.2 overs (Ravi B. 39, Khawar Ali 39; Niluka Dilshan 2/12). Points: Enhance CT - 3, Sinha CT – 0.

Renaissance beat Al Amerat In a Khimji Ramdas-sponsored A Division match, Renaissance

RENAISSANC STARS: Asmeer, left, and Waruna. – Supplied photos

scored a seven-wicket victory over OCT Al Amerat at the Municipality Ground I during the morning session on Friday.

Batting first, OCT Al Amerat were all out for 113 in 24.2 overs.

Abdul Aziz top scored with 32

runs. Asmeer claimed four wickets for Renaissance.

In reply, Renaissance raced to 115 for three in 11.4 overs to claim the bonus point victory. Jahanzer and Waruna top scored with 43 and 32 runs respectively.

Uday Khimji down PDO In an Al Ansari Group of Companies-sponsored B Division match, Uday Khimji defeated PDO by four wickets at the Municipality Ground II during the morning session on Friday.

Batting first, PDO put on 177 for the loss of four wickets in 20 overs.

Abdul Naveed scored a brilliant unbeaten 121.

Faraz Ahmed claimed three wickets for Uday Khimji.

In reply, Uday Khimji scored 178 for six in 19.2 overs with Adil Abbas top scoring with 50. Shoab Mohammed and Manoj chipped in with 35 and 33 not out respectively.

Brief scores: PDO 177 for 4 in 20 overs (Abdul Naveed 121 n.o; Faraz

Ahmed 3/29) lost to Uday Khimji 178 for 6 in 19.2 overs (Adil Abbas 50; Zahir Khan 2/28). Points: Uday Khimji – 2, PDO - 0.

Al Mardhuf Shopping win In a Raha Poly Products-sponsored C Division match, Al Mardhuf defeated Oordedoo B by six wickets at the Municipality Ground III during the morning session on Friday.

Batting first, Ooredoo B put on 145 for six in 20 overs. Gaurav top scored with 52. Vijay claimed two wickets for Al Mardhuf.

Al Mardhuf completed their bonus point victory by scoring 146 for four in 15.2 overs. Noushad and Vishal top scored with 36 and 34 runs respectively. Vinod claimed three scalps for Ooredoo.

Brief scores: Ooredoo B 145 for 6 in 20 overs (Gaurav 52; Vijay 2/17) lost to Al Mardhuf 146 for 4 in 15.2 overs (Noushad 36, Vishal 34; Vinod 2/21).

Points: Al Mardhuf – 3, Ooredoo B – 0.

OMAN GOLF

NAPCO to host second Men’s Tradition Golf tourney MOBIN MATHEW BLESSON

mobinmathew@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: National Aluminium Products Company (NAPCO), one of the leading extruders of aluminium profiles in the GCC, is all set to organise the NAPCO Men’s Tradition Golf Tournament.

The event will take place at the Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club on February 11 and 12 with a gala dinner and prize giving scheduled for the evening of the second day.

A two-man team can participate in the event. It has two different formats and will be played over two days. As the name indicates only men are eligible to play in the event.

“We want to establish this event as a tradition in Oman,” said Robert Holtkamp, CEO of NAPCO told Times of Oman.

Key players from the various industries like construction, oil and gas, banking and automobile industries will attend the event.

None of them are professionals.

Speaking about how the game of golf has been added to the corporate calendar of NAPCO, the CEO said: “Golf is usually part of the corporate sporting calendar for most big companies and it is no different for us. Key industry figures usually play golf so this is a good way to get everyone together.”

The format makes this event different from the other corporate golfing events. The two formats are 2 man scramble and 2 man betterball.

“There is no other tournament in Oman like this. We raise the bar by bringing in top support partners that assist in making this a successful golf event,” Robert said.

According to him the first edi-

A GRAND SUCCESS: A file of photo shows participants and winners posing for a group photo at the end of the first edition of NAPCO Men’s Tradition Golf Tournament. – Supplied photo

tion of the event was a great success. More than 100 players exhibited their skill in the two-day event, which offered exciting holein-one prizes like a Harley Davidson motorcycle and First Class tickets to London.

“The success of the inaugural tournament has prompted us to organise this year’s edition; many of the players said it was one of the best ones they had ever played.”

CEO said.

“As we promised last year, exciting prizes are waiting for the local golfing community,” he added.

Speaking about the prizes, Robert said: “There is a major difference in the hole-in-one prizes.

In the first year we had a Harley

Davidson as a hole in one prize on hole 3 which had never been done before in Oman. In 2016, we will have an Infiniti Q50 sedan plus a Harley Davidson on two separate holes as hole-in-one prizes. No other tournament in Oman does it like this.”

He is also happy to organise the Men’s Tradition at the Muscat Hills Golf & Country Club because of its service and its infrastructure.

“It is the ideal place for the golf event,” Robert said.

This year NAPCO is expecting a participation of more than 110 players.

Other than the Men’s Tradition, NAPCO is also organising a Mixed Doubles Golf Tournaments at the

Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club every month.

The monthly tournaments, which last till May this year, are the first golf events to be held Oman that feature mixed teams of men and women golfers playing as teams.

NAPCO has introduced the concept of Mixed Doubles in golf with an aim to get more women to get involved in sport.

Robert Holtkamp, CEO of NAPCO, said: “This format will promote the development of the game in the country. Aside from providing amateur golfers with a platform to display their talent, it will encourage women golfers to improve their game.”

Oman Air, Infiniti, Harley Davidson, Millennium Hotel Resort Al Musannah, Tanuf Water, Zainal Baqer Mohebi Cigars, Oman Sail and Gloria Jeans Coffee are the official partners of the second edition of Men’s Tradition. “This event will not be possible without their support,” Robert said.

He thanked each of them for the support.

NAPCO also support Sami Al Saidi, a prominent Omani marathon runner, in his global marathon races.

NAPCO also contributes to the activities of Dar Al Atta and other welfare associations like Oman Cancer Association and Oman Association for Disabled.

The success of the inaugural tournament has prompted us to organise this year’s edition. Many of the players said it was one of the best ones they had ever played Robert Holtkamp

CEO, NAPCO

C4

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

SPORTS

Eastleigh denied FA Cup shock, Arsenal progress

LA LIGA

HAT-TRICK: Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, right, Neymar celebrate

during La Liga match against Granada at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on Saturday. – AFP

Messi treble lifts Barca to the top

COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN: Olivier Giroud scores Arsenal’s third goal during their FA Cup third round match against Sunderland at Emir-

ates Stadium in London on Saturday. – Reuters

Eastleigh were on the verge of causing the day’s big shock when they led through Dorian Dervite’s own goal but debt-ridden Championship side Bolton levelled three minutes from time through Darren Pratley to set up a replay

LONDON: Minor league Eastleigh suffered FA Cup heartbreak when they conceded a late equaliser to four-time winners Bolton Wanderers on a gluepot pitch at

their snug Ten Acres ground on Saturday. The Hampshire parttimers were on the verge of causing the day’s big shock when they led through Dorian Dervite’s own

goal but debt-ridden Championship side Bolton levelled three minutes from time through Darren Pratley to set up a replay.

On a day of 25 ties, holders Arsenal, bidding to become the first club to win the trophy three times in succession since Blackburn Rovers in the 19th century, came from goal down to beat Premier League strugglers Sunderland 3-1.

Manchester City and Everton also made it through to the fourth round, City winning 3-0 at Norwich City in one of four all topflight clashes and Everton ending the hopes of fourth- tier Dagenham and Redbridge with a 2-0 win at Goodison Park.

League two (fourth tier) Wycombe Wanderers made sure their name will be in the hat for

the fourth round with a 1-1 draw at home to the Premier League’s bottom club Aston Villa who have now gone 16 matches without a win.

Hartlepool, also representing the fourth tier, took the lead against former English champions Derby County but lost 2-1 while Portsmouth, FA Cup winners in 2008 but now floundering in League Two, earned a 2-2 draw at Championship club Ipswich Town.

Watford beat Premier League rivals Newcastle United 1-0, Crystal Palace overcame Southampton 2-1 and West Ham United edged past Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 at Upton Park. Premier League West Bromwich Albion needed a last-minute equaliser to steal a 2-2 draw at home to Championship side Bristol City. - Reuters

MADRID: Lionel Messi netted his first hat-trick in 10 months as Barcelona swept aside struggling Granada 4-0 to climb above Atletico Madrid to the top of La Liga on Saturday.

Arda Turan, making his La Liga debut for the Spanish and European champions, set Messi up to score the opening goal from close range in the eighth minute at the Nou Camp.

The Argentina forward, who missed two months at the end of last year with a knee injury, made it 2-0 six minutes later from a clever Luis Suarez assist and a dominant Barca wasted several chances before halftime. Grana-

da saw more of the ball at the start of the second half before Messi completed his treble in the 58th minute after Neymar’s shot came back off a post, ending his longest hat-trick drought in six years.

Neymar added a fourth goal seven minutes from time when Messi, who was in an offside position, let the ball run through to the Brazilian and he lifted it over Granada goalkeeper Andres Fernandez into the roof of the net.

Barca, who have a game in hand over their main rivals, lead on 42 points, with Atletico a point behind in second ahead of their game at fifth-placed Celta Vigo on Sunday. - Reuters

FOOTBALL

‘Ronaldo’s going nowhere’ MADRID: Real Madrid’s new manager Zinedine Zidane has said that his side’s star forward Cristiano Ronaldo will not be leaving the club any time soon.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal had said a few months back that he wanted to have Ronaldo back at Old Trafford where he had played from 2003-2009.

“Cristiano is more than nontransferable,” Zidane was quoted as saying by the BBC on Friday.

“He is the soul of the team. He’s going nowhere.”

In November last year, van Gaal had said: “We are looking at all players, not just Ronaldo. But these players are mostly un-gettable. “With Ronaldo, let’s wait and hope.” - IANS

FOOTBALL

FIFA ethics panel tells Blatter, Platini why they were banned ZURICH: FIFA’s ethics panel said on Saturday it had formally given outgoing President Sepp Blatter and European soccer head Michel Platini the reasons for their eight-year bans from the game, information both men could use in an appeal.

Blatter and Platini were banned last month amid the worst corruption scandal in the history of world soccer’s governing body.

“After receiving the grounds for the decisions, both officials may lodge an appeal with the FIFA Appeal Committee,” the adjudicatory chamber of the ethics committee said in a statement, without giving details on the information it sent.

A lawyer for Platini, suspended head of European soccer body UEFA, said he would appeal.

Platini withdrew from the race to succeed Blatter this week..

“We will immediately lodge an appeal with the FIFA appeal committee, before going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport as soon as possible,” Platini lawyer Thibaud d’Ales said in Paris.

He added that “the FIFA appeal committee being a FIFA body, we do not have high hopes that making an appeal there will change things”.

Platini had initially been seen as the favourite to replace Blatter in the February 26 election.

A lawyer of Platini said ‘we will immediately lodge an appeal with the FIFA appeal committee, before going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport as soon as possible’

D’Ales said FIFA had now completely dropped accusations of corruption and only talks about “a possible conflict of interest and lack of loyalty”. “We will fight these arguments strongly.”

Blatter and Platini were both banned over a payment of 2 mil-

lion Swiss francs ($2 million) made to the Frenchman by FIFA with Blatter’s approval in 2011 for work done a decade earlier.

The committee said the payment, made at a time when Blatter was seeking re-election, lacked transparency and presented con-

flicts of interest, though both men denied wrongdoing.

The sport faces criminal investigations in Switzerland and the United States, where 41 soccer officials and sports entities have been indicted on corruption charges. - Reuters

C

SECTION

LIFESTYLE

Health WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

There is a nip in the air and the ďŹ&#x201A;u - -)(Ĺ&#x2022;#-Ĺ&#x2022;)(ĂżĹ&#x2022; /.Ĺ&#x2022;1#."Ĺ&#x2022;,#!".Ĺ&#x2022;*, /.#)(-Ĺ&#x2022; one can avoid falling sick.

STORY MOHAMMED SHAFEEQE

W

inter is the season for colds and ďŹ&#x201A;u and this is the time of the year when infections tend to become prevalent. According to Dr Ramez Albakouni, Internal Medicine; Hematology; and Oncology Specialist, at KIMS Oman Hospital, ďŹ&#x201A;u season is an annually recurring time period characterised by the prevalence of outbreaks of inďŹ&#x201A;uenza (ďŹ&#x201A;u). The season occurs during the cold half of the year in each hemisphere. â&#x20AC;&#x153;InďŹ&#x201A;uenza activity can sometimes be predicted and even tracked geographically. While the beginning of major ďŹ&#x201A;u activity in each season varies by location, in any speciďŹ c location these minor epidemics usually take about three weeks to peak and another three weeks to signiďŹ cantly diminish, he said.

In the United States, the ďŹ&#x201A;u season is considered October through May. It usually peaks in February.

In Australia, the ďŹ&#x201A;u season is considered May to October. It usually peaks in August.

Flu seasons also exist in the tropics and subtropics, but are usually less sharply deďŹ ned. In Hong Kong, which has a humid

subtropical climate, the ďŹ&#x201A;u season runs from December to March, in the winter and early spring.

During this season, colds are picked up by the virus getting from one person to the next. This can be simply by someone coughing or sneezing in your face, but a little known fact is that germs can be spread via hand contact â&#x20AC;&#x201D; someone with a cold puts the virus on to their hands (while sneezing, coughing or using a tissue) and then transfers the virus to a surface (such as a desk, a keyboard, and a surface on the train) which is then picked up by someone else.

But a regular case of ďŹ&#x201A;u usually resolves itself in three to seven days, though symptoms like a cough and fatigue may linger longer. Dr Ramez explains that most people with ďŹ&#x201A;u have mild illness and do not need medical care or antiviral drugs. If you get sick with ďŹ&#x201A;u symptoms, in most cases, you should stay home and avoid contact with other people except to get medical care.

