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THURSDAY, January 22, 2015 / 1 Rabia II 1436 AH

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HM issues Royal Decrees MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has issued three Royal Decrees as follows: Royal Decree No. 2/2015 ratifying the legal and judicial cooperation agreement in the penal matters between the Government of Oman and the Government of India.

Article (1) ratifies the above agreement as per the attached wording.

Article (2): the Decree shall be published in the official gazette and takes effect from its date of issue. Issued on 21/1/2015. >A6

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One year on, school bus crash driver speaks out

the anniversary approached, the 32-year-old who was driving the bus that day said, “It was like the end of the world. That is what it felt like at the moment of the crash and for quite a while afterwards, it was just horrendous.”

“I have lost a lot of sleep over this. I feel changed. I do not feel like I am the same person anymore,” he confessed.

Today marks the anniversary of the horrific crash which killed three students and injured more

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RAHUL DAS AND FAHAD GHADANI

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GCC oil output stand

MUSCAT: “I haven’t been able to bring myself to drive a school bus.

The memories continue to haunt me. My thoughts are always with the children.”

These are the first words uttered publicly by the driver who was behind the wheel of a Pakistan School Muscat (PSM) bus which crashed a year ago this day, killing three children and seriously injuring two others.

It was on January 22, 2014, when the overcrowded school bus

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“We need an explanation from other GCC on their decision to go along with OPEC on maintaining oil output which is harming them and others, a Majlis Al Shura member has said. >A5

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Education policies

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For revising education stages and pathways, the State Council approved the proposals submitted to it by the Education Committee. >A7

MARKET

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Crash victim Faizal Abdul Aziz at his home in Pakistan.

crashed into a parked garbage collection truck on Qurum/Darsait flyover. Two boys, Sayyid Fahad, 10 and Awais Nazir, 9, and a girl, Fareeha Parvez, 16, died in the crash.

Sayyid was in Class V, Awais in Class IV and Fareeha was in Class 12. Two other students, Jawad Habib, 8, and Faizal Abdul Aziz, 14, are still undergoing treatment in Muscat and Pakistan, respectively.

Speaking for the first time as

Next hearing The trial has already started and the next date is on January 28, 2015. If convicted, he may face a jail term, a fine or both.

He claimed to Times of Oman that he was not using his mobile phone while driving.

“The vehicle was not parked inside the yellow line but with some portion outside it. So, when I realised that I tried to change the lane. But at the same time another truck was approaching from the front. So, I did not have any other option but to crash the vehicle,” he said.

The driver claimed that he had been driving for the past 12 years, but this was the first time that such a thing had happened. >A6

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Insure home or risk loss: Experts

GCC backs Hadi Yemen’s President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi won the support of GCC states and readied for talks with Houthi militia who had attacked his residence. >A8

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SALEH AL SHAIBANY Damage to houses by Cyclone Gonu

OMR 74.5 m OMR 25

House insurance monthly cost

saleh@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: House-owners are being urged to insure their residences or risk damage that could run into thousands of rials, reconstruction and heavy financial liabilities, advised experts.

The Sultanate is vulnerable to powerful cyclonic winds and storms and according to official statistics, home owners had to pay about OMR74.5 million when the Sultanate was battered by powerful Cyclone Gonu in 2007.

In 2010, Cyclone Phet claimed more than 50 lives and hundreds

of houses were damaged. Owners are left to foot the repair bills almost every year with regular torrential rains and strong winds hitting the Sultanate.

Insurance cost “Those two cyclones were the most powerful in recent times, but storms happen every year around this time. Many houses are damaged and none of the owners have insurance. It costs less than OMR300 a year to insure your property and goods, but people do not do it,” Hashil Al Shikely, a Sohar-based construction consultant told Times of Oman. >A5

Tour of Oman to go live on TV

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

TOUR OF OMAN TO GO LIVE ON TV RAHUL DAS AND FAHAD AL MAKRASHI

rahuldas@timesofoman.com fahad@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: It’s time for some great excitement as the sixth edition of the Tour of Oman cycling extravaganza is set to be more challenging with tour organisers laying the 988.5 kilometre (km) route through Oman’s rugged terrain besides going for live coverage on television.

The event, which will be held from February 17 to 22, will comprise six stages like 2014, but will cover a longer distance. In 2014, the total distance was around 940km.

Speaking to Times of Oman, on Wednesday, a senior official of Muscat Municipality said the event is held every year as part of the Muscat

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“There is a special committee and they have not yet taken a call,” he disclosed.

Around 18 teams are expected to take part in the event and they are expected to fly from Doha after taking part in the Tour of Qatar from February 8 to 13.

Tour of Oman 2015 will again feature some of the biggest names of the international grand tours and classics contenders including, among others, Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali topping the provisional list of the race favourites.

Since he made his debut in the Sultanate in 2012, Nibali has not missed an occasion to test his legs against the other stage race specialists in the event that has attracted the winners of the past six Tour de France events since its inception in 2010.

Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) will have to deal with fierce competition, from Span-

Festival activities. “Tour of Oman is growing from strength to strength and our objective back in 2010 was to create a new world-class platform for this highadrenaline game and pre-season training ground for competitive cycling in the country. “Like last year, we are expecting all the big names of the world cycling circuit to take part,” he said.

He also said that for the first time this sporting event will be shown live on the sports channel of Oman TV. “Besides Oman TV, we are having talks with several other channels to beam it live,” he said.

Till last year, Oman TV used to show highlights of the Tour of Oman every day.

“This is one of the key areas to develop Tour of Oman and we will soon call a press conference to announce all these details,” he said. He, however, refused to comment on the 2016 Tour of Oman.

ish climber Joachim Rodriguez (Katusha), his countryman Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) and Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo), the best climber on the last Tour de France, without forgetting the young French talents of Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), third on the last Tour de France, and Warren Barguil (Giant Alpecin), a two-time stage winner in 2013 and 9th in the general classification on the Vuelta in 2014.

The Tour of Oman 2014 edition was covered in more than 350 newspapers in French, Belgian and Swiss languages.

The 2014 Tour of Oman was held over six stages from February 18 to 23 and won by current Tour de France champion Chris Froome (Team Sky), who defended his title. Vincenzo Nibali came 12th in Oman but went on to win another race by ASO in July 2014, the Tour de France.

Stalls run by SMEs extremely popular at festival MUSCAT: Oman government has provided all facilities through the Muscat Municipality to SMEs to present their products and services free of cost in stalls at the Muscat Festival venue.

Twenty-six Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have converged under one umbrella at the consumer exhibition, which is part of the Muscat Festival 2015, at the Naseem Garden.

“The SMEs have been urged to take advantage of the opportunities at the festival which attracts various segments of society from different nationalities and ages. Since families and children come to the festival, entrepreneurs can promote their products, exchange feedback and learn from the experience. This could also enhance the competition between SMEs,” said the organisers.

The consumer exhibition is also the most popular section of the Muscat Festival. Along with the participation of SMEs, there are 420 other shops selling various products from more than 30 countries.

Ali Al Harthi, in charge of SME pavilions says, “There has been an increase in the number of participants this year with around 26 SME

entrepreneurs taking advantage of the facilities provided by the authorities and exhibiting their products. The authorities, in turn, believe that supporting these enterprises and assisting them in marketing their products to a wider audience is a necessity, and entrepreneurs need to use the opportunity to expand their business, services, and products.”

He added, “The exhibition also provides the consumer with the option of buying different exhibits and artefacts made by Omanis, which are of high quality and are capable of competing with imported products.”

Textiles, embroidery, sewing and tailoring in addition to garments, incense, frankincense, honey and gifts are the most prominent products and

services on offer. Other products on sale are cosmetics, herbs and sweets along with libraries that offer the most prominent books and various sound recordings. Visiting the stalls and SME corners, the visitor will find that sales of incense and perfumes are brisk.

Mariam Al Shaharia is the owner of the Dhofari incense, perfumes and frankincense shop, which promotes

original ancient heritage products.

This is the first time that Mariam is participating in this exhibition where she sells white frankincense used for incense, and the bitter frankincense locally known as Al Dhakar frankincense, which comes in red and green colours. It is used for therapeutic purposes and has huge health benefits.

“Her products have generated great interest at the festival,” says Ali. Al Gharshoob is another corner of the festival that attracts women where Mahra Al Naeemi does embroidery, sewing and tailoring. She is the owner of a small enterprise and has her own shop in Al Buraimi. This is the fifth time she has participated in this consumer exhibition.

Commending the facilities provided by the curators who pay attention and care to Omani entrepreneurs, she says, “customers are more likely to buy Omani products once they are convinced of its quality, and all my items are handmade, nothing is imported.”

Visitors have a wide area to explore and check out the products and the important corners at the exhibition where SMEs have put up their stalls.

T H U R S DAY, JAN UARY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

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OPEC production policy questioned Oman’s oil and gas minister criticised OPEC’s production policy, saying it was creating volatility in the market without benefiting oil producers and it was also bad politics too

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Mohammad bin Hamad Al Rumhy

MUSCAT: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries need to explain their decision to go along with Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) on retaining the oil output which is harming them and others, a Majlis Al Shura member said while agreeing totally with the Oman oil and gas minister’s criticism of OPEC’s policy.

On Wednesday, news agencies reported that Mohammad bin Hamad Al Rumhy, Oman’s Oil and Gas Minister sharply criticised OPEC’s production policy, saying it was creating volatility in the market without benefiting oil producers and while his country was suffering, it was also bad politics.

“We consider the GCC countries as our partners in the region.

They talk about the GCC union but are taking a stance in this oil issue that is harming them and others,” said Tawfiq Al Lawati, the Majlis Al Shura member.

Oman’s 2015 budget, in which oil and natural gas account for

almost 90 per cent of government revenue, is based on an average crude price of $85 a barrel, said Finance Minister Darwish Al Balushi in November.

Brent was trading at $48.43 a barrel on Wednesday. Oman’s oil production fell in November to 926,000 barrels a day, the lowest since May 2013, according to figures on the Joint Organisations Data Initiative website.

In November, OPEC decided to keep its output unchanged despite sliding prices.

Oman’s oil minister said that he failed to understand how market share could be more important than revenue.

He said that OPEC’s policy might temporarily force high-cost producers out of the market but they would eventually come back, so OPEC was just causing volatility in the market.

Oman is a significant oil producer but is not an OPEC member. Other major oil producers like Venezuela and Iran are also

questioning the group’s decision to keep its output target unchanged even with crude prices falling.

“When compared to OPEC’s oil production, Oman, Venezuela and Iran are making only 20 or 25 per cent of it. It will not even come close to OPEC’s production,” added the Shura member.

Last November, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran’s oil minister, told reporters after the group’s meeting that OPEC’s decision to maintain its production ceiling at 30 million barrels a day was “not in line with what Iran wanted.”

Venezuela’s foreign minister Rafael Ramirez had also said on the Telesur television network in December that Venezuela hoped there would be a special OPEC meeting before its next scheduled meeting in June in an effort to reduce overproduction.

An economist in Oman said that the low price levels are 40 per cent due to low demand and 60 per cent due to oversupply.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are unwilling to cut production since they feel that others may not do the same and they will lose both revenue and market share.

“They also feel that they can close down the shale producers who are responsible for the oversupply. But what matters are marginal costs — the expense of retrieving oil once the holes have been drilled and pipelines have been laid.

“That number is more like $10 to $20 a barrel in the Gulf, and about the same for US shale-oil producers,” said Kishore Kumar, economist and chief executive officer of Advanced Business Consultants.

“So it may not be easy to reduce the output from shale operators in the short term. Then there is politics and Iran is among the worst affected nations,” added Kishore.

SAFETY FIRST

Insurance A1 will boost economy < FROM

A typical insurance policy for an average house in Oman is around OMR25 a month, according to information available with the Capital Market Authority (CMA). However, financial experts say that insuring private homes will also boost the economy and open up employment.

“There will be vast liquidity coming into the market if we all start a culture of insuring our homes. The insurance sector will grow and employ more people. My estimate, based on the number of private residences registered in the Ministry of Housing, is that it will inject about OMR450 million of new liquidity annually. That is 12 times more than it is now,” said Abdullah Al Ajmi, an independent financial expert.

It is not only storms that damage homes in Oman, but fire is another factor. Fires caused by faulty wiring or burning cigarette butts in the rubbish bin, have destroyed 153 homes in 2013 nationwide, according to the information available with the Royal Oman Police (ROP).

“In 2012, my five-bedroom house caught fire while we were sleeping. It was started by an electrical fault.

“If I had insured the house, I would have saved repair bills that amounted to nearly OMR12,000,” Nader Al Salami, who works at the Ministry of Defence, told Times of Oman.

The culture to insure homes should be the same as buying a policy for a car, urged an insurance expert.

“People would not dream of not insuring their cars, not because the law forces us to do it, but because we know it is common sense to do so. A car is not really an investment but a house is. A house also protects our families and gives us security. I think we all need to think about it in those terms,” said Fahad Al Hooti, an insurance broker.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

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There’s so much willingness within the orchestra.

People are so enthusiastic and you feel the energy. I wanted to come back and do something new with them Ruya Taner, Pianist

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With the political

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divisions and discord

We don’t speak the same language but we speak the same language through music. I do believe music builds bridges which politics doesn’t

which exist in Cyprus, Ruya believes there is a role for musicians in bridging the divide.

‘Art is a new life in what’s happening with all the darkness around us,’ she says

Ruya Taner

Pianist SARAH MACDONALD

sarah@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Ruya Taner is a pianist from an unrecognised country, but through music she hopes to show the world that Northern Cyprus is a peaceful place with people who want to be accepted.

Taner will be putting her belief that music can break down bar-

riers into practice tonight when she takes to the stage with the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra (ROSO) at the Al Bustan Palace Hotel. The concert, which will be conducted by British maestro Neil Thomson, will feature Mozart’s

Piano Concert No. 21 in C Major, K. 467 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E Flat Major “Eroica.”

“There’s so much willingness within the orchestra. People are so enthusiastic and you feel the energy. I wanted to come back and do

AC C A D E M I A T E AT R O A L L A S C A L A

SCHOOL BUS CRASH

Royal Opera House to host Giuseppe Verdi final opera Times News Service MUSCAT: A production of Giuseppe Verdi’s final opera, the witty and fun Falstaff by the youthful Accademia Teatro alla Scala from Milan, will be hosted

by Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) on January 29 and 30.

The three-act opera, Giuseppe Verdi’s 28th and last opera, premiered in 1893. It was based on a libretto adapted by Arrigo Boito based on two of Shakespeare’s plays, The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV, parts 1 and 2.

Falstaff is the story of the “fat knight,” Sir John Falstaff, who is broke and in need of a quick fix to his money woes. He decides to seduce two married women so he can access their husband’s money. Hilarity ensues when the merry wives, Nannetta Ford and Meg Page, figure out his plan and decide to punish him for it.

ROHM’s Artistic Director Umberto Fanni stated, “Though the great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi wrote 28 operas, only two were comedic, including this one, and it is well worth seeing.

It is packed with humorous deceit, freshness, originality and, of course, great music.

“The surprising vitality of Falstaff will always be in the hearts of the audience, not only because it is a work of great value and extraordinary creativity, but as piece of theatre full of the joy of life. I find this wonderful opera

THREE-ACT OPERA: Falstaff is the story of the ‘fat knight’ who is

broke and in need of a quick fix to his money woes. – Supplied picture

absolutely extraordinary for the music structure and from every other point of view. It is a summit of the art of all time, which also has the advantage of being very funny” This production is performed by the Accademia Teatro alla Scala from Milan, and is conducted

by Pietro Mianiti. The stage director is Stephen Medcalf and the production was created at Teatro Regio di Parma.

The sets and costumes were designed by Jamie Vartan and the lighting designer is Simon Corder. The chorus is from Teatro Regio of Parma conducted by Martino Faggiani. The cast features a number of young, up-andcoming international opera singers, many of whom are current or

something new with them,” Taner, who has played with ROSO once before, told Times of Oman.

She said she loves that in a region that makes the headlines most often for conflict, there is a country like Oman with an ac-

tive Arab orchestra and an opera house, proving that culture is still strong. Taner, who has also performed in Cairo’s opera house, said she is saddened by the political changes in the region that have restricted music and other art forms.

“I think art is a new life in what’s happening with all the darkness around us. As artists we can tolerate and teach people to be more forgiving and in peace with each other,” Taner explained.

Taner is from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a selfdeclared state which is only recognised by Turkey. The rest of the world considers it part of the Republic of Cyprus, despite the UN buffer zone which has divided the Mediterranean island since 1974.

Because of her country’s unrecognised status Taner, who studied music in England, has not been able to participate international competitions, but has toured as a concert pianist in over 55 countries. With the political divisions and discord which exist in Cyprus,

Taner believes there is a role for musicians in bridging the divide.

“I feel art is much more important in saying what you want to say. Of course politicians do all the talking but I believe we as artists can maybe make more of a statement with the way we perform and show the world we are here, too,” she said. Her collaboration with ROSO and Neil Thomson is an example of artists overcoming cultural differences, she said, since it will have Omani, TurkishCypriot and British musicians performing together.

She is also part of nine-pianist ensemble that features musicians from countries that have or have had conflicts, such as Greece and Turkey, Egypt and Israel, Iran and the USA. Though their governments may be at odds, the musicians perform together proving that music can go beyond borders.

“We don’t speak the same language but we speak the same language through music. I do believe music builds bridges which politics doesn’t,” Taner noted.

Taner’s concert with ROSO will be at the Oman Auditorium at Al Bustan Palace – A Ritz-Carlton Hotel tonight at 8pm. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets cost OMR12 and are available at the door.

former students of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala. Italian baritone Piero Terranova sings the lead role of Sir John Falstaff. Korean baritone Kwangyun Kim is Ford, while Korean tenor Sehoon Moon plays Fenton.

Azerbaijani tenor Azer Rzazade sings the role of Dr Cajus. Marco Voleri, a tenor from Italy, and Mikheil Kiria, a bass from Georgia, sing the roles of Falstaff’s followers Bardolfo and Pistola.

Italian soprano Alice Quintavalla is Ford, and Egyptian soprano Fatma Said is in the role of Nannetta Ford. Greek mezzosoprano Kleopatra Papatheologou is Ms. Quickly and Japanese mezzosoprano Aya Wakizono is Meg Page.

The opera will commence at 7.30pm.

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in the history of the school’

“When you have been driving for so long and something like this happens you do not know what to expect. I do not enjoy driving anymore,” he said.

However, the parents of children at Pakistan School dismissed his claims.

“My son said to me that the driver lost control over his vehicle as he was opening the mobile cover.

He wanted to see who was calling when he hit the vehicle,” claimed the father of Faizal Abdul Aziz, who was sitting behind the driver.

Faizal, who suffered injuries all over the body, was admitted to Khoula Hospital..

Another parent said that when one spots something on the road, one tends to avoid it and not hit it.

“He could have applied the brakes or he could have changed the lanes earlier,” said Habibul Rehman, the father of Jawad Habib who is still undergoing treatment at Muscat.

Jawad was sitting in the front after boarding the ill-fated bus from Al Hail South when it met with the horrific accident on Qurum Heights Road.

Improving Regarding his condition, Rehman said that his son was improving day by day. “He is still not getting his balance and the left hand is still not moving. He has started remembering a few things but becomes very hyper in front of guests,” he said.

Rehman is planning to take him to United States for further treatment. “We have some relatives

Faizal Abdul Aziz

there and we are planning shift him by the middle of this year for his recovery,” he said. The condition of another injured, Faizal Abdul Aziz, however, has not improved much. “I have shifted my family to Pakistan five months back but he is yet to regain his senses. People are advising me to take him to USA and Germany but I really do not know what to do,” said his father, Aziz on Monday.

Faizal suffered injuries on his head, chest, arms and legs in the accident. “His injuries are too extensive as he was sitting next to the conductor’s seat,” added Aziz.

Chairman of the Board of Directors Pakistan School Muscat, Muhammad Adnan Shehzad said, “It was the most tragic incident in the history of PSM where we lost three of our students and two of the injured ones are still under

treatment because of severe cerebral injuries. Currently, we do not have our own bus transport system but we are in contact with a few companies to hire a monitored bus transport system for our schools.

“As the Royal Oman Police (ROP) is the authority concerned in this matter, we expect some effectively designed laws in co-ordination with the Ministry of Education, regarding the status of school buses, training of school bus drivers and other effective restrictions which are being practiced in other countries as well,” said Shehzad.

Last year, the Pakistan School Muscat had opened a new branch of the school till Class VIII at Seeb.

It had been opened after 22 years — the PSM’s last branch was opened in Mussanah in the year 1992.

“The opening of the school is helping the children in Seeb and its adjoining areas as they had to travel to PSM Muscat earlier.

However, my elder son is still going to PSM Muscat as he is in Grade IX. Since the accident, the struggle has increased,” added Rehman.

Prayers Pakistan School Muscat will hold prayers for the school children on the school premises on Thursday.

“We will be observing one minute of silence besides holding prayers in the morning,” said Khalid Jatoon, principal of PSM. Pakistan Social Club, vice chairman, A H Raja, said that they will hold prayers and recitation of the Holy Quran in the evening on the school premises.

T W O - D AY C O N F E R E N C E

Data on social indicators of Omani youth shared Times News Service MUSCAT: As part of the activities of the two-day ‘National Conference on Social Indicators: Policy and Research Strategies’ organised by The Research Council (TRC), the organisation shared with the gathering the latest progress report about the first phase of setting up the Social Indicators Database (SID).

As a first phase towards setting up the SID of the Social Observatory Research Programme (SORP), a telephone survey on youth values for a sample of 1200 young Omani people aged 18 to 29 was carried out in collaboration with the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The survey addressed some values including youth preferences towards nuclear families and the relation between education and decision making and so on.

The project is being prepared and developed in co-operation with South Hampton University in the United Kingdom.

The conference, on its first day, covered four aspects and they were ‘Oman in 2040: A demographic inquiry’, ‘How to meas-

SURVEY: Aisha Al Bahri from the Research Council, at the

National Conference on Social Indicators: Policy and Research Strategies. – Supplied picture

ure social science capacity in the Arab region’, ‘Challenges in monitoring social change using key indicators: Lessons from China’, and a panel discussion on ‘Social change in Oman: Implications and challenges’.

The activities of the conference also included a lecture titled ‘Arab higher education youth and the new millennium: The changing scenario of higher education and development requirements’ organised by SORP in co-opera-

tion with Southampton University in the UK. The lecture was delivered in Arabic by Professor Seteney Shami, founding director of the Arab Council for the Social Sciences at the lecture hall at the Grand Mosque on Wednesday. The second day of the conference on January 22, will cover three main aspects that are functions and operations of the SID, social indicators for policy development and programme interventions, and

social indicators for interdisciplinary social science research.

Dr. Hilal Ali Al Hinai, secretary general of TRC, said, “This conference aims at showcasing what has been achieved so far of the initial trial surveys of the SORP, the team that is focused on developing the database with its basic indicators that help in the decisionmaking process.”

“We are now in the process of preparing the SID within the framework of activating the research system. This research system is being developed based on the efforts that are being put forward by the concerned institutions such as the NCSI or the other ministries or even by researchers at higher education institutions in Oman,” he said.

“The papers show samples of what can be presented in the future through SID that is currently in development stages along with some of the trial surveys carried out to know whether the followed mechanisms are the proper ones for the situations in the Sultanate and for developing the indicators in the Sultanate or whether we need to look for better ones,” said Dr. Hinai.

T H U R S DAY, JAN UARY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5 The inputs on embassies received through MyGov (http://mygov. in/groupis…/your-experience-at-the-embassy/show) would be very valuable for the Conference of Heads of Mission, being held in February Narendra Modi’s official facebook page

OMAN REVISED POLICY

GLOBAL DIPLOMACY

friendly countries in enhancing cooperation. Al Jabri gave a briefing on potentials, incentives and projects of the SEZD.

State Council okays new education ‘pathways’

CBO meeting Hamood bin Sangour Al Zadjali, executive president of the Central Bank of Oman, also welcomed Lord Aldermanat at the CBO Head Office. In the meeting, discussions were held on mutual collaboration between the Sultanate of Oman and the United Kingdom in the different areas of economy, finance and banking and the enhancement of such collaboration in a manner that serves the interest of the two friendly countries.

The two sides also discussed issues related to the banking and financial institutions sector in both countries.

The guest was briefed on the monetary and banking policy of the Sultanate as well as the most important regulatory rules and measures applied in the Omani banking sector.

MUSCAT: Proposals submitted by the Education Committee on revising education stages and ‘pathways’ in the Sultanate, have been approved by the State Council.

The approval came at the sitting of State Council yesterday.

The Chairman of the State Council pointed out that the study comes in response to the royal directives to revise the education policies in the Sultanate and as part of the existing cooperation between the State Council and the Education Council.

The study follows reviewing experiences of advanced countries in education, meetings with education officials and experts, and visiting a number of military and civil higher education institutions.–ONA

Sayyid Fahd, London Mayor discuss bilateral ties MUSCAT: His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, received in his office yesterday Alderman Alan Yarrow, Lord Mayor of the City of London.

HH Sayyid Fahd welcomed the guest and his accompanying delegation.

The meeting reviewed the bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and stressed on the desire to strengthen them to serve the joint interests of the both sides, besides enhancing cooperation in the economic, trade and the investment spheres.

The meeting also reviewed the situations at the international arena and the economic developments being witnessed globally.

Sayyid Fahd pointed out that the Sultanate is right on track in its developmental programme, thanks to the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Lord Mayor of London expressed his happiness on visiting the Sultanate, wishing that the vis-

ECONOMIC GROWTH: HH Sayyid Fahd welcomed Alderman Alan Yarrow, Lord Mayor of the City of

London, and his accompanying delegation. They reviewed bilateral relations, besides steps to enhance cooperation in economic, trade and the investment spheres.– ONA

it will contribute in supporting the joint cooperation efforts between the two countries.

The discussions were attended

by Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry.

SEZAD review Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (SEZAD), also received Alderman Alan Yarrow, Lord Mayor of the City of Lon-

don, on Wednesday. The meeting reviewed the existing bilateral relations, particularly in economic and investment fields and opportunities available for businessmen, as well as the role that can be played by the embassies of the two

NRIs urged to share inputs on embassies

W E AT H E R R E P O R T

Light rain in Darsait, Muttrah; skies clear STAFF REPORTER MUSCAT: Even though the skies over Muscat and surrounding areas were cloudy on Wednesday morning, residents of Darsait and Muttrah witnessed light rain.

However, the Oman Meteorological Department has predicted isolated light rain along the coastal areas with a dip in the temperature.

There are chances of dust rising over open areas and deserts, the OMD forecast has repeated.

“We have not received any reports of dust storms as predicted by the meteorological department,” said Bader Ali Al Baddaei, an administrator of www.rthmc. net, a local Web-based forum that discusses weather trends in Oman.

In its weather alert, the meteorological department predicted dust storms and reduced visibility in several parts of southern Oman.

Indian Prime Minister Modi has urged the Diaspora to share their inputs on certain aspects pertaining to the Indian embassies

REJIMON K reji@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who relies more on social media to reach out to people, has come up with a new post on his Facebook page to address the issues of the Indian Diaspora.

On his official Facebook account, the prime minister has urged the Diaspora to share their inputs on certain aspects pertaining to embassies.

“The inputs on embassies received through MyGov (http:// mygov.in/groupis…/your-experience-at-the-embassy/show) would be very valuable for the Conference of Heads of Mission, being held in February,” Modi, who ranks second behind only Barack Obama in number of fans of his official Facebook page (Modi has 21.8 million and counting), posted in his Facebook page.

A 2012 statistic released by Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs revealed that there are 21,909,875 Indians living abroad.

“Of course, we will be using the opportunity to share our inputs about the Indian embassy in Oman. We should not hold back in using any platform which can address concerns of Indian migrants,” said Shaji Sebastin, a Muscat based social worker.

“Even though, the present In-

A7

According to a government official, Monday rains could cost Oman more than OMR85 million.

“The reconstruction cost could go well over OMR85 million.

“The damage includes roads, bridges, government buildings and private homes in addition to schools and hospitals,” a civil defence department official, told Times of Oman.

Many parts of the country were lashed by rain with wind speeds reaching up to 80 kilometres per hour.

The meteorological department said that 35 millimetres of rain was recorded during the downpour. Snow and hailstorms were reported in some parts of the Sultanate while many wadis were choked with silt causing problems to the drainage.

An official from the Capital Market Authority (CMA) said that insurance companies would have to pay up to OMR10 million for damaged cars.

‘QUIZ NIGHT’

dian prime minister has failed to keep his promises so far, let us hope that at least this materialises,” added Shaji.

There are 603,473 Indians working in Oman. “A majority of the Indians in Oman are low-paid workers and they face umpteen problems. Sometimes, I feel that the embassy has to widen its horizons. We are not saying that the mission house is not doing anything here in Oman. But, I wish that it could try more to reach out more effectively for the welfare of the Indian community. I wish to share this input on the prime minister’s online platform,” said Shameer PTK, another social worker.

“There are facilities and help in place. But we need more as the number of Indians is high and eventually the problems are also high,” added Shameer.

In 1955, India opened its consulate in Muscat which was upgraded to a Consulate General in 1960 and 11 years later it became a full-fledged Embassy.

Community welfare To address the Indian community’s concerns in Oman, the embassy has a 24/7 emergency helpline and a toll free helpline which are active round the clock.

The emergency helpline of the embassy is a manned service, which is attended by the community welfare staff of the embassy.

All emergency calls are attended by a senior officer who is responsible for all aspects of the welfare of Indian residents in Oman.

In a reply to an RTI in September 2014, the embassy revealed that on an average, the mission office receives about 50 calls a

day on the helpline. Last year, in a move to ensure better service to Indians residing in Oman, the embassy had also extended its ‘Open House’ facilities.

‘Open House’ is an informal meeting held once a month at the embassy where officials from different wings, including the ambassador and a panel of lawyers, are present to listen to the consular and community welfare issues of Indians in Oman.

Until August 15, 2014, the ‘Open House’, was held once a month.

With a total volume of bilateral trade of $4.55 billion between 2012 and 2013, Oman is the 40th largest trade partner of India, the 34th largest market in the world for Indian exports, destination of more than 0.87 per cent of India’s global exports and source of 0.4 per cent of India’s global imports.

Dar Al Atta’a Let’s Read to host quiz Times News Service MUSCAT: Dar Al Atta’a’s Let’s Read Campaign will host a “Quiz Night” on January 30 at the Dolphin Centre Pool Deck.

Tickets, which include dinner will cost OMR10 per person.

All proceeds will to go to Maktabati, Oman’s first mobile library’s annual running costs.

Maktabati is an initiative of Dar Al Atta’a’s Let’s Read Campaign launched in 2013.

The Maktabati bus travels across Oman, giving children “greater access to good books and an opportunity to develop a love of reading.”

Based at the Public Knowledge Library in Qurum, the bus will

travel around the country visiting every day schools, parks and public places. It’s programme will also include literacy activities, story-telling sessions and good books for them all to discover.

Book exchange Children visiting Maktabati will be able to purchase their first book for just 500bzs. They can then exchange that book for another one on their next visit.

Tickets will be sold at the Let’s Read Book Shop in Al Qurum Complex (CCC shop 116 upstairs) from 10 to 1 pm and from 5 to 7 pm from Saturday to Thursday and from 5 to 7 pm on Friday.

Contact Sonia Carr on soniacarr44@gmail.com for details.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015 There is progress. We have grounds to believe that we will move forward within the parameters which were agreed upon in November and assume a resolution to the Iranian nuclear problem by the end of June 2015 Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister

REGION

GCC backs Hadi as Oman takes part in Yemen meet SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

The GCC states

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

reaffirmed that they would take the procedures necessary to safeguard their stability and security along with their vital interests in Yemen

SANAA/WASHINGTON/RIYADH: Yemen’s President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi won the support of Gulf neighbours on Wednesday and readied for talks with the minority sect Houthi militia who had attacked his residence, raising fears of a coup.

After an emergency meeting in Riyadh yesterday, foreign ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) accused Houthis of an attempted “coup” and expressed support for Hadi.

Yousef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Oman’s Minister Responsible for

Foreign Affairs, led the Sultanate’s delegation in the meeting.

The GCC warned it “would take all measures necessary to protect their security, stability and vital interests in Yemen.”

GCC support The GCC meeting discussed the latest developments in Yemen.

The Ministerial Council con- SENT PACKING: Members of the Yemeni presidential guards, demned the terrorist incidents wearing civilian clothes, leave the presidential palace with their in Yemen, the kidnapping of Dr. belongings, in Sanaa, on Wednesday. - Reuters Ahmed Awadh Mubarak, director of the Office of the Yemeni presiThe powerful militia, known as said at a regular briefing, the redent and secretary-general of the National Dialogue Conference Houthis, seized almost full control port said.

Psaki also said US counter-ter(NDC) and the assassination bid of the capital Sanaa in Septemon Khalid Mahfoudh Bahah, Yem- ber and have fought pitched bat- rorism cooperation with Yemen, tles with government forces this which has been critical to Amerieni Prime Minister.

