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AL HABSI PROUD TO FLY OMAN FLAG IN UK Oman international goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi, who signed a two-year deal with Reading FC , in an interview to getreading.co.uk recently said that he was proud to fly the Oman national flag in England. >A11
MONDAY, July 20, 2015 / 3 Shawwal 1436 AH
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Road deaths haunt Eid with spate of accidents
CABLE
HM sends greetings to Colombia MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of greetings to Dr. Juan Manuel Santos, President of the Republic of Colombia on his country’s Independence Day anniversary. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his sincere greetings and wishes to the president and his country’s people. —ONA
Despite warnings from the Royal Oman Police, the Eid Al Fitr holiday has again been marred by
His Majesty receives Eid greetings >A2
road deaths
FAHAD AL GHADANI/ SARAH MACDONALD
MUSCAT: Holiday horror has again overshadowed Eid Al Fitr celebrations in Oman with more road deaths and injuries over the festivities as the ‘drive safely’ message failed once more to FATAL CRASH: A car with five people crashed into a bus carrying more than 30 passengers on Saturday. All the five in the car died, as hit home. well as two from the bus. – Supplied photos This year’s toll has so far left nine dead and 39 injured in SCAN THIS QR CODE With another accident claiming assigning only company to imthree different accidents - with in the accident, was the daughter TO INSTANTLY VISIT seven lives this year too, Salim Al plement the road then it should fatalities becoming almost an of another LuLu staff. PHOTO GALLERY Mashani, Majlis Al Shura mem- be ready for more loss of lives in “Wrong overtaking by the drivannual event. ber, said that the government future especially as the Khareef Like last year, and previous er of the car was behind the Haima W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N .C O M should speed up its implemen- Festival is approaching and more years, reckless driving habits collision that occurred on Saturtation of the Adam-Thumrait thousands of visitors are expected again were again the cause of an day killing seven and injuring 32 to drive through the same road,” “It’s the car driver’s fault which road project. accident that claimed the lives of people,” said a reliable source at “Since it is almost 700 kilome- said Al Mashani. Public Authority for Civil Defence led to the death to all of the five seven people in Haima. Sources at the Nizwa Hospital people in the car and also two tres and the Ministry of TransOn Saturday, a car with five and Ambulance (PACDA). port should divide the work and told Times of Oman that five in“The accident occurred be- from the bus,” said the source. people crashed into a bus carrying He said also that all of those assign at least five companies to jured were transferred by helicopLuLu staff and their families near tween a bus carrying passengers construct the road as soon as pos- ter to the hospital on Saturday. Haima. All the five occupants of to Salalah and a car carrying five killed were expatriates. The source confirmed that the Incidentally, last year Eid Al sible,” said Al Mashani. the car died, as well as two from people,” said the source. He added that if the work was condition of one among the five He added that the car driver Fitr proved deadly on Oman’s the bus. One of those killed was a LuLu was trying to overtake another roads, too, as 13 people died over assigned to several companies the admitted remains critical. “The others have received mild employee Inshad Kalathiparam- vehicle when he collided with the Eid in 2013, including seven in a ministry could open the road in to medium injuries,” said an offibil Jabbar. Shifa Fathima Vali- bus coming from the opposite di- head-on collision between two just one year. “If the Ministry is insisting in cial at Nizwa Hospital. >A2 cars in Haima. yakath Firos, who also lost her life rection and could not avoid it.
