Times of Oman - January 20, 2015 by Muscat Media Group

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TUESDAY, January 20, 2015 / 29 Rabi Al Awal 1436 AH

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ROMANIA

HM receives thanks MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from President Klaus Iohannis of Romania in reply to His Majesty’s congratulatory cable on the occasion of being elected as the President of Romania. In his cable, President Iohannis expressed his thanks and appreciation for His Majesty the Sultan’s best wishes to him and the friendly people of Romania further progress and prosperity. He stressed his keenness to promote the relations in all spheres to serve the joint interests of the two countries. -ONA

RESCUE SERVICES FUME AS RAIN WARNINGS IGNORED

AL HARIS AL MANEA

Don’t visit Duqm exercise site: ROP MUSCAT: Citizens and residents have been urged by Royal Oman Police (ROP) not to approach Al Haris Al Manea security exercise 2015 site in the wilayat of Duqm in the Governorate of Al Wusta for their safety. ROP and security services are carrying out training for their units in association with friendly countries, including the US. The exercise is aimed at enhancing the combat capabilities of the security services. -ONA

Despite the warnings, both Royal Oman Police and PACDA were besieged with calls

REJIMON K FAHAD AL GHADANI

Omanis feel they deserve better positions at workplace

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reji@timesofoman.com fahadnews@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: As the rain poured so came the deluge of calls for help to the rescue services as once again people ignored repeated warnings to stay out of danger and avoid risk during the adverse weather conditions. “Even after several cautionary calls were given to motorists to stay at home and not go out unless

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there was an emergency, a large number of distress calls from stranded motorists was coming in as people had not taken our advice seriously,” tweeted the Public Authority of Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA). Speaking to Times of Oman, an

SARAYA BANDAR JISSAH BAGS ‘BEST MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT’ AWARD

Nestled on the outskirts of Muscat on a secluded beach surrounded by the Al Hajar Mountains, the $600 million Saraya Bandar Jissah project scooped SCAN THIS TO ‘best international mixed-use development’ at the International Property WATCH VIDEO Awards ceremony held recently in Dubai. Times of Oman was granted exclusive access to the huge site of Saraya Bandar Jissah, dubbed Oman’s newest luxury lifestyle destination, as the development celebrated becoming a world beater. The first Integrated Tourism Complex (ITC) to be launched in Oman in seven years, it also received the ‘Five Star award for New Hotel Construction and Design category’ and ‘Five Star award for Mixed-use Development category’ in Oman. Details >A5

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Tram to spur realty Introduction of public transport will be well received and will go a long way in alleviating the severe traffic congestion. >A2

Lifestyle diseases Diseases linked to lifestyle choices, including diabetes and some cancers, kill 16 million people each year. >A15

MARKET

Oil and gas block

Oman government plans to award an oil and gas block to an international oil company on production sharing basis this year. >B1

official from the Royal Oman Police (ROP) again reminded people to stay indoors and step out only in the event of an emergency. Patients were airlifted, families had to be rescued from flooded flats and passengers had to be pulled out from their vehicles stuck on flooded roads and overflowing wadis as heavy rains lashed Muscat by Monday evening. The primary sections of Indian schools have been closed in view of the incessant rains lashing the capital city. >A4

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OMAN Tram plan to spur real estate sector 44

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Introduction of public TUESDAY, January 13, 2015 / 22 Rabi Al Awal 1436 AH

transport system would go a long way in reducing gridlock in areas of central Muscat

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Rain, fog in parts of Oman

While the tram network will go some way in addressing the clear need for improved transport systems, A2 authorities should ensure that both its und Council seeks MERS tram service says healt route and integration into the city’s urban for Muscat fabric are carefully considered ON GUARD

REJIMON K FAHAD AL GHADANI

reji@timesofoman.com fahadnews@gmail.com

Besides reducing gridlock, it will save time, increase mobility and reduce pollution

Times News Service MUSCAT: Announcement by the government to study the possible introduction of a tram service across Muscat is the ﬁrst sign of a long awaited public transportation infrastructure plan, with the city’s real estate landscape directly expected to beneﬁt in the long term, according to leading international real estate consultant, Cluttons. While the exact details of the

FAHAD AL MUKRASHI

fahad@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: In a bid to improve mobility across Muscat, the Municipal Council has urged the Ministry of Transport and Communications to introduce a tram system in the capital. Tram, a rail vehicle that runs on tracks along public roads is a

said another citizen. The call to introduce a tram system in Muscat came on the heels of the assurance given on Sunday by Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Salem Al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications, at the GCC Rail and Metro Conference 2015, that Oman’s ambitious 2,135-kilometre long national railway project will not be delayed due to the plunging crude. The members also approved the development of passenger waiting areas on a number of main roads in Muscat. The council also recommended to the Oman National Transport Company (ONTC), a proposal to introduce double decker buses in

MUSCAT: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronaviru (MERS-CoV) infection, the vir respiratory illness, is under con trol in Oman, said a top offici from the Ministry of Health. “Since December 2013, the Sultanate has been free of the MERS virus. The patient who died due to MERS infection ha other ailments which complica ed efforts during his treatment said the official. “The moment the patient wa admitted to the hospital, labor tory tests were conducted and results conﬁrmed the infectio

proposed route are yet to be revealed, it is clear that any move to introduce public transport will be well received and will go a long way in alleviating the severe traffic congestion in areas of central Muscat. Crucially, Cluttons believes that through such public transporta-

Faisal Durrani

Cluttons’ international research and business development manager

tion infrastructure investments, the government is adding longterm premiums to residential values and commercial rents. Cluttons’ international research and business development manager, Faisal Durrani said, “The proposed tram network is cer-

tainly a step in the right direction. A city as large and linear as Muscat would beneﬁt tremendously from public transport. “While the tram network will go some way in addressing the clear need for improved transport systems, authorities should ensure

that both its route and integration into the city’s urban fabric are carefully considered.” He added, “It would be incorrect to not draw comparisons with Dubai, where a tram network in the Dubai Marina area has been integrated into the Dubai Metro network and extensive bus routes. For an expanding city like Muscat, a public bus network would be a natural pairing with any tram development in order to increase accessibility and boost the mobility of residents. “The city has now evolved to a point where public transport is the obvious missing piece in Muscat’s landscape. This long-term view will start to signiﬁcantly bolster office rents, house prices and residential lettings values.” Across the globe, tenants and buyers actively seek to be in close proximity to public transportation nodes, but unlike the vast established public transportation networks of larger cities like London for instance, Muscat is still in its infancy. Last summer, UK building society Nationwide

revealed that being located within 250m of a Tube Station in Greater London could add as much as 10.5 per cent to the value of your property, which equates to about OMR25,000 ($70,000). Once established, Cluttons believes there will be a rapid and widespread appreciation in Muscat of the benefits of being close to a public transportation node. “The key to unlocking the true potential of public transport is to stitch together all of Muscat’s communities in a cohesive and sustainable way. There are the obvious challenges of putting infrastructure into established parts of the city but an integrated transport system that is part of a carefully master planned urban framework will be of significant benefit for Muscat’s on-going development. “The challenge now is to create an integrated and accessible world class city that is pedestrianfriendly; the benefits to real estate values will follow naturally from this,” concluded Matthew Wright, head of Consultancy & Industrial for Cluttons in Oman.

NDC COMMANDANT MEETS IRANIAN COMMANDER

Maj Gen Salim bin Musallam Qatan, Commandant of the National Defence College (NDC), and his accompanying military delegation met in Tehran on Monday with Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy, as part of his current visit to the friendly Islamic Republic of Iran. The meeting exchanged cordial talks and discussed a number of topics of common concern. —ONA

DIPLOMACY

Foreign Ministry receives credentials of ambassadors MUSCAT: Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry, received in his office on Monday a copy of credentials of two European ambassadors: Gert Creel, non-resident ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium appointed to the Sultanate and Rolf Willy Hansen, the non-resident

ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway appointed to the Sultanate of Oman. Sayyid Badr welcomed the ambassadors, wishing them success in their diplomatic mission and hoped that the bilateral relations between the Sultanate and their countries continues to progress and grow in various areas to

beneﬁt the joint interests of the two nations. The credentials presentation ceremony was attended by His Highness Sayyid Mohammed bin Salim Al Said, Head of Protocols Department and Sheikh Hilal bin Marhoon Al Ma’mari, Head of West Europe Department at the Foreign Ministry.– ONA MINISTRY OF MANPOWER

378 held for Labour Law violations MUSCAT: A total 378 workers were found violating the Labour Law during the period from January 11 to January 17, including 278 commercial workers, 27 farm workers and 73 housemaids and their equivalents, according to the weekly report of the joint inspection team at the Ministry of Manpower. The inspection teams caught 350 workers, including 187 absconding workers, 149 astray workers and 14 workers with other violations. The Governorate of Muscat witnessed the maximum number of workers violating the law with 113 cases, followed by the Governorates of Al Batinah with 73 cases of violations. The competent authorities at the Ministry of Manpower are taking legal procedures against the violators. Meanwhile, the Manpower Ministry statistics showed that 229 expatriate workers were deported for violating provisions of the Labour Law and ministerial decisions executing the law. – ONA

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INFRASTRUCTURE

Duqm port set to be fully operational by 2016-end FAHAD AL MUKRASHI fahad@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Duqm Port will become fully operational by the end of 2016, said Yahya Al Jabri, chairman of the Special Economic Zone Authority at the port. He said that work on the dry dock had been completed, and so had the maritime work at the port. Offices, terminals and customs gates will be ﬁnished before the end of 2016, he informed. Certain spots will also be demarcated to accommodate equipment of oil companies at the port which can then be easily transported to other nearby oilﬁelds not exceeding 200 kilometres. Regarding the terminal building at the Duqm airport, Al Jabri told Times of Oman that it would be completed by the beginning of 2017. The company that won the tender would be mobilising workers soon to kick off construction work at Duqm by next month, he said. Asked whether the slump in crude prices would affect the project, Al Jabri affirmed that there would be no impact as the budget had already assigned funds for it. He further added that the government was giving its full support to such a gigantic project, to ensure that it was completed in the scheduled time as part

INVESTMENT AVENUES: A delegation of the State Council, which

visited the Special Economic Zone in Duqm (SEZD) on Monday, to review projects.– ONA

of the diversiﬁcation of national resources. “We should speed up things here in Duqm rather than delay it, so it can be part of the diversiﬁcation process,” said Al Jabri.

This information came on the sidelines of a visit by a delegation of the State Council, which visited the Special Economic Zone in Duqm (SEZD) on Monday to review projects.

2015 EVENT

Book Fair from February 25 MUSCAT: Main Organising Committee for the Muscat International Book Fair 2015, held a meeting on Monday at Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising, headed by Dr. Abdul Munim bin Mansour Al Hassani, Minister of Information Committee Chairman. The Committee discussed the

preparations for the 20th session of the Muscat International Book Fair, which will be launched during the period from February 25th- March 7. The Committee reviewed a number of topics including the new events and activities that take place in the 20th session of the book fair, and take advantage

of the evaluation of activities in the previous session. The 19th Muscat International Book Fair was attended by more than 570 publishers from 25 countries and allocated integrated halls for children’s literature which allowed the conducting of various activities for that literature.– ONA

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RAIN CAUSES CHAOS ACROSS OMAN

While Amerat topped the list with 34.2 millimetres (mm) of rain, Khasab received 29.8mm and Muscat received 10.4mm, said the Oman Met department. Rain, which started at around 3:30pm lasted for two hours and threw life out of gear in Muscat and the surrounding areas. “There was heavy rain in Amerat with strong winds. Roads were also flooded and blocked later,” said a resident. Meanwhile, many low lying areas in Muscat like Hamriyah, Darsait, Muttrah, Wadi Kabir and Qurum were badly affected by the downpour. Traffic movement was badly affected and cars were seen floating in flood waters in many areas. “Civil defence personnel rescued families staying on the ground floor of buildings in Hamriayh and other areas. Parked cars were also seen floating in the flood waters in Hamriyah,” reported residents. In the evening, there were rumours circulating that members of a family had perished in a building collapse in Hamriyah. However, civil defence personnel refuted these rumours and tweeted, “The family stuck in Hamriyah building was rescued and they are in good health.” As the flood waters entered Al Nahdha hospital in Hamriyah, patients had to be evacuated by late evening. “There was power outage in the hospital by evening. As more water began entering the hospital, the decision to evacuate was taken and patients were airlifted at around 7pm,” said a source from the hospital. Muscat Festival organisers halted their activities on Monday and said that they would resume after check-

ing out the weather conditions in the coming days. Meanwhile, as primary class students of the evening shift from the Indian school in Jibroo got late reaching home, worried parents began making frantic calls to transporters. They were seen waiting on the roads in the rain for their children. “The class ends at 4:30pm. We waited till 6:30pm as we knew they would be delayed in the rain, but it is 7pm now and the children have not yet reached. The transporters are not responding to our calls either,” Bosky Dutia, a panic-stricken parent told Times of Oman as this report was being ﬁled. However, transporters said that many of their vehicles had not reached the destination. “The children are safe and we are trying our best,” they assured. Traffic on most of the roads in Muscat was stopped due to the waterlogged conditions. “Traffic on Wadi Kabir, Hamariyah, Amerat and Qurum apart from Muscat Expressway and Seeb roads was totally affected. It was diverted in many areas. We were stuck for hours on Wadi Kabir and Muscat Expressway. We even saw a car being washed away in Wadi Kabir,” said Mohammed Iqbal, a motorist. Meanwhile, as the Muttrah Souq shop owners had prepared for the ﬂoods, they were able to save their goods. “Before the rains itself we moved our items to our warehouses. We had suffered huge losses in the past, but this time we anticipated the rain and acted,” said souq shop owners. Rains wreaked havoc in many other parts of Oman.

“Buraimi, Fahud, Rustaq and Ibra in addition to Qarn_Alam, Yaaloni, Khassab and Sohar were affected. Also affected were Saiq, Samail, Bahla and Qalhat along with Dibba, Ibri, Adam and Suwaiq. Mudhabi, Haima, Dhank and Sunaynah also received heavy rainfall apart from Saiq, Ras Al Hadd, Zamaim and Al Amerat. Other areas also hit were Manah, Duqum, Bidiya and Jabal in addition to Yanqual and Bidbid,” said Bader Ali Al Baddaei, an administrator of www.rthmc.net, a local Web-based forum that discusses weather trends in Oman. On Sunday evening, the Oman meteorological department had forecast heavy rain and thunderstorm in several parts of Oman. The rains which started in Khasab, Musandam, Mahadha, Buraimi and Dibba entered Muscat by evening. Rain in Khasab led to cancelled flights and also affected motorists and tourists. “Roads to Dubai are blocked. Transportation has been affected due to waterlogged roads. “Tourists in hotels who were planning to check out today are stranded and now have to wait. Moreover, one flight from Muscat to Khasab has been cancelled. We are hoping the second flight may land,” said a Khasab resident. Civil defence officials had to rescue occupants trapped in vehicles in Al Hajir wadi in Khasab. In its 48-hour outlook, the Oman meteorological department said that skies will be partly cloudy with chances of rain and thundershowers over governorates of Musandam, coastal areas of Oman Sea and Al Hajar mountains.

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Nestled on the

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outskirts of Muscat and surrounded by Al Hajar Mountains, Saraya Bandar Jissah was named ‘best international mixeduse development’ at the International Property Awards ceremony held in Dubai recently STAFF REPORTER MUSCAT: This is what a $600 million project looks like when the vision starts to become a reality. Times of Oman was granted exclusive access to the huge site of Saraya Bandar Jissah, dubbed Oman’s latest luxury destination, as the development celebrated becoming a world beater. Nestled on the outskirts of Muscat on a secluded beach surrounded by the Al Hajar Mountains, it scooped ‘best international mixeduse development’ at the recent International Property Awards ceremony held recently in Dubai. The ﬁrst Integrated Tourism Complex (ITC) to be launched in Oman in seven years, it also received the ‘Five Star award for New Hotel Construction and Design category’ and ‘Five Star award for Mixed-use Development category’ in Oman. Describing the project as a ‘truly visionary’ initiative, Ali Hassan Kolaghassi, chairman of Saraya Bandar Jissah, said that the award proves that Oman has the skill, expertise and talent to develop projects of international standing. A host of Arabia’s ﬁnest developers, architects, interior designers and real estate agents gathered for the awards ceremony held at Madinat Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai on December 4, 2014. The results of the Arabian Property Awards were announced in the presence of the Earl of Caith-

BEACHSIDE LIFESTYLE: Saraya Bandar Jissah will be home to 398 exclusive residential units, spacious hilltop villas, stylish townhouses and luxury apartments — all with attractive waterfront and mountainside views. –Photos and videos: Jun Estrada and supplied photos

ness, chairman of the judges for development categories. “We are indeed delighted to be recognised world-over for Saraya Bandar Jissah’s extraordinary beauty. We take great pride in this achievement as Saraya Bandar Jissah places the Sultanate of Oman’s drive to promote tourism development ﬁrmly on the international stage,” added Kolaghassi. The development is being developed in a 50-50 partnership between Omran and Saraya Oman over 2.2 million square metres of land with an expansive beachfront aspect and a high point of 250 metres above sea level. Only 20 per cent of the total area is being developed. Saraya Bandar Jissah will be home to 398 exclusive residential units, spacious hilltop villas, stylish townhouses and luxury apartments - all with attractive waterfront and mountainside views. “The Saraya Bandar Jissah development sets a new benchmark for ITC projects in the Sultanate, and this global award underlines the quality and vision of the development,” said Wael Al Lawati, chief executive officer of Omran. He noted that Omran’s primary goal is to deliver on the government’s vision of growing the capacity and scope of the tourism sector in Oman and it does so by working closely with national and international partners to bring architectural marvels such as Saraya

Bandar Jissah to life. “We enjoy a very close relationship with our joint partner Saraya Oman on this project, and we believe Saraya Bandar Jissah is set to become one of the most prestigious addresses in the region.” Scheduled for a grand opening in 2017, the development also incorporates two luxury hotels operated by the internationally renowned luxury operator, Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts. The hotels, each positioned on the beach, will offer tourists a distinctly boutique or resort experience, and will form the major leisure component of Saraya Bandar Jissah.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

Real estate deals touch OMR3b MUSCAT: Real estate transactions in 2014 stood at more than OMR2.926 billion when compared to OMR2.307 billion in 2013, a rise of 27 per cent, Abdullah bin Salim Al Mekhaini, secretary of the real estate registry at the Ministry of Housing said. The fees collected amounted to more than OMR49.79 million compared to OMR34.22 million, a rise of 46 per cent. Al Mekhaini pointed out that 354,565 transactions were con-

ducted in the governorates during 2014. These included 80,299 in Muscat, 25,238 in Dhofar, and 50,637 and 57,867, respectively, in the Governorates of South Al Batinah and North Al Batinah. The others on the list were the governorates of South A’Sharqiyah and North A’Sharqiayh with 24,356 and 29,334 respectively, A’Dakhiliyah with 43,404, A’Dhahirah with 23,144, in addition to Al Buraimi with 113,63, Musandam with

3,921 and Al Wusta with 4,729. He said that 217,583 title deeds were issued in 2014, as compared with 203,330 in 2013, a rise of 7 per cent. He added that 51,253 new land plots were registered in 2014, compared to 87,718 in 2013, a decline of 42 per cent. He explained that 3,095 title deeds were issued for the GCC citizens during 2014, compared to 3,521 in 2013, a decline of 12 per cent. – ONA

Tough competition The competition received entries from companies in 12 countries across Arabia with the winning entries receiving either a ‘Highly Commended’ or ‘5-Star’ award. Saraya Bandar Jissah won two ﬁve star awards – New Hotel Construction and Design category and Mixed-use Development category. The 5-star winners were then re-judged to select just one from each of the 50 different categories to go forward to represent Arabia in the 2014-2015 International Property Awards. Among Saraya Bandar Jissah’s competitors were Artha Group –

India, Immobiliare Coco Drive – Mexico, Pulsar – Turkey, Harvard Estates – UK and Century Property – South Africa. The International Property Awards in London invited development companies to present their ﬁnest work. The judging committee was chaired by three members of the House of Lords who scrutinised hundreds of entries from regional and global developers. Sheikh Hamood bin Sultan Al Hosni, chief executive officer of Saraya Bandar Jissah said the company takes pride in the recognition of its exemplary levels of quality, professionalism and innovation. “We have proved ourselves on an international level and can now take our rightful place as leaders in the property market. We look forward to more global recognitions and hold our position as the most sought after ITC in the Sultanate,” he noted. Stuart Shield, president of the International Property Awards, said that each and every one of the companies to win a coveted World’s Best award has displayed exemplary levels of quality, professionalism and innovation. “Having proved their worth at country level, Saraya Bandar Jissah has now set a new standard,” he noted. The Times of Oman team which

recently visited the construction site of Saraya Bandar Jissah was told by the company’s representatives that the pace of development on site is in full swing. “The progress made so far is clear for all to see and due to be delivered on target.” Saraya Bandar Jissah, which offers picturesque seascapes framed by the ancient rock formations which connect the land with the sea on either side, has seen ‘high’ demand in the market due to its location and characteristics and investment potential offered by the development. With a commitment to cater to both local and foreign investors, the project released the first residential zone to the market on September 15, 2014. Zaha residential zone offers a mix of three and four bedroom villas, three bedroom duplexes and two bedroom apartments. Properties located within the Zaha residential zone are also in close proximity to the recreational club and boast a variety of picturesque views of the landscaped park, flowing lagoon and sweeping seascape beyond. The Saraya Bandar Jissah development comprises five residential zones. These are Safa, Na’eem and Zaha along with Nameer and Wajd. The ITC’s primary market focus is within the Oman market with the buyers expected to be Omanis, resident expatriates and nationals from the Gulf region. According to the company, the resort hotel is well under construction and the construction of the boutique hotel will start soon as the package has been awarded. Saraya Bandar Jissah, which is planning to set up a sales centre on site, says that the project will not face any delay and every component is well on target to be delivered. The project has been focusing on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well, using their products and services during the development. At least 800 direct jobs are expected to be created by the project. A number of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives are also being planned with the aim of contributing to the local community.

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You will see there is a very high benchmark for the food itself when it comes to ﬂavours, when it comes to combinations. We are not into extremely spicy, chilly food. India is not about chilly. Muhammad Ashfaque Qureshi, Chef

Warm tango rhythms reverberate at ROHM

F L AV O U R S O F F O O D

CLASSIC DISHES: Qureshi, opened at the Hormuz Grand hotel at Airport Heights recently. –Photo: Shabin E/Times of Oman

Qureshi aims to win over Muscat foodies WARM RHYTHMS OF TANGO: Opera singer, bass-baritone Erwin Schrott has two loves: opera and tango, which he grew up listening to in his homeland Uruguay. – Khalid Al Busaidi, ROHM

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opera singer, bass-baritone Erwin Schrott has two loves: opera and tango

SARAH MACDONALD

sarah@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Uruguayan opera singer Erwin Schrott and his Rojotango Ensemble ﬁlled the Royal Opera House Muscat with the warm rhythms of tango on Sunday evening. A classically trained and award-winning opera singer, bassbaritone Erwin Schrott has two loves: opera and tango, which he grew up listening to in his homeland Uruguay. His Muscat debut focused on tango, with music from his 2011 album Rojotango and his ensemble

which includes Peruvian Claudio Constantini on bandoneon, Argentines Federico Lechner on piano, Alvaro Rovira Ruiz on guitar and Andrés Litwin on percussion, Finnish violinist Suvi Myöhänen, and Austrian Gina Schwarz on double bass. Some of the loveliest moments came early in the concert with the ballad Oblivion, a slow, soft song in which Schrott’s voice was like a warm embrace. An instrumental piece called Milonga del Angel was also beautiful, with music that was almost hypnotic. Schrott described it as

composer Astor Piazzolla’s vision of an angel dancing if it heard the bandoneon. Though most of the concert centred on tango, Schrott included a couple of Brazilian songs with bossa nova and samba rhythms, too. He said what he loves about this music is that even when the lyrics are sad, the music can still make you happy. Schrott also had the audience singing along for a couple of songs, including the Brazilian Desde Que O Samba E Samba, and the Spanish favourite Quizas, Quizas, Quizas, during which he even tried to sing “Mumkin, mumkin, mumkin,” adding some local ﬂavour. One of the pleasures of watching a small tango ensemble is having the chance to see how the musi-

cians play. Pianist Federico Lechner impressed the audience with his nimble and sensitive playing. He has a jazzy approach that adds a freshness to the music. Another one to watch in this concert was bandoneon player Claudio Constantini. He played with one knee up and his accordion-like instrument resting on his leg, stretching and pulling the bellows in full display. The concert also featured one of Constantini’s own compositions, Romanza Tanguera, which included a great bass solo by Gina Schwarz. Tango, bossa nova and samba rhythms tend to be very popular in Muscat, and the music in Sunday’s concert was lovely, but sometimes it felt as though Schrott’s operatic voice didn’t quite ﬁt the genre. Schrott is clearly gifted with a gorgeous voice, but the next time he visits the ROHM, it should be in an opera so the audience can experience his full vocal potential.

4TH ANNUAL SITTING

Majlis Al Shura legal committee discusses changes to draft laws MUSCAT: Legislative and Legal Committee of the Majlis Al Shura on Monday held its seventh meeting of the fourth annual sitting of the current term (2011– 2015) under the chair of Said bin Ghanim Al Muqbali, head of the Committee. The Legal Committee discussed amendments of the Health and Environmental Committee related to the draft amendments to some provisions of the Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law, as well as draft

pharmacy profession law at pharmaceutical institutions, which were referred to it by the Council of Ministers. Majlis Al Shura has issued the 20th version of “Shura” magazine, which coincides with the convening of the 4th annual sitting. The new version of the magazine includes many topics, studies, plans of the permanent committees, draft laws and agreements referred to it by the Council of Ministers to the Majlis Al Shura. -ONA

SARAH MACDONALD

sarah@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: When Chef Muhammad Ashfaque Qureshi came to Muscat to open a new Indian restaurant, he came with high ambitions: to be the best restaurant in Oman. His restaurant, called Qureshi, opened at the Hormuz Grand hotel in Airport Heights. The fine dining restaurant serves very classic dishes from his family’s culinary traditions which date back more than 230 years when his forefathers began cooking for the nawabs, and Chef Ashfaque hopes his special blends of spices will win over foodies in Muscat. “You will see there is a very high benchmark for the food itself when it comes to flavours, when it comes to combinations. We are not into extremely spicy, chilly food. India is not about chilly. India is colourful but colour doesn’t only mean red. Our emphasis in principal is going to be on the flavours of food,” he told Times of Oman. He loves cardamom, nutmeg, mace, clove, as well as flowery flavours like orange blossom, rose water, and pomegranate, and nuts like almonds, pistachios and pecans. According to Chef Ashfaque, the scents and flavours of his dishes will set Qureshi apart from other Indian restaurants in the city. Some of the dishes have intense blends of spices and burst with flavour, such as his oxtail curry and his chicken kebabs, while others focus more on the meat themselves, such as the raan, in which the taste of the meat is largely unadorned. He has also paid attention to popular dishes in the Middle East and made a few Indian versions of them, such as a soup made with seven different lentils. “Classically it is not a soup, it’s a dal, but we have translated it into a soup. Lentil soup and the Arab World has a special relationship,” Chef Ashfaque explained. The Qureshi name is wellknown in India, as the family popularised Tandoor and tradi-

Chef Muhammad Ashfaque Qureshi.

tional Dum Pukht cooking, and has expanded into other markets including Malaysia and the UAE. Chef Ashfaque says their name will help set them apart from other Indian restaurants in the city, because many people know the name and the story. Fine dining “In terms of Qureshi as a brand there are fundamental things we are different about. This is an absolute fine dining setting for an Indian restaurant. Then there is the food itself. Each and every dish has gone through a lot of studies and research and is the final filtration of thousands and thousands of dishes,” he said. He and his brothers, who learned from their father, make sure that each and every recipe is made under their supervision and they insist on treating their guests like royalty, he says. Chef Ashfaque is optimistic that people in Oman will be satisfied with their dining experiences at Qureshi, which has a very elegant, rich setting, so much so that the restaurant will soon be an award winner and mentioned as one of the best in Muscat. “I think in the end people must be satisfied with what we have here and there must be a position that we want to place ourselves and that is number one. And nothing less than number one. We look forward to the process of being awarded, and not only as the best Indian restaurant but among the best restaurants in general,” he said.

B AY T. C O M S U R V E Y

Majority of Omanis feel they deserve better position at work Staff Reporter MUSCAT: Sixty per cent of Omanis feel they deserve to work at a higher position in the workplace, and 51 per cent state that a key reason for seeking employment is to be financially independent, reveals a survey. The survey was conducted by the Bayt.com and YouGov. The survey showed that seven in 10 respondents in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have set professional goals for themselves, with 26 per cent having long-term ambitions to achieve in the next five years. The most common goals are a higher salary (54 per cent), a new job (53 per cent), and learn new skills (52 per cent). “Advancement in one’s career and financial independence is the ‘in thing’ that all career-oriented professionals are looking at. This will definitely raise the bar when they compete among themselves as well as in the international market and excel in their chosen area of expertise,” said a hu-

man resource official at a leading company in Oman. In Oman, 73 per cent of respondents have set professional goals they want to achieve, the top three of which echo those of the region. In terms of personal goals for 2015, 70 per cent of Omani respondents want to save more money, 38 per cent want to travel, and 36 per cent want to spend more time with family. Eight in 10 (83 per cent) Oman respondents feel positive about the year 2015. “The sentiments for the year ahead are very positive,” said Suhail Masri, VP of sales, Bayt.com. “Different projects around the Middle East region are generating more opportunities, especially in the GCC. These projects are, however, driving up costs, making respondents more anxious about savings and salaries. Employers must take this into consideration going forward, both with current employees and future hires. At Bayt.com, our mission is to empower people to lead better lives, and this information is vital for

employers and job seekers in the region alike. It helps them plan for their personal and career goals and make informed and empowered work and life decisions,” he added. In Oman, 51 per cent would prefer to be employees and 26 per cent would rather have their own business. Most Omani respondents (50 per cent) claim to be motivated at work. Higher salary and more perks and beneﬁts (57 per cent) are the top factors that would make Oman respondents feel more motivated at work. Other factors like the opportunity to express their creativity and showcase their skills (48 per cent) and better work-life balance (54 per cent) are also among the best ways to increase the motivation of Omani employees. The biggest barriers to professional growth in Oman are considered to be the lack of growth opportunities (44 per cent), poor management within the company (45 per cent), and favouritism within the workplace (21% ).

T U E S DAY, JAN UARY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

REGION

If you attack the presidential palace... This is aggressive, of course it is an attempted coup Nadia Al Saqqaf, Yemeni Information minister

BEHIND SCHEDULE

‘Syria has begun destruction of chemical weapons facilities’ AMSTERDAM: Syria has started the long-delayed destruction of a dozen underground bunkers and hangars that were used for the production and storage of chemical weapons, diplomatic sources told Reuters on Monday. Damascus last year handed over 1,300 metric tonnes of toxic agents after joining the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), but it is months behind schedule in destroying the facilities used to make and store its deadly stockpile. Work at a ﬁrst tunnel began on Dec. 24, but was delayed by winter storms. The site will be sealed off with cement walls by the end

of January, said one source in The Hague, where the global chemical weapons watchdog is based. “The work ﬁnally began, which is good news,” said another source. “There were some technical issues and the bad weather has slowed up the process.” Syria joined the OPCW after a sarin gas attack killed more than 1,000 people in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta on August 21, 2013, prompting threats of military intervention by the United States, which blamed President Bashar Al Assad’s government. Assad’s government and rebels blamed each other. US President Barack Obama

Syria joined the OPCW after a sarin gas attack killed more than 1,000 people in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta on August 21, 2013, prompting threats of military intervention by the United States, which blamed Assad’s government called off military action against Damascus after Syria agreed to destroy its chemical stockpiles. A year later the United States began a bombing campaign against IS militants in Syria with the tacit approval of Assad, which still continues.

More than 200,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the Syrian civil war since March 2011. The head of the OPCW is expected to provide an update on the destruction of Syria’s production and storage sites, part of its obliga-

Houthis accused of coup bid amid Sanaa fighting Information Minister Nadia Al Saqqaf, a critic of the Houthis, told Reuters that the presidential palace had come under ‘direct attack’ in what she described as an ‘attempted coup’

SANAA: Yemen’s powerful Houthi movement fought artillery battles with the army near the presidential palace in Sanaa on Monday, throwing the fragile Arab state deeper into turmoil and drawing accusations that the militia fighters were mounting a coup. Explosions echoed across the city and smoke hung over downtown buildings as the most intense clashes since the minority sect Houthi movement seized the capital in September brought everyday life to a halt. The Houthis had seized the state news agency and television station, but by evening a ceasefire was in force, government ministers said. Five killed Medical sources said five people had been killed and more than 20 wounded. Final numbers were likely to be higher. The battles marked a new low for Yemen, plagued by tribal divisions, a separatist challenge in the south and the threat from a regional wing of Al Qaeda, which claimed a deadly January 7 attack in Paris on a satirical journal. The Houthis’ September takeover made them the country’s de facto top power, a development that has scrambled relationships and raised tensions across the political spectrum ever since.

FIGHTING IT OUT: A Houthi fighter sits in a military vehicle belonging to Houthi fighters on a street leading to the Presidential Palace during clashes, in Sanaa, on Monday. A ceasefire has been agreed after a morning of artillery and gunbattles between army troops and Houthi fighters, an official of the minority sect movement said. State television also reported a ceasefire. - Reuters

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Information minister Nadia Al Saqqaf, a critic of the Houthis, told Reuters the presidential palace had come under “direct attack” in what she described as an attempted coup. “If you attack the presidential palace... This is aggressive, of course it is an attempted coup,” she said. Gunﬁre explosions Saqqaf did not specify who had attacked the palace, but said the Houthis, friends with Iran, were now in control of the state news agency, Saba, and state television. The palace is defended by the military’s presidential protection unit. In the early evening, state news agency Saba quoted Interior Minister Jalal Al Roweishan as saying a ceaseﬁre had gone into effect. Residents reported that the intense artillery and gun battles of earlier in the day appeared to have tailed off.

Tensions between the Houthis and President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi had been growing since Saturday when the Houthis abducted his Chief of Staff, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, to gain leverage in a bitter dispute over a proposed new constitution. But residents were uncertain about the immediate cause of the violence, which began in the early morning with explosions near the palace and the home of the national security chief. Hadi was believed to have been at home in another district at the time. Saqqaf said Houthi fighters later fired on Prime Minister Khaled Bahah’s motorcade after he left a meeting with Hadi and a Houthi adviser that had been called to try to resolve bitter disagreements over a draft constitution. A Yemeni government spokesman described the shooting at Bahah’s armoured convoy as an assassination attempt. Residents said army gunners had shelled a housing compound used as a Houthi base. Heavy gunfire and explosions shook the Hadda district in the diplomatic quarter in Sanaa’s

south. A Reuters witness saw gunmen in Al Khamseen street, home to some senior government security officials, including the defence minister. Bazookas “On my way to work in the morning in Hadda street, there were gunmen swarming everywhere. They were in military fatigues. Their bazookas bore ‘Death to America, death to Israel’ signs, which is the Houthis’ sign,” said a hotel worker. Widely seen as Iran’s ally in its regional struggle for inﬂuence with Saudi Arabia, the Houthis — now part of Yemen’s government -- said they would “escalate the situation” if their demands for a fair stake in a new constitution were not met. The Houthis want more rights for the country’s Zaydi Shi’ite sect and say they are campaigning against corruption. In a move that stunned the Arab world, they seized Sanaa in September and advanced into central and western regions of Yemen, where majority sect predominates. -Reuters

GOLAN HEIGHTS

Iranian general killed in Israeli raid

MILITARY TRAINING: Israeli soldiers from the Golani Brigade take part in a military training exercise in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the border with Syria on Monday. - AFP

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike on Syria killed an Iranian general, Tehran confirmed on Monday, as Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement buried one of six of its fighters killed in the same raid. The Sunday attack, near Quneitra on the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights, enraged Hezbollah’s supporters, but analysts said the group would avoid a major escalation with Israel. Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of one of their generals in a statement on their website. “General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi and a number of fighters and Islamic Resistance (Hezbollah) forces were attacked by the Zionist regime’s helicopters,” it said. “This brave general and some members of Hezbollah were martyred.” A source close to Hezbollah said six Iranians had been killed in the attack. Hezbollah told AFP that it was not the source of that toll. Among Hezbollah’s dead was Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of an assassinated commander from the group, and Mohammed Issa,

a commander responsible for Hezbollah’s operations in Syria and Iraq. Once solely focused on ﬁghting Israel, Hezbollah is now deeply involved in the war in neighbouring Syria, where it backs President Bashar Al Assad. With its forces spread thin, and little appetite in fragile Lebanon for a new conﬂict with Israel, analysts said Hezbollah would seek to respond to the raid without provoking a full-on war. On Monday afternoon, mourners gathered in Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold for Mughniyeh’s funeral. “God willing, the resistance will retaliate but the leadership of the resistance will be the one to decide the nature and timing,” said Hassana Sadaqa, as she prepared to pay her respects. Mourners chanted “Our party is Hezbollah, our leader is Nasrallah” as the coffin was carried through the streets. Mughniyeh will be buried in the same grave as his father Imad, who was killed in a 2008 car bombing that Hezbollah blamed on Israel. -AFP

tions under OPCW membership, to foreign governments at closed door meetings in The Hague on Wednesday. The technical details of how the seven hangars are to be demolished with explosives are still being drawn up with experts at the OPCW, the sources said. The sources declined to be identiﬁed while sharing information about the programme before it is officially made public. Repeated delays in destroying the facilities led to protests from Washington last month, when the US representative to the OPCW, Bob Mikulak, called on Syria to speed up the process under tighter outside monitoring.

An OPCW fact ﬁnding mission has been investigating the use of chlorine bombs, which have killed and injured dozens of people in Syrian villages in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council resolutions on Syria. Syria denies allegations by Western governments that it withheld part of its chemical weapons stockpile. Western diplomats said Syria has failed to provide any documentation about the chemical weapons programme, which was built up over decades and produced mass quantities of toxic nerve agents for warfare. -Reuters

BLACKLIST

EU appeal on terror tag immoral: Hamas GAZA CITY, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Palestinian extremist movement Hamas slammed as “immoral” on Monday an EU appeal to keep it on the bloc’s terror blacklist, a month after a European court ordered its removal. “The European Union’s insistence on keeping Hamas on the list of terrorist organisations is an immoral step, and reﬂects the EU’s total bias in favour of the Israeli occupation,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP. “It provides it (Israel) with the cover for its crimes against the Palestinian people,” he added. Foreign ministers from the 28 EU member states decided at a Monday meeting to appeal the decision taken by the General Court of the European Union on December 17, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said. Israel, which slammed the December ruling, said it was not surprised about the EU’s latest move. “It’s not a surprise, we’re happy. We expected them to do this in the

first place,” a foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity. “We do expect that they will correct this procedural error that was identified,” he added. The ruling by the EU’s second highest court had said that the blacklisting of Hamas in 2001 was based not on sound legal judgements but on conclusions derived from the media and the Internet. Hamas, which has dominated the Gaza Strip since 2007, had appealed against its inclusion on the blacklist on several grounds. Israel’s closest ally the United States has urged the EU to keep up its sanctions on Hamas, saying the US position had “not changed” and Hamas is still a “designated foreign terrorist organisation”. Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israel during a 50-day war last summer in which the Jewish state pounded Gaza with thousands of its own strikes. The war killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 73 on the Israel side, most of them soldiers. -AFP

TU ESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015 I can assure you that our objective is to complete our investigation as soon as possible. I understand Tharoor can be examined soon by the SIT B. S. Bassi, Police Commissioner

INDIA

QUESTIONING

REVIEWING SECURITY

US President Barack Obama’s advance team reviews the Taj Mahal monument with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) chief Navratan Kumar Pathak, foreground right, in Agra on Monday. On January 27, the Yamuna Expressway which connects Delhi with Agra, may be closed for normal traffic for a few hours as a back up route for US President Barack Obama who will be visiting Taj Mahal. The US President is arriving in Delhi on January 25 on a three-day visit during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attend the Republic Day parade as chief guest, and visit Taj Mahal. - PTI

Tharoor gets notice, asked to join probe in Sunanda’s death NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor will be questioned by the Delhi Police in the next two days in connection with the mysterious death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar a year back and a notice has been served on him for it, Police Commissioner B. S. Bassi said on Monday. The police chief maintained that all those people relevant in the case are being examined by the Special Investigation Team Shashi Tharoor probing the high-profile case. Asked when would Tharoor be Asked about reports that questioned and whether a notice has been served, Bassi said, “No- the then I&B minister Manish tice has been issued and he may Tewari, who was travelling on be questioned today, tomorrow or the same flight from Tiruvananthapuram to Delhi on January 15 day after tomorrow.” Tharoor, who was out of town, on which Tharoor and Sunanda arrived in Delhi here on Monday had a bitter spat can also be quesafternoon. He refused to respond tioned in the case, he did not rule to a volley of questions related to out the possibility. See I would like to tell you that the case from reporters. “I can assure you that our ob- everybody who has information jective is to complete our inves- in this case, we will talk to them. tigation as soon as possible. I Sunanda’s viscera samples have understand Tharoor can be exam- to be sent to a foreign lab in the US or the UK to determine the ined soon by the SIT,” Bassi said. Asked whether Tharoor will nature and quantity of the poison be questioned at his home or which caused her death, accordsomewhere else, the police chief ing to the police. The police chief said that the said that the SIT will take a call, “wherever they will find it con- process to send her viscera samples to a lab abroad is on. venient they will do it”. Some of those questioned in On the number of times the former union minister can be the case so far include Tharoor’s questioned and for how long, he domestic help Narayan Singh, said, “I cannot say at this mo- family friend Sanjay Dewan, the ment. May be it could be for few hotel doctor who pronounced her minutes may be it could be a long- dead and hotel staff including its manager. - PTI er exercise”.