The Council stressed the sig- week as they press for more politi- can efforts against Al Qaeda affiliates in the region, were continuing nificance of stability and unity cal power. at present. of Yemen as a top priority for the GCC States. The Council called US stand for the Houthis to stop the use of Meanwhile, the US State De- Defusing crisis force and withdraw from all ar- partment said that it considers A presidential source said Hadi eas under their control. The GCC Hadi the legitimate leader of was ready to bring together the states reaffirmed that they would Yemen, Reuters reported from country’s political factions, including the Houthis, and a UN take the necessary measures to Washington.

“Hadi remains the president special envoy in a bid to defuse the safeguard their stability and security along with their vital interests of the country and we remain in mounting crisis.

The envoy, Moroccan diplomat in Yemen,” said an Oman News touch with him,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki Jamal Benomar, was in Qatar and Agency report from Riyadh.

due to travel to Sanaa. “The meeting will take place, but we are still waiting for Mr. Jamal Benomar to arrive,” the source told AFP. A UN official said Benomar was not expected to travel to Yemen’s capital on Wednesday and could not give a date for his arrival.

Hadi earlier Wednesday received Houthi representative Saleh Al Sammad at his Sanaa residence, the source said.

The escalation has raised fears of a collapse of Hadi’s government, a key ally in America’s fight against Al Qaeda, and of the country descending into chaos.

Houthis raised stakes on Saturday by kidnapping Hadi’s chief of staff, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, in an apparent bid to extract changes to a draft constitution.

Saleh for early vote Mubarak is leading efforts to reform how Yemen is governed under a “national dialogue” set up after the then president Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced from power in February 2012 following a year of bloody protests.

Saleh’s party released a letter Wednesday it said the former strongman sent to Hadi a month earlier urging him to “hold early presidential and parliamentary elections to resolve the country’s crisis”. Saleh has been accused of backing the Houthis. -Agencies

DIPLOMACY

‘Progress on Iran nuclear talks possible

by June-end’ MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday there had been progress in world powers’ talks with Iran on its nuclear programme and there were grounds to believe an agreement could be reached by an end-June deadline.

The talks last year between Iran and the six powers - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - were extended until the end of June after failing to produce a breakthrough to end the long-running dispute over the programme.

A previous deadline had been set for last November to curb Tehran’s sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for gradually lifting sanctions against Iran.

“There is progress. We have grounds to believe that we will move forward within the parameters which were agreed upon in November and assume a resolution to the Iranian nuclear problem by the end of June 2015,” Lavrov told a news conference.

Iran rejects allegations by the United States and its allies that it is using its nuclear programme to develop the capability to produce atomic weapons but has refused to halt uranium enrichment. Tehran has been hit with US, European Union and UN Security Council sanctions as a result. -Reuters

FUNERAL

Thousands in Tehran mourn Iranian general killed by Israel TEHRAN: Thousands gathered on Wednesday in Tehran at a funeral procession for a Revolutionary Guards general killed by Israel, after his commander warned the Jewish state it should “await destructive thunderbolts”.

General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi died alongside six fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah group in the attack on Sunday near Quneitra on the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights.

Allahdadi’s coffin was draped in an Iranian flag as it was carried into a Guards base in southeast Tehran. He is to be buried on Thursday in Pariz, a town in the

southern province of Kerman.

“The path of martyr Allahdadi is unstoppable and will be continued until the liberation of the Holy Quds (Jerusalem) and obliteration of the Zionist regime,” Guards commander Major General Ali Jafari said at a ceremony at the base, according to the official IRNA news agency.

The mourners chanted “Death to Israel” and burned two Israeli flags. Allahdadi died alongside Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of an assassinated Hezbollah commander, and Mohammed Issa, a fighter responsible for the Lebanese group’s operations in Syria and Iraq.

An Israeli security source told AFP that one of its helicopters carried out the strike but a United Nations’ observer force in the Golan on Sunday raised the possibility that drones may have been used.

On Tuesday, Jafari took aim at Israel, saying “the Zionists should await destructive thunderbolts.”

“They have in the past seen our wrath,” he said, adding that the Guards “will continue its support for Muslim fighters and combatants in the region.” Once solely focused on fighting Israel, Hezbollah is now deeply involved in the war in neighbouring Syria, where it backs President Bashar Al Assad.

Iran is Assad’s main regional ally in his war against the majority sect rebels seeking to overthrow him. Hezbollah’s Al Manar television said the group’s six fighters were killed as they carried out reconnaissance.

The incident came days after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah threatened to retaliate against Israel for its repeated strikes on targets in Syria and boasted the movement was stronger than ever. He touted its sophisticated arsenal, including Fateh-110 missiles, which have a range of 200 kilometres (125 miles) or more and are capable of hitting much of Israel. -AFP

MOURNING: Iranian mourners express emotions during the funeral procession of Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi in Tehran on Wednesday. A commander of the Islamic republic’s Revolutionary Guards, Allahdadi, was killed in an Israeli air strike on Syria on the weekend. -AFP

T H U R S DAY, JAN UARY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

INDIA

SCAN FOR REPUBLIC DAY REHEARSAL

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

Obama visit reflects sea change in Indo-US ties Officials said of all the presidential visits so far, including that of the Bill Clinton in 2000, Obama’s travel to India 10 years later is the most ‘significant upping’ of the relationship

WA S H I N GTO N/ L O N D O N : President Barack Obama’s advancing of the State of the Union Address to accommodate his India visit is reflective of the “very big change” in Indo-US ties, even as no “big” surprises were on the cards during the trip, officials said on Wednesday.

Of all the presidential visits so far, including that of the Bill Clinton in 2000, Obama’s travel to India 10 years later is the most “significant upping” of the relationship, officials said.

This shows that the bilateral relationship between the two largest democratic countries of the world has matured and is no longer seen in the US from the prism of Pakistan and China, they said ahead of Obama’s three-day visit to India beginning on Sunday.

The State of the Union address, which he delivered on Wednesday, was advanced and it took place before the time it is usually held — around last week of January.

The advancement of the date for the address was co-ordinated earlier and there was no change in date.

Normally it is held on the last Tuesday of January, but there is no set

TAKING NO CHANCES: Security is increased at the Taj Mahal in preparation for the visit of US President Barack Obama, in Agra on Wednesday. - AFP

tradition. In the last few months, officials from the two countries have literally burnt the mid-night oil to put the relationship back on track and the new Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a series of steps to address the concerns of the US and so has the Obama Administration, a senior official said on condition of anonymity.

More opportunities Obama, sources said, quickly accepted the invitation to be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade as there is a sense in his Administration that India under Modi is energised, there are more opportunities for American businesses, and would be more influential in the coming years towards emerging as a key global power in its own right.

Also, unlike the rise of China there

is a feeling in the US that the rise of India or a strong India does not pose a threat to the US and in fact it is in the American national interest.

“So the need to embrace India and the visit is part of that US effort to reinvest in a rising Indian stock,” the sources said. Otherwise, there is no explanation to the fact that the President of the United States has changed the timing of the State of the Union Address and the fact that he is willing to take four days off from Washington DC just for one country, sources said.

India watchers familiar with the deliberations between the officials of the two countries said that so far all indications are that there would be no “big” surprises during Obama’s India trip.

Racing against time, officials from India and the US met in London on Wednesday to resolve issues that have come in the way

I L L E G A L A L L O C AT I O N S

‘Singh can’t shy away from responsibility in coal scam’ NEW DELHI: Day after Manmohan Singh was questioned by CBI, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday said the former prime minister cannot shy away from responsibility as he was the coal minister when the scam took place.

Javadekar, one of those who had first raised allegations regarding the coal scam, however, said it was Congress which should take the blame in the matter as it had made Singh, “a gentleman”, sign all the “bad” deals.

“The issue is very simple that he (Manmohan Singh) was the coal minister when this scam took place. Nobody has charged Singh with corruption, but definitely he was the signatory for all the illegal allocations.

Allegations “All the bad allocations were signed by him and this is what Congress did to him (Singh),” Javadekar said in response to allegations by Congress that the BJP-led government was pursu-

Manmohan Singh

ing a political vendetta against its leaders.

“Actually, the vendetta was by Congress against Manmohan Singh,” Javadekar said, adding, “We always think that Singh is a gentleman but the issue is you (Congress) made him sign all the bad deals...So, Congress has actually to apologise to the nation.

“That is the case and, therefore, the then prime minister cannot shy away from responsibility. I

think due process was followed and Congress should take the blame and apologise.”

A team of CBI officials examined the former prime minister at his residence three days back, before a January 27 deadline for the agency to submit a status report with a special CBI court.

Singh’s examination was in connection with a coal scam case relating to the allocation of Talabira-II block to Hindalco when he was also holding the coal portfolio, and in pursuance of the court’s December 16 order.

Meanwhile, the government has also refuted reported claims by some Congress leaders that the questioning of Singh was a “vindictive” act on its part.

BJP also welcomed examination of former prime minister by CBI in connection with the coal block allocation case and demanded that political beneficiaries of the scam also be questioned expeditiously to restore public confidence in the country’s governance system. - PTI

COMMENTS

Gadkari lights fuse with new comment on government FAIZABAD: In comments that could kick up a row, Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said the government at the Centre is of ‘Ram bhakts’ (devotees) and those who shout ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans.

Gadkari, a senior BJP leader, made these remarks on Tuesday while announcing the government’s decision to construct ‘Ram-Janki Marg’, connecting Ayodhya with Janakpur in Nepal. “...This is a government of ‘Ram bhakts’, government of those who shout ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans.

Hence I promise you that Ram Van Gaman Marg will also be upgraded to a national highway and the work will commence in four months,” the Union Road Trans-

port Minister said addressing an event in Uttar Pradesh’s Faizabad.

The minister was responding to the concerns raised by Faizabad BJP MP Lallu Singh about the condition of Ram Van Gaman Marg, connecting Ayodhya with Chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh.

According to the epic ‘Ramayana’, deity Rama took this route to reach the Chitrakoot forest to serve an exile of fourteen years after abandoning his claim to Kosala’s throne.

The minister announced the construction of ‘Ram-Janki Marg’ at a cost of Rs200 billion.

The road will connect Ayodhya with Janakpur in Nepal, to which Sita, the wife of deity Rama in the

epic ‘Ramayana’, belonged.

“Rama is our ideal, and we will not destroy ‘Ram Setu’ (Adams bridge) in Tamil Nadu, instead we will develop it,” Gadkari said.

Uttar Pradesh minister and SP leader Azam Khan took a swipe at Gadkari for his remarks and said the government of disciples of deity Rama should not “harass people” of other faiths”.

“We hold deity Rama in a very high esteem. We honour him and we consider him as pure as the Hindu society considers him...

“We have no complaints about this (construction of road).But let the government of disciples of Rama not harass people of other faiths,” he said. - PTI

A9

of operationalising the landmark civil nuclear deal with President Barack Obama due here in four days’ time.

Civil nuclear deal Meanwhile, US Ambassador to India, Richard Verma, also exuded hope that there will be progress on the deal. “We continue to be hopeful of implementing the civil nuclear agreement to fulfil the PM (Narendra Modi’s) goal of providing electricity to all Indians by 2020,” he said at an event here.

The talks of the Indo-US Contact Group centred on the ticklish liability issue which has stalled the implementation of the agreements inked in 2005 between the then US president George Bush and former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

The officials are believed to have made progress in the London parleys. - PTI

C A B I N E T C O M M I T T E E O N PA R L I A M E N TA RY A F FA I R S

Ordinances in focus as budget session schedule approved NEW DELHI: The General Budget will be presented on February 28, a Saturday, in the Budget session of Parliament beginning on February 23 during which the government will also seek to convert six recent ordinances into legislations.

Parliament will have a special sitting on Saturday, a holiday, for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to present the Budget which will be preceded by the Economic Survey on February 27 and Railway Budget on February 26.

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs which met here on Tuesday recommended to the president the schedule of the Budget session.

A senior minister said that in the past too, Budget has been presented on a Saturday if it happened to be the last day of February, traditionally the day for budget presentation.

The session, being the first in the new year, will begin with the President’s address to the joint sitting of the two Houses on which there will be discussion and a vote on a Motion of Thanks.

The first part of this session will continue till March 20. The second part will commence after a month-long recess from April 20. The session will conclude on May 8, official sources said.

Parliamentary committees will examine the demands for grants of the various ministries during the recess.

The Motion of Thanks to the President’s address will be debated on February 24 and 25.

During the session, government will push for passage of Bills on six ordinances promulgated recently. The ordinances include those on coal, mines and minerals, e-rickshaws, amendment to Citizenship Act, Land Acquisition and the one on FDI in insurance sector.

The government is especially

While the first part of the Session is likely to have 26 sittings, the second part would have 19 sitings. A total of 66 bills, including nine in the Rajya Sabha, are pending in Parliament

under pressure to legislate the ordinance on insurance sector and the coal sector in view of the fact that the new systems in place for attracting FDI in insurance and for auctioning of coal blocks are not disturbed.

“We have decided to highlight the number of ordinances issued

by Congress governments during tenures of (Jawaharlal) Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu told reporters after the meeting.

While the first part of the Session is likely to have 26 sittings, the second part would have 19 sitings. A total of 66 bills, including nine in the Rajya Sabha, are pending in Parliament.

The meeting, chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, was attended by Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, Chemicals Minister Ananth Kumar, Minorities Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, Naidu and his two Ministers of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Rajiv Pratap Rudy. - PTI

A10

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

FIND-IT-ALL

PRAYER TIMINGS

W E AT H E R

Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Fajr (Tomorrow)

12.23pm 3.30pm 5.51pm 7.05pm 5.32am

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 Al Hashar, Ruwi1 24 Hr Br. Tel. 24537080 Muscat, Al Sarooj. Tel: 24695536 Belqees, Al Khoudh (OIB) Tel. 24535398 Belqees, Ma’abelah. Tel: 24454624 Dhofar Region Muscat, Al Nahdha Road, Salalah.

Tel. 23291635

CLEAR to partly cloudy skies over northern governorates of the Sultanate with chances of isolated rain along the coastal areas and clear over rest of the Sultanate with chances of isolated rain along the coastal areas and clear over rest of the Sultanate with decreasing temperature. Chances of dust rising over open areas and deserts.

EXPECTED WIND: Wind will be northerly to northwesterly light to moderate over most of the Sultanate while it will be occasionally fresh over the coastal areas.

SEA STATE: Moderate to rough along most of the southeastern coast of the Sultanate coasts with maximum wave height range between 2.75 metres. While it will be slight to moderate with a maximum wave height of 2.0 metres.

HORIZONTAL VISIBILITY: Good over most of the Sultanate becoming poor during fog formation.

THE NEXT 48 HOURS OUTLOOK: Mainly clear skies over most of the Sultanate with chances of late night to low level clouds over the governorates of Al-Buraimi, Al-Dhahira, Al-Wusta and also Musandam western coast and Oman Sea coast.

HOSPITALS 1st Chiropractic Centre: 24472274 Al Amal Medical & Health Care Centre: 24485052 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 Hamdan Hospital: 23212340 International Medical Centre LLC: 24794501/2/3/4/5 Kims Oman Hospital: 24760100 24 Hrs Emergency: 24760123 Lama Polyclinic, Sohar: 26751128,

OMAN Max 22 Min 15

Max 21 Min 15

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

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

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, SatWed 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, Thursday: 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

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

Max 22 Min 14 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

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI)

Max 22 Min 8

Max 20 Min 10

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

Max 25 Min 17

Max 21 Min 5

UNITED KINGDOM: A man runs through a snow covered park in

Buxton, central England. -Reuters

Max 25 Min 17

—www.met.gov.om

WORLD

Max 2 Min -4 Max -5 Min -11

Max 20 Min 7 Max 0 Min -1

Max 28 Min 22

Max 25 Min 12

Max 24 Min 12

Max 29 Min 22

Abu Dhabi Doha Dubai Kuwait Manama Riyadh Athens Baghdad Barbados Beijing Berlin Boston Brussels Buenos Aires Cairo Chicago Colombo Copenhagen Dublin Frankfurt Harare Hong Kong Istanbul Jerusalem Johannesburg

Max

Min

21 20 26 18 19 20 17 19 22 4 2 1 3 28 25 7 31 2 6 3 26 18 12 15 25

13 8 14 7 9 3 10 5 18 -8 0 -6 1 22 7 0 22 1 3 0 14 7 6 4 15

Kuala Lumpur Lisbon London Madrid Manila Mexico City Miami Moscow New Delhi New York Oslo Panama Paris Perth Prague Rio de Janeiro Santiago Seoul Singapore Stockholm Sydney Taipei Tokyo Toronto Vienna

Max

Min

30 13 -5 9 29 23 27 0 20 2 -1 30 5 34 4 29 31 6 29 0 28 17 10 -5 7

23 10 -11 2 22 9 21 -1 7 -4 -3 24 3 18 1 25 13 -2 24 -1 22 10 7 -9 4

EVENTS

Muscat Festival 2015, January 15 to February 14 Tour of Oman 2015 starts from February 17, 2015 and ends on February 22

EdTechTeam Oman Summit, organised by the EdTechTeam, Inc. will take place from 30th January to the 31st January 2015 at the American International School of Muscat.

Interior Design Decor & Furniture Expo, Oman International Exhibition Centre | Muscat, Oman | 17-19 Feb 2015.

The BIG Show Muscat, Oman International Exhibition Centre| Muscat, Oman | 30 Mar-02 Apr 2015.

The Oman Contractors Forum, organised by the IQPC will take place from 26th January to the 27th January 2015 at the Grand Hyatt Muscat in Muscat.

Times Great India Education Fair Muscat is a 2 day event being held from 20th February to the 21st February 2015 at the Al Falaj Hotel.

TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

Operating Days Daily Daily Daily

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

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

Daily Daily Daily via Ibri Daily Daily Daily Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52) 17:30 Sinaw

20:50

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

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 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

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

Daily Daily Daily via Ibri Daily Daily Daily Daily

Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52) 07:00 Ruwi

10:25

Daily

16:50 19:30

Daily Daily

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

08:40 11:00

Daily Daily

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

10:20 12:30

Daily Daily

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

17:55 20:20

Daily Daily

TO SUR (Route 55) 07:30 Sur 14:30 Sur

12:00 18:45

Daily Daily

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

10:45 19:00

Daily Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (Route 62) 06:30 Fahud 06:30 Yibal

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

16:50

Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101) 06:00 Marmul

16:30

Daily

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

Daily

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

Daily

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 LISTINGS 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

CINEMA SCHEDULE

BAHJA CINEMA American Sniper (2D) (Act ) (15+) Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller 2:45, 7:00, 9:15, 11:45 pm Mortdecai (2D)(Act | Crime) (12+) Cast: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor 5:15, 9:30, 7:15 pm Baby (2D)(Action | Crime) (12+) Cast: Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Tapsee Pannu 9:00 pm Barbie in Princess Power (2D) (Animation) (PG) Cast: Rebecca Husain, Britt Irvin 2:00, 3:45 pm The Book of Life (3D)( Ani) (TBC) Cast: Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana 3:30, 5:15 pm The Book of Life (2D)( Ani) (TBC) 2:00 pm Reach Me (2D)( Drama) (15+) Cast: Lauren Cohan, Kyra Sedgwick 5:15 PM Wolf Creek 2 (2D)( Horror) (18+) Cast: John Jarratt, Ryan Corr 7:00, 11:55pm Taken 3 (2D) (Action | Crime) (12+) Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, 11:30 pm

Barbie In Princess Power (2D): (Animation) (PG) Cast: Rebecca Husain, Britt Irvin, Michael Kopsa 10:15 am & 02:45 pm The Book Of Life (3D) (Animation/Adventure) (PG)

Cast: Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana 11:45 AM & 03:30 pm The Book Of Life (2D) (Animation/Adventure) (PG) 10:00 am Taken-3 (2D) (Action/Thriller) (12+) Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker 05:15 pm Mortdecai (2D) (Act/Comedy) (12+) Cast: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor 01:30 PM & 07:15 pm Gold Class: 01:45 pm & 06:15 pm American Sniper (2D) (Act) (15+) Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, 06:15, 09:15 & 11:45pm Gold Class: 03:45 & 11:15 pm Baby (Hindi) (2D) (Action/Crime) Cast: Akshay Kumar, Tapsee Pannu 11:45 am & 08:45 pm.

Gold Class: 08:15 pm Wolf Creek (2D)(Horror) (18+) Cast: John Jarratt, Ryan Corr 04:15 & 11:45 pm

SCREEN 1 Baby - Hindi - (Thriller | Act) (12+ ) Cast: Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu, Rana Daggubati, Anupam Kher, Kay Kay Menon 2.30, 5.30, 8.30, 11.45 pm SCREEN 2 Dolly Ki Dolly (Co | Drama ) (TBC) Cast: Sonam Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma 3.30, 5.30, 7.30, 11.55 pm Alone - Hindi - ( Horror) (18+ ) Cast: Bipasha Basu, Karan Singh Grover, Sagar Saikia, Zakir Hussain 9.30 pm

SCREEN 3 P. K (Comedy | Drama | Social) (PG ) Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma , Sanjay Dutt 3.30, 8.45 pm Alone - Hindi - (Thriller) (18+ ) Cast: Bipasha Basu, Karan Singh Grover, Sagar Saikia, Zakir Hussain 6.15, 11.45 pm

Mortdecai– 2D (12+) Act | Co Cast: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor 02:45, 07:15, 09:00 PM American Sniper– 2D (15+) Act | Bio Cast: Bradley Cooper, Kyle Gallner 03:00, 04:45, 09:15, 11:45 pm The Book of Life– 2D (PG)Animation | Adventure Cast: Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana 03:15 pm The Book of Life– 3D (PG) Animation | Adventure 05:00, 06:45pm Baby – 2D (12+) Act | Crime Cast: Akshay Kumar, Tapsee Pannu 08:30, 11:00 pm Taken 3 – 2D (12+) Act | Crime Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace 11:30 pm Barbie in Princess Power– 2D (PG) Animation Cast: Rebecca Husain, Britt Irvin 03:15, 04:45 pm I (Tamil) – 2D (12+) Action | Fantasy Cast: Anna Shurochkina, Ivan Okhlobystin, Anna Khilkevich 06:15pm Dolly Ki Doli– 2D (….)Com Cast: Malaika Arora, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Sonam Kapoor 09:30 pm

Wolf Creek 2– 2D (18+) Horror Cast: John Jarratt, Ryan Corr 07:00, 11:30 pm [REC] 3: Genesis– 2D (15+)Horror Cast: Leticia Dolera, Diego Martín, Ismael Martínez 05:30 pm

The Book of Life (3D) (Anim ) (TBC) Cast: Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana 02:15, 04:30 pm Taken 3 (Act | Thriller) (12+) Cast: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace 02:15, 11:30 pm I (Tamil) (Act | Fantasy | Ro) (12+) Cast: ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram, Amy Jackson, Upen Patel 05:30 pm [REC] 3: Genesis (Horror) (15+) Cast: Leticia Dolera, Diego Martín, Ismael Martínez 04:00 pm Mortdecai (Action | Comedy) (12+) Cast: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor 02:30, 06:45, 09:15 pm American Sniper (Action | Biography | Drama) (15+) Cast: Bradley Cooper, Kyle Gallner 04:15, 09:00, 11:45pm Baby(Hindi) (Action | Crime | Mystery) (12+) Cast: Akshay Kumar, Tapsee Pannu 06:15, 08:45, 11:15 pm

American Sniper (2D) ( Act ) (12+) Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner.

03:30, 9:00, 11:30 pm The Book of Life (3D)(Adv ) Cast: Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, 02:00

pm I (Tamil) (Act | Fantasy) (12+) Cast: ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram, Amy Jackson, Upen Patel, 03:45 pm Taken-3 (Action | Thriller) (12+) Cast: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace 6:00 pm Baby (Hindi) ( Act / Mystery ) (12+) 08:00, 11:00 pm Mortdecai ( English ) (Act ) (12+) Cast : Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow,07:00pm.

Taken 3 (2D/12+) (Act/Crime) 9:15pm American Sniper (2D/15+) (Act/B) Miller, Kyle Gallner 11:30 am, 9:15, 11:45 pm Barbie in Princess Power (2D) (Animation) 2:00pm The Book of Life (2D/TBC) (Animation/Adventure) 11:15 am The Book of Life (3D/TBC) (Animation/Adventure) 3:30, 5:30pm Mortdecai (2D/12+) (Act/Co) 1:00, 5:15, 7:15 pm Wolf Creek 2 (2D/18+) (Horror) 7:15, 11:30 pm I – (Tamil) (2D/12+) (Act/Fantasy) 3:30pm Dolly Ki Doli (2D/TBC) (Co/R) Cast: Malaika Arora, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Sonam Kapoor 6:45 pm Baby (2D/12) (Action/ Crime/Mystery) 12:30, 8:40 pm

American Sniper (Action) Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes, Kyle Gallner, Jake McDorman 3.30, 7.30 9.30 & 11.55 pm CP No :2015 /181 (15+) Mortdecai (Action/comedy) Cast: Johny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow,Evan Mc Gregore 4.00, 10.00 , & 11.55 pm CP No : 2015/182 ( 12+ ) Reach Me (Drama) Lawren Chan , Sylvester Stallon, Kyra Sedgwick 2.00 & 5.45pm CP No : 2015/180 (15+) Taken 3: (Action) : Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace 7.30 pm. CP No : 2015/153 ( 12+ ) Barbie in Princess Power : (Animation) Britt Irvin, Michael Kopsa, Kelly Sheridan 2.00 & 6.00pm. CP No :2015/179 (PG)

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

STARS CINEMA Film information 24791641 / 24786776 “I” (Tamil) ( Action\Thriller) Cast: Vikram, Amy Jackson 2:30, 6:15pm Cinema Main, 9:30pm Cinema 2, 9:45pm Cinema 3, 9:45pm Cinema 4 Baby - Hindi - (Thriller | Act) (12+ ) Cast: Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu, Rana Daggubati, Anupam Kher, Kay Kay Menon 3:45 & 6:45 pm Cinema 3, 10 pm Cinema Main Mylanchi Monchulla Veedu (Mal) (Rom/Com) Cast: Jayram & Asif Ali 3:30 & 6:30pm Cinema 2 Chinnadana Nee Kosam (Tel)(Com) Cast: Nitin Reddy & Misnti 3:45 pm Cinema 4 P K (Hindi) (Comedy) Cast: Aamir Khan, Sanjay Dutt 6:45 pm Cinema-4

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

T H U R S DAY, JAN UARY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

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SNOW-COVERED LAKE

PHOTO GALLERY

A general view of people visiting the snow-covered Hanna Lake after a snowfall on the outskirts of Quetta on Wednesday. — Reuters

FRESH ELECTION DEMANDED

PTI to Sharif and his cabinet: Quit over fuel crisis ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) on Wednesday demanded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his cabinet step down due to their failure to resolve the ongoing fuel crisis in the country.

The prime minister and his cabinet should resign and there should be fresh elections,” PTI Information Secretary Dr Shireen Mazari said at a press conference in Islamabad, adding that no one from the government had taken responsibility for the crisis.

She expressed concern over an electricity crisis, which she believed was in the making. “There will be no electricity in the coming days as furnace oil reserves are running empty,” she added.

Mazari said the incumbent government had abdicated its authority during the last few months, therefore, should no longer remain in power.

“It is the ISPR which is issuing statements on the war on terror, but it is the responsibility of the information ministry,” she pointed out.

“The government has done nothing regarding the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), except conducting meetings while the army has played its role,” she added.

Taking credit for the reduction in petroleum prices, she said, “It was because of our sit-in that the government reduced prices.”

Not return Responding to a question regarding acceptance of PTI resignations from the Sindh Assembly, Mazari said, “Resignations in Karachi have been accepted, and it seems resignations in Punjab and the National Assembly would be accepted soon.”

“We will not return to assemblies unless our demand of the judicial commission is met, and until there is investigation into rigging of the 2013 general elections,” she added.

“The government had made a commitment to constitute a judicial commission, but backtracked on it.”

The PTI ended its protest campaign and 126-day long sit-in

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

Local IS commander, accomplices arrested Intelligence sources said that Yousaf

The minister of petroleum should have resigned, or the prime minister should have fired him. This is a ghost government. The prime minister and federal ministers are enjoying perks and privileges, and are not doing anything else Dr Shireen Mazari

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf official keeping in view the security and political situation after the Peshawar attack.

“The PTI has supported the government in the war against terrorism, while putting aside differences,” she added.

When asked about the status of dialogue with the government, Mazari said talks were moving forward and there was flexibility in the government’s response.

“The government has shown flexibility because it knows really well that the PTI has street power and can put it to a standstill,” the PTI information secretary said.

Responding to another question, she said “PTI had not called off its sit-in on the orders of the army.”

“We had neither come out on the streets, nor called off our sitin based on directions from the army,” she clarified.

Talking about her party’s support in the setting up of military courts in the country, she said PTI did not want to damage the national consensus.

When asked about PTI’s plan about participation in the upcoming Senate elections, Mazari said the party has yet to take a decision in this regard. — Express Tribune

A1 1

Al Salafi, who was arrested in the eastern city of Lahore, had confessed during his interrogation that he represented the IS group in Pakistan

LAHORE: Pakistani security forces have arrested a man they believe is the commander of the IS group in the country as well as two accomplices involved in recruiting and sending fighters to Syria, intelligence sources said on Wednesday.

Authorities in South Asia are concerned about the rise of the extremist group in a region already beset by home-grown insurgencies fighting to topple local governments.

Three intelligence sources, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the man, Yousaf Al Salafi, was arrested in the east-

LOOMING MENACE: A Yazidi Iraqi woman sits with her children at the Bajid Kandala camp near the Tigris River, in Kurdistan, where they took refuge after fleeing advances by IS in Iraq on August 13, 2014. — AFP file photo

ern city of Lahore and confessed during interrogation that he represented IS in Pakistan.

“Al Salafi is a Pakistani Syrian who reached Pakistan through Turkey five months ago,” said one source. “He crossed into Turkey from Syria and was caught there.

Somehow he managed to escape and reached Pakistan to establish ISIS (IS).”

The account could not be independently verified.

The source said one of his accomplices, Hafiz Tayyab, was a

prayer leader in Lahore and was involved in recruiting Pakistanis and sending them to fight alongside IS in Syria, charging IS about $600 per person.

No operational links Rifts among the Taliban and disputes about the future of the insurgency have contributed to the rise of IS’ popularity but security sources believe there are no operational links yet between IS and South Asia.

Disgruntled former Taliban

Al Salafi is a Pakistani Syrian who reached Pakistan through Turkey five months ago. He crossed into Turkey from Syria and was caught there. Somehow he managed to escape and reached Pakistan to establish IS

commanders have formed the socalled Khorasan chapter - an umbrella IS group covering Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and other South Asian countries - in recent months but have not been involved in any fighting.

Video address Their leader, Hafiz Saeed Khan Orakzai, a former Pakistani Taliban commander, appeared in a video address this month urging people in the region to join the group. — Reuters

M U M B A I AT TA C K S S U S P E C T

‘No request to hand over Lakhvi received’

Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has denied reports of the United Kingdom and Washington asking for the handover of alleged Mumbai attacks mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi to India or to them for his “independent trial” to help improve ties between the two neighbouring countries.

“No one has asked or sent any formal request to the government to handover the person (Lakhvi) to India or any other country,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam told Times of India.

According to the Times of India, Federal Investigation Agency’s

prosecution chief Chaudhry Azhar informed the Islamabad High Court on Monday that two countries had asked Pakistan to hand over Lakhvi. However, he did not name the counties.

Although media reports suggested the US and London had written to Pakistan and sought Lakhvi’s custody.

On December 18, an anti-terrorism court granted bail to the alleged mastermind of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.

However, a day later the government detained him under Maintenance of Public Order.

However, the Islamabad High Court suspended the detention order of Lakhvi, a move the federal government challenged in the apex court.

On January 19, the Islamabad Capital Territory administration extended the detention order of Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, for another 30 days.

Deputy Commissioner of Islamabad Mujahid Sherdil issued a notification extending the detention of Lakhvi under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order in Adiala jail. — Express Tribune

A12

T IME S O F O MAN

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

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Charlie Hebdo rekindles debate on free expression

T

he lead article in the first edition of Charlie Hebdo after the massacre at its Paris offices raised a thorny, sensitive question. After thanking all those who had shown solidarity with the magazine, its editor in chief, Gérard Biard, asked a question that, he said, “torments us”: “Are we finally going to rid our political and intellectual vocabulary of the dirty term ‘laïcard intégriste’?” Loosely translated, those words mean “die-hard secularist.” What Biard was challenging was the argument that committed secularists like himself and the staff of Charlie Hebdo had essentially brought this tragedy upon themselves, and that there is, by implication, a sort of moral equivalence between deeply held secularist views and the “religious totalitarianism” — his words — that he and his staff loved to skewer.