Eid festivities to the fore
A3
CALL FOR CAUTION
TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES
OMAN
HH Sayyid Fahd performs Eid prayers
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His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers performed Eid Al Fitr Prayer at Al Khour Mosque in Muscat. Sayyid Fahd was accompanied during the Eid prayer by a number of top government officials . >A2
WORLD
MARKET
Motive for killing US marines under probe
Oman’s subsidy bill to touch $7.27b in 2015
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Investigators were probing the communications of a shooter who killed five US troops in Chattanooga to determine his possible motive, following reports he allegedly sent a text message declaring “war”. >A7
Oman’s total subsidy bill will touch $7.27 billion or OMR2.82 billion this year, the IMF said in a study. Energy consumption in the country has been growing, which is driving the growth in subsidies. >B1
STRONG WIND: Dust storm reduces visibility and, right, a shed that collapsed under its impact at Honda road. – A R Rajkumar
Dust storm reduces visibility in Muscat Times News Service MUSCAT: Dust storms reduced visibility in different parts of Muscat on Sunday evening. Oman Meteorology department tweeted that visibility in Muscat was reduced to less than 1,000 metres. “It was nearly impossible to drive in Bausher with strong winds throwing up dust,” said a motorist on Sunday evening. Au-
SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT
PHOTO GALLERY W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N .C O M
thorities have warned motorists to exercise caution while driving. Meanwhile, parts of Oman including Rustaq and Wadi Hatat received rainfall. For the next 48 hours, Oman
Meteorology department predicted “cloudy skies along the coastal areas of Dhofar Governorate and adjoining mountains with intermittent drizzle. There are chances of convective cloud formation and rain with occasional thundershowers over Al Hajar mountains and adjoining areas during afternoon. Low level cloud formation and chances of fog are also predicted
along the coastal areas.” Regarding wind directions over the next 24 hours, it said, “Along the coastal areas of Arabian Sea, wind will be southwesterly and along the Sea of Oman coast, it will be easterly to northeasterly, while over the rest of the Sultanate, it will be southerly to southeasterly.” It said the sea will remain rough along the Arabian Sea coast.
OMR1,931.3 MILLION
GRAND MOSQUE ON LIST OF 25 BEST Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque features in UK’s leading newspaper The Telegraph’s list of 25 most beautiful mosques in the world. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, Al Haram Mosque, Saudi, Al-Masjid anNabawi – Medina, Saudi are also on the list. -Ismail Al Farsi
Realty traded value rises 52% by May-end Times News Service MUSCAT: In a boost to the real estate sector, the total traded value of property till the end of May 2015 stood at OMR1,931.3 million, an increase of 52.6 per cent over the figures for the same period in 2014 when it was OMR1,265.5 million. The fees collected on legal transactions rose to OMR21,200,000, an increase of 10.4 per cent. The traded value of the sales contracts reached OMR540,900,000, an increase of 1.5 per cent. As for the volume, a total of 35,530 sales contracts were clinched by the end of May 2015, compared to 36,902 contracts during the same period in 2014, a fall of 3.7 per cent. Mortgage contracts Meanwhile, the traded value of mortgage contracts totalled OMR1,382.7 million by the end of May 2015, compared to
Real estate market
(end of May 2015 compared with same period in 2014)
Property activities
Mortgage contracts
Barter contracts
Traded value
Volume
Traded value
Volume
Traded value
Volume
in OMR million
Units
in OMR million
Contracts
in OMR million
Contracts
2014
2015
1,265 1,931
36,902 35,530
729 1,382
8,703
3.7
549
9,383
7.7
591
Fees collected (2015) OMR
21,200,000 Traded value (2015) OMR
Change (%)
52.6%
-3.7%
89.7%
7.8%
108.1%
Source: ONA
OMR728,900,000 for the same period in 2014, representing an increase of 89.7 per cent. Similarly, mortgage contracts registered during the same period numbered 9,383, compared to 8,703 contracts registered during the same period in 2014, an increase of 7.8 per cent.
7.7%
540,900,000 Graphics
Barter contracts The traded value of barter contracts until May end rose by 108.1 per cent to OMR7,700,000 against OMR3,700,000 during the same period in 2014. The number of registered barter contracts by 2015 May end was 591, against 549 during the same
period in 2014, a 7.7 per cent rise. Title deeds Property title deeds issued by the end of May 2015 numbered 105,891, compared with 100,076 issued during the same period in 2014, reflecting an increase of 5.8 per cent. -With inputs from ONA