‘Avoid ordinance route for normal legislation’ The President’s views assume signiﬁcance

I request both ruling and opposition parties to share their concerns to see that disruptions be avoided and Parliament should start functioning

in the context of the Modi government promulgating nine ordinances, including on opening the insurance sector to higher foreign investment, after

MAKING A POINT: President Pranab Mukherjee gestures during his address on the topic ‘Parliament and Policymaking’ to Central universities, IITs, NITs and other institutions through video conferencing, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday. - PTI

Pranab Mukherjee President

the winter session felt a joint session of Parliament to make up for numbers to enact laws “is not practical.” NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday asked ruling and opposition parties to put their heads together and ﬁnd out a workable solution, apparently to avoid resort to frequent issuing of ordinances. In comments that have come against the backdrop of a raging debate on a spate of ordinances promulgated by the NDA government, he acknowledged that the Constitution provided for promulgation of ordinance in extraordinary situation but this route cannot and should not be taken for normal legislation. Addressing faculty and students of central universities and research institutions through video conferencing, he referred to situations when the ruling party may not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha but

Responsibility “It is the responsibility of entire political establishment to put their heads together and work out a workable solution. The opposition can oppose, expose and possibly depose, if they have the numbers. “But always keep in mind, it is the collective responsibility of the elected members of the House whether directly elected to the Lok Sabha or through states in Rajya Sabha.... I ask the political establishment to engage in a dialogue and resolve their differences,” he said in reply to questions on his views on frequent resort to ordinance route by the Executive. The president’s views assume signiﬁcance in the context of the Modi government promulgating nine ordinances including on

opening the insurance sector to higher foreign investment after Parliament was paralysed in the winter session. The president, on one occasion, had called a battery of ministers including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and raised questions over the urgency of the ordinance relating to acquisition of land. However, he later gave assent to it. Explaining the ordinance making powers under the Constitution, he said when the government issues ordinances, it is also taking the risk of getting it lapsed if they cannot get it approved by the Houses both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha within a maximum period of six months. He said Constitution had all the safeguards to ensure that such a provision is meant only for “an extraordinary situation under extraordinary circumstances.” Replying to another question,

Pranab disapproved of the frequent disruptions in Parliament and legislative Assemblies. “It is incumbent on the ruling party and opposition to sit together and ﬁnd a workable solution to avoid disruptions. Disruptions is not the way to Parliamentary intervention. Disruptions will only showcase energy but does not allow others to make their voice heard. Major role “The ruling party has a major role in running of Parliament and should take initiative and the opposition should cooperate because only informed discussion and dialogue in the spirit of accommodation should allow enactment of law for betterment of people. “I request both ruling and opposition parties to share their concerns to see that disruptions be avoided and Parliament should start functioning,” he said. - PTI

PROJECTION AS CHIEF MINISTER

Resentment stories exaggerated; BJP an organised party: Bedi NEW DELHI: Describing BJP as an “amazing and organised” party, Kiran Bedi on Monday dismissed as “exaggerated” reports of brewing resentment within it over her possible projection as the party’s chief ministerial candidate. Bedi, who was the country’s ﬁrst IPS officer, claimed BJP workers are happy and united over her induction in the party and likened the comments against her to as differing voices in a family. “It’s all exaggerated. I am an insider now. They (party workers) are very happy. They are very united. You can have a voice even in a family here and there. Party workers are happy, enthused and united,” she said. According to sources in the party, a number of senior Delhi BJP leaders were also not happy over the way Bedi has been projecting herself as the chief ministerial choice just four days after her induction into the party. Earlier in the day, party MP

Manoj Tiwari said Bedi is just a worker as of now and that the “best option” for the party would be to project Narendra Modi as its face in the campaign. Asked about Tiwari’s comments, Bedi said, “I will go and have a cup of tea with him. It’s all about unity — there are no egos involved — we are all here for a higher purpose so that Delhi does not become a hub of disturbances.” Describing BJP as an “amazing and organised” party, she said it was a “mystery when and how my thoughts changed and I decided to join politics”. “I don’t know when I started. There was no plan. For me it’s India ﬁrst. I will continue to serve whether I win or lose,” he said. Bedi, a former Team Anna member, was severely critical of Arvind Kejriwal when he had decided to ﬂoat Aam Aadmi Party. Kejriwal had even requested her to become chief ministerial candidate of AAP which she turned down. - AFP

WOOING VOTERS: BJP leader Kiran Bedi during a road show for

the upcoming Delhi assembly polls, in New Delhi on Monday. - PTI

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INDIA COMMUNAL FORCES

FOGGY MORNING IN DELHI

A traffic policeman discharges his duty in fog at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on Monday. It was a foggy Monday morning in Delhi with the visibility dropping to less than 50 metres, delaying nearly 60 trains. According to an official of the Northern Railway, around 60 trains coming to the city were delayed while the departure time of nine trains was rescheduled. - PTI

Jaitley hints at steps to boost public spending The ﬁnance minister underlined the need

A seamless transfer of GST is going to add to the GDP. It will make business easier. In the long run it may even lower taxes Arun Jaitley

for stepping up public investments in the infrastructure sector to boost economic growth

Finance Minister

CHENNAI: With one-and-a-half months left for the Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said the government will take “special steps” to boost public spending on infrastructure and initiate measures to rationalise subsidies. “Even with the present constraint of ﬁscal deﬁcit in revenue, it’s a challenging and a difficult opportunity for us. But I think we have to take some special steps as far as public investments is concerned,” he said. The minister underlined the need for stepping up public investments in infrastructure sector to boost economic growth. “The whole PPP model is still under stress and we have to revive

this. This is a course we are on and hopefully, with clarity in governance, we will be able to proceed,” he said while addressing a CII function here in Chennai. Recommendations Referring to the need to rationalise subsidies, the minister said: “From January 1, LPG subsidy is going through banks...We have to gradually rationalise all possible subsidies.” The government is expected to incorporate the suggestions of the Expenditure Finance Commission headed by former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan in the budget propos-

als for 2015-16, which will be presented by Jaitley next month. Jalan is reported to have submitted interim recommendations to the Finance Ministry suggesting various steps to rationalise subsidies and public expenditure. The government’s subsidy bill towards oil and fertilisers runs into lakhs of crores of rupees. The minister also underlined the need for stability in tax and other policies to make India an attractive place for investment. The implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), he added, will help in improving the business climate in the country.

The GST, Jaitley said, was welcomed by different states and that “none of them will lose a single rupee” following the implementation of the new indirect tax regime. “A seamless transfer of GST is going to add to the GDP. It will make business easier. In the long run it may even lower taxes. “Higher buoyancy is going to help the states in areas where states had no share of taxation (like) service tax,” Jaitley said. Stating that on Monday almost Rs two lakh crore are collected as Service Tax and states also have a share of it, he said some consuming states will gain from day one of GST implementation. Referring to the proposed changes in land acquisition laws, Jaitley said that it would eventually help farmers to get a better price for their land. Moreover, he added, establishment of rural infrastructure and industrial corridors would increase the price of land and generate employment for rural youth. Commenting on the changes in companies law, he said the government is committed to improving ease of doing business. “Yes, we are committed to the ease of doing business...we worked out the amendment, I moved the amendment in Parliament that has been unanimously passed by Lok Sabha and it is now pending before the Rajya Sabha,” he added. - PTI

CPI accuses Sangh Parivar of attempting to polarise society NAGPUR: Accusing Sangh Parivar of attempting to polarise the society, CPI on Monday said the programmes like ‘Ghar Wapsi’ and ‘Bahu Beti Bachao’ are intended to divert the attention of the masses from the failures of the government. The Left party urged secular forces to observe the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30 as National Integration Day and “unveil” the people responsible for the assassination of the Father of the Nation. In a resolution adopted at its National Council meeting here, CPI said that during a short span of seven months of the Narendra Modi government, more than 800 communal clashes took place in various parts of the country. “In the name of Ghar Wapsi, love jihad and Bahu Beti Bachao, the ruling clique wants to divert the attention of the masses towards their failures. Undesirable tactics Majority and minority fundamentalists are active towards communal polarisation,” it said while accusing the Sangh Parivar of adopting several “undesirable tactics” to create ﬁssures in the society.

“The secular and democratic forces should take it as a greater challenge and unveil the faces of those responsible for assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. These forces are directly and indirectly responsible to harm the integrity of the nation,” said a resolution adopted at the end of the three-day meet on Sunday. “The National Council of the party calls upon the units and members to invite other Secular and democratic forces to observe January 30 as the National Integration Day which is the need of the hour,” it said. The party meet also strongly rejected the Ordinance on Land Acquisition Act and extended its support to the nationwide protest against it on January 30 by All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and other farmers organisations. “All pro-farmers measurers enshrined in Land Acquisition Act 2013 has been either removed and attacked by this ordinance,” it said. In another resolution, the party said the government continues to deny the consumers the beneﬁt of low crude oil prices in the international market and demanded halt to increasing Excise Duty. - PTI

RECOGNITION

Frank Islam presented with Martin Luther King Award WASHINGTON: An eminent Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist has been presented with the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Award in recognition of his contribution to the legacy of the great leader through his efforts in international service and civil engagement. Azamgarh-born Frank Islam was given the annual award on Sunday by Harry Johnson president of the Memorial Foundation for working to keep the “dream alive.” Noting that there is an “indelible connection” between Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, Islam said he was proud and humbled to have received the award. “King visited India in 1954, studied the non-violent movement and patterned the protests he led after those of Gandhi. “As an Indian-American, I am proud and humbled to receive this award which honours the memory of one great man directly

HONOUR: Eminent Indian

American entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Islam being presented with the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Award at a ceremony in Washington on Sunday. - PTI

and another indirectly,” he said. “King and Gandhi have been beacons to me in my personal life and charitable and philanthropic involvement. I have given to numerous causes to support humanitarian efforts and to advance the interests of the underserved in the world,” Islam said in his speech. - PTI

SAFE, INDIGENOUS

Scientists design potential morphine replacement for pain therapy KOLKATA: In a breakthrough that could impact the blurring realms of pain and pleasure, Indian scientists have designed a potential morphine replacement, sans the side effects of addiction, but loaded with pain-killing power. For nearly four millennia, morphine and its cousin compounds (opioids) have ruled the roost in terms of their extraordinary prowess to dull pain (analgesics).Morphine (sulphate) is a by-product of opium which is extracted from poppy plants. India grows poppy under licence in three states — Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. It is sheer irony that India is the world’s largest legal exporter of morphine sulphate when stringent laws and regulations aimed to curb its misuse in the country limits ac-

cess to only 0.4 percent of the population in need, i.e. a million people with cancer and an unknown number of people with other incurable and disabling diseases. Drug of choice Morphine works by binding to the opioid category of receptors in the brain and is a boon for pain therapy. It is considered the drug of choice for treatment of chronic pain — due to burns, terminal pain or cancer-related pain. It is also included in the WHO ‘Model List of Essential Medicines’. Morphine comes in different forms, such as short-acting liquids or tablets, and long-acting (sustained-release) tablets or capsules. However, it can be a bane too, given its potential for addiction and abuse.

Morphine works by binding to the opioid category of receptors in the brain and is a boon for pain therapy. It is considered the drug of choice for treatment of chronic pain — due to burns, terminal pain or cancer-related pain

“Its pain relieving property is very high because of its strong binding to the opioid receptor but it also has a high risk for abuse. It has addiction property like heroin but not as strong. In addition, it may cause breathing problems,” Surajit Sinha, associate professor

in the organic chemistry department at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Kolkata, said. The solution, Sinha said, is to tweak compounds and create a substitute that is structurally as distinct from morphine as chalk

and cheese but at the same time clings to the speciﬁc brain receptors for effective non-addictive pain therapy. Sinha and his team considered a plant-derived compound called ibogaine, popular in African folk medicine and known for its antiaddictive properties and painkilling effects, but notorious for its psychedelic (hallucinogenic) reaction. “We synthesised an ibogaine analogue in our laboratory from scratch and saw that when mice was treated with 40 mg/kg dose of the new substance, it could provide pain relief for more than 50 minutes. When treated with morphine at a dose of 10 mg/kg, duration was 45 minutes, which is lesser than the novel substance,” said Sinha. The screening was done in col-

laboration with Sumantra Das’s lab in the neurobiology department at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology in Jadavpur. The study can be read online in the September edition of the Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry journal. The researchers have applied for patent and are now working towards lowering the dose and studying other properties, including effects in the nervous system. “For the ﬁrst phase of the study, we can say the analogue is safe, indigenous and comes without the psychedelic properties. It is also completely different from morphine structurally,” said Sinha. He said there have been important discoveries in this area, particularly in the US, but a morphine replacement without side-effects still eludes drug developers. - IANS

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TU ESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

PAKISTAN

This is the height of incompetence and gross mismanagement by the government Saeed Ghani, Opposition senator

FA K E PA S S P O R T

Pakistani released after easyJet alarm ROME: Italian authorities on Monday released a Pakistani man who was removed from an easyJet flight to Britain minutes before take-off after it was discovered he was travelling on a fake passport. The man, who is awaiting a decision on his request for political asylum in Italy, will be charged with possession of false papers but police do not believe he was linked to any plot, as initially feared. “We have now confirmed with the authorities that this incident does not relate to any attempted terrorism,” an easyJet spokesman told AFP. “It was just one of the many attempts that are made to get into the UK with false passports.” The flight from Rome’s Fiumicino airport to London-Luton was within minutes of its scheduled take-off on Sunday when Italian border agents boarded the plane and removed the man. Online booking The officers were acting on advice from the UK border agency, which spotted discrepancies between the passport details the 33-year-old passenger had entered in his online booking and information they held in their database.

Pakistani residents look on at the scene after gunmen ﬁred on a polio team in Karachi on Monday. Gunmen wounded a policeman who was guarding a polio vaccination team in the port city, the latest in a series of attacks on the teams. — AFP

We have now confirmed with the authorities that this incident does not relate to any attempted terrorism. It was just one of the many attempts that are made to get into the UK with false passports, an easyJet spokesman said After all bags were removed from the hold and rechecked, the plane took off later Sunday. EasyJet said there had been 124 passengers and six crew on board when the suspect was removed. The scare The scare occurred on the same day that Italy announced a Pakistani was among nine foreigners expelled from the country since December because of suspicions they could be involved in extremist attacks. The others expelled were ﬁve Tunisians, an Egyptian, a Moroccan and a Turk. — AFP

NORTHWEST INSURGENCY

US drone strike kills five militants PESHAWAR: A US drone strike on Monday killed at least five militants in a Pakistani tribal region where Islamabad launched a fullscale military offensive last year, security officials said. The strike targeted a Taliban compound in North Waziristan, one of seven semi-autonomous tribal districts that border Afghanistan, and an area that has been a hub for Al Qaeda and Taliban militants since the early 2000s. Recent drone attacks by the US have raised speculation that Washington and Islamabad are coordinating their military efforts. Pakistan however officially denounces the strikes as a violation of its sovereignty. “A US drone fired two missiles at a compound in Shahi Khel neighbourhood of Shawal, killing five terrorists,” a senior security official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. Another security official confirmed the strike and casualties. The area is generally off-limits

POLIO VACCINATION TEAM ATTACKED IN KARACHI

to journalists, making it difficult to independently verify the number and identity of the dead. Washington pressed Islamabad for years to wipe out militant sanctuaries in North Waziristan, which have been used to launch attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan. Major offensive The Pakistani military launched a major offensive in the area in June and says it has killed more than 1,800 militants so far, with 126 soldiers having lost their lives. The latest strikes came after Pakistan ramped up its anti-terror strategy in the wake of a December 16 attack on an army-run school in Peshawar that killed 150 people, 134 of them children. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has announced the establishment of military courts for terror-related cases in order to accelerate trials, and the premier has also lifted a six-year moratorium on the death penalty, reinstating it for terrorism-related cases. — AFP

Government pledges to solve petrol crisis ment’s handling of the crisis has added to the list of problems facing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his authority already weakened by months of opposition protests last year. At a meeting chaired by Sharif on Monday, the government decided to buy additional petrol to defuse the crisis. “From today we have started buying 15,000 metric tonnes of petrol and in the next 5-6 days it will be much easier to buy petrol,” said Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. The state importer says it buys up to 90 per cent of fuel oil and petrol abroad, but this month it was forced to cut purchases because it had not been paid by its customers on time.

The crisis started this month when the cash-starved state fuel importer slashed petrol imports by half and skipped overseas fuel oil purchases altogether, worsening power cuts and leading to petrol shortages around the country

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government, facing public anger over severe petrol shortages, promised on Monday the crisis that has led to long queues outside petrol stations would be solved within a week. Already frustrated by crippling electricity and gas shortages, Pakistanis have accused the government of not acting fast enough to preempt a decrease in domestic fuel supplies at a time of falling global oil prices.

From today we have started buying 15,000 metric tonnes of petrol and in the next five to six days it will be much easier to buy petrol Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Petroleum Minister

The crisis started this month when the cash-starved state fuel importer slashed petrol imports by half and skipped overseas fuel oil purchases altogether, worsening power cuts and leading to pet-

rol shortages around the country. “This is the height of incompetence and gross mismanagement by the government,” said opposition senator Saeed Ghani. The anger over the govern-

Circular debt The government subsidises electricity, but rarely pays the subsidies to power companies on time. They, in turn, cannot pay for their fuel imports, leading to a buildup of unpaid bills referred to as “circular debt”. Some ambulance services were forced to suspend their work because of fuel shortages, media reported. On the streets, disgruntled motorists said they were running out of patience. “This government should be ashamed of itself,” said one man, Akhlaq Ahmed. “How can they run this country if they can’t even manage petrol distribution in the capital?” — Reuters

TERROR SUSPECT

Lakhvi to stay in jail for one more month LAHORE/DHAKA: Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, will remain in jail for another month after the Pakistan government extended his detention under a public security law amid a row with India over granting him bail in the 26/11 case. As the Lahore High Court yesterday resumed the hearing in Lakhvi’s detention case, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Mujahid Sher Dil told the court that the government had extended the detention of Mumbai attack prime accused for another 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO). 54-year-old Lakhvi’s counsel Raja Rizwan Abbasi protested the government’s decision to detain his client for another one month. The court adjourned the hearing till January 26. On December 18, the trial court (Anti Terrorism Court Islamabad) granted bail to Lakhvi, who was involved in planning, ﬁnancing and executing the attack in November 2008. The Pakistan government detained him next day under the

While the court is hearing Lakhvi’s detention case, the government should have sought the court’s permission in this regard. The government cannot issue another ‘illegal’ order while the case is pending with the court Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi

MPO. However, Islamabad High Court judge Noorul Haq Qureshi suspended Lakhvi’s detention on “weak legal ground”, evoking a strong reaction from India. Bangladesh arrests Meanwhile, Bangladesh arrested four alleged IS militants, who were trained in Pakistan, during overnight raids in the Jatrabari and Khilkhet areas of the capital, Dhaka. “Yes, the IS coordinator and the

Raja Rizwan Abbasi Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi’s counsel

three others have been arrested,” a police spokesman told PTI. The IS coordinator has been identiﬁed as Shakhawatul Kabir who is also the regional commander of the militant group in Bangladesh. The other three men arrested are Anwar Hossain, Rabiul Islam and Nazrul Alam. The police said the arrested militants have confessed that they are members of IS and had plans to create

an anarchic situation attacking Bangladesh’s key installations with IS ﬁnancial and weaponry support. “The aim of the attacks was to establish a caliphate state in Bangladesh,” deputy commissioner Sheikh Nazmul Alam told reporters. “They all confessed their links to the IS (while) one of them Sakhawatul Kabir was found to the networks coordinator in Bangladesh,” Alam said. — PTI

T U E S DAY, JAN UARY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

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Khaleda confinement ends but party defiant Opposition leader Zia had been barred from leaving her office for the last 16 days to prevent her from spearheading antigovernment protests Khaleda Zia

DHAKA: Bangladesh Monday ended its conﬁnement of opposition leader Khaleda Zia after a surge in political violence left 27 people dead, but her party vowed to continue a nationwide transport blockade. Zia had been barred from leav-

ing her office for the last 16 days to prevent her from spearheading protests aimed at toppling her arch-rival, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Police stationed outside Zia’s office in Dhaka’s upmarket Gulshan district were stood down

Monday, while two police vans and a water cannon parked outside were removed. “We’ve withdrawn the additional security from her office after midnight,” local police chief Rafiqul Islam told AFP, adding that the former two-time premier was now free to leave. The siege at her office sparked a renewed upsurge in political unrest around the country that left 27 people dead and hundreds injured. Zia’s opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) confirmed the security had been removed but vowed Monday to push ahead with the transport blockade which she called during her confinement. The blockade has seen opposition activists firebomb buses, cars and lorries across the country, while police have retaliated by firing bullets and tear gas. “The BNP-led 20-party opposition alliance’s transport blockade

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will continue until the government agrees to our demand,” said party spokesman Sayrul Kabir Khan. “At the moment, there is no security outside her office,” Khan added. The blockade has hit the impoverished nation’s economy hard, with shipments of garments from its thousands of factories disrupted. Bangladesh is the world’s second largest garment exporter after China. Transport operators estimate they are losing $26 million a day, while millions of dollars worth of crops have rotted in the ﬁelds. A total of 238 vehicles have been torched since January 4 and another 307 damaged, according to Bengali daily Prothom Alo. Zia wants Hasina to call fresh polls after last year’s controversial general election, which was boycotted by opposition parties on the grounds it would be rigged and was marred by deadly violence. — AFP

FIRST TIME IN A DECADE

Erdogan chairs cabinet meeting as Turkish president ISTANBUL/ANKARA: Tayyip Erdogan became the ﬁrst Turkish president to chair a cabinet meeting in more than a decade on Monday, furthering his drive for a stronger presidency and fuelling concern among critics that he is accumulating too much power. Erdogan, who had already dominated Turkish politics for a decade as prime minister when he won the presidency last August, has made no secret of his desire to transform the previously largely ceremonial role. He has made clear he believes the direct nature of August’s vote, in which he won 52 per cent support, hands him more powers without constitutional changes to Turkey’s parliamentary system. Erdogan’s tightening grip has unnerved some Western allies as well as his opponents at home, who fear the erosion of checks and balances on his authority is tak-

ing Turkey further from Western standards on the rule of law and free speech. Suggestions rebuffed Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Reuters that Erdogan was within his rights to chair a cabinet meeting and rebuffed suggestions that his own powers were being eclipsed. “Any time he can call for a meeting, just to get a brieﬁng, and for consultations. This is something that is normal according to the constitution and normal according to Turkish political tradition in the last 50 years,” Davutoglu said in an interview on Friday. “In the future, if there is any constitutional change, we will see. But at the moment this is the division of power which is clear from the perspective of legality and from the perspective of political responsibility,” he said. — Reuters

A P P R O VA L R AT I N G S

Hollande popularity soars over response to extremist attacks An opinion poll carried out by Ifop polling company showed Francois Hollande’s ratings jump by a massive 21 percentage points to 40 per cent after the spate of attacks two weeks ago that left 17 people dead Francois Hollande

PARIS: Once France’s most unpopular post-war president, Francois Hollande has experienced a dramatic surge in approval ratings over his widely-praised response to the extremist attacks in Paris. An opinion poll carried out by the Ifop polling company showed Hollande’s ratings jump by a massive 21 percentage points to 40 per cent after the spate of attacks two weeks ago that left 17 people dead. “This is a rare phenomenon in the history of opinion polls,” in France, said Ifop expert Frederic Dabi. He said the only other such example was when Francois Mitterrand soared 19 points in the ratings during France’s participation in the Gulf War of 1990-1991.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who talks a tough line on security, also saw his ratings jump 17 percentage points to 61 per cent -- higher than when he ﬁrst took office in April 2014. Prior to the attacks, record French unemployment, sluggish growth and a string of personal and political scandals had sent Hollande’s ratings plunging to historic lows. But his response to the country’s worst attacks in decades has seen his image transform from that of bumbling, dithering president to solid, reassuring statesman. Not known for his charisma, Hollande moved the nation with several powerful speeches calling for unity in the face of the attacks

on Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, a Jewish supermarket and police officers. The image of the Socialist leader comforting a sobbing Charlie Hebdo columnist at a mammoth rally in Paris came to symbolise the empathy he exuded. But Andrew Knapp, an expert in French politics at Britain’s University of Reading, said the afterglow was unlikely to last for Hollande, “unless there is better news on another front”. He said if the situation remained calm in France, people would quickly “get back to the old tedious business of economic growth and unemployment and Hollande’s ratings will slide down accordingly”.

Conversely, fresh attacks could also hurt him as the feeling would likely set in that whatever remedy Hollande had applied was not working, he argued. French political analyst Thomas Guenole agreed that the popularity accompanying Hollande’s “war chief” transformation was likely a ﬂash in the pan. But, he said, whatever happens, the days of Hollande-bashing were probably over, as he had ﬁnally proven himself capable. — AFP

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It will make sense to shut down Guantánamo

tanding before the press on Capitol Hill, Senator Kelly Ayotte, Republican of New Hampshire, argued that this is no time to be releasing detainees from the military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Opportunistically, she cited the recent massacre in Paris and deteriorating security in Yemen, which she oddly described as “the wild, wild West for terrorists.” She warned that American officials suspect or know that roughly 30 per cent of the men released from Guantánamo have returned to the fight. “We need a timeout,” Ayotte said, flanked by Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, fellow Republicans who are co-sponsors of a bill that would prevent the Obama administration from releasing Guantánamo prisoners who have never been charged and who have been cleared for release by officials based on a thorough risk analysis. Coming from Ayotte, a defence hawk who takes extreme positions on national security matters, this misguided proposal is unsurprising. But its rollout was particularly troubling for a few reasons. The recidivism rate the senators cited failed to take into account how much it has decreased in recent years. “Guantánamo is a betrayal of American values,” a former military officers wrote. “The prison is a symbol of torture and justice delayed. More than a decade after it opened, Guantánamo remains a recruiting poster for terrorists …” Those words are as true now as they were then. President Obama pledged to move swiftly to shut down the prison during his first presidential campaign. Still, the Obama administration has made significant headway, and the recidivism rate of former detainees has dropped considerably. Out of the 88 prisoners who have been released since January 2009, six are known to have become involved with terrorist or insurgent groups, and one is suspected of having done so, a 6.1 per cent recidivism rate. During the Bush years, more than 33 per cent of the 532 detainees released were confirmed or suspected to have re-joined the fight, according to statistics released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence last September. The Obama administration is looking for countries willing to take 54 prisoners who have been cleared for release by a team of American national security agencies and is evaluating how many of the remaining detainees could be safely freed. Only 10 of the prisoners currently at Guantánamo, which was established in January 2002, have been prosecuted; seven of them are facing charges in military commissions, and three have been convicted and are either serving sentences or awaiting sentencing. It is long past time for American officials to do the right thing: prosecute suspected terrorists in American courtrooms and shut down a wartime prison that has deservedly brought the United States international scorn. Besides moral and strategic considerations, shutting Guantánamo would make fiscal sense. Currently, the United States spends $3 million a year to hold each detainee.

WASHINGTON WATCH

Pope is right. You can’t insult faith of others JAMES J. ZOGBY

- The New York Times News Service

Rehabilitating Afghan refugees

he situation for Afghan refugees remains precarious and insecure, as it usually is, with countless questions for many on what the future holds. While Pakistani authorities and the UN Refugee Agency, the UNHCR, have decided to extend repatriation of all Afghan refugees by December 2015, a majority are said to be unwilling to voluntarily return because of the unstable law and order conditions they fear in Afghanistan. What remains for hundreds of thousands of Afghans then is a constant state of insecurity, worries of unforeseen consequences of starting life again in Afghanistan and living as unwanted and frequently harassed members of society in Pakistan. Many Afghans have lived here for most or all their lives, have been born, raised and married here, and this is the only home known to them. They must be treated with the empathy and humanity that is deserving for all when forced to move from one home to another. Although Pakistan has hosted Afghans for decades, the harassment of refugees at the hands of the police and other law-enforcement agencies remains a frequent problem, as was witnessed following the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16. The narrative of Afghan refugees should also be included in the public narrative, for many in Pakistan equate the deteriorating law and order problem to the presence of refugees in the country. This is not only a very simplistic explanation but ignores the complex situation that Pakistan is faced with and avoids looking at the problem within. Even if all refugees are sent back by the end of the year, it is safe to say that Pakistan’s law and order problems will not end overnight. - The Express Tribune

The new rules of traffic fines for expats welcome This refers to the news story, Clear your traffic fines or face problems leaving Oman (January 19). I feel the new rules and the measures being taken to make expatriate traffic rule offenders pay fines is perfect. In fact, such a rule was long overdue. I know of many expatriates who left the country without paying their fines. The new rule will now plug the gap very effectively. D. N. Sharma Muscat

People must pay heed to warnings about weather I was much dismayed to learn that several people in and around Musandam were trapped in wadis due to heavy rain in the area. I really fail to understand

why people do not pay heed to the weather warnings and forecasts. For the past two days we are being told by the met office about the chances of rain in the Sultanate. Yet, apparently, people took no heed to the warnings and were caught unaware in wadis in Musandam. Such an attitude reﬂects a lackadaisical approach of the people. Joy Chatterjee Muscat

AAP may go out of politics after Delhi Assembly polls The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will storm into power in Delhi and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will probably go out of politics after the Assembly polls in the state. If this happens, AAP will have none else but itself to blame. It is sad but true that

The French looked at and treated these Arabs as less than human. Two generations later, these once-colonised Algerians have come to France seeking jobs and opportunity. Instead they find themselves trapped in poverty, as part of a permanent underclass

he perpetrators of the horror at Charlie Hedbo were not devout Muslims outraged by insults directed at their faith. They were not motivated by religious piety, nor did they seek to strike a blow at “freedom of expression”. Rather they were crude political actors who planned an act of terror — seeking to create the greatest possible impact. They were murderers, plain and simple. I believe in freedom of expression, but with freedom also comes responsibility. Pope Francis got it right when he noted “You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others”. At the same time, I am horrified by the outrageous murders of innocent journalists. As Francis added “one cannot offend, make war, kill in the name of one’s religion—that is in the name of God. To kill in the name of God is an aberration”. It is wrong to insult. But the greater wrong is to kill those who insult you, especially if you claim to do it in God’s name. As profoundly wrong as were the killings at Charlie Hebdo, the murders at Parisian kosher market, were even more despicable. What should be clear is that France has a problem. Most minorities belonging to a particular religion in France come from former French colonies — where France’s behaviour was often brutal and hurtful. During the colonial period, the Algerians were denied their identity, their language, and their rights. The French looked at and treated these Arabs as less than human. Two generations later, these once-colonised Algerians have come to France seeking jobs and opportunity. Instead they find themselves trapped in poverty, as part of a permanent underclass. It is important to understand this context in order to grasp the humiliation felt by many French Muslims on seeing their religion denigrated by the country’s elite intellectuals. This, of course, in no way excuses the horrible murders at Charlie Hebdo. The terrorists hijacked not only the religion, but the hurt other Muslims have felt at the insults directed at the faith by the dominant secular French culture. The hurt is legitimate, the terrorist killings are not. France has another problem. It welcomes immigrants, but it does not respect them or absorb them. In the days that followed the Paris murders, there were a number of articles that, after pointing to conflicts raging from Iraq to Libya, called

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Mediocre men often have the most acquired knowledge CLAUDE BERNARD

on Muslims to “re-examine their religion” and its “penchant for violence and intolerance”. Even though a few of these commentaries may have been well-meaning, they were wrong and evidence of a deeper prejudice against the religion. In the last century, Europe was the scene of two bloody world wars that killed tens of millions. The continent gave birth to fascism in Spain, Italy, and Germany, and to Communism and violent anarchism. It also saw the expansion of Europe’s colonial enterprise in Africa, Asia, and the Arab World — with horrific and shameful violence in their ultimately failed efforts to subdue the indigenous peoples who resisted subordination. During all that time and even now, in hindsight, did we ask Christianity to re-examine itself? Did we ever suggest that this mass murderous rampage that engulfed a continent had its roots in a religion that glorified conquest and blessed oppression and racism? And when George W. Bush told us that God called him to go to Iraq and when clergy blessed the war effort and when there has been no accountability for horrors of Abu Ghraib and torture or the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis and thousands of Americans in what can only be described as a failed war based on a lie, have Christians been called upon to re-examine the principles of their faith? The simple truth is that murderers and presidents, and governments and groups may use the evocative power of religious language to justify their behaviour. The problem is not in the language or the religion. The problem is with those who abuse it for their evil ends. The source of the current violence is to be found not in religion but in the conditions that exist in the countries from which those who abuse religion come, whether it is discrimination and humiliation, extreme deprivation and oppression, occupation, or other forms of severe dislocation that result in aberrant anti-social behaviour. This doesn’t absolve those who respond to such conditions with violence. But our condemnation should be precise. They are not Muslim or Christian or Jewish or Hindu or Buddhist murderers or terrorists. Rather they are murderers or terrorists who defile the language of religion in a vain effort to justify their violence. The author is the President of Arab American Institute. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of Times of Oman.

AAP squandered the golden opportunity the people of Delhi gave it. Rather than making the best use of the opportunity AAP leaders took suicidal decisions one after the other which not only tarnished the image and standing of the party but also eroded its credibility. The AAP leader who brieﬂy became the chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, was the biggest disappointment. If he and his party had not quit and made use of the opportunity they had got, AAP would have become an effective foil to the BJP by now. P. K. Anand Ghubra

Lone wolf theory is a ploy to sell security measures The article, Lone wolves will deﬁne the future of terrorism

(January 18) made an interesting reading and it was in sync with the worst fears left in the minds of everyone all across the world, including in the US. Such attacks cannot be ruled out in New York or in any other city. But Kouachi brothers’ attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris had some sort of link with extremist groups engaged in global terrorism. Some analysts argue that the lone wolf theory serves political interests of governments and is used to sell tougher security measures to public. Yet, we cannot disagree that in the past two decades, all the more since 9/11, terrorism has changed and will change with time in future. Therefore, we cannot rule out the threat of lone wolves and terrorism in general. Suddapalli Bhaskara Rao Ruwi

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

T I MES OF OM AN

T U E S DAY, JAN UARY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

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PERSPEC IVE Oh! How expensive it is to be poor in United States E

arlier this month, the Pew Research Centre released a study that found that most wealthy Americans believed “poor people today have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return.” This is an infuriatingly obtuse view of what it means to be poor in the United States — the soul-rending omnipresence of worry and fear, of weariness and fatigue. This can be the view only of those who have not known — or have long forgotten — what poverty truly means. “Easy” is a word not easily spoken among the poor. Things are hard — the times are hard, the work is hard, the way is hard. “Easy” is for uninformed explanations issued by the callous and the haughtily blind. Allow me to explain, as James Baldwin put it, a few illustrations of “how extremely expensive it is to be poor.” First, many poor people work, but they just don’t make enough to move out of poverty — an estimated 11 million Americans fall into this category. So, as the Pew report pointed out, “more than half of the least secure group reports receiving at least one type of means-tested government benefit.” And yet, whatever the poor earn is likely to be more heavily taxed than the earnings of wealthier citizens, according to a new analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. As The New York Times put it last week: “According to the study, in 2015 the poorest fifth of Americans will pay on average 10.9 per cent of their income in state and local taxes, the middle fifth will pay 9.4 percent and the top 1 per cent will average 5.4 percent.” In addition, many low-income people are “unbanked” (not served by a financial institution), and thus nearly eaten alive by exorbitant fees. As the St. Louis Federal Reserve pointed out in 2010: “Unbanked consumers spend approximately 2.5 to 3 per cent of a government benefits check and between 4 per cent and 5 per cent of payroll check just to cash them. Additional dollars are spent to purchase money orders to pay routine monthly expenses. When you consider the cost for cashing a bi-weekly payroll check and buying about six money orders each month, a household with a net income of $20,000 may pay as much as $1,200 annually for alternative service fees — substantially more than the expense of a monthly checking account.” Even when low-income people can become affiliated with a bank, those banks are increasingly making them pay “steep rates for loans

CHARLES M. BLOW

‘Easy’ is a word not easily spoken among the poor. Things are hard — the times are hard, the work is hard, the way is hard. ‘Easy’ is for uninformed explanations issued by the callous and the haughtily blind

and high fees on basic checking accounts,” as The Times’s DealBook blog put it last year. And poor people can have a hard time getting credit. As The Washington Post put it, the excesses of the subprime boom have led conventional banks to stay away from the riskiest borrowers, leaving them “all but cut off from access to big loans, like mortgages.” One way to move up the ladder and out of poverty is through higher education, but even that is not without disproportionate costs. As the Institute for College Access and Success noted in March: “Graduates who received Pell Grants, most of whom had family incomes under $40,000, were much more likely to borrow and to borrow more. Among graduating seniors who ever received a Pell Grant, 88 percent had student loans in 2012, with an average of $31,200 per borrower. In contrast, 53 percent of those who never received a Pell Grant had debt, with an average of $26,450 per borrower.” And often, work or school requires transportation, which can be another outrageous expense. According to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights: “Low- and moderate-income households spend 42 percent of their total annual income on transportation, including those who live in rural areas, as compared to middle-income households, who spend less than 22 percent of their annual income on transportation.” And besides, having a car can make prime targets of the poor. One pernicious practice that the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. — and the protests that followed — resurfaced was the degree to which some local municipalities profit from police departments targeting poor communities, with a raft of stops, fines, summonses and arrests supported by police actions and complicit courts. As NPR reported in August: “In 2013, the municipal court in Ferguson — a city of 21,135 people — issued 32,975 arrest warrants for nonviolent offenses, mostly driving violations.” “ArchCity Defenders, a St. Louis-area public defender group, says in its report that more than half the courts in St. Louis County engage in the ‘illegal and harmful practices’ of charging high court fines and fees on nonviolent offenses like traffic violations — and then arresting people when they don’t pay.” The list of hardships could go on for several more columns, but you get the point: Being poor is anything but easy. - The New York Times News Service

It’s not Google’s business to save newspapers

he rebellion of the newspapers has come to a rather embarrassing end. In Spain, a gang of titles has long lobbied for a Google tax. They got their wish this year. Spain’s government is passing a law that will force Google to pay a fee for the 30-word or so “snippets” of news reports — taken from Spanish websites — with which it stocks up Google News. One hitch. Google does not want to pay. So it announced that from today there would simply be no more Google News in Spain. Vamos. And a cherry on top; Spanish papers would not appear on Google News around the world — so if a big story breaks in Spain this minute, international readers will only see the work of reporters from outside the country. All in all, a blow to the Spanish press, who, like the rest of us, rely on Google to direct readers to their stories online: more eyeballs, more advertising, more money to keep paying for staff and reporting the news.

MEMPHIS BARKER

The Spanish Newspaper Publisheditorialers’ Association (AEDE), which put its shoulder to the new law, is attempting a belated reverse ferret. It announced it wanted Google News back as the retreat would “undoubtedly have a negative impact on Spanish citizens and Spanish businesses”. Which is true. But having ﬁrst sought to squeeze the Google teat for more cash, it’s a little undigniﬁed to start mewling now its bosom has been withdrawn as a result. The AEDE might have seen it coming, too — newspapers in Belgium, France and Germany have attempted something similar and, although small concessions were won, had to water their claims down to more or less maintaining the status quo. The Spanish law, by contrast, is draconian. Publishers will not be able to opt out: they have to demand money from Google. It’s a calamity, I hope you’ll agree, that newspapers are going

out of business at such speed. And it was to a large degree the internet did it. But the genie cannot be put back in the bottle by government regulation. The newspapers that survive — smaller fish, perhaps, in a smaller pool — will be those that learn to swim with the demands of online journalism and find ways of making money from it. In short, Spain’s press lobby has learnt that you shouldn’t start up a game of chicken when you’re driving a beat-up Seat Ibiza and the other party is sitting at the wheel of a bullet train. Google’s no pip squeak innocent, that said. It claims not to make any money out of its news service, but of course the site gathers users through it. Nevertheless, if the legacy media isn’t hurt by Google News and the average internet drifter benefits, then this is one case that the Silicon Valley giant doesn’t fit in to the Big Bad Wolf costume that Europe has sized up for it. What’s the Spanish for “oops?”.

Running on empty tanks like its predecessor and it would get the economy up and running. This is a pro-business PM we were told, who cut red tape to let the economy flourish. The opposite has been the case. Sharif has been bad for both the economy and for the private sector. And we cannot blame Imran Khan or the hidden hand for everything. For one, he has stuffed near and dear ones in almost all public sector enterprises. Take Shujaat Azeem, the golden boy of aviation who seems to have brought the national airline to its knees. Almost every other day we hear tales of scandals, corruption and incompetence in PIA. And this is the tip of the iceberg. There is a lack of economic vision. Ishaq Dar’s only achievement it seems was to bring the dollar back to 100 after Pakistan pledged to remain neutral in the war in Syria. It was a cheap bargain with the Saudis, but we made it. State enterprises are overburdened and underperforming. Entities like Pakistan State Oil, Pakistan Steel, the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation and many others. There has been no effort made to fix them. Pakistan Steel, for example, is bleeding. It enjoys an almost monopoly like situation in the steel production sector so this defies logic. Corruption seems the only plausible answer. There is the lack of direction on the part of the government. Like the appointment of acting heads of private sector enterprises but not giving them control. The inability to get regulators to act decisively because many have been appointed based on personal considerations. Then there is lack of foresight in terms of planning ahead and the over-emphasis on high ticket infrastructure projects, in place of less grand but more important undertakings. We have billions to spend on motorway’s and city bus projects but not enough for health, education, water, public transport and other less attractive subjects. We do not need the Chinese or the Turk to help us in fixing our roads and our schools. To help us clean up our cities and to build our basic health infrastructure. We are capable of this and more by having competent people in positions of authority and by checking theft and malpractice through an institutionalised approach. All we need are honest leaders and ministers who themselves are not dipping their hands in the till. This is the real challenge.

KAMAL SIDDIQI

t does not make sense for a whole province to run out of petrol overnight. That is what seems to have happened in Punjab where fuel stations have turned dry leaving the people having to ﬁght for what little that remains. It takes a particularly incompetent government to achieve this feat. This is what the Nawaz Sharif government is fast becoming. We are told that the fault lies with the private sector oil marketing companies who have lessened or are unwilling to let go of their stocks because of falling oil prices. But if fuel was to be found at any pump, it was at those which were owned by private oil marketing companies. That too could not hold out for too long. It is not the private sector that calls the shots. And declining fuel prices are a global phenomena, not restricted to Pakistan. One did not hear of fuel shortages in land-locked Afghanistan or its capital Kabul. In his usual darbari style, prime minister Nawaz Sharif took the step of suspending (not sacking as was reported in some sections of the media) some officials in a bid to lessen the anger directed against his administration. But that is not good enough. I remember how the Sharif government treated the independent power producers that the Benazir government had brought to Pakistan. These IPPs were hounded and publicly humiliated. The man who helped set up the policy, Shahid Hasan Khan, was attacked and abused by Sharif loyalists. Ironically, it is these very IPPs who have helped us manage our power production over the past years. So much drama on the economy only for point scoring. This time round, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has disappointed us further. We were expecting that his government would not act

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has disappointed us further. We were expecting that his government would not act like its predecessor and it would get the economy up and running

- The Express Tribune

- The Independent

Threat of terror from European extremists Many US and European intelligence officials fear that a wave of terror attacks will sweep through Europe, driven by the large number of foreign fighters travelling to Syria to participate in extremist conflict Foreign fighters of european origin who have travelled to syria Numbers based on official figures and estimates. Includes those who have returned or died Norway Maximum number 140 UK Minimum number 500 Less than 10 fighters

Many never return home, but continue ﬁghting in conﬂict zone or next battle for extremist

Edward II of England is deposed by his eldest son, Edward III.

1616

The French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrives to winter in a Huron Indian village after being wounded in a battle with Iroquois in New France.

Denmark 110

Netherlands 120

France 950

1327 Sweden

Ireland 60

Factors reducing threat from foreign ﬁghters Many die in suicide attacks or conﬂict with opposing forces

Finland 45

TODAY IN HISTORY

1783

Lux.