If, however, you have symptoms of ďŹ&#x201A;u and are in a high risk group, or are very sick or worried about your illness, contact your health care provider.

Certain people are at high risk of serious ďŹ&#x201A;u-related complications (young children, people aged 65

and above, pregnant women and people with certain medical conditions like diabetes and patients who receive any kind of chemotherapy or immunosuppressants) and this is true both for seasonal ďŹ&#x201A;u and novel ďŹ&#x201A;u virus infections, he said. Dr Ramez advises to avoid close contact with people who you doubt have ďŹ&#x201A;u or cold. Staying at home when you are sick and taking enough rest is always a better option if you are infected.

Covering mouth and nose, clean hands regularly, avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth are good ways to resist the illness. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill.

Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of ďŹ&#x201A;uids, and eat nutritious food, Dr Ramez adds.

Cold or ďŹ&#x201A;u?

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to know the difference between ďŹ&#x201A;u and cold symptoms. A cold is a milder respiratory illness than the ďŹ&#x201A;u. While cold symptoms can make you feel bad for a few days, ďŹ&#x201A;u symptoms can make you feel quite ill for a few days to weeks. The ďŹ&#x201A;u can also result in serious health problems such as pneumonia. shafeeq@timesofoman.com

EASING FLU SYMPTOMS 1. Stay home and get rest.

2. Drink plenty of ďŹ&#x201A;uids.

3. Treat aches and fever.

4. Take care of your cough.

5. Breathe in steam. Sit in a steamy bathroom.

6. Run the humidiďŹ er.

7. Saline nose drops or sprays can be helpful.

Consult a doctor before using them.

8. Ask for an antiviral.

9. Call the doctor if you have any of the following symptoms: Ä&#x201E;Ĺ&#x2022;Ĺ&#x2022; , " Ĺ&#x2022;),Ĺ&#x2022; , #( ! Ĺ&#x2022; from ear. Ä&#x201E;Ĺ&#x2022; #(Ĺ&#x2022;#(Ĺ&#x2022;3)/,Ĺ&#x2022; Ĺ&#x2022;),Ĺ&#x2022; forehead along with thick yellow or green mucous for more than a week. Ä&#x201E;Ĺ&#x2022; '* , ./, Ĺ&#x2022;) Ĺ&#x2022;þôôÞøĹ&#x2022; Ĺ&#x2022; or higher in an infant less than 3 months of age. Ä&#x201E;Ĺ&#x2022; '* , ./, Ĺ&#x2022;"#!" ,Ĺ&#x2022; ." (Ĺ&#x2022;þôÜĹ&#x2022; Ĺ&#x2022;#(Ĺ&#x2022;)& ,Ĺ&#x2022; children or adults. Ä&#x201E;Ĺ&#x2022; ) ,- ( --ĂżĹ&#x2022;-), Ĺ&#x2022;.",) .ĂżĹ&#x2022; or a cough that wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go away. Ä&#x201E; " 4#(! Ä&#x201E; )'#.#(! Ä&#x201E;Ĺ&#x2022; 3'*.)'-Ĺ&#x2022;." .Ĺ&#x2022;! .Ĺ&#x2022;1),- Ĺ&#x2022; or wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go away

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

C6

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

FIND-IT-ALL

PRAYER TIMINGS

@MGM

@SOHAR

SUR Get Squirrely ( Animation ) ( PG ) Cast: Victoria Justice, Will Forte 5:10 PM Echo Effect ( Action | Thriller ) ( 12+ ) Cast: Michael Jai White, Max Ryan 3:30, 5:20, 8:45 PM Wazir - (Hindi)( Action | Thriller ) ( PG12 ) Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhta 3:30, 6:45, 9:45 PM Charlie (Malayalam) (Comedy) (PG12) Cast: Dulquer Salman, Parvathi Menon 10:30 PM The Revenant (Adventurer) ( 12+) Cast : Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 7:00, 11:45 PM

@SHATTI

CITY CINEMA Contact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68 www.citycinemaoman.net facebook.com/citycinemaoman SHATTI Extraction (2D) (Action | Thriller) (12+) Cast: Bruce Willis, Kellan Lutz, Gina Carano 2:45, 8:15 PM The Revenant (2D) (Thriller) (12+) Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 2:30, 5:30, 8:30, 11:30 PM Point Break (3D) (Action | Sports) (12+) Cast: Édgar Ramírez, Luke Bracey 7:15 PM Wazir (Action | Crime | Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Aditi Rao Hydari 5:15, 9:30 PM The Forest (Horror) (15+) Cast: Natalie Dormer, Eoin Macken, Stephanie Vogt 10:00, 11:45 PM Lost in the Sun (2D) (Action) (12+) Cast: Josh Duhamel, Josh Wiggins 3:00, 11:30 PM Daddy’s Home (2D) (Comedy) (12+) Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg 4:30, 6:15 PM MUSCAT GRAND MALL The Revenant ( Drama | Thriller) 12+ Cast : Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 12:15, 8:45 & 11:30PM Gold Class: 3:00 & 8:00PM Wazir (Hindi | Action| Thriller) PG12 Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar 3:15 & 9:30PM Gold Class: 6:00 & 11:00PM Fathers and Daughters (Drama) 12+ Cast: Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Jane Fonda 5:15PM Extraction (Thriller) 12+ Cast : Bruce Willis, Kellan Lutz, Gina Carano 7:30 & 11:45PM

Wazir (Hindi | Action| Thriller) PG12 Cast : Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Aditi Rao Hydari 3:15 & 9:30PM Gold Class: 6:00 & 11:00PM

Charlie - 2D (M) (PG12) (Comedy/ Romance) Cast : Dulquer Salman, Parvathi Menon, Aparna Gopinath 9:00 PM

Snow Time - (Animation | Family) PG 3:00PM The Peanuts Movie - (Animation) PG 1:15 & 4:45PM The Good Dinosaur-3D (Animation) U 11:15PM & 6:45PM PANORAMA MALL The Revenant (Adventure, Drama)(2D)(12+) Cast : Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 2:45, 5:45, 11:45PM The Revenant (Adventure, Drama) (2D) (12+) VIP LOUNGE Cast : Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 3:00, 6:00, 11:00PM Lost In The Sun (Action, Drama)(2D) (12+) Cast : Josh Duhamel, Josh Wiggins 5:15, 11:15 pm Daddy’s Home (Comedy)(2D)(12+) Cast : Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg 7:00, 9:15 pm Wazir (Hindi, Action)(2D)(PG12) Cast : Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar 3:45, 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm Wazir (Hindi, Action)(2D)(PG12)-VIP LOUNGE 9:00 pm Snow Time (Animation)(2D)(PG)

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept time

Destination

Arrival Operating time days

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

TEMPERATURE

15:00 15:00 15:00

05:30 05:30 05:30

Maximum

16:30 18:00 19:30

Daily Daily Daily

Sur Quriyat Ruwi

06:45 08:30 10:00

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

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

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

Sohar Buraimi Buraimi Sohar Buraimi Sohar Buraimi

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

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52) 17:30

Sinaw

Nizwa Yanqul

20:50

Daily

Nizwa Al Araqi

16:50 19:30

Daily Daily

Sur Sur

10:20 12:30

Daily Daily

Fahud Yibal

Daily Daily

Salalah Marmul Salalah Salalah

Daily Daily

Marmul

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

Daily Daily Daily Daily

Dubai

16:50

Daily

Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai

06:00 06:00

Nizwa Ruwi

08:40 11:00

Daily Daily

15:40 15:40

Nizwa Ruwi

17:55 20:20

Daily Daily

06:00 14:30

Ruwi Ruwi

10:45 19:00

Daily Daily

12:30 12:30

Fahud Ruwi

13:15 17:30

Daily Daily

07:00 10:00 10:00 19:00

Ruwi Marmul Ruwi Ruwi

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

07:00

06:00

Marmul

16:30

Daily

Daily

15:00

Salalah

07:00

Daily

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

Daily Daily Thur-Fri Thur-Fri Daily Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201) 08:30 11:30 15:30 18:30 17:35 20:55

Daily Daily Wed,Thur Wed,Thur Daily Daily

07:30 07:30 13:00 13:00 15:30 15:30

Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

07:00 07:00 07:00

16:00 16.00 16.00

Fujairah Sharjah Dubai

11.45 13.30 14.00

Film information 24540856 / Advance Booking 24540855 Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com Echo Effect (Action / Thriller) Cast: Michael Jai White, Max Ryan, Steve Austin 4.00, 8.00, 10.00 & 11.55 pm CP No : 3060 (12+) Daddy’s Home (Comedy) Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini 3.45, 7.30 & 9.15 pm CP No: 3061 (12+) Fathers and Daughters (Drama) Cast: Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Jane 2.00 & 6.00pm CP No: 3062 (12+) Get Squirrely (Animation / Comedy / Family) 2.00 & 5.30 p.m.

CP No: 3063 (PG) Dilwale (Action / Comedy) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan 11.00 p.m.

CP No: 3047 (PG12)

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

Charlie ( Mal) ( Drama\Comedy) Cast : Dulquer Salmaan & Parvathy 3-30, 6-30 & 9-30 pm Cinema Main Su Su Sudhi Vatmeekam (Mal) (Drama\Com) Cast : Jayasurya , Mukesh & Shivada 3-30 & 6-30 pm Cinema -2 Wazir ( Hindi) (Act Cast : Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akthar & Aditi Rao Hydari 3-45, 6-45, & 9-45 pm Cinema-3 Bajirao Mastani (Hindi) (rom\ Act \ drama ) Cast : Ranveer Singh , Deepika Padukone & Priyanka Chopra 6-45 pm Cinema-4 Pasanga 2 ( Tamil) ( Drama \Comedy) Cast : Surya & Amala Paul 3-45, & 9-45 pm Cinema -4 Programmes are subject to change

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GOPIKA MANOJ January 10, 2000 Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 17 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to lifestyle@timesofoman.com

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16:30 18.15 23.00

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ROYAL OMAN POLICE Emergencies and inquiries: 9999 General Directorate of Passport and Residence 24569603 Directorate General of Customs 24521109 Traffic violations inquiries 24510228 Public Relations Admin 24560099 EMBASSIES IN OMAN

Daily Daily Daily Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)

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

Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102) 15:00

10:25

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100)

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101) 06:00

Ruwi

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

10:30 11:15

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

07:00

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

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (ROUTE 62) 06:30 06:30

25 18

BAHJA CINEMA

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

TO SUR (ROUTE 55) 07:30 14:30

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

SALALAH The Revenant (2D) (12+)( Action| Thriller) Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 11:45AM, 3:15, 8:45, 11:45PM Fathers and Daughters (2D) (12+) (Drama) Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Jane Fonda 4:30PM Daddy’s Home (2D) (12+) (Comedy) Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg 11:30AM, 6:45PM Extraction (2D) (12+) (Thriller) Cast: Bruce Willis, Kellan Lutz, Gina Carano 2:45PM Wazir (2D) (PG12)( Action| Thriller) Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar 1:15, 3:00, 9:15, 11:15PM Dilwale (2D) (PG12) (Action | Romantic ) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Kriti Sanon 6:15PM Lost in the Sun (2D) (PG12) Action | Drama ) Cast: Josh Duhamel, Josh Wiggins 11:15AM, 7:00PM Charlie (2D) (12+) (Malayalam)( Comedy) Cast: Dulquer Salman, Parvathi Menon 9:00PM Snow Time (2D) (PG) (Animation) Cast: Angela Galuppo, Mariloup Wolfe 1:15PM

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

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

Daily Daily Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

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

Sohar Ruwi Ruwi Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi

RUWI Screen 1 Wazir (Action / Thriller) – PG12 Cast : Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar 3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM Screen 2 Bajirao Mastani (Romance/Drama) – PG12 Cast : – Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh 3.30, 9.45 PM Ho Mann Jahan – Pakistani (Drama)– TBC Cast: –Mahira Khan, Sheheryar 6.30 PM Screen 3 Ho Mann Jahan – Pakistani – Urdu - (Musical/Drama) – TBC 3.45, 9.45 PM Dilwale (Action/Romance) – PG12 Cast: – Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan 6.45 PM

SOHAR Dilwale - 2D (PG12) Action | Comedy Cast : Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan 6:45 PM Point Break - 3D (12+) Action | Crime | Sport Cast : Édgar Ramírez, Luke Bracey 5:30 PM The Good, the Bad and The Dead - 2D (15+) Action| Thriller | Western Cast : Johnny Messner, Dolph Lundgren 7:45 PM The Revenant - 2D (12+) Adventure | Drama Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 2:30, 8:45, 11:30 PM Wazir - 2D (PG12) Action| Thriller Cast : Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar 3:00, 9:30, 11:30 PM The New Adventures of Aladin - 2D (PG12) Cast : Kev Adams, Jean-Paul Rouve 5:00 PM Echo Effect - 2D (12+) Action | Thriller Cast : Michael Jai White, Max Ryan 7:00, 9:45 PM Lost in the Sun - 2D (12+) Action | Drama Cast : Josh Duhamel, Josh Wiggins 2:45, 7:00, 11:45 PM The Forest - 2D (15+) Horror Cast : Natalie Dormer, Eoin Macken 3:00, 11:30 PM Get Squirrely - 2D (PG) Animation | Cast : Victoria Justice, Will Forte 5:00 PM Charlie - 2D (M) (PG12) Comedy/ Romance Cast : Dulquer Salman, Parvathi Menon 9:00 PM

