Times of Oman - June 25, 2015

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THURSDAY, June 25, 2015 / 8 Ramadan 1436 AH

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HM sends greetings MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of congratulations to His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar on the occasion of the anniversary of his assumption of the reins of power in Qatar.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere congratulations along with his best wishes of good health, happiness and a long life to Sheikh Tamim, praying to Allah the Almighty for the return of this and similar occasions on him to achieve further aspirations of progress and prosperity for the people of Qatar.

His Majesty the Sultan has also sent a cable of congratulations to President Borut Pahor of Slovenia on his country’s independence anniversary.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere congratulations and best wishes to President Pahor and the Slovenian people.

His Majesty the Sultan has sent another cable of congratulations to President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović of Croatia on the occasion of her country’s National Day. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere congratulations and best wishes to President Kitarović and her country’s people.

His Majesty the Sultan has also sent a cable of congratulations to President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique on the occasion of his country’s Independence Anniversary.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere congratulations and best wishes to President Nyusi and his country’s people. -ONA

Omani rial will be the estimated subsidy on petroleum products, interest on housing loan, electricity and water and essential food items in 2015

Top-level backing for cut in subsidies Central Bank of Oman says it supports the move, which could hit the price of fuel, water and power, in a ‘phased manner’

A E JAMES /FAHAD AL GHADANI

businesseditor@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Debate over whether the Sultanate should stop subsiding the cost of petrol, electricity, water and even housing loans for nationals, has been reignited by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) which said it backs the move in a ‘phased manner’.

Oman government grants subsidies to producers of various essential items, which include petroleum products, housing loan

interest, electricity, water and essential food items, including wheat flour.

It also offers subsidies to oil firms, housing bank, power producers, flour mills and poultry feed manufacturers and asks them to sell their products and services at a government determined price in a move to help the common people by controlling prices and inflationary pressure within the country.

The banking regulator in its recent Financial Stability Report

said, “The seemingly gradual approach to address the issue of price subsidy – aimed at improving social and political economy – looks worthwhile considering the fact that it bears profound impact on the price of energy/petroleum products, which could turn Oman into a high-cost economy adversely affecting the economic growth.”

Oman government has been contemplating withdrawing fuel subsidy for the last couple of years, but no decision has been taken so far due to its far-reaching implications on the entire people.

The apex bank said that in 2014, while subsidies fell by 17.11 per cent, Oman still had a bill of about OMR1.69 billion. The fall in subsidy was mainly on account of plunging oil prices.

Total subsidy and exemption estimate for 2015 is at OMR1.8 billion, mainly for providing subsidy for petroleum products, in-

terest subsidy for housing loan, electricity and water and some essential food items.

In fact, the overall subsidy constitutes almost 13 per cent of budget expenditure, which is a growing concern for the government.

“The opportunity cost of delaying subsidy cuts has increased with record low oil prices since September, 2014. This places fiscal pressure on Oman’s budget, which incurred a deficit of OMR1.06 billion in 2014 and is projected to increase to OMR2.5 billion in 2015. That been said, there has been plans to address this issue suitably,” the CBO report explained.

“It has to be done in a phased manner and that is what is mentioned in the report,” Hamoud Sangour Al Zadjali, executive president of the Central Bank of Oman, told Times of Oman. >A6

1.69b Omani rial was the amount spent on subsidies by the government in 2014 mainly due to a fall in prices of oil, said the Central Bank of Oman

1.06b

Omani rial was the budget deficit in 2014 on account of low oil prices since September 2014 creating fiscal pressure which is projected to increase deficit to OMR2.5 billion in 2015

SUPREME COUNCIL FOR PLANNING

Council reviews Ghala project plan MUSCAT: For the re-planning of Ghala Industrial Area project, allocation of land uses, the development of infrastructure and the final layout for roads and infrastructure, the Supreme Council for Planning reviewed the proposals submitted by the Muscat Municipality.

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ROHM teaching music to community

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QURUM AND MUTTRAH

TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES

Three arrested for allegedly using forged debit cards

OMAN

Oman shows the way to tolerance

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People took to Twitter and other social media outlets and voiced their opinions on Oman’s religious values, human principles and lessons about life. >A5

Times News Service MUSCAT: Three European nationals have been arrested by the Department of Combatting Economic Crimes at the Directorate General of Inquiries and Investigations for allegedly using forged debit cards to withdraw cash from ATM machines.

A source at the Royal Oman Police (ROP) said that the department received a call from one of the local banks about unidentified persons withdrawing cash from ATMs located in Qurum and Muttrah by using forged debit cards.

After investigations, the ROP caught the two suspects redhanded as they were withdrawing money in Qurum commercial area whereas the third was arrested from a hotel in Al Khuwair.

A large amount of money and forged debit cards were recovered from his possession.

They have been referred to the public prosecution for investigations, pending production in a court. The ROP has urged people to remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious activity near ATMs or items placed on ATM ma-

Millennium goals The third meeting of the year held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Dr Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of the Supreme Council for

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Nuclear angle in $12b Saudi-French deal

2 RAID: Money recovered from the possession of the accused. – ROP

chines. It is suspected that these people have partners working with them in their home country who supply them with fake cards. Banks have been regularly urging the public to change their pin from time to time, to reduce the risk of falling prey to such gangs.

Narcotics A national was arrested by the officers from the Directorate General of Combating Narcotics and

Psychotropic Substance for allegedly attempting to smuggle hashish weighing 7.5 kg into the Sultanate of Oman through the Sarfeit border post.

In another case, three nationals were arrested in Al Buraimi by the Directorate General of Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substance for possessing narcotics.

The police found one kilogram of hashish and 10 psychotropic capsules from their possession.

France said it would look into building two nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia, which is part of some $12 billion in deals announced on Wednesday . >A7

MARKET

Growth of SMEs vital for diversification

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Small and medium enterprises sector is considered a potential driving force in the country’s non-oil real GDP growth, according to the CBO. >B1

Planning, reviewed the report of the national team for the development goals for 2015 which include the millennium development goals approved for the first stage (2000 to 2015) and the outcomes of the evaluation and the Sultanate’s vision on sustainable development goals. It also took into consideration the indicators developed at Rio+20, United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

The Council also discussed the outcomes of a study on updating the emergency plan at Sohar Port and Sohar Free Zone.

The project aims at ensuring sustainable development in these two places to address the challenges facing the industrial safety in the future.

The Council gave its directive to consider this study as a base that applies to other industrial zones and ports in the Sultanate.

The Council affirmed its decision taken at the first meeting on April 6, 2014, about the general layout and mechanisms for dealing with land uses.

The Council reviewed the master plan for Khasab Port in the Governorate of Musandam. >A6

CAR ACCIDENT

Three expats caught in dust storm, injured Staff Reporter MUSCAT: Two expatriates were injured after their car met with an accident when they were caught in dust storm in Haima.

The two injured, both Indians, are admitted to Nizwa hospital.

According to hospital sources and company officials of the injured expatriates, the accident occurred as the driver lost control of the vehicle due to poor visibility near Haima.

“One more passenger is being brought to Nizwa hospital. He is a Bangladeshi citizen,” the hospital sources said.

Dry winds Dry winds from north have led to dust storms and reduced visibility in many areas, said the Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation (DGMAN).

“Masirah, Ibri, Al Wusta, Al Buraimi and Al Dahirah region is hit by dust storm and the horizontal visibility is also low,” the DGMAN tweeted on its official twitter handle.

Residents in Ibri and Masirah also confirmed the developments

Dry winds from north have led to dust storms and reduced visibility in many areas.

with the Times of Oman.

“Dusty winds were reducing visibility. It was hard to drive,” said residents in Ibri and Masirah.

In its forecast, the meteorology department said that skies along the coastal areas of the Dhofar governorate will be cloudy with chances of intermittent drizzle.

On Tuesday, the department had predicted a spell of hot weather over the next few days in Muscat and adjoining areas.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

TODAY’S DUAA ‘Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us, but grant us mercy from You. You are the Grantor of bounties without measure.’

Value of time in Islam Islam encourages Muslims to care for time, to utilise it wisely and not to waste it and to benefit from it, AFTAB H. KOLA explains

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slam is a way of life and as such it touches every aspect of life. A saying goes, “Watches are so named as a reminder — if you don’t watch carefully what you do with your time, it will slip away from you.” How true! If you don’t value time now, it will not come again and cribbing later will not yield any good.

Islam has, on a number of times and occasions, warned people about how if time is not valued it will bring catastrophic results. It guides mankind not only to the importance of time but also how to value it and that we must not waste it and how we can make use of our time wisely to increase our Eeman (Faith) and thus attain success, especially eternal success in the life hereafter.

