Times of Oman - July 13, 2015

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RAMADAN PRAYER TIMINGS IFTAR 7.02PM FAJR 4.02AM

MONDAY, July 13, 2015 / 26 Ramadan 1436 AH

HM’S ENVOY

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Sayyid Haitham heads to Saudi Arabia

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Ministry of Manpower suspends new clearances until after Eid holidays

FAHAD AL GHADANI

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Eid, Renaissance Day holidays announced MUSCAT: For the employees at the ministries, public authorities and other departments of the State Administrative Apparatus and the private sector, Eid Al Fitr 1436 AH holiday will be from Thursday, 29th Ramadan 1436 AH corresponding to July 16, 2015 until Monday, July 20, 2015, declared Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal bin Saud Al Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court and Chairman of the Civil Service Council and Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Bakri, Minister of

Manpower on Sunday. Work will resume on Tuesday, July 21, 2015.

The text of the decision is as follows: “On the occasion of the blessed Eid Al Fitr 1436 AH, the Eid holiday for employees working at the ministries, public authorities and other departments of the State’s Administrative Apparatus and private sector will be from Thursday, 29th Ramadan 1436 AH corresponding to July 16, 2015 until Monday, July 20, 2015. Work will resume on Tuesday, July 21, 2015.” >A2

MINISTERIAL DECISION

Decision on second-hand vehicle import leaves expats wondering FAHAD AL GHADANI

fahadnews@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Mixed reactions are being expressed over the decision of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to allow expatriates living in Oman to import only one used vehicle in a year while allowing citizens to import an unlimited number of such used private cars, buses, trucks or motorbikes has elicited.

The decision also bars nationals from importing vehicles older than seven years.

A reliable source in the ministry explained that the not-olderthan-seven-years rule was fair when compared to other Gulf countries which have kept this bar at five years.

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The decision bars nationals from importing vehicles older than seven years. -ONA

In the ministerial decision number 203/2015, Dr Ali bin Masoud bin Ali Al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry, said an expat would be allowed to import a vehicle provided he or she

is above 18 years of age.

“Non-Omanis should import their vehicles using their civil number,” said Awadh bin Said Al Alawi, Director of Commercial Affairs Department.

The decision affecting nationals and expats was not welcomed by the public with the social media witnessing a hashtag targeting the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s decision and discussing it publicly.

Most people posting opinions under the hashtag wondered if there was no other way to regulate this market except through ban.

Some suggested that the ministry could have gone in for stricter regulations and requirements in vehicles inspection rather than ban. >A6

TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES

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Five dead in accident

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Five people were killed and one injured in a collision between two vehicles. >A3

OMAN

Duqm investment

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Sezad announces regulations to woo investment in Duqm. >A6

WORLD Vehicle catches fire at Ibri petrol station

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12.18pm 3.37pm 7.02pm 8.23pm 4.02am

ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

Eid freeze on hiring expats from ministry

MINISTRY ANNOUNCEMENT

MUSCAT: As an envoy of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said left on Sunday for Saudi Arabia to convey the condolences of His Majesty the Sultan on the death of Prince Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers, Advisor and Special Envoy of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Supervisor of Foreign Affairs.

Sayyid Haitham is accompanied by Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdulmalik bin Abdullah Al Khalili, Minister of Justice and Dr Sayyid Ahmed bin Hilal bin Saud Al Busaidi, Sultanate’s ambassador to the KSA. -ONA

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Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Fajr (Tomorrow)

Divorce law in Iran

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Iran has changed a law to make divorce by mutual consent invalid. >A13

MUSCAT: All expat recruitment has been put on freeze by the Ministry of Manpower until after Eid with officials not issuing any new clearances.

As of yesterday, the ministry has stopped dealing with any new clearance transactions until the first working day after the Eid Al Fitr holiday, said a reliable source at the ministry. He explained that the decision targets only new clearance transactions.

However, those who earlier applied for clearance can proceed to the ministry to follow-up with their request.

“This is not new, as the Ministry of Manpower usually carries out such decisions before Eid,” said the source. He also said that this is not a large issue, as it is a

matter of waiting only one week.

Salim bin Said Al Ghatami, the head of the Economic Committee at the State Council, however, said the work should proceed until the last working day.

“I am not with such move and I feel if each unit will disrupt one of its services then half of the government units won’t produce (work) three days before each Eid holiday,” said Al Ghatami.

Responding to that, Rashid Khalfan, who owns a construction company, wondered about the reasons behind such decisions. “The decision does not make any sense. Why do we have to wait for three more days, along with the five Eid holiday days?” asked Rashid.

Further, he complained that such decisions are handed down without any reasons.

“These three days are working

days and if the Ministry of Manpower wants to disturb the work in any of its departments it should explain to the public the reasons behind that.

Similarly, Fawaz Ahmed, who is starting a business, said this is not fair for businessmen and investors.

“I am counting the minutes while I start my business, yet the Ministry of Manpower decides in seconds to waste three working days,” said Fawaz. He added that while it is only three days, for him and other small business owners, the days count as they pay monthly rents for their business.

“I have been paying the shop rent for the last two months, as I expected to start my business after only one month.

“But now I have to wait for more than one week to resume work on my documents with the authorities,” said Fawaz.

Last week Times of Oman reported how top Omani business men had called for an end to the ‘Come after Eid’ attitude that prevails.

Thasleem Khan, CEO and Managing Director of IPARK, said it is not going to make big impact on the business. “Companies here plan much ahead so I don’t think there would be much impact on the market,” he said.

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MONDAY, JULY 13, 2 015

OMAN D AT E A N N OU N C E D

AMNESTY

6,258 expats to leave Oman Times News Service MUSCAT: Three hundred and ninety nine workers left their jobs in the private sector while 83 domestic workers also quit their jobs in June according to the Ministry of Manpower.

Those who have transferred their services to another sponsor numbered 187, while 1,193 workers

changed the designation of their professions with the same sponsor.

Meanwhile 6,258 non-Omani labourers who wished to avail themselves of the amnesty for visa anomalies would be leaving the country while 6,985 expatriate workers have already been deported from the Sultanate.

About 985 non-Omani workers have cleared their visa and other

procedural shortcomings in the private sector during the month of May. One hundred and forty eight workers have altered their visa and employment status to the present profession in the private sector. Sixty one workers have altered their professions in the blue-collared workers category, 42 workers have transferred their services to another employer.

NATIONAL COMMITMENT: The Sultan Qaboos Award for Voluntary Work covers 15 fields, namely economic, sports, social, childhood, youth, charitable work, environmental, heritage, health, media, education, IT, civil defence, disabled, culture, arts literature and women.– Talib Al Wahaibi/TIMES OF OMAN

Sultan Qaboos Award for Voluntary Work to cover vital public issues Times News Service MUSCAT: Winners of the 4th edition of Sultan Qaboos Award for Voluntary Work will be announced on December 5, said Sheikh Mohammed bin Sa’ayed Al Kalbani, Minister of Social Development. He pointed out that the award as one of the first awards to support voluntary work in Oman.

The announcement was made

at a press conference held on Sunday at the Ministry to reveal the details of the award’s 4th edition.

Dr. Hamoud bin Ahmed AlYahya’ei, Director General of Social Welfare and Chairman of the Technical Committee for Sultan Qaboos Award for Voluntary Work, said the award covers 15 fields, namely economic, sports, social, childhood, youth, charitable work, environmental, herit-

age, health, media, educational, IT, civil defence, disabled, culture, arts literature and women.

He added that submission of applications had begun on July 1 and will continue until August 30. Applications will be received in the Governorate of Muscat at the Association and Community Clubs at the Ministry and at the Departments of Social development in the governorate.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Blessed Renaissance A1 Day holiday on July 23 < FROM

The Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court and all employees of private sector extended their congratulations to His Majesty the Sultan on this blessed occasion, praying to Allah the Almighty to protect His Majesty, grant him good health, happiness and a long life and for the return of this and similar occasions on His Majesty for many years to come and the Omani people and our dear country further progress and welfare under His Majesty’s wise leadership and all Muslims prosperity and welfare.

In another decision, Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal Al Busaidi and Shaikh Abdullah bin Nassir Al Bakri declared Thursday, July 23, 2015, as an official holiday for employees at ministries, public authorities and other departments of the state’s administrative apparatus and the private sector companies and establishments on account of Blessed Renaissance Day. The two senior ministers extended their heartfelt congratulations to His Majesty the Sultan on

Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal Al Busaidi and Shaikh Abdullah bin Nassir Al Bakri declared Thursday, July 23, 2015, as an official holiday on account of Blessed Renaissance Day this glorious occasion, praying to Allah the Almighty to protect His Majesty, grant him good health, happiness and a long life and for the return of this and similar occasions on His Majesty the Sultan for many years to come, wishing the Omani people and the country further progress and welfare

under his wise leadership. The decisions allow employers and employees to agree on work arrangements to compensate this holiday, if necessity arises. The employees whose weekly off days coincide with the above mentioned holidays should be compensated as well.

TOURISM SECTOR

Alila Jabal Akhdar bags global award Times News Service MUSCAT: Alila Jabal Akhdar won the award for Best Suite in the Hotel 50-200 rooms in the Global Category at The International Hotel & Property Awards 2015 hosted in Italy.

The International Hotel & Property Awards are hosted by Design et Al, a leading interior design magazine based in the United Kingdom.

The results are based on voting by industry professionals, readers, clients and customers.

The five-star property continues to set a high standard in the hospitality industry, receiving a number of prestigious awards for leisure tourism. Recognition has come locally and regionally, as well as from publications, including New York Post and U.S. Conde Nast Traveler.

Earlier, Alila Jabal Akhdar received the LEED Silver Certification in March this year at regional level in the Building Design and Construction rating system for New Construction by the U.S. Green Building Council, thus marking the first development in Oman to have obtained the prestigious international LEED certification. In May, the resort was awarded the GCC Leisure and Tourism Project of the Year at the MEED Quality Awards 2015.

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COLLISION

Five killed in Jalan Bani Bu Ali road accident FAHAD AL GHADANI fahadnews@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Five people were killed in an accident on Sunday morning in the Al Sharqiyah region, according to a top official of the Royal Oman Police (ROP). “The accident took place between two vehicles at about 4:38 am,” said the official.

The accident occurred in the Al

Jawabi area in the wilaiyat of Jalan Bani Bu Ali and resulted in the death of five nationals, including an 80 year-old man.

The official said that the five nationals who died in the accidents have been identified as Marzooq Al Araimi, 21 years; Salim Al Jafari, 80 years; Juma Al Ghanbosi, 23 years; Mohammed Al Amri, 65 years; and Mahmood Al Araimi, 16

PUBLIC SECURITY

Car catches fire at Ibri petrol station

UP IN FLAMES: While no injuries were reported, the cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained.–Supplied photo

Times News Service MUSCAT: A vehicle caught fire on Sunday morning at a Shell petrol station in Hujairamat in Wilayat Ibri, officials have said.

Public Authority of Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA) officials have informed that they extinguished the fire, while no injuries were reported.

Cause of fire “The cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained,” officials said. Earlier, PACDA advised motorists to exercise caution while filling their vehicles with petrol.

They also asked people not to smoke or talk on mobile phones at petrol stations.

Further, PACDA has urged the public to report any spillage of fuel to the staff at petrol stations.

They also asked petrol station attendants to ensure that fuel pump nozzles were removed from car fuel tanks before vehicles leave pumping stations.

On June 3, a car caught fire around 8 am while refuelling in Bidbid. In another incident, a car caught fire at a petrol station in Yanqul on June 2. Last month on June 16, there was also a fire in a Ghubrah petrol station.

years. The accidents also resulted in national Hamad Al Ghanbosi, 20 years, being injured.

Oman recently witnessed a significant drop in traffic accidents and, as a result, deaths and injuries also fell, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information statistics (NCSI).

Further, statistics show that 2015 witnessed a drop of 10.6 per

cent in the number of deaths and a decrease of 8 per cent in the number of casualties from vehicle accidents, compared to the same period in 2014. The traffic accident rate also decreased by 14 per cent compared to last year.

Royal Oman Police (ROP) attributed the decrease in traffic accidents to improved traffic control, as road users have become more

aware about the need to abide by traffic rules. Traffic awareness has led to a decline in the number of accidents, as well as installing speed radar.

ROP has called on motorists to abide by safety and traffic rules to avoid fatal accidents. Experts says that the number of fatalities rise significantly during the tourist season in Dhofar.

Oman has recently witnessed a significant drop in traffic accidents and, as a result, deaths and injuries also fell, according to the NCSI statistics

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MONDAY, JULY 13, 2 015

TODAY’S DUAA ‘ O Allah, on this day, open for me the doors of the heavens, and lock the doors of Hell from me, help me to recite the Quran, O the One who sends down tranquility into the hearts of believers.’

Besides Ramadan, for which fasting is compulsory on every Muslim who has attained the age of puberty, Allah has offered us many opportunities to fast in other months, writes Aftab H. Kola

Hadith of the day ‘AMR IBN AL-’AS reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The difference between our fasting and the fasting of the people of the Book lies in the eating of Suhur.”

[Muslim]

Voluntary fasting after Ramadan A s the curtain draws on this year’s Ramadan, a unique season of worship will soon get over.

Before the advent of Ramadan we were delighted to welcome the Holy Month and as it gets over we look forward to next year’s Ramadan Insha Allah. Fasting in this month, despite the intense heat in many countries and long hours in several others, it has been such a joy to go through the fasting period. It is this component of willing obedience and compliance with an order which is in conflict with our basic needs that gives fasting its unique place among all acts of worship. We should keep praying to Allah to accept our fasts and our worship which we did with zeal in the Holy Month of Ramadan. Now that Ramadan will soon be over and ourselves charged, it is time to plan out for the worship for the next months.

Fasting has always be one of the form of worships that entails great rewards. Besides Ramadan, for which fasting is compulsory on every Muslim who has attained the age of puberty, Allah has offered us many opportunities to fast in other months. Though these are not compulsory but voluntary yet they can bring transformation in our lives and earn rewards.

Adil Salahi, an eminent columnist on Islam, writes, “Fasting is such a great act of worship that God singles it out for a special reward which is measured only by God’s kindness and generosity, some people may wonder that the surest way of earning admission into heaven is to fast voluntarily, as frequently as possible. Having said that, it is important to know which days are recommended to fast. The first thing that comes to mind here is that the Prophet (PBUH) recommends us to fast six days after the end of Ramadan. We obviously cannot fast on the Eid day.

The prohibition is for several reasons, one of which is that fasting on Eid day could be seen as an extension of Ramadan, when no one can add to Ramadan any extra days.

Although most scholars agree that the six recommended days should be in the month of Shawwal, some scholars argue that this is not necessary. The reason why six days have been chosen is that the general rule for the rewarding of good actions gives every such action 10 times its worth. Hence, if one fasts the month of Ramadan, he is rewarded for fasting 10 months. Six more days of fasting earn the reward of fasting sixty days or two more months.

That makes up for the whole year.”

Abu Ayyoub reported that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan and

then follows it by fasting six days during the month of Shawwal will be rewarded as if he had fasted the entire year. [Muslim, At-Tirmithi, Ibn Majah, Abu Dawood].

These days do not have to be at beginning of the month nor do they have to be consecutive. Hence, Muslims should seize this opportunity and fast these six days to get Allah’s reward.

Abu Qatadah said : the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “Fasting on the day of `Arafah is an expiation [of sins] for two years, the year preceding it and the year following it and the fasting the day of `Aashuraa’ is an expiation for the year preceding it. [Muslim, An-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Abu Dawood]. `Amr Ibn Sharhabeel said : A man came to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and said: O Messenger of Allah! what do you say in a man who fasts the whole year [time], on this the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), said : I wish he would not eat anything during the year, he said what about two thirds of the year, he replied “more”, he said what about half of it, he said more and then said : Shall I not inform you of what takes away the whispers of the chest, they said yes tell us, he said “ fasting three days from every month. [an-Nasaa’i; Sahih] Abu Tharr Al-Ghefari said: “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH), said: “Whoever fasts from every month three days, it is like fasting the whole year, then Allah revealed what backs this in His book “Whoever comes with a good deed, he is rewarded ten folds”, one day for ten. [Ibn Majah and at-Tirmidhi].

Abu Tharr Al-Ghefari said: “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “O Abu Tharr! if you fast three days of every month, then fast the 13th, the 14th and the 15th [these are call the Al-Ayaam Al-Beedh, the white days]”. [Ahmad, An-Nasaa’i and At-Tirmidhi; Sahih].

There are also suggestions that fasting on Mondays and Thursdays is recommended. This view is based on some reports which quote the Prophet as recommending that `Aa’ishah said : The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to fast Mondays and Thursdays”. [An-Nasaa’i; Sahih] Abu Hurairah reported that the most the Prophet (PBUH) would fast would be Monday and Thursday. He was asked about that and he said: “The deeds of people are presented to Allah on every Monday and Thursday. Allah forgives every Muslim except for those who are deserting one another. He says: “Leave them for later.” [Ahmad; Hasan]. But one can fast any days of the month if he/she is not comfortable to fast on those days.

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‘Breastfeeding mothers need healthy diet during fasting’ Pregnant mothers should not fast during Ramadan if they have certain medical

Fasting has some benefits like abdomen relaxation and will not negatively affect breastfeeding if the mother receives proper nutrition

conditions such as heart problems, renal failure or anaemia, says an expert

ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI elham@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Breastfeeding mothers who are health-wise able to fast should have a nutritious diet to avoid any negative impact on their own health as also that of the baby, said an expert.

Breastfeeding mothers can fast if they are not suffering from any medical condition but should consult their doctor to take the right decision, said Saada Mohammed Al Mamari from the nutrition department of the Ministry of Health. They should not fast if they have certain medical conditions such as heart problems, renal failure or anaemia, Al Mamari told the Times of Oman.

During the first 40 days after

delivery, mothers should not fast as they have not recovered completely, she added.

According to her, fasting has some benefits like abdomen relaxation and will not negatively affect breastfeeding if the mother receives proper nutrition, including carbohydrates and protein.

Fasting mothers can even collect their milk even while fasting and put it in the fridge to feed the baby, said Al Mamari.

Iftar food During Iftar time, they should drink water or laban (yogurt drink) so that the milk flows again, she said, adding that three dates or fruit can be taken at the same time.

The mother can also take soup or a small snack after a short break if she needs it but should avoid eat-

Saada Mohammed Al Mamari Nutrition department, Ministry of Health

ing a big meal at once at Iftar time and instead divide it into smaller portions, she noted.

The expert also said caffeine, beverages containing gas, fast food as well as meals that are too sugary, too salty or too oily should be avoided as these negatively affect the stomach and the taste of milk.

ECO ACTION

Be’ah opens landfill in Barka; waste consignment arrives Times News Service MUSCAT: Municipal waste from various wilayats of South Al Batinah and some parts of Muscat Governorates started arriving at the Barka engineered landfill in South Al Batinah.

The waste is being transported by the Oman Environmental Services Holding company, Be’ah.

Executive vice president for Municipal Waste Sector Hilal bin Khalfan Al Noumani said, “Barka landfill was built by a specialised company, in accordance with international environmental specifications and standards.”

“The landfill is now poised to receive nearly 1,100 tonnes of municipal waste per day in its first phase, equivalent to 401,500 tonnes per year; with an overall capacity for 1.5 million cubic metres of municipal waste”, he added.

Al Noumani further explained, “The main technical features of the landfill consists of cells that H O L I D AY S E A S O N

NFC boosts ferry service for Eid rush MUSCAT: The National Ferries Company (NFC) announced that it has increased the number of trips of its ferry services during Eid Al Fitr holidays to Musandam, North Al Batinah, Muscat and Masirah Island in a bid to meet the rush of passengers during the holidays.

Ghazi bin Abdullah Al Zedjali, head of marketing and communications at NFC, said that the increase in the number of trips is meant to meet the growing tourist activity by Omanis, expatriates and tourists during the Eid holidays.

During the holidays, the Muscat-Khasab-Muscat route will offer 1,552 seats and 320 vehicles. The company will operate eight trips between Muscat and Khasab with effect from Sunday till the weekend.

He added that during the holidays there will be six trips offering 624 seats and 120 vehicles between Shinas wilayat in the North Al Batinah governorate and Khasab wilayat in the Musandam governorate.

“Due to the expected growth in demand for more services from Shannah to Masirah Island during the Eid holidays, there will be 12 trips daily between Shannah and Masirah Island, offering 1,232 seats and 304 vehicles, from the second Eid day,” added Al Zedjali.–ONA

SAFE DUMP: The landfill is poised to receive nearly 1,100 tonnes of municipal waste per day in its first phase.–Supplied photo

are completely protected by High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) liners. These cells have a system for collecting leachate liquids and gases emitted from the decomposition of waste, which are collected and then processed in specialised treatment units at the landfill site, according to environmental control systems that operate around the clock.

The landfill site includes scales

to weigh incoming trucks for collecting data on the quantities of municipal waste received daily at the landfill. The site also consists of an administration building, a dormitory for workers, a workshop and a fuel station.

Al Noumani added that “Be’ah plans to have 12 to 13 engineered landfills in various Governorates of the Sultanate to replace the existing old dumpsites.”

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Suhoor diet The same things should be avoided during Suhoor time and Suhoor should be taken as late as possible, Al Mamari said, adding that adequate amount of fluid should be taken by the mother.

Meals containing carbohydrates and proteins such as milk, eggs

and beans should be used and a lot of vegetables and fruits containing fibre are essential for a good diet, she noted.

Oats are also a good source of nutrition, said Al Mamari.

If the fasting mother feels too tired or dizzy or is having a headache or blurred vision or any other problem, she should stop fasting, she said, adding that if the baby is not growing well, the mother should not keep fast.

Also, they should not fast if the quantity of milk in their breasts has decreased a lot, she noted.

High cholesterol In addition, Al Mamari said any breastfeeding mother, who has high cholesterol should consult the doctor and take their medicines if prescribed and should follow a healthy diet.

Foods rich in fibre such as fruits and vegetables are recommended, she said, adding that they should avoid red meat, yolk, corn oil, coconut oil and butter. They are advised to use olive oil or vegetable oil instead and take white meat such as fish and chicken, she noted.

If a breastfeeding mother has high blood pressure, she should reduce her intake of food containing sodium, said Al Mamari.

GCC FORUM

Doha to host metrology conference MUSCAT: A two-day forum to exchange ideas on increasing awareness of the compliance of industrial measurements will be organised in Doha on December 15.

The first GCC Metrology Forum meeting is being organised by Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), Ministry of Environment in Qatar, GCC Standardisation Organisation (GSO) and Gulf Association for Metrology (GULFMET).

The two-day forum aims at providing an overview assessment of the requirements of Gulf industries and institutions for services in the field of metrology, in addition to reviewing the means to raise the national capacity in the field of industrial standards.

The meeting also aims to exchange ideas on attracting new activities and areas in metrology and international practices to enhance the infrastructure of measurement as a component of quality in the development of member states. The forum comes in response to the global reports for companies operating in the automotive sector, electronics industry, power generation and others.– ONA

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OMAN

Non-Omanis should import their vehicles using their civil number Awadh bin Said Al Alawi, Director of Commercial Affairs Department

Rules to attract investors, regulate Duqm’s urbanisation announced project in the Special Economic Zone is prohibited before obtaining prior written approval.

The new regulations will be effective on Monday after the Sezad authority publishes them in the official gazette

Times News Service MUSCAT: Two executive regulations to attract investment and organising and regulating urban planning in Duqm were announced by the Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (Sezad) on Sunday.

The new regulations, written by Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, chairman of Sezad, will be effective on Monday, after the authority publishes the regulations in the official gazette, according to a press statement issued by Sezad.

The new regulation stipulates that a single ownership firm, a company, a branch operation or part of an overseas company existing within the zone, must legalise their status within one year of existence. This is applicable to professional and vocational agencies, as well.

The regulation, which consists of 22 clauses, governs the procedures for granting a licence to establish companies.

NEW RULES: The organisational plans shall be in accordance with Sezad’s vision and approved planning criteria and will be prepared by specialised and qualified engineering and consultation firms that are chartered to operate in Oman. – Supplied photos

Moreover, the licence for an economic activity will be subject to the approval of Duqm authorities.

The project may not begin preparation activities unless it applies for a preliminary approval from the authority. Sezad will study the licence application and verify that the application is complete, in terms of all required documents.

The issuance of the preliminary approval or rejection will be within 15 working days from the date of submission. No economic activity can commence before obtaining the final licence.

The regulation stipulates that the interim approval of the application will also specify the condi-

tions that must be met until the date of the inspection of the establishment, as required by law after completion of its preparations.

Preliminary approval The applicant, after meeting the conditions stipulated for granting the preliminary approval, must notify the Special Economic Zone Authority to obtain the final licence and the authority will check that the conditions are met and issue the final license within 15 days from the date of receiving the statement from the applicant.

The Duqm authority is authorised to suspend the licence issued for a project or impose an

administrative fine not exceeding OMR100,000, or both penalties, if the project violates any licence conditions or laws in the Sultanate and the regulations issued by the authority.

In case the licencee ceased carrying on the activity stipulated under the licence for more than three months without an acceptable reason or engaged in any activity that poses direct or indirect threats to public health or safety or the environment, and in case such violation persists after the suspension of the licence or the imposition of the fine, the authority may consider revoking the licence.

However, the regulations stipu-

late that the Duqm authority may not suspend the licence issued to a project before notifying the concerned parties of the violations.

The urban planning and construction licence regulations apply to all urban development lands, projects and buildings in the Special Economic Zone Authority, except for projects of residential buildings constructed by persons on privately owned land.

These regulations consist of 28 articles to regulate the construction of buildings in the Special Economic Zone Authority in Al Duqm and the conditions governing such construction. Construction of any structure or urban

General layout The regulations also stipulate that the main operator or developer will be in charge of preparing the general layout for the site stipulated under the relevant development contract, and the general layout will consist of organisational drawings of all levels and in all respects, such as the detailed survey plans and the general architectural plan and detailed architectural plan.

The organisational plans shall be in accordance with Sezad’s vision and approved planning criteria, and such plans will be prepared by specialised and qualified engineering and consultation firms that are chartered to operate in the Sultanate of Oman.

The regulations stipulate that the main operator or developer will be in-charge of carrying out all the works and studies necessary to prepare the detailed survey and the Sezad shall provide the main operator or developer with the required information and shall avail them with free access to the work site.

The regulations did also stipulate that in case of approving the detailed survey report, the main operator or developer will prepare the general site layout, which will include the drawings showing the various utilisations of the land and the construction provisions guide proposed for each area of use, along with the site development and management plan.

IMPORT OF VEHICLES

< FROM

A1 ‘Not the right move’ The public also wondered if the decision was based on any case study of accidents in the Sultanate or other related data. Some felt that this decision and others that are likely to follow are merely ways to impose more taxes and support monopoly practices in the local market.

Commenting on the decision, Salim Al Sarhani, who works in the private sector, said the move was welcome but the Minister of Commerce and Industry should allow import of vehicles that are ten-year-old, or less.

“I wonder if the government is trying to complicate the import process gradually,” said Salim.

He said that the criteria should focus more on the condition of the vehicle rather than the year of its make.

Expatriates, however, said this was not the right decision. “My wife needs to drop my children off at their school. How will she travel now?” asked one such affected expatriate resident.

Another expat, M Ghosh, said people should be allowed to import unlimited number of second-hand vehicles.

“In a country where public transport is limited, expatriates should be allowed to buy unlimited number of second-hand vehicles as not everybody can buy new vehicles and everybody knows cars are cheaper in other countries,” he said.

Second-hand car makers are, however, happy. “This is the right decision as a lot of people do business in second-hand cars,” Mohammed Ibrahim Khalid, who deals in used cars, said.

The decision also banned the import of bicycles with a capacity less than 70 square centimetres unless a person has obtained a permit from the ministry. While

import of vehicles exceeding seven years from the date of manufacture is banned, import of trucks and buses that are older than ten years from the date of manufacture and equipment older than 15 years from the date of manufacture has also been banned. The decision allows the import of vehicles older than 30 years from the date of manufacture but the imported vehicles should meet the standards in force in the Sultanate.

The decision takes effect from 90 days after its publication in the official gazette. The official, however, added that there is no bar on the companies selling used vehicles.

Other trading, industrial and service establishments may also import used trucks and equipment for their own usage, provided that the number and type of used trucks and equipment conforms to the activity of such establishments and their actual needs. Import of used motorbikes with engine capacity of less than 70 cubic centimetres, would require a permit from the ministry.

Import of private vehicles older than seven years from the date of manufacture and buses more than ten years and equipment more than 15 years has, however, been prohibited. Import of classic cars exceeding 30 years from the date of manufacture has been allowed. Imported vehicles shall have to conform to the specifications applicable in Oman.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry explained that the decision was taken in coordination with the authorities concerned with the local market development as well as to comply with the economic agreements among the Gulf Countries and local business laws.

CHAIRMAN PRESIDES

OCCI meeting in North Al Batinah SOHAR: Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) branch in the Governorate of North Al Batinah organised a meeting under the aegis of its Chairman Said bin Saleh Al Kiyumi. The meeting reviewed the agenda, including the approval of opening an office for OCCI which will offer its services to the Port of Sohar, the Free Zone and the Industrial Zone in Sohar. -ONA

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REGION

The funeral was held at the grand mosque of Mushir Tantawi in an eastern neighbourhood of the Egyptian capital, where key religious ceremonies are often held. Sharif’s remains will be buried later at El Sayeda Nafisa cemetery in the city’s south.

LAST RITES

Egyptians give film legend Omar Sharif solemn sendoff CAIRO: Close friends and family paid respects on Sunday to cinema legend Omar Sharif, who will forever be remembered as the eponymous Doctor Zhivago, at a solemn funeral in his native Egypt.

Sharif, 83, died on Friday of a heart attack in an upmarket Cairo clinic after a struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

The funeral was held at the grand mosque of Mushir Tantawi in an eastern neighbourhood of the Egyptian capital, where key religious ceremonies are often held.

Sharif’s remains will be buried later at El Sayeda Nafisa cemetery in the city’s south.

The service was attended by a group of Sharif’s relatives, friends and Egyptian actors, an AFP cor-

respondent reported. His body was draped in the Egyptian flag and a black shroud. Journalists outnumbered mourners, and there was no sign of any top government officials or Hollywood stars at the memorial service. “Omar Sharif represented Egypt to the world in the best possible way,” said Hussein Fahmy, a popular Egyptian actor who attended the funeral.

Zahi Hawass, the prominent archaeologist and former Egyptian antiquities minister, said he had “lost a close friend” while “the world lost a great actor”.

Sharif’s death came six months after that of his ex-wife and iconic Egyptian actress, Faten Hamama, known as the “Lady of the Arabic Screen”.

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END OF AN ERA: A file picture of film star Omar Sharif. – AFP

Born Michel Demitri Shalhoub, a Christian, Sharif converted and marry Hamama — who he described as the only love of his life.

The couple had a son, Tarek,

Libya’s political parties agree on peace accord The deal was backed by members of Libya’s internationally recognised parliament, based in the eastern port city of Tobruk AGREED: Members of the delegation from the government in the eastern city of Tobruk sign the document during the UN-brokered talks in Skhirat, near the Moroccan capital Rabat, on Saturday. – AFP

RABAT/TRIPOLI: Libyan political parties and members of civil society initialled a UN-proposed peace accord in Morocco on Saturday, despite the absence of a rival parliament not recognised by the international community.

“This is a step, but it is really an important step along the path to peace,” UN envoy Bernardino Leon said at a ceremony in the Moroccan resort of Skhirat marking the agreement.

The deal was backed by members of Libya’s internationally recognised parliament, based in the eastern port city of Tobruk, as well as representatives of political parties, municipalities and civil society groups.

No representatives attended from the rival parliament in Tripoli -- controlled by hardline militias since last year -- which has rejected a UN proposal to resolve Libya’s political crisis by forming of a national unity government and holding new elections.

Leon said the door remained open to groups that did not attend, and added that remaining contentious issues could be discussed after the conclusion of

the holy month of Ramadan this month. Among these issues are a call for “respecting the judiciary”, a possible reference to a Supreme Court decision invalidating the parliament in the east, which was elected in June 2014.

Deal welcomed Meanwhile, European states welcomed a UN peace deal initialled by some Libyan factions but not the opposition as a step towards restoring stability in the lawless North African country.

The European Union and Italy welcomed the agreement as a step toward restoring peace in Libya.

The UN Security Council has urged Libyan factions to sign on to Leon’s proposals in a bid to stem rising violence and the spread of radical organisations such as the IS militant group.

The militants have taken advantage of the Libya’s divisions to establish itself in the country, close to Europe’s shores. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on his Twitter account that the agreement was an “important

step in efforts to stabilise the region and re-establish peace in this great country”. Renzi said that a solution to the conflict in Libya was a “central” to battling “terrorism and (illegal) immigration”.

Italy has repeatedly said an accord would help stem the flow of migration to Europe from Africa via Libya -- where people smugglers have stepped up their lucrative business.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday that some 150,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year, with nearly all landing in Italy.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also welcomed Saturday’s deal as “an important step towards restoring peace and stability in Libya” and urged the GNC to initial the agreement as well.

The Tobruk government, recognised internationally, has welcomed what it called a “huge breakthrough”, urging all parties in Libya to overcome their differences and finalise the deal. — AFP

who was deeply emotional during Sunday’s funeral.

They divorced in 1974 when Sharif, already famous in his homeland, launched a career in Hollywood. He never remarried.

The winner of two Golden Globe awards and an Oscar nomination for his role as Sherif Ali in David Lean’s 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia, Sharif captivated audiences worldwide for more than half a century. Sharif was known for his debonair style, raffish good looks

and often mischievous joie de vivre, but he will be remembered forever as the eponymous Doctor Zhivago. Tributes poured in after the news of Sharif’s death.