Even as people lamented the massacre, he wrote, some of them offered a maddening qualifier: “Yes, we condemn terrorism, but…”

“Yes, burning down a newspaper is bad, but... We have heard it all, and our friends as well...”

Obviously there can be no “but” in condemning the murderous attack on Charlie Hebdo, or the ideology that encourages murder in the name of religion. Irreverent magazines like Charlie Hebdo have been a fixture in Western societies for many years, and France has a strong tradition of such journalism. The Internet, moreover, has opened the door to almost every level and form of expression. Yet there are legitimate questions raised about freedom of expression in this tragedy. In the wake of the terror attack, French authorities began aggressive enforcements of a law against supporting or justifying terrorism, including arrests of people who spoke admiringly about the shootings at Charlie Hebdo. Not surprisingly, their actions have raised questions of a double standard — one for cartoonists who deliberately insult religion, when their cartoons are certain to antagonise Muslims at a time when anti-Muslim feelings are already at high levels in France and across much of Europe, and another for those who react by applauding terrorists. The difference, according to French authorities, is between the right to attack an idea and the right to attack people or incite hatred. The distinction is recognised in the various laws against hate speech or inciting violence that exist in most Western states.

Freedom of expression is broader in the United States, but there, too, there are legal limitations on speech that involves incitement, libel, obscenity. Tastes, standards and situations change, and in the end it is best for editors and societies at large to judge what is fit — or safe — to print. That the tragedy in Paris has served to raise these questions is in no way an insult to the members of the Charlie Hebdo staff who perished. Shocking people into confronting reality was, after all, what their journal — which they proudly called a “journal irresponsable” — was all about. - The New York Times News Service

COMMENTARY

Behold the politics of economic immaturity JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ

A decaying civil service

T

he failure to create and maintain an education system that was fit for purpose was always going to have a long-term knock-on effect.

The latest report by the Federal Public Service Commission of Pakistan makes for depressing reading. It concludes that the entire civil service, from top to bottom, “is in need of urgent revision and revamping”. It was noted that the standard of education is deteriorating across all disciplines, which makes it difficult to fill posts, and there are currently 5,776 vacancies in technical and professional ex-cadre posts from grades BS17-22. A significant part of the problem is the connectivity between a poor state education system, which has failed to keep pace with the academic needs of a changing employment environment. The rise of the private sector in education is also creaming off the best and the brightest students, who find little or no attraction in working for a civil service that is defined by its mediocrity.

Many of the most able students seek higher education abroad, and having qualified look for jobs abroad as well, as again there is little attraction in working in a country which has a crumbling infrastructure and a security environment that darkens almost by the day. Little has changed in the civil services since 1981 when the current CSS syllabus was introduced — a time long before the internet and other technological revolutions. Posts also lie vacant because of poor quota mechanisms. A measure of the poor quality of candidates taking the written test to join the CSS is that a mere 3,467 out of 64,368 applicants passed between 2009 and 2013.

This is a slow-burn disaster that has developed over 30 years or more and is not susceptible to a quick fix. It is the failure of the education system at primary and secondary levels, coupled with deteriorating academic standards in higher education that has created a climate of second-best — and sliding. Many of the problems of Pakistan today track back to the education crisis, and the recent declaration of an ‘education emergency’ may well be too little, too late. - The Express Tribune

More effective drainage system needed in Oman This refers to the news story, 85 million Omani rials cost of the rain (January 21). The rain and the resultant flooding caused some damage. But what surprises me is the fact that the country still does not have proper flood control system though it has been severely hit earlier. It was shocking to see the extent of damage the latest spell of rain caused. The cost of reconstruction will certainly hurt, more so in view of the difficult times owing to the falling crude.

It is time now for the authorities to consider putting in place an effective flood control system because the country cannot afford to spend a huge amount of money on reconstruction and repair for the damages caused each time it rains. Oman should now seriously

mull constructing proper drainage system and canals.

Yasser Latif Muscat

Rain has been a bane and not a boon in Sultanate This refers to the news story, 85 million Omani rials cost of the rain (January 21). The latest spell of rain brought in a taste of winter in Muscat but this has come at a very high cost. Learning about the cost of reconstruction that the government would have to bear, it felt bad. I had just hailed the rain as a boon but now, as it turned out, I think it was more a bane. Honestly speaking, I would not like to have another taste of winter here in Oman again if that would cost the nation so dearly.

I think more needs to be done to

The near-global stagnation witnessed in 2014 is man-made. It is the result of politics and policies in several major economies — politics and policies that choked off demand. In the absence of demand, investment and jobs will fail to materialise.

It is that simple

I

n 2014, the world economy remained stuck in the same rut that it has been in since emerging from the 2008 global financial crisis. Despite seemingly strong government action in Europe and the United States, both economies suffered deep and prolonged downturns. The gap between where they are and where they most likely would have been had the crisis not erupted is huge.

In Europe, it increased over the course of the year.

Developing countries fared better, but even there the news was grim. The most successful of these economies, having based their growth on exports, continued to expand in the wake of the financial crisis, even as their export markets struggled. But their performance, too, began to diminish significantly in 2014. In 1992, Bill Clinton based his successful campaign for the US presidency on a simple slogan: “It’s the economy, stupid.” From today’s perspective, things then do not seem so bad; the typical American household’s income is now lower. But we can take inspiration from Clinton’s effort. The malaise afflicting today’s global economy might be best reflected in two simple slogans: “It’s the politics, stupid” and “Demand, demand, demand.”

The near-global stagnation witnessed in 2014 is man-made. It is the result of politics and policies in several major economies — politics and policies that choked off demand. In the absence of demand, investment and jobs will fail to materialise. It is that simple. Nowhere is this clearer than in the eurozone, which has officially adopted a policy of austerity — cuts in government spending that augment weaknesses in private spending. The eurozone’s structure is partly to blame for impeding adjustment to the shock generated by the crisis; in the absence of a banking union, it was no surprise that money fled the hardest-hit countries, weakening their financial systems and constraining lending and investment.

In Japan, one of the three “arrows” of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s programme for economic revival was launched in the wrong direction. The fall in GDP that followed the increase in the consumption tax in April provided further evidence in support of Keynesian economics — as if there was not enough already. The US introduced the smallest dose of austerity, and it has enjoyed the best economic performance. But even in the US, there are roughly 650,000 fewer public-sector employees than there were before the crisis; normally, we would have expected

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The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism SIR WILLIAM OSLER

some two million more. As a result, the US, too, is suffering, with growth so anaemic that wages remain basically stagnant.

Much of the growth deceleration in emerging and developing countries reflects China’s slowdown.

China is now the world’s largest economy (in terms of purchasing power parity), and it has long been the main contributor to global growth. But China’s remarkable success has bred its own problems, which should be addressed sooner rather than later.

The Chinese economy’s shift from quantity to quality is welcome — almost necessary. And, though President Xi Jinping’s fight against corruption may cause economic growth to slow further, as paralysis grips public contracting, there is no reason for Xi to let up. On the contrary, other forces undermining trust in his government — widespread environmental problems, high and rising levels of inequality, and private-sector fraud — need to be addressed with equal vigour. In short, the world should not expect China to shore up global aggregate demand in 2015.

If anything, there will be an even bigger hole to fill.

Meanwhile, in Russia, we can expect Western sanctions to slow growth, with adverse effects on an already weakened Europe. For the past six years, the West has believed that monetary policy can save the day. The crisis led to huge budget deficits and rising debt, and the need for deleveraging, the thinking goes, means that fiscal policy must be shunted aside.

The problem is that low interest rates will not motivate firms to invest if there is no demand for their products. Nor will low rates inspire individuals to borrow to consume if they are anxious about their future. What monetary policy can do is create asset-price bubbles. It might even prop up the price of government bonds in Europe, thereby forestalling a sovereign-debt crisis. But it is important to be clear: the likelihood that loose monetary policies will restore global prosperity is nil.

This brings us back to politics and policies. Demand is what the world needs most. The private sector — even with the generous support of monetary authorities — will not supply it. But fiscal policy can.

We have an ample choice of public investments that would yield high returns — far higher than the real cost of capital — and that would strengthen the balance sheets of the countries undertaking them.

The big problem facing the world in 2015 is not economic. We know how to escape our current malaise. The problem is our stupid politics. -Project Syndicate

create a better drainage system in the Sultanate so that the rains do not create the kind of damage that they did this time.

Shabnam Rehman Wadi Kabir

Shifting Al Nahda Hospital will be the best option This refers to the news story, Council of Ministers discusses shifting of Al Nahda Hospital (January 21). You can’t control flooding in a valley. It’s cheaper to rebuild the hospital on a higher ground. Flooding wasn’t a problem before, perhaps because there was less rainfall and there were fewer buildings in the area which are now interfering with the flow of water. Shifting of hospital is a good decision and it will hopefully be implemented

soon. It’ll, however, take a while to build a whole new hospital the size of Al Nahda.

Colleen Zainooba Muscat

Priority should have been given to improve drainage This refers to the news story, Council of Ministers discusses shifting of Al Nahda Hospital (January 21). A lot of improvements and developments have taken place in the area where the hospital is located. But when the roads were being widened why wasn’t priority given to improving the drainage system of the area? Shifting of the hospital is possible but what about the residents living in the area?

Suhas Bhaskar Muscat

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 O F OMAN

T H U R S DAY, JAN UARY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

A1 3

PERSPEC IVE Diary Guantánamo detainee wrote is a must read for all L

ast week, several Republican senators, including John McCain, called on President Obama to stop releasing detainees from the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Their argument was that after the terror attacks in Paris, the 122 prisoners still in Guantánamo should be made to stay right where they are, where they can do the West no harm.

On Tuesday, one of those detainees, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who was sent to Guantánamo in 2002, is poised to offer a powerful rejoinder.

Three years into his detention — years during which he was isolated, tortured, beaten, abused and humiliated — Slahi wrote a 466-page, 122,000-word account of what had happened to him up to that point. His manuscript was immediately classified, and it took years of litigation and negotiation by Slahi’s pro bono lawyers to force the military to declassify a redacted version. Even with the redactions, Guantánamo Diary is an extraordinary document — “A vision of hell, beyond Orwell, beyond Kafka,” as John le Carré aptly describes it in a back cover blurb — that every American should read.

A native of Mauritania, Slahi, 44, is fluent in several languages — he learned English while in Guantánamo — and lived in Canada and Germany as well as the Muslim world. He came under suspicion because an Al Qaeda member, who had been based in Montreal — where Slahi had also lived — was arrested and charged with plotting to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport in 1999. Slahi was questioned about this plot several times, but he was always released.

After 9/11, Slahi was detained again for questioning. That time, he was turned over to the American authorities, in whose captivity he has been ever since.

What was he accused of? Slahi asked this question of his captors often and was never given a straight answer.

This, of course, is part of the problem with Guantánamo, a prison where being formally charged with a crime is a luxury, not a requirement.

His efforts to tell the truth — that he had no involvement in any acts of terrorism — only angered his interrogators.

Yet, the military was so sure he was a key Al Qaeda player that he was subjected to “special interrogation” techniques that had been signed off by the secretary of de-

JOE NOCERA

The sections of the book that describe his torture make for harrowing reading. Slahi was so sleep-deprived that he eventually started to hallucinate.

Chained to the ground, he was forced to ‘stand’ in positions that were extremely painful.

Interrogators went at him in shifts — 24 hours a day. It is hard to read about his torture without feeling a sense of shame

fence, Donald Rumsfeld, himself.

“Special interrogation techniques,” of course, is a euphemism for torture. The sections of the book that describe his torture make for harrowing reading. Slahi was so sleep-deprived that he eventually started to hallucinate.

Chained to the ground, he was forced to “stand” in positions that were extremely painful. Interrogators went at him in shifts — 24 hours a day. It is hard to read about his torture without feeling a sense of shame.

Does Slahi crack? Of course: to get the torture to stop, he finally lied, telling his interrogators what he thought they wanted to hear, just as torture victims have done since the Inquisition.

“Torture doesn’t guarantee that the detainee cooperates,” writes Slahi. “In order to stop torture, the detainee has to please his assailant, even with untruthful and sometime misleading (intelligence).”

McCain, who was tortured in Vietnam, knows this; last month, he made a powerful speech in which he condemned America’s use of torture, saying, “the use of torture compromises that which most distinguishes us from our enemies, our belief that all people, even captured enemies, possess basic human rights.”

That is also why it is so disheartening that McCain has allied himself with those who want to keep Guantánamo open.

In 2010, a federal district judge ruled in favour of Slahi’s habeas corpus petition because the evidence against him was so thin. The government appealed, and the order remains in limbo.

I asked Nancy Hollander, one of Slahi’s lawyers, to describe her client.

“He is funny, smart, compassionate and thoughtful,” she said.

All of these qualities come through in his memoir, which is surprisingly without rancour. “I have only written what I experienced, what I saw, and what I learned first-hand,” he writes toward the end of his book. “I have tried not to exaggerate, nor to understate. I have tried to be as fair as possible, to the US government, to my brothers, and to myself.”

One of the wonders of the book is that he does come across as fair to all, even his torturers. But the quote that sticks with me most is something that one of his guards told him, something that could stand as a fitting epitaph for Guantánamo itself: “I know I can go to hell for what I did to you.” - The New York Times News Service

Birthday parties are getting out of hand

I

nvoicing a parent for £15.95 when her five-year-old son failed to show up at a party at a dry ski slope? Bonkers? Or a sign of the times?

Maybe a bit of both, but what this episode in Cornwall mainly goes to show is that, as any parent of young children will know, kids’ birthday parties are getting out of hand.

The standard “church hall and pass-the-parcel” affair has fallen out of favour. Children’s parties these days are big. And they only seem to be getting bigger.

For starters, parents feel compelled to invite every child in their offspring’s class (usually 30ish) plus adult friends for moral support (because heaven knows all mothers need moral support at events like this).

Then it’s all about the theme.

Think hiring out soft play palaces, party packages at children’s

MOLLY GUNN

farms or of course — this year’s obvious favourite — the frozen themed party.

Or just call in a party organiser who can do the work for you. For a price of course.

So if parties are so costly to put on, is it reasonable to charge kids if they don’t turn up?

The poor boy in question only agreed verbally to going. He didn’t sign anything.

He didn’t RSVP in blood. He’s five for goodness sake.

A friend recently booked a party at a soft-play centre for her daughter’s fifth birthday party.

Over a glass of concoction she relayed the angst of planning this event, unsure who was actually going, with the centre demanding £15 per person up front.

Nobody wants to be out of pocket, but at the same time, if you plan such a big affair, surely you’re the one who has to shoul-

der the cost if kids don’t show?

The thought of parents taking other parents credit card details, or a deposit before a party does sound a little far-fetched.

Who are kids’ parties for anyway? Them?

Or are they a way for parents to impress other parents? Perhaps we should go retro — church halls, party games and a sugarladen cake?

My 12th birthday party featured a Back to the Future video, some popcorn and a sleepover — and it’s stayed in my mind as one of the best ever.

Come to think of it... I always relished an invite to a Burger King party, where we got to eat junk food and wear cardboard crowns.

Maybe if we lowered our party expectations, parents wouldn’t be left with a hefty no-show bill. - The Independent

It’s time now to force change in elite’s behaviour RASUL BAKHSH RAIS

T

hings, as usual, will not work in Pakistan. The country is facing multiple challenges, from millions of children being out of school to terrorists massacring children in schools.

The sad reality is Pakistan has neither achieved stability and security nor an optimal level of development — things that are usually seen to be at opposite ends because of their competing demands on national resources.

In between, we have seen many other problems emerging in society, worst of which is extremism and religious intolerance.

The system — power arrangements and institutional mechanisms that exist today — is not capable of transforming Pakistan and moving the country forward, or even backward, to the peaceful and much more stable country it used to be.

The irony, however, is that transformation will have to come through the system and by the system.

Neither the Constitution nor the political order it has established can be wished away or once again tossed into the dustbin.

Its two replacement orders — direct military rule and a military-driven hybrid democracy with a subordinate elite have not worked.

Rather, destabilisation of the system has created social and structural problems that continue to complicate Pakistan’s recovery from the mess.

The political history of Pakistan for the past three decades is a history of repeated disappointments.

No matter which party, leader or institution was in control of the state apparatus, it has not made any difference.

The hope that democracy and ‘democrats’ will consolidate democracy in the true sense has begun to fade.

Democratic transition and consolidation are not well-understood in a social climate framed by archaic authoritarian rule in this part of the world

The rot continued by different means, in different directions, and with more disastrous consequences.

Having witnessed Pakistan’s descent into confused conditions for several decades, and the country making a nosedive into decline during the past 10 years, trust and confidence in the current ruling groups is weaker than ever before.

The transition from the military-dominated hybrid order now in its seventh year is still a transition at best.

The hope that democracy and ‘democrats’ will consolidate democracy in the true sense has begun to fade.

Democratic transition and consolidation are not wellunderstood in a social climate framed by archaic authoritarian rule in this part of the world.

Such a transition has never meant the personal consolidation of the ruling elite when they obtain popular mandate to rule through elections or procedural democracy.

Nor does it imply the lifting of the threat to their rule when they decide to plunder the country left, right and centre and make institutions deliberately dysfunctional to milk all the benefits they want.

The same elite joined the military club, and the club managers were very pleased to have them all in, if they wished to abide by the rules of the club.

That is not the alternative anymore. Nor was it ever because that prevented natural social forces to emerge on their own in the country and force the ruling elite to do some good for society.

Pakistan will have to play with the same cards: the ruling elite, their parties and their puppets.

How, then, can we force a change? It is possible only through public action. The public at large is always a dormant force in every society; it has to be awakened.

Who can or will awaken it? The history of the world is replete with examples of when extraordinary circumstances produced great social movements.

Pakistan is at the cusp of it with a thriving but frustrated middle class, free media and an activist civil society.

Public action, with people standing up in an organised fashion and asking questions, demanding answers and forcing change in the behaviour of the elite, is the only way out. - The Express Tribune The writer is a professor of political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences

Iraqi civilian death rise sharply in 2014 The number of civilians killed in Iraq doubled in 2014 from 2013, with the growing violence attributed to the rise of Islamic State militants Documented civilian deaths from violence (Month-by-month since invasion of iraq in 2003) Maximum recorded killed by any perpetrator using any weapon As above but preliminary data

TODAY IN HISTORY

OPINION POLL

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In view of the damages caused by rain, do you think enough has been done to protect people in Oman from rains?

*Further analysis of WikiLeaks’ Iraq War Logs may add 10,000 civilian deaths

Mar 19, 2003: US-led coalition invades Iraq.

Government of Saddam Hussein soon toppled but conflict continues Total for much of civilians killed: next decade 134,315 – 151,624*

3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000

Deaths in 2014: 17,049

2013: 9,743

1,500

1807

1813

2012: 4,622

1,000

2003

04

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Source: www.iraqbodycount.org

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2014

President Thomas Jefferson exposes a plot by Aaron Burr to form a new republic in the Southwest.

During the War of 1812, British forces under Henry Proctor defeat a U.S. contingent planning an attack on Fort Detroit.

1905

Russian troops fire on civilians beginning Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg.

1913

Turkey consents to the Balkan peace terms and gives up Adrianople.

500 0

England’s “Bloodless Revolution” reaches its climax when parliament invites William and Mary to become joint sovereigns.

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C O U R S E F O R C O N F R O N TAT I O N

US seeks total world domination: Lavrov MOSCOW: Russia on Wednesday responded disparagingly to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, claiming it showed that the United States wanted to dominate world affairs.

“Americans have set a course for confrontation,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters after the US president said sanctions against Moscow over Ukraine had left the Russian economy in tatters.

“Obama’s address yesterday shows that there’s just one thing at the heart of (their) philosophy: ‘We are number one’ and the rest should acknowledge that.”

“This is a bit out of date and does not correspond to modern realities,” Russia’s top diplomat added in televised remarks.

First among equals “It shows that the United States wants to dominate the world,” he said, adding that “being first among equals” was not enough for Washington.

Referring to US policy towards the Kremlin over Ukraine, Obama said Moscow had been left isolated and its economy “in tatters.”

Ties between Moscow and

UKRAINE CONFLICT RAGES

Officers of the Ukrainian Emergency Ministry donate blood in a military hospital in Kiev on Wednesday for servicemen wounded during anti-terrorist operation in the east of the country.

Heavy fighting raged between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels in the country’s wartorn east, killing at least five more civilians ahead of high-stakes peace talks in Berlin. — AFP

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

Washington fell to unprecedented post-Soviet lows after Russia’s seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in March.

The United States slapped sanctions on Russia over the annexation of the peninsula and Moscow’s support for Russianspeaking insurgents in eastern Ukraine where more than 4,800 people have lost their lives in the past months.

Lavrov struck a condescending note, saying attempts to isolate Russia would fail and Washington’s “aggressive foreign policy” would one day become a thing of the past. “I think it will pass,” he said. — AFP

The opposition and a corruption watchdog slammed the result as a further sign of deterioration in respect for the rule after the graft probe targeting President Tayyip Erdogan’s inner circle became public in late 2013

Uncomfortable “Parliament has been seriously overshadowed. We feel uncomfortable about this. Parliament could have removed this stain,” Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the

PHOTO GALLERY

US President Obama said on Tuesday ‘big nations can’t bully small’, a reference to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine

Turkey’s parliament votes against trial of ex-ministers

ANKARA: Turkey’s parliament voted on Wednesday not to send to trial four former ministers accused of wrongdoing in a corruption investigation, in welcome news for President Tayyip Erdogan who had cast the graft scandal as a plot to undermine his rule.

The opposition and a corruption watchdog slammed the result as a further sign of deterioration in respect for the rule of law in European Union candidate Turkey after the graft probe targeting Erdogan’s inner circle became public in late 2013.

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AGITATION: People kick a police barricade as they demonstrate near courthouse in the central city of Kayseri on Wednesday after the verdict of two Turkish police officers was read out. The two Turkish police officers were jailed for at least 10 years over the killing of a teenage protestor, Korkmaz, during 2013 demonstrations against the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. — AFP

main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), told reporters after the vote.

The outcome, which was no surprise as the ruling AK Party has a big parliamentary majority, closes one of the last legal avenues in the probe. Earlier court cases have already been dropped.

It also spares the AKP a headache before a June parliamentary election which will be key to Erdogan’s ambition to boost the powers of the presidency.

The affair posed one of the biggest challenges to Erdogan during his decade as prime minister.

Erdogan, who moved to the presi-

Anti-graft group Transparency International said the outcome would contribute to a culture of impunity for politicians.

dential palace last year, viewed the probe as a bid by his former ally, US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, to overthrow him. The cleric has denied the accusation.

Global perception “(It) will only reinforce the growing global perception that corruption is a major problem in Turkey,” Oya Ozarslan, chair of Transparency International Turkey, said in a written statement.

“The way this investigation has been carried out, with constant political interference with, and sometimes outright harassment of, judiciary and media raises a big question mark about the govern-

Coup attempt “It has been put on record with this decision that this was a coup attempt,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in London when asked about the votes.

The tally of the votes indicated some 40 AKP deputies had supported sending the former ministers for trial. Davutoglu said this showed the party respected the legal process.

The way this investigation has been carried out, with constant political interference with, and sometimes outright harassment of, judiciary and media raises a big question mark about the government’s will to tackle corruption Oya Ozarslan

Transparency International official

ment’s will to tackle corruption.”

The probe prompted the resignation of the economy, interior and urbanisation ministers. EU Minister Egemen Bagis lost his post in a subsequent reshuffle. All four denied wrongdoing. Erdogan fought back by reassigning thousands of police and hundreds of judges and prosecutors deemed loyal to Gulen and enacting laws boosting government influence over the judiciary. — Reuters

2 0 3 0 S T R AT E G Y

Kuwait to spend $100b on oil projects KUWAIT CITY: OPEC member Kuwait plans to spend about $100 billion in the next five years on oil projects to modernise the vital sector, the emirate’s oil minister said Wednesday.

“We already have started the implementation of the 2030 strategy, and overall spending over the next five years is estimated to be at $100 billion,” Ali al-Omair told an oil conference in Kuwait City.

The funds “will be spent on various projects related to production, refining, petrochemicals, as well as transportation,” Omair said.

Kuwait plans to increase its crude production capacity to 4.0 million barrels per day by 2020 and maintain it until 2030 from the current level of about 3.2 million bpd.

The investment plans come as oil prices have shed about 60 per cent of their value since June. Income from the sector accounts for around 94 per cent of Kuwait’s public revenues.

The government earlier this month proposed investment spending of $155 billion during the next five-year development plan starting in April.

Nizar Al Adasani, the chief executive of national oil conglomerate Kuwait Petroleum Corp., told the conference the emirate plans to raise its production capacity to 3.5 million bpd by the end of 2015.

“We are focusing on the upstream where the challenges are so great. It is our strategy to invest to maintain excess capacity,” said Adasani.

In the past year, Kuwait has launched two mega projects -- one worth $12 billion to make two of its three refineries more environmentally friendly and another valued at $4.2 billion to produce heavy crude. — AFP

PA R I S AT TA C K S

France to recruit extra police, spies to boost security PARIS: France is to recruit thousands of extra police, spies and investigators to boost national security and intelligence, Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced on Wednesday, two weeks after 17 people were killed by extremist militants.

Warning the threat remained high after the most deadly extremist attack on French soil, Valls said the state would hire 2,680 in the police, justice, intelligence and defence sectors by 2018 for anti-extremist work, surveillance and security.

Several thousand planned job cuts in the army are to be cancelled and dozens of extra Muslim clerics deployed to work with potential militants in France’s overcrowded jails.

“The fight against terrorism will

Prime Minister Manuel Valls said a possible penalty would be debated under which offenders would be stripped of certain civic rights such as voting, holding office or working for the state be a long haul,” Valls told a news conference after the measures were agreed by President Francois Hollande’s cabinet.

“The first requirement is that we further reinforce the human and

material assets of our intelligence services,” said Valls, who after the January 7-9 attacks conceded there could have been “shortfalls” in monitoring and justice arrangements.

France is struggling to monitor an estimated 1,200 extremists and some 200 people who have returned from fighting with militant groups in Syria and Iraq.

Valls said a possible penalty

would be debated under which offenders would be stripped of certain civic rights such as voting, holding office or working for the state.

Extra spending Despite commitments worth a total $492 million in extra spending, Valls said France would respect public finance commitments made to its EU partners.

Hollande said in a separate statement he would maintain 7,500 military jobs due to be cut in the defense sector.

Total armed forces personnel in France was 278,000 at the end of 2013.

The three gunmen who attacked satirical journal Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket were killed by security forces.

Somali extremist militant group Al Shebaab praised Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) over the attack, describing them in a statement as “the pioneers of external operations that target the heart of the Crusader enemies”.

Four men aged 22 to 28 were placed under formal investigation over the killing of a police officer and of four hostages at the Jewish store near Paris, a prosecutor said.

Fled France The men are suspected of having bought weapons including knives and tear gas found among the possessions of the gunman who attacked the kosher store.

The investigation is also looking into the possibility some accomplices had fled France. — Reuters

T H U R S DAY, JAN UARY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

WORLD

The warning alarms, we can say, were screaming, while in the background they (the pilot and co-pilot) were busy trying to recover Investigator

‘AirAsia jet’s alarms heard before crash’ Air France flight 447 vanished en route from Rio to Paris at night during a storm.

The Airbus A330’s speed sensors were found to have malfunctioned, and the plane climbed too steeply, causing it to stall.

The investigation into AF447 found that both technical and human error were to blame.

Noise of several alarms — including one that indicated the plane was stalling — can be heard going off in recordings from the black box in

WRECKAGE: A member of Indonesia’s search and rescue team

the Airbus A320-

walks past wreckage of AirAsia flight QZ8501 recovered at sea and stored in a warehouse for investigators in Kumai, Central Kalimantan on Borneo island in this photograph taken on Monday. - AFP

200’s cockpit

JAKARTA: Warning alarms in AirAsia flight QZ8501 were “screaming” as the pilots desperately tried to stabilise the plane just before it plunged into the Java Sea last month, a crash investigator said on Wednesday.

The noise of several alarms — including one that indicated the plane was stalling — can be heard going off in recordings from the black box in the Airbus A320200’s cockpit, the investigator told

AFP, requesting anonymity.

“The warning alarms, we can say, were screaming, while in the background they (the pilot and co-pilot) were busy trying to recover,” the investigator said, adding the warnings were going off “for some time”.

The investigator, from Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), added that the pilots’ voices were drowned out by the sound of the alarms. The revelation came a day after Indonesian Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan said that the

C H A R T E R A P P R O VA L

Nepal’s Maoist chief apologises for parliament brawl KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Maoist chief apologised on Wednesday for his party’s role in a parliament brawl that injured four security officers in the tense run-up to a deadline for a post-war constitution.

Maoist lawmakers hurled chairs and scuffled with security staff early on Tuesday as ruling party politicians tried to push proposals for a new charter through parliament before Thursday’s deadline.

“The confrontation in the constituent assembly meeting on Tuesday morning was a mistake,” said Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known better as Prachanda.

“We had no intention of starting a fight but the situation got out of control,” Prachanda told a press conference.

He said the party had instructed lawmakers to disrupt proceedings by chanting slogans, but matters got out of hand when ruling party politicians attempted to move ahead with a vote on the terms of the constitution without all-party agreement.

Missing deadline The former rebels say discussions should continue until all parties agree — even if that means missing the deadline to approve the charter and complete a peace process begun in 2006, when they ended their decade-long insurgency.

The United Nations and diplomats in Nepal urged politicians to return to the negotiating table “in a spirit of flexibility and urgency”.

“The constitution is meant to be a foundational document... to be implemented peacefully and offer stability it will require the widest support,” they said in a statement.

Disagreements persist on crucial issues, with the opposition calling for new provinces to be created along lines that could favour historically marginalised communities such as the Madhesi and Limbu ethnic minorities.

Other parties say such a move would be divisive and a threat to national unity. The ruling parties and their allies have the twothirds majority in parliament that they need to approve a constitution without Maoist support.

But the former insurgents have warned of further conflict if the parties fail to take opposition views into account.

The Himalayan nation has endured political limbo since 2006, with no agreement on the new charter and growing disillusionment among ordinary people frustrated at the long delay.

Lawmakers are widely expected to miss the approaching deadline, with parliament adjourned until Thursday after the opposition obstructed Wednesday’s morning session. - AFP

D E A D LY P R O T E S T S

Bangladesh arrests 7,015 opposition activists over unrest DHAKA: Bangladesh security forces have arrested more than 7,000 opposition activists since the start of deadly protests a fortnight ago, the government said.

Activists have firebombed buses, cars and lorries, killing 29 people, since the opposition called a nationwide transport blockade to protest the detention of their leader Khaleda Zia. Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu told reporters after chairing cabinet meeting on security in Dhaka that 7,015 people had been arrested in the 15 days since the blockade began.

The crisis began when police confined Zia to her office after she threatened to lead a mass rally against her political rival Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

She wants Hasina to call fresh polls after last year’s controver-

sial general election, which opposition parties boycotted on the grounds it would be rigged.

The boycott meant most members of the 300-seat parliament were returned unopposed, handing Hasina another five years in power. Zia, who denies her Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies were responsible for firebombings, has also demanded the release of opposition officials and leaders detained over the violence. Hasina has accused Zia of trying to trigger “anarchy” and ordered the security agencies to hunt down the protesters behind the firebombings. The US, UK and the European Union have expressed concern over the unrest.

The EU, the nation’s biggest export destination, has urged Hasina’s government and the opposition to hold talks to resolve the crisis. -AFP

plane had climbed abnormally fast before stalling and plunging into the sea, as it flew on December 28 in stormy weather from Indonesia’s Surabaya to Singapore with 162 people on board.

“In the final minutes, the plane climbed at a speed which was beyond normal,” the minister told reporters.

Analysts said the AirAsia jet’s rapid ascent had echoes of the crash of an Air France jet into the Atlantic in 2009, with the loss of 228 lives.

A1 5

Striking similarities As with the AirAsia disaster, the accident happened in an area around the equator where north and south winds meet, and thunderstorms are common.

“The similarities are pretty striking,” Daniel Tsang, founder of Hong Kong-based consultancy Aspire Aviation, said.

So far, just 53 bodies have been recovered following the AirAsia crash. Divers have been struggling for a week against rough seas and strong currents to reach the plane’s main body, which was spotted on the seabed and is thought to contain the bulk of the remaining passengers and crew.

The two black boxes — the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder — were recovered last week after a lengthy search, and investigators are examining them. - AFP

LEGAL REFORMS

42 people killed in Congo protests KINSHASA: At least 42 people have been killed in three days of protests in Democratic Republic of Congo over a proposed legal reform the opposition says would keep President Joseph Kabila in power for years, a rights group said, three times the official estimate.

Paul Nsapu, secretary general for Africa of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), said that most of the victims had been killed by government security forces as they took part in political protests.

The government, which says that only 15 people have been killed, said most of the victims were shot by private security guards while looting.