It is the need of the hour that time must be spent to fulfil our very purpose in life, that is to worship Allah all through our lives and to spend time in worldly matters prudently and accordance with Shariah.

Time passes quickly and God reminds us in the Holy Quran that the months and years pass but when we are standing before Him on the Day of Judgment our time on earth will seem as though we had lived, dreamed and worshipped for less than a day.

Imam Al Hasan Al Basri once commented: “At the beginning of every day a herald calls: ‘O Son of Adam! I am a new creation and a witness of

your deeds. So take a provision from me when I pass, for I never come back till the Day of Resurrection.”

Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi, an eminent scholar, writes, “Having all this great value and importance, time is to be duly appreciated and managed.

In Islam there is no room for slogans like the so-called “killing time”, for, in Islam, time is really valuable. In fact, wasting time is much more dangerous than squandering property, because unlike property, time cannot be compensated. Free time is a blessing that is overlooked, and not wholly appreciated by many people. In the Hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “There are two of Allah’s favours that are forgotten by many people: health and free time.”

I remember reading a beautiful quote: “I expect to pass through this world but once; any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” It speaks about the time as a valuable resource. Only if we realise it.

And Allah swears by time in the Holy Quran, chapter Al Asr: “By Al ’Asr (the time). Verily, man is in loss. Except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth and recommend one another to patience.”

It is recommended that Muslims

Important duties z z z z z z z

Ensuring benefiting from time Utilizing leisure time Racing for good deeds Learning from the passage of time Seeking the superior times Planning and organising time Fulfilment of time commitments

should shy away from doing things that take him away from the Creator; that means, he should not waste time on such activities that have no meaning in life vis-a-vis Islam. Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) also told his followers: “Do not curse time (al-dahr), for God is the one who crafted time.”

(Muslim). The value of time depends on how productively we spend it. For our guidance and success, we must never waste time nor abuse it.

Ramadan is the time which we all should utilise time productively but sadly we spend time mostly sleeping

or on WhatsApp. And after Iftar it is feasting time!

In Ramadan in places like Oman, offices and businesses work for less hours and so we have plenty of time at our disposal. We have to make use of our time wisely by knowing more of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah and try to attain correct knowledge of what Allah and His Messenger Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) have commanded us to do and at the same time to refrain from what they have forbidden us. Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), gave a clarion call to Muslims to take the initiative to perform good deeds lest any obstacles strike.

For example, he said, “Lose no time to do good deeds before you are caught up by one of seven calamities awaiting you: a starvation which may impair your wisdom; a prosperity which may mislead you; an ailment which may damage your health; an old age which may harm your senses; a sudden death; the Dajjal (Antichrist); or Doomsday, which is indeed the hardest and most bitter.” (at-Tirmidhi, al-Baihaqi). Wise are those who grab available opportunities before being handicapped by obstacles.

Each one must realise that every moment that passes by is an opportunity gone, used or abused; never to return. Soon time will be up and we’ll have to leave this physical world and give account for our lives.

Hadith of the day ABU HURAYRAH reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever stands (in the voluntary night prayer of ) Ramadan out of faith and in hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

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OMAN

O U T WA R D B O U N D O M A N

Omani team scale new heights with Kilimanjaro expedition Times News Service MUSCAT: Standing at 19,310 feet above the sea level, Kilimanjaro presents a substantial challenge to anyone who wishes to reach its summit.

A team of ten intrepid explorers recently returned to Oman after spending seven days on Africa’s highest mountain on a challenge organised by Outward Bound Oman, with an impressive 90 per cent making it to the summit.

Mark Evans, general manager of Outward Bound Oman, said, “An ascent of Kilimanjaro embodies all that Outward Bound Oman/ Tahaddi stands for. It is a nontechnical mountain, but to reach the summit requires participants

to draw upon their inner resolve, initiative, physical fitness and determination to succeed.

“At altitude, success is far from guaranteed, but hard work, sound preparation and self-belief give participants every chance of standing on the roof of Africa. Kilimanjaro is a wonderful mountain.

Whilst the Arctic is often held up as the barometer of global warming, scientists predict that the glaciers and ice on the summit of Kilimanjaro could vanish within the next 20 years, leaving the continent of Africa ice-free.”

Now the team members are safely back in Oman, many are taking the time to reflect on their achievements. Faisal Al Abri, an employee of Oman Shipping Com-

SUMMIT CLIMB: Ten intrepid explorers recently returned to Oman

after spending seven days on Africa’s highest mountain.– Supplied photo

pany said, “I had the opportunity to hike to Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak at 5895 metres, and took it without hesitation.

According to data, out of 15,000

Oman shows the way to tolerance People took to Twitter and other social media outlets and voiced their opinions on Oman’s religious values

SAID AL HASHMI MUSCAT: Khawater 11, a Ramadan show about religious values, human principles and lessons about life, broadcast an episode titled ‘We differ but remain friends’, which portrayed the Sultanate as the best example of religious tolerance despite its differing doctrines and beliefs.

People took to Twitter and other social media outlets and voiced their opinions on the subject under the hashtag #khawater11.

Sultan Al Malki tweeted, “Oman, despite the difference in sects is a great example of accepting one another.”

Hilal Al Shiadi said, “Sultan Qaboos called for and worked on stabilising the nature of co-existence between the sects in the Sultanate, and he is supported by the Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Al Khalili. May God preserve and save them.”

Another Omani, Sharah Boy, tweeted that the sects are basically discretionary Islamic schools and no sect harms another, and there always is one individual from the bunch that ruins the reputation of all others.

Journalist Musa Al Fara’i said, “To be an Omani means that you are able to live in harmony with not just humans but all living beings, which means you have the elements of humanity.”

“Every time they get close to

SOCIAL UNITY: To be an Omani means that you are able to live in harmony with not just humans but all living beings, which means you have the elements of humanity.–File photo

us, they will know the truth about Omanis. Even in the Gulf we are not well-known, until Khawater 11 brought us closer together,” tweeted journalist Yousif Al Balushi.

Ibn Tamim tweeted, “I will not praise Oman based on its people, but I am proud of the government’s policy to criminalise promotion of sectarianism. So, every government should support it, to rid itself from sectarianism.”

It was mentioned on Kaiser Oman News twitter account that Ahmad Al Shugheiri, the show’s host, performed Friday prayers in the Sultanate and found that everyone prays in the same place and according to their sects.

Marwan Al Badi said, “Oman has been the subject of sectarian defacement in front of others, and what makes this episode unique is that Ahmad Al Shugheiri did justice to Omanis in front of all Muslims.”

“Al Shugheiri delivered our message of religious tolerance and harmonious living. The rest of the episodes should contain our message of humanity,” was Nader Al Marhoon’s view. @Oman_NT displayed on its twitter page Ahmad Al Shugheiri’s quote as saying, “The world must learn from Oman the true meaning of co-existence and how to create an environment that prevents sectarianism.”

Ahmad Al Siyabi said, “In Oman, our faith is Islam and our

religion is humanity.”

Zaher Al Abri, tweeted a quote from His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said on his twitter account saying, “I believe in peace (faith), and I ask that we strive to achieve it without neglect or exaggeration.”

Mohammad Al Hadi Ba Omar, said, “Thank God I am Omani. We do not have any sedition. I swear I am afraid of losing this blessing from the amount of talk about it.”

“Basically, the Omanis in Khawater 11 portray the innocence of Islam in its origins,” said Khoula Al Hosni.

An Omani twitterati said, “Of the national firmness of Oman, criminalisation of sectarianism and division in all its forms, in education, media and even in Friday sermons.”

“Ahmad you made me cry.

Thank God on Omani innocence,” was Maimuna Al Suleimani emotional update on Twitter. @WEATHER__OMAN says, “Oman is Islam and not the religion of sects. It is a simple phrase but packs great meaning.”

Kayan says, “The difference in thought does not classify you or I as the ones who will join paradise instead of hellfire. They classify us based on being different human beings. That is life.”

“A simple and distinctive example of displaying different sects in all forms in one prayer,” offered Madiha Al Suleimani.

people only 40 per cent make it to the summit, this I felt was a true challenge! It was truly an amazing life time experience, and I feel very fortunate that I could be a part of it, T H A I S TAT E M E N T

Omani MERS patient ‘mildly affected’ Times News Service MUSCAT: The 75-year-old Omani businessman who had been quarantined after being infected by MERS has been only “mildly affected” and is recovering, according to Ministry of Public Health, Thailand.

According to the ministry, the businessman was quickly moved from Bumrungrad Hospital to a quarantine room at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Disease Institute.

All those who had come into contact with the patient, including his relatives and hospital personnel, were also immediately checked and cleared.

Meanwhile, all visitor arrivals are flowing normally via all international gateways and the travel and tourism industry remains fully operational. The ministry has assured the Thai public and visitors that fullscale surveillance and response systems have been put in place.

and part of this wonderful team. It takes determination and mental as well as physical strength to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and the team has demonstrated that beautifully.