“He was handsome, sophisticated and charming. He was a proud Egyptian,” American star Barbra Streisand, who starred alongside Sharif in 1968’s Funny Girl, wrote on Facebook. “I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Omar, and I’m profoundly sad to hear of his passing.”

Fluent in six languages and also famous for his skills at playing the card game bridge, Sharif began acting in the 1950s. His most highprofile roles were in the 1960s when he won an Oscar nomination for Lawrence of Arabia and Golden

Globes for the same film and for Doctor Zhivago.

Sharif played the hero in the epic adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s novel of tortured passions during the Russian Revolution, with his son Tarek playing his younger self.

Sharif kept working over the following decades, often in television movies, and in later years became equally renowned for his prowess as a bridge player and owner of thoroughbred racehorses. “I’d rather be playing bridge than making a bad movie,” he once said, before announcing in 2006 that he had given up the game. Sharif had a triple heart bypass in 1992 and suffered a mild heart attack in 1994, according to the IMDb movie database website. — AFP

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INDIA Defence agreement among four pacts with Kyrgyzstan SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

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also agreed to expeditiously

Thanking Kyrgyzstan’s “strong support” to India’s candidature for permanent membership in an expanded UN Security Council, Modi sought Atambaev’s support for early completion of the reforms in the world body.

Talking about military cooperation, Modi said the IT Centre in the Kyrgyz Military Academy is an example of innovative cooperation that is important to both countries.

consider signing an agreement on ‘combating international terrorism and other crimes’ TAKING TIES TO THE NEXT LEVEL: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev witness the signing of an agreement between the electoral bodies of the two countries at Ala-Archa State Residence in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Sunday. - PTI

BISHKEK: Voicing grave concern over rising trend of extremism and terrorism worldwide, India and Kyrgyzstan on Sunday signed four pacts including one to boost defence cooperation and hold annual joint military exercises.

The two countries also agreed to expeditiously consider signing an agreement on “combating international terrorism and other crimes”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived here on Saturday as part of his eight-day six-nation tour to Central Asia, emphasised the need to combat terrorism and extremism which he described as a threat without borders.

“We both seek a peaceful and secure neighbourhood at a time of challenges in our region. And, we

have shared interest in combating extremism and terrorism that has become a threat without borders,” he said in a joint press meet along with President Almazbek Atambayev after their talks.

The agreements include one on defence cooperation and culture.

Expressed concern Two MoUs were also signed for cooperation between the Election Commissions of the two countries and on cooperation in the sphere of standards, a move that will help economic relations.

A joint statement released later said both sides “expressed grave concern at the rising trend of extremism, radicalism

and terrorism in the region and whole world”.

It said the Indian side highly appreciated the steps taken by the Kyrgyz government in combating terrorism and in retaining the secular character of Kyrgyz society.

“The two sides agreed to expeditiously consider signing an agreement on ‘combating international terrorism and other crimes’,” the statement said.

The prime minister underlined that his visit to all five countries in the region “demonstrates the importance that we attach to a new level of relationship with Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is a key part of that vision”.

Noting that the bilateral de-

fence ties are strong, he said a joint exercise Khanjar 2015 has just been completed.

“We have decided to hold joint military exercises on an annual basis,” he said. Modi underlined that the new agreement on defence cooperation would provide a “framework to broaden bilateral engagement” which would also include defence technology.

The defence agreement signed is aimed at deepening bilateral cooperation in defence, security, military education and training.

It also envisages conduct of joint military exercises, exchange of experience and information, and exchange of military observers and instructors besides others.

Commitment Observing that Kyrgystan’s commitment to the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions is truly laudable, he said it is a great pleasure for India to support this effort on the strength of its long experience in this area.

“I will have the pleasure of handing over a small contribution of field medical equipment to Kyrgyz Armed Forces,” he said.

The Kyrgyz side expressed its appreciation to the Government of India for training Kyrgyz military officers for conducting various UN Peacekeeping courses, including by Centre for UN Peacekeeping in New Delhi, as well as for exchange of experience with Kyrgyz Armed Forces on the Level II UN Field Hospital of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic. - PTI

GLITCH

Home page of Antrix website ‘hacked’ BENGALURU: The website of Indian Space Research Organisation’s commercial arm Antrix Corporation Limited was reportedly hacked on Sunday and the space agency said efforts are on to set it right.

“The home page of the Antrix Corporation Limited website seems to have been hacked and we have already intimated this to the officials (of Antrix) who are dealing with the problem,” a senior Isro official said.

He said other pages of the website were fine. “Other pages are fine... however the officials at Antrix are trying to find out the problem and solve it,” he said.

Asked how much time it would require for the site to be set right, he said, “At this point I can only say that the officials are trying to fix the problem.”

The official, who did not wish to be identified, however said the website is “under construction”.

Asked if the Chinese were suspected to be involved in the hacking, the official said, “We cannot confirm this also, but Antrix officials are looking into the glitch.”

The “hacking” comes two days after Isro successfully launched five British commercial satellites onboard PSLV-C28 from Sriharikota in its heaviest commercial mission.

Antrix is Isro’s marketing arm for promotion and commercialization of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of technologies developed by Isro.

It provides space products and services to international customers worldwide. - PTI

ECONOMY

Jaitley says 8-10% growth achievable, tax revenues growing MUMBAI: Pinning hopes on ‘rain deities’ to be kinder this year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said a better monsoon would help check food inflation, including in pulses.

Jaitley also said that rising tax revenues and improving macroeconomic fundamentals would take economy to an accelerated growth trajectory, while 8-10 per cent GDP growth was also not out of sight.

“It appears that the rain deities may be kinder this year to us than they were last year,” Jaitley said.

He said that the Department of Agriculture expects a better rainfall in most parts of the country to result in higher production of oil seeds and pulses, which at the moment are a cause of concern

like GST in the pipeline, increased infra spending this year, emphasis on smart cities, when all these initiatives get onto the field, then our aspiration to cross that 8 per cent growth and get to the 8-10 per cent level is not something which is completely out of sight. “... (it is) something which may be imminently achievable,” he said.

in terms of inflation. “I hope their estimates turn out to be true,” Jaitley said, while expressing confidence that the monsoon should be good going ahead also, as was the case in June.

Data indicate recovery On tax revenues, Jaitley said, “There are some sporadic data which indicate a significant recovery.”

“Yesterday’s indirect revenue data for the first quarter did indicate that Customs Duty, Excise Duty, Service Tax, even without additional revenue measures were up 14.5 per cent over the past fiscal,” he said while speaking at the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Nabard Foundation Day celebrations here on Sunday.

POSITIVE SIGNS: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley address a

gathering during the seminar on Mitigating Agrarian Distress and enhancing farm income at Nabard in Mumbai on Sunday. - PTI

The minister said that the overall growth in indirect tax collection would be 37 per cent if the additional revenue measures are taken into account. “The silver lin-

ing is that revenue situation may be more comfortable... compared to last year. And therefore with the ongoing reform process, and some more significant changes

Projection Pointing to the recent IMF projection of 7.5 per cent growth visa-vis the global growth projection of 3.2-3.3 per cent this year, Jaitley said what we need is both higher growth and redistribution of resources.

“We need higher growth on one hand and we need to flag the concerns of the economy in those

sections where the benefits of that growth process must reach first,” he said.

On Greece crisis, he noted that the world economy is passing through troubled times. “We have the lesson from Greece to be learned. And the big message is that the countries must learn to spend within their means. If they didn’t do that then they will have unusual crisis confronting you.

And therefore we are well tracked on a roadmap where our own fiscal deficit, CAD are broadly coming under control and inflation is under control.”

Last week IMF said pegged global economic growth at 3.2-3.3 per cent, while projecting India’s growth at 7.5 per cent for financial year 2015. -PTI

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MO NDAY, JULY 13, 2015

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INDIA UPCOMING POLLS

DILAPIDATED PALACE DEMOLISHED Facade of the 18th century Shaukat Mahal palace being demolished by a Bhopal Municipal Corporation squad (not seen) after wide cracks were seen on Sunday. The structure had recently developed cracks and a part of the ceiling had collapsed. - PTI

JD(U)-RJD alliance must work hard for Bihar polls: Tyagi NEW DELHI: After BJP’s victory in the recent legislative council election in the west Indian state Bihar, senior leader K. C. Tyagi on Sunday said that the Janata Dal (United)-Rashtrya Janata Dal (RJD) alliance will have to work hard and closely with each other for the upcoming Assembly polls in the state.

“The elections to the legislative council is not a mandate by the people. Common man does not take part in this election. Elected representatives take part. Hence, it is wrong to say that this is the trend for the upcoming Assembly elections,” Tyagi said.

Admitted However, he admitted that the JD(U)-RJD combine will have to work harder and closely with each other for the Assembly elections.

The legislative council election results in Bihar brought jubilation to the state unit of BJP.

SCAMS

Glare on chief ministers as parliament heads for monsoon session NEW DELHI: In a departure from norms, controversies surrounding chief ministers, especially those belonging to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are likely to figure in Parliament in a big way when it meets for the Monsoon Session in July 21.

Opposition parties have given indications that they would raise the issue of scams and controversies allegedly involving Shivraj Singh Chouhan of Madhya Pradesh, Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan and Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh — all belonging to BJP — and demand their resignations. The opposition would take up the issues involving the chief ministers to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “silence” over the alleges scams and controversies.

Vyapam scam Chouhan has been drawing flak over the Vyapam scam and Raje is embroiled in the Lalit Modi controversy while Singh is at the receiving end of Opposition attack over the alleged PDS scam in Chhattisgarh.

There has been no indication from the BJP so far about action against any of its chief ministers.

BJP, on its part, is likely to train its guns on Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh of Congress, who is embroiled in cases of disproportionate assets.

The only Left Chief Minister in the country, Manik Sarkar of CPIM, too may come under attack of Congress and BJP over the chit fund scam in Tripura. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party has been drawing flak over the law and order situation in the state following the murder of a journalist. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of AAP is at loggerheads with the Centre over a variety of issues and is likely to come under attack from BJP and Congress.

Perhaps in no other Parliament session in the past, the alleged misdeeds of so many chief ministers have been raised. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of the BJD and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress have seen several of their party colleagues under scanner in chit fund scams. In the last Lok Sabha, an entire session was virtually washout over the Opposition demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee in the 2G scam. - PTI

Party leaders said it had laid bare the writing on the wall for the Nitish Kumar-Lalu Prasad Yadav alliance in the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

BJP swept polls The party had swept the legislative council polls for 24 seats in an election, which was seen as a litmus test for the JD(U)RJD combine.

“Assembly elections will see polls in 243 seats. The council election were in only 24 seats. I agree with the statement of BJP that this is a trailer.

“Many a times, the trailer of the film is very good but the actual film turns out to be bad,” he told PTI in an interview.

The JD(U) General Secretary also said, “Amit Shah is wrong in claiming that BJP gave the first OBC Prime Minister. Chaudhary Charan Singh and H D Deve Gowda, hailing from OBC, had occupied the post earlier.” - PTI

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seemingly came to a standstill as rains continued unabated for the fourth day running on Sunday

NEW DELHI: At least nine persons were killed in incessant rains that swept across vast swathes of north India on Sunday triggering landslides and damaging houses in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and UP while several rivers were also flowing close to the danger mark.

While six persons were killed in house collapse in Uttar Pradesh, two died after being hit by a landslide in Kashmir.

In Uttarakhand capital Dehradun, a construction worker died and three others were injured after a restaurant collapsed due to rains.

The national capital seemingly

WATER LOGGING: Vehicles move through a water logged road as heavy rains lashed Meerut on Sunday. - PTI

came to a standstill as rains continued unabated for the fourth day running on Sunday. Waterlogging was witnessed in several parts of Delhi, submerging many low-lying areas and leading to traffic snarls.

Several busy areas including ITO, Vikas Marg, South Extension, Khanpur, Mahipalpur, Hari Nagar, IIT crossing, Nehru Place, Yusuf Sarai Market and Munirka witnessed traffic jams.

Safdarjung observatory received 68.6 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours till 8.30am while areas

under Lodhi road, Ayanagar, Ridge and Palam recorded 78.2 mm, 77.4 mm, 76.2 mm and 98.4 mm rain.

Highest rainfall this season Till Saturday, Delhi received 147.8 mm rainfall, the highest this season. In some low-lying areas, rainwater flooded the basements of flats and residents had a harrowing time.

In UP’s Sitapur district, three persons, including a minor, were killed in two separate incidents of wall collapse. Two persons were

killed in Badaun and one died in Bareilly in separate incidents of house collapse.

In Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam district, two persons died after being hit by a landslide.

The pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas was on Sunday suspended from both the routes due to inclement weather which also led to the closure of the vital SrinagarJammu National Highway.

“The yatra has been suspended from both Baltal and Pahalgam routes due to rains which made the track slippery,” police said.

Flash-flood threat loomed large in the lower parts of Himachal Pradesh as all the major rivers -Ravi, Beas and Sutlej -- and their tributaries were flowing above the danger mark. The government has directed the deputy commissioners to remain prepared to meet any eventuality arising out of flash floods. Major rivers in UP and Himachal were also flowing in spate due to the incessant rains. - PTI

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PAKISTAN

Malala celebrates birthday by opening school for refugees I decided to be in Lebanon because I believe that the voices of the Syrian refugees need to be heard and they have been ignored for so long, said Malala Yousafzai

BEKAA VALLEY (LEBANON): Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, celebrated her 18th birthday in Lebanon on Sunday by opening a school for Syrian refugee girls and called on world leaders to invest in “books not bullets”.

Malala became a symbol of defiance after she was shot on a school bus in Pakistan 2012 by the Taliban for advocating girls’ rights to education. She continued campaigning and won the Nobel in 2014.

“I decided to be in Lebanon because I believe that the voices of the Syrian refugees need to be heard and they have been ignored for so long,” Malala told Reuters in a schoolroom decorated with drawings of butterflies.

The Malala Fund, a non-profit organisation that supports local education projects, paid for the school in the Bekaa Valley, close to the Syrian border. It can welcome up to 200 girls aged 14 to 18.

“Today on my first day as an adult, on behalf of the world’s children, I demand of leaders we must invest in books instead of bullets,” Malala said in a speech.

ON A MISSION: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, centre, carries a sign commemorating her birthday at a school for Syrian refugee girls, built by the NGO Kayany Foundation, in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley on Sunday. — Reuters

The Malala Fund paid for the school in the Bekaa Valley, close to the Syrian border. It can welcome up to 200 girls aged between 14 and 18

Lebanon is home to 1.2 million of the 4 million refugees that have fled Syria’s war to neighbouring countries. There are about 500,000 Syrian school-age chil-

dren in Lebanon, but only a fifth are in formal education.

Lebanon, which allows informal settlements on land rented by refugees, says it can no longer

BID TO CURB TERRORISM

Balochistan set to deploy drones to track criminals QUETTA: The Balochistan government has decided on aerial surveillance of criminals in an attempt to stabilise the province which has been wracked by ethnic, sectarian and militant violence. It has written a letter to the federal government seeking permission to surveillance drones in the province.

The provincial authorities announced on Saturday that it would purchase drone cameras to monitor the activities of criminals. Officials said the move was a part of the process of using modern equipment to curb terrorism, especially in the provincial capital, which is once again witnessing an uptick in targeted killings and bomb explosions.

Seek permission Home Secretary Akber Hussain Durrani told The Express Tribune that the government has forwarded a summary to the federal government to seek permission

Drone cameras will be highly useful and effective for surveillance of target killers and criminals involved in bombings in the province, said Balochistan Home Secretary Akber Hussain Durrani for flying surveillance drones to monitor criminals’ activities. The federation’s approval is a prerequisite for using drones in Pakistan.

Target killers “Drone cameras will be highly useful and effective for surveillance of target killers and criminals involved in bombings in the province,” Durrani said. The estimated cost for deploying the system is around Rs1.6 million.

He said special training programmes would be started for the police to train them on how to operate the flying cameras. The government has intensified its action against terrorists and their handlers involved in subversive activities in Quetta, he added.

Following the recent surge in violence in Quetta, the provincial government has already given instructions to install 200 security cameras in different areas of the provincial capital. — Express Tribune

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cope with the influx from Syria’s four-year conflict. One in four living in Lebanon is a refugee.

The UN says the number of Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries is expected to reach 4.27 million by the end of the year.

“In Lebanon as well as in Jordan, an increasing number of ref-

ugees are being turned back at the border,” Malala said.

“This is inhuman and this is shameful.”

Her father Ziauddin said he was proud she was carrying on her activism into adulthood.

“This is the mission we have taken for the last 8-9 years. A small moment for the education of girls in Swat Valley: it is spreading now all over the world,” he said.

Malala was feted with songs and a birthday cake. Moved to tears by the girls, she was modest when asked for advice. — Reuters

ZIAULLAH AFRIDI

Detained minister shamed by own party PESHAWAR: While the Minister for Mines and Minerals Ziaullah Afridi was busy nursing health issues after his arrest, his former colleagues in Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf took to some public shaming.

Addressing at a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Friday, MPA Yasin Khalil said Afridi encouraged mining in Nowshera and Abbottabad despite a ban on the activity for the last few years.

He added Afridi was involved in “mass corruption and missed his authority” on several occasions.

“He transferred 14 senior officers without any reason and misused his authority,” he said.

Khalil said around 70 trucks with valuable cargo would be transported out of mines located in Abbottabad. Speaking about Nowshera, Khalil alleged about 22,000 tonnes of precious elements were taken out of mines in the district, thus causing losses worth billions to the government.

The PTI leader said the commission was free of political interference.

“It is PTI’s agenda to end corruption and it will not even spare its own ministers or lawmakers,” he said. He added the minister could return to the party if he is innocent; otherwise there is no place for him in PTI. Afridi was arrested on Thursday by the Ehtesab Commission (EC) in a corruption reference related to awarding mining contracts. An Ehtesab court remanded him into the custody of the commission for 13 days.

Dubbing the arrest of his client political victimisation, Afridi’s legal counsel said on Friday that his client’s detention would be challenged before the Peshawar High Court.

“The Ehtesab Commission is not a constitutional organisation and its very existence is arguable,” said counsel Mauzam Butt on Saturday. — Express Tribune

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INSTAGRAM.COM/TIMESOFOMAN In 1960, less than 10 per cent of Americans had earned bachelor’s degrees. Today, we’re up to nearly a third. In the same period, African- Americans have gone from a college completion rate of about 3 per cent to almost 20 per cent bit.ly/woesofafricanamericans

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Greece not the last of Eurozone’s problems

Photo: Jun Estrada/Times of Oman

t is time to start thinking about Europe rather than Greece. At some stage the Greek rescue story will be settled – it may be settled quite soon – and more normal life there will resume. But the outcome, whatever it is, cannot be stable. The main reason is that Greece’s debts are too great to be “sustainable”, which is a polite way of saying that they cannot be repaid. They will continue to overhang not just European politics but also the entire eurozone economy. But those debts cannot be written off because that is against eurozone rules.

Wolfgang Schäuble, the German finance minister, put the point with characteristic directness last week: “Debt sustainability is not feasible without a haircut, and I think the IMF is correct in saying that.” Then he added: “There cannot be a haircut because it would infringe the system of the European Union.”

Even when the banks reopen, and at the time of writing it was not clear when this would be, the debts will remain. You can fudge by stretching out the maturities still further and by giving even more concessionary rates.

The advantage of that is that the losses are not crystallised and eurozone taxpayers are not notionally out of pocket. But if you maintain the letter of the law, that the capital value of debt cannot be reduced, you are maintaining a fiction. So, the outcome is unstable.

Unfortunately it is not just a matter of Greek debt, though this is the highest at 180 per cent of GDP under the Maastricht definition. The corresponding figure for Italy is 133 per cent, for Portugal 128 per cent and for Ireland 108 per cent. (And, let’s not forget, for the UK it’s at 91 per cent.)

There is no hard rule as to what level of debt is sustainable, and at what stage such debt seriously undermines growth. Near zero interest rates make the burden more manageable, though they create other distortions. But rather than focus on the numerical level of debt, the thing to do is to look at growth and demography.

Crucially, if you can generate decent growth, debts can be chipped away. And if the size of the workforce rises, there will be more earners to do the chipping.

On growth, immediate prospects for Europe are not too dreadful. New forecasts from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are encouraging. For example, Spain is expected to grow at just under 3 per cent this year and

next, while Ireland may do a bit better at around 3.5 per cent both years. Spanish debt looks rather stuck, but Ireland’s debt, which peaked at 123 per cent of GDP in 2013, could be below 105 per cent next year. Portugal is forecast to grow at 1.6 per cent and 1.8 per cent, trimming its debts. But Italy is barely growing this year and may only manage 1 per cent next. National debt, as a result, barely moves.

You could summarise by saying that Ireland is the star performer, while the rest of fringe Europe is struggling. But note something else: Ireland’s recovery has been driven by exports. Its largest market is the US and its second largest, the UK. So, it has been able to escape the eurozone blues thanks to its noneuro zone exports.

We tend to lose sight, amid the high drama of Greece, of the more fundamental problem that the eurozone is only slowly pulling out of recession.

Look further ahead at demography, and concern mounts. Projections should be taken with a pinch of salt: remember how 30 years ago, the demographers thought the UK population would be shrinking by now? But UN figures for the changing workforce size by 2050 make troubling reading.

For example, the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland are all forecast to have increases in the working population over this period.

By contrast Germany, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Spain are all projected to have a shrinking workforce. Japan is the most extreme example, with the workforce shrinking by around 40 per cent, but in Germany the projection is for a workforce down 30 per cent, with Greece, Portugal and Italy down about 25 per cent.

Obviously the more Greeks and Italians who come to the UK, the US or the rest of the Englishspeaking world, the more dangerous this trend becomes for continental Europe. Incidentally, both the previous Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, and his successor, Euclid Tsakalotos, spent much of their lives in the UK. You can see the shenanigans in Europe this weekend in terms of bailing out Greece and saving the eurozone. Of course, that is the front-line story but behind it are longer-term and ultimately more important stories. They concern the sustainability of much European sovereign debt, not only Greece, and they concern the middle-term economic success of the entire eurozone, not just its southern fringe.

The European economy must do better, because if it doesn’t, its best young people will continue to leave. – The Independent

READERS’ FORUM Only one-used-car import rule doesn’t change much This refers to the online story Expatriates in Oman can now import only one used vehicle (July 11). I don’t understand how this makes any difference. In my opinion, most of expatriates are in favour of buying new cars from the local dealerships and options on second hand cars are also available locally. — Jaison Mathai, Muscat

Petrol station staff do not follow proper safety procedures

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

This refers to the online story Car catches fire at a petrol station in Oman (July 12). In India, a standard procedure is followed the pump personnel. In my opinion, while refuelling drivers and passengers should step out of the car and wait in a designated place. Additionally, other staff of the petrol station wipe car glasses and clean the vehicles from inside free of cost. Here in Oman the staff should follow proper safety procedure. — Justin Sanctus, Muscat

From the realm of urban security studies emerge three relatively young frameworks for understanding conflicts in cities: Urban securitisation, new military urbanism and urbicide.

It should be mentioned here that all three require further academic debate bit.ly/urbansecurityareas

Zimbabwe played well against India This refers to the one-day cricket match between India and Zimbabwe. The African team played really well and I am surprised that they could not successfully complete the run chase. — Anil Gupta, Ruwi

FROM OUR ARCHIVES

PICTOGRAPH MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS IN OMAN In thousands

JULY 2000 His Highness Sayyid Faisal bin Ali Al Said, minister of national heritage and culture, presided over a ceremony at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher yesterday, to mark the beginning of national youth work camps, which will be held in governorates of Muscat, Dhofar, and Dakhiliyah, Sharqiyah and Dhahirah regions, with the participation of 1,000 youths from all over the Sultanate. Inauguration of the Muscat camp was attended by members of the royal family, ministers, advisers and undersecretaries.

806

total 2004

Sayyid Faisal opens youth work camp Prepaid

549 1,080 1,572 2,206 2,895

3,612

TODAY IN HISTORY

Just switch off your car’s engine while filling petrol at a station

This refers to the online story Car catches fire at a petrol station in Oman (July 12). I am surprised that another incident has taken place. Why can‘t people just switch off the engine and stop talking on the mobiles while refilling petrol. Life is more important than making calls. — Charishma Gupta, Ruwi

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4,192 4,377

NEW INDIA ASSURANCE

1691: William III defeats the allied Irish and French armies at the Battle of Aughrim, Ireland.

Protect the welfare of your workforce through New India’s WORKMEN COMPENSATION POLICY.

1794: British Admiral Lord Nelson loses his right eye at the siege of Calvi, in Corsica.

www.newindiaoman.com

1941: Moscow is bombed by the German Luftwaffe in a first.

1995: The US surgeon general, Leroy E. Burney, reports that there is a direct link between smoking and lung cancer.

2004

257

2005

253

2006

246

2007

294

2008

325

2009

359

2010

414

2011

432

4,813

2012

465

5,122

2013

496

2014

529

5,665

total 2014

Postpaid

6,194

Source: National Centre for Statistics & Information

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The official reasons for splitting up in Iran are a lack of affection, family interference, domestic violence and drug addiction.

Iranian law to make divorce by mutual consent harder After counselling a couple, the state-appointed advisor’s role is to assess if either partner has behavioural or character disorders.

If so the counsellor can rule that the couple needs more sessions and it is his or her word that a judge must act on in deciding whether or not to approve a divorce.

All Iranians filing for divorce would be obliged to go to a counsellor. From now on, without this it will not be possible to register divorces by mutual consent

TEHRAN: Iran has changed a law to make divorce by mutual consent invalid unless couples have first undergone state-run counselling. It is the country’s latest move to tackle a rise in broken marriages.

The measures, reported by media at the weekend, are contained in a new family law that a top official said would be implemented

by Iran’s judiciary.

“A decree of divorce by mutual consent, without counselling, is forbidden,” Parnian Ghavam, head of the judiciary’s social work and counselling office, was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

All Iranians filing for divorce would be obliged to go to a counsellor, she said.

“From now on, without this it will not be possible to register divorces of mutual consent.”

High divorce rate Iran’s average divorce rate peaked at 21 per cent last year, with big cities showing far higher rates.

One in three marriages fails in Tehran. In its northern quarter, home to the more affluent Western-leaning metropolitan elite, the figure is more than 40 per cent.

And most divorces are by mutual

TOUGHER RULES: An Iranian family poses for a picture in Tehran. Parnian Ghavam, head of the Iran’s judiciary’s social work and counselling office, was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying, “A decree of divorce by mutual consent, without counselling, is forbidden. All Iranians filing for divorce would be obliged to go to a counsellor. From now on, without this it will not be possible to register divorces of mutual consent.” – AFP

consent. “The advisor’s intention is to decrease the rate of divorce, in particular the rate of divorces of mutual consent,” Ghavam was quoted as saying on Saturday.

The official reasons for splitting up in Iran are a lack of affection, family interference, domestic violence and drug addiction.

The new law says the aim of

YOUR BIGGEST ROAD HAZARD IS IN YOUR HAND A TIMES OF OMAN HANDS-FREE DRIVING INITIATIVE

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counselling is “to consolidate the foundations of the family and prevent an increase in family conflicts and divorce and try to create peace and reconciliation”.

Counselling The judiciary reportedly has until February next year to fully establish the marriage counselling service but it was now in force.

Reformist newspaper Shargh reported on Sunday that there were more than 30,000 divorces in Tehran alone last year, 90 per cent of which were by mutual consent.

The enactment of the compulsory counselling measures coincides with broader concern in Iran about family breakdown and rising ages of those who get married.

Last month the government launched a matchmaking website in which clerics and professionals of good standing in their communities, such as doctors and teachers, will try to pair off young men and women.

The move had been triggered by deep unease in the country, where relations outside marriage is forbidden, that the family unit is eroding and by fears of a potential fall in population.

At pains to point out it was not an online dating service, officials said the “Find Your Equal” website hoped to reverse a surge in numbers, currently 11 million, of young single adults.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who wants Iran’s population of 80 million to nearly double to 150 million by 2050, last year also urged officials to take new steps to improve the birth rate. The government has since reversed past policies to control population growth, with legislation to cancel subsidies for birth control measures and pills. — AFP

EXCESS LUGGAGE

UK singer puts on 12 clothes to save luggage fee, collapses LONDON: A British boyband singer collapsed with heat exhaustion during a flight while wearing 12 layers of clothing in a bid to beat the excess luggage fee, he said on Saturday.

James McElvar, 19, from the Scottish group Rewind, was about to board an easyJet flight from London Stansted to Glasgow on Wednesday when he was told he had one carry-on bag too many.

Staff said he was allowed to take only one bag on board, so would have to pay a £45 ($70, 63 euro) excess charge or bin his second bag.

With his bandmates already aboard and just minutes to spare, he made a foolhardy snap decision, emptying his rucksack and donning the entire contents.

McElvar was wearing six Tshirts, four jumpers, two jackets, one pair of shorts, three pairs of jeans, two pairs of jogging bottoms and two hats.

“There was a lot of clothes,” he said on the band’s Twitter feed.

“It was very difficult to walk onto the plane. I managed to sit in the seat for a minute or two. But I just couldn’t take the heat.”

Barely able to move, he could not even get the seatbelt round him.

“I was sweating and they kept asking me to put the belt on but I couldn’t sort it,” he said. “It was just a nightmare I was having.”

As he was drenched in sweat and feeling sick, cabin crew laid him out, stripped down, on an empty row of seats, where he was violently sick and then fainted.

The singer has no memory of the rest of the flight and was taken off the plane at Glasgow Airport to a waiting ambulance. — AFP

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Iran nuclear talks in final phase: Fabius Iranian diplomat Alireza Miryousefi, writing on Twitter, quoted a senior official from Tehran as saying a deal

by Sunday night was ‘logistically impossible’ as the agreement being drawn up spanned 100 pages END GAME: French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius speaks to journalists in front of the Palais Coburg Hotel, where the Iran nuclear talks meetings are being held, in Vienna, Austria on Sunday. —AFP

VIENNA: Talks between world powers and Iran on a historic nuclear deal entered on Sunday what France described as the “final phase”, but Washington warned major issues must still be overcome.

Hopes grew that a breakthrough might finally be in sight after a flurry of diplomatic activity ahead of the latest deadline on Monday for an agreement. “I hope we are finally entering the final phase of these marathon negotiations. I believe it,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters as he returned to Vienna on the haggle’s 16th day.

The talks seek to nail down a deal curbing Iran’s nuclear activities to make it extremely difficult for Tehran -- which denies any such goal -- to develop the atomic bomb.

In return Iran will be granted staggered relief from painful sanctions, although the six pow-

ers insist on the option of reimposing the restrictions if Tehran breaches the deal.

Despite the air of optimism in the Austrian capital, US and Iranian officials dampened speculation that an agreement was imminent. “We have never speculated about the timing of anything during these negotiations, and we’re certainly not going to start now -especially given the fact that major issues remain to be resolved in these talks,” a senior US State Department official said.

Iranian diplomat Alireza Miryousefi, writing on Twitter, quoted a senior official from Tehran as saying a deal by Sunday night was “logistically impossible” as the agreement being drawn up spanned 100 pages.

Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry, who has been embroiled in talks with his Iranian

counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Vienna since June 27, was cautiously upbeat. “I think we’re getting to some real decisions.

So I will say, because we have a few tough things to do, I remain hopeful. Hopeful,” Kerry said, calling his latest meeting with Zarif “positive”.

Decisive hours EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini who chairs the P5+1 group -- the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany -- negotiating with Iran said on Twitter that these were the “decisive hours”. And a diplomatic source said Saturday as a flurry of bilateral and multilateral meetings went deep into the night that “98 percent of the text is finished”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov flew to join the talks in Vienna, his ministry said. British

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, however, left the talks on Sunday but was expected to return the next morning.

Under the parameters of a framework deal reached in Lausanne in April, Iran is to slash the number of its centrifuges from more than 19,000 to just over 6,000 and sharply cut its stocks of enriched uranium. Negotiators left the thorniest issues until last, including a mechanism for lifting interlocking EU, US and UN sanctions.

A new hurdle was thrown up in recent days, with the Iranian delegation insisting a UN arms embargo be lifted once a deal is reached. The talks have also stumbled on demands to give UN nuclear inspectors access to military sites, to probe suspicions Iran sought to develop nuclear weapons in the past. — AFP HELD BY ISRAEL

FINAL FRONTIER

NASA craft discovers heart shape on Pluto rusty red surface MIAMI: There’s a near-perfect heart shape on Pluto’s rusty red surface. The dwarf planet is dotted with bright points which may be ice caps, and a mysterious dark shape nicknamed “The Whale.”

Scientists are seeing all this for the first time as a piano-sized NASA spacecraft, called New Horizons, hurtles toward the distant celestial body on its way toward a historic flyby on July 14.

“We’re at the ‘man in the moon’ stage of viewing Pluto,” said John Spencer of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

“It’s easy to imagine you’re seeing familiar shapes in this bizarre collection of light and dark features. However, it’s too early to know what these features really are.”

But scientists expect those mysteries to be solved in coming days as the spacecraft closes in on Pluto, once considered the farthest planet in the solar system before it was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006.

That same year, the New Horizons mission launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on a journey of nearly 10 years and three billion miles, becoming the first spacecraft to explore this faraway frontier.

“We are coming up on the culmination of all this effort, all this planning,” said Joe Peterson, a science operations leader for the New Horizons mission.

“Very soon we are going to go by Pluto and get the actual goods.”

Fastest spacecraft The closest flyby is scheduled for July 14 at 7:50 am (1150 GMT), when New Horizons passes within 6,200 miles (9,977 kilometers) of Pluto.

Moving at a speed of 30,800 miles (49,570 kilometers) per hour, it is the fastest spacecraft ever launched.