“For the most part these people were killed while they were advancing to protest,” Nsapu said, adding that more than 100 people had been injured. “We don’t expect the government to act in the same way as a rebel group.”

In a third day of protests on Wednesday, police fired teargas at demonstrators at the university campus in the riverside capital Kinshasa, a Reuters witness said.

Clashes also took place in three other areas of the teeming riverside capital, security sources said.

In the central neighbourhood of Matete on Wednesday, a wit-

ness reported security forces firing live rounds at protesters, who had erected barricades of burning tyres in the streets and responded by hurling rocks.

The opposition called the protests on Monday to try to take control of parliament and stop pro-government legislators approving a reform of the electoral code that would require a census before the 2016 presidential vote.

The opposition says that would take years to organise such a national count. Kabila came to power when his father was shot dead in 2001 and won disputed elections in 2006 and 2011.

The constitution bars him from standing for a third term in next year’s ballot.

Kabila’s allies say a census could be completed within a year, but opponents argue that it will take far longer in a nation the size of Western Europe, which has little infrastructure and poor communications.

Government spokesman Lambert Mende said at least 11 people were killed in Tuesday’s violence, and four people on Monday.

Mende said security guards had killed 10 civilians who were trying to loot private property on Tuesday, and a policeman also died. - Reuters

B

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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 .............................159.80 Pak Rs ....................................257.27 Bangla Taka.......................199.52

Indian Rs ...................................159.75 Pakistan Rs ............................ 260.20 Sri Lanka Rs .......................... 343.05 Bangla Taka............................ 201.45 Phil Peso .................................... 115.05

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) .......16.55

Oman Crude............. (Spot) ........$45.39 Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) ........$43.98 Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ........$48.59 Arabian Light ......... (Spot) .........$47.63 N.Sea Brent............... (Spot) ........ $48.47 West Texas Int ....... (Spot) ........$46.39

* Rates as of Jan. 21 Source: Oman UAE Exchange

* Rates are as of Jan. 21 Source: Bank Muscat

Massive dairy plant planned in Sultanate

Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......15.90 Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............ 156.75 Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) .............148.50 * Rates as of Jan. 21 Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

R E A L E S TAT E

PARTNERS IN PROGRESS: The Wave, Muscat signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bank Muscat to develop a mixed portfolio of real estate assets for a new property fund to be managed by the bank involving investments of up to OMR75 million. – Supplied photo

The OMR100 million joint venture is being

We are going to start with 4,000 milking cows, but it will be increased to 25,000 cows by 2020.

Work on the project will start this year and operation by 2017

promoted by stateowned Oman Food Investment Holding, with active equity participation from private sector, Salim bin Saif Al Abdali said

Salim bin Saif Al Abdali

Official, Oman Food Investment Holding

A. E. JAMES

businesseditor@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Oman government is in the process of establishing a mega dairy project with a sizeable capital investment of OMR100 million, in a move to achieve selfsufficiency in dairy production and food security.

The joint venture is being promoted by state-owned Oman Food Investment Holding (OFIC), with active equity participation from private sector, Salim bin Saif Al Abdali, chief of follow-up and studies at Oman Food Investment Holding told Times of Oman in an interview.

The OFIC will have a 20 per cent stake in the dairy firm, which will create 400 direct and indirect jobs, and the remaining 80 per cent stake will be given to investment funds (including pension funds) and private investors.

Oman Food Investment Holding is being established by the government to invest in food security projects, which focus on import substitution and rural development. Apart from fresh milk, the dairy project is aimed at producing fresh juice, mineral water, laban and yogurt.

The total capital expenditure of OMR100 million will be by TENDER BOARD

OMR54m tenders awarded MUSCAT: Tender Board has awarded projects worth OMR53.80 million for development on Wednesday.

The decision was taken by the board at its meeting presided over by Dr Rasheed bin Al Safi Al Huraibi, chairman of the Tender Board.

The awarded projects include additional works for BidbidSur dual-carriageway (Phase I – part one), which is aimed at adding third lane and modifying the path of some parts of the road) at OMR48,382,233, additional works for construction of wadi Al Sahtan road in the wilayat of Al Rustaq in the Governorate of South Al Batinah at OMR2,314,725 and additional works for construction of overpass bridges in Salalah – Muscat road with Al Ribat road and Al Ribat dual-carriageway until AlDahareez roundabout in Salalah city in the Governorate of Dhofar at OMR1,938,031. -ONA

way of equity capital (50 per cent) and term loan from financial institutions. Highlighting the significance of the dairy project, Al Abdali said that only 26 per cent of Oman’s 162 million-litre demand is met by local companies and the remaining 74 per cent is by way of imports, mainly from other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

4,000 milking cows “We need to improve our selfsufficiency and food security of Oman in main food items like dairy, poultry and red meat. This is the first among several projects that are planned (by the company),” Al Abdali said, adding: “Our plan is to raise domestic production of dairy products to 70 per cent of total demand by 2020.”

“We are going to start with 4,000 milking cows, but it will be increased to 25,000 cows by 2020.” The project will come up in a large area of four square kilometres. He also noted that the longterm plan is to achieve more than 100 per cent domestic demand in dairy products and probably to export the product from Oman.

Al Abdali also noted that the work on the project would start this year and the commercial operation would commence after two years by 2017.

“We are also going to invest in another project outside the country (probably in Sudan or Tanzania) to secure feed for animals,” Salim bin Saif Al Abdali said, adding that it could be by way of a contract with a third party or by investing in a foreign country.

Oman has limitation in growing grass (feed) for animals due to water scarcity. “That is why we are going to bring feed from outside the country. We have discussions with some investors in Tanzania and Sudan. We may also look at reaching contracts with suppliers in Australia or Brazil for securing feed for animals.” The promoters is in the process of identifying a location for the project, since it needs a large dry area.

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The Wave secures OMR75 million Bank Muscat property fund deal Times News Service MUSCAT: The Wave, Muscat signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bank Muscat to develop a mixed portfolio of real estate assets for a new property fund to be managed by the bank involving investments of upto OMR75 million.

In the first tranche of a number of transactions planned at The Wave, Muscat, and the largest off plan real estate purchase in the Sultanate in the last 12 months, Bank Muscat has agreed to purchase 230 residential apartments in 4 blocks to be known as ‘Marsa Parklands’ for OMR30 million located between the marina and new Kempinski, The Wave, Muscat Hotel.

AbdulRazaq Ali Issa, chief executive of Bank Muscat, said: “The deal marks an important milestone in the development of the Omani real estate sector. The MoU aims to strengthen institutional participation in commercially sound and sustainable real estate projects.”

“The fund’s first purchase of Marsa Parklands is consistent with the bank’s strategy to offer investors a chance to participate in a relatively steady low risk investment with a healthy cash return over the long term. Bank Muscat is

APARTMENTS

Bank Muscat has agreed to purchase 230 residential apartments in 4 blocks to be known as ‘Marsa Parklands’ for OMR30 million located between the marina and new Kempinski, The Wave, Muscat Hotel

especially happy to further cement its relationship with The Wave, Muscat and aims to build a strong mixed portfolio of quality assets for clients,” he added.

Market conditions “The market conditions are sound for investing in The Wave, Muscat as the project is well positioned to take advantage of the strength of Oman’s economy as well as providing our fund the opportunity to invest in multiple property asset classes, including residential, tourism, retail and commercial while ensuring that yields are attractive compared to alternative investment classes,” AbdulRazaq Ali Issa said.

Announcing the deal, Hawazen

Esber, chief executive officer of The Wave, Muscat, said the transaction with the country’s largest bank was an obvious step in capturing the increasing institutional investor interest in Oman’s property market and specifically to introduce new development opportunities to investors at The Wave, Muscat.

“Institutional investors are becoming more discerning in the type of assets and locations they are prepared to invest in and there has been a lot of interest for emerging opportunities. As one of the region’s leading communities, The Wave is an attractive destination to consider investing in, especially with the combined financial strength and acumen of Bank Muscat as fund manager,” he added.

“We have been looking for ways in which to enhance the delivery of the project and its public amenities to meet market demand from people as well as for those wanting to establish new businesses here. This deal will also help accelerate our development pipeline and open up new opportunities for people to live, work and invest here,” he said. Esber pointed out that Oman’s property market fundamentals should not be underestimated as the population demographics are shifting.

B2

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

MARKET M U S C AT S E C U R I T I E S M A R K E T

OMAN STOCKS

MSM index down MUSCAT: Weak trading activity weighed down the MSM 30 Index which ended the day at 6,637.73 points, down by 0.22 per cent. MSM Shariah Index also decreased by 0.23 per cent to close at 989.51 points. Al Batinah Investment was the most active in terms of volume as well as turnover. For the fourth straight trading session, Al Batinah Investment, up by 7.47 per cent, remained the top gainer, while BankDhofar, down by 2.23 per cent, was the top loser.

As many as 1,073 trades were executed during the session generating a turnover of OMR3.7 million with more than 13.6 million shares changing hands. Out of 41 traded stocks, 13 advanced, 14 declined and 14 remained

unchanged. Omani investors were net buyers to the tune of OMR378,000 while GCC and Arab investors were net sellers at OMR249,000. Financial Index remained flat to close at 8,091.07 points, up slightly by 0.03 per cent.

Al Batinah Investment, Oman United Insurance, Global Finance & Investments, United Finance and Bank Muscat increased by 7.47 per cent, 3.87 per cent, 3.48 per cent, 1.44 per cent and 1.32 per cent, respectively. BankDhofar, ONIC Holding, Oman & Emirates Holding, Bank Nizwa and Al Anwar Holding decreased by 2.23 per cent, 2.04 per cent, 1.54 per cent, 1.23 per cent and 0.87 per cent, respectively. Industrial Index declined. - United Securities

MUSCAT SECURITIES MARKET

INDICES Index .................................................High .................Low..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff % MSM30 Index ....................................... 6,664.53 ...............6,633.47 ....................6,637.73 ...................6,652.22................-14.49 .................. -0.22 Financial Index ..................................... 8,119.08 .............. 8,078.43 ................... 8,091.07 ...................8,089.02....................2.05 ...................0.03 Industrial Index ................................... 8,564.45 ...............8,533.66 ...................8,542.49 ...................8,562.80................-20.31 .................. -0.24 Services Index .......................................3,616.82 .............. 3,604.43 ................... 3,605.47 ....................3,614.81.................. -9.34 .................. -0.26 MSM SHARIAH INDEX....................... 991.87 ..................988.98 .......................989.51 ...................... 991.82.................. -2.31 .................. -0.23 Trading Summary Volume ................Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded 13,602,521...................3,725,661 ..................1,073 ............... 14,939,750,275 ................ 13 ......................14 .................... 14 .........................41

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21 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

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

OM0000001087............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ............................... 2,126,000......682,673................... 145 ............0.318 ...........0.326 ...........0.316 ........... 0.322 .............0.310.............0.012 ............. 3.871 ................0.322..............0.320...................0.322 ................. 32,200,000 ........0.100 OM0000003125 ............GLOBAL FINANCIAL INVESTMENT ..................10,000 ............... 1,190........................1 ............0.119 ........... 0.119............0.119 ............0.119 ............. 0.115 ............ 0.004............. 3.478 ................0.119 ...............0.115................... 0.119 ...................23,800,000 ........0.100 OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ............. 48,000 ............... 9,184........................7 ............0.190 ........... 0.192 ...........0.190............0.191 ............. 0.188............ 0.003............. 1.596 ................0.192 ..............0.190...................0.192.................... 4,011,000 ..........0.100 OM0000002374............UNITED FINANCE ..................................................... 131,500.............18,520........................8 ............0.140 ........... 0.141............0.140............0.141 ............. 0.139............ 0.002............. 1.439 ................0.140..............0.140................... 0.141 ...................38,776,864 .........0.100 OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 467,311 .......... 285,177..................... 46 ............0.612 ........... 0.612 ...........0.604............0.612 .............0.604 ........... 0.008............. 1.325 ................0.604..............0.604...................0.608 ............... 1,335,805,171 ......0.100 OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 152,222 ............35,601........................7 ........... 0.232 ...........0.234 ...........0.232........... 0.234 ............. 0.231............ 0.003............. 1.299 ................0.234..............0.231...................0.234 .................267,696,000........0.100 OM0000003281............TAAGEER FINANCE .................................................. 40,000 ...............6,004........................7 ............0.152 ........... 0.152 ...........0.150 ........... 0.150 .............0.149.............0.001 ............. 0.671 ................0.150 ..............0.149...................0.150...................38,038,500.........0.100 OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 176,540 ........... 30,548..................... 27 ............0.174 ........... 0.174 ...........0.172 ............0.173 ............. 0.172.............0.001 ............. 0.581 ................0.173 ..............0.170...................0.173 ...................14,967,960 .........0.100 OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 190,897 .........345,297..................... 43 ............1.805 ........... 1.810............1.805 ............1.810 ............. 1.805............ 0.005............. 0.277 ................1.810 ..............1.805................... 1.810 ................1,357,500,000 ......0.100 OM0000003000 ...........ALMAHA PETROLEUM PRODUCTS MAR. ......... 7,080 .............15,292........................2 ............2.155 ........... 2.160 ...........2.155 ........... 2.160 ............. 2.155............ 0.005.............0.232 ................2.160..............2.160...................2.300 .................149,040,000 .......0.100 OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ............................................................. 462 .................. 850........................2 ............1.805 ........... 1.850 ...........1.805 ............1.805 ............. 1.805............ 0.000.............0.000 ................1.850 .............. 1.810...................1.850................. 361,000,000 .......0.100 OM0000001509............DHOFAR INT.DEV.AND INV. HOLD..................... 50,000 ............26,500..................... 10 ........... 0.530 ...........0.530 ...........0.530........... 0.530 .............0.530 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.530............. 0.000...................0.000 .................116,600,000........0.100 OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS ..........................67,500 ............22,226......................14 ........... 0.330 ...........0.330 ...........0.328........... 0.330 .............0.330 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.328..............0.326...................0.328 ..................41,216,327 .........0.100 OM0000002275 ...........SHELL OMAN MARKETING ..................................... 1,600 ...............3,230........................2 ........... 2.000...........2.020 ...........2.000 .......... 2.000 .............2.000 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................2.020 ............ 2.020...................0.000 ................ 190,000,000 .......0.100 OM0000002572 ...........OMAN OIL MARKETING .......................................... 13,345 ............ 29,893........................1 ........... 2.240...........2.240 ...........2.240 .......... 2.240 .............2.240 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ............... 2.240 .............2.150...................2.240 .................137,256,000 ........0.100 OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY ................................................... 137,098 ............ 53,054......................15 ........... 0.386 ...........0.390 ...........0.386........... 0.386 .............0.386 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.390..............0.390...................0.400 ..................23,353,000.........0.100 OM0000003711 ............SOHAR POWER................................................................ 1,000 .................. 376........................1 ............0.376 ........... 0.376 ...........0.376........... 0.376 .............0.376 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.376..............0.376...................0.400 ..................83,099,760 .........0.100 OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK .................................................................... 247,175 ............ 58,994......................16 ........... 0.240...........0.240 ...........0.238........... 0.239 .............0.240 ...........-0.001 ............-0.417................0.238..............0.236...................0.238..................309,621,490........0.100 OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE.............. 222,847 ........... 52,826......................14 ........... 0.240...........0.240 ...........0.235........... 0.237 .............0.238 ...........-0.001 ........... -0.420 ...............0.238..............0.238...................0.240 ..................47,400,000.........0.100 OM0000001483............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN .................................. 40,000 .............14,350........................2 ........... 0.360 ...........0.360 ...........0.350........... 0.358 .............0.360 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.556 ...............0.350..............0.350...................0.360 ................ 436,340,245 .......0.100 OM0000002226 ...........AL JAZEERA SERVICES ............................................30,230 .............10,286..................... 10 ........... 0.340...........0.342 ...........0.340 .......... 0.340 .............0.342 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.585 ...............0.340............. 0.340...................0.342 ..................20,809,453.........0.100 OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ......................... 1,228,925 .......186,641......................71 ............0.155 ........... 0.157 ...........0.149 ............0.152 ............. 0.153............-0.001 ........... -0.654 ...............0.151 ..............0.150................... 0.151 ....................8,944,169 ..........0.100 OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 1,708,818.......388,882................... 186 ........... 0.230 ...........0.230 ...........0.226........... 0.228 .............0.230 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.870 ...............0.226..............0.226...................0.227 ..................29,754,000.........0.100 OM0000002168............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ............................... 727,483..........330,568..................... 37 ........... 0.456 ........... 0.456 ...........0.452........... 0.454 .............0.458 ...........-0.004 ........... -0.873 ...............0.452..............0.452...................0.454.................. 112,067,510 ........0.100 OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO.........................................................................46,750 ............ 32,654........................9 ........... 0.696 ........... 0.700 ...........0.696........... 0.700 .............0.708 ...........-0.008 ............-1.130................0.700..............0.696...................0.700..................455,660,961........0.100 OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES .......................................21,208 .............10,597........................7 ........... 0.506 ...........0.506 ...........0.494........... 0.500 .............0.506 ...........-0.006 ............-1.186................0.494..............0.490...................0.494 .................141,047,227 ........0.100 OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING........... 146,061 .............18,740.....................22 ............0.130 ........... 0.130 ...........0.128........... 0.128 .............0.130............-0.002 ............-1.538................0.128 ..............0.127...................0.130...................15,600,000 .........0.100 OM0000002614............ONIC. HOLDING .......................................................... 109,434 ........... 42,076......................11 ........... 0.382 ...........0.392 ...........0.382........... 0.384 .............0.392 ...........-0.008 ........... -2.041 ...............0.384..............0.382...................0.386...................66,594,528.........0.100 OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 1,243,466 ...... 225,581..................... 45 ............0.185 ........... 0.186 ...........0.179 ............0.181 ............. 0.185............-0.004 ........... -2.162 ...............0.186 .............. 0.185...................0.186................... 47,714,996 .........0.100 OM0000002549 ...........BANK DHOFAR ..............................................................10,000 ...............3,500........................1 ........... 0.350 ...........0.350 ...........0.350........... 0.350 .............0.358 ...........-0.008 ........... -2.235 ...............0.350..............0.350...................0.360 .................470,134,775 ........0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 9,402,952...2,941,310...................769 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......30........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ...................... 3,704,971 ......692,099................... 168 ............0.191 ........... 0.191............0.182............0.187 ............. 0.174.............0.013 ..............7.471.................0.188 ..............0.186...................0.189.................... 5,610,000 ..........0.100 OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER..................................................55,392 ...............9,860......................12 ............0.176 ........... 0.178 ...........0.176 ............0.178 ............. 0.176............ 0.002..............1.136.................0.178 .............. 0.176...................0.178 ..................120,129,963 ........0.100 OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER ....................................................48,635 ...............8,754........................9 ............0.179 ........... 0.180 ...........0.179 ........... 0.180 ............. 0.179.............0.001 ............. 0.559 ................0.180.............. 0.179...................0.180.................. 128,593,141 ........0.100 OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES ...................................................... 40,000 ...............2,735........................7 ............0.071 ........... 0.071 ...........0.068........... 0.068 .............0.068 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.069..............0.068...................0.069....................8,500,000 ..........0.100 OM0000002051............GULF PLASTIC INDUSTRIES ...........................................9 .......................4........................1 ........... 0.390 ...........0.390 ...........0.390........... 0.390 .............0.390 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.390............. 0.000...................0.000 .....................390,000............1.000 OM0000002333 ...........SALALAH PORT SERVICES .............................................28 .....................18........................1 ........... 0.648 ...........0.648 ...........0.648........... 0.648 .............0.648 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.648..............0.584...................0.640 .................116,534,635 ........0.100 OM0000002564 ...........AL HASSAN ENGINEERING................................... 28,000 ...............2,950........................6 ............0.105 ........... 0.106 ...........0.105 ........... 0.105 .............0.105............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.105 ..............0.105...................0.106.................... 7,896,840 ..........0.100 OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS .................................................. 82,671 .............48,601......................81 ........... 0.588 ...........0.590 ...........0.586........... 0.588 .............0.588 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.588..............0.588...................0.590 ..................29,400,000.........0.100 OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 236,058 ............18,930......................17 ............0.081 ........... 0.081 ...........0.080........... 0.080 ............. 0.081............-0.001 ............-1.235................0.080..............0.080...................0.081................. 120,000,000 .......0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 4,195,764 ......783,950...................302 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 9........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

OM0000004602 ...........BANK MUSCAT CONV. BONDS 4.5 .......................... 1,902 ..................200........................1 ............0.105 ........... 0.105 ...........0.105 ........... 0.107 .............0.107............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.105 ..............0.105...................0.000 ..................32,394,155 .........0.100 OM0000004867 ...........BANK MUSCAT C C B 4.5 ............................................. 1,903 ..................202........................1 ............0.106 ........... 0.106 ...........0.106........... 0.106 .............0.106 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.106..............0.106................... 0.113 ...................33,882,124 .........0.100 .............................................SUM: ...................................................................................... 3,805 .................. 401........................2 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........2........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

INDIAN MARKETS

Indian stocks, rupee firm up MUMBAI: Rising for the fifth day in a row, benchmark BSE Sensex on Wednesday set a life-time high of 28,958 points and NSE Nifty recorded a historic 8,741 points as macro outlook and optimism over forthcoming budget continue to buoy investor sentiment.

After resuming the day higher on positive global cues, the 30-share Sensex jumped further to set a life-time high of 28,958.10

as consumer durables, tech and IT shares attracted good buying support.Traders said China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite index shooting up by 4.74 per cent, its biggest daily percentage increase since October 2009, also bolstered market sentiment.

The Sensex after paring some of the gains ended the day’s trade at fresh finishing high of 28,888.86, up by 104.19 points or 0.36 per

cent from its previous close.

In the last five trading sessions, the key barometer has gained by 1,542.04 points or 5.64 per cent.

Rupee strengthens The rupee continued to rule firm for the 5th consecutive trading day, moving up by another six paise to close at 61.63 on sustained selling of dollars by banks and exporters. - PTI

T H U R S DAY, JAN UARY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

B3

MARKET 2014

Oman Development Bank disburses 4,639 loans Times News Service MUSCAT: Oman Development Bank (ODB) provided 4,639 loans last year, a growth of 7 per cent over 2013. The value of projects financed by ODB reached OMR42.33 million in different sectors of hig value addition to the national economy.

Such projects contribute into supporting the government policies aiming to diversify the sources of income and achieving a self-sufficiency of national products that limit the imports and create job opportunities for the national cadres.

The value of loans provided by ODB constituted 60 per cent of the investment cost of the projects fi-

nanced in all the governorates of the Sultanate as part of the efforts exerted by the bank to motivate investors promoting their investments in different economic sectors in line with the governmental plans aiming to encourage the private sector’s investment in the economic sectors.

Leading institution On this occasion, Hamad bin Salem Al Harthi, acting general manager of the bank said: “ODB is leading development finance institution in the Sultanate that contributes into implementing a sustainable development plan according to sound financing criteria. The financing efforts exerted by the bank contrib-

42.33m Omani rials was the value of projects financed by Oman Development Bank in different sectors

ute into a high added value to the Omani economy.”

“The bank the financed more than 4,666 production and service projects in various wilayats of the Sultanate with a value of more than OMR42 million last year. This is clear evidence of the bank’s sound

approach in financing the development projects,” he explained.

He indicated that the agricultural, livestock and fisheries projects accounted for 64 per cent of the total number of projects that benefited from the loans provided in 2014.

The fisheries projects received 37 per cent of such loans with a value of OMR7.03 million. Such projects constituted 17 per cent of the total value of the granted loans. The agricultural loans constituted 27 per cent of the total number of loans provided by the bank in 2014 with a value of OMR6.89 million. This represents 16 per cent of the total value of the granted loans.

“The loans reflect the extent of the ODB’s contribution into devel-

OETC new headquarters inaugurated in Mawaleh The new campus fulfills the company’s needs for a loading hub, warehousing space as well as recreation facilities for employees

Times News Service MUSCAT: Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) has inaugurated its new headquarters in Mawaleh in the wilayat of Seeb, under the patronage of Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Mahrooqi, the chief executive officer of the Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW).

The new headquarters complements OETC’s current and future strategy and encompasses a campus that fulfills the company’s needs for a loading hub, warehousing spaces as well as recreation facilities for its employees.

Another key benefit of the new

IT’S OPEN: Oman Electricity Transmission Company’s new headquarters was inaugurated under the patronage of Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Mahrooqi, the chief executive officer of Public Authority for Electricity and Water. – Supplied photo

location is that it is connected to major transport, thus making it an ideal logistic location. These key features will bring together all of OETC’s employees which will work in open spaces in a bid to further the philosophy of fast and effective communication which would benefit the stakeholders.

It also hosts many energy efficient technologies through a smart lighting systems as well as an integrated cooling system which efficiently reduces energy consumption.

The new headquarters also has the latest safety technologies which include early smoke detection and suction, automatic sprin-

klers and fire resistant walls and doors. This goes hand in training the staff with all the safety drills and first aid training in case of emergency.

According to Eng. Ali bin Saeed Al Hidabi, chief executive officer of Oman Electricity Transmission Company, although the building blocks for this projects were laid three years ago, the actual inception of this achievement began on the first day that OETC was founded back in 2005. The success of the project lies in the dedication of our employees, the management team and the board of directors.

“It is a great honour for Oman

ECONOMY

Bank of Japan cuts inflation outlook TOKYO: Bank of Japan (BoJ) on Wednesday slashed its inflation outlook as plunging oil prices dent efforts to slay years of deflation, but policymakers still boosted their growth forecasts and said the economy was rebounding.

The BoJ, which held off fresh easing measures after a two-day policy meeting, said inflation for the year starting in April would come in at 1.0 per cent, well down

from an earlier 1.7 per cent forecast. But the economy would expand by 2.1 per cent, up from an earlier 1.5 per cent forecast, it said.

The price downgrade underscores how reaching the BoJ’s 2 per cent inflation target by early next year looks unlikely, and it may ramp up expectations for another round of monetary easing to kickstart the world’s number three economy.

“We continue to think that policymakers are too sanguine on inflation,” said Marcel Thieliant at Capital Economics.

“The chances of hitting the inflation target are slim without additional monetary stimulus.” BoJ chief Haruhiko Kuroda insisted that the bank was still on track to reach its goals, and that the BoJ never claimed it would hit its goal in exactly two years. - AFP

Electricity Transmission Company to be part of the progress of the Sultanate, as the company in recent years has been able to accomplish many different projects and in turn was able to be a major building block in the provision of electricity to all the segments in the Sultanate, and we at OETC are proud to be part of the development strategy of this beautiful country,” he added.

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oping the main economic sectors of added value that enhance the food security and support the governmental plans in this respect.

Large numbers of Omani citizens are working in these projects.” Al Harthi pointed out.

Tourism sector “The tourism and professional services sector constituted 14 per cent of the total value of loans provided by the bank in 2014. Altogether 203 recipients benefited from ODB loans in this sector constituting 4 per cent of the total beneficiaries in different economic sectors,” the acting general manager said.

“This reflects the bank’s contri-

butions into developing the tourism sector in the Sultanate and increasing the rooms, accommodation facilities as well as the tourist service facilities needed by this sector,” he explained.

Al Harthi pointed out that the value of loans that went to the industrial sector constituted 46 per cent of the total value of loans granted in 2014. The share of the mining, building materials and metal forming industries of these loans reached 15 per cent constituting 6 per cent of the total number of loans granted for the industrial sector.

He said agricultural and livestock sector constituted 17 per cent of the value of granted loans.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

FEATURE

A CEILING FOR OIL PRICE If one number determines the fate of the world economy, it is the price of a barrel of oil. Every global recession since 1970 has been preceded by at least a doubling of the oil price, and every time the oil price has fallen by half and stayed down for six months or so, a major acceleration of global growth has followed

H

aving fallen from $100 to $50, the oil price is now hovering at exactly this critical level. So should we expect $50 to be the floor or the ceiling of the new trading range for oil?

Most analysts still see $50 as a floor – or even a springboard, because positioning in the futures market suggests expectations of a fairly quick rebound to $70 or $80.

But economics and history suggest that today’s price should be viewed as a probable ceiling for a much lower trading range, which may stretch all the way down toward $20.

To see why, first consider the ideological irony at the heart of today’s energy economics. The oil market has always been marked by a struggle between monopoly and competition. But what most Western commentators refuse to acknowledge is that the champion of competition nowadays is Saudi Arabia, while the freedom-loving oilmen of Texas are praying for Opec to reassert its monopoly power. Now let’s turn to history – specifically, the history of inflation-adjusted oil prices since 1974, when Opec first emerged. That history reveals two distinct pricing regimes. From 1974 to 1985, the US benchmark oil price fluctuated between $50 and $120 in today’s money. From 1986 to 2004, it ranged from $20 to $50 (apart from two brief aberrations after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the 1998 Russian devaluation).

Finally, from 2005 until 2014, oil again traded in the 1974-1985 range of roughly $50 to $120, apart from two very brief spikes during the 2008-09 financial crisis.

In other words, the trading range of the past ten years was similar to that of Opec’s first decade, whereas the 19 years from 1986 to

costs, North American producers of shale oil and gas could make big profits, thanks to the Saudi price guarantee.

The Saudis, however, could maintain high prices only by reducing their own output to make room in the global market for ever-increasing US production.

By last autumn, Saudi leaders apparently decided that this was a losing strategy – and they were right. Its logical conclusion would have been America’s emergence as the world’s top oil producer, while Saudi Arabia faded into insignificance, not only as an oil exporter but also perhaps as a country that the US felt obliged to defend.

2004 represented a totally different regime. It seems plausible that the difference between these two regimes can be explained by the breakdown of Opec power in 1985, owing to North Sea and Alaskan oil development, causing a shift from monopolistic to competitive pricing. This period ended in 2005, when surging Chinese demand temporarily created a global oil shortage, allowing Opec’s price “discipline” to be restored.

This record points to $50 as a possible demarcation line between the monopolistic and competitive regimes. And the economics of competitive markets versus monopoly pricing suggests why $50 will be a ceiling, not a floor.

Monopoly price regime In a competitive market, prices should equal marginal costs. Simply put, the price will reflect the costs that an efficient supplier must recoup in producing the last barrel of oil required to meet global demand. In a monopoly price regime, by contrast, the monopolist can choose a price well above marginal costs and then restrict production to ensure that supply does not exceed demand.

Until last summer, oil operated under a monopoly price regime, because Saudi Arabia became a “swing producer,” restricting supply whenever it exceeded demand.

But this regime created powerful incentives for other oil producers, especially in the US and Canada, to expand output sharply. Despite facing much higher production

Opec move The Middle East’s oil potentates are now determined to reverse this loss of status, as their recent behaviour in Opec makes clear. But the only way for Opec to restore, or even preserve, its market share is by pushing prices down to the point that US producers drastically reduce their output to balance global supply and demand. In short, the Saudis must stop being a “swing producer” and instead force US frackers into this role.

Any economics textbook would recommend exactly this outcome.

Shale oil is expensive to extract and should therefore remain in the ground until all of the world’s low-cost conventional oilfields are pumping at maximum output.

Moreover, shale production can be cheaply turned on and off.

Competitive market conditions would therefore dictate that Saudi Arabia and other low-cost produc-

ers always operate at full capacity, while US frackers would experience the boom-bust cycles typical of commodity markets, shutting down when global demand is weak or new low-cost supplies come onstream from Iraq, Libya, Iran, or Russia.

Under this competitive logic, the marginal cost of US shale oil would become a ceiling for global oil prices, whereas the costs of relatively remote and marginal conventional oilfields in Opec and Russia would set a floor. As it happens, estimates of shale-oil production costs are mostly around $50, while marginal conventional oilfields generally break even at around $20. Thus, the trading range in the brave new world of competitive oil should be roughly $20 to $50.

– Anatole Kaletsky/Project Syndicate

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ROUND-UP

Bank Muscat’s educational finance gets good response The Shahadati educational finance is designed to help Omani youth achieve their career advancement with relevant educational qualifications. It covers full expenses, including tuition fees, accommodation, transportation, books and other education related expenses required by students

MUSCAT: The Shahadati educational finance launched by Bank Muscat as part of its commitment to the national objective of educational support for Omani youth, has evoked good response from citizens across the Sultanate.

The Shahadati educational finance is designed to help Omani youth achieve their career advancement with relevant educational qualifications. It covers full expenses, including tuition fees, accommodation, transportation, books and other education related expenses required by students, says a press release.

Eligibility Omani students who have successfully completed their schooling are eligible to apply for Shahadati finance to pursue higher education programmes in Oman or abroad.

The application for loan assistance must be signed and guaranteed by his/her guardian working in government, quasi-government or accredited private sector companies.

The Shahadati loan repayment tenure is 10 years. During the study term, the guardian will pay

only the interest portion of the loan. After completion of the study programme, a grace period of 12 months is available to begin repayment of loan until the student gains suitable employment.

SPORTING CHAMPIONS

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The Shahadati educational finance is also available for Omani students seeking to pursue programmes abroad at institutions approved and recognised by the Ministry of Higher Education.