Many thanks to Outward Bound Oman for organising it and a huge appreciation to Oman Shipping for sponsoring me.”

A second member of the team was Ali Al Abri, head of human resources at HSBC Bank Oman.

“In 1959, soon-to-be President Julius Nyerere said, ‘We, the people of Tanganyika (now Tanzania) , would like to light a candle and put it on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro which would shine beyond our borders giving hope where there was despair, love where there was hate, and dig-

nity where before there was only humiliation.’

Today, the summit of Kilimanjaro, where I was standing few days ago, is called Uhuru Peak.

Uhuru is the Swahili word for ‘Freedom’. And freedom and a sense of achievement is what I felt as I stood on that magnificent peak at 19,000 feet plus. I did not go with the thoughts that climbing ‘Kili” would fix all that wrongs in my life, but it did indeed make me a better person,” said Al Abri.

Outward Bound Oman Operations Manager Sultan Al Jabri, who co-ordinated the challenge, spent the weeks prior to the event training by going up and down large staircases here in Muscat, with a heavily loaded backpack.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015 These initiatives sought to enrich the intellectual environment and support communication through arts and the celebration of the common human heritage, with an emphasis on our Omani, Arab and Islamic values Dr Nasser Al Taee, Advisor to the ROHM Board of Directors for Education and Outreach

OMAN BENEFITS OF SUBSIDY

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A1 ‘Subsidy for poor’ “(However) it is up to the government to look at this issue,” he added.

There has been debate on whether expats should bear the burden for subsidy cuts, for example with foreigners charged more for fuel and power than nationals.

But Tawfiq Al Lawati, a Majlis Al Shura member representing Mutrah, said while he has called for subsidies to be they should not target expatriates exclusively, but be based on monthly income.

“Those earning over OMR800 as a monthly salary should not get subsidy benefit. It should be for low income people only,” said Al Lawati.

He added that as of now most high income group people enjoy the subsidy benefits.

“If we just check who the maximum number of beneficiaries of the subsidies is, I am certain that it will be the high income families.

Remember each house has at least five to six vehicles,” said Al Lawati.

“This money which is wasted in the subsidies is the next generations’ money and the government should consider that and start a move to protect it,” said Al Lawati.

“The government should sell the oil much higher than the current price. It should impose taxes on vehicles with a capacity of over two and half vehicles. This will push the motorists to opt for low fuel consuming vehicles,” said Al Lawati.

Meanwhile Ahmed Al Hooti, an Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) member says that it is difficult to determine who can benefit from subsidies based on nationalities or even monthly income.

“The OCCI has gone through a study conducted by the government on cutting subsidies on diesel only. Although the government says that this will target only companies, but in turn this will affect the public too,” said Al Hooti.

He added that many essential commodities will witness price rise as a result.

“Saving one million Omani rials, the study carried by the government which was given to the OCCI included a list of the most affected essential commodities as far as price in concerned. Vegetables and fruit topped the list,” said Al Hooti.

He added that the current financial situation of the government is a result of the short term plan made by the government.

“The government might opt for loans in the coming period but it has to think of others way for the income,” said Al Hooti.

He added that the OCCI suggested the idea of providing cards for diesel vehicles or boats owners including a limited use of the fuel.

“If the owners of the vehicle or boat want to exceed the limit he should be then able to pay the diesel price along with the subsidy amount,” said Al Hooti.

ROHM gave boost to music, Omani jobs Currently Omanis account for 72.5 per cent of the employees at the ROHM, while the remaining 27.5 per cent are expatriates OUTREACH: The upcoming season at the ROHM, which begins on September 16, will include many

education and outreach events, including a few new additions.. – Khalid Al Busaidi SARAH MACDONALD

sarah@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Since the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) opened in October 2011 not only has it provided plenty of world class entertainment, but it has also played an important role educating the community about music and theatrical arts and provided new jobs for Omanis.

Dr Nasser Al Taee, Advisor to the ROHM Board of Directors for Education and Outreach, recently reviewed the achievements the ROHM has made with its outreach programming. He described education and outreach as a top priority for the venue and a means to communicate with the community and teach them about different arts and cultures.

The education and outreach programmes have included a wide variety of activities, including open house days, pre-performance talks, stage presentations to introduce different types of instruments and technical aspects of the ROHM, special performances for students, symposiums and lectures.

“These initiatives sought to enrich the intellectual environment and support communication through arts and the cel-

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ebration of the common human heritage, with an emphasis on our Omani, Arab and Islamic values,” Al Taee said.

The biggest educational initiatives undertaken by the ROHM over the past season was the production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which was a shorter, interactive version of the famous opera. The ROHM worked with over 2400 students in the months leading up to the April performances and taught them some of the songs in English, Italian and Arabic and provided them with props to use during the show.

“The Magic Flute served as a leading education and cultural demonstration of our mission since it was the first interactive opera production held by the opera house in the region,” said Al Taee.

The past season saw the ROHM continue to hold “Open House” days in which people could visit the opera house and see instru-

ments and costumes close up and watch music performances by young local artists. Many patrons also took advantage of the many pre-performance talks that were held before the operas, concerts and ballets. These talks are aimed at deepening the audience’s understanding of the performances.

Symposiums A number of symposiums were held by the ROHM throughout the past season on a various musical subjects including flamenco, inshaad music, pipe organ music, and international rhythm.

The special Jadal Symposium on Arab music brought together dozens of Arab music aficionados and featured Lebanese artist Marcel Khalife. The ROHM also collaborated with the Cultural Club in Qurum for a series of lectures and performances which were well-received by the public.

The ROHM even participated in some international conferences and forums in the UAE, Morocco, Turkey and Germany to showcase the ROHM around the world and engage in cross-cultural dialogues, Al Taee noted.

The upcoming season at the ROHM, which begins on Septem-

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Tourism to be A1 the top priority < FROM

It is in line with the comprehensive development strategy and the master plan for the governorate till 2040.

The components of the project include a commercial port, a fishing port, a marina, and terminals for cruise ships, ferry boats and government vessels.

The comprehensive development strategy of the Governorate stressed that the tourism sector will be the main sector in the development and will be integrated with other sectors, such as fisheries and trade.

The Council reviewed the progress made in conducting studies on the detailed layouts for implementing the compre-

ber 16, will include many education and outreach events, including a few new additions.

“Special features in the coming season include an Open House, an inside look at the stage and its state-of-the-art mechanical systems, and a presentation on string instruments with live demonstrations,” Al Taee said.

As well as education, another important aim of the ROHM is provide job opportunities for Omanis. Prior to its opening in October 2011 it already had Omanis working in administration but since it opened more Omanis have also been trained for specialised technical jobs in the theatre in sound, lighting, sets, costumes and stage management.

“We are seriously developing practical programs for training in all fields, in particular to the technical staff, in collaboration with other international opera houses,” said HH Sayyid Kamil bin Fahd Al Said, member of the ROHM Board of Directors. Currently Omanis account for 72.5 per cent of the employees at the ROHM, while the remaining 27.5% are expatriates.

Since July 2013 a further 73 out of 86 new hires have been Omani, Al Said added.

hensive strategy for the Governorate of Musandam while taking into consideration the outcomes of the study on discharging water and wadi pathways in the governorate.

The Council considered the possibility of setting up joint ventures with the private sector to manage the components of the port. It also discussed other topics and took appropriate decisions in their regard.

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Pavilion promotes tourism in Oman GENEVA: An Omani pavilion showcased country’s tourist sites and distributed brochures and CDs at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva.

The pavilion also showcased Omani handicraft products, like silver ornaments, cloth, Omani food and other Omani products, including dates and Omani coffee, sweets and incense.

Oman participated in the Open Day of the WTO to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the body in Geneva, in the presence of Abdullah bin Nasser Al Rahbi, Permanent Representative at the WTO. The Celebration titled (Thank You Geneva) aimed at highlighting the organisation’s work and meetings with representatives of Member States. -ONA

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015 Members of parliament should press the government to investigate the case and make sure that proper safeguards are in place to make sure that nothing like this happens again Wenzel Michalski, Human Rights Watch

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Germany urged to probe Al Jazeera journalist’s arrest in Berlin DOHA: The German authorities should carry out an investigation into the two-day detention of Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour, a global rights watchdog said on Wednesday.

Human Rights Watch called on German lawmakers to put pressure on their government to get answers. “Members of parliament should press the government to

investigate the case and make sure that proper safeguards are in place to make sure that nothing like this happens again,” said HRW’s Wenzel Michalski.

Egyptian-born Mansour arrived back in Qatar on Tuesday after his detention in Berlin.