Scientists are seeing all this for the first time as a piano-sized NASA spacecraft, called New Horizons, hurtles toward the distant celestial body on its way toward a historic flyby on July 14

The $700 million unmanned spacecraft has seven sophisticated science instruments and cameras that are collecting data daily and sending it back to Earth.

Comprehensive picture “The instruments on New Horizons were all designed to work together to give us a comprehensive picture of the Pluto system,” said Cathy Olkin, deputy project scientist for New Horizons.

They include three optical instruments, two plasma instruments, a dust sensor and a radio science receiver.

Together they will help scientists study Pluto’s geology, surface composition, temperature and atmosphere -- as well as its five moons. — AFP

HISTORIC CENTRE

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ARRABA: Israel on Sunday released a Palestinian prisoner who staged a 56-day hunger strike which brought him near death in a protest against the controversial procedure allowing detainees to be held indefinitely without charge.

Khader Adnan was greeted to a hero’s welcome in his village near Jenin, in the northern occupied West Bank, that included fireworks, songs and flags for Islamic Jihad, the fighters’ movement to which Israel says he belongs.

Residents wore shirts donning Adnan’s picture.

The bespectacled 37-yearold, thin and with a long beard, was released before dawn in an apparent effort to limit attention to the move, initially expected at midday.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli Prison Authority confirmed the release but provided no other details.

Islamic Jihad congratulated Adnan in a statement for his “victory” and said a celebration was being organised in his village of Arraba.

Adnan had been held for a year under administrative detention, which allows imprisonment without charge for renewable periods of six months indefinitely.

Of the 5,686 Palestinian prisoners currently held by Israel, 379 are detained under the procedure.

His hunger strike, which had brought him near death by the time it concluded last month, had sparked warnings from the Palestinian government that it held Israel responsible for his fate.

Regular protests were organised in support of him. — AFP

HERITAGE SITE: Historical buildings are seen in the UNESCOlisted heritage site in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah. - AFP

Ramadan festival breathes new life into old Jeddah JEDDAH: Residents of the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah are slowly returning to its historic centre, where a Ramadan cultural festival and UN heritage status are giving new life to the old quarter.

Last year the United Nations added Jeddah to its UNESCO global heritage list, acknowledging its distinctive architecture, which evolved from the city’s centuries-old role as a global trading hub and the gateway for pilgrims visiting the holy sites.

The cultural festival that began on June 18, the first day of the Holy Month of Ramadan, coincides with a broader tourism drive in Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom is targeting its own citizens as well as the millions of people from around the world who undertake religious visits.

Bring back life “We wanted to bring life back to this area after its people had abandoned it, and we achieved that,” Jeddah’s Deputy Governor Mohammed Al Wafi told AFP among the festival crowds.

He said a number of homes in the old quarter had already been renovated, but much work still needs to be done in the historic

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heart of the kingdom’s secondlargest city.

Among old Jeddah’s most famous attractions is the Sharbatly House, made of coral, where legendary British First World War intelligence officer T.E. Lawrence stayed in 1917.

Like other buildings in the district, which also includes centuries-old mosques, it fell into disrepair before the quarter’s UNESCO listing began to spark a revival.

At own expense Sami Nawar, head of the historic area known to residents as Al Balad, said several prominent families are among those who have reconstructed homes at their own expense, and more than 700 restoration licences have been granted over the last five years.

Tourism and finance ministry officials are looking at how to help other owners fund their renovations, possibly through loans, Nawar said. — AFP

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WORLD Militants threaten to attack Turkey dams

YEMEN

The Kurdistan DEVASTATION: A wedding hall destroyed by a Saudi-led air strike

in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Sunday.

Communities Union

- Reuters

Blow to truce as Saudi-led planes hit Houthi rebels

— considered the urban wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party — said it would use all means, including guerrilla attacks, to prevent the construction of dams

SANAA: Saudi-led warplanes bombarded Yemeni rebels at dawn on Sunday, witnesses said, in a new blow to a UN-proposed truce in the impoverished country where millions are threatened with famine.

At least 10 people were killed in air strikes overnight in Yemen, relatives and medical sources said.

Air strikes hit the Houthi stronghold of Saada in Yemen’s north, as well as other rebel positions south of the capital Sanaa and in the southern province of Lahj, residents said.

There were no immediate reports of any casualties.

The UN-proposed humanitarian truce technically went into effect at 2059GMT on Friday and is supposed to run until July 17, the last day of the holy month of Ramadan. But the ceasefire, much needed to rush food supplies to a

population threatened by famine, has been flouted by strikes conducted by the Saudi-led coalition and fighting on the ground.

The ceasefire was declared after UN chief Ban Ki-moon received assurances from exiled Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and the Houthis that it would be respected.

The coalition said it has not received a formal request from Hadi’s government to observe a truce, while the rebels said before the ceasefire went into effect they had little hope it would succeed.

More than a week ago the United Nations declared Yemen a level-3 humanitarian emergency, the highest on its scale, with nearly half the country facing a food crisis. The UN says the conflict has killed more than 3,200 people, about half of them civilians, since late March. - AFP

ISTANBUL: A Kurdish militant group on Sunday threatened to target dams harnessing hydroelectric power in southeastern Turkey, accusing the government of violating a fragile ceasefire.

The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) said in a statement quoted by the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency that the building of the dams was aimed at displacing people and to help the Turkish military rather than creating energy.

Turkish forces and the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have largely observed a ceasefire since 2013 but tensions have flared again in the last months as the parties remain short of a final deal.

The KCK — considered the urban wing of the PKK — said it would use all means, including guerrilla attacks, to prevent the construction of dams.

“From now on, all the dams and vehicles used in the construction will be targeted by our guerrilla forces,” the KCK said, urging con-

DISPLACING PEOPLE: Women Kurdistan Workers Party members patrolling on the front line in the Makhmur area, near Mosul, during the ongoing conflict against IS militants in this picture taken on August 21, 2014. The Kurdistan Communities Union said in a statement quoted by the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency that the building of the dams was aimed at displacing people and to help the Turkish military rather than creating energy. - AFP

tractors involved in new projects to leave the areas.

The public “should know that our guerrilla forces will use their right of resistance against construction of dams and outposts for military purposes”, the statement added.

Projects The KCK said that while it had

demonstrated great responsibility in observing the ceasefire, the Turkish state had failed to observe the conditions of the truce.

It said there was no need to build additional hydroelectric dams in the region. Turkey argues the projects are needed to improve its energy self-sufficiency.

Kurds, widely seen as the world’s largest stateless people,

are Turkey’s largest minority and the main group in the southeast of the country.

The PKK waged a decadeslong insurgency for self-rule that claimed tens of thousands of lives but declared a truce in 2013 after the government opened secret peace negotiations with its jailed chief Abdullah Ocalan.

However Kurds have become increasingly frustrated with the government’s policy on Syria, as Ankara refuses to support the Kurdish groups fighting IS group militants inside Syria.

The tensions come as the main pro-Kurdish party in Turkey -the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) -- scored a breakthrough in June elections to take 80 seats in parliament. - AFP

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Ash clouds cause fresh misery to tourists in Bali Mount Raung in Indonesia has been erupting for weeks, and a cloud of ash forced the closure of Bali airport during peak holiday season

DENPASAR (INDONESIA): The airport on the Indonesian resort island of Bali reopened on Sunday after an erupting volcano forced its closure for the second time in just a few days and caused fresh travel misery for stranded holidaymakers.

Mount Raung on Indonesia’s main island of Java has been erupting for weeks, and on Thursday a cloud of drifting ash forced the closure of Bali airport during peak holiday season, and four others.

The airport on the resort island, a top holiday destination that attracts millions of foreign tourists every year, reopened two days later as the ash drifted away, allowing some passengers to board flights home and others to arrive.

However the cloud returned on Sunday morning, forcing authorities to shut the airport again. But the new closure lasted just a few hours and the airport was reopened in the afternoon as the ash shifted, the government said.

“Full, normal operations have resumed, however planes are to fly in and out from a westerly direction to avoid the ash,” trans-

DRIFTING ASH CLOUDS: A resident leaves a village in Banyuwangi on Sunday, as the 3,300-metre Mount Raung volcano emits a column of ash and steam as seen from Banyuwangi, located in eastern Java island. – AFP

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port ministry spokesman J. A. Barata told AFP. Thousands of tourists who were visiting the tropical island famed for its palm-fringed beaches found themselves waiting for days at Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport, near the island’s capital Denpasar, anxiously watching departure boards, sitting and sleeping on the floor.

Sense of chaos The second closure added to the sense of chaos as many holidaymakers had headed to the airport to catch flights which had been delayed by the first shutdown.

“Someone just said the airport was closed for at least six hours ... gotta be kidding,” said one strand-

ed tourist, Steve Dunthorne, on Twitter, after hearing the news about the second closure.

“Standing in queue for checkin like a lemon. Staff look as confused as passengers.”

The disruption comes at a bad time, with many Australians stuck in Bali after heading there for the school break and millions of Indonesian tourists setting off on holiday ahead of the celebration of Eid Al Fitr next week.

Another airport on Java serving domestic routes remained shut on Sunday, Barata said. The other three originally closed on Thursday, including the international airport on popular Lombok island, east of Bali, had reopened earlier.

After Bali airport reopened on Sunday, Indonesian national flag carrier Garuda said that flights diverted due to the ash cloud would head back, while budget airline AirAsia announced services from the island were resuming. — AFP

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Type ............................Delivery...........Price

Forex rates vs OMR1* US Dollar ................................. 2.58 Euro ............................................ 2.30 Pound ...........................................1.66 Indian Rs .............................164.23 Pak Rs ...................................259.88 Bangla Taka.......................199.48

Indian Rs .................................. 164.50 Pakistan Rs ............................ 263.50 Sri Lanka Rs .......................... 346.35 Bangla Taka.............................201.70 Phil Peso .....................................116.75

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) .......14.90

Oman Crude............. (Spot) ........$58.50 Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) ........$58.30 Murban Crude ........ (Spot) .........$60.16 Arabian Light ......... (Spot) ........$58.40 N.Sea Brent............... (Spot) ........ $58.72

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Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......14.40 Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............ 140.75 Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) ............. 133.75 * Rates as of July 12 Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

EUROMONEY HONOUR

Bank Muscat wins ‘Best Bank in Oman’ award Times News Service MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the leading financial institution in the Sultanate, has won the ‘Best Bank in Oman’ award by Euromoney.

AbdulRazak Ali Issa, Chief Executive, said: “Time and again, the performance of Bank Muscat is endorsed by the global banking community and we are delighted

AbdulRazak Ali Issa, chief executive, Bank Muscat

MSM lags behind other GCC bourses Trend in Gulf bourses in the second quarter General Index (June-end, 2015) Qatar

12,201

4.2%

Saudi Arabia

9,087

3.2%

Change (%)

Muscat

Kuwait

6,425

6,203

Abu Dhabi

Dubai

Bahrain

4,723

4,087

1,368

5.7%

2.9%

16.3%

-1.2% Source: Al Maha Financial Services

-5.6% Graphics

Among seven stock markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, five bourses were in positive territory, while two markets lost ground in the second quarter

A E JAMES

businesseditor@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Muscat bourse lagged behind other regional stock markets in terms of performance in the second quarter of this year, mainly on account of change in valuation, corporate performance and liquidity.

Among seven stock markets in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, five bourses were in positive territory, while two markets lost ground in the second quarter.

Muscat bourse edged up 2.99 per cent to 6,424.60 in the three month period ending June, 2015, while Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia surged ahead by 16.3 per cent, 5.7 per

cent, 4.18 per cent and 3.52 per cent, respectively.

Kuwaiti and Bahraini markets were the only two GCC bourses to lose ground.

Two bourses fall Bahrain and Kuwait declined by 5.66 per cent and 1.26 per cent, respectively, in the second quarter of 2015.

Following a strong market correction that was triggered by the drop in oil prices late last year, and that extended well into the first quarter of 2015, most regional markets saw a notable rebound in the second quarter.

Markets seem to have gained from stabilising crude oil prices and a relatively calmer geopolitical climate. >B4

to receive yet another endorsement from Euromoney reflecting the consistency of performance and the innovative strategies which have cemented the bank’s reputation in a tough market. Year on year, the bank adopts new initiatives to stretch its operational excellence. Going forward, Bank Muscat will ensure it retains the competitive edge in the market.”

Stemming from its flagship position, Bank Muscat aims to deliver reliable, dynamic and innovative banking services. Driven by robust policies to achieve global best practices, Bank Muscat is focused on strategic initiatives to confront challenges and further increase its market share. The bank prides itself in its deep understanding of customer needs, offering finan-

cial expertise and guidance at all levels. A multi-award winning organisation, Bank Muscat holds the rare distinction of being consistently voted the ‘Best Bank in Oman’ by all leading local, regional and global institutions.

Euromoney evaluated the bank’s product mix, financial performance, asset and revenue quality, customer satisfaction, IT

systems and offerings. The bank’s endeavour to achieve and sustain quality products and services have helped it gain recognition from the regional and global financial community for several years in a row.

Euromoney awards are recognised as one of the most prestigious international banking awards given to institutions that demonstrate leadership and innovation.

B2

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2 015

MARKET ECONOMY

China’s growth slows to 6.9% in second quarter: Survey BEIJING: China’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed further in the second quarter, a survey has found, as a slowdown in investment and trade weighed on the world’s second-largest economy.

The median forecast in a poll of 14 economists indicates GDP expanded 6.9 per cent in April-June, marginally down from seven per cent in the first three months of this year.

That would be the worst quarterly result since the first three months of 2009, in the depths of the global financial crisis, when China’s economy expanded by 6.6 per cent. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) will release the official GDP figures for the first quarter of 2015 on Wednesday.

China’s volatile stock markets have grabbed headlines this month after the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell more than 30 per cent in less than four weeks, before reversing course in the last two trading days.

But economists are focused on more fundamental issues when assessing its overall health.

“According to the figures we have now, economic activities remained very sluggish, particularly fixed-asset investment, which grew 11.4 per cent in May this year, a multi-year low,” Liu Li-Gang, Hong Kong-based ANZ economist, said of the second-quarter performance. “Exports were weak and imports were even more so,” he added

CENTRAL BANK‘S INTEREST RATE CUT

The People‘s Bank of China, the central bank, has cut benchmark interest rates four times since November and also took steps to encourage banks to make more loans.

Such measures can take time before growth reacts.

Downward pressure Chinese authorities want investment to slow as part of their plan to diversify economic growth away from big-ticket projects to increasingly wealthy consumers. But too fast a deceleration can be harmful.

“The economy is still under quite big downward pressure,” said Li Ruoyu, an analyst at the State Information Centre, a government

think-tank in Beijing, also citing weak investment.

New restrictions on local government debt and finance vehicles have limited lower-level authorities’ ability to fund infrastructure projects, she said. “The implicit guarantees of the local governments are gone, hurting their borrowing abilities.”

The stock market turmoil could

also create new risks in China’s financial system, which faces numerous other challenges such as high corporate debt and an opaque “shadow banking” sector. But the swings in equities are largely seen as having little effect on the real economy — a key driver of global growth — and unlikely to prove a major detriment to private spending.

“Given that the stock market didn’t provide any noticeable boost to spending on the way up, there is no reason to expect it to be a drag on the way down,” Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a report.

“With only a small and relatively wealthy portion of Chinese households exposed to the stock market,

we aren’t particularly concerned about the impact of recent big falls in equity prices on consumption.”

Rate cuts For this year as a whole, the survey predicts growth at a median 7 per cent, more optimistic than a forecast of 6.8 per cent in a similar poll in April and in line with the government’s official target of “about 7 per cent”.

China last year recorded its slowest annual growth since 1990, expanding 7.4 per cent, down from 7.7 per cent in 2013. The International Monetary Fund lowered its 2015 global economic growth forecast on Thursday, citing a quarterly contraction early this year in the United States. - AFP

Indonesia eyes return to Opec after 50 years

AV I AT I O N

Indian government seeks to mobilise Rs24b for Air India

Southeast Asia’s largest economy was part of Opec for almost 50 years until suspending its membership in 2009

NEW DELHI: India’s Civil Aviation Ministry is making efforts to secure about Rs24 billion for Air India through supplementary budgetary allocations and recovery of dues worth Rs6 billion related to use of its planes for VVIP travel.

Out of the total, around Rs18 billion is being sought to meet the funding shortfall faced by the cash-starved national carrier. Efforts are being made to secure funds for Air India as the supplementary demands of ministries would be considered during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning July 21.

A ministry official said it is looking at recovering about Rs5-6 billion from some ministries for using Air India planes for VVIP travel. Most of the dues are to be paid by the External Affairs and Home Ministries, he added.

According to the official, till recently, the amount due from various ministries stood at around Rs9 billion and, after some payments were made, the outstanding now is about Rs5 to 6 billion.

To ensure that the dues get cleared at the earliest, the Civil

Aviation Ministry is impressing upon the ministries that are yet to pay to seek that money by way of supplementary demand for grants, the official said.

Additional funds Air India aircraft are used by the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, external affairs and home ministers, among other VVIPs. Besides, the Ministry is pitching for additional funds for Air India, which was allocated Rs 2,500 crore in the federal budget 2015-16. The amount was well short of nearly Rs43 billion sought by the Ministry for the national carrier.

The ministry wants to make up for the shortfall of Rs18 billion through supplementary demand for grants. Loss-making Air India, whose debt burden is about Rs400 billion, is surviving on a bailout package approved in 2012.

The erstwhile United Progressive Alliance dispensation had in April 2012 approved Air India’s turnaround plan, with a committed public funding of Rs 302 billion, staggered over a period of nine years, with some specific riders. - PTI

after becoming a net oil importer

DOMESTIC OIL OUTPUT FALLS: Indonesia is seeking to rejoin Opec to get access to cheaper oil supplies as demand soars and domestic production falls. - File picture

JAKARTA: Indonesia is seeking to rejoin Opec to get access to cheaper oil supplies as demand soars and domestic production falls, but critics say the move is an unwelcome distraction from efforts to overhaul the country’s troubled energy sector.

Resource-rich Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, was part of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) for almost 50 years until suspending its membership in 2009 after becoming a net oil importer.

The switch to becoming an importer came as domestic demand soared and output dropped due to a lack of investment from foreign companies, put off by complex regulations, corruption and growing economic nationalism.

With oil imports surging as the economy booms and the energy sector still in urgent need of re-

form, the government is looking for cheaper supplies and has taken the unusual step for an oil importer of requesting to rejoin the 12-member exporting group.

“It is only natural that we should build relations with exporters,” Energy Minister Sudirman Said said before heading to an Opec meeting at the organisation’s headquarters in Vienna last month, where he was seeking to have the suspension lifted. After the meeting, the energy ministry said that some Opec members had backed Indonesia rejoining.

Opec has refused to comment but analysts said the group, which has members from the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, is likely to welcome an applicant from Asia.

“We understand the application is viewed favourably because Indonesia would again provide

OPEC with a member nation in Asia and thus broaden the geopolitical base of the group,” AnnLouise Hittle, vice president of Macro Oils research at Wood Mackenzie, said.

The Opec statute states that “any country with a substantial net export of crude petroleum” can become a full member. But it also says associate membership is possible for countries who do no qualify as full members, the course Indonesia is likely to pursue, analysts believe.

Just giving up Observers also say Ecuador has set a precedent for Indonesia, by suspending its membership in 1992 and rejoining in 2007.

But some observers questioned the wisdom of the move, suggesting that trying to rejoin Opec and source cheaper supplies from

outside Indonesia could slow the momentum of the government’s attempts to reform the corruptiontainted, domestic oil and gas sector.

When reform-minded President Joko Widodo took power last year, he set up a team to look at overhauling the sector, which critics have said is plagued by a shadowy “oil mafia” who skim off huge, illicit profits.

Some progress has been made.

In May, state-owned energy company Pertamina said it would disband its oil-trading arm Petral, which supplies one third of the country’s daily oil needs but has been dogged for years by concerns about a lack of transparency. - AFP

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A LT E R N AT I V E E N E R G Y

$7 billion energy fund told to shun wind power in Australia MELBOURNE: Wind farming in Australia suffered another setback with the government banning its A$10 billion ($7.4 billion) renewable energy fund from investing in the industry.

The government sent a letter to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation outlining proposed new investment priorities, including a shift away from wind power, Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb said Sunday in an interview on Sky News television.

The fund should be “investing in new and emerging technologies and certainly not existing wind farms,” Prime Minister Tony Abbott later told reporters in Darwin. His government’s policy is to eventually abolish the fund, he said.

Last month, the government outlined plans to appoint a commissioner to oversee wind farms and is backing research into whether they damage people’s health. Abbott has labeled wind farms as ugly and noisy.

The decision to prohibit new wind investment is “an extraordinary and prolonged attack on a viable industry,” Australian Wind Alliance National Coordinator Andrew Bray said in an e-mailed statement. Abbott is “hammering in the final nail to the coffin of wind-energy investment himself,” he said.

The fund has a mandate to focus on innovation in “the renew-

UNDER CRITICISM: The decision to prohibit new wind investment is “an extraordinary and prolonged attack on a viable industry,” said Australian Wind Alliance National Coordinator Andrew Bray. –File picture

able energy space, and not on mature technologies like wind, which can source funds in the commercial market,” Robb said.

Plans to change the fund’s investment mandate were first reported earlier by ‘The Age’ newspaper.

Global efforts Abbott has shown limited enthusiasm to join the United States and China in broader global efforts to address climate change.

Australia, the biggest coal exporter, has been urged by France to set an ambitious target to curb greenhouse gas emissions before a global deal to be signed in Paris in December.

An announcement by Australia last month of a new renewable energy target will unlock investments of more than A$10 billion in new renewable projects, according to General Electric.

The country will seek to produce 33,000 gigawatt hours of electricity from large-scale renewable energy projects by 2020.

About one-third of all proposals to Australia’s clean energy fund relate to wind technology, according to its website. The corporation has acted as a debt provider with other lenders for wind projects including the AGL Energyoperated Macarthur wind farm in Victoria state, it said. - Bloomberg News

MO NDAY, JULY 13, 2015

B3

MARKET ONLINE SHOPPING

Dubizzle is now OLX company Times News Service MUSCAT: Two weeks ago, Dubizzle platforms (website and mobile app) started carrying a new message on the product that states ‘Dubizzle is an OLX company,’ the message appears underneath the Dubizzle logo across the site and the mobile app.

This step is a testament to the amazing decade Dubizzle had in this region, a success that has reached new levels, being globally recognised as part of the OLX family. Dubizzle has built the most recognised and popular online brand in the Middle East over the past decade.

Abdallah Touqan, senior PR and Communications Lead at Dubizzle said: “‘Dubizzle is an OLX company’ means that we are aligned with our sister companies around the globe in terms of best practice and shared resources – enabling us to deliver the best user experience.

While keeping the brand local. A great combination of global versus local that will definitely benefit the user.” The objective of becoming an OLX company is to stay connected with and become part of the world’s leading network of online classifieds platforms.

Already millions of people around the world have used OLX to sell their things within local communities in places like India, Brazil, Portugal and now the Middle East. “Now we can share information rapidly and exchange best practice with the other online classifieds platforms within the OLX global network. We believe that together we can accomplish much more than we would as entirely separate entities,” Touqan added.

Iran trade with GCC poised to grow if sanctions lifted more — enter into a dispute with the Gulf producers, then it could be the end for Opec,” he said. However, when it comes to trade with the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Iran’s new economic freedom is expected to lead to a boost.

Prospects of such a deal were still very much in question, with no sign of an end to a nail-biting deadlock after 15 days of negotiations DECLINING EXPORTS: Experts said that once Iran reaches its previous production levels, Saudi Arabia and others will not be keen to reduce their shares of production. Opec has already seen tensions high, with members pushing for overall output to be reduced. – File picture

in Vienna

KUWAIT CITY: Iran should boost trade with its Gulf neighbours if a deal on its nuclear programme sees sanctions and an oil embargo lifted, but higher Iranian crude production could worsen tensions within Opec, analysts here said.

As of Saturday, the prospects of such a deal were still very much in question, with no sign of an end to a nail-biting deadlock after 15 straight days of negotiations in Vienna between Iran and major world powers.

Iran’s oil exports plummeted as a result of the embargo imposed by the US and European Union, dropping from about 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in mid-2012 to about 1.2 million bpd now.

Fellow Opec (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Copuntries) members Saudi Arabia, Kuwait

and the United Arab Emirates boosted production to make up for that, keeping supply levels stable.

Iranian officials have said Tehran is looking to return to pre-embargo levels, though experts say production increases will take time.

“All additional Iranian production will go to export but this will not aggravate the surplus on the market because the increase will be gradual,” said Jassem Al Saadun, head of Kuwait’s Al Shall Economic Consultants.

Fight for quotas “I think it may take Iran a few years before reaching the target of an additional one million barrels.”

Saudi Jadwa Investments said in a recent report that Iran would add just 150,000 bpd by the fourth quarter of this year.

“We do not see this (lifting of

1.2m barrels per day was Iran’s oil exports now, a drop from 2.2m barrels per day in mid-2012 as a result of the embargo imposed by the US and European Union

sanctions) resulting in Iranian crude flooding the market in the near-term,” Jadwa said. Eventually though, Iran will be able to reach pre-embargo levels, setting the stage for a showdown within Opec.

Some Opec countries, especially Gulf nations, have been

EUROZONE

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MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

Greece bailout talks halted BRUSSELS: Greece on Sunday faced a final EU summit to clinch a deal that would stop Athens crashing out of the euro after divided eurozone ministers halted ‘very difficult’ talks on a new bailout overnight.

Saturday’s meeting of the Eurogroup, comprising finance ministers from the 19-nation single currency area, was supposed to pave the way for all 28 European Union leaders to sign a final agreement at an emergency summit the following day, billed as the last chance to keep Greece in the euro.

But sceptical nations demanded more commitments from Athens, with a German government document showing Berlin has drawn up plans for Greece to temporarily leave the eurozone, while Finland reportedly decided not to accept any new rescue plan for debt-laden Greece.

Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the “issue of credibility and trust was discussed” by ministers, who are wary of the Greek government’s commitment to enacting the new reforms which

pumping furiously in a bid to keep the oil price down and drive out competitors, especially United States shale producers. Saudi Arabia alone is producing 10.3 million bpd — about a third of the Opec output ceiling.

Experts say that once Iran reaches its previous production levels, Saudi Arabia and others will not be keen to reduce their shares of production. Opec has already seen tensions high, with poorer members such as Algeria, Angola, Venezuela and Libya pushing for overall output to be reduced so prices can rise and they can boost revenues.

“The real problem starts when Opec members begin to fight for quotas amid oversupply and market share disputes,” Saadun said.

“If Iran, Venezuela, Algeria and Libya — all of which need to pump

Trade from Dubai More than 80 per cent of Iran’s trade with the bloc is with the UAE, and Tehran is the UAE’s fourth-largest trading partner.

Most of that trade originates from Dubai, home to a 400,000-strong Iranian community that runs a large business network.

UAE Economy Minister Sultan al-Mansouri said in June that trade exchange with Iran rose to $17 billion (€15.5 billion) last year but remains lower than a record $23 billion in 2011 before sanctions began to bite.

The vice-president of the Iranian Business Council in Dubai, Hossein Haghighi, said he expected a surge in trade after the lifting of sanctions.

Within the first year, total trade between the UAE and Iran is likely “to go up by between 15 and 20 percent”, Haghighi said. Trade ties are also likely to grow with the Sultanate of Oman, which has maintained good relations with the Islamic republic. - AFP

Alexis Tsipras for a third bailout worth more than 80 billion euros ($89 billion) a positive step forward after months of wranglings.

DEADLOCK: Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, right, with International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde, in Brussel, yesterday. – AFP

closely resemble those rejected by voters in a surprise referendum.

“We haven’t concluded our discussions. It is still very difficult but work is still in progress,” said Dijsselbloem after nine hours of gruelling talks, adding that they would resume Sunday morning at 0900 GMT. Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb was more upbeat, despite reports that Finland’s parliament has decided it will not al-

low the government to accept any new bailout deal for Greece.

Not easy “We are making good progress,” he said. EU Commissioner for economic affairs Pierre Moscovici, who has been among the most sympathetic to Greece’s plight, said: “I am always hopeful.”

Creditor institutions have called a new reform plan from leftist Greek Prime Minister

Pension cuts The proposals, including pension cuts and tax hikes, were approved by the Greek parliament in the early hours of Saturday despite opposition within Tsipras’s ruling radical Syriza party. But Germany’s hardline Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble poured cold water on early optimism at the start of the talks, accusing Athens of repeatedly reneging on its commitments.

“Definitely we cannot trust promises,” Schaeuble said. “In the last months hope has been destroyed in an incredible way, even up to just a few hours ago.”

Germany’s finance ministry has drawn up a paper envisaging Greece leaving the eurozone for five years if it fails to improve its bailout proposals. A European source said, however, that the document was not distributed at Saturday’s meeting. - AFP

Smartphone sales set to top 155m units in 2015 Times News Service MUSCAT: Smartphone shipments in Middle East and Africa (MEA) are set to reach 155 million units in 2015 after increasing 66 per cent year-on-year during the first quarter to reach more than 36 million units, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), a global technology consulting firm.

The company’s first quarter Mobile Phone Tracker’ shows that smartphones accounted for 63 per cent of the handsets shipped in the Middle East during the quarter and 47 per cent in Africa. This comes at the expense of feature phones, which suffered year-onyear declines of around 20 per cent in both regions and will make up just 27 per cent of the overall MEA handset market by the end of 2019, IDC said in a research note.

The growth in smartphones in the MEA region is being spurred

by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, with the two platforms accounting for over 95 per cent of the smartphones shipped in the

Nabila Popal. – Supplied picture

first quarter of 2015. Shipments of devices featuring these operating systems increased by a combined 67 per cent year-on-year.

In the Middle East, Android currently represents 80 per cent of market’s volume, while iOS accounts for 17 per cent; in Africa, these figures stand at 89 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.

Nabila Popal, research manager for IDC’s Mobile Phone Tracker in the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. “This has resulted in phones priced under $200 accounting for about 36 per cent of the Middle East smartphone marke.”

B4

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2 015

MARKET MSM index ends higher

OMAN STOCKS

MUSCAT SECURITIES MARKET

INDICES Index .................................................High .................Low..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff % MSM30 Index ....................................... 6,458.40 ...............6,437.30 ................... 6,458.36 ................... 6,436.75.................. 21.61 ...................0.34 Financial Index .....................................7,868.50 ............... 7,805.51 ....................7,868.12 ................... 7,800.56..................67.56 ................... 0.87 Industrial Index ....................................8,301.17 .............. 8,276.09 ................... 8,300.15 ...................8,276.09................. 24.06 ...................0.29 Services Index .......................................3,479.57 ...............3,473.63 ................... 3,478.40 ................... 3,473.63....................4.77 ................... 0.14 MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................988.44 ..................986.30 ...................... 988.44 ...................... 986.30....................2.14 ...................0.22 Trading Summary Volume ................Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded 26,343,599 ..................5,383,777 ................. 1,236 ............... 15,096,786,607 ................ 18 ........................4 ..................... 9 ..........................31

Al Anwar Holding, up by 4.13 per cent was the

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR SUNDAY, JULY 12

top gainer, while Dhofar Cattlefeed, down by 1.71 per cent, lost the most on Sunday

ISIN ..................................................SECURITY NAME ...............................................................................................VOLUME ..............TURNOVER...................TRADES ...........OPEN PRICE............. HIGH....................LOW...............CLOSE PR. ..........PREV. CLOSE..........DIFF (RO) .................DIFF %......................LAST PR...............LAST BID.....................LAST OFFER .................MARKET CAP ........PAR VALUE

MUSCAT: Oman’s general index - MSM30 Index - opened the week on a strong note at 6,458.36 points, up by 0.34 per cent. The MSM Shariah Index also moved uo by 0.22 oer cent at 988.

Phoenix Power remained the most active in terms of volume as well as turnover. Al Anwar Holding, up by 4.13 per cent was the top gainer while Dhofar Cattlefeed, down by 1.71 per cent was the top loser.

As many as 1,236 trades were executed in the session generating a turnover of OMR5.38 million with over 26.3 million shares changing hands. Out of 31 traded securities, 18 advanced, 4 declined and 9 remained unchanged. GCC and Arab investors were net buyers to the tune of OMR951,000 worth of shares followed by foreign investors at OMR13,000. Omani investors,

who were net sellers, sold equities amounting to OMR965,000.

Financial Index advanced 0.87 per cent to close at 7,868.12 points. Al Anwar Holding, Al Sharqia Investments, Bank Nizwa, HSBC Bank and Takaful Oman increased 4.13 per cent, 3.97 per cent, 2.74 per cent, 2.26 per cent and 0.88 per cent respectively. Al Madina Investments and Gulf Investment Services declined 1.37 per cent and 0.71 per cent respectively.

Industrial Index gained 0.29 per cent to end the session at 8,300.15 points. Al Maha Ceramics, Galfar Engineering, Al Anwar Ceramics and Gulf International Chemicals gained 1.82 per cent, 0.78 per cent, 0.49 per cent and 0.43 per cent respectively.

Dhofar Cattlefeed declined 1.71 per cent to close at OMR0.172.