Quality education Shahadati opens up a great opportunity for the future of Omani youth. Quality education is the key to a secure future and Shahadati makes it achievable by encouraging Omani youth to pursue higher education at home or abroad.

Shahadati ensures that customers do not feel the financial burden while pursuing higher education programmes.

Against the backdrop of Oman’s demographics, Shahadati is aimed at benefiting over 50 per cent of the Sultanate’s population who are below 19 years.

With employment prospects directly linked to corresponding educational qualifications, Omani youth are increasingly pursuing higher education to achieve their career ambitions.

According to statistics, 80 per cent of secondary school graduates spend from their pockets to pursue higher education. Shahadati fills this critical need, helping youth to pursue higher education at universities of their choice, thereby guaranteeing a secure future for Oman’s future generations.

M A L AYA L A M W I N G

Indian classical music concert on January 24 MUSCAT: Malayalam Wing, a prominent wing of Indian Social Club Muscat, will be presenting a classical music concert (carnatic vocal) by Dr Sreevalsan Menon on Saturday, January 24 commencing at 7pm at Indian Social Club Multipurpose Hall to mark the occasion of its annual Swathithirunal music festival, says a press release.

Sreevalsan is an Indian Carnatic vocalist and a music composer from Kerala. He has released a number of music albums. He is an ‘A’ grade artiste of All India Radio and has given concerts all over the country.

He has received several awards including Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award 2013, a title from Krishna Gana Sabha in Chennai, besides such institutions of repute in the Deccan.

TA L E N T H U N T

Indian School Ibri organises GAC officials visit Saham 26th Annual Sports Meet Institute to meet trainees MUSCAT: The Indian School Ibri held its much awaited 26th Annual Sports Meet and PT Display recently at the school playground.

Hilal Said Zahran Al Shaksi, director of Ministry of Sport Affairs, AlDhahira Governorate attended the occasion as the chief guest, says a press release.

Along with him an order of eminent persons and dignitaries were also present, besides Abdul Gafoor Quadri, president, Krishnakumar, convenor, Ahmed Basheer, treasurer and Sandhya Vijayan, the member of the School Management Committee.

The principal M. P. Vinoba welcomed the gathering. In his address he expressed his gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and his government for their magnanimity towards the Indian community in the Sultanate.

Prayer song sanctified the day with the promise of a seamless world which took the event to a beautiful note. Principal escorted the chief guest to the saluting pad where the guests witnessed a wonderful march past by the four distinguished houses led by the Head Boy Nithil Sunil Kumar and Head Girl Anu P. Raj with their respective house prefects and vice prefects.

Torch lighting ceremony was spearheaded by the chief guest who subsequently passed on the torch to K. A. Abhijit, the champion athlete of the year 2013-14 who passed the flame to the other torchbearers, prefects and vice prefects of Blue, Green, Yellow and Red House followed by the deputy head boy and

deputy head girl and later to the head boy and head girl who handed over the torch to Yamuna P. Kurup to light the cauldron. Yamuna was the outstanding performer in the CBSE Cluster Tournament 2014 held in Muscat and was also selected to participate in the national level competition. Soon after the inauguration of the event, the chief guest Hilal Said Zahran Al Shaksi, addressing the occasion, said that sports events like this conducted in schools helped the students to mould their character.

After the flag hoisting by the chief guest, the leaders of all four houses came forward for the oath taking. They swore that they would take part in the competition respecting the rules and in the true spirit of sportsmanship. The students from LKG to XII participated in various sports events with utmost discipline and enthusiasm.

The students were thrilled to witness how the parents travelled back to their school days when many of them took part enthusiastically in events such as “back run race, tug of war, needle and thread race, etc. There was a brilliant display of mass drill and aerobics by the students who showcased their unity and uniformity through their spectacularly coordinated rhythmic body movements.

The chief guest gave away the prizes to the winners. Abhijith, Yamuna and Neha Mohammed Rafi were declared the champion athletes of the year 2014-15, while the Green House clinched the overall championship title.

The President of the School Management Committee presented a memento to the chief guest as a token of love and gratitude.

Sunny Mathew, a senior teacher, proposed the vote of thanks.

MUSCAT: The senior management at General Automotive Company (GAC), the official distributors of Mitsubishi in Oman, recently visited the Saham Vocational Training Centre to meet and interact with the 37 young Omanis currently undergoing a 10-month training programme.

On completion, each of the trainees will take their place as permanent GAC employees.

The delegation from GAC included Salam Al Kindi, the National HR Manager Yassir Zerik National Service Manager, Alistar Cook, the National Parts Manager, and. The visit commenced with the delegation receiving a comprehensive tour of the facility and a one-on-one meeting with each of the trainees. This was followed by a speech from Salam Al Kindi and concluded with a presentation from a senior representative from the SahamVTC. Commenting on the importance of the visit, Salam Al Kindi said, “At GAC we place the employment and training of Omani Nationals at the very core of our human resources program; a policy which is in line with the national objective of offering sustainable employment opportunities for young Omanis. As such, we are proud to have one of the highest Omanisation rates within the sector. Once these promising young Omanis have completed their 10-month course we will be able to add 37 more skilled nationals, not just to the GAC family, but to the automotive sector of

the country as a whole.”

“I was desperate to find an internship in mechanics, and thanks to this initiative I finally got the opportunity. I would like to thank all those involved in this initiative and I hope to soon take my place as a part of the great team at GAC,” said Mohammed Ali Al Hamdi, expressing his gratitude to GAC. “As interns we all face obstacles at the beginning but overcome them with confidence and hard work. As with many people my age, I was looking for an opportunity to prove myself but never heard back from other companies I contacted. I would like to thank GAC for finally giving the chance and I will not let them down,” added another trainee, BoushraTnaf Al Mhrzi.

The GAC training initiative was part of a recently signed agreement with the Ministry of Manpower to train and recruit 37 young Omanis throughout the company’s branch network. In accordance with the agreement the selected 37 Omanis are currently

undergoing 10 months of comprehensive training. The training encompasses detailed programmes for every job allocation including auto parts, sales, auto technicians, auto electrician and auto body repair.

In addition, GAC is also paying each trainee a monthly allowance for the duration of the training, after which each of them will be employed as full-time staff throughout the company’s branch network. Once fully employed, each of these future employees will also benefit from the training programmes that GAC regularly conducts for its staff; helping them further develop their skills and knowledge of the automotive sector.

“I really enjoy the courses and the way instructors deliver the lessons. We have gained a lot of experience and knowledge. Although I have had other opportunities offered to me, I believe I made the right choice by choosing a company as well known as GAC,” said Abdul Aziz Rashid Al Shahuh.

C U S T O M I S E D PAC K AG E S

Al Bustan Palace offers perfect setting for a dream wedding SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

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

every detail from initial menu tasting and protocol to guests’ accommodation, in order to make the experience as joyous and memorable as possible for the bride.

MUSCAT: Set against a majestic backdrop of the rugged Al Hajar Mountains and the glittering azure waters of the Sea of Oman, Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, provides the perfect setting for a dream wedding.

The palatial resort’s distinctive wedding venues include the

largest ballroom in the Sultanate.

Located in a separate wing of the hotel, this elegant 1,204sq.m space features an elaborate cut-crystal chandelier and a décor of muted gold and blues adding calm and splendour to the idyllic surroundings, says a press release.

Omani wedding customs and

traditions are very rich in culture and heritage. A wedding, in particular a traditional one, takes a lot of preparation, from the proposal, dowry or maher, and henna party to mulkah (marriage ceremony) and the wedding reception. With this in mind, a dedicated wedding expert is on hand to take care of

Bridal suite On the day of the wedding, the bride will have full access to the bridal suite. Designed for privacy and comfort, this ultra-luxurious suite features a spacious dressing area, separate make-up room, and a comfortable sitting area where friends and family members can join in for the ‘preparation’ rituals.

Wedding packages at Al Bustan Palace include luxurious accommodations with a complimentary bottle of non-alcoholic date champagne served in crystal flutes, special room rates for wedding guests, 3-tier wedding cake, and more. The packages can also be customised to suit the bride’s personal taste.

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THU RSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

ROUND-UP Honda Oman achieves highest GR-TEC rating A three-day long assessment saw the Honda Oman’s Wattayah employees achieving an incredible 93 per cent, which is currently the leading score in the GCC region

MUSCAT: Honda, one of the hallmarks in Oman’s automotive industry, continues to deliver excellence by driving employee competency, measured by General Repairs Training Effectiveness Confirma-

tion (GR-TEC) programme.

The Honda technicians undergo a series of continuous improvement programmes through well-designed trainings and development initiatives. GR-TEC is a state- of-the-art international mechanism that monitors and quantifies the effectiveness of the training programmes that are periodically carried out within Honda

based on parameters such as people, process, premises and quality, says a press release.

A three-day long assessment saw the Honda Wattayah workshop achieving an incredible 93 per cent, which is currently the leading score in the GCC region.

Commenting on the landmark achievement, Hussain Al Lawati, managing director, Omasco, stat-

S T Y L E S TAT E M E N T

ed, “We take our commitment to provide high-quality products and services to our customers seriously. The top GR-TEC rating is a testament to our highly motivated team who work together in harmony, putting into practice the set processes imparted during the exclusive sessions and on the job trainings.”

Yugo Konishi, GM – Honda Regional Office, stated, “At Honda, we strongly believe that market leadership can be achieved by a team that proceeds with ambition and strives constantly for innovation and efficiency. Omasco, continues on the path of excellence and its current GR-TEC of 93 per cent is an inspiring benchmark, to say the least.”

Honda Oman conducts regular training programmes within Oman at Omasco workshops as well as at the Honda regional office located in Dubai. The company provides hands-on training to prepare employees for the evolving automotive industry.

G R E E N S P O R T S I N I T I AT I V E

Bank Muscat set to present green playground in Rustaq MUSCAT: The Green Sports initiative launched by Bank Muscat in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports Affairs to promote Oman as a sporting nation is making steady progress across the Sultanate. The new playground developed as part of the unique CSR programme will be handed over to Al Hoqain Team in the wilayat of Al Rustaq under the auspices of Ali bin Khalfan Al Jabri, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Information, tomorrow, says a press release.

The Green Sports CSR programme was launched by the bank in 2012 to lay the foundation at the grass-root level for a sustainable sports infrastructure. In a record time, the bank has achieved notable success in developing green fields in all parts of the Sultanate, thus contributing to realising the sporting dreams of clubs and teams. Till date in the first three years of the programme, 34 sports clubs have been given support to green their playing fields.

The bank’s support to the initiative stems from its commitment to giving a helping hand to all de-

serving teams and clubs in Oman to green their playing fields. The bank recognises that local clubs wield immense influence on neighbourhood communities, especially youth, hence clubs with modern infrastructure facilities can help raise sporting heroes for the country. The funding criteria of the programme, include that sports clubs/teams should have been in existence for three years with a minimum membership of 300 youth from the local community. Bank Muscat will lay turf grass and hand over the fields to beneficiary clubs/teams.

The Green Sports initiative reiterates the bank’s support to Oman’s youth who represent the future of Oman. True to its commitment to supporting varied sporting activities in the country, Bank Muscat remains at the forefront in offering the required encouragement to youth. As the nation’s leading financial institution, Bank Muscat aims to motivate other corporates to provide the required impetus for youth to excel in all arenas and thereby contribute the development and progress of Oman.

CASE STUDY DISCUSSION

Ford Focus ST: The powerful hatch Areej presents seminar on MUSCAT: Wish to make a stylish statement anywhere, anytime?

Count on Ford’s enviable Focus ST to give you the lead. The Ford Focus ST is simply phenomenal.

It makes a grand and powerful mark in the hatchback group with the EcoBoost 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, quick-shifting sixspeed manual transmission and clever electronics that help make this powerful front-wheel-drive car tractable and easy to drive, quickly, says a press release.

Just as you’d expect from a car in this category, the Ford Focus ST bristles with performance and a deeply thrilling sound that the turbocharged engine makes at high rpm. The precision of the steering and the crisp action of the sixspeed manual transmission make you feel as if you’re in touch with this car’s mechanical soul.

Yet it might be more surprising that the Focus ST manages to keep its composure along the way. Special tuning of the electronically assisted power steering, electronic differential control and stability control, torque vectoring control help maintain traction.

The performance theme from the exterior is echoed inside the car, with a very bold high-contrast sport cockpit featuring Recaro seats, unique instrumentation and modern, highly technical finishes, combining to give the enthusiast

‘Managing Human Capital’

a sense of being one with the vehicle. Dramatically bolstered and rally-inspired partial leather front seats provide an ideal balance between sporting support and longdistance comfort.

Focus ST adds three additional gauges for turbo boost, oil pressure and oil temperature, housed in a dedicated binnacle on the upper instrument panel; the instrument cluster features unique ST sports graphics with red needle pointers and the centre console has a technical carbon-effect finish. ST instrumentation is geared to keep the ST driver informed while concentrated on the serious pursuit of enthusiastic driving. The sporty interior environment features a Footwell Illumination, steering wheel and gear shift knob plus metal racinginspired clutch, brake and accelerator pedals combining to provide both sporty luxury and light weight.

Standard equipment includes

18-inch alloy wheels, an electronically controlled limited-slip front differential, volume sensing perimeter sensing system, keyless ignition/entry, sunroof, full power accessories, air-conditioning, cruise control, a leather-wrapped tilt-andtelescoping steering wheel, a 60/40 split-folding seatback, the Sync voice-activated phone and audio player interface and a nine-speaker sound system with a CD player, USB/iPod interface and an auxiliary audio jack.

The Ford Focus ST also comes standard with stability control, inflatable curtain airbags for front and rear. Ford vehicles are known the world over for their exceptional safety, luxury and unsurpassed technological superiority. Ford ploughs in millions of dollars into R&D each year to ensure that every Ford offers maximum safety and motoring pleasure for its customers.

MUSCAT: Areej Vegetable Oils and Derivatives (AVOD) was the main presenter of the workshop on ‘Managing Human Capital’ conducted by Dr Shyam Giridharadas, Adjunct Professor, The George Washington University and Consultant, McKinsey and Company and Prism Consulting International.

The seminar, held recently at Hormuz Grand Hotel, was attended by 50 CEOs and HR professionals from different industries. Sheikh Hilal bin Hamad Al Hasani, CEO, PEIE, was the chief guest, says a press release.

At the seminar, Dr Shyam Giridharadas with his wide expertise and experience took the audience through his Human Capital Management framework, that would enable an organisation to ‘unleash the power of human capital to create sustain and distinctive performance over time’.

He highlighted the centrality of human capital in the strategic growth of any organisation and discussed ways for ‘authentic and inspirational leaders’ to implement effective human capital management strategies.

Prem Maker, Executive Director Areej Vegetable Oils, commented: “This is a subject that

demands the active involvement of top management and not delegated to HR entirely. The seminar through a case study discussion underscored how Human Capital strategy is an integral part of the overall business strategy of an organisation. The seminar took us through the application of a holistic framework developed by Dr Shyam Giridharadas for effective human capital management.

At Areej Vegetable Oils & Derivatives, we believe in continuous learning and skill up gradation at all levels.

“We were happy to be the presenter of this seminar organised

by Adinc DDB and the 12 member

team that attended the seminar have come back with some valuable learning.”

Areej Vegetable Oils and Derivatives is amongst the 20 largest public limited companies in the country. Areej Vegetable Oils enjoys a substantial market share in Oman and its current exports are 70 per cent of the total business. It has a modern hygienic plant and manufactures and markets top quality cooking oils, ghee, margarine, speciality fats and butter products. The company’s leading brands Minara, Sohar, Khafeef, Jabal Akhdar and Muscat Margarine are trusted names in every Omani home.

F O C U S O N C O R P O R AT E C U S T O M E R S

Omantel, Inmarsat partnership to provide better satellite communication services MUSCAT: Omantel, the leading provider of integrated telecommunication services in the Sultanate of Oman, announced its partnership with Inmarsat which owns and operates three global constellations of 12 satellites flying in geosynchronous orbit, to provide Omantel corporate customers with high quality communication solutions and added value services using satellites, says a press release.

“This partnership comes as a response to our corporate customers’ needs and provide them with alternative connectivity solutions.

Oman is a blessed country with diversified topography which makes

it challenging in some cases for companies operating in difficult terrains to communicate with their headquarters and clients located in different parts of the Sul-

tanate or the entire world,” commenting on the partnership Ali Bakhit Kashoob, Senior Manager, Product Development Corporate at Omantel, said.

“Our partnership with Inmarsat International, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communication services, will enable us to offer advanced and reliable seamless voice, broadband data and IP communications solutions across the globe to our corporate customers operating in areas that are not covered by terrestrial networks,” he added.

“Inmarsat has stood at the forefront of the mobile satellite services industry for more than 30 years. The company has a unique and unrivalled experience in designing and operating satellite communications networks,” explained Kashoob.

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ROUND-UP

Mitsubishi Winter Bonanza comes with amazing offers Valid until February 27, this offer applies to all 2014 MY Lancer Fortis, Lancer EX, ASX, Pajero, Pajero Sport and Outlander models MUSCAT: From the beginning of January 2015, General Automotive Company, the official distributor of Mitsubishi vehicles in Oman, is giving customers an exclusive opportunity to choose from an enviable range of select Mitsubishi vehicles with special offers and cash gifts, says a press release.

“2014 was a great year for us at GAC and we are entering the 2015 in a strong position with one of the most extensive and comprehen-

sive line-up of vehicles we have ever had in Oman. Our Winter Bonanza is our way of sharing our good fortune with our customers, offering them the opportunity to welcome the New Year with great deals on their favourite Mitsubishi,” said Rajesh Sharma, National Marketing Manager of General Automotive Company.

Valid until February 27, this offer applies to all 2014 MY Lancer Fortis, Lancer EX, ASX, Pajero, Pajero

Sport and Outlander models. As part of the offer each of these models will be available with six years unlimited mileage warranty, six years roadside assistance and free registration. Select models will also be available with free insurance for one year, free 2-year/ 30,000km service package and special cash gift offers of up to OMR500.

Each of these cars offers custom-

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ers a unique driving experience.

The Lancer Fortis offers the power and performance of a 1.8l engine at an extremely attractive price point; the Lancer EX has a range of styles and engines to suit anyone looking for a spacious high-quality Japanese family saloon; the ASX offers the high-riding benefits of a SUV with the ride and handling qualities of a saloon; the Outlander is by far

one of the most advanced models and also one of the newest; while the legendary Pajero offers marketleading off-road capability coupled with supple on road comfort.

“Each of these vehicles represents the very best of what Mitsubishi can offer and purchasing one will no doubt be a great start to the year for any Mitsubishi fan,” concluded Rajesh Sharma.

B O O K FA I R

‘Knowledge Week’ at Mars’ outlet in Wadi Kabir MUSCAT: Mars Hypermarket in Al Wadi Al Kabir is conducting ‘Knowledge Week’, an international book fair aimed at promoting the reading habit among children and the society. It is being organised in association with Al Bhaj Trading, the leading distributor of books in the Sultanate, says a press release.

The exhibition which starts today and ends on January 31 will be inaugurated by V. T. Vinod, managing director of Mars International. Thousands of books will be displayed in all categories such as science, fictions, novels, poetries, etc. The customers will get a chance to see and buy a variety of books from well renowned authors from all parts of the world at an attractive price.

E N T E R TA I N M E N T E X T R AVA G A N Z A

Indian School Salalah to host Carnival 2015 tomorrow The school is celebrating its 34th year and thus to mark the event, a souvenir magazine titled the ‘Voyage’ will be released which will be the highlight of the evening.

The magazine will comprise various articles and poems written by the students of the school

SALALAH: Indian School Salalah is hosting its Carnival 2015, an entertainment extravaganza of live music, fun and food tomorrow from 5pm to 11pm.

The event will feature an assortment of songs and orchestra performances from students, teachers, parents and specially invited singers from India, dances, games, kids’ activities and food stalls with delicious cuisines, says a press release.

The four famous singers Preetha, Ravishankar, Prakash Babu, Soumya and DJ Leo Peters are the special invitees from India who will mesmerise the audience with their melodious singing and music.

The school is celebrating its 34th year and thus to mark the event, a souvenir magazine titled the Voyage will be released which will be the highlight of the evening. The magazine will comprise various articles and poems written

STUNNING DESIGN

Kia Quoris steps into 2015 with ICOTY Award MUSCAT: In conjunction with the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show, Road & Travel Magazine (RTM) has named the 2015 Kia Quoris as its International Car of the Year.

The Quoris’s stunning design combined with luxurious amenities, impressive performance and great value propelled the Kia brand to an unprecedented third consecutive win of the prestigious ICOTY award, says a press release.

Kia fans may recall that the ICOTY jurors honoured Kia’s Cadenza premium sedan last year and the best-selling Optima midsize sedan in 2012.

“Since arriving in the US market 20 years ago, Kia has repeatedly defied conventional industry thinking, and the Quoris is our boldest move yet, making a significant leap forward for the brand and bringing new and affluent customers into our retail showrooms,” said Michael Sprague, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, KMA. “To win the prestigious ICOTY award three years running is a clear indication that our products consistently offer a world-class

balance of design, amenities, luxury and value for today’s discerning car buyers,” he added.

This year marks a new format for RTM’s annual ‘Vehicle of the Year’ award. Previously, one award for car of the year and one for truck of the year were announced. Beginning in 2014, RTM is honouring a single annual winner, adding greater significance to the Quoris’s victory amidst some very tough competition. In addition to product attributes such as style, comfort and performance, the award also considers how well the brand connects emotionally with the consumer through its marketing efforts. The winner is chosen by the ICOTY jury, which

consists of nationally renowned automotive journalists from respected publications such as Consumer Guide Automotive, MSN Autos, New Car News Syndicate and RTM. “Three years in a row for the same brand is a first for RTM, and it says a lot about Kia’s growth and its continuous introductions of exceptional new vehicles,” said Courtney Caldwell, Editor-inChief of Road & Travel Magazine.

“Not only is the car a beautiful piece of art inside and out, but Kia’s advertising agencies did a remarkable job of getting it into the hearts and minds of luxury sedan shoppers before it even hit the road. Overall, the car is stunning

and affordable, making upscale style and performance attainable to mid-America,” Caldwell added.

She further applauded Kia’s rapid rise from challenger to unbelievable!

Kia’s luxury flagship sedan, Quoris is a game-changer that pushes the horizons of its segment. It invites drivers to experience what we call ‘New Luxury,’ a breakaway and brand new take of what it means in modern terms – feature rich technology.

“While boasting the largest dimensions in its segment, Kia Quoris is the next step in Kia’s dynamic and innovative design legacy with its charismatic front mask and sophisticated curves and surfaces,” notes a website featuring it.

Industry analysts believe that the Quoris luxury flagship powers Kia into an entirely new segment of the global automotive market.

The first modern rear-wheel drive Kia tops the global model range and is a true landmark vehicle for the company, combining stylish design with luxurious comfort, engaging driving dynamics and advanced hi-tech features.

by the students of the school along with writings from school staff and messages from the community, SMC members and parents.

The carnival will bring together the families and the community together for fun and social activity. It is a great opportunity to educate people about numerous ways to support the students and the school.

Indian School Salalah has always been in the limelight due to

its various achievements and activities at the school and national level. The Carnival 2015 will prove to be another feather in its cap.

Cyril Samuel, President SMC, other members of SMC and the Principal T. R. Brown, along with teaching and non teaching staff of Indian School Salalah, have extended an open invitation to everyone to witness and be part of this mega event and make it a grand success.

B8

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

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Lovely new Touareg arrives in Oman New Touareg is typified by dynamically designed front and rear sections, a start stop feature, and fresh colours and wheels

MUSCAT: Volkswagen Oman, represented by Wattayah Motors, announced the new Touareg is now available in Oman, with prices starting from OMR17,999.

Unveiled at the SUV world premiere in Beijing in 2014, the new Touareg has been redesigned to offer customers new front and rear designs, new technical features and a wide range of colours and interiors, says a press release.

The Touareg is one of the world‘s most successful premium-class SUVs. Within a decade, Volkswagen has sold around 720,000 units

of the high-class sport utility vehicle; in 2013 alone over 70,000 drivers chose a new Touareg, which combines the best of passenger car comforts and off-road worlds in one model.

The 2015-generation can be identified by the new front and rear designs and by its new colours. In terms of technology, all V6 and V8 models now come equipped with an automatic post-collision braking system (helps prevent a secondary collision in case of an accident), bi-xenon headlights and a coasting function.

“The new Touareg enjoys a refreshed exterior in addition to exciting new technical additions such as the Start-Stop 1.6 with neutral when rolling. A leader in the premium SUV sector, the latest Touareg offers its audience an economical drive experience, whether on or off-road,” stated Thomas Milz, Managing Director of Volkswagen Middle East.

“Thanks to a stylish design and smart technology, the Touareg is a luxurious crossover SUV without compromise, as comfortable offroad as it is on the region’s highways. As a result the Touareg has enjoyed continued success in our market and we anticipate its popularity will continue with the arrival of the new model,” he added.

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According to Andrew Squires, General Manager at Wattayah Motors, “With the launch of the new Touareg, its iconic status as one of the most loved SUVs in the region will only continue to grow. Anyone who has driven a Touareg has been quick to discover just how it redefines the SUV market with its contemporary design and myriad of innovative driver assistance and safety systems.

“The new model’s improved specifications and technological updates will ensure it remains an industry pioneer. I am confident that with its arrival many more of

N E W PAY M E N T G AT E WAY

our customers will be able to discover just what sets the Touareg apart from the competition.”

Exterior design The front-end design of the Touareg was completely re-developed.

Especially distinctive are the headlights which are now larger; moreover, bi-xenon headlights as standard and the newly designed LED daytime running lights, available from the SEL package onwards.

The latest Touareg is available in a total of twelve body colours; five of which are new to the model package: ‘Light silver metallic’, ‘sweet date gold’, ‘moonlight blue metallic’, ‘black oak brown metallic’ and ‘reef blue metallic’.

Interior design The new Touareg also offers an extended line-up of upholstery

materials and wood accents — the ‘Vienna leather’: a fourth colour, ‘bonanza brown’ (dark brown), is now offered in addition to the colours ‘titan black’, ‘corn silk beige’ and ‘natural brown’.

In addition to these four colours, there is the elegant ‘Nappa leather“ which can now be ordered in the new colour ‘St. Tropez’ (light sand hue) and ‘bonanca brown’.

Also new are the two fine wood accents ‘sapelli mahagoni’, ‘wallnut’ and ‘engineered ebony’.

The interior of the Touareg reflects an extraordinary alliance of rugged SUV elements and sophisticated premium-class elements including aluminium rotary knobs for the Climatronic system, running gear adjustment, air suspension, radio-navigation system, mirror adjustment and the air vent knobs which have been replaced by a new style of rotary knob - perfected both to look and to touch.

In addition to the chrome accents around the control panel modules and the running gear adjustment controls, the red illumination of all controls is now white.

Start-stop feature The start-stop-system turns off the engine automatically when the car slows to 7km/h and comes to a halt. As soon as the brake pedal is

lifted, the engine starts meaning the engine only runs when needed.

Reduced fuel consumption Thanks to extensive aerodynamic improvements (such as air inlet openings in the front of the vehicle, modified door mirror caps and new wheel spoiler), tyres optimisation for low rolling resistance and standard 8-speed automatic gearbox optimised for low friction, Volkswagen was able to improve the fuel efficiency of the Touareg by up to six per cent. In everyday driving, fuel consumption is also reduced by an optimised stop-start system, a standard coasting function for the V6 versions (until now only available with the Touareg Hybrid) which means as soon as the driver releases the accelerator pedal, the engine is decoupled from the gearbox; this is also known as “coasting“ – a function even possible at vehicle speeds up to 130 km/h.

Technical perfection The standard steel-spring running gear has also been optimised in the new Touareg; improvements include more agile steering response and a gain in comfort. An air suspension is available as an option.

The new Touareg will initially be available with both V6 and V8 FSI, direct-injection petrol engines.

AWA R D

Bank Muscat, ITA join hands Oman LNG honoured for to ensure secure e-payment excellence in Omanisation Times News Service MUSCAT: With the signing of a vital agreement between Bank Muscat and Information Technology Authority (ITA), online payment in Oman will be much safer, convenient and reliable.

Bank Muscat, as part of its commitment to complement the government efforts to promote secure and convenient electronic payment infrastructure in the Sultanate, signed an agreement with the Information Technology Authority (ITA) to introduce a new Internet payment gateway for government and semi government entities.

The agreement to facilitate ‘Cyber Source’, one of the best internet payment gateway systems in the world, for government entities was signed by AbdulRazak Ali Issa, Chief Executive of Bank Muscat, and Dr Salim Al Ruzaiqi, Chief Executive Officer of ITA, at Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM), says a press release.

ITA is mandated by the government to promote electronic payment solutions to government institutions. With proven credentials across the globe, Cyber Source is well equipped for electronic transactions with a strong fraud control system. Ensuring reliable, convenient and secure transactions in line with the government’s vision and strategy for e-payment, the new internet pay-

ment gateway is expected to pave the way for new electronic services by government entities.

“We congratulate Bank Muscat for introducing the new Internet payment gateway which complements the government efforts to introduce secure and convenient electronic payment infrastructure in the Sultanate. The Sultanate’s eGovernment programme is aimed at bridging the digital divide and enabling citizens to communicate seamlessly with the government.

By promoting Cyber Source to government entities, ITA is committed to making a real difference in the electronic payment scenario in Oman. We look forward to embarking on a new era in e-payment in Oman with the new e-payment gateway,” said Dr Salim Al Ruzaiqi.

“Bank Muscat is proud to join hands with ITA to introduce Cyber Source Internet payment gateway for government institu-

tions in Oman. We are thankful to the government for all initiatives as part of the e-Government strategy for making electronic payment the preferred mode of payment in the Sultanate. The bank’s success in changing the customer payment behaviour from ‘cash to card’ is encouraging,” stated AbdulRazak Ali Issa.

“Reflecting our commitment to providing the ‘best in class’ service, Bank Muscat continues to invest in cutting edge IT infrastructure, latest Point of Sale terminals and competent human resources available in the payments industry. It is this ‘dedication’ and ‘commitment to service’ that has made Bank Muscat the preferred electronic payment service provider to the nation. Our ability and flexibility to adapt, innovate and provide customised payment solutions have made us unique in the market,” he added.

MUSCAT: Attesting to the company’s outstanding level of Omanisation empowerment, training, and development efforts, Ministry of Manpower has recognised Oman LNG with Excellence Award for its Omanisation efforts. The award celebrates Oman LNG’s continuing efforts since its inception in the development of national workforce.

A commemorative plaque was presented to Oman LNG at a ceremony held recently under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Kamil bin Fahd Al Said, Assistant Secretary General for the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister for Council of Ministers, at Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, says a press release.

The award was handed over in the presence of Minister of Manpower Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Bakri and other dignitaries from the government and private sectors. The annual recognition ceremony aims at highlighting private sector’s robust efforts in the Omanisation, training and development of national workforce and encouraging employers to develop and implement best practices for capacity building. Amor bin Nasser Al Matani, deputy CEO and chief human resources officer at Oman LNG, received the award on behalf of Oman LNG. With an Omanisation rate of over 90 per cent, an exceptional training programme for employ-

ees, internationally recognised health and safety standards, world-class work facilities and a large pool of professionals across many specialisations, Oman LNG has achieved many landmarks, becoming a much sought-after employer, with many individuals aspiring to join its highly-skilled workforce.

The acquisition of specialised skills by the Omani population in any sector of the economy is critical to ensure that the country’s citizens are well-equipped and largely self-sufficient to grow the economy in its most important sectors, which deliver substantial earnings for the Sultanate. In this instance, Oman LNG has developed an unique skill set for Omani nationals it employs across all business disciplines.

Oman LNG has allocated $7.45 million for staff training pro-

grammes and identified interventions. It is also the main catalyst in urging its staff to achieve professional qualifications that drive expertise on the job, which has resulted in a growing number of staff who are undertaking professional certificates in different disciplines at various accredited institutes around the globe.

“Our staff have been and will always remain Oman LNG’s most prized asset in the business. We always strive to identify and implement best training and development schemes which would accelerate the capacity building of our national workforce that composes over 90 per cent of company’s staff, and enable them to take new challenging roles. Their service and dedication have played a significant role in the company’s success and brought it to beyond recognition,” said Amor.

RECOGNITION

SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION

Bank Sohar senior management officials with Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Shehi, Minister of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, at the Annual Yearend Draws of the Al Mumayaz Savings Scheme held recently at Grand Hyatt Hotel. — Supplied photo

Octal receives global OHSAS certification MUSCAT: Octal has achieved the internationally-recognised Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) standard certification, OHSAS 18001:2007, from Intertek, a leading global quality assurance solutions provider to industries worldwide.