BURAIMI Echo Effect – 2D (Action, Thriller) (12+) Cast: Michael Jai White, Max Ryan 5:45, 7:15, 11:30PM The Revenant– 2D (Adventure, Drama, Thriller) (12+) Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter 3:00, 9:00, 11:45PM The Forest – 2D (Horror) (15+) Cast: Natalie Dormer, Eoin Macken , Stephanie Vogt 5:15, 9:45, 11:30PM Get Squirrely – 2D (Animation) (PG) Voice Overs: Victoria Justice, Will Forte 3:30, 5:45PM Wazir – 2D (Action, Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar 3:45, 7:30, 9:30PM Charlie– 2D (Comedy, Romance) (12+) Cast: Dulquer Salman, Parvathi Menon, Aparna Gopinath 7:15PM

WEATHER

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

2:45, 8:45, 11:30 PM The Revenant – 2D (12+) | Drama | Thriller Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy 2:30, 5:30, 11:30 PM

AZAIBA Wazir – 2D (PG12) Hindi | Action| Thriller Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar 1:00, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30, 8:30, 10:30, 11:45pm Charlie – 2D (PG12) Comedy/ Romance Cast: Dulquer Salman, Parvathi Menon 12:15, 6:30, 9:00 PM Dilwale – 2D (PG12) Action, Romantic Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhavan 5:45, 8:30 PM Get Squirrely – 2D (PG) Animation Cast: Victoria Justice, Will Forte 3:00, 4:45 PM Bajirao Mastani – 2D (PG12) Drama, History, Cast: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone

TO MUSCAT (RUWI) Arrival Operating time days

The Revenant (2D) (Thriller) (12+) Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter 2:30, 5:30, 8:30, 11:30 PM

Cast : Angela Galuppo, Mariloup Wolfe 5:45 pm Star Wars (Action, Adventure)(MX4D)(PG12) Cast : Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac 3:45, 6:30, 9:00, 11:30 pm Point Break (Action, Crime)(3D)(12+) Cast : Édgar Ramírez, Luke Bracey 3:00 pm Bajirao Mastani (Drama)(2D)(PG12) Cast : Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone 8:45 pm

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

Destination

12.19pm 3.22pm 5.42pm 6.57pm 5.31am

CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF 3 YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE CINEMA | BOX-OFFICE COUNTER OPENS 30-MINUTES PRIOR TO THE SCREENING OF THE FIRST SHOW

CINEMA SCHEDULE

Dept time

Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Fajr (Tomorrow)

Daily Daily Daily

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

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

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

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

PHARMACIES Round the clock Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi 24783334

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

24782666 24702542 23291635; 24503585 24787766 24421691 24485740 24537080

23291635

HOSPITALS Al Amal Medical & Health Care Centre 24485052 Atlas Hospital Ruwi 24811743/ Ghubra 24504000 Al Musafir Specialised Medical Clinic 24706453 Hatat Polyclinic LLC, Ruwi 24563641 Azaiba 24499269 Sohar 2683006 Al Raffah Hospital 24618900/1/2 Al Massaraat Clinic & Laboratory 24566435 Al Makook Medical Coordinance Centre 24499434 Apollo Medical Centre,

Hamriya 24787766, 24787780 Capital Polyclinic 24707549 Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic, Ruwi 24799760/1/2 Capital Clinic, Seeb 24420740 Ceregem National Raak 24485633 Dr Harub’s Clinic 24563217 Elixir Health Centre 24565802 Emirates Medical Centre 24604540 1st Chiropractic Centre 24472274 Lifeline Hospital Salalah 23212340 International Medical Centre LLC 24794501/2/3/4/5 Kims Oman Hospital 24760100 24 Hrs Emergency 24760123 Lama Polyclinic, Sohar 26751128 MBD 24799077 Al Khuwair 24478818 Magrabi Eye and Ear Hospital 24568870 Muscat Private Hospital 24583600 Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, Al Khuwair 24477666 Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC 22004000 AIRLINE OFFICES Muscat Airport Flight information (24 hours) 24519456/24519223 Aeroflot 24704455 Air Arabia 24700828 Air France 24562153 Air India 24799801

Air New Zealand 24700732 Biman Bangladesh Airlines 24701128 British Airways 24568777 Cathay Pacific 24789818 Egypt Air 24794113 Emirates Air 24404400 Ethiopian Airlines 24660313 Gulf Air 80072424 Indian 24791914 Iran Air 24787423 Japan Airlines 24704455 Jazeera Airways 23294848 Jet Airways 24787248 Kenya Airways 24660300 KML Royal Dutch Airlines 24566737 Kuwait Airways 24701262 LOT Polish Airlines 24796387 Lufthansa 24796692 Malaysian Airlines 24560796 Middle East Airlines 24796680 Oman Air 24531111 Pakistan International Airlines 24792471 Qatar Airways 24771900 Qantas 24559941 Royal Jordanian 24796693 Saudi Arabian Airlines 24789485 Singapore Airlines 24791233 Shaheen Air 24816565 SriLankan Airlines 24784545 Swiss International Airlines 24796692 Thai Airways 24705934

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

C7

LIFESTYLE H E A LT H N O T E S

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

Late menopause lowers risk of depression in later life MENOPAUSE at an older age lowers the risk of depression for women in later life, says a new study. The study found that menopause at 40 or older compared with premature menopause was associated with a decreased risk for depression. Older age at menopause and a longer reproductive period mean a longer exposure to endogenous (produced within the body’s cells) sex hormone estrogens. “This meta-analysis suggests a potentially protective effect of increasing duration of exposure to endogenous estrogens as assessed by age at menopause as well as by the duration of the reproductive period,” the researchers said. The study was published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

Increased light exposure may make children overweight CHILDREN who spend too much time on tablets, mobile phone or television are more likely to gain unhealthy weight not just because of physical inactivity but also due to increased exposure to light, says a new study. Timing and intensity of light exposure is critical for metabolic functioning and weight status, the findings showed. “Artificial lighting, including light given off by tablets, mobile phones, night lights, and television, means modern children are exposed to more environmental light than any previous generation. This increase in light exposure has paralleled global increases in obesity,” said said one of the researchers Cassandra Pattinson from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Good bacteria help prevent pneumonia and ear infection

BACK TO NATURE

M

ud bath is a detox therapy, which has become extremely popular around the globe.

Until rather recently, many European practitioners promoted mud baths as a treatment for arthritis.

This back to the basics, relatively simplest of alternative therapies, tends to help relax muscles, soothe aches, improve blood circulation, and smoothen the skin. With today’s emerging trends mud baths are often recommended to help reduce stress and leave us feel rejuvenated at the end of the session.

Skin and Detoxification Conscious detoxing is a great way to achieve optimum health. The best ways to detox is through the skin.

Detoxification is one of the most effective methods to eliminate toxic substances that build up throughout our system. The toxins present in the environment constantly attack the body. These toxins get accumulated in the body’s fat layers.

Accumulation of toxins in the body cause harm to the biological processes. Hence, it becomes essential to remove the toxins regularly from

the body otherwise; a high toxin load may cause skin problem, frequent or recurring colds, chronic pains, low energy levels, allergies and other illness.

The skin is the largest breathing human organ. Keeping the skin healthy promotes general health and well being. Taking a hot bath or sauna promotes sweating that flushes the toxins away from the body. Mud baths draw out the toxins and impurities from the body, exfoliating and nourishing the skin.

Mud and Clay Mud is an element of the earth that is said to possess therapeutic properties. It is made of a combination of soil, silt, clay, and water. It is rich in vitamins, minerals, and plant substance. Scholars believe that it was the Romans who discovered the therapy of Mud baths as early as 120 B.C. Today we know that Mud, helps to draw out excess heat and cool the body. Its property of water solubility allows the skin to absorb nourishing nutrients when applied. One of the additional benefits with mud is that due to its nature other ingredients can be added to the mixture to further boost treatment results.

Clay like mud comes from the earth. However, due to its composition nature it has a tendency to soak up or dry, hence it is used in cosmetic products as a drying agent. It is a component found in many cosmetic products like foundation and powders. Clay has the ability to remove matter suspended in liquid, as its natural property is oil balancing. Thus, clay helps to assist the body in the systemic removal of many industrial chemi-

Mud is used as a healing agent for cracks, bites, burns, and other skin afflictions. Pure mud helps to detoxify, remineralise and is anti-inflammatory

cals that the body would otherwise have difficulty eliminating.

Types of Mud Across the World Mud is used as a healing agent for cracks, bites, burns, and other skin afflictions. Pure mud helps to detoxify, remineralise and is anti-inflammatory. Every region on earth, according to its geographic and climatic conditions produces mud that is unique in its mineral and biological content. Depending upon the region, where the mud is obtained it may contain high concentrations of iron, manganese, zinc, copper or selenium. This can be used to treat various ailments, when used in a variety of combination.

Dead Sea Mud: Jordan Rift Valley Moor Mud: Around Europe Volcanic Mud Bath: Calistoga (California) Great Salt Lake Mud Body Wrap Hungarian Wellness Mud Clay Baths Ischia Mud: Italy Bad Wilsnack: Germany Ayurvedic Mud Bath: India Multani Mitti : India

THE PRESENCE of a harmless bacterium found in the nose and on the skin may negatively impact the growth of a pathogen that commonly causes middle ear infections in children and pneumonia in children and older adults, says a new study.

The study provides evidence that Corynebacterium accolens (C. accolens) helps inhibit Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) — a major cause of pneumonia, meningitis, middle ear infection, and sinusitis.

The results pave the way for potential future research to determine whether C. accolens might have a role as a beneficial bacterium that could be used to control pathogen colonisation.

According to the World Health Organisation, S. pneumoniae leads to more than one million deaths each year, primarily in young children in developing countries. Although most people that host S. pneumoniae do not develop these infections, colonisation greatly increases the risk of infection and transmission.

The study was published in the journal mBio.

Hormonal therapy helpful in postnatal depression TREATMENT with a hormone that plays an important role in labour and breast-feeding can improve behaviour of mothers suffering from postnatal depression, a common disorder affecting 10 to 20 percent of mothers, says a study.

The researchers focused on the role of the hormone oxytocin in improving the behaviour of women with postnatal depression. “Oxytocin is potentially useful in improving parental behaviours of mothers with postnatal depression,” said researcher Beth Mah from Hunter Medical Research Institute, in New South Wales, Australia. Some studies have suggested that parental behaviour may improve after treatment with oxytocin, the researcher said.

Parenting becomes more challenging for women suffering from postnatal depression. Children cared for by such mothers are at a high risk of adverse outcomes, with increased rates of psychiatric disorders and developmental problems. -IANS

lifestyle@timesofoman.com

MOVE OF THE WEEK

Take Intervals in Workout Routines

When you’re ready to progress, make the work part of the interval longer and decrease the recovery time (but never to less than 30 seconds). For example, you could do 6 minutes at a higher speed and rest for 3 minutes

When you alternate high-intensity cardio workout routines with moderate-intensity recovery periods, you boost your calorie burning and increase your fitness level. This will help you breakthrough plateaus. Here’s how:

Warm up for

5 MINUTES Then

INCREASE SPEED or resistance on the machine for 2-5 minutes

Return to your

USUAL PACE

Boost in calories burned:

for 5 minutes, then continue with short bursts interspersed with a moderate pace for the rest of your fitness workouts

300-450 CALORIES

COOL DOWN for 5 minutes at a slower pace

per 45 minutes

C8

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016

LIFESTYLE

10 Best

Split Peas Fibre: 16.3 grams per cup, cooked A staple in Indian cooking, split peas form a terrific, proteinrich base for soups, stews, and dals.

It is healthy, satisfying, and super filling.

Lentils Fibre: 15.6 grams per cup, cooked Lentils are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fibre. They are of special benefit in managing blood-sugar disorders since their high fibre content prevents blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after a meal.

Black Beans Fibre: 15 grams per cup, cooked Black beans have high concentrations of soluble fibre which has been proven to help lower blood cholesterol. It also decreases the risk of heart disease.

High Fibre Foods

Blackberries Fibre: 7.6 grams per cup, raw Blackberries are packed with numerous plant nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and dietary fibres that are essential for optimum health.

Raspberries Fibre: 8 grams per cup, raw Delicious raspberries are low in calories and fats. They are rich source of dietary fibre, and antioxidants. With the help of coconut, oatmeal, and vanilla, they make a relatively healthy desserts.

Brussels Sprouts Fibre: 4.1 grams per cup, boiled Brussels sprouts can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits.

The fibre-related components do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive tract.

A high-fibre diet can reduce the risk of stroke, hypertension, and heart disease along with normalising bowel movements. Experts

Lima Beans

recommend that men under 50 eat

Fibre: 13.2 grams per cup, cooked Lima beans might sound unappetising, but when paired with leeks, puréed into a soup, and topped with sour cream, they’re pretty darn delicious.

about 38 grams of fibre each day and women consume 25 grams. Adults over 50 require less fibre (30 grams for men and 21 grams for women) due to decreased food consumption.

To put that into perspective, a young

Broccoli Fibre: 5.1 grams per cup, boiled Broccoli is packed with soluble fibre that draws cholesterol out of your body.

It also keeps your whole body less acidic, which has a host of health benefits.

man is supposed to eat the same

Artichokes Fibre: 10.3 grams per medium vegetable, cooked Artichokes are curiously underused in most people’s kitchens. Get creative and try with lime, garlic, and black pepper.

amount of fibre found in 15 slices of whole-wheat bread every day.

Peas Fibre: 8.8 grams per cup, cooked They are good sources of protein, vitamins, and soluble as well as insoluble fibre. Dried peas help lower cholesterol, they are also of special benefit in managing blood-sugar disorders.