- United Securities

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

OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 7,833,690 ... 1,774,352.................. 400 ........... 0.220........... 0.231 ...........0.220 .......... 0.227 .............0.218............ 0.009............. 4.128 ................0.231 ..............0.230...................0.231...................34,067,025 .........0.100 OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 513,024 ............67,190..................... 84 ............0.129 ........... 0.132 ...........0.129............0.131 .............0.126............ 0.005............. 3.968 ................0.132 ..............0.132...................0.134................... 11,790,000 .........0.100 OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS .............................................................85,044 ............ 32,078..................... 30 ........... 0.370 ...........0.384 ...........0.370........... 0.378 .............0.366 ............0.012 ............. 3.279 ................0.382..............0.380...................0.388...................18,900,000.........0.100 OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN .................................................... 265,000 ........... 35,980......................12 ............0.135 ........... 0.136 ...........0.135 ............0.136 ............. 0.133............ 0.003............. 2.256 ................0.136 .............. 0.136...................0.138................. 272,042,539 .......0.100 OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS ................................................ 115,446 ............64,604..................... 37 ............0.558 ...........0.560 ...........0.558........... 0.560 .............0.550 ............0.010 ..............1.818.................0.560..............0.560...................0.564...................29,400,000.........0.100 OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE.............. 291,557.............61,855..................... 26 ............0.210 ........... 0.213 ...........0.210........... 0.212 .............0.209 ........... 0.003............. 1.435 ................0.211 .............. 0.211...................0.213.................. 42,400,000 ........0.100 OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING........... 1,274,179 ...... 155,407..................... 62 ............0.122 ........... 0.123 ...........0.121 ........... 0.122 ............. 0.121.............0.001 ............. 0.826 ................0.121 .............. 0.121...................0.123...................14,868,750 .........0.100 OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 455,966 ........... 59,045..................... 38 ............0.129 ........... 0.131............0.129........... 0.129 .............0.128.............0.001 ............. 0.781.................0.130 ..............0.129...................0.130................... 37,407,502 .........0.100 OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 423,000......... 239,635......................19 ........... 0.562 ........... 0.568 ...........0.562........... 0.566 .............0.562 ........... 0.004............. 0.712 ................0.568..............0.562...................0.568.................1,297,171,590 ......0.100 OM0000001483............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ................................. 250,000 ........... 83,978..................... 10 ........... 0.334 ........... 0.338 ...........0.334........... 0.336 .............0.334 ........... 0.002............. 0.599 ................0.338..............0.336...................0.000 .................450,478,644 .......0.100 OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ..........................53,692 ............ 93,923......................16 ............1.735 ........... 1.750............ 1.735 ............1.750 ............. 1.740.............0.010 ............. 0.575 ................1.750 .............. 1.740................... 1.750 ................1,312,500,000 ......0.100 OM0000002168............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ............................... 155,000 ...........63,240........................9 ........... 0.408 ...........0.408 ...........0.408........... 0.408 .............0.406 ........... 0.002............. 0.493 ................0.408..............0.406...................0.418..................120,855,182 ........0.100 OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER..................................................40,530 ...............8,592......................11 ............0.212 ........... 0.212 ...........0.212........... 0.212 ............. 0.211.............0.001 ............. 0.474 ................0.212..............0.212...................0.216..................143,076,135 ........0.100 OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER ....................................................41,359 ............... 8,768......................14 ............0.212 ........... 0.212 ...........0.212........... 0.212 ............. 0.211.............0.001 ............. 0.474 ................0.212..............0.212...................0.214..................151,454,144 ........0.100 OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS .............. 11,252 ...............2,624........................3 ........... 0.234 ...........0.234 ...........0.233........... 0.233 .............0.232 ............0.001 ............. 0.431 ................0.233..............0.233...................0.238....................4,893,000 ..........0.100 OM0000001533 ............OMINVEST .................................................................... 1,000,000..... 480,000........................3 ........... 0.480 ...........0.480 ...........0.480........... 0.480 .............0.480 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.480..............0.480...................0.000 .................177,800,304........0.100 OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ...................... 149,059.............17,902..................... 23 ............0.120 ........... 0.122 ...........0.119 ........... 0.120 .............0.120 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.122.............. 0.121...................0.123....................3,600,000 ..........0.100 OM0000002614............ONIC. HOLDING ............................................................41,000 .............19,680........................3 ........... 0.480 ...........0.480 ...........0.480........... 0.480 .............0.480 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.480..............0.480...................0.498...................83,243,160 .........0.100 OM0000003281............TAAGEER FINANCE ......................................................1,198 ...................173........................1 ............0.144 ........... 0.144 ...........0.144........... 0.146 .............0.146............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.144.............. 0.145...................0.155 ...................37,024,140 .........0.100 OM0000004669 ...........SHARQIYAH DESALINATION ......................................183 .................. 677........................1 ............3.700 ........... 3.700 ...........3.700........... 3.700 .............3.700 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................3.700..............3.700...................3.800 .................. 36,186,799 .........1.000 OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES .......................... 45,000 ...............6,310........................6 ............0.141 ........... 0.141............0.140........... 0.140 ............. 0.141............-0.001 ........... -0.709 ...............0.140.............. 0.139...................0.140....................8,238,050 ..........0.100 OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES .......................................67,226 .............18,530......................14 ........... 0.277 ...........0.277 ...........0.274........... 0.276 .............0.279 ...........-0.003 ............-1.075................0.275..............0.274...................0.275...................77,858,069 .........0.100 OM0000001962............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ................................... 153,534.............11,056......................14 ........... 0.072 ........... 0.073 ...........0.071 ........... 0.072 .............0.073 ...........-0.001 ........... -1.370................0.073..............0.072...................0.073...................14,914,900 .........0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 13,265,939.....3,305,598...............836 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......23........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ..................................................................66,476 ...............4,979........................8 ........... 0.074 ........... 0.075 ...........0.074........... 0.075 .............0.073 ........... 0.002............. 2.740 ................0.075..............0.074...................0.075..................112,500,000........0.100 OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 12,328,129......1,913,040 ..............374 ............0.153 ........... 0.156 ...........0.153 ............0.155 ............. 0.153............ 0.002............. 1.307 ................0.156 .............. 0.155...................0.156..................226,703,226 .......0.100 OM0000004776 ...........TAKAFUL OMAN INSURANCE ..............................12,494 ............... 1,437........................3 ............0.115 ........... 0.115............ 0.115 ............0.115 ............. 0.114.............0.001 ............. 0.877 ................0.115 ...............0.115................... 0.118 ...................11,500,000 .........0.100 OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES .......................................................92,685 ...............4,912........................7 ........... 0.053 ........... 0.053 ...........0.053........... 0.053 .............0.053 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.053..............0.052...................0.053....................6,625,000 ..........0.100 OM0000001723 ............OMAN ORIX LEASING ...............................................10,000 ...............1,500........................1 ............0.150 ........... 0.150 ...........0.150 ........... 0.150 .............0.150............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.150 .............. 0.147...................0.150...................36,207,606 .........0.100 OM0000001301 ............DHOFAR CATTLE FEED ............................................ 13,570 ...............2,334........................1 ............0.172 ........... 0.172 ...........0.172 ............0.172 ............. 0.175............-0.003 ............-1.714 ................0.172 .............. 0.172................... 0.181 ...................13,244,000.........0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 12,523,354......1,928,202 .............394 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 6........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BONDS MARKET .................................................................................................................................................................................

OM0000003810............BANK MUSCAT SUBORDINATED BONDS ...... 100,000 .........105,000........................1 ............1.050 ........... 1.050 ...........1.050 ........... 1.050 .............1.050............ 0.000.............0.000 ................1.050 ............. 0.000...................0.000 ..................78,750,000 .........1.000 OM0000005971 ............B.MUSCAT COMPL. CONVR. B.B.3.5 ................... 454,306 ........... 44,976........................5 ........... 0.099 ...........0.099 ...........0.099........... 0.099 .............0.099 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.099..............0.099...................0.100...................32,092,000 ........0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 554,306 ......... 149,976........................6 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........2........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

GREEK OPTIMISM

Gulf stocks rise

STOCK MARKET

High crude oil prices helped B1 improve sentiments in region < FROM

DUBAI: Stocks in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) rose to the highest in two weeks on bets Greece may secure a deal and after equities in China rebounded.

The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index, which tracks the region’s top 200 equities, climbed 0.5 per cent in Riyadh. Kuwait’s SE Price Index of equities advanced 0.6 per cent, the most in the region.

“We’re seeing some positive momentum in our local markets on optimism of a solution to Greece’s current debt problems and after Chinese stocks bounced back,” Muhammad Shabbir, the head of equities at Rasmala Investment Bank, said by phone from Dubai.

“Anything that impacts growth in Europe will affect the global economy, which has a direct impact on the regional oil exports,” he added. - Bloomberg News

“Higher oil prices in the second quarter of 2015 along with Saudi Arabia opening its market to foreigners helped in improving the investor sentiment in the region. Saudi Arabia and Dubai are among the more liquid markets in the region having a higher investor base,” said Dhruwa Mittal, head of research, Shurooq Securities Company.

According to Mittal, three major factors that will influence the market trend in the immediate future are the proposed IranUnited States deal, developments on Greece debt deal and how the recent crash in the Chinese Stock market which eroded 33 per cent of market value in a fort night due to stretched valuations will spread to other emerging markets is to be seen. Lifting of sanctions on Iran will bring in more oil to the market keeping oil prices under pressure.

Suresh Kumar, head of research at Al Maha Financial Services said that the most important factor that is going to influence the market trend would be oil price. He added that crude oil production of Opec countries is the highest now and US output is also growing.

Suresh Kumar said that majority of regional markets outperformed their counterparts in the US and Europe in the second

quarter. As far as Oman bourse is concerned, he said the growth in profitability of listed companies is not very promising, which is a major factor in determining the market trend this year. There could be a range bound move, with a negative bias.

In the coming months, regional markets are likely to continue to be focused on oil price developments. Oil prices remain an important factor, especially for the economies with weaker fiscal positions. Other markets with larger fiscal buffers are likely to see more

limited impact of large changes in oil prices. In those markets, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, the economies appear more resilient in the current low oil price environment, as governments renew commitments to boost or maintain capital spending and are determined to move forward on their development plans.

The MSCI GCC total return index was up 4.6 per cent.

GCC markets’ capitalisation stood at $1.1 trillion, having added $88 billion by the end of second quarter of 2015.

B

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M M ON DAY, JU LY 13, 20 15

SECTION

SLOW DOWN ENJOY THE RIDE

E-

IMES TECH STUFF

Sweet smells of your smartphone messages

GOOGLE EARTH CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY Google Earth, the company’s 3-D map software, celebrated its 10th birthday last week with the introduction of a few new features, including new content for the Earth View Web gallery of high-resolution landscape images. An update for the Earth View extension for the Chrome browser, which shows a new satellite photo each time a new browser tab is opened, is also available.

SMARTPHONE APPS

Protecting the smartphone data with some fortifications

Product developers are preparing to offer a variety of items to consumers that will allow scent to become a part of digital messaging

B

ack when people communicated more often through physical letters, there was a strong market for perfumed stationery. One sniff, it is said, could bring a rush of memories or longings.

Now communication is digital and instant. You can watch videos and hear voices of your loved ones.

But smell? Not so much.

There are some signs that could be changing. Product developers are preparing to offer a variety of items to consumers that will allow scent to become a part of digital messaging.

This fall, the start-up Vapor Communications, for example, will introduce several devices to include subtle scents with books, movies and clothing. And the company will start mass production of its oPhone Duo, a tabletop device that can emit scents based on how an iPhone photo is labelled.

Another company, Scentee, already has a scent product on the market. The product, also called Scentee, is a cartridge that plugs into a smartphone’s headphone jack. It can be set up with an app to emit a puff of fragrance when a text message or email arrives.

Companies have long tried injecting scents into the modern entertainment and messaging world. Movie theatres worked for decades on ways to make aroma part of the viewing experience. A half century ago, Smell-O-Vision and AromaRama released scents in time with the film through the theatre seats or air vents.

But the smells tended to linger and become muddled with other smells. By the second act, theatregoers couldn’t tell them apart.

Vapor Communications says it has overcome that problem with a system that includes small plastic pellets with scents that are activated when air flows over them. The scent is not dispersed widely; users have to lean in close, as if sniffing a flower, to smell anything at all.

The idea is to keep the scent message as personal as possible while avoiding complaints from others in the room who object to the smell or have perfume allergies, said David Edwards, one of three founders of Vapor Communications.

“To be able to deliver scent like iPod delivers sound is really where we’re at,” he said. “Creating that meaningful experience that is just yours and not your

This fall Vapor Communications, will introduce several devices to include subtle scents with books, movies and clothing. And the company will start mass production of its oPhone Duo, a tabletop device that can emit scents based on how an iPhone photo is labelled

neighbour’s is the goal.” All of the products depend on a small pellet called an oChip — the “o” in the product names is for olfactory. In the oPhone, each chip contains from one to four aromas. The chips are sold in packets of eight, grouped into “families” of similar smells, called Coffee, Foodie and Memory. A person who wants to describe the smell of a pasta sauce, for example, could choose notes of tomato, rosemary and parsley, which would then command the player to position those chips so the air would flow over them, combining the scents. Enough aromas are available, the company said, to create over 300,000 distinct smells. Each chip lasts for about 1,000 uses and costs about $2.

To receive a scent on the oPhone Duo, a tabletop receiver is necessary. The aluminium and plastic device is about the size of a shoe box. Once the oChips are inserted, the player is ready to receive a scent message.

The process for sending a scented message begins when the sender tags a picture with the oSnap iPhone app. To tag a photo, the sender selects up to eight aromas to be mixed within the receiver. Once the message is sent, the person on the receiving end can tap for the scent to be played. The app tells the receiver which scents to position over the air flow, a fan whirs and the machine emits the aroma from one of two small towers.

The Duo has been available since last fall from the company’s website to people willing to take a survey and pay $650. As largescale manufacturing begins, it will cost $350 and be available through onotes.com beginning Nov. 16.

The size of the Duo makes it most practical for home use, Edwards said. The company said it would introduce the Uno, a more portable and simpler model, in 2016. The app, oSnap, is free, but only for iPhones. It will not be

available for Android users until at least 2016.

The Scentee, which has been on the market for about two years, is a much simpler product. For $70, the suggested retail price, buyers get a small white dongle that plugs into a smartphone’s headphone jack as well as three scent cartridges. The liquid fragrance cartridges are converted into aerosol by a tiny motor. They come in coffee, strawberry, lavender, rose and rosemary, and can be bought separately for $7.50 each. Each cartridge is good for about 200 sprays. With the Scentee app, users can select the spray intervals and duration. A quick adjustment in settings can make Scentee puff out an aroma when a text or email arrives, or when a post is “liked” on Facebook. The scent is determined by which cartridge the person receiving the message has clipped onto the phone at that moment. — ROXIE HAMMILL AND MIKE HENDRICKS/The New York Times News Service

SMARTPHONES have a million practical uses, which means they are jammed with credit card numbers, website passwords and other personal information that can tempt thieves or hackers. While phones have built-in protection, you can always add a little more in the form of security apps.

There is a bonanza of such apps, especially for phones based on Google’s Android software. Because of Android’s open nature, phones based on that operating system can be vulnerable to viruses and malware attacks.

Avast Mobile Security is a free app that provides virus scanning tools to check apps on your phone and files on your phone’s memory card. It can remove threats it finds and can also detect and try to foil potential hackings that happen over Wi-Fi. If you lose your phone or it gets stolen, Avast has web tools to let you track your phone’s whereabouts, and you can make the device emit a siren sound.

It has a straightforward, if rather boring, interface, but it does require some time to set up and maintain. Avast also offers a paid $15-a-year version that includes geo-fencing — your phone will emit an alarm if it is carried outside a certain area — plus other extras like cloud backups of your data.

Lookout Security and Antivirus is free for Android devices, and its more modern user interface may make using it feel less of a chore. Lookout has many of the same features as Avast, including tools to find a lost or stolen phone, plus virus scanning. The free version includes cloud-based backups of all your contact information.

The paid version can wipe data from your lost device remotely, and can even take a photo of someone who tries to use your phone. Such extras cost $30 a year, which is expensive for an app that’s not quite as sophisticated as its rivals. Lookout also has an iOS app, but most of its features are already offered free in iOS. Apple’s iPhones and iPads are thought to be less vulnerable to viruses than Android devices, but they are equally full of personal information. If you use a free app like 1Password, much of your data can be put behind another security wall to keep it safe.

The app acts as a secure vault for data you have on your phone, including website user names and passwords and credit card information. It can also store secure text notes that can be read only inside the app.

Then you need to remember only one password — the master password for 1Password itself — instead of having to re-

member all your myriad login details.

The 1Password app encrypts all the information so that if your phone falls into the wrong hands, it would prove difficult for someone to maliciously exploit your information. Extras include a password generator that can create passwords more secure than those you might create yourself, and it can sync all your passwords and information across your devices. 1Password also has an Apple Watch extension, which can show you password and payment data on your wrist.

The 1Password user interface can be confusing, and for the most secure website browsing, you have to use the special browser built into the app. To get the full range of features, including the ability to store driver’s license details, you have to upgrade to the Pro version for $5. The version available for Android devices is almost the same as the iOS edition, but it lacks some design finesse and features like support for Android Wear smartwatches. LastPass is an equivalent password manager app that’s free for iOS. It’s my favourite for its modern design and ease of navigation. It can securely store and enter your passwords and website logins, credit card information, secure notes and more, and is protected with encryption and a master password.

The app also has an Apple Watch version. Your LastPass account makes it easy to access all your data across different devices. A family sharing option allows you to give someone you trust access to some of your data.

But the family sharing and other features are available only if you buy the Pro upgrade for $12, and the app has been criticised by some app store reviewers for not having as many features as the desktop edition of LastPass. The Android edition of LastPass is broadly similar. — KIT EATON/The New York Times News Service

B6

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2 015

ROUND-UP Toyota SUVs now come with attractive benefits This exciting ‘Extra Large Benefits! Extra Large Happiness!’ campaign will run until August 5

MUSCAT: In the toughest of terrain and while pitted against the elements of nature, Toyota SUV range models have proved their mettle. Now, these legendary performers are available with a host of benefits during the Toyota ‘Extra Large Benefits! Extra Large Happiness!’ campaign.

These include: Insurance for a year (Oman only), a service package for up to three years/30,000km, (whichever is earlier; covering three services at 10,000km. Service intervals for petrol models based on normal operating conditions and six services at 5,000km. Service interval for Diesel models), first year of registration and 1,000 litres of fuel. In lieu of the above, customers can choose to avail of a cash gift of up to OMR1,000, says a press release.

And that’s not all. Every Toyota customer gets a gift voucher and a chance to take part in an amazing raffle which has nine units of all-new 2016 Camry GL Executive as a part of the campaign. (These benefits are model specific and may vary accordingly) This exciting campaign will run until August 5. Benefits are applicable for all purchases except those made by government organisations and ministries.

Weekly raffle draws started from June 14 and will be held until August 9, on all Sundays, except the one that falls on July 19. Customers will be eligible for raffle only

upon taking delivery of the vehicle during the campaign period after completing necessary formalities and not against booking.

Legendary quality and reliability of Toyota SUVs have made them a part of people’s lives in Oman.

Consider, for example, the Toyota Land Cruiser. For many years, the Land Cruiser has remained totally unchallenged as the symbol of the most desired-for qualities in a 4WD. All-terrain capability; rugged reliability and soothing comfort are its hallmarks. Powered by a massive 5.7-litre V8 engine, the Land Cruiser is paired with a sixspeed automatic transmission. Its off-road capabilities are bolstered by a long list of equipment like kinetic dynamic suspension system (KDSS), crawl control system, multi-terrain select and more. The Land Cruiser has luxurious interiors that seamlessly blend high quality and user friendly functionality.

Another ace in Toyota’s SUV range is the Sequoia. Honoured with many awards the formidable Sequoia is equipped with a 5.7 litre, dual VVT-i, V8 i-Force engine that churns out class-topping horsepower and torque, the Sequoia offers an impressive array of leading-edge features. Available with 8 seats (with a third row versatile seater for 3 adults), the Sequoia also has a ten-way adjustable driver power seat with memory function - enabling diverse seat arrangements for the second and

third row of seats.

Born with the Toyota Land Cruiser DNA in its bloodline, the Prado takes Toyota’s enviable 4WD legacy way further. That explains why it is a top-seller in more than 170 countries and regions around the world. Drivability, reliability and functionality are all here in abundance. Throw-in superior on-road and off-road performance and it is not hard to tell that this 4WD is one-of-a-kind. The Prado also offers top-end features including cruise control, steering angle display, active headrest, power& telescopic steering column, side step with illumination, smart entry and push-button start, rear view camera with display on audio system, retractable outer mirrors (with turn signal); moonroof and daytime running lights.

Toyota FJ Cruiser A midsize SUV, the Toyota FJ Cruiser focuses on off-road performance and a style that invokes its heritage. The FJ is equipped with the powerful and muscular 4 Litre, V6 petrol with dual VVTi engine which whips up a massive 268 HP. Optimally matched with the drive train is the superior and sporty 5-speed, super ECT (Automatic) transmission, designed to deliver excellent performance, smooth gear shifting and lower noise levels. FJ’s classy touches include a leather steering wheel with silver accents, audio control, Bluetooth

switches/telephone kit, water repellent fabric seats, USB + auxiliary port, cruise control, 8-way adjustable driver seat, keyless entry system, 10-speaker JBL audio system with subwoofer.

A ‘refined soul in a muscular body, decked-out for urban adventures’ the Fortuner TRD Sportivo has some excitingly new additions. These include a stylish front bumper spoiler, rear and roof spoiler, an imposing TRD Sportivo emblem and muffler cutter.

Livening-up the entire package is a TRD side tape stripe. Interestingly, TRD means Toyota Racing Development. It is meant for Special Edition vehicles, with highperformance parts and accessories that are used by Toyota racing teams, worldwide. The Fortuner TRD Sportivo’s splendid form is further adorned with chrome radiator grille, HID headlamps and magnificent 17” Alloy Wheels. Engineered for the discerning driver, Fortuner TRD Sportivo’s comfortable cabin is equipped with an ergonomic interface – a horizontal-theme instrument panel set within strikingly beautiful black Woodgrain panelling.

RAV4 is a global model that is sold in more than 150 countries and regions globally. The RAV4 is equipped with a 2.5 litre fourcylinder engine with Dual VVT-i technology which enhances power delivery efficiency by controlling both intake and exhaust timings to produce 177 horsepower with a 6-speed multi-mode automatic transmission. The RAV4 features a sporty, strong front design that emphasizes the boldness of the model. It is equipped with xenon headlamps with attractive daytime running lights, aero stabilising fins, aerodynamic roof rails, floor mounted spare wheels, moon-roof and rear parking sensors.

In Oman, Toyota’s outstanding product quality is supported by the nationwide parts and service network of Saud Bahwan Automotive.

R E N A U LT P R O M O T I O N

Ramadan benefits add to convenience of owning a Captur MUSCAT: Renault from the house of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles has announced mega Ramadan surprises on select Renault models. The Renault Captur is agile, dynamic and elegant both inside and out. Drawing on Renault’s expertise, it explores new territory in terms of design, comfort, equipment and pleasure, says a press release.

2015 Ramadan highlights: • Scratch & Win (Two assured gifts) 1. With a unique scratch and win card, customers are eligible to win assured high value gifts from any one of the products comprising LG 65” Ultra High Definition LED Curve TV, Apple iPhone 6-16GB, Lenovo LaptopIntel Core i5 or a LG 42” LED TV. 2. Customers will also be eligible to win an assured service package gift up to five years/100,000km periodic maintenance service (with minimum assured service package of two years/30,000km periodic maintenance service) • Cash gifts: Customers will also walk away with assured cash gift of OMR500 on purchasing the Renault Captur 1.2LTurbo • Other benefits: Customers will be entitled to receive free registration for first year for Oman only and free extended warranty period of up to six years/ unlimited mileage.

Further, customers will also re-

ceive AAA Roadside Assistance card for the first year only and as supported by AAA Oman.

• Grand raffle draw Customers purchasing any of the Renault models during the Ramadan month will also get a chance to enter a mega raffle draw which will be held on August 23. The grand prize winner will walk away with a new 2015 Renault Duster 2L PE. Suhail Bahwan Automobiles designed the Ramadan scheme to add to the pleasure and convenience of owning a Renault model and ensure hassle and worry-free driving at all times.

Customers can also avail easy financing option with attractive interest rates.

Captivating Captur It is a crossover packed with a turbocharged engine for those occasional bursts of controlled fun. The engine producing 120 BHP and 190 Nm of torque is mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox. Made in Spain, the Renault Captur stands out from the crowd by delivering the best of three different worlds: The expressive styling and driving position of an SUV, the cabin space and modular interior of an MPV and the agility and driving enjoyment of a compact saloon car.

SBA is largely committed to supporting Renault Oman’s growth in the Sultanate.

O U T B O U N D H O L I D AY S

Vacations picks winners of ‘Big Summer Sale’

MUSCAT: Vacations, the outbound holidays division of Travel Point, Oman’s largest travel and hospitality company, announced the 30 grand prize winners of the Big Summer Sale Campaign held recently, as part of their summer holiday travel activity for the year.

First-of-its-kind Travel Point completed the firstof-its-kind and largest ever outbound holidays summer sale campaign in Oman — ‘The Big Summer Sale’ with resounding success in five different regions in Oman namely, Salalah, Nizwa, Sohar, Sur and Muscat, says a press release.

The campaign started on March 26 and lasted until May 26. Customers purchasing their summer vacations from Travel Point during this period were entitled to enter the raffle draw to be one among the 30 grand prize winners which were announced and awarded at the Travel Point Office, Said Plaza in Qurum.

The event was presented by Oman Air and powered by Honda.

The 30 lucky winners are: Salalah - 1. Rasheed Al Balushi (HONDA TRX 90 Quad Bike) 2.

Amer Musalam Amer Jid (Oman Air Air Ticket) 3. Said Salim (Oman Air Air Ticket) 4. Madiyan Oman Marjan (Vacation Package) 5. Maryam Farhan (Vacation Package) 6. Hamid Salim Al Mahri (Vacation Package) Nizwa 1. Waleed Said Al Aamri (Honda TRX 90 Quad Bike) 2. Sulaiman Al Hadidi (Oman Air Air Ticket) 3. Ahmed Khalfan Al Rawahi (Oman Air Air Ticket) 4. Saif Al Baimani (Vacation Package) 5.

Sulaiman Mohammed (Vacation Package) 6. Moosa Khalfan Al Rawahi (Vacation Package) Sohar 1. Alharith Al Rashaidi (Honda TRX 90 Quad Bike) 2. Suhail Rashid (Oman Air Air Ticket) 3. Husam Al Balushi (Oman Air Air Ticket) 4. Nassra Al Balushi (Vacation Package) 5. Khalid Al Rashaidi (Vacation Package) 6.

Al Modatsam Al Balushi (Vacation Package)

Ticket) 3. Issaq Al Maskari (Oman Air Air Ticket) 4. Suchita Shroff (Vacation Package) 5. Abdul Wahab Al Araimi (Vacation Package) 6. Adila Sulaiman Al Mandhari (Vacation Package).

Sur 1. Khalid Al Riyami (Honda TRX 90 Quad Bike) 2. Saayid Al Maskari (Oman Air Air Ticket) 3. Abdullah Al Gheilani (Oman Air Air Ticket) 4. Mohammed Al Maskari (Vacation Package) 5. Saleh Bin Nasser

Humood (Vacation Package) 6.

Said Salim Al Rashdi (Vacation Package) Muscat 1. Nuha Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (Honda TRX 90 Quad Bike) 2.

Yahya Al Malki (Oman Air Air

Whatsapp contest Travel Point also ran a special ‘Win a Trip for 2 to the Maldives’ Whatsapp contest which was open to all in which thousands of participants send a whatsapp text ‘I need a summer holiday’ on 92087552 to enter the draw.

The lucky winner randomly picked was Noha Al Balushi who won the dream package to Maldives! The winner was also awarded during the presentation ceremony in the Qurum office.

Updates from the entire campaign and pictures can be seen on the social media pages of travelpointoman.

Partners The company was grateful to all partners of the campaign namely, Oman’s National Carrier Oman

Air as the main sponsor and Honda (Omasco Services) as the silver partner. The Hotel Partners Shangri La Hotels and Resorts, Damac Maison Hotels & Resorts, Jumeirah Group, Vichy Spa Hotel, Vivanta Bentota Sri Lanka

by Taj. The campaign was been backed by Times of Oman and Al Shabiba, Oman’s leading dailies as media partner.

The support partners of the Big Summer Sale were Cox & Kings, Education First, Tamarind Tours India, Disneyland Paris, Disney Cruise Line, Rail Europe, Jet Wing Holidays, Thomas Cook India, Swagatam Tours Private Limited India, Kuoni Group of Travel Experts, Sri Lankan Holidays, 360 Experience, Tour East Australia, Walkers Tours, Marhaba Services, Printemps, Heli Dubai, Princess Cruises, Norweignan Cruise Line and Star Curises. Tourism Offices of Abu Dhabi, Germany, Switzerland also supported this event.

The company is currently offering great deals and discounts for the upcoming Eid holiday season.

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Owning a Hyundai more convenient this Ramadan Zero percent interest offers Hyundai customers the choice and benefit of owning the car now with a host of goodies and exciting deals

MUSCAT: In keeping with the spirit of Ramadan and as part of the on-going OTE - Hyundai Ramadan promotion, all Hyundai models are now available with Zero percent interest for finance upto two years well packaged along with a bunch of offers which include cash as gift upto OMR1,000, five years/100,000km service, insurance and assured gifts such as 4 grams gold coin for first 2,500 customers, LG Home theatre and one raffle coupon to participate in a fortnightly raffle for half kilo gold.

All these are in addition to a very attractive price. Promotion elements may vary for different models, exact details can be checked out at any of the Hyundai showrooms closer to you, says a press release.

Zero percent interest offers Hyundai customers now the choice and benefit of owning the car now with the host of goodies, whereas the payment can be made over a period of two years through equal monthly instalments and without any additional interest costs. This makes owning a Hyundai more convenient this Ramadan.

Hyundai’s amazing range of se-

dan cars and SUVs offer a wide choice to the customers starting from entry level to luxury sedans, all well equipped with premium features and stylish design have made a mark amongst the buyers.

As Hyundai models are designed to cater to the diverse lifestyles of consumers and to deliver greater benefits and value, they have become immensely popular across the segments. By the end of 2014, award-winning Elantra has sold more than 10 million units globally and numbers are steadily increasing. Elantra is one of only 10 cars in the history of the auto industry, to reach 10 million sales. In the luxury segment, the all-new Genesis has recently passed a global sales figure of 100,000 units, within just 18 months of its launch.

Hyundai Motor’s well recognised Fluidic Sculpture design philosophy has given new dimension to the aesthetics and sophistication of quality and appearance. This has not only increased the customer preference towards Hyundai, but also has resulted in popular models such as Sonata winning prestigious Red Dot Design Awards for the year 2015, the Good Design award, etc. These are a testimony to Hyundai’s continued commitment to delivering quality cars with leading design and performance at an

unprecedented value.

Hyundai’s SUV range not only delivers the all-around versatility that SUV buyers need and also the finest balance of attributes and price within their classes, and they are undoubtedly the best choices for most consumers. Santa Fe with its bold design, class-leading safety features continues to win numerous awards across the globe. These awards are a demonstration of strong appreciation and acceptance of the SUV. Hyundai provides new values and experiences to customers of today through its ‘Modern premium’ brand direction, that are unique to the brand and also go beyond what customers expect by combining exceptional performance with reasonable price and emotional elegance. Hyundai is globally recognised for its sophisticated product design, uncompromising quality, safety technology and exceptional value. Hyundai, today, ranks among the top automotive brands in the world, and has already overtaken several global majors in quality.

Hyundai’s dedication to enhance the customer buying experience has been resulting in the consistent rank improvement over the years in the J.D. Power U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) StudySM. Hyundai models have been

H O LY M O N T H

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securing high rankings in theirrespective segments for initial quality and are also one of the topshopped vehicles in the segment, thereby establishing a great resale value in the market place. These not only aid in getting a good resale value for the initial buyer but also has resulted in high demand in the used car market.

Hyundai’s ability to understand people’s desires and respond quickly to the changing needs of its customers by offering products with futuristic global design and cutting-edge technology has touched the hearts of millions of customers worldwide and is moving fast towards becoming the most beloved brand across the globe. One has to test drive and discover what millions of satisfied Hyundai owners already experience and enjoy – Hyundai stands for uncompromising quality.

Hyundai has a strong presence in the passenger vehicles category in Oman with its wide range of Sedans and SUVs offered with various engine options and trim options.

Hyundai offers a full array of sedans in Oman including: Accent, Elantra, Sonata and Azera while trend setters for the modern youth continue to be the Veloster and Veloster Turbo. Its ‘i’ series denotes the compact range designed to meet smart mobility needs and features the Grand i10, i20, i30 and i40. Hyundai SUV range - Tucson, Santa Fe and Grand Santa Fe are definitely the pick of the lot. Centennial and Genesis in the luxury car segment have been well received and are going from strength to strength.

OTE Group is the exclusive dealer of Hyundai in Oman. With a nationwide network of showrooms and service centres, OTE Group ensures that Hyundai customers are never far from getting high quality service.

GET-TOGETHER

Hamdan Group hosts Iftar for employees MUSCAT: Hamdan Group, one of the largest corporate conglomerates from the Sultanate of Oman, hosted its annual Iftar gathering at Massa Hall, Hamdan Plaza Hotel, Salalah in celebration of the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan.

The grand Iftar gathering was organised as an expression of the company’s gratitude to its employees for their continuous support, and sharing a solid business relationship with them, says a press release.

“I share my greetings and warm wishes to all fellow employees of Hamdan Group who are in love with the magnificent and peaceful country. I think there is no better way to celebrate and commemorate this than to do Iftar together with my fellow employees,” said Sheikh Abdullah Hamed Al Ghafri, Vice Chairman, Hamdan Group, as he welcomed the guests.

“Such Iftar parties will be organised in other parts of the Sultanate of Oman where Hamdan Group is having its business operations. Hosting Iftar is a noble work and we are doing it to give message of harmony to the society,” Al Ghafri said.

Hamdan Group invited all its employees for annual Iftar gath-

ering from across its diversified business units in Salalah. Annual Iftar gathering 2015 was attended by 250 plus employees.

