Times of Oman - December 12, 2015 by Muscat Media Group

28 247

6 085010 120010

SUMMIT EXTENDED AS CLIMATE TALKS STUMBLE

FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN

Efforts to craft a global accord to combat climate change stumbled on Friday with China and many other nations refusing to yield ground, forcing host France to extend the UN summit by a day. >A10

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’

Speaking to the students of Sultan Qaboos University, 2000

We do not violate the rights of others and we do not speak of others. Everyone has his or her own approach, way of thinking, religion, etc. However, we do not have men of religion and for us there is no intermediary between us and Almighty God. The earth has been made a place of worship for Me and its soil pure. You can pray in any place and speak to your Lord anywhere. Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error.

SATURDAY, December 12, 2015 / 30 Safar 1437 AH

timesofoman.com

wtimesofoman.com

facebook.com/timesofoman

HM HOSTS DINNER ON ARMED FORCES DAY His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, hosted a dinner at Bait Al Barakah, yesterday, on the occasion of the Armed Forces Day. It was attended by a number of ministers, advisors, commanders of SAF and ROP and senior military and civil officers. The dinner was in recognition of the role the Sultan’s Armed Forces play in performing their national duty and safeguarding the security and stability of the country.-ONA See also >A3

twitter.com/timesofoman

blog.timesofoman.com

ISO 9001:2008 Certiﬁed Company

Winter warmth comes at a high price for some Burning charcoal, faulty electrical equipment and wiring are the major cause of household ﬁres in Oman

CABLE

HM sends greetings MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of greetings to Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya, on his country’s Independence Day anniversary. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere greetings and wishes of good health and happiness to the president and his country’s people further progress and prosperity. -ONA TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES

OMAN

Sayyid Fahd back home after meeting

His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers returned home on Thursday evening after leading, on behalf of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Sultanate’s delegation at the 36th GCC Summit in Saudi Arabia. >A2

SPORTS

4 5 T H N AT I O N A L D AY C E L E B R AT I O N S

Haitham wishes success to Empty Quarter expedition SALALAH: With the blessings of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said initiated the launch of the journey to Cross the Empty Quarter in Salalah as part of the Sultanate’s 45th National Day celebrations. This journey is being made in recognition of the signiﬁcance of the historic journey that ﬁrst took place in 1930, and also comes in the context of the long standing ties between the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as close cooperation of Oman with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Kingdom. While launching the journey, Sayyid Haitham—the Omani Patron, expressed his wishes of success to the explorers, bidding them farewell for a safe journey, and wishing them all the success in achieving their noble goals. Team members The expedition team includes three Omani explorers; Mohammed Al Zadjali and Amur Al

Wahaibi, who along with British explorer Mark Evans, will walk for 1,300km to reach their destination, a journey which is expected to last two months. The third Omani in the team is Ali bin Ahmed Al Mashili, a member of the Al Kathiri tribe that played such an important role in the original crossing of 1930. Haitham commended the courage of the explorers, in undertaking this difficult challenge across the sands of the Empty Quarter, whilst also thanking Mark Evans, chief executive officer of Outward Bound Oman for organising the expedition and all those who had worked so hard to make the journey a reality for almost two years. Haitham also noted that when the original team of explorers had reached Qatar, starting from Salalah and crossing Saudi Arabia after being led by the British explorer Bertram Thomas and Sheikh Saleh bin Kalut, it was a global sensation, making it to the front pages of newspapers around the world. >A2

HASAN SHABAN AL LAWATI

hassan@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: People in Oman are accidentally burning down their houses in an effort to stay warm this winter. Speaking to the Times of Oman, a senior official from Public Authority for Civil Defence (PACDA), said Omanis living in the villages often burn charcoal on grills, which are generally used for a barbecue in order to keep warm. “This is one of the major causes of house fires in winter as it not only burns their homes but also suffocates them to death,” he said. Interestingly, in Oman most houses do not have chimneys to ventilate smoke. Among other reasons cited for the growing number of house fires are the use of electric radiators and water heaters in winter. “We’ve found that electric radiators must be causing most of the house fires. When the temperature plummets, people warm themselves with these gadgets. There are chances of a fire if the gadget is left switched on or unattended for a prolonged time,” the PACDA official told the Times of Oman (TOO). Reports show that 3,335 fire incidents occurred in Oman in 2014, with 23 per cent of the incidents reported in housing facilities. That year, 755 house fires, 55 cases of building fire and 57 cases

Team Oman to take on Ireland in T20

ﬁre cases occurred in 2014, 23% of them in housing facilities

people died and 104 were injured in different ﬁre incidents in 2014

of apartment ﬁre were reported. The PACDA official said most of the house ﬁre incidents occurred in the north Al Batinah governorate. Fire incidents claimed the lives of 62 people and injured 104 people, they added.

Another PACDA official said that if the water temperature inside the heater exceeded 90 degree Celsius, it could cause leakage inside the heater, which would increase the output pressure on the water evaporation process. “And that often ends up in an explosion,” he warned.

Low quality water heaters Another issue is the use of lowquality and used water heaters. The PACDA official said the use of hot water for showers during the cold season is an indispensable necessity, which “must be accompanied with a lot of caution and attention.” “When a person chooses a water heater for a house or apartment, high-quality brands should be a priority and the house owner must make sure that it is installed by specialists,” the officials said while urging people to avoid counterfeit products.

More Awareness The PACDA official said the organisation has launched campaigns at schools and other institutions throughout the year to raise awareness. Proper guidelines could ensure safety when using water heaters, the official said, adding, “One must ensure easy access to a water heater. The temperature shouldn’t exceed a maximum of 60 degree Celsius. Also, one needs to frequently check the thermostat,” he said.

N E W S T R AT E G I C P R O J E C T S

Oil sector investment to continue: Rumhy

Debutants Oman has been grouped with Bangladesh, Netherlands and Ireland in Group A for the ﬁrst round matches of the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, according to ICC, which announced the groups and schedule for tournament. >A12

Times News Service

MARKET

Dow-DuPont merger to create $130b giant

Chemicals giants DuPont and Dow Chemical agreed to merge in an allstock deal valuing the combined company at $130 billion, with plans to eventually split into three. The deal is likely to face intense regulatory scrutiny. >B1

3,335

Murphy’s Legacy mesmerises Muscat

IBRAHIM GAILANI

Banker to core, artist at heart MOBIN MATHEW BLESSON

mobinmathew@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Ibrahim Gailani, a contemporary artist living in Muscat boarded a plane to Muscat seven years ago. He was unsure about his future, which involved taking up a corporate job at the Oman Arab Bank. Already going through a transformation internally, Oman gave Gailani the room to establish his studio and emerge out of the “Ibrahim—the Corporate Executive” shell as “Gailani—the Art-

ist.” Today, Gailani has become a complete brand in Oman that encompasses all things art. From “Curated by Gailani” events, to “Gailani Art Retreat” and to “Gailani Art Talks,” there is no escaping brand Gailani in Oman. For Gailani, who is also a member of the Omani Society of Fine Arts, it has been a conscious effort to bring art to the people, to offer insights to the non-artists, and use social media to spread the philosophy of art that has been the greatest success of Gailani. Whether it is an art opening

of a 12-year-old student’s work, or judging 900 paintings by children for His Majesty the Sultan, to assembling street graffiti artist, Gailani is always present. It is his commitment to the art scene in Oman that has gathered a lot of respect, even from those who otherwise may not favour his modern artistic style. Perhaps it is that passion that has gotten translated into cyber space as his art website has won the 2014 Gold Award in the “Art & Culture” Category in the Sultanate of Oman. >A2

MUSCAT: Oman government would continue to invest in drilling and exploration in oil and gas sector by launching new strategic projects to maximise its contribution to the economy during the next Five-Year Plan, Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas, told a local Arabic daily. He expressed conﬁdence that the oil reserves were sufficient in terms of continuity of production for several more decades as the extraction is seven per cent of the total reserves. He further said that the Ministry of Oil and Gas was implementing important projects in cooperation with oil majors operating in the Sultanate to add value to projects, which was aimed at boosting employment and training. The ministry also wants to accord great care to the welfare of the youth, he added. The expected expenditure of the government programme for oil and gas exploration in 2015 has been pegged at about OMR407.1 million. The actual expected spending on government projects to develop and expand gas facilities and utilities by the end of 2015 stood at about OMR2160.1 million. Al Rumhy also pointed out that the Ministry has invested in many development and infrastructure projects. He also said the cost of gas purchase during the 8th Five-Year Plan is estimated to be about

Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas.

OMR305 million. The expected actual spending for the transportation of gas, paid by the Oman Gas Company, by the end of 2015 will be about OMR164.8 million. The past years have shown the sector’s ability to innovate and adopt advanced technologies to enhance reserves and production. This ability has led to the recent increase in reserves by harnessing wells and reservoirs through facilities management, and application of secondary extraction techniques and enhanced oil recovery methods and the attendant improvements in operations of rifting and drilling, as well as additions from new discoveries of oil and gas. The minister further stated that the general objectives of the oil and gas sector during the 9th Five-Year Plan would be to boost the sector’s contribution to the diversiﬁcation of the economy through industries based in oil and gas. >A2

S ATUR DAY, D ECEMBER 12 , 2 015

OMAN A R M E D F O R C E S D AY

B U R K I NA FA S O

HM receives greetings from Sayyid Badr MUSCAT: On the occasion of the Armed Forces Day (AFD), His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of greetings from Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Harib Al Busaidi, Minister Responsible for Defence Affairs. In his cable, Sayyid Badr said that “On the occasion of the Armed Forces Day on behalf of the personnel of the Sultan’s Armed Forces, the Firaq Forces and all personnel of the Ministry of Defence, I have the honour to express sincere greetings and wishes of good health and happiness.” Wise leadership The Armed Forces Day which falls on December 11 every year is a glorious day in the record of the SAF for bringing stability, security and prosperity that have covered all parts of our beloved country under the wise leadership of His Majesty the Sultan. In his cable, Sayyid Badr said: “Across the years of the Blessed

You may have been to Muttrah Corniche umpteen times and yet missed completely these images depicting Oman’s various facets from past as well as the present Corniche kaleidoscope >A3

Renaissance, the human resources at the SAF have received the Royal Care of His Majesty the Sultan which makes them effective and responsible personnel and a national wealth for the country. Qualiﬁed personnel The well-trained and qualiﬁed personnel of the Sultan’s Armed Forces extend full cooperation to the other government institutions for the sake of comprehensive development, he said, adding that they would remain committed to their role in the society inspired by Your Majesty’s Royal Directives and we are committed to safeguard the achievements of the Sultanate. On the occasion, The Sultan’s Armed Forces personnel renew their loyalty to Your Majesty for further achievements under your Majesty’s wise leadership, praying to Allah the Almighty to grant Your Majesty good health, happiness and a long life. -ONA

HM sends greetings MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of greetings to President Roch Marc Kabore of the Republic of Burkina Faso on the occasion of his country’s National Day. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere greetings along with his best wishes of good health and happiness to President Kabore and the friendly people of his country further progress and prosperity. -ONA RNO

Shabab Oman returns MUSCAT: Second Shabab Oman vessel of the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) has returned to the Sultanate following completion of its 2nd international tour to India. A reception ceremony was organised at Port Sultan Qaboos under the auspices of rear admiral Abdullah bin Khamis Al Raisi, Commander of the RNO. —ONA

Murphy’s Legacy show enthrals Muscat audience The show had an amazing original soundtrack that fuses Irish dance with occasional contemporary tracks

STAFF REPORTER

MUSCAT: Irish dance show, “Murphy’s Legacy,” mesmerised the audience at the Shangri La Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa on Thursday. Some of the world’s quickest; most expressive legs set out to fascinate a large audience. In percussive dance shoes, they pounded the stage with sizzling rhythms. The show had an amazing original soundtrack that fuses Irish dance with occasional contemporary tracks. The paced steps of the dancers surprised the audience and made them dance. John Elliott, an international artist and music composer, set about composing the epic sound track for the show using inspiration from Gerry Conlon’s origi-

AMAZING SHOW: The paced steps of the dancers surprised the audience and made them dance. – Supplied photo

nal music pieces and some much loved traditional Irish music, which he then fused with his own amazing original tracks. Journey of peace The ﬁrst character in Murphy’s Legacy leaves a troubled Ireland in search for peaceful times, only to be washed ashore on an island called Ishan, which is home to Isha’s and the Dark Souless Haidarass. The three become entangled and a journey of peace is fought by Isha’s and Murphy against the Haidarass. The audience encored some of the dances of the Murphy’s Legacy team and enjoyed every

36TH GCC SUMMIT

moment with Chris Hannon, the brain behind Murphy’s Legacy and the team. “As a high proﬁle showcase for something that rarely gets that opportunity in this region, Murphy’s Legacy was brilliant and exciting. The long applause was well deserved,” said a dancer lover from Muscat. “It was a great show and amazing Irish dancing,” an enthusiast said. According to the organisers, they received a good response from the audience. “They (the audience) are happy with quality of the show,” said Gordon Mackenzie, managing director of Alive Entertainment.

HM’S REPRESENTATIVE: His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers returned to Oman on Thursday. – ONA

Sayyid Fahd back home after taking part in GCC Summit MUSCAT: His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers returned home on Thursday evening after leading, on behalf of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Sultanate’s delegation at the 36th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Saudi Arabia. The Summit concluded its deliberations earlier on Thursday. ENHANCING OUTPUT

< FROM

Sayyid Fahd sent a cable of thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and senior Saudi officials for being honoured to lead, on behalf of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Sultanate’s delegation, at the 36th GCC Summit in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He wished them all the best and

hailed the brotherly spirit that prevailed at the GCC Summit, and mirrored the keenness to go ahead with the Gulf march to achieve its prospective goals. He expressed thanks and appreciation for the warm reception and hospitality extended to him and his accompanying delegation. Sayyid Fahd was received upon his return by a number of ministers. -ONA

EMPTY QUARTER EXPEDITION

Omanisation

A1 in oil and gas The Ministry is also making efforts to translate these strategies by developing programmes to increase discoveries and raise natural gas production to cover current and future needs. Public-private partnership has paid well and resulted in developing standard criteria for the in-country-value (ICV) for the oil companies tenders, he added. ICV focuses on raising Omanisation in the oil and gas sector and developing the human resources, along with enhancing local production of services and products to promote their consumption in the local market. “The Ministry is considering implementing a number of important projects, including coordination with oil companies to implement an e-system for reporting ICVs by oil and gas sector. The project aims to identify the current gaps and consequently take necessary measures to reduce or ﬁll this gap. It has also drafted a strategy for the development of local contractors in a bid to enhance their ability to compete and continue in the market,” Al Rumhy continued. “Over the past years, the oil and gas sector has sought to keep pace with modern developments to enhance reserves and production. The recent uptick in oil reserves and production is attributed to using the best practices for managing wells, reservoirs, and applying the best secondary, enhanced oil recovery methods,” he said.

A1 The historic trek < FROM

He also expressed hope that this expedition would gain similar attention and be followed by the youth around the world shedding light on important values and traits, including those of patience, endurance, team work and innovation. The launch event was attended by Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al Rawas, Advisor to His Majesty the Sultan for Cultural Affairs, Sayyid Mohammed bin Sultan bin Hamood Al Busaidi, Minister of State and Governor of Dhofar, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Al Busaidi, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador of Qatar Accredited to Oman, the Charge D’Affaires of the Embassy Saudi Arabia to Oman and the Charge D’Affaires of the Embassy of the United Kingdom to Oman and several top officials. The Crossing of the Empty Quarter expedition aims to recreate the historic 1930s land-

crossing conducted solely on foot and camel. It also aims to inspire young Omanis and the youth of the Arabian Peninsula about the importance of preserving their heritage and culture, and embody the traits of responsibility, courage, endurance and self-reliance to overcome challenges and achieve their goals. It is important to recognise, that this journey will use modern-day technology. The official website: www.crossingtheemptyquarter.com will be updated daily, using Thuraya satellite communications, and the official application can be downloaded on to mobile phones to receive daily updates. A weekly competition, details of which are also on the website, is already underway where any of the followers of the expedition can win a spot in the Outward Bound Oman course to develop their own leadership and life skills.

MEXICAN ARTIST’S INFLUENCE

< FROM

Suﬁ heritage of Gailani opens door to ‘Spiritual Art’

“It has been a love affair with Oman and the love and respect I have found as an artist has fuelled me to keep going, even as I take on the 5 Art project, along with my retreat and a tough corporate job because I want to give all I have to make some difference in this beautiful land I now call home,” Gailani told TOO. Always dressed in elaborate scarves, necklaces and bracelets, with ﬂowing grey hair, his appearance makes a statement, and that statement continues to be his spiritual philosophy and love for “being present in the now.” This passion of being “present in the now” and not taking the baggage of life forward are front and centre of Gailani’s extremely successful venture into Art Retreats. With over 500 attendees and 35 retreats spread over two years, they have become a hub of creativity in Muscat, and indeed Oman. The Gailani Art Retreats are a full-day “artistic escape” retreat that are held once a month and

bring together creative souls to paint global music rhythms. Participants meditate, connect with their inner consciousness, and paint their feelings on canvas, and then share with the entire group. One doesn’t need to be a trained artist for these retreats, just willing to let creativity ﬂow. Photographers, musician, writers, doctors and lawyers also attend to let the blockages of their world be released through art. It is a full-day retreat, where a topic of the day is discussed and explored, with initial meditation, followed by a painting, listening to world music, and then a group discussion. Gailani, who once attended an art retreat himself, said it really transformed both his art and his outlook, and hence decided to start his own retreats. Each retreat has a speciﬁc topic, and a customized music designed and arranged specially for the retreat. “Looking back, I could not have imaged the success,” Gailani said. Gailani is a self-taught contem-

Ibrahim Gailani with one of his paintings.

porary artist, whose journey to art is a path embarked upon through a collage of rebellion, debate, redemption, and a search for inner strength. As a child, “I could paint better than write,” recalled Gailani, who started as early as ﬁve- year-old, but was not always encouraged for fear of being “a starving artist on

the streets.” Pressured to pursue a corporate career, Gailani stopped pursuing art altogether. Twenty years later as a top executive in the corporate world, when he found himself in extreme darkness, his life partner handed him a canvas and said “you have a lot to say, use this to say it” and the rest is history. Gailani refers to himself

as the “debating artist,” who comments on struggles of individuals and society in coming to terms with the demons we lock away. It’s a look at the steps we take on the different paths we choose. Gailani’s Sufi family roots emerge from Baghdad, Iraq. The Sufi heritage of Gailani has opened the door to what is currently being dubbed as “Spiritual Art.” One of his greatest influences is the Mexican artist Frida Khalo. Gailani’s love for her work is a deeply personal one. “Frida is my hero. Her journey of pain coupled with the vibrancy of colours and the constant self-reflection struck me to my core and has the greatest impact on the type of work I produce. In a strange way, I feel like I relive her life through her work and I find her guiding me in mine,” Gailani said. “Frida Khalo has been my biggest inspiration in art, it is her life that inspired me to re-discovery my art and love for faces, and stories around faces. Every story that

she painted impacted the core of my being,” he added. He recently made a tribute painting for Frida in pop-art. “I’ve titled this painting “My Warhol Frida–My Hero, My Strength” to not only pay tribute to her as my Idol, but to also pay tribute to the Andy Warhol style of pop-art painting that I have drawn inspiration from in my recent works,” Gailani explained. “Bold,” “in your face,” “captivating,” “repulsive” are some of the words used to describe Gailani’s work. Not known for being subtle, his canvas always makes a statement. Whether you love it or hate it aesthetically, you can’t walk past one of his works and not have an opinion about it. “I always feel that art needs to evoke emotions it needs to scream out to you, it needs to touch you, it needs you to ask further questions, it needs you to demand answers. What art doesn’t need is for you to pass by with a casual glance,” Gailani said.

SAT URDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2015

Share your world with us on Instagram

OMAN

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY SHARE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS

HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN HOSTS DINNER ON THE OCCASION OF THE ARMED FORCES DAY

ONA

CORNICHE KALEIDOSCOPE SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

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

You may have been to Muttrah Corniche umpteen times and yet missed completely these images depicting Omanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s various facets from past as well as the present, from its city life to its wildlife, from its crafts to its trades. These close-up shots of the images on marble tiles at the Corniche, taken by Times of Oman photographer AR Rajkumar, reveal in a striking manner different aspects of life in the Sultanate

S ATUR DAY, D ECEMBER 12 , 2 015 UN Libya envoy Martin Kobler praised representatives of both factions for announcing the agreement in Tunisia after two days of talks, though he acknowledged any new government would need to address many problems.

REGION

Turkey refuses to withdraw soldiers from Iraqi camp Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani urges no tolerance on sovereignty infringement

ISTANBUL/BAGHDAD: President Tayyip Erdogan declared on Friday he would not bow to Iraqi demands he withdraw Turkish troops from a camp close to the IS-held city of Mosul, and Baghdad said it would ask the UN Security Council to order them to leave. A row over the deployment has soured relations between Ankara and Baghdad, which denies having agreed to it. Ankara says the troops were sent as part of an international mission to train and equip Iraqi forces to ﬁght IS. The latest comments indicated continuing tensions despite the Turkish prime minister’s office saying agreement was reached in talks with Iraq to deepen security cooperation and “reorganise” military personnel at the Bashiqa camp. “There is no way we can withdraw our soldiers from northern Iraq now,” Erdogan told a news conference. “There was a deployment, not for combat, but to protect soldiers providing training there.” “We will continue the train-

CONTINUING TENSIONS: Iraq’s Prime Minister Haidar Al Abadi, centre, tours the city of Tikrit after Iraq security forces regained control from IS militants, in this April 1, 2015 photo. Abadi instructed his foreign ministry to lodge a formal complaint at the UN Security Council over the presence of the Turkish forces. – Reuters ﬁles

ing process decisively,” he said. Turkish military are helping to train local Iraqi volunteers and Kurdish peshmerga who are preparing for a long-anticipated offensive to retake Mosul - a major northern city seized by IS over a year ago. In Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi instructed his foreign ministry to lodge a formal complaint at the UN Security Council over the presence of the Turkish forces, asking it to order Turkey to withdraw its troops from Iraq immediately. Earlier, Iraq’s top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, urged the

government to show “no tolerance” for any infringement of the country’s sovereignty. Sistani’s spokesman, Sheikh Abdul Mehdi Karbala’i, did not explicitly name Turkey. Sistani also said Iraq’s neighbours should not send any troops to Iraq “under the pretext of ﬁghting terrorism”, except with the approval of the Baghdad government. “The Iraqi government is responsible for protecting Iraq’s sovereignty and must not tolerate any side that infringes upon on it, whatever the justiﬁcations and necessities,” Karbalai’i said in a weekly sermon. Sistani urged citizens to show re-

straint towards foreign residents of Iraq, after paramilitary groups threatened to use force against Turkey and target its interests to force it to pull out. Reorganise In Ankara, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s office said in a statement that Turkey had decided in talks with Iraqi officials to “reorganise” its military personnel at the Bashiqa camp. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu and National Intelligence Agency (MIT) head Hakan Fidan visited Baghdad on Thursday for talks

with Abadi on the issue. “Taking into account the Iraqi government’s sensitivity, the decision was taken to reorganise the military personnel in the protection force at the Bashiqa camp,” Davutoglu’s office said. It did not say what the troop reorganisation would involve, but said agreement was reached to start work on creating mechanisms to deepen cooperation with the Iraqi government on security issues. Davutoglu said on Wednesday the soldiers were sent to northern Iraq after a threat from IS militants to Turkish military trainers in the area increased. — Reuters

UNITY GOVERNMENT

Libya’s rival factions set target date to sign UN deal TUNIS: Libya’s rival factions have agreed to December 16 as a target date for signing a United Nations-backed national unity government agreement, the UN envoy said on Friday. The UN has been negotiating for a year to get Libya’s two rival governments and armed factions to end a conflict that has plunged the North African state into chaos four years after rebellion ousted Muammar Gaddafi. Successfully signing an agreement would open the way for the international community to support Libya in the fight against IS, which has gained ground in the chaos and controls the western city of Sirte. But hardliners in both camps have been resisting signing a deal and several past deadlines to sign have failed after opponents balked at details or demanded more concessions. UN Libya envoy Martin Kobler praised representatives of both factions for announcing the agreement in Tunisia after two days of talks, though he acknowledged any new government would need to address many problems. For a year, Tripoli has been controlled by an armed faction called Libya Dawn, a coalition of former rebel brigades from Misrata and other armed factions in the capital, after they battled to force out rivals. They set up a self-styled government and reinstated the old parliament, known as the General National Congress. The internationally-recognized government and the elected House of Representatives was forced to operate out of the east of the country. — Reuters

D E A D LY AT TA C K

Truck bombs claimed by IS kill more than 50 in Syria BEIRUT: A triple truck bomb attack claimed by IS in northeastern Syria killed at least 50 people and wounded 80 others, a spokesman for the Kurdish militia that controls the area said on Friday. The town in the northeastern province of Hasaka is controlled by the Kurdish YPG militia, which has been battling IS with the support of US-led air strikes. Kurdish ﬁghters have advanced against the militants in the last few weeks in Hasaka, notably taking over the town of Al Houl backed up by a US-backed rebel alliance that includes the YPG. The three blasts, carried out by at least two suicide bombers, struck outside a hospital, at a marketplace and in a residential area in the town of Tel Tamer late on Thursday, the YPG’s Redur Xelil said via an internet messaging service. “There is massive destruction in the town and the number killed is between 50 and 60, all of them civilians,” he said.