D

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

SECTION

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

RENT

FOR RENT AL KHUWAIR : 5 BED ROOM VILLA SPLIT A/C - MAID ROOM

RUWI : Ware House - 630 M2 SPACIOUS -2 B H K FLATS

Contact :

24 70 30 60

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VACANCY

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CARGO

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

DAILY GUIDE

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

FOR RENT

*Tourist visa arranged

E t &ůĂƚƐ Θ ^ŚŽǁƌŽŽŵƐ ĨŽƌ ZĞŶƚ

FOR RENT

1/2/3 BHK Flats & Showrooms at DƵƩ ƌĂŚ͕ ŶĞĂƌ KŵĂŶ Ň ŽƵƌ ŵŝůůƐ͕ ϭϬ ŵŝŶ͘ ĨƌŽŵ ĐŽƌŶŝĐŚĞ͘ ĞƋƵŝƉƉĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ƐƉůŝƚͬ ĐĂƐƐĞƩ Ğ ƵŶŝƚ Ɛ͕ ŝŶƚĞƌŶĞƚ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͕ ĨƌĞĞͲ ƚŽͲĂŝƌ ĚŝƐŚ ĐŽŶŶĞĐƟ ŽŶ͕ ds ŵŽŶŝƚŽƌĞĚ͕ ďĂƐĞŵĞŶƚ ƉĂƌŬŝŶŐ͘ ZĞŶƚ ZK͘ϮϱϬͬϯϱϬͬϰϱϬ ;EĞŐŽƟ ĂďůĞͿ ƉĞƌ ŵŽŶƚŚ͘

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

Contact : 99229263; 93221054; 95215289

CONTACT :

93202733

FLATS FOR RENT

2BHK Al Khuwair R.O 375/-.

Contact: 92144045 / 97799175

In a Luxury Building in Al Seeb Market Near Police station Apartment and room for rent in Al Khuwair near IBIS hotel.

Contact: 95724975 3 Bedroom flat for rent near ONTC Ruwi. Contact: 99653336 Flats for rent Direct from the owner: 2BHK flats with A/Cs at Ruwi MBD area, Way No. 3526, Pizza Muscat building.

Contact: 99333110 / 24814853 3 bedroom flat in Wadi Kabeer.

Contact 95755953 / 95555162 To let rooms in Qurum.

Contact: 99664703 House for rent Mabela.

Contact: 99204400 Store / warehouse for rent 52 sqm at Maabela Sinaiya.

Contact: 92454170 02 BHK Commercial / Residential (with split AC) flat at Honda road.

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

Contact : 99342733 /99795241 Flat for rent in Darsait 3 BR, 2 toilets, sitting room R.O 250/-.

Contact: 92328142

2BHK Ghubra R.O 300/- , 325/-.

Contact: 92144045 / 97799175

Call: 99888007 - 99473500

Residential Commercial building consists of 30 Flats in Al Khoud 6 the following details: 20 flats with 2 rooms and a hall, bathroom and kitchen. 10 flats with room and hall and 2 toilet. Shop 500 square meters. for total 30 Flats rent 7,000 RO per month and rent the exhibition 10 RO per m2 Contact 99314314 500 sqm Basement Godown/warehouse For Rent in Mabela industrial area. CALL: 99366008 / 99236455 1000 sqm industrial land with compound well & two rooms at Misfah. Contact: 99342733/ 99795241 Commercial / residential flats in a new building for rent near Muttrah Police Station residential 1BHK / 2BHK more details. Contact: 99364735 / 95729711 2BHK flat opp. star cinema & 3BHK office. Contact 92926199 1000sqmtrs industrial land for rent in Ghala suitable for warehouse workshop etc. Contact 24700120 / 92584715

10,000 Sqm Industrial Land/Plot in Sumail - Leveled with Full Drawing and Full Permission from Govt. for only RO 30,000 Contact : 99012201 2 BR flat with 1 sitting room, 1 family hall with 3 attach bathroom in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99277787 Flats for rent in Muscat.

Contact: 99262605.

2BHK flat for rent Darsait near ISM. Contact: 95158570 / 99102255 Independent room with Kitchen & Bathroom attach near Mabellah BP Petrol Pump R.O 100/- , without Elect & water. Contact: 91516775 Only for serious people a Restaurant for rent or sale at excellent site in Al Ghubra area with all its equipment & approval to bring workers. Contact: Numan 95094062 Flats for rent in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 99376454 2BHK at Al Nahdha Hospital behind MHD Building.

Contact: 99224748 / 99332297 Furnished villa for rent in BarkaRumes, 3 big BRooms + Majlis + Saloon + kitchen. Contact : 98999667

Labour camp accommodation facilities near Sohar Gardens for 1500-2000 peoples. All modern facilities & natural atmosphere will provide as per customer requirement, interested people can contact 93221277 for further details. as per the client requirement, we will make all facilities within short period.

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

2 rooms, Bathroom, kitchen near Muscat OR 110/-.

Contact: 95094028

For rent 1bed room flat, near Indian school (ISD) at Darsait.

Contact: 94776771/ 99669216

2bedrooms flat with hall, 2 bathrooms in Darsait near Muscat Municipality. Contact: 92584715 / 24700120

Luxurious, 2 BHK flat with 3 toilets, store, equipped kitchen, split ACS , Gym, party hall& 24 hours security at Mumtaz area Ruwi rent RO 375/-. Contact: 92622506

House in old Muscat town near Bab Al Mathaib, 5 bedrooms, living room & kitchen. Contact 99319829 1 BHK new bldg with A/c curtains, near Khimji Mart, MBD. Contact 99061408 / 99024039 Profs/ Jack. Contact 93219378

Flat new Al Wadi Kabir. Contact: 92130703 / 99733992 2 Room + hall & kitchen ,3 toilets in Bareeq Al Shatti 750 RO. Contact 99314314

2BHK commercial RO 375/-, 350/Contact: 97799175 / 92144045 Shop for rent behind building behind whole center Al Amerat good for offices or stores only space 11x4 meters R.O 250/- PER month.

Contact : 92877449

Duplex villa in QURUM 29.

Contact - 94051789-97201688 Show room / shop for rent area 155 sqm at 600/-R.O shops at 160/- R.O. Contact 97714433 / 92822437 1BHK Mumtaz R.O 250/-.

Contact: 97799175 / 92144045 3 BHK flat near Darsait ID medical.

RO 420/- Contact – 99358589 / 97079146 / 95570288 7 Bedrooms villa in Ghobrah North.

Contact - 96420432 1& 2 BHK flats for rent at Hamriya Mabela and Al Khoud shop at Al Khoud. Contact: 24834644 / GSM : 93994401 /02/03/3lines Flats shops & store for rent in Ruwi Honda road Mumtaz.

Contact: 97293708 / 92433127 Brand new apartments opp Oman flour mills MUTRAH 1,2,3 BHK with private parking, suitable for bachelors call 95450450 Offices & Showrooms in Al Khoud.

Contact - 94051789-97201688 Fully Furnished apartments in Boucher (35) Contact 9405178997201688

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

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DAILY GUIDE

FOR RENT

BUILDING

FOR SALE MUMTAZ AREA (NEAR RUWI HOTEL)

CONTACT - 99353931

FOR SALE Dozer Kom 355A -3 Dozer Kom 155A- 3 Grader Champion 780 Excavator PC 400 with breaker Man green water tanker 5000 IG All are in good condition

99310448/99612010/95208455

FOR HIRE Bobcat available for rent.

Contact 97623299 Low bed Trailer (PDO – SPC) available monthly / daily for Rent.

Contact: 96633970

WANTED

ACC. AVAILABLE FOR SALE Office furniture, fixtures & electric appliances for urgent sale.

Contact: 92122705 Used home furniture and household appliances in good condition for sale. (Else 3bhk can be taken for rent along with furnitures.)

Contact: 99738104

600 SQT commercial flat for rent opposite Oman flourmill Darsait more details. # 91214849/ 99364735 Flats in Darsait.

Contact 94051789-97201688 One flats for rent 2 bedroom all with bath al Ghobrah north near Indian school (hot burger restaurant) Tel. 9976610 Flat for Rent 1/2 BHK Flat at Muttrah, near Oman flour mills, 10 min. from Corniche.Equipped with split unit ACs, internet points, free-to-air dish connection, CCTV monitored, basement parking.

Rent RO.250/350 per month. #99229263; 93221054; 95215289 1BHK flat near Star Cinema 220/Contact 99358589 /95570288 Flats in Wadi Kabir. Contact 94051789-97201688 Flats in Muttrah. Contact 94051789-97201688 Offices in Ghala. Contact 94051789-97201688 Brand new villas in Al Ansab.

Contact - 94051789-97201688 Offices & Showrooms in Muttrah.

Contact - 94051789-97201688 Mini Furnished Apartment in Qurum.# 94051789-97201688 1,2 BHK Ghubra R.O 300/-, 325/- & 350/-. Contact: 97799175 Offices in Qurum opposite City Center. # 94051789-97201688 Single BHK flat available in Honda road Ruwi. Contact - 24833972/ 24833974/99367448

Beauty Salon for urgent sale in Azaiba prime location behind Al Fardan building. With sponsor and 1 staff and 1 ready visa clearance. Call: 95318629 / 95169411 3 BHK flat in Greater Muttrah Dar Al Maha for immediate sale.

Contact: 95061994 / 96435858 Dental equipments sparingly used for sale. Contact: 91232778 / 99722457 Exercise cycle for sale.

Contact – 92847957 Full dental unit for sale.

Contact: 00968 92737149 Email: drpkabbas@yahoo.co.in Used Portacabins.

Contact: 94521205 Godown Rack sets (shelf).

Contact: 94521205 Luxury villa for sale at Al Hail South building area 375m land area 323, 6 rooms, 3 halls, 7 toilets.

Contact 99839898 Luxury Apartments in Boucher (35). Contact - 95056808-97201688 Mangalorean restaurant at Wadi Kabir & shop at Ruwi for sale.

Contact: 98428507 / 93655003 Villas in Al Khoud. Contact 95056808-97201688 3Ton Forklift, Special made for Oman market, Japanese Isuze C240 Engine, Cascade side shifter, High amount exhaust, 3m lifting height, Solid tyres, One year warranty. Contact: 98883445 Fully Furnished apartments in Boucher (35) Contact -9505680897201688

Furnished sharing accommodation in ruwi near O.K. Center for non-cooking indian bachelor.

Contact - 98805474

BULK SALE

Large size room in Al Falaj with attached bathroom for Executive bachelor (non cooking) with A/C, rent RO 150 inclusive Electricity & Water. Contact Mr. Hari : 24821717 / 99657906

Hall type & Individual Portacabins (100 nos.) for immediate sale in Muscat area.

Independent rooms in Qurum RO 140/- & 160/-. Contact 95529970

Contact 93208398 / 93215830

Veg Couple or bachelor room in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99014325 / 91165580 2 rooms with separate bathroom near Lulu Darsait for couple / bachelors. Contact: 98929665 / 99352320 Family sharing 3 B/R, hall, 2 toilets in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 99336206 FOR RENT 3BHK along with furnitures in Ruwi.

Contact: 99738104 Semi furnished spacious room with attached washroom separate entrance near Indian school Al Ghobrah for non cooking Executive Indian bachelor.

Contact: 95146361/92657598 Single room for expat Indian bachelors near Al Aktham restaurant Al khuwair for RO 120.

Water and electricity included.

Contact 98803261 Single bedroom flat near Indian School Ghubrah.

Contact 99203954 Single bedroom flat behind German Embassy, near Al Nahdha Hospital.

Contact 99203954 Furnished room in new building for working Muslim lady/ Muslim couple only. Location AINT, Darsait.

Contact - 99008069 Room for rent with furniture.

Al Bustan villeage.

Contact 93687466

AVAILABLE Party & Wedding equipment rentals.

Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirting, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery, Crockery, Glassware, Chafing Dishes, Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound Systems and spectacular lighting.

Call Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering and Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound & Light. ww.tunesoman.com, E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

MV SALE Toyota Innova family, 2011 model, fully automatic, white color expat driven , kms-84500. dealer maintained, no accident. good condition. Contact 99001726 Mercedes Benz E-300, Model 2010-Advantgrade, Color Obsidian Black Not in Working Condition.

Interested parties can see the car at Embassy of India premises during 1000 hrs to 1600 hrs and send offers in sealed envelopes latest by 15.01.2016 addressed to HOC, Embassy of India, Muscat.

Contact: 24684577 Hummer H2 model 2006, 178000 km, Full options Number 1 Army edition.OMR 7200. Contact -99466773 Chaverlet Epica 2004 model RO -700, for sale.

Contact 92194205 BMW 318/ 2003 for sale.

Contact 96364990

DRIVING

Second hand cup lock scaffolding system required any sellers please Contact: 99340205 IELTS Coaching (academic) required nearby wadi Kabir area. Please call on mobile or msg on Whats up.

Mobile no: 92927880/99012165

GOOD NEWS AL RAZI AYURVEDIC CLINIC EĞĂƌ <Śŝŵũŝ DĂƌƚ͕ D ƌĞĂ͕ ZƵǁŝ KƵƌ LJƵƌǀĞĚŝĐ dƌĞĂƚŵĞŶƚ ŝŶĐůƵĚĞƐ ďŚLJĂŶŐĂŵ͕ <ŝnjŚŝ DĂƐƐĂŐĞ͕ ^ŚŝƌŽĚŚĂƌĂ͕ sĂƐƟ ͕ hĚǁĂƌƚŚŶĂŵ ϱϬй ŝƐĐŽƵŶƚ ŽŶ ĨƵůů ďŽĚLJ ŵĂƐƐĂŐĞ͘

SITUATION WANTBUSINESS ED

ŽŶƚĂĐƚ ϮϰϴϭϰϮϮϮ Žƌ ϵϳϭϭϮϱϭϬ ĨŽƌ ĂƉƉŽŝŶƚŵĞŶƚ Ayurvedic treatment for backache, paralysis, arthritis etc & massage, All Season (Vaidyaratnam). Contact 24475280 / 95371664 / 92504980 www.siddhayur.com FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know more about Islam, please call: 99425598, 99250777, 99353988, 99253818, 99341395, and 99379133. For ladies: 99415818, 99321360, 99730723 Orvisit:www.islamfact.com Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain, backache, paralysis, massage steambath, obesity, Spondylitis, Ideal Care Ayurvedic Clinic, 18 November Street Azaiba.