Validating the company’s commitment to introducing a systematic approach to occupational health and safety and ensuring the wellbeing of all its employees, the accreditation empowers Octal to constantly assess workplace hazards and implement preventative measures as part of day-to-day operations, further promote a safe and healthy working environment as well as improve overall perfor-

mance, says a press release.

Following months of preparation, Octal achieved the certification after successfully passing a series of audits to confirm that the requirements for the formulation and maintenance of OHSAS have been fully met.

“The OHSAS 18001:2007 is based on the ‘plan–do–check– act’ management process, and has been designed to be compatible with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards. We recognise that Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) are paramount to our people’s welfare, our success, our customer satisfaction and the communities in which we operate,”said Mohammed Ali AlAamri, HSE Manager at Octal.

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WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM THUR SDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

SECTION

SPOR YOUR GAME

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RETURN OF THE JEDI AS AUSSIES FACE CHINA Inspirational captain Mile Jedinak is set to return for Australia as the Socceroos and undefeated China battle for a place in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup on Thursday. >C2

Day of great escapes

shade after 102 impressive minutes. The Scot’s win extended his unbeaten record against Australians to 10-0, deflating the crowd’s joy slightly after 10 locals had made it past the first round across both the men’s and women’s draws.

“I think I moved pretty well today ... If you want to win these tournaments, you need to defend well,” said Murray,.

Canadian sensation Eugenie Bouchard, a semi-finalist on her Melbourne Park debut last year, continued her love affair with the blue hard courts, despatching Kiki Bertens 6-0, 6-3 in 54 minutes.

Seventh seed Tomas Berdych also roared forward with a straight sets demolition of Austrian veteran Juergen Melzer.

Third seed Simona Halep, highly fancied to win her maiden grand slam title after a breakthrough 2014, capped the evening session by thrashing Australia’s Jarmila Gajdosova 6-2, 6-2.

Ailing Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova survived anxious moments on a hot day at the Melbourne Park

MELBOURNE: An ailing Rafa Nadal dug deep into his vast reservoir of grit to stave off American qualifier Tim Smyczek and stagger into the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday on a day of great escapes.

Gushing sweat and stooping woozily between points, the sickly Spaniard dragged his cramping body into a fifth set under the lights of Rod Laver Arena, breaking the 112th-ranked American in the 11th game before closing out a 6-2, 3-6, 6-7(2), 6-3 7-5 win in four gruelling hours and 12 minutes.

Nadal slumped to his knees on the blue hard court having narrowly averted a repeat of his Melbourne Park jinx.

“It was a very tough night for me (and) ... a tough period of seven months without competition,” Nadal, who was out of action for several months during the latter half of the 2014 through injury and illness, said in a courtside interview.

“Today was a little bit humid conditions and I felt very tired after the first set, through the whole match.

“The fantastic crowd helped a lot so many thanks for that.”

For much of the match, there was a hush over the terraces,

RELIEVED: Maria Sharapova of Russia celebrates defeating Alexandra Panova. – Reuters

with many in the crowd no doubt spooked by the memories of Nadal’s torture in the final last year when he lost to Stan Wawrinka while carrying a back injury.

Nadal’s coach and uncle Toni Nadal revealed his nephew had been bitten below the eye by a mosquito in the run up to the match, adding further intrigue to a day of high drama at Melbourne Park.

Centre court was the backdrop for nerve-shredding tests for some of the coolest heads in the business and with the temperature rising

above 32 degrees Celsius (90F), Maria Sharapova showed ice in her veins. She mounted a brilliant counter-attack to fend off fellow Russian Alexandra Panova, a 150th-ranked qualifier playing the match of her life.

Down two breaks of serves at 4-1 in the deciding set, Sharapova clawed back to 5-4 and clobbered a string of forehand winners to save two match-points before marching on to a defiant 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 victory.

“When other things aren’t working, maybe the mental side of things

VICTORY CRY: Spain’s Rafael Nadal celebrates winning his men’s singles match against Tim Smyczek of the US. – AFP

will help you out,” the five-times grand slam champion told reporters. “Until the very end I still try to dictate, I still try to find my way.”

Men’s second seed Roger Federer was also forced to scrap in the following match on centre court, after being thrown by a phantom pain on the little finger of his racquet hand during his 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over 48th-ranked Italian Simone Bolelli. Stunned in the first set by a barrage of clean hitting, the Swiss master growled at a prying television camera as medi-

cal staff examined his finger during the change of ends.

However, he gritted his teeth and merely got on with the job, closing out the match with a rush to the net that would have pleased coach and famous serve-volleyer Stefan Edberg.

Murray in a hurry Andy Murray’s second outing on the Margaret Court Arena was far more serene as the sixth seed trounced Marinko Matosevic 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 to retreat to the cool of the

Good day for Indians India enjoyed an all-win day at the Australian Open tennis Grand Slam after Leander Paes and Sania Mirza sailed into the second round of their respective men’s and women’s doubles events.

Sania and her Chinese Taipei partner Su-Wei Hsieh, who are seeded second, defeated the Argentine-Swiss combine of Maria Irigoyen and Romina Oprandi 6-2 6-0 in just 48 minutes to advance.

The Indo-Taipei team will now be up against the Canadian-Polish pair of Gabriela Dabrowski and Alicja Rosolska.

In the men’s doubles event, 10th seeded Paes and his South African partner Raven Klaasen edged past the American duo of Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram 6-4 7-6 (6) to enter the second round. -Reuters, PTI

C2

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

SPORTS

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Return of the Jedi as Australia to face China in quarterfinals Australia skipper Mile Jedinak, the Crystal Palace midfielder was injured in the opening Group A win against Kuwait, and sat out the 4-0 drubbing of Oman and the Saturday’s narrow loss to South Korea

BRISBANE: Inspirational captain Mile Jedinak is set to return for Australia as the Socceroos and undefeated China battle for a place in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup on Thursday.

The Crystal Palace midfielder was injured in Australia’s opening Group A win against Kuwait, and sat out the 4-0 drubbing of Oman and Saturday’s narrow loss to South Korea.

“If selected, I’ll be ready. That goes without saying,” said Jedinak, nicknamed “Jedi”.

“Sitting out the last couple of games hasn’t been easy. But it’s given me a little (bit) of time to see what other ways I can help,” he added.

“Do I think I will be affected by lack of game time the last couple of games? Probably not, but that is just me — we will have to wait and see.”

Jedinak’s return from an ankle injury is a massive boost for coach Ange Postecoglou, who is expected to return to his first-choice attack of record scorer Tim Cahill and Bayer Leverkusen forward Robbie Kruse.

Postecoglou rued the decision to bench Cahill, Kruse and striker Mathew Leckie for their game against the Koreans when Australia lost 1-0, leaving them with a quarter-final in hot, humid Brisbane and a potential semi against holders Japan in Newcastle.

The stakes are high on Thursday, with defeat likely to set back Australia’s push to popularise football in a country traditionally focused on rugby, cricket and Australian rules.

China, like Australia, have never won the Asian Cup and they are seeking a title which would finally put football’s “sleeping giant” at the top of the regional pecking order.

The Socceroos won’t be at full strength and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defender Alex Wilkinson

‘Lucky’ ballboy backs China to beat Australia

BRIGHT HOPE: China’s Sun Ke

stretches. – Reuters

is expected to replace suspended centre-back Matthew Spiranovic.

They must now overcome a China side that has enjoyed its best ever start to the Asian Cup, winning all three group matches for the first time.

But Postecoglou said he wasn’t thinking about the potential fallout from a defeat.

“I don’t have a great imagination,” he said. “I am pretty boring in that way. All I see is what is in front of us.”

The coach added: “I leave the imagination to my four-monthold, he comes up with some things that surprise me.”

Zheng concern China boss Alain Perrin is sweating on the fitness of his own captain, Zheng Zhi, after the skipper was substituted complaining of back pain in Sunday’s 2-1 win over North Korea in Canberra.

WARMING-UP: From left to right, Australia’s Mile Jedinak, Jason Davidson, Tim Cahill and Matt McKay train ahead of their Asian Cup quarterfinals match against China in Brisbane. – Reuters

The 2013 Asian player of the year is one of China’s most successful footballing exports and the 34-year-old lynchpin is seen as crucial to his side’s chances of winning a first Asian Cup. China — twice Asian Cup runners-up — finished with a perfect three wins out of three in Group B, two of them in Brisbane, and largely thanks to the goals of Sun Ke. The winger has netted three

times, including a spectacular winner against Uzbekistan, and he said China were fully focused for the quarterfinal.

“Of course Australia are a very strong team and this time they are the hosts,” Sun said.

“I’m sure the next match will be very difficult for us.

“But we just need to do what we should do. I think if we can focus on the game, and keep our concen-

tration to make sure we pay attention to every detail, I think we can leave the pitch having performed well,” he added.

Perrin has warned his players to expect a backlash from the Socceroos after their Korean defeat, and he also complained the schedule may hamper China’s chances.

“We have one day less recovery time than Australia,” said the Frenchman. - AFP

BRISBANE: The “lucky” ballboy who helped China save a penalty which sparked their run to the Asian Cup quarterfinals has backed Alain Perrin’s men to upset his beloved Australia on Thursday.

Twelve-year-old Stephan White became a sensation in China after telling goalkeeper Wang Dalei which way to dive when he saved a vital spot kick against Saudi Arabia.

Now, in a sign which will be welcomed by Chinese fans, the Brisbane schoolboy says a gut feeling tells him the visitors will prevail in the crunch clash in his home town.

“My heart says Australia to win, but my gut says China,” White said. — AFP

PREVIEW

Past defeats will aid Uzbeks against South Koreans in Asian Cup quarters MELBOURNE: Uzbekistan will harness the pain of almost two decades of frustration against South Korea to drive them to victory in their Asian Cup quarterfinal on Thursday, coach Mirdjalal Kasimov said.

The Uzbeks have only beaten the Koreans once in 11 meetings, a 1-0 success in the semi-finals of the 1994 Asian Games in Japan where they went on to win gold.

Since then, South Korea have had the measure of their technically strong but mentally frail central Asian foes, a 2-1 World Cup qualifying win in 1997 kicking off a streak of eight victories and two draws.

The last meeting came in Seoul 18 months ago in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. Akmal Shorakhmedov scored an own goal as South Korea grabbed a precious 1-0 win in their penultimate qualifier that saw them edge out the Uzbeks by a single goal for an automatic berth.

Uzbekistan were forced into

a showdown with Jordan with a spot in an intercontinental playoff at stake, but their last qualifying hope was extinguished when they lost on penalties after both legs finished 1-1.

Mirdjalal Kasimov still feels the pain and expects a revenge win in Melbourne.

“We promise it and we want it,” said the former midfielder, who was part of the 1994 Asian Games side and is in his second spell as coach.

“We always think about losing to Korea in the World Cup qualifiers and I think the players will do their best. It will be interesting.”

A 3-1 win over Saudi Arabia in their final Group B game secured the Uzbeks the runners-up spot behind China.

They had taken an early lead only to be pegged back by the Saudis and looked in danger of throwing away another winning position as they did in a 2-1 loss to China.

But they regrouped and over-

We always think about losing to Korea in the World Cup qualifiers and I think the players will do their best Mirdjalal Kasimov

Uzbekistan coach

came the frustration of some questionable refereeing to run out deserved winners.

“It was one of the great wins in my opinion,” Kasimov said.

“If we play like this in all the games, we will reach a high level.”

However, South Korea have also been progressing since their disjointed 1-0 wins over Oman and Kuwait in their first two Group A games.

Injuries and illness swept through the squad but Uli Stielike’s wounded side showed why they should not be discounted from winning a first Asian Cup since 1960, beating hosts Australia 1-0 in Brisbane to seal top spot.

Lee Jeong-hyeop has taken his chance to fill the striker void, while attacking midfielder Nam Tae-hee scored the winner against Kuwait and is a likely starter with first choice pair Koo Ja-cheol and Lee Chung-yong out with injury.

Question marks remain about the ever changing defence, despite three clean sheets, but momentum is building and the squad have all pitched in.

“We have some injuries but we have good players on the bench,” skipper Ki Sung-yueng said. - Reuters

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T H U R S DAY, JAN UARY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS C O M M E N TA RY

This is England’s big chance as depleted Aussies look vulnerable

Proteas cruise to series victory over woeful WI SCOREBOARD

E

ngland’s easy win over India will give them loads of confidence as they take on Australia in their second encounter at Hobart. The English will feel more at home in Tasmania because the weather will be pretty similar to what you get in England in the summer, and that should help them in their game too.

With James Anderson back in the team and Steve Finn finding great rhythm against India, the Australians may not find it as easy as they did in their first match in Sydney.

Ian Bell has also got back to form after his first ball dismissal there and with James Taylor making an impressive half century against the Indians their batting is also looking up.

Moeen Ali has gone on record as saying that they need a blaster at the top of the order and he sees himself in that role.

Hopefully, he will succeed else he will find that for all his team spirited effort in trying to be that aggressor, he will be on the sidelines after a few failures while the others who will play the traditional way and still fail will be given more chances.

Mark Ramprakash is the batting coach of the England team, and if anybody can tell him that a British passport does not necessarily mean you are considered English, he can.

Australia will be without their skipper George Bailey who has been fined and suspended for a match for a slow over rate, and David Warner who has been rested because his hamstring is twitching more than his lips.

That will mean Steve Smith will be the new oneday skipper, and after his giant feats in the Test series against India, it won’t be a surprise if he takes to it like a duck taking to water. Cameron White and Shaun Marsh are the replacements, and while they have plenty of experience, the batting does look a little brittle without Warner and Bailey.

Watson is under pressure again for his failures to convert starts into substantial scores, and once Mitchell

WEST INDIES D. Smith c De Villiers b Philander

1

N. Deonarine c De Villiers b Steyn

10

M. Samuels c Rossouw b Imran Tahir

26

D. Ramdin b Steyn

2

J. Carter lbw b Imran Tahir

18

A. Russell b Morkel

16

C. Brathwaite lbw b Imran Tahir

Australia will be without their skipper George Bailey who has been suspended for a match for a slow over rate, and David Warner who has been rested because his hamstring is twitching more than his lips. That will mean Steve Smith will be the new skipper and it won’t be a surprise if he takes to it like a duck taking to water

Marsh gets fit then his place could be in danger.

With so many of their first choice players, including Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson, on the injured list along with Warner and the suspended Bailey, the Aussies do look a bit vulnerable.

They will, of course, fight till the end as they invariably do and won’t make it easy for the opponents.

This is England’s big chance to win and get over the bogey of losing to Australia in Australia, and if they do that then India will have to play extraordinary cricket in their remaining two league games to get into the final. - PMG

Is expansion good or bad for Asian Cup? opment both on and off the field,” he told Reuters this week.

“When I coached Thailand we lost out on goal difference and the qualification would have been a massive boost for the country’s football.”

Middle tier Palestine were fortunate to ship only 11 goals in Australia, with the more established 10-times Gulf champions Kuwait leaking eight in their first two before exiting. Darby, who has also worked in Bahrain, Singapore, Vietnam and most recently in the new Indian Super League with Mumbai, said thumping defeats were inevitable and trying to protect sides against them was pointless.

“Big scores will always happen in tournaments, even Brazil lost by six to Germany,” he said of the 2014 World Cup hosts’ 7-1 hammering in July.

“There will always be a block of great teams and the weaker group, but teams such as Jordan, Iraq and Bahrain are starting to create a middle tier and China is at last looking like they should be.”

China only scrapped through to the finals on goal difference after a woeful qualifying campaign, but Alain Perrin’s young side have won three out of three to set up a quarterfinal against the hosts.

“For the game in Asia a Chinese victory would be incredible. They should be a world power.” - Reuters

4

J. Holder not out

17

J. Taylor lbw b Philander

0

S. Benn st De Villiers b Imran Tahir

18

Extras (lb-4, w-1)

5

Total (33.4 overs)

122

Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Smith), 2-6 (Gayle), 3-33 (Deonarine), 4-43 (Ramdin), 5-52 (Samuels), 6-83 (Russell), 7-87 (Carter), 8-95 (Brathwaite), 9-96 (Taylor) Bowling: Morkel 7-0-26-1 (1w), Philander 8-2-27-3, Steyn 6-1-21-2, Duminy 3-011-0, Behardien 2-0-5-0, Imran Tahir 7.4-0-28-4 SOUTH AFRICA R. Rossouw c Deonarine b Holder

7

H. Amla not out

61

F. du Plessis not out

51

Extras (lb-3 w-2) Total (for 1 wikt, 24.4 overs)

5 124

Fall of wickets: 1-27 (Rossouw) Did not bat: A. de Villiers, J. Duminy, D. Miller, F. Behardien, V. Philander, D. Steyn, M. Morkel, I. Tahir Bowling: J. Taylor 5-0-28-0 (w-1); S. Benn 3-0-23-0; J. Holder 5-1-14-1; A. Russell 5-0-15-0 (w-1); N. Deonarine 1-0-5-0; C. Brathwaite 5-0-31-0; C. Gayle 0.4-0-5-0 Man of the match: Vernon Philander Umpires: Johan Cloete (RSA), Sundaram Ravi (IND) TV umpire: Steve Davis (AUS), Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

DAY’S STAR: Vernon Philander triggered the collapse of West Indies, whose batsmen were horrible.

Man of the match Vernon Philander took

FOOTBALL

SINGAPORE: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has lauded the record lack of draws at the ongoing Asian Cup in Australia, but the absence of tied matches raises questions about the competitiveness of future 24team expanded editions.

Five of the quarter-finalists at the 16-team tournament in Australia qualified with a group game to spare, with six of the first 20 matches being won by at least a three-goal margin. There were no draws in any of the 24 group stage games, surpassing the previous mark at a major soccer event of 18 set at the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay, the AFC said.

Remarkable, as the regional body described it?

Or simply predictable, such is the gulf in class between the continent’s haves and have nots?

The prospect of Lebanon, Malaysia or Hong Kong joining the 24-team fray in four years’ time would likely dilute the group phase even further, weaken the tournament’s spectacle and only add to its length.

That, though, is a short-term view, according to the experienced English coach Steve Darby, who has worked extensively throughout the continent.

“By opening up the Asian Cup draw to 24, at least eight more countries have the chance to gain international tournament experience, which is so vital to devel-

5

C. Gayle c De Villiers b Philander

two wickets inside the first two overs and finished with three for 27, while leg-spinner Imran Tahir claimed a career-best 4 for 28 EAST LONDON: On a pitch which captain Jason Holder admitted held no terrors, the West Indies collapsed to 122 all out and suffered a humiliating nine-wicket defeat in the third one-day international against South Africa at Buffalo Park on Wednesday.

Marlon Samuels made 26 but no other West Indian batsmen reached 20 in a dismal performance on a good pitch.

Man of the match Vernon Philander took two wickets inside the first two overs and finished with

three for 27, while leg-spinner Imran Tahir claimed a career-best four for 28. South Africa needed just 24.4 overs to complete a series-clinching win. Hashim Amla took his tally for the series to 280 runs for once out with an unbeaten 61 not out, while Faf du Plessis made 51 not out.

It was another crushing defeat for the West Indies following a one-sided encounter in the second match in Johannesburg last Sunday when South Africa made 439 for two on the way to winning

by 148 runs. “We batted poorly,” said Holder.

“The pitch was a little slow but there was nothing wrong with it.”

Holder said the senior players in the side had not yet performed as they should have done.

“We need to show pride in the last two games now,” he said.

It was no surprise that the West Indies batted first on a dry pitch expected to get slower and lower in the second half of the match, especially after the punishment their bowlers took after South Africa were sent in to bat in Johannesburg. But the tourists were in trouble almost immediately and were unable to mount any substantial partnerships. Philander had opening batsmen Dwayne Smith and Chris Gayle caught behind inside the first four overs and fast bowler Dale Steyn followed up with the wickets of Narsingh Deonarine and Denesh Ramdin as the West Indies stumbled to 43 for four.

Samuels looked the one bats-

man capable of playing a major innings before he was caught on the long-off boundary off Tahir.

The South Africans were batting before the scheduled supper break and needed just an hour afterwards to secure the win.

Amla cruised to his 61 off 63 balls with nine fours, while Du Plessis profited from two dropped catches in making his runs off 71 balls. South Africa fielded the same side for the third match in the row and captain AB de Villiers said it was an important win ahead of the World Cup next month.

“We’ve said that in the knockout stages of the World Cup you need to win three matches in a row and we’ve done that,” said de Villiers, who scored the fastest ever century in one day international cricket in the win last Sunday.

With the series secured, De Villiers said the remaining members of the World Cup squad would get an opportunity to play in the two remaining matches. - AFP

C4

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

SPORTS

Oman aim for all-round success as hosts of GCC Women’s Games The logo of the fourth GCC Women’s Games was unveiled on Wednesday with the Omani officials declaring their readiness to host a successful event in March this year

A. SESHAGIRI RAO

raoas@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: The Sultanate is aiming for both on field and off field success as the hosts of the forthcoming GCC Women’s Games.

The fourth edition of the Gulf region’s women’s sports extravaganza is scheduled to be organised here in Muscat from March 8 to 18.

The Ministry of Sports Affairs and Oman Women’s Sports Committee officials on Wednesday declared their readiness to host a successful event during the launch ceremony of Games logo and website.

During an impressive ceremony organised at the Diplomatic Club, the official Games logo — depicting the colours of all the participating nations, their culture and the sports — was unveiled by Dr. Muna Fahad Mahmood Al Said in the presence of Minister of Sports Affairs Sheikh Saad Al Saadi, Undersecretary Rashad Al Hinai, Oman Women’s Sports Committee Chairperson Sayyida Sana Al Busaidi and the women sports bodies’ representatives of the participating nations.

Speaking on the occasion, Undersecretary Rashad Al Hiani said: “We are ready for the Games.

Come March, we will be welcoming all the athletes and officials from the participating nations.”

“We are happy to bring together the sportswomen from our friendly Gulf countries. We want to host a very great and successful Games,” he added.

IMPRESSIVE SHOW: Representatives from five participating nations pose for a group photo along with children, who are depicting the countries colours and sports, during

the launch ceremony of the fourth the GCC Women’s Games at Diplomatic Club on Wednesday.

Two new sports Meanwhile, Oman Women’s Sports Committee Director Saada Salim Al Ismaili said they are aiming for host a memorable Games while hoping for all-round success.

“Obviously we want the Games to be very successful. And I think we have already began the process of achieving that goal today, with this impressive ceremony to launch the logo and the Games website,” she said.

“All of us have been working hard. And we will continue with the same enthusiasm to make the Games a grand success.”

“The GCC Women’s Games are a great opportunity for us to showcase our organisational abilities as well as the talent of our Omani sportswomen. And more importantly it is a great opportunity to bring all these women athletes together and also know more about our cultures,” she added.

LOGO LAUNCH: Dr. Muna Fahad Mahmood Al Said presses the remote to officially unveil the Games logo.

Stating that the fourth edition of the Games will be bigger and more challenging, she said: “Compared to the previous editions, this is going to be a bigger challenge as there will be more sports. This time the Games will comprise a total of ten games, including two new desciplines

which are tennis and handball.”

“We will be hosting more than seven hundred athletes, accompanies technical and administrative officials from all GCC nations with the exception of Saudi Arabia. In addition there will be VIPs and other delegates and the number

may go beyond thousand. So obviously it is going to be a big challenge and we will surely be ready for it,” she added.

Aiming to improve The sports include athletics, bowling, basketball, handball, tennis,

taekwondo, volleyball, shooting, endurance horse racing and wheelchair athletics.

Speaking about Oman’s chances of winning medals, she said: “We won the overall third place in the last edition in 2013. We won gold medals in taekwondo and athletics (100m race) and a silver in volleyball in addition to other achievements.

“We are confident of improving on the overall third place. We are expecting success in the two new desciplines being added this time - tennis and handball.”

Saada Al Ismaili also informed that Games, which will be open to public, will be held in different venues.

“The main venue will be the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex while the horse endurance race and shooting competitions will take place in Al Rahba Farm in Barka and Ghala Shooting Range respectively,” she said.

FOOTBALL

OFA hits back at critics MUSCAT: The Oman Football Association (OFA) rejected the claims of appointing a woman technical expert to supervise the Oman women’s football.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the OFA General Secretary Sultan Ameen Al Zadjali said: “The Oman Football Association is pleased to clarify to the public some of the points the guests of Al Dakkah programme of the sports channel, Oman TV, have tackled during the Oman national team’s participation in the Asian Cup in Australia.

“One of the guests said that the OFA has signed a contract with the wife of the OFA technical expert for supervising the women’s football team against OMR 6,000. The OFA denies such allegations as the wife of the technical expert has no relation with the OFA and that the OFA has no contract with her or any other person.

“The same guest has also accused the OFA of wasting $100 million with no positive results other than winning the Gulf Cup and one win in three other cham-

pionships. The said figure is not correct. The OFA does not only participate in the Gulf Cups but in all other competitions at the regional and international level with the first national team and different age groups teams.

“The OFA also runs various local football competitions. Like other sports associations, the OFA enjoys the government support to meet part of its needs and it has sought enhancement of its financial resources from different sources.

“The news circulated from time to time that the OFA has obtained tens of million rials from government support is exaggerated and aimed to cast doubts on the credibility of the OFA. The annual government support for the OFA is known to each and every member of the OFA board and is mentioned in the annual reports.

“Another guest of the said programme has accused the director of the first national football team receiving two bonuses every time the first national team and technical body are honoured. The official documents with the OFA and the

Ministry of Sports Affairs prove the inaccuracy of such allegations.”

The OFA also rejected the allegations made by a guest of the said programme over employment of ‘coaches with fake certificates’.

“These allegations are baseless and came from someone who once personally contracted with the said coaches besides being responsible for several technical resolutions taken during his term.

“He also spoke about travelling of four members of OFA board with the national team to Australia. But he had no idea that their travel with the team was part of their duties and the cost of their airfare was covered by the Asian Football Confederation.

“The OFA is a sports organisation operating in accordance with the rules, regulations and mechanisms subjected to the control of the concerned state authorities.

“The OFA urges the personnel concerned with sports programmes and sports media to handle the various sports issues wisely for the interest of the public,” the statement added.

T H U R S DAY, JAN UARY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

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ISG record 10-wicket victory against GCC Opting to bat first,

Cameron rout OCT Al Nahdha

GCC were bowled out for a measly 58 runs in 16.1 overs. ISG in reply scored 60 for no loss in 4.1 overs

MUSCAT: Indian School Al Ghubra (ISG) recorded a thumping 10-wicket win against Gulf Cricket Academy (GCC) in an Al Turki Enterprises-sponsored 25 oversa-side Under-16 match played at the Municipality Ground No.3 in Al Amerat.

Opting to bat first, GCC were hustled out for a measly 58 runs in 16.1 overs. Shri Hari S.K. chipping in with 24 runs. Roshan Ashok and Ponnanna Bopaiah claimed three wickets each while Harshit Aiyappa bagged two.

ISG in reply scored 60 for no loss in just 4.1 overs with Ali Asger staying unbeaten on 33.

Brief scores: GCC 58 16.1 overs (Shri Hari S.K. 24; Roshan Ashok 3/16, Ponnanna Bopaiah 3/16, Harshit Aiyappa 2/14) lost to ISG 60 for no loss in 4.1

MUSCAT: Cameron defeated OCT Al Nahdha by eight wickets in a J Division T20 match played at the Municipality Ground No. 4 in Al Amerat.

Opting to bat first, a 10-member OCT Al Nahdha team were bowled out for 78 in 15.5 overs. Zakariya Al Baluhsi batting at No.9 remaining unbeaten on 13.

Sudhir Kumar claimed three wickets while Jayachandran P. grabbed two.

Chasing a modest target,

overs (Ali Asger 33 n.o). Points: ISG - 2 (7 games, 5 pts), GCC - Nil (7 games, Nil).

Easy for SLSM In another Al Turki Enterprises-sponsored Junior League 25 overs-a-side Under-16 match played at the same venue, Sri Lankan School Muscat (SLSM) defeated Muscat Cricket Coaching Centre (MCCC) by eight wickets.

Opting to field first, SLSM did well to restrict MCCC to 122 for

Cameron scored 79 runs for the loss of two wickets in 7.5 overs with Anoop Kumar opening the batting remaining undefeated on 42.

Yahya Maula picked up the two wickets.

Brief scores: OCT Al Nahdha 78 in 15.5 overs (Zakariya Al Balushi 13; Sudhir Kumar 3/24, Jayachandran P. 2/15) lost to Cameron 79 for 2 in 7.5overs (Anoop Kumar 42 n.o.; Yahya Maula 2/32).

Points: Cameron - 2 (5 games, 6 pts), OCT Al Nahdha - Nil (5 games, 1 pts).

eight wickets in 25 overs. Ragul Virupak coming at the fall of the first wicket chipped in with 36.

Janith De Silva picked up three wickets while Wenogk Romeno Fernando bagged two.

SLSM in their turn lost both openers with 22 runs on the board but recovered to reach their target scoring 123 for the loss of two wickets in 18.2 overs thanks to an unfinished third-wicket partnership of 101 runs between skipper Indunil

Udara Palihawadana (61 not out) and Azeem Isaam 34 (not out).

Navin Kumar Jangir picked up the two wickets.

Brief scores: MCCC 122 for 8 in 25 overs (Ragul Virupak 36; Janith De Silva 3/27, Wenogk Romeno Fernando 2/11) lost to SLSM 123 for 2 in 18.2 overs (Indunil Udara Palihawadana 61 n.o., Azeem Issam 34 n.o.; Navin Kumar Jangir 2/19). Points: SLSM - 2 (7 games, 8 pts), MCCC - Nil (7 games, 5 pts).

ISG U13 team win Indian School Al Ghubra (ISG) registered a 48-run win against Gulf Cricket Centre (GCC) in a Junior League T20 Under-13 match.

Electing to bat first, ISG, thanks to an opening partnership of 89 from Sanin Fahad (46) and skipper Aryan Shinde (45), scored 158 for the loss of three wickets in 20h overs. Vrishab Dhavale coming in at the fall of the first wicket chipped in with an unbeaten 34.

In reply, GCC managed to score 110 for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs with only Mohammed Muttayab (24) and skipper Mohammed Rayan (23) making any noteworthy contributions. Aditya Harish bagged two wickets.

Brief scores: ISG 158 for 3 in 20 overs (Sanin Fahad 46, Aryan Shinde 45, Vrishab Dhavale 34 n.o.) bt GCC 110 for 7 in 20 overs (M. Muttayab 24, Mohammed Rayan 23; Aditya Harish 2/17). Points: ISG – 2 (7 games, 7 pts), GCC – Nil (7 games, 1 pt).

ISC OPEN

Omani talents make impressive start MUSCAT: Omani players have made an impressive start at the ISC-Muscat Pharmacy Open Junior Tennis Tournament organised by the Indian Social Club (ISC) Muscat which got underway at the club’s court in Darsait.

The tournament has received an overwhelming response with participation of players of different nationalities including a large Omani and Indian contingent.

Top Omani juniors Younis Al Rawahi, Abdullah Al Barwani, Zakariya Al Suleimani, Muneer Al Rawahi, Samar Al Bakri and Maryam Al Balushi are among the large number of Omani players who will vie for top honours.

Others to watch out are Japanese players Taisei Nishino, Nao Nishino and Brit Tyler Blake.

Nevil Philips of the ISC gets the top billing in the boys under-18 singles followed by Younis Al Rawahi as seed No. 2. Taisei Nishino is seed No. 1 in the boys under-14 followed by Muneer Al Rawahi, Avigyan Bhattacharya and Hassan Haider.

Samar Al Bakry is the top seed in the girls under-18 followed by Maryam Al Balushi.

In first round action of the boys’ under-18 singles, second seed Younis Al Rawahi cuised to a onesided 8-0 victory over Abhishek Chander and third seed Abdullah Al Barwani was in his elements as he demolished the hard-working Shlok Ail 8-1.

Other promising Omani players making their mark on day one of the tournament are Ammar

Al Khanjari who steamrolled to a 8-0 blanking of Rohit Thangamalai and Abdul Rahman Al Hajri who fought hard to pull off a thrilling 8-6 victory over Hassan Haider.

Armaan Sattikar made an impressive start with a 8-2 win over Lakhmi Narayan while Yash Tanna overcame the loss of the very first game and played attacking tennis to down Anurag Kumar 8-1.

Vedanth Ram put in a strong performance and demolished Gaurav Anil Kumar 8-0 to move into the second round.

The tournament is sponsored

by Muscat Pharmacy & Stores LLC (Pocari Sweat and Horlicks) and co-sponsored by Supa Sportsman LLC, Khimji’s Wathes Division and Hindustan University.

Abdullah Al Barwani

OPEN EVENT

ISC Salalah hosts badminton tourney

MUSCAT: The Indian Social Club (ISC) Salalah recently organised an open badminton tournament in association with Al Nahda Group.

Dineshkumar won the singles title after overcoming Santhok

Singh in a closely-fought final with a 21-13, 13-21, 21-15 win.

In the doubles final match, Ramshad and Antony Joseph Jibin defeated Dineshkumar and Rameshkumar K. K. 21-17, 21-18 to clinch the title.