The 52-year-old had been released on Monday after being detained at the weekend following a

request from the Egyptian government. He was arrested at a Berlin airport as he tried to board a flight to Qatar. Mansour had been in Germany on assignment.

The German foreign ministry blamed a mishap, saying officials were not initially aware Mansour was a journalist or that there was a “political background” to the case, while Mansour suggested Berlin

Saudi, France announce deals worth $12 billion A slew of deals worth billions of euros were announced following the first ‘Franco-Saudi Joint Commission’ meeting in Paris

BIG PUSH: French President Francois Hollande, centre, welcomes Saudi Defence Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, at the Elysee Palace in Paris. – AFP

PARIS: France said it would look into building two nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia, which is part of some $12 billion (10.7 billion euros) in deals announced on Wednesday with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country.

Under one of the agreements Airbus will sell 23 H-145 multipurpose helicopters to Saudi Arabia for 500 million euros as well as launch a feasibility study into building the reactors, French

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. A slew of deals worth billions of euros were announced following the first “Franco-Saudi Joint Commission” meeting in Paris, led

by Fabius and Saudi Defence Minister Prince Mohamed bin Salman. Fabius also mentioned the Saudi Arabian Airlines order for 50 Airbus passenger planes valued at $8 billion. The study for two European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) — which France considers

the safest and most advanced in the world -- takes on added significance given the current efforts

by Saudi Arabia’s rival, Iran, to develop its own nuclear capabilities.

In addition to the study, France will sign an agreement to train the Saudis on nuclear safety and the treatment of nuclear waste.

Fabius also announced a “commitment” from Saudi Arabia to acquire about 30 patrol boats for its navy. — Agencies

willingly acted on Cairo’s behalf.

Michalski said Berlin should have known “from the start that Ahmed Mansour risks serious violations of his human rights if he is sent to Egypt”.

Mansour said he was arrested because of “politics” and on his release also called on Germany to investigate his detention.

“From the first second, I knew I

was innocent, I did not do anything wrong or hurt anyone. Everything for me was clear, I was strong all the time,” he told reporters when he arrived back in Doha.

He was sentenced last year by an Egyptian court in absentia to 15 years in prison on torture and other charges which he has rejected as “absurd”.

Mansour is a veteran journalist

who presents a weekly show on the Qatar-based broadcaster called Bela Hodood, (Without Frontiers).

His arrest comes at a tense time in relations between Egypt and Qatar, with Cairo accusing Doha of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed in Egypt. Mansour blamed his detention in Germany on pressure from the Egyptian government. — AFP

A8

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015 It is evident from the contents of the affidavits filed by Irani that at best only one of the depositions by her on oath in respect of her educational qualifications is correct K.K. Manan, Lawyer

INDIA E D UC AT I O NA L QUA L I F I C AT I O N

Smriti in education row; AAP, Congress want her sacked NEW DELHI: Human Resources Minister Smriti Irani faced embarrassment on Wednesday after a court took note of a complaint against her for allegedly distorting facts about her educational qualification, prompting the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to demand her resignation from the cabinet.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was taken aback by the development, but it vehemently defended Irani who had contested the Lok Sabha election from Amethi, asserting that the distortions presented before the court flowed out of typographical errors.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh ruled out the resignation of Irani as well as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje over their alleged links to former IPL chief Lalit Modi who is in London while facing charges of financial irregularities in India.

Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain considered a private complaint against Irani and fixed Au-

IN TROUBLE: Human Resources Minister Smriti Irani with Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia

at the inauguration of the National Yoga Teachers Conference in New Delhi on Monday. - PTI

gust 28 for recording pre-summoning evidence. “The arguments made on behalf of the complainant (Ahmer Khan) hold merit,” the court said. A complaint was filed

by Khan in April alleging that Ira-

ni, in her three affidavits before the Election Commission (for the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha polls), gave different details about her educational qualification.

He sought action against the

minister for allegedly lying on oath. His lawyer K.K. Manan told the court that Irani declared herself to be a 1996 batch BA graduate from Delhi University’s School of Correspondence in her affidavit

filed for the 2004 Lok Sabha election. But in her 2014 Lok Sabha election affidavit, she stated she had done B.Com Part 1 in 1994 from Delhi University (open learning). In another affidavit of July 11, 2011 for the Rajya Sabha election, she said her highest educational qualification was B. Com part I from Delhi University’s School of Correspondence.

“It is evident from the contents of the affidavits filed by Irani that at best only one of the depositions by her on oath in respect of her educational qualifications is correct,” said the counsel.

The petition claimed that Irani also lied on oath about her assets and it sought action against her under the Representation of the People Act. Soon after the court order, Congress spokesman R. S. Surjewala sought Irani’s resignation.

“Irani has no moral or constitutional or legal right to continue in her post even for a day. Either she should resign or she should be sacked by the prime minister.

“It is apparent the country’s education minister is lying about her own education. What will happen to the future of millions and millions of the children of this country?” Surjewala asked.

Surjewala also attacked the Narendra Modi government.

“It is most unfortunate that the degrees of both the education ministers are under question,” he said, referring to allegations against Minister of State for HRD Ram Shankar Katheria.

The AAP, whose then Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar was arrested over his allegedly fake law degree, targeted Irani and the Bharatiya Janata Party. AAP leader Ashutosh sought Irani’s resignation and arrest — a la Tomar.

“Delhi Police took quick action against Tomar. Similarly they should also arrest Smriti Irani,” Ashutosh said. “Her case is very similar to that of Tomar.”

Referring to the manner Tomar was arrested, the AAP asked Delhi Police to “show similar urgency in Smriti Irani’s case as well”. - IANS

‘Government to weed out root of black money’ While a new law will come into effect from April 1, 2016 to tackle the black money menace, the government is in the process of putting in place a one-time compliance window for those with undeclared assets abroad to come clean by paying penalty

SAN FRANCISCO: In a stern message on black money, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said the government is aiming to weed out the root causes of this menace and a one-time compliance window will be announced in the next few days for those with undeclared assets abroad to come clean.

“The government is taking a number of steps to compress the flow of black money. The most important step...is to weed out the root causes,” Jaitley said.

While a new law will come into effect from April 1, 2016,to tackle the black money menace, the government is in the process to put in place a compliance window for those with undeclared assets abroad to come clean by paying the penalty. “The time frame of the compliance window would be announced very shortly. We are in the process of consultation (on

the time frame),” Jaitley said.

Jaitley, who has held a series of meetings with businesses, investors and the government officials during his US trip, said the government has begun taking strong action on black money. “We have got a law passed by Parliament where illegal assets and accounts kept abroad will be penalised. So I will impose a tax on that,” he said.

“I am going to announce in the next few days a compliance window that within so many days, disclose the assets, pay the tax plus penalty. And if you use that compliance window, you pay the tax, penalty and get out,” the finance minister said.

“But if you do not use the compliance window and thereafter if you are caught, because the world is now moving towards an automatic disclosure, you are not only going to pay a much higher level

of penalty, but you also would be prosecuted,” the minister said.

Jaitley said the new law has created a fear psychosis in the mind of the tax evaders.

“The same set of people who would get up and say take action against black money would now say this is too draconian. But this is one law, which I am not going to relent neither the prime minister will,” he said. On domestic black money, Jaitley said the government has announced that any cash transaction over Rs20,000 would be prohibited for property deals.

I am also going to very shortly announce that if you pay by cash beyond a certain limit -- the limit has to be announced -- giving your PAN card is necessary,” he said.

“The world is changing. If you pay taxes, then it enables the government to reduce the level of taxes. India is also on the forefront of the entire G-20 effort for automatic transmission of information.

We would be signing the agreement with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) for automatic sharing of transaction related to Indian citizens. These are all very tough measures we are announcing,” he said.

“The present government in India is willing to talk not only with its own businesses and investors, but is also reaching out to international investors and people of Indian origin who can be of great utility in India growth story,” Jaitley said. -PTI

KERALA NEWS

Steffi Graf to promote Ayurveda healthcare THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Germany tennis legend Steffi Graf, who reigned the field of sports for nearly two decades in 1980s and 1990s, will now promote Kerala’s famed Ayurveda system of healthcare.

Forty-six-year-old Graf was on Wednesday appointed the Ayurveda brand ambassador of Kerala. The decision was taken by the cabinet on Wednesday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said.

The Kerala tourism department was given sanction to sign an agreement with Graf to become Ayurveda brand ambassador as part of the department’s ‘Visit Kerala Scheme’, Chandy said.

Agreement The tourism department had already held discussions and reached an agreement with the former World number one tennis player. Graf, who had bagged 22 Grand slam single titles, had retired in 1999.

She married former World No. 1 men’s tennis player Andre Agassi in October 2001.