DESTROYED: Kurdish ﬁghters from the People’s Protection Units inspect damage at a site hit by one of the three truck bombs, in the YPG-controlled town of Tel Tamer, Syria. – Reuters

IS later said in an online statement that three of its ﬁghters driving three separate vehicles had detonated the suicide bombs targeting “bases” belonging to Kurdish ﬁghters. Earlier the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for

Human Rights gave a death toll of at least 22 people in the attack, saying that number was likely to increase. The Observatory said one of the bombs exploded near a health centre and another near a vegetable market. - Reuters

SAT URDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2015

Tweet all about it

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH TWITTER PAGE

INDIA

GREEN TRIBUNAL STEPS IN

End of road in sight for diesel-run cars in polluted Delhi NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday said that no new diesel vehicles would be registered in the national capital. This would be an interim step till the next date of hearing on January 6, the tribunal said. According to experts, there are about 500,000 diesel cars in Delhi. The tribunal also questioned the Delhi government’s odd-even formula for vehicles to check air pollution, and said the move may not achieve the desired results. The NGT also said that the oddeven formula may force people to buy two cars. The Delhi government had announced that private vehicles with odd and even registration numbers will ply on odd

and even days of the week from January 1, with no such restrictions on Sundays. “In view of serious contribution of vehicular pollution to the air quality of National Capital Region of Delhi, it is important that the government should take a serious view and a decision on whether any diesel vehicle, old or new, should be registered in Delhi,” a bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said. “As an interim measure till the next date of posting subject to hearing of all the concerned parties, we direct that diesel vehicles of more than 10 years of age as already directed, as well as new diesel vehicle would not be registered in NCR Delhi,” the bench said.

Delhi has close to 900,000 registered vehicles, of which almost a third are cars The tribunal directed the Centre and state governments to consider not to buy diesel vehicles for use. “We direct all public authorities, corporation, Delhi Development Authority, police and other public departments to prepare an action plan for phasing out diesel vehicles, particularly trucks, used by

all these bodies,” the bench added. It also directed that the action plan must be placed before the tribunal on the next date of hearing. “Although diesel vehicles pollute more than petrol cars, you cannot stop people from buying them. The demand for petrol cars will go up,” Vikram Tongad, found-

er-president of non-governmental organisation, Social Action for Forest and Environment (SAFE), said. “It is a short-term measure,” he added. A government official said they will take appropriate action after going through the order. On the issue of waste-burning in the open, the tribunal said: “We direct all the corporations, DDA, cantonments and SHOs of police stations concerned that they would ensure that no waste is burnt in the open and none is disobeying the directions.” The penalty for burning waste in the open is Rs5,000. “We also direct that builders who keep their dust, sand, cement, bricks and other construction ma-

Abe arrives, green light for bullet train project expected A number of agreements to expand cooperation in a range of areas are expected to be signed after the summit talks which is likely to deliberate on a number of infrastructure projects including the smart cities

ON FAST TRACK: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talks with Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, in New Delhi on Friday. - PTI

initiative of Modi

NEW DELHI: Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe on Friday arrived in the Indian capital on a three-day visit for annual summit talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which the two sides are expected to seal a Rs98,000 crore deal for India’s ﬁrst bullet train track and deliberate on a civil nuclear pact. Abe, accompanied by a highlevel delegation, was received at the airport by Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha. In the ninth annual Indo-Japan

summit talks on Saturday, Modi and Abe will review implementation of various decisions taken in course of last one year and are likely to focus on enhancing trade and investment between the two Asian economic powers. Hours after he arrived, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on Abe during which a host of issues of mutual interest ﬁgured. “Carrying forward a positive legacy of friendship and cooperation: EAM @SushmaSwaraj calls on Japanese PM @AbeShinzo,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted. Welcoming Abe, Modi de-

scribed him as a “phenomenal leader” and said his trip will further deepen the bilateral relations. “Welcome to India @AbeShinzo. Your visit will provide new strength and vigour to India-Japan ties,” Modi tweeted. Infrastructure projects A number of agreements to expand cooperation in a range of areas are expected to be signed on Saturday after the summit talks which is likely to deliberate on a number of infrastructure projects including the ambitious smart cities initiative of Modi. The bullet train network, set to

be ﬁnalised, will link the India’s ﬁnancial hub Mumbai with Ahmadabad, the capital of Modi’s home state, Gujarat. Bullet train between the two cities will cut travel time on the 505 kilometre route from eight hours to around three. According to sources, the sides are working to make forward movement in the proposed nuclear deal. After the talks, he will leave for Varanasi, which is Modi’s Parliamentary constituency, where he will attend Ganga Aarti at famous Dasaswamedh Ghat. Modi will accompany Abe during his nearly four-and-a-half-

hour-long visit to Varanasi. Abe will return here in the evening and depart on Sunday. The Japanese Prime Minister had accompanied Modi during his visit to Kyoto last year. At the last Summit meeting held in Tokyo last year, the two prime ministers had agreed to elevate the relationship to “Special Strategic and Global Partnership”. Modi had visited Japan from August 30 to September 3 last year during which that country had announced doubling of its private and public investment in India to about $34 billion over a period of five years. During the summit talks last year, Modi and Abe had agreed to enhance defence and strategic cooperation to a new level and also decided to speed up negotiations on civil nuclear deal. While agreeing on greater defence equipment and technology cooperation, the two sides had decided to expedite discussions on modalities for the sale of Japanese US-2 amphibian aircraft. Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar had held talks with top Japanese officials in Tokyo last month to finalise agenda and other details of Abe’s visit here. India and Japan have been expanding their economic and strategic engagement in recent years resulting in cooperation in a vast swathe of fields including defence and security. The economic engagement witnessed significant rise after both countries signed a a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2011. - PTI

terials on public place and roads, as per the directions of the tribunal already issued, would not be permitted to do so,” it said. Besides seizure of such materials under the provision of the Municipal Corporation Act of Delhi, they would be liable to pay environmental compensation of Rs.50,000 for each violation, the tribunal added. Delhi has close to 900,000 registered vehicles, of which almost a third are cars. Around 1,500 new vehicles are added every day. In April, the tribunal banned diesel vehicles of over 10 years old in the capital city. In November 2014, the bench banned all vehicles that were more than 15 years old. - IANS ROBUST TURNAROUND

Industrial output races to 5-year high NEW DELHI: In a robust turnaround, Indian industrial output grew at five-year high rate of 9.8 per cent in October on impressive performance of capital and consumer goods, possibly driven by Diwali season demand. The latest IIP figure marks a significant rebound from 3.84 per cent growth recorded in September 2015 and a contraction of 2.7 per cent in October last year. The previous high in the index of industrial production (IIP) was in October 2010 at 11.36 per cent. As per data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the manufacturing sector, a key indicator of economic activity, grew 10.6 per cent year-on-year in October. The consumer durables segment grew at a whopping 42.2 per cent in October over the same month last year. While the consumer goods category paced up at 18.4 per cent, capital goods grew at 16.1 per cent year-on-year. “The latest IIP is very good. It’s a high number, good number and encouraging number. But one has to be a little bit careful in interpreting this number... especially this month as there is a Diwali effect,” Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian told reporters on Friday and expressed hope it would become a trend. On IIP data, industry chamber Assocham said: “What is even more pleasing is a huge 16.1 per cent growth in capital goods, reflecting revival in investment cycle and a robust expansion of 9 per cent in electricity generation, which follows solid improvement in coal production.” - PTI

A G E N D A A A J TA K

Expect sabotage but dialogue should go on, says Imran NEW DELHI: Cricketer-turnedpolitician Imran Khan on Friday said he told Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expect sabotage by “vested interests” but stressed that talks between India and Pakistan should go on “uninterrupted”. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party chief, who met Modi here, welcomed the resumption of talks between the two countries. “I told Prime Minsiter Modi that there would be elements who will try to derail the talks process. Will try to sabotage it. But he should resolve to carry forward the talks and not stop,” Khan said addressing “Agenda AajTak”. He said the leaderships of both the countries should explain to the people dividends of peace.

Khan said he had a very cordial and relaxed talks with Modi. “I have met and spoken to so many Prime Ministers and leaders. But I rarely had such relaxed talks as I had with Modi,” he said. ‘Hopeful and positive’ The Pakistani politician added that he was “hopeful” and “positive” about the ﬁnal outcome of the Indo-Pak talks. Stressing that Kashmir is “doable”, Khan referred to the progress made on the issue between former prime minister Manmohan Singh and the then Pakistani president Gen (Retd) Pervez Musharraf. India and Pakistan had on Wednesday broken the ice in bilateral ties when they decided to have

a comprehensive dialogue during the visit of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Islamabad. Khan stressed on the economic advantage of having a peaceful state of affairs between the two countries. He said there is a consensus among the political leadership in Pakistan that talks with India should happen. Seeking to refute assertions that the military is the real master in Pakistan, Khan said that even the military is on board. He ruled out any scope of a coup or martial law in his country. Despite playing with a straight bat on various issues, Khan ducked questions on LeT founder Haﬁz Saeed and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim very skillfully. -PTI

COURTESY CALL: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan in a meeting in New Delhi on Friday. - PTI

S ATUR DAY, D ECEMBER 12 , 2 015 The cause I am ﬁghting for is far greater because that’s where the cancer is Subramanian Swamy, BJP leader

INDIA

Anti-corruption champion risks wrecking tax reform gling had “neutralised” Modi’s meeting with Sonia on November 27, their ﬁrst since he became prime minister in May 2014, to seek a way forward on the GST.

For BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, taking down a dynasty synonymous with the founding of modern India is a bigger immediate priority than passing a Goods and Services Tax that has in any case been years in the making

NEW DELHI: An anti-corruption champion in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party has vowed to send opposition leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi to jail, denting already faint hopes of political compromise on a key tax reform. Fresh developments in a threeyear-old fraud case brought by Subramanian Swamy have overshadowed attempts to bridge the political divide in search of an elusive deal that would create a tax union in the country. Taking down a dynasty For Swamy, taking down a dynasty synonymous with the founding of modern India is a bigger immediate priority than passing a Goods and Services Tax (GST) that has in any case been years in the mak-

OPENING PANDORA’S BOX: Subramanian Swamy, then an opposition politician who brought the petition to revoke the telecom licences issued in 2008, speaks with the media after a verdict outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi, India, in this February 2, 2012 ﬁle photo. - Reuters

ing. He says he has the tacit support of Modi, and the powerful ﬁnance minister has also voiced his approval. Swamy, who has said the mother and son deserve to go to jail, said in an interview that the GST would not help the economy. Fighting corruption, which he says has drained $1.5 trillion out of India, would. “The cause I am ﬁghting for is far greater because that’s where the cancer is,” said the 76-year-old Harvard-trained economist and ex-cabinet minister. Swamy met Modi on Thursday and said the prime minister voiced no objections to his case against the Gandhis. Senior aides to Modi say that he sympathised with the case. “Modi-ji has always wanted

to pursue legal cases against the Gandhi family,” said one aide. “This case could end the Gandhi supremacy, and that is good for us.” Modi has tried to undermine the Gandhis since trouncing Congress at the ballot box last year. At the same time, he has pushed for economic reforms, including the GST, which the government says could add up to 2 percentage points to the size of the economy. In his case, Swamy accuses the Gandhis of fraud, cheating, misappropriation and criminal breach of trust in acquiring the assets of a company that had published a newspaper founded by Rahul’s great grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru. He alleges that, through a series of debt and equity deals, a shell company that Sonia and Rahul controlled acquired property

worth about $300 million after paying just $75,000. Angry mood in Congress The Gandhis deny wrongdoing and allies say the deals caused no ﬁnancial harm to the Congress party. Irked by Swamy, Congress lawmakers have accused Modi’s government of waging a “political vendetta” against the Gandhis. Parliament’s upper house, where Modi needs Congress support to pass the GST, has been disrupted all of this week. While there are still a few days for GST to be passed and it has been listed for debate next week, the angry mood in Congress and daily protests mean chances of that happening are fading. Congress national spokesman Sanjay Jha said the political wran-

Spectrum-allocation scam Swamy, who merged his small political party with Modi’s in 2013, is best known for successfully running a legal campaign against the last Congress government over a multi-billion-dollar spectrumallocation scam. In a blog post late on Thursday about the case, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley backed Swamy and criticised Congress for disrupting parliamentary business because of it. “By disrupting democracy, the financial web created by the Congress leaders cannot be undone,” he wrote. A judge had first summoned the Gandhis last year. They appealed to the Delhi High Court, which this week quashed their plea seeking exemption from a personal appearance. The judge hearing the case has opined that it “smacked of criminality”. They have been summoned to appear on December 19, at which they would either face detention or have to post bail, unless Supreme Court intervenes. Parliament’s winter session ends four days later. Congress says the timing of the court’s action has been influenced by politics, but Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denies this. “If they don’t turn up, issue a warrant and send them to jail,” Swamy said in the book-lined study of his South Delhi residence, where case papers were scattered across his desk. “(It) is a total open and shut case. They are suffering from hubris.” - Reuters

W E L FA R E P R O G R A M M E S

Proposal to hike federal budget for social sectors NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal government on Friday proposed to raise its budget for sanitation and the fight against malnutrition and HIV/AIDS, months after New Delhi faced criticism that spending cuts were crippling welfare programmes. The budget increases for social sectors will come as a relief for the largely poor population in India, where many people, especially in remote towns and villages, lack access to basic healthcare and clean water. The federal government plans to raise its sanitation and drinking water budget by 60 per cent to $2.15 billion, while the child welfare budget will rise by a quarter to $2.68 billion. The budget for fighting HIV/ AIDS will rise by nearly a fifth but the main health department’s funding will rise by just 2 per cent, according to a government document presented to parliament. “The government seems to have realised that cutting social sector funds is actually resulting in lower health outcomes,” said Amir Ullah Khan, an economist at health research company Aequitas. “This was the need of the hour.” Modi in February irked many of his own officials by slashing social spending to free up funds to build roads and highways, hoping states would fill the gap from the additional share of taxes they receive from New Delhi. But many individual states complained of a funding crunch to run vital social schemes and, as a result, thousands of health workers received delayed salaries and a key scheme to fight child malnutrition suffered. Critics had warned the spending shakeup could endanger the most vulnerable. - Reuters

R E V E L AT I O N S

Sonia did not want someone with independent mind as PM: Pawar NEW DELHI: Sharad Pawar, who had opposed Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origins in 1997 but patched up with her later, has now come out with details of how she had preferred P. V. Narasimha Rao to him in 1991 because she did not want “someone with an independent mind” to be the prime minister and how their relationship lacked “warmth”. He enumerates a number of instances when as Leader of the Congress group in the Lok Sabha he was constantly undermined by Sonia in her capacity as Congress President during 1996-97. Pawar, who was a minister in the Union government for 10 years when UPA (United Progressive Alliance) was headed by Sonia, describes as “shocking” an amendment” to the Congress Parliamentary Party constitution in the early 1990s “solely” to make her the CPP leader, even without being elected to Parliament.

These are disclosed in a book Life on my terms-From the Grassroots and Corridors of Power, written by Pawar, which was formally released on Thursday night at a function in the presence of a galaxy of political leaders including Sonia, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and the President and Vice President to celebrate his 75th birthday. Self-styled loyalists He says ‘Self-styled’ loyalists of 10, Janpath, where Gandhi’s resides, convinced Sonia that it would be better to back Rao in 1991 as prime minister over him as the “Gandhi family was not about to let someone with independent mind” to get the top post, Pawar has claimed. The loyalists including the late Arjun Singh, himself an aspirant for the prime minister’s post played a “clever trick” to convince Sonia Gandhi in the decision to choose Rao over Pawar, says the

GOING STRONG: President Pranab Mukherjee with Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi releases a book on NCP chief Sharad Pawar, right, during his 75th birthday celebration at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday. - PTI

NCP President, who became defence minister in Rao’s cabinet. He says that his name was considered for the top post in the party not only in Maharashtra but also in other states. He was personally more circumspect as he was aware that a lot depended on the inclination of 10 Janpath.

“Though a senior leader, P. V. Narasimha Rao had withdrawn from mainstream politics for health reasons before the election. Given his long experience, there were suggestions to bring him back following the unforeseen exit of Rajiv,” Pawar states in his book. “Self styled loyalists of 10 Jan-

path started saying in private conversations that Sharad Pawar’s election as prime minister would harm the ‘ﬁrst family’s’ interest in view of his young age. “‘Woh Lambi Race Ka Ghoda Hoga’ (He will hold the reins for a very long time), they argued. Among them who played a clever trick were M. L. Fotedar, R. K. Dhawan, Arjun Singh and V. George. “They convinced Sonia Gandhi that it would be safer for her to back Narasimha Rao because he was old and not in a good shape. Arjun Singh himself aspired to become prime minister and hoped to succeed Rao soon. Anyway, once Sonia had bought the coterie’s ‘bring Rao’ argument in 1991, the tide turned against me,” Pawar says. Rao was ultimately chosen over Pawar with a lead of over 35 votes. Later P. C. Alexander, a former principal secretary to Indira Gandhi and close conﬁdant of the family, brokered a meeting between

him and Rao with an offer of top three portfolios. “He (Alexander) and I knew that I had been a strong contender but Gandhi family was not to let someone with independent mind to get to the Prime Minister’s post,” adds Pawar. Giving instances of the nature of their relationship, Pawar says though he was among those few who invited her to become the Congress president, “there was little warmth between us. At the best our relations were cordial”. “She relied heavily on just two or three people for running the party. There was some uneasiness within the Congress that the party had won the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats from my home state Maharashtra.” Against this background, the “coterie” sought to drive a wedge between him and Gandhi by pointing out how he had “deﬁed” Indira Gandhi to form the PDF government in Maharashtra in 1978. - PTI

SAT URDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2015 Board of Investment would assist Al Motahaden Petroleum Reﬁneries in obtaining consents and permissions for development of the project, including acquisition of land and import of plant and machinery.

PAKISTAN

S U R FA C E - T O - S U R FA C E

Shaheen-III ballistic missile successfully test fired RAWALPINDI: Pakistan on Friday conducted a successful test of the Shaheen-III surface-to-surface ballistic missile, a statement from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed. “The successful flight test with its impact point in the Arabian Sea, validating all the desired parameters, was witnessed by senior officers from Strategic Plans Division, Strategic Forces, scientists and engineers of Strategic Organisations,” the statement said. Peaceful co-existence Director General Strategic Plans Division, Lieutenant General Mazhar Jamil lauded the efforts of the scientists and engineers on achieving the significant milestone. “Pakistan desires peaceful co-existence in the region for which nuclear deterrence would further strengthen strategic stability in South Asia,” he said. Further, he appreciated the dedication and commitment of those involved in making the launch a success, while expressing confidence over Strategic Command and Control System and the Strategic Forces’ operational preparedness to defend against any aggressive design. Both Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Mamnoon Hussain have congratulated those involved on the successful test of the missile launch. - Express Tribune

READY TO DEFEND: This handout photograph released by Pakistan’s Inter Services Public Relations on December 11, 2015, shows a Shaheen III surface-to-surface ballistic missile launching from an undisclosed location in Pakistan. – AFP/HO/Inter Services Public Relations

Pact for $500m refinery signed The refinery will enhance Pakistan’s refining capacity and help boost economic development

ISLAMABAD: Al Motahaden Petroleum Refineries of the United Arab Emirates will invest $500 million in setting up an oil refinery in Pakistan in an attempt to reduce imports and meet the country’s growing energy needs. The refinery will be set up preferably in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), enhance the country’s refining capacity and help boost economic development. In this regard, a memorandum of understanding was signed by Al Motahaden Petroleum Refineries and the Board of Investment (BoI) on Thursday. BoI Secretary Iftikhar Babar and an official of the UAE refinery inked the agreement. Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Shahid Khaqan

AGREEMENT: Al Motahaden Petroleum Reﬁneries will set up an oil reﬁning facility preferably in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. – AFP Files

Abbasi, BoI Chairman Miftah Ismail and the UAE ambassador were present at the ceremony. Capacity The refinery would have the capacity to process about 15,000 to 20,000 barrels of oil per day. Al Motahaden Petroleum Refineries will form a consortium consisting of local and foreign companies to develop the project and make the required foreign direct investment in Pakistan. The initiative will support Pakistan’s efforts to fulfil its energy requirements and enhance economic development. It will en-

courage investors to develop such other projects through foreign direct investment and international expertise. Speaking on the occasion, BoI Chairman Miftah Ismail assured the UAE investors of full assistance and support for getting the required administrative and regulatory approvals. He said the BoI would assist the company in obtaining consents and permissions for development of the project, including acquisition of land and import of plant and machinery. He expressed the hope that the project would be completed on time. – Express Tribune

EMPOWERING WOMEN

UN names Muniba Pakistan’s ﬁrst woman goodwill envoy ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women has named Muniba Mazari as Pakistan’s ﬁrst female Goodwill Ambassador to advance gender equality and empowerment of women. Speaking on the occasion, Muniba Mazari said, “I am a strong supporter of UN Women and the role in ending gender-based discrimination, and to work towards gender equality.” In her new role as National Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women Pakistan, artistactivist-writer, singer and speaker, Muniba will dedicate her efforts towards for the empowerment of women and girls. In a tweet,

after a car accident that left her with spinal cord injury, has represented the voice of women, men, girls and boys across Pakistan on important issues of gender inequality and discrimination.

Muniba Mazari. – Facebook

Mazari said, “We need to educate both men and women that if we empower one woman, we empower whole generation!” Muniba, who has been in the wheelchair for the last seven years

Thrilled Jamshed Kazi, Country Representative for UN Women Pakistan said while announcing Mazari’s name, “We are thrilled and honoured to have Muniba Mazari as UN Women Pakistan’s ﬁrst Goodwill Ambassador.” To mark the 16th Day of Activism against gender-based violence, Saudi Pak Tower turned orange in colour. – Express Tribune

TIMES O F O MAN

S ATUR DAY, DECEMBER 12 , 2 015

#TRENDING ONLINE HOT PICKS MOST READ

MOST SHARED

TIMESOFOMAN.COM

FACEBOOK.COM/TIMESOFOMAN

TOTAL VIEWS

TOTAL PAGE LIKES

37,430,981

274,502

1 Weather update: Dusty

1 Oman tourism: Discovering

conditions forecast for Oman

Duqm-Muscat’s development hub

bit.ly/dustyweather

bit.ly/discoveringduqm

2 Oman’s Ahmad Al Harthy

makes history with Gulf 12 Hours pole position bit.ly/ahmadmakeshistory

Founder: Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali Chairman / Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Issa Al Zadjali Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Anees bin Essa Al Zedjali Chief Executive Officer: Ahmed Essa Al Zedjali EDITORIAL Telephone: 24726666 Fax: 24813153 E-mail: editor@timesofoman.com ADVERTISING Telephone: 24726666 Fax: 24812624 E-mail: advertising@timesofoman.com CIRCULATION Telephone: 24726666 Fax: 24818270 E-mail: circulation@timesofoman.com

3 What’s happening in Muscat

this weekend? bit.ly/muscatthisweekend

2 Tax more and cut subsidies,

IMF official advises Oman bit.ly/cutsubsidies

4 Oman plans large water

desalination project bit.ly/desalinationproject

3 Group of Omanis visit gas

stations; surprise customers with iPhones

5 International poetry

bit.ly/gasstationiphones

convention in Oman on January 27

4 5 places to read in Muscat

bit.ly/poetryconvention

Printed and published by: Muscat Media Group Post Box: 770 Postal Code: 112

bit.ly/5placestoreadmuscat

5 Donald Trump’s products

pulled off shelves in Oman over controversial Muslim comments

TIMESOFOMAN.COM/OPINION

bit.ly/trumpcomments

DANI RODRIK MOST POPULAR VIDEO

TIMESOFOMAN.COM/VIDEOS

‘Miracle of the Indus River’ is achievable Dr Song Jong-hwan

Graham Dickinson, who has made 1,000 base Jumps all over the world, made a 2 minute 19 seconds jump from Al Hajar mountain cliff.

Democracy, has helped tame capitalism. As a result, employment conditions improved as state-mandated or negotiated arrangements led to reduced working hours, greater safety, and family, health, and other beneﬁts. bit.ly/evolutionwork

TWEET WE LIKE khalid raﬁq (@: Sonam Kapoor enjoys close friend’s wedding in Oman with sister Rhea https://t.co/qCx1DdWSfV

JONATHAN BERNSTEIN INSTAGRAM OF THE DAY

INSTAGRAM.COM/TIMESOFOMAN

Some Republicans are now worrying that Donald Trump could cost them the Senate -- or even put their seemingly solid House majority in danger. Republicans have long known they were vulnerable in the Senate in 2016. bit.ly/trumpeffect

SHARE THIS!