Serbia 100

Switz.

Kosovo 50 Spain

Others arrested or disrupted by intelligence services Source: The Brookings Institution, wire agencies

60 Austria

Macedonia Albania

90 Italy Montenegro

Britain signs a peace agreement with France and Spain, who allied against it in the American War of Independence.

1941

Hitler meets with Mussolini and offers aid in Albania and Greece.

1944

Allied forces in Italy begin unsuccessful operations to cross the Rapido River and seize Cassino.

HISTORYNET.COM Graphic News /

Graphics

OPINION POLL Do people in Oman take unnecessary risks even when there are forecasts for rain and thundershowers?

FROM OUR ARCHIVES FEASIBILITY STUDY ON ALUMINIUM PLANT DONE, 2nd STAGE UNDERWAY

MUSCAT: A feasibility study for a proposed $2.5 billion aluminium smelter in Oman has been successfully completed and an implementation review is underway, a project official said yesterday. “The baseline study has been successfully completed and now we are entering the second stage of identifying different technologies and the ﬁnancial mechanism that would be applied to the project,” Tony Kemp, business development manager for W J Towell, said.

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BRAZIL: A man crosses on a slickline installed over the water during sunset at Apoador beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday. — AFP

EGYPT: Workers prepare Koshary, a popular Egyptian dish, in an attempt to break the Guinness World

Record for the world's biggest plate of Koshary in Cairo, on Saturday. — Reuters

LIBYA: Families of the 27 Egyptian Coptic Christians workers kidnapped in the Libyan city of Sirte, hold pictures of their kidnapped relatives as they ask for their release, in front of the UN office in Cairo, on Monday. — Reuters

UNITED STATES: Houseboats sit on Lake Kaweah, well below the visible high-water mark in Lemon MALAWI: People unload relief aid from a Malawi military helicopter as it arrives at M'bwazi Primary

School in Malawi's southern Nsanje District on Sunday. Torrential rains have wreaked havoc across half the country's 28 districts, washing away homes, crops and disrupting power supplies. — AFP

FRANCE: Lorry drivers driving cars and waving ﬂags of the French workers' union FO (Workers Force), escorted by police, carry out a go-slow operation in Aubagne on the A50 highway towards Marseille, early on Monday, at the start of a lorry drivers' strike to demand higher salaries. — AFP

Cove, California, US, on Saturday. A combination of record high temperatures and sparse rainfall during California's three-year drought have produced the worst conditions in 1,200 years, according to a study accepted for publication by the American Geophysical Union. — Reuters

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near Blair Atholl, Scotland, United Kingdom, on Sunday. — Reuters

T U E S DAY, JAN UARY 2 0, 2 0 1 5 The global community has the chance to change the course of the Noncommunicable diseases epidemic Margaret Chan, WHO chief

Lifestyle diseases claim 16m lives every year: WHO WHO has estimated that if nothing is done to improve the situation, premature NCD deaths will suck $7.0 trillion out of the global economy over the next decade

Unhealthy habits like smoking, alcohol abuse and consuming too much fat, salt and sugar have sparked an epidemic of diseases

GENEVA: Diseases linked to lifestyle choices, including diabetes and some cancers, kill 16 million people prematurely each year, the World Health Organisation said on Monday, urging action to stop the “slow-moving public health disaster”. Unhealthy habits like smoking, alcohol abuse and consuming too much fat, salt and sugar have sparked an epidemic of diseases which together constitute the leading cause of death globally, WHO said. This “lifestyle disease” epidemic “causes a much greater public health threat than any other epidemic known to man,” said Shanthi Mendis, the lead author of WHO’s Chronic Diseases Prevention and Management report. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), like cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, lung disease and a range of cancers, killed a full 38 million people around the globe in 2012 — 16 million of them under the age of 70. “Not thousands are dying, but millions are dying... every year in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s, not in their 80s and 90s,” said Mendis. “It’s beyond belief that it is

seemingly invisible,” she told reporters ahead of the launch. Most of the world’s 16 million premature NCD deaths each year — 82 per cent — occur in poor and middle income countries, and most of them could be averted with just small investments, the report found. “The global community has the chance to change the course of the NCD epidemic,” WHO chief Margaret Chan said in a statement. Promoting healthier habits Millions of lives could be saved if the world over the next decade invests just $11.2 billion each year, or $1-3 per person, on promoting healthier habits, the report found. Today, some six million people die prematurely each year due to tobacco use, 3.3 million deaths are linked to alcohol abuse, 3.2 million to lacking physical activity and 1.7 million to eating too much salt, according to WHO ﬁndings. A full 42 million children under the age of ﬁve are considered to be obese, and an estimated 84 per cent of adolescents do not get enough exercise, Mendis said,

describing the situations as “extremely frightening.” The international community has staked out nine global targets for shifting unhealthy habits with the aim of slashing premature NCD deaths by a quarter between 2011 and 2025. Simple and inexpensive steps like banning advertising of tobacco and alcohol products and taxing foods and drinks that contain high levels of salt and caffeine has already proven successful in a range of countries, WHO said. In Turkey, for instance, an advertising ban on tobacco products combined with signiﬁcant price hikes and health warnings has pushed smoking rates down 13.4-percent since 2008. A move in Hungary to heavily tax unhealthy food and drink components has meanwhile led to a 27-per cent drop in junk food sales, the report said. But while some countries have made progress, most will fall short of the 2025 target, WHO said, warning that inaction would have far-reaching consequences. - AFP

WORLD

A1 5

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TU ESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

WORLD

No proof of terrorism in AirAsia crash so far The 10 investigators at the National Transportation Safety Committee had found ‘no threats’ in the cockpit voice recordings to indicate foul play during AirAsia Flight QZ8501

JAKARTA: Indonesian investigators said on Monday they had found no evidence so far that terrorism played a part in the crash of an AirAsia passenger jet last month that killed all 162 people on board. Andreas Hananto told Reuters that his team of 10 investigators at the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) had found “no threats” in the cockpit voice recordings to indicate foul play during AirAsia Flight QZ8501. The Airbus A320-200 vanished from radar screens on December 28, less than halfway into a two-hour ﬂight from Indonesia’s second-biggest city of Surabaya to Singapore. There were no survivors. When asked if there was any evidence from the recording that terrorism was involved, Hananto said: “No. Because if there were terrorism, there would have been a threat of some kind.” “In that critical situation, the recording indicates that the pilot was busy with the handling of the plane.”

CRUCIAL EVIDENCE: A police officer stands near part of the fuselage of crashed AirAsia Flight QZ8501 inside a storage facility at Kumai port in Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia, on Monday. The airliner lost contact with air traffic control in bad weather on December 28, 2014 less than halfway into a two-hour ﬂight from the city of Surabaya to Singapore. All 162 people on board were killed. -Reuters

Investigators said they had listened to the whole of the recording but transcribed only about half. “We didn’t hear any voice of other persons other than the pilots,” said Nurcahyo Utomo, another investigator. “We didn’t hear any sounds of gunfire or explosions. For the time being, based on that, we can eliminate the possibility of terrorism.” Explosion unlikely Utomo said that investigators could hear “almost everything” on the recording contained in one of the flight’s two “black boxes”. The other is the flight data recorder, and both have been recovered from the wreckage at the bottom of the Java Sea. He declined to give details about what was said during the doomed flight’s final moments, citing Indonesian law. Indonesian authorities have said that bad weather was likely to have played a part in the disaster.

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According to Hananto, evidence also showed that an explosion was unlikely before the plane crashed, disputing a theory suggested by an official from the National Search and Rescue Agency last week. “From the (flight data recordings) so far, it’s unlikely there was an explosion,” Hananto said. “If there was, we would definitely know because certain parameters would show it. There are something like 1,200 parameters.” The final minutes of the AirAsia flight were full of “sounds of machines and sounds of warnings” that must be filtered out to get a complete transcript of what was said in the cockpit, said Hananto, who has been an air safety investigator since 2009. The first half of the two-hour long cockpit voice recording has been transcribed. That includes audio from the previous flight and the beginning of Flight QZ8501, which crashed around 40 minutes after takeoff.

The team, which is working with French, Singaporean and Chinese air safety investigators, hopes to finish transcribing the recording this week, Hananto said. With seven computers and various audio equipment, the small NTSC laboratory dedicated to the AirAsia investigation is split into two rooms; one for the cockpit voice recorder and the other for the flight data recorder. Analysis of the flight data recorder would take longer, Hananto said, because investigators were examining all 72 previous flights flown by the aircraft. Investigators hope to finish a preliminary report on the crash early next week. The full report could take up to a year, but will not include the entire cockpit voice transcript. “In Indonesia it remains undisclosed,” said Tatang Kurniadi, chief of the NTSC. “Just some important highlights will be included in the report.” - Reuters

O X FA M R E P O R T

‘Richest 1 per cent to soon own more than rest of world’ DAVOS: The richest 1 per cent people in the world will soon have more wealth than the remaining 99 per cent of the global population, says a report. The Oxfam report yesterday came ahead of annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. The international agency, whose executive director Winnie Byanyima will co-chair the Davos event, said the explosion in inequality is holding back the ﬁght against global poverty at a time when 1 in 9 people do not have enough to eat and more than a billion people still live on less than USD 1.25 a day. According to the report by worldwide development organisation Oxfam, in 2014, 85 rich individuals held more wealth than the poorest half of the world’s population -- 3.5 billion people. Now, a year later, that ﬁgure has become more extreme -- 80 billionaires have the same amount of wealth as the bottom half of the planet. “If this trend continues of an increasing wealth share to the richest, the top 1 per cent will have more wealth than the remaining 99 per cent of people in just two years,” Oxfam said in a report. In 2010, the richest 80 people in the world had a net wealth of USD 1.3 trillion. By 2014, the 80 people who top the Forbes rich list had a collective wealth of USD 1.9 trillion; an increase of USD 600 billion in just 4 years. Meanwhile, between 2002 and 2010 the total wealth of the poorest half of the world in the current US dollar terms had been increasing more or less at the same rate as that of billionaires; however since 2010, it has been decreasing. The wealth of these 80 individuals is now the same as that owned by the bottom 50 per cent of the global population, such that 3.5 billion people share between them the same amount of wealth as that of these extremely wealthy

The explosion in inequality is holding back the fight against global poverty at a time when 1 in 9 people do not have enough to eat and more than a billion people still live on less than USD 1.25 a day

80 people, the report said. “The scale of global inequality is quite simply staggering and despite the issues shooting up the global agenda, the gap between the richest and the rest is widening fast,” Byanyima said, adding that it is time our leaders took on the powerful vested interests that stand in the way of a fairer and more prosperous world. “Business as usual for the elite isn’t a cost free option - failure to tackle inequality will set the ﬁght against poverty back by decades. The poor are hurt twice by rising inequality - they get a smaller share of the economic pie and because extreme inequality hurts growth, there is less pie to be shared around.” - PTI

VIOLENCE

Kenyan policemen tear-gas children in playground protest

SCRAMBLE TO SAFETY: Schoolchildren from the Lang’ata road primary school scramble up a bridge

in Nairobi, on Monday, to escape tear gas after police attempted to break up their demonstration against the removal of their school’s playground, which was allegedly grabbed by a powerful politician. Children were in the front line of people pulling down a wall erected around the playground. -AFP

NAIROBI: Kenyan police fired tear gas at children as young as eight protesting on Monday against the seizure of their school playground by a property developer. Around 100 primary school children and a small group of activists pushed over a newly built wall that separated playing fields and the school buildings, close to the capital Nairobi’s main domestic airport. The majority of the children were aged between eight and 13. Around 40 armed police accompanied by dogs dispersed the protesters by firing tear gas canisters, an AFP photographer at the scene said. Dozens of children were caught in choking clouds of tear gas before being forced to shelter on a pedestrian bridge over the main road to escape the noxious fumes. Children screamed as police officers in riot gear and waving truncheons pushed them back, some panicking as they sought

water to wash their burning eyes. At least ﬁve children received medical treatment while one policeman was wounded, seen with blood pouring down beneath his riot helmet. A senior police officer at the demonstration, Mwangi Kuria, told Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper that officers had been deployed to “safeguard the property”, adding that rocks had been thrown at his men. Disputed land “This is disputed land, but they should not use the children,” Kuria was quoted as saying. Two activists were detained by police, Kenyan media said. Macharia Njeru, chairman of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, said the incident would be investigated. “Teargassing children is inexcusable,” he said. Renowned activist Boniface Mwangi said a “school playground is a necessity, not a privilege.”

Some of the children carried placards protesting the alleged land grab. “Kenya: the land of shameless grabbers,” read one, with others pleading for government to ﬁght corruption. ‘Shame!’ “Shame!” read another. “Grabber, you won’t live forever.” The incident sparked angry reactions on social media, including Twitter, where comments used the hashtag “#OccupyPlayGround”. “Shame on the government for assaulting children with tear gas to protect the corrupt,” politician and former presidential hopeful Martha Karua said on Twitter. Monday was the ﬁrst school day since the wall was built during the holidays. Nairobi, a city of more than three million people, is rapidly growing and land prices are rising at some of the fastest rates anywhere on the continent, according to real estate experts. -AFP

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

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CRUDE OIL PRICE

CURRENCY RATES*

DRAFT RATES (OMR1)*

GOLD PRICES*

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

Forex rates vs OMR1* US Dollar ................................. 2.58 Euro ............................................ 2.22 Pound ........................................... 1.70 Indian Rs ............................ 160.00 Pak Rs ................................... 256.87 Bangla Taka.......................199.52

Indian Rs ..................................160.00 Pakistan Rs ............................ 260.30 Sri Lanka Rs ...........................342.45 Bangla Taka............................ 201.80 Phil Peso .................................... 115.55

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) .......16.30

Oman Crude............. (Spot) ........$46.03 Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) .........$45.01 Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ........$49.62 Arabian Light ......... (Spot) ........ $48.76 N.Sea Brent............... (Spot) ........$49.32 West Texas Int ....... (Spot) .........$47.94

* Rates as of Jan. 19 Source: Oman UAE Exchange

* Rates are as of Jan. 19 Source: Bank Muscat

Oman plans to award an oil and gas block this year GLOBAL OIL GIANTS Government is trying to open up both

offshore and onshore blocks for development in a bid to enhance hydrocarbon resources

A. E. JAMES

businesseditor@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Oman government plans to award an oil and gas block to an international oil company on production sharing basis this year, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Oil and Gas. “Hopefully, we will award one oil block, which has both oil and gas deposits,” Dr Saleh A. Al Anboori, director general of Management of Petroleum Investment, told ‘Times of Oman’. Dr Al Anboori said the recent fall in oil prices would not affect investment in oil and gas sector in the country. “I don’t think it will affect investments. (development) activity is continuing as per the plan.” According to the latest budget estimate, investment

expenditure in oil and gas sector is 9.35 per cent higher in 2015 at OMR1,520 million, against OMR1,390 million last year. Oman government has been encouraging multinational oil giants to ﬁnd new reservoirs in a move to sustain production levels. As huge investment is required for bringing crude oil and natural gas above the ground in view of the peculiar nature of reservoirs in the Sultanate, the government has been encouraging multinational ﬁrms to undertake exploration on production sharing basis. The government is trying to open up both offshore and onshore blocks for development in a bid to enhance hydrocarbon resources in the country. Oman government last year signed one each production shar-

Oman has been favouring global oil giants to ﬁnd new reservoirs in a move to sustain production levels. As huge investment is required to bring crude and natural gas above the ground in view of the peculiar nature of reservoirs in Oman, government has been encouraging multinational ﬁrms to undertake exploration on production sharing basis

Dr Saleh A. Al Anboori

ing agreement with Total Exploration and Production Oman Petroleum B V and Petrogas Kahil for developing an offshore oil block in northern coast and an onshore block in Al Wusta region. The ﬁrst agreement with Total was for developing offshore block 41 spread in a large 23,850 square kilometres area off northern coast, while pact with Petrogas was for onshore block 55, spread in an area of 7,564 square kilometres.

Twenty-nine oil blocks According to latest available ﬁgures, twenty-nine oil blocks have already been awarded to international ﬁrms for exploration and in recent years, the initiative is gaining prominence. Some of these blocks started producing oil, while others are in various stages of studies and development. While eight companies are engaged in oil production, 12 others are carrying out either explora-

tion or geological studies in 19 oil blocks. The number of companies operating in the oil and gas sector has reached 18, working in 29 concession areas. Presently, multinational oil companies contribute 30 per cent of total crude production, while majority state-owned Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) constitutes the remaining 70 per cent oil output. Referring to the recent commissioning of Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production’s 27 million cubic feet per day natural gas ﬁeld in Abu Butabul, Dr Al Anboori said that it would help the country in meeting growing natural gas demand from both industries and power sectors. The successful production of gas from the deep and tight reservoir substantially enhanced gas availability to meet the growing local demand — which is vital for the economic development of the country.

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Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......15.65 Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............154.50 Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) .............146.25 * Rates as of Jan. 19 Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

SHIFTING OF ACTIVITIES

Port Services Corporation profit dips 51% Times News Service MUSCAT: Port Services Corporation on Monday said its net proﬁt for 2014 dipped by 51.3 per cent to OMR3.06 million from OMR6.29 million posted in the previous year, mainly on account of shifting of Muscat Port’s commercial activities to Sohar in August. From August 2014, commercial operation of vessels was shifted from Port Sultan Qaboos (PSQ) to Sohar as part of the government’s plan to convert Muscat port into a tourism hub. This plan has impacted the volume of business handled at the port as well as the revenue. The company’s total operating revenue also declined by 37.2 per cent to OMR14.24 million from OMR22.66 million for 2013, according to the preliminary results posted on MSM website. The company’s operating expenses showed a 16.5 per cent fall at OMR10.94 million from OMR13.09 million. Non-operating income also fell by 32.1 per cent to OMR1.63 million from OMR2.40 million during the period under review. Earnings per share of the company dipped to 32 baisas by December-end, from 66 baisas for the same period of 2013. The unaudited results are subject to approval.

TU ESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

MARKET Al Jenaibi drives BMW Oman sales in top gear The BMW 5 Series, the global leader in the executive saloon segment, was the best-selling BMW model, followed by the BMW X5 Sports Activity Coupé and ﬂagship 7 Series, a top-selling model since its launch in the Sultanate in October 2012 — the three models together accounted for 60 per cent of the importer’s total sales.

The Sultanate was the second biggest growth market for BMW in the Middle East as the luxury automaker achieved

LUXURY ON WHEELS: The BMW 5 Series, the global leader in

its best-ever annual

the executive saloon segment, was the best-selling BMW model, followed by the BMW X5 Sports Activity Coupé and ﬂagship 7 Series. Photo is used for illustrative purpose only. – Bloomberg News

sales growth of 38% its ongoing commitment to the BMW and Mini brands. Times News Service MUSCAT: Al Jenaibi International Automobiles has achieved its best-ever annual sales result with a 38 per cent growth in sales over the previous year. Oman was the second biggest growth market for BMW Group in Middle East. The highest number of vehicles sold in one year by any premium luxury automotive manufacturer in the Sultanate, 2014 was an important milestone for the BMW importer and a direct result of

New showroom Al Jenaibi International Automobiles has the largest infrastructure for sales and service in Oman with plans to expand its facilities to include a best-in-class new showroom and after-sales facility for further improvements to customer service and the overall purchase experience. Commenting on the company’s exceptional performance, Divyendu Kumar, managing director of of Al Jenaibi International Au-

tomobiles, said: “The year 2014 was an important year for us. It was a record-breaker in terms of growth. We were the second fastest growing market in the entire Middle East. This is down to many factors, but put simply — a desirable and innovative product portfolio, ongoing investment into the brands and an unwavering focus on excellent customer service. We look forward to another strong performance in 2015.” Once more it was BMW’s highend models that contributed to Al Jenaibi International Automobiles’ impressive performance.

Mini brand popular The Mini brand also grew in popularity, with an increase of 8 per cent over 2013 results. The launch of the all-new Mini Hatch was a strong contributing factor to its success in the Sultanate, as was the ever-popular Mini Countryman, the ﬁrst Mini with four doors and a four-wheel drive option. Across the Middle East region, the success was echoed with BMW Group Middle East selling more vehicles in 2014 than ever before in the company’s history. Altogether 30,148 BMW and Mini vehicles were sold across 12 countries, an increase of 23 per cent.

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

BRIEFS

Ithraa chairman to attend World Economic Forum MUSCAT: Dr Salem bin Nasser Al Ismaily, chairman of Ithraa, will join more than 40 heads of states and government at the 45th World Economic Forum (WEF) slated to be held from January 21 to 24 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. The WEF will be attended by 2,500 delegates from business, non-government organisations and social groups. Among world leaders in attendance will include French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, United States Secretary of State John Kenny and South African President Jacob Zuma. The world’s corporate giants will also attend who includes Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Google’s Eric Schmidt as is Jack Ma, founder of China’s web giant Alibaba.

Tender ﬂoated for sewage network system in Suwaiq MUSCAT: Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources yesterday ﬂoated a tender to build a sewerage network system for Suwaiq in Al Batinah North. The tender submission date is March 30, while the documents will be distributed until February 19.

Saudi’s Fakeeh Hospital mulls selling 30% stake RIYADH: Dr Soliman Fakeeh Hospital, owner of one of Saudi Arabia’s largest private hospitals, may sell a 30 per cent stake through an initial public offering (IPO) after the kingdom opens its bourse to foreign investors. “We’re applying corporate governance standards and we are ready to go for listing whenever we feel the market conditions are appropriate,” Mazen Fakeeh, president and chairman of the group, said in an interview in Dubai. The hospital would probably sell shares “within the next three years,” he said. - Times News Service/Agencies

NEXT DECADE

US government’s plan to mop up $110b from tax will hurt economy WASHINGTON: Wall Street’s top lobbying group said United States President Barack Obama’s plan to raise $110 billion over the next decade through a new tax on financial companies could stifle economic growth and make banks less likely to lend. The proposal released on Saturday would impose a sevenbasis-point fee on the liabilities of the nation’s biggest banks, investment firms and insurers. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (Sifma) said the fee is an unnecessary attempt to rein in risk on Wall Street, following the approval of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. “The tax code is not the place for a broad, new and duplicative financial regulatory regime,” Sifma president and chief executive officer Kenneth E. Bentsen said in a statement. The “targeted tax increase on America’s most productive financial institutions

sparring with Wall Street. Populist lawmakers in the party, including US Senator Elizabeth Warren, have engaged in ﬁghts in the past month over efforts to roll back Dodd-Frank and used their clout to reject Obama’s nomination of Lazard banker Antonio Weiss for a key Treasury Department post. Obama’s initiative follows a similar tax proposal last year for banks with $50 billion of assets. The new plan would expand the tax to large money managers and insurers, while lowering the rate each company has to pay. The new proposal would raise about twice as much money as last year’s plan. Barack Obama. – Reuters could have far-reaching, unintended consequences that will curtail economic growth.” The tax proposal comes as Democrats have been increasingly

Sector-only tax “The imposition of a special, sector-only tax on the vast array of ﬁnancial institutions captured by the president’s proposal under the guise of further limiting excessive risk completely ig-

nores the changes this administration, Congress, regulators and industry have implemented over the past six years,” Sifma’s Bentsen said. The bill faces uncertain prospects in Congress, where both the House and Senate are led by Republicans whose party has generally resisted tax increases. Former US representative Dave Camp, who retired from Congress after leading the House panel that sets tax policy, proposed a similar fee that drew ﬁerce opposition from banks last year. The bank fee is part of a package of proposals released on Saturday that would allow the White House to expand tax breaks for lowerand middle-income families. The Obama administration also proposed new taxes on the wealthiest Americans that would limit profits from investments and make it harder for them to pass assets on to their heirs. - Bloomberg News

AUTOMOTIVE

Renault sales grow as budget vehicles offset Russian drop

IN THE FAST LANE: Europe’s third-largest carmaker relied on demand for low-cost models like the Sandero hatchback and Duster sport-utility vehicle as a push into emerging markets backﬁred because of economic woes in Russia and Latin America. – Bloomberg News

PARIS: Renault delivered 3.2 per cent more vehicles last year as sales of budget cars in Europe offset falling demand in Russia and Argentina. Global sales rose to 2.71 million cars and light commercial vehicles from 2.63 million a year earlier, the Boulogne- Billancourt, France-based company said yesterday in a statement. Deliveries of no-frills vehicles, including Europe’s Dacia brand, jumped 5.3 per cent to 1.14 million vehicles. Renault, Europe’s third-largest carmaker, relied on demand for low-cost models like the Sandero hatchback and Duster sportutility vehicle (SUV) as a push into emerging markets backﬁred because of economic woes in

Russia and Latin America. The Dacia brand and the new Renault Captur compact SUV helped it tap into a gradual recovery in its home region, where demand hit a two- decade low in 2013. Five new models Even with overall demand for new vehicles ‘uncertain’, Renault is predicting its sales will rise again this year, underpinned by ‘an accelerated product plan’ with ﬁve new models slated to hit showrooms, said Chief Performance Officer Jerome Stoll. The ﬁrm forecast industrywide car sales this year to rise 1 per cent to 2 per cent in Europe and 2 per cent globally. The company’s home region propelled sales

growth last year, with gains of 42 per cent in the UK, 30 per cent in Spain and 29 per cent in Italy. Deliveries in Russia, Renault’s third-biggest market, fell 7.4 per cent to 194,500 vehicles, as a plunge in oil prices and a drop in the value of the ruble pushed Russia to the brink of a recession. Renault and its alliance partner Nissan together control AvtoVAZ, the maker of Lada models and the country’s largest auto producer. The French manufacturer’s deliveries in Argentina plunged 40 per cent to 85,000 vehicles as the country’s currency struggles. However, sales in Brazil, Renault’s second-biggest market, edged up by 0.3 per cent to 237,000 cars. - Bloomberg News

T U E S DAY, JAN UARY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

MARKET Asia sales help Saudi crude exports rise to 7-month high Saudi’s oil exports rose to 7.3 million barrels a day from 6.9 million barrels in October as it dropped official selling prices to Asian buyers

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s oil exports rose to a seven-month high in November when it led Organi- MAINTAINING MARKET SHARE: Saudi Arabia wants to keep market share so it can maintain production of at least 9.6 million barrels a sation of Petroleum Exporting day, said John Sfakianakis, head of Ashmore Middle East Sfakianakis. – Bloomberg News Countries (Opec) to keep production unchanged as the largest reduce ‘irresponsible’ production. selling crude that was freed durcrude shipper fought to keep mar- expectedly maintained its producAn increase of about 6 million ing the month from domestic use,” ket share with output rising from tion target of 30 million barrels a barrels a day in supply from coun- Essam Al Marzooq, an independday on November 27. the United States to Russia. tries outside the group, includ- ent energy analyst in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia’s oil exports rose ing the United States and Russia, former vice president for Europe to 7.3 million barrels a day from 6.9 Testing the market helped trigger the drop in prices, at state-run Kuwait Petroleum million barrels in October, accord- “The Saudis are trying to test the Was Brent oil price a according to Opec secretary-gen- International, said by phone from ing to data on the website of the market with both higher volumes barrel in Dubai, dropped Kuwait City. eral Abdalla El Badri. Joint Organisations Data Initia- and lower prices,” John Sfakiana0.3%, extending the “Saudi Arabia doesn’t want to tive. Crude stockpiles at the end of kis, head of Ashmore Middle East, decline to 53% in the see its output go below 9.6 million Market share the month stood at 305.8 million said by phone from Riyadh. past year. Saudi’s output Saudi Arabia’s production in No- barrels a day. This is a baseline “They are flooding the market barrels, the highest level since at in November dropped to vember dropped to 9.61 million and legitimate level the Saudis least January 2002, figures on the with exports and storage while 9.61m barrels a day from barrels a day from 9.69 million will not forgo,” Essam Al Marzooq keeping the price of their crude group’s website showed. 9.69m barrels in October barrels in October, according to said yesterday- Bloomberg News Saudi Arabia dropped its offi- competitive. These are signs that the Joint Organisation website. cial selling prices in Asia for No- they will do all what they can to Saudi Arabia wants to keep marvember sales to gain market share keep up the market share.” Brent oil dropped 0.3 per cent Al Naimi has asked why he should ket share so it can maintain proin the fastest-growing region for HAVE YOUR SAY petroleum demand while it helped to $50 a barrel in Dubai, extending be responsible for cutting output duction of at least 9.6 million barSend us your comments at domestic refiners to be profitable. the decline to 53 per cent in the while United Arab Emirates En- rels a day, Sfakianakis said. facebook.com/timesofoman “The discounts Saudi Arabia ergy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei Brent crude futures have dropped past year. blog.timesofoman.com Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali said non-Opec producers should gave in November helped a lot in about 35 per cent since Opec unhaveyoursay@timesofoman.com

$50

ECONOMY

China stocks nosedive 7.7%; Europe eyes crunch meeting LONDON: Chinese shares chalked up their biggest oneday slide of 7.7 per cent in nearly seven years yesterday after regulators there took steps to rein in speculative lending, while investors everywhere braced for what is shaping up to be a critical week in the eurozone. Expectations are high that the European Central Bank (ECB) will unveil a bond-buying stimulus package at a crunch policy meeting on Thursday, while the anti-bailout party Syriza maintains a lead in the polls going into Greece’s general polls on Sunday. Investors focused more on the anticipated quantitative easing, or ‘QE’, from the ECB than the plunge in Chinese shares or jitters over the Greek vote — some eurozone government bond yields hit new lows and German stocks reached a new high. A United States holiday also made for relatively thin conditions at the start of a week in

EUROPEAN STOCKS

European stocks shrugged off China‘s tumble, with Germany‘s DAX up 0.5% at a new high of 10,220 points, Britain‘s FTSE 100 index also up 0.5% at 6,581 points and France‘s CAC 40 was up 0.2%

which investors continue to digest the fallout of the Swiss National Bank’s shock decision last week to scrap the franc’s exchange rate cap and that will be marked by a barrage of major data from China and elsewhere. “The main speculation now is likely to be around the ﬂavour of any ECB action at Thursday’s meeting,” said Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets in London.

Bond buying “European markets have started a new week on the front foot increasingly conﬁdent that the ECB will announce a bond buying programme. This is being reﬂected in early trading by new record lows in European yields and fresh all-time highs in the German DAX,” he said. European stocks shrugged off China’s tumble, with Germany’s DAX up 0.5 per cent at a new high of 10,220 points, Britain’s FTSE 100 index also rising by 0.5 per cent at 6,581 points , and France’s CAC 40 was up 0.2 per cent at 4,382 points. In early European trade the Spanish 10-year government bond yield hit a new low of 1.47 per cent and Italy’s benchmark yield fell as low as 1.62 per cent. The QE speculation kept the euro anchored near last week’s 11-year low, and it was trading unchanged from Friday’s New York close around $1.1575. - Reuters

ISLAMIC FINANCE

Dana Gas’ deals in Egypt fails to stem debt descent DUBAI: Dana Gas’ latest deals in Egypt, including teaming up with BP to explore for oil and gas, are doing little to convince investors to buy its debt. The energy explorer’s Islamic bonds are trading at the lowest since they were issued in May 2013, even after chief executive officer Patrick Allman-Ward said last week the company reached an agreement to recover all its Egyptian receivables within three years. The yield on its $425 million callable sukuk due 2017 rose 33 basis points to a record 14 per cent last week, compared to a 13 basispoint decline to 4.1 per cent in the average yield of Sharia-compliant debt in the Middle East, according to JPMorgan Chase indices. Company’s sukuk “Regardless of what positive news has come recently, the repayments they expect to see from Egypt, it’s not going to create much of a move,” Ahmed Shehada, the head of advisory and institutions at NBAD Securities in Abu Dhabi, who twice correctly advised investors to sell the company’s sukuk last year, said by phone. “The positive cashﬂow they’ve witnessed from the repayments from their Egyptian contracts came at a time when there’s a shadow on the sector as a whole.” Oil’s more than 50 per cent collapse in the past seven months is compounding payment delays from Egypt and Iraq’s Kurdish region that forced the Sharjah, UAEbased company to restructure $1 billion of debt. - Bloomberg News

TU ESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

MARKET MSM index ends higher

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OMAN STOCKS

MUSCAT SECURITIES MARKET

INDICES Index .................................................High .................Low..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff % MSM30 Index ........................................6,655.27 .............. 6,590.24 ................... 6,655.27 ....................6,591.13................. 64.14 ................... 0.97 Financial Index .....................................8,135.26 ...............8,103.63 ................... 8,130.25 ................... 8,105.33................. 24.92 ................... 0.31 Industrial Index ....................................8,595.72 .............. 8,533.94 ................... 8,595.49 ...................8,539.60..................55.89 ................... 0.65 Services Index ....................................... 3,611.14 ............... 3,577.51 ....................3,610.59 ....................3,577.51................. 33.08 ...................0.92 MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................989.99 ...................977.13 .......................989.98 .......................977.17..................12.81 ................... 1.31 Trading Summary Volume ................Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded 27,644,326 ................. 8,970,283 ..................2,157 ............... 14,933,081,375 ................29 ..................... 10 .................... 15 .........................54

Al Batinah Development & Investment Holding was the top gainer, while Oman &

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 19

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

MUSCAT: MSM 30 Index continued its rally and closed at 6,655.27 points, up by 0.97 per cent. Similarly, MSM Shariah index advanced strongly by 1.31 per cent to close at 989.98 points. Al Anwar Holding was the most active in terms of volume as well as turnover. Al Batinah Development & Investment Holding, up by 9.66 per cent, was the top gainer, while Oman & Emirates Holding, down by 3.62 per cent, lost the most. Altogether 2,157 trades were executed in the day’s session generating a turnover of OMR8.9 million with more than 27.6 million shares changing hands. Out of 54 traded stocks, 29 advanced, 10 declined and 15 remained unchanged. GCC and Arab investors were net buyers to the tune of OMR122,000 worth of shares, while Omani investors were net sellers at OMR102,000 followed by foreign investors who sold stocks amounting to OMR20,000. Financial Index increased by 0.31 per cent to close at 8,130.25 points. Al Batinah Development & Investment Holding, National Securities, Al Sharqia Investments, ONIC Holding and Al Madina Investments increased by 9.66 per cent, 7.50 per cent, 4.71 per cent, 4.17 per cent and 2.74 per cent respectively. Oman & Emirates Holding, Bank Sohar, Global Finance & Investments, Bank Nizwa and HSBC Bank Oman dﬂl fell 3.62 per cent, 2.49 per cent, 1.71 per cent, 1.22 per cent and 0.68 per cent respectively. Industrial Index closed at 8,595.49 points, up by 0.65 per cent. Raysut Cement, Al Maha Ceramics, National Aluminium Products, Al Hassan Engineering and Oman Fisheries increased by 5.88 per cent, 4.21 per cent, 3.07 per cent, 1.87 per cent and 1.47 per cent respectively. Al Anwar Ceramics and Voltamp Energy

decreased by 1.29 per cent and 1.03 per cent respectively. Services Sector Index ended the day’s session at 3,610.59 points, up by 0.92 per cent. Ooredoo, Al Jazeera Services, National Gas, Omantel and Al Suwadi Power increased by 4.19 per cent, 3.57 per cent, 2.42 per cent, 1.99 per cent and 1.72 per cent respectively. Sharqiyah Desalination and Renaissance Services decreased by 1.56 per cent and 0.39 per cent respectively.

REGULAR MARKET ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ........................................................ 21,190 .............38,192........................6 ............1.800 ........... 1.850 ...........1.800........... 1.800 ............. 1.700.............0.100 ............. 5.882 ................1.850 ..............1.800...................1.850............. 360,000,000 .....0.100 OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 1,019,359........181,835..................... 97 ............0.175 ........... 0.180 ...........0.174 ............0.178 ............. 0.170............ 0.008............. 4.706 ................0.174 .............. 0.174...................0.178 ...............15,400,560 .......0.100 OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 1,209,519 ......839,870..................... 87 ........... 0.668 ........... 0.708 ...........0.668........... 0.696 .............0.668 ........... 0.028............. 4.192 ................0.704..............0.700...................0.704..............453,057,184 ......0.100 OM0000002614............ONIC. HOLDING .......................................................... 907,557..........362,485.....................60 ........... 0.390 ...........0.400 ...........0.386........... 0.400 .............0.384 ............0.016 ............. 4.167 ................0.400..............0.394...................0.400 ..............69,369,300.......0.100 OM0000002226 ...........AL JAZEERA SERVICES .......................................... 364,010 ......... 126,886..................... 69 ........... 0.340...........0.360 ...........0.340 .......... 0.348 .............0.336 ............0.012 ............. 3.571 ................0.346..............0.344...................0.346 ..............21,299,087 .......0.100 OM0000001319 ............NATIONAL ALUMINIUM PRODUCTS ............. 484,432 ..........162,716..................... 37 ........... 0.334 ...........0.340 ...........0.334........... 0.336 .............0.326 ............0.010 ............. 3.067 ................0.340............. 0.340...................0.342 ..............11,280,007 .......0.100 OM0000001962............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ....................................... 5,856 .................. 439........................2 ............0.075 ........... 0.075 ...........0.075........... 0.075 .............0.073 ........... 0.002............. 2.740 ................0.075..............0.073...................0.075............... 15,536,354 .......0.100 OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 8,260,582...1,955,360...................412 ........... 0.234 ...........0.239 ...........0.234........... 0.237 ............. 0.231............ 0.006............. 2.597 ................0.234..............0.234...................0.235...............30,928,500 ......0.100 OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS .............................................................75,422 ............44,660.....................20 ............0.574 ...........0.600 ...........0.574........... 0.592 .............0.578 ............0.014 .............2.422 ................0.580..............0.574...................0.580 ..............26,972,357.......0.100 OM0000001533 ............OMINVEST .................................................................... 221,875 ........... 95,406......................14 ........... 0.430 ...........0.430 ...........0.430........... 0.430 .............0.420 ............0.010 ............. 2.381 ................0.430..............0.422...................0.430 .............144,799,490......0.100 OM0000001483............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ................................. 1,690,932 ......606,664..................... 53 ........... 0.354 ...........0.364 ...........0.354........... 0.358 .............0.350 ........... 0.008.............2.286 ................0.364..............0.364...................0.368............. 436,340,245 .....0.100 OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 268,495 ..........481,181..................... 75 ............1.765 ........... 1.810............ 1.765 ............1.790 ............. 1.755 .............0.035 ............. 1.994 ................1.810 .............. 1.810...................1.820............1,342,500,000....0.100 OM0000001087............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ............................... 1,460,967 ......443,948...................103 ........... 0.297 ...........0.308 ...........0.297........... 0.304 .............0.299 ........... 0.005............. 1.672 ................0.304............. 0.304...................0.306 ..............30,400,000 ......0.100 OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ......................... 2,226,249 .....352,085....................117 ............0.157 ........... 0.160 ...........0.157 ............0.158 ............. 0.156............ 0.002............. 1.282 ................0.157 .............. 0.156...................0.157 ................ 9,297,228 ........0.100 OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE.............. 1,144,500 ......279,600..................... 99 ........... 0.244...........0.246 ...........0.241........... 0.244 .............0.241 ........... 0.003............. 1.245 ................0.243............. 0.242...................0.243 ..............48,800,000 ......0.100 OM0000002374............UNITED FINANCE ..................................................... 195,887.............27,849.....................22 ............0.145 ........... 0.148 ...........0.140........... 0.142 ............. 0.141.............0.001 ............. 0.709 ................0.140..............0.140...................0.143............... 39,051,878 .......0.100 OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 447,400 ........... 85,422..................... 38 ............0.191 ........... 0.191............0.188 ............0.191 .............0.190 ............0.001 ............. 0.526 ................0.188 ..............0.188...................0.190............... 50,351,183 .......0.100

Emerging stocks fall Emerging-market stocks fell as a regulatory crackdown on highrisk margin trading led to the biggest rout in Chinese equities since 2008. Russian and Nigerian shares climbed amid optimism oil prices will stabilise. Citic Securities Co. and Haitong Securities., China’s two biggest listed brokerages, dropped by the 10 per cent daily limit in Shanghai after they were suspended from lending money to new clients. A gauge of information-technology companies headed for the highest close since November after India’s Wipro reported better-than-estimated quarterly profit. The ruble strengthened after oil traded near $50 a barrel and Standard & Poor’s delayed a decision on whether to cut Russia’s sovereign rating to junk. Brazilian stocks fell for the first time in three days. Chinese regulators moved to cool down the world’s best- performing stock market by tightening norms for trading with borrowed money. Their action came after outstanding margin loans in the country almost trebled to $174 billion since June and bank lending to companies for investing in financial markets surged to the highest on record.

OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ..............33,000 ...............6,332........................6 ............0.190 ........... 0.193 ...........0.190........... 0.192 ............. 0.191 .............0.001 ............. 0.524 ................0.190..............0.186...................0.190................4,032,000........0.100 OM0000001707 ............OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY......................................20,592 ............ 41,342........................5 ........... 2.005 ...........2.040 ...........2.005........... 2.010 .............2.005 ........... 0.005.............0.249 ................2.025............. 2.020...................2.025 .............180,297,000......0.100 OM0000001145 ............PORT SERVICES CORPORATION ........................... 1,000 .................. 336........................1 ........... 0.336 ...........0.336 ...........0.336........... 0.356 .............0.356 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.336..............0.336...................0.350...............33,834,240 ......0.100 OM0000001749 ............OMAN CEMENT ..............................................................5,000 ...............2,590........................1 ............0.518 ........... 0.518 ...........0.518 ........... 0.522 .............0.522 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.518 ..............0.510...................0.518 .............. 172,715,555 ......0.100 OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS ........................ 177,024 .............58,157..................... 23 ........... 0.328 ...........0.336 ...........0.328........... 0.328 .............0.328 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.330..............0.328...................0.330 ..............40,966,531 .......0.100 OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK .................................................................... 225,550 ............54,132........................9 ........... 0.240...........0.240 ...........0.240 .......... 0.240 .............0.240 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.240 .............0.233...................0.240 .............310,916,977 ......0.100 OM0000002275 ...........SHELL OMAN MARKETING ........................................ 200 ..................400........................2 ........... 2.000...........2.000 ...........2.000 .......... 2.000 .............2.000 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................2.000 ............. 1.810...................2.000 .............190,000,000 .....0.100 OM0000002572 ...........OMAN OIL MARKETING ..........................................20,345 ............ 45,573........................2 ........... 2.240...........2.240 ...........2.240 .......... 2.240 .............2.240 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ............... 2.240 ............ 0.000...................2.240 .............137,256,000......0.100 OM0000002804 ...........ASAFFA FOODS .............................................................35,000 .............27,160........................2 ............0.776 ........... 0.776 ...........0.776 ............0.776 ............. 0.776............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.776 ..............0.752...................0.800 ..............93,120,000.......0.100 OM0000003000 ...........ALMAHA PETROLEUM PRODUCTS MAR. ......... 2,010 .............. 4,342........................7 ............2.160 ........... 2.160 ...........2.160............2.155 ............. 2.155............ 0.000.............0.000 ................2.160.............. 2.155...................2.300 .............148,695,000......0.100 OM0000004248 ...........SMN POWER HOLDING ............................................10,000 ...............6,600........................1 ........... 0.660 ...........0.660 ...........0.660........... 0.660 .............0.660 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.660..............0.660...................0.696.............. 131,759,496 ......0.100 OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ..................................... 461,825 .........233,503..................... 33 ........... 0.508 ...........0.508 ...........0.498........... 0.506 .............0.508 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.394 ...............0.498..............0.496...................0.498..............142,739,794 ......0.100 OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 1,297,734.......786,833................... 112 ........... 0.608 ...........0.608 ...........0.600........... 0.608 ............. 0.612............-0.004 ........... -0.654 ...............0.604..............0.608...................0.612............ 1,327,074,418 ....0.100 OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN ......................................................75,000 .............10,875........................4 ............0.145 ........... 0.145 ...........0.145 ............0.145 .............0.146............-0.001 ........... -0.685 ...............0.145 .............. 0.141...................0.145..............290,045,355 .....0.100 OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY ..................................................... 25,641 ...............9,903........................6 ........... 0.386 ...........0.390 ...........0.386........... 0.386 .............0.390 ...........-0.004 ........... -1.026 ...............0.390..............0.382...................0.390 ..............23,353,000.......0.100 OM0000002168............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ............................... 454,082 ........ 208,994.....................22 ........... 0.462 ...........0.462 ...........0.460........... 0.460 .............0.466 ...........-0.006 ........... -1.288 ...............0.460..............0.458...................0.460 .............113,548,578 ......0.100 OM0000003125 ............GLOBAL FINANCIAL INVESTMENT ................ 130,000 ............14,970........................7 ............0.117 ........... 0.117............ 0.115 ............0.115 ............. 0.117 ............-0.002 ............-1.709................0.115 ...............0.113................... 0.115 ...............23,000,000 ......0.100 OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 849,280 ..........199,731..................... 30 ........... 0.239 ...........0.239 ...........0.234........... 0.235 .............0.241 ...........-0.006 ........... -2.490 ...............0.235..............0.234...................0.235............. 268,840,000 .....0.100 OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING........... 1,123,972 .......150,018..................... 96 ............0.136 ........... 0.136 ...........0.132 ............0.133 ............. 0.138............-0.005 ........... -3.623 ...............0.132 ...............0.131...................0.132............... 16,209,375 .......0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 24,951,487

7,946,387............1,680 .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......36..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ........................ 13,025 ...............2,071........................3 ............0.159 ........... 0.159 ...........0.159 ............0.159 ............. 0.145.............0.014 ............. 9.655 ................0.159 .............. 0.159...................0.000 ...............4,770,000 ........0.100 OM0000002234 ...........NATIONAL SECURITIES ............................................ 7,000 ...............1,206........................2 ............0.175 ........... 0.175............0.170 ............0.172 .............0.160 ............0.012 ............. 7.500 ................0.170 ..............0.150...................0.167................3,440,000........0.100 OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS ................................................ 687,192 ..........408,828...................209 ............0.576 ...........0.600 ...........0.576........... 0.594 .............0.570 ........... 0.024............. 4.211 ................0.590..............0.590...................0.594...............29,700,000.......0.100 OM0000002564 ...........AL HASSAN ENGINEERING.................................. 445,594 ........... 48,622..................... 53 ............0.108 ........... 0.110............0.108........... 0.109 .............0.107............ 0.002............. 1.869 ................0.109..............0.108...................0.110 .................8,197,672 ........0.100 OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER .................................................. 244,521 ........... 43,225.....................24 ............0.175 ........... 0.178 ...........0.175 ............0.177 ............. 0.174............ 0.003............. 1.724 ................0.178 .............. 0.178...................0.179 ..............126,449,922......0.100 OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES .......................................................59,700 ............... 4,119........................8 ........... 0.069 ...........0.069 ...........0.068........... 0.069 .............0.068 ............0.001 ..............1.471.................0.069..............0.068...................0.069................8,625,000 ........0.100 OM0000004735 ...........SEMBCORP SALALAH.............................................. 154,300 .........352,809.....................42 ........... 2.260...........2.300 ...........2.260 .......... 2.285 .............2.260 ............0.025 ............. 1.106 ................2.300 ............ 2.300...................2.310.............. 218,119,691 ......1.000 OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER................................................ 312,121 ............ 55,020..................... 33 ............0.175 ........... 0.177 ...........0.175 ............0.176 ............. 0.175.............0.001 ............. 0.571 ................0.177 .............. 0.177...................0.178 .............. 118,780,188 ......0.100 OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. .................... 11,000 .................. 419........................2 ........... 0.039 ...........0.039 ...........0.038........... 0.038 .............0.038 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.038..............0.037...................0.038................3,230,000........0.100 OM0000001806............MUSCAT NATIONAL HOLDING ..................................745 ............... 1,386........................1 ............1.860 ........... 1.860 ...........1.860........... 1.860 .............1.860............ 0.000.............0.000 ................1.860 ..............1.860...................0.000 ...............9,300,000........1.000 OM0000001855 ............MAJAN GLASS .................................................................4,000 ...............1,000........................1 ........... 0.250 ...........0.250 ...........0.250........... 0.244 .............0.244 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.250..............0.230...................0.250 .............. 10,253,685 .......0.100 OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL............................................. 458,063 ...........42,826..................... 54 ........... 0.093 ........... 0.095 ...........0.093........... 0.093 .............0.093 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.093..............0.093...................0.094 ..............16,275,000 .......0.100 OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 169,567.............13,739......................19 ........... 0.082 ...........0.082 ...........0.081 ........... 0.081 .............0.082 ...........-0.001 ........... -1.220 ...............0.081 ..............0.080...................0.081..............121,500,000......0.100 OM0000004669 ...........SHARQIYAH DESALINATION ................................ 11,204 ............ 35,293......................19 ............3.150 ........... 3.150 ...........3.150 ............3.150 .............3.200 ...........-0.050 ............-1.563................3.150 .............. 3.150...................3.200 ..............30,807,680 .......1.000 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 2,578,032...1,010,562...................470 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......14..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BONDS MARKET ........................................................................................................................................................................................ OM0000004867 ...........BANK MUSCAT C C B 4.5 ......................................... 100,984 ........... 10,904........................2 ............0.106 ........... 0.108 ...........0.106........... 0.108 .............0.106 ........... 0.002............. 1.887 ................0.108..............0.106................... 0.113 ...............34,521,409.......0.100 OM0000004602 ...........BANK MUSCAT CONV. BONDS 4.5 ........................ 12,683 ............... 1,355........................3 ............0.105 ........... 0.107 ...........0.105 ........... 0.107 .............0.106 ............0.001 .............0.943 ................0.107 ..............0.105...................0.107...............32,394,155 .......0.100 OM0000003810............BANK MUSCAT SUBORDINATED BONDS .......... 1,000 ...............1,060........................1 ............1.060 ........... 1.060 ...........1.060........... 1.060 .............1.060 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................1.060..............1.060...................1.080...............79,500,000.......1.000 OM0000004628 ...........BANK SOHAR BONDS 4.5 ................................................140 .....................14........................1 ........... 0.100 ........... 0.100 ...........0.100............0.101 ............. 0.101............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.100............. 0.000...................0.101 ................ 7,221,500 ........0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 114,807.............13,333........................7 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........4..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

- United Securities/Bloomberg News

INDIAN MARKETS

Indian stocks peak to six-week high; rupee advances again MUMBAI: Indian stocks rose for a third day after Wipro reported profit that beat estimates and as crude oil traded in New York had its first weekly gain since November. Wipro, the third-biggest software exporter, rallied the most in 18 months. Reliance Industries Ltd., owner of the world’s largest refining complex, rose for a third day. Axis Bank Ltd. jumped to a record. Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

tumbled the most since January 2011 after reporting the slowest sales growth in three quarters. The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.5 per cent to 28,262.01, the highest close since December 5. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi may announce a 550 billion-euro ($635 billion) bondpurchase program on January 22, according to a survey. The Sensex last week had its biggest weekly jump in more than

two months after Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan cut borrowing costs in an unscheduled move. “Markets have stabilised globally, and we should have the ECB quantitative” this week, Ajay Srivastava, managing director of Dimensions Consulting Pvt., told Bloomberg TV India on Monday. “A benign international environment and a very aggressive local environment is a potent combina-

tion. We should get at least 1 per cent to 2 per cent rate cut in 2015.” Wipro jumped 5.3 per cent, the most since July 2013. Rupee advances India’s rupee advanced for a third day as foreign investors stepped up purchases of the nation’s bonds. Global funds bought $1.3 billion more rupee-denominated sovereign and corporate debt than they sold last week through January

15, the latest exchange data show. That took inﬂows for this month to $1.8 billion, following a record $26 billion in 2014. India’s central bank cut interest rates last week for the ﬁrst time since May 2013 to spur the economy. The rupee climbed 0.3 per cent to close at 61.7075 a dollar in Mumbai, according to prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg. It reached 61.4850 on January 15, the strongest level since November 13.

The currency has gained 2.2 per cent in 2015, the best performance in Asia, data shows. “The rupee’s gain can be attributed to the enormous inﬂows into debt assets,” said Anindya Banerjee, a currency analyst at Kotak Securities. Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan lowered the benchmark repurchase rate to 7.75 per cent from 8 per cent in an unscheduled move on January 15 - Bloomberg News

T U E S DAY, JAN UARY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

ROUND-UP BankDhofar organises trade finance seminar The seminar highlighted aspects of international trade ﬁnance and current trends in the local and global markets

MUSCAT: In line with its constant drive to support corporate customers, BankDhofar recently conducted its Annual Trade Finance Seminar at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Muscat. The event, which aimed to spread first-hand knowledge among participants on the aspects of international trade finance, was attended by a group of finance managers and trade finance personnel who represented customers from large companies as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, says a press release. “BankDhofar works tirelessly to support its customers on the retail and corporate levels likewise. This annual seminar provides a plat-

form for us to meet with our respective corporate customers and also gives us all the opportunity to interact and share knowledge on the trade finance sector. This does not only strengthen our relationship with our corporate customers, but also helps us better understand their needs and requirements in order to provide them with the best banking services and products available in the market,” said Kamal Hassan Al Murazza, DGM – Wholesale Banking. During the seminar, participants discussed various topics relevant to local and global trade financeand touched base with the challenges, opportunities, insights and latest trends in the sector. A vast array of BankDhofar products, services and trade finance solutions were presented during

the seminar where participants also shared their experiences and exchanged perspectives on several areas of common interest. “BankDhofar aspires to provide corporate customers with an insightful understanding of the global market and to keep them abreast of the developments in the international trade finance sector. We want to ensure that our corporate customers are acquainted with the latest trends in the industry, and we stress our commitment to meet their financing needs and exceed their expectations,” said Al Murazza. BankDhofar continues to be a leader in the market and a major contributor to the financial services sector in the Sultanate. As a part of the bank’s increased emphasis on trade finance, a special unit has

been created to attend to specialised requirements of the customers in this area. Corporate customers can enjoy a full array of import-export products and services, including centralised trade ﬁnance facilities, competitive foreign exchange rates, faster payments, quick turn-around time, improved cash management, competitive service charges, import letters of credit and collection bill services, arranging buyer’s credit, export LC advising and conﬁrmation, export collections, export bill purchase and discounting, bid and tender bonds, receipts of remittance from overseas (inward remittance) services and overseas payment services (outward payments). For more convenience, internet banking channels areavailable 24/7 to provide instant banking services to BankDhofar corporate customers. Dedicated business centres across the Sultanate also offer state-of-the-art banking services to further boost BankDhofar’s support to the SME sector as well as corporate customers. Today there are seven dedicated centres nationwide, providing services to customers in Ghala, Muscat Grand Mall, Nizwa, Al Buraimi, Salalah, Sur and Sohar.

MEDICAL EXPO

TOUR

Al Aufi visits RAY skills training site MUSCAT: Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Undersecretary, Ministry of Oil and Gas, recently visited RAY Skills International Development Training site at Halban and had a comprehensive tour of the facility, says a press release. Chairman Dr Tahir Al Kindi introduced the guest to the staff, the trainees as he reviewed the facility and its capabilities. Tameem Al Mahrouqi, managing director, briefed the undersecretary about the 2015 plans of having training infrastructure for LV and HV electrical and mechanical training within the same facility. “The training facility holds the world’s largest welding training institute with 100 independent welding booths, first of its kind

training rig and wire line unit that is fully designed by Omani engineers and built in Omanfor public,” said Rashid Al Mahrouqi, executive director. Salim Al Auﬁ had discussion with the Omani trainees for both welding and RIG to have a ﬁrst-hand understanding of the training progress in the presence of Rashid Nasser Al Jahdhami — general manager and Ronaye Beck — business development director for RAY Skills International Development. The undersecretary expressed his satisfaction and said he wished to see the entire training with other disciplines functional by 2015, which will enable the country to train more local workforce in Oman with international accreditation.

FUN TIME

Leading Malaysian doctors share Class XII ISAS students make a medical expertise at IMTEC Oman memorable trip to Bidiya Sands MUSCAT: MHTC and its member hospitals from Malaysia have set up shop to share medical expertise in the IMTEC Oman at the Oman International Exhibition Centre (OIEC) from January 19 to 21. Malaysian hospitals and their doctors will be present at Booth Stand No. ED1 from 10am to 8pm to attend to medical enquiries on site, says a press release. Malaysian doctors and specialists are here in Oman as Malaysia continues to gain popularity as a medical tourism destination amongst the GCC countries. The Ministry of Health Malaysia under the corporatised agency, the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) Malaysia, is proud to be amongst one of the few countries within the region where medical tourism is promoted by the government. Hence medical tourists can have the assurance of quality care and can be guided by the regulation, safety standards and the governing laws within this industry. They can also be sure of internationally accredited hospitals, western trained professionals,

Halal food easily obtainable, short time waiting Arabic speaking translators and Muslim-friendly hospital environment Four reputable hospitals from Malaysia will be present for the IMTEC Oman expo. The details of these hospitals and the consultants are: Dr. Saini Jeffery (rehabilitation medicine consultant), KPJ Healthcare; Dr. Andrea Ooi (consultant bariatric and metabolic surgeon), Nilai Medical Centre; Dr. Lee Chee Kuan (consultant orthopaedic),

Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care and Dr. Sarenjit Kaur (Medical Ofﬁcer) KPJ Healthcare. Malaysia’s presence in Oman is to highlight its medical edge over some of the favoured countries by Omanis such as Thailand and Germany. Malaysia further aims to foster a healthier working relationship by sharing and exchanging medical ideas and expertise between doctors from Oman and Malaysia. The ultimate aim is to provide better medical options for the people of Oman.

MUSCAT: The Class XII students of Indian School Al Seeb (ISAS) had a great time when they recently went to an educational-cum-fun trip to Bidiya Sands for an over-night camping. This was the best medicine for them to bust up their stress level after their preliminary examination and to combat the coming Board exams, says a press release. The trip began with the daily prayer and a well-being message with a word of caution from the Principal’s side. Then they were on the road for a luxurious and comfortable bus ride, proving the famous quote that it is the journey which is more important in life than the destination. Upon reaching there the children were pleasantly surprised to check in their spacious and plush rooms. After having light snacks, they went on to the sand dune tracks to watch the hues and shades of the setting sun. They also had loads of fun sledging and sliding. There were squeals of laughter and giggles heard while hundreds of selﬁes and group pictures were clicked.

C A M PA I G N

The night began with a surprised entertainment programme presented for the students by their teachers where the educators sang, danced and mimicked. The organisers had laid a sumptuous dinner which the children enjoyed with their friends. The camp ﬁre under the chilly and clear, starry night was a magical moment and the highlight of the whole trip. The students unwound all their tensions and strung along on their guitars songs in Arabic, English and Hindi. There was a jam session in the end where all danced together and adored these unforgettable moments. The fun ﬁlled picnic didn’t end

here as in the morning a lot of indoor and outdoor games awaited them. After a hearty and lavishly spread out breakfast they played cricket, table tennis, chess, football and enjoyed the swings and rides. They were accompanied by six senior teachers. “We sincerely thank our school management and the Principal for allowing us to come on this wonderful trip,” said the students. The students literally proved that when they are entrusted with a sense of responsibility and faith they can work wonders. They displayed an extraordinary level of self-restrain and discipline throughout the trip and made it a huge success.

F I N A N C I A L R E S U LT

Bridgestone announces special new year offer First Dubai records MUSCAT: Tyre major Bridgestone and sole distributor in the Sultanate, Towell Auto Centre (TAC), start the New Year with a special offer. ‘Buy four Bridgestone tyres and win Lulu gift vouchers free instantly’ is the message to one and all. This campaign is another initiative by Bridgestone to reward customers, by adding value to driving pleasure in the New Year, says a press release. The scheme offers customer gift vouchers instantly with cash purchase of four Bridgestone tyres. The offer is valid on cash purchase of PSR, 4WD, LSR, and LVR tyres upto February 28. The scheme offers one gift voucher worth OMR10, 15 or 20 against purchase of four Bridgestone tyres from any Tyre Care Plus or First Stop outlet in Oman. With every single purchase of four tyres, customers are eligible to win the gift vouchers as per the category speciﬁed. Customers purchasing tyres of rim size 15 and below will receive a gift voucher worth of OMR10. Gift vouchers of OMR15 can be won on the purchase of tyres with rim sizes from 16-18. Gift voucher worth OMR20 can be won on rim size 19 and above and for 4WD tyres. “We are extremely delighted to offer our customers a chance to start off the New Year by being a part of our campaign. We are more

51% proﬁt from sales, leases in 2014 We are extremely delighted to offer our customers a chance to start off the New Year by being a part of our campaign. We are more than happy to reward our customers and the scheme is one platform through which the company aims to show appreciation to its loyal customers than happy to reward our customers and the scheme is one platform through which the company aims to show appreciation to its loyal customers,” said, Oommen John, AGM, Bridgestone Tyre division at TAC . “Bridgestone Tyres continue to be one of the most trusted tyre brands offering a great range of tyres without compromising on quality. Bridgestone’s growth in the Sultanate is a clear indication of the trust reposed on its brands and services by the motorists in the country. We look forward to exciting offers for our customers in the year to follow to reward the customer for showing conﬁdence in our products and operations,” he added. Bridgestone is committed to innovation and assures customers of

Oommen John

AGM, Bridgestone Tyre division at Towell Auto Centre

quality tyres and reliable services. The company aims to redeﬁne safety and performance with a huge emphasis on environment to continuously improve the brand. Bridgestone’s commitment to the safety and comfort of its customers inspires and sets standards for technological advancement. TAC has wide network of Tyre Care Plus outlets for Bridgestone Tyres located at Barka, Musannah, Bu Ali, Ibra, Sinaw, Ibri, Nizwa, Karsha, Sumail, Sohar, Saham, Bureimi, Sur, Salalah, and in the capi-

tal at Al Khoudh, Baushar, Ghala, Ghubra, Mabella, Rusayl, and Wadi Kabir. Bridgestone Truck Tyre Centre is located Ghala and Fleet points are located at Duqum, Fahud, Karsha, Nimr, and Salalah. “We welcome everyone to visit First Stop, our multi-product multi-service outlets opened in Seeb and Amerat. Customers can choose from an extensive range of tyres and avail the best in terms of service, quality care and expertise from well trained professionals and service engineers,” said John.

DUBAI: First Dubai, a Subsidiary Company of Al-Mazaya Holding, announced its financial results for the 2014 ending fiscal year following the Board Meeting held here recently. The Board of Directors of First Dubai Real-Estate Development announced the company has recorded KD 3.55 million net profit and 3.55 Fils earnings per share, says a press release. The financial statements of the company for the 2014 ending fiscal year report First Dubai’s strong ability to maintain its operating revenues at KD 5.36 million resulting from sales and lease processes, compared to KD 5.30 million achieved in 2013. Furthermore, from the lease processes only revenues registered an outstanding jump by 30 per cent of the total operating revenues, increasing to KD 1.97 million at the year ending in 2014, compared to KD 1.52 million earned in the year ending in 2013. Impressive results These remarkable results were the fruit of management efforts exerted during the last year leasing and operating promising

projects, mirroring KD 3.39 million returns attained from current projects, reflected by a 51 per cent increase on the operational profits from lease and sales processes, surging to KDs 2.42 achieved in 2014, compared to KD 1.60 in 2013. Real estate units First Dubai attributes the successes reflected in its financial results to the considerable number of real-estate units concluded and delivered mostly in Dubai. ‘The Villa’, the first-quality residential project ideally located in Dubai Land, is a live example of these projects. At the ‘Sky Gardens’ project, meanwhile, located in Dubai World Financial Centre, occupations increased to 99 per cent. First Dubai’s financial statements reflect strong assets, amounting to KD 99.28 million at the end of 2014, compared to KD 72.61 million achieved in 2013 – rising by 37 per cent. Similarly, the equity increased to KD 61.16 million end of 2014, up from KD 55.20 million at the end of 2013, representing 11 per cent increase from last year. One Kuwaiti dinar equals 1.31 Omani rials.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

ROUND-UP Powerful Pathfinder 3.5L offers unforgettable driving experience The Pathfinder now enters the Nissan range at a time when demand for SUVs in Oman continues to show considerable growth. With the feature-packed all-new Pathfinder, Nissan is confident of capitalising on this growth and strengthening its position in the off-road segment

MUSCAT: The Nissan Pathfinder 3.5L from the house of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles is set to define what the next generation SUV should offer: Perfect off-road capability (i-Auto 4WD system), dynamic design, class-leading comfort, thoughtful technology, and a rewarding driving experience. With the introduction of the all-new fourth generation, not only does Pathfinder provide capability with spacious seating for seven, and an intuitive 4 wheel drive system, but it also resets the standard for the segment with an unprecedented level of premium

style, comfort, fuel economy and thoughtful technology, says a press release. The Pathfinder now enters the Nissan range at a time when demand for SUVs in Oman continues to show considerable growth. With the feature-packed all-new Pathfinder, Nissan is confident of capitalizing on this growth and strengthening its position in the off-road segment. Dynamic design Along with reduced weight, Pathfinder’s new unibody platform provided the designers an

opportunity to create the more aerodynamic exterior without compromising headroom or cargo capacity. Moving upscale in appearance, the new exterior styling presents a smart fusion of signature Nissan styling cues and dynamic strength. The look is adventure-ready with wheeloriented muscular fenders and a strong, stable stance. The upper body features an open cabin with large windows which can be complemented with an available Dual Panoramic Moonroof, to enhance the new Pathﬁnder’s open, airy interior environment. Class-leading comfort The new Pathﬁnder offers the

comfort of a larger SUV with its flat floor enhancing interior packaging flexibility. The Pathfinder’s unique versatility is exemplified in the design of the EZ Flex seating system, giving 5.5 inches of sliding second row seating travel while additionally providing exceptional third row access even with a child safety seat remaining securely in place (on the passenger curb side). Pathfinder’s quiet, comfortable interior benefits from a wide range of available features, rich leatherappointed seating surfaces; ventilated, heated and cooled front seats; sliding second row seats and an advanced Bose audio system with 12 speakers.

Thoughtful technology Thoughtful technology is also found throughout the Pathﬁnder interior, starting with Nissan’s advanced, class-exclusive Around View™ Monitor, which provides the driver a virtual 360-degree image of the area around the vehicle. The instrument panel includes advanced drive-assist display (standard on every model), features a 4.0-inch LCD colour display, and utilises 3D-effect graphics to relay key information right in front of the driver. The instrument panel includes a large multifunction centre IT display, available Nissan navigation system, streaming audio via Bluetooth and rear view monitor. Other technology includes Tri-Zone automatic climate control, Bluetooth hands-free phone system, power rear liftgate, iPod integration and tri-zone entertainment system with 2nd row head restraint-mounted DVD display screens. Rewarding experience Addressing buyers’ desire for more efficiency in every aspect of their lives, the Pathﬁnder’s engine and CVT combination develops 13% better acceleration than the previous generation while return-

ing 30% better fuel efficiency. Featuring a 3.5-litre DOHC V6 engine mated to a next-generation Xtronic CVT (continuously variable transmission) the ideal rpm for the driving conditions are always maintained. All-new Pathfinder is the only vehicle in class with selectable 2WD, Auto or 4WD Lock modes for its available intuitive All-Mode 4x4-i system. The system lets the driver choose full-time 2WD for maximum fuel economy, Auto mode to automatically monitor conditions and adjust the balance of power between front and rear wheels for best traction, or 4WD Lock mode when the confidence of full-time 4WD is desired. In addition, standard Hill Start Assist helps add control when starting and driving away on a steep incline (both 4WD and 2WD models). With best-in-class standard towing capacity, up to 5000lb, the all-new Pathfinder also retains its ability to tow boats, jet skis, trailers and a variety of other recreational gear. SBA is largely committed to supporting Nissan’s growth in the Sultanate through major emphasis on customer satisfaction and by providing world-class after-sales services in Oman.

‘DISCOVER THE DISCOVERIES’

Bank Sohar highlights Islamic discoveries in 2015 calendar MUSCAT: Celebrating the enduring legacy of Muslim civilisation, Bank Sohar issued their 2015 calendar under the theme ‘Discover the Discoveries’ in association with 1001 Inventions – a leading and award-winning international science and cultural heritage organisation. As a part of its efforts towards promoting local traditions and cultures as well as educating its customers on the important contributions of the historic Muslim civilisation to modern society, each of the 12 months of the Bank Sohar 2015 calendar discusses the achievements of stalwarts from ancient Islamic civilisations, who had made breakthroughs that have left their mark on our world, says a press release. Highlighting the signiﬁcance of the new calendar, Munira Abdulnabi Macki, the DGM of Human Resource and Corporate Support noted, “During its

With this calendar, we at Bank Sohar, want to provide our customers with a snapshot of the world during this Golden Age and spread awareness on the significant contributions of our ancestors to modern society, giving due credit to these innovative minds Munira Abdulnabi Macki

DGM of Human Resource and Corporate Support Golden Ages, the Muslim civilisation stretched from Spain to China. During this time scholars and inventors built on the knowledge from ancient civilisations, making breakthroughs that have shaped the world we enjoy today.

Unfortunately, inventions are most noticeable only when we can physically see the historical changes they cause. “It is because of this limited perception that today we might not appreciate the work of these

7th century inventors on a daily basis. With this calendar, we at Bank Sohar, want to provide our customers with a snapshot of the world during this Golden Age and spread awareness on the signiﬁcant contributions of our ancestors to modern society, giving due credit to these innovative minds.” With each passing year Bank Sohar, as a part of its CSR initiative, refreshes the design and theme of its calendar with the aim of spreading awareness and knowledge on key topics that can make meaningful contributions to the lives of its customers& society as well. The 2015 version of Bank Sohar calendar takes readers on a journey to the Golden Age of Muslim civilisation where, from the 7th century onwards, scholars from different cultures and faiths built on ancient knowledge to make breakthroughs that had a positive impact on our lives today.

T U E S DAY, JAN UARY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

ROUND-UP Guaranteed cash gift offer on 2015 ZNA Rich pickups The starting price of ZNA Rich pickups 2015 models is OMR4,799 and customer gets a guaranteed cash gift of OMR450

MUSCAT: A proven workhorse, a reliable partner delivering an impressive combination of power, capability and efficiency, Zhengzhou Nissan Automobile (ZNA) Rich pickups are now available with an even more impressive offer that gives you guaranteed cash gift on the 2015 models. The starting price of these models is OMR4,799 and customer gets a guaranteed cash gift of OMR450, in addition to free 24 hours AAA roadside assistance package on its purchase, says a press release. The Rich Pickups from ZNA is a workhorse equipped to meet varying business needs and is complete

value for money. Dependable for a wide variety of activities, the 2015 models are available in single cabin 2 door and double cabin 4 door conﬁgurations with new enhanced interiors. The powerful 2.4 litre 4 cylinder engine sees you through it all, be it a long drive to a faraway destination or hauling heavy loads. The adjustable and compressible steering column, independent double wishbone suspension along with the plush interiors and a CD + USB + SD card enabled audio system make sure each drive is a comfortable one. About this offer, a spokesperson

from Towell Auto Centre (TAC), the sole distributor of ZNA range of vehicles in Oman said, “The ZNA brand is synonymous with affordability and reliability and because of these qualities ZNA has made a mark especially among the small and medium businessmen. These SMEs are an integral part of our country’s progress and we are sure this guaranteed cash back offer will help the SMEs boost their business. The guaranteed cash back will be offered until Feb 28.”

SAFETY MEASURE

Air India Express woos customers with free extra baggage, low fares Times News Service MUSCAT: Passengers travelling to India can now take advantage of a generous offer from Air India Express by carrying extra baggage free of cost. They can also look for some attractive promotional fares to a couple of destinations in southern India. Air India Express has announced enhanced free baggage allowance (FBA) of 30 kilogram for all passengers travelling from Muscat and Salalah to its Indian destinations until March 11. In addition, passengers who purchased excess baggage of 10 kg along with earlier FBA of 20 kilos will now be entitled to carry 40 kg (30 + 10). The airline has also introduced promotional fares from Muscat to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Air India Express currently operates weekly 19 ﬂights from Muscat to Kerala and Mangalore - Daily to Kozhikode, Four Flights (Wednesday, Thursday,

Friday and Saturday) to Kochi, Four Flights (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) to Thiruvananthapuram and Four Flights (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) to Mangalore. Apart from this Air India Express operates twice weekly ﬂights from Salalah connecting Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. Passengers travelling to India can now also take advantage of the ‘24 x 7 Air India Express call centre facility’, which can be accessed on phone number: +91- 44 – 66921500. Air India Express currently operates Direct ﬂights using B737800 aircraft to Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, and Kozhikode from Muscat and Salalah and to Mangalore from Muscat. National Travel and Tourism is the Representative Agent for Air India Express in Oman. Passengers can contact Air India Express office located at CBD Area opposite to Central Bank of Oman or their travel agents for planning their next visit to India.

NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

alizz Islamic bank, ROP conduct joint fire drill MUSCAT: alizz Islamic bank demonstrated a well-orchestrated fire drill in partnership with the Royal Oman Police (ROP), Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACD) and the Safety & Security Services recently. Fire drills are monitored by the bank’s Health and Safety function of the Administration Division, led by Eng. Yusouf Al Balushi, to evaluate egress and behavioural patterns, says a press release. Reports are prepared by allocated staff wardens and recommendations are followed through to correct any identified deficiencies. “We were encouraged by the support from ROP, PACD and Safety & Security Service’s to conduct a safety exercise as it is important to ensure staff at all levels are wellinformed and able to support others during emergency. The ROP and PACD proved that they are extremely efficient and demonstrated first class response. We would like to commend their efficiency and thank them for their guidance and support during this exercise,” Saif Al Yarabi, COO, said. Fire drills are conducted twice a year at the main head office and supervised by the HSE supervisor of the bank, Nasser bin Sultan Al Shaqsy. The purpose of fire drills

Established in 1993 and located in Zhengzhou in central China, Zhengzhou Nissan Automobile Co. (ZNA) is a 50/50 joint venture between the Chinese Dongfeng Motor Group Co. Ltd. and Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. Ltd which is the largest investment project of Nissan all over the world. With a network of 11 showrooms, 13 service outlets and 10 parts outlets spread across the Sultanate, TAC is the sole distributor of the ZNA range in Oman.

GENEROUS OFFER

is to prepare staff for an organised evacuation in case of fire or other emergency. At alizz Islamic bank, fire drills are used as a way to educate and train staff on fire safety issues specific to their building. During the drill, staff practice drill procedures, familiarise themselves with the location of exits, the sound of the fire alarm and the assembly point located in the parking lot directly across from Alizz Tower. In addition, fire drills allow the bank an opportunity to test the operation of fire alarm system components. The ROP, PACD and the Safety & Security Service also conducted

mock scenario of injured staff, as well as managed traffic on the roads leading to and away from Alizz Tower. The mock scenario showcased an alizz islamic bank staff locked in the building of which the ROP and Civil PACD acted efficiently and swiftly. The bank has appointed and trained 12 staff wardens from each floor as fire leaders to ensure that the fire safety evacuation procedure is carried out promptly. The fire drill was overall successful; evacuation, arrival of the firemen and policemen and rescue of the stranded staff were completed in a record time.

‘Be inspired’ as Oman fascinates more at Ooredoo’s Muscat Festival stalls MUSCAT: In line with its theme, ‘Be Inspired’, Ooredoo is offering an exciting and diverse range of activities for visitors to the Muscat Festival this year. This year’s festival focus is on children and families and Ooredoo promises to provide a fun and enriching experience, says a press release. The ﬁrst participation for Ooredoo since the rebrand, the company is sponsoring the Kids Village at Al Amerat Park to bring families some exciting new experiences, including a specially designed maze, painting competitions and other fun activities on the Ooredoo stage. These events will aim to inspire the little visitors to do more, have a great time and hone their talents and skills at the same time. Ooredoo stands at Naseem Park in Seeb and Al Amerat Park will feature their exciting range of products and services with champions available to assist new and current customers with a host of different offers. Visitors will be able to learn about More Credit, More Internet and Shahry plans and also take up the great iPhone 6 and Note 4 offers. Showcasing its digital capabilities and network strength, the Ooredoo stands promise to engage crowds and there’s even an augmented reality show, giving visitors a truly unique experience.

Raed Dawood, director of Government Relations and Corporate Affairs at Ooredoo, said, “Our commitment to bringing different experiences that suit our customers remains our focus. “In keeping with the festival’s theme this year, ‘Oman Fascinates’, we wanted to give visitors an opportunity to look deeper into our way of doing things, to see how we care for our customers, how we connect with them at every stage of their lives and how we challenge ourselves to continue to do better for them. We are conﬁdent that each and every visitor will enjoy their Ooredoo experience at Muscat Festival this year, no matter their age.”

In keeping with the festival’s theme this year, ‘Oman Fascinates’, we wanted to give visitors an opportunity to look deeper into our way of doing things, to see how we care for our customers, how we connect with them at every stage of their lives and how we challenge ourselves to continue to do better for them Raed Dawood

Director of Government Relations and Corporate Affairs at Ooredoo

TU ESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

ROUND-UP

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Toyota makes Muscat Festival more special Over the years Toyota has made its presence felt at the Muscat Festival. Every year there are many exciting and engaging events visitors look forward to at the Toyota zone

MUSCAT: Toyota enthusiasts have a wonderful opportunity to get closer to the brand at the popular, fun-ﬁlled family event, the Muscat Festival. The festival will last until February 14. Since its inception in 1998, Saud Bahwan Group has been the gold sponsor of this popular festival, says a press release. Over the years Muscat Festival has proved to be more than just a celebratory, cultural and artistic event in the Sultanate of Oman. It has managed to invent and reinvent itself into a major entertain-

ment spectacle, plus a carnival and a shopping wonder, all rolled into one. Muscat Festival celebrates traditional art, culture and heritage while providing people of Oman fun, adventure, excitement and entertainment. A senior official of the Amerat Park venue said that those visiting the 2015 Muscat Festival have many events lined up for them. “Last year, around one million people visited the festival but this year we expect that number to go up as there are too many attractions at both the venues,” he said. For the ﬁrst time, a Jurassic Park at the Nassem Park and a snow village at the Amerat Park have been introduced. In the area, water sports activities like sailing and racing boats will be organised, in collaboration with the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) in

conjunction with Oman Sailing. Other attractions include laser shows, child aerobic show, camel and equestrian racing show, tent pegging show, Muscat Marathon, universities and colleges beach soccer, beach volleyball, various auto shows, basketball competitions, marine craft village and the Tour of Oman. “The event line-up provides great excitement to the Naseem Garden and Al Amerat venues in the city of Muscat. In the same spirit, the Toyota Zone features captivating programmes and quizzes. These specially prepared programmes are made to engage and entertain the Toyota fans and audiences,” said a Toyota spokesperson “Over the years Toyota has made its presence felt at the Muscat Festival. Every year there are many exciting and engaging events visi-

G R O W I N G T R A D E R E L AT I O N S

tors look forward to at the Toyota zone. Toyota presents its fans with some of the ﬁnest set of events to make a lasting place in their hearts and minds,” he added. The Toyota Zone has a lot to offer in terms of gifts, on-stage activities and entertaining performances. Here, visitors can also view the latest Toyota models like the Corolla, the Avalon, the Aurion, the Fortuner TRD and the LC 200 5.7L Premium Edition at Naseem Garden and the Yaris Hatchback, the RAV4 and the FJ Cruiser at Al Amerat venue. On being informed about Toyota’s participation at this year’s Muscat Festival, a Toyota customer remarked, “My family already knows this! They are impatiently waiting to visit the Toyota zone! My friends told me that the zone has so much going on there that it’s very hard to move out of an ongoing event, especially when there are so many prizes to be won.” This year, the team at Saud Bahwan Automotive have planned a range of activities that are set to up the levels of celebrations at this year’s Muscat Festival. Several interactive activities, events like acrobatic shows and folklore dances are all in place to encourage the visitors to have a wonderful and memorable time such that Toyota can be a part of these sweet memories.

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C O M M U N I T Y E N G AG E M E N T I N I T I AT I V E

BankDhofar supports Environment Day MUSCAT: Reaffirming its commitment to the environment and in line with its operational strategy as an integral member of the community, BankDhofar extended its support to the events and activities organised at the Floating Theatre in Al Qurum Natural Park to mark the Oman Environment Day. The three-day annual event was organised by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs to celebrate the Oman Environment Day that falls on January 8 every year. The day included various educational and cultural activities that aimed to spread awareness of environment related issues says a press release. In addition to senior officials from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, senior representatives from the public and private sector organisations, the fun-ﬁlled event was attended by a large crowd of the public who

engaged in various activities, exhibitions, educational games and competitions. Highlighting BankDhofar’s commitment to environment causes and community engagement initiatives, Ahmed Said Al Ibrahim, Deputy General Manager of Government Banking and Branding, stressed: “Environment issues are a concern to all of us. We all need to be responsible and show support to such initiatives. “Environment sustainability and climate change are very delicate subjects that require special attention, comprehensive strategies and joint efforts by all segments of society. We at BankDhofar realise our responsibility in relation to the environment, and we do not hesitate to support efforts that aim to contribute to the sustainability of the environment and contribute to the wellbeing of society.”

ACCOLADES

Bank Muscat leads successful KR Shipping excels to earn two business delegation to Malta Duqm Port Authority awards MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, in pursuance of the private sector role in the economic development of Oman, led a successful business delegation to Malta to explore investment and trade opportunities between the two countries. The delegation led by AbdulRazak Ali Issa, Chief Executive, visited the Mediterranean island nation connecting Europe with African markets from 12 to 15 January, says a press release. Oman enjoys growing trade relations with Malta which is a strategically located offshore ﬁnancial centre with world class facilities in ports, logistics and education. During the visit, the delegation comprising representatives from key sectors met Joseph Muscat, the Prime Minister of Malta, the Governor of the Central Bank of Malta and high-level officials of Malta Freeport, Malta Financial Services Authority, Fimbank and Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation. “The visit of the Omani business delegation to Malta marked a successful exercise to explore investment and trade opportunities between the two countries. Oman is a forward looking nation that is

FRUITFUL TRIP: Bank Muscat Chief Executive AbdulRazak Ali Issa,

right, with Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of Malta. – Supplied photo

proud of its friendly relations with countries across the world. “Given the structural shift in the way how international trade and investment works due to globalisation, Oman seeks to explore new opportunities for mutual economic benefits and strengthening of friendly ties. “Bank Muscat looks forward to embarking on a new frontier of mutually beneficial association with counterparts in Malta, thereby contributing to strengthening of relations between Oman and Malta. Based on the findings of the delegation, possible avenues for investment and trade will be iden-

tified and an appropriate strategy formulated for initiating potential trade and business relations between Oman and Malta,” said AbdulRazak Ali Issa. Bank Muscat is very active in trade finance and financial institution (FI) business, with FI risk appetite covering prominent countries in Asia as well as parts of Africa. Bank Muscat is among few GCC based banks in a position to provide customers and counterparts pan-GCC coverage. With direct and indirect presence in all the GCC states, Bank Muscat is uniquely positioned to serve their requirements in the GCC region.

MUSCAT: Khimji Ramdas Shipping won two prestigious awards from the Port of Duqm Authority, for the company’s role in growing business for both the Duqm dry dock and its adjoining port, says a press release. “We are greatly honoured and privileged to receive not only one, but two awards for our achievements at the Duqm dry dock and port. We thank the Port Authority for rewarding our hard-work, dedication and diligence. It keeps us motivated to continue moving forward and develop the dry dock and port into a major port hub for Oman and the region,” said M. C. Jose, CEO, Projects and Logistics Group, Khimji Ramdas. KR Shipping, he added, has always functioned in the role of both business development partner and global ambassador for the Duqm port, actively promoting its position as a prominent port of call for industrial cargo and transshipment purposes. “We have been involved in the development of the dry dock right from the beginning, spreading awareness about it globally. KR was proactive in letting the world know that there was a dry dock

coming up in Oman that would be of great interest to businesses around the world because of its strategic location,” he said. The company, he emphasised, was diligent in keeping trade partners apprised of the progress made at the Duqm dry dock, such as the number of ships coming in and how many vessels KR Shipping handled. “One of the challenges we faced was the dry dock being located 600km away from the airport, but we overcame it by building investor conﬁdence in the project which ultimately won

YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

ANNUAL EVENT

Zubair SEC announces 10 winners of Direct Support Programme MUSCAT: Zubair Small Enterprises Centre (Zubair SEC) announced the group of selected members for its Direct Support Programme for the year 2015 in an official ceremony that was held at Bait Al Zubair in Muscat recently. The event was held under the patronage of Khalid bin Mohammed Al Zubair, Managing Director of The Zubair Corporation, in the presence of centre’s members and executive management representatives from both public and private institutions and organisations that support small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurship in The Sultanate, says a press release. The winners are entrepreneurs and young business owners, members of Zubair SEC, who have perused the journey of having their own businesses and have proven dedication towards achieving progress and success. They are z Adel Suwaid Salim Al Abri, National High Tides “Uniboats”: Sea tourism and watersports services – Wilayat Muscat, Muscat Governorate z Kadhia Hamid Mohammed Al Nabhani, Jana’en Al Hamra’ Private School: A private school for both genders from kindergarten to elementary levels – Wilayat Al Hamra, Al Dakhiliyah Governorate

more clients for the dry dock. On the naval side of it, we are already handling around 80 per cent of the ships that come to Omani waters. Here too we have promoted the port of Duqm as a viable alternative for naval ships requiring longer port stays,” he added. Jose concluded by highlighting that, as Duqm continues to grow into one of the country’s important centres for trade and business, KR Shipping will have further opportunities for steering businesses on board the region’s massive growth and expansion.

z Amur Khalfan Mohammed Al Rawahi, Arab Adventures: Environmental tourism in the Sultanate – Wilayat Al Seeb, Muscat Governorate z Aisha Alawi Haﬁdh Baabood, White Hands Centre for Assistance & Rehabilitation Techniques: Advanced complementary therapy services for people with disabilities – Wilayat Al Seeb, Muscat Governorate z Mahfodha Ahmed RahmiAl Balushi, Dar Al Khabourah: Designing and crafting traditional Omani silver works – Wilayat Al Khabourah,

Al Batinah North Governorate z Muna Humaid Omair Al Khusaibi, Dar Al Washa Trade ‘Kidani’: design and crafting of Arabian jewelry and dresses – Wilayat Al Seeb, Muscat Governorate z Najlaa Bilal Said Al Shekaili, Raneem Jalan: Selling women wear and accessories through a sales network from local communities to provide them with sources of income – Wilayat Ja’laan Bani Bu Hasan, Al Sharqiyah South Governorate z Nasra Yasser Nasser Al Mamari, A Touch of Velvet: Designing perfume and bath products customised as per clients requests – Wilayat Al Seeb, Muscat Governorate z Yousuf Thani Sulaiman Al Jabri, Al Mithaliyah Printing Press ‘InvoMail’: Producing different kinds of envelops using an array of eco-friendly paper – Wilayat Al Amirate, Muscat Governorate z Yousuf Yaqoob Nasser Al Busaidi, Asia Food: Specialised in tea mixing and packaging, owners of the brand ‘King’ – Wilayat Nizwa, Al Dakhiliyah Governorate “We celebrate today the launch of a new batch of distinguished entrepreneurs and their outstanding projects, ideas and determination to be a valuable addition to

the small businesses market in the Sultanate”, said Khalid Muhammad Al Zubair, managing director of The Zubair Corporation. “We in Zubair Small Enterprises Centre harness all the capabilities and efforts of our employees to serve as a valuable source of expertise and consultations for all entrepreneurs and provide strategic partnerships with the centre’s distinguished partners. “We will continue the development of our work in Zubair Small Enterprises Centre to be the ideal destination for each entrepreneur and a vibrant work environment for the benefit of each member and remain a valuable source of support for the future of entrepreneur’s project,” he added. The centre has opened doors for applications to join the Direct Support Programme in its second round last June; around 100 of the Centre’s members applied and a very thorough assessment process lasted for more than three months to select the ten winners based on diversified selection criteria. The criteria included the personality, business plan, working team, product/service specifications and features, market specifications, financial needs, innovation, and social impact.