Hamdan Group is part of one of the largest corporate conglomerates from the Sultanate of Oman.

The group commenced its business operations in the year 1975 and has mirrored the growth of the Sultanate of Oman and contributed significantly to the Omani economy.

Hamdan Group officials Sheikh Abdullah Hamed Al Ghafri (Vice Chairman), Ammar Al Ghafri (Deputy Chief Executive Officer), Rajput (Chief Financial Officer & Managing Director) and Awadh Said Musallam Khawar (Technical Consultant) greeted the guests as the evening descended and the Iftar gathering started. They exchanged Ramadan greetings with all employees and community leaders.

Wrapping up the celebrations, Al Ghafri expressed appreciation to all the guests for making the day special with their presence. He said, “Ramadan is a perfect time to show our gratitude, especially to those who matter to us. I would like to express my gratitude to all our business stake holders and media friends; and we share our success to all of you.”

L U X U RY S TAY

Sohar Islamic organises Iftar Salalah Marriott Resort offers relaxing Eid getaway package MUSCAT: In celebration of the holy month of Ramadan and in order to reaffirm its commitment to understand customer needs and expectations, Sohar Islamic - Bank Sohar’s Islamic Banking Window, recently hosted an exclusive Iftar event for its customers at Crowne Plaza hotel, Sohar.

The Iftar event, which took place recently was attended by Mazin Mahmood Al Raisi – AGM and Head Marketing & Publicity, Bilal Fiaz, Head of Retail and Branches at Sohar Islamic, Mazin Mahmood Al Raisi – AGM and Head Marketing & Publicity and Talib Ali Al Balushi, Chief Branch Manager – Sohar Islamic Falaj Al Qabail Branch along with Sohar

Islamic team and customers.

Speaking at the event, Mohammad Haris, AGM and head of Sohar Islamic said, “As we mark the blessed days of this holy month, we hosted this event to reiterate our appreciation to Sohar Islamic customers and our recognition of their continuous support. It is their support

RECRUIT

together with the confidence they have placed in Sohar Islamic and the products and services that we provide that has ensured our success over the past two years. Building on this success, we will continue to provide customer with the best possible Shari’ah compliant banking services and financial solutions to meet their needs and expectations.”

“We always look for opportunities to obtain valuable feedback from our clients and work together with them in order to identify areas where we need to improve our services to meet their expectations.

This meeting was one such opportunity and we look forward to organising many more similar events in the near future,” he added.

SALALAH: Stay at the 5-Star resort in Mirbat this Eid and take a stress free break from the crowded city lights, enjoy the monsoon ‘Khareef ’ season this year with your family at Marriott’s beach resort.

Book your relaxing Eid getaway package at OMR109, stay in a superior sea view room for two adults and two kids (below five years). Get a 30 per cent discount on all spa products and free 25 min massage at the Frankincense Spa — an express massage for you and your spouse that relieves tension, eases stress and improves

energy flow through your body.

Avail 20 per cent discount on food and beverage outlets and stay connected with high speed Internet access. This special offer is valid from July 17 to 25, says a press release.

With its guests’ best interests in mind, Salalah Marriott Resort in Oman recently enhanced its in-room entertainment offering with the introduction of state-ofthe-art high definition TVs. The property now offers its guests 40” and 48” HD TV’s with impressive picture and sound quality.

Complementing this is the

wide variety of channels provided, promising hours of entertainment. Adding to this, the property also recently upgraded its Internet connection and now offers Wi-Fi in its rooms at a reasonable price. Guests can select from two speeds according to their budget.

Located in Mirbat and owned

by Dhofar Tourism, Salalah Marriott Resort houses a variety of luxurious facilities, 237 spacious rooms, suites and beach chalets, six Marriott resort restaurants, a health club and spa and much more.

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BankDhofar claims ‘Website of the Year - Oman’ accolade The award was received by Sami Omar Al Zadjali, head of Marketing & Corporate Communications at BankDhofar, during a high-profile event held recently at Shangri-La Hotel Singapore with the participation of over 200 bankers from more than 30 countries

SINGAPORE: BankDhofar, the leading financial institution in the Sultanate of Oman, has received ‘Website of the Year – Oman’ award at the Retail Banking Awards – Asian Banking and Finance Awards 2015.

The award was received by Sami Omar Al Zadjali, head of Marketing & Corporate Communications at BankDhofar, during a high-profile event that was held recently at Shangri-La Hotel Singapore with the participation of over 200 bank-

ers from more than 30 countries, says a press release.

“We are very honoured to be part of this prestigious event, and I would like to thank the organisers for such a successful organisation. BankDhofar continues to lead with the most innovative banking solutions, applying state-of-the-art technology and providing a wide variety of the best banking services that are accessible to our customers wherever they are through our website

and other e-channels.

“Today BankDhofar is considered one of the best banks in the region, catering for customers’ needs and requirements, and setting the standards for the best customers experience within the banking industry in the Sultanate,” said Al Zadjali.

The awards aim to honour Asia’s outstanding banks and top performing financial institutions, highlighting excellence in vari-

CONVENIENT OPTIONS

ous aspects of the banking and finance sector.

“This year marks that 10th year of our Retail Banking Awards, and the 4th year of our Wholesale Banking Awards. ABF is immensely proud to have produced a long and esteemed roster of winners composed solely of Asia’s most impressive banks,” said Tim Charlton, editor-in-chief of ABF. Designed with an up-to-date look and feel that reflects the

bank’s brand and image, BankDhofar website (www.BankDhofar. com) provides a platform that offers a range of services to cater for customers’ needs and banking requirements.

The bundles of convenient and instant services that are available at the website include accounts information, Credit Cards services (payment, block, activation, etc.), American Express Card payment, funds transfer (self-transfer, transfer within the Bank, transfer to local banks, remittance – transfers outside Oman), loan payment, standing instruction, bill payments (water/electricity/ phone/Internet), mobile phone bill payment (Hayyak, Ooredoo) and top-up (Hayyak, Ooredoo, FRiENDi), service request, account opening request, account statement request, balance certificate registration, cheque book request, pay order request, fixed deposit foreclosure and renewal, loan pre-closure simulation, loan request, request for ATM card, ATM and CDM locator, among many other services.

H E A LT H C A R E

KIMS offers special care at Neonatal Unit MUSCAT: KIMS Oman Hospital (KOH) provides full care for pre-mature babies and critical cases at its Neonatology department. Neonatology department at KIMS Oman is equipped with advanced medical equipment and constitutes of 4 bedded Neonatal Care Unit with ventilator and SPAP support. It also offers full management of extreme pre-mature babies of 28 weeks and above, says a press release.

“KIMS Oman is very proud of its Neonatal department and highly experienced and professional doctors. It consists of state-of-the-art facilities and offering full care to pre-mature babies,” said Dr Hussam Akoum, chief operating officer at KOH. The department is managed by a highly skilled medical staff, headed by the highly experienced Dr. Srinivasababu Subramanian, MBBS, M.D, Pediatrics, who has a Neonatal fellowship from Australia. He is highly experienced in Neonatal monitoring, well baby OP clinic, IP services, 24 hours paediatrics and neonatal emergency as well as immunisation and vaccination.

MAIN SPONSOR

Renna introduces Ramadan offers Omantel extends support MUSCAT: After the continuous success of Renna Mobile’s various international calling promotions, their ‘Ramadan offers’ give valued customers more convenient options.

Renna’s current Ramadan promotion allows subscribers to call India and Bangladesh for 80 minutes for just OMR2 and to call Pakistan for 75 minutes for just OMR2. Further the Ramadan offer gives subscribers the opportunity to avail 50% extra data and enjoy 1.5GB for just OMR2.5 for a month, says a press release.

Renna has another internation-

al offer for the rest of the countries with a compatible price starting from 39Bz/min.

Raed Haddadin, CEO, Renna said, “Renna has consistently been

offering great value to customers on their Internet offers during the holy month of Ramadan. Our market research shows that there is a huge demand by our Asian expats on Internet.

“We therefore make sure that our customer’s get the best Internet rates and we want to further reward them by giving them the ability to choose from our varied offers. We had best Internet package in the market in the form of 1GB at OMR2.5 and during the holy month of Ramadan we are offering even better i.e.

1.5GB at OMR2.5.”

to Salalah Tourism Festival MUSCAT: Omantel will take part in Salalah Tourism Festival 2015 as the main sponsor to support the most prominent tourism event in the region. Omantel is making great efforts to ensure that everything is in place to receive the festival visitors and meet their needs for communication services, says a press release.

Commenting on the sponsorship, Mohammed Hassan Al Lawati, events manager at Omantel, said “Omantel always seeks to have a strong presence at the various social events especially Salalah Tourism Festival which will be launched this year on 23rd of July to coincide with the anniversary of the blessed Renaissance Day.” “Omantel’s sponsorship for this year’s event, which comes under the theme ‘Oman, love and peace’ is one of the initiatives done by the company to support national events and enhance its ties with the members of our society. Moreover, Omantel will provide a number of promotional offers to enrich customers’ experiences,” he added.

Commenting on the prepara-

We are also developing a number of surprises and events that will surely bring joy to our customers

Mohammed Al Lawati Events manager at Omantel

tions made by Omantel to ensure meeting the needs of the visitors during Salalah Festival 2015, Al Lawatia said, “Preparations are underway to receive the festival’s visitors and provide them with all kinds of support throughout the

outlet at the Municipality Recreation Centre in Sahel Ateen as well as at the other outlets in Dhofar Governorate. We are also developing a number of surprises and events that will surely bring joy to our customers.”

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ZEESHAN BLITZ HELPS OMAN BEAT CANADA Oman opener Zeeshan Maqsood blasted an unbeaten 86 off just 41 balls as Oman chased down a stiff revised target of 135 with ease in a truncated ICC World T20 Qualifier 2015 match in New Williamfield on Sunday. >C3

Djokovic shatters Federer’s dream World number one Djokovic won 7-6 (7/1), 6-7 (10/12), 6-4, 6-3 to add this year’s Wimbledon title to the Australian Open he captured in January MUNCHING A BUNCH: Novak Djokovic of Serbia eats some grass off Centre Court after beating Roger Federer in the men’s singles final. – Reuters

LONDON: Defending champion Novak Djokovic won a third Wimbledon title and a ninth Grand Slam crown on Sunday, ruthlessly shattering Roger Federer’s bid for a record eighth All England Club triumph.

World number one Djokovic won 7-6 (7/1), 6-7 (10/12), 6-4, 6-3 to add this year’s Wimbledon title to the Australian Open he captured in January.

It was a cathartic moment for Djokovic just a month after his heartbreaking French Open final defeat against Stan Wawrinka — a loss that denied him the only major title he has yet to win.

“It’s a big challenge playing against Roger. A lot of players of my generation have looked up to him and followed his lead,” said Djokovic who now has the same number of Wimbledon titles as coach Boris Becker who won his first 30 years ago.

“I knew coming on the court that Roger is going to play like he always plays, at his best when it matters the most. He makes you work hard every single point.”

For 33-year-old Federer, it was a bitterly disappointing end to his

bid to become the oldest Wimbledon champion of the Open Era. The 17-time major winner has now gone three years since his last Grand Slam triumph, at Wimbledon in 2012.

“Novak played not only good today but the whole two weeks, the whole year, last year and the year before that,” said Federer.

Federer had his opportunities but he could only convert one of seven break points in the match and as he pressed, he committed 35 unforced errors to Djokovic’s 16.

In a rollercoaster rematch of last year’s final, Federer was 4-2 up in the first set and had two set points.

He then had to save seven set points in the second set before bravely levelling the contest.

However, Djokovic, five years Federer’s junior, stepped on the gas and raced away to the title.

Sunday’s final was the pair’s 40th career meeting and 12th in the Grand Slams. Djokovic was playing in his 17th major final compared to Federer’s 26th.

Seven set points But despite Federer’s majestic

triumph over Andy Murray in the semi-finals, which suggested he was not ready for the retirement home just yet, Sunday’s reality check looks certain to leave the Swiss thwarted in his quest to add to his record 17 Grand Slam title collection.

In front of a Royal Box crammed with tennis and Hollywood A-listers, including Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver, Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugh Grant and Bradley Cooper, Federer was in the early ascendancy.

He broke for a 4-2 lead but Djokovic hit straight back condemning the Swiss to just his second lost service game in 94 served up at the tournament. Federer then saw two set points disappear in the 12th game, both saved courtesy of backto-back 120mph serves.

Djokovic capitalised on his escape, racing through the tiebreaker with six consecutive points to claim the opener when Federer served up a double fault. The Serb committed just three unforced errors in the first set, a key statistic in what would always be a tight encounter. By contrast, Federer hit 11, the same as he suffered throughout

his semifinal win over Murray.

Federer wasted two break points in the fifth and 11th games of the second set having saved a first set point in the 10th. That paved the way for a titanic tiebreak where the 33-year-old saved six more set points before levelling the final on his second set point.

At 12/10, it was the longest tiebreak in a Wimbledon final since 2000 when Pat Rafter faced Pete Sampras with the set taking 65 gripping minutes to complete.

To his credit, Djokovic swiftly recovered, breaking for a 2-1 lead in the third set which became 3-2 when rain forced them off for 20 minutes. The world number one confidently wrapped up the set 6-4 with just two unforced errors even if the brief stoppage had dampened the fireworks of the second set.

Djokovic was strangling the life out of Federer’s game and another break gave him a 3-2 lead in the fourth set.

The title was his on the stroke of the third hour with a sweeping forehand into an open court. As has become the Serb’s tradition, he celebrated by pulling out a piece of Centre Court grass and eating it. - AFP

PERFECT POSE: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic holds the winner’s trophy on the centre court balcony after his men’s singles final victory. – AFP

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Feels amazing to wake up as champion, says Sania NEW DELHI: “It’s an amazing feeling to wake up as Wimbledon champion,” said Sania Mirza after crowning herself to glory following a historic triumph at the most coveted Grand Slam championship.

Sania and ‘Swiss Miss’ Martina Hingis scripted a grand comeback after trailing 2-5 in the final set of the women’s doubles final and the Indian said the match brought the best out of all four players.

They eked out a 5-7 7-6(4) 7-5 win over familiar rivals Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina after battling hard for two hours and 25 minutes at the hallowed Centre Court.

“It was the best match you could have asked for in the final, all four of us put everything out there. We played amazing tennis. I am glad that we came out on top. It’s amazing feeling to wake up as Wimbledon champions,” Sania told PTI during an exclusive interaction from London.

Sania said she was in no mood to rest as she has already trained her eyes on the hard court season, leading up to the US Open — last

PERFECT PAIR: Martina Hingis of Switzerland, left, and Sania Mirza of India hold their trophies after winning the women’s doubles final against Ekaterina Makarova of Russia and Elena Vesnina of Russia at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon. – AP/PTI

Grand Slam of a calender year.

“I am looking forward towards bigger and better things. Soon hard court season will start again. I just have to keep working hard,” she said.

Sania, who recently became

world number one in doubles, now has won titles at all Grand Slam events. She won three mixed doubles (two with Mahesh Bhupathi and the other with Bruno Soares) and the first ever women’s doubles

on Saturday. “This is something, we dream of and try to achieve. I am very fortunate that I have been able to achieve it in my career. I am really happy to have played Wimbledon final and won it,” she said.

Vesnina, who has paired with Sania and even reached French Open final with the Indian in 2011, was terrific at the net, often came out with audacious volley winners.

The 28-year-old Sania said Makarova and Vesnina were no easy nuts to crack.

“They were playing their best tennis and so were we. We started very aggressively and played a great tie-break in the second set and to come back from 2-5 in the final set was amazing, we kept telling each other that all we have to get is one break and we had to become little bit more aggressive which we did,” she said, recounting the tussle in the summit clash.

It was third final that Sania and Hingis played with the Russian pair and they have emerged champions all the times. Sania said the Russians played better at Wimbledon than what they did in earlier summit clashes.

“This surface makes a big difference. At Indian Wells and Miami, we played on hard courts. Grass courts suits them better because

they served pretty big. Our big strength is return and it sort of negated that.”

Asked about her preference of courts, she said, “I like grass a lot but hard courts are still remains my favourite,” concluded India’s greatest ever female tennis player.

Meanwhile, Bollywood celebrities including superstar Shah Rukh Khan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhishek Bachchan congratulated tennis star Sania Mirza for becoming the first Indian to win the Wimbledon women’s doubles title with her Swiss partner Martina Hingis.

Shah Rukh, 49, took to Twitter to wish Mirza on her well deserved win. “And happiness by @MirzaSania & Hingis. Well done well deserved well played. Love to you.”

Filmmaker-actor Farhan said, “Outstanding Win! Wow! Congratulations @MirzaSania @mhingis you both rocked centre court today!”

“Congratulations Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis for winning at Wimbledon. Sania you continue to make us proud,” actor Abhishek wrote. — PTI

Calendar Slam no sweat for Serena Williams is within touching distance of becoming the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win all four major title

LONDON: Wimbledon champion Serena Williams insists she can cope with the pressure of going for an historic calendar Grand Slam on home turf at the US Open.

Williams is within touching distance of becoming the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win all four major titles in the same year following her

sixth Wimbledon triumph. The 33-year-old American recovered from a slow start to ease to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Spain’s Garbine Muguruza that gave her a 21st Grand Slam crown on Saturday and made her the oldest woman to win a major in the Open era.

But Serena had barely finished parading the Venus Rosewater Dish around Centre Court before her thoughts turned to New York and the tantalising prospect of becoming only the fourth woman ever to complete a calender year sweep of the sport’s top prizes.

“I did the whole walk around the court. I was peaceful, feeling really good, then maybe a little after that I started thinking about New York,” she said.

“I just thought, Oh, man, I’ve won New York three times in a row. I hope this isn’t the year that I go down. I want to do well there.

“I feel like if I can do the Serena Slam, I will be okay heading into

Serena Williams

the (calendar) Grand Slam.

“Like I always say, there’s 127 other players (in the tournament) that don’t want to see me win.

Nothing personal, they just want to win.

“But I really don’t feel like I have anything to lose. I’ve kind

of solidified my place at No. 1, so we’ll just go from there.”

During her Wimbledon run, Williams tried to insulate herself from outside pressures by refusing to answer questions about her successful attempt to win a ‘Serena Slam’ — holding all four majors at once.

The six-time US Open winner acknowledged the scrutiny will be even more intense at Flushing Meadows, but once again she will try to focus on each match rather than the legacy-defining success at her fingertips.

“It’s huge. But I haven’t done it. I have the Serena Slam now, which is amazing. But, you know, it’s different to actually have something and then try to accomplish it,” she said. “Of course I’m going to try to do the best I can, but I don’t have the Grand Slam in my hands.

“I can’t really feel that if it’s not there. Hopefully I’ll do well at the Open and then I can answer that question.” — AFP

MOTORSPORTS

Marquez’s domination in Germany continues SACHSENRING: Two-time defending world champion Marc Marquez’ extraordinary record at the Sachsenring continued on Sunday as he won the German MotoGP for only his second win of the season. The 22-year-old Spaniard — winning his sixth race in six years on the circuit — led home Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa with championship leader Valentino Rossi third on a Yamaha.

Rossi, seeking a 10th world title and seventh in the 500cc/MotoGP category, extended his lead over team-mate Jorge Lorenzo who finished fourth to 13 points.

The championship is at the halfway mark and takes a break for three weeks with the next race the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Early on there was little indication of what would unfold in terms of Honda’s race dominance. Lorenzo had produced a blistering start to move from the inside to the outside and sweep past Pedrosa and Marquez while Rossi made up two places to

move into fourth by the end of the first of the 30 laps including ‘Maniac Joe’ Iannone.

The exuberant Italian perhaps pressing too hard on the gas had a wobble on the second lap when he was bounced out of his saddle, but with an open mouthed anxious looking team chief Lin Jarvis he managed to regather himself.

Rossi brought the crowd to their feet with 26 laps remaining as he eased past Pedrosa while Marquez struck back at Lorenzo overtaking him to move into the lead.

Marquez moved clear as Rossi fought out a duel with his teammate Lorenzo, the Italian seemingly getting the better of him at the penultimate corner of the sixth lap only for the Spaniard to hit back immediately and refusing to lie down. All this played into Marquez’ hands but Rossi made no mistake a lap later to pass Lorenzo and this time the latter had no riposte leaving ‘Il Dottore’ a free piece of tarmac to ride after the leader. - AFP

MO NDAY, JULY 13, 2015

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SPORTS India claim ODI series with facile 62-run win

ICC WORLDT20 QUALIFIERS

Zimbabwe found quick scoring difficult from the start of their reply and were eventually bowled out for 209 with an over remaining in their innings after OMAN’S HERO: Zeeshan Maqsood receiving the man of the match

award after his scintillating unbeaten knock of 86. – ICC

Zeeshan’s blitz helps Oman swamp Canada WILLIAMFIELD: Oman opener Zeeshan Maqsood blasted an unbeaten 86 off just 41 balls as Oman chased down a stiff revised target of 135 with ease in a truncated ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 match in New Williamfield on Sunday, according to an ICC report. Asked to bat, Canada put up an intimidating 133 for 3 in a match reduced to 13 oversa-side after rain delayed the start of proceedings, thanks to a halfcentury from Nitish Kumar (52).

Maqsood’s blitz took Oman over the line with 10 balls to spare, as it reached 135 for 3 in 11.2 overs and completed an eight-wicket victory on the D-L Method. By the time Canada could manage a breakthrough, in the fifth over of the innings, when Khanwar Ali was caught off Jeremy Gordon for 16, Oman had already raced away to 65 in 4.2 overs.

Nitish struck in the very next over when he had Jatinder singh caught for eight. But in the eight deliveries between the two dismissals, Oman had already collected another 16 runs. It was then the turn of Mehran Khan to play second fiddle to Maqsood.

Mehran contributed nine in a

third-wicket partnership of 35 off just 15 balls. When Mehran fell to Cecil Pervez, the right-arm medium pacer, Oman needed just 19 more runs for victory.

Vaibhav Wategaonkar (6 not out) and Maqsood knocked off the requisite runs easily. Earlier, Ruvindu Gunasekara and Rizwan Chemma got Canada off to a brisk start, putting on 30 in three overs.

Mohammed Nadeem, the rightarm medium pacer, broke through when he had Cheema caught.

Nitish then joined Gunasekara in a stand worth 29 when Aamir Kaleem, the left-arm spinner, had Gunasekara caught behind.

Navneet Dhaliwal joined Nitish and the duo changed the course of the innings by putting on 69 for the third wicket in just 36 balls. Nitish fell with three balls left in the innings when he was caught behind off Rajeshkumar Ranpura’s right-arm fastmedium bowling.

Nitish struck four boundaries and three sixes. Dhaliwal ended with 28 not out off 20 balls that included two boundaries.

Brief Scores: Oman 135 for 3 (Zeeshan Maqsood 86*) beat Canada 133 for 3 (Nitish 52) by seven wickets. — ICC

India posted 271 for 8 wickets

HARARE: India rode on a solid all-round performance to comfortably crush Zimbabwe by 62 runs in the second One Day International, thereby taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match cricket series, here Sunday.

Batting first, India scored a decent 271 for eight in 50 overs largely due to a 112-run opening stand between Murali Vijay (72) and skipper Ajinkya Rahane (63), who hit patient half-centuries to set up a fighting target.

In reply, Zimbabwe managed to score only 209 in 49 overs as the bowlers maintained their stranglehold on the opposition throughout the entire duration of the hosts’ innings. Losing three wickets in the first 11 overs including skipper and last match’s centurion Elton Chigumbura (9) turned the match decisively in India’s favour.

Chamu Chibhabha (72, 100 balls) top-scored but that was never going to enough for the home team to cross the finishing line in this match. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4 for 33 in 10 overs and along with Dhawal Kulkarni (1/39 in 9 overs) provided initial breakthroughs while spinners Harbhajan Singh (1/29 in 10 overs) and Axar Patel (1/40 in 10 overs) kept a tight leash on batsmen during the middle overs.

Unlike the first match, Indian team were far better in both departments as they upped their

CELEBRATION: Indian players celebrate convincing win over Zimbabwe in the second One-day International match in Harare. – AP/PTI

game by a few notches. While the new fielding rule topped by cautious approach from the batsmen meant that India did not pile up a mammoth total but one that was good enough to have Zimbabwe being pushed back to the wall.

During Indian batting, both Vijay and Rahane took a safety first approach against the white duke ball that was doing bit in the air and off the pitch in cool conditions.

Playing for their places when the first team players come back, it was understandable that both Rahane and Vijay had a strike-rate of less than 80.

When Zimbabwe batted, it was Dhawal Kulkarni, who struck the first blow removing Vusimuzi Sibanda (2), who was caught at point by Vijay. The experienced Hamilton Masakadza (5) gave a regulation catch to Robin Uthappa behind the stumps of Kumar.

Later Zimbabwe could hardly get away as spinners Harbhajan Singh and Axar Patel locked them up with good bowling. - PTI

SCOREBOARD

INDIA A. Rahane c Sikandar Raza b Chibhabha 63 M. Vijay c sub (Waller) b Madziva 72 A. Rayudu c sub (Waller) b Sikandar Raza 41 M. Tiwary c Vitori b Tiripano 22 R. Uthappa b Madziva 13 S. Binny c Sikandar Raza b Vitori 25 K. Jadhav c Mutumbami b Madziva 16 Harbhajan Singh not out 5 A. Patel c Sikandar Raza b Madziva 1 B. Kumar not out 0 Extras (w-13) 13 Total (8 wkts, 50 overs) 271 Fall of wickets: 1-112 (Rahane), 2-159 (Vijay), 3-203 (Rayudu), 4-205 (Tiwary), 5-233 (Uthappa), 6-264 (Binny), 7-266 (Jadhav), 8-269 (Patel).

Did not bat: D. Kulkarni.

Bowling: Vitori 8-0-47-1, Tiripano 9-0-42-1, Madziva 10-0-49-4, Williams 5-0-23-0, Cremer 5-0-32-0, Chibhabha 5-0-27-1, Masakadza 4-0-26-0, Sikandar Raza 4-0-25-1.

ZIMBABWE V. Sibanda c Vijay b Kulkarni 2 C. Chibhabha run out 72 H. Masakadza c Uthappa b Kumar 5

E. Chigumbura c Rahane b Kumar 9 S. Williams b Patel 20 Sikandar Raza c Uthappa b Harbhajan 18 R. Mutumbami c Patel b Binny 32 G. Cremer c Rahane b Kumar 27 N. Madziva run out 0 D. Tiripano c Patel b Kumar 6 B. Vitori not out 8 Extras (b-4, lb-4, w-2) 10 Total (all out, 49 overs) 209 Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Sibanda), 2-31 (Masakadza), 3-43 (Chigumbura), 4-95 (Williams), 5-130 (Chibhabha), 6-132 (Sikandar Raza), 7-184 (Mutumbami), 8-186 (Madziva), 9-195 (Cremer), 10-209 (Tiripano).

Bowling: Kumar 10-3-33-4, Kulkarni 9-1-391, Harbhajan Singh 10-0-29-1, Binny 7-0-421, Patel 10-1-40-1, Vijay 3-0-18-0.

Toss: Zimbabwe Umpires: Simon Fry (AUS) and Jeremiah Matibiri (ZIM) TV umpire: Langton Rusere (ZIM) Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (SRI) Result: India won by 62 runs.

Series: India lead the three-match series 2-0.

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SPORTS Bangladesh crush Proteas to level series SCOREBOARD

Soumya Sarkar (88 not out) and Mahmudullah (50) added 135 for the third to ensure the hosts continued their fine form in the 50over version of the game at home

DHAKA: Bangladesh thrashed South Africa by seven wickets in the second one-day international on Sunday to tie the three-match series at 1-1 after an inspired bowling performance saw the Proteas bundled out for 162, their lowest total against the hosts.

Teenage fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman and off-spinner Nasir Hossain picked up three wickets each as the tourists were all out in 46 overs after winning the toss and opting to bat first on a sluggish pitch at Mirpur. Bangladesh lost two early wickets to Kagiso

STARS OF THE DAY: Bangladesh batsmen Soumya Sarkar, right, celebrates victory with teammate Mohammed Mahmudullah during the second One-day International match. – AFP

Rabada in their chase but opener Soumya Sarkar (88 not out) and Mahmudullah (50) added 135 for the third to ensure the hosts continued their fine form in the 50over version of the game at home.

Bangladesh blanked Pakistan and then defeated twice world champions India in their last two ODI series and Sunday’s victory

was only their second in the format against South Africa, who won the first match of the series by eight wickets.

The hosts romped to the target with more than 22 overs to spare and the win also sealed their spot amongst the top eight-ranked nations for next year’s Champions Trophy in England.

Rabada, who took six wickets on debut in the last match, gave South Africa some hope by dismissing Tamim Iqbal in his first over and Litton Das in his second but it was not enough.

Mahmudullah fell with Bangladesh four runs from victory and Sarkar took them over the line with a six off leg-spinner Imran

SOUTH AFRICA H. Amla b Rubel 22 Q. de Kock c Sabbir b Mustafizur 2 F. du Plessis c Sarkar b Nasir 41 R. Rossouw b Nasir 4 D. Miller c Mortaza b Mahmudullah 9 J. Duminy c Sabbir b Mustafizur 13 F. Behardien c Nasir b Mortaza 36 C. Morris lbw b Rubel 12 K. Rabada b Mustafizur 10 K. Abbott lbw b Nasir 5 I. Tahir not out 1 Extras (lb-4, w-3) 7 Total (all out; 46 overs) 162 Fall of wickets: 1-16 (de Kock), 2-45 (Amla), 3-59 (Rossouw), 4-74 (Miller), 5-93 (du Plessis), 6-100 (Duminy), 7-116 (Morris).

8-138 (Rabada), 9-160 (Abbott), 10-162 (Behardien) Bowling: Mustafizur 10-1-38-3 Mortaza 5-017-1 (w1), Shakib 10-0-30-0, Rubel 9-2-34-2, Nasir 8-0-26-3, Mahmudullah 4-0-13-1 (w2) BANGLADESH Tamim Iqbal b Rabada 5

Tahir. Left-handed Sarkar also hit 13 fours during his 79-ball unbeaten knock. Earlier, the South African batsmen failed to find any momentum against the disciplined Bangladesh attack and managed to cross the 100-run mark only in the 32nd over.

Mustafizur, who won the man of the series award against India with 13 wickets from three matches,

Soumya Sarkar not out 88 Litton Das b Rabada 17 Mahmudullah c Amla b Abbott 50 Shakib Al Hasan not out 0 Extras (w5, nb2) 7 Total (for three wickets; 27.4 overs) 167 Did not bat: Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur Rahim Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Tamim), 2-24 (Das), 3-159 (Mahmudullah) Bowling: Abbott 5-0-22-1, Rabada 7-0-45-2 (nb1, w5), Morris 3-0-29-0 (nb1), Imran 8.4-1-40-0, Duminy 2-0-20-0, Behardien 2-0-11-0 Result: Bangladesh won by seven wickets Series result: Bangladesh and South Africa tied at 1-1 Toss: South Africa Umpires: Richard Illingworth (ENG) and Enamul Haque (BAN) TV Umpire: Michael Gough (ENG) Match Referee: David Boon (AUS)

struck the first blow by dismissing Quinton de Kock in the fifth over as South Africa kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Faf du Plessis was the highest scorer for South Africa with 41 while Farhaan Behardien’s 36 ensured the team crossed the 150run mark. Chittagong will host the third and final ODI of the series on Wednesday. - Reuters

Lehmann hints at changes CARDIFF: Australia coach Darren Lehmann has said the tourists are prepared to make changes for the second Ashes Test, amid speculation all-rounder Shane Watson is set to be dropped. England won the series opener by a crushing 169 runs with more than a day to spare in Cardiff on Saturday.

The match saw Watson twice out in familiar fashion, lbw in both innings for modest scores of 30 and 19, while Australia captain Michael Clarke only utilised his medium-paced bowling for 13 overs in the match.

Shane Watson has now fallen lbw 39 times during the course of a 59-match Test career repeatedly blighted by injuries, and has only passed 50 twice in his last 16 innings With fellow seambowling all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, 11 years Watson’s junior, waiting in the wings Australia do have a ready-made alternative and Lehmann indicated it was one the tourists were considering deploying at Lord’s, where the second Test starts on Thursday.

“At the end of day you don’t want to be getting out lbw all the time and you want to make more runs,” Lehmann said Sunday.

“Shane would be disappointed, so are we. “It’s one of those things where you have to find

a way and that’s something we probably didn’t do as a batting group, not just Shane.

“We’ll certainly look at the wicket and work out the best XI to win in those conditions and it means making changes, we’ll make changes.

“That won’t be an issue for the selection panel. It’s going to be a tight call heading into the second Test,” the former Australia batsman, whose side thrashed England 5-0 on home soil in 2013/14, added. “We can’t control what just happened, what we can do is learn from it and make the right decisions going forward,” said Lehmann, looking to guide Australia to their first Ashes series win in Britain in 14 years.

‘Big decision’ Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting told Sky Sports that Watson’s place was under threat, saying: “There’s a very big decision that needs to be made there...

Watson hasn’t bowled a lot in this Test.”

Australia have fitness concerns over Mitchell Starc, their best bowler in Cardiff despite playing most of the match with a right ankle injury.

The left-arm paceman took seven wickets on a slow Sophia Gardens pitch and now has just four days to be fit in time for

Lord’s “We’ll see how he pulls up but he’s going to have to be 100 percent,” said Lehmann.

There have been suggestions that pitches for the series will be deliberately slow in order to nullify the threat of Australia’s fast bowlers, appreciably quicker than their England counterparts.

“We know what we’re going to get in terms of wickets,” said Lehmann. “Everyone says we’d love a little more pace and yes, that would be true, but we’re not going to get it and there’s no point asking,” added Lehmann, who played county cricket in England for Yorkshire.