Photo: Ahmad Al Harthy

READERS’ FORUM Serves him right This refers to the story ‘Landmark dumps Trump Brands’ (December 10) and sincerely congratulate the Landmark management for taking this wise and quick decision which will be followed by many other business houses soon. His call to ban all Muslims from entering US is a possible hallmark of fascism and his this statement must fall ﬂat on his mouth. Trump’s campaign has been marked with inﬂammatory statements in the past too. During one of his campaign speeches he even described illegal Mexican Immigrants as drug smugglers but later somehow Scan this QR code escaped this kind of widespread adverse to send letters to the reaction. I am happy that almost all top Readers’ Forum, world leaders have condemned his statecontaining not more than 200 words with ment. More than 300,000 Britons have full name, address signed petition to ban his entry. The Roband telephone ert Gordon University which had awarded number, may be sent an honorary DBA degree to him has by mail (Times of Oman, P.O. Box 770, revoked its degree and Scotland has gone P.C. 112, Ruwi). one step ahead to strip him of his status as a Scotland Business Ambassador. The high handedness of Trump is certainly going to cost him dear all over the world and in my humble opinion he is not the right person to occupy the White House. My appeal to all those who support the human value of unconditional universal brotherhood is to “DUMP THE TRUMP”. — Mohammad Osama Rawat, Ruwi

LEONID BERSHIDSKY

The recent International Monetary Fund decision to change its rules so it can lend to countries in arrears on debts to other countries sets the stage for one of the most interesting legal battles of 2016, one between Russia and Ukraine but with a British judge as arbiter. bit.ly/debtrussia

hanks to media coverage, it is widely known the world over that Pakistan is a frequent victim of terrorism. While there are many Korean businessmen living in Pakistan, with Korean automobile companies doing good business in the country, their headquarters in Korea have been passive about the Pakistani market due to the negative image of the country conjured up by the media. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government and the military are jointly committed to the National Action Plan to wipe out terrorism and extremism from the country. However, this is going to be a long-drawn process. Because of media coverage on terrorist activities, Korea has understandably failed to notice its long-standing relationship with Pakistan, the glorious Pakistani culture and the country’s immense potential. Not many in Korea would know that Pakistan has world heritage sites, such as the ancient city of Mohenjo Daro, or the ‘Mound of the Dead’, which represents the Indus Valley Civilisation, one of the four major civilisations of the ancient world. The relationship between the regions that now make up Korea and Pakistan can be traced back 1,700 years. The monk Maranatha travelled from Lahore to Korea, through China, to spread Buddhism in the Baekje kingdom in 384 AD. The 8th century monk Hyecho from Korea wrote a travelogue called Memoirs of the pilgrimage to the five kingdoms of India. Out of the five kingdoms, three are located in the regions of Peshawar, Gilgit-Balitistan and Kashmir. Pakistan provided us with food and medicine aid amounting to $300,000 during North Korea’s invasion in 1950. Furthermore, when we were trying to set up our first five-year economic development plan, the then secretary of development planning in Pakistan advised our experts on economic development. From the end of the Second World War up until now, around 140 countries have gained independence. Of all these countries, Korea was the first to change from an aid-recipient country to a donor country. Korean per capita income in 1960 was

less than $80, but now it is more than $28,000. Korea’s trade volume has been more than $1 trillion since 2011. This progress is called the “Miracle of the Han River”. The Pakistani government and its people, whose per capita income in 2015 amounts to $1,513, want to learn from Korea’s success and promote trade and ties between the two countries. As the Korean ambassador to Pakistan for the past two years, I am convinced that Pakistan can achieve the “Miracle of Indus River” if the country follows the same path as we did earlier. This can happen if the world, including Korea, understands Pakistan’s huge potential. Pakistan hosts the world’s second highest mountain in its northeast, and fertile agricultural land in the centre and south. It has an irrigation system spread across the country from north to south along the Indus River. Geopolitically, Pakistan is strategically located, with land connections between South Asia, Central Asia, China and Middle East, and is close to the naval entry point of the Arabian Gulf. Its population is the sixth largest in the world and is estimated to be almost 190 million, with almost 100 million youth, many of them conversant in English with good computer skills. Furthermore, its land area is 3.5 times more than that of the Korean peninsula, it is rich in mineral resources and its production capacity in cotton, milk and wheat is at world class level. After President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met on the sidelines of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly on September 27, 2015, the secretary of the Economic Affairs Division and I signed the 201517 Economic Development Cooperation Fund Framework Agreement amounting to $500 million, on October 2. I am fully convinced that Pakistan will achieve the “Miracle of Indus River” by learning from the Korean experience of Saemaul Undong (the New Village Movement). Pakistan will be the emerging blue ocean market for us, with Korean Air ﬂying to the country and the export of Korean automobiles to the Pakistani market. With this dream, no matter how dangerous the prevailing circumstances, we hope to continue making our best efforts to promote economic activity between Pakistan and Korea.- Express Tribune

CLIPPINGS FROM OUR ARCHIVES

PICTOGRAPH OMANI FORT VISITORS (2014)

DECEMBER 2000 Workshop on educational information system held MUSCAT: Sayyid Saud bin Ibrahim Al Busaidi, minister of education, opened a workshop on the importance of educational information system at Holiday Inn Hotel yesterday. The three-day event is being held in collaboration with the Unicef Office in Muscat. In an opening address, Dr Fawziyah bint Nassir Al Farsi, undersecretary for general education, praised the fruitful cooperation between the Educational Ministry and the Unicef.

January

February March April May June

TODAY IN HISTORY

July

“Insure with New India and be secure”

Tel: 24838800 | Fax: 24838899 | Email: niamct@omantel.net.om | Website: www.newindiaoman.com Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.

STEVE JOBS

INVITATION TO WRITERS We invite our readers to write articles on topics related to Oman. The articles should not exceed 800 words. Send us your article along with your picture to akhtar@timesofoman.com

1927: Communists forces seize Canton, China. 1956: The United Nations calls for immediate Soviet withdrawal from Hungary

38,514

29,529 Total

8,167

308,195

5,842 12,697

September

7,986

October

32,889

November

39,168

December

37,542

1964: Kenya becomes a republic. 1991: The Russian Federation becomes independent from the USSR.

44,830

14,407

August

NEW INDIA ASSURANCE

36,624

Source: National Centre for Statistics and Information

SAT URDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2015 SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH FACEBOOK PAGE

Love us on Facebook

ASIA

Philippines risks Paris-style attack: Presidential hopeful and grow and grow and it would be a national threat in the coming days, maybe earlier than later, said Rodrigo Duterte, frontrunner for presidential election

TOUGH-TALKING MAYOR: Rodrigo Duterte, 70, seven-term mayor of Davao city, who has built a reputation for ﬁghting crime in the insurgency-plagued southern Philippines, displays his Certiﬁcate of Candidacy for President, outside the Commission on Elections in Manila, Philippines. – Reuters

even claimed to have killed petty criminals in Davao City - Duterte said the new army units would not be used against Maoist guerrillas or rebels. “I will not allow the government to wage war against its own people,” he said. Duterte says enhanced security is the only way to build a stable economy. “It is not for the faint-hearted,” he said. “If you are a president and you are afraid of criminals, or you are afraid to kill criminals, then you have no business being a president.” Duterte’s opponents have been silent on his uncompromising approach to crime but human rights

groups, including Amnesty International, are alarmed. “No one can take the law into their own hands,” said Chito Gascon, head of the government’s human rights commission. Separatists have fought the security forces for 45 years on Mindanao island, of which Davao is the largest city. Duterte, a seven-term mayor, acknowledges the risk of the conﬂict growing or being exploited by external forces. “If you are from Mindanao, there are explosions here and there and if that happens nationwide, I will not be caught with my pants down,” said Duterte. “I will use the military and police... because I have to keep our

country safe, secure, peaceful.” The message has struck a chord with voters, about 54 million of whom are eligible to elect a president, vice president and more than 18,000 local government executives and legislators. A Social Weather Stations opinion poll published this month showed Duterte was the top-rated contender for 38 per cent of 1,200 respondents, more than twice the number who supported Aquino’s anointed successor, former interior minister Manuel Roxas. Duterte, a 70-year-old lawyer, also said he was open to bilateral talks with China to settle their hotly disputed claims in the South China Sea, another move contrary

‘BIKE FOR DAD’

Thousands of cyclists honour Thai king BANGKOK: Thousands of cyclists streamed through Bangkok on Friday to honour Thailand’s revered king in an outpouring of loyalty. “Bike For Dad” is part of weeks of celebrations marking the birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest reigning monarch, who turned 88 on December 5. Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, the king’s only son and heir, led a throng of cyclists on a 29km (18 miles) route starting in Bangkok’s old quarter. Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha and several cabinet ministers joined the procession of yellow-shirted riders. Yellow is the colour that represents the king. Sharing the moment “Many people want to share this moment to send a sign to our king that we all love him very much,” said Nusara Anuntavanichaya, 44, who sat with her six-year-old daughter on the route, along with thousands of yellow-clad spectators. Many Thais see the king as a unifying ﬁgure in a country that has suffered bouts of violent upheaval over the past decade as rival power networks, one closely associated with the royalist military, vie to run the country. The king is in frail health and has not been seen in public since September 1. He is in a Bangkok hospital, where he has spent much of the past six years, and where doctors in August treated him for

RISING POLLUTION

Beijing to step up air quality monitoring after ‘red alert’ BEIJING: China’s capital will step up air quality monitoring, a senior city official said, after recent severe pollution prompted authorities to issue a ﬁrst smog “red alert”. Rapid industrial growth and car ownership have led to surging levels of air pollution in major urban areas and Chinese researchers have identiﬁed the problem as a major source of discontent. Beijing was shrouded in acrid smog and under a pollution red alert for part of this week. A red alert is triggered when the government believes air quality will surpass a level of 200 on an air quality index that measures various pollutants for at least three days. The US government deems a level of more than 200 “very unhealthy”.

Terrorism will grow

MANILA: The Philippines faces a growing risk of a Paris-style attack by foreign militants, the top contender to win elections next year has warned, but there is no threat of “World War Three” with China over a bitter South China Sea territorial dispute. Rodrigo Duterte, a tough-talking mayor of Davao City in the insurgency-plagued south, has built a reputation for ﬁghting crime. He told Reuters two new army divisions would be formed to tackle security threats if he replaces President Benigno Aquino in the election in May. His views run contrary to Aquino’s government, which sees no links between IS militants and ﬁve groups in the southern Philippines - even though police have said the groups had pledged allegiance to extremists in Syria and Iraq. “I said terrorism will grow and grow and grow and it would be a national threat in the coming days, maybe earlier than later,” Duterte said in an interview late on Thursday. Known as “the Punisher” for his hardline stance on crime - he has

MARKING THE BIRTHDAY: People ride bicycles during a mass cycle event to honour King Bhumibol Adulyadej in Narathiwat, southern Thailand on Friday. – AFP

SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

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

what the Royal Household Bureau called “water on the brain”, or hydrocephalus. The cyclists passed the hospital on their route. The king is a constitutional monarch, with no formal politi-

cal powers, and long wielded immense inﬂuence. The crown prince does not command the same devotion his father does, leading to apprehension about the succession. He smiled at cheering crowds as he cycled past on Friday. The military, since seizing power in a May 2014 coup, has zealously pursued anyone perceived to have defamed the royals, including senior military and po-

lice officers, under lese majeste, or royal insult, laws. Two suspects have died in military custody during a police investigation of corruption involving “Bike For Dad” and another cycling event aimed at celebrating the royals. Authorities said about 30,000 police and soldiers were on duty for the bike ride, which comes four months after a bomb at a city shrine killed 20 people.— Reuters

to existing government policy. The Philippines has asked the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to affirm its right to areas within 200 nautical miles of its coastline and Manila expects a favourable decision by mid-2016. Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also all have rival claims with an increasingly muscular China in the South China Sea, which is believed to hold huge deposits of oil and gas. “We will have to talk, we will not go to war because we cannot afford it,” he said. “If I cannot get to talk with them because they would not sit down for a multilateral talks, then I would consider just talking to them.” — Reuters

Mobile monitoring The city will double the number air-quality monitoring stations from 36 and will also dispatch “mobile monitoring vehicles”, the official Xinhua news agency cited Beijing vice mayor Li Shixiang as saying. Li also said law enforcement of rules aimed at cutting pollution, such as suspending work at polluting businesses, should be improved. “There are enterprises that close while you check them and open soon after you leave,” he said. A red alert triggers restrictions on vehicles while schools are closed, businesses recommended to allow ﬂexible hours and the government advises that all “largescale, outdoor activity” be stopped. China’s frequent problems with smog underscore the challenge facing the government as it struggles with the impact of a coalburning power industry. Environmental Protection Minister Chen Jining has vowed to punish agencies and officials for any failure to quickly implement a pollution emergency response plan, state media has reported. — Reuters

A 10

S ATUR DAY, D ECEMBER 12 , 2 015 Burundi’s 12-year civil war, which ended in 2005, had pitted rebel groups of the Hutu majority, including one led by current President Pierre Nkurunziza, against what was then an army led by the Tutsi minority. Rwanda has the same ethnic mix.

WORLD

Brawl erupts as lawmaker manhandles Ukraine’s PM A member of President Petro Poroshenko’s bloc physically picked up Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, lifted him off his feet and dragged him

KIEV: Fighting broke out among members of Ukraine’s ruling coalition in parliament on Friday after a member of President Petro Poroshenko’s bloc physically picked up Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk and pulled him from the podium. Yatseniuk was defending his embattled government’s record when lawmaker Oleh Barna walked over to him, presenting him sarcastically with a bunch of red roses. Barna then grabbed him around the waist, lifting him off his feet and dragging him. Members from Yatseniuk’s People Front party waded in, pushing Barna and throwing punches. Lawmakers from Poroshenko’s bloc joined the fray and an angry brawl ensued for several minutes before deputies returned to their seats. Deep divisions The incident exposed deep divisions in the pro-Europe coalition that have fuelled speculation the government could fall even as Ukraine’s Western backers warn that time is running out for Kiev to make good on its promises to root out endemic corruption and cronyism. ZHEZKAZGAN

Members of ISS crew land safely SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

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

ALMATY/CAPE CANAVERAL: Three International Space Station (ISS) crew members landed in the snowy steppe to the northeast of the Kazakh city of Zhezkazgan on Friday, a NASA Television broadcast showed. A capsule carrying NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and Japan’s Kimiya Yui was found by a search and rescue group whose four helicopters braved very strong winds and low clouds to reach the touchdown site. Lindgren, Kononenko and Yui have been in orbit for nearly ﬁve months. Left aboard the $100 billion station are US astronaut and commander Scott Kelly and Russian ﬂight engineers Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov. — Reuters

IMPULSIVE ACTION: A deputy from the Ukrainian President’s political party attacks Ukrainian Prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, right, during the annual report of the government in the Ukrainian Parliament on Friday. – AFP

SCAN THIS TO VISIT

ARTICLE, VIDEO, PHOTO GALLERY W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N .C O M

Yatseniuk is, like Poroshenko, a pivotal player in the pro-Western leadership that emerged after the downfall of the Moscow-backed Viktor Yanukovich in February 2014. But support for him has fallen dramatically in the past year. “The atmosphere in the room provoked mentally unbalanced people. Oleh Barna served on the frontline and is therefore too impulsive, but that does not excuse his actions,” the head of Poroshenko’s bloc Yuriy

Lutsenko told journalists. The brawl interrupted a question-and-answer session with Yatseniuk, 41, after he delivered a summary of the performance of his government, which after exactly one year in power is now no longer immune from being dismissed by parliament. “I told you a year ago that nobody is going to promise the moon,” Yatseniuk said, appearing to defend his cabinet from accusations they have not made good on their reform promises. “You have full constitutional right to vote on the question of dismissing Ukraine’s cabinet. Put it to the vote. I’ll accept the decision of the Ukrainian parliament.

I’m not clinging to this chair,” he said. Opposition parties are calling for a no-conﬁdence motion to be tabled and commentators say enough votes could be gathered to dismiss the government, but a vote is not yet likely due to the lack of a candidate to replace Yatseniuk. In an impassioned speech on Tuesday, US Vice President Joe Biden urged parliament to put their differences aside to approve reforms, including critical tax and budget bills and judicial changes, without which he said Ukraine would fail to rebuild itself on transparent, democratic lines. “The President, the Prime Minister, the members of this august body -- all of you must put aside

parochial differences...If you fail, the experiment fails,” he told parliament. A disagreement over proposed tax amendments and the draft 2016 budget has delayed the disbursement of up to $4 billion in international loans which Ukraine had hoped to secure to boost its war-torn ﬁnances before the end of the year. Yatseniuk said the government had submitted a “compromise” tax reform bill and urged lawmakers to approve the amendments before the turn of the year. Yatseniuk’s People’s Front party triumphed in parliamentary elections in 2014, but the approval rating for the party is now around 1 per cent. — Reuters

L AT E S T F L A R E - U P

Military sites attacked in Burundi, 12 rebels killed NAIROBI: Gunmen attacked military sites in Burundi’s capital on Friday and 12 of the assailants were killed while 20 were arrested after heavy fighting, the army said. Soldiers told Reuters at least five of them were also killed, but an official army spokesman said they were only wounded in the latest flare-up in a nation Western powers fear may be sliding back into ethnic conflict. The sound of firing echoed across the capital, Bujumbura, through Friday after heavy gunfire and blasts erupted in the early hours. Residents said streets were empty and police were out in force at a time when people normally head to work. The outbreak of violence, the worst since a failed coup in May, is unnerving for a region that remains volatile two decades after the genocide in next-door Rwanda. Till now, battle lines in Burundi’s crisis have followed the political divide. But Western powers and regional nations fear old ethnic rifts could reopen. Burundi’s 12-year civil war, which ended in 2005, had pitted rebel groups of the Hutu majority, including one led by current President Pierre Nkurunziza, against what was then an army led by the Tutsi minority. Rwanda has the same ethnic mix. Night-time gunfire and sporadic blasts have become common in Bujumbura during a crisis set off in April by Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term, which opponents - often known as ‘Sindumuja’ - said violated a deal that ended the civil war. Nkurunziza won a disputed election in July. But residents said Friday’s flareup was much more intense. “Sindumuja tried to attack military camps but they failed,” presidential media adviser Willy Nyamitwe wrote on Twitter, describing the raids as “a diversion” to try to free prisoners. — Reuters

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

Climate talks stumble, France extends summit PARIS: Efforts to craft a global accord to combat climate change stumbled on Friday with China and many other nations refusing to yield ground, forcing host France to extend the UN summit by a day to overcome stubborn divisions. Despite the delay, many expressed hope the 195 nations meeting in Paris would grasp the strongest agreement yet to bind both rich and poor to curb rising greenhouse gas emissions at the climax of four years of negotiations. “There are still a couple of very difficult issues that we’re working on,” US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters, saying there had been progress in overnight talks. Fraught discussions overnight exposed deep divisions on issues including a proposed goal to phase out net greenhouse gas emissions in the second half of the century. China was among many nations laying out tough demands, resisting calls for early reviews of its plans to curb rising emissions. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius conceded the two-

PROTEST: Women take part in a giant red line demonstration as an act of climate disobedience from the COP21 Eiffel Tower replica down the Champs Elysee corridor during the World Climate Change Conference 2015 in Le Bourget, France, on Friday. – Reuetrs

week summit would not end on Friday as planned. He said a ﬁnal text, meant to chart a way to far wider use of greener energy such as wind and solar power, would now be presented to nearly 200 nations for review only on Saturday, a day later than planned. “We are nearly

there. I’m optimistic,” Fabius told reporters in the early afternoon, ﬂanked by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “I’ll present a text tomorrow at 0900 (0800 GMT) to the parties that I’m sure will be adopted.” Ban called a 27-page draft text already on the table “a good basis”

for a deal to help avert more powerful storms, droughts, and desertification and rising sea levels. “I appeal to all parties to take a final decision for humanity.” Delegates said China opposed calls led by the United States and the European Union for all nations to review and update their national plans for curbing greenhouse gas emissions every five years. President Xi Jinping has already promised that carbon dioxide emissions from China’s rapidly developing economy will start falling from around 2030, and does not want to revisit the target. Delegates said China had also reasserted demands that developed nations do far more to curb greenhouse gas emissions, mostly the result of burning coal, gas and oil. Gao Feng, the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s special representative on climate change, played down differences between China and the United States, saying: “There are no special differences... A deal is getting closer.” “In fact, we have been pushing all kinds of countries, whether it

is the EU or others. We wish they can all be more ambitious,” he said. Many other countries were also holding their ground. Saudi Arabia said it would resist language in the draft calling for a rise in global temperatures to be limited to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. It fears that could jeopardise oil production. The draft text, released on Thursday night, also proposes a target of “greenhouse gas emissions neutrality in the second half of the century”. Several climate scientists said the text should focus more clearly on phasing out carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. They also noted the latest draft did not explicitly mention fossil fuels, the main man-made source of carbon dioxide. “Major countries have entrenched behind their red lines instead of advancing on compromise,” said Matthieu Orphelin, spokesman for the Nicolas Hulot Foundation. Hulot is French President Francois Hollande’s envoy on climate change. — Reuters

NEWCOMERS

Trudeau welcomes first planeload of Syrian refugees in Canada

WARM GREETINGS: Syrian refugees are greeted by Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, on their arrival from Beirut at the Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on Friday. – Reuters

TORONTO: After months of promises and weeks of preparation, the ﬁrst Canadian government planeload of Syrian refugees landed in Toronto on Thursday, aboard a military aircraft met by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau was elected to a surprise majority in October promising to accept more refugees more quickly than the previous Conservative government. “This is a wonderful night, where we get to show not just a planeload of new Canadians what Canada is all about, we get to show the world how to open our hearts and welcome in people who are ﬂeeing extraordinarily difficult situations,” Trudeau told airport workers and volunteers standing by to meet the refugees. Trudeau’s Liberal government scaled back the number of Syrian

SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

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

migrants it will accept by year end after the attacks in Paris sparked concern that the election promise to bring in 25,000 by December 31 would not allow enough time for security checks. The plane carrying 163 Syrian refugees touched down in Toronto just before midnight on Thursday and will be followed by a second military airlift to Montreal on Saturday. Trudeau has said 10,000 will be resettled by the end of the year and a further 15,000 by the end of February. As Trudeau met the military aircraft amid tight security at a spe-

cial terminal, privately sponsored Syrian refugees were arriving on commercial ﬂights at Toronto’s main terminal, greeted by sponsors and ordinary Canadians who had come to the airport to welcome the much-anticipated newcomers. “They are very tired, but they are happy and hopeful,” said Soriya Dasir, a worker with Abraham Festival, a group that sponsored a single mother and three children who had been living in a camp in Jordan for two years, as she escorted them past waiting media. Toronto’s airport authority urged Canadians not to come to the airport to greet the refugees or drop off donations, saying: “We’re so proud that our community wants to help, but such a response would be very overwhelming for those arriving.” The request did not deter

Shai Reef, 20, who held up a sign that read: “Welcome to Canada” in Arabic. “I’m here to show my solidarity for and support of the Syrian people going through genocide in Syria,” Reef said. Toronto’s mayor tweeted a welcome, while the Toronto Star, the country’s largest newspaper, covered its front page with a “Welcome to Canada” banner headline in English and Arabic, along with an article explaining Canadian weather, ice hockey and slang. The reception in Canada contrasted sharply with that of the neighbouring United States, where fear of Syrian refugees following the deadly November 13 Paris attacks spurred opposition to allowing them entry. Some US governors said their states would not accept Syrian refugees. — Reuters

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2015

S P O R S I N D I A- PA K I S TA N C R I C K E T

Series won’t happen for a year if not held within January: PCB KARACHI: PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan has said if the proposed India-Pakistan bilateral series is not held within the next month it would not be possible to have one for the next one year. “I don’t see the series happening in the next one year if it is not held at this time as both teams have international commitment throughout 2016,” Khan said. He also made it clear that the bilateral series with India that is still undecided and the World T20 were two separate things. “This is a bilateral series between two nations the World T20 is an ICC event.” But the PCB chief said in an interview that the PCB will have to seek its government permission to send the team to India for the World T20 in March. “We are monitoring the situation but given the current environment in India with regards to Pakistan we will have to ask our government for permission whether the security situation is ok for us to send our team,” he said. — PTI INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE

Robin header gives Delhi win NEW DELHI: A disciplined and organised Delhi Dynamos rode on a Robin Singh’s header in the first half to win 1-0 against FC Goa in the first leg of the Indian Super League’s first semifinal here on Friday. Robin headed Dynamos ahead on 42th minute and the team preserved the lead for the rest of the contest and will march into the second leg at Goa on December 15 with the slim advantage. — IANS

Australia in control after Voges-Marsh record stand SCOREBOARD

Voges hit a majestic 269 not out and Marsh a career-high 182 to claim the world record for a fourth-wicket stand