Steffi Graf

Kerala’s Ayurveda, an ancient system of health care which is famous for its holistic effect on body and mind, attracts large number of people from the country and abroad every year.

Graf was ranked World No. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) for a record 377 total weeks, the longest period for which any player, male or female, has held the number-one ranking since the WTA and the Association of Tennis Professionals began issuing rankings. - PTI

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015 SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH FACEBOOK PAGE

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SNOWDEN FILES

Activists criticise UK for hacking ISLAMABAD: Pakistani rights campaigners and opposition lawmakers have urged Islamabad to protect the privacy of its citizens after leaked top-secret documents appeared to show British intelligence had gained access to almost all the country’s Internet users.

The revelations were based on a cache of files from 2008 released by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden and reported by journalists Andrew Fishman and Glenn Greenwald in The Intercept, an online news outlet, this week.

In a document marked “TOP SECRET STRAP2 UK EYES ONLY” allegedly issued by Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the spy agency discusses its computer network exploitation (CNE) and software reverse engineering efforts abroad.

Cisco routers “Capability against Cisco routers developed by this means has allowed a CNE presence on the Pakistan Internet Exchange which affords access to almost any user of the internet inside Pakistan,” it said, referring to a US technology company that provides most of the world’s network infrastructure. — AFP

PAKISTAN

Signs of heatwave easing as Karachi toll mounts to 750 Temperatures in the bustling city, which is the country’s largest and has seen the majority of the deaths, were forecast to peak at 38 degrees Celsius, down from DEATHLY HEAT: A volunteer distributes water bottles to com-

the 40-plus highs

muters along a road during the intense hot weather in Karachi, Pakistan, on Wednesday. — Reuters

in recent days

KARACHI: The death toll from a heatwave in southern Pakistan rose to 750 on Wednesday, but the scorching weather showed signs of easing, bringing some respite to the sweltering city of Karachi.

Temperatures in the city, which is Pakistan’s largest and has seen the majority of the deaths, were forecast to peak at 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit), down from

the 40-plus highs of recent days.

Winds have shifted to the southwest, blowing cooler air into the port city from the Arabian Sea, and the Pakistani Met Office has predicted rain, which would bring lower temperatures.

Roads in the normally bustling city were largely deserted on Wednesday after the Sindh provincial government declared a public holiday to encourage people to stay indoors out of the sun.

CRACKDOWN ON FOREIGN AID GROUPS

SET TO RESUME OPERATION: Pakistani paramilitary rangers patrol outside the main office of international charity ‘Save the Children’ in Islamabad on June 24, 2015. — AFP

Save the Children charity’s offices unsealed in capital ISLAMABAD: Save the Children said on Wednesday its office in Islamabad had been unsealed but it would take time to resume operations across Pakistan after a crackdown on foreign aid agencies by authorities.

“The city administration unsealed our office in Islamabad today but it will take some time to completely resume our operations across the country,” Saeed Ahmed, a spokesman in Islamabad for the British-based charity, told AFP. The government sealed Save the Children’s offices earlier this month, saying the charity was “working against the country”, and threatened to expel more

A9

foreign aid groups for supposedly undermining Pakistan.

“Save the Children welcomes the decision of Government of Pakistan to reopen its offices and operations in the country, and for publicly recognising that Save the Children is a credible organisation and has never been involved in any anti-state activities,” the charity said in a statement.

Espionage Pakistan has toughened its policies towards international aid groups in recent years, accusing them of acting as cover for spying operations. In 2012 the government expelled the expatriate staff of British-based Save the

Children, which has worked in Pakistan for over 35 years and employs 1,200 Pakistanis.

That move came after Pakistani intelligence services accused the charity of links to doctor Shakeel Afridi, who was hired by the CIA to carry out a vaccination programme as part of the search for Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

Save the Children has always vehemently denied any link to either Afridi or the CIA. — AFP

HAVE YOUR SAY

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

A state of emergency is in force in hospitals which are struggling to cope with the thousands of people affected by heatstroke and dehydration.

The change in weather will come as welcome relief for the economic hub, where maximum temperatures have hovered around 4445 degrees Celsius since Saturday, though officials warned the death toll may still rise.

“The weather is getting better

now and we hope that the people would bear with it now,” a senior official at the provincial health ministry said.

“The latest death toll, which we collected late last night was 750.”

The National Disaster Management Authority has been setting up dedicated heatstroke treatment centres to try to cope with the volume of patients.

At one centre, van driver Mohammad Sharif lay helpless on a bed, a wet cloth draped on his head while his wife and brother rolled cold water bottles on the soles of his feet to cool him.

Pakistan’s largest charity, Edhi Welfare Organisation, said their mortuaries in the city had received more than 600 bodies since Saturday and the sheer volume of corpses arriving meant they were struggling to keep them properly chilled.

Anwar Kazmi, a spokesman for the foundation told AFP the situation was unprecedented in his 40 years working with the charity.

“I have never seen such a big number of deaths because of heatwave,” he said.

“I remember some 10 years ago, some 30 people died in the whole summer season but this heat is beyond our comprehension.”

Victims’ families have also faced challenges in burying their dead, as grave-diggers have struggled to keep up with demand in the scorching heat.

Blasting summer heat is not unusual in Pakistan, and some parts of the country regularly experience higher temperatures than those seen in Karachi this week, without serious loss of life.

But this year’s heatwave has coincided with the start of Ramadan.

The majority of the deaths in Karachi have been among the poor and manual labourers who work outdoors, prompting clerics to urge those at risk of heatstroke not to fast.

The situation has not been helped by power cuts -- a regular feature of life in Pakistan -- which have stopped fans and air conditioners from working.

Electricity shortages have crippled the water supply system in Karachi, hampering the pumping of millions of gallons of water to consumers, the state-run water utility said.

The Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP), which rules Sindh, announced a protest against the KElectric power company and the federal government. — AFP

A10

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

FIND-IT-ALL

PRAYER TIMINGS

W E AT H E R

Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Fajr (Tomorrow)

12.14pm 3.32pm 7.02pm 8.25pm 3.54am

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

PARTLY cloudy skies along the coastal areas of Dhofar governorate and adjoining mountains with chance of intermittent drizzle. Mainly clear skies over rest of the Sultanate with chance of high clouds advection over al-Wusta and Dhofar governorates. Chance of blowing dust over deserts and open areas due to the fresh wind.

EXPECTED WIND: Along the coastal areas of Arabian Sea wind will be southwesterly moderate to fresh, while it will be northwesterly to westerly light to moderate occasionally fresh over the rest of the Sultanate SEA STATE: Rough along the Arabian Sea coast with maximum wave height of 5.0 metres and moderate along rest of Oman’s coast with maximum wave height of 2.0 metres.

HORIZONTAL VISIBILITY: Moderate over most of the Sultanate becoming poor during blowing dust.

THE NEXT 48 HOURS OUTLOOK: Partly cloudy to cloudy skies along the coastal areas of Dhofar governorate and adjoining mountains with chance of intermittent drizzle.

Chance of blowing dust over deserts and open areas. Chance of late night to early morning low level cloud or fog patches over al-Wusta and Dhofar governorates.

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 43 Min 35

Max 43 Min 33

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 Sifawy Hotel +968 24749111 Juweira Hotel +968 23239600

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 Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm Thurs: 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 Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pm Oman-French Museum: near Muscat Police Station, Tel: 24736613, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm, Thurs: 9am to 1pm Bait Al Zubair, Muscat: Tel: 24736688, Al Saidiya St., Muscat museum@baitalzubairmuseum.com Open from Sat to Thurs: 9:30am to 6pm.

National Museum Ruwi: Tel: 24701289, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pm Sohar Fort Museum: Tel: 26844758, Open from Sat 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 46 Min 33 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 46 Min 32

Max 45 Min 28

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 42 Min 32

Max 45 Min 28

UNITED STATES: The sun sets over the skyline of New York after a

rain storm. -Reuters

Max 33 Min 27 —www.met.gov.om

WORLD

Max 25 Min 198 Max 20 Min 14

Max 31 Min 20 Max 23 Min 16

Max 18 Min 12

Max 31 Min 17

Max 38 Min 30

Max 34 Min 28

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

37 42 37 39 38 41 32 39 31 27 20 24 22 17 35 21 30 16 19 25 24 31 22 24 18

33 28 32 29 31 25 20 24 27 20 13 15 15 14 19 15 27 9 15 13 11 27 16 14 4

Max 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

Min 32 27 20 33 34 23 31 18 31 25 17 33 26 18 21 21 17 29 30 18 18 33 26 19 24

25 18 14 16 28 14 28 12 20 19 11 26 17 9 15 19 7 21 28 12 12 28 20 15 17

EVENTS

Indo- Pak Mushaira on July 31 at Al Bahja Hall in Qurum.

ISC Kerala Wing Iftar party on June 26 Friday at 6:30pm at the ISC Muscat premises.