Contact: 99639695 / 98342990

NRI Plot for sale Shadnagar Municipality, Mahboob Nagar District, walk able distance to existing colonies, national highway and basic amenities at reasonable price. Contact – 0091 8686631669 Plot, propeties for sale in prime location in pune # 95272138, (+918390982975)

Looking for investor in steel fabrication plant. Contact 98667442 / 98119694 Canadian Consultancy company (recruitment & immigration) is looking for a partner company in Oman.

For contact 00973 39990830 eurogulf.ca@gmail.com, Low firm office in Shatti Al Qurum looking for an Indian legal advisor has got 5 years experience in Oman and good contacts with the big companies and banks in Oman.

Email: rahbi.lawyers@gmail.com We will register LLC. trade license for foreign investors and do all actions. Contact: 92833566

MATRIMONIAL

MATRIMONIAL Proposal invited for employed BSc Nurse in Muscat for her, Remarriage age 28 years Christian Jacobite. Contact: 93262428

Christian Orthodox girl 24 yrs, BSC MLT working in Government Hospital Thiruvalla, seeking suitable alliance from Orthodox family.

Contact: 99734325 / 99898130

D4

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

DAILY GUIDE

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

SITUATION SITUATION WANTED VACANT A Leading Manufacturing Company in Muscat has immediate Requirement >ŽŽŬŝŶŐ ĨŽƌ YƵĂůŝĮ ĞĚ ĂŶĚ džƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ

URGENTLY REQUIRED ƌĞƉƵƚĞĚ ϯ ƐƚĂƌ ŚŽƚĞů ŝŶ DƵƐĐĂƚ ŝƐ ůŽŽŬŝŶŐ ĨŽƌ Ă

dƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ DĂŶĂŐĞƌ

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WŝƚŚ DŝŶ͘ ϭϬLJƌƐ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ Į ĞůĚ ŽĨ ůĞĐƚƌŝĐĂů Θ ƵŝůĚŝŶŐ DĂƚĞƌŝĂů WƌŽĚƵĐƚƐ ĂŶĚ ƐŚŽƵůĚ ŚĂǀĞ ŐŽŽĚ ŬŶŽǁůĞĚŐĞ ŽĨ >ŽĐĂů ĂŶĚ džƉŽƌƚ DĂƌŬĞƚ ĂŶĚ ƐŚŽƵůĚ ŚĂǀĞ ǀĂůŝĚ ' ͬ KŵĂŶŝ ƌŝǀŝŶŐ >ŝĐĞŶƐĞ ^ĞŶĚ sƐ ƚŽ

DƵƐƚ ƉŽƐƐĞƐƐ͗ ZĞůĞǀĂŶƚ ŚŽƚĞů ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ sĂůŝĚ ' ĚƌŝǀŝŶŐ ůŝĐĞŶƐĞ ^ƚƌŽŶŐ ĐŽŵŵƵŶŝĐĂƟ ŽŶ ƐŬŝůůƐ

Contact – 95020704 ŽƉĞƌĂƟ ŽŶƐΛŚŽƚĞůŐŽĂƐŝƐ͘ĐŽŵ

ǀĂĐĂŶĐLJŝŶŽŵĂŶϭϮϯΛŐŵĂŝů͘ĐŽŵ

URGENTLY REQUIRED FOLLOWING STAFFS FOR A LEADING ENGINEERING CONSULTANCY 1. DESIGN ENGINEER ROADS AND BRIDGE - BTECH CIVIL +MINIMUM 10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

2. SENIOR QUANTITY SURVEYOR

- BTECH CIVIL

+MINIMUM 12YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IS CIVIL & MEP

3. STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

- MTECH STRUCTURE

+MINIMUM 8 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN BUILDINGS

4. ELCTRICAL ENGINEER

- BTECH ELCETRICAL

+MINIMUM 12 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

5. PROJECT PLANNER – BTECH CIVIL + PSP CERTIFICATION +MINIMUM 12 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

All the above position required Experience in Huge Medical City Construction

REPLY IMMEDIATELY EMAIL :- vacancyamec@gmail.com

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Well reputed Marble Company looking for

3 SALESMEN

We are looking for Chief Financial Officer, Male 40- 45 years old, Bachelor of Science in Accountancy with 5 - 15 yrs. of experience.

Contact: +968 24702133 Email: admin-dept@daud.om

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

BEAUTY

ENGINEER/TECH/MECH

Urgently requited Indian Gulf experienced Beautician al Hail, good salary & allowances.

Contact: 96175350 Required experience Beautician.

Contact 99619409

CATERING Asian Oriental / BBQ cook.

Contact: 95529970 Indian Chinese Tandoor cooks required for hiring.

Contact: 95061994 / 96435858 A fast food restaurant in Muscat required experience:- (i). Social Media service provider. (ii). Part time Marketing and Forward CV :fastfoodoman2014@gmail.com

DESIGNER A reputed Interior company urgently required Interior Designer having well experience for self-design, AutoCAD, 3D max, Photoshop & V-ray Email: suresh@saharaintl.net

DRIVER Driver available with release.

Contact: 93885404 Reputed construction Co. require experienced light vehicle driver.

Contact 95526871 / 24485154 / 24486099 Personal Driver for reputed family in Muscat. Requirements is fluent in English, valid GCC driving license, age must be 28 to 35.

Contact: 99466062 Wanted HEAVY DUTY DRIVER for an Electro-Mechanical Company.

Pl mail resume to heavydutydrivermuscat@gmail. com or call 92343611. Local candidates need to have an NOC. Reputed Construction Company require experienced light Vehicle Driver. Contact 95526871 Looking for an Indian experienced house Driver for an Omani family. Interested candidates may call: 96203333

Requires minimum 3 years experience and valid Omani driving license.

Crankshaft Grinding Technician, Engine block boring Technician, turner required urgently for immediate appointment. call or whatsapp 98898273 Wanted Market Research Expert with experience in Feasibility Studies. Kindly send your resumes to advance@omantel.net.om or Fax us at +968-24792175.

Civil Site Supervisor for telecom tower projects across Oman. Send CV to fyjo@spec-link.com or call +968 9946 7227

IT Required male Omani / Filipino, 24 – 35 yrs as IT Coordinator.

Fluent in English, to handle all Web Designing aspects, Mail Campaigns management, Technical Support / Troubleshooting. Contact: 91371231

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR A reputed Interior and Kitchen company urgently required well experienced supervisor having minimum 5 years of experience in Carpentry related job with valid Omani driving license. Send CV to suresh@saharaintl.net.

MEDICAL Urgently required Medical Staff only male LAB Technician, Radio Tech, Assistant pharmacist, Dental Tech. Must be with 5 years experience along with 60% prometric. # 92412429 / 99648532 Wanted urgently lady Doctor GP or DGO for immediate appointment. Contact : 99310590 Email: tjmaluke@gmail.com Wanted a female Nurse for a dental clinic in capital area.

Contact:-99855050 Urgently required General Practitioners (male), lab technician, Staff Nurse & Receptionist (female, Arabic & English speaking) for a reputed Medical Centre, Salalah.

Email : hrmdimc2010@gmail.com

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

Required female Nurse with MOH license dental clinic in Al Khuwair.

Contact: 99010755 Email: akdmuscat@hotmail.com

Urgently required Electrical foreman with driving license. electrician with electrical license for an electrical company in Muscat.

Contact 93284291 BE Civil Engr - 5-10 yrs Exp Diploma Civil Engr - 5-7 yrs Exp Civil Foreman - 10-15 yrs Exp All must have valid DL send CV to jnstpmco@gmail.com

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DĂƚĞƌƐͬ ͘^Đ ĞŐƌĞĞ ŝŶ ůĞĐƚƌŝĐĂů ;WŽǁĞƌͿ ǁŝƚŚ ϭϱ LJƌƐ͘ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐ ϱ LJƌƐ͘ ŝŶ ' ŽŶƐƚƌƵĐƟ ŽŶ ŽĨ ϰϬϬͬϮϮϬͬϭϯϮŬs 'ƌŝĚ ^ƚĂƟ ŽŶƐ͕ K,d> ĂŶĚ h' ͘ ^ ͬWZKd d/KEͬ ƵƚŽ ĞƐŝŐŶ ŽĨ ůĞĐƚƌŝĐĂů ƉƌŽƚĞĐƟ ŽŶ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ ĐŽŵƉůLJŝŶŐ ǁŝƚŚ ůĂƚĞƐƚ ƐƚĂŶĚĂƌĚƐ͘ ^ŽŌ ǁĂƌĞ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ŝŶ ĚĞƐŝŐŶŝŶŐ Θ WDW ĞƌƟ Į ĐĂƟ ŽŶ ŽŵƉƵƚĞƌ ƐŬŝůůƐ ;DŝĐƌŽƐŽŌ Kĸ ĐĞͿ Θ D^ ƉƌŽũĞĐƚƐ ƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ <ŶŽǁůĞĚŐĞ ŝŶ Ăůů Į ŶĂŶĐŝĂů ĂƐƉĞĐƚƐ Θ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐŚĂŶŐĞƐ ƌĞƐĞĂƌĐŚ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ,^ ^ŬŝůůƐ ĨŽƌ Ěŝī ĞƌĞŶƚ ĐŽŶƐƚƌƵĐƟ ŽŶ ƉƌŽũĞĐƚƐ͘ >ŝŐŚƚ ǀĞŚŝĐůĞ ůŝĐĞŶƐĞ ŝƐ ŵĂŶĚĂƚŽƌLJ

ŵĂŝů͗ ŽŵĂŶĞŶŐŝŶĞĐŽΛLJĂŚŽŽ͘ĐŽŵ

REQUIRED 1. Occupational Health Advisor (with OH qualifications & 5 years oil field or relevant experience)

2. Lead Emergency Physician (10 yrs experience in emergency medicine in remote work (occupational) setting.

Have ACLS, ATLS, PHTLS & food safety level 4.

Email : medicalinformation2016@gmail.com dŚĞ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƐƚĂī ŝƐ ƌĞƋƵŝƌĞĚ by a leading Internal Designer Company in Muscat.

/ŶƚĞƌŶĂů ĞƐŝŐŶĞƌ ͗ ,ĂǀŝŶŐ ǁĞůů ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ĨŽƌ ƐĞůĨ ĚĞƐŝŐŶ͕ ƵƚŽĐĂĚ͕ϯ D y͕ WŚŽƚŽƐŚŽƉ ĞƚĐ

ĞĐŽƌĂƟ ŽŶ ^ƵƉĞƌǀŝƐŽƌ Θ &ŽƌĞŵĂŶ ,ĂǀŝŶŐ ǁĞůů ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ŵŝŶŝŵƵŵ ϱ LJĞĂƌƐ 'LJƉƐƵŵ Θ :ŽŝŶĞƌLJ ǁŽƌŬƐ

Required General Practitioners male & female with MOH license to work in a polyclinic in the Capital area. Contact 99372860

ENGINEER/TECH/MECH

SITUATION WANTED SITUATION WANTED

Female marketing for medical centre in Al Khuwair with driving license. Contact: 99010755 Email: akdmuscat@hotmail.com Required experienced Dentist with MOH license to manage dental clinic in Muscat.

Email: akdmuscat@hotmail.com Wanted Nurse for a Dental centre in capital area. Interested may contact 93431024 or send CV to – drasyanaseem@gmail.com

Interested candidate can send their CV at

Śƌ͘ŝŶƚĞƌŶĂůŝƟ ĞƐΛŐŵĂŝů͘ĐŽŵ

MEDICAL Wanted GP Doctor with MOH license, job location in Muscat with good salary and benefits. Drop your cv at 0careerhr1972@gmail.com.

Urgently required Lab Tech & Radiologist for medical Center in ruwi interested candidate kindly send short CV bmdcsg@yahoo.com or cont: 95220350 Urgently required full time female Nurse (with MOH), Receptionist (Omani) for Dental clinic in Muscat (Ruwi). Candidates in Oman only need to apply.

Contact 93582582, abbas@essacogroup.com Staff Nurse required for a reputed dental centre in Muscat. Send the CV to omandentalnurse@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS Sales Ladies wanted for Ladies Boutique. Age: 20-35 yrs.

Al Khoudh. Send CV to sameer916@hotmail.com or call 91159905 Urgently required for a reputed company in Oman (Tyre, Battery & Lubricant division) Sr. Executives/Executive-5 nos (Sohar, Nizwa & Muscat), Techno Commercial Professional-5nos, Driver (Omani)-1no. Required minimum 3-5 yrs experience in the same field with market exposure holding valid Omani driving license or GCC. Kindly fwd your CV’s to ashwin@taasintl.org Contact: (+968)93891700 Instrumentation & controls Technician with 2-3 years experience preferably in water sector and having valid driving license Send CV to shiju@spec-link.com or call Ph:+968 99450811 Part Time Job Seekers mail your timejoboman@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING Required male Omani, Age: 24 – 35 as Operations Coordinator.

Fluent in English, should closely communicate and follow up Onsite requirement coordination.

Contact 99358667 An excellent grade company requires Sales Executive for their Aluminium division. Min 3 to 5 years GCC experience in the same field with D/L may kindly send CV to info@sunubunited.com or sunubunited@gmail.com An excellent Grade company requires Foreman / Supervisor for their false ceiling division. Min 5 to 8 years experience in handling the projects & execution, kindly send CV to hrjobs1679@gmail.com Salesman require for building material with driving license & 10 years working experience.

Fax your C.V 24833043.