HOBART: Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh combined for 449 runs and the sixth highest partnership in test cricket history to put Australia firmly in control after the second day of the first Test against West Indies on Friday. Voges hit a majestic 269 not out and Marsh a career-high 182 to claim the world record for a fourth-wicket stand, allowing Australia skipper Steve Smith licence to declare on 583 for four at lunch in Hobart. Spinner Nathan Lyon (3-43) and paceman Josh Hazlewood led the charge as the Australian bowlers drove home the advantage in the rain-disrupted final two sessions to reduce the tourists to 2076 at stumps. Darren Bravo gave a timely reminder that West Indies do have some quality in a defiant innings of 94 and will resume his 91-run partnership with Kemar Roach (31 not out) on day three looking to make further inroads into Australia’s 376-run lead. The day, though, belonged to

TON MAKERS: Australia’s Adam Voges, right, celebrates with team mate Shaun Marsh after getting his double century against the West Indies during their cricket Test match in Hobart. – AP/PTI

Western Australians Voges and Marsh, who were scarcely troubled in the opening session when, having resumed on 438-3, they plundered runs and sent records tumbling almost at will in an epic stand. “It was great to see those two do what they did,” Hazlewood told ABC radio. “Voges especially from ball one just hit the ball so well and was scoring at quite a quick rate without even trying. Really happy for Shaun Marsh as well.” The duo were separated when Marsh was caught at midwicket just before lunch, leaving them just two runs shy of the Australian record set by Bill Ponsford and Donald Bradman for the second

TEST SERIES

Sri Lanka’s hopes rest with Chandimal DUNEDIN: Sri Lanka’s hopes of getting close to New Zealand’s first innings total on Saturday rest on the shoulders of Dinesh Chandimal after he and Dimuth Karunaratne obstinately defied the Kiwi bowlers for much of the second day of the first Test at University Oval in Dunedin. Dismissed for 431 early in the first session, the hosts reduced Sri Lanka to 29 for two when Karunaratne (84) and Chandimal combined in a patient 122run partnership before the lefthanded opener was dismissed in the final session. With Angelo Mathews falling for two, just five runs later, Sri Lanka’s inexperienced side will now look to Chandimal to build on their close of play score of 197 for four and ensure they do not concede a mammoth first innings lead. The 26-year-old Chandimal, who is his country’s leading test run scorer in 2015 and assumed the mantle of the critical number four spot left by the retirement of Mahela Jayawardene, ended play on 83 and within sight of his sixth test century. New Zealand have only bowled one over with the second new ball, however, and opening bowler Trent Boult

felt there was still enough in the wicket to put pressure on Sri Lanka early on the third day. “If we can get one early the cliche is one brings two and we’ll be into the tail and that starts with (Rangana) Herath at eight,” Boult told reporters about the importance of breaking Chandimal’s partnership with Kithuruwan Vithanage, who was on 10. “That’s the incentive. We’re looking to turn up and put a strong foot forward.” Karunaratne and Chandimal had weathered a tough working over from New Zealand’s fourpronged pace attack and looked well settled to bat through until the close to drag their side closer to parity. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, however, managed to break their partnership when Karunaratne went to cut a delivery that did not turn and only succeeded in getting an edge to wicketkeeper BJ Watling for his third catch of the innings. The 30-year-old took his fourth catch when Tim Southee tempted Mathews with a full delivery on leg stump and he got a faint inside edge before the ball also brushed his pad. — Reuters

SCOREBOARD

New Zealand 1st innings: M. Guptill c Chandimal b Mathews 156 T. Latham c&b Lakmal 22 K. Williamson c Karunaratne b Pradeep 88 R. Taylor lbw b Pradeep 8 B. McCullum c Vithanage b Siriwardana 75 M. Santner c Chandimal b Chameera 12 B. Watling c Vithanage b Chameera 5 D. Bracewell lbw b Pradeep 47 T. Southee c Siriwardana b Lakmal 2 N. Wagner c Jayasundara b Pradeep 7 T. Boult not out 0 Extras (b-4, lb-3, nb-1, w-1) 9 Total (all out, 96.1 overs) 431 Fall of wickets: 1-56, 2-229, 3-245, 4-334, 5-359, 6-365, 7-394, 8-399, 9-426,10-431 Bowling: S. Lakmal 16-1-69-2; N. Pradeep 23.1-2-112-4; A. Mathews 9-2-28-1; D. Chameera 20-2-112-2 (w-1); R. Herath 19-1-46-0; U. Jayasundara 5-0-33-0 (nb-1);

M. Siriwardana 4-0-24-1 Sri Lanka 1st innings: D. Karunaratne c Watling b Santner 84 K. Mendis c Watling b Boult 8 U. Jayasundara c Watling b Wagner 1 D. Chandimal not out 83 A. Mathews c Watling b Southee 2 K. Vithanage not out 10 Extras (b-1, lb-4, nb-4) 9 Total (for 4 wickets, 81 overs) 197 Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-29, 3-151, 4-156 To bat: M. Siriwardana, R. Herath, D. Chameera, N. Pradeep, S. Lakmal Bowling: T. Boult 16-5-38-1; T. Southee 16-4-35-1; D. Bracewell 16-4-29-0 (nb-4); N. Wagner 13-2-53-1; M. Santner 19-6-37-1; K. Williamson 1-1-0-0 Umpires: Richard Kettleborough and Nigel Llong TV umpire: Paul Reiffel Match referee: David Boon

wicket against England at the Oval in 1934. Voges’s brilliant knock gave him his maiden test double century and overhauled the Bellerive Oval individual Test record of 209 that Ricky Ponting set against Pakistan in 2010. Still in his ﬁrst year of Test cricket after making his debut against West Indies in June, Voges may have been aggrieved that the declaration robbed him of a chance to go for a triple. The 36-year-old faced only 285 balls and hit 33 fours, including the one that took the partnership past the fourth-wicket record of 437 that Sri Lankans Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera scored against Pakistan in Kara-

chi in 2009. An attempted slog sweep by Marsh off left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican that went straight to Bravo at midwicket brought an end to a glorious partnership and, a couple of overs later, the innings. Hazlewood made an early breakthrough by trapping opener Kraigg Brathwaite lbw for two but it was not until Lyon came on that the West Indies wickets started tumbling. The 28-year-old, playing his 50th Test, dismissed Rajendra Chandrika (25), Marlon Samuels (9) and Jermaine Blackwood (0), the latter two in a wicket-maiden over shortly before tea. Hazlewood claimed his second victim when he trapped Denesh Ramdin (8) lbw before Peter Siddle

Australia 1st innings: J. Burns b Gabriel 33 D. Warner c Ramdin b Warrican 64 S. Smith c Blackwood b Warrican 10 A. Voges not out 269 S. Marsh c D. Bravo b Warrican 182 M. Marsh not out 1 Extras (b-4, lb-3, nb-14, w-3) 24 Total (for 4 wickets decl., 114 overs) 583 Fall of wickets: 1-75, 2-104, 3-121, 4-570 Did not bat: P. Nevill, P. Siddle, J. Pattinson, J. Hazlewood, N. Lyon Bowling: J. Taylor 17-0-108-0 (nb-2, w-1); K. Roach 16-1-99-0 (nb-4, w-1); S. Gabriel 10-1-59-1 (nb-4); J. Holder 24-375-0 (nb-4, w-1); J. Warrican 28-1-158-3; K. Brathwaite 13-0-52-0; J. Blackwood 6-0-25-0 West Indies 1st innings: K. Brathwaite lbw b Hazlewood 2 R. Chandrika c Smith b Lyon 25 D. Bravo not out 94 M. Samuels c & b Lyon 9 J. Blackwood c Burns b Lyon 0 D. Ramdin b Hazlewood 8 J. Holder lbw b Siddle 15 K. Roach not out 31 Extras (b-7, lb-10, nb-5, w-1) 23 Total (for 6 wickets, 65 overs) 207 Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-58, 3-78, 4-78, 5-89, 6-116, To bat: J. Taylor, J. Warrican, S. Gabriel Bowling: J. Hazlewood 16-4-43-2; J. Pattinson 15-0-68-0 (nb-5, w-1); P. Siddle 12-5-221; N. Lyon 19-6-43-3; M. Marsh 3-1-14-0 Umpires: Marais Erasmus & Ian Gould TV umpire: Chris Gaffaney Match referee: Chris Broad

took the ﬁnal wicket to fall when West Indies skipper Jason Holder (15) was also adjudged lbw by a delivery that technology showed was going over the stumps. - Reuters

A 12

S ATUR DAY, DECEMBER 12 , 2 015

SPORTS Team Oman to take on Ireland in World T20 opener in Dharamsala Oman has been grouped with Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands and will play all the ﬁrst round group matches at Dharamsala

Sports Editor MUSCAT: Debutants Oman has been grouped with Bangladesh, Netherlands and Ireland in Group A for the first round matches of the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, according to International Cricket Council, who announced the groups and schedule for the tournament. The tournament will be staged across eight venues in India from March 8 and April 3. A total of 58 tournament matches, including 35 men’s matches and 23 women’s matches, will be played in the 27-day tournament in Bengaluru, Chennai, Dharamsala, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi. New Delhi and Mumbai will host the semifinals on 30 and 31 March, respectively, while Eden Gardens in Kolkata will be the venue of the April 3 final. According to http www.icccricket.com, the men’s event will carry a total prize money of $5.6million, which is an 86 per cent increase from the 2014 tournament, while the total prize money for the women’s event is $400,000, which is a 122 per cent increase from the Bangladesh event. There have been five different winners of the men’s event while the England women’s team won the inaugural tournament at home in 2009 before Australia won three straight titles in the West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2010, 2012 and 2014, respectively. According to the men’s event format, eight sides in two groups of four, will feature in the first round matches with the group winners joining eight sides in the Super 10 stage (two groups of five teams). The top two sides from both the Super 10 Groups will then qualify for the semifinals. In the women’s event, the 10 sides will be divided into two groups and the top two

SMILING TRIO: Indian cricketers Shikhar Dhawan, left, Virat Kohli, centre, and Ajinkya Rahane, right, smile while posing with the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 trophy. - AFP

sides from each group will progress to the semifinals. In Group B of the first round men’s event, Zimbabwe, Scotland, Hong Kong and Afghanistan are together. In a double-header on the opening day on March 8, Zimbabwe will face Hong Kong in the afternoon match, to be followed by the evening match between Scotland and Afghanistan. Both the matches will be played in Nagpur. The group winners will join Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and host India in the Super 10 stage, which will be played alongside the women’s event from March 15 to 28. Oman, who will be based in Dharamsala for the first round, opens their campaign with a match against Ireland on March 9. They will next face Netherlands on March 11 and Bangladesh on March 13. To qualify for the next round Oman has to top the group. India, Pakistan in same group Meanwhile, a Reuters report from

Mumbai said that hosts India will kick off the Super 10 stage of the World Twenty20 on March 15 in Nagpur against New Zealand. Defending men’s champions Sri Lanka have been placed in group one of the Super 10 stage along with South Africa, West Indies, England and a qualifier. Group two of the Super 10 stage will see hosts India, who won the inaugural tournament in South Africa in 2007, pooled alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and another qualifier. The high-voltage match between bitter neighbours India and Pakistan will be played on March 19 in picturesque Dharamsala. ICC Chairman Mr Shashank Manohar, who attended the launch ceremony in Mumbai, said: “India is a country where cricket is a religion and not many places can match the passion for the game like India. I am fully confident that the Board of Control for Cricket in India will deliver an outstanding world cricket event, just like the ICC Cricket World Cups in 1987, 1996 and 2011.

SAILING

“The ICC and BCCI are fully committed and will work together to make this a memorable event. I invite fans from across the world to witness fast-paced cricketing action on the field and enjoy the hospitality and culture of India, off it.” ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “The ICC World Twenty20 is an event which puts the world’s best cricketers in the shortest format of the game against each other in a nation versus nation contest. “The Twenty20 format provides the perfect vehicle by which the ICC can further globalise the game, providing international exposure and opportunity to our top Associate and Affiliate members. The ICC World Twenty20 event structure is designed to provide highly competitive matches throughout, with eight evenly-matched sides fighting it out in the first round and the best two then getting in the mix with the top eight ranked teams in the Super 10 stage where the intensity and competition will be of the very highest level.” BCCI Secretary Mr Anurag

ANNOUNCING FIXTURES: ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar speaks during a ceremony to announce ﬁxtures of World T20 in Mumbai. – Reuters

Thakur said: “We, as hosts, are fully prepared to organise one of the most entertaining spectacles in world cricket. We draw experience from hosting three ICC Cricket World Cups and are ready to make the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 one of the most memorable events. “Our preparations are in full swing, and BCCI and ICC is working together to make it a lifetime experience for the players and the fans. India is a vibrant country – young, full of colour, energy and exuberance - and is very much like the concept of Twenty20 cricket itself. We would encourage everyone involved with the game to experience the best of India.” Tournament schedule First round (group winners to progress to second round): Group A – Bangladesh, Netherlands, Ireland and Oman Group B – Zimbabwe, Scotland, Hong Kong and Afghanistan Second round groups: Super 10 Group 1 – Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, England and winner group B (Q1B)

Super 10 Group 2 – India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and winner group A (Q1A) First round matches: March 8: Zimbabwe v Hong Kong, Nagpur; Scotland v Afghanistan, Nagpur March 9: Bangladesh v Netherlands, Dharamsala; Ireland v Oman, Dharamsala March 10: Scotland v Zimbabwe, Nagpur; Hong Kong v Afghanistan, Nagpur March 11: Netherlands v Oman, Dharamsala; Bangladesh v Ireland, Dharamsala March 12: Zimbabwe v Afghanistan, Nagpur; Scotland v Hong Kong, Nagpur March 13: Netherlands v Ireland, Dharamsala; Bangladesh v Oman, Dharamsala. Super 10: March 15: New Zealand v India, Nagpur March 16: West Indies v England, Mumbai; Pakistan v Q1A, Kolkata March 17: Sri Lanka v Q1B, Kolkata March 18: Australia v New Zealand, Dharamsala; South Africa v England, Mumbai March 19: India v Pakistan, Dharamsala March 20: South Africa v Q1B, Mumbai; Sri Lanka v West Indies, Bengaluru March 21: Australia v Q1A, Bengaluru March 22: New Zealand v Pakistan, Mohali March 23: England v Q1B, New Delhi; India v Q1A, Bengaluru March 25: Pakistan v Australia, Mohali; South Africa v West Indies, Nagpur March 26: Q1A v New Zealand, Kolkata; England v Sri Lanka, New Delhi March 27: India v Australia, Mohali; Q1B v West Indies Nagpur March 28: South Africa v Sri Lanka, New Delhi March 30: Semiﬁnal (Super 10 Group 1 2nd v Super 10 Group 2 1st), New Delhi March 31: Semi-ﬁnal (Super 10 Group 1 1st v Super 10 Group 2 2nd), Mumbai April 3: Final, Kolkata.

MOTOR SPORTS

Strong Sydney breeze brings out Oman Racing Team excel for Aston the best in The Wave, Muscat Martin with pole at Yas Marina MUSCAT: A howling breeze proved merciless in Sydney on Friday curtailing the Extreme Sailing Series race programme but bringing out the best in The Wave, Muscat who moved up the rankings to be joint leaders with Oman Air close behind in third. With winds in Sydney Harbour gusting 28 knots, race management and skippers had safety as their focus as the schedule was shortened to just four races and the ﬂeet limited to just six boats on the race course but Leigh McMillan and his crew on The Wave, Muscat, renowned for their high wind performance, claimed maximum points in two races to rise to the top with 83 points, sharing the lead with SAP Extreme Sailing Team. McMillan, who is hoping to nail his third Extreme Sailing Series championship title on Sunday described the conditions as ‘aggressive’ saying a gust which led to the capsize of Lino Sonego Team Italia had served as a wake-up call for his team. “These were pretty unusual conditions with winds we don’t normally see in Sydney,” said McMillan. “We are racing close to the shore so we are very conscious of safety. Conditions at the top of the course were very aggressive so we didn’t feel we could push very hard because we were always on the edge. “In the ﬁrst race we didn’t really pull the trigger so in the next races, we had to concentrate more on performance. It was pretty full on out there but it ended up being a

GREAT DAY: The Wave, Muscat skippered by Leigh McMillan with team mates Pete Greenhalgh, Nasser Al Mashari, Sarah Ayton and Ed Smyth cruising well. – Supplied photo

good day for us. “Our focus is purely on trying to win so we have to concentrate on staying at the front and not falling behind.” It had been a relief to ﬁnish the day without sustaining any damage added teammate Sarah Ayton, recently-crowned ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year. Omani bowman Nasser Al Mashari added: “It was a tough day for our team and the strong winds required some more physical work. There are two more days left and our focus is on winning the title and raising our national ﬂag.” While The Wave, Muscat and SAP Extreme Sailing Team share the lead on 83 points, Stevie Morrison’s Oman Air are snapping at their heels just three points behind

despite ﬁnding the conditions challenging. The strong performances from The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air have placed the Sultanate of Oman ﬁrmly at the forefront of the sporting action attracting high levels of support from the massive crowds lining the harbour and from the Australian and global media and off the water, Oman is also grabbing attention with the opening on Friday of Oman Sail’s special Oman Tourism Pavilion by His Excellency Dr. Hamad bin Ali bin Abdullah Al Alawi, Consul General at the Sultanate’s Consulate in Australia, joined by Salim bin Adi Al Mamari - Director General of Tourism Promotion for the Ministry of Tourism.

ABU DHABI: Ahmad Al Harthy and fellow Oman Racing Team drivers Darren Turner and Jonny Adam made history for Aston Martin at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi after securing pole position for the Gulf 12 Hours during the marque’s maiden appearance in the event. Running superbly from the off throughout practice, Omani sportsman Al Harthy and his vastly experienced British teammates went on to deliver sensational performances in their respective qualifying sessions to ensure a hugely important gridtopping start for the big race. Adam, the reigning British GT Champion and, like Turner, an Aston Martin ‘factory’ driver, took the wheel of the No.44 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 in the opening qualifying run and duly headed his session with a time of 2:09.341 seconds. Ahmad ran in session two and produced an excellent fifth fastest time, a lap of 2:10.337 seconds, before Turner’s best of 2:09.388 seconds — third quickest in session three — meant the ORT entry secured pole position by 0.083 seconds with an average time of 2:09.688 seconds. “We did it!”, said an ecstatic Ahmad immediately after qualifying, “This is a mega result for everyone at the Oman Racing Team, to come to the Gulf 12 Hours for the first time, the first time for Aston Martin, and take pole posi-

GOOD GOING: Ahmad Al Harthy and fellow Oman Racing Team drivers made history for Aston Martin at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi after securing pole position for the Gulf 12 Hours. – Supplied photo

tion is incredible – I’m absolutely delighted. It really is the perfect way to start and confirmation of the great work everyone has done over the last couple of days. “Everything went to plan, the team continued to work on the car and then Jonny and Darren both did the amazing job we all knew they would. I was very happy with my session, I’ve been working closely with my team-mates and improving throughout – my qualifying lap was my best yet at Yas Marina so that is very positive.” In addition to being Aston Martin’s first outing in the Gulf 12 Hours, this year’s event also marks the first race meeting in the Middle East for the full Oman Racing Team. Ahmad, who is the

Aston Martin Middle East and North Africa Ambassador, is also participating in the Gulf 12 Hours for the ﬁrst time. Ahead of the ﬁnal contest, which is split into two six hour contests with a break of roughly two hours in between, the Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Ooredoo, National Bank of Oman and Al Hashar Group-backed driver is relishing the prospect of delivering a strong showing. “It’s going to be a big challenge and a long race, I really am looking forward to it”, he added, “It’s been fantastic working with Darren and Jonny, we have a great environment within the team and we’re all determined to push incredibly hard for a big result.”

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM S ATU RDAY, DEC EM BE R 12, 2015

MARKE

STANDARD CHARTERED ED SHARE SALE RAISES $5.1B Standard Chartered raised about ut $5.1 billion after 96.8 per cent of the bank’s hts shareholders exercised their rights ling in a share sale on Friday, signaling ’s conﬁdence in CEO Bill Winters’s strategy to turn around the Asia-focused lender. >B3

DOWDUPONT

Dow-DuPont merger move to create $130b chemical giant DuPont shares were down four per cent at $71.50 in premarket trading on Friday, while Dow’s were up 1.5 per cent at $55.72.

NEW YORK: Chemical giants DuPont and Dow Chemical agreed to merge in an all-stock deal valuing the combined company at $130 billion, with plans to eventually split into three. The deal, which is likely to face intense regulatory scrutiny, allows the new company — to be called DowDuPont — to rejig assets based on the diverging fortunes of their businesses that make agriculture chemicals and plastics.

A game-changer “This transaction is a gamechanger for our industry and reﬂects the culmination of a vision we have had for more than a decade to bring together these two powerful innovation and material science leaders,” Liveris said in a statement. Dow Chemical shareholders will get one DowDuPont share for each Dow Chemical share held, while DuPont shareholders will get 1.282 shares in DowDuPont for each DuPont share they own. The companies said the split would “occur as soon as feasible” and would likely happen 1824 months after the deal closes, which is expected in the second half of 2016. The combination will help the companies save about $3 billion in costs in the ﬁrst two years, with the possibility of saving another $1 billion, Dow and DuPont said. The biggest of the three new

Falling demand Dow and DuPont have been struggling to cope with falling demand for farm chemicals due to falling crop prices and a strong dollar, even as their plastics businesses have thrived thanks to low natural gas prices. The companies said the proposed split would create businesses focused on agriculture, materials and specialty products. Dow and DuPont shareholders will each own about 50 per cent of DowDuPont, excluding preferred shares. DuPont CEO Ed Breen will be CEO of DowDuPont, and Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris will be executive chairman.

KEY POINTS

MATERIAL SCIENCE LEADER: Sign at the entrance to the DuPont chemical plant is pictured in LaPorte,

Texas, 26 miles downtown Houston, in this November ﬁle photo. Dow Chemical and DuPont are in merger talks, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. — Reuters

companies by revenue would be a material science company, which would cater to the packaging, transportation and infrastructure industries. The combined revenue for the materials business was

about $51 billion in 2014, on an adjusted basis. The companies said a new specialty products company would focus on electronics. The combined adjusted revenue of that business was about $13 billion in

2014. The third business, selling seed and crop protection chemicals, generated adjusted revenue of about $19 billion. DowDuPont’s board is expected to have 16 members, with each

IEA expects global crude glut to last until late 2016 Opec’s policy is hitting rivals, triggering the steepest drop in non-Opec supply since 1992, world oil inventories will likely swell further once Iran restores exports on the completion of a deal to lift sanctions

GLOOMY SCENARIO: Production from outside Opec will contract by 600,000 barrels a day next year, compared with a surge of 2.4 million a day in 2014, the International Energy Agency predicted. — Bloomberg ﬁle picture

LONDON: The global oil surplus will persist at least until late 2016 as demand growth slows and Opec shows “renewed determination” to maximise output, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), by effectively dropping production limits at its December 4 meeting, is displaying hardened resolve to maintain sales volumes even as prices fall in an oversupplied market, the agency said Friday in its monthly report. While its policy is hitting rivals, triggering the steepest drop in non-Opec supply since

1992, world oil inventories will likely swell further once Iran restores exports on the completion of a deal to lift sanctions, it said. Oil slumped to a six-year low below $40 a barrel in London after Opec, which controls about 40 per cent of world supply, said it would keep pumping in excess of its old production limit. Saudi Arabia, the group’s most powerful member, has steered its strategy to pressure rivals in the US with lower prices. “As inventories continue to swell into 2016, there will still be a lot of oil weighing on the market,” said the Paris- based agency,

which advises 29 nations on energy policy. Opec’s decision last week “appears to signal a renewed determination to maximise lowcost Opec supply and drive out high-cost non-Opec production — regardless of price.” Swelling inventories Abandoning output targets doesn’t mean Opec is about to further open the taps, as its biggest members — Saudi Arabia and Iraq — are already pumping near record levels, the agency said. The group probably won’t bolster output until Iran completes an agreement on its nuclear pro-

gram that would lift sanctions on crude exports, the IEA predicted. Iran’s return will probably help to swell oil inventories by an “impressive” 300 million barrels, the agency said. The accumulation of the surplus will actually slow next year to about half the pace observed in 2015 as non-Opec supply wilts and demand remains strong enough to absorb some of the excess. The combination of rising consumption and an expansion in storage facilities means the world won’t run out of space to store the surplus crude, the agency said. Strategy working

“There is evidence the Saudiled strategy is starting to work,” the agency said. “Oil below $50 is clearly driving out non-Opec supply.” Production from outside Opec will contract by 600,000 barrels a day next year, compared with a surge of 2.4 million a day in 2014, the IEA predicted. Oil demand growth will slow to 1.2 million barrels a day in 2016, down from a ﬁve-year peak of 1.8 million reached this year, as the boost from cheap fuel prices wears off, IEA said. The agency’s 2016 estimates of demand and supply are unchanged from last month’s report. — Bloomberg News

C O M M E R C E D E PA R T M E N T D ATA

US November retail sales rise highest in 4 months

STRONG DEMAND: Eight of 13 major categories showed increases last month. Those seeing an improvement in demand included Internet retailers, general merchandise stores, apparel shops and sporting-goods merchants. Restaurant sales climbed 0.7 per cent, the most since April. — Bloomberg ﬁle picture