In another final, Lochan Joseph and Antony Joseph Jibin defeated Hashim Haneefa and N.R. Settu 21-15, 21-18.

Mazhar, Territory Manager of Al Nahda Group, presided over the final day’s proceedings and

C5

handed over the trophies in the presence of ISC Salalah chairman Manpreet Singh.

ISC officials Sunny Jacob and Binoy Joseph thanked Al Nahda Group for coming forward to sponsor the tournament.

FOOTBALL

Wang buys 20 per cent of Atletico Madrid for $52m BEIJING: Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin bought a 20 percent stake in Spanish league champions Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, his company announced, the first mainland Chinese investment in a top European football club.

The deal was worth 45 million euros ($52 million) the real estate tycoon’s Wanda Group said on a verified account on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo. It will provide “all-round support for the development of Chinese football”, the statement said, adding that both sides will spend 30 million euros on a youth training centre in Madrid to foster young talent, including players from China.

Wang is No 42 on Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s richest people, with a fortune estimated at $18 billion, and was named as China’s second-wealthiest man last year. The flotation of one of his firm’s subsidiaries may have since propelled him into first place.

He is a diehard football fan and Wanda became a household name

across China after Wang bought a Dalian football club in 1994, renamed it after the firm and transformed it into the strongest team in China. But Wang sold Dalian Wanda in 2000 after he became disillusioned with widespread corruption in the Chinese game at that time.

More recently Wanda has been looking to diversify away from the real estate sector — which is facing considerable challenges in China — by investing in an ever-expanding portfolio of companies including cinema chain AMC and yacht builder Sunseeker.

Atletico, last year’s La Liga champions, have racked up debts in recent years despite their success on the field. Chairman Enrique Cerezo agreed the deal with Wang in Beijing, state-run news agency Xinhua said.

Xinhua said Wanda Group is currently funding a youth training project which sent 90 young Chinese footballers to Spain, with the number expected to reach 180 by 2017. - AFP

C6

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

SPORTS

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Skipper McMillan of The Wave vows to win back ESS pennant British Olympian Stevie Morrison appointed Oman Air skipper as Extreme Sailing Series kicksoff in February; Muscat to host Act 2 in March

MUSCAT: Oman Sail’s skipper of The Wave, Muscat Extreme Sailing Series boat, Leigh McMillan (GBR), has vowed to return to winning ways as the team prepares to compete for the global circuit crown against a fresh new lineup in 2015.

After two triumphant years as Extreme Sailing Series champions, McMillan and his crew of Nasser Al Mashari (OMA), Sarah Ayton (GBR), Pete Greenhalgh (GBR), Kinley Fowler (NZL) and Ed Smyth (NZL) — who stepped in for Sydney — had to settle for second place last season when long term rivals Alinghi swept to victory at the final event in Australia in December.

It was a bitter blow, McMillan said but the title loss has sharpened their resolve to raise their game and claim the ‘treble’ in 2015.

“We were hoping to make it three Extreme championship titles in a row last season so now we have unfinished business and are determined to return to winning ways this year to land the treble.

We prefer it when we are winning”.

The news that Alinghi would not be competing for the 2015 title was disappointing, McMillan added, and the sporting rivalry with skipper Morgan Larson will be sorely missed.

“It is incredibly sad that we won’t be racing against Alinghi this year. We were looking forward to renewing the rivalry with Morgan and his team because they set the bar high and raised performance levels all round but we fully expect someone else to give us a run for our money.”

“There are a number of teams who have gained a lot of experience in the past couple of years and are making major jumps so we are not expecting it to be any easier.”

One name to look out for on the leaderboard in 2015 is Olympic 49er campaigner Stevie Morrison who has taken over as skipper of a

READY FOR THE BATTLE: Oman Sail’s The Wave, Muscat, and Oman Air are all set for a fresh season, starting in Singapore next month. – Supplied photo

It is incredibly sad that we won’t be racing against Alinghi this year. We were looking forward to renewing the rivalry Leigh McMillan The Wave, Muscat

new look Oman Air crew to be announced in the lead up to Act 1 in Singapore.

Morrison, who is new to Extreme 40 sailing, represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012 finishing 9th and 5th respectively and was crowned 49er World Champion in 2007. At the announcement at the Düsseldorf Boat Show in Germany, Morrison said campaigning a 49er gave him a head start in the Extreme 40 class but it would still be a steep learning curve.

“I have been following this circuit for a long time so it is an honour to be invited to be skipper of Oman Air and I am very excited. It

is going to be awesome,” he said.

“Singapore will be my first go in an Extreme 40 so it will be a huge challenge. From a racing perspective, it is similar to the 49er but the reality is the Extreme 40 is a 40ft catamaran with five crew as opposed to a 15ft 49er with two so there are a lot of things I am going to have to learn fast.

“But I am lucky because Oman Sail have some of the most experienced sailors on the circuit so I’m hoping the learning curve will be steep but quick and after a couple of events we will be putting in some good results.”

Last year, Oman Air featured Oman’s Olympic hopefuls Hashim

Al Rashdi and Musab Al Hadi but in 2015 their focus returns to their 49er campaign while Ali Al Balushi, who made an impressive Extreme 40 debut in Sydney, becomes a regular Oman Air crewmember for all eight Extreme Sailing Series Acts in 2015.

“Being selected as a crewmember on Oman Air in 2015 is an exciting opportunity for me. Racing alongside some of the best sailors on the water and at eight different venues all with varying conditions, I am expecting to learn a lot,” said Al Balushi.

Oman Sail has had a long association with the Extreme Sailing Series, becoming involved in 2008; a year after the circuit was established.

NEW OMAN AIR SKIPPER: Olympic 49er campaigner Stevie Morrison takes over as skipper of a new look Oman Air crew. – Supplied photo

Teams and venues of the 2015 Extreme Sailing Series were unveiled at the Düsseldorf Boat Show in Germany with one change to the schedule: Hamburg in Germany replaces Nice in France as the venue for Act 5 in July 2015.

Series Main Partner, Land Rover, announced Oman Sail as the winner of the 2014 Land Rover Above and Beyond award. The award was presented to the team who demonstrated the finest examples of skill, sportsmanship and strength of mind at each of the Series’ Acts. Hotly contested throughout the 2014 season, Oman Sail either won or was cited in five of the six awards during the Series.

2015 host venues Act 1: Singapore, February 5-8 Act 2: Muscat, Oman March 11-14 Act 3: Qingdao, China May 1-4 Act 4: Cardiff, UK June 18-21 Act 5: Hamburg, Germany July 23-26 Act 6: Saint Petersburg, Russia August 20-23 Act 7: Istanbul, Turkey October 1-4 Act 8: Australia December 10-13 The Wave, Muscat 2015 crew: Leigh McMillan (GBR), Nasser Al Mashari (OMA), Sarah Ayton (GBR), Pete Greenhalgh (GBR), Ed Smyth (NZL) Oman Air 2015 crew: Stevie Morrison (GBR), Ali Al Balushi (OMA), Ted Hackney (AUS) (Other sailors to be announced).

A S I A N C U P S TA R

Military man Lee shooting for glory SEOUL: Plucked from the obscurity of South Korea’s military soccer team, Lee Jeong-hyeop has shown he not only deserves a place in Uli Stielike’s Asian Cup squad but could one day be the answer to their chronic striking problems.

Stielike’s decision to include the raw 23-year-old in the party for Australia was met with raised eyebrows and murmurs of surprise, as the absence of injured pair Kim Shin-wook and Lee Dong-guk left Korea woefully short of experienced strikers.

After the embarrassment of a first-round exit at the World Cup in Brazil, South Korea have placed a premium on Asian Cup success and travelling to Australia with only three recognised centre forwards, including Lee, set the alarm bells ringing.

However, Stielike liked what he saw in Lee during a pre-tournament training camp on the Korean honeymoon island of Jeju, impressed by his pace, perpetual motion and intelligent movement off the ball. It is difficult to remember the last time South Korea had such a powerful, mobile and old-fashioned centre forward.

In recent years, Cho Jae-jin and Lee Dong-guk possessed the aerial prowess to trouble defenders but lacked pace and mobility, while the willowy Park Chuyoung’s tendency to float in and out of games infuriated fans and coaches alike.

Even in the heyday of Guus

Growing up in the southern port city of Busan, financial hardship meant Lee often had to make do with football gear handed down from team mates while his mother scrimped and saved to support his career

Hiddink’s 2002 World Cup team, South Korea relied on aging warhorse Hwang Sun-hong and the sublimely talented but leadenfooted Ahn Jung-hwan to lead the forward line. There is no denying Lee still has a long way to go.

He has been guilty of poordecision making in Australia as well as failing to hold the ball up as a target man should, but the energy and enthusiasm he brings to the side gives the Koreans a whole new dimension.

Whether it is chasing long balls into channels or harrying defenders out of possession, Lee allows South Korea to employ a more pressing, high-tempo game.

At the end of the day, however,

strikers are judged on their goals, and Lee is showing he has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. He marked his international debut by coming off the bench to score against Saudi Arabia in a pre-Cup warm-up and bagged the winner against Australia in his first start on Saturday, steering home Lee Keun-ho’s cross-shot from close range to seal top spot in Group A. Cinderella story It is easy to see why South Korea has latched on to what local media have dubbed Lee’s “Cinderella” story. Growing up in the southern port city of Busan, financial hardship meant Lee often had to

make do with football gear handed down from team mates while his mother scrimped and saved to support his career.

Coaches praised his dedication to training, describing how he tethered a ball to a rope and practised heading it 500 times a day.

He worked hardest on his weaknesses, striving to pass like a midfielder and tackle like a defender.

When he felt his career was not taking off the way it should after being drafted by K-League side Busan iPark, he even took the drastic step of changing his name at the start of last year.

Local media quoted his mother as saying he was initially named ‘Jeong-ki’ but had changed it to ‘Jeong-hyeop,’ which he hoped would improve his football fortunes. With all able-bodied South Korean males obliged to fulfil almost two years of national service, Lee joined military side Sangju Sangmu on loan in January 2014 and will return to Busan when he is discharged later this year.

After getting the call-up to the national team in December, Lee described it as an “unexpected Christmas gift”. He said he wanted to score in a big game in Australia and would do his level best, “even if I only play for a minute”.

The whole of South Korea hopes Lee’s Cinderella story continues at the Asian Cup, but there is plenty of time for him to develop into a top class striker.

The clock is nowhere near midnight yet. - Reuters

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joke drummers tell about each other: “How many drummers does it take to change a light-bulb?” “Ten. One to screw it in. The rest to say they would have done it better.”

Other jokes simply caricature drummers as clueless thumpers, one step down even from the penniless slobs of standard musician jokes. Damien Chazelle’s new film Whiplash catches the truth of that insiders’ joke — that in its highest ranks, drumming is intensely, even insanely competitive. “Wipe that blood offa my drums,” jazz conductor Terence Fletcher (played by JK Simmons) sneers, having driven three drumming candidates past exhaustion, panting and blood-smeared, to see who can live there. Chazelle’s quietly clever, nervejangling movie should for once have audiences cheering lengthy drum solos, and viewing their players not as Cro-Magnon butts for ridicule, but music’s irreplaceable root. Cinemagoers also recently had stereotypes shattered

by Beware of Mr. Baker (2013), a documentary in which ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker exhibited malignant charisma, super-human endurance, contempt for almost all his rock rivals, and sentimental reverence for his jazz idols. “Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham once said there’s only two drummers in rock’n’roll, me and Ginger Baker,’” Baker told me when I met him, in a voice like tombstones tumbling.

“My reaction to that was: ‘You little bastard!’

He was a good drummer, but nowhere near my standard. I like Ringo very much, he’s a hell of a good guy, but he ain’t a good drummer. He was okay for what they The Beatles were doing. But he was never called on to do anything difficult!”

Baker, Bonham and Who loon Keith Moon’s tireless hell-raising in the 1960s and 1970s constructed the cliché of rock-drummer behaviour behind The Muppet Show’s anarchic beat-master, Animal. Moon’s restlessness and capacity for sometimes absurd chaos and destruction was reflected in a style wholly suited to The Who’s musical needs. In his need to go too far, he hurled cars and TVs into swimming pools and, after rigging his drum-kit to explode, permanently damaged Pete Townshend’s hearing. Cream’s Toad and Zeppelin’s Moby .... were concert set-pieces which wallowed in the star drummer’s virtuosity. Bonham’s solo on the latter would sometimes pass the half-hour mark, sticks splintering in his bloody hands while his band-mates left him to it. He was 31 when a marathon booze binge finished him.

That showily flamboyant model is favoured in Whiplash, too. But most of British rock’s formative drummers, having begun playing before British rock existed, were, like Baker, steeped in jazz, and also offered that music’s subtly shifting swing. The Stones’ Charlie Watts has sat looking stonily bored at the back of their gigs for half a century, holding down an easy but breathing beat he could play in his sleep. The Kinks’ Mick Avory and, in the US, The Doors’ John Densmore, gave their bands a similar light, jazzy touch; Densmore was aiming for the seething polyrhythms created by John Coltrane’s drummer Elvin Jones when he backed Jim Morrison’s long poetic flights.

The Stranglers’ Jet Black even sneaked swing into punk, where drum solos were summarily outlawed, a diktat he was delighted by. “PreBeatles,” Black told me, “being the best virtuoso was the name of the game, and there were a million people better than me. You could play crap music, but extremely well. That wasn’t the life I wanted.”

Whiplash’s drummer hero Andrew (Miles Teller) certainly avoids the rock-animal clichés, piously dumping his girlfriend in his hunt to be a jazz great. The film does, though, propagate another unfortunate stereotype, the one indulged whenever a Cream crowd ritually yelled for Baker to play Toad. Andrew is drilled like an athlete or Marine by his tyrannical teacher. His quest is not only for perfect tempo, but brain-sizzling, crowd-dazzling speed more suited to an Apollo rocket-launch than music. The greatest drummers aren’t superb but hollow technicians of this sort, any more than they’re necessarily dim, or riotous, bloated alcoholics. It was James Brown who exclaimed, “Give the drummer some!” on 1967’s funk-creating single Cold Sweat, as Clyde Stubblefield launched under his instruction into an epochal solo. Art Blakey permanently changed jazz drumming in the 1940s, and put future great musicians from Horace Silver to Wynton Marsalis through the hard but fair school of his Jazz Messengers group for 40 years. When I saw him play in 1990, the year of his death aged 72, he was still tirelessly exploring every inch of his kit.

But unlike the almost demented, tunnelvisioned drumming displays in Whiplash, where Andrew is willing to be literally hit by a truck to get to the stand, stumbling on with a broken hand and staining his kit a sacrificial red, there is a warmth to Blakey’s beats.

What matters is the sound of his drums rolling through a hundred albums on Blue Note and elsewhere, not dominating but motivating, driving his band’s music forward from deep inside with huge, human energy.

Jazz “washes away the dust of everyday life,” Blakey famously said. If Whiplash gets more respect for drummers who do that, we’ll all benefit. -Nick Hasted/The Independent

SIGHT & SOUND

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM T H U R S DAY, JAN UARY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

ETCETERA here’s your guide to the films nominated for the best picture in this year’s academy awards

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ETCETERA omething went horribly wrong for Duran Duran. After five years of making videos in exotic locations, dating stunning models and being constantly in the international gossip-columns, the glittering world of the New Romantics seemed to shatter into fragments.

There were bitter rows and lawsuits. Two members left, one suffered a nervous breakdown, lead singer Simon Le Bon nearly drowned in a yacht race —and the public lost interest in the world’s leading anti-punk group.

Now, the pop pendulum has swung back and Duran

10 singers and 20 guitarists in two years before they found a Birmingham, University drama student — named Simon Le Bon. “When they offered me the job of lead singer I asked for a month to make up my mind,” Simon remembers.

“But after just five days with the band, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I dropped out of university after just a year.”

Once Simon had joined, Duran Duran took off. They had their first American number one The Reflex — and quickly became one of the top bands of the 1980s “It was like living in wonderland,” Nick Rhodes recalls. “We could have anything we wanted. It was only later we realised it was a sick world. As stars, all you ever heard was the sound of your own voice. We never really talked to each other.

Off-stage we behaved like strangers “We became the symbols of the guys who had everything — money, success, cars, clothes — the adulation was frightening.”

With a new manager and some new personnel, Duran Duran are now back in the big-time — second time around.

“Our secret ingredient is music,” says Le Bon with a grin. “In the past our music

Duran, older and wiser, are back in the big-time. They have a new album out in the spring and a stadium tour is planned for the autumn Now joined by Red Hot Chili Pepper’s guitar Ace John Frusciante the revitalised Durans are busy producing new songs for the album and the tour. “All the old spark seems to have come back,” says keyboard player Nick Rhodes. “We are all raring to go and meet a new generation of fans.”

Duran Duran were one of Princess Diana’s favourite bands and they became friends.

“She was very easy to talk to and was always smiling and giggling about something,” remembers Nick Rhodes.

tended to be treated as a sideline. People talked about our videos, the way we looked and the things we did but never our songs.”

Today Le Bon, his wife Yasmin and their three daughters have been responsible for planning the new Duran Duran tour.

“I’ve changed from teenage idol to a settled-down family man,” grins Simon Le Bon. “And I have to say that I’ve never been happier.”

Nick Rhodes also says he’s changed his image drastically from the New Romantic days when he wore lashings of mascara, heavy charcoal eye-shadow and soft peach lipstick on Duran Duran gigs.

His dandy style won him the title of the most beautiful man in Britain.”All that’s very much in the past,” Nick says.”In the New Romantic days my wife used to complain that it took her only ten minutes to put on her make-up but it took me at least an hour!”

Simon Le Bon says he is not that bothered about fame the second time around. “Money is by no means as important to me as it used to be,” he says.

Not that Simon is likely to know what it feels to be down and out. He’s still rich from the group’s phenomenal successes in the 80s — hits like Planet Earth, Save A Prayer, Girls on Film and Is There Something I should Know?

Duran Duran was formed in 1979 to combat what Nick Rhothe punk-drenched pun des called “the rock scene.” Searc Searching for a lead vocalist they went through w

Nowadays Nick is deeply into conservation and climate change — and tries to do his bit by turning off lights, recycling and not owning a car. “I do use planes a lot,” he admits.

“I wish there was a better way of travelling long distances quickly. I’m very aware of my carbon footprint,” he says.

That’s why Duran Duran do everything they can to raise awareness about climate change — they recently starred in a series of Live Earth concerts “I know it’s trendy to be green,” Nick Rhodes says. “But if we wreck our planet what hope is there for anyone?

- Judson Bennett/Tony James Features

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ETCETERA BRIEFS

Chris Hemsworth’s life isn’t that perfect THOR actor Chris Hemsworth feels fame and fortune aren’t all that they’re made out to be. He says it’s being a husband and a father that bring him the utmost satisfaction. “You get to Hollywood, you achieve something and then you realise, ‘It didn’t actually bring me the happiness I thought it was going to. It didn’t fix anything,” the 31-year-old told GQ Australia magazine’s February 2015 issue, reported eonline.com. “Look, I mean I don’t wake up, look in the mirror and go, ‘Yep, all is perfect’,” he added. Ironically, it was Hemsworth’s work in a smaller film that showcased his true talents. “Everything shifted for me after Rush. It wasn’t as financially successful as other things I’d done, but it gave me more movement, more options, more doors opening, more meetings,” he said of diversifying his film resume from Thor, The Avengers and Thor: The Dark World.

“All of a sudden, it’s, ‘Oh, wow! You’re an actor!’“, he said.

Hemsworth, who currently stars in Blackhat and will next be seen in The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Miley Cyrus selling family estate gifted by parents

Hollywood mega-movies overwhelm Ben Barnes

To many filmgoers, the actor is still best known as Prince Caspian in the ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ movies

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arnes is 33 now, and with 10 additional movies under his belt, and he’s much more sanguine about his career, about the fame game and about the machinations of the publicity machine than he was earlier.

“When it first happened to mepress junkets, my face on buses and billboards — I didn’t really have anything to compare it to, so it was a bit overwhelming,” Barnes said during a recent telephone conversation. “At the same time I thought, ‘Well, that’s what happens with every project you do.’

“It does become slightly less overwhelming as it happens more often,” he said. “But it really hasn’t happened to me that much since ‘Prince Caspian,’ because some of my films have been smaller. Actually I was very, very excited to get a picture, a couple of months ago, of the first billboard that went up in Los Angeles for Sons of Liberty, which is a miniseries I did.

“So I have to say, it’s less overwhelming, but still unbelievably exciting,” Barnes concluded. “People drive around and sponge up all this information about shows and movies, and to be a part of that conversation is still fun to me.”

The billboards are up again, this time for Seventh Son, opening in the US on February 6. Based on The Last Apprentice, a youngadult book series by Joseph Delaney, it’s a fantasy adventure that unfolds in a period resembling the Dark Ages. Jeff Bridges plays Master Gregory, also known as the Spook, an evil-fighting knight and the last of his mystical order, who must find and mentor his successor, by rule the seventh son

of a seventh son. The likely candidate is Tom Ward (Barnes), to all appearances a commonplace farmhand.

Together Tom and the Spook must defeat the powerful Dark Queen (Julianne Moore) and the legion of supernatural killers she’s unleashed against them.

Initially, Barnes admitted, he cared about only one element of the project.

“When I received the cover note with the script,” he recalled, “it said, ‘Produced by — Written by ...

Directed by — ‘ and then ‘Starring Jeff Bridges as Master Gregory,’ and I was sort of on board from that moment, really.

“I hadn’t even reached the part where they tell you what part you’re reading for,” Barnes continued. “I hadn’t even read the first page of the story. But I already wanted to do it, because Jeff Bridges has always been one of my heroes.

“The second moment I realised I wanted to do it was when I sat down with the director, Sergei Bodrov, a Russian filmmaker who did a film called Mongol (2007), which I’d very much enjoyed,” the actor added. “He told me what he wanted to do with the film, and every detail in his mind was slightly different from anything you’d ever seen or expected, and was more expansive.

“Also I’d read the books and loved them,” Barnes said, “and Jeff and Sergei both wanted to keep the themes of the books in the film.

The themes are that there’s good and bad, dark and light, within everybody, and can you understand hate if you don’t understand love? And the other main theme is

fate and destiny. So I was in.”

Barnes and his hero, Bridges, got along fine-even though, as the younger actor recalled with a chuckle, their rapport didn’t kick in immediately.

“I was learning to play guitar for a part,” Barnes recalled, “and he’s a great lover of music and an accomplished guitar player, so we’d sit and chat and have little singalongs in his tent between scenes.

I think Jeff was a little bit wary of me, initially. He would look at me and I could feel that he was passing this strange judgment on me, and he’d barely look me in the eyes doing the scenes.

“Then I slowly realised that we were shooting almost chronologically, and in some of the scenes at the beginning our characters don’t see eye-to-eye on anything, and there’s a bit of tension between them,” he said. “So Jeff was just playing that out and then, after we’d finish those scenes, he’d grab me by the hand, drag me in the tent, play me a Bob Dylan song on his guitar and say, ‘Don’t you think this would be cool for the end credits, man?’“ The experience got even better.

One day Bridges invited Barnes to sit in his reclining chair.

“I thought, ‘This is so great. I’m so comfortable. This is so wonderful and surreal and bizarre — and why is he being nice to me?’,” Barnes recalled. “Then, a few days later, I came in and there was another chair exactly like his sitting next to his, and he said, ‘That’s you and that’s me.’

“So he’d gotten me a matching chair, and we were a little team from that point on.”

Beyond Seventh Son Barnes

has several other projects on the way. He co-stars with Dean Norris, Jason O’Mara, Rafe Spall and Henry Thomas in the aforementioned Sons of Liberty. It’s a sixhour, three-part miniseries airing on January 25, 26 and 27 on History. Barnes plays the acclaimed Boston patriot Sam Adams in the production, which chronicles the days leading from a bar fight to the American Revolution.

Then there’s By the Gun, a drama with Toby Jones, Harvey Keitel and Leighton Meester. Barnes plays a criminal whose life unravels after he becomes a made man. Millennium Entertainment released the film on DVD and Bluray on Jan. 20.

Finally there’s Jackie & Ryan, a romantic drama starring Barnes and Katherine Heigl. In it the unlikely relationship between a train-hopper (Barnes) and a struggling single mother (Heigl) changes both their lives forever.

“I recently saw ‘Jackie & Ryan,’ which I worked very hard on,” Barnes said. “It’s a sweet and lovely story and a beautiful film. It’s simple storytelling, but I think it really works.

“I’ll be busy promoting all four of these things, ‘Seventh Son,’ ‘Sons of Liberty,’ ‘By the Gun’ and Jackie & Ryan,” he continued, “and I’ve got a few other things that I’ll be doing. But I’m not sure which way they’re going to go, which will happen first.

“They’re all very, very, very different, which I’m excited about,” Barnes concluded. “That’s what it’s about, really, doing different kinds of things, playing different roles.” -Ian Spelling/The New York Times News

SINGER Miley Cyrus is selling her family compound in Toluca Lake area here. The singer has listed the property for a whopping $5.995 million.

The 8,700 sq ft home, which was purchased by Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus in 2008 and was transferred to Miley’s blind trust in 2012, has six bedrooms and six-and-a-half baths, a three-car garage and an elegant stone entrance, reported dailymail.co.uk. Other features that the abode boasts of include woodbeam ceilings, hardwood and tile floors, copper rain gutters, wrought iron accents, and several fireplaces with carved mantels. The 22-year-old hasn’t lived in the property for some time as she bought another home in nearby Studio City three years ago for $3.9 million.

Ali Larter and husband welcome their daughter ACTRESS Ali Larter and husband Hayes MacArthur, who are parents to four-year-old son Theodore, have now welcomed a daughter. They have named her Vivienne Margaret MacArthur. “It’s a girl! We couldn’t be more excited to share news of the arrival of Vivienne Margaret MacArthur on Thursday January 15, 2015.

She came bearing gifts for her brother: Batman sheets and lots of Gummy Bears!!! 7.5 lbs of love. (sic),” Larter wrote on her website, reported femalefirst.co.uk. Larter had previously admitted she was craving lobster rolls and onion rings during her second pregnancy.

“I can’t deny myself. I convince myself the baby is desperate for that lobster roll or those onion rings. I’m in the northwest right now so it’s all about fried clams and lobster rolls,” she said. During her first pregnancy, the 38-year-old actress had announced on an episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in September 2010 that she was expecting a boy.

Dev Patel spotted with a mystery woman AFTER REPORTS of a split with Hollywood-based Indian actress Freida Pinto, British actor Dev Patel was spotted with a mystery woman at an airport. The actor was photographed with a brunette. They were arriving at the airport and heading through the terminal together. The star seemed engrossed in his phone. He was walking a few steps ahead of the mystery woman once inside the airport. -IANS

Service

NO MORE BAND!

‘No Johnny Depp Band.

That won’t ever exist’

THE ACTOR voiced his disdain for thespian sell outs who take to the other stage. “That whole idea for me is a sickening thing,” Johnny Depp told reporters at the world premiere of Mortdecai in Berlin.

He was discussing his onscreen peers, who callously take to the musical stage, brandishing their instruments as an extension of their egos and performing their

songs for all the wrong reasons.

“It’s always just made me sick,” he reiterated. On-screen peers like Gwyneth Paltrow, who stars alongside him in his new film, and who has callously taken to the musical stage at the Grammys in the past. And, you know, like himself. Who has performed alongside members of the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Marilyn Manson, among others.

“I’ve been very lucky to play on friends’ records and it’s still going. Music is still part of my life,” he went on to admit.

“But you won’t be hearing The Johnny Depp Band. That won’t ever exist.”

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, he continued: “The kind of luxury now is, anybody with a certain of success, if you have a kind of musical being, you can go out and start a band and capitalise on your work in other areas.”

“But I hate the idea.

“It shouldn’t be (that way). You want the people who are listening to the music to only be interested in the music.”

Last year, Depp released a 36-track double CD titled Son of Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys, which featured guest appearances from Michael Stipe and Courtney Love, among others.

- Jenn Selby/The Independent

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ETCETERA BRIEFS

Naomi Watts to be honoured with Spotlight Award ACTRESS Naomi Watts will be honoured with the Lacoste Spotlight Award at this year’s Costume Designers Guild Awards.

The announcement was made on Tuesday, reported hollywoodreporter.com. According to a release, the award “honours an actor whose talent and career personify an enduring commitment to excellence, including a special awareness of the role and importance of costume design.” From her recent role as a pregnant Russian in St. Vincent to playing a Broadway actress in the Oscar-nominated film Birdman, Watts has proved her calibre- both for her acting skills as well as her style sense.

Selena Gomez enjoying new bond with Zedd?

SINGER Selena Gomez appears to be enjoying her new bond with RussianGerman music producer and DJ Zedd. In a new Instagram post on Sunday night, Gomez shared a photo of herself and Zedd with a message: “Missing la and this punk, just a little tonight. Shooting starts soon!! Eeeeekkkk -Fundamentals of Caregiving.” Shortly thereafter, Zedd shared a picture while ‘facetiming’ with the singer. “Oh hi derrling… - The Room #TheRoom #theRoom #THEroom #theROOM (sic),” he captioned it. Multiple sources are quoted by eonline.com as saying that the duo is working on making new music together, which easily explains recent photographs of them working in a music studio. Meanwhile, at the recent Golden Globes after-party, the two were spotted holding hands and engaging in “innocent PDA”.

Bruce Willis joins the cats of thriller movie ‘Extraction’

HOME-BODY AT HEART

Jennifer Garner made her name abseiling down skyscrapers, karate-chopping villains or overturning cars at high speed. Now, Hollywood’s ultimate action-woman has decided it’s time for a change

T

he fact that 42-year-old Jennifer and husband Ben Affleck are devoted parents to three young children seems to have had a lot to do with her decision.

“I’ve done my share of playing hardhearted hard-fisted heroines. I’m a wife and mum now and I think a few cheery rom-coms are more my style,” she says with a smile.

Which is why she has just made Imagine, with Al Pacino and Michael Caine, playing the daughter-in law of ageing rock star (Pacino) whose career is revitalised after he receives a letter from John Lennon.

“It’s the sort of warm family movie I feel at ease in nowadays.

I wonder why..?” says Jennifer, who recently made the criticallyacclaimed movies Dallas Buyers’ Club and Draft Day and now plans to head off home to roast a chicken and spend time with her husband of ten years, young son Samuel and their two daughters, Violet and Seraphina.

“I just love going home,” Jennifer admits. “We love the quiet life. Acting is still very important to me, but it’s taking second place to being with Ben and the family.”

Cynics predicted that when Ben Affleck left Jennifer Lopez and took up with Jennifer Garner, it would be a rebound romance that lasted a few months at most.

But Jennifer says they are happier than ever.

“He’s an incredibly loving and generous man,” she says. “I expected he would be a great dad

and he is. But what really surprised me how when so something goes wrong, he so much calmer than I am.”

Whatever people say, Jennifer says she has never felt that Ben is J-Lo’s cast-off. “I met him at a time when he was single and I was single. Neither of us had any baggage with us.”

But friends of Jennifer Lopez say she was devastated to split with the man she had declared to be the love of her life.

Although the 18-month relationship was turbulent she, often declared she couldn’t live without him and even wrote a song called Dear Ben after he had presented her with a $2 million diamond engagement ring.

Jennifer Garner was a virtual unknown when she married actor Scott Foley in 2000 but by the time the marriage was over three years later she was a star.

She had certainly come a long way from the small town in Virginia where her teenage interests were swimming, ballet and marching bands!

“Boys never came near me,” she remembers.”I didn’t have a single boyfriend at school — can you image what that does to your confidence? It took me most of my twenties to recover!”

Jennifer says she was bitten by the acting bug while studying chemistry at university. She switched to a drama course and later moved to New York, washing up and doing casual jobs while looking for acting work.

“I still find it hard to accept all

I grew up with normal women who took a pride in being housewives and raising kids — so you can imagine how far Hollywood is from the world I grew up in.

I was shaped by my background and I don’t feel at home with some of the fake people you meet in Los Angeles

this recognition and media interest in everything I do — particularly since I’ve been with Ben,” she says.”I’m just an ordinary Southern girl at heart.

“My mom brought me up to appreciate simple things and to think the best about people. There always seemed to be a stranger having dinner at our house because my parents encouraged us to help the less fortunate.

“I grew up with normal women who took a pride in being housewives and raising kids - so you can imagine how far Hollywood is from the world I grew up in. I was shaped by my background and I don’t feel at home with some of the fake people you meet in LA.” In fact Jennifer’s background fits perfectly with Ben’s — he also came from a small town and his mother, like Jennifer’s, was a teacher. He also often describes himself as an “old-fashioned sort of a guy”. That’s suits me perfectly,” says Jennifer with a smile.

After going through what was tactfully called a “quiet period”, Ben Affleck’s career is on the up again and he’s soon to start work on a movie financed by Jennifer’s own production company. “I’d love us to work together again,” she says. “But that’s going to be hard while the children are small and need so much attention.”