(Mustafa Hardware Store) Looking for a foreign staff has experience in Oman in real estate field. Contact Email: aburashid94dd@gmail.com A Chemical trading Company is looking for Salesmen with diploma certificate, 3 years experience, with valid driving license and a car. Send CVs to greatstar@omantel.net.om

SKILLED LABOR Immediate Requirements for experienced Tailors (Designer wears, casual clothing). Please call for interview 99471085 Looking for experienced construction laborers as a subcontractor for a villa construction in Mawaleh.

Contact: 96203333

SITUATION WANTSIT.WANTED

India Architect (B.arch) with 5 years working experience available in Muscat on visit visa.

Contact 92774992 , Email: shabnaarch@gmail.com Architect looking for freelance work in (design plans and 3dmax).

Contact: 96041201

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Male Sales Executive wanted: age 24-32 yrs, minimum 2-5 yrs experience in sales, preferably in furniture / interior design / turnkey contracting business. Salary commensurate with experience.

Any degree with GCC driving license preferred.

Apply to fax : 24560806 careers@teejanequipment.com Wanted Sales Executive for IVMS, experienced minimum 1 year in the same field. Interested Candidate can email the details to: sameeh@cyclonellc.net

Indian male 25 yrs, Graduate in commerce, overall 5 yrs exp in accounts/ finance field. On visit visa.

Immediately available.

Contact – 92836216 / muhammad.tausif623@gmail.com A young CA (ACA & ACCA qualified) with 4 years experience in one of top audit firms in UK & KSA seeks suitable placement in Oman. Contact: Kamran : hkamran112@gmail.com, +44 7480 1196 74, +968 93595050 Indian male 37yrs, (M.Com Finance) with 12 yrs experience (9 yrs in Oman) in accounts up to finalization can join immediately having NOC & Oman driving license looking for suitable placement. Contact: 90194907 Email: ke.jinson@gmail.com Male 15yrs experience as Senior Accountant with D/L seeking suitable placement. Contact: 91176085 Email: sahil_70@hotmail.com 28/male/MBA - finance/B.Com Accountant with 4 years of Dubai/ India experience looking for a suitable placement. shobinkarikkan1987@gmail.com Contact 90187483

Indian male B.Com accountant job 6 years experience in Oman looking suitable placement.

Contact 95741442 navaskamaru944@gmail.com SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, with 13yrs experience, 6 yrs Oman in manufacturing, trading & contracting Cos, capable of handling all accounting, finance, banking, L/C, import, export & finalization seeks placement. NOC Available.

Call+968-98932752, mail:jjohnmuscat@hotmail.com 28/ male MBA – finance /B.com – accountant with 4 years of Dubai / India experience looking for a suitable placement.

Contact: 90187483 Email: shobinkarikkan1987@gmail.com

Indian male good experienced in Accounts, ERP Tally 9 & Admin in India & Oman, presently on visit visa, looking for suitable placement.

Contact 94834687 Indian male Accountant looking for a suitable placement in Salalah/ Muscat. More than 20 yrs experience in Accounting job (upto the finalization of accounts).

8 yrs working experience in Middle East in Dubai, Muscat & Salalah. Contact 91325029

ADMIN Indian Female MBA, 3 Year experience in Admin MIS, Family Visa.

Contact 98234427, jkjsmith01@gmail.com Indian lady, having NOC seeking admin or accounts asst or showroom sales job. Contact 94417080 Young Indian male, MBA Graduate with valid Omani driving license looking for suitable placement, currently on visit visa. Contact: 91966286 / 92126618

Part time accountant, up to finalization of accounts, looking for job after 5PM (Location prefers –n MSQ to AL Hail) Contact: 95694737

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

Contact: 95824598

Accounts & finance Indian male 35 years B.Com M.B.A (F) 7 years experience valid Oman D/L family visa N.O.C available.

Contact: 93257426 / 95230114 Email: sibigeorgep@gmail.com

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

Contact - 99897280

Chartered Accountant - Indian, 9 yrs + Exp (7 yr in Oman & UAE ) in Finance, Accounts & Auditing, seeking suitable position in Muscat/ Dubai, Can Join Immediately, NOC Available , Contact #: 98707434 / Email: casmart007@gmail.com

Indian female Graduate over 6 years of Admin operations experience looking for similar jobs.

Contact: 94231020

Indian, well experienced in UAE and Oman, in construction accounts and administration with own car seek part time/full time placement. Contact 98598099 Indian Male, 24 yrs, BBM, 3+ years’ experience as an assistant Accountant & Assistant Auditor, now on visit visa, looking for suitable placement in Accounts / Sales / Stores. Contact 93498293 Email:kevingieven@gmail.com MBA (Banking & Finance) Pakistani male-37 yrs, 15 years experience (12 years in banking Industry with Omani D/L) Seeking suitable position, Contact : 93865002, madeelazhar@gmail.com SENIOR ACCOUNTANT-M. Com Finance-Indian with 7 years experience in Finance & Accounts up to finalization. Currently employed in Oman. Having D/L & NOC. Mob:94122464, cammk13@gmail.com 28 years, female, 4 years experience in finance currently in Oman, seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 94743790 Part time Accountant with 15 yrs exp. in Accounts Finance, Tax Audit Management.Contact 95857199

ARCHITECT

SALES / MARKETING A reputed Interior and Kitchen (Domestic & Commercial) company urgently required well experienced Sales & Marketing Executive having minimum3 years of experience at the related job with valid Omani driving license. send CV to suresh@saharaintl.net

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Accounts part time services available to handle all accounts up to finalization, consulting & audit works. Contact: 96247295 25 years Oman experienced, who can handle accounts up to finalization, job costing, timely follow for receivable & timely settle payable looking for suitable opening.

Contact : 94070799 MBA (finance) one year experience in Oman, have Oman license looking for a good job. Contact 94103975 Accountant Indian female, 26 yrs, B.Com 2 yrs experience in accounting, purchase vouchers, bank reconciliation. Contact: 95690207 Email: pereira.rita08@gmail.com Indian lady, bachelor degree in Preparatory Programme (BPP) and Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), completed training course in MS Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook from KTI looking for full time / part time job opportunity in Oman.

Contact 92437568, 96795853, Email: linda_navs@yahoo.com Young 24, ACCA affiliate, advanced diploma in Accounting and business, seeking suitable placement in accounts, finance or audit with valid driving license.

Contact: 92430152 Email: rau_dey@yahoo.com

Indian female 29 MBA (HR) BSc Oman & India, 3 years exp in Admin & HR seeks suitable placement. Contact: 95619537 13 years Gulf experience in FMGC & CFD administration dept with GCC valid D/L looking for suitable placement. Contact: 93553051 Indian female 27 yrs with 5 yrs HR /Admin experience seeking suitable placement with valid Oman driving license.

Contact: 98236033 Gulf experienced (7 years in UAE) as Site Administrator/Document Controller/Site Secretary/Site Store Keeper in visit visa seek suitable placement.

Contact 94674031 Pakistani female Graduate plus Post Graduate diploma in logistics 6 years experience in shipping, office administration and customer service. Fluent English and very presentable on visit visa.

Contact: 91528567 Indian female, Masters in HR, having 4 + years Oman experience in media management and HR, looking for openings in HR, Education, Admin, Corporate communications. Contact 98252030 Male Graduate , worked 19 years experience in U.A.E , Oman , Qatar , Saudi, Kuwait in the field of documentation as a document controller , planning Asst & some part of admin seeking suitable placement & ready to join immediately.

Contact: 93220534 Email: aniyer789@gmail.com Filipino male with 13 years HR and Administration managerial experience. MBA & CIPD holder.

Currently looking for job in Oman.

Interested employer pls call 97728418.

Indian Female, MBA-HR having 8+ experience in Administration/ HR, Customer Support, Office Coordinator with good Computer skill, Now on Visit Visa,looking for suitable position. Contact: 90196235 Indian having more 15 years of experience (7 years in UAE) in construction as site administrates for / document controller / HR assistant / store assistant presently on visit seek suitable placement.

Contact: 92196001/98598099

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

Contact: 97917357

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D5

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN Interior designer Indian male with 4 years experience / 3Ds Max, AutoCAD .Now on visit visa seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 94886507 Email: vizhue07@gmail.com

DOMESTIC HELP Full time Malayalee House maid.

Contact: 90178404 / 94451344 / 93000935

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

DRIVER Experienced Light Duty Driver, Fluent in English, Arabic Well knowledge of Oman Areas Seeking Suitable placement 97950869 Looking for light driving job, 2 years exp. Contact: 91625977 Light duty driver with 3 yrs exp Pakistani seeks placement.

Contact: 98004139 Bangladeshi male light driver exp 14 years need job and visa transfer, release paper available.

Contact: 99165961 Driver looking for a job. NOC available 95154610 Looking for heavy duty driving job 5 years experiences in G.C.C, with heavy duty license.

Contact: 97474978 Light driver Pakistani male 32 years with valid driving license seeking placement required visa.

Contact: 97106232 Driver with new car looking for job.contact: 95873286 Indian light driver having 2 years experience in Oman know language Hindi, English & Arabic need job. Contact: 97366822 Light driver 6 years exp education CO level language English, Arabic, Hindi looking for office driver. Contact: 99640986 Looking for job driver with car.

Contact: 99154473 Bangladeshi male 48 yrs, light driver 14 yrs of exp, need job & visa. Contact - 98326656 Driver (light & heavy duty) valid gulf /Indian) looking job.

Contact: 95175192

ENGG. / TECH./MECH. Indian, male, MBA with over 10 year Oman experience in MEP / HVAC Procurement and Stores looking for suitable placement.

NOC available. Contact 94048474.

Civil Engineer B.E 12 years experience with valid Oman driving license. Contact: 93843448 Mechanical Engineer with 3 years experience and possess valid Omani driving license seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 97411523 Email: malvindevachan@gmail.com Electrical designer Indian male 25 yrs experience of oil & gas field in Oman seeking suitable placement. Contact: 99605127 Email: gerard.baptist@gmail.com Civil Engineer (Diploma) having 11 years experience in building construction, looking for a suitable placement , having Oman driving license. Noc available.

Contact: 95075365 Email: azharraaz@gmail.com Civil Diploma 5years exp in Oman solid building construction + AutoCAD, holding Omani driving license. Noc available looking for suitable job. Contact: 99012590 Email: yousaf.engi2010@gmail. com Electrician, have driving license.

Contact: 95600418 B.Tech Civil Eng with 3 years experience in the field of quantity survey skilled in the areas of Primavera, AutoCAD, MX excel.

Contact: 94853061 Email: arunmohan.13990@gmail.com Electrical Engineer (B. Tech) 6 years experience in Oman, expertise in medc/mzec projects, valid oman D/L. Contact : 99281715

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ENGG. / TECH./MECH. Civil Engineer 11 years experience in construction having driving license & NOC. Contact: 94194399 Email: shiblyrock@gmail.com Male 29 years (BE) MEP Engineer 8.5 years of experience in building construction. Seeking a suitable job. Contact -95119765/ Email id jayachandranmep@gmail.com NOC available Civil Engineer (B.Tech), Indian male 24 years with 1+years Indian experience,(Certified in Staad Pro/ Quantity Survey/ Auto Cad).

Looking for a Suitable position.

Available In Sultanate of Oman (Muscat) on Visit Visa.

Contact: 92835952. E-mail: mohammedamair.bin@gmail.com B.Tech (IT) Indian Male 2 years Oman experience in I.T & Networking, holding Oman Driving License, presently on employment visa, seeks for a suitable placement.

Ready to join immediately. NOC available. Contact: 92462578 Indian male Electrical Engineer, having 6 years gulf experience in designing, assembling, commissioning execution etc having valid GCC license too looking for a suitable. Contact: 00968-98052942 Email: azamjeelani78@gmail.com Indian Electrical Engineer Btech, female 24 seeking job, presently in oman having 2 year experience in design and estimation of Ht &Lt projects. Contact 968 97436557, Mail id : sibinanoop1@gmail.com Civil Engineer 6 yrs Exp in Oman with license. Contact: 98975528 B. Tech Mechanical Engineer fresh Graduate, on visit visa looking for opportunities. Contact:94743373 email:akasharavind1@gmail.com B.Tech Civil Engineer Indian male having 1 year experience in home country, having Indian driving license. Contact 92367429 / 918801851806 Civil AutoCAD Draughtsman 12 years experience 9 years Gulf experience. Contact: 93528255 Diploma in Electronics, 2 years exp in telecommunication.

Contact: 94519571 Email: telecommunicationvishnumadhull @gmail.com Male B.S.C Engineer Civil total 10 years experience 7 years in Oman 2.5 years as Contractor Engr and 4.5 years as Consultant Engr, total 7 years in Oman seeking a job.

Contact: 95540721 Email: sheikcuet@gmail.com Senior Telecom Engineer 4 years experience in Oman valid driving license MBA project management.

Contact: 95688953 Email: johan.joy@gmail.com Male (23) BE Electrical Engineer looking for job as Electrical Engineering job experience 6 months in MEP designing & electrical designing job. Contact 98209070 Email: punivinlal@gmail.com B.Tech (IT) Indian male 2 years Oman experience in I.T & Networking, holding Oman Driving License, presently on employment visa, seeks for a suitable placement.

Ready to join immediately. NOC available. Contact: 92462578 email: kiren88@gmail.com Indian Civil Engineer 2 yrs exp in building construction /knowledge in staad PRO primavera / apostille attested certificate seeking immediate placement. Contact: 96637494 Civil Engineer (BE) male 3 years experience (2 yrs in India) seeks placement, NOC available.

Contact 98639039 Sudanese Architectural Engineer 2 years experience in Oman, Revit, AutoCAD 3Ds max Archicad looking for suitable job. Contact: 94722356 Email: maya40999@hotmail.com Civil Engineer, 2 years GCC experience seeking job in construction & infrastructure industry.