WASHINGTON: Retail sales climbed in November by the most in four months as American consumers put to work some of the money saved from the cheapest gasoline since early 2009. The 0.2 per cent increase in November, less than forecast, followed a 0.1 per cent gain in the previous month, Commerce Department ﬁgures showed on Friday. Excluding purchases of autos and gasoline, retail purchases climbed 0.5 per cent, also the biggest advance since July. A labour market that’s put millions back to work this year and propelled disposable income has also given households a little more to spend, a development that should help retailers during the holidays. Faster wage growth would provide an even bigger

boost for consumers and encourage broad-based spending beyond big-ticket items such as autos and appliances. The median forecast of 80 economists in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.3 per cent increase in sales. Estimates ranged from a 0.3 per cent decline to a 0.5 per cent pickup. There were no revisions to September or October data. Eight of 13 major categories showed increases last month. Those seeing an improvement in demand included Internet retailers, general merchandise stores, apparel shops and sporting-goods merchants. Restaurant sales climbed 0.7 per cent, the most since April. Receipts at gas stations weighed on the retail sales ﬁgures in November, as the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline fell 6.7 per cent last month, based on data

from motoring group AAA. Receipts at ﬁlling stations dropped 0.8 per cent. The retail sales data aren’t adjusted for changes in pricing. Auto sales Sales also fell at automobile dealers last month. The 0.4 per cent decrease, after a 0.3 per cent decline, is at odds with industry data from Ward’s Automotive Group showed sales of cars and light trucks in November exceeded an 18 million annualised rate for a record third straight month. Based on the industry data, the appetite for new cars is fueled by an improving economy, along with carmakers using rebates and other offers to draw shoppers to their showrooms and away from rivals. — Bloomberg News

Each co’s shareholders to get about 50 pct of DowDuPont

DuPont CEO Breen to get top job at combined company

Dow CEO Liveris to be executive chairman

DuPont shares down 4% premarket, Dow up 1.5%

company contributing eight directors, the companies said. In a separate announcement, Dow Chemical said it would buy the remaining stake in its 50-50 joint venture with Corning Inc , the supplier of Gorilla Glass for iPhones. The transaction is expected to yield more than $1 billion in additional annual EBITDA at full run-rate synergies, Dow Chemical said. — Reuters

CURRENCY

Indian rupee hits 2-year trough against greenback MUMBAI: Indian rupee fell back sharply after a strong overnight rally and ended with a 17 paise loss at 66.88 against the US dollar, the lowest level in more than two years in the face of strong demand for greenback. Fresh dollar demand from importers drive by heavy capital outflows and a steep fall in local equities largely weighed on the rupee value. Some caution ahead of the key economic data — industrial production numbers for October — which is due later in the day also impacted the trade. Market sentiments remained jittery with an imminent higher interest rate environment arising out of the US Federal Reserve’s action next week. Weak dollar overseas, however, limited the fall. The home currency opened lower at 66.80 per dollar compared to Thursday’s close of 66.71 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on fresh dollar demand from banks and importers. Later, it recovered some lost ground and moved erratically in a range of 66.74 and 66.90 in afternoon trade before concluding at 66.88, revealing a fall of 17 paise, or 0.25 per cent. The Indian rupee had appreciated by 12 paise to end at 66.71. Highly cautious Market participants are highly cautious at this juncture ahead of the much awaited Fed rate hike decision next week and the potential impact on the country’s currency as India will not be immune if global volatility increases, a forex dealer said. In worldwide trade, the dollar traded little changed against other major currencies ahead of US retail data despite robust US jobs data overnight. China’s yuan dropped to its lowest level against the dollar in over four years impacted by economic slowdown and hefty capital outflows even as the central bank steadily guides the currency lower. Meanwhile, the Bank of England (BoE) decided to keep the benchmark rate unchanged at 0.50 per cent as expected in the wake of slight deterioration in the outlook for the global economy and inflationary pressure. The dollar index, which tracks the world’s reserve currency against a basket of its peers, is down 0.14 per cent at 97.78. Crude oil extended weakness for the fifth consecutive day with the Brent contract closing below the $40 per barrel for the first time since August 2004. The stock market flagship index Sensex plummeted over 208 points to end at 25,044.43 after overnight relief rally faltered on renewed worries about global growth woes amid falling oil prices. — PTI

S ATUR DAY, D ECEMBER 12 , 2 015

MARKET China’s November lending beats analysts expectations Chinese banks extended 708.9 billion yuan ($109.81 billion) of new loans last month, more than the 700 billion yuan economists had expected and up 38% from October

BEIJING: New loans and money supply grew faster than expected in China in November as interest rate cuts and higher government spending spurred more demand for credit, a welcome bright spot after a raft of disappointing economic data. Chinese banks extended 708.9 billion yuan ($109.81 billion) of new loans last month, more than the 700 billion yuan economists had expected and up 38 percent from October. Total social ﬁnancing, a broader measure of net new credit, more than doubled to 1.02 trillion yuan from the previous month, while broad money supply (M2) rose 13.7 per cent year-on-year, its strongest pace since June 2014 and up from 13.5 per cent in October. The stronger showing was led by increases in conventional lending, bond issuance, and corporate fundraising via equity markets, while forms of credit associated with riskier shadow banking products continued to decline, Friday’s date showed. In addition, the new lending was dominated by the long-term and medium-term loans that Bei-

ROBUST DEMAND: A crane loads containers at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province in this January 2013 file photo. November exports fell for a fifth consecutive month and imports declined for the 13th month straight, while weak consumer and producer prices raised concerns that the economy could be sucked into a Japan-style deflationary trap. — Reuters

jing wants. They comprised 65 per cent of total new loans, up from 50 per cent in the first nine months. Policymakers have been trying to boost productive investment through monetary easing without stimulating unhealthy speculation, which is often fueled by shorter-term financing. Beijing has been pushing hard to get bogged-down infrastructure spending back on track to offset slowing economic growth; in October fiscal expenditures rocketed up 36.1 per cent, the biggest rise in over three years. Outstanding loans rose by 14.9 per cent from a year ago, below expectations of 15.3 per cent and October’s 15.4 per cent. Mixed picture Other data earlier this week showed downward pressure on

the world’s second-largest economy persisted in November, worrying those who had expected activity to stabilise in the fourth quarter after a year-long flurry of stimulus measures including both rate cuts and fiscal spending. “Aside from seasonal factors driving up new loans, the rebound was weaker than expected and lower than the 852.7 billion yuan in November 2014, indicating that domestic demand remained soft and banks were cautious to provide new loans amid rising credit risks,” wrote ANZ economists in a research note, calling for more rate cuts in response. November exports fell for a fifth consecutive month and imports declined for the 13th month straight, while weak consumer and producer prices raised con-

BANKING

cerns that the economy could be sucked into a Japan-style deﬂationary trap. Activity data for November, including industrial output, investment and retail sales, is due to be released on Saturday. Bad loans on the rise Credit demand has softened in China along with the economy, while bad loans are on the rise, making banks more risk averse. Many companies, especially in heavy industry, are saddled with overcapacity and are in no mood to take on new debt, especially given that analysts estimate that inﬂation-adjusted lending rates are averaging around 10 per cent, far higher than returns on investment in many sectors. China’s central bank has cut

interest rates six times since last November and reduced the amount of cash that banks must set aside as reserves. The government has also eased restrictions on home buying to boost the sluggish property market. More support measures are expected in coming months. “As deﬂationary pressure persists and capital outﬂows continue, we expect the PBOC to cut banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 50 basis points (bps) in the remainder of December as well as a total of 200 bps in 2016 to maintain adequate liquidity and support growth,” ANZ economists said. “Meanwhile, we expect the Standing Lending Facility (SLF) rates to be cut by at least 100bps next year.” — Reuters

RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

India’s Rajan expects Fed to raise rates KOLKATA: Indian central bank Governor Raghuram Rajan expects Federal Reserve policy makers to increase interest rates by as much as a quarter point next week. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is looking at a 70 per cent to 75 per cent probability of a rate hike based on an assessment of market movements, Rajan told reporters on Friday after a central bank board meeting in Kolkata. India is ready for any eventuality and the central bank will determine how much liquidity to supply, he said. “The Fed has prepared the way very carefully for an increase, so likely at this point they will go ahead -- at least that is our betting,” Rajan said. “I don’t know how much it would be. My guess is not more than 25 basis points, but it could be anywhere between 0 and 25 basis points, probably between 1 and 25.” Rajan, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, left the highest borrowing costs in major Asian economies unchanged earlier this month as risks to his inﬂation target increase. Goldman Sachs Group, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group and Mizuho Bank expect him to keep India’s repurchase rate at 6.75 percent throughout 2016. India’s world-beating 7.4 per cent pace of economic growth hasn’t prevented declines in stocks, bonds and currency as investors brace for a looming US rate increase. The rupee has weakened 1.8 per cent against the dollar so far this quarter, one of Asia’s worst performances, while the S&P BSE Sensex is down 4.5 per cent in the same period. Probability the Fed will increase its benchmark by its next meeting on Dec. 15-16 was 78 per cent, according to futures data compiled by Bloomberg. The calculation is based on the assumption the effective federal funds rate will average 0.375 per cent after liftoff, compared with the current range of zero to 0.25 per cent. — Bloomberg News

ECONOMY

Greece struggles with creditors on banks’ non-performing loans ATHENS: Greece is aiming for a deal with international lenders on Friday on the next set of reforms to unlock additional aid, but differences remain over how to handle banks’ bad loans. Athens is struggling to keep non-performing loans to small business and consumers out of the clutches of so-called vulture funds that buy loan books of distressed debt at a discount and try to recover the money. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ government started a new round of talks with euro zone institutions and the IMF this week on the bad loans, as well as splitting off the country’s power grid operator from dominant electricity utility PPC and making state sector wages dependent on performance. Four systemic banks After successfully completing the recapitalisation of its four systemic banks and qualifying for two billion euros ($2.19 billion) in bailout loans last month, Athens must enact this second set of reforms to qualify for one billion euros by the end of the month. Athens aims to pass the law by December 18, parliament officials said. “Our effort is to conclude talks on Friday,” said a government ofﬁcial who participated in the talks with the heads of the EU/IMF

VITAL FACTS

Greece wants deal with lenders on reforms this week

Non-peforming loans main sticking point in talks

Government submits key points of pension reform to lenders

mission at a central Athens hotel. “The main hurdle is non-performing loans. Our side is trying to exempt mortgages and small business and consumer loans from being transferred to private funds.” Talks were expected to drag on until late on Thursday and also cover the structure of a new privatisation fund which Germany and other creditors insisted on to pay down debt. Another government official said there was convergence on public sector wages and an energy ministry official said Athens was also likely to reach agreement on the power grid operator. Seperately, the government submitted to the creditors an initial draft of a tough pension reform seen as the biggest political hurdle in the coming months for Tsipras’s

leftist-led coalition, with just a three-seat parliamentary majority. The reform must be adopted in January prior to the first bailout review. Five years of austerity After five years of austerity including 12 pension cuts, the government plans to increase social security contributions instead of slashing main pensions again. But the lenders have signalled reluctance, saying it could further damage employment. Greece has pledged to cut spending on pensions by one per cent of GDP or 1.8 billion euros next year. It says it can cover most of this amount from a recent retirement age increase but still needs to find 600 million euros. “Hell, there must be ways to find those 600 million euros. It’s not 6 billion, it’s 600 million,” Tsipras said in a television interview on Monday after critics said he would struggle to avoid a new round of unpopular cuts. If successful, the bailout review will open the way for talks on debt relief, which Tsipras urgently seeks to convince Greeks that their sacrifices are bearing fruit. “If there is no deal now, for the one billion euros, everything else will be pushed back,” the first official further said. — Reuters

GROWTH ENGINE: Growth in Germany averaged 1.2 per cent between 1998 and 2005, while unemployment climbed into double ﬁgures. — Bloomberg ﬁle picture

New changing face of the German economic miracle LONDON: For decades the image of the archetypal German household has been one of thrifty stoicism in the popular imagination — a stereotype that has been actively encouraged by Angela Merkel, who has often paid homage to the proverbial schwäbische hausfrau. That might be changing. The German postwar economic miracle — the wirtschaftswunder — driven in no small part by the failure of worker pay to keep up with productivity gains is now undergoing a dramatic shift. With unemployment in the country at record lows and wages ﬁnally rising, analysts expect the driver of Europe’s largest economy to move from exports to consumer spending. As Hans-Werner Sinn, president of Germany’s Ifo institute, said on Wednesday: “Private consumption remains the pillar of the upswing [in 2016] because the income outlook of private households continues to be good on the

back of a further improved labour market situation.” Yet not everyone is convinced that this represents a structural shift away from the mercantilist policies of the recent past. Regulation and reuniﬁcation

Although Germany has been seen as a powerhouse economy over recent years, churning out solid GDP growth even as the eurozone as a whole struggled to recover from the financial crisis, in the late 1990s and the early 2000s the country was often called “the sick man of Europe.” Growth averaged 1.2 per cent between 1998 and 2005, while unemployment climbed into double figures. In the background, significant changes were afoot. In West Germany in the 1980s a combination of strong labour unions and stringent labour market regulation helped keep negotiated wage settlements high even as the unemployment rate hovered around eight per cent.

That meant, in effect, West German industry was becoming less competitive as labour costs outstripped productivity growth and regulations kept potential workers out of the labour supply. That all started to change in 1990s with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the reuniﬁcation with East Germany. While this led to a period of painful adjustment — from 1993-2003 West Germany spent around 900 billion euros ($983 million in net transfers), it also saw the beginnings of a recovery in competitiveness that would only build momentum over the next two decades. Consumer businesses also cut costs through a policy of domestic outsourcing, where employers used contractors, temp agencies and franchises rather than hiring employees directly. So wages in those industries fell 10 per cent to 15 per cent, compared with similar jobs that weren’t outsourced. — Bloomberg News

SAT URDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2015

MARKET MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

China’s Internet trio wields $80b deal firepower in 2016 TAIPEI: China’s three biggest Internet companies could be set for another record year of deals as their cash piles swell, unprofitable startups sell out and consolidation sweeps the crowded industry. Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings and Baidu could draw on more than $80 billion for mergers and acquisitions in 2016, according to analysts at BNP Paribas. That could enable them to easily surpass the record $30 billion spent this year according to Bloomberg data, as they buy their way into so-called online-to-offline Web services such as delivery services and physical retailing. With the market for such services potentially worth more than $1 trillion in coming years, a shake-up is in the offing. The trio’s deals should quicken a consolidation along the lines of the $15 billion merger of group-buying sites Meituan.com and Dianping.com and the creation of taxi-hailing giant Didi Kuaidi, both of which involved Alibaba and Tencent. The triumvirate known as BAT are seeking out new markets to

more difficult to obtain in a slowing economy. Many startups that had been burning cash through big incentives to draw customers are now facing pressure from their investors to cut their losses. Alibaba declined to comment on BNP’s calculations, while Tencent didn’t respond to an e-mailed request for comment. Baidu doesn’t earmark a budget for deals, which can be done with cash or equity or both, Baidu investor relations ofﬁcial Sharon Ng said in an e-mail. “We need to see strong strategic rationale,’ she said.

Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings and Baidu could draw on more than $80 billion for mergers and acquisitions in 2016, according to analysts at BNP Paribas. That could enable them to easily surpass the record $30 billion spent this year according to Bloomberg data

move beyond core businesses of e-commerce or advertising. Alibaba alone would be able to spend as much as $38 billion on deals next year, analysts at BNP Paribas calculated based on available cash, its ability to take on debt and projected cash ﬂows. By the same

measures, Tencent could deploy $35 billion and Baidu about $15 billion, analysts led by Vey-Sern Ling wrote in a report Thursday. More deals to happen “There’s deﬁnitely potential for many more deals to happen,”

said Michelle Ma, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “BAT are consolidating and they’re going after smaller players which may struggle to survive on their own.” Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu are rapidly emerging as go-to buyers, with venture ﬁnancing becoming

Heavy subsidies China’s burgeoning market for “O2O” — online services delivered or fulﬁlled in the physical world — is crammed with hundreds of small players providing everything from massages and food delivery to handyman services. In the rush to grow their user base, most, including Alibaba- and Tencentbacked operators, eschew proﬁts and resort to heavy subsidies and marketing.

705 million new shares include those bought by IMPROVING OVERSIGHT: Volkswagen Chief Executive Matthias Mueller (right) and Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch laugh prior to making a statement during a news conference in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Thursday. — Reuters

‘Only small group of employees are to be blamed for emissions scandal’

US emissions tests VW admitted in September it had cheated US emissions tests and installed software capable of deceiving regulators on up to 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide, news that wiped billions of euros off its market value and forced out its long-time CEO. Some US lawmakers were heavily critical of the company in the following days when it blamed a handful of rogue engineers, even though investigations were only getting underway. But VW’s reputation was given a boost on Wednesday when it said another scandal involving the understatement of carbon dioxide emissions was not as bad as feared. “One could argue they should have revealed what they know a lot sooner than two-anda-half months after the crisis started, but they are raising their game now,” said Stefan Bratzel, head of the Center of Automotive Management think-tank. “It will be important to maintain that level of exchange with the public in coming months

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

Standard Chartered share sale raises $5.1b

BUSINESS CRISIS

WOLFSBURG, (Germany): Volkswagen (VW) said on Thursday only a small group of employees was responsible for cheating US diesel emissions tests and there was no indication board members were involved in the biggest business crisis in the carmaker’s history. Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch said investigations into the affair were going well, but the scandal was the result of a “chain of errors” and it would still take months to say which individuals were to blame. Europe’s biggest motor manufacturer said it had agreed steps to improve oversight of engine-software development to avoid any future emissions test manipulations. It also hoped to reach agreement with US environmental authorities in the next few days or weeks so the company can start to recall affected cars there. Cooperation with those authorities was described as “excellent”.

The overall market could be worth 10 trillion yuan ($1.6 trillion) eventually, HSBC analysts led by Chi Tsang wrote in a November report. Tencent, the maker of the WeChat and QQ messaging apps, is ahead in deals this year, taking part in 37 completed or pending acquisitions totalling $16.3 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Alibaba is close behind, with 27 deals that total $15 billion, while Baidu trails at 15 acquisitions for $878 million. “Consolidation favours the strong,” BNP analysts led by VeySern Ling said in a 40-page outlook on China’s Internet industry. “The merged entities beneﬁt from reduced competition, while BAT get to further their strategic goals and still beneﬁt from a broadened ecosystem.” — Bloomberg News

VITAL STATS

No board members said to be involved

Will take months to identify those guilty

VW hopes to reach agreement with U.S. authorities

Mueller to visit Detroit motor show

Company plans major structural change

Singaporean stateowned investment ﬁrm, Temasek Holdings, Standard Chartered’s largest shareholder, a statement released by the bank said

Bill Winters, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered. — Bloomberg

sank 1.1 per cent on Friday. The 705 million new shares include those bought by Temasek Holdings, Standard Chartered’s largest shareholder, according to the statement. The Singaporean stateowned investment ﬁrm intended to take up rights for 15.8 per cent of the company’s existing share capital, the bank said last month. Of Temasek’s 17.2 per cent stake in Standard Chartered, 1.4 percentage points has been loaned out, according to the British lender’s November ﬁling on its capital raising, reducing Temasek’s entitlement in the rights issue to 15.8 per cent. The shares were loaned under the terms of a total return swap agreed in 2013 with Bank of America, and which expires at the end of this year, according to a person familiar with the situation.

ﬁle picture

LONDON: Standard Chartered raised about $5.1 billion after 96.8 per cent of the bank’s shareholders exercised their rights in a share sale on Friday, signaling conﬁdence in Chief Executive Ofﬁcer Bill Winters’s strategy to turn around the Asia-focused lender. The new shares are scheduled to trade in Hong Kong on December

16, the London-based bank said in a statement on Friday. Winters, 54, announced the rights issue in November as part of a plan to restore proﬁtability at a bank reeling from losses tied to bad loans after commodity prices slumped and economies from China to India cooled. The CEO is also cutting 15,000

jobs to help save $2.9 billion by 2018, scrapped a second-half dividend and unveiled plans to restructure or exit $100 billion of risky assets. Standard Chartered was little changed at 508.6 pence at 8:55am in London, following a 10 day losing streak and a 44 per cent decline this year. The stock in Hong Kong

Stock decline A Temasek spokesman declined to comment. Mark Tsang, a Bank of America spokesman in Hong Kong, declined to comment. The bank previously raised capital in 2008 and 2010 to help fund its expansion under former CEO Peter Sands. This year’s rights issue was fully underwritten by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. — Bloomberg News

N E W FA C T O RY I N S L O VA K I A

to prove they’re serious about transparency.” At 1625GMT, VW shares were up two per cent ay 134.4 euros, still down on their pre-scandal level of about 162 euros, but up from October’s low of around 86 euros. Despite the scandal, orders so far this year were up by 3.5 per cent and Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said he was confident drivers would get over their reluctance to buy the group’s vehicles in the coming weeks. VW also said it was planning a new corporate structure that would be in place across the group by early 2017. The company was not considering the sale of any units to simplify its structure or raise money, and was happy with having 12 brands. Scandal’s legal costs But executives were still unable to estimate the scandal’s legal costs, for which they had so far made no provisions. Analysts have said VW could have to pay out tens of billions of euros to cover regulatory fines, lawsuits and vehicle refits. Mueller, who has not been to the United States since becoming chief executive after the scandal broke, said he would visit the country for the Detroit motor show in January and contact authorities while there. — Reuters

Jaguar Land Rover plans to invest $1.5b MUNICH: Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plans to spend 1 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) on a new car factory in Slovakia, expanding production capacity by one-third to take on larger luxury-vehicle producers BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The plant, in the western Slovak city of Nitra, will start producing autos in late 2018 with an initial annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles and a workforce of about 2,800 people. That compares with Whitley, England-based Jaguar Land Rover’s deliveries last year of almost 462,700 vehicles. Construction is set to start next year, and the luxury-car unit of Tata Motors may eventually expand

the plant, the division said Friday in a statement. Existing facilities “The new factory will complement our existing facilities in the United Kingdom, China, India and Brazil, and marks the next step in the company’s strategy to become a truly global business,” Chief Executive Officer Ralf Speth said in the statement. Slovakia “has more than 300 suppliers in close proximity and an excellent logistics infrastructure. This conﬁrmed our decision that this country was the ideal location.” Other sites were considered in the US, Mexico and elsewhere in Europe. — Bloomberg News

ROBUST DEMAND: Jaguar Land Rover’s sales last year rose nine per cent. It’s adding more cars, such as the Jaguar XE sedan and Land Rover Discovery Sport SUV, to win buyers. — Bloomberg ﬁle picture

S ATUR DAY, D ECEMBER 12 , 2 015

FEATURE

LONDON

HOUSING

DEMAND

TO RISE

Lower mortgage costs and a shortage of homes are fuelling speculation when she applied for a loan to move from a two-bedroom ﬂat to a 305,000-pound threebedroom house in the district of Upminster.

that values in the UK capital are set to spike again.

data shows. Home sales fell 14.3 per cent over the same period, according to researcher Lonres. “Loan to income caps, and stricter mortgage lending practices in general, have made it much tougher for individuals to get access to mortgages,” said Peter Dixon, a global economist at Commerzbank AG in London. “However, if you want to cool a market long term you need to bring other measures into play, for example raise rates or build more houses.”

he brief respite seen in London’s tear-away housing market after regulators imposed tighter lending criteria last year is coming to an end. Lower mortgage costs and a shortage of homes are fuelling speculation that values in the UK capital are set to spike again. Lenders are also loosening borrowing conditions, with loanto-income ratios rising for the ﬁrst time in a year in the third quarter, according to the Bank of England. That’s prompting brokers to increase price forecasts for London homes, which cost an average of 522,000 pounds ($808,000). The turnaround risks undermining efforts by central bank policy makers last October to prevent a credit-fuelled housing bubble by restricting the amounts people can borrow compared to their salary. The annual rate of house price growth in the capital slowed to 4.2 per cent in August from 17.4 per cent a year ago, government

Biggest threat Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said housing was the biggest threat to the economy when he limited the riskiest loans by requiring that no more than 15 per cent of new mortgages could exceed a loan-toincome ratio of 4.5 times. The Financial Conduct Authority in April 2014 already required buyers to prove they can afford to make mortgage payments even if interest rates rise. Marta Federici, 32, and her husband Dimitris Kemanes have felt the full force of the measures. The couple saved a down payment to buy their ﬁrst home and now fear being priced out of the market as they struggle to get a loan. “I went to see a mortgage adviser at my bank and found the experience completely discouraging,” Federici said in a telephone interview. “He didn’t care how much of a deposit we had saved, he just focused on our income.” Alex Fryer, 34, said she was quizzed about her spending habits, including how much she spent at the hairdresser,