Mobile mammography unit of the Oman Cancer Association will be offering its screening services throughout Ramadan. The unit will be available for free mammography at the OCA headquarters in Al Ghubra between 9.30 am to 1 pm and 10 pm to 11.30 pm. For further information call 24498716 and 80077477.

Blood donation schedule; Apart from the central blood bank, people can donate in other locations based on the following schedule in Ramadan: - June 26: Al Seeb Souq (mobile unit); June 27: Al Zawawi Mosque, Al Khuwair (mobile unit) and Al Hijra Mosque, Al Ansab (mobile unit); June 28: Said Bin Taimoor Mosque, Al Khuwair (mobile unit) and Al Wafaa Mosque, Mabela (mobile unit); June 29: Abu Obaida Mosque, Al Azaiba (mobile unit) and Rameez Hypermarket

(mobile unit); June 30: Al-Khoudh Market (mobile unit) and Mars Hypermarket (mobile unit); July 1: Mabela Souq (mobile unit) and Um Al-Qura Mosque, Al Azaiba (mobile unit).

The Port Security And Coastal Surveillance Oman, organised by the Global Exhibitions & Conferences LLC, 17th August to the 18th August 2015 at the InterContinental Muscat.

Food & Hospitality Oman, Oman International Exhibition Centre, Muscat, Oman, 07-09 Sep 2015.

Oman Health Exhibition & Conference is a 3 day event being held from 7th September to the 9th September 2015 at the Oman International Exhibition Centre in Muscat.

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 Jurassic World (Action / Adventure) Cast: Chris Pratt, Judy Greer, Ty Simkins 9.30 pm CP No: 1495 (PG12) ABCD 2 (2D) (Dance/Romance) Love & Mercy (Biography, Drama) (12+) Cast: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks 9:30 pm Jurassic World (Action, Adventure) (3D) (PG12) Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins 9:15, 11:30 pm Guardian (Action, Thriller) (15+) Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Prabhudheva, Raghav, Dharmesh 9:00 pm Guardian (2D) (Action / Thriller) (15+) Fernandez Gold Class: 11:15 pm Just The Way You Are (2D) (Dance/ Romance) (12+) (Language - Tagalog) Cast: Enrique Gil, Liza Soberano, Yves Flores 11:45 pm

ABCD 2 (Dance, Musical) (PG) SCREEN 1 ABCD 2 (Dance/Musical ) – PG Cast: Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Prabhudeva, Raghav and Dharmesh 9.45 pm SCREEN 2 Jurassic World (3D) (Action/Adventure) (PG12) Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins 9:15, 11:45 pm Gold Class: 9:00 pm

Jurassic World - 3D (PG12) (Action |Adventure | Sci-Fi) Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins 9:15, 11:45 pm Premam - 2D (M) (PG) (Comedy | Romance) Cast: Nivin Pauly, Anupama Parameshwaran, Jude Anthany Joseph 9:00 pm Guardian (15+ ) (Action, Thriller) Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino Fernandez 11:45 pm

11:45 pm

9:45 pm

Dil Dhadakne Do (Romance/Drama/ Comedy ) – PG12 Cast: Anil Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Shefali Shetty, Anushka Sharma, Priyanka Chopra 9.45 pm

Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino

Fernandez

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor,

SCREEN 3

Hamari Adhori Kahani (Romance/Drama) – PG Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Vidya Balan and Rajkummar Rao 9.45 pm

ABCD 2 - 2D (TBC) Dance | Musical Cast: Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Prabhudheva,Raghav, Dharmesh 9:00 pm Love & Mercy (12+) Drama Cast: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks 9:15 pm Forbidden Empire (12+) Adventure Cast: Jason Flemyng, Andrey Smolyakov, Aleksey Chadov 11:30 pm

Jurassic World - 3D (Action/Adventure/ Sci-Fi) (PG12) Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins 9:15 pm Premam – 2D (Comedy, Romance) (PG) Cast: Nivin Pauly, Anupama Parameshwaran, Jude Anthany Joseph 9:00 pm Guardian 2D (Action/Thriller) (15+) Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino Fernandez 11:30pm Forbidden Empire 2D (Action/Fantasy/ Mystery) (12+) Cast: Jason Flemyng, Andrey Smolyakov, Aleksey Chadov 11:55pm

Jurassic World (3D) (Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi) (PG12) Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins 9:15, 11:30 pm Guardian ( Action ) (15+)

Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino Fernandez.

11:55 pm Premam (Mal) (Comedy | Romance) (TBC) Cast: Nivin Pauly, Anupama Parameshwaran, Jude Anthany Joseph 9:00 pm

Jurassic World (3D) (PG12) (Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi ) Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins 9:15, 11:30 pm Premam (2D) (PG) (Romance, Comedy) Cast: Nivin Pauly, Anupama Parameshwaran, Jude Anthany Joseph 9:00 pm ABCD 2 (2D) (PG) (Dance, Musical) Cast: Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Prabhudheva,Raghav, Dharmesh 9:00 pm Guardian (2D) (15+) (Action, Thriller) Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino Fernandez 11:55 pm Out of the Dark (2D) (15+) (Horror) Cast: Frank Cuervo, Pixie Davies, Alejandro Furth 11:45 pm

Guardian (Action, Thriller) (15+) Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino Fernandez 9.30, 11:45 pm CP No: 1613 ( 15+) Forbidden Empire 2D (Action/Fantasy/ Mystery) (12+) Cast: Jason Flemyng, Andrey Smolyakov, Aleksey Chadov 11:45pm CP No: 1614 (12+)

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WORLD

France summons US envoy after Wikileaks revelations French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says US must work to repair relations as Obama assures Hollande he is committed to ending ‘unacceptable’ practices

PARIS: France summoned the United States (US) ambassador on Wednesday to complain about “unacceptable” spying on President Francois Hollande and his two predecessors that was apparently revealed in leaked documents.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that the United States must “do everything in its power” to repair relations even as Hollande’s office said US President Barack Obama reiterated the United States’ commitment to end past practices that were considered “unacceptable” by its allies in a phone call with French counterpart Francois Hollande.

France “will not tolerate any acts that threaten its security” the presidency said, after a meeting between Hollande and his top

TOP SECRET REVEALED: French President Francois Hollande, left, and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, right wait for a guest outside the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on Wednesday. – Reuters

intelligence officials and cabinet ministers. US Ambassador Jane Hartley has also been summoned to meet French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, diplomatic sources said. The documents -- labelled “Top Secret” and appearing to reveal spying on Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and Hollande from 2006 to 2012 -- were published by WikiLeaks in partnership with French newspaper Liberation and the Mediapart website. The leak coincides with a vote later on Wednesday in the French parliament on a controversial new law granting the state sweeping powers to spy on its citizens.

The White House said it was

not targeting Hollande’s communications and will not do so in the future, but it did not comment on past activities.

“We are not targeting and will not target the communications of President Hollande,” said National Security Council spokesman Ned Price late Tuesday, calling the US partnership with France “indispensable”.

Hollande’s office recalled US promises in late 2013 not to spy on French leaders following accusations that the US National Security Agency (NSA) had wiretapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “Commitments were made by the US authorities,” the Elysee

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Palace said in a statement. “They must be remembered and strictly respected.”

France’s newly appointed national intelligence coordinator Didier Le Bret will also travel to Washington to discuss the issue, the government said. The leaked documents include five from the NSA, the most recent dated May 22, 2012, just days after Hollande took office. It claims Hollande “approved holding secret meetings in Paris to discuss the eurozone crisis, particularly the consequences of a Greek exit from the eurozone”.

It also says Hollande believed after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that she “had

given up (on Greece) and was unwilling to budge”.

“This made Hollande very worried for Greece and the Greek people, who might react by voting for an extremist party,” according to the document. The same file also alleges that the French leader went behind Merkel’s back to schedule meetings in Paris with members of the Social Democrats — Germany’s main opposition party at the time.

Another document, dated 2008, was titled “Sarkozy sees himself as only one who can resolve the world financial crisis”, and said the former French president “blamed many of the current economic problems on mistakes made by the US government, but believes that Washington is now heeding some of his advice”.

One leak describes Sarkozy’s frustration at US espionage, saying the “main sticking point” in achieving greater intelligence cooperation “is the US desire to continue spying on France”.

Chirac’s choice for appointments at the United Nations was the subject of a file dated 2006. In that same document, then foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy was described as someone who has the “propensity... for making ill-timed or inaccurate remarks”.

In Washington, NSC spokesman Price echoed a statement issued earlier Tuesday by the security council, saying: “We do not conduct any foreign intelligence surveillance activities unless there is a specific and validated national security purpose. This applies to ordinary citizens and world leaders alike.” — Agencies

POWER-SHARING DEAL

Libya’s elected parliament supports UN peace plan BENGHAZI: Libya’s elected parliament has voted to stay in United Nations peace talks after calling for amendments to a proposed power-sharing deal aimed at ending the conflict between the country’s two rival governments.