Contact: 97309549

Procurement Engineer (27 years single male with Oman Driving License) having 7 years experience (UAE 2, Oman 3) with expertise in MEP, Water, Electromechanical, Instrumentation seeking suitable placements. Contact 95852033, mail: hemal1988@gmail.com BE Electronics, Female with 2 years experience in Oman with Omani D/L. NOC available.

Contact 95143294 Indian male, Mechanical Engineer having 1year experience, on visit visa looking for suitable job.

Contact:97416564, Email:jovinmathias@gmail.com Indian male, 26 yrs, having 5 yrs Gulf experience as pre sales Engineer in IT field, looking for suitable job. NOC available, having Oman driving license with own car. Contact 96929899, Email : umeshreshmiya2@gmail.com Indian male, Mechanical Engineer with 6 yrs experience in MEP field, seeking for a job, on visit visa with GCC license available.

Contact 98086267, Email : khaleel1586@gmail.com Instrument Technician (diploma), Indian male, 24 yrs, 3 yrs experience in reputed oil & gas companies, currently on visit visa, seeks suitable job. Contact: 92007218 Email: ahmed0515@gmail.com Diploma in Mechanical Eng piping system in AutoCAD work, 21+ years experience with Driving license. Contact: 95267113 Email: rkakkaryil@gmail.com Indian male, BE, Mechanical, with trainee level experience at Galfar & autoCAD, Creo, Ansys, certified individual looking for suitable placement in Oman.

Contact 91232147, Email : shamil21siraj@gmail.com, Mr. Shamil Siraj.

Electrical Engineer: Indian male, 30 yrs having 5 yrs of experience in industrial automation & utility maintenance in India (MRF tyres), holding valid Oman D/L. Contact 92789995, email : akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com Fresher Graduate looking for job (Electrical & Electronics Engineering), special course (Simatic P/C).

Contact 97304565 Sudanese Civil Engineer with 5 years experienced AutoCAD primavera & GIS Arabic & English language looking for a suitable job. Contact: 91340584 29 yrs Indian male B.E (ECE) with more than 5 yrs experience in Oman with valid D/L. Contact: 96652145 Mechanical Engineer M.Tech 2 years experience HVAC design & site Engg revit MEP Auto CAD. Contact: 90150913 Email: mahmanmechengg@yahoo.im Indian female, 31 yrs, 7 yrs experienced as AutoCAD civil draftsman (2 yrs experience in Oman) currently in Oman seeks suitable.

Contact 96789441 Email: simi5304@gmail.com Network Engineer BA: CS with experience CCNA, MCSA. Contact: 92346191 7 Yrs Exp. PM in Mech. Engg in the field of Building Const. Oil & Gas Seeking Job.94625598 Indian male (B.Tech EEE) 31 yrs having managerial skills AutoCAD quality control electrical fault debugging 6 yrs experience in electric field & good communication skills. Contact: 90181566 Email: jittoandrewsnesto@gmail.com Bachelor Civil Engineer 6 Years in Oman experience Valid Driving License seeks suitable placement Phone 97619722 Email – golamrob@yahoo.com Road and Construction Engineer with 5 years exp in Oman.

Contact: 97667113

Civil Engineer (Diploma) having total 11 yrs experience in building construction looking for suitable placement having Oman driving license, NOC available.

Contact 95075365, Email : azharraaz@gmail.com

Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, 36 years, Male, Indian, having 16 years of experience in machine maintenance & machine breakdown, worked with reputed companies in India, currently on visit visa seeking suitable placement.

Contact- 99011507 E-mail: rsdengroman@gmail.com

Civil structural Engineer 6 years experience Oman license.

Contact: 96380693

Electrical Engineer with 18 years exp in UAE. Contact: 98148034 Email: shassalih66@gmail.com

Project Engineer, BSc, 6 years experience in Oman, building construction Fluent Arabic, English and good Hindi Release and NOC Available). Tel: 97858589 Indian male, 25 yrs, Diploma in Hardware & Network Engineering having 4 yrs experience now in Oman, on visit visa seeking suitable placement. Contact 98779754 / 92720311 Civil Engineer diploma, 4 yrsexp seeks suitable position ina reputed company. NOC available.

Contact – 96789711 Civil Engineer 8 years experience in Oman as a project engineer for governmental & private projects.

Contact – 90164912 B.Tech C.Eng. AMIEI, Electrical Engineer with 5years experience in the field of electrical power system (transmission & distribution) area expertise in design Ele-SLD, preparing BOQ, LS & estimation transformers switchgear selection installation testing & commissioning in all sectors. Contact: 94638744, EMAIL : ceng.shaz@gmail.com Civil Engineer 6 yrs Exp in Oman with license. Contact: 98975528 Indian Male 23 years B.Tech Civil having 2 years experience in quantity survey and site management looking for suitable placement.

Contact:- 95042656 Mechanical Engineer with 3 Yrs experience in international Oil & Gas company looking for job Contacts: Tel: 90164236 Email: mustafaoshi-62@hotmail.com Civil Engineer (BE) having total 5 years experience in building construction looking for a suitable placement. D/L available Contact# 94450270 Indian female civil engineer B.Tech having 3 years experience sound knowledge of software, REVIT STAD PRO structural detailing currently on family visa seeks suitable placement. Contact: 95345591 Sri Lankan Engineer (27 Years old) – B.Sc Engineering (Hon) Mining / Geotechnical Presently in Muscat, 1.5 years experience.

Contact 91295802 / acmfaslan123@gmail.com Diploma in Electrical Engineering with 6 years’ experience in Electrical Automation, Programming, Project, Power, Energy and Supervision in Civil Work.

Currently in Oman and looking for suitable position, Please contact 94873560/92406652.

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IT 10 years Oman experience ICT Sector, capable of handling large accounts, looking for suitable Senior Executive position. Contact: 98987654 Indian female, 28 yrs, MCA, B. Com, 3 yrs experience in the field of Computer hardware, ERP Softwares & windows networking where planning, implementing & trouble shooting with multiple platform of OS Microsoft XP / 7/ on visit visa. Contact 95089170, email : anjuretnakar@gmail.com Communication Network CCNA fresh Graduate. Contact: 98194924 Indian male MCA, Oracle , orion , ERP, 15 years experience , 5 years in Oman with NOC. Contact: 95398567 Email: anasa4@gmail.com Senior IT Engineer Sudanese male 9 years experience in Govt./ Private sectors. Contact: 94675984 Senior IT Engineer Sudanese male 9 years experience in Govt. / Private sectors.Contact: 94874758 Hardware & net working, 2 years exp. Contact: 96244031

MISCELLANEOUS Indian Female, 24 Years - MSc Biotechnology. Worked in International Crops Research Institute For The Semi Arid Tropics for project work as trainee. Looking for suitable job. Mobile: 92619048, Email: anusreeg1991@gmail.com Indian female on visit MBA (International Business- Marketing & Logistics), BE (Computers & Science Engg.) Trained in SAP-BI/ BW with 1 year experience seeking for job Contact: 90228586 Email:fathimasha16@gmail.com Indian female with experience in Physiology & logistics, currently as Logistic Coordinator seeks suitable placement. Contact 96400107, Email : amiablesheru@gmail.com

Civil Engineer 6 yrs Exp in Oman with license. Contact: 98975518

Graduate, computer literate, experienced in sales, credit control, accounts, Omani D/L , seeks suitable placement.

Gsm 98805474

HOSPITALITY

MEDICAL

Hospitality/Hotel/ Restaurants Dynamic result oriented hospitality professional with 20 years of international exp. MBA in Hotel Management, specializing in Hotel/Restaurant start ups, concepts & Franchise development with proven records. Seeking for Challenging positions in reputed groups as GM/COO/CEO/Business Head. (NOC available) Contact: 96059470

Indian female 27 years, BSC ML T 3 years experience as lab technician currently in Muscat looking for job. Contact: 91849807 Email: jeethaiype63@gmail.com

IT Indian Male, IT System Engineer having 4 yrs of experience in system administration.CCNA,MCSE, Linux. Looking for suitable job.

Contact :91272867 Indian female B.Tech IT with 2 years experienced in HCL presently on family visa.

Contact: 90357203 Email: ammupravda123@gmail.com

10+ yrs experience as Optical Practice Manager, Diploma in Ophthalmic Assistant, BCA seeking for good placement.

Email : udayasuresh87@gmail. com, 99576403 / 91 9962888824 Dentist Indian female with MOH license working in Oman since last 2 yrs & worked in India for 5 yrs is looking for a suitable placement in Sohar urgently. NOC available.

Contact : 94227073 An experienced Sudanese female Dentist with MOH license looking for job. Contact: 96436517 /97396088

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

IT Coordinator 6 years experience in hardware & networking diploma (2 yrs) in Hardware & net working on visit visa. Contact: 99610415

Indian male 8 yrs exp in Oman working as housekeeping supervisor in star hotel, seeking for a job NOC available. Contact – 91753210

Bachelor of Computer Applications, 27 years, Male, excellent communication skills in English, 2 years experience as Administrative Assistant, seeks suitable placement. Contact GSM: 93985563, Email: wazim86@gmail.com

25 years Gulf experienced Manager in operations, projects, properties, holding valid Oman driving license, with NOC, looking for suitable opening.

Contact: 91283701

B.Tech (IT) Indian Male 2 years Oman experience in I.T & Networking, holding Oman Driving License, presently on employment visa, seeks for a suitable placement. Ready to join immediately.

NOC available.

Contact: 92462578

MISCELLANEOUS

CALL +968 97912950

The Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 15 Years Inside and outside Oman following activities: tenders& real estate& construction & marketing projects& investments& transportation & Marine services& companies management& develop business. Contact :- 92385033

Purchase MGR / Transport in charge 9 yrs exp in Oman having D/L & NOC join immediately.

Contact: 90187891 Email: mohammedshariff35@gmail.com Indian male, MBA Graduate, GCC with valid D/L, currently working as branch Manager in Muscat, 4 yrs Oman experience in Admin & HR Executive trainer, customer service, sale supervising accounting, fluent in Arabic, English, Hindi looking for suitable placement.

Release & NOC available.

Contact 97644108, email : basheervision21st@gmail.com MBA (marketing) with 17 years experience in freight forwarding/ logistics industry in GCC & Oman.

Presently working as branch manager in Muscat. Looking for a suitable position. Release and NOC available. Contact: 99856331 Indian, 40 yrs, 16 yrs in Gulf, Supervisor in steel fabrication company, seeks suitable placement98667442 / 98119694 Indian HSE Manager Grad IOSH & I Dip NEBOSH with 18 years experience presently working in Oman seeking suitable HSE jobs Oman driving license & NOC available.

Contact: 94401830 Email: hseoman101@gmail.com The Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 15 Years Inside and outside Oman following activities: construction(Very strong and qualified to bringing business for civil work Or any type of the construction work for many million per year with a good experience in pricing and collect payment and cash management of the company & marketing projects & investments& tenders & real estate.

Contact 92385033 Indian male M.B.A with 7 years Oman experience in Insurance sector with D/L, NOC available seeking suitable position.

Contact: 99278672 Indian male, with experience in operations management, information security, purchase & stores mgmt, hold UAE driving license, on visit visa, seeks suitable job.

Contact 91904541 Email: naushers@yahoo.com Purchase/Planning & Logistics Manager, MBA (Finance), 14yrs.

Oman Exp. with D/L, NOC available, looking for suitable position.

Contact : 93826090, Email: jskanchan01@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING Professional with 12 years experience in Export industry. Dealt with markets across US, EU, Latin America & Asian countries for business development, sourcing & supply chain in the made-to-order business inclusive of product development & marketing. Currently employed in Oman with driving license. NOC available. Contact 96931557.

Sales and marketing job with 10 years experience locally available on visiting visa. Contact: 99293494 Email: bavas264@gmail.com Indian female (M.Tech in Power system) having Gulf experience seeking suitable placement in Oman, now in family visa.

Contact: 94306164 / 91001194 Indian Male B.com, PGDCA & Tally,14 years’ experience in Customer Care, Operations, Sales, Coordination, Accounts & Admin.

Seeking suitable position.

Currently on Visit Visa Contact – 94871963 or 99440152.

Email: rajeshkv.pmna@gmail.com MBA graduate having 6 years exp in Sales & Marketing, 4 years with PEPSI, India, having international driving license permit seeks suitable placement. Cont : 95308167, Email : samir.pag@gmail.com B.Com male 2 yrs experience in sales Computer knowledge, seeking suitable placement. # 99648334 14 yrs MNC Sales /Marketing Manager experience with D/L visa NOC. Contact: 90205082

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DAILY GUIDE

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

SITUATION WANTED SALES / MARKETING B.Tech MBA 13 years in sales & service on power tools pumps (Oman license) & NOC available.

Contact: 95321814 Email: manoraj81@gmail.com Looking for immediate sales & marketing job with 7 yrs Gulf experience and driving license till 12 Feb 16. Contact: 99642611 Email: kashif_lam@yahoo.com Indian (keralite) male 25 yrs MBA in marketing & logistics ,2 yrs marketing exp presently in Oman in residential visa (NOC could obtained) with Oman D/L seeks suitable placement.

Contact :90263368, Email: getintouchtst@gamil.com MBA ( HR & Marketing), B.Com, Indian male, 28 yrs, 2 yrs exp. in Qatar, having Oman driving license, presently on family visa in Salalah (NOC available), looking for HR, Admin (NOC available), looking for HR, Admin, Assistant Accountant, Marketing & sales job in Salalah. Contact 98138376, Email: subinabraham87@gmail.com Indian male 5 years experience in Store keeping & driving license, release available. Contact: 95197065 Sales & Marketing Executive MBA with 3 years experience in sales looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 91345727.