Overseas investors The limits by regulators haven’t been enough to permanently cool prices because cash rich overseas investors continue to buy, competing with locals in a market that is under supplied with property, according to Jeremy Cook, the chief economist at London-based currency exchange ﬁrm World First UK Ltd. “It’s still more proﬁtable for a Chinese or Asian buyer to buy a two-bed home to rent out than invest in their home stock markets,” Cook said in an interview. “The measures haven’t helped the man on the street here and prices will continue to grow until the government addresses the problem of supply versus demand.” Too expensive More than 80 per cent of Londoners think home prices are too expensive although they still expect them to rise further, according to a survey by ING Groep NV. The ratio of average home prices to earnings is now a record 12 times, more than

twice the level of Birmingham, the UK’s second city, researcher Hometrack says. While 18,260 new homes were completed in London in the 12 months through March, the capital’s population increased by 122,000 people in the year through June 2014, according to the latest data available from the Greater London Authority. “At the mid- and lowerrange of the market, where domestic buyers tend to dominate, there remain high levels of demand facing up to restricted housing stock,” said Peter Rollings, chief executive officer at broker Marsh & Parsons. “We’re seeing good activity when property is priced correctly.” The lack of supply is the main reason why 40-year-old Londoner John Cook decided to buy a four-bedroom house in Streatham Hill. “The current government will not change the rules of the game in terms of housing supply in any significant way,” he said. Lower borrowing costs are also making it more attractive to buy. Mortgage rates in the UK fell to 3.17 per cent on all outstanding debt in the second quarter, the lowest since at least 2007, and net advances climbed more than 10 per cent from a year earlier to 9.9 billion pounds. Home sales Home sales rose in August for the first time since April 2014, according to a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Broker Hamptons International last month raised its house price forecast for London this year to 6 per cent from 1.5 per cent. A pick-up in sales and mortgage lending is “healthy” and doesn’t translate directly into a rise in home prices which are already too high, according to Ed Stansfield, an economist at Capital Economics in London “What would be a concern is if we were to see a return to laxer lending standards that would result in further measures by authorities,” Stansfield said. – Bloomberg News

3.17% Mortgage rates in the UK fell to 3.17 per cent on all outstanding debt in the second quarter, the lowest since at least 2007

SECTION

LIFESTYLE

S AT U R DAY, D EC EM B ER 1 2 , 2 0 1 5

Family WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

Old Age Loneliness W

hile we tend to associate the holidays with togetherness, joyful occasions and feelings of warmth and happiness, the season can also worsen feelings of loneliness and isolation for some people — especially older adults. Loneliness is not only bad for seniors’ mental health, it can affect their physical wellbeing as well. The holidays can present families with an opportunity to spot signs of loneliness in their older family members and take steps to do something about it, says Dr Kevin O’Neil, chief medical officer of Brookdale Senior Living. “Isolation and loneliness in seniors can lead to debilitating depression, high blood pressure, dementia and shorter life spans. Time and time again we see that when seniors overcome loneli-

ness, make new friends and feel a part of a caring community, they're happier and their physical health improves.” Research illustrates the link between loneliness and the advancement of dementia, deterioration of physical health and shortened lifespans. Conversely, multiple studies show feeling connected and happy is good for your health and can lead to a longer lifespan. What’s more, happiness really can be contagious. In fact, one study by researchers at the University of California and Harvard University found surrounding yourself with happy people can make you more likely to become happy yourself. Social connections are vital for people of all ages, O’Neil says. “Emotional ties are even more important for seniors, yet they are also more vulnerable to los-

ing those bonds through the death of a spouse, grown children busy with their own lives or the relocation of a long-time friend who moves closer to be near their own family.” As families gather for the holidays, they should be alert to signs their elders are feeling lonely or isolated, including: • Your loved one has suffered a loss, either the death of a spouse or friend, or relocation of a longtime cohort. • They give verbal cues, such as complaining they have no friends, feel conﬁned to their home, have no one to talk to or severely miss a long-deceased companion. • They exhibit signs of depression, including trouble falling asleep, irritability, loss of appetite and disinterest in activities that used to excite them. •Their eating habits have

changed. Seniors who are feeling isolated and depressed may lose their appetite, or engage in unhealthful comfort eating. • Personality or behavioural changes are evident. Your normally stoic loved one has become tearful, a chatty person becomes quiet, or an out-going personality is now withdrawn. • They become “clingy,” holding a handshake or hug longer than normal, and becoming upset when it’s time for a visit to end. • They complain of pain or health issues that the doctor can’t explain. In some cases, the “illness” may be an attempt to get attention. In other cases, it can be a physical response to loneliness. • A person who was once very capable may begin to have difficulty managing daily tasks or their ﬁnances. It’s vital seniors stay connect-

ed, O’Neil says. “Every Brookdale Senior Living community has resident programming, activities and opportunities for seniors to develop closer relationships.” He recommends some tactics to help seniors combat loneliness: • Get moving. Physical exercise increases the body’s level of “feel good” hormones, and can contribute to improved sleep, as well as fewer aches and pains. Seniors should get 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise per day, and if you exercise with companions, you’re also reaping the social beneﬁts of the activity. • Sit down with a friend or family member and watch a funny movie or TV show together. Laughter’s positive effects on the mind and body are well documented. Laughing together improves mood and can make people feel more connected.

• Make new connections. Sit with someone at lunch whom you don’t know well. Ask a neighbour to go for a walk with you. Join a club or social organisation. • Help yourself feel better by helping others. Volunteering has many positive effects on mental health. When you volunteer your time to help others, you’ll feel good about your actions and also expand your opportunities to meet new people. • Learn something new — it’s not only good for cognitive health, it gives you the chance to make new connections with other students. Take a craft class, go to a personal ﬁnance seminar or take a cooking class. Loneliness can be a serious health issue for seniors, O’Neil says. “Fortunately, it’s also one of the most treatable.”—Courtesy of Brandpoint

S ATUR DAY, D ECEMBER 12 , 2 015

PRAYER TIMINGS

FIND-IT-ALL CINEMA SCHEDULE

@AZAIBA

@SHATTI

Screen 3 Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (Family) – PG 3.45, 9.45 PM Salt Mango Tree (Drama) – Malyalam – PG Cast : Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priya 6.45 PM

CITY CINEMA Contact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68 www.citycinemaoman.net facebook.com/citycinemaoman SHATTI In the Heart of the Sea (3D) (Action) (PG12) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy 2:30, 9:15 PM Bridge of Spies (Biography | Drama) (PG) Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda 4:45 PM Bus 657 (Action | Crime | Thriller) (12+) Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dave Bautista 2:45 PM The Good Dinosaur (3D) (Animation | ) (U) 2:30, 4:30, 7:00 PM Hyena Road (Drama | War) (15+) Cast: Rossif Sutherland, Paul Gross 4:45, 9:00, 11:30 PM Howl (Horror) (18+) Cast: Mark Huckerby, Nick Ostler 10:15, 11:45 PM Close Range (Action | Crime) (12+) Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund, Caitlin 8:30, 11:30 PM Victor Frankenstein (Horror | Drama) (12+) Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy 6:30 PM Zinzana (Arabic) (Crime | Drama) (PG12) Cast: Ali Suliman, Ahd, Saleh Bakri 7:30 PM MUSCAT GRAND MALL The Good Dinosaur-3D (Animation) U 11:00AM, 1:00, 2:30, 4:30 & 7:15PM Gold Class: 7:00PM Macbeth (Drama | War) 12+ Cast : Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard 9:15 & 11:30PM Gold Class :2:30 & 9:00PM Close Range (Action | Crime) 12+ Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund 3:00 & 11:30PM Gold Class : 2:30 & 9:00PM In the Heart of the Sea (Action) PG12

Macbeth (Drama | War) 12+ Cast : Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard 9:15 & 11:30PM Gold Class : 2:30 & 9:00PM

Salt Mango Tree – 2D (PG) (Comedy, Drama) Cast: Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priya 12:00, 7:10, 9:30 PM

Cast : Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy Timing : 12:15 & 9:00PM Gold Class: 4:45 & 11:15PM The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-2 : 3D Cast : Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson 4:45PM; (Sci-Fi) PG12 A Second Chance (Romance / Drama) PG12 Cast : Bea Alonzo, John Lloyd Cruz PANORAMA MALL In The Heart of The Sea (Action)(3D (PG12) 7:00, 9:15 pm In The Heart of The Sea (Action, Adventure) (MX4D)(PG12) 2:45, 5:45, 8:30, 11.30 PM In The Heart of The Sea (Action, Adventure) (3D)(PG12)- VIP LOUNGE Cast : Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy Timings : 8:45 PM Creed (Drama, Sport)(2D)(15+) 4:30 pm Bridge of Spies (Biography, Drama)(2D)(PG) 9:00 pm Hyena Road (2D)(15+) Cast: Rossif Sutherland, Paul Gross 3:15, 9:15, 11:30 pm

SUR Close Range (Action | Crime ) (12+) Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund, 3:15, 8:30, 11:45 PM Howl (Horror ) (18+) Cast: Mark Huckerby, Nick Ostler 4:45, 10:00, 11:30 PM The Good Dinosaur 3D ( Animation ( U ) 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 6:30 PM Salt Mango Tree ( Malayalam) ( PG) Cast : Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priya 12:30, 6:45 PM In the Heart of the Sea 3D (Action) (PG12) 9:15 PM

Close Range (Action | Crime) (12+) Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund, Caitlin Keats 8:30, 11:30 PM

SOHAR In the Heart of the Sea - 3D (PG12) Action 6:25, 11:45 PM In the Heart of the Sea - 2D (PG12) Action 3:00 PM Victor Frankenstein - 2D (12+) Drama Cast : Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy 11:30 PM Pathemari - 2D (M) (PG12) Drama Cast : Mammoty, Joy Methew, Srinivasan 12:45, 7:00 PM Hate Story 3 - 2D (PG12) Thriller Cast : Zarine Khan, Sharman Joshi 6:15 PM Macbeth - 2D (12+)Drama | War Cast : Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard 12:30, 5:30, 7:30 PM The Good Dinosaur - 2D (U) Animation 4:15 PM Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attandant - 2D (18+) Comedy Cast : Rebecca Romijn, Jessica Lowndes 4:30 PM Bengal Tiger - 2D (Telgu) (TBC) Action 12:00, 8:45PM Harbinger Down- 2D (15+) Horror | Sci-Fi Cast : Lance Henriksen, Matt Winston 5:15, 11:30 PM Zinzana - 2D (PG12) Crime | Drama | Thriller Cast : Ali Suliman, Ahd, Saleh Bakri 2:30 , 9:30 PM

Hate Story – 2D (PG12)Thriller Cast – Zarine Khan, Sharman Joshi, Daisy 2:00, 4:20, 6:40, 9:05, 11:30 PM Pathemari – 2D (PG12) Drama 12:15, 6:45 PM Tamasha – 2D (PG12) Romance, Drama 2:30, 4:35, 9:00, 11:00 PM Prem Ratan Dhan Payo – 2D (PG) Family 3:00 PM Bengal Tiger – 2D (TBC) Action Cast – Ravi Teja, Tamannaah, Rashi Khanna, Boman Irani 12:00, 6:15 PM

Lary Gaye (Comedy)(2D)(15+) Cast: Rebecca Romijn, Jessica Lowndes 5:30 pm Harbinger Down (Horror, Sci-Fi)(2D)(15+) Cast: Lance Henriksen, Matt Winston 7:30, 11:45 pm Macbeth (Drama, War)(2D)(12+) Cast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard 2:45, 11:30 pm The Godd Dinasaur (Animation)(3D)(U) 2:30, 5:00, 7:00 pm Hyena Road (2D)(15+)-VIP LOUNGE Cast: Rossif Sutherland, Paul Gross 3:45, 11:00 pm Macbeth (Drama, War)(2D)(12+)-VIP LOUNGE Cast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard 6:30 pm

6:30PM

RUWI Screen 1 Hate Story 3 (Thriller) – PG12 Cast : Zarine Khan, Daisy Shah, Karan Singh 3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM Screen 2 Tamasha (Romance/Drama) – PG12 Cast : Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor 3.45, 9.45 PM Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (Drama) – PG Cast : Salman Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Neil NitinMukesh 6.45 PM

AZAIBA Close Range – 2D (12+) Action, Crime Cast – Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund 12:15, 5:15, 9:15, 11:45 PM In the Heart of the Sea – 2D (PG12) Action 2:15, 11:55 PM Salt Mango Tree – 2D (PG) Comedy, Drama Cast – Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priya 12:00, 7:10, 9:30 PM

Salt Mango Tree - 2D (PG) Comedy | Drama Cast : Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priya 12:00, 9:00 PM

TO MUSCAT (RUWI) Arrival Operating time days

Dept time

Destination

Arrival Operating time days

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

TEMPERATURE

05:30 05:30 05:30

Maximum

Daily Daily Daily

Sur Quriyat Ruwi

06:45 08:30 10:00

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

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

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

Sohar Buraimi Buraimi Sohar Buraimi Sohar Buraimi

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

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52) 17:30

Sinaw

SALALAH In the Heart of the Sea (3D) (PG12) (Action) 12:00, 6:45, 11:15PM Hyena Road (2D) (15+) (Drama | War) 10:00AM, 2:00, 9:00, 11:35PM Close Range (2D) (12+) (Action | Crime) 12:15, 8:15, 9:55, 11:55PM Howl (2D) (18+) (Horror) Cast: Mark Huckerby, Nick Ostler 4:30, 10:05PM Creed (2D) (15+) (Drama | Sport) Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone 2:05PM The Good Dinosaur (3D) (U) (Animation) 10:05AM, 12:10, 2:15, 6:15PM Voice Overs: Jeffrey Wright, Frances Tamasha (2D) (PG12) (Romance| Drama) 4:10PM Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attandant (2D) (18+) (Comedy) 10:30AM, 4:15PM Cast: Rebecca Romijn, Jessica Lowndes, Stanley Tucci Zinzana (2D) (PG12) (Arabic) (Crime/Drama) Cast: Ali Suliman, Ahd, Saleh Bakri 6:05PM Salt Mango Tree (2D) (PG) (Malayalam) Cast: Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priya 7:45PM

Nizwa Yanqul

Daily

16:50 19:30

Daily Daily

Nizwa Al Araqi

07:00

Ruwi

10:25

Daily

06:00 06:00

Nizwa Ruwi

08:40 11:00

Daily Daily

24 18

Daily Daily

15:40 15:40

Nizwa Ruwi

17:55 20:20

Daily Daily

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

Daily Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (ROUTE 62) 06:30 06:30

Fahud Yibal

Salalah Marmul Salalah Salalah

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

Daily Daily

Marmul

Dubai

16:50

Daily

Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai

Daily Daily

12:30 12:30

Fahud Ruwi

13:15 17:30

Daily Daily

07:00 10:00 10:00 19:00

Ruwi Marmul Ruwi Ruwi

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

RELATIVE HUMIDITY

30-60% SHRIYAJA DODAMANI December 12, 2012 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

LISTINGS

06:00

Marmul

16:30

Daily

08:30 11:30 15:30 18:30 17:35 20:55

Daily Daily Wed,Thur Wed,Thur Daily Daily

15:00

Salalah

Daily

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) 07:30 07:30 13:00 13:00 15:30 15:30

Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

07:00 07:00 07:00

16:00 16.00 16.00

Fujairah Sharjah Dubai

11.45 13.30 14.00

Daily Daily Daily

Sharjah Fujairah Ruwi

16:30 18.15 23.00

Emergencies and inquiries: 9999 General Directorate of Passport and Residence 24569603 Directorate General of Customs 24521109 Traffic violations inquiries 24510228 Public Relations Admin 24560099 EMBASSIES IN OMAN

Daily Daily Daily Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)

07:00

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

10:45 19:00

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102) 15:00

Ruwi Ruwi

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

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101) 06:00

06:00 14:30

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

10:30 11:15

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

Programmes are subject to change

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

10:20 12:30

TO SUR (ROUTE 55) Sur Sur

Pathemari (Mal) (Rom/Drama) Cast: Mammootty, Jewel Mary & Srinivasn 6-30 Pm At Cinema Main; 9-45 PM At Cinema -3 Anarkali (Mal) (Rom/Drama) Cast: Prithviraj, Biju Menon & Priya Glor 3-30 Pm Cinema -2; 6-45 PM Cinema-3 Amar Akbar Anthony (Mal) (Act/Drama) Cast : Prithviraj & Jaya Surya 3-45 Cinema -3; 10 Pm At Cinema Main Salt Mango Tree (Mal) (Com) Cast Biju Menon, Sohasani & Mani Ratnam 3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 Pm At Cinema -4 Bengal Tiger (Telugu) (Act) Cast : Ravi Teja, & Tamannaah 6-30 & 9-30 Pm Cinema-2 3-00 Pm At Cinema Main Next change: Dilwale (Hindi); Tanga Magan (Tamil); Bajirao Mastani (Hindi)

Minimum

ROYAL OMAN POLICE 07:30 14:30

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

AAVANTIKA KIRAN NAIR December 12, 2010

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

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

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

STAR CINEMA

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52) 20:50

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

Sohar Ruwi Ruwi Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi

Daily Daily Daily

Close Range (Action / Crime) Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund, Caitlin Keats 4.00, 8.15, 10.00 & 11.55 pm CP No : 3041 (12+) Howl (Horror) Cast: Ed Speleers, Holly Weston, Shauna Macdonald 2.00, 6.00 & 10.00 pm CP No : 3042 (18+) Hyena Road (Drama / War) Cast: Rossif Sutherland, Paul Gross, Clark Johnson 1.30, 3.45, 7.45 & 11.55 pm CP No : 3043 (15+) In the Heart of the Sea (Action / Adventure / Biography) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson 6.00 pm CP No : 3031 (PG12)

WEATHER

15:00 15:00 15:00

16:30 18:00 19:30

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

WITH LOVE

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

BAHJA CINEMA

BURAIMI In the Heart of the Sea– 3D (Action) (PG12) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy 5:15, 9:15PM Close Range– 2D (Action, Crime) (12+) Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund 3:30, 9:45, 11:30PM The Good Dinosaur – 3D (Animation) (U) Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand 3:00, 5:00, 7:30PM Harbinger Down – 2D (Horror, Sci-Fi) (15+) Cast: Lance Henriksen, Matt Winston 5:15, 11:45PM Macbeth– 2D (Drama, War) (12+) Cast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard 3:15, 7:30, 9:30, 11:30PM Salt Mango Tree – 2D (Comedy, Drama) (PG) Cast: Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priya 7:00PM

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

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI) Destination

12.05pm 3.06pm 5.26pm 6.42pm 5.19am

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

@MGM

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

SAT URDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2015

LIFESTYLE STORY TIME By Swati Dasgupta

SILENCE prevailed in Aaliya’s house. Her mother Yasmin sat in the corner chair and tears were rolling down her eyes. Aaliya’s father was busy over the phone. Aaliya was crying bitterly in her room and Ali didn’t know what to say. A call from their hometown shook them. Aaliya’s maternal grandmother had suddenly passed away. The family was not at all prepared for this. It was just the other day when their granny had called to ask their well-being. She was fit and fine and nobody could believe that such a thing could have happened. Yasmin was totally shattered. She remembered the last time she spoke to her mother she had assured Yasmin not to worry for her as she was fine. Yasmin felt miserable and so did everyone in the house. This was a sudden tragedy that the family was not prepared for at all. Aaliya’s father was busy calling the travel agent for the tickets. “We need four tickets to Islamabad,” his voice echoed in the hall. Yasmin knew it was not the time to shed tears. She had to reach her place before the last rites were performed. She quickly went to her room to pack few essentials. Yasmin was in midst of her packing when she heard a loud cry. It was Aaliya. She just couldn’t accept the fact that her dear granny

Coming to Terms With a Loss

was no more. “Mom, I think it’s a joke somebody is playing on us. It can’t be true,” saying this she broke down into tears once again. Yasmin wiped her own tears to console her daughter. Aaliya was sensitive right from childhood and this news had affected her badly. “My child, I know it’s very difficult for you to accept this harsh reality, but it’s true. Your granny has

indeed passed away. Try to understand, no one would joke on such things,” she said. Aaliya suddenly ﬂared up. She was trembling and she screeched: “You are lying mom. Granny is there. I am sure,” Aaliya dashed out of the room and kept on repeating the same words. Yasmin was shocked at her daughter’s sudden reaction. She

didn’t know how to comfort her, but at that moment she had more things to worry about. The ﬂight was late in the night and Yasmin got ready to head towards the airport. Aaliya didn’t come out of her room to say bye to her mum and Yasmin felt miserable. But she was already late. With tears in her eyes she got on to the car.

Next morning Aaliya’s father knocked at her door. “Aaliya, you are getting late for school,” he said. But Aaliya didn’t respond. She lay on the bed clutching her granny’s picture close to her chest. Her father went at her bedside and gently patted her. “Aaliya, get up my child. I know you are feeling sad, but death is a natural part of life. We all have to accept it,” he said reassuringly. But no words seemed to have reached Aaliya’s ears. Tears just trickled down. The whole day Aaliya didn’t have a morsel. The house help pleaded her a lot, but Aaliya refused. This continued for the next two days. Aaliya sat quietly in her room with her granny’s picture and that was all what she did. She didn’t go to school either. Her father started getting worried. He was thinking about her when he got a call from Aaliya’s class teacher. “I am indeed very sorry to hear about the sudden death in your family. I pray that God gives all of you the strength to bear the loss,” she said. The teacher went on to enquire about Aaliya and he told everything in detail. “Please send her to school. Once she is among her friends she will feel better,” her teacher reassured. Aaliya was literally forced to go to school. There all her friends huddled round her and tried to

cheer her up in their own special ways. While Rehman cracked a silly joke to see a smile on her face, Jia comforted her by her kind words. Aaliya didn’t say anything much. In the class too she kept quiet. She continued behaving like this for the next few days until one day her value education teacher called her. “Aaliya, what makes you so sad?” she asked ﬁrmly. Aaliya looked at her teacher with tears in her eyes and said: “Ma’m why did granny leave us and go? Why do people die? Everyone says God listens to our prayers, but then why did he take away my granny. I always pray.” The value education teacher stroked Aaliya’s hair and said: “Death happens to everyone at one point or another. It’s a part of life and we all have to learn to live with it. Your granny has gone, but she has left with you such wonderful memories that you can cherish all your life. Wherever she is now she would like you to be happy in life. Won’t you make her happy?” Aaliya smiled for the ﬁrst time hearing this. “Ma’m is right. Granny never liked me being sad and if she sees me like this I am sure she would be very upset,” Aaliya thought. She wiped her tears and grinned at her teacher. After all she couldn’t afford to make her dear granny sad. —swati@timesofoman.com

Overly winter excitement

@winieariany

Questions & Answers 4

One thing that puts me off... When I am at a restaurant and they don’t have any fries or when I work hard and get no reward

When I’m in doubt... I Google

If I win a lottery... I would buy a DSLR and Ray-Ban shades and go on a world tour

If I have to describe myself as a ﬂavour it would be... Pistachio

One movie/book I can watch/ read over and over again... The Kite Runner (book)

Crossword Puzzle

The scariest thing that I have done... Nothing yet...

If I met an alien I would... Ask her/his crush’s name!

One skill I would like to learn... Basketball

I go crazy when... I’m with my friends and they start using their phone

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

It’s better not to argue with... Me (you’re gonna lose anyway)

ACROSS

If I could go back in history, I would like to meet My grandmother

SAIMA SIDDIQ One person I would trade places with (real or ﬁcitional) Augustus Waters If I had treasures I would hide them... It’s a secret

The best way to my heart is... Books

Send your contributions to lifestyle@timesofoman.com. A good quality photo is compulsory. Lifestyle reserves the right to publish the contributions.

DOWN

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 15

Sandy ridges Tavern sign (2 wds.) Depot info Our sun Built in advance Entertainer Paula — Distant past Noted lamp owner Answer Coast Guard alert Bulk Austria neighbour

19 Caesar’s 1,050 22 Way of Lao-tzu 24 Business abbr. 25 — degree 26 Glamorous wrap 27 Patricia Neal ﬁlm 28 Happy sighs 29 Willard’s pet 30 Like butter and mutter 31 Cooking spray brand 32 Illegal burning

34 36 37 38 39 40 42 44 45 46 48

Greenish melon Pharaoh’s deity Funny bone locale Aspect Cartographer’s book Low-pitched Joy Adamson’s pet Cheers Pitcher Jackie’s tycoon Disposed of

4 7 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 20 21 23 26 27 28 31 33 34 35 36 38 41 43 45 47 49 50 51 52 53 54

Woodland creature Health resort Ties up the phone Search for Royal symbol Kitchen staple Necessitated Moonbeams Hearty eater’s delight Sulked angrily Cookbook amt. — — costs Loud clamour Spill the beans Insinuate Steep gulch Spare tyre Merry sound (hyph.) Demand ID Shoat’s home Paper quantities Novelty Sit-down occasions Expound at length Hoosegow Hull clinger Coffee brewers Geisha’s accessory Disorderly collection Preﬁx with byte Fat cat’s bundle City rtes.

S ATUR DAY, DECEMBER 12 , 2 015

LIFESTYLE

Children up to the age of 16 who would like to have their art considered for inclusion in “Art for the Ages” can e-mail their drawings or paintings (in jpeg or tiff format) to lifestyle@timesofoman.com

Art for the Ages

Children’s Poetry

The Dreadful Floods Aishwarya Mertia Class IX Indian School Muscat High above is a sorrowful sky, I release a sudden sigh. I know your deadly devastation And why people rush towards The sinking station.