Western governments are pushing the two factions to agree to the UN deal as the only way to end a crisis that threatens to split the North African OPEC state four years after an uprising ousted former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

An internationally recognised government and elected House of Representatives operates in the east while a self-declared government and the re-instated former parliament known as the General National Congress or GNC holds the capital Tripoli. “The House of Representatives agreed on amendments of the last draft by the UN with 66 out of 76 members voting,” lawmaker Tareq Al Jouroushi told Reuters on Wednesday.

Libya has been sliding deeper into chaos, worrying Western powers who fear it will become a failed state just over the Mediterrean sea from mainland Europe. Militants allied to IS militant group have also gained ground in the chaos.

After months of negotiations in Europe, Algeria and Morocco, the UN talks are at a delicate stage with fighting continuing on the ground.

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives split over whether to continue with the UN negotiations after disagreements over parts of the power-sharing accord, which calls for creation of a second chamber. — Reuters

JA PA N

Solar Impulse back in mobile hangar, take off postponed NAGOYA (JAPAN): A solarpowered plane on a mission to fly around the world was back in its mobile hangar on Wednesday, after take off from Japan was postponed at the 11th hour because of bad weather over the Pacific Ocean.

Solar Impulse 2 had been due to leave the central city of Nagoya at 2.30 am (1730 GMT Tuesday) bound for Hawaii, on the latest and

most ambitious leg of a bid to circumnavigate the globe using only the power of the sun.

But after a few agonising hours poring over meteorological forecasts covering the five days and five nights the flight was expected to take, mission chiefs pulled the plug. “The flight was cancelled because of the weather around Hawaii. It’s a cold front.

The priority is the plane’s safety and the pilot’s safety,” project spokeswoman Elke Neumann told reporters in Nagoya. Speaking on a webcast moments after climbing out of the plane’s cockpit, pilot Andre Borschberg admitted he was “terribly disappointed”, but conceded it was the right thing to do.

“We were looking to find a way to make it, but I think it is reason-

S TAT E V I S I T

SIGHT TO SEE: Spectators with Union Jack flags watch as Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh make a boat trip on the River Spree to the chancellery in Berlin on Wednesday. – AFP

Britain’s queen takes breezy boat trip in German capital BERLIN: From dyed-in-thewool fans to curious passersby, Berliners turned out to cheer and wave Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday, as she kicked off a state visit viewed as symbolic if apolitical.

Both Germans and tourists braved leaden skies to line the banks of the Spree River where the 89-year old queen and her husband, Prince Philip, 94, took a brief boat trip though Berlin’s political district. As the “Ajax”, an open-air boat, came into view with its German flag fluttering frantically in the wind, cheers rippled along the river bank from crowds patiently waiting for a glimpse of the royal couple, who waved back. The queen — dressed in an elegant white dress coat with a brimmed hat and gloves

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-- went on to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel at her ultra-modern offices. Merkel’s spokesman released a short video showing her welcoming the queen and pointing out where the Berlin Wall ran through the formerly divided city until its fall in 1989 and behind which she used to live. “Where the train goes there, there was the Wall,” Merkel tells the queen, pointing into the distance, adding: “And I lived in East Germany, just 200 metres behind this...”

Newspapers in Europe’s top economy have played up the tim-

ing of the state visit, the queen’s fifth to Germany in just over 50 years, as recently re-elected Cameron heads towards an inout referendum on Britain’s EU membership. While stressing the queen’s role is not a political one, German commentators have homed in on the political symbolism of the visit’s timing.

“Every gesture, every word of the queen in the coming days has meaning, for Germany, Britain, Europe,” Handelsblatt business daily said, adding: “It is the politics of the apolitical.” The Bild mass daily, which ran several stories in the run up to the royal visit, described the queen as “the secret weapon of British diplomacy” on a visit to “remind everyone of how poor Europe would be without the UK”. — AFP

able not to exceed certain limits,” he said. “The weather is so unstable over the Pacific.” The featherweight flying machine was not supposed to land in Japan on its multi-leg trip around the globe, but bad weather en route from Nanjing in China to Hawaii forced a diversion at the start of June.

Ever since, the crew has been scouring long-range forecasts for

an opportunity to restart its record-breaking journey. A chance to do so appeared to have presented itself on Tuesday. “We finally feel like we have a window to Hawaii in front of us. It will be confirmed at 12.pm UTC! (GMT)” tweeted Borschberg earlier in the day.

Take off was scheduled for the pre-dawn hours because wind tends to be calmer before sunrise,

Neumann said. “The batteries are full so the plane can fly any time,” she said.

“Since the sun comes up very early in Japan, we are flying early... we fly much earlier, so we have much more time in the air.”

Hours after the postponement, the delicate aircraft was under cover, sheltering from the wind, rain and sunshine. — AFP

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

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Chinese plans for Hong Kong backfire

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or 79 days last year, thousands of protesters occupied major roads in Hong Kong in an attempt to force Chinese authorities to grant the territory genuine democracy. They failed. Local leaders and their overlords in Beijing refused to negotiate over an electoral plan that would allow for a popular vote for Hong Kong’s next leader but would limit candidates to nominees approved by the Communist regime. That left opposition representatives in Hong Kong’s legislature with an unappealing choice this month: Sign off on the inadequate reform or block it at the risk of freezing the current, even less democratic, system in place. “To kowtow, or to veto,” was the way opposition leader Alan Leong summed up the dilemma.

In the end, the opposition voted down the electoral system, which needed a two-thirds majority to pass the legislative council. The rebuff to the regime was amplified when pro-Beijing legislators walked out in a failed attempt to delay the vote; the final tally was 28 to 8. It was a moral victory for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, which has made clear it won’t accept China’s attempt to gut its promise to allow universal suffrage.

In the short term, the practical result may be to leave Hong Kong with an election system that limits voting to a Beijing-controlled committee. The territory’s unpopular current leader, Leung Chunying, who was chosen that way, ruled out further political concessions during the two years remaining in his term. That’s consistent with the policy of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who has cracked down on dissent and rejected political liberalisation since taking power in 2012.

The foreclosure of even a restricted direct election will frustrate the plurality of Hong Kongers who, polls showed, favoured Beijing’s proposed system over no change at all. The moderates may have a point: In other parts of the world, even limited exercises of democracy have produced positive results and created momentum for greater change.

Hong Kong, however, has been polarised by last year’s Occupy Central movement and the authorities’ unyielding response to it.

The regime’s intransigence has had the effect of hardening an opposition that had long been characterised by its moderation as well as its commitment to democracy. The opposition legislators, most of whom were themselves elected by popular vote, were bound to side with the tens of thousands whose peaceful movement for change was rejected and repressed.

Slowly but surely, China is losing Hong Kong’s younger generation. According to numerous reports, sentiment in the former British colony increasingly favours a political solution tailored to the territory, rather than to China as a whole. Hostility toward the mainland is growing: The booing of China’s national anthem by a crowd cheering for Hong Kong’s soccer team this month was widely noted. By now, it ought to be evident even to Communist leaders that their political policy for Hong Kong has backfired. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean it’s likely to change. — The Washington Post

CONFEDERATE FLAG ROW

Bid to ban US Civil War emblem is a joke NASH RIGGINS

Fractured supply chains

T

he power problems that are experienced by the men and women of Pakistan are not caused by any single factor. They are a complex mix of failure, bad management, corruption, power theft by consumers — and now a breakdown in the supply chain. The majority of the power consumed is generated by the most expensive means of production that there is in the world, namely by importing oil to fuel the power stations. Oil is imported principally from the Gulf States by ship and herein lies the seeds of yet another glitch in power supplies.

The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) is refusing to supply vessels for the transportation of fuel to Pakistan State Oil (PSO) because the government has barred the PNSC from taking contracts that are more lucrative than those on offer from PSO. This was done in order to try and ensure there was sufficient capacity in the PNSC ships to allow for the import of the allimportant furnace oil. To the surprise of nobody, the PNSC is less than delighted about this development and a tangled scrap is now ‘in process’. There is a distinct possibility that furnace oil stocks are going to be depleted because the PNSC has refused to supply vessels not only in the short term, but in the long term as well, the consequences of which are unthinkable.