Indian male, 25 yrs, MBA, Marketing with 1 yr experience in Sales & Marketing looking for immediate placement. Contact 91945577 30 yr old experienced available with NOC & Oman driving license 6+years experience in chemicals Industry. Contact: 96675065 Indian male B.Com Graduate having 14 yrs Gulf experience in indoor sales and shop management currently on visit visa seeking suitable placement in Oman. Contact : 94873251 Email: imtiazsulthan@gmail.com Indian male, 24, MBA Marketing and HR, I year experience. On visit visa. Looking for suitable job.

Contact 94014073 Marketing Executive/Merchandiser, Omani License, BA 8 years Experience in Multinational Groups. Contact 97601343 Indian male, 28 yrs, 3 yrs In Oman, B.E. Instrumentation, 5.5+ yrs experience in oil & gas projects, proposals, EPC, sales & marketing preferred, profile – sales & marketing status married can join immediately. Contact 91 9650336344, prashant.colligator@gmail.com Graduate, computer literate, experienced in sales, credit control, accounts, Omani D/L , seeks suitable placement. Gsm 9880-5474 Indian Male 32, MBA (Marketing & Finance) with 10 years experience in Marketing of Banking Products & Insurance Industry.

Seeking for a Job in Oman.

Contact: 93576980, 97750460 Email: senthil.cbe83@gmail.com Dedicated professional with over 18 yrs experience in sales marketing business development & new product launches with Oman driving license & NOC with 4 yrs experience in Oman looking for suitable openings.

Contact 93575165 / 99254080 Indian male 34 Yrs, Dual MBA Finance and Marketing with IT skills, 7+ yrs of experience, looking for suitable placement. Contact : 94879615. Emailsajan_chacko1981@yahoo.com

5 years experience in Sales currently looking for a placement.

Contact: 93458869 Indian male, MBA Finance & Marketing 28 yrs,6+ Exp, with Driving license, Hospital Phrma Herbal Marketing, construction A/c & sales , F&B industry, Contact : 93379044 Indian male 23 years with 4 years experience in Purchase and Sales, graduate in EC, currently on visiting visa, seeking suitable job in Oman. Contact: 96761020. Email: adikmuthumuttam@gmail.com Indian male, MBA Marketing having 2.5 years Sales experience immediately looking for a suitable position. Contact: 91415145, Email: shariqs88@gmail.com

SKILLED / UNSKILLED Mason, SH / carpenter, steel fitter gulf & Indian exp looking job.

Contact: 95175192 Indian male Senior Safety Officer (NEBOSH) 9 years experience, valid GCC license looking for suitable job .

Contact: 96586672 Email: mrudul.v2008@gmail.com 37 years, Indian male, X- Ray welder 7 years experience, looking for job on visit visa now. Contact: 91360190 / 98223683 Electrician, plumber (exp gulf / Indian) looking job. Contact 95175192

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

TOURS & TRAVELS Indian female BSC IATA, 14 years exp in travel & tourism in Oman looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 96433490 Email: indu623@yahoo.co.in

MISCELLANEOUS Indian, male-28 yrs, E & I Engineering Diploma (3 years), 7 years exp.(India, Oman, KSA) in electrical and instrumentation with driving license, looking suitable job #91051803 Indian male B.Eng. in IT, CCNA, MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT/ networking/server support, valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement in IT/Network/Server support. Contact 92607532 Indian, M.Com with 20 years Gulf experience in Marketing Communications, ATL& BTL branding exp. with Oman D/L. Contact 93031168 Bangladeshi male 37 yrs B. Com , B.Ed Gulf exp 7 yrs fluent English , Hindi & Arabic , I know computer skill seeking suitable placement NOC available. Contact: 92495928 Indian male Accountant with 10 years experience in Oman. NOC available with driving license for immediate joining.

Contact: 99720602 Indian male 25 years (Electrical Engineer) 3 years working experience in MNC company India, currently on visit visa seeking suitable placement. Contact: 94864680 Email: m.mohamedazik@gmail. com

SITUATION WANTED Pakistani male 23 years with 2 years experience in office Admin, computer skills & teaching experience NOC available for immediate joining. Contact: 94453981 / 93253759

Indian female 25 years computer science Engineer with 3 yrs experience in IT support, seeking job presently available in Oman.

Contact: 95933507 Email: neenuhar189@gmail.com

34 years Bangladesh male with 8 yrs sales man experience & with driving license. Contact: 95650478

Indian male 26 yrs accountant, MBA finance having 3 years experience in Oman with Oman license NOC available seeking job suitable positions. Contact: 94282980 Email: msjob4578@gmail.com

Indian Female, Diploma in Aviation and Hospitality management (IATA), Having 4 years experience, seeking for a suitable Job, Contact 99104529.

Indian male fresh civil engineering graduate from Muscat College with D/L seeks suitable position with employment visa.

Contact: 93121505

Male B.com with 15 years of experience in Production, Administration and Operations Management seeks placement Contact: 92369241

Indian male 26 yrs electrical engineer with 3 years of expert engg looking for suitable employment. Contact: 92953046 Email: divinmathew007@gmail.com

Diploma civil Engineer (Maintenance/Facility Management) having 10 years exp. presently in Oman with Oman driving License.

Cont: 95346983 Mail: asherlalitha@yahoo.com

MBA Marketing & finance, Indian female, 10 years experience in business development, consulting, product management in banking, IT, sustainability on visit visa.

Contact: 95431357 Indian male having 8 years Oman experience in Administration /HR, office coordinator with excellent MS Office skills seeking suitable position, NOC available.

Contact: 95407303 Electrical foreman Indian male 38 yrs total 19 yrs exp in electrical field, electrical foreman, exp 4 yrs in Oman seeking suitable placement. Contact: 97379290

Marketing executive qualification B.com MBA with 3 years of experience in sales looking for suitable placement. Contact: 91345727

HR Manual, Employee Handbook, Recruitment, Training, HR Consultancy. Are you looking for freelancer HR professional.

Contact: 97914669

Purchase & Stores In charge – Having continues 13 years experience in a single firm, looking for a placement. # 99627427, 96154564

Sudanese diploma holder in civil engineering with experience 5 year. Tel: 96995670

34 years vast experienced in Oman as Sales & Marketing, any suitable senior position. NOC available. Can join immediately.

Contact: 9986 8330 / 9984 8831.

E-mail: rwahedi458@gmail.com

Accountant, Indian female B.com, M.com (incomplete) tally, MS office skills, 8 years experience in Oman , up to finalization seeks suitable position. #92712559

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

SOFTWARE ENGINEER, 24 years, B.Tech in computer science. 2 Years of experience in technical support, software development, networking, troubleshooting and managing. seek suitable placement. Contact GSM- 98184170

Indian male Accountant, 12 years experience, looking for a full time or part time job, experience in tally also. Contact 98983122 Indian male M.com looking for part time job in accounts including finalization, date entry, financial guidance please contact:97433387 Indian, M.Com with 20 years Gulf experience in Marketing Communications, ATL& BTL branding exp. with Oman D/L. Contact 93031168 Light Driver looking for job.

Contact:99594946 Female B.SC B.ED MA (Physics) with 10 years of experience in teaching and 3 yrs in counseling.

Looking for suitable position Contact: 92369316

Indian male, 26 years, With 7 years of experience in Sales Field in shipping company in “Dubai” looking for suitable placement.

Experienced working in safety Marine equipment and well versed with MS Office.

Contact 90182494, manojmallya999@gmail.com Indian Male Diploma + MBA in Project Management with 7+ years of exp. in Construction company Oman as a Maintenance Supervisor cum site In charge. Having valid Omani D/L seeking suitable position. Contact: 90318757 B.Tech EEE with 4+ years experience in the field of it, networking, ex-tonics etc. Presently working in amazon india development centre as a content quality associate. Seeking for suitable jobs in oman. Contact number : +91 9940514005, 0096893116402, Email: mail2nbn@gmail.com Indian Male, 28 Yrs, M.Tech having 5+ years experience (3 Year Industry+2 years Lecturer),Now on visit visa, looking for suitable position. Contact 94885747 Indian, Male, 24years, Bachelor’s degree, Two and half years experience with Oman driving license.

NOC Available. Looking suitable opening. Currently on visit visa.

GSM: 95484101.

Sudanese male 31 years, have 3 years Diploma in Electrical Engineer, 6 years and 1 year in Oman experience in building construction and electrical plants , have oman drive license.

Contact : 94549609 26 Years oman experienced executive in automobiles, showroom & workshop areas seeks suitable replacement. Currently working as general manager in a reputed LLC” Contact +968-2009700 /91494707

Planning Engineer: B.E (Electrical and Electronics Engineering): Indian Male 33 yrs with 10 years of exp. in UAE & Muscat. Skilled in the areas of project coordination, planning & procurements. Contact: 00971503529608 Email Id: saravananbe44@gmail.com

Chief Accountant looking for full / part time job. Contact :95598477 / 98803439

Electronics Technician , 4 Years experience as Electronics service engineer. Knowledge in all type of Electronics items. Looking for suitable placement.

Contact 99105043

B.E. Chemical, Total 12 yrs experience, QA/HSE experience in Engg.

Consultancy/ Construction/ ISO Management Systems, Lead Auditor for ISO 9001, 14001 & 18001 seeking suitable placement. NOC Available. Contact: 9415 7131, EMail: samirtrivedi_01@yahoo.com

Indian Female Electronics System Eng. UK Graduate. Programmer Micro Controller Robot, Eng. Analysis, Instrumentation & Control, Eng. Projects, Integrated Circuit Eng., Electrical and Fluid Drives, Analogue Electronics, Wireless Systems.

Seeking suitable post.

Contact: 97848075, s.dinesh1508@gmail.com

INDIAN MALE, 24 years, B.Tech in computer science.3Years of experience in technical support, software development, troubleshooting and managing, seek suitable placement. # 98184170

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

Indian Male Diploma + MBA in Project Management with 7+ years of experience in Construction company oman as a maintenance supervisor cum site In charge.

Having valid Omani D/L seeking suitable position.

Contact: 90318757

Indian female, MBA HR & Finance, having 1 year experience, seeking suitable placement. Currently in Oman. Contact: 96052366.

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DAILY GUIDE TOURS

SITUATION WANTSERVICES

SITUATION WANTED SERVICES

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

SITUATION WANTED EDUCATION/CLASSES/TRAINING

Spoken Arabic class for Non Arabic Speakers & English class for Malayalam Speakers

in Azaiba and Ruwi earn in two months

tion guaranteed

Tel: 95244310 Karate and self defense classes at Azaiba 18 Nov Street. RO 10 per month twice a week Monday and Tuesday 6. 30 TO 7. 30. PM. CONTACT 98294551

COMPUTER

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IELTS PREPARATION

tĞ WƌŽǀŝĚĞ ůĞĂŶĞƌƐ͕ Kĸ ĐĞ ďŽLJƐ͕ ůĞĂŶŝŶŐ ŽŶƚƌĂĐƚƐ͕ 'ĞŶĞƌĂů ĐůĞĂŶŝŶŐ ĞƚĐ͘ ů DƵĚĂŬŚŝƌ EĂƟ ŽŶĂů Ɛƚ͘ >> Contact : 94277020

Classes for Spoken English TOEFL / GRE / GMAT / SAT Excellent Guidance and Coaching Satisfaction Guaranteed EAGLES INSTITUTE

Target Band 8.0

92325542 | 93657915 | 93657917 | Email: engominst@gmail.com

SITUATION WANTSIT. WANTED Marble grinding resurfacing & ceiling crystallization / polishing general cleaning of villas & flats.

Terrazzo floor scrubbing, ceiling, polishing & buffing.

Contact: 98598280 /94134784 MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your marble.# 24793614/ 99314807 We provide loading unloading helper for contracting.

Contact: 94777137

FOR LADIES Special offer for ladies only, All beautification for 15 RO. Al Doom beauty parlour in Ruwi. (Home service also) Contact 99619409

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422 Split & window A/c servicing & maintenance. #: 93769089 / 95323517 Water proofing ABUQABASContact 99320217/24788722 Catering for Party & Birthday service Cnt 97196675 Cleaning & Carpet Shampooing, Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723 Pest Control Treatments.

Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723 House shifting. Contact: 99657644/98518013

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/24792998 Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile polishing, pest control & anti-termite treatment, general cleaning painting,Plumbing, Electrical, shifting. Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C. Contact: 24810137, 99450130 Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and Cont Maintenance services electric, plumbing and A/C. Contact: 96524904 / 94285064 Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance.

Contact ABU QABAS- 99320217 /24788722

WEBSITE

31 year Indian male PG in HR with 5 yrs Professional experience in HR in Construction Oil & Gas Oman seeking for a suitable placement(NOC Available).Kindly contact me on 93488914, emailKaarthickshankar@gmail.com Pakistani male: MSc Environmental Engineering, Diploma Hazard risk reduction and Occupation Safety Health Authority, having more than 5 years’ exp. as a Health Safety supervisor looking for a better placement. #97682745 email: hussain349@gmail.com

WEB, ERP and Business Intelligence (BI) creation and management at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

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DAILY GUIDE

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

SITUATION WANTED CARGO

RENT A CAR

RENT A CAR

TRANSPORTATION

RENT A CAR

TRANSPORTATION 7 Ton/ 10 Ton- Trailer Local transport- MCT- UAE

Contact 96609857 Amir Ali Transportation available Ruwi to Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba.

Contact: 91103909 Transportation. Contact 99508282 Transportation. Contact: 99664703 Transportation. Contact 96173326 Transportation. Contact 94510847 Transportation Contact: 99077395

TRANSPORTATION Pick & drop anytime in Al Khuwair. Contact 99764307

Transportation taxi mini bus.

Contact: 93091106

Al Sharouq rent a car. Contact: 99222617 Silver car, car rental at good rate.

Contact: 96166155/93530540

Car available with driver for monthly, weakly, daily rent.

Contact 96728056 / 98031620

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

Contact 99839898