“You’d hope for more at ‘the home of cricket (Lord’s)...I’d just like you to be able to bowl a bouncer on day one.”

But former England wicketkeeper Matt Prior said talk of ‘pitch-doctoring’ was nonsense.

“All this talk of the Cardiff pitch being engineered to help our bowlers is just ridiculous,” Prior wrote in his Independent on Sunday column.

“Cardiff is slow and low and always has been -- it’s like turning up at the Gabba (in Brisbane) or Perth and moaning that it’s quick and bouncy and then accusing Australia of doctoring pitches.

“The whole idea of us preparing pitches to nullify the Aussie quicks is a joke.” - AFP

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SPORTS

RUWI KINGS CLINCH AL TURKI/NMC LEAGUE CUP Ruwi Kings defeated Abu Dhabi Travel to emerge champions of the League contest of the 6th Al Turki/NMC Cup 2015 tournament at the Al Rifa ground at Azaiba beach. The sponsors of the tournament are Al Turki Enterprises and National Metal Cans. Ruwi Kings won the match by seven wickets after chasing down Abu Dhabi Travel’s 51 in 6 overs. Man of the match Sahil was unbeaten on 14 while Giri and Aslam contributed 15 and 10 respectively. Sahil also won the man of the tournament award, Sherbaz of Asad XI was adjudged best bowler and Giri best batsman. The Fair Play Trophy went to Martin from National Gas. — Supplied photos

Pit-stop mishap at Spa costs Al Harthy’s ORT vital points Having qualified sixth fastest for the two-hour contest, hopes were high in the Oman Racing Team of a strong race performance but after losing well over a minute during the mandatory pit visit at the halfway point, Ahmad and teammate Daniel Lloyd had to settle for 11th position

MUSCAT: Ahmad Al Harthy departed Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday wondering what might have been wrong in round five of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship after a costly mishap during the driver change pit-stop robbed the No.2 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 of a possible podium result.

Having qualified sixth fastest for the two-hour contest, hopes were high in the Oman Racing Team of a strong race performance but after losing well over a minute during the mandatory pit visit at the halfway point, Ahmad and team-mate Daniel Lloyd had to settle for 11th position.

PIT STOP THAT PROVED COSTLY: The driver change stop at the pits claimed more time which cost the

Oman Racing Team dearly. – Supplied photo

Just missing out on the pointspaying top 10, the duo were crestfallen after 120 minutes of challenging action having been in with a chance of fighting for a second British GT podium finish of the year.

“When it was time to come into the pits the Safety Car was on track and our sister car also pitted at the same time”, explained the Muscat racer, “Unfortunately, there was a mishap which cost us about a minute and 20 seconds so that was the end of the race for us right there. We were predicted to come out of the pits in about P3 or P4 but we were P16, so any chance of points was gone really.”

From the third row of the grid at the rolling start, Ahmad got away cleanly and enjoyed a strong first lap to climb into the top four. Initially running within 0.5 seconds of Jon Minshaw’s BMW, the Omani then had difficulties keeping his

challengers behind, especially on the long Kemmel Straight, due to the extra ballast he and Lloyd have to carry in their car.

Although slipping back to seventh position by the end of lap eight, as the fuel tank got lighter the Aston Martin Middle East and North Africa ambassador was able to pick-up his pace once more and he moved back into the top five prior to the deployment of the Safety Car on lap 13.

Racing resumed on lap 16 with approximately 40 minutes having elapsed but the Safety Car was required again almost immediately when two GT4 class cars tangled at Turn 13. With the race staying under caution for several laps, the pit-stop window opened for driver changes while the Safety Car remained on track and so the entire GT3 upper order dived into the pitlane straight away.

Frustratingly for Ahmad and Lloyd, though, fifth position became 16th place after the congestion in the pits cost them a significant amount of time. During the second hour, Lloyd worked hard to try and limit the damage but with huge chunks of time to make up the team had to be satisfied with 11th position after two hours of competition.

“Off the start I made up two positions which I was happy with but then the extra weight came into play and it was tough to keep people behind”, said Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Ooredoo, National Bank of Oman and Al Hashar Group-supported driver Ahmad, “The pace came back as the car got lighter but then the pit-stop problem meant any hopes were gone.

“It’s unfortunate but one of those things and this emphasises how everything has to work per-

It’s unfortunate but one of those things and this emphasises how everything has to work perfectly for things to go right for you

CHESS

International chess tourney in Salalah from August 3 MUSCAT: The Oman Chess Committee (OCC) continues its preparations for the kick-off of the Salalah International Open Chess Championship.

OCC has started receiving applications for participation in the championship at Rotana Hotel, Salalah. The championship is being held within the activities of Khareef Salalah Festival with the support of BankMuscat and Salalah Methanol from August 3 to 6. Registration shall continue to August 1.

The championship will be organised as part of OCC efforts for dissemination of the game and will provide the local chess players with the opportunity to keep in touch with the international chess players.

The championship is expected to attract players from all countries mainly from the GCC states, Arab countries and residents of the Sultanate.

The championship shall comprise nine rounds at the rate of three rounds a day. The rules of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) shall apply to the championship.

Ahmad Al Harthy Oman Racing Team

FOOTBALL

Fanni Qatar bound fectly, on track and in the pits with the team, for things to go right for you. We’re obviously disappointed as a podium, certainly a top four or five finish, was possible this weekend – but it wasn’t to be.”

Next on the British GT calendar is a visit to Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in the UK, over the weekend 1st/2nd August, for the 120-minute sixth round of the 2015 season.

PARIS: Marseille’s French international defender Rod Fanni, out of contract with the Ligue 1 side, has signed for two seasons with Al Arabi, the Qatari club confirmed on Saturday. The 33-year-old, who has five caps for France, previously played for Ligue 1 sides Lens, Nice and Rennes. Fanni joined Marseille in 2011. - AFP

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SPORTS

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Froome in control despite Sky’s miss BMC Racing clocked 32 minutes 15 seconds to beat Sky by one second and Froome now leads American Tejay van Garderen by 12 seconds overall

PLUMELEC: Chris Froome stayed firmly on track for the Tour de France title when he retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey after the ninth stage, a 28-kilometre team time trial won by the slimmest of margins by BMC Racing on Sunday.

Heading into Monday’s rest day, Froome has the edge over his main rivals, who were hoping to take advantage of the Briton’s supposed weaknesses in the tricky

opening block of racing. The 2013 champion will now be keen to all but wrap up the race as it goes into the mountains — the Pyrenees in the second week and the Alps in the third.

On Sunday, BMC Racing clocked 32 minutes 15 seconds to beat Sky by one second and Froome now leads American Tejay van Garderen by 12 seconds overall.

“If you had told me I’d be in yellow at this point I would not have

TIME-TRIAL WINNERS: Riders of the USA’s BMC Racing cycling team compete in the 28km team timetrial, the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Vannes and Plumelec. – AFP

believed it,” Froome told reporters.

“It’s definitely not for me to be attacking at the moment. Right now the biggest rival is Tejay van Garderen.”

According to France’s Thibaut Pinot, third in last year’s Tour,

“Froome is as strong as in 2013”.

“I’d like to think so,” Froome replied. BMC Racing leader Van Garderen is not giving up hope, though. We knew we were on a good one, on a perfect day we would have taken yellow too, but

still a great win. In a perfect world I would have taken the jersey,” said Van Garderen, who was hoping to become the first American since the disgraced Floyd Landis in 2006 to be Tour overall leader.

Movistar took third place, four

seconds behind, as Colombian climber Nairo Quintana limited the damage caused by Froome and Van Garderen, even gaining ground on Spain’s Alberto Contador and struggling defending champion Vincenzo Nibali of Italy.

Contador’s Tinkoff-Saxo team were fourth, 28 seconds adrift, and Nibali’s Astana outfit ended up fifth, 35 seconds off the pace after a demanding time trial that ended up the Cote de Cadoudal, a brutal 1.7-km ascent at an average gradient of 6.2 percent.

Contador, looking to achieve a rare Giro d’Italia/Tour double, is fifth overall 1:03 behind Froome, while Quintana, regarded as the Briton’s toughest opponent in the climbs, is ninth and 1:59 off the pace.

The title is further slipping away from Nibali as the Italian again lost time on his main rivals. He is now 13th, 2:22 behind Froome. - Reuters

FOOTBALL

FOODLANDS HOSTS CHAMPIONS TEAM COORG Sevens football champions Team Coorg was hosted by the management of Foodlands restaurant at Al Khuwair. The team members of Team Coorg with the families attended the party and thanked Foodlands for their support. “Team Coorg played some great football and we are proud to host the champions,” said Suraya Sameer, Director of Foodlands.

Noted sports commentator Salih Thacher was also a special invitee for the function. Team Coorg had won the championship beating Qurum FC in the final at Al Ahli-Sidab Club recently. The event was organised by Stadium Brothers. — Supplied photo

FOOTBALL

Lahm rues Schweinsteiger’s United switch BERLIN: Bayern Munich skipper Philipp Lahm says it is an “absolute pity” that Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger is poised to join Manchester United after undergoing a medical on Sunday.

Bayern announced on Saturday that they had agreed a transfer fee with United for the 30-year-old

defensive midfielder, who is set to quit after 17 years to sign a threeyear deal with the English club.

According to both the German and UK media, United will pay Bayern around £14m (19.47m euros, $21.72m) and will see Schweinsteiger work again under former Bayern handler and presently

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal. The English giants are reported to be eager to complete the deal soon so that Schweinsteiger can join them when they fly out on their north American tour on Monday. Bayern meanwhile are left to contemplate life without their midfield dynamo. - AFP

End of an era as Saint Iker leaves Real Madrid for Porto MADRID: Real Madrid’s emblematic captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas is set to leave the club for FC Porto after 25 years during which he won everything in the game with the Spanish giants.

“Real Madrid and FC Porto have agreed the transfer of Iker Casillas to the Portuguese club,” Real Madrid said in a statement on Saturday after three days of intense negotiations. At 34 years Casillas leaves a club with which he grew up, joining Real’s youth academy aged nine in 1990 and winning 19 trophies during his 16 seasons as a professional.

“One of the best goalkeepers in this club is not just leaving, today the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the club and in the history of Spanish football is moving on to a new stage in his footballing career,” the statement said.

Casillas had two years left on his contract, but the highly-anticipated transfer is seen as an historic turning point for the club who are reported to be trying to recruit Manchester United’s 24-year-old Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea in a bid to rejuvenate after finishing second in La Liga last season behind Barcelona, who also won the Champions League title.

EMOTIONAL: Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Iker Casillas cries as he hands a press conference at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. – AFP

“Iker is leaving, but his legacy is here forever. His attitude and actions in the 725 games he played in the our jersey shine a light on the path for those who dream of being part of this team,” the statement said.

“For Real Madrid today is a day, above all, of thanks and recognition .... This goodbye evokes thousands of sensations and memories charged with hope, anticipation, sacrifice, strength and unique triumph,” the club said.

In 2010 Casillas made front pages worldwide in a photograph of him raising the World Cup in South Africa after leading Spain to

the title for the first time.

But last summer the image was of a dejected Casillas on his knees as a rout by the Netherlands helped dump Spain out of the World Cup. With Madrid, Casillas had enchanted the Bernabeu Stadium for years with his catlike reflexes, gravity-defying saves and fearless one-on-ones, earning the nickname “Saint Iker” from fans.

A World Cup winner and twotime European champion with Spain, Casillas had clinched five Spanish titles, three Champions League trophies and two King’s Cup crowns. - AFP PA R E N T S S AY

Real boss ‘forced Casillas out’ MADRID: Departing Real Madrid captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas was forced out by club president Florentino Perez and is too good to play for a “third-tier” side like Porto, his parents were quoted as saying on Sunday. Real announced on Saturday that Casillas, 34, was leaving after 16 seasons in the first team to join the Portuguese club and his exit is widely expected to prompt the arrival of the decade-younger David De Gea from Manchester United.

Real published a glowing homage to Casillas on their website, calling him “the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the club and in the history of Spanish football”.

However, in an interview with daily El Mundo, Casillas’s parents Jose Luis and Mari Carmen said their son had been badly treated by Perez since he returned for a second stint as president in 2009. — Reuters

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t ates the l k o o We t -10R ja ZX n i N i e asak to se Kaw spin a r o all out f ered v i l e d eally sed. romi if it r p t i . that zed.. ama e r e we w Boy

BY

NAIM D E AMM H O AL M S I A F

M O N DAY, J U LY 1 3, 2 0 1 5

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MONDAY, JULY 13, 2 015

LIFESTYLE Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R Engine 998cc liquid-cooled, inline four, 16-valve DOHC Power: 200.1 PS/13,000rpm With Ram Air 209.9 PS/ 13,000rpm Maximum torque: 112 Nm/ 11,500rpm Performance Top Speed: 300km/h (ECU restricted) 0 - 100 kmph: 2.9 sec Colours Anniversary model Lime Green/Pearl Stardust White paint with 30th Anniversary badges Metallic Matte Carbon Gray/ Flat Ebony Authorised Dealer Fairtrade Auto, Al Khuwair

Scan to see Ninja ZX-10R promo video

Ride safe, and always use a helmet. Do not over-speed: It kills.

Monday through Friday? Racing success obviously doesn’t guarantee that a sport bike is the best choice for the real-world consumer. Is it comfortable enough to commute on or to take on longer rides?

Luckily, Fairtrade Auto (Muscat’s authorised Kawasaki dealer) granted me the honour of road testing a brand new, special edition ZX-10R to determine if the bike worked as well for mere mortals as it did for the likes of Jonathan Rea. A crazy schedule meant I had just one day to familiarise myself with the ZX-10R. For my first ride, I headed out to the Al Bustan area, my personal proving ground with its terrain of highs and lows and minimal traffic of the roads. The Ninja felt like it was dialed in just for me, even at 250 pounds with gear (heavy me).

As I rolled into the beautiful hills of Qantab at five in the morning, the conditions were pretty good for riding, at least by Muscat standards.

The bike was doing extremely well in the dynamic conditions. The aggressive profile of the tyres complemented the already-quick handling characteristics of the ZX-10R. This bike needs far less input on turn-in than many of the other 1000cc bikes. I even turned in and was on the apex too early a few times, because the response to my inputs was so fast.

The Kawasaki’s tall stock gearing feels a bit mismatched at some points, especially at the elevated turns, but that doesn’t mean the Zed-X isn’t fast.

I flew in the indicated low 150kmph range as I crested along Qantab road and I found myself wishing that the long run up to Al Bustan road from Wadi Kabir was just a little longer, as the Kawi began to pull harder and harder in third gear, to well above 180kmph.

The tall gearing also means there isn’t as much power at lower speeds, which makes for a less jerky ride in heavy traffic and a more forgiving throttle. Given the small margin for error on public roads, the taller gearing feels like a safety feature.

My first time on the bike, I was able to conquer twisties and hairpin bends, as well as unleash the throttle with ease, which shows how easy it is to ride the ZX-10R and become one with the bike Both ABS and non-ABS models have dual, semi-floating 310mm petal discs with four-piston radialmounted callipers up front and a single 220mm petal disc with an aluminium, single-piston calliper on the rear wheel.

The Kawasaki Intelligent antilock Braking System (KIBS) comes in handy (supplied on the ABS model): No worries giving it a sudden throttle at the traffic signal, or when the so-called “hot under 4 seconds, 0 to 100kmph” coupe tries whirring past you.

Wonderful for public road applications, the KIBS proves to be close to flawless. I couldn’t get the rear to lift in panic-braking simulations and the surging feel at the lever is minimal, even at the high sensitivity setting.

The bike felt compact as I traversed traffic during rush hour, but without the wrist-busting geometry of most 600s. Adjustable handle bars are a nice feature to let you find your personal sweet spot. With my five-foot, ten-inch frame, I reached the controls past the small gas tank easily, not requiring any adjustments (the paunch though was a problem, pushing against the tank).

The suspension did an adequate job of soaking up highway bumps, and was much more forgiving than

most of the competition. The stock positioning never left my back sore, not even after an almost 500km round trip ride to the beautiful Ras Al Jinns to watch turtles.

Other race-inspired bits, like the position of the LED tach, race mode display, titanium headers, and cassette transmission, eliminate the need for mandatory aftermarket upgrades. A slip-on exhaust is all that is needed.

Multiple functions on the LCD display are quite helpful. The indicated fuel consumption and average mileage were very accurate, compared to my calculations.

The bodywork is sleek and sharp.

The 10R is designed with very few bodywork screws showing. Marking the 30th anniversary of the brand’s flagship Ninja line, the 2015 variant comes with custom paint job and an anniversary badge on the fuel tank.

After a day well spent on the road, I was convinced that the ZX-10R is a top contender for best stock litre bike. Even though it was my first time on the bike, I was able to conquer twisties and hairpin bends, as well as unleash the throttle with ease, which shows how easy it is to ride the ZX-10R and become one with the bike.

The only low I found in the bike is a buzzing sound coming from the upper section of the plastics at low rpms. I couldn’t pin point if it was a flap for the intake, or just loose plastics buzzing from the low-end vibration from the motor. But this issue was only mildly annoying.

Riders of the ZX-10R will have to get used to riding the clutch when launching from a stop, whether at the traffic light or the race track.

The gearbox simply doesn’t like to hook up like other litre bikes. My racer friend said the same thing about launches, but maintains that the bike makes up for it on the power and handling within the first couple of turns.

All in all, the ZX-10R, Kawasaki perfectly lives up to the reputation that precedes it, both on the race track and on the street.

—Faisal@TimesofOman.com

PHOTOGRAPHY: Kawasaki Motors Corp.

E

ver since the litre-class wars flared up more than a decade ago, the motorbike world has progressed (or aggressed, we might say) by leaps and bounds.

Manufacturers lavished so much attention on supping-up their lean mean machines that things finally came to a head with something of a gentlemen’s accord in the form of an agreement made in 2000 among the major motorcycle manufacturers to limit the speed of their bikes to 300km/h.

With the possibility of making their rides any faster gone, the manufacturers shifted their focus to making the bikes quicker (decreasing the time it takes to reach top speed).

When these speed demons began turning lethal, technology stepped in to tame them. Leading the pack of the modern, tech-loaded “Japanese Four” (Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki) is the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. The 2015 ZX-10R is a raceinspired bike with heaps of technological goodies, making it the ultimate track beast. Now is in its fourth generation (referred to as gen4 by Kawi buffs), the 10R was redesigned from the previous generation in 2011. The gen4 got an Ohlins steering damper in 2013, but the biggest change for 2015 was the introduction of Kawasaki’s traction control and ABS systems, along with improved suspension.

A 998cc liquid-cooled, inline four, 16-valve DOHC motor is supplied fuel by large 47mm throttle bodies and sub-throttle valves, and secondary injectors for improved top-end power. Power output has gone to whooping 209 PS (with RAM Air) at 13,000rpm, and 112Nm of torque at 11,500rpm.

The bike is also equipped with titanium headers that are reported to be very close to the race-spec headers, thus eliminating the need to buy a full system if an exhaust upgrade is wanted.

The Zed-X10 is a steady winner on Sunday, but how does it handle

MO NDAY, JULY 13, 2015

LIFESTYLE

LINE UP

GoPro Hero 4 B lack E di t i o n

F

or years, “action camera” was synonymous with GoPro. And for good reason, quite curiously, none of the other prominent brands had entered the segment. That lock on the market is now over as Sony has caught up with the undisputed champ with its FDR-X1000V 4K. With cheap Chinese variants posing no threat to the GoPro, Sony’s newest offering looks like it might be one of the first legitimate alternatives. It has image quality that almost beats that of the GoPro’s, noticeably-better audio quality, and a longer battery life. But is it really a better option given that the GoPro still scores significantly higher in accessories and ease of use – requisites of for perfect hi-action shoots?

It’s time for a line-up. Here’s our head to head comparison of the latest action cameras from both the brands: the GoPro Hero 4 Black Edition and Sony FDR-X1000V 4K.

Image quality

Ecosystem

Detail and sharpness When it comes to detail, overall the Sony FDR-X1000V delivers more resolution or apparent sharpness than the GoPro Hero 4 when it comes to 4k and even in slow motion modes. It is still generating down-scaling artefacts at 1920/1080 at 120p and at 720p 240fps.

GoPro: Sony:

Housings When it comes to design, Sony didn’t depart from the layout it has had used with its previous action cams. The body is rounded with very few edges with a flat bottom – allowing it to stand on its own.

While Sony improved how deep you can dive with it – up from 16 feet to 32 feet – the GoPro case can still dive 99 feet deeper. Moreover, the Sony has a much bulkier mass than the slim GoPro casing.

Fortunately for anyone shooting near water, this Sony is splash-resistant right out of the box; no case needed. Not using the case allows for better audio and better image quality since you don’t have to worry about an additional element for the lens to shoot through. But undoing the Sony case is quite a burden. Whereas in case of GoPro, it’s a piece of cake.

GoPro: Sony:

Dynamic range While Sony edges out in detail, the dynamic range retained by the Hero 4 Black is wider than the compression on the Sony. For colour grading it is clear the GoPro Hero 4 does indeed win. The dynamic range in bright spots and dark spots seems better retained in the GoPro. The Sony just cuts out too quickly due to the S curve applied to the video stream.

GoPro: Sony:

Menu operation Disappointingly, the controls are unnecessarily complicated on th Sony, and feature a burdensome amount of sub-menus. Even a simple task like turning on/off the WiFi requires at least 12 button presses while navigating 3 submenus.

Compare to that, the GoPro is less complex and much easier to operate despite having one less button.

GoPro: Sony: Battery life Sony scores well above the GoPro with a battery that lasts 30% longer while shooting at 10AD and 60p.

The Sony houses a 4999maH battery whereas the GoPro has a 1999maH. GoPro: Sony:

Mounts A key criteria for adventurers in choosing a camera is its versatility for mounting. There are very few spots where the X1000V would be better or even as good for mounting as the GoPro. The only exception is in narrow areas, as it is thinner than the GoPro from the front.

GoPro: Sony: Accessories The GoPro accessory ecosystem is far more extensive, and has multiple options for many of the mounts.

Sony, although thorough, can’t compete with the sheer volume of options the GoPro offers – not even close.

GoPro: Sony:

SONY FDR-X1000V

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Conclusion The FDR-X1000V is certain to have GoPro looking over its shoulder, with its true 4K video shooting at 30 frames per second. But unfortunately, due to a cumbersome interface and other hardto-overlook flaws, this cam’s bark is bigger than its bite.

Even when we just look at the hardware, Sony’s 4K Action Cam – while greatly improved – still can’t compete with GoPro’s flagship camera. The Hero 4 Black simply offers better controls, a wider range of accessories; not to mention cool extras and better diving depth.

Sony’s clearly moving in the right direction, and this is a company that makes some of the best camcorders around. GoPro should be worried since Sony will likely continue closing the gap with future action cams. But, for the time being, the X1000V just isn’t there yet.

TOO Verdict: GoPro. It is still the boss.

See you next Monday with more exciting stuff.

Scan to view gallery of Go Pro Hero 4 Black Edition

ROUND UP

Faisal Naim breaks it down. Hit us with your pick on facebook/Times of Oman

Colour The colour is very saturated in the Sony FDR. In low light it beats the GoPro easily when it comes to detail. It is still no low light champ but it does offer better performance than the Hero 4 Black.

GoPro: Sony:

Form factor/Ease of use

C9

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MONDAY, JULY 13, 2 015

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I Am Soldier ( Action / Thriller/War ) Cast: Tom Hughes, Neol Clarck, Alex Reid 11.45 pm CP No: 1717 ( PG)

SHATTI Jurassic World (Action, Adventure) (3D) (PG12) Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins, 9:30 pm

The Hoarder ( Horror /Thriller) Cast: Mischa Barton, Robert Knepper, Charlotte Salt 9.30 & 11.45 pm CP No: 1718 (15+)

I Am Soldier (Action, Thriller) (PG) Cast: Tom Hughes, Noel Clarke, Alex Reid 9:45 pm The Hoarder (Horror, Thriller) (15+) Cast: Mischa Barton, Robert Knepper, Charlotte Salt 11:30 pm Pressure (Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Danny Huston, Matthew Goode, Joe Cole 11:45 pm Baahubali (Action, Adventure) (12+) Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty 9:45 pm

Gold Class: 11:15 pm

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I AM SOLDIER (2D) (Action, War) (PG) Cast: Tom Hughes, Noel Clarke , Alex Reid

THE HOARDER (Horror, Thriller) (15+)

BAAHUBALI: THE BEGINNING (Action/Adventure/History ) (12+)

THE PACT II (2D) (15+) (Horror| Mystery | Thriller)

ORU SECOND CLASS YATHRA (2D)

Cast: Mischa Barton, Robert Knepper, Charlotte Salt

Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty

Cast: Caity Lotz, Camilla Luddington, Scott Michael Foster

Cast: Vineeth, Nikki Galrani, Chemban Jose, Nedumudi Venu

Baahubali (2D): ( Action /Adventure) (12+) Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati , Anushka Shetty 9:00 pm

SOHAR I Am Soldier - 2D (PG) Action | Thriller | War Cast : Tom Hughes, Noel Clarke, Alex Reid 9:30 pm

(12+) Action | Adventure | History Cast : Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty 11:15 pm

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The Hoarder - 2D (15+) Horror | Thriller Cast: Mischa Barton, Robert Knepper, Charlotte Salt 11:30 pm

BURAIMI I Am Soldier- 2D (Action, Thriller, War) (PG) Cast: Tom Hughes, Noel Clarke, Alex Reid 9:45 pm

Baahubali: The Beginning (Action/Adventure/History ) – 12+ Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty 9.45 pm

MUSCAT GRAND MALL Jurassic World (3D) (Action/Adventure) (PG12) Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard 9:15 pm Gold Class: 9:00 pm

SCREEN 2 ABCD-2 (Dance/Musical ) – PG Cast: Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor and Prabhudeva 9.45 pm

I Am Soldier (2D) (Action, War) (PG) Cast: Tom Hughes, Noel Clarke , Alex Reid 11:50 pm Gold Class 11:15 pm

SCREEN 3 The Break Up Playlist (2D) (Drama/ Romance) (TBC) Cast: Teddy Corpuz, Sarah Geronimo, Rio Locsin 11:30 pm

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Dept time

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Dept time

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Oru Second Class Yathra - 2D (PG12) Comedy | Thriller Cast: Vineeth, Nikki Galrani, Chemban Jose, Nedumudi Venu 9:15 pm

Baahubali: The Beginning – 2D (Action, Adventure, History) (12+) Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty 9:30 pm

Baahubali: The Beginning - 2D (Hindi) (12+) Action | Adventure | History Cast : Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty 9:00 PM

Pressure – 2D (Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Danny Huston, Matthew Goode, Joe Cole 9:30 pm

Baahubali (Hindi) (Action / Adventure / History) (12+) Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty 9:00 pm

The Pact II – 2D (Horror, Mystery, Thriller) (15+) Cast: Caity Lotz, Camilla Luddington, Scott

SALALAH I Am Soldier (2D) (PG) (Action, Thriller, War )

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Sinaw

Nizwa Yanqul

Daily

16:50 19:30

Daily Daily

Nizwa Al Araqi

35 33 Minimum

0

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50-75%

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Ruwi

10:25

Daily

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Sohar Ruwi Ruwi Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi

Daily Daily Daily

06:00 06:00

Nizwa Ruwi

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

10:20 12:30

Daily Daily

15:40 15:40

Nizwa Ruwi

17:55 20:20

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Sur Sur

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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

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)

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TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101) 06:00

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Baahubali (Telugu) Action, Adventure) (12+) Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty 9:30pm at Cinema Main Papanasam (Tamil) (Drama/Family/ Thriller) – PG12 Cast: Kamal Haasan, Gautami Tadimalla, Kalabhavan Mani 9:30 pm at Cinema 2 Oru Second Class Yatra (Mal) (Comedy / Drama) (PG12) Cast: Vineeth, Nikki Galrani, Chemban Jose, Nedumudi Venu 9:45 pm at Cinema 3 Premam (Mal) (Comedy) Cast: Nivin Pauly, Anupama Parameshwaran and Sai Pallavi 9.45 pm at Cinema 4 Next Change: Baahubali (Tamil), Maari (Tamil), Neena (Mal) (Programmes are subject to change)

Pressure (2D) (PG12) (Thriller) Cast: Danny Huston, Matthew Goode, Joe Cole 9:00, 11:45 pm

The Hoarder ( Horror / Thriller) (15+) Cast: Mischa Barton, Robert Knepper, Charlotte Salt 11:45 pm

The Hoarder – 2D (Horror, Thriller) (15+) Cast: Mischa Barton, Robert Knepper, Charlotte Salt 11:30 pm

TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

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

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Baahubali: The Beginning - 2D (Telugu)

Jurassic World (Action / Adventure ) Cast: Chris Pratt, Judy Greer, Ty Simkin 9.30 pm CP No: 1495 (PG 12)

(PG12) (Comedy, Thriller)

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MO NDAY, JULY 13, 2015

C11

LIFESTYLE

THE ED AT EDUCORIST T O M

TECH BRIEFS

SERVICING Know Before You Go

By Faisal Mohammed Naim faisal@timesofoman.com

A bug is behind sudden Instagram popularity Did your last snap on Instagram earn you hundreds of new followers? Well, that was thanks to a bug.

And since the bug has been fixed, you are probably left with the same old figure of followers. Instagram said that a bug had caused some users’ follower counts to increase, but this was a bug that’s being fixed. That increase in people’s follower count will disappear once the bug is completely fixed, TechCrunch reported. A search on Twitter showed many users with smaller followings also saw an instant increase over the last day or so. Some were confused about whether those were real people who followed them or if Instagram was hacked. “Some people’s follower counts (as shown on their profiles) have spiked (incorrectly) due to a bug.

We’re fixing the bug and counts will be made accurate once we’ve got it fixed,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Play video games to elevate mood and for stress relief Just around 20 minutes of video games after a hectic day at office can provide you quick stress relief, says a study. The study, published in the journal Computers in Human Behaviour, however, said that choosing violent games to bust stress may be problematic as they may increase aggressive outcomes. The study authored by assistant professor Karyn Riddle from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and two of its graduate students looked at how video games may be used to manage emotions. The participants included 82 students. Half of the participants were asked to play a frustrating video game while the other half skipped the frustrating game and went directly to the next phase of the study.

Graphene based film to cool computers, smartphones Almost half of the total energy used in running a computer goes in cooling it down. That is going to change now. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a method for efficiently cooling electronics using graphene-based film. Getting rid of excess heat in efficient ways is imperative to prolonging electronic lifespan, experts said. The film is attachable to electronic components made of silicon and has a thermal conductivity capacity that is four times that of copper. A team led by professor Johan Liu from Chalmers University had earlier shown that graphene can have a cooling effect on silicon-based electronics, but the challenge was to stick a thick layer of graphene to silicon chips. -IANS

CLOUD COMPUTING

The future of storage

W

e all love our cars, and I know you try to take the best possible care of yours with on-time services and even weekly washes and waxes. That’s wonderful, but how well is your car being serviced?

Just as important as ensuring that your ride is being serviced at regular intervals, is ensuring it is being serviced properly. This is especially true when you opt for aftermarket garages for servicing (as most of us do) over authorised service centres to save a bit of dough.

But how much of a difference could there be? A service is a service, right? Well, imagine you are down with a fever and your doctor treats you for an upset stomach — will it help much? As an informed patient, rest assured you would change your doctor directly and get the right medicine as soon as you could. So when it comes to the health of your vehicle, the first order of business is getting to know a bit about your car.

Start by going through that booklet called a service manual that comes along with the car, the one most likely living in your glove box in brand new condition. It doesn’t take much time to go through it, and the rewards are many. The manual has detailed instructions about servicing and efficient upkeep of the car Most important is to know which components are to be inspected, and which are to be replaced on every service as each periodic service has

How much do you value the engine in your car?

The life of your engine depends in no small part on the quality of the oil you put in it different checklist. Your mechanic might end up changing all the basic components (plugs, oil and air filter) or might end up changing none, suggesting the parts have still got enough life in them, merely due to lack of expertise. But, if you are well-informed, you won’t end up just being a listener, you will become an active part of your car’s maintenance. This is the surest way to protect your valuable asset against ill-informed or ill-intentioned mechanics.

The best favour you could extend to your beloved car is to be patient and have it serviced in front of you (those few hours spent amidst the stench of spent oil and petrol will save you many a precious ones afterwards). Rest assured you will not have to worry about whether or not the job was carried out well if you are there to watch the process.

That said, the most important element of an effective service, and one in which you can be easily deceived, is the engine oil.

How much do you value the engine in your car? The life of your engine depends in no small part on the

quality of the oil you put in it. People typically don’t pay much attention to their oil — Oil is oil, right? Wrong!

Engine oil plays a crucial role in the combustion engine. Without it, the parts won’t be able to move freely, the seals will dry up and crack and little bits of dirt and metal will clog the works. Without engine oil, the whole combustion process will grind to a halt.

Most drivers know their engine needs oil just like it needs gasoline, but how much, what kind and how often to add it can seem like a mystery. It is intimidating when you see those bottles of engine oil lined up along the shelves, each promising to keep your engine cleaner, improve your fuel efficiency, and more. And every one of them has cryptic letters and numbers on the front. And most of us go by the mechanic’s dictum, when it comes to choosing one. Wrong again.

Use only, only the grade of oil recommended in the owner’s manual.

It will usually have a designation such as 5W 30 or 10W 40 (or any other like SAE ratings). Those letters and numbers tell you what the

oil’s viscosity rating is (some people call this the oil’s weight). Viscosity is a measure of how easily the oil flows — is it thick or thin? Your engine will perform optimally only if the recommended grade is used.

Remember, the mechanic might advise you that they are all the same, and that there is no point in putting expensive oil in the car. Obliging to that is killing your ride. It’s important enough that I’ll say it again: Strictly go with the oil weight recommended in your car manual.