In the meantime she refuses to let fame change her. “I try to be polite to everyone at all times,” she says. “I’ve never understood why some people become so rude once they are successful..”

-John Graham/Tony James Features

BRUCE WILLIS is set to star in the thriller film Extraction. The film’s shooting will begin next month in Alabama. In the film, the 59-year-old will play a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative working with his son on the development of a lethal weapon when his father is kidnapped by a terrorist group, reported variety.com.

Stephen C. Miller is directing it from a script by Umair Aleem. EFO, Ingenious and Odyssey Releasing Media are funding the film, which will be released in the US by Lionsgate/Grindstone. Just last week, Willis also joined the cast of another action film “Wake”, with John Pogue directing from a script by Chris Borrelli. The actor will next be seen in Barry Levinson’s Rock the Kasbah alongside Bill Murray and Zooey Deschanel. -IANS

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ETCETERA

KEVIN COSTNER TRUSTS HIS INSTINCTS The Oscar winner explores the sensitive topic of racism in his new movie ‘Black or White’

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y whole life has been about trusting my instincts,” Kevin Costner said. “I wouldn’t do well in the computer world where there is one button to push, one answer.

I’m someone who operates from a feeling deep inside.”

That brings him to Black or White, the new movie-opening in the US on January 30-that he stars in and also produced.

“I felt it, which is why I’ve put everything at risk for this moviemy money, my house, everything,” the 60-year-old Oscar winner said. “Why did I do it? It’s a little movie about racism that provoked the same feeling in me that I experienced when I sat down and read the script for Field of Dreams (1989) for the first time.”

Tall and lanky in a gray suit and white shirt, Costner looked at least a decade younger than his real age. Sitting for an interview at a Beverly Hills hotel, twirling a pair of sunglasses in one hand, he had the same lazy charm that has endeared him to moviegoers for the past quarter-century.

Written and directed by Mike Binder, who also wrote and directed Costner’s The Upside of Anger (2003), Black or White also stars Jennifer Ehle, Anthony Mackie and Octavia Spencer. Costner plays a grieving widower who finds himself locked in a custody

battle for his granddaughter (Jillian Estell), a little girl whom he has raised since birth.

“I’m the grandfather to a precious little girl,” Costner said. “My wife dies in a car accident, and I’m left to raise our granddaughter, Eloise, alone. The little girl’s mother died at 17 when she was giving birth.

“Suddenly Eloise’s paternal grandmother, played by Octavia, wants custody of Eloise.”

Rowena, Spencer’s character, wants to bring her granddaughter to live with her extended family in Compton, a hardscrabble black neighbourhood, which leads to a court battle sparked with racial questions and confrontations.

“This film is a rock that I wanted to push uphill,” Costner said. “I think it’s as important as Dances with Wolves (1990). It’s funny, poignant and sad-but, in the end, it gives you hope.

“Most of all, it gives us a window to step through,” he concluded.

“The message of the movie is that we’re not going anywhere in this world until we learn to talk with each other.”

Costner has been told that this is dangerous subject matter for a movie, but scorns the idea. “‘Dangerous,’” the actor scoffed.

“I’m not in combat, not in a battlefield. I’ve heard, ‘It’s dangerous to make a movie about this subject

Why did I do it? It’s a little movie about racism that provoked the same feeling in me that I experienced when I sat down and read the script for ‘Field of Dreams’ (1989) for the first time matter now.’ To which I counter, ‘What’s so dangerous about a movie?’ It might even provoke some frank discussion.”

Costner, whose string of classic movies includes The Untouchables (1987), Dances with Wolves, JFK (1991), Bull Durham (1988) and Field of Dreams, said that Black or White began with a conversation.

“It was a talk I was having about racism in America,” he recalled.

“I knew I wanted to make a movie about that topic, but I wanted to wrap it up in an entertaining story.

This movie doesn’t have a word of preach in it.”

After years of making bigbudget studio films-most recently Draft Day (2014), in which he played an N.F.L. general manager, and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) — Costner found it both challenging and exciting to get a smaller film off the ground.

“The good news is that I have an American stubborn streak,” he said. “I never know if a film is going to be a box-office hit, but, if it can be shared from generation to generation, then that’s the mark of a great movie for me.”

A producer’s life is more stressful than an actor’s. While the actor is relaxing in his trailer or reviewing his lines, the producer is scrambling for money, personnel and more. By the time an actor gets involved in a film, the producer usually has been working on it for years.

“I have a tendency to be at my best under pressure,” Costner said. “I actually play sports better when I’m mad. Some don’t play better when they’re mad. I have a tendency to do better when I’m mad and he odds are against me.

“I love that moment in life when it’s all on the table,” he continued.

“I have a strong belief that, if what I’m doing feels right, then other people can believe in it too.”

At this stage, he added, it makes no difference which side of the camera he’s on.

“Acting, producing, it doesn’t matter,” Costner said. “I’m at the point where I want to make movies that people just can’t forget.

You can put as many other good movies in front of me as possible, but there remain those films that just stick with you for life.

“I know that movies are powerful,” he said. “That’s why I’ve been working for the last few years on this franchise story. It’s really beautiful. It’s not based on any source material. I can tell you that it deals with a time when the world was unexplored.”

He’s working with the writer as a mentor, Costner added, but not as the boss.

“When someone is talented, I don’t let them second-guess themselves,” he explained. “I have to lead the charge and get these projects to the screen.

“In many ways it likens back to childhood,” the actor added.

“With these young writers, I feel like I’m protecting them. If I believed in you, I would protect you in the school yard. Don’t think for a minute that I wouldn’t do it.”

For Costner it all goes back to the movies he used to see on Sat-

urday nights, growing up in Lynwood, Calif.

“The movies helped define how I should be as a person,” he said. “I remember watching Giant (1956) for the first time as a boy. Rock Hudson started out as a bit of a bigot and racist. His son is going to marry a Spanish girl, and he’s not happy. He feels as if his son has failed him.

“Later this giant of a Texas man finds himself in a diner with Elizabeth Taylor, playing his wife,” Costner continued.

“He’s there with his Spanish daughter-in-law. No one will serve her a hamburger, and Rock gets into a fist fight over it while ‘The Yellow Rose of Texas’ is playing in the background.

“A guy defeats Rock, but the leading man doesn’t lose,” he said. “Liz goes over and tells him, ‘You’ve never stood taller.’ I thought to myself in that moment, ‘That’s who I want to be. I want to be the guy on the floor, who has lost the fight but won the war.’

“From the movies like this one, I learned not to be afraid of things not working,” Costner said. “It’s an underrated experience in life, to experience failure.

“Even as a kid, I knew that I wasn’t afraid to be on the floor, as long as I got my girl saying, ‘I saw what you were trying to do’.” -Cindy Pearlman/The New York Times News Service

MOVIE

Actor, director Xavier Dolan is a giddy fan of himself

DEEP INSIDE an exhibition crowded with costumes from Hollywood film history, in the future home of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, 25-year-old French Canadian director, actor and screenwriter Xavier Dolan is, at the moment, a giddy fan.

This Montreal filmmaker stands in front of one frocked mannequin in particular, his slim, handsome face and swoop of brown hair cocked to the side.

He stares, fingers clasped over his mouth. Try to talk, and he will shush you.

The costume is Kate Winslet’s striped boarding gown from James Cameron’s 1997 epic Titanic, which Dolan fell madly in love with as a kid.

Since Dolan burst onto the scene with his 2009 semi-autobiographical directorial debut, I Killed My Mother, at the Cannes Film Festival, he has been called a young genius and an infant terrible for his uncompromising

melodramas about dysfunctional love and family as well as for his outspoken pronouncements.

He has panned Orson Welles as “lazy”; called Jean-Luc Godard, with whom he shared the Jury Prize at Cannes last year, an “old grinchy man”; and refuses to apologise for influences that mainly run the ‘90s commercial gamut of his childhood, from Jumanji to Titanic and Jane Campion’s swooning The Piano.

Still, he has been compared with Alfred Hitchcock, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Wong Kar-wai, and his newest film — Mommy,” due this month, about a fiery widow trying to care for her violent teenage son — is his best reviewed and most mature effort yet. Moreover, it comes as he makes the leap to Hollywoodlevel filmmaking with his next project, an English-language movie with stars attached.

“I don’t have anything to prove to anyone; I don’t have to let anyone know what a cultured per-

son I am, because I’m not,” said Dolan, who dropped out of college. “I do watch movies — and maybe that’s naïve — with my heart, trying to feel something and be entertained.”

He contrasted himself with filmmakers who start off making short films after years of moviegoing. “But those years, for me, because I started making movies at 18, are when I was 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,” he said. “Those are the movies that define me.”

In person, Dolan speaks with a blend of feisty authority and refreshing frankness. He uses Twitter — he has more than 100,000 followers — to respond bluntly to his critics, as he did after one review in The Hollywood Reporter.

Despite his age, Dolan has had a long screen career already, starting when he was 4 in commercials, television shows and his own films as well as those of others. -Solvej Schou/The New York Times News Service

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RENT

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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

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

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 Ghubrah, 2 BHK, 3 bath new building, rent RO 380/- per month.

Contact 98266157 Flat deluxe in Al Amerat Mahaj 4, 3 rooms with 3 toilets.

Contact 99672604 Luxurious flat with AC’s, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen with store & family hall. # 93366421 1, 2, 3, BHK in Al khuwair.

Contact 99792181 2 BHK in Bowsher, Ghobra.

Contact 99792181 1 & 2 BHK in Ruwi. # 99792181 180 Sqr mtrs Showroom in CBD. Contact 99792181 100 &190 Sqr Mtrs office space in Alkhuwair. Contact 99792181 New 4 Bhk Villa in Madhinat Ilham.

Contact 99792181 For store, workshop in Wadi Kabir Industrial Area 5/5 m. #99374977 2 bedrooms flat with hall, 2 bathrooms in Darsait near Muscat Municipality.

Contact 24700120, 92584715

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

Contact- 98839950

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

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

Flat in Darsait. Contact 99326879 New bldg 3 BR flats located at Darsait, Muscat close to Kims Pvt Hospital. Contact 92020004 / 99800838

Office space with cassette type A/C’s with free internet at al Khuwair near KM Hypermarket. Contact 99460330

Office space & store, CBD 20059.

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

Contact 92479515

We have 3 BHK apartment in Al Khuwair 28 Muna Complex with swimming pool, gym, covered car parking, prime location, good for European & Indian Families. Contact 93782735 / 99208033 We have 2 BHK flats in Ghala, 2 BHK offices in Ghala, 100 SQM open space office in Ghala. Full furnished office in Ghala, 4 BHK villa in Al Khuwair 33. # 93782735 / 99208033

We have 2 BHK luxury flats with 3 toilets in Ghala for rent, very spacious, building on main road, huge parking, good for families, 20 flats available. # 93782735 / 99208033 We have 3 BHK flat in Ghubah North close to sea with balcony, very nice location. #93782735 / 99208033 Family villa & flats at Al Ansab and Awabi. Contact 98458542

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

Rent 480 PDC. Contact 99879939

6 shops in Mabela Industrial Area.

Each Front Shop OMR 400 and Side Shop OMR 300Monthly.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Fully furnished one bedroom penthouse Wadi Kabir behind Sana Hassan, weekly RO.140/- Monthly RO 350/- Contact – 99349990 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 Family room available for rent at Muttrah Souq. Contact 24712088 / 99022790 Flat, shops, basement, Ruwi-MBD Area, Honda Road.

Contact 96942749, 92433127 2 BHK, Al Khuwair. #99024730 Spacious well maintained 2 BHK at Rex Road from 1st February.

Contact 92227165 2 BHK, CBD. Contact 99024730

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

2 BHK, Darsait near Kims Hospital.

Contact 99024730

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

1 BHK, 2 BHK, Ghala, new bldg.

Contact 99024730

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

Office space for rent in Ruwi, OMR 500. Contact 91120552

2 BHK flats Muttrah near Oman House. #97007934 / 92629232

Flat for rent in Al Khuwair 33.

Contact 99003626

1 BHK at Ghobrah - Near Indian School. Contact: 99014885

One bedroom flat, Muttrah, Corniche. Contact 99414644

Al Qurum heights Sea view. # 99249069 / 92888376/ 93201688

Flat for rent Ghubrah South, ground floor flat, 3 bedrooms, majlis, family hall, RO 425/-. Contact 94669711

1 BHK with A/C, Al Ghubrah, RO 275/-. Contact 92144045

3 flats in Mabellah for rent.

Contact 99445177

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

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

1 BHK, Wadi Kabir. # 99024730

6 bedroom villas at Al Ansab (nr Express highway).

Contact 99199365

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FOR RENT

2 BHK with window A/C in Al Khoudh rent RO 250/-. Contact 97661432 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. #96789522 2 BR, 2 toilets, kitchen at Al Mawaleh. #99444786, 99747560

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 Villas & flats & stores. Contact 99776071 / 99057348 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 Villa, ground floor in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99743569, 97004265 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 with attached toilet & bathroom behind Bank Muscat at Wadi Kabir. Contact 99373290, 24815012 1 BHK residential flat at Honda road.

2 BHK residential flat opposite to Al Nahdha hospital. Contact93219590 Flat for rent 2 bedrooms one hall in South Al Hail. RO 270. #93221474 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 2 BHK at Al Azaiba, Building No.5145 Way 4470. Contact 99224748, 99425665

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

FOR SALE

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

Running Workshop for Tiles / Marble & Granite cutting & skirting in Wadi Kabir for immediate sale.

Contact 99105492 Household items on sale.

Contact 93833107 Port cabins – New & refurnished Porta cabin for sale and rent.

Contact 96723468

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

FOR SALE Used first class office furniture for immediate sale. 3 Office Tables + Side Tables, Steel cabinets, Conference Table + Chairs etc. Excellent condition. Ideal for small start ups.

Contact: 92193885

Industrial Land in Misfah.

Contact 93009999 Flats and shops. Contact 93009999 For rent (flats), 2 bedrooms + hall +kitchen, location: South Al Mawaleh.

Contact 99870020 1 / 3 BHK Flat Ghobrah, close to ISG Way 4041, building 4390.

Contact 99319880 Show room on the main road Saham center total area 450 m sq.

Contact: 99366558 / 99334226 Flats/villas owned by ROP pension fund available for rent in Muscat.

Contact 99349526 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. #99888400

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

WANTED Urgently Required 5000 used shuttering Jacks for Construction Company. Contact: 92867677

BUYING/SELLING We are looking for construction company at any level to buy. #97413496 Looking for purchase of Used Portable Compressor (350 CFM, 7 Bar Pressure) powered with Diesel run Generator.

Kindly Contact 99014686 or operation@khancogroup.com Looking for commercial lands for sale in Al Ghobrah North (urgent serious buyers, commercial lands in al Ghobrah North (corners prime location). Contact 91155779

FOR RENT New Villa for Rent Two floors newly built villa in Maabillah, 8 Fullfledged 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

Sales of Indian Schools girls uniform, customized tailoring facility, contact our showroom : Fashion park, opp. Happy Centre, Ruwi.

Contact 95717201 / 95331600, Email : muscatfiroz@gmail.com Well running fast food and coffee shop for sale or rent in Al Khuwair.

Contact 97646492 Sale of used commercial kitchen equipment in Ghala. #99024519 600 sq mtrs residential land in Misfah Phase 2. OMR 25 Thousand. Tel : 99333479 or 95215360 Sinaw Gift House & Shopping Center for sale at Sinaw in good condition, with very good business opportunities. # 99738014, 95652642 Good running boutique and ladies tailoring shop in MBD Area for immediate sale. Contact 95123679, 99885298 Toshiba Laptop I 3, 3 GB ram, 500 GB hard disk with traffic card, in very good condition. Contact 94412557 Running Medical Centre with full equipments is available for sale. Those interested can contact 98994208.

New fully equipped 2 chair dental clinic in Seeb area for immediate sale. MOH approved. #94514045 If you have any empty land, plot, building, villa to sell. Contact with all information : info@goldenllc.com Beauty Salon, Wadi Kabir, Al Hassan Co. Contact 95241147, 96700192 Darsait Business Office furniture, Isuzu 4 ton brand new. #91391363 A/C spares shop for sale in Seeb.

Contact 92693304 / 91445876 Villa for sale in new Al Khoudh.

Contact 99778773 Clinic for sale. Contact 99824232, email : modern.medicalclinic@gmail. com Dental clinic for sale in Sohar. Contact immediately 99705760,92625962 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 23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture land with water well in Al Salwa, Barka.

OMR 260 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)

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

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 Sharing room with A/c and attached toilet available for non cooking bachelors for male/ Female. opp. of Al nada hospital service road, Street name- Hellat Al Saad, bldg.no. 1670.

Contact no. 96913801 Contd on Pg 5

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

SITUATION WANTED

SITUATION SITUATION WANTED VACANT

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE We are looking for a part time accountant for our office . Must have knowledge of Tally soft ware . Working hour is flexible , but not after 5 pm .Please contact by email : sales@petromaroman.com / mobile + 968 99338105

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

Required experienced Accountant Tally, excellent English & driving license. Contact – omanlaw.om@gmail.com / 24497762 / 92192510

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. # +91 9820240094 Email Id: vora_bharat@yahoo.com,

ADMIN Construction Company requires female executive assistant, with good computer and communication skills, advanced English, fluent Arabic. Please send your CV harun.koyyar@adaliholding.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

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

Indian Male, MBA 2 yrs experience in Accounts, Admin & HR on visit visa. Contact 92045306

Indian Civil Engineer, M.Tech in Construction Management, Primavera Expert looking for suitable placement. Contact 92550987

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

ARCHI./ DRAUGHTSMAN 28 yrs Indian male, M.Arch, 3.5 yrs exp in Green Building Architecture seeking placement.

Contact 91540113, Email: abdulmomin.h@gmail.com

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

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 woman looking for someone to look after baby.

Contact 99797290 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

ENGINEERS 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

MECHANICAL A well reputed fabrication & machining workshop Company in Oman requires experienced (5 yrs) Machinist in Milling, turning & surface grinding.

Contact 99228046, email : oman518@gmail.com Urgently required AC Mechanic. Contact 97075347 / 99747684

MEDICAL 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 Required Physiotherapist.

Contact: 91453024

MEDICAL

SALES / MARKETING

Required laboratory technician & 4 nurse Filipina (female) for health center in Sohar. Contact: 92369417, Email: shafii_17@hotmail.com

Urgently required a dynamic Marketing Executive for a furniture company. Should posses a valid Omani Driving License.

Contact 97164554 / aliasgar@ultimate-furniture.com

Wanted Physiotherapist and Lab Technician to work in medical center in AlSeeb. Contact 99023006 Required the following staffs for a medical complex in Salalah urgently 1) Female Gynecologist, Arab Nationality, 2) Male Pharmacist, Indian, 3) Lab Technician, Indian.

Those interested kindly contact 97413418, 92732491.

Please send your resume to careclinicsalalah@gmail.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 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 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 Wanted MBBS Doctor, Staff Nurse and Lab Technician for a Clinic in Capital Area. Please contact 93431024, send CV to drasyanaseem@gmail.com

MANAGER 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

SKILLED / UNSKILLED Required driver with car, looking for a person with experience in making gift boxes and special packing. Send CV to am.taj41@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

Urgently needed, Projects Sales Executives (3), Store Helpers (2), kitchen carpenters (2), Office Assistants/Secretary (2) (All male only) for a leading building material trading company. Candidates with right education, experience and D/L (Sales), please email CV to trend1993@yahoo.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 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 Highly reputed Perfume Company requires Omani Sales girl promoters. Contact 95663682, 92956876

SIT.WANTED 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 Indian female Graduation in computer Science having 2 yrs experience in Oman seeking for suitable job in Admin/HR, email : maluvijayan40@gmail.com or contact 92014628 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

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

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

Leading Construction company requires young purchase assistant with Oman driving license.

Email : nikunj@uniqueom.com.

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Chartered Accountant, 10+ yrs experience, B.Com, CA, CIA. Immediate availability. Audit, Finance.

Contact 94641805 Accountant, Indian Male, B.Com, MBA presently working in Oman since 9 yrs having suitable change, NOC/Release available. #94134085, email : muscatoman95@yahoo.com Indian Male, MBA, B.com Having 7 yrs of experience in finance Department (Trading & Logistics) with knowledge of ERP & Tally, and Oman valid D/L. NOC is available looking for suitable Position contact No.99279626 Email ID: magdum28@gmail.com Indian male, BE MBA PMP having 20 yrs exp in Civil Residential Commercial Infra Construction and contract management looking for role in Project / Program Management. NOC available. Contact 94634053 Accounts Manager, 8 yrs experience in trade, construction and real estate looking for suitable placement. Contact 94669596 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 Pakistani Male MBA having 4 years experience in Accounting looking for job.NOC Available. # 95610772

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

CATERING Bangladeshi male, Arabic cook, 10 yrs experience UAE, 2 yrs Oman.

Contact 94360784

DESIGNER AutoCAD Interior Designer / detailer, 9 yrs GCC experience seeking for a suitable opening in a reputed company, NOC available from current employer. Contact 92110589 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

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

Office Executive light driver, 2 yrs exp. Contact 93408758

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

Driver with car. Contact 91452930

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 Male, 4 yrs of experience as Financial Analyst looking for suitable position. Contact 94140728 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.#95857199 Finance Manager, CPA, with more than 15 yrs. of experience in GCC. Fully knowledgeable in Finance, General & Management Accounting .

NOC available. Contact 96209331

Light driver looking for job.

Contact 94077119

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 Light Driver looking for job.

Contact 92787245

Required an experienced person who has ideas to start a new business in electrical field or supply with minimum cost.

Contact 99426421

Accounts part time works upto finalization & finalization works.

Contact 96247295 Accountant / Auditor, Srilankan male 27, having 3+ yrs experience looking for suitable placement.

Contact 93556320

Indian female, Electrical Engineer (family visa) M-Tech in Power System having 1 yr experience seeking suitable placement.#94306164 Project Engineer (B.E Civil) having 10 yrs experience in Interior fit out industry looking for suitable opening from reputed companies (NOC available) from current employer.

Contact 91403433 Chemical Engr with experience in analytical instrumentation, bulk drugs and herbal production.

Contact apssasif@gmail.com Aircraft Maintenance Technician with one year experience seeks suitable placement. Contact amaljohn2002@gmail.com Generator maintenance in charge with 4 yrs experience with Cummins, caterpillar, kirloskar and voltas. Contact - email: shibinmundakkal@gmail.com Mechanical Engineer,(BE in Mechanical) with Certified quality controller - NDT level 2 qualified as per ASNT - SNT-TC-I A, having experience as quality control engineer in India, presently on visit visa, seeks suitable placement .

Cont : suhylehameed@gmail.com / 95405033 Indian male, (MCA, B.Sc Maths) locally available with 4 yrs experience in Software Engineering (IOS Development) also experienced IT & Maths Teacher.

Contact 93396053, 93927437, email: vishnursk@gmail.com Indian male, 28 yrs, Electrical Engineer, 5 yrs Gulf Oman experience in HV and LV Installation work seeking placement. NOC available.

Contact 91391587 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 B. Tech Civil Eng. 3 yrs exp in Oman with driving license.

Contact 93733627.

Mail id : joinvisam@gmail.com, neethusprakash@gmail.com

Driver seeking job. # 99805236

Building Construction Sr. Site Supervisor looking for better opportunity since March 2010 in Oman with Omani D/L. Contact 93061107

6 Years experience light duty driver.

Contact – 96736744

Diploma in Civil Engineer, 20 yrs in Oman with D/L. Contact 94677220

Light driver looking for job.

Contact 92791678

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

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

ENGG. / TECHNICAL 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

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

Civil Engineer B Tech, Site Engineer Experienced, Drafting on Visit Visa Ph : 91642050 Looking Part time Job in HVAC93198128 Experienced female Electrical Engineer.Contact 93800906

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. # 98640063 Indian Female, 24, UK Graduate - MSc Digital Communication Network Engineering with B.Tech Electronics and Communication with Omani Driving License, seeks suitable placement. #95408113 Sudanese Mechanical Engineer, 3 yrs experience in HVAC fire fighting, NOC and driving license available. Contact 91135140

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

D5

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED 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. #96115463.

Jijoraju085@yahoo.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 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 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.

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

HOSPITALITY M.Sc International Tourism & hotel management UK Graduated with Omani D/L seeking job as CRE, tour operations & marketing in hospitality & tourism industry.

Contact 91640428

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

INFORMATION TECH

MECHANICAL/TECH.

MBA (Systems) with MCSA Certified having more than 10 years of experience in Computer Hardware & Networking , Specialization in Server Configuration, Windows Server 2012, Redhat Linux Enterprise 6.0, VPN Firewall, Router, & CCTV Installation and Maintenance seeks suitable placement. Now in visit visa & back to India on 26/01/15.

E-mail : pkram1977@outlook.com & Mob#+968 95642554

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

SALES / MARKETING

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

Sales & Marketing Indian male MBA (marketing & sales) business development experience at all levels of management. Currently on visit visa. Contact – 91272819

ERP Specialist, 14 yrs exp, Indian male, (VB.NET & SQL Server) able to handle in-house development single handedly. Release/NOC available, valid D/L. Contact 93047636 M.Tech-IT professional, Indian Male specialist in Networking, Configuring maintaining and managing servers, Exp in configuring cisco products, Knowledge in SQL database. Contact:+968 98536430, +968 98743886 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

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR 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 Indian male, having 18 yrs experience in “Automatic door opening and closing system.” From Riyadh as Manager and Department Head.

Contact +97466912692 Experienced Warehouse Supervisor with 12+ yrs of Saudi Arabia experience in warehouse and stores procedures on visit visa. Contact 92983288, email: hasinabegum2000@gmail.com Techno Commercial Manager, Indian, 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 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.

Contact 91219787

MEDICAL Female dentist with MOH license and with Noc looking for suitable placement in Muscat region Contact no. 99147426 Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf experience) looking for a suitable job (NOC available) Contact-93344378 Indian Female, 28 yrs Staff Nurse, 7 yrs of experience (4 yrs in Gulf) presently working in India, Oman Prometric passed 63%, valid BLS & ACLS certificates, looking for suitable job in Muscat area.

Email : anishaabrahamc@gmail.com or call 93137898 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.#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 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 Home nurse. Contact 99156191

MISCELLANEOUS MBA Finance, 7 yrs exp in Financial & Banking Sector seeks suitable position with Driving License.

Contact 98371903 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

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

MECHANICAL/TECH. TOUR / TRAVELS Electrical Technician with 7 yrs experience in the field of oil & gas. Contact 96946044 / 94682982

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

Indian male, 32 yrs, total 8+ yrs experience with 4+ yrs experience of Sales and Marketing in Oman, seeking job.

NOC available. #95731981 Filipino Male, 26 yrs old looking for any job in restaurant or hotel or Sales or finance and having exp total of 8 yrs in all these fields. #92156753

NRI

MBA Graduate with valid Omani D/L looking for suitable job. # 94143683 MBA with 6 yrs experience in Sales & Marketing with Omani Driving License seeks suitable placement.

Contact 94685706 Croatan Woman, 12 yrs experience in Sales. Contact 99797290 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

18 yrs Oman experience in Building Materials seeking suitable placement, NOC available. # 93105775 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, 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 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

Villa for sale 2200 sq ft in 8 cent.

Kottayam. Contact: 92652534

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

GOOD NEWS

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 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

For Astrological consultation, Jathakam.Contact 99860435 / 97102599

ACC. AVAILABLE Ghubrah furnished room with attached bath, dish, wi-fi available for executive person.

Contact 98266157 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

Genuine Ayurvedic treatments & massage, Ayurvedic clinic at Al Khuwair. Contact 24478618 / 97263637 /93309131

1 room balcony toilet for Indian lady / small family near Khimji Institute (NIIT) near Ruwi Church.

Contact # 99746379

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

Independent room, kitchen and bathroom available near Ruwi roundabout. Contact 99016562

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

SIT.WANTED SALES / MARKETING 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 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

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. Contact 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 Furnished single room with attached bathroom near Mars Hypermarket, Al Ghubrah. Contact 97312111, RO 150/- per month Independent room furnished Executive at Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99336206 Rooms for rent in Al Hail, front of the Wave. Contact 95192927 Room with separate toilet and WiFi, Wadi Kabir near pencil building.

Contact 93416854 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

D6

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

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

A/C service, repair and maintenance works. Contact 95356877, 93937368. Al Sahib Modern Projects

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

House shifting. #99557080, 96236476

Cleaning services, carpet & sofa shampooing, marble restoration (grinding) and polishing, pest control, fogging service. Contact 99448057, 95401996

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

Carpet & sofa cleaning, house cleaning. Contact 99542979 / 98855815

Cheapest Prices, all types window, curtains and blind. #99539521

For All Your Maintenance Solutions, A/c Servicing & Fixing, Painting, Cleaning, Electric. # 99002390

Computer service/ AMC/ Networking. Contact 93552434

Water proofing ABUQABASContact 99320217/24788722

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS- 99320217 /24788722

Civil Maintenance, Painting Electric, Plumbing, Decor, Tile Fixing, Lecithin Copra Board flat stifling , Carpet Cleaning and A/C Servicing.# 97897831 (Indian keralite)

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS- 99320217 /24788722

Waterproofing, light weight Screed, Antitermite and MS Fabrication.

Contact 92888337

Door to Door Computers repair specialist laptop software Website cartridges. Contact 99199376

Electrical Plumbing Painting Contract and Maintenance.

Contact 98456535

A.M Trading Pest control.

Contact 99067923

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

GULF INTERNATIONAL LLC all kind of pest control. #92326955 We assist in new business set up local sponsorship, real estate services, assist in company formation services. Contact - 93166088

For All Your Maintenance Solutions, A/c Servicing & Fixing, Painting, Cleaning, Electric. #99002390

Painting Interlock plumbing maintenance. Contact 92142319 Carpet & sofa cleaning, house cleaning. # 99542979 / 98855815 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. #99447257 / 97014234 / 24504281

Split & window unit A/C servicing & repairing. Contact 99557080

Window & split unit A/C servicing & maintenance. Contact 96236476

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 PRO services. Contact 99368907

For HT cable jointing and termination works 33KV/11KV. #99056438 / Email: npgoman@gmail.com

CHANGE OF NAME We, Nitesh Mulraj Ashar (name of father as per the passport, holder of Indian Passport No.Z2150866) and Ashar Dimple Nitesh (name of mother as per the passport, holder of Indian Passport No. J5943012) having permanent address in Panchnath Plot “Gokul” – Gondal-360311-Rajkot-Gujarat (complete postal address in India) and presently residing at the following address in Oman, P.B.No1023, P.C. No 114, Sultanate of Oman, hereby solemnly affirm and declare to change the name of our child Master Ashar Dhruve Niteshbhai (name as per present passport), holder of Indian Passport No. J1764165, date of issue 18/03/2010 issued at Dubai. The name of our child will be henceforth known as Ashar Dhruv Nitesh (new name) for all purposes. Any objection towards change of name of our minor child may please be communicated to Embassy of India, Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters, Al Khuwair, P.B. No 1727, Postal Code 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman.

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DAILY GUIDE TOURS

SITUATION WANTED CARGO

SITUATION WANTED CARGO

RENT A CAR

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

DRIVING

M.V. FOR SALE

MANPOWER

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 L/R Discovery, 2003, KM 1,60,000. Contact 99238877

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

Toyota Yaris 1.5, 2010 single owner 84,000 kms, fully automatic, 100%.

Service history with dealer.

Contact 93876159 30 seater Toyota Bus, 2014, white color for sale. Contact 98888999 / 96341946 Chevrolet van model 2000 for sale, RO 1400/-. Contact 96789522 Prado 2012. Contact 99336093

TRANSPORTATION Transportation. Contact 93405941 We can give best price for transportation to shift the material from DUBAI to OMAN and local OMAN areas. (Less 25 ton wait Dubai To OMAN Only 170/OMR). GSM 91006589,97754600 ASIF ALI Transportation. Contact 94087276 Transportation. Contact 95190627

TRANSPORTATION

Labor Pick & drop. #92218001

TRANSPORTATION Transportation. Contact 91379976 Pick & Drop any time. #97014786 Transportation. Contact 99664703

PDO approval truck for hire. Contact 99350915 50 seater bus with PDO speciďŹ cation for rent or lease. # 99839898 Running truck wash for rent in Ouhi Sunia Sohar. Serious people can. Contact on 97864747

Transportation. Contact 92306582

Transportation available 99159277

Transportation. Contact 98178135

Transportation. Contact 96538078

Transportation available. # 95570429

Transportation Available Contact 97180655

Pick & drop anytime in al Khuwair.

Contact 99764307

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DAILY GUIDE

Indian, Arabic, Chinese dishes, BuďŹ&#x20AC;et Lunch (On Friday) Indoor & Outdoor, Catering, Party hall available Take Away & Home Delivery

Party booking & sugges ons 99320065, 99341643

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