The Zubair SEC Direct Support Programme rewards members who have joined it through existing or potential business projects and have proven through their engagement with the centre’s team remarkable commitment towards their goals and sincere perseverance in taking to heart all guidance and advice provided by the centre. Their projects are based on proper strategic planning and accurate feasibility studies that reflect its owners’ determination to apply best business administration practices and standards. Accordingly, those valued members who are carefully selected to join the Programme will enjoy further incubation and acceleration services through advisory and financial support. “Joining Zubair SEC was an entrance to various benefits such as individual business advisory sessions, training workshops, and participation at SME related exhibitions. I have ambitions to expand with my business and being selected for the Direct Support Programme brought tremendous value and encouragement and will help me achieve many of the goals that I have set for the near future,” said Adel Al Abri, winner of the Direct Support Programme 2015.

ISC Malayalam Wing to hold spelling contest MUSCAT: Indian Social Club (ISC) Malayalam Wing will be conducting its annual English Spelling Contest for school children on January 24 at the ISCM (ISM) hall in Darsait. Children from all the Indian schools and other international schools will be participating in the event, says a press release. The event is being organised by the Children Wing of the Malayalam Wing, said Rajeev Kumar K.K., Secretary, Children Wing. Preparations have already started and the application forms and the rules and regulations of the contest have been sent to all the schools in Oman. The contest will be in three groups, Class V to VII, Class VIII to X and Class XI and XII. The winners will be given trophies and certiﬁcates on the Children’s Day celebrations. Application forms can be collected from the respective schools or from the ISC counter or from the Malayalam Wing ofﬁce at MBD area. Children can also submit the forms online through the website www.iscmalayalam.com.

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM M TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

SECTION

SPOR YOUR GAME

MACGILL SUES CRICKET KET AUSTRALIA FOR $2.1M M Stuart MacGill is suing Cricket Australia claiming he is owed A$2.6 6 million dollars ($2.1 million) in match atch payments, prize money and interest. st. Cricket Australia failed or neglected ed to pay MacGill injury payments for 104 04 weeks from May 2008. >C6

Federer and Sharapova shine after seeds scattered at Melbourne Park Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray also enjoyed comfortable wins as three of the men’s ‘Big Four’ shook out the early-season rust

MELBOURNE: Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova glittered under the Rod Laver Arena lights on Monday, restoring order at the Australian Open after eight women’s seeds crashed out in the afternoon sun on a manic opening day. The evergreen Federer strolled into the second round with a classy 6-4 6-2 7-5 win over Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun before fellow second seed Sharapova ruined Croatian qualifier Petra Martic’s 24th birthday with a 6-4 6-1 victory. Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray also enjoyed comfortable wins as three of the men’s ‘Big Four’ shook out the early-season rust. Although the retired Li Na is not defending her singles title, the glowing Chinese stole the spotlight from the players when she announced she was expecting her first child with husband and former coach Jiang Shan. “I think Dennis (Jiang) is doing a good job. He just made one ace,” said the 32-year-old crowd favourite on the Rod Laver Arena, sparking cheers from the terraces. The hole left by the twice grand slam champion’s absence is begging to be filled and a rejuvenated Sharapova, dressed to kill in a smart red outfit, looked the part in a controlled display against the outgunned Martic. Federer joined Sharapova in the winners’ circle at the Brisbane International this month and, on his coach Stefan Edberg’s 49th birthday, the Swiss notched his 1,001st tour win. “Winning in the first round, it’s always a bit of a relief. I thought I played good,” the 33-year-old told reporters after dashing around the court like a frantic teenager against the 47th-ranked Lu. Glorious day While seventh seed Eugenie Bouchard advanced with a straight-sets victory over 98thranked German Anna-Lena Friedsam, half of the 16 women’s seeds in action were swept away before the sun had set on a glorious day. Fifth seed Ana Ivanovic was the highest-profile casualty, the former world number one falling in three sets to doubles specialist

Winning in the first round, it’s always a bit of a relief. I thought I played good Roger Federer Switzerland

GOOD START: Switzerland’s Roger Federer serves during his men’s singles match against Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun on day one of the 2015 Australian Open tennis tournament in

Melbourne. – AFP

Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic. Ninth-seeded German Angelique Kerber blamed a “bad day” at the office after being dumped out by Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu in three topsy-turvy sets. Lucie Safarova (16), Carla Suarez Navarro (17) and twice grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova (27) were also among the eight sent packing. It was steadier going on the men’s side where an undercooked Nadal felt the confidence flooding back after thrashing Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny. Coming back after a long layoff from injury and illness, Nadal gloomily ruled himself out of title contention before the event but the Spaniard eased quickly into the grand slam groove with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win. “This first match here was tough mentally for me,” the 2009 champion said on centre court, resplendent in a pink shirt and a fluorescent yellow headband. “I hope this match will give me confidence as I play the next round.”

Very difficult Sixth seed Murray, bidding for a maiden Australian Open title after three trips to the ﬁnal, opened up with a 6-3 6-4 7-6 (3) win over Indian qualiﬁer Yuki Bhambri, occasionally berating himself but pleased overall with his display at the refurbished Margaret Court Arena. “The whole match he made it very difficult, he played very aggressively,” Murray said of Bhambri, the lowest-ranked player in the draw at 317. “He shouldn’t be ranked 300 in the world.” Romania’s Simona Halep, seeded third and fancied to break through for a maiden grand slam title this year, had few worries in a 6-3 6-2 rout of Italian Karin Knapp. Men’s seventh seed Tomas Berdych went through without fuss while number 10 Grigor Dimitrov, tipped to rock the tennis establishment after a breakout 2014 season, showed ominous form with a 6-2 6-3 6-2 victory over German Dustin Brown. - Reuters

EASY OUTING: Maria Sharapova plays a shot during her women’s singles match against Petra Martic. – AFP

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

TENNIS

Retired star Li shares ‘special secret’

Comeback queen Azarenka all set for a grudge match

MELBOURNE: Pioneering Chinese tennis star Li Na announced she was pregnant on Monday in front of 15,000 cheering fans at the Australian Open. The two-time Grand Slam winner, hugely popular at the Australian Open where she won the title last year and reached the final in 2011 and 2013, unexpectedly retired in September. She is a guest of honour at Melbourne Park this year and told the crowd in Rod Laver Arena ahead of Roger Federer’s opening match that she was expecting her first child. “Dennis and I are so excited. Our first child will arrive in the summer,” she said to huge cheers. In statement, she added that she was overjoyed. “A mere 12 months ago, I stood on this court clutching the Australian Open trophy tightly in my hands, a huge grin on my face, overwhelmed with joy and a sense of accomplishment that I shared with everyone who had helped me along the road to this incredible achievement,” she said. “Today, all of those emotions came back to me, yet I had extra

MELBOURNE: Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka faces a ﬁrst-round grudge match against American Sloane Stephens as she seeks to resurrect her career at the opening Grand Slam of the season. The showdown on Tuesday is certain to revive memories of one of the most controversial episodes in the tournament’s recent history. In 2013, Azarenka defeated Stephens in the semi-ﬁnal after taking a 12-minute medical timeout that halted a barnstorming comeback by the American. Azarenka admitted after the match that “I almost did the choke of the year” and needed time to recompose herself, leading to allegations she faked an injury to halt play and stall Stephens’ momentum. John McEnroe, commentating on television, called her antics “an absolute travesty”, while the New York Times railed against “a timeout jeered around the world”. Australian fans also turned on Azarenka, who had already tried their patience with her high-dec-

OFFICIAL CEREMONY: Defending Australian Open tennis champion China’s Li Na waves to the crowd as

she stands next to the women’s singles trophy during an official ceremony on Rod Laver Arena. – Reuters

butterﬂies in my stomach because I wanted to share a very special secret with the Australian Open fans. “Over the years, they have supported me and truly helped my success, so it felt just right to let them in on a little secret I’ve been holding on to for a few months now. “This summer, Dennis and I are expecting our ﬁrst child. We

are overjoyed! And it really feels like this baby is going to enter the world already having about 15,000 friends.” Li, who won nine titles in her career, is credited with introducing tennis to the masses in China. She became a sporting pioneer in her homeland when she decided to break from the state sports sys-

tem in 2008 with a group of up and coming players, in a move dubbed by local media “ﬂy alone”. The move meant she was able to choose her own coaches and keep most of her winnings rather than giving them to the government. She said she and her husband could not wait until their baby was born. - AFP

ibel screeching, subjecting her to jeers and boos during her ﬁnal against the popular Li Na of China. The Melbourne Park crowd greeted her eventual win over Li with stony silence and Azarenka admitted last week that she was unsure whether spectators would give her a hostile reception at this year’s event. “I can’t control it, it would be silly if they do,” she said. Stephens drily noted after the match that it was becoming “trendy” for her opponents to call timeouts at crucial moments but has since steered away from commenting on the controversy. At the time, she was a rising star who appeared set to break into the top 10 and lead a new generation to take over the American mantle from the Williams sisters. But she has never again advanced so far in a Grand Slam and goes into this year’s Open ranked 32 in the world. Circumstances are also vastly different for Azarenka, who since 2013 has slipped from number one to 44 after injury-prone 2014 season. - AFP

TU ESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

SPORTS

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Ahmed chip leaves Qatar red-faced With both teams already eliminated, the match in Sydney was heading for a draw until Ahmed spotted Qatar goalkeeper Qasem Burhan off his line and embarrassed him in the 82nd minute

SYDNEY: Sayed Ahmed scored a glorious late chip as Bahrain shattered Qatar 2-1 and left the future World Cup hosts ruing a string of missed chances in their Asian Cup dead rubber on Monday. With both teams already eliminated, the match in Sydney was heading for a draw until Ahmed spotted Qatar ‘keeper Qasem Burhan off his line and embarrassed him in the 82nd minute. The defeat was a disaster for Gulf Cup champions Qatar, who came to Australia with high hopes but leave with much to ponder as they build towards the 2022 World Cup. With little but pride at stake at a cool, damp and sparsely attended Stadium Australia, both sides showed little caution. Qatar’s Ali Asadalla had the goal at his mercy but chose to pass, and striker Mohammed Muntari nearly scored three with his head in the ﬁrst half, crashing one effort off the post. Hasan Al Haydos had a shot cleared while at the other end, Bahrain’s Shubbar also shuddered the upright with a header before he made the breakthrough. The Moroccan-born Faouzi Aaish ran through a crowd of defenders and cut back to Shubbar, who checked before picking his spot and ramming Bahrain ahead. The eventual equaliser was soft, as Al Haydos’s grass-cutting free kick crept under the leaping wall and into the bottom right corner on 68 minutes. Muntari kicked the post in anger when yet another ﬂying header sailed narrowly over, and he was guilty of a howling miss on 78 minutes when he shot wide from six yards out. — AFP

JUBILANT: Bahrain players celebrate their second goal against Qatar during their Group C match at the Asian Cup in Sydney. – AFP

Iran edge past UAE with last gasp goal BRISBANE: Reza Ghoochannejhad scored in stoppage time to give Iran a heart-thumping 1-0 win over the United Arab Emirates in their decisive Asian Cup Group C encounter on Monday. Introduced as a late substitute, Ghoochannejhad netted the match winner with a perfectly taken header in the ﬁrst second of stoppage time to ensure Iran ﬁnished as the Group C winners. Roared on by their boisterous fans, Iran’s players celebrated like they had won the Asian Cup, knowing that the victory had spared them a treacherous path to the title. As Group C winners, Team Melli will play the Group D runner-up, most likely Iraq, in Canberra on Friday while UAE, who only needed a draw to top the group on goal difference,

could face the defending champions Japan next. Although both teams had already booked their places in the quarter-finals before kickoff, the prospect of a better route to the final ensured the match would be anything but meaningless. The two Middle Eastern sides attacked each other from the outset on a hot and humid night at Brisbane’s Lang Park, leaving players from both teams exhausted at the end. The match seemed destined to end in a draw until the final moments when UAE failed to clear an Iranian corner, knocking the ball out to Andranik Teymourian. The Iranian midfielder tried to shoot but couldn’t get his foot to the ball in time, however he got enough to chip it to Ghoochannejhad and the Charl-

ton Athletic striker headed it past the outstretched arms of Majed Naser. UAE dominated possession in the second half and created plenty of opportunities of their own. Khamis Esmaeel unleashed a ferocious long-range volley that just went wide in the ﬁfth minute, while Amer Abdulrahman posed plenty of problems for the Iranian defence. UAE’s loss was compounded when key defender Walid Abbas picked up his second yellow card of the tournament, ruling him out of the quarter-ﬁnal. With both teams pushing forward and engaging in some wild goalmouth scrambles, tensions began to fray and the referee booked three Iranians — Sardar Azmoun, Mehrdad Pooladi and captain Javad Nekounam — although all can play in the quarters. - Reuters

HAPPY DUO: Iran’s Ashkan Dejagah and Reza Ghoochannejhad,

right, celebrate at the end of their Asian Cup Group C soccer match against UAE at the Brisbane Stadium. – Reuters

NO CHANGE

FOOTBALL

Iraq boss fears Asian Cup job could destroy his reputation CANBERRA: Radhi Shenaishil said on Monday that he had taken a huge risk to his reputation by agreeing to fill in at the last minute as Iraq’s coach for the Asian Cup. Hakim Shakir was sacked as Iraq boss just weeks before the start of the continental showpiece, after the Lions of Mesopotamia finished bottom of their group at the Gulf Cup. With the Iraq Football Association scrambling to find a replacement, Qatar Sports Club agreed in mid-December to loan head coach Shenaishil for the tournament in Australia. “Every coach here has pressure on them,” Shenaishil told reporters ahead of his side’s crunch Group D clash with Palestine, where they will try to reach the last eight. “(But) there’s actually more pressure not having a contract. Being on loan with the Iraq national team means a lot of pressure to make things work in a very short period of time. “A negative result in this tour-

HIGH RISK: Iraq coach Radhi Shenaishil, left, says takin over Iraq in a short notice was a huge risk. – AFP

nament could actually destroy your name as a coach,” added the Iraqi former defender. But Shenaishil added that the call of duty had been too strong to ignore. “I put all the disadvantages I thought of aside,” he said in Canberra. “I’ve been called for my country and I’m here to serve my country and hopefully I can produce something.”

Iraq defeated Jordan 1-0 in their opening game before losing by the same scoreline to defending champions and favourites Japan. With Japan expected to beat Jordan Tuesday, an Iraqi win against Palestine would send them into the quarter-ﬁnals where they would meet either arch-rivals Iran, or surprise package United Arab Emirates. - Reuters

Asian Cup officials rule out semifinal venue change BRISBANE: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has ruled out any possibility of switching the venues for the Asian Cup semifinals even if the host-nation ends up playing at the smallest stadium. The first semifinal is scheduled to be played at Sydney’s 83,000 seater Olympic stadium on January 26, which is also Australia’s national holiday. The second semi is set to be played a day later at Newcastle’s Hunter Stadium, which has a capacity of just 23,000. Melbourne, Australia’s selfproclaimed sporting capital, did not bid for the semifinal because it clashes with the Australian Open tennis championship. If Australia win their quarter-final against China, they will play in the second semifinal in Newcastle, possibly against Japan in a repeat of the 2011 final. - Reuters

T U E S DAY, JAN UARY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

SPORTS C O M M E N TA RY

It is important that India keep faith in Dhawan

NDIA know they have to beat England in their second game of the tri-series to stay in the hunt for a place in the finals. Of course, they still have two more games after the game against England but it will become that much more difficult if they lose to England at the Gabba. Cricket is so much a confidence game, and if England win, then they will feel even more confident for their next encounters. Their new skipper Eoin Morgan played an outstanding innings in getting that century against Australia, but just like the Indians, the English also did not post a challenging enough total for the Australians to chase. With the influence of the T20 format, unless a team scores in the vicinity of 300 they will be struggling to defend their total. India did run Australia close, but the Aussies have a long batting order which is a huge plus and they never really looked in trouble and ended up by winning with an over to spare. Rohit Sharma batted splendidly, playing some truly breathtaking shots, as he got his first century in Australia. Unfortunately, apart from Suresh Raina, another tremendous oneday player, there was no support from anybody else and so the Indians ended up with less than 300 which looked eminently possible when Rohit and Raina were batting and building their partnership. Raina’s departure to the last ball of the first over of the batting power play was just the break that the Aussies wanted, and even though Dhoni tried his best, it was clear that he was a bit rusty after his sudden retirement from Test cricket at the end of last year. Luckily, India has three or possibly four more games before the World Cup starts and then there are some warm up games after that too, so that will hopefully get the batteries properly recharged for not just Dhoni but the likes of Dhawan and Rahane too. It is important that India keep faith in Dhawan for he is capable of taking the game away from the opposition, but then he also has to show the patience on the field that will help him settle down and get the big scores. A left and right-hand opening

In this series,

The white ball hardly moves after half a dozen overs or less, so all that Dhawan needs to do is to choose his shots carefully. Once he gets through that initial period he can always make up in the later overs with the range of shots that he has

combo is a tricky one for the opposition bowlers as they have to change their line of attack and it can result in wides and extra deliveries. The white ball hardly moves after half a dozen overs or less, so all that Dhawan needs to do is to choose his shots carefully. Once he gets through that initial period he can always make up in the later overs with the range of shots that he has. India’s bowlers, also, must be ready at all times to be called to bowl and not take a few deliveries to settle down. If India win in Brisbane, it would make sense to give Shami a rest, for he seems a bit troubled by either a knee or hamstring problem, and keep him ﬁt for the tri-series ﬁnal. India’s bowlers did well to get the team back after the Smith-Finch partnership was broken. They will have to pay special attention to the wides, especially those down the leg side, for they can be costly to the team. India may have lost, but they were far from disgraced and showed that if a bit of luck goes their way they can turn it around pretty fast. — PMG

TRI-SERIES

Root backs call for yellow cards to curb misbehaviour BRISBANE: Having been on the receiving end of Australian opener David Warner’s fiery temper, England batsman Joe Root sees logic in Kiwi great Martin Crowe’s call for a soccer-like card system to curb player misbehaviour. Warner’s growing reputation as a hard-hitting batsman has coincided with the pugnacious southpaw’s increasing fondness to get involved in on-field spats, making him a regular visitor to the match referee’s room. The latest, against India’s Rohit Sharma in Sunday’s triseries contest, cost him half his match fee and a reprimand from his own board, who have asked the 28-year-old “to stop looking for trouble”. “...there is a growing concern that David Warner’s thuggish behaviour has gone too far,” former New Zealand captain Crowe wrote in his ESPNCricinfo column. “Soon one day, it will lead to an incident that will sully the game for good,” added Crowe, convinced fines can no longer act as a deterrent. “You have to take them out of the game for extended periods. Two yellow cards should result in a red card, which should ban any player for six months,” he added. The confrontation with Rohit follows Warner’s spat with an-

India to face England hoping to start afresh

other Indian, Shikhar Dhawan, in the Adelaide test last month, after which both players were ﬁned. Root felt Crowe’s suggestion made a lot of sense. “At the minute, people aren’t happy with the way people are holding themselves on the ﬁeld and if that is going to sort it out then why not?” asked Root, famously punched by Warner in a bar in 2013. “You are out there to either score runs or take wickets, if that is not your main focus then you are not doing your team a full service,” Root said ahead of Tuesday’s tri-series one-day international against India. “It’s about mutual respect for each other.” Crowe said players such as Warner risked getting punched by opponents but Root felt that was a mark no one was prepared to overstep. “I can’t (foresee such a situation), to be honest. Someone would have to be in a really bad place to do that,” the 24-yearold added. “There have been a few things that have happened over the last six months and that is not good for the game. “But I can’t really see it going that far to lead to a punch-up... it’s not ice hockey.” - Reuters

billed as the dress rehearsal for the upcoming ODI World Cup, these two sides will be keen to get a win under their belt

BRISBANE: Jolted by the opening loss to Australia, India would look to plug the bowling loopholes and ensure a stronger batting display when they take on England in their second ODI tri-series cricket match here on Tuesday. In Brisbane, both sides will be looking to register their first win in this tournament with the hosts having stolen a march on them with two successive wins. Australia beat England by three wickets in Sydney on Friday and then beat India by four wickets in Melbourne on Sunday. They took a bonus point from the first game as well and sit pretty on nine points from two games. In this series, billed as the dress rehearsal for the upcoming ODI World Cup, these two sides will be keen to get a win under their belt. India can take some solace from their match against Australia in the sense that they pushed the hosts a lot closer. By their own admission, the Australian batsmen were going for that bonus point against England and thus lost quick wickets in the middle order. The repeated mini-collapse against the Indian bowling was no such fluke. Two bowlers played a key role in squeezing the runrate, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Axar Patel. It was quite a positive for the Indian team, reeling under the inconsistency shown by their attack in the preceding Test series. They missed the medium-pacer in the first three Tests and when he returned in Sydney, he was way off-colour, down on pace and lacking in match fitness. A five-day rest since and lot more bowling in the nets has done him good. Sunday’s performance should be another boost for him to return to form for the Men in Blue need him to work his magic with the new ball in the next two months. In only his first international outing in Australia, the young leftarm spinner Axar impressed with

HOPING TO DO BETTER: File photo of Indian players celebrating during the ﬁrst match against Australia in Melbourne Cricket Ground.

his control as skipper MS Dhoni even opted to hold back a few of his overs and bring Patel back later during the end overs of the chase. Later the Indian skipper even talked about the possibility of Patel becoming his prime choice in the death overs, if he persists with this same consistency in his bowling. That was a big vote of conﬁdence in Patel’s abilities. Even so, the underlying word here is consistency which is a certain weak-point with India’s bowling in recent times. This is where Tuesday’s game assumes signiﬁcance. Coming quickly on the heels of their Sunday outing, Indian bowlers — in particular Kumar and Patel — will be under the spotlight. A similar bowling performance will be expected from the duo and if they are able to deliver on their promise, then it will be a huge step forward for this attack seeing as R Ashwin had an off-day in Melbourne. Dhoni will also be looking for consistency from Rohit Sharma. He batted with much calm amid wickets falling at the other end and looked keen to make his start count. More importantly, he was prepared to run hard between the wickets and rotate the strike, a trait previously missing in his batting in overseas ODIs last year. If he continues to do the same,

then the debate over his opening position in favour of Ajinkya Rahane will be a thing of the past. However, that topic could restart at the other end if Shikhar Dhawan too doesn’t start scoring. It is too early to comment on his failure in Melbourne. But with a new-look batting order, with Rahane at three and Virat Kohli at four, they need to click in unison to take pressure off the middle order, especially with Dhoni coming in at number six. In the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, the onus of big-hitting in the end overs lies squarely on the skipper’s broad shoulders. Early wickets for few runs, as in Melbourne, won’t help his case and also won’t make the ﬁve-bowler strategy work. In the last couple of years, India’s ODI record against England has been quite good. Since the 2011 tour when they didn’t win a single game, the Men in Blue have recorded 12 wins in 15 matches, four of them coming in England (one in 2013 and three in 2014).The rest have all come in sub-continental conditions. Yet, Dhoni and his players will be quietly conﬁdent of taking on a team under new captaincy. And that is the big question mark for England as they prepare for the World Cup. They have made the right call in

leaving Alastair Cook out of their plans and instead picking Eoin Morgan to lead. However, they might have left him too little time to introduce some new plans and experiment with his strategies. England have called upon the services of their former star allrounder Andrew Flintoff during the net-session in Brisbane on Monday, in the hope of garnering some conﬁdence and motivation from the Big Bash player. Obviously enough, they have opted to not give a call for help to Kevin Pietersen, who is also in the country to play the T20 league. And so, it remains to be seen what effect Flintoff’s words will have on their Tuesday performance. Teams (from): India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Stuart Binny, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohit Sharma. England: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Joe Root, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes. - PTI

TU ESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

SPORTS FOOTBALL

C O M M E N TA RY

What Duncan Fletcher should ask Umesh Yadav to do now and forever

f there’s anything to be learned from the India-Australia ODI match at MCG on Sunday, that may be by Australian coach Darren Scott Lehmann and his boys, despite winning the match with an over to spare and four wickets in hand. Does that mean that the winners have a lot to get a grip on, especially in the matter of spoken Hindi for guys like David Warner to engage Rohit Sharmas “teetering pretty close” to the Lehmann line of acceptability but without giving hints to Cricket Australia bosses that they were “looking for trouble”, and the losers are so perfect that they needn’t bother much about anything, not even their “speak English” skills so some polite Australian guys wouldn’t incur unnecessary financial losses to the tune of 50% of their match fee? Perhaps, yes, if you take what Indian coach Duncan Fletcher had said on the just-concluded four-Test series that you thought exposed the woeful shortcomings of the Indian team, especially of the bowlers, but which, according to Fletcher, who tried to open the eyes of the world to figures that wouldn’t lie, wasn’t really so. So, what did Duncan figures suggest? Simple truths the world of cricket was not seeing as they should be. Like, Mohammed Shami was a better bowler than Mitchell Johnson. Proof? Shami got 15 wickets at 35.50, while Johnson managed only 13 at a similar bowling average. Never mind the fact that matters the

most: one was a match winner, and the other was an also-ran. With people like Fletcher at the helm, who are happy to highlight what they think as the positives and quick to sweep the negatives under the carpet, maybe because that’s the best way open for them now to serve out their term and bow out in peace, it’s hard to hope that team India will learn from the mistakes. There was nothing out of place for Fletcher to say Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami need to learn how to put at least four balls in an over in the same spot, preferably just outside off stump, and keep doing that over after over. To think that someone in the team — maybe Fletcher, maybe Ravi Shastri, maybe the bowling coach, maybe the captain — may really have told the erratic young guns to mind their line and length is impossible after watching their ﬁrst spells at MCG. Yadav and Shami, for reason beyond the comprehension of normal folks, seemed obsessed with the idea that batsmen were just as stupid as they were. One of the reasons that Yadav bowls more than a couple of short balls every over is perhaps he gets a wicket once in a while through that often tried and seldom worked trick. If he wants

You could rave over how Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his bowlers denied Australia the bonus points and how they came close to pulling off a surprise, or you could talk about how brainless the bowlers were and how stupid it’s to expect Shikhar Dhawan to be reliable. There may be a bit of truth on both sides of the divide...

to learn something from his performance on Sunday, he must watch his third over —the one he bowled after getting David Warner out — and his 10th, which was the 45th. The first was a maiden when he pinned Aaron Finch down, and the second was almost a maiden where he kept Brad Haddin and Glenn Maxwell clueless (Well, to keep the record straight, one run was scored). The fourth ball of the 45th over was a yorker, the toesearching kind perfected by Waqar Younis, that got Glenn dance to his tune, figuratively and literally. That’s the sort of stuff Yadav should be doing if he wants to win respect and wickets. And victory for his team. In the end, Australia had some anxious moments that made Mitchell Starc chew his fingers sitting in the dressing room as the Australians were six down and needed 20 runs from the last

three overs , and India put up a fight that looked unlikely for the better part of the game. And that offered something for everyone who follows Indian cricket, either to cheer for or to throw muck at. You could rave over how MS Dhoni and his bowlers denied Australia the bonus points and how they came close to pulling off a surprise, or you could talk about how brainless the bowlers were and how stupid it’s to expect Shikhar Dhawan to be reliable. There may be a bit of truth on both sides of the divide, but meaningless figures and mere fooling around would hardly help Dhoni and his boys live the dream Sachin Tendulkar is now coaxing them to chase. The writer is a freelance contributor based in India. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of Times of Oman

Champagne facing fight to stay in Fifa presidential race LONDON: Fifa presidential candidate Jerome Champagne does not yet have the letters of support he needs from five football associations with the deadline for his nomination to be accepted only 10 days away, the Frenchman said on Monday. Champagne, the 56-year-old former Fifa deputy secretary general, who opened his campaign in London a year ago this week, has sent an open letter to the heads of Fifa’s 209 member associations appealing for their support before the January 29 deadline. “I do not yet have all the five letters,” he wrote in a statement headed “The Moment of Truth”. “The feeling exists that the final result of the election is set, and that it would be risky to sign them,” he said. “There is also the fear of being singled out or punished,” Champagne says alluding to the idea that most people believe, despite all of the controversies surrounding Fifa, that ageing incumbent Sepp Blatter will win a fifth term of office. Champagne began his campaign on Jan.20 last year. Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan declared his intention to run earlier this month. On Friday former France international footballer David Ginola said he was also standing, so - despite his campaign being widely regarded as a publicity stunt backed by a bookmaking firm - as it stands, there are three challengers to Blatter.

Missing letters Champagne was openly dismissive of Ginola’s candidacy, speaking of “individuals without a program” declaring their interest, and called on associations to provide him support. “I am thus compelled today to solemnly call upon you to obtain these missing letters,” he wrote. Champagne said that under the old rules — under which he would have needed the support of only one association — he would already have had enough support, but he is yet to meet the amended requirements established under revised Fifa statutes introduced two years ago. Champagne makes a robust defence of his campaign so far and says that even if he gets the ﬁve letters, that does not commit an FA to vote for him, just to enable him to stand. “I have opposed the current simplistic analysis, according to which all is wrong in Fifa, by presenting a program to continue what has been done correctly during the last 40 years and to change what needs to be changed.” He said: “A white ballot, an abstention, will not advance the cause of football.” “It will not accomplish what you have set out to do for your Association, and it will not make Fifa a more respected organization in the eyes of the world,” Champagne concluded. The election will be held at the Fifa Congress in Zurich on May 29. - Reuters

NEW YEAR CRICKET CUP 2015

Al Naba, Royal Challengers, Kokani Boys in quarterﬁnals

EASY OUTING: Al Naba team members celebrate their victory over Friends XI. – Supplied photo

MUSCAT: Royal Challengers, Al Naba and Kokani Boys recorded victories to reach the quarterﬁnals of the New Year Cricket Cup organised by Rising Kokan Team. The tournament is being sponsored by Abu Maather, Al Zaitun Travels, Al Rawabi, Capital Insurance, Shalimar Restaurant, Majan Events, United Gulf Beacons, Um Salama Pharmacy, Nurson, Qaser Al Doha, Al Basim and Pocari Sweat. The organisers have also decided to host a Junior Cup tournament for the losing teams of the New Year Cup as well as

other intereted teams. But the tournament will be restricted to eight teams. For registeration the teams can call the organisers at 95480481 or mail at rkleague2012@gmail.com RESULTS Friends XI 58/6 in 7 overs (Aslam 16, Shaﬁ 1/11) bt Knight Riders Mangalore 40/6 in 7 overs (Safaf 14, Israr 3/7). AMT Ofsat Warriors 58/3 (Naeem 34, Murad 2/6) bt XI Warriors 41/6 in 7 overs (Mudassar 12, Vinod 2/6). XI Fighters 43 all out in 6.5 overs (Wajid 7, Mujahid Surve 6,

Wasim 4/9, Nagesh 2/8) lost to OEC 44/4 in 5.4 overs (Abdullah Khan 19, Riyaz 2/11, Hanif Hodekar 1/5). Friends XI 50/7 in 7 overs (Khalid 13, Satish 3/9, Happy Singh 2/14) lost to Al Naba 53/3 in 6.5 overs (Vijay 32, Khalid 1/17). Asfandyar XI 52/6 in 7 overs ( Shams 16, Giri 3/11) lost to Royal Challengers 53/6 in 6.5 overs (Giri 21, Shams 2/8). Kokani Boys 59/5 in 7 overs (Muzaffar 24, Imran 2/6) bt Bombay Blues 57/5 in 7 overs (Imran 18, Wasim Jamadar 2/9, Saddam 2/11).

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H DIVISION: R K Group after their victory over Prime Trading. – Supplied photo

SPORTS

F DIVISION: Orange Mart pose for a group photo after defeating MARH. – Supplied photo

Zafar dazzles for Enhance Eagles Opting to bat ﬁrst, MCCC A scored 165 for seven wickets in 30 overs. Enhance Eagles, in reply, scored 167 for seven in 29 overs

MUSCAT: Zafar Iqbal picked up three wickets in six overs and thereafter contributed 62 runs to help Enhance Eagles maintain their unbeaten record with a threewicket victory over Muscat Cricket Coaching Centre A (MCCC A) in the Khimji Ramdas-sponsored 30 overs-a-side B Division match. Opting to bat ﬁrst, MCCC A reached 165 for the loss of seven wickets in 30 overs. Opening the batting Ivan Joseph Manjila scored 39 while Aadil Abbas and Mohool Misra scored 25 runs each. Bhavesh Mehta remained unbeaten on 23. Enhance Eagles in reply scored 167 for the loss of seven wickets in 29 overs S. Parameswaran remained undefeated on 21. Mohsin Qureshi picked up two wickets.

Eagles’ Zafar Iqbal.

G DIVISION: Professional Trading celebrate their thrilling victory over Huawei. – Supplied photo

Electing to bat ﬁrst, OCT Al Hail A scored 140 for the loss of eight wickets in 20 stipulated overs with skipper Sufyan Mahmood opening the batting making a top score of 54. Nagesh picked up two wickets. Oman Engineering reached their target scoring 144 for eight wickets. Major contributions came from Qamar Nazir (37), Shahid Ali (23), Irtiza Ahmed (22) and Syed Fakhar (20). Mohammed Ishaq Al Balushi bagged three wickets while Waleed Al Balushi took two.

to bat ﬁrst MARH scored 146 for eight wickets in 20 overs with Mohammed Ayaz contributing 52. In reply, Orange Mart replied with 149 for the loss of four wickets in 15 overs thanks to contributions from Jeason Jacob (63) and opening batsman Vijesh Vijay (39).

Brief scores: MCCC A 165 for 7 in 30 overs (Ivan Joseph Manjila 39, Aadil Abbas 25, Mohool Misra 25, Bhavesh Mehta 23 n.o.; Zafar Iqbal 3/38) lost to Enhance Eagles 167 for 7 in 29 overs (Zafar Iqbal 62, S. Parameswaran 21 n.o.; Mohsin Qureshi 2/39). Points: Enhance Eagles - 2 (5 games, 10 pts), MCCC A – Nil (5 games, 4 pts).

Brief scores: OCT Al Hail 140 for 8 in 20 overs (Sufyan Mahmood 54; Nagesh 2/27) lost to Oman Engineering 144 for 8 in 18.3 overs (Qamar Nazi 37, Shahid Ali 23, Irtiza Ahmed 22, Syed Fakhar 20; Mohammed Ishaq Al Balushi 3/20, Waleed Al Balushi 2/20). Points: Oman Engineering - 2 (5 games, 7 pts), Oman Engineering - Nil (4 games, 2 pts).

Oman Engineering win In an Enhance-sponsored E Division T20 match, a 10-member Oman Engineering team defeated OCT Al Hail A by two wickets.

Orange Mart down MARH In an F Division T20 match, Orange Mart defeated a 10-man Moosa Abdul Rahman Hassan (MARH) by six wickets. Deciding

ALL-ROUND SHOW: Enhance

FOOTBALL

China’s Wang to buy 20 percent stake in Atletico: reports MADRID: Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin has agreed to buy a 20 percent stake in La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, Spanish media reported on Monday. The deal with Wang, who controls the Dalian Wanda Group conglomerate and is a keen soccer fan, will be announced in Beijing on Wednesday, according to the reports in sports dailies Marca and As. Wang Jianlin has a net worth of $13.2 billion, Forbes said in October, putting him fourth on the magazine’s China rich list after he topped the ranking the previous year. His investment in Atletico is worth around 40 million euros ($46.34 million), Marca and As said, without identifying the source of their information. Wanda have called a news conference for Wednesday but did not provide further details. An Atletico spokesman said on Monday he was unable to conﬁrm the reports and the club would not be making any official comment. Atletico would be the latest La Liga team to attract signiﬁcant investment from outside Spain following the likes of Malaga and Valencia. Malaga were bought out by a member of the Qatar royal fam-

ily back in 2010, while Singapore billionaire Peter Lim recently took a majority stake in another La Liga club Valencia. La Liga heavyweights Real Madrid and Barcelona, the world’s richest clubs by income, have lucrative deals with investors from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Atletico’s recent success on the pitch has made Madrid’s second club an attractive partner and they already have a deal with Chinese telecommunications ﬁrm Huawei and a shirt sponsorship agreement with the Azerbaijan tourist board. Like many Spanish clubs, Atletico Madrid have struggled to keep their ﬁnances under control in recent decades while striving to remain competitive, racking up debts of more than 500 million euros. With the future looking brighter, however, they have ambitious plans and are looking to move from their crumbling Calderon Stadium to a new 70,000-capacity arena at La Peineta near the main airport in a couple of years. They are also planning to build a new training complex including offices, a 15,000-seater stadium for the second and third teams and facilities and shops for fans. - Reuters

Brief scores: MARH 146 for 8 in 20 overs (M. Ayaz 52) lost to Orange Mart 149 for 4 in 15 overs (Jeason Jacob 63, Vijesh Vijay 39). Points: Orange Mart - 2 (5 games, 5 pts), MARH - Nil (5 games, 3 pts).

Professional Trading win In an afternoon G Division T20 match, Professional Trading recorded a thrilling six-run win against Huawei. Invited to bat by their opponents, Professional Trading scored 177 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs. Opening the batting Nandakumar top scored with 81 while N.P. Prem Kumar (30) and M.A. Shifan (21 not out) chipped in with useful contributions. Sudheesh Mekkatt and Mohammed Shari claimed two wickets each. In reply, Huawei were well

placed at 136 for the loss of three wickets in 15.1 overs but soon lost their way and were bowled out for 171 in 19.4 overs. Openers Umar Zaman (52) and Mohammed Neyazul Haque (26) were associated in a 49-run partnership for the ﬁrst wicket in ﬁve overs. Skipper Karthikeyan Jayachandran and Sanjeev Kumar scored 24 runs each and Narayanan S. made 21. S. Boopathy spearheaded the bowling attack with three for 31 in 3.4 overs while skipper Binu B.V. and Shine N.V. picked up two wickets each.

smashed an unbeaten 100 off just 60 balls as R K Group recorded a 16-run win against Prime Trading in a H Division T20 match. Opting to bat ﬁrst, R K Group scored 151 for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs. Kiran K.A. claimed three wickets while Brijesh Kumar and Joby Abraham bagged two each. In reply, Prime Trading managed to score 135 for seven wickets in 20 overs. Sajeesh V.S. (36) and Anoop V. (24) made useful contributions. Muneer Ahammad picked up two wickets.

Brief scores: Professional Trading 177 for 8 in 20 overs (Nandakumar 81, N.P. Prem Kumar 30, M.A. Shifan 21 n.o.; Sudheesh Mekkatt 2/17, Muhammed Shari 2/23) bt Huawei 171 in 19.4 overs (Umar Zaman 52, Mohammed Neyazul Haque 26, Karthikeyan Jayachandran 24, Sanjeev Kumar 24, Narayanan S. 21; S. Boopathy 3/31, Binu B.V. 2/27, Shine N.V. 2/41). Points: Professional Trading - 2 (5 games, 10 pts), Huawei - Nil (5 games, 5 pts).

Brief scores: R K Group 151 for 8 in 20 overs (Abhishek Kalla 100 n.o.; Kiran K.A. 3/18, Brijesh Kumar 2/17, Joby Abraham 2/20) bt Prime Trading 135 for 7 in 20 overs (Sajeesh V.S. 36, Anoop V. 24; Muneer Ahammad 2/20). Points: R K Group - 2 (5 games, 4 pts), Prime Trading - Nil (5 games, 5 pts).

Abhishek lifts R K Group Opening batsman Abhishek Kalla

Mustafa Sultan beat RAHRC In an I Division T20 match, Mustafa Sultan Enterprises (MSE) clinched a 14-run win against RAHRC.

Opting to ﬁeld after winning the toss, RAHRC did well to bowl out MSE for 145 runs in 19.4 overs with skipper Abdullah Alam opening the batting scoring 25 runs and Ismail Rahim Bakhsh Al Balushi chipping in with a useful run a ball 24. Jassim Al Lawati and Pratik Vedak claimed three wickets each while Madan Nir bagged two. RAHRC were reeling at 45 runs for six at the end of the ninth over but managed to reach 131 for the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs thanks to a 75-run seventh-wicket partnership between No. 8 batsman skipper Suresh Ramachandran (46) and Madan Nir (30). Abdullah Alam claimed four wickets while Sudheesh P. took three wickets. Brief scores: MSE 145 in 19.4 overs (Abdullah Alam 25, Ismail Rahim Bakhsh Al Balushi 24; Jassim Al Lawati 3/20, Pratik Vedak 3/28, Madan Nir 2/21) bt RAHRC 131 for 9 in 20 overs (Suresh Ramachandran 46, Madan Nir 30; Abdullah Alam 4/22, Sudheesh P. 3/18). Points: MSE - 2 (6 games, 7 pts), RAHRC - Nil (7 games, 5 pts).