Alfred Benoy, Grade 2, ISM

Shloka Venu Seshan, Grade 2, ISG

Rheya M. Verghese, Grade 2, ISM

Just like a warrior’s bow, I’ll try to bring a rainbow. So you come to an end, And your path is bend. Just because I’m the king, On my city, I won’t let you sing. My people’s hard work will go in vain, And many are still stuck in the train.

Birds Fly So High Zara Musheer Grade 2 Indian School Sohar Birds ﬂy so high in the sky And we only lay. All of the birds have wings And we only do things. If we just try to keep them with us They will ﬂy away thus. So let’s keep the birds Up in the sky And tell them bye, bye, bye.

Dakshin CK Bharathi, Grade 10, ISM

Sudoku How to play Fill empty cells with the numbers 1 to 9, so that each number appears once in each row, column and area.

SOLUTION Answer to previous puzzle

Divya Soni, Grade 9, ISM

M. Abirami, Grade 9, ISM

Send your contributions for Children’s Poetry to lifestyle@timesofoman.com

Teleword All the words below appear in the puzzle - horizontally, vertically, diagonally, even backward. Find them and circle their letters. The leftover word spells the Teleword.

H O R R O R I D M O T I O N M

A D B I O G R A P H Y H H E A

E V O L R A J X W E S T E R N

CLUE: AT THE MOVIES

D S MW E H E A MR O L A I E P A I A A R T T T A R MR Y E

Y S O A E V O I T O E C A A P

U B L R E P S S I D C T H U Y

G A B R C L S E N E N L E E R

G N S S WR O T R H L U L L D N GM E U G I N A A O N P E C

I N T C D F A U O L I I T E U

K A M E N I C O I V H D N S D

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

M S C E A I I D D E EM L O A C U A G R H T L O P O O N R P

SOLUTION: 9 LETTERS

Audio, Biography, Cartoon, Cinema, Clap, Comedies, Crowd, Cushion, Dark, Director, Documentary, Drama, Full, Gala, Guide, Guys, Hear, Hobby, Horror, Laugh, Lineup, Local, Love, Major, Many, Meet, Motion, Noise, Novel, Open, Popcorn, Producer, Rated, Reel, Relax, Review, Role, Rows, Schedule, Smoking, Sound, Stage, Star, Stereo, Theme, Tray, Usher, Waiting, Watch, Western. Answer: Admission

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M S AT U R DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 5

SECTION

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

RENT

VACANCY

CARGO

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

S AT U R D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 5 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classiﬁeds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DAILY GUIDE FOR RENT

*Tourist visa arranged

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

Contact : 99229263; 93221054; 95215289

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

93202733

3 Room ﬂat in North Ghubra, 18 November Street with three toilets. For residential or commercial use. RO. 315/- Contact 94477222. Urgent apartment for rent: First Floor, Purpose built one bedroom, bath, Kitchen with balcony and a drawing & dinning. 2 Minutes walk from Indian School Muscat. Contact 99346265 Profs / jack. Contact 93219378 V. Nice ﬂat in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 95755953 /95555162

2BHK near Oman house behind Khimji H.O R.O 200/-. Contact: 95865686

2 BHK in Al Meera MKT building in Al Khuwair available. Rent RO420. Contact 94047434

Showroom space available at MBD area near old manpower building ground ﬂoor 220 Sq.MTR Mezzanine ﬂoor 320 SQ. mtrs, rent R.O 2650/per month. Contact: 99449885

2BHK ﬂats available for near PDO gate no 2 Qurum. Contact: 94057023

02 BHK commercial / residential (with split AC) ﬂats at Honda Road. Contact: 99342733 / 99795241

Restaurant for lease running restaurant at excellent location in Wadi Kabir is available on lease. Contact: 93334685 / 91760712

Flats for rent at Al Mablah block eight. Contact: 99445177

2 Bedrooms Flat for rent in front of Indian School Ghubra. Contact: 92197959 / 92502497 2 Bedroom Townhouse with Swimming pool, free Wi-Fi for Rent near British Council in Madinat Sultan Qaboos. Contact: 92197959 / 92502497.

Shops for rent good for offices + stores behind bldg, behind whole sale center Al Amerat space 11 x4 meters R.O 250/- per month. Contact: 92877449

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

1 Bed room in Al hail south R.O 130/- Monthly. Contact: 93993354

Showroom / Office for rent located in Prime location of Azaiba Main Highway. Contact: 92197959 / 92502497.

4 B/R, 3 ﬂats building in Azaiba behind Al Meera. Contact: 99776071 /99057348

1000 sqm industrial land with compound wall & two rooms at Misfah. Contact: 99342733 / 99795241

Flats shops & store for rent in Ruwi Honda road Mumtaz. Contact: 97293708 / 92433127

2 Bedrooms Flat for rent located in Prime location of Al Khuwair. Contact: 92197959 / 24527852.

2 B/R ﬂat in Wattaya and Azaiba. Contact: 99776071 /99057348

1&2 BHK M.B.D R.O 280/- & 300/-. Contact: 92144045

Flat in Wadi Kabir, 3 BHK rent 280/- R.O. Contact: 99330810

Villa for rent in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 95562646

6 B/R villa for office use in Al Khoudh, 2 & 3 B/R ﬂat in AL Khuwair for office. Contact: 99776071 /99057348

1,2 BHK Ghubra R.O 300/-, 325/- & 350/-. Contact: 97799175

2BHK Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti mosque. Contact: 97007934 / 92629232

Rent for ﬂat in Wadi Adai, big room big hall one toilet, one Kitchen. Contact : 99345137

1BHK Nr Oman house & Kmj H.O Muttrah. Contact 99233116

Flat villa type for rent - in al khuwair 33/, 4 Bed Rooms .4 bath Rooms, 1 Family Hall, 1 Dining Room, 1 Living Room, 1 Kitchen, Store. Contact 99315515

1 BHK Mumtaz R.O 250/-. Contact: 92144045

Single ﬂat sharing for Keralite bachelor in Ruwi near Qaboos Mosque R.O 95 (W/E). Contact: 98478286

2 BHK Ghubra R.O 300/-. Contact: 92144045

Big room attach bath kitchen in Muscat near Palace R.O 90/-. Contact: 95094028

Luxurious 2 BHK ﬂat with 3 toilets, store, equipped kitchen, splits, free gym & party hall, 24 hrs security at Mumtaz area Ruwi rent 375/-. Contact: 92622506

House for rent at Seeb Souq two bedroom, majlis, sitting room, kitchen & 2 bathroom. Contact: 99700908

1BR, 3BR Mars hypermarket Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99338133 / 92103604

2 BHK Flats for rent Muttrah near Oman house. Contact: 97007934 / 92629232

1& 2 BHK ﬂats for rent at Hamriya Mabela and Al Khoud shop at Al Khoud. Contact: 24834644 / GSM : 93994401 /02/03/3lines

Shop / office Nr Oman house & Kmj H.O Muttrah. Contact: 99233116

1& 2 BHK CBD Ruwi Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99024730

One room and one BHK for rent in AL Khuwair near Ibis hotel. Contact: 95724975 House for rent in Hamriya of 2 floors, flats vacant with 4 rooms, balcony 3 toilets, 1 kitchen R.O 300/- per month , Omani families only. Contact: 96266768 Single BHK flat available in Honda road Ruwi. Contact - 24833972/ 24833974/99367448 1 BHK available at Al Khoud in Baskin Robbins building. RO 200/Contact: 97261418, 99478492, 98181649 Flats for rent in Wadi Kabeer. Contact: 99388994 Flats for rent in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99376454

Store available in Honda road Ruwi. Contact 99481931

600 SQT commercial ﬂat for rent opposite Oman ﬂourmill Darsait more details. Contact: 91214849/ 99364735

1BHK ﬂat near Star Cinema 220/-. Contact 99358589 /95570288

7 Bedrooms villa in Ghobrah North. Contact - 96420432

Flat for Rent 1/2 BHK Flat at Muttrah, near Oman ﬂour mills, 10 min. from Corniche.Equipped with split unit ACs, internet points, free-to-air dish connection, CCTV monitored, basement parking. Rent RO.250/350 per month. Contact: 99229263; 93221054; 95215289 One ﬂats for rent 2 bedroom all with bath al Ghobrah north near Indian school (hot burger restaurant) tell 9976610 For Rent Flats in Ghala Heights 94051789-97201688 For Rent Offices & Showrooms in Al Khoud-Contact 9405178997201688 For Rent Offices & Showrooms in Muttrah -Contact - 9405178997201688 For Rent Fully Furnished apartments in Boucher (35) 94051789-97201688 For Rent Mini Furnished Apartment in Qurum- 9405178997201688

S AT U R DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE HOME THEATER & KARAOKE BRING HOME - LIVE MUSIC & CINEMA GENERAL ELECTRONICS SERVICES LLC CONTACT: 99627299 / 93327841

Business in Oman for Sale Profitable business in Oman running since 20 years having more than 3 outlets in various locations. Serious parties may send email to :

sprtnftns@gmail.com FOR HIRE

Bobcat available for rent. Contact – 97623299

Toyota Coaster 32 seater bus with driver available on monthly lease rent. Contact – 99705821 / brightsilverllc@gmail.com Car with driver available for rent. Contact: 93015630

MV SALE Jeep Wrangler 2012 20,000km, Expat from new, dealer serviced, RO6500 Contact 99440320 Sohar

STOCK CLEARANCE SALE Indian Granite 600x300x20 - 15000 sq mts Indian Granite Slabs 20000 Sq mts Our factory yard at Ghala Industrial area.

Contact 99337723 / 95118906

SCRAP EQUIPMENT

FOR SALE We have scrap equipment for sale more than 20 years old. Interested Parties please contact Mr.A.Ronish,

GSM 91296439 Al Jauf LLC. P.O.Box 1880, Postal Code 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman

Single owner Ford Escape 2012 white, 2.5L, 10100 kms. All tyres recently replaced, Comprehensive insurance including UAE Mulkiya valid Oct 2016. OMR 5250 92320155 divadmuscat@gmail.com Toyota Yaris, Model 2006, KM 38000, Expat driven, all services at Toyota. Very clean. RO.2300. Contact 93430580 Grand Cherokee full A/M 2009 model KM 90,000 only excellent condition. Contact: 99869897

FOR SALE Mitsubishi Pajero 380CC full option 2008 model 137,000 km Expat driven white maintained Mitsubishi workshop. Contact: 99513510

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

Honda Accord 2012, 60,000 km, good condition, RO 5600, expat leaving Oman. Contact 99577462.

Sports shop for sale at Ruwi. Contact: 98453599 /93050776 Top Quality sparingly used Outdoor Catering & Bakery Equipments including chairs etc for sale in Muscat .Please call for viewing 99471085. Serious buyers only. Scrap available for sale, power cables & accessories. Contact – 24446399 / Email – ravi.ztc@omzest.com Zawawi Trading Road no.8 Rusayl Barber shop for sale in Ghubra. Contact 92955874 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

FOR RENT For Rent Flats in Wadi Kabir 94051789-97201688 Offices for Rent GalaContact –94051789-97201688 For Rent offices in Qurum opposite city center- 9405178997201688 For Rent ﬂats in MuttrahContact – 94051789-97201688 For Rent brand new villas in Al Ansab- Contact 9405178997201688 For Rent Duplex villa in Qurum 29- 94051789-97201688 For Rent Flats in Darsait 94051789-97201688 For Rent Flats in Mawalah south-94051789-97201688

We have laundry for sale in Ghala prime location 3 visa clearances available. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

Prado 2010 expat driven good condition. Contact: 91396589 /91396776

Darsait small Business & office furniture for sale special price 5 gallon per bottles. Contact: 99869897

FOR SALE or rent Tata Dawoo Truck 12 ton 2014 Model. Contact: 92719681

Land for sale in Goa Indian Verna near big mosque RS 30 lakh negotiable. Contact: 99468166

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

Shop for sale at Ghala Sanaya main junction (prime location) shop for sale. Contact: Kamil 92696479 Running barber shop for sale in Ruwi with all equipments. Contact: 99343735 60,000 Sq Mtrs Agriculture Land in Misfah, can be changed to Industrial Land. OMR 29 Per Square Meter. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 400 sq mtrs Commercial/Residential land in Maabela Phase 5 Block 2. OMR 155 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 5 plots of fertile agriculture lands in Misfah East totaling 4,532 sq mtrs having date trees and using falaj water for irrigation. OMR 158 Thousand for all 5 plots. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 2,688 sq mtrs commercial land in MBD North. OMR 1.39 Million. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Window AC 30 Nos (general make all good conditions), refrigerator, freezer & mess equipments for sale. Contact: 98064113/ 99315878 Quotation fax on: 24448101 /24448103 Immediate sale of well running pharmacy at prime location. Contact- 99627621, 99516236

BMW 318/ 2003 for sale. Contact 96364990 Ford focus, automatic, 2010 model, silver colour, expat driven, 58000 kms, dealer serviced, registration till sep 2016, price ro 2750. Contact- 93207590

WANTED Required commercial villa from Azaiba to Al Khoud area adjacent to main Roads. Contact: 92640246/91395738

FOR SALE For sale villas in Al Khoud 95056808-97201688 Sale house & office furniture & electronic items. Contact : 99834373/ 96642500/22010080 For Sale Luxury Apartments in Bousher (35) Contact: 9505680897201688 For sale Fully Furnished apartments in Bousher (35) Contact: 9505680897201688 Beauty parlor for sale Muttrah. Contact: 93142676

NRI royal castles

vakathanam, kottayam Luxurious villas in a Gated community with all the modern facili es at Vakathanam By-Pass (MC road-NH 220) Web: www.royalcastles.in email: info@royalcastles.in +968 92855909, +91 9961 11 9988 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 33 Cents facing national highway kuriachira, best location for shopping complex, ﬂat, cinema theater, hospital, auditorium. Also house plots at Guruvayoor 22.0 Cents, Mundoor 5.225 & 7.070, Paramangalam 8.330 & 6.0 Nadathara by pass 9.0 And palakkal 4.450 Cents. Contact: 91637137 / 00919746573948 Fancy villa for sale at pathanamthitta, kerala. Visit kenindi.Wix.Com/house for details. Contact 94533975 Plot, propeties for sale in prime location in pune 95272138,(+918390982975)

ACC. AVAILABLE Spacious separate room with A/c and Bed, for non-cooking Asian bachelor, behind Shell ﬁlling station, Ghobrah round about. Contact: 94263390 Furnished sharing accommodation in ruwi near O.K. Center for noncooking indian bachelor. Gsm 9880-5474 Spacious separate room with A/c and Bed, for non-cooking Asian bachelor, behind Shell ﬁlling station, Ghoubra round about. Contact: 94263390 2BHK Hamriya round about main road rent R.O 170/- PM. Contact: 99513510 Single bed room with attached bath, separate entrance, Honda road near NBO for ex bachelors. Contact: 91410434 Big room available near Hamriya R/A for Muslim couple / small family / Executive bachelor rent 150/- per month including W+ E. Contact : 99495131

GOOD NEWS

TRANSPORTATION

AL RAZI AYURVEDIC CLINIC

TRANSPORTATION

Near Khimji Mart, MBD Area, Ruwi Our Ayurvedic Treatment includes Abhyangam, Kizhi Massage, Shirodhara, Vasti, Udwarthnam 50% Discount on full body massage.

7 Ton/ 10 Ton- Trailer Local transport- MCT- UAE

Contact 24814222 or 97112510 for appointment

Transportation. Contact: 98505294

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

Transportation available Ruwi to Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba. Contact: 91103909

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

Muttrah to Bausher. Contact: 99022790/24712088 Transportation. Contact: 95190627

MANPOWER

MANPOWER Tile Masons, Masons, Electricians, Plumbers, False Ceiling / Gypsum Works and Carpenters required immediately on Labor supply basis. Interested parties please contact

AVAILABLE

GSM: 96775023 / 96775024

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

MATRIMONIAL 23 Years Malayalee Christian girl born & educated in Bangalore, seeking suitable alliances from well settled Keralite Malayalee Christian boys. Contact - 99494371

Available office space in Prime location on 18th November Street, Azaiba Kindly. Contact: 99288664

Muslim Girl, M.B.B.S 23 years 5’ 4” fair, looking for suitable alliance from Doctors from Kerala / Tamil Nadu. Contact: 00968 98553628

SITUATION WANTBUSINESS ED

RCSC MOH Nurse 27 yrs hailing from Kanjirappally Dioces looking for suitable alliance. #92801093 / 94005802

LOST Somon Moﬁz has lost Bangladeshi Passport No. E 1446243. Finder please handover to ROP Md Aklus Ali has lost Bangladeshi Passport No. C0223240. Finder please handover to ROP

1 Bedroom with bathroom available for rent. Only Indian female. Contact - 92394614

Abdul Awal Serajul Islam has lost Bangladeshi Passport No. E 1160696. Finder please handover to ROP

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sitting room, Kitchen & store including utilities bills at Al hail. Contact 92817777

Kulsum Begum has lost Bangladeshi Passport No. AF 4979802. Finder please handover to ROP

Single room bathroom in Darsait R.O 140/-. Contact: 93289652

1 Bedroom with attached Bath, fully furnished, separate entrance at Mabela for ladies only. Contact: 99634841

Amir Ali

Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain, backache, paralysis, massage steambath, obesity, Spondylitis, Ideal Care Ayurvedic Clinic, 18 November Street Azaiba. Contact: 99639695 / 98342990

Furnished room in new building for working Muslim lady/ Muslim couple only. Location AINT, Darsait. Contact - 99008069

Single room for expat Indian bachelors near Al Aktham restaurant Al khuwair for RO 120. Water and electricity included. Contact : 98803261

Contact 96609857

We will register LLC. trade license for foreign investors and do all actions. Contact: 92833566

ACC. WANTED Sharing Accommodation Required for Non cooking Executive Lady in Darsait /Ruwi/Wadikabir. Contact 99360615

Zulﬁqar Ahmed has lost Pakistani Passport No. YE 1157901. Finder please handover to ROP Rashid Mahmood has lost Pakistani Passport No. UT 0158251. Finder please handover to ROP Jandros Gnanamuthan has lost Indian Passport No. F5989867. Finder please handover to ROP

S AT U R D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 5 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classiﬁeds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION SITUATION WANTED VACANT We are looking for a Business Development Manager With Oman market experience in Scientific Laboratory Equipment / Digital Signage / New Business development and sales. Age around 35 years with at least 3 years of proven track record in one of the above fields. Should have excellent communication skills. Oman D/L and NOC required.

Pls Send your CV to jobs@bishara.com or Fax : 24794807

URGENTLY REQUIRED Sales Executive - Ladies (Omani/ Expat) With oman D/L 2 years of Experience in the same Field.

Gym Instructor - Ladies (Omani/ Expat)

URGENTLY REQUIRED

An Indian female HOUSEMAID (Muslim) to take care of an Omani lady. Salary best in the industry. Contact - 99250595 or mail to tc.subi@yahoo.com Engineering Company based in Oman (Muscat) is looking urgently to hire the following position:

Position: Accountant

For a reputed four star hotel Please send CV at

(Omani Only) (Bachelor or Diploma ) Experience: 2 to 3 years

hoteljbs@gmail.com, Fax -24593277

Email:therecuiter@hotmail.com

Waitress - Ladies Massage Lady

Fax NO. 24596440

SITUATION WANTED

We are looking for a

SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE For ELV Systems with Oman Market Sales track record in the field of CCTV, Security, Access Control Systems, Age around 30 years with at least 3 years of successful Sales Career in the Security field. Should have excellent communication skills + able to scope client requirements + prepare Tender Responses. Oman D/L and NOC required.

REQUIRE AN OUTDOOR CATERING SUPERVISOR

Pls Send your CV to

For a restaurant in Muscat. The candidate must have 3 to 5 years of experience in this field. A valid Omani driving licence. Fluency in spoken English.

jobs@bishara.com or Fax : 24794807

CONTACT - 91170489

URGENTLY REQUIRED

RECEPTIONIST • Omanis Only (preferably female) • Must speak English fluently • Ability to handle Oﬃce/Admin works • Good knowledge of computers Interested candidates please send CV to: hilalproperties@hilalprp.com.om or contact 24600688/ Fax: 24600683

Looking for Executive Sales and Sales Engineers

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

applyinggchr@gmail.com

CPA AUS with 5 years PWC exp in ﬁeld of accountant ﬁnance audit seeking urgent placement now available on visit visa. Contact 94150073

Van Salesman: 3 Year experience with NOC

Qualification: BE in Civil Engineering

Drivers – Omani National Only:

Electro Mechanical Engineer (Building Services)1 No.

vacancy097@gmail.com

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE Experienced Omani female required as Accountant Cum Secretary. Send CV to s.safar@celarwater.com 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

DRIVER Light duty driver. Contact: 98505294 Wanted driver. Contact 91025698

ENGINEER A Grade Construction company in Muscat urgently requires “Safety Officer”. Send C.V hr.azatllc@gmail. com or fax C.V to 24422458 Urgently Required: Civil Engineer with an experience minimum in 5 years in building construction, MUST have NOC and immediately join. Apply, fax 00968–24605955, emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeoman@yahoo.com. Required Diploma Civil Engr, 2-5 years experience in Oman D/ License. Contact: 99814741 Required Project Manager (Civil – degree) for a reputed construction company, with at least 7 yrs experience in Gulf & GCC license. Contact 968 94144230 or mail: slvjob2015@gmail.com Required Project Engineer (Civil – Diploma) for a reputed construction company, with 5 to 7 yrs of experience in Gulf & GCC license. Contact 968 94144230 or mail: slvjob2015@gmail.com Required Electrical industrial Technician and SW/ Gear panel technician with minimum 2-5 years Gulf experience. Contact: 99262678 Urgently required senior purchaser civil expats candidate, must have at least 10 years of experience in similar ﬁeld. Email: samtrading@altaher.com address P.O. Box 1413, PC 112, Ruwi Experienced Civil Foreman with driving license. Visa available. Contact: 99169512 Civil Site Supervisor for telecom tower projects across Oman. Send CV to fyjo@spec-link.com or call +968 9946 7227

EDUCATION A well known private school is in need of English, Mathematics, Science and Computer Teachers. Contact: 96910649 Email: staffing.oman@gmail.com

A qualified Electro/Automobile/Electric Diploma holder with minimum 2 years’ experience on deskjobs such as preparing quotation, supplier correspondence, warranty claims etc. Age between 25 – 30.

2. Accountant: A qualified B.Com/M.Com/C.A. Inter accountant with minimum 4 years’

Qualification: BE in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering

experience in accounting with banking knowledge. Age between 25-30. Attractive Salary and terms Offered

Send detailed resume to sskpvr@gmail.com

Candidates with NOC or on visit visa can apply, please drop your CV at

careerhr1972@gmail.com

Accountant, Indian Male, 15 Years experience (8 Years in Oman with Driving License & NOC) Seeks suitable placement, Contact 94117616, 91238272 Email: praveen78oman@gmail.com Hard working and 2 years experienced Indian male MBA (ﬁn & mktg) on visit visa looking suitable jobs. Contact: 93279943 / 97876709 Indian male 20 years in Oman experience with language institute (registrar, admin, account clerk) seeking a suitable position. NOC available. Contact: 96553961 Email: u.m.sulﬁ@gmail.com

MEDICAL Wanted a Staff Nurse with MOH license for a well running clinic in Seeb. Contact: 99442701 Required a male Pharmacist with MOH license for a medical center in Azaiba Muscat, excellent English and valid Omani driving license. Interested candidates please send your CV to mdcjobs2015@gmail.com

Chief Accountant IndianMale, B.Com Graduate+ PGDCA, Total 18 Years Experience, 13 Year in GCC, 7 Years in Oman. Exposure in Tally ERP9, Peach Tree, MS Office. Having NOC Available for Immediate Joining. Contact - 97060826 Email-tomnedum71@yahoo.co.in

Required a Philippino or Indian female cleaner for a medical center in Azaiba , Muscat. Interested candidates please send your CV to: mdcjobs2015@gmail.com

Accountant Indian female, 26 yrs, B.Com 2 yrs experience in accounting, purchase vouchers, bank reconciliation. Contact: 95690207 Email: pereira.rita08@gmail.com

Wanted Dentist with license for leave vacancy for 2 months Jan 15 to March 15. Contact: 92520054 GP, Pediatrics, Gynecologist doctors, Nurses urgently need to work in Polyclinic in Sur, with MOH/Prometric pass also can apply. Dr. Raji: GSM : 99567864 Wanted GP Doctor with MOH license, job location in Muscat with good salary and beneﬁts. Drop your cv at careerhr1972@gmail.com. Urgently required Philipina Nurse with MOH license at prometric parsed. Contact: 99724013

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR Urgently required Project Managers, Civil Engineers, Foreman, Electrical Engineer, electrical quantity surveyors for a reputed construction company. Send your CVs to mohamed@oasisgrace.com Contact: 99881459 / 24826566 can send fax: 24812226 Traveling agency Manager Director. Contact: 92223669

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

MISCELLANEOUS Looking for a FOREIGN STAFF has experience in Oman in real estate ﬁeld. Interested contact: Mobile: 99109094 Email: aburashid94dd@gmail.com

SECT. /OFFICE Urgently required Female Secretary : Oman based leading manufacturing company has immediate requirement Graduate with min. 5 yrs of experience & capable to handle Management office work independently & Secretarial work, knowledge of computers & accounts will be an advantage. Age limit upto 30 yrs. Send CVs to vacancyinoman123@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING Urgently required Salesman with 2 years experience in electrical outdoor sales in Oman D/L and NOC must. Contact: 91373200 Email: oman@sentorsupplies.com Kitchen cabinet manufacturing company is looking sales person, most have Oman D/L and must know any kitchen designed software and two years experience. Contact: 93326636

TECHNICIAN /MECH. Urgently required cold room refrigeration Technician must know up to commissioning gulf experience preferred .Pls forward CV to nasmatmasirah@gmail.com Contact: 97982623/ 95183616 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

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

10 years experience in secretarial / Admin job. Contact: 94868626

Indian male , B.Com, 21 yrs, accountant with 1 and half years experience looking for suitable job for more discussion. Contact: 96512733 Email: azazahemad1994@gmail.com

VACANCY

Omani National with 4 years experience with Valid Omani D/L Please forward your CV’s to

HR/ Admin with total 7 years GCC experience looking for immediate change over with suitable position NOC available. Contact 95521535 Email: kbino110@gmail.com

with experience in earthmoving equipments, cruchers, quarry & mining industry. Email:

1. Service Administrator:

Debt collector:

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

Egyptian woman resident has considerable experience in the administration and Secretarial Executive for companies. Contact: 97221126

Indian male 27Yrs, having total 7+ yrs of experience in HR/ Admin looking for suitable position. Contact 91507099

WANTED

2 year experience with Valid Omani D/L

CA (Inter), MBA, 25 yrs exp. in Accounts, Sales, Marketing & Administration in poultry industry seeks suitable placement immediately. Contact 91 9704075855, +968 96500893, Email : sanaullah. sheikh@rediffmail.com

ADMIN

Indian male MBA 2 years experience on visit visa. Contact: 90196322 Email: nithinvarghese19@gmail.com

Civil Engineer (Building Construction) 2 Nos

A reputed Dairy Company in Oman is looking for following Vacancies.