Also be sure to pay attention to the quality of the oil. A mineral based and synthetic engine oil of the same grade might perform differently under varied conditions.

Mostly, modern high performance cars come with a recommendation of synthetic oil, as mineral oils cannot withstand the high stress and friction of the components, especially under high temperatures, resulting in loss of lubrication.

Mineral oil is less expensive than the synthetic oil, which is engineered to allow for more miles between oil changes, and has additives to help keep the oil clean and functioning for longer durations. It’s also more stable at higher and lower temperatures than mineral oil.

See not that complex after all?

Surprise your mechanic next time you visit his workshop. Being an informed customer pays. Trust me on that.

Have a question for The Educated Motorist?

Get in touch at faisal@timesofoman.com

Let’s say you are a movie buff or a techie geek with tonnes of movies or software to store and share, you might often find yourself short on storage space to accommodate your whims and fancies (all those filled up hard drives lying around your desk bear testimony to that). There is a never ending space crunch, from computer programmes to software to your ever expanding library. More than a mere space issue, personal computers may also often be unable to do all the heavy-lifting when it comes to running applications, storing, and securing private data.

Using external drives as a solution can prove to be quite expensive.

If this sounds all too familiar, it might be time for you to look into “The Cloud.”

Instead of saving your personal or business data on your computer’s limited hard drive, you could go online and send your digital belongings to data centres, where there’s practically unlimited storage space. This option is known as cloud com-

puting. A general term, cloud computing involves delivering hosted services over the Internet.

“The Cloud” is a network of computers that work together and help store and process enormous amounts of data globally across data centres. As long as you have an Internet connection, you can access your files anytime, on any device. It also presents you with resources that could help you with your business.

The cloud is quite useful as a personal and business storage space. Big tech companies like Amazon and Google own and operate cloud computing platforms and offer space on their clouds to other businesses. The only thing the user’s computer needs to be able to use this resource is the cloud computing system’s interface software, which can be as simple as a Web browser.

The software and storage for your account doesn’t exist on your computer — it’s on the provider’s server — so all it takes is an e-mail account to get started with cloud computing. Approximately 90 per cent of global Internet users are already on the cloud in some manner or the other, which is a pretty good indication that the days of external hard drives, and storage headaches in general, may be numbered.

(Credit: BI Intelligence).

Have tech queries?

Ask Mahran Shaukat Ali

mahran@timesofoman.com

C1 2

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2 015

LIFESTYLE

BY THE NUMBERS

SMARTS ON THE GO With their ease of use, smartphones and tablets are really taking over the tech scenario.

Here are 10 interesting facts:

Over

60% of mobile users expect a website to load in less than

People who use phones and tablets to access the Internet will outnumber those who use a PC in

tablets will be sold by the end of 2015

seconds

80% of smartphone owners use their device in stores to shop

100hours

2 new users join Facebook every second using smartphones or tablets

of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute via smartphones

of mobile searches lead to action, 50% lead to a purchase

At least 50% of consumers will use

2 or MORE

50% of all local searches are conducted on mobile. People search while on the move

DEVICES in their purchase process

85% of users say social networks help them decide what to purchase

D

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M M O N DAY, J U LY 1 3 , 2 0 1 5

SECTION

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

RENT

D2

VACANCY

D4

CARGO

D7

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

D2

M O N D AY, J U LY 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DAILY GUIDE FOR RENT

1BHK, 2BHK, 3BHK new flat available at Mabela in front of Modern English School Contact: 96239126

2 BHK commercial / residential flat at Honda Road.

Contact: 99342733/99795241

Flat for rent in Wadi Kabir with 3 rooms. Contact : 98555580 / 92800007

Small old house for rent Al Ghobrah.

Contact 95112461

1BHK flats at Muttrah near Oman house. Contact : 93231403

1BHK, Darsait, walking distance to ISM , neat and clean building, ground floor, OMR 260/- per month rent Call IQRAR on 99076557

3 Bedroom flat in Wadi Kabeer and 2 bedroom villa in Sidab- Muscat.

Contact: 95755953

Fully furnished 3 BHK accommodation with all spacious rooms in a villa at Darsait near ISD. Contact: 9526 5289 / 9604 8422

Spacious 2- BR flat in MBD. Contact 99713489 For rent office CBD flat in Ruwi.

Contact: 92820734 / 95345909

Furnished room for rent at Al Khuwair R.O 225/- for family only.

Contact: 99251975

Residential /commercial 2 B/R near Medical College Bausher from Owner. Contact: 92158031

Villa AL Ghobrah, 6 bedroom 1200/R.O. Contact: 99340055/97557555

256 sq mtrs restaurant for rent in Plaza Hotel, Walja Ruwi.

Contact 99326339

3BHK, 3 bathrooms, 2 balconies, nr. Al Hassan W/ Kabir R.O 350/-.

Contact: 99384640 Flats shops for rent in Ruwi MBD area Mumtaz area.

Contact: 97293708 / 92433127 2BHK at Al Khodh, 2BHK at Wadi Kabir 2 room, 1hall, dining, 2 bathrooms. Contact: 99224748 / 99332297

1BHK close to ISWKG Wadi Kabir Bldg # 1690 R.O 250/-. #99476728 3 BHK Flat in Azaiba.

Contact 99792181 Studio Flat in Ruwi.

Contact 99792181 1 BHK Flat in Honda Road (Ruwi).

Contact 99792181

Store in Wadi Kabir 1900 SQM. Contact: 99473751 / 91471067

1 & 2 BHK flat in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

1BHK Darsait R.O 225/-.

Contact: 92144045

Labour Camp + Store in Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99792181

1BHK Wadi Kabeer, RO 225/-.

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

Contact: 92144045 2BHK Ghubra R.O 250/-. Contact: 92144045 1,2,3 BHK. Contact: 97799175 2 bedrooms apartments for rent in Al Khuwair and Ghubra. Call Yellow Bird property on 24615375 / 97137989 or visit www.muscat-realty.com

Flat with A/C in the South Al Mabella close to the Mosque Al Tawab consists of 2 rooms, hall, 2 bathrooms and kitchen. Contact: 99388995 Good flat villa type at Mobeileah Senaiya. Contact : 99879872

House in Amerat near to Makah hypermarket with three room, 5toilets, kitchen and hall 430/-.

Contact: 92747078 Villa with two floors in (Hay Al Arjan) in AL Khoud with 4 bedrooms, hall, Majles, kitchen & one room in ground floor. Contact: 93219597 Room with A.C AL Khuwair R.O 120/- Contact: 97799175 Flats for rent near Indian school in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99777122

FOR RENT

Building In Rusail Industrial ŶĞĂƌ ƚŽ ŵŝĂŶƟƚ KŵĂŶ comprising a store divisible area 266 sq. meters.

The building includes Studios ĂŶĚ ƌŽŽŵƐ ǁŝƚŚ ĚŝīĞƌĞŶƚ ƐŝnjĞ ƐƵŝƚĂďůĞ ĨŽƌ ŽĸĐĞƐ Žƌ residence.

Preferably to be leased to one company.

Mob + 968 96177505 Deluxe 1, 2 BHK flats in Darsait, AL Khuwair 1deal for office & residence. Contact 99369081 /99142314 Flat at Darsait. Contact 99326879

One & two bedroom apartments available for rent, near avenge mall, close to Atlas hospital next to Diwans office, South Ghobrah.

Contact: 99833747 A parlour well settled / well equipped in running position at Ghobrah for sale. Contact immediately on 97498898 4 bed room flat at Al Hail South.

Contact: 99207840 Three new three bedrooms flats with servants rooms Al Khuwair 39.

Contact: 99207840 4 BHK single villa in Al Khuwair.

Contact: 97616158 1 Villa & 3 big Flats of 2/3 BHK with hall, Kitchen & ACs Al Khoudh 6, Close to express way, from owner. Tel 97600322 alnehang@gmail.com Villa for rent in Al Khuwair 33, 8 bedrooms & 5 bathrooms with parking area near Taimur Mosque.

Contact: 99366624 1BHK with A/C Mumtaz. R.O 250/-.

Contact 97799175

New building in Wadi Kabir, 2 bedroom flats. Contact: 99313274

Fabulous AC flat at Al Khoud 3 bedrooms, hall and kitchen RO 270/for rent. Contact: 99334699

3 bed room flat near ONTC Ruwi.

Contact: 99653336

2 BHK flat in Al Ansab with split A/C. RO.250/- Contact – 93191111

Six bed room twin villa Al Athaiba.

Contact: 99207840

2BHK near Oman house behind Khimji, H.O. Contact: 95865686

506sqm space with mezzanine available for rent in AL Wadi Al Kabir, Suitable for carpentry / Auto workshop and / or electrical shop interested parties may.

Contact: 24703981 Bath attached room for rent Al Khuwair. Contact 99743569 For rent if require flats for rent in Wadi Kabir please send me messages through Whatsapp.

Contact: 99376454 Flat for rent in Mabellah 8th.

Contact: 97147240 2BHK with split AC at Al Khuwair 33. Contact: 94057023 Office space at Alasfoor Plaza Qurum. Contact : 24566217 /24564686 Flat in South Al Hail, 2 bedrooms, Majlis, 2 bathrooms, kitchen RO 250/-. Contact 93221474 Flat in Ruwi Mumtaz 2 BHK RO 300 or 1 BHK 250 RO. Contact 98588240

3000 sq mtrs Industrial landß, in Barka Sanaiya, with electricity 400KW, shed, staff accommodation and office. Ready to start any kind of factory. Contact 99384255.

Deluxe furnished / unfurnished flats Qurum. Contact: 24566217 / 24564686 Commercial 3 BHK flat in Al Ghobra 18 Nov Street. RO 700/Contact 93191111 2 BHK flat in Al Azaiba near sea, with split A/C. RO.340/- # 93191111 Villa of 5 BHK in Al Ansab with split A/C. RO.650/- Contact – 93191111 For rent in Qantab European style 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, Guest toilet, fully equipped modern kitchen, covered car park for two cars, approximately 150 meters from the beach. For enquiries, please Contact: Yasser at 92606005

ACC. AVAILABLE Fully furnished 1BHK with all household items in Darsait near Lulu on monthly Basis. Contact : 99378397/99493500 Room with bath, kitchen Al Khuwair. Contact: 99743569/ 97004265 Furnished room AL Khuwair for Indian Sri Lankan. Contact: 96536307 Accommodation available with Keralite family near W.K main school. Contact: 95882866 /96575016

2BHK with split AC near PDO Gate no -2 at Qurum. Contact: 94057023

Fully furnished room in Ruwi for non cooking ex- bachelor.

Contact 94412557

Luxury 3 BHK flat in Al Wattaya with split A/C & private parking.

RO.500/- Contact – 93191111

Single furnished room, attached bathroom in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 92155261

2 bed rooms, kitchen, toilet & car park in Al Khuwair R.O 200/- .

Contact 95154331

Rooms for rent in Seeb for couple / single/ working ladies.

Contact: 96996938

ACC. AVAILABLE 2 Rooms & 2 bathrooms with kitchen near al meera hyper markets, azaiba for executive bachelors / family. Gsm : 942 888 63 Independent rooms in Qurum / Al Hail. Contact 95529970 Full furnished single /sharing room for Exe. bachelor at Rex Road near Kamat with WIFI available.

Contact 92873832 Furnished room for Indian couples or family near Honda Road (Walja).

Contact 98952904 Available sharing accommodation for non cooking Executive bachelor near Indian School Al Ghoubra with Keralite family. Contact 91697955 Furnished room attached bath for lady in Wadikabir (Mars Hypermarket) – 95941515 Furnished bedroom with separate bathroom and kitchen on sharing in Darsait for Ex- bachelors.

Contact : 95376096 Fully furnished room for a decent expatriate. independent kitchen, bathroom in Wadi Adai.

Contact 96243086 at 5p.m.

For sharing accommodation room with toilet attached, kitchen sharing near clean building next to main road near Indian school Wadi Kabir, Indian couples family or bachelor.

Contact: 95345537 / 94672007 Furnished room with attached bathroom in W/K. Contact: 97167857 Sharing for non cooking executive bachelor in CBD area WIFI free, Advance deposit. Contact: 95094504

FOR SALE A parlour well settled/well equipped in running position at Ghubra for sale.

Contact immediately on 97498898

M O N DAY, J U LY 1 3, 2 0 1 5

D3

DAILY GUIDE

AVAILABLE

BUSINESS

Party & Wedding equipment rentals.

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

NRI

New company seek partnership.

Contact: 96996938 3 cents plots-(12nos.) at walkable distance from Kovalm Jn.,Trivandrum,Lorry site near to main road-Bus route, for immediate sale. 3 cents- 15 lakhs only.

Call 00968-95036240, 0091-9961034763 or email- cfhd1@ yahoo.com

FOR SALE Equipped kitchen showroom company for sale at Ghubrah, Muscat.

6 visa available, Contact owner at 96303747 House hold items.

Contact: 97094797 Darsait near labor card Medical business furnished office for sale, rent R.O 260/- p/m.

Contact: 91211117 Ladies beauty parlor sale in Muttrah, above Ahla supermarket.

Contact: 93231403 Used Super market Gandola RO 40.000 PER meter, double tube light RO 2.000 per piece.

Contact: 96441670 Coffee shop at Liwa main road.

Contact : 99515419 Turkish MDF door with frame for sale, size 210 x 100 Price: RO 75/-.

Contact: 95899296 / 92141514 Total Station Survey Instrument S3 2” / Servo/ Trimble access bundle - batch 9101025 – not used.

Contact: 94282782 / 95425747

6 bedroom, 6 bath rooms, sitting & dining villa at Qurum.

Contact: 99342733 Sale & repair of Tyres 315/80 R 22.5 & 12.00 R 24.

Contact: 97477128 Brand new 4 BHK plus Maids room in Barka, 2 Kms from Lulu.

Contact: 99347089 Well established medium size construction company for sale. Equipments, 30 employees & ongoing projects.

Serious buyers only 99412020 Salon for sale in Muttrah next to Muttrah Health Center 2/500 -R.O .

Contact: 99012807 Wall papers, grass carpets sale & fixing. Contact 99834373 / 97102699 Commercial land for sale 3000 m in quriyat road main high way can use as a petrol station license available asking price 350,000 For more information please call on 99070701 with out name

Centre For Housing DevelopmentTrivandrum: Group of senior and retired Engineers and Architects provides service in the field of Design and Supervision of buildings in Kerala.For appointments, E-mail your site location and building requirements to cfhd@ymail.com. or call 00968-95036240, 0091-9961034763.

38 cents plot with 2BHK house by the river bank in Thrissur Dist. near Irinjalakuda (Karavanoor).

Contact: 99347089 500 acre agricultural land suitable for rubber plantation for sale in Ratnagiri Maharashtra. price 2 lakh per acre, rubber board approved land, minimum purchase 20 acre.

We provide care taking by experienced Malayalee team for your plantation. please call , prasad 95760790

BUYING/SELLING All type of car scanner available easy car diagnostic for professional and self use Authorize LAUNCH and Autel dealer. GSM:92393972 www.omancartools.com Used furniture & Electronic items, office & house. Contact: 99834373

General Investors.

Gsm-99674870

SITUATION WANTMATRIMONIAL RC SC girl (Kerala) 28 yrs, 154cm BSC Nurse working in Oman (SQUH) seeks alliances from prottessionaly qualified employers.

Contact: 96228192 Kerala Christian Orthodox boy 29/185 Staff Nurse MOH Muscat seeks suitable alliances.

Contact: 99461264 Indian Kerala male 31 years Hindu Ezhava working in Muscat looking for life partner.

Contact: 99893119

MOTOR VEHICLE FOR SALE

Kerala Nair girl, B.Com, 22 yrs, 5.2” very fair, slim, (Star Uthrattathi) Presently working in infosis, Chennai. Financially sound, from parents of nair boys from Trissur, Palakkad and Eranakulam & Calicut dist. .

Contact :0091 8301865688 email: raveendrandr@yahoo.com Alliance invited for a Nair girl 24 yrs, 5ft, 1”, fair, slim, B.Tech graduate reputed family of Ernakulam dist. (Star Thiruvonam Sudhajathakam) financially sound, from parents of B.Tech nair boys from Trissur, Palakkad and Eranakulam dist. . Contact 00919495924302 email: raveendrandr@yahoo.com *Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

Toyota Corolla 1.8 ltr GLI excellent condition 28,000 kms.

Contact: 97717152 Touareg 2011 Oman cars, 114000 KM, silver, 8500/-R.O. #92857111

2013 NISSAN MAXIMA FOR SALE. Single Owner,10 Months full cover Insurance (UAE & Oman), 15,000 Km only. Intrested buyers can Call/ Whatsapp on 95692099 Sportage, 2013. Contact:99336093

Toyota Prado 2008, Toyota Corolla 2009, Honda CRV 2009, low mileage available at Bombay Medical, behind Ruwi Police Station. #99326339 Prado ,2012. Contact : 99336093 Peugeot 206-2007 Model, expat driven. Contact 99209285

Land Cruiser 2012. Contact: 99336093 2 Prime Movers Man 2008 with 40 ton petrol tank each working at the moment in Al Maha. Price OMR 35 Thousand each. Contact 97000155 or 92688692

D4

M O N D AY, J U LY 1 3, 2 0 1 5 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTSIT. WANTED ED

SITUATION SITUATION WANTED VACANT

ADVERTISING

ADMIN Vacancy for lady Receptionist at Sinaw Hala Medical Center - Fluency in English and Arabic Omani or non Omani. Contact: 25524180 / 91362141 Email: halamedicalgroup@gmail.com Urgently Required: Administration with an experience minimum in 3 years in building construction, required immediately join and MUST have NOC.Apply, fax 00968–24605955, emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeoman@yahoo.com.

ACCOUNTANT Urgently required Accountant B. Com with 4-6 years Gulf experience in construction field and good knowledge in FOCUS accounting software.

Send CV : pccllcoman@gmail.com Urgently required a part – time female Accountant fluent in English with 2-3 years experience in Tally.

Email: mhca@mhabibgroup.com Fax: 24564459 Urgently required female accountant with an experience minimum 3years Email CV on cv.hrcharity@gmail.com Urgently required Junior Accountant. Please send CV: hr.azatllc@gmail.com

BEAUTY Required Beautician for a parlor in Ghubra. Contact: 94241385 / 97244766 Wanted experienced Beautician for beauty parlor in Al Amerat 3.

Contact: 91107337

CATERING Chinese/ Arab/ continental cook & helper wanted. Contact 95529970 Required experience Waiter / Supervisor/ Juice maker, Shawarma maker. Contact: 95395378 Traditional Omani restaurant requires: Waitress for restaurant.

Delivery man with bike license preferred. Interested candidates send CV to: Email: omanhari@yahoo.com Contact: 95892831

DESIGNER Designer required for wooden joinery company with excellent knowledge of 3D Max, 2D Autocad.

Contact: 94249047 Email: mfqazi@gmail.com

DRIVER

Looking for JOB. I have done BS Hons in Mass communication and media, Specialised in Public Relations and Advertising. I have upto 1 year of experience. Immediate Available. Open for any JOB. Sultan Zafar #97034134

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ENGINEER

SKILLED

Urgently required Project Engineer for a reputed Construction Company in Muscat with Civil Engineering Degree/Diploma, 6 to 10 years experience, holding Oman/GCC Driving License.E.mail: assaud@omantel.net. om or FAX: 24953530

Urgently required an Electrician for an interiors fitout company with NOC available. Gulf experience is must. Call 95103518 or send your CV : to.shaista@gmail.com

Fire and Safety Technician with NIFE or equivalent Diploma holder preference to those having D/L. Send CV to visionansara@gmail.com Required MEP Diploma Engineer specialized in building maintenance.

Fluent in English and computer holding valid Omani driving license & NOC. Send CV to Email: info@alrabiyahrealestate.com to arrange interview

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE Secretary (Female), Experience: Minimum 1 - 2 years. Forward CV to hr@barikgroup.com

Construction Company in Oman urgently requires following candidates: BE Civil Engineer, minimum 3-5 years gulf experience & Civil site foreman, minimum 5 years gulf experience, diploma not required.

Email: applyforoman@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

Leading Construction Company requires Quantity Surveyor (QS) with 4-6 yrs Gulf experience. Send your CV : qsmuscat2015@gmail.com (NOC required).

Required a part time steel Structural Design Engineer for a reputed steel fabrication company in Muscat. Interested person may Contact : 99451158

IT IND male WEB developer 5 yrs exp B.Tech (comp science) PHP, HTML MYSQL Java script CSS. Contact: 95990529 Email: renjith341@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS

Wanted driver. Contact: 95112461 Driver required for a Company, 2 years experience. Visa available.

Contact 24479922

Required urgently experienced Gardener and building care taker.

Contact: 99231676

Driver heavy duty required urgently for trailer. Oman / GCC experience must. Those ready for immediate joining. Contact: 95637296

Well established company in selling chocolate, Arabian sweets and fresh flowers, opening ITS first branch in Muscat seeking: 1- sweets and chocolates Sales man 2- flower arranger (Asian/ Filipino Nationality) Contact: 94490011 Email: labelleoman@gmail.com

English medium private school in Sinaw urgently required English & Science teachers. Send CV : saminternationalschoolsinaw@ gmail.com Contact: 98927055

Urgently required a silk Screen printer with good knowledge and release letter or NOC. Contact: 93280288 or send CV to albayanstamps@gmail.com

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

Mason, C.C.T.V, Technician, Electrician cum Plumber.

Contact - 99383044

EDUCATION

Urgently required experienced sub-contractors for Marble Flooring / Marble Cladding / Grinding / Carving works. Contact 92884177 / 99485595

A company from UAE require 2 merchandisers in retail food supply, store keeper with English and invoicing experience. Email: yesterdaysun@hotmail.com

ENGINEER

Required Office Assistant 160+25+Acc, Contact 99454425

Urgently required Sales Executive and interior designer for furnishing company with Valid Oman D/L and minimum 3 years experience.

Contact: 93231403/ rainbowfurnishing156@gmail.com Experience building material Salesman required in Amerat shop.

Contact : 99641900 Required Sales man - 1 Person Qualification. Gulf Experienced - Minimum 5 Years with Oman Driving Licence Language - English Education:- Any Degree Further Contact : Mr. Abdul Hameed Nashabat - Mobile No: 97414307 and -92807399 amn@yaqeeneng.com Urgently required female Sales Promoters individual with pleasant personality, excellent communications & presentation skills & experience in selling perfumes cosmetics and skincare products would be preferred. Send your CV & details with recent photograph to info@mawaridoman.com or fax no 24127484/ Tel: 24127485 Tyre / Spare parts outdoor Sales Executive with experience required driving license and NOC. Send CV to ptf_25@hotmail.com Wanted part time female Sales Executive with D/L for a reputed company. Contact 94688874 A leading marketing company is looking for outdoor Sales Executives on part time or full time basis in Salalah. Contact 92760281 / 96436719 Looking for Outdoor Salesman for heavy equipment spare parts.

Contact - 93292015, Email: mail.om@gulfcenter.co Urgently required Sales and Marketing Executive for Graphic designing company. Contact: 96727631 mail: smartgraphic518@gmail.com

MANAGER Looking for a Sales Engineer (Mechanical) with 2 to 3 year relevant experience in the Oman market with driving license .

Please forward your CV to : mbdeast@gmail.com Required for Engineering consultancy office a Supervision Staff for road project at Ibri region: Civil Engineer (B.Sc) RE with 12 years experience & Land Surveyor (Diploma) with 8 years experience.

Please email CV & certificate copy to alsarh@omantel.net.om

Urgently Required: Male – handles overall store operations of the Supermarket, Prior Experience a MUST, knowledgeable in MSOffice. Send CV to chanda@dolphin-oman.com or fax to 244-92718.

MEDICAL Wanted female doctor GP. Interested candidates can forward your CV to jayakumar.velu@alnabaholding.com

Required Civil Engineer (buildings) Oman experience 5+ years, BOQ+ Tendering + site supervision.

Contact: 95218004 Email: alhilalint@yahoo.com

Required MOH licensed lady G.P Dentist Pharmacist, Asst Pharmacist for Salalah based pharmacy and clinic. Contact: 92732491 Email: clinicrecruitment2015@gmail.com

Construction Company in Oman urgently requires the following: B.Sc Civil Engineer, minimum 3-5 yrs Gulf experience. Civil Site Foreman, minimum 5 yrs experience with operating knowledge of Tally.

Please Email CV ; applyforoman@gmail.com

Vacancy Lab Technician for inquiry or send CV zmczahara@yahoo.com Contact 24571094 Fax: 24571097 Required Prometric passed nurse to join clinic from end August.

Contact: 99352793

Minimum 2 years of experience with valid gulf light driving license interested candidates please Contact: 99222086 /98585851 Required male or female candidate with 5 years experience in renting of properties. Interested candidates may please mail to alqurumprop@gmail.com

TOURS Required exp. employee for travel agency in Saham.

Contact :93655939 / 92900021

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

Indian CA with 15 yrs exp working as Finance Head of MNC looking for Job. NOC Available. 94047434 Indian male, 30 years, CMA(Inter),M.com, 4 out of 7 years experience in Oman in Auditing/ Accounts/ Finance. Having NOC and valid Oman D/L. Contact: 96746420 , Email: sijuthampi@ymail.com Indian male 32 years MBA, 6 out of 14 years experience in Oman in accounts / finance having NOC and Valid Oman driving license last date in Oman 01/AUG/2015.

Contact: 94051463 Email: gkvenkatesh83@gmail.com Assist Accountant Indian (m) 2 years experience in Oman looking for a job immediate joining, currently working in Oman. Contact Shaheed Shamsadin : 98427810 Accountant, Indian male, 10 years experience in Oman. Can do upto finalization and knowledge of Tally ERP9 can be joined immediately with NOC. Contact: 94134085 Email: muscatoman95@yahoo.com Married lady 25 years, Master Accounts having 5 years experience in Indian looking for full / part time job. Contact: 95140332 /93223050 family visa holder.

Contact 95140332 Indian male, well experienced in Accounts and Admin looking for a suitable vacancy.

Contact : 98717938 Indian female, M.Com Finance, DCA, 3 years experience in Accounts / finance& knowledge in ERP & Tally seeking suitable position in corporate finance / banking / consulting.

Email: prapullasuvarna@gmail.com Contact: 96953705 now in family visa.

Indian male with total 5 year experience (2 years experience in Accountant cum sales co ordinator in a FMCG Company in Oman) in accounts field and NOC available.

Looking for suitable job Contact 92130188 Indian male, B.Com, Accountant, 10 yrs in Oman experience in Accounts, knowledge of Tally ERP 9, focus RT having NOC & D/L, looking for suitable job.

Contact 93086105 Male 26 yrs, MBA in Accounts and Finance, 2 years Experience in Management and Accounts Fields, and 1 year experience in Operations in Oman Looking for a suitable job.

Contact 94374745 Indian male 22 yrs B. Com Graduate 1 year exp in Accounts, currently on visit visa. Looking for suitable job.

Contact 94341848 / Email – mohdhaji7272@gmail.com Finance Manager, CPA, with more than 15 yrs. of experience in GCC. Fully knowledgeable in Finance, General & Management Accounting .

NOC available. Contact 96209331 MBA Graduate with 6 yrs exp in finance/accounts/ auditing. Specialized in accounts payable dept, Oracle app user, proficient in Sap (fico) end user & tally 9.0. lean &six sigma certified trainer on visit visa.

Contact – 91967213 / 99064780 Motivated and energetic male 25 having 4 years of experience in finance with Master’s degree in Economics and CAT Certified seeking opportunity in Accounts/finance/ audit in a reputable organization.

Cell no: 00968-94626209 E-Mail: omerjawedshah@gmail.com Sudanese Accountant seeking job in Nizwa state experience 10 years 3 years in Saudi Arabia, 7 yrs in Sudan. Contact : 97796394 / 94003247 Accountant 8 yrs experience looking part time job.

Contact 99867456 Indian Accountant: Male, M com, 7 Yrs experience in Accounts up to finalization, having knowledge of ERP, Tally, seeks suitable placment.Contact 93950138 Email: lijinrajan123@gmail.com

SITUATION WANTED ADMIN

DRIVER

Indian male 2+yrs oman exp in HR. joing immediatly. release available.

Contact :93671437

Indian (Kerala) light driver seeking for job, 12 years experience Oman.

Contact: 98175321

Indian Female MBA, 3 years experience in Admin MIS, Family Visa.

Contact 98234427, jkjsmith01@gmail.com

Pakistan male (27) light driver seeking job, 4 years experience in Oman. Contact 96346582

A Lady with 5 years experience in HR/Admin is looking for suitable job and can join immediately.

Contact : 94465835 Indian female with 1 half years experience in MBA / HR seeks suitable placement.

Contact 99257214 Male with 2 years’ experience in Admin Works, fluent in Arabic and English, Computer knowledge, preferably with driving license.

Working hours 6am to 2pm or 2pm to 10 pm daily Email: jayan@ra.cc or 99661980 Indian female with 10 yrs of experience in HR/Banking/Operations seeks a suitable placement.

Can be contacted on 98919015 or sherianne.coelho@gmail.com

AUTO CAD/DRAUGHTSAutoCAD Draughts man seeks Employment. Contact: 91889873 Electrical draftsman AutoCAD switch gear & MEP control panel 7 years experience Qatar.

Contact: 92546203/96228100

CATERING Indian male 38 yrs Senior Chef de.

De. Party pastry exp 15 yrs in five star hotels, 10 yrs exp Oman get NOC looking for job in hotel & bakery.

Contact: 96460519

DESIGNER Indian female B.Sc- Fashion Designer 21 years, fresher, One month internship in a garment industry 2015 University best designer award holder. Now looking for a creative job, currently on residential visa.

Contact: 98297940 / 99741604.

Email : zintasabu@gmail.com Architect and Interior designer, 8 years exp capable of managing turn key projects, design, BOQ, Execution.

NOC available. Contact : 95273166

EDUCATION Professional Teacher Qualified M.Com Post Graduate in finance for teaching Accounting subject.

Contact: 91251210

DRIVER Driver, 42 yrs seeks for suitable job KSA, 12 years Oman 4 years,.

Contact: 95796030 Heavy duty driver with PDO license, 5 yrs Intl. exp. Contact: 95546585 Light driver. Contact:95779594 Driver looking for job. #99507039 Pakistani driving available.

Contact : 96913836

Light duty driver with 2 yrs experience looking for job.

Contact: 96342684 Light driver. Contact: 96961993 Indian (Kerala) light driver seeking for job, 5 yrs experience in Oman. Contact: 98029273 Looking for driving job.

Contact: 98219182 Driver: 15 years Driving Experience in Saudi Arabia, Looking for suitable place, Contact.. 91624908, 93540898 Driver available with car and without car Education, B. A exp. 5 years, language Hindi, Arabic, English.

Contact: 98522914 Bangladeshi male light driver seeking suitable placement 1 yr experience. Contact: 94158238 Driver available with car driver & without car. Contact 96771598 / 94039796

ENGG. / TECHNICAL Mechanical Engineer, Indian 24 with 2 yrs experience in HVAC- MEP Revit – MEP, AutoCAD – MEP Navis solid works Catia PRO-E primavera.

Contact: 96975382 Email: bonny491@gmail.com MBA having 4years Gulf experience in Coordination with contracting company .NOC Available.

Ph: 95405885 Indian female, BE, Civil engineer with 1 year experience looking for suitable vacancy, on visit.

Contact 95139583, Email : aisushetty09@gmail.com SAP – SCM.MM Consultant B.Tech.

(Chemical), from NIT, working with oil industry, seeks employment.

Contact: 98049288 Iraqi Civil Engineer, 12 years experience with Omani driving license.

Contact: 94695595 Degree holder Civil Engineer having 10 years experience with driving license looking for better position.

Contact 98451844 Email: zahid_ruet@hotmail.com Indian male, 38 years old, DME – Mechanical Maintenance Technician 11 years Oman experience.

Ready for NOC, VISA transfer, ready to join immediately, Mob +968 95612870, seeniselvan@gmail.com Indian male, 34 years old, DEE – Electrical Supervisor 10 years Oman experience. Ready for NOC , VISA transfer and valid Oman driving license light, ready to join immediately. Contact +91 9740679094, kulasekar1980@gmail.com Indian male Safety Officer, 4+ years experience diploma in fire & safety Eng seeks suitable post.

Contact: 98843139

M O N DAY, J U LY 1 3, 2 0 1 5

D5

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED

ENGG. / TECHNICAL Electrical Engineer, B. Sc degree, Filipino, 15 years experience in oil & gas, power plant, substation, EPC projects, testing & commissioning, O & M with Oman D/L light.

Contact: 97090934 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: akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com Structural Engineer of 2 years & 7 months experience, specialized in Structural Design and Site Supervision looking for a job. Contact: 94634906 / 94370767 Email: muazomer45@gmail.com Indian Civil Engineer (buildings) available immediately as supply contract. Contact: 93263834 Indian Male, IT Support Engineer, 2 yrs in Oman & 5 yrs Indian experience. Contact 97311847 Btech computer science graduate 2015 passout.. Android application marketing.. Having good communication skills and mindset to work in a team. Contact 91024385 Engineer with 3 yrs experience in Indian in MEP, HVAC& mechanical maintained field on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact 99191535 Email: fareed029@gmail.com B.E in ECE worked as Junior Scientist Trainee in Chennai worked as System Admin in Berik Honda Nagger coil worked at Technical Support in Samsung Service, presently in Bangalore.

Contact : 0091 7026267513 Indian female 23, B.Tech (Electrical & Electronics) & Diploma in Electrical CAD on Visit Visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 99278410 / 94027398, Email: renju.raghavan7@gmail.com Indian female, B.Tech biotechnology with strong computer skills and 2 years experience as associate research analyst (Media Monitoring) in Nasdaq Oman seeking growth oriented jobs. Contact 92044603 /918056169148 or angeline.babithac@gmail.com.

Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need suitable job of construction 12 yrs exp.

Email: mohd.ateeq.khan@gmail.com

HOSPITALITY 4 Years experienced (Money exchange services & Hospitality services in Oman & India) - Indian male 27 years, graduate in Hospitality science, fluent in English, Hindi & Arabic seeks suitable placement.

Contacts: 91383167

IT Indian male, B.E ( computer science engineer), MBA (finance), OCA certified, having 5 years of experience in oracle Dba/ oracle apps Dba, seeks a suitable position in the field of IT. Contact: 96212062 email: zubairkhan11@gmail.com

ENGG. / TECHNICAL Indian female, Ph. D in Mech. Engg, B.Sc, B.Ed, M.Sc & M.Phil in Physics having 6 yrs Malaysia University/ College teaching exp +1 yr experience for research fellow seeking good position in Oman. Contact 97793859 / 93621114, sreejayarejil@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS Indian male Oman D/L 2 years Saudi experience in electrical, fire and safety one year Oman logistic management experience.

Contact : 91233475 Female Postgraduate searching suitable job. Contact 97792820 Bangladeshi Post Graduate seeks a job good command in English and computer ready to take the challenge. Contact 93982627 Email: saymun.riyad@gmail.com Filipino Male looking for a job & have experience in sales, waiter, barista, technical support / customer service with good communication skills. Contact 91789465 Indian Female with over 9 yrs experience with good communication skills seeks jobs in customer service or sales field.

Contact : 96108289, Email - shijipaul84@gmail.com Part- Time Accountant, well experience senior accountant ,doing all type of accounting works, Finalization, Budgeting available.

Contact: :98803439 13 Years UAE experienced in MNC & reputed firms logistics distribution looking for a suitable placement, on visit visa contact 99838743, gani.dawood@gmail.com Male Indian BBM Graduate 8 years experience in logistics and ware housing in a reputed company valid driving license NOC available looking for suitable position.

Contact : 96311786 Email: ubinfs@gmail.com

MEDICAL Well experienced MOH Licensed Indian GP Doctor looking for locum / permanent position in the Capital area. Contact 98140024 email:drgpoman@yahoo.com Female Dentist Indian, Prometric passed 63%,4 years of work experience, immediately available to join.

Contact 97469553, nazianbaig@gmail.com Indian male GP doctor, 12 years experience parametric passed with 74% seeks suitable post.

Email: ppdr2020@gmail.com.

Contact 97985325 Indian female Dentist MOH Oman passed seeking a suitable placement in capital region.

Contact– 91377681 hashimsarawat@gmail.com Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf experience) looking for a suitable job (NOC available) Contact-93344378

Indian female MCA, 24 years seeking suitable job. Contact 93439467

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

IT professional MCA Oracle certified 6 months training of PLSQL data warehousing, PHP, 3 months trained seeking job at good company. Contact: 95694330 Email: monakashyap001@gmail.com

Indian male, B.com, diploma in material management, 12+ years exp in international / local purchase, ware housing 4 logistics seeks suitable placement NOC available.

Contact: 96477638 / 96477638

B.E Computer Science, Indian male looking for suitable job in the field of software or information technology having good knowledge in Java, ASP. Net, MS Sql, MS Word.

Contact: 91986919 Email: dileep2468.a@gmail.com

Production Manager 13 years experience in cast Aluminium fab. field and good track record seeking for a suitable job. NOC ready in Hand.

Contact: 96392319

Indian male 25 yrs exp in Administration, Telecom, Optical Fiber Communication, Networking, MS Office.

Seeks any job. On visit visa.

Contact 91385373 / sridharbsnlma1455@gmail.com Network system Engineer B.E / ECE + CCNA & Ms certified with 4+ yrs exp looking for a job. Currently in Oman on visit visa. Contact: 92589502 Email: careersjegan

Indian male, with 8 yrs exp. in Oman (BA- Graduate) working as a project Sales Coordinator, with Oman D/L, looking for suitable job, ready to join immediately with NOC. Contact 95245057

SALES / MARKETING Indian 6 years experience as Sales Executive with 2 years visa, driving license seek suitable job.

Contact 92233068

SALES / MARKETING Indian male MBA 7 years experience in Hospitality industry, operation, sales & marketing looking for suitable vacancy. Contact 92115860 Email vibin.py@gmail.com MBA from UK with 9 yrs experience in London, Dubai & Mumbai. Specialized GCC experience in top real estate co & bank with driving license. NOC available. #968 95168205, dubaihomes1@gmail.com Young Bangladeshi male 26 knowing coffee shop work as watering sandwich making juice marking etc presently in Bangladesh if any employer need please Contact behalf of candidate with his brother.

Contact: 92278538 Indian male seeking job, 8 years experience in Qatar in clerical/administration/documents controlling fields. Willing to work in customer care or sale also. Qatar driving license available. Job preferred in Sohar and surrounding cities.

Contact 93285117 Management professional experienced in profitable management with organization skills with over 21+yrs exp. in Bombay, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, UAE & in Oman11 yrs as GM Publications, Printing, Media & Advertising in entire operations, Sales marketing & etc. Looking for a reputed organization for a challenging position any industry, can Join immediately with NOC. Contact : +968 98864706/99574638 Mail : akdas_uae@yahoo.com Looking for Sales Assistant job (having Oman driving license).

Contact: 95872634 Looking for Sales Assistant job (having Oman driving license).

Contact : 95872634 Indian male MBA Graduate 10 years experience in Sales and Marketing (Tyre Industry and Electrical Industry) looking for a suitable position. Contact: 96065164 Email: pradeesh123in@yahoo.co.in Indian male 31 visionary business strategist having over 8+ years of global experience seeking a challenging position that utilizes my years of experience currently on visit. Contact: 91902154 Indian male. 27, Post Graduate, 5+ yrs exp in Oman in Sales & Credit Control, with valid Oman driving License, NOC available, looking for suitable placements. Ph: 9199 3376 Indian Male, B.Com Graduate, 23, with experience in Sales looking for suitable placements. .

Contact 98371144 Indian male Graduate with 18 years experience in Sales and Marketing currently on visit visa seeks suitable placement. Contact : 91996486 / 99732070 6 years experienced male holding Masters Degree with experience in customer relationship, real estate, Sales and IT. Contact: 98823248 Email: sajjadhussain@yahoo.com Market research / Hospitality Indian male Graduate with nearly 30 yrs experience in Market research & hospitality industry. NOC available.

Contact: 99347089

SALES / MARKETING Indian male 45+ yrs , 20 yrs exp as sales supervisor in India looking for indoor sales /stores /cashier or any suitable placement can speak Hindi , English, Malayalam, Tamil, kannada can join immediately on visit visa. Contact 93086105/33016546 Pakistani male 34 yrs Intermediate 2 yrs exp in sales & marketing in Oman. Looking for suitable job.

Contact - 92146864

TOURS & TRAVELS 25 Indian female B.S.C. Fashion Technology. 5 years experience in textile industry as a merchandiser and good in fashion marketing. Currently available on visit visa, seeking for a suitable job. # 96990368.

Email: simmy.missy@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS Civil Engineer, Diploma, Male 25, 3 years experience in site, CAD, 3d, MS Project, Seeking job in Oman. # 92875345, jubincivileng@gmail.com Indian male accountants, 12 years experience, tally also. Looking for a part time/ full time job in accounts or purchase. Contact- 98983122

Sudanese male, 31 year, have 3 year Diploma in Electrical Engineer, 6 years experience in construction and electrical plant.

Mobile No ; +96894549609

Indian Female 2yrs exp. in Accountant 5 yrs exp. in Electronics, seeking suitable Job. Cont 97162705,93705090

Freelance Graphic Designer available to assist in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Corel Draw Projects.

Contact : 95811820

Indian male, 14 years Experience in maintenance & Supervisor in hotel field (Electrical, Ac Mechanical & Plumber). NOC available #95253640 email = hareeshma24@yahoo.com

Indian Female Lawyer 36 Yrs having 11 yrs experience presently working in Oman as Legal Advisor seeks placement in Legal/HR/Admin NOC available Contact-94436960 Email: famidakhan123@gmail.com

Female Candidate: Having experience (ISRO India) in Administration (seeking suitable opportunities &presently in Oman Mob:97239854, Mail:asherlalitha@yahoo.com

Indian male Diploma, Civil engineer 4.3 year experience at building construction and consulting company with Oman driving licence and N.O.C available seeking suitable placement Contact 95989500 email cv.shihabedappal@gmail.com

Diploma civil Engineer seeking jobs(positions suits me: civil engineer ,site engineer,qa/qc engineer,land surveyor ,total station, auto level,draftsman (autocad, microstation) mob:97239854, Mail:asherlalitha@yahoo.com

Indian male auto cad draughtsman (civil) 8 years experience seeking for part time job Mobile 99070584, E mail: remluvp@gmail.com

MOH Indian Dentist 10 years experience in Oman. Can speak Arabic, has driving license. Contact 98995321 or ventureoman007@gmail.com

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, Indian male,29 years.8 years experience .Presently working in Oman as a Senior Accountant with oman Driving license. NOC available, seek suitable opportunity. GSM: 97705854

BRANCH-HEAD, MBA-BBA, Indian Male having experience in UAE, India, Oman total 5 years (including MNC), looking for similar or same openings.NOC available.

Mobile :92700670, E mail:catanalur131@gmail.com

Sudanese male (B.Sc Computer Science) (Diploma Computer Engineering) 6 yrs. experience DBA Oracle PLSQL , MS SQL-server, MS visual studio VBA, network. Contact :91415886 Syrian male 3yrs. exp in IT support, Networking, Security systems, Server support, IT sales and marketing. Valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement. Contact 91033395 Indian Male, 34 years old, DEE – Electrical Supervisor 10 years Oman experience. Ready for NOC , VISA transfer and valid Oman driving licence light, ready to join immediately, Mob +91 9740679094, kulasekar1980@gmail.com

12 yrs exp FREELANCE 2d, 3d Draughtsman (holding Omani driving license). Contact : 93790601

Qualified Native speaking male English Teacher with 18 years experience seeks position. Salary Negotiable. Whatsapp on +968 9334 1047 / +968 93952732 or e-mail me on nadgov@gmail.com

23, Male, ACCA Affiliate, 2 years+ experience in Audit and Finance in audit firm, Looking for suitable permanent placement, NOC release Available. Contact: #95140445 a.saran891@gmail.com MBA - (F), M.Com, B.COM. Indian female having knowledge of accounts with Tally looking for part time or full time job. Presently on family visa. Contact :- 91892264.

Email:- yashicapandya@gmail.com Indian Female 10 years exp as cook in Oman. South Indian & Gujarati special looking for part-time job Contact 96733187.

Indian male-28 Years, Diploma in Electrical Egg, having gulf experience. Specialization on Electrical Installation and Maintenance, Operation. 7 years experience seeks for suitable placement.

Mob – 968-95334580. E-mail -sunilkumar257.sk23@gmail.com

Indian female, IATA, B. Sc, looking for suitable placement.Contact-95514305, E mail idraveendranmala@gmail.com

Seeking Teaching Position. Qualified and experienced Native English speaking teacher seeking position in Muscat, I have a Teaching Diploma , two Honours Degrees and a CELTA Certificate. Position at Language school will be suitable. Will e-mail CV. Whatsapp only +96893952732

ACCOUNTANT, Indian male, 29 years, 8 years experience. Presently working in Oman as a Senior Accountant with Oman Driving license.

NOC available seek suitable opportunity. GSM: 98184170

MBA (F), B.COM. Indian female having knowledge of accounts with Tally looking for full or part time job. presently on family visit visa.

Contact :- 96259171.

Email:- bhumicapandya@gmail.com

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M O N D AY, J U LY 1 3 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

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

SITUATION WANTED MISCELLANEOUS 24 years, Indian Chartered Accountant male with 3 yrs of experience is seeking suitable placement in Muscat, currently on visit visa & ready to join immediately. Kindly contact him on 98201476 or email at lokeshkaluri@gmail.com Indian Male, 38 years old, DME – Mechanical Maintenance Technician 11 years Oman experience. Ready for NOC , VISA transfer, ready to join immediately, Mob +968 95612870, seeniselvan@gmail.com BSc Graduate, INDIAN male , seeking suitable jobs.

GSM: +91-8589820233.

MAIL ID: prajinap45@gmail.com Young Indian Chartered Accountant, female, Having 6 years experience in Oman and India. Accounts and Finance Manager, Auditor. Urgently seeking suitable positions.# 92530131, jobcareer44@gmail.com Tunisian women looking for a job, khnows english,frensh, italian and arabic. Contact: 91171838 Indian male 25 years B.tech computers (Having 3 years of experience in customer service/Admin/IT Support) looking for suitable position. Visa Transfer/NOC Available immediate to join. Contact: 98402389, Mail: naresh6672@gmail.com Manager, Young Indian Male, MBA, BBA. Having excellent managerial experience (around 5 years) in leading Multi-National-Company.

Looking for suitable positions.

Contact: 92700670, fardhaan@gmail.com Available for part time accounting job, contact 99196621 Indian Female MA. B.Ed. with One year three months Teaching experience. Subject: EnglishSeeking for a Better placement.

Now working in Oman.

Contact 93961142, 92184408, Email:-anoopkesavan78@gmail.com ACCOUNTANT: Indian male 25 having 4years experience in accounting & having well knowledge in tally.

Contact:968094535881, 0091 9037622048 Email: vishnuraj889@gmail.com ACCA Affiliate, 2.5years experience in Audit/Finance in Global Big6 Firms and Oil company in Oman, Looking for suitable permanent placement. Release NOC Available.

Contact: #95140445, a.saran891@gmail.com Electrical Engineer, 29, Indian Male, having 7+ years exp. in reputed companies. Seeking suitable placement in any Oman. Contact - 97693456.

Mail ID : venkatbadri23@gmail.com BE. Biomedical Engineer, 5 years experience in the same field (Hospital/company)looking for suitable placement. Contact:92084807 Email:bonnygeorge1005@gmail.com ELECTRICAL ENGINEER – Indian male seeking Electrical Engineer job with 2 years’ experience.

Contact: 94263445, E mail – janardhanan53@gmail.com Indian Female M.Com with Computer Skills and Four Month Experience as Accountant ,Currently On Family Visa Looking for a Suitable Placement, Available Immediately.

Contact : 95846642, Email : dhanyashree91@yahoo.com ACCA Affiliate, Experience in audit/ finance of 2.5 years in Big 6 Firm and Oil industry, looking for suitable permanent placement, Release NOC available. Contact: #95140445 a.saran891@gmail.com

PART TIME ACCOUNTANT, Indian male, M. Com, 35 years, 12 Years exp. in Accounts, 8 years in Oman.

Knowledge upto finalization. Having valid D/L, seeks suitable Placement.

GSM: 96249124 Egyptian Civil Engineer, total experience 7 years - 2 years experience in Oman. I am looking for Project Engineer, I have good experience in site & office works.

Contact number:91148708 Indian Male 24 years, Looking for a Suitable Job in Telecom / Networking. 1 year sales experience. MSc. Communications Engineering & Valid Driving license. Ph: 91280121.

Email: jackrprasad@yahoo.com.

Filipino Male looking for a job & have experience in sales, waiter, barista, technical support / customer service with good communication skills. # 91789465 ACCOUNTING – Indian male seeking accounting job with 2 years experience in accounting.

Contact: 94263445, E mail – contactantonyxavieranand@gmail. com Sudanese male: 27 yrs, 2 years experience in accounting, other experience (purchasing – HR - Coordinating and Office Management), looking for a job Omani Driving License, NOC. Contact: 94174403 24 year Indian Chartered Accountant male with 3yrs of experience is seeking suitable placement in Muscat, currently on visit visa & ready to join immediately. Contact him on 98201476 or email at lokeshkaluri@gmail.com Sudanese male (B.Sc, computer science) (diploma computer engineering), 6 yrs. experience DBA oracle PL-SQL, MS SQL - Server, MS visual studio vba, network.

Contact 91415886 Syrian male 3yrs. exp in IT support, Networking, Security systems, Server support, IT sales and marketing.

Valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement. Contact 91055584 Over 15 years experience in Gulf.

Interior Architect, Lebanese Nationality, on visit visa seeking a suitable Placement. 96268005.

PRODUCTION OPERATOR – Indian male seeking production operator or related jobs with 4 years of experience in oil & gas field.

Contact 94263445.

Email: tonyxavier4u@gmail.com Indian Keralite Male 35 looking for Scaffolding supervisor post having 5 years of Supervisor and HSE experience in GCC Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Fluent in English Arabic and Hindi .

Contact 96155921, or mail fysal.nellaya@gmail.com Indian Male 28 yrs, having 7 years Gulf + Indian experience in HR and Admin field, looking for suitable placement. Contact: 97914340, Email: rajkv3086@gmail.com Indian Male 28 years MSM, B. Com having 6years experience in Gulf and India as a HR and Admin looking for suitable placement.#97914340.

Email: rajkv30@gmail.com B.Sc. Mechanical Engineer Sudanese 3 yrs of exp. In industrial field available in muscat on vist visa seeking suitable job .

Contact: 95868922, Email: almouthanaosman@yahoo.com IT system and Printer engineer ME, 5Years bank IT Management exp in India looking for full time job visit visa contact 94462150

Indian male with 8 yrs experience in FMCG in Oman as Sales Supervisor looking for suitable placement.

NOC available. Gsm: 96495206 24 year Indian Chartered Accountant male with 3yrs of experience is seeking suitable placement in Muscat, currently on visit visa & ready to join immediately. Contact him on 98201476 or email at lokeshkaluri@gmail.com MCA IT Professional Indian Female seek placement in Teaching/ Non Teaching field. Presently on visit visa. 9588 7051, ashwininakod@gmail.com ACCA Affiliate, Indian, 2.5Years experience in Audit/ Finance in Big 6 Audit Firm and Oil Accounting in PDO, For Permanent Placement for Finance or Accounts or Audit. Release NOC Available on hand.

Contact #95140445, a.saran891@gmail.com Finance ACCA Affiliate, Worked as an Auditor with 2.5 Years Experience in reputed firm, Handled independent audit/finance assignments, Looking for permanent placement, NOC available. Contact 95140445. a.saran891@gmail.com Piping Design Engineer, Indian male 27, looking for suitable placement in Piping Design & Engineering. Having 7 years of experience in AutoCAD. Also familiar with PDMS (11.6 Version),CAESAR ll. Contact : 97351786 / 96143708, E-mail : mohammednazeer07@gmail.com Sudanese male (B.Sc Computer science) (diploma computer engineering) 6 yrs. experience DBA Oracle plsql, MS sql-server ,ms visual studio vba, network. Contact :91415886 Indian Male, Graduate, 11 years Sales experience in Lighting / Industrial products, ready to join immediately. GSM: 9710 5356 Indian heavy duty driver with 8 years experience in oman available with NOC. GSM : 93601943 GSM : 94496457 Indian male, 28 yrs MBA (HR/M) 2 years experience in Indian Oman in HR & admin seeks suitable placements. NOC available.

Contact 97484159 Email: rameshkapa86@gmail.com M.Sc 3+ years exp from France & India in IT Support Engineer / Hardware & Networking / Server support / scientific system support looking for suitable positions. Indian, male on visit visa, contact 98898781/ anoopys@gmail.com Looking for managerial post (full time ), More than Ten years of experience in Team Development ,Training, planning, Administration, Sales & Marketing, Advertisement and Credit Control and Logistics. Contact 91076608 / 99322748. Release & noc available Indian male, 34years having 10 years of experience in Sales, Sales Coordination and Administration.

Experienced in SAP and MS Office. NOC available.

Contact # 94686594 Indian Male MBA Marketing/HRM 3 year experience with Omani D/L, seeking suitable jobs.

Contact: 97424188 email: dharwesh@gmail.com Indian, Male, 23 years, BE Electrical, having 2 years experience in Electrical Works-H.T. cabling etc, & Construction, looking for a suitable placement. Contact +968 96927880 (Oman), +91 9765376109 (India), Email: rahulrevi6@gmail.com

SITUATION SITUATION WANTED VACANT B.Tech Computer Engineer Wanted job to work on(IT/Banking/Administrator/Technical/Office works) having NOC with the limited time from (04/06/2015 to 13/06/2015).

Mobile:98402389 email:naresh6672@gmail.com British Beauty Therapist looking for suitable position. #:97175240 Highly Qualified & Experienced Finance Manager Pakistani with USA , UK & Canadian Degrees , CPA ,ACCA-UK . MBA-USA ,IFA- Financial Consultants Canada , Corporate Analyst USA Professional of Banking , Audits ,ERPs & Profit Maximizations ( NOC available ) call 94 504505 – 94403270 27 year Indian female who has 4 years of experience with logistics function in distribution of spares for both heavy machinery & wind turbine parts. Kindly contact me on +91 9790769104 E-mail: joemohana@yahoo.co.in Indian male Executive Secretary having vast experience in admin, logistics & procurement well versed with computer .seek suitable placement. Contact : 99514286 Indian male MBA (U.K), 10 Years of experience in Admin, Sales, HR, stores and logistics seeks suitable placement. Contact 99271903.

Indian Female MCA, 4 plus Years of experience in Web designing, Admin, P.A, seeks suitable placement.

Contact 99486374 8 Years successful experience, SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, Indian male,29 years. Presently working in Oman as a Senior Accountant with oman Driving license seeks suitable opportunity. GSM: 97705854 7 and half years experience working accounts / inventory manager looking suitable job. Contact: 96991782 Email: srinivasu.sp@gmail.com Indian female , MCA BCA, certification PL SQL , 6months training PHP, date warehouse looking for suitable placement. #95694330 Email: mondkashyapodl@gmail.com B.Com with more than 5 yrs exp. looking for an accounts part tome job work. know with tally.

Email-shilpa_62@yahoo.com

Part- time accountant, well experience senior accountant , doing all type of accounting works, finalization, budgeting available.

Contact : 98803439

Sudanese male, 31 year old, have 3 year Diploma in electrical engineer, 5 years experience in different activities . Mobile No ; +96894549609

Indian male, looking for a part time accounting job. Having additional knowledge & experience in HR admin & purchase.

Contact 99196621

ACCA affiliate, with 2.5 years experience in Big6 audit firm and Oil industry, looking for permanent placement in Accounts/Audit.

Release available Contact :95140445 a.saran891@gmail.com

Indian Female, 24yrs, M.COM (Accounts) having 3yrs experience in Accounts, HR, Administration, Customer Service. Good Computer Proficiency. Seeking Suitable Position. Visa Transfer/NOC Available.

Contact: 99654913

Indian Female, Commerce Graduate, Total 9 yrs of experience in India. worked as Accounts Assistant and Business executive seeking for suitable placement.

Tel : 96173533/24222457 Email : topranidivya@gmail.com

HSE Advisor, NEBOSH IGC, Indian male, 4 years experience in construction and oil fields, seeking suitable jobs. Gsm: 97458900, Mail: miroshbabu@gmail.com

Indian Male, 29 years, CCNP, MCITP having Bachelor degree and 6 years of experience in Networking looking for job. 96760618 / varghese.manthara@gmail.com

Highly Experienced Finance Manager, CPA ,ACCA-UK . MBA-USA , Professional of Banking, Audits , ERPs Sap , Management as Team Leader and Problem Solver call 94 504505 / 94403270

Female Executive Assistant/Executive Secretary with 27+ experience, worked with top management/Board in financial services with shorthand skills & Omani driving license, seeks suitable placement. call 95941515

Indian male MBA Finance presently OMAN IN visit visa, 26 years, looking for an accountant job.

Contact 95240641, email Id mohammadabdulazharuddin@ gmail.com

B.E. Civil Engineer from India with 3 years of experience looking for suitable vacancy in oman now on visit visa. Contact 9571 3441, Email . Khatrialeem@gmail.com

Admin Executive, 31, Indian Male, having 9+ years exp. in reputed companies. Seeking suitable placement in any gulf region. Contact +968 99276601 & 97693456. email : muralimahdav77@gmail.com

Indian male 21 IT Eng. networking & computer hardware diploma, 1 year experience, currently on visit visa looking for a suitable job.

Contact 96036273 email: faizanfarooqui23@gmail.com

MEP Quantity Surveyor-EstimationProject, 10 Years Experience (3 years in Oman). Having NOC & Oman D/L, looking for suitable job, Contact - 98291626

Indian, 32 years, completed M.A. English, M.Sc. Psychology and B.Ed in English. Searching for suitable job in the field of teaching. To Contact: 00968 99869535 Email: sahadkeyi33@gmail.com

Indian house maid looking full time job. Contact : 98254909 B.E. Civil Engineer age 27, total 3 years of experience in Mumbai looking for placement asap in oman now on visit visa of 1 month ph 9571 3441 Email. Khatrialeem@gmail.com Indian Male, 29 years, CCNP, MCITP having Bachelor degree and 6 years of experience in Networking looking for job. 96760618 / varghese.manthara@gmail.com

Indian Male 24 years, Looking for a Suitable Job in Telecom / Networking. 1 year sales experience. MSc. Communications Engineering & Valid Driving license. Ph: 91280121.

Email: jackrprasad@yahoo.com 26 years Indian male with MBA & PGDFM, Total 3.8 years experience in Administration, seeking suitable placement in any gulf region.

Holding Oman valid driving license.

Contact :94501423

M O N DAY, J U LY 1 3, 2 0 1 5

D7

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED CARGO

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

TOURS

RENT A CAR

RENT A CAR

Butter cup rent a car presents fantastic offers all vehicles are model 2016.

Contact : 97249449

RENT A CAR

GOOD NEWS

DRIVING

Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain, backache, paralysis massage, steam bath, obesity, spondylitis IDEAL , CARE Ayurvedic Clinic 18 November street, Azaiba. Contact 99639695 / 99117987

SITUATION WANTMANPOWER

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know more about Islam, please call: 99425598, 96050000, 99353988, 99253818, 99341395, and 99379133.

For ladies: 99415818, 99321360, 99730723 Orvisit: www.islamfact.com Ayurvedic treatment for backache, paralysis, arthritis etc & massage, All Season (Vaidyaratnam).

Contact 24475280 / 95371554 / 92504980 www.siddhayur.com

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

Learn driving with professional only automatic. Contact 94022250

TRANSPORTATION Pick & drop anytime in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99764307 Transportation. Contact: 96538078 Transportation. Contact:98522914 Transportation. Contact 99508282

FOR HIRE Transportation. Contact: 98244078 Volvo 12 Ton Truck for monthly rent. Contact: 98713900

Pick & Drop any time. # 97014786

D8

M O N D AY, J U LY 1 3 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

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

SITUATION WANTED SERVICES

SITUATION WANTED 8 yrs exp Site supervisor cum 2d, 3d Draughtsman (holding Omani driving license) seeking job.

Contact : 93790601 24 year Indian Chartered Accountant male with 3yrs of experience is seeking suitable placement in Muscat, currently on visit visa & ready to join immediately. Contact him on 98201476 or email at lokeshkaluri@gmail.com Finance ACCA Affiliate, 2.5 years experience in audit/finance and oil company in reputed firms. Looking for suitable permanent placement. Release available. Contact 95140445, a.saran891@gmail.com B.E Biomedical Engineer, having 5 years of experience in Diagnostics division seeking suitable position.

94151658 Electronics and instrumentation Engineer 28 year Indian male, electrical, electronic, industrial, building & automation exp of 4+ yrs in India.

Contact - 93154156 CCNP Network Professional with 6 years experience having Bachelors degree on visit visa looking for suitable job. #96760618 email: varghese.manthara@gmail.com Civil Engineer, Diploma, Male 25, 3 years experience in site, CAD, 3d, MS Project, Seeking job in Oman.

Contact 92875345, jubincivileng@gmail.com Indian male, total experience is 5 years in Retail industry. Currently supervisor in Sun and sand sports Muscat City centre.

Contact : 96994345.

Email : jsp.jsr85@gmail.com Indian Male 34 years Mechanical Engineer 3 years of Experience seeking suitable placement immediately Contact: 91991435, 93310821 Indian female with MBA (Finance) on visit visa, seeks immediate placement. Phone: 968-98430089 Indian female B.ED & BCA looking for a suitable placement in school or admin office, having 5 yrs exp in same field. Contact – 97384206 / rani_sweet786@live.com CCNP Network Professional with 6 years experience having Bachelors degree on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact: 96 76 06 18 Indian male, 28 years, 7 years experience in transporting & heavy equipment renting company. Having Omani driving license seeks suitable positions. Contact 94410485 Indian male, Engineer, BE Mechanical, having with 21 years of experience in India and 13 years in Oman, In production, project management, quality control and assurance and MR for ISO and API Standards looking out for a suitable placement in Oman. GSM: 00968 97311616.

E-MAIL: fahazasa@yahoo.com Indian male, post graduate, currently in Oman on visit visa. Seeks suitable placement.Contact 92388346 Sudanese male, 31 year old, have 3 year Diploma in electrical engineer, 5 year experience in different activities. Contact; +96894549609

COMPUTER

MCA IT Professional Indian Female seek placement in Teaching/ Non Teaching field. Presently on visit visa. Contact 9588 7051, Email: ashwininakod@gmail Indian female BA graduate. My total experience is 4 and half year in Call Center looking for jobs in admin and HR. Contact : 96089143, Email: sharanjit_kaur2009@yahoo. com Key Account Executive, Indian male, currently working with a reputed FMCG company Oman is looking for a placement asap, NOC will be given. Valid Omani driving license. Total experience in Oman is 12yrs and particularly in Sales is 8 1/2 years. Contact 95589765 Email : agnelfrancis@yahoo.co.in 25 Indian female, B.Sc fashion technologist, 5 years exp in merchandising, familiar with fashion marketing & designing. Currently available on visit visa, seeking for a visual merchandising job. Contact : 96990368, email jumshi@gmail.com Indian male, MBA marketing & finance with B com & diploma in IFRS seeks job. Contact 99469726 / 99469729

WEBSITE

Sudanese male BSC Telecommunications Engineer , 4 years experience in telecom field Contact 97783092, Email: Alrsheed88@hotmail.com Working as Senior Accountant, 4 yrs.exp.in oman, relevant computer skills, Audit, Accounting upto finalization, valid oman driving license, languages known Arabic, Hindi.

NOC available can join immediately.

Tel: (+968) 96339599, E-mail(ahmedmohdkhan@gmail.com) Indian male 60 years old have 30 years Muscat experience in all office works with Omani driving license.

Contact: 99024055 Mechanical Engineer, Indian, (B.E.) on visit visa, seeking suitable post.

Contact :99534733 Email: rajesh92prince@gmail.com Civil autocad draughtsman part time work for job mob :96023726 Sudanese male BSC Telecommunications Engineer, 4 years experience in telecom field.Contact : 97783092, Email: alrsheed88@hotmail.com

Split & widow unit A.C servicing & repairing. Contact: 99557080 Split & window unit A.C servicing & maintenance.

Contact: 96236476

Indian female, B.Com. knowledge of MS Office &Tally, 4yrs experience in Accounts &admin dept. looking for good placement in any field.

Contact: 98928220 Piping Design Engineer, Indian male 27, looking for suitable placement in Piping Design & Engineering. Having 7 years of experience in AutoCAD. Also familiar with PDMS (11.6 Version),CAESAR ll. Contact : 97351786 / 96143708, E-mail : mohammednazeer07@gmail.com Senior IT Professional, Indian Male, more than 17 yrs. of experience in software development(PB, Oracle, SAP ABAP) and IT Support with valid Oman DL and NOC available Contact : 92193867, Email : cp.prasad@gmail.com

Indian female MBA Finance currently on visit visa. Seeks immediate placement. Phone: 968-98430089

23,Male, ACCA with 2.5 years experience in Big6 audit firm and Oil/ Gas,looking for permanent placement in Accounts/Audit.

Contact 95140445 a.saran891@gmail.com

More than Ten years of experience in Sales & Marketing, Advertisement and Credit Control and Logistics& Administration.

Contact; 91076608 / 99322748

Male, 19 years of experience in Finance and Administration currently on visit visa seeks suitable placement. Contact: 99720132/ abidrafi33@hotmail.com

Window & split unit A.C servicing & maintenance. Contact : 93769089 / 95323517 House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

WEB, ERP and Business Intelligence (BI) creation and management at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

CLASSES

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your marble. Contact 24793614/ 99314807 House shifting. Contact 99708138 Carpet, curtain, sofa, floor, cleaning, shampooing, marble & mosaic tiles grinding, polishing and painting. Contact : 93630133 / 95821193 House shifting packing.

99657644 / 98518013 Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile polishing, pest control & anti-termite treatment, general cleaning painting, Plumbing, Electrical, shifting. Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C. # 24810137, 99450130

Split & window A.C servicing & maintenance. Contact 93769089/95323517 Air condition maintenance split and window services AC specialist ducted and package type unites.

Contact: 98667326

FOR LADIES Hair dressing, facial massage & other beauty treatment for women.

Contact: 94689448

CLASSES

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/24792998 A/C Maintenance & servicing, fridge, washing machine & dish washer repairing, painting & cleaning services, electrical & plumbing.

Contact: 99447257 / 97014234 / 24504281 Pest control Treatments, termites, cockroaches, bedbugs Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723 Water proofing ABUQABASContact 99320217/24788722 Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance.Contact ABU QABAS99320217 /24788722 Carpet, Sofa Shampooing. Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99884591 AC servicing maintenance fixing.

Contact: 99540621

IELTS preparation course, unlock your educational and career opportunities with eagles to achieve your required band.

Contact 91979343.

Admission Open: CAMBRIDGE / BILINGUAL CURRICULUM admission started in Al Burj Private School, Azaiba for KG and Grade I to IV. Please register soonest.

Contact: 93211417 / 92887809.

Learn Cup cakes, exotic cakes, Icing decorations, handicrafts.

Contact 95941515