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6 085010 120010 FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN
Before The Third Session of The Council of Oman, 2003
‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’ In urging young Omanis to make use of the available educational, training and job opportunities, we should like everyone to understand that our repeated calls for attention to be given to human resources – to education, training and employment – reflect the importance we attach to this vital issue – an issue which we regard as the corner stone of the future and the main stimulus enabling us to reach our goals.
MONDAY, December 21, 2015 / 9 Rabi Al Awal 1437 AH
R A I LWAY P R O J E C T
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Authorities have been urged to carry out surprise raids at restaurants to ensure food quality FIRE INCIDENT: Smoke billows out of the storehouse of Musanaah hypermarket. – Supplied photo
Fire breaks out in warehouse of Musanaah market Times News Service MUSCAT: A fire broke out in the storehouse of a hypermarket in the wilayat of Musanaah on Sunday afternoon. Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance
(PACDA) said that a large number of personnel firemen were pressed into service to contain the blaze. “The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained,” the official said. Records show that 3,335 fire incidents occurred in Oman in 2014.
I M P R E S S I V E I N N O VAT I O N
SQU students create wireless charger for smartphones HASSAN SHABAN Al LAWATI
hassan@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Ever imagined being able to instantly charge your mobile phone’s battery without using the cables? The future is here. And this time it is made-in-Oman, as a group of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) students have invented a wireless charger that will spare you the burden of keeping bulky wires and cords. According to Mohammed Al Kindi, a member of the team of innovators, the new charger does not need to be connected to the mobile’s power source, and this is not even the most impressive feature. In fact, this state-of-theart device can charge two smartphones at the same time. “Many people complain about their phone battery’s consumption and the need to charge it more than once per day,” said Al Kindi, adding that cable chargers cannot keep pace with the everincreasing power of smartphones. The portable device does not heat up metal objects and its radiation level remains within the accepted range. Priced at OMR16, the device will include a recharging port, on-off switch port, LED port, USB charger port and a transmitter cover. The students applied for a patent through SQU and said that
STATE-OF-THE-ART DEVICE: This device can charge two smartphones at the same time. – Supplied photo
more features will be added to the prototype if they receive finical support, as the charger is not quite ready for being sold in the market. “We are planning to decrease its size and lighten its weight,” Al Kindi said, adding that the charg-
er does not copy personal information from smartphones. Al Kindi noted that the short battery lifetime of mobile phones is still a bottleneck that limits people’s communication due to sudden battery shortages. “This problem increases with the high-rated improvement in technology, which calls for cost effective battery recharging alternatives, one of which is developed in this device through the use of a non-radiative coupling mechanism,” he added. Al Kindi noted that the new device takes longer to fully recharge a mobile, since the recharging is shared between two devices. TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES
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‘Raise the bar on food safety at restaurants’
PAC D A
HM issues Royal Decree MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said on Sunday issued a Royal Decree No. 49/2015 declaring the second phase of the railway project as a Public Utility Project. Article (1) states that the second phase of the railway project to connect the area of Hafait in the Governorate of Al Buraimi with the area of Fahoud in the Governorate of A’Dhahirah, as specified in the memo and diagram attached to this Decree, shall be considered a public utility project. Article (2) stipulates that the departments concerned may expropriate, through direct implementation, the properties and lands necessary for the aforementioned project, along with all the installations therein, in accordance with provisions of the Public Utility Expropriation Law promulgated by Royal Decree No. 46/78. Article (3) says that this decree shall be published in the Official Gazette and enforced on its date of issue. Issued on December 20, 2015. -ONA
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is maintained
REJIMON K HASSAN SHABAN AL LAWATI
reji@timesofoman.com hassan@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Parliamentarians, food safety experts and the public have called for stricter rules and heftier fines, as surprise checks by municipality authorities found that nearly half the restaurants in Bausher area were not following food safety standards. “Restaurants compromising on food safety standards and those directly affecting consumers’ health should be heavily fined. Municipality authorities should intensify the inspections because consumers cannot check what is happening in the kitchens of such restaurants,” Mohammed Al Busaidi, Bausher Shura member, told the Times of Oman. Surprise inspections by the
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notices were served by the probe team. Authorities ordered to destroy 386kg of stale meals, 33kg of food and 561 rusted utensils
Muscat Municipality at 125 restaurants in the course of the last few days in Bausher found that around 53 restaurants were not meeting the food safety standards and were violating rules formulated by the municipality. Two restaurants were shut down after authorities found rodents and flies. “Mainly, there were two types of violations. One was that restaurants had failed to renew their permits. The second violation was that they had failed to prepare food in hygienic conditions and were found serving stale food,
which can harm one’s health. Any violators falling in the second category should be fined heavily because they are posing a threat to the consumers’ health,” the Shura member added. The 10-member inspection team issued 48 notices, and ordered the restaurants to destroy 386kg of stale meals, 33kg of other food items and 561 rusted utensils and cooking tools. Violations varied from expiry date manipulation to insects being found in food and beverages. “In addition to this, many restaurants were using unauthorised products, rusted cooking equipment and were storing stale cooked food. In terms of public hygiene, many restaurants were having poor standards. Many were not displaying permit certificates or had not renewed it periodically,” the municipality added. Meanwhile, Robert MacLean, principal of the National Hospitality Institute (NHI), said Oman has improved its food safety standards exponentially, compared to what it was in the past. It is evolving day by day, he said. “However, authorities should carry out more inspections and also up the bar for food safety standards to improve more. If people find that they are being provided substandard services at restaurants, they should inform the restaurant owners and, of course, approach the authorities, too,” the principal said. >A6