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

SITUATION WANTSIT. WANTED ARCHITECT /AUTOCAD AutoCAD D/man Experienced. Contact : 93837973 Interior Designer Experienced knows 3D max Photoshop: Contact 93837973

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE 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 12 years of Oman experienced chief accountant looking for suitable position. Contact: 99513082 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 B.Com Accountant 10 yrs in Oman exp in accounts, knowledge of sales, purchase, admin, hr, tally ERP & focus RT. Having NOC & D/L, looking for suitable job. Contact - 93086105 Senior Accounts Admin Manager B.com M.com 25 years experience accounts up to finalization holding light duty license seeks suitable placement. Contact: 93064975 Accountant Bachelor of commerce English, 2 years experience visit visa. Contact: 98584398/ 95539923 Male Indian with 7 years experience in accounting & 6 years experience in sales and marketing very good knowledge of tally currently in Muscat on a visit visa. # 96148427 Email: jijokurianp@gmail.com Indian male 26 years B.Com C.A Inter tally ERP’s 3 years experience in accounts, audit on visit visa. Contact: 90185373 Email: shaheervahid@gmail.com

Chartered Accountant with ICWA Inter having 5 years experience in Finance, Accounts, Costing, Budgeting, Insurance, Treasury & Banking operations - NOC Available + Oman Driving License Contact : 97881548 Email-financecost2@gmail.com Accountant Experienced Indian B. Com looking for suitable positions please call 91422074 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 25 years (20 years in Oman & 5 years in Indian) well experienced finance controller seeking for suitable position, with valid Oman driving license. Contact: 99756765 Indian male 29yrs M.com (finance) MBA (Finance & HR) ICWA (pursuing) 5 yrs experience in accounts, tally sage sap on visiting visa looking for suitable job. Contact: 92840519/98450609 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

ADMIN 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 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 29 male MCA qualiﬁed 4.6 years experienced skilled in system administration and basic networking, seeking job in IT Admin iteration now on visiting visa. Contact: +96892805363 Email: anukkuttan1986@gmail.com

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 Pakistani with light duty driver license seeks job. Contact: 92789805 3 years experience driver available. Contact: 95859247 Looking for driver job. Contact: 98219182 3 years driving experience in Muscat languages known English, Arabic, Hindi and Bengali. Contact 97462781 11yrs exp light duty driver looking for job. Contact: 94554450 Light driver, looking for job. Contact: 98372745/99090362 Looking for Job driving. Contact: 97418036 Driver with new car looking for job.contact: 95873286 Driver (light & heavy duty) valid gulf /Indian) looking job. Contact: 95175192

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN Civil Draughtsman with 12 yrs experience 9 yrs Gulf exp. Contact: 93528255 Email: bijumudackamannil@gmail.com 25 years male BA. English , Qualiﬁed as mast in digital animation having 5 yrs ex in character animation specialized Auto Desk mago and motion building software knowledge, seeking suitable placement. Contact: 97917357 Professional architect 3ds max (interior, exterior) looking for private work. Contact: 96041201

DOMESTIC HELP House maid looking for job. Contact: 98257659

EDUCATION Indian, Female 27 Years; B.Sc, B.Ed - Chemistry, 3 years’ experience in teaching ﬁeld, seeking for Suitable placements. Contact: 93216103; Email:laksshmi1988@gmail.com

ENGG. / TECH./MECH. Civil Engineer (BE) having total 5 years experience in building construction looking for a suitable placement. D/L available Contact# 94450270 Indian male, 24 years, M.tech in Electronics and Communication CCNA Certiﬁed , currently on visit visa seeking a relevant job. (Certiﬁcates attested). Contact: 93814376 Email: robinplakezhil@gmail.com Indian female civil engineer B.Tech having 3 years experience sound knowledge of software, REVIT STAD PRO structural detailing currently on family visa seeks suitable placement. Contact: 95345591

S AT U R DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED

ACCOUNTANT with 8 years of experience (working in Oman since Jan 2013) is looking for a change. Experienced in all aspect of accounting up to finalization of accounts. NOC will be available

Contact: 95503646 ENGG. / TECH./MECH. Female Engineer material / controller 3 years experience in road companies, with D/L. Contact: 98001764 Road and Construction Engineer with 5 years exp in Oman. Contact: 97646908 Civil Engineer with 6 years exp in Oman. Contact: 9324103 Email: mohamedf91987@gmail.com Male, B.E in industrial & production engineering, 8 years experience (5 years in oil & gas) and 3 years in available currently on visit visa, seeking immediate placement. Contact: 97863823 Indian male, 38 yrs old diploma in engineering with 9 yrs gulf experience looking placement in admin office management IT co-ordination, marketing fields having Oman D/L NOC available. Contact: 90187927 Email: blessam2@yahoo.com Indian female 22 years old electrical engineer fresher currently in Oman visit visa B.Tech knowledge in AutoCAD /ECAD seeking placement in electrical related field. Contact: 90372125 Email: limisha93@gmail.com Indian female on visit visa master of engineering (M.E) in computer science with 2 years experience software trainee, worked as mathematics and IT Teacher seeking for suitable job. Contact: 94528019 Email: indhu101291@gmail.com Mechanical Engineer (B.Tech) Indian m with good knowledge in MEP, currently in Oman on visit visa looking for suitable placement. Contact: 90154793 Email: sangu.vazhoor@gmail.com Indian Male 23 years B.Tech Civil having 2 years experience in quantity survey and site management looking for suitable placement Contact:- 95042656 Diploma in Mechanical Eng piping system in AutoCAD work, 21+ years experience with Driving license. Contact: 95267113 Email: rkakkaryil@gmail.com Project Engineer 6 years experience in Oman, construction (site manager) fluent Arabic, English and good Hindi. Tele 97858589 Indian male, Mechanical Engineer having 1Year experience, on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact: 97416564, Email: jovinmathias@gmail.com Indian male 24 yrs bachelor mechanical 2 yr experience looking for job. Contact: 95179021 / 96974981 Email: atharhussain54@gmail.com Bldg . Const site Supervisor since MAR 2010 working in Oman, with Omani D/L, looking for suitable placement. Contact 93061107 B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering female 2 years experience in teaching field and management skills seeks suitable placement on visit. Contact 93371834 / 97378922 Indian male 23 yrs old PG Diploma in Petroleum Engineering and B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering having UAE driving license on visit visa seeks suitable placement immediately. Contact: 95880127 / 95084905 Email: vijith2573459@gmail.com Sr. Civil Engineer, Indian male with 22 yrs of experience in building construction, pipeline work specialist in tendering, billing, quantity surveying with Gulf experience. Email : rafiksimna@gmail.com Sr. Electrical Engineer (MEP) having 18 years of experience (10 years in Gulf) seeks suitable placement in the field of Building Construction and HV/LV/Cable Installations. NOC available for contact GSM :92203584, email: sajisivan@gmail.com

ENGG. / TECH./MECH. Civil Engineer 8 years experience in Oman as a project engineer for governmental & private projects. Contact – 90164912 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 Hygiene Officer/QC, B.Tech Bio tech. HACCP LVL. 2 &3.Experienced in Food & water industry. 92940218 Mechanical Engineer with 3 Yrs experience in international Oil & Gas company looking for job Contacts: Tel: 90164236 Email: mustafaoshi-62@hotmail.com Civil maintenance painting, tile works decor works, plumbing, electric, shop furnishing carpentary works and all other maintenance. Contact 97897831, 92112094 (Indian, Keralite) 29 yrs Indian male B.E (ECE) with more than 5 yrs experience in Oman with valid D/L. Contact 96652145 Indian male, B.Tech Engineer, 6.5 years exp, PHP Developer working in UAE seeking a relevant post. Email: jibycj@gmail.com Contact: + 971563801785 Electrical Engineer Indian male 29 years, having 5 years of experience in industrial automation and utility maintenance in India (MRF Tyres) seeking suitable placement. Contact: 92789995 Email: akhilabrahmlktr@gamil.com Telecommunication Engineer looking to obtain a job in the specified field, Sudanese nationality with a valid residence. Contact 95000024 7 Yrs Exp. PM in Mech. Engg in the field of Building Const. Oil & Gas Seeking Job.94625598 B. E Mech, MBA project & design management around 2 years experience seeks suitable position in automobile oil & gas, any other industries. Contact: 93360821 Mechanical Engineer (BE) 25 years, Indian male with NDT level2, 2 years above experience (as QC Engineer and Site Engineer) seeking suitable placement. Contact: 90249803 / 00919446048596 Email: naveenbasheer@gmail.com Civil Engineer with 5 years in Oman with 5 years in Oman with driving license (Sudanese with bachelor degree). Contact: 91448244 B. Tech Safety Engineer, 10 years exp, NOC available, seeking suitable placement. Mob: 97061817, Email: jayanammu1977@gmail.com 16 years experienced civil Engineer B.Tech including 8 yr experience in Oman with D/L seeking suitable placement. Contact: 99802579 BE civil Engineer (4 years exp) Indian male looking for job (site Engineer, planning estimation, QS, job (primavera, Ms excel) available in Oman for interview. Contac: 97214512 /92822310 Email: sreeragsgk@gmail.com (expected CTC 350 Rial) Electrical Engineer (B.E) with 8 years experience valid Omani driving license looking for job. Contact: 93909951 Bachelor Civil Engineer 6 Years in Oman experience Valid Driving License seeks suitable placement Phone 97619722 Email – golamrob@yahoo.com Mechanical Engineer M.Tech 2 years experience as HVAC design engineer rev IT M.E.P AutoCAD. Contact: 91050913 Email: rahmanmechengg@yahoo.com Mechanic Tractor Diesel Engines & Hydraulic, 25 years Experience in Multinational Companies. Contact - 91685048 Civil Engineer 6 yrs Exp in Oman with license. Contact: 98975518 Sri Lankan Engineer (27 Years old) – B.Sc Engineering (Hon) Mining / Geotechnical Presently in Muscat, 1.5 years experience. Contact 91295802 / acmfaslan123@gmail.com

Well experienced team available to provide feasibility reports & business solutions, product development, risk management methods for startups, progressive, defunct operations. Creating of ERP modules. Contact - 93343251 Email: profitoman@gmail.com

A result oriented professional B.E.(Mech), 30+ years experience in Oil & Gas Projects, Fabrication, R & M and Services. Seeking job as GM, CEO, Country Head. NOC & immediate availability.

Phone : +91 9773828663, Email : jvp291367@yahoo.com

Indian male 30 yrs, 6 years experience in Oman, Oman driving license, BSc, food technology (food sciences) and M.B.A. Contact 93405643

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

24 years Indian female MSC Biotechnology 1 year exp.in clinical microbiology, worked in icrisat for project work as Trainee, looking for suitable job. Contact: 92619048 Email: anusreeg1991@gmail.com

Structural Draughtsman having 10 years experience in engineering consultancies N.O.C available. Contact: 00968 97612846 Mechanical Engineer (UK) , 28 years old male, having 4 years experience in Oman looking for suitable placement with valid Oman D/L immediate available, NOC available. Contact: 968 97612297 Email: ymirza11@caledonian.ac.uk

HOSPITALITY Hospitality/Hotel/ Restaurants Dynamic result oriented hospitality professional with 20 years of international exp. MBA in Hotel Management, specializing in Hotel/ Restaurant start ups, concepts & Franchise development with proven records. Seeking for Challenging positions in reputed groups as GM/ COO/CEO/Business Head. (NOC available) Contact: 96059470 Dutch male qualiﬁed commercial pilot (Faa-ME-IR certiﬁed) is looking for job openings in middle east. rutjestom@outlook.com

IT Hardware & net working, 2 years exp. Contact: 96244031 Female, 24yrs, B-tech Computer Science, currently on visit,1yr experience and certified special training .skills in software testing ,management,administration,jav a,oracleDB,Android,C++,C.seeking suitable placement. Contact:98741930, amruthamohandas515@gmail.com System Support Engineer qualification (BCA) bachelor of computer application professional certification Microsoft certified Engineer windows 2012 certified,hardware and networking two years experience in system support engineer. Contact: 95492886 Email: samips49@gmail.com Structural Steel Supervisor / foreman 12 and half experience in overseas, I.T.I fitter, NOC available. Contact: 96195185 India: 917356668511 Omani 6 years excellent exp looking for opening in IT. Contact: 95356166 Well experienced instructor available & teach stadpro primavera P6 for 2 months. Contact: 94412557 Indian female M.Com qualified CME (INTER) good communication & computer skills fresher presently in Muscat seeking placement. Contact: 90387811 Email: ghazalasuhan@yahoo.com Sit Lankan male 22 yrs seeking immediate employment in the travel & tourism sector IATA/ UFTAA qualified 2+ years at extensive experience. Contact: 90202538 / 99743569 Email: donheshan69@live.com B.Tech (IT) Indian male 29 years having 4 years experience in software support, hardware & networking in Oman looking for IT / Admin job in Oman. NOC available with valid Oman D/L. Contact: 91906494 Email: rajanit1988@gmail.com Indian male B.Tech (ECE) MCSE, CCNA having 1.5 years of experience seeks job. Contact: 99257702 Email: jithu.m.moolayil@gmail.com CCNA MCITP network support /network technician with 2 years experience Indian male having bachelors degree on visit visa. Contact : 93080871 sean.f.peters@outlook.com Indian female 29, BCA, MCA, ASP. Net certified SAP - ABAP certified having 1.5 yrs of experience, seeking placement. Contact: 99109121 Email: ashamaryphilip@gmail.com Age 28 years experience 2years & 8 month in IT accounting technical skill, java, J.S.P tally Peachtree M.S excel, SQL ,Working java programmer India , accountant , Dubai ,Qualification MCA, B.C.A mathematic visit visa. Contact: 95673451

Indian male IT, CCNA, RHCE, MCITP, 3 years experience have GCC driving license seeking suitable position on visit visa (until 27th Dec). Contact: 93311963 Email: sajal035@gmail.com Indian male 20 plus years experience intonation resource customer management IT business development transformation D / license NOC transfer seeks senior dost reputed company. Contact: 91719892 Email: mmjoman@gmail.com An Indian male 27yrs, B. Tech in (Computer Science) 6 years of exp in technical support, troubleshooting and managing seeks suitable placement. Contact:- 97483775, email:- mir.jak89@gmail.com

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR MBA (marketing) with 17 years experience in freight forwarding/ logistics industry in GCC & Oman. Presently working as branch manager in Muscat. Looking for a suitable position. Release and NOC available. Contact: 99856331 MBA In Operations Management Indian male : MBA in Lean Operations And Systems with 3 years of experience seeks suitable placement in Oman. Contact : 0096894369897 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, 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 Sudanese male Manager & Accountant master degree in Economics, 15 years experience in accounts and Banking looking for job. Contact: 97396088 / 96436517 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

MEDICAL An experienced Staff Nurse with MOH license and data ﬂow cleared looking for job, NOC available. Contact: 97045785 / 98899146 Indian female , Masters in Nursing Specialized in Medical & Surgical with 1.3 years of nursing tutor experience after MSC & 1.5 years of clinical experience after BSC seeks suitable vacancy near Sohar. Currently in Oman on family joining visa. Contact 93217746 ; Email: thomasalexander1983@gmail.com Experienced prometric cleared Indian female dentist seeks suitable placement in Muscat. Contact: 94673720 /92880267 An experienced Sudanese female Dentist with MOH license looking for job. Contact: 96436517 /97396088 Palestinian dentist looking for job in Muscat privet hospitals , polyclinics or dental centers – 15 yrs experience out Muscat at privet hospitals or polyclinics. Contact: 96951750 Male Nurse, Experienced, Pass Prometric (Oman) 93837973

MISCELLANEOUS Graduate, computer literate, experienced in sales, credit control, accounts, Omani D/L , seeks suitable placement. Gsm 9880-5474

MISCELLANEOUS Candidate with communication & analytical skills. Contact 90187827

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE Indian lady with release paper. searching for admin or accounts asst or showroom sales job. Contact 94417080 Secretary MBA Indian male 5 years exp in India, 1 yr exp as Secretary / document controller in tendering dept in Oman seeking urgent placement. Contact 91566118 / 93089367

SKILLED / UNSKILLED Masonry / ﬁnishing foreman 20 years experience NOC available. Contact: 98435309/ India + 91 9446958838 Indian male, having 15 yrs of exp in site supervising, telephone line, supervising with valid D/L, looking for job. Contact: 93931162 Mason, SH / carpenter, steel ﬁtter gulf & Indian exp looking job. Contact: 95175192 Electrician, plumber (exp gulf / Indian) looking job. Contact 95175192

SALES / MARKETING Manager Post of Family Visa, MBA 14 years Experience (2 Years in Oman) in Multinational Groups in Sales & Marketing. M.Z. 96220975 Indian male 38 yrs, 11 yrs exp Oman worked as a Sales & MKT in Medical consumables items, looking for any suitable job D/L Oman NOC available. Contact: 99501046 Purchase officer with 8 years exp in Oman having D/L & NOC looking for urgently placement. Contact: 96174564 email: azhar_5012@yahoo.co.in Indian male MBA 7 yrs ex in sales & marketing with Omani D/L N.O.C available. Contact: 93431039 Indian male 40 yrs MBA marketing having 18 years of experience sales filed 11 years in Oman with a leading tyre trading company having Oman driving license seeking suitable placement. Contact: 94743828 Email: barretjohnr@gmail.com Indian male, 24, MB Marketing and HR, I year experience. On visit visa. Looking for suitable job. Contact 94014073 Indian male MBA holder one year experience looking for job sales & marketing & any office related with. Contact: 97138592 Email: mohammedathish24@gmail.com Indian male MBA with 15 years experience in sales / customer care, looking for suitable position currently Oman on visit visa. Contact 98144691/93891423 Email: satishvelage@gmail.com 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 12 years of experience in Oman; marketing strategies & operations, logistics, government tenders, public relations & dealing with international companies -4 years of experience in UK, engineering CNC & industrial areas, have dual nationality, fluent in English & Arabic speaking and writing , (I can travel abroad easily without visa, for finalizing business or any other purpose). Contact: 94123939 Marketing Executive/Merchandiser, Omani License, BA 8 years Experience in Multinational Groups. Contact 97601343 10 yrs exp in Oman in logistics/ purchase-have Oman D/L-looking for suitable placementcontact 96410767 email: harishkts@yahoo.com

SALES / MARKETING Indian male 22 years B.Com Graduate residing in Oman on family visa with a valid Oman driving license, looking for a job in sales / marketing. Contact: 98504698 Indian male with more than 14 yrs of experience in business development / marketing valid Omani D/L , looking for Managerial position in business development / marketing. Contact : 93400177 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, with experience in sales, marketing, and client relation, with UAE driving license, on visit visa, seeks suitable job. Contact: 95269818 Email: naushers@yahoo.com Indian male, MBA Finance & Marketing 28 yrs,6+ Exp, with Driving license, Hospital Phrma Herbal Marketing, construction A/c & sales , F&B industry, 93379044 Indian male, MBA Marketing having 2.5 years Sales experience immediately looking for a suitable position. Contact: 91415145, Email: shariqs88@gmail.com Indian male 29 yrs, BHM , 6 years overall 3 yrs in Oman in sales with D/L. NOC available to join immediately. Contact: 92594055 Indian male 46 years, Sales Manager experience in modular kitchens & furnitures. Contact: 94522616 Sales & marketing building materials (G. hardware, tiver, steel etc) Indian male ﬂuent English, Arabic, Malayalam etc GCC D/L 8 years exp available release letter or NOC. Contact: 92882101 Email: sameermoul@gmail.com Indian male having 5 years Oman experience in coordination level seeking any suitable post. NOC available and can join immediately as the visa issued. # 92889617 24 years, Graduate on visit visa with diploma in advertising ﬁlm making from Zee Institute Mumbai and with two years work experience in digital marketing social media & event management seeks suitable placement. Contact: 98257207 / 99747481 Indian male sales marketing with G.C.C license 7 years exp. Contact: 98097459 Email: shl_kami@yahoo.com

TOURS & TRAVELS Indian female 24 yrs, Bachelor in Travel & Tourism and 2 year exp in Oman as ticketing executive.GDSSabre, Amdeus, Galilio. seeking suitable job.contact- 95883404

MISCELLANEOUS Project Manager in Mechanical Engg. (M.sc.) with 8 years experience in Building Construction, oil & gas seeking job-94625598 (nima.azimzadeh@gmail.com) Indian male 23yr BA TTM(Travel and Tourism Management) with Advanced Diploma in Supply Chain Logistics and Shipping Management, Experienced in Logistics(Customs Clearance) seeking in suitable placement. Currently on visit visa (Oman) Contact; 90291092 email: iyas.adhur@gmail.com Driver Cum Salesman Professional, Indian male having 7 Years of Experience in Oman Having Valid Driving License working as a Office Driver, Looking for a suitable Position, NOC available. Contact: 99680429 Email:anzarkutty1975@gmail.com 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

S AT U R D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

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

TOURS

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine Tours contact 98029602, 92808636

SITUATION WANTED CARGO

ABDULHAKIM AL BIMANI TRADING & CONTRACTOR Expert in Shipping cargo by sea & air to Zanzibar, Pemba, Dar es Salam in Tanzania, Burundi, The Philippines, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Reasonable price.

Contact: 97440625/95416662 Email: abdulhakimalbimani@hotmail.com

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

S AT U R DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

RENT A CAR

CLASSES

IELTS PREPARATION Target Band 8.0

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

Spoken Arabic class for Non Arabic Speakers & English class for Malayalam Speakers

in Azaiba and Ruwi

• Learn in two months • Satisfaction guaranteed

SITUATION WANTED SERVICES

IELTS & TOEFL Academic / General Target Band 8 TQT Institute. Ph # 24480800 / 99347202

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

WEBSITE

Rental car. Contact: 92516090

SITUATION WANTSERVICES

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

COMPUTER

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

SITUATION WANTSERVICES A/C maintenance, installation spilt A.C and maintenance window A/C and ducted and package the reunites. Contact: Asad Abbas 98667326 We are doing electrical, plumber, painting, & carpentering work any type of job small or big. Contact: 99208033 / 93782735 Water prooﬁng ABUQABASContact 99320217/24788722

DRIVING A/C Maintenance & servicing, fridge, washing machine & dish washer repairing, painting & cleaning services, electrical & plumbing. Contact: 99447257 /97014234 / 24504281

Learn driving with professional. Contact: 94022250

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

Marble grinding resurfacing & ceiling crystallization / polishing general cleaning of villas & ﬂats. Terrazzo ﬂoor scrubbing, ceiling, polishing & buffing. Contact: 98598280 /94134784 GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/ 24792998 Cleaning Sofa shampoo carpet shampoo house. Contact: 92179395 Debt collection services your money we collect value commercial services. Fax: 0096824783669 Contact: 009682479815 /00968- 24701422 /00968- 94665476 Email: salim@valuedbtcollection.com

House shifting & transporting. Contact 92490422 Cleaning & Carpet Shampooing, Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723 Pest Control Treatments. Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723 House shifting. Contact: 99657644/98518013

Split & window A/c servicing & maintenance. Contact : 93769089 / 95323517 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 QABAS99320217 /24788722

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your marble. Contact 24793614/ 99314807

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

S AT U R D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

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