TU ESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

SPORTS

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MacGill sues CA for $2.1m Lawyers for the spinner, who retired from international cricket in 2008 with 208 Test wickets at an average of 29.02, ﬁled the details in a writ in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday

MELBOURNE: Retired bowler Stuart MacGill is suing Cricket Australia claiming he is owed A$2.6 million dollars ($2.1 million) in match payments, prize money and interest. Lawyers for the spinner, who retired from international cricket in 2008 with 208 Test wickets at an average of 29.02, ﬁled the details in a writ in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday. It alleges that Cricket Australia failed or neglected to pay MacGill injury payments for 104 weeks from CRICKET

Bailey fined, suspended for over-rate violation BRISBANE: Australia one-day captain George Bailey has been slapped with a one-match suspension for a second over-rate offence in 12 months, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Monday. In his absence, Steve Smith is likely lead the hosts, who will seek a hat-trick of tri-series match victories against England at Hobart on Friday. Bailey, who is leading the side in place of injured regular skipper Michael Clarke, has also been deducted 20 percent of his match fee, while his players were docked 10 percent of their match fee. “(Match referee) Andy Pycroft... imposed the suspension on Bailey after Australia was ruled to be one over short of its target at the end of the match when time allowances were taken into consideration,” the ICC said in a statement. Bailey led Australia in the first ODI against South Africa in Perth in November, in which both teams were fined for slow over rates. Under the ICC code of conduct, in the case of a second such over-rate offence in the same format within 12 months, the captain receives a onematch suspension. - Reuters

NEGLECTED: It alleges Cricket Australia failed or neglected to pay MacGill injury payments for 104

weeks from May 2008 when he “ceased being able to perform his obligations due to injury’.

May 2008 when he “ceased being able to perform his obligations under the CAPC (Cricket Australia Player Contract) due to injury”. MacGill is seeking A$1,640,890 in payments, including for 15 away

Test matches and 11 home Test matches, his annual retainer and prize money. He is also seeking A$984,534 in interest. “We are aware of the media reports and at this stage we’re not in

a position to comment further,” a spokesman for Cricket Australia informed. MacGill, who played 44 Tests, suffered a string of injuries as a player before his career ended

abruptly in May 2008. The writ states that MacGill had one-year contracts with Cricket Australia from 1998 to 2007 and claims that in June 2007 the organisation had hired him for another year and offered him a contract for 2008 to 2009. It says that when MacGill had been injured and unable to play on previous occasions up until 2006 — suffering an ankle fracture, broken nose, displaced discs in his spine, knee cartilage damage, nerve damage in his hands and wrists, an elbow fracture and other injuries — Cricket Australia had continued to pay him. But in May 2008 he spoke to the Australia team manager and the captain while on tour in the West Indies about numbness and pins and needles in both hands, knee and shoulder pain and was advised to return to Australia. “The team medical officer was not available to be consulted by MacGill or notiﬁed during the Test match as he was not in attendance due to his own personal illness,” the writ said. MacGill says in the writ that when he failed to receive payments on returning home, the Australian Cricketer’s Association had entered into negotiations with Cricket Australia on his behalf but the sporting body denied liability and refused further dispute resolution. - AFP

LA LIGA

‘Messi a class above all season’

WORLD CLASS: Barcelona boss Luis Enrique said ‘Messi has been at an extraordinarily high level all season’. – AP/PTI

MADRID: Barcelona boss Luis Enrique hailed Lionel Messi’s consistent brilliance this season after the Argentine took his tally to 28 goals in 27 games with a hat-trick in a 4-0 win away to Deportivo la Coruna on Sunday. Messi and Enrique’s relationship has reportedly been frosty since the four-time World Player of the Year had been left on the bench for his side’s 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad earlier this month. However, Enrique has repeatedly insisted Messi remains the best player in the world and refused suggestions he has taken his form to another level over the past week with another stellar performance after vanquishing La Liga champions Atletico Madrid last weekend with a goal and two assists. “Messi has been at an extraordinarily high level all season,” said Enrique, despite reports of a dressing room rift between the two in recent weeks. “He hasn’t dipped at any point. He has been world class.” Victory brought Barca back to within a point of league leaders Real Madrid and continued their positive response to an institutional crisis that enveloped the club following the Sociedad defeat. However, Enrique is still looking for further improvements if the Catalans are to continue their pursuit of honours on three fronts this season. “Winning is good for the players’ conﬁdence but there are still many things to improve, both in attack and defence.

“We still need to improve in both areas because that is the only way to challenge for all the titles.” One of the reported reasons for the dressing room discontent with Enrique has been his much criticised rotation policy. The 44-yearold named a different line-up for the 29th consecutive game, but maintained the same 11 that started against Atletico last weekend. However, he refused to admit he had bowed to pressure from his players for a more settled side. “I am not faithful to one single manner of doing things. I played the 11 I think will work best. We will be stronger the more players we have contributing to the cause.” And Barca’s captain on the day Andres Iniesta backed his coach’s intention to keep all his players heavily involved throughout the campaign. “I don’t think the rotations are bad, that way we all feel useful and important,” said the Spanish international. “It also makes sure we are in a good situation to get to the end of all the competitions in better condition. “In the end what matters is what the coach says and we have to execute it in the best way possible.” Barca’s attention now turns to another meeting with Atletico in the ﬁrst leg of their Copa del Rey quarterﬁnal tie on Wednesday. “We have an exciting few weeks ahead of us, but it is a very intense and tough tie against a difficult opponent in Atletico. We need to be at our best.” - AFP

PROGRESSING WELL

Clarke on track to return during World Cup SYDNEY: Australian skipper Michael Clarke is recovering well from hamstring surgery and is on track to play a part in the World Cup, physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said Monday. The 33-year-old badly tore his right hamstring during the ﬁrst Test against India last month, ruling him out of the following three Tests and threatening his involvement in the one-day tournament which begins next month. Clarke had surgery in December and Kountouris said a review by the surgeon in Melbourne on Sunday had been positive. “Michael is progressing well in his rehab and is currently running on a regular basis and has commenced batting,” Kountouris said in a statement. “He remains on track for a return to play by February 21, the date we spoke of when the squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup was announced.” Australia are scheduled to play Bangladesh on February 21 after beginning their World Cup against England on February 14. Australia coach Darren Lehmann earlier Monday said Clarke was ahead of schedule with his progress. “He’s had a couple of bats in the nets, which is a really good thing for us. Fingers crossed, but he’s ahead of schedule,” Lehmann told reporters in Melbourne. “We’d love him to play some warm-up games, but we’ll be guided by the medical staff there. The pleasing thing is he’s back in the nets and hopefully he can ramp it up from there.” - AFP HOCKEY

Malaysia down Oman at FIH World League MUSCAT: Oman found formidable Malaysia too hot to handle as they were handed a heavy defeat by the latter in the ongoing FIH Hockey World League in Singapore on Monday. According to information received here, Malaysia blanked the Sultanate squad 7-0 in their Pool A game. Malaysia were too dominant. German stalwart Oliver Kurtz-coached Omanis had began their campaign in the tournament with a well-deserved 3-2 win over hosts Singapore on Saturday. Oman now need to beat Ukraine on Tuesday to fancy their chances of progressing to the semiﬁnals. Oman and Ukraine have three points each from two outings but the latter are in the second place thanks to their better goal average. Malaysia are on top with six points while Singapore are at the bottom after two losses.

FORMULA ONE

Marussia auction halted as possible investor emerges LONDON: Hopes of reviving the failed Marussia Formula One team grew on Monday after an auction of their cars and equipment was postponed to allow talks with a potential new investor. The 2014 cars, spares and race equipment had been due to go on sale on Wednesday but administrators FRP Advisory said it had been “halted to allow for discussions to continue with a third party. “Given the conﬁdential nature of the negotiations underway we are unable to provide further details,” they added in a statement. John Booth, who was principal of the Banbury-based team when they went into administration and missed the last three races of 2014, told the BBC he hoped there could be a deal in time for the start of the new season on March 15. He said talks were “at a fairly advanced stage with a new investor, a credible investor. “Postponing the auction gives us a bit more time to explore it,” he added.

Rosberg to get first test of Mercedes LONDON: Nico Rosberg will be first and world champion Lewis Hamilton second when it comes to testing the new Mercedes Formula One car in southern Spain next month. Mercedes said on Monday that Rosberg, the German beaten to the title last year by his British team mate, would be first to drive the F1 W06 hybrid car after it is unveiled on the opening day of pre-season testing in Jerez on February 1.

Although Marussia ceased trading in November, with staff made redundant, they still have an entry to the 2015 championship as Manor Grand Prix but would need

Hamilton, chasing a third title this year after winning 11 races in 2014 to Rosberg’s ﬁve, will drive it on the second and third days. Mercedes said the schedule was simply the reverse of the 2014 testing allocation, when Hamilton was ﬁrst out in the new V6 turbo-powered car that replaced the old V8s. The season starts in Australia on March 15. Mercedes are again expected to be the pace setters. - Reuters

last year’s cars to compete. The governing Fia has said it is willing to allow struggling teams to race with 2014 cars if that helped them to survive. - Reuters

TU ESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

EXTRA A

ROBOTDESIGNED

epper, dear, when is the next time you’ll visit?” “Look over here!” In a third-floor lounge at Nishi-Koigakubo Ninjin Home, a special elderly nursing home in western Tokyo, elderly dementia patients recently spent time with Pepper, a humanoid robot with artificial intelligence being developed by SoftBank Mobile. Said to be the world’s first robot designed to serve people by recognising their emotions, Pepper is set to retail for 198,000 yen (about $1,680) on the consumer market in February. With Japan facing a rising number of dementia sufferers, more businesses have begun to develop products and services to help patients and their families live more comfortably. Such products and services benefit society and also are becoming an important industry, with companies now launching full-fledged efforts to enter the market. SoftBank Mobile hopes to develop its robot to act as a conversation partner for those suffering from dementia. During its visit that day, Pepper played a game and showed off its dancing skills, thanks to the installation of a prototype program. Seeing the elderly residents smile as they chatted with Pepper, nursing home operator Harue Ishikawa expressed high hopes, saying, “Even with a manpower shortage in the nursing care field, we can provide a higher-quality service if such robots can take over some of the work.”

TO FILL ROLE

IN DEMENTIA CARE

The number of people suffering from or at risk of dementia is estimated to have exceeded 8 million in 2012, and the ﬁgure is expected to increase even more. Meanwhile, the percentage of households comprising either a single person aged at least 65 or an elderly couple without younger family members is forecast to rise from 20 percent in 2010 and reach 28 per cent in 2035. There also are many senior citizens who live with younger family members but stay alone at home during the daytime while the others are at work. Kaname Hayashi, who is involved in the development of Pepper at SoftBank, said, “We see a demand for products that will prompt communication and support everyday life by asking the elderly if they have taken their medication and other questions.” To help prevent the condition of elderly patients from deteriorating to the point where they require nursing care, the ﬁrm hopes to give people more options than simply relying on efforts by the central and local governments. The company plans to develop a program to provide better support for dementia patients, such as by adding a function to encourage the elderly to talk about their memories. “Pepper, who is indefatigable, can always be there as a conversation partner,” Hayashi said.

Pepper, the world’s ﬁrst robot designed to serve people by recognising their emotions, is set to retail for about $1,680 on the consumer market

8 Million

people suffering from or at risk of dementia estimated in 2012

In 2011, Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. chose dementia as a research subject. First, the laboratory staff accompanied dementia patients and their families living in Tokyo on trips to pick mandarin oranges and visit hot springs, aiming to study the kinds of difficulties such people face in their daily lives. “Products designed for people with dementia should be easy enough for anyone to use,” said Makoto Okada, the lab’s project leader. “The study will enhance the value of our products and services.” PaPeRo, a communication robot developed by NEC Corp. and others, is already taking an active role at such places as nursing care facilities. The company hopes to make it available to the average consumer for less than 20,000 yen (about $170) a month. “The use of products specially developed for dementia patients has been limited to such places as nursing homes,” the company said. “But we believe that they will be soon spreading to ordinary households.” Kao Corp., which makes daily necessities, set up a special internal team in March 2014 and began research on the disease. “Various companies have taken an interest in dementia in the last few years, and we’ve been receiving more inquiries,” said Takenobu Inoue, director of the Assistive Technology Department at the Research Institute of the National Rehabilitation Centre for Persons with Disabilities. “If wellknown makers start to sell products and services that are dementia-friendly, it could play a major role in disease prevention. We’re willing to cooperate with companies that can disseminate information.”

T U E S DAY, JAN UARY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

ENTERTAINMENT CINEMA SCHEDULE

BAHJA CINEMA Taken 3 (2D) (Action | Crime) (12+) Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace 3:00, 7:15, 9:30, 11:45 pm I (2D) (Action | Fantasy) (12+) Cast: Chiyaan Vikram, Amy Jackson, Upen Patel; 8:15 pm The Theory of Everything (2D) (Biography | Drama) (PG12) Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Tom Prior; 5:15, 7:30 pm 13 Sin (2D) (Horror | Thriller) (18+) Cast: Mark Webber, Devon Graye, Tom Bower; 9:45, 11:30 pm The Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirror (2D) (Animation) (TBC) Voice Overs: Anna Shurochkina, Ivan okhlobystin, Anna Khilkevich 2:00 pm The Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirror (3D) (Animation) (TBC) 3:30, 5:00 pm Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Never have Paris (2D) (Com) Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Nancy Marlowe 6:30 pm Seventh Son (2D) (Adv) (PG12) Cast: Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore 5:15 pm Seventh Son (3D) (Adv) (PG12) 11:45 pm

Snow Queen-Magic Of The Ice Mirror (2D)(Animation) (PG) Voice Overs: Anna Shurochkina, Anna Khilkevich; 2:00pm Snow Queen-Magic Of The Ice Mirror (3D): (Animation) (PG) 03:30 PM & 05:00

Cast: Vikram, Amy Jackson, Suresh 9:30 pm SCREEN 3 P. K (Comedy | Drama | Social) (PG) Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma 3:30pm Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene (Comedy) Cast: Zayed Khan, Rannvijay Singh, 6:30 & 8:30 pm

The Imitation Game (2D): (Biography/Thriller) (12+) Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode Gold Class: 2:00 pm Taken-3 (2D) (Act/Thriller) (12+) Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker 11:30am, 7:45, 9:45 & 11:45 pm Gold Class: 4:15, 9:00 & 11:15pm 13 Sins (2D): (Horror/Thriller) (18+) Cast: Mark Webber, Devon Graye 1:30 & 11:45 pm The Theory Of Everything (2D): (Biography/Drama) (PG 12) 3:15 & 5:30 pm Gold Class: 6:30 pm Feng Shui (Tagalog) (2D) (Hor) (15+) 6:30 pm I (Tamil) (2D) (Act/Thriller) (12+) 10:30 am I (Hindi) (2D) (Action/Thriller) (12+) Cast: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Chiyaanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Vikram, Amy Jackson 8:20 pm

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Tom Prior 4:00, 5:00, 9:00 pm Tevar â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2D (PG12) Action Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha 11:15 pm

Seventh Son â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2D (PG12) (Adv) Cast: Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore 5:30pm Seventh Son â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3D (PG12) (Adv) Cast: Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore 10:00pm Taken 3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2D (12+) Crime | Thriller Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker 3:30, 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30 pm The Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirror â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3D (PG) Animation Voice Overs: Anna Shurochkina, Ivan Okhlobystin, Anna Khilkevich 3:30, 5:00 pm I (Hindi) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2D (12+) (Action) Cast: Anna Shurochkina, Ivan Okhlobystin, Anna Khilkevich 6:30 & 11:00 pm I (Tamil) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2D (12+) (Action) Cast: Anna Shurochkina, Ivan Okhlobystin, Anna Khilkevich 7:45 pm 13 Sins â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2D (18+) Horror | Thriller Cast: Mark Webber, Devon Graye 11:55pm Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Never Have Paris â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2D (PG12) (Comedy | Romance) Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Geoffrey Cantor, Nancy Marlowe 3:30, 7:15pm The Theory of Everything â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2D (PG12)(Biography | Drama | Romance)

SCREEN 1 Alone - Hindi - (Thriller | Horror) Cast: Bipasha Basu, Karan Singh 3:30 & 10:00pm Shankarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;? - Hindi - (Thriller)(12+) Cast: Vikram, Amy Jackson, Suresh 6:30pm SCREEN 2 Shankarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153; Iâ&#x20AC;? - Hindi - (Thril) (12+ ) Cast: Vikram, Amy Jackson, Suresh 3:30 pm Alone - Hindi - (Thriller | Horror) Cast: Bipasha Basu, Karan Singh 7:00pm Shankarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153; Iâ&#x20AC;? - Hindi - (Thril) (12+ )

Snow Queen 2: Magic Of Ice Mirror (3D) (Animation | Adventure) (PG) Voice Overs: Anna Shurochkina, Ivan Okhlobystin, Anna Khilkevich 3:00, 5:00 pm Taken 3 (Crime | Thriller) (12+) Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace 4:30, 6:30, 9:45 & 11:45pm I (Tamil) (Action | Fantasy ) (12+) Cast: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Chiyaanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Vikram, Amy Jackson, Upen Patel 8:30 pm Tevar (Action | Romance) (PG12) Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Manoj Bajpayee 3:30, 8:00 pm 13 Sins (Horror | Thriller) (18+) Cast: Mark Webber, Devon Graye 3:15, 6:15, 11:45 pm I (Hindi) (Action | Fantasy) (12+) Cast: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Chiyaanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Vikram, Amy Jackson 6:30 & 10:45pm

Seventh Son (3D) (Adv| Fan) (PG12) Cast: Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore 9:00pm Seventh Son (2D) (Adv | Fa) (PG12) Cast: Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore 5:30pm

I (Tamil) (Action | ) (12+) Cast: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Chiyaanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Vikram, Amy Jackson, Upen Patel; 05:45, 11:00 pm Taken-3 (Action | Crime) (12+) Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm The Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirror (3D) (Anim/ Family) (PG) Voice Overs: Anna Shurochkina, Ivan 4:15 pm

Taken 3 (2D/12+) (Action) Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace 12:00, 3:45, 07:45, 9:45, 11:45pm Seventh Son (3D/PG12) (Adv) Cast: Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore 8:45pm Seventh Son (2D/PG12) (Adv) 5:45PM The Snow Queen: 2 (2D/PG) (Animation/Adventure/Family) 2:00pm The Snow Queen: 2 (3D/PG) (Animation/Adventure/Family) 3:30, 5:00pm The Theory of Everything (2D/ PG12) (Biography) Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones 2:45, 6:30pm 13 Sins (2D/18+) (Horror/Thriller) Cast: Mark Webber, Devon Graye, Tom Bower 12:45 & 11:30pm I â&#x20AC;&#x201C; (Tamil) (2D/12+) (Action) 5:00, 8:15pm I â&#x20AC;&#x201C; (Hindi) (2D/12+) (Action) Cast: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Chiyaanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Vikram, Amy Jackson 12:15, 10:45pm

Taken 3 (Action) Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace Cast: 4.00, 8.00, 10.00 & 11.55 pm CP No: 2015 /153 (12+) Seventh Son (Adventure/Fantasy) Cast: Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Alicia Vikander Kit Harington 8.15 pm; CP No: 2015/62 (PG 12 ) 13 SIN (Horror-/Thriller) Cast: Mark Webber, Devon Graye 4.15, 10.15 & 11.55pm CP No: 2015/154 (18+) The Theory of Everything (Drama) Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Prior 2.00 & 6.00 pm; CP No: 2015/155 (15+) Snow Queen 2 The Snow King (Animation) Voice Overs: Anna Shurochkina, Ivan Okhlobystin, Anna Khilkevich 2.00 & 6.00 pm CP No: 2015/156 (U)

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

STARS CINEMA Film information 24791641 / 24786776 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;? (Tamil) ( Action\Thriller) Cast: Vikram, Amy Jackson and Suresh Gopi 3:00, 6:30 & 10:00pm Cinema Main Mylanchi Monchulla Veedu (Mal) (Rom/Com) Cast: Jayram & Asif Ali 3:45, 6:45 & 9:45pm Cinema 4 Chinnadana Nee Kosam (Telugu) (Com) Cast: Nitin Reddy & Misnti 3:30, 6:30 & 9:30pm Cinema 2 P K (Hindi) (Comedy) Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma and Sanjay Dutt 3:45, 6:45 & 9:45 pm Cinema-3 NEXT CHANGE: Nagaravaridhi Naduvil Njaan

For More Information 24789032, 24786776 Website: www.isurf.co.om

ACES ON BRIDGE

How do you handle the club suit?

SUDOKU

HOW TO PLAY Fill the empty cells with the numbers 1 to 9, so that each number appears once in each row, column and area. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Seven Galaxies

AL AYHAM AL WAHAIBI January 20

MARMADUKE

CROSSWORD

B I G NAT E

47 49 50 51 52 53 54 55

Wooed QED part Type of poem Smoke-detector output Jane Austen novel Permanent marker Cosmetics brand History

DOWN 1 Pessimistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s word 2 Zone 3 Bearing 4 Goose-down items 5 Shady nook 6 Dinner-table faux pas 7 Sci. class 8 Darth Vaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real name 9 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Khan 10 Command to Fido 11 TVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hawkeye 17 Deal with it 19 Cravat 22 Forensic science tool 23 Rap-sheet letters 24 Terrible

25 26 27 28 29 31 34 35 36 37

Yes, to Rob Roy Not waste Talk to a beat Limo passenger Ben & Jerry rival Abbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sister Moon goddess Wry Holbrook or Roach Dreaming, maybe

39 Frothy 40 Lemon â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 41 Took the trolley 42 Revival shout 43 Polite chap 44 Funny Bombeck 45 Berets 46 MDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ASAP 48 Doveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cry

Answer to previous puzzle

ACROSS 1 Bivouac 5 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Waterlooâ&#x20AC;? pop group 9 I knew it! 12 â&#x20AC;&#x153;La Traviataâ&#x20AC;? highlight 13 Total 14 Congeal 15 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Faint heart â&#x20AC;&#x201D; won ...â&#x20AC;? 16 Brought up 18 Halter cousin (2 wds.) 20 Furry tree-dweller 21 Oxygen source 22 Chips go-with 23 Humble 26 Deprive of conďŹ dence 30 Boastful knight 31 Stiff â&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x20AC;&#x201D; board 32 Give alms 33 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sweetâ&#x20AC;? girl of song 36 Carefree 38 40-cup brewer 39 Stockholm carrier 40 Pipe unclogger 43 Throats

KUNGURU January 20

Previous puzzle Solution

DENNIS Bilde from Denmark is now too old for junior events, but his ďŹ nal junior deal ever was memorable. In the auction, Northâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two-notrump response showed four or more spades and at least gameinvitational strength. If West (Majka Bilde, Dennisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sister) had led the diamond ace against six spades, it would have defeated the slam and ruined the story. When, though, she led the heart nine, South won with his ace, drew trumps, cashed his other two heart tricks, discarding the diamond king from his hand, ruffed a diamond in his hand, crossed to dummy with a trump and ruffed the last diamond. Now declarer had to play the club suit for only one loser. How did he read the deal? South felt sure that if East or West had six or seven diamonds, he or she would have entered the auction. So declarer decided that the diamonds were 5-5. Furthermore, the carding in hearts suggested that West had begun with ďŹ ve. If so, West had started with 2-5-5-1 distribution. Backing his judgment, Bilde led a low club toward the dummy. When West played the nine, declarer covered with dummyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 10. East won with his king and returned a low club, but South played low from his hand to make his contract. That was very well read. Also note that if West had had a singleton club honour, she would have been endplayed. On her forced red-suit return, declarer would have ruffed in the dummy and sluffed a club from his hand. Then he would have run the club jack to get home. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; By Phillip Alder

WITH LOVE

BORN LOSER

HUMAM JAFRI

January 20, 2009

ALFIN BINOY

January 20, 2004

JOSHUA JAISON January 20, 2002

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to extra@timesofoman.com

KIDSPOT

H E A LT H C A P S U L E

C10

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

PRAYER TIMINGS

FIND-IT-ALL Y O U R B I R T H D AY

BORN today, you are a natural trailblazer, never so content as when you are exploring, to the fullest capacity of your considerable talents and intellect, all that life offers you — personally, professionally and recreationally. You will be recognised as one who does not fear the criticism of lesser individuals who cannot understand why you are driven to try what hasn’t been done before, exploring territory that might be dangerous to you and others. Indeed, that kind of criticism often serves as a kind of motivator for you: The more of it you get, the more eager you are to forge ahead, following your instincts and seeking the kind of discoveries that result from your particular brand of daring. When it comes to your personal life, things may either go exactly according to plan or fall completely apart with little or no warning. This depends, in large part, on your ability to keep the professional and the personal carefully in balance. If things teeter one way or the other, you risk much in one or both domains. Also born on this date are: George Burns, comedian; Paul Stanley, guitarist and singer; Buzz Aldrin, astronaut; Bill Maher, comedian and television host; Lorenzo Lamas, actor; DeForest Kelley, actor; Aristotle Onassis, shipping magnate; David Lynch, director; Arte Johnson, actor and comedian; Skeet Ulrich, actor; Federico Fellini, director; Patricia Neal, actress.

W E AT H E R

WORLD

Max 24 Min 18 Max 4 Min -1

Max 22 Min 8

Max 23 Min 15 Max -4 Min -12

Max 25 Min 17

Max -3 Min -11

Max 25 Min 12

Max 24 Min 13

Max 25 Min 12

Max 26 Min 17

Max 24 Min 14

[JAN. 20-FEB. 18]

You Y must be willing to listen to what someone in the know has to tell you, for it’s bound to come in handy in an unusual way.

ARIES [March 21-APRIL 19] The goal is not total agreement, but rather the friendly exchange of ideas and information. You can get much from a rival, in fact.

TAURUS [APRIL 20-MAY 20] Unusual behavior ﬁnds its roots in the unusual, albeit instinctive reaction to unexpected events. Are explanations enough?

GEMINI [MAY 21-JUNE 20] You’ll want to proceed in a way that allows you to assess your progress at every new stage — so adopt a suitable pace.

CANCER [JUNE 21-JULY 22] Your reaction to someone’s offer will say more about you than it does about the offering itself. Are you making real sense?

Max 27 Min 19

Max 19 Min 12

—www.met.gov.om

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI) QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (Route 36) Dept Destination Arrival Time Time 15:00 Quriyat 16:30 15:00 Sur 18:00 15:00 Jaalan 19:30 TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41) 06:30 Sohar 06:30 Buraimi 08:00 Buraimi 13:00 Sohar 13:00 Buraimi 16.00 Sohar 16.00 Buraimi TO SINAW (Route 52) 17:30 Sinaw

Max 29 Min 23 Max 24 Min 22

GULF Abu Dhabi Doha Dubai Kuwait Manama Riyadh

21 18 20 16 17 18

17 10 12 10 14 4

WORLD Athens Baghdad Beijing Berlin Boston Cairo Colombo Frankfurt Hong Kong Istanbul Johannesburg Kuala Lumpur Lisbon Paris Perth Singapore Tokyo Toronto

17 17 2 -2 2 22 31 3 16 12 24 31 10 2 36 30 11 -4

11 3 -4 -2 -3 3 20 -1 11 7 14 22 6 0 22 24 2 -11

[JULY 23-AUG. 22] You may be called upon to step forward and do something that you feared to do only yesterday. Today, you’re conﬁdent that you can prevail.

VIRGO [AUG. 23-SEPT. 22] A question of bravery is likely to arise when you are expected to do what another is unwilling to do. Your instincts serve you well.

LIBRA L [[SEPT. [S S 23-OCT. 22] Are you ready to say “yes” to someone who has been urging you to do something unusual for quite some time? Once you answer, it’s done!

SCORPIO S [[OCT. 23-NOV. 21] You may not fully understand what another intends when he or she presents you with information that you didn’t know you needed.

SAGITTARIUS S [[NOV. 22-DEC. 21] What appears easy today may actually deceive you, giving you good reason to go back to the beginning and review the basics.

CAPRICORN [DEC. 22-JAN 19] Opportunity knocks, but not necessarily in a loud and insistent manner. Listen carefully, or you may not hear it at all.

TO MUSCAT (RUWI) Operating Days Daily Daily Daily

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (Route 36) Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily 05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily 05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

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

Daily Daily Daily via Ibri Daily Daily Daily Daily

20:50

Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41) 07:00 Sohar 07:00 Ruwi 13:30 Ruwi 13:00 Sohar 13:00 Ruwi 13:00 Sohar 17:00 Ruwi TO SINAW (Route 52) 07:00 Ruwi

To Yanqul (Route 54) 14:30 Nizwa 14:30 Yanqul

16:50 19:30

Daily Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54) 08:00 Nizwa 08:00 Al Araqi

10:20 12:30

TO SUR (Route 55) 07:30 Sur 14:30 Sur TO FAHUD - YIBAL (Route 62) 06:30 Fahud 06:30 Yibal

08:55 11:40 20:20 14:55 17:40 19:20 22:15

Daily Daily Daily via Ibri Daily Daily Daily Daily

10:25

Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54) 06:00 Nizwa 06:00 Ruwi

08:40 11:00

Daily Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54) 15:40 Nizwa 15:40 Ruwi

17:55 20:20

Daily Daily

12:00 18:45

Daily Daily

TO SUR (Route 55) 06:00 Ruwi 14:30 Ruwi

10:45 19:00

Daily Daily

10:30 11:15

Daily Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (Route 62) 12:30 Fahud 12:30 Ruwi

13:15 17:30

Daily Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (Route 100) 07:00 Salalah 20:00 10:00 Marmul 20:30 10:00 Salalah 23:30 19:00 Salalah 07:40

Daily Daily Daily Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (Route 100) 07:00 Ruwi 19:50 10:00 Marmul 13:15 10:00 Ruwi 22:30 19:00 Ruwi 07:30

Daily Daily Daily Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101) 06:00 Marmul

Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101) 06:00 Marmul

16:30

Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (Route 102) 15:00 Salalah 07:00

Daily

16:50

SALALAH TO DUBAI (Route 102) 15:00 Dubai 07:00

LEO

5.44pm 6.51am

High tide Low tide

9:29pm 3:09am

TO DUBAI (Route 201) 06:00 Sohar 06:00 Dubai 13:00 Sohar 13:00 Dubai 15:00 Sohar 15:00 Dubai

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

Daily Daily Wed,Thur Wed,Thur Daily Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204) Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily 07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily 07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201) 07:30 Sohar 07:30 Ruwi 13:00 Sohar 13:00 Ruwi 15:30 Sohar 15:30 Ruwi

10:50 13:40 16:15 19:10 18:45 21:35

Daily Daily Thur-Fri Thur-Fri Daily Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204) Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily 16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily 16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

LISTINGS

PHARMACIES Round the clock Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24783334; Appolo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24782666; Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24702542, Salalah: 23291635; Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra: 24503585; Ruwi 24811715 Muscat Region Apollo, Al Hamriya. Tel: 24787766 Muscat, A Seeb Market. Tel: 24421691 Muscat, Al Khuwair. Tel: 24485740 Muscat, Al Hail South. Tel: 24537080 Dhofar Region Muscat, Al Nahdha Road, Salalah. Tel: 23291635 HOSPITALS Al Amal Medical & Health Care Centre: 24485052 Atlas Hospital: Ruwi: 24811743/ Ghubra: 24504000 Al Musaﬁr Specialised Medical Clinic: 24706453 Hatat Polyclinic LLC, Ruwi: 24563641, Azaiba: 24499269, Sohar: 2683006 Al Raffah Hospital: 24618900/1/2 Al Massaraat Clinic & Laboratory: 24566435 Al Makook Medical Coordinance Centre: 24499434 Apollo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24787766, 24787780 Capital Polyclinic: 24707549 Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic, Ruwi: 24799760/1/2 Capital Clinic, Seeb: 24420740 Ceregem National Raak: 24485633 Dr Harub’s Clinic: 24563217 Elixir Health Centre: 24565802 Emirates Medical Centre: 24604540 1st Chiropractic Centre: 24472274 Hamdan Hospital: 23212340 International Medical Centre LLC: 24794501/2/3/4/5 Kims Oman Hospital: 24760100

24 Hrs Emergency: 24760123 Lama Polyclinic, Sohar: 26751128, MBD: 24799077, Al Khuwair: 24478818 Magrabi Eye and Ear Hospital: 24568870 Muscat Private Hospital: 24583600 Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, Al Khuwair: 24477666 Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC: 22004000 ROYAL OMAN POLICE Emergencies and inquiries: 9999 General Directorate of Passport and Residence: 24569603 Directorate General of Customs: 24521109 Traffic violations inquiries: 24510228 Public Relations Admin: 24560099 ACCOMMODATION Al Bahjah Hotel: 24424400 Al Bustan Palace: 24764000 Al Khuwair Hotel Apartments: 24478171 Al Madina Holiday Inn: 24596400 Al Maha International Hotel: 24494949 Al Fanar Hotel: 24712385 Al Falaj Hotel: 24702311 Al Qurum Resort: 24605945 Azaiba Hotel Apartments: 24490979 Beach Hotel: 24696601 Bowshar Hotel: 24491105 Coral Hotel Muscat: 24692121 Crowne Plaza Muscat: 24660660 Crystal Suites: 24826100 Golden Tulip Seeb: 24510300 Grand Hyatt Muscat: 24641234 Haffa House Hotel: 24707207 Hotel Muscat Holiday: 24487123 InterContinental Muscat: 24680000 Majan Continental Hotel: 24592900 Marina Hotel: 24711711 Midan Hotel Suites: 24499565 Mina Hotel: 24711828 Muttrah Hotel: 24798401

Nuzha Hotel Apartments: 24789199 Oman Dive Centre: 24824240 Park Inn: 24507888 Qurum Beach House Hotel: 24564070 Radisson Blu Hotel: 24487777 Ramee Dream Resort Seeb: 24453399 Ramee Guestline Hotel: 24564443 Ruwi Hotel: 24704244 Safeer Hotel Suites: 24691200 Sheraton Oman Hotel: 24772772 Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa: 24776666 The Chedi Muscat: 24524400 The Treasurebox Muscat Hotel: 24502570 AIRLINE OFFICES Muscat Airport Flight information (24 hours): 24519456/24519223 Aeroﬂot: 24704455, Air Arabia: 24700828, Air France: 24562153, Air India: 24799801, Air New Zealand: 24700732, Biman Bangladesh Airlines: 24701128, British Airways: 24568777, Cathay Paciﬁc: 24789818, Egypt Air: 24794113, Emirates Air: 24404400, Ethiopian Airlines: 24660313, Gulf Air: 80072424, Indian: 24791914, Iran Air: 24787423, Japan Airlines: 24704455, Jazeera Airways: 23294848, Jet Airways: 24787248, Kenya Airways: 24660300, KML Royal Dutch Airlines: 24566737, Kuwait Airways: 24701262, LOT Polish Airlines: 24796387, Lufthansa: 24796692, Malaysian Airlines: 24560796, Middle East Airlines: 24796680, Oman Air: 24531111, Pakistan International Airlines: 24792471, Qatar Airways: 24771900, Qantas: 24559941, Royal Jordanian: 24796693, Saudi Arabian Airlines: 24789485, Singapore Airlines: 24791233, Shaheen Air: 24816565, SriLankan Airlines:

TUESDAY

Min

L O N G D I S TA N C E B U S T I M I N G S ( O M A N N AT I O N A L T R A N S P O R T C O M PA N Y S A O C ) * S U B J E C T T O C H A N G E

[Feb. 19-March 20]

Sunset Sunrise (Tomorrow) 7:38am 2:35pm

SEA STATE: Moderate to rough along Musandam and Oman Sea coasts with maximum wave height ranges between 2.0 to 3.0 metres. Slight to moderate along Arabian Sea coast with a maximum wave height of 1.5 metres. HORIZONTAL VISIBILITY: Good over most of the Sultanate becoming poor during thundershowers. THE NEXT 48 HOURS OUTLOOK: Partly cloudy skies with chances of rain and occasional thundershowers over governorates of Musandam , coastal areas of Oman Sea and Al-Hajar mountains. Chances of isolated rain along the coastal areas of Dhofar and Al-Wusta governorates . Moderate to rough along most of Oman coasts with maximum wave height ranges between 2.0 to 3.0 metres. Decrease in temperature over most of the Sultanate during night.

Max

OMAN

PISCES

12.23pm 3.28pm 5.50pm 7.03pm 5.32am

AIRLINES

artly cloudy to cloudy skies over the governorates of Musandam, north AlBatinah, Al-Buraimi, Al-Dhahira, south Al-Batinah, Muscat, Al-Dakhliah, North Al-Sharqiya and South Al-Sharqiya with chances of rain and occasional thundershowers associated with hail and fresh downdrafts wind. Clear to partly cloudy skies with chances of isolated rain along the coastal areas of Dhofar and Al-Wusta governorates. EXPECTED WIND: Along the coastal areas of Arabian Sea wind will be southeasterly to southerly light to moderate and over the rest of the Sultanate wind will be northerly to northwesterly light to moderate becoming fresh northwesterly during evening time over Musandam and coastal areas of Oman Sea.

AQUARIUS You may not be able to ignore the many distractions around you, but a little quick thinking can allow you to take advantage of them.

Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Fajr (Tomorrow)

24784545, Swiss International Airlines: 24796692, Thai Airways: 24705934, Turkish Airlines: 24703033 MUSEUMS Bait Al Baranda: Corniche (seafront opp ﬁsh market), Open from Saturday to Thursday 9am to 1pm and 4 to 6pm Natural History Museum: Al Khuwair, Tel: 24604957, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm; Thursday: 9am to 1pm Museum of Omani Heritage: (former Omani Museum), Madinat Al Alam, Sat-Wed 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday 9am to 1pm, Tel: 24600946 Armed Forces Museum: Bait Al Falaj, Tel: 24312651, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm; Thurs 9-12pm and 3-6pm; Fri 9-11am and 3-6pm. Al Hoota Caves 24498258; Turtle Beach 96550606/96550707 Children’s Science Museum: Shatti Al Qurum, Tel: 24605368, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pm Oman-French Museum: near Muscat Police Station, Tel: 24736613, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm, Thurs: 9am to 1pm Bait Al Zubair, Muscat: Tel: 24736688, Al Saidiya St., Muscat museum@baitalzubairmuseum.com Open from Sat to Thurs: 9:30am to 6pm. National Museum Ruwi: Tel: 24701289, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pm Sohar Fort Museum: Tel: 26844758, Open from Saturday to Wed: 8 to 1:30pm Thurs: 9am to 1pm Muscat Gate Museum: at Al Bahri Road, Muscat open from Sat to Wed 8am to 2pm

WEDNESDAY FLT NO

ARRIVALS FROM

CAIRO 0005 RIYADH 0005 RIYADH 0005 JEDDAH 0005 KUWAIT 0010 BANGKOK 0015 LAHORE 0130 SALALAH 0150 ISTANBUL 0215 ISLAM ABBAD-SIALKOT 0225 KARACHI 0230 DOHA 0345 ADDIS ABABA 0350 DUBAI 0355 BAHRAIN 0405 ABU DHABI 0405 DUBAI 0415 SALALAH 0630 ABU DHABI 0650 BAHRAIN 0700 AMMAN 0705 DOHA 0710 KUWAIT 0715 MUNICH 0715 FRANKFURT 0715 DAMMAM 0725 JEDDAH 0730 MALPENSA-ZURICH 0745 PARIS 0800 DUBAI 0805 BOMBAY 0815 TEHRAN 0815 LONDON HEATHROW 0820 BEIRUT 0830 DUBAI 0850 SHARJAH 0915 HYDERABAD 0920 DELHI 0935 MADRAS 0940 DUBAI 0940 DOHA 1000 DOHA 1010 ABU DHABI 1015 MUKHAIZNA 1045 JAIPUR 1100 DUBAI 1110 SALALAH 1110 RAS AL KHAIMA 1120 DUBAI 1200 CHITTAGONG 1210 LUCKNOW 1210 CALICUT 1210 GWADUR 1220 CHITTAGONG 1245 KHASAB 1245 DUBAI 1330 KARACHI 1355 KHASAB 1440 MANGALORE-ABU DHABI 1440 SALALAH 1445 BANGKOK 1525 KUWAIT 1525 BAHRAIN 1530 LAHORE 1550 DUBAI 1555 ABU DHABI 1635 BOMBAY 1710 CALICUT 1720 DELHI 1730 HYDERABAD 1740 TRIVANDRUM 1740 ISLAM ABBAD 1745 DOHA 1745 DOHA 1745 DUBAI 1800 BAHRAIN 1810 BANGALORE 1810 DUBAI 1845 MUKHAIZNA 1845 RIYADH 1900 SHARJAH 1915 BANGKOK-KARACHI 1935 DUBAI 1945 DUBAI 2030 SALALAH 2055 DUBAI 2125 DELHI 2125 BOMBAY 2130 COCHIN 2140 DUBAI 2145 COLOMBO 2150 MADRAS 2155 BANGKOK 2200 MADRAS 2200 DOHA 2210 COLOMBO 2225 BAHRAIN 2240 LONDON HEATHROW-ABU DHABI 2240 ABU DHABI 2250 SALALAH 2305 AHMEDABAD-BOMBAY 2310 DOHA 2315 ZURICH-DUBAI 2320 BOMBAY 2325 FRANKFURT-ABU DHABI 2330 BAHRAIN 2330 DUBAI 2335 DAMMAM 2350 ABU DHABI 2350 SALALAH 2355 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 2355

WY682 WY406 WY676 WY648 WY816 WY816 WY824 4H583 WY916 PK229 TK776 QR1132 EK866 GF560 EY384 FZ041 WY638 WY902 WY686 WY658 WY668 WY644 WY692 WY674 WY602 WY202 WY432 WY102 NL768 WY342 FZ043 G9114 WY236 WY918 WY226 WY242 EK862 WY346 WY252 IX443 QR1128 EY382 IX549 9W530 WY604 WY822 WY3922 G9841 FZ037 WY268 IX337 WY314 PA450 WY904 WY3302 WY606 WY326 WY918 WY918 WY906 WY274 WY656 WY632 FZ045 WY216 WY204 WY292 WY610 WY246 WY3304 WY284 WY232 QR1126 WY664 EK864 GF564 G9116 WY254 WY144 FZ047 WY614 WY914 AI977 KL441 WY624 AI973 6.00E+81 WY414 9W534 FZ049 AI907 QR1134 WY272 GF566 BA073 EY388 WY908 AI985 WY662 WY124 LX242 9W540 LH618 WY654 WY612 WY116 WY928 WY636 W696 WY717 WY910

RIYADH 0005 CAIRO 0005 JEDDAH 0005 KUWAIT 0010 BANGKOK 0015 BANGKOK 0015 KUALA LUMPUR 0055 DACCA-CHITTAGONG 0130 SALALAH 0150 LAHORE 0215 ISTANBUL-BAHRAIN 0300 DOHA 0345 DUBAI 0355 BAHRAIN 0405 ABU DHABI 0405 DUBAI 0415 ABU DHABI 0520 SALALAH 0630 RIYADH 0700 BAHRAIN 0700 DOHA 0710 KUWAIT 0715 DAMMAM 0725 JEDDAH 0730 DUBAI 0805 BOMBAY 0815 TEHRAN 0815 LONDON HEATHROW 0820 LAHORE 0830 LAHORE 0835 DUBAI 0850 SHARJAH 0915 HYDERABAD 0920 KHASAB 0930 COCHIN 0930 DELHI 0935 DUBAI 0940 ISLAM ABBAD 0940 MADRAS 0940 COCHIN 1010 DOHA 1010 ABU DHABI 1015 TRIVANDRUM 1020 TRIVANDRUM 1035 DUBAI 1110 KUALA LUMPUR 1115 DUQUM OMAN 1115 RAS AL KHAIMA 1120 DUBAI 1200 LUCKNOW 1210 CALICUT 1210 CHITTAGONG 1210 LAHORE 1215 SALALAH 1215 MUKHAIZNA 1330 DUBAI 1330 KARACHI 1355 KHASAB 1440 KHASAB 1440 SALALAH 1445 JAIPUR 1515 BAHRAIN 1530 ABU DHABI 1535 DUBAI 1555 TRIVANDRUM 1705 BOMBAY 1710 CALICUT 1720 DUBAI 1730 DELHI 1730 MUKHAIZNA 1730 BANGALORE 1740 HYDERABAD 1740 DOHA 1745 DOHA 1745 DUBAI 1800 BAHRAIN 1810 SHARJAH 1915 MADRAS 1920 MALPENSA 1930 DUBAI 1945 DUBAI 2030 SALALAH 2035 BANGALORE-HYDERABAD 2105 AMSTERDAM-DOHA 2120 DUBAI 2125 DELHI 2125 BOMBAY 2130 AMMAN 2135 COCHIN 2140 DUBAI 2145 MADRAS 2200 DOHA 2210 JAIPUR 2235 BAHRAIN 2240 LONDON HEATHROW-ABU DHABI 2240 ABU DHABI 2250 SALALAH 2305 AHMEDABAD-BOMBAY 2310 DOHA 2315 MUNICH 2320 ZURICH-DUBAI 2320 BOMBAY 2325 FRANKFURT-ABU DHABI 2330 BAHRAIN 2330 DUBAI 2335 FRANKFURT 2345 SALALAH 2345 ABU DHABI 2350 DAMMAM 2350 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 2355 SALALAH 2355

FLT NO

DEPARTURES TO

FLT NO

DEPARTURES TO

AI986 LX243 9W539 BA072 SG062 LH619 WY685 WY251 WY201 WY811 WY235 WY601 WY241 WY431 WY643 WY637 WY313 WY657 WY667 NL769 WY691 TK775 PK282 PK226 WY271 WY267 ET625 EK867 FZ042 QR1133 EY385 WY3301 GF561 WY603 WY903 WY813 WY327 WY325 WY291 WY215 WY823 FZ044 WY231 WY245 G9115 WY815 WY283 WY373 WY203 WY605 WY905 WY347 WY717 EK863 EY383 WY655 QR1129 QR8551 WY917 G9842 PK192 WY337 IX350 FZ038 WY253 WY3931 WY223 WY631 WY663 WY101 BG024 WY405 WY3305 IX818 WY609 KU678 WY675 WY913 FZ046 WY613 WY623 QR1127 WY681 WY907 GF565 WY647 WY661 WY653 WY695 EK865 WY821 WY909 SV535 G9117 WY611 WY635 TG508 FZ048 WY915 FZ050 6.00E+82 AI908 AI974 QR1135 GF567 UL206 EY381 WY901 WY673

BOMBAY 0005 DUBAI-ZURICH 0020 BOMBAY 0025 ABU DHABI-LONDON HEATHROW 0025 AHMEDABAD 0030 ABU DHABI-FRANKFURT 0050 RIYADH 0105 MADRAS 0110 BOMBAY 0120 BANGKOK 0120 HYDERABAD 0135 DUBAI 0150 DELHI 0155 TEHRAN 0155 KUWAIT 0200 ABU DHABI 0205 CHITTAGONG 0205 BAHRAIN 0205 DOHA 0220 LAHORE 0230 DAMMAM 0235 ISTANBUL 0310 SIALKOT 0325 KARACHI 0330 JAIPUR 0350 LUCKNOW 0355 ADDIS ABABA 0450 DUBAI 0455 DUBAI 0510 DOHA 0520 ABU DHABI 0525 MUKHAIZNA 0715 BAHRAIN 0745 DUBAI 0800 SALALAH 0800 BANGKOK 0805 LAHORE 0920 KARACHI 0920 CALICUT 0920 TRIVANDRUM 0920 KUALA LUMPUR 0930 DUBAI 0935 HYDERABAD 0955 DELHI 0955 SHARJAH 1005 BANGKOK 1010 BANGALORE 1010 COLOMBO 1020 BOMBAY 1030 DUBAI 1030 SALALAH 1030 ISLAM ABBAD 1040 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 1045 DUBAI 1055 ABU DHABI 1105 BAHRAIN 1110 DOHA 1115 DUBAI WORLD CENTRE-DOHA 1130 KHASAB 1140 RAS AL KHAIMA 1210 GWADUR-TURBAT 1305 KATHMANDU 1310 CALICUT 1310 DUBAI 1315 MADRAS 1315 SOHAR 1315 COCHIN 1325 ABU DHABI 1325 DOHA 1330 LONDON HEATHROW 1330 CHITTAGONG 1415 CAIRO 1430 MUKHAIZNA 1515 MANGALORE 1530 DUBAI 1545 ABU DHABI-KUWAIT 1625 JEDDAH 1630 SALALAH 1650 DUBAI 1700 DUBAI 1700 DUBAI 1820 DOHA 1845 RIYADH 1845 SALALAH 1850 BAHRAIN 1855 KUWAIT 1900 DOHA 1900 BAHRAIN 1910 DAMMAM 1910 DUBAI 1915 KUALA LUMPUR 1930 SALALAH 1940 RIYADH 2000 SHARJAH 2005 DUBAI 2025 ABU DHABI 2030 KARACHI-BANGKOK 2040 DUBAI 2040 SALALAH 2135 DUBAI 2225 BOMBAY 2245 MADRAS 2300 DELHI 2310 DOHA 2320 BAHRAIN 2325 COLOMBO 2335 ABU DHABI 2350 SALALAH 2350 JEDDAH 2350

AI986 LX243 9W539 BA072 LH619 WY685 WY251 WY201 WY225 WY235 WY601 WY345 WY341 WY431 WY241 WY151 WY643 WY313 WY637 WY657 WY115 WY667 WY123 WY143 4H584 WY691 PK230 TK777 WY267 EK867 FZ042 QR1133 EY385 WY617 WY3921 GF561 WY903 WY603 WY273 WY215 WY325 WY291 NL769 FZ044 WY283 WY245 WY231 WY3301 G9115 WY815 WY203 WY905 WY605 WY253 WY717 EK863 EY383 WY655 IX554 IX442 QR1129 9W533 G9842 WY631 IX350 FZ038 PA451 WY101 WY663 WY413 WY3303 WY927 WY609 WY405 WY331 WY913 WY675 FZ046 WY613 WY623 QR1127 WY681 WY907 GF565 WY661 WY647 WY653 WY695 EK865 WY909 G9117 WY611 WY635 FZ048 WY825 WY915 AI978 FZ050 KL442 9W529 6.00E+82 AI908 AI974 QR1135 GF567 WY901 EY381 WY673

BOMBAY 0005 DUBAI-ZURICH 0020 BOMBAY 0025 ABU DHABI-LONDON HEATHROW 0025 ABU DHABI-FRANKFURT 0050 RIYADH 0105 MADRAS 0110 BOMBAY 0120 COCHIN 0125 HYDERABAD 0135 DUBAI 0150 ISLAM ABBAD 0150 LAHORE 0150 TEHRAN 0155 DELHI 0155 ZURICH 0155 KUWAIT 0200 CHITTAGONG 0205 ABU DHABI 0205 BAHRAIN 0205 FRANKFURT 0215 DOHA 0220 MUNICH-PARIS 0220 MALPENSA 0225 DACCA 0230 DAMMAM 0235 LAHORE 0315 BAHRAIN-ISTANBUL 0350 LUCKNOW 0355 DUBAI 0455 DUBAI 0510 DOHA 0520 ABU DHABI 0525 KHASAB 0630 DUQUM OMAN 0715 BAHRAIN 0745 SALALAH 0800 DUBAI 0800 JAIPUR 0815 TRIVANDRUM 0845 KARACHI 0920 CALICUT 0920 LAHORE 0930 DUBAI 0935 BANGALORE 0940 DELHI 0955 HYDERABAD 0955 MUKHAIZNA 1000 SHARJAH 1005 BANGKOK 1010 BOMBAY 1030 SALALAH 1030 DUBAI 1030 MADRAS 1040 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 1045 DUBAI 1055 ABU DHABI 1105 BAHRAIN 1110 TRIVANDRUM 1110 COCHIN 1115 DOHA 1115 COCHIN 1135 RAS AL KHAIMA 1210 ABU DHABI 1225 CALICUT 1310 DUBAI 1315 LAHORE 1315 LONDON HEATHROW 1330 DOHA 1330 AMMAN 1330 MUKHAIZNA 1400 SALALAH 1415 DUBAI 1420 CAIRO 1430 KATHMANDU 1455 SALALAH 1630 JEDDAH 1630 DUBAI 1700 DUBAI 1700 DUBAI 1820 DOHA 1845 RIYADH 1845 SALALAH 1850 BAHRAIN 1855 DOHA 1900 KUWAIT 1900 BAHRAIN 1910 DAMMAM 1910 DUBAI 1915 SALALAH 1940 SHARJAH 2005 DUBAI 2025 ABU DHABI 2030 DUBAI 2040 KUALA LUMPUR 2110 SALALAH 2135 HYDERABAD-BANGALORE 2200 DUBAI 2225 DOHA-AMSTERDAM 2230 TRIVANDRUM 2240 BOMBAY 2245 MADRAS 2300 DELHI 2310 DOHA 2320 BAHRAIN 2325 SALALAH 2350 ABU DHABI 2350 JEDDAH 2350

FLT NO

ARRIVALS FROM

WY406 WY682 WY682 WY676 WY648 WY816 NL768 WY916 TK774 PK281 PK225 QR1132 ET624 EK866 GF560 EY384 FZ041 WY902 WY638 WY658 WY412 WY668 WY644 WY122 WY114 WY692 WY674 WY154 WY132 WY602 WY202 WY432 WY102 WY422 FZ043 G9114 WY236 WY242 WY252 EK862 QR8550 QR1128 EY382 WY3302 WY272 WY604 WY904 G9841 FZ037 WY314 WY268 IX337 PK191 BG023 WY918 WY606 WY326 WY918 IX817 WY906 WY812 KU677 WY656 WY328 FZ045 WY632 WY204 WY292 WY246 WY232 WY216 WY348 WY664 QR1126 EK864 GF564 WY284 WY610 WY3306 SV534 G9116 TG507 FZ047 WY614 WY914 WY624 AI973 6.00E+81 WY224 FZ049 WY374 WY254 WY814 AI907 QR1134 UL205 GF566 BA073 EY388 WY908 AI985 WY662 LX242 9W540 LH618 WY654 WY612 WY696 WY636 WY910 WY717

ETA

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T U E S DAY, JAN UARY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

C 11

EXTRA WHY SOME TEAMS ARE SMARTER THAN OTHERS Does teamwork have to be a lost cause? Psychologists have been working on the problem for a long time. And for a good reason!

ndless meetings that do little but waste everyone’s time. Dysfunctional committees that take two steps back for every one forward. Project teams that engage in wishful groupthinking rather than honest analysis. Everyone who is part of an organisation — a company, a nonproﬁt, a condo board — has experienced these and other pathologies that can occur when human beings try to work together in groups. But does teamwork have to be a lost cause? Psychologists have been working on the problem for a long time. And for good reason: — Nowadays, though we may still idolise the charismatic leader or creative genius, almost every decision of consequence is made by a group. When Facebook’s board of directors establishes a privacy policy, when the CIA’s operatives strike a suspected hide-out or when a jury decides whether to convict a defendant, what matters is not just the intelligence and wisdom of the individual actors involved. Groups of smart people can make horrible decisions — or great ones. Psychologists have known for a century that individuals vary in their cognitive ability. But are some groups, like some people, reliably smarter than others? Working with several colleagues and students, we set out to answer that question. In our ﬁrst two studies, which we published with Alex Pentland and Nada Hashmi of MIT in 2010 in the journal Science, we grouped 697

The results of our studies showed that this same kind of general intelligence also exists for teams. On average, the groups that did well on one task did well on the others, too. In other words, some teams were simply smarter than others

volunteer participants into teams of two to ﬁve members. Each team worked together to complete a series of short tasks, which were selected to represent the varied kinds of problems that groups are called upon to solve in the real world. One task involved logical analysis, another brainstorming; others emphasized coordination, planning and moral reasoning. Individual intelligence, as psychologists measure it, is deﬁned by its generality — People with good vocabularies, for instance, also

tend to have good math skills, even though we often think of those abilities as distinct. The results of our studies showed that this same kind of general intelligence also exists for teams. On average, the groups that did well on one task did well on the others, too. In other words, some teams were simply smarter than others. We next tried to deﬁne what characteristics distinguished the smarter teams from the rest, and we were a bit surprised by the answers we got. We gave each volunteer an individual IQ test, but teams with higher average IQs didn’t score much higher on our collective intelligence tasks than did teams with lower average IQs. Nor did teams with more extroverted people, or teams whose members reported feeling more motivated to contribute to their group’s success. Instead, the smartest teams were distinguished by three characteristics. First, their members contributed more equally to the team’s discussions, rather than letting one or two people dominate the group. Second, their members scored higher on a test called Reading the Mind in the Eyes, which measures how well people can read complex emotional states from images of faces with only the eyes visible. Finally, teams with more women outperformed teams with more men. Indeed, it appeared that it was not “diversity” (having equal numbers of men and women) that mattered for a team’s intelligence, but simply having more women.

STUDY

Social media users not more stressed out than others A NEW study ﬁnds that people who spend more time online or using social media do not have higher levels of stress compared to those who do not. This research explored whether the use of social media, mobile phones and the internet is associated with higher levels of stress. Internet, social media and cellphone users did not have higher stress levels than those who are less tech savvy, Time reported quoting the study. The research, done by global think tank Pew Research Centre, was based on a survey of 1,801 American adults. The survey was conducted in English and Spanish on landline and cellphones It found that

women who spend more time on social media report being less stressed overall. But people who use social media are more aware of stressful events in other people’s lives. “Learning about and being reminded of undesirable events in other people’s lives makes people feel more stress themselves,” said Keith Hampton, Rutgers University scholar and study author. Women who are hooked to Facebook were aware of 13 per cent more stressful events in their close friends’ lives and aware of 14 per cent more in the lives of acquaintances. Men were eight per cent more aware of stressful events in their friends’ lives and

six per cent more aware of events. Women were more often informed of other people’s stress from photos shared online on sites, whereas men’s awareness came most often from text messages, e-mails and LinkedIn. “There is a great deal of speculation that social media users feel extra pressure to participate and keep up on social media, to avoid the ‘fear of missing out’ in activities that others share,” noted Keith Hampton, associate professor of communications at Rutgers University. Social media users tend to be more aware of stressful events in the lives of people they know, noted the study. -IANS

This last effect, however, was partly explained by the fact that women, on average, were better at “mindreading” than men. In a new study that we published with David Engel and Lisa X. Jing of MIT last month in PLoS One, we replicated these earlier ﬁndings, but with a twist. We randomly assigned each of 68 teams to complete our collective intelligence test in one of two conditions. Half of the teams worked face to face, like the teams in our earlier studies. The other half worked online, with no ability to see any of their teammates. Online collaboration is on the rise, with tools like Skype, Google Drive and old-fashioned email enabling groups that never meet to execute complex projects. We wanted to see whether groups that worked online would still demonstrate collective intel-

ligence, and whether social ability would matter as much when people communicated purely by typing messages into a browser. And they did. Online and off, some teams consistently worked smarter than others. More surprisingly, the most important ingredients for a smart team remained constant regardless of its mode of interaction: members who communicated a lot, participated equally and possessed good emotion-reading skills. This last ﬁnding was another surprise. Emotion-reading mattered just as much for the online teams whose members could not see one another as for the teams that worked face to face. What makes teams smart must be not just the ability to read facial expressions, but a more general ability, known as “Theory of Mind,” to con-

sider and keep track of what other people feel, know and believe. A new science of effective teamwork is vital not only because teams do so many important things in society, but also because so many teams operate over long periods of time, confronting an ever-widening array of tasks and problems that may be much different from the ones they were initially convened to solve. General intelligence, whether in individuals or teams, is especially crucial for explaining who will do best in novel situations or ones that require learning and adaptation to changing circumstances. We hope that understanding what makes groups smart will help organisations and leaders in all ﬁelds create and manage teams more effectively. -Anita Woolley, Thomas W. Malone and Christopher Chabris/The New York Times News Sevice

C12

TU ESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

EXTRA B O L LY W O O D

Farhan confirms his duet with Priyanka Chopra ACTOR-SINGER Farhan Akhtar has sung the first duet of his career, and that too for his sister’s forthcoming film Dil Dhadakne Do. Accompanying him on the mike is actress-singer Priyanka Chopra. Confirming the exciting combination, Farhan said: “Yes, Priyanka and I have sung a duet in Dil Dhadakne Do.” So far, Farhan has only rendered solo songs in Rock On!!, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Shaadi Ke Side Effects. According to sources, the duo has sung a “smouldering smoky love ballad steeped in nostalgia and longing”. Needless to say the song has been filmed on Farhan and Priyanka, as neither actor-turned-singer is willing to playback for other actors. “I don’t see myself giving voice to other actors. It just doesn’t work for me.” As for Priyanka, one has ample reason to believe she wouldn’t sing for other heroines. Not when the new breed of female actors are most eager to give voice to their own songs: Alia Bhatt in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Highway and Shraddha Kapoor in Ek Villain.

Release of ‘Zid’ boosts Shraddha’s career

THE SPECTACLE AFTER THE GLOBES The hottest accessory after Golden Globes wasn’t beaded, bejewelled or bespoke. It was the paper ticket, wristband or, trendiest yet, invisible wrist stamp for the after-parties

ompeting parties raged in and around the Beverly Hilton hotel, with the comings and goings creating their own spectacle. Outside the party by InStyle and Warner Bros., Annie star Quvenzhané Wallis stopped to sign autographs before she limboed under a velvet rope and sashayed inside. In the lobby of the hotel, a reveler called out: “Has anyone seen Oprah? She owes me $20 for parking,” prompting a ripple of giggles. Claire Danes stood near the concierge desk, looking a little lost. One of the night’s biggest draws was the InStyle party, held at the Oasis Courtyard, which evoked the feeling of being underwater. Hollywood stars included Jessica Chastain, Paul Rudd, Jake Gyllenhaal and Lea Michele. “We’re having fun. We’re talking trash,” said Jeremy Renner, who was swigging a glass of something and palling around with Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix. Jennifer Aniston, who stayed close to her ﬁancé, Justin Th-

eroux, was overhead lamenting the rumors about whether she’s pregnant. “Are you going to have a baby?” she said three times, echoing the tabloid speculation. Across the room, Gyllenhaal, who wore a Gucci tuxedo, turned philosophical about the “Who are you wearing?” question. “I understand the interest in the women’s side a lot more than the men’s,” he said. “They all have beautiful gowns and it’s a real art.” Kelsey Grammer grinned and soaked up the spirit. “Other awards, they can be fun, but you have to kind of work at that a little bit more,” he said. HBO, meanwhile, held an afterparty by the hotel’s pool, which on the uncharacteristically humid Los Angeles night felt like a sauna. Lena Dunham played with her ripped-off wristband and greeted well-wishers, while her “Girls” costar Allison Williams chatted with Dunham’s boyfriend, musician Jack Antonoff. The mood felt muted — perhaps because the network received only one award at the show (for

One of the night’s biggest draws was the InStyle party, held at the Oasis Courtyard, which evoked the feeling of being underwater. Hollywood stars included Jessica Chastain, Paul Rudd, Jake Gyllenhaal and Lea Michele

Matt Bomer’s supporting performance in the TV movie The Normal Heart). The most festive atmosphere was arguably at The Weinstein Co. and Netﬂix party, thanks in part to a DJ who got the crowd dancing in the cavernous tree-ﬁlled lot next to the Beverly Hilton. Among those who loosened their black ties were Channing Tatum and his wife, Jenna Dewan Tatum. “We got a nanny, so me and the wifey are going out, having a good time,” he said, swinging his arm in the air. Harvey Weinstein held court in a booth, surrounded by glamour girls, including Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift and Lorde. As midnight approached, the crowds began to thin. Patricia Arquette, who won a Golden Globe for Boyhood, was plotting her exit back at the InStyle party. “We have to go to sleep,” she said, citing an early-morning call. “But also this dress is going to turn back into rags at 12.” — Sheila Mariker/ The New York Times News Service

ACTRESS Shraddha Das, who is currently shooting for HindiTelugu bilingual Haunting of Bombay Mills, says the release of thriller Zid has benefited her career in Bollywood. “I think the release of Zid boosted my career in Bollywood. I’ve been getting lot of offers,” Shraddha told IANS. Haunting of Bombay Mills, which is being directed by Ayush Raina, sees Shraddha playing two different characters in the Hindi and Telugu versions of the film. “While I play a CEO in the Telugu version, I’m a journalist in the Hindi version. It’s exciting and challenging at the same time because I think I’ll be the first actress to play two different roles in the same film,” she said. Actor Vikram earlier played two characters in Mani Ratnam’s Raavan. Inspired by some real life incidents, Haunting of Bombay Mills, according to Shraddha, will send chills down the spines of the viewers. “It’s about Mukesh Mills, which is known to be one of the most haunted places in Mumbai. The film tries to reveal why this place is haunted,” she said. -IANS

Akshay doesn’t behave like a superstar: Sushant Singh HATE STORY 2 actor Sushant Singh is impressed with Bollywood star Akshay Kumar’s humility after sharing screen space with him in the upcoming film ‘Baby’. The 42-year-old ACTOR said Akshay was one of the reasons for him to do ‘Baby’. “Working with Akshay was really nice. He is a great ACTOR and is so chilled out. He does not behave like a superstar. The way he handles fans is amazing. On outdoor shoots, when he is surrounded by fans, he never gets perturbed. “He remains calm and concentrates on his work. There was in fact one incident when he started singing for the crowd gathered to get his one glimpse. He is a humble man,” Sushant told PTI. The actor plays a negative role in the espionage action thriller film, directed by Neeraj Pandey of A Wednesday and Special 26 fame. “I play one of the main villains in the film. It is not a larger-than-life negative role but is really interesting,” he said. Praising Neeraj, Sushant said, “I love Neeraj’s films. I loved his work with Akshay in Special 26. I knew I would be utilised well by Neeraj. Besides Akshay, he was another reason why I did Baby and I am really happy to have done it.” -PTI

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M T U E S DAY, JA N UA RY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

SECTION

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

RENT

VACANCY

CARGO

T U E S D AY, JA N UA RY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

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

FOR RENT

OFFICES FOR RENT - Premium offices to let a very good location on the main road very close to Zakher Mall, Al Khawiar. Business Center has offices with sizes of 50m2, 110m2, 180m2, 207m2, 230m2, 437m2. - Showroom also available at Business Center, Area 500m2 with central A/c. - Offices with Central Air-conditions, Security System with CCTV cameras, and Security presence in the building.

Contact: 97377355 / 95530121, Email id: aaleem@ggcoman.com

New warehouse for rent at Ghala ind. area. 578 & 1200 sqms near. hotel al-madinah holiday, Ghala. Container can enter, immediate access to roads & highways.Contact : 92078090

1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in Misfah Industrial area near to Khan co. OMR 1,500 Monthly. Electricity and boundary wall will be provided. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Showroom space available in Qurum. Road Facing prime location. commercially viable and affordable. Contact- 98839950

For rent at Al Khuwair, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, sitting, dining, kitchen split A/C near Rawasco, 1st ﬂoor. Rent 480 PDC. Contact 99879939

Family room available for rent at Muttrah Souq. Contact 24712088 / 99022790

Twin villa at Al-Kuwair 33. Six rooms with bathrooms. 670 OMR, contact: 99414767. Families only.

For rent at Ruwi, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sitting, dining, kitchen with A/C near Al Falaj Hotel, Ruwi, Way 2116 building 577, rent RO 275, PDC. Contact 99879939

3BHK, (3 bathroom and big hall) opp. Apollo Hospital, Hamariya R/A (OMR 300/-) Contact 91181761 2 BR ﬂat for rent in Wadi Kabir next to Al Maha Petrol Pump. Rent RO 300 pm. contact 99440826 Fully furnished rooms for rent for family. Contact 99251975, Al Khuwair For store, workshop in Wadi Kabir Industrial Area 5/5 m. Contact 99374977 2 bedrooms ﬂat with hall, 2 bathrooms in Darsait near Muscat Municipality. Contact 24700120, 92584715

Office space with cassette type A/C’s with free internet at al Khuwair near KM Hypermarket. Contact 99460330 Office space for rent in Ruwi, OMR 500. Contact 91120552

For rent at Al Khuwair, 1 room with bathroom (Independent), near Rawasco with split A/C, 2nd ﬂoor, rent RO 125 PDC. Contact 99879939

Flat for rent in Al Khuwair 33. Contact 99003626

2 BHK Commercial, Al Khuwair, RO 375/-. Contact 92144045

Villa Al Athaibah near Oman post, 3 BHK hall, living room, maids room, split A/c, family only, RO 600/-. Contact 92479515

Office space & store, CBD 20059. Contact 99024730

Flat, shops, basement, Ruwi-MBD Area, Honda Road. Contact 96942749, 92433127 2 BHK, Al Khuwair. Contact 99024730 Spacious well maintained 2 BHK at Rex Road from 1st February. Contact 92227165 2 BHK, CBD. Contact 99024730

2 shops, store accommodation, Barka Sanayya opposite Al Khalili. Contact 92423401 1&2 BHK flat & Shop for rent at MBD, Hamriya, Hallat sad, Al Khoudh area. Contact: 24834644, 93994401, 02, 03 150 Sqm Store, Darsait, RO 300/-. Contact 95076261 1 BHK near Medical, Darsait, RO 175/-. Contact 98748925 2 bedroom fully furnished luxurious flat for rent at Ghala for long term or short term basis. Contact 97762321 Studio, Al Athaibah, ground floor, 1 BHK, hall, 2 bathrooms, family only. RO 250/-. Contact 92479515 Flat, Al Ghubrah near Indian School, 2 BHK , RO 325, family only, 3 bathroom, living room. Contact 92479515

One bedroom flat, Muttrah, Corniche. Contact 99414644 1 BHK with A/C, Al Ghubrah, RO 275/-. Contact 92144045 Family villa & flats at Al Ansab and Awabi. Contact 98458542 2 BHK flats Muttrah near Oman House. Contact 97007934 / 92629232 1 BHK at Ghobrah - Near Indian School. Contact: 99014885 Al Qurum heights Sea view. Contact 99249069 / 92888376/ 93201688

Flat in Darsait. Contact 99326879 Villa in Al Khuwair 33 close to Technical College with 3 bedrooms, 1 sitting room and shaded balcony. Directly from owner not for brokers. Contact 92814242 500 Sq Mtrs industrial land, leveled, ready to use with boundary wall, in Misfah industrial Area, block 2 near Baladiyah Camp, RO 600/-, monthly. Contact 94030814

1000 Sq Mtrs, Industrial Land for rent in Ghala suitable for warehouse workshop etc. Contact 24700120, 92584715

2 BHK, Darsait near Kims Hospital. Contact 99024730 1 & 2 BHK & villa 3 BR-Darsait near ISM & ISD. Contact 99024730

2 BHK with split A/C in Wadi Kabir, Sana Building furnished. Contact 96635026

1 BHK, 2 BHK, Ghala, new bldg. Contact 99024730

3 BHK with AC, Al Falaj, RO 425/-. Contact 92144045

1 BHK, Wadi Kabir. Contact 99024730

Office space (3 BHK ﬂat – Ample space) located in prime area at 18th November street, Al Azaiba (nr. To Sultan Center). Contact 99261522

Flat for Rent in Ruwi, Bareeq Shatti, Mawalah. Contact 92521080, 98899916

Flat for rent in Al Hail, North near The Wave, Muscat. Contact 99353433, 99271017

6 shops in Mabela Industrial Area. Each Front Shop OMR 400 and Side Shop OMR 300Monthly. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

New bldg 3 BR ﬂats located at Darsait, Muscat close to Kims Pvt Hospital. Contact 92020004 / 99800838

Fully furnished one bedroom penthouse Wadi Kabir behind Sana Hassan, weekly RO.140/- Monthly RO 350/- Contact – 99349990

Flat for rent Ghubrah South, ground floor flat, 3 bedrooms, majlis, family hall, RO 425/-. Contact 94669711 6 bedroom villas at Al Ansab (nr Express highway). Contact 99199365 Villas & flats & stores. Contact 99776071 / 99057348

T U E S DAY, JA N UA RY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

FOR RENT

2 BHK with window A/C in Al Khoudh rent RO 250/-. Contact 97661432

I room with attached toilet in Al Hail for bachelor, rent RO 100 to RO 130/-. Contact 97661432 Industrial empty plots 1000 – 15000 sqm are available in Misfah / Jiffnain rent for long lease, RO 1.200 per sq mt. Contact 96789522 2 BHK Pent House with split A/C in all rooms, very spacious balcony with sea & city view RO 350, 2 BHK RO 340, Bldg #1619, Way #1322 adjacent to Indian Nursery Darsait. Contact 99476728 / 99831047 1 BHK bedroom flat in Wadi Kabir neat Kuwaiti Mosque RO 200/-. Contact 95094028 Abu Adnan Tower - flat for rent available at Al Mabelah, 2 B/R, 1 hall, 2 toilets, 1 kitchen. Contact 95566475 / 99654252 1 / 3 BHK Flat Ghobrah, close to ISG Way 4041, building 4390. Contact 99319880 2 BHK flat for rent RO.350/- at Al Khuwair near Sultan Taimur Mosque. Contact – 98893294 1 BHK residential flat at Honda road. 2 BHK residential flat opposite to Al Nahdha hospital. Contact93219590 1 BHK flat Qurum RO.270/- with split A/C. Contact – 99358589 / 95570288 /97079146 2 BHK flat at Al Khuwair RO.370/with split A/C. Contact – 99358589 / 95570288 /97079146 If require flats for rent in Wadi Kabir please send messages through Whatsapp or call – 99376454 Luxury 2 bed room villa at BausherAL Ansab Phase 3.Call. 99324456 Villa, ground floor in Al Khuwair. Contact 99743569, 97004265

Constructed warehouse 3000 sq mt with boundary wall & gate in Misfah ready for lease or rent for long term. Rent RO 3.500 per sq. mt. Contact 96789522 2 BHK at Al Azaiba, Building No.5145 Way 4470. Contact 99224748, 99425665 2 BR, 2 toilets, kitchen at Al Mawaleh. #99444786, 99747560

FOR RENT 1 BHK with attached toilet & bathroom behind Bank Muscat at Wadi Kabir. Contact 99373290, 24815012 Flats and shops. Contact 93009999 For rent (ﬂats), 2 bedrooms +hall+kitchen, location: South Al Mawaleh. Contact 99870020

We have 1 BHK, 2 BHK, 3 BHK ﬂats, 4, 5 bedrooms villa, open space offices & shops available in Ghala, Ghobrah, Qurum, Mabela, Ruwi, Darsait, Mumtaz, Wadi Kabir. All brand new buildings & very affordable prices. Contact 93782735 / 99208033

1 / 3 BHK Flat Ghobrah, close to ISG Way 4041, building 4390. Contact 99319880

Flat for rent 2 bedrooms one hall in South Al Hail. RO 270. #93221474

Flats/villas owned by ROP pension fund available for rent in Muscat. Contact 99349526

For rent apartments: An apartment in old Muscat at Oman Arab Bank’s building. 3 bedrooms + 3 bathrooms, dining room, living room and a kitchen. Air conditioned apartments. 2 bedrooms + 2 bathrooms, living room, dining room area and kitchen in an excellent location in Al Khuwair opposite the court of ﬁrst instance. For further information call 97072976 Apartments in Al Khuwair new area each apartment contains (2 bedrooms + living room) for RO 365. # 93181111 3 bedroom furnished Executive Apartment @Al Khuwair 25, 2 BR fully furnished Executive Apartment @Azaiba near Zubair Showroom, 2 BR fully furnished executive Apartment @Al Khuwair 33 near Zakher Mall. Please contact : Atlas Real Estate & Rent A Car LLC, 99249069 / 92888376 / 93201688, email : info@alshahiintl.com 2 BHK with A/C near ISM RO.325/1BHK Al Falaj without A/C RO.200/2 BHK with A/C near Kims hospital RO.300/- Darsait commercial or residential with A/C RO.230/Studio at Al Falaj RO.170/-. 2 BHK without A/C at Wadi Kabir RO.300/Contact - 92144045

Show room on the main road Saham center total area 450 m sq. Contact: 99366558 / 99334226

For sale Professional sound system contact 99353978 Beauty Salon, Wadi Kabir, Al Hassan Co. Contact 95241147, 96700192 A/C spares shop for sale in Seeb. Contact 92693304 / 91445876

Flats ground floor, 3 Rooms & AC, kitchen, hall, in Al Mabaila South. Contact 99377290 2 B/ R Fully Furnished Executive Apartment @ Al Khuwair 33 Near Zaker Mall. 3 Bedroom Furnished executive apartment @ Al Khuwair 25 5 B/R Luxury Fully Furnished villas at Azaiba with servants, 3 Bedroom Unfurnished Villa @ Mawalah South Area 6 with Servant Quarter, 5 Bedroom Unfurnished Villa @ An Apartment that resembles a penthouse has 2 rooms with 2 toilets, living room & an elegant balcony. Fully furnished, suited for families. Final price RO.300/- Mabela 8 near German University. Contact 99888400 Industrial Land in Misfah. Contact 93009999 New Villa for Rent Two floors newly built villa in Maabillah, 8 Full-fledged Residential Area 6 Rooms, 8 Toilets, excellent finishing spacious Kitchen, Big Dining Rooms in Both Floors, Easy Access to Muscat and Sohar using Maabillah Bridge. Contact 92828303

Villa for sale in new Al Khoudh. Contact 99778773

FOR SALE Sinaw Gift House & Shopping Center for sale at Sinaw in good condition, with very good business opportunities. Contact 99738014, 95652642

Running Medical Centre with full equipments is available for sale. Those interested can contact 98994208. Clinic for sale. Contact 99824232, email : modern.medicalclinic@gmail. com

Good running boutique and ladies tailoring shop in MBD Area for immediate sale. Contact 95123679, 99885298

Industrial shed / warehouse for immediate lease in Rusayl Industrial Estate. Contact 99263196 / abcon@omantel.net.om

Toshiba Laptop I 3, 3 GB ram, 500 GB hard disk with traffic card, in very good condition. Contact 94412557

Dental clinic for sale in Sohar. Contact immediately 99705760,92625962

Aluminum scaffolding, folding type with tire and accessories, electric hot plate 5 burner with grill full stainless steel body, CT runner, thread mill sparingly used one year old. Contact 99359698 If you have any empty land, plot, building, villa to sell. Contact with all information : info@goldenllc.com

New fully equipped 2 chair dental clinic in Seeb area for immediate sale. MOH approved. Contact 94514045 Flats for Sale in Bowshar: OMR 35 Thousand 1 bedroom. OMR 45 Thousand 2 bedroom. Monthly income 1 bedroom OMR 270 and 2 bedroom OMR 350. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

FOR SALE Darsait Business Office furniture, Isuzu 4 ton brand new. Contact 91391363 23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture land with water well in Al Salwa, Barka. OMR 260 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 3 floor commercial building in Muttrah behind Police. Generating income of OMR 18 Thousand annually. Neat and well maintained. Built on 197 sq mtrs land. 2 tailor shops on ground floor and 6 flats. OMR 207 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 A newly opened Barber Shop for sale at upcoming industrial zone in Misfah. Expat leaving Oman. Genuine buyers call 93833107 (Sale Price Negotiable) Running Workshop for Tiles / Marble & Granite cutting & skirting in Wadi Kabir for immediate sale. Contact 99105492 Contd on Pg 6

T U E S D AY, JA N UA RY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

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

SITUATION WANTED

SITUATION SITUATION WANTED VACANT

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE Chartered Accountant, 10+ yrs experience, B.Com, CA, CIA. Immediate availability. Audit, Finance. Contact 94641805 Indian male, B.Com with 2 yrs Oman exp & 4.5 yrs Accounts exp looking for suitable placement in Accounts with NOC letter. Email : parasunadkat12@gmail.com Part time Accounts & Finalization job. Contact 96536955

ADMIN Pakistani Male MBA having 4 years experience in Accounting looking for job.NOC Available. Contact# 95610772

Urgently required: Receptionist (Omani) - 01 no with 2-4 years experience Marketing Executive - 01 no; with 5 years experience (Location - Mawelah, Muscat) . PRO -02 no with min 10-15 years experience (Location - Muscat & Sohar). Interested candidates may send CV to infoduqumoil@gmail.com A leading foodstuff company requires the following : Office Coordinator – with experience in related ﬁelds, female. Interested candidates may send their resumes at jobs.om@outlook.com Construction Company requires female executive assistant, with good computer and communication skills, advanced English, ﬂuent Arabic. Please send your CV harun.koyyar@adaliholding.com

Accountant, B.Com, MBA, Indian male, having 4 yrs GCC exp in similar ﬁeld, valid Omani D/L & NOC available. shinuyesodharan@gmail. com, contact : 91719385

ENGINEERS

MANAGER

Omani Trainers & OJT’s for Mechanical / Electrical / Instrumentation & Business with suitable qualiﬁcation and min 5 yrs experience in Oil & Gas. Very attractive salary offered. Suitable candidates send your CV to trainingjobsoman@gmail.com

Brand new restaurant requires: Restaurant Managers – Degree / Diploma in Hotel Management with minimum 5/6 yrs Gulf experience. Omani / Yamani cook minimum 5 yrs experience. Interested candidates send CV to : Email : info@rcsoman.com or fax : 24478123, GSM : 95892831

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE LAWYER Required experienced Accountant Tally, excellent English & driving license. Contact – omanlaw.om@gmail.com / 24497762 / 92192510 Male Accouuntant required in Ghala. Candidates present in Oman only. # 99454425, Email: qamest@omantel.net.om Indian male having 14 years of experience in Various dept. (stockbroking Dealing, Back Office Accounts, Dmat, Settlement, Risk management, Maintaining Books of accounts ETC). Having Good Computer Knowledge seeking suitable placement Email Id: vora_bharat@yahoo.com, +91 9820240094

CATERING Urgently required Indian / Chinese cooks, Waiters, Waitresses for a reputed restaurant in Ruwi Area. Contact 99704304 / 93427614 / 93462113

DRIVER A reputed Catering Company in Muscat urgently requires Omani heavy truck (Freezer) drivers – 4 yrs experience with PDO license will mostly be preferred. Interested candidates send CV to : email : info@ rcsoman.com or fax : 24478123, GSM : 99869949 / 95892831 Wanted driver. Contact 95112461 An excellent company seeking for experienced male Light Duty Driver to work in Salalah. Contact 92322588 / 99653350, email : sadiq.fm@omantel.net.om

MECHANICAL Required urgently a Legal consultant /Lawyer for reputed law ﬁrm for SOHAR office. Candidates should have 5-7 yrs exp. as a Legal Consultant/ Lawyer with good knowledge of Computer & should be ﬂuent in English. Contact 99153620 Email C V to shejaanil66@gmail.com or between 8am to 5.30 pm.

MEDICAL Required laboratory technician & 4 nurse Filipina (female) for health center in Sohar. Contact: 92369417, Email: shaﬁi_17@hotmail.com Wanted Pharmacist (B.Pharm), Staff Nurses (female), Dental Technician (Acrylic, Ceramic & veneer experience), with or without MOH license for a polyclinic near Sohar. Excellent Salary package. Contact 99006915, dxbclinic@yahoo.com Wanted female physiotherapist with MOH License. Send CV at Email : info@sagarpolyclinic.com Required experienced Pharmacist with MOH License for a New Pharmacy in Muscat. Contact 95146957, email : medicare@fusionlogicoman.com Urgently required a GP Doctor with MOH license for a leading Medical Clinic. # 92008272 / 96602188, email : dearnaif@hotmail.com Urgently required an experienced Pharmacist with MOH License for a reputed Pharmacy in Muscat. Please send CV to newcareesr2015@gmail.com Doctor needed for a rehabilitation centre in Muscat. send cv to oman@rochesterwellness.com

Urgently required AC Mechanic. Contact 97075347 / 99747684

SALES / MARKETING Urgently required a dynamic Marketing Executive for a furniture company. Should posses a valid Omani Driving License. Contact 97164554 / aliasgar@ultimate-furniture.com Urgently required Sales Personnel (full time / part time) - 5 to 10 yrs experience in Building Materials, knowledge of Arabic is an advantage, should have car. Email : alnajjardevelopmentco@gmail.com Reputed Building Materials Company looking for Outdoor Sales Executive having valid Omani D/L with more than 2 yrs Local Sales Experience in Tiles/Sanitaryware. Please fax your CV to 24798709 / email : united@omantel.net.om A reputed Electrical Material Company is looking for dynamic & hardworking salesman with minimum 2 yrs experience in same ﬁeld of GCC with valid GCC Driving License for its Mussanah office for Al-Batina Region. Send CV to al.senair@gmail.com, contact : 98534685, 26868984 Looking for outdoor salesman for heavy equipments. Contact- 93292015, 99656542 Salesman for Printing Press materials like Printing Press Plates, inks, rollers etc. Must have worked in a printing press and know the products well. Job is in Dubai with visa and good salary. Apply to sales@ies-oman.com

Indian male, 24 yrs MBA, having 2 yrs of experience in financial accounting finalization, knowledge of Tally, ERP, focus, wings, PEACHTREE, MS Excel, Payroll, currently on visit visa seeking suitable placement available immediately. Contact 91058205, email : aslammohammed10@gmail.com Indian male, 29 yrs, Accounts / Administrator, 1.8 yrs exp in Gulf seeking employment for suitable position. NOC available. Contact 93581182 Pakistani male, 25 yrs, MBA Finance, 1.6 yrs exp in Accounts seeking placement in Accounts, Administration or Business Management. Contact 92651927 / 94250149 Indian Male, looking for job in Accounts & Administration previously, experience 1 yr in Oman, now on visit visa. Contact 97424337 Indian accountant with more than 30 years of experience in construction (financial / cost accounting) with experience in material management ,HR and general administration seek part time/full time assignment. Ready to work any where in Oman. Contact 98598099 Male, 4 yrs of experience as Financial Analyst looking for suitable position. Contact 94140728 Part time Accountant, up to finalization, looking for job after 5 pm (Location prefer – Qurum to Al Khoudh). Contact 92917574 Accountant B.Com & CIMA Part qualified, 8 yrs experience currently in Sri Lanka. Contact +94777222392 or 91126314 Female Accountant with 4 years experience in Oman seeking suitable placement. Contact 98721909 B.Com Graduate, 3 yrs experience in Accounts, Indian male, looking for accounts or suitable job. Contact afsarsabith@yahoo.com, 93975526 Part time Accountant with 15 yrs exp in Accounting, Auditing, Taxation Management. Contact 95857199 Finance Manager, CPA, with more than 15 yrs. of experience in GCC. Fully knowledgeable in Finance, General & Management Accounting . NOC available. Contact 96209331

DESIGNER Urgently required Interior Designer qualiﬁed with minimum 5 yrs experience, capable to execute internal / external decorations to work for a leading construction company. Email : alfayafy@outlook.com or fax : 24479675 Required part time web designer with experience in CMS background. Send your CV & sample work to hrmedia123@gmail.com

DOMESTIC HELPER European Family looking for maid and or cook. Email: cv.lo.oman@gmail.com

EDUCATION Required English teacher for KG 1 / KG II. Contact 97163777, 99429352 Required Teacher for ISWK student studying in VII & III at Honda Road Ruwi. Contact 99471699

MEDICAL Required Physiotherapist. Contact: 91453024

Reqd 1 Lady Doctor (Internist) with 3 yrs experience in Oman. One female Nurse with atleast 3 yrs experience in Oman. For newly established clinic in Ruwi. Send your detailed CV to mohamedsfarah@ hotmail.com, Tel : 91283188 We are looking for an Optometrist for an Optical with minimum 3 yrs experience. Please contact 99340769 or email : aeooman@gmail.com Wanted MBBS Doctor, Staff Nurse and Lab Technician for a Clinic in Capital Area. Please contact 93431024, send CV to drasyanaseem@gmail.com Dentist required to work urgently in dreams clinic at Al Khoud and must be resident in Sultanate of Oman. Please send your CV to the following email – towershr70@gmail.com / balushi70@gmail.com / info@towersinternationalgroups.com Mobile – 99882340 / 24545914 General practitioner Doctor is required to work urgently in Dreams Clinic at Al Khoudh and must be resident in the Sultanate of Oman. Please send your CV to the following email: towershr70@gmail.com, balushi70@gmail.com & info@towersinternationalgroups. com, Mobile 99882340, Tel: 24545914

UPVC Doors and Windows Company urgently require Sales and Marketing Person, experience 3-5 yrs in same industry with Oman Driving License. Contact 99475701, email : siju.greentech@gmail.com Highly reputed Perfume Company requires Omani Sales girl promoters. Contact 95663682, 92956876 Leading Construction company requires young purchase assistant with Oman driving license. Email : nikunj@uniqueom.com. Required an experienced person who has ideas to start a new business in electrical ﬁeld or supply with minimum cost. Contact 99426421

SIT.WANTED Well experienced MOH Licensed Indian female staff nurse looking for placement under contract with Schools, Medical Centres, other Institutions. Contact 98140024. Phd – Management, specialization in management, e-marketing and online consumer behavior, 6 years of academic and research experience. Indian lady GSM 97240687 & 93463439

Accounts part time works upto finalization & finalization works. Contact 96247295 Pakistani Male, 26 yrs, MS-Supply Chain & Project Management, BSFinance & Business Administration, +2 yrs experience in Trading Firm responsible for Supply Chain & Accounts. Skills including strong operation managerial Communication & interpersonal, fluent in English, SAP and EPM. Contact 94663827, email : musadiqfayyaz@gmail.com Accountant / Auditor, Srilankan male 27, having 3+ yrs experience looking for suitable placement. Contact 93556320 Indian male, 32 years, M. Com. 7 out of 9 years experience in Oman in Accounts/finance. Having NOC and valid Oman D/L. Contact 98277143, Email: anzarks@gmail.com Indian Male, MBA 2 yrs experience in Accounts, Admin & HR on visit visa. Contact 92045306 India Accountant: Male, M com, 7 Yrs experience in Accounts up to finalization, having knowledge of ERP, Tally, seeks suitable placement. Contact:93950138 Email: lijinrajan123@gmail.com

EDUCATION

Indian female, 25 yrs, bachelors of businesses management, having experience of 5 years as a fund/ ﬁnancial administration, on visit visa,looking for suitable placement. Contact 94662416 Apurwaverma@gmail.com

Indian Female, M.Tech (A.E), B.Tech (ECE) with 1.5 yrs experience in teaching (Asst Professor) in Engineering College, seeking suitable teaching / non teaching jobs in Muscat. Contact 91532690 Email: rin2mary@gmail.com,

Indian Male 25 years B.Com having 3 years of exp of Oman in Accounts/Administration.Well versed with computer knowledge looking for suitable position. Immidiately available. Contact:93207867 email: tambeazhar@gmail.com

English Teacher (M.A, B.Ed) Indian female with 2yrs of experience looking for suitable position 91507099.

ADMIN/HR Indian male MBA 32 yrs having 10 yrs of exp seeking suitable placement in Admin/ HR/ Operations/ Coordination/ Logistics etc. Holding valid Oman D/L . Contact - 99054786 Graduate Indian female having 5+ Years Oman experience in Admin/Procurement/Logistics with excellent computer skills(PGDCA). Seeking suitable Placement. NOC available. Contact:95382966 Post Graduate Indian male, MBA (Hospital Administration) having 4 Years experience in hospital administration looking for suitable placement. Currently on visit. Contact: 96701543, 92945632 HR & Admin Assistant, 26 yrs Indian male having 6+Yrs of experience looking for suitable position. Contact 93264616 Indian female with excellent communication skills, conﬁdent, dedicated to work and enthusiastic. Knowledge about ms office. Has 6 years of experience in customer service, telecommunication, HR.Looking for immediate placement. Contact # 97348819

ARCHI./ DRAUGHTSMAN 30Male, 3D Designer, 5 yrs exp, software command in autocad, 3dmax, , illustrator & Photoshop seeks immediate placement GSM 93481811 AutoCAD jobs, Preparing Working/ Shop Drawings & Civil Quantity Surveying jobs. Contact : 92758095

DESIGNER Indian male, 8 yrs GCC experience in 3D & Architectural Designing with D/L. Contact 97263199 Indian female, 25yrs BscFASHION DESIGNING, 3yers experience in designing ﬁeld and teaching. looking for a sutable placement. Contact: 98785310. Email: vinaya.m.nair@gmail.com Interior Designer, Indian male, have 5 yrs experience with Oman License looking for a suitable job. Email : sijithpattath@gmail.com, 93779308

DRIVER Light Driver having own visa looking for job as driver Contact 92303692 Light driver looking for job. Contact 94077119 Driver with car. Contact 91452930 Indian Driver need job with car. Contact 91254539 Light vehicle driver looking for job, experience 2 yrs. Contact 94195818 LV Driver- 2 yrs Exp-know English- Contact 95292064 Light vehicle driver looking for job. Contact 95141473 Pakistani male, having one year exp as light vehicle driver looking for job. Contact 96342684 Bangladeshi Driver seeking job, 3 yrs exp. Contact 99063175 Light Driver looking for job. Contact 92787245 Driver seeking job. Contact 99805236

Indian female MSc costume design & fashion having 3 yrs exp in teaching seeking suitable job. Contact: 97614456 / 95918968

ENGG. / TECHNICAL Seeking job, BTech Instrumentation, 12 years experience Design, FEED, Detailed engineering, Oil & Gas, Instrumentation systems, Oman Driving license. Email :- wilfridsjacob@gmail.com Mobile:- 00968 99048130 B.E Mechanical Engineer, Indian Male, 29, 5 years experience in steel fabrication field (piping and structural) as site engineer. Looking for suitable placement. Contact 96115463. Jijoraju085@yahoo.com. Mechanical Engineer, B.Tech 4 yrs MNC experience, installation commissioning & on-site repairs / maintenance of heavy mechanical equipment. Contact 93387867, mamgain9806@rediffmail.com B.E Production / Diploma Fabrication, 2 yrs experience valid PDO permit holder visa expiry on 26/01/2015. Contact 94270360, +91 9925140499, pankajrathod1985@gmail.com Mechanical Engineer, Indian male, seeking suitable job on visit visa. Contact 99796730, 92031312, email : pudsalamilup123@gmail.com Diploma of Associate Civil Engineering, Diploma of AutoCad, having 3.5 yrs experience, 2 yrs experience of Oman in Building Construction, valid transferrable ID Card. Contact 94378581 Indian B.Tech Mechanical Engineer, 26 yrs, 4 yrs experience in HVAC/MEP. Contact 94669629, rajeevhpd15@yahoo.com 26, female, B.Tech in Electronics & biomedical engineering with 1 And Half yrs experience in medical field is seeking suitable job openings. Email : aswathiravirak@gmail.com, ph : 94652908 Telecommunication Engineer with 5 yrs experience in the Gulf. Contact 95219822 Electrical Project Engineer, 4 yrs experience OHL, Substations, Oil & Gas field, AutoCAD. D/L available. Contact 95120225 Civil Engineer with 12 years Experience Looking For Job. Contact 98162295 Industrial Electrician with Oman Driving license. Contact 96348016 Indian male, 26 yrs B-Tech (ECE) with MBA in Marketing / HR looking for a suitable placement. Currently on visit visa valid up to 30 January 2015. Contact 93754428, email : shijosirius709@gmail.com DAE (Civil) having 3.5 years Experience 2 years from Oman with driving licences, seeking for suitable position in Construction field NOC and release available . Contact 96968554 Email: mehranahmad26@yahoo.com M. Tech Electrical Eng. Female, now in visit visa. Contact +968-94654481. B. Tech Civil Eng. 3 yrs exp in Oman with driving license. Contact 93733627. Mail id : joinvisam@gmail.com, neethusprakash@gmail.com Indian Male, IT Support Engineer, 2 yrs in Oman & 5 yrs Indian experience. Contact 97311847 Jordanian Engineer Electrical 7 yrs exp. Consulting, site & shop drawing works. Ready to join immediately. Worked in UAE & Saudi Arabia. Contact - 00971555594733

6 Years experience light duty driver. Contact – 96736744

Civil Engineer B Tech, Site Engineer Experienced, Drafting on Visit Visa Ph : 91642050

Light driver looking for job. Contact 92791678

Looking Part time Job in HVAC93198128

T U E S DAY, JA N UA RY 2 0, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED ENGG. / TECHNICAL

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian male on Visit Visa. Expert in ELV systems, Instrumentation, PID controllers, Embedded systems, Electronics CAD. 20years experience. Contact 98915066

Indian Male, 31 years of Rich Oman experience in Multifunctional Management, Administration, Business Development, Purchase & Operations, seeking suitable Manager/Supervisory Position.Visa transfer/NOC Available. Contact : 95036410

Indian Civil Engineer, M.Tech in Construction Management, Primavera Expert looking for suitable placement. Contact 92550987 Indian female, Electrical Engineer (family visa) M-Tech in Power System having 1 yr experience seeking suitable placement. Contact 94306164 Diploma Civil Engineer, Indian male, 29, 4 yrs experience in building construction field, 2 yrs experience with consulting company in Oman driving license and release available from current company. Contact 93282447, cv.shihabedappal@gmail.com Diploma in Civil Engineer, 6 yrs experience in Oman with D/L. Contact 94052815 Mechanical Engineer, Indian male, 6 yrs experience, 3 yrs in GCC, seeking suitable opening in Oil & Gas Sector, have valid GCC D/L. email : msfebco@gmail.com, Contact 91228398 Indian male, 27 yrs B.A. Economics, Diploma in Fire & Safety Engineering, NEBOSH, IOSH Certification, 4 yrs exp as Safety Officer in India, on visit visa. Contact 97209656 Building Construction Sr. Site Supervisor looking for better opportunity since March 2010 in Oman with Omani D/L. Contact 93061107 Diploma in Civil Engineer, 20 yrs in Oman with D/L. Contact 94677220 39, Indian Male, Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, 6 yrs experience steel fabrication, maintenance of heavy equipments in Oman, 10 yrs in India, having Omani Driving License, NOC available. Contact 96728805, email : jansanjosep@yahoo.co.in Pakistani male, 41 yrs Electrical Foreman, 9 yrs exp in Gulf seeking employment for suitable position. NOC release. Contact 99562454, 92896190 HSE Officer, 8 yrs experience NEBOSH OSHA having NOC, seeking good opportunity. Contact 98640063 Indian Female, 24, UK Graduate - MSc Digital Communication Network Engineering with B.Tech Electronics and Communication with Omani Driving License, seeks suitable placement. Contact No. : 95408113 Sudanese Mechanical Engineer, 3 yrs experience in HVAC fire fighting, NOC and driving license available. Contact 91135140 B.Sc, Civil Engineer, over 19 yrs experience in construction field with project management skills, seeks suitable placement. NOC available & can join immediately. #92198264, Email : mdrana1970@gmail.com Indian male Mechanical Engineer (M.Tech), Manufacturing Engineering, having 2 yrs Exp with Oman D/L - seeking suitable placement . NOC available. Contact: 98681278; Email : alexyvellara@gmail.com Diploma in Civil Engineer, 15 yrs Oman experience (total 28 yrs) looking for senior position with valid D/L, NOC available. Contact 99013465 Civil Engineer, Diploma, Sudanese, 5 yrs experience in Oman, have driving license. Contact 96618918 Electrical Engineer, Sudanese male, 8 yrs experience in Construction, operation, maintenance, electrical plants, responsible for electrical installation coordination. Contact 94549609 Civil Diploma Engineer, Indian male, 5 yrs experience in Oman with valid Omani D/L. Contact 98518370 Telecom Engineer with Bachelor Degree, CCNA female, 1 yr experience in Sales & Marketing seeking suitable job. Contact 97269189

SALES / MARKETING

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

MEDICAL

Quantity Surveyor (Civil Building) looking for Part time job Contact no:-94391712 E-mail addressinayathhussain@yahoo.com

Female dentist with MOH license and with Noc looking for suitable placement in Muscat region Contact no. 99147426

Experienced female Electrical Engineer.Contact 93800906

Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf experience) looking for a suitable job (NOC available) Contact-93344378

INFORMATION TECH BCA Gratuate, Indian male with 1yr of exp in System Admin, IT Support, Network Admin and 1yr exp as sales Executive.CCNA,MCSE .looking for suitable job. # 95938303 email- hafsalhs@gmail.com IT Professional, 7 yrs exp in System Administration, IT Support, Networking etc. currently on visit visa. Contact 94064579, email : preejes01@gmail.com Indian Male 23 yrs – IT / Prepost Sales Consultant / Business Analyst / Web Designing. 2 yrs. exp. Languages-HTML5, WebRTC, Java, CSS, C++, .Net, SQL, Oracle, ERP-Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Looking for suitable job. Contact: 98802504, email:shrihari26@gmail.com B.Tech IT Professional, Indian Male with 3 yrs of Exp. In System Admin, IT Support, Networking, Installing Active Directory, DHCP, DNS,RAS, conﬁguring maintaining and managing servers, conﬁguring cisco routers, Exp in handling SQL database, With Valid Driving Licence. Contact - 968 98863507 IT Prof, MCA having 6+ yrs exp, seeks suitable position. Contact 94543668 IT Professional, Indian male, B.Sc Graduate with 4+ yrs Gulf (UAE) good exp in System Administration, IT Support, Server Desktop, laptop, smartboard, datashow biometric, CCTV, currently on visit visa. Contact 98936548, Email: vaseemj@yahoo.com IT Network Engineer with Bachelor Degree, CCNA, RHCSA, RHCE seeking suitable job in good Company. Contact 99818601

Wanted Female Staff Nurse with MOH Licence/Prometric passed candidates (immediate placement)for a Medical Clinic in Muscat area Contact :+ 968 98185250 e mail:ﬁzashaﬁr@gmail.com Female Pharmacist with MOH license seeking suitable job Contact 93215380 Indian male, B.Sc nurse with critical care specialization, 16 yrs experience including GCC Oman Prometric passed, seeking for good posting. Contact 91124083, 96132494 Indian female Nurse, 4 yrs experience Prometric passed, seeking for good posting. Contact 92917448, 97362119 Male Nurse -prometric exam passed and valid till feb21-5year experience. Allwyn Davidallwyndavid123@gmail.com # 94686268, 92800101 Indian female, 26, Pharmacist with MOH license, 3.5 yrs of experience in India, seeking suitable placement. Contact 94474924, Email: suryacprasad88@gmail.com Indian female Pharmacist, 28 yrs MOH license holder with 3 yrs experience seeking suitable placement. Contact 94037178 Indian male Pharmacist (B.Pharma) 5 1/2 years experience in Oman seeking suitable placement in Muscat. NOC from the present employer available. Contact +968 98525100 Indian Female, Dentist fresher looking for suitable placement. Contact 98857686, email : drsumbulahmad@gmail.com

Sales & Marketing Indian male MBA (marketing & sales) business development experience at all levels of management. Currently on visit visa. Contact – 91272819 Graduate, Indian, having 6 yrs experience in Sales with D/L, NOC available. Contact 93410723 Indian male having 6 yrs experience of working in Oman with Advertising, Interiors, Events, Purchase & Accounts valid Oman D/L looking for suitable job. Contact 98851980 Indian male, B.Com, 20 yrs experience in Sales & Marketing having UAE light D/L looking for suitable post. Contact +91 9946699062, email : sajim40@gmail.com Indian male, 26, MBA Marketing, 1 yr GCC experience Oman, license. Contact +91 9946308583, haris.hameedali@gmail.com Indian MBA-Marketing & Systems Manager having 6 yrs experience in Solar System & Inverters seeking suitable placements. Contact 97892269 / 99046313 Pakistani male, 34, College 2 yrs, 2 yrs experience as Sales Representative, 3 yrs experience as Clerk / Office Assistant, 3 yrs experience as Salesman in Oman, Computer Skills : Excel, BUSY, ERP, languages known – English, Arabic, Hindi and Urdu. Contact 96763346 Pakistani Graduate have a two years experience in sales/marketing in Muscat. Have a valid driving license. Fluent in English and Arabic. Need a suitable position. Contact 95919265 Indian male, 30 yrs, 8 yrs + experience in Sales & Marketing, looking for suitable placement. Contact 95601197 Indian Male having 7 yrs in experience in Oman Sales & Marketing Ofﬁce Automation Printer, Copier, MFP, IT products & Stationery. Looking for Suitable Placement NOC Available Contact :97384748 Oracle certiﬁed BE (CS) Indian male with skills in OCA (DBA, SQL10g, looking for suitable placement. Contact 98436022/99848874 Email: rineel2005@yahoo.com

SKILLED / UNSKILLED Civil foreman maintenance D/L, 12 yrs in Oman, 2 yrs in Kuwait. Contact 96405865, 99534138, India - +91 7589248550, +91 9464255409, email: sukhwinder9@yahoo.com

TOUR / TRAVELS IATA Certiﬁed experienced Indian Lady looking for job. Currently on visit. Contact 94613747, 91339846

MISCELLANEOUS Omani Man looking for a job with experience in HR/ Admin/ accounting. # 99767666 Indian female, 25 yrs, B.Com with computer Application, 1 yr experience as Accountant, looking for suitable job. Contact 98847165 Graduate, Indian, having 6 yrs experience in Sales with D/L, NOC available. Contact 93410723 3 Years experienced Administrative Executive seeking for Virtual Admin Opportunities. Can work for 6 hours/day from a virtual location for 100 RO/month. Call: 95811820 Indian male 25 B.Tech (IT) Engineer 2.5 years experience in hardware networking. Currently on visit visa, looking for suitable job. Contact - 94359564 Indian male, B.com with tally, having 11 years experience in accounting, looking for a part time job. contact.96423671 Post Graduate Indian male, MBA (Hospital Administration) having 4 yrs. experience in hospital administration looking for suitable placement. Currently on visit. Contact: 96701543, 92945632 PROCUREMENT OFFICER-Indian 33yrs, 7yrs Exp. in Oman in (ROAD,CIV,MEP & Others) Contg & Trdg Co. Visa will Exp in Feb-15. M: 94064650, Email:nagauae@gmail.com

Home nurse. Contact 99156191

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR MECHANICAL/TECH. MBA Graduate 10+ exp FMCG food serv. Sales channel/ Branch Manager. Contact - 99185205 Indian male Graduate with 20+ years of Administration, Operations & Management experience in IT, Oil & Gas & Hospitality Industry. 12 years in Oman with vast contacts, very strong management, operational, communication and interpersonal skills, can handle any size of business and projects whether it’s in initial stage or established. Can join immediately. Local release available on request. Contact: 9906 4589 Experienced Warehouse Supervisor with 12+ yrs of Saudi Arabia experience in warehouse and stores procedures on visit visa. #92983288, email: hasinabegum2000@gmail.com Techno - Commercial Manager, well experienced in Oman. Vast knowledge in Operations, Business development, Logistic / Purchase, General administration. Looking for suitable opening. NOC Possible, Contact - 96599704 Project Manager more than 20 yrs experience, 15 yrs in Sultanate of Oman in construction ﬁeld. Contact 93385789 Qualiﬁed Manager: (12+ yrs. Oman Exp.) Vast knowledge in A/c & Admin, Costing, Banking, Credit Control, Insurance, International Purchase/ Logistics & Finance, With D/L looking for suitable position. Gsm: 93826090 Email: jskanchan01@gmail.com

B.E (Civil) Engineer looking for a suitable placement, driving license available. Contact 91253392

Indian female with nine years of experience in 5 Star hotels as Assistant Food & Beverage Manager looking for a suitable placement in a reputed Star hotel. # 91219787

Civil Engineer (Diploma) looking for an urgent placement. Contact 95200650

General Manager / working partner 20 years in Dubai adverting agency experience. Contact 93031168

Indian male, 27 yrs, B.Tech Mechanical, 1 yr pipeline experience seeking job in any mechanical ﬁeld, NOC available, available in Oman till 31st Jan. Contact 95982207, rahman.taus@gmail.com Indian Electronics & Communication with transmission project, embedded designing, telecommunication experience (3 yrs) having visit visa looking for suitable placement in Oman. Contact Mohammed Arshad Khan – 93398772, email : eng.mohdarshadkhan@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS Skipper, ﬁshing vessels, 33 yrs experience as Captain in Indian and International waters, oceanography and ﬁshery related research activities and management. Contact 95775380 / 99616823 Quality Assurance Officer, ISO Quality System Internal Auditor, BSc Graduate, female 27, with 4 years experience seeks suitable placement. Contact nipuni.d.silva@gmail.com Microbiologist & Quality Assurance Executive, BSc Graduate, female, 27 with 4 yrs experience in food industry looking for a suitable placement. Email : nipuni.d.silva@gmail.com Logistics Officer, Experience in Store keeping. Contact : 99505934

SECRETARIAL/OFFICE Indian female, well experienced in secretarial, administration, customer care & supervisory jobs. 5 years experience in Muscat. Immediately available for joining. Contact: 92139298

Young Energetic Male, with Oman work experience in the ﬁeld of Sales/ Marketing and Administration. Currently on a visit visa seeking suitable position. Contact 97832289. wakakhan.1@gmail.com 15 years experience in Business Development , marketing, purchase – UAE & Oman-staff coordination, documentation, civil & technical maintenance, -valid GCC license-looking for working partnership or management post. Contact:91568362 / Email vpj555pem@gmail.com MBA Finance, 6 yrs exp in Sales & Marketing with Omani Driving License seeks suitable placement. Contact 94685706 Indian male, MBA 9+ yrs Oman exp in Sales & Marketing in FMCG (F & B) sector on a Supervisor / managerial role with D/L & Local NOC available. Contact 97912789 Young female, having experience of working in Oman with expertise in the ﬁeld of Event Management, Advertising, Marketing and Hotel Management. Currently on a visit visa. Seeking for a suitable Job. Contact 96153578 Sri Lankan Salesman cum driver with NOC. Contact 97265733 Indian male, 25yrs, MBA in HR/ Marketing.6yrs exp with MNC and pharma. Presently in family visit visa looking for suitable placements. Contact no-94657379/ 96645182 Indian Male, MBA in Marketing and Finance, 10 years’ Sales & Business Development Experience with valid D/L of Oman & UAE looking for a suitable placement. NOC Available. Contact: 93969961 e-mail abhilash.pvrk@gmail.com Indian Male, 7 yrs experience in building materials trading having Oman D/L, immediate release available. Contact 98676713

Indian Male, 31 years of Rich Oman experience in Multifunctional Management, Administration, Business Development, Purchase & Operations seeking suitable Manager/Supervisory Position. Visa transfer/NOC Available. GSM: 95036410 Seeking for immediate placement as a manager- projects, sales, marketing, product, business development job for BE- MBA, 12 years Oman experience with D/L. Contact-96040977, kvmssn@gmail.com Indian Female, B.com, 2year Indian Exp. in Accounts, strong in Tally ERP 9,MS Office, looking for suitable position. Part time/Full time. Contact-95939129, 99104579, mail:sreekulaparambil@gmail.com AutoCAD draughtsman (Architect ural+Structural+Plumbing & HVAC) having more than 12 years Oman experience seeking work as a FREELANCER. Contact - 91620107 26 years male, MBA Finance & Marketing, 1 year experience in marketing. Looking for sales job. Contact: 95437921 31 years, male with Gulf Experienced Microsoft Certiﬁed Solution Associate, Have GCC driving license, looking for a suitable job as Network/System Administrator. Phone: +968 93927126, 99853614, Email: khalil837@hotmail.com

Indian female, Accountant. having +5 years experience in Oman till Nov 2014. seeking suitable placement. NOC available. currently in family visa. Contact :98447045, email:anilavandika@gmail.com IT supports 6 yrs experience, male, Filipino Desktop Support, Backup administrator, Wireless Networking, server admin. #- +96896126502 Indian male, 26 yrs - MBA Graduate with 3 yrs of Experience in Banking ( Standard Chartered Bank Scope International - Operations) &Coffee Vending Machine (Fresh & Honest Cafe ltd - Operations) on Visit Visa seeking placement. Contact 91267867 Indian male 23 yrs, 4 yrs experienced in Architectural Draughtsman looking for a suitable Post GSM:96023726, Email jayan.mathew009@gmail.com INDIAN, B.E Mechanical Engineer, 2 years job experience in Oman in pipeline field, fluent in English, Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi, with valid Omani driving license (light) searching for job. Contact 99871470 Male 28, seven & half an year experience. Worked as maintenance division co-ordinator, purchaser’s assistant, and office administration works. Valid driving license. Contact 94454847 28 year Indian male with 7yrs of experience in Accounts & Finance up to finalisation in Construction Oil & Gas and also in Manufacturing industries with Oman D/L seeking suitable placement. Contact 97104364 . email:moorthy_cbe@hotmail.com. Indian male, 25yrs, MBA in marketing from Delhi with 1 year experience in operation department, currently on visit visa seeking suitable placements. Ph 97334359 email: mshahinp1@gmail.com Civil Engineer, B.E in civil , Approx. two year experience in Oman, Pakistani age 29 years. Contact : 94389853 Email : faheemdeeer1986@gmail.com Male 28, seven & half an year experience. Worked as maintenance division co-ordinator, purchaser’s assistant, and office administration works. Valid driving license. 94454847 Indian, female, Pharmacist available with NOC and MOH License, preferably in Muscat. Contact 9439 1355. Senior Accounts Professional, Indian Male, 35 years, M.Com, MBA (Fin) 8 years in Oman, with valid Oman DL and NOC available. Capable to handle accounts up to finalization. Contact 9602 3965. Looking out for the post of Travel coordinator/Senior travel Consultant, 14 years (10 years in GCC Countries) of experience in the travel industry looking for a suitable placement. Contact : 96328687. An Indian driver with car looking for part time job. Contact 91103909 Indian, Female, Pharmacist available with NOC and MOH License, preferably in Muscat. Contact 9439 1355. Civil draughtsman part time work for job. Contact : 96023726 Indian, 24 years, B.Tech with Diploma in Sound Engineering & Sound Recording seeking suitable placement. Currently on Visit Visa. Contact: 95615436. Email: siddharthsadasiv@gmail.com

Mechanical Engineer with 10+ years experience currently on visit visa looking for a Operation Manager/Branch Manager position in reputed organizations. #95757845

Indian Female-Tech Electrical, from third best college, Government Engineering College Trissur. Fluent in English. Excellent presentation skill.Engineering, IT, teaching or account sector job wanted. Contact -97724630 / email: vyshnaparthan@gmail.com

Indian Female, B. Com, 2year Indian Exp. in Accounts, strong in Tally ERP 9,MS Office, looking for suitable position. Part time/Full time. Contact no: 95939129, 99104579, Email-sreekulaparambil@gmail.com

Indian male, 31 years of Rich Oman experience in Multifunctional Management, Admistration, Business Development, Purchase & Operations seeking suitable Manager/ Supervisory Position. Visa transfer/ NOC Available. Contact 95036410

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DAILY GUIDE

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

EVERY FRIDAY 2.00PM ON INDIA’S KAIRALI PEOPLE TV

● Worldwide ● Air Ticket ● Car Rental ● Holiday Packages ● Hotel Reservations ● Travel Insurance

Call: +96824790400, +96898569830 Email: info@omanorienttravels.com

NRI

Land for sale, 36 cents in Kakkanad near Athani. 5 lacs/cent and 6 acre land near Veliyam, Kottarakkara. 30 lacs/acre. Serious buyers only call – 99886386 / +919645888877 Villa for sale 2200 sq ft in 8 cent. Kottayam. Contact: 92652534

MATRIMONIAL SITUATION WANTED Indian Male having 14 years of experience in HR, Purchase Dept having Oman Driving License looking for a suitable position NOC available. Email –madhuvtk@gmail.com. Contact: 99252635, 99239498 Filipino Accountant with 13 years working experience in the ﬁeld of accounting looking for a suitable job in Muscat. Contact: 94547323 28 years Indian male with 7yrs of experience in Accounts & Finance up to ﬁnalisation in Construction Oil & Gas and also in Manufacturing industries with Oman D/L seeking suitable placement. Contact me on 97104364 .email: moorthy_cbe@hotmail.com Indian female MA. B.Ed. with One year three months Teaching experience. Subject: English, seeking for a Better placement. Now working in Oman. Contact 93961142, 92184408 Email:anoopkesavan78@gmail.com. MBA with 1 yr experience, Indian looking for job, salary 40000 INR. Contact 96271935 Admin Executive, 31, Indian Male, having 8+ years exp. in reputed companies, seeking suitable placement in any gulf region. Contact: +968 99276601 & 97693456. muralimahdav77@gmail.com Indian male, 26 yrs - MBA Graduate with 3 yrs of Experience in Banking (Standard Chartered Bank Scope International - Operations) & Coffee Vending Machine (Fresh & Honest Cafe ltd - , Operations) on Visit Visa seeks placement. # 91267867, Email: jai.ks1988@gmail.com

Tunisian women looking for job, khnows english, frensh, Italian and arabic. Contact: 91171838 28 year Indian male with 7yrs(5yrs in Oman) of experience in Accounts & Finance up to finalisation in Construction Oil & Gas and also in Manufacturing industries with Oman D/L seeking suitable placement. Contact me on 97104364 email: Moorthy_cbe@hotmail.com Looking out for the post of Travel coordinator/Senior travel Consultant, 14 years (10 years in GCC Countries) of experience in the travel industry looking for a suitable placement. Contact:96328687 Female dentist with MOH license and release looking for a suitable placement in Muscat, presently residing in Muscat. Contact: 99147426 Indian Female. B-Tech Electrical, from third best college, Government Engineering College Thrissur. Fluent in English. Excellent presentation skill. Engineering, IT, teaching or account sector job wanted. GSM-97724630, email: vyshnaparthan@gmail.com Structural Engineer with 14 years experience in structural design and supervision fields with full knowledge of structure design programs, Omani D/L, seeking a reputed engineering consultancy office vacancy Tel. 96248598. Indian Male, B.COM, ICWA, CMA Australia, 24 years experience in finance, costing, accounts, internal audit. Valid Oman driving license. NOC available. Can join immediately. Contact 97917136

BUYING/SELLING

FOR SALE

Looking for purchase of Used Portable Compressor (350 CFM, 7 Bar Pressure) powered with Diesel run Generator. Kindly Contact 99014686 or operation@khancogroup.com

Household items on sale. Contact 93833107

Looking for commercial lands for sale in Al Ghobrah North (urgent serious buyers, commercial lands in al Ghobrah North (corners prime location). Contact 91155779

Sale!, all household items, like fridge, freezer, cooking range, washing machine, window/split A/Cs, LCD TV, Laptop, tab and many more for attractive prices. Location : near Toyota service Center, Honda Road. Contact - 97048983, 95293643

NOTICE AL Etehad for Customs Clearance joint which is recorded under the commercial register in directorate general for trade industry number 1090901 is going to change its name to Shuaa Al Etehad Comprehensive company. This is to inform anybody who concerns about that. I, Roy D’Costa (holder of Indian Passport No. J4218485) s/o Joac D’Costa having permanent address in Goa-H-No-E-31, Portan Panjim, opposite Bambolkar Building (complete postal address in India) and presently residing in P.O.Box 2882, P.C 112, Ghala Service Road, Sultanate of Oman (complete postal address in Oman) intend to marry Ms Nina Zedekiah Errey (holder of Australian Passport bearing No. N 6802430) d/o Norman Errey in Embassy of India, Muscat. I swear that I am marrying her at my own free will AND not under any duress and intimidation. Any objection towards this marriage may please be communicated to Embassy of India, Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters, Al Khuwair, P.B. No 1727, Postal Code 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman within 30 (thirty) days of publication of this newspaper advertisement.

Port cabins – New & refurnished Porta cabin for sale and rent. Contact 96723468

Restaurant for leasing/sale in Al Hail. Contact 94148970, 94148972, 97820877

AVAILABLE Established Restaurant for rent with sponsorship.Contact 97628242 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

ACC. AVAILABLE Furnished single room with attached bathroom near Mars Hypermarket, Al Ghubrah. Contact 97312111, RO 150/- per month Single room at Walja, opposite MBD area available for executive bachelors or single working woman for OMR 100 including Electricity and Water. Contact 93079877 Single furnished room in Ruwi. Contact 24833609 Independent room furnished Executive at Wadi Kabir. Contact 99336206 Single room available for a working lady with separate bathroom & sharing kitchen with a family @Rex Road. # 95423572 Room with separate toilet and WiFi, Wadi Kabir near pencil building. Contact 93416854 Rooms for rent in Al Hail, front of the Wave. Contact 95192927 2 Bedroom ﬂat for offices with furniture near Al Manaf Hotel, Ghala. Contact 99525743, 99439705 Excellent 3 bedrooms , 2 sitting rooms, 3 bathrooms, kitchen & store with A/C. 92817777

Keralite girl, 26 (160), BSC Nurse at South America seeks suitable alliance. Contact 94413100, 98335340

For Astrological consultation, Jathakam. Contact 99860435 / 97102599

GOOD NEWS

Proposals are invited from parents of professionally qualiﬁed Nair Boys for 24 year old Upper Middle Class Nair girl hail from Trivandrum, (171 cm, Star-Bharani) employed in a reputed Company in Oman. Contact: 0968-9950 2593 /99798041. (KM ID.2844689)

ACC. AVAILABLE Furnished single room with separate bathroom near al meera hypermarket, azaiba. Gsm 94288863 Furnished room with AC for expat, Al Khuwair. Contact 99689315 / 97004265 Fully furnished big room with sharing toilet, kitchen immediately available for Executive bachelor in N.Gubrah. Contact-95450250 Room available in Ruwi near Badr Al Samaa for Executive bachelor or couple, RO 125/- including W/E. Contact 92196783 Furnished sharing one room with bath at Darsait near ISM. Contact 95257213 1 room balcony toilet for Indian lady / small family near Khimji Institute (NIIT) near Ruwi Church. # 99746379

Genuine Ayurvedic treatments & massage, Ayurvedic clinic at Al Khuwair. Contact 24478618 / 97263637 /93309131 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 Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain, backache, paralysis, massage, steam bath, obesity, spondylitis, ideal care Ayurvedic Clinic, 18 November Street, Azaiba.Contact 99639695 / 99117987

MANPOWER

Independent room, kitchen and bathroom available near Ruwi roundabout. Contact 99016562 4 bedrooms house and one bedroom attached bathroom sharing kitchen in Wadi Kabir. Contact 96639246 Spacious semi-furnished room with separate entrance, attached washroom for non-cooking Indian Bachelor near ISG. # 95146361, 92657598 Single room attached bathroom, kitchen, split A/C, Al Ghubrah near Mars Hypermarket, OR 180/-. Contact 95094028 Single room available for exec bachelor, Muttrah opp Oman House. Contact 93340125 Independent rooms in Qurum/ Al Hail. Contact 95529970 Room with separate entrance, bathroom, A/C, furniture near Al Nahdha Hospital. Contact 93201710 Bath attached room with separate sharing kitchen for rent in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99378661 2 rooms with 2 bathrooms and sharing kitchen for couple or executive bachelors at hamriya r/abt. ( on the main road side, opp. Apollo hospital ) RO 150. Contact 98232567

ACC.WANTED Single room or studio ﬂat required in Ruwi area. Contact : 95405033

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DAILY GUIDE TOURS

SITUATION WANTED CARGO

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

DRIVING

RENT A CAR TRANSPORTATION Transportation. Contact 93405941 Labor Pick & drop. Contact 92218001 Transportation. Contact 92306582 Transportation. Contact 98178135 Transportation available. Contact 95570429

M.V. FOR SALE

Pick & drop anytime in al Khuwair. Contact 99764307 Transportation. Contact 91379976 Transportation with car & driver. (VIP’s only). Contact 95040768 Pick & Drop any time. Contact 97014786 Transportation. Contact 99664703

FOR HIRE

TRUCK FOR HIRE Isuzu 10 ton cargo body truck (2012 FVR) with UAE experienced driver available for long term / short term rent.

Contact: 95346950 PDO approval truck for hire. Contact 99350915 50 seater bus with PDO speciﬁcation for rent or lease. # 99839898

Renault Safrane 2011, Excellent condition OMR3400. Contact 94015245 Pajero 3.8 v6 full option, 2008 model expat driven single owner, excellent condition, accident free, 217k. Contact - 92590781 Lexus GS300, 2006. Contact 93218349 Tucson V-6, 2007, automatic RO 2500/-. Contact 99384640

FOR HIRE Running truck wash for rent in Ouhi Sunia Sohar. Serious people can. Contact on 97864747

Toyota Yaris 1.5, 2010 single owner 84,000 kms, fully automatic, 100%. Service history with dealer. Contact 93876159

Transportation available 99159277

30 seater Toyota Bus, 2014, white color for sale. Contact 98888999 / 96341946

Transportation Available Contact 97180655

Chevrolet van model 2000 for sale, RO 1400/-. Contact 96789522 L/R Discovery, 2003, KM 1,60,000. Contact 99238877 Prado 2012. Contact 99336093

Transportation. Contact 96538078

M.V.WANTED Required Nissan Tida / Toyota yaris / Suzuki swift / hyundai/Kia hatchback car in good condition. Contact 95405033

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DAILY GUIDE

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

SITUATION WANTED SERVICES

SITUATION WANTSERVICES

WEBSITE

CLASSES

Al Manar Vocational pleased to announce at vocational short and long term courses in tailoring, cooking and internal design. Contact us now : 24698070 or 91144335

BUSINESS

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

COMPUTER

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/24792998

GULF INTERNATIONAL LLC all kind of pest control. Contact 92326955

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

Assddin trad. & cont. steel, lathe & welding workshop. services of all type gear making, maintenance, repairing & technical engineering works. Muhammad Sabir, Wadi Al Kabir, Call: 99057248/ 24816390, E mail:gear_oman@yahoo.com

Cleaning services, carpet & sofa shampooing, marble restoration (grinding) and polishing, pest control, fogging service. Contact 99448057, 95401996 Cheapest Prices, all types window, curtains and blind. Contact 99539521 Computer service/ AMC/ Networking. Contact 93552434 Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS- 99320217 /24788722 Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS- 99320217 /24788722

First Grade Building Construction Company registered in Tender Board, MOD, and all Ministries with 120 manpower have current projects of RO 2 million seeking for investor partner to be the Managing Director. Send CV to constructionjop@gmail.com My client needs to buy Residential land or villa in Al Ghubra Bahar Factory area. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

BUSINESS Wanted dentist or investor to buy a well-running dental clinic in Sohar immediately. Contact 92625962, 95904234 We assist in new business set up local sponsorship, real estate services, assist in company formation services. Contact - 93166088

Door to Door Computers repair specialist laptop software Website cartridges. Contact 99199376 A.M Trading Pest control. Contact 99067923 Split & window A/C servicing & maintenance. Contact 93769089 Maintenance – 1) A/C Maintenance, 2)fridge, washing machine & dish washer repairing, 3)painting & cleaning services, 4)electrical & plumbing carpentry work. Contact 99447257 / 97014234 / 24504281

Painting Interlock plumbing maintenance. Contact 92142319 Carpet & sofa cleaning, house cleaning. Contact 99542979 / 98855815 For All Your Maintenance Solutions, A/c Servicing & Fixing, Painting, Cleaning, Electric. Contact 99002390 Carpet & sofa cleaning, house cleaning. Contact 99542979 / 98855815 For All Your Maintenance Solutions, A/c Servicing & Fixing, Painting, Cleaning, Electric. # 99002390 Water proofing ABUQABASContact 99320217/24788722 Civil Maintenance, Painting Electric, Plumbing, Decor, Tile Fixing, Lecithin Copra Board flat stifling , Carpet Cleaning and A/C Servicing. Contact 97897831 (Indian keralite) Waterproofing, light weight Screed, Antitermite and MS Fabrication. Contact 92888337 Electrical Plumbing Painting Contract and Maintenance. Contact 98456535

A/C service, repair and maintenance works. Contact 95356877, 93937368. Al Sahib Modern Projects Split & window unit A/C servicing & repairing. Contact 99557080 PRO services. Contact 99368907 Fast & Right Way - For all PR related works – permanent Visa stamping, family visiting visa holders, clients contacts – with NOC letter with signed & sealed photocopy documents . Contact 91568362 Catering services We do industrial catering service, Canteen/ mess, 3 times packed meals, and all types of catering events. Contact 92188777/99249899 Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile polishing, pest control & anti-termite treatment, general cleaning painting, Plumbing, Electrical, shifting. Contact Mundhir AlRizaiqi trading. L.L.C. # 24810137, 99450130

Window & split unit A/C servicing & maintenance. Contact 96236476 House shifting. Contact 99557080, 96236476 For HT cable jointing and termination works 33KV/11KV. Contact 99056438 / Email: npgoman@gmail.com

SITUATION SIT. WANTED Manager Maintenance/Engineering/Purchase, 31 yrs. exp. in mechanical, electrical, electronics, parts fabrication, purchase deptt, oman exp. 5yrs, have NOC, looking for job. Contact - pkv2k3@yahoo. com, 99331289 Indian Male, 31 years of Rich Oman experience in Multifunctional Management, Administration, Business Development, Purchase & Operations seeking suitable Manager/Supervisory Position. Visa transfer/NOC Available.GSM: 95036410