Pakistan is currently experiencing one of the hottest summers on record, hundreds have died as a result of the heat in Karachi, the inadequate power supplies just got even more inadequate in the face of searing heat — and two key entities PSO and the PNSC are contributing to the collective national woes by failing to resolve a crucial issue. Each blames the other for the problem, and there is little doubt that at the heart of it all is the government requirement that PSO must rely on the PNSC — and vice versa. — Express Tribune

It is no wonder that Oman is so highly rated This refers to the online story, Oman stands seventh globally in quality of life (June 24). I’ve been in the Sultanate for 10 years now. I, too, love Oman and its people. The country is stunningly beautiful and the people are very friendly and welcoming. Crime is relatively unheard of and the sun shines everyday. My quality of life is definitely better here. No wonder Oman is rated so highly.

Lorraine Paton Muscat

Peaceful, clean Muscat an exemplary modern city This refers to the online story, Oman stands seventh globally in quality of life (June 24). Being here for many years despite missing my

home country, I have found Muscat a good example of modern city as it is clean. Also, it is peaceful and has amazing natural places to visit.

Nemat Babker Muscat

Ambassador Mukul had a successful tenure in Oman This refers to the news story, Outgoing Indian envoy upbeat over booming economic ties (June 24).

On behalf of the Indian expatriate, I bid farewell to the outcoming envoy J. S. Mukul. In my opinion, he had a successful tenure, which was helped by successes of his predecessor and the environment created by the skilled members of the community. Oman-India relations reached new heights and grew in new areas of mutual interest. We hope the incoming envoy

Lawmakers should instead work to address the fact that South Carolina still doesn’t have any laws to protect its citizens against hate crimes. It’s one of just five US states in which you can assault a person based solely upon the colour of their skin without earning a felony charge

I

f American politicians hate anything, it’s working together to promote positive change within society. Yet in the wake of last week’s horrific shooting at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church, that’s exactly what they’re doing. This isn’t to discount the immensity of this symbolic gesture. The rebel flag has been flying over the heads of black southerners for over 150 years – a constant reminder that South Carolina’s founders would have rather seen ordinary people wrapped in chains than live alongside their white neighbours.

Its presence has always been an insult to the unspeakable pain and suffering that helped build colonial America, and today it remains an emblem of the deep-rooted, institutional racism that continues to plague every inch of modern society.

For that reason alone, the Confederate flag should have been put to the torch immediately after the American Civil War – and so this overdue call to remove it is a big step forward. But it’s just not big enough.

It shouldn’t have taken an unimaginably horrific hate crime to shame Americans into shelving a banner for racial inequality. It’s something lawmakers should have instinctively done about 150 years ago. What on earth is it supposed to achieve in this day and age?

Lawmakers should instead work to address the fact that South Carolina still doesn’t have any laws to protect its citizens against hate crimes. It’s one of just five US states in which you can assault a person based solely upon the colour of their skin without earning a felony charge. That means substantially less prison time and lower fines. In fact, South Carolina lawmakers aren’t even allowed to launch a hate crime investigation into last week’s shooting

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– because in the eyes of the state’s legislative code, crimes motivated by race don’t exist.

That seems a bit off in a state that boasts 19 recognised hate groups.

Lawmakers could also spend a little less time talking about flags and a lot more thinking about how painfully simple it is for those hate groups to purchase deadly weapons. When it comes to gun control, this delusional notion seems to guide the American public, arguing: “Why take away my rights? I’m not the crazy one, here.”

As a result, far too many people would rather defend their Constitutional entitlement to visit Uncle John’s farm twice a year and unload a box of shotgun shells than prevent a prayer group from being murdered in cold blood. It’s complete and utter madness, and it’s time to stop feigning surprise every time a bus of schoolchildren or a group of worshipers are shot and killed.

We know exactly why these atrocities are happening – so if American politicians want to talk progress, let’s talk progress.

Let’s do something to tackle the fact that a 21-year-old racist terrorist can get his hands on a death machine in the blink of an eye. Let’s address the elephant in the room and stop kidding ourselves into thinking America is a nation guided by racial equality. Let’s stop busying ourselves addressing one, minor symptom of a wider national illness, and do something – anything – that can help society move forward.

Don’t get me wrong – Americans should take immense pride in the fact that their lawmakers are finally working to eradicate an everyday symbol of racial hatred. It’s sick, and it’s got to go.

But you know what? They should also bear in mind that flags don’t shoot people. Racists with easy access to firearms shoot people. - The Independent

will be more open with regard to the growing Omanisation policy.

Lateef Shahdad Qurum

Compensate Pakistan over hosting Afghan refugees This refers to the news story, UN official urges world not to ‘forget’ Afghan refugees (June 24). While, what UN official Antonio Guturres is saying is right, the negative impact on Pakistani society should also be considered. It has been decades since they crossed the border and with them came crime and ultimately extremism. It is high time the world compensated my country for hosting them. Either that or they should immediately go back to their country even though it is still in the midst of a conflict. The international community should

understand the drastic change in my country’s social fabric and stop telling us to do more for them.

Sania Mehdi Sohar

Rich must be taxed to fund schemes for the poor This refers to alimony terms imposed on former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in favour his ex-wife Veronica Lario.

The ruling is indeed justified. In light of this a mandatory funding of community programmes should be imposed on multi-millionaire tycoons so that the poor may benefit from our earnings. Such a clause should be part of international and all countries forced to abide by it.

Harris Falks Azaiba

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)

TIM ES OF OM A N

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

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PERSPEC IVE PPP leadership needs to work out ways to reinvent itself T

he recent irresponsible remarks by Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari against the Pakistani armed forces brought forth a strong reaction from the entire cross section of society and political parties. There was severe criticism within his own party as well, on his misguided outburst and it has been busy with damage control ever since. Even if one were to believe that the outburst was the result of bad advice that Zardari received from the inner circle of his confidantes, the responsibility for his statements still solely rests with him.

This current faux pas is the outcome of running political parties as personal fiefdoms and on the basis of pure patronage. It is amazing that in the 21st century when the world has progressed exponentially in every human activity, including when it comes to political systems and management of the state, some of Pakistani leaders are still frozen in time.

The PPP has been in a free-fall ever since the murder of Benazir Bhutto. As an interim arrangement, Zardari assuming the party leadership was comprehensible. The party was traumatised and could not afford a split on the choice of a leader.

But that phase is long over, especially after the electoral debacle of the 2013 national elections.

An organisational overhaul and reform within the party should have taken place and a younger and more vibrant leadership both at the national level and in the provinces should have taken over.

The PPP, fortunately, still has people of calibre, like Khursheed Shah, Aitzaz Ahsan, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Sherry Rehman and others, who, if entrusted with appropriate responsibility with a team of young leaders, can turn the party around.

Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari can earn a place in the party, compatible with his talent and political standing. Unless people see a distinct change in leadership and strategy, there is no way it can revive its fortunes. It would keep shrinking and even lose its diehard support in the political heartland of rural Sindh. As long as family and feudal interests prevail and policy decisions are not rooted in the interests of the people, the PPP’s future will remain bleak.

People are now far more aware of their rights and support cannot be taken for granted. The PPP stands at the most critical moment since its inception in 1967 and it is for the leadership to foster trust among the people to remain relevant in the future. Ironically, Zardari chose to

TALAT MASOOD

It is amazing that in the 21st century when the world has progressed exponentially in every human activity, including when it comes to political systems and management of the state, some of Pakistani leaders are still frozen in time

challenge the military’s actions when his moral standing and performance rating is abysmally low. In sharp contrast, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto challenged the authoritarian rule of Ayub Khan when he commanded a huge following and had a dedicated and able team of politicians with him. He also knew the pulse of the people and was in sync with them. The PPP’s performance in Sindh and its role as an opposition party in parliament are the criteria on which people are judging the party. It can regain political space lost to the military and also to other political forces only by significant improvement in its governance of Karachi and Sindh. Banking on empty slogans and drawing strength from Bhuttoism is not going to work any more, except maybe in a few isolated pockets in Sindh. The perception that the army’s focus in Karachi is shifting from terrorism to fighting corruption would be erroneous. There is a symbiotic relationship between the two and dealing with both simultaneously should contribute in significantly improving the law and order situation and reducing corruption. Terrorist organisations, apart from indulging in direct hostagetaking, looting banks and drug trafficking, benefit from the corrupt and poor performance of government institutions.

It is easy to smuggle weapons and drugs when custom authorities are amenable to corruption.

In Pakistan, terrorists have got away from facing justice due to a lax and corrupt judicial system.

The role of the bureaucracy in fighting corruption is equally critical. We hardly find the state protecting bureaucrats who stand up against corrupt practices of politicians in power. Regrettably, there have been instances when those who refused to be a party to corruption were sidelined. There is a need for giving legal or constitutional cover to bureaucrats against such coercive tactics. True, the two major political parties, the PPP and the Muttahid Qaumi Movement (MQM), have serious problems of leadership, allegedly maintain militant wings and indulge in corruption, and above all, are weak on governance. The allegations of mega corruption in the building authority, fisheries and other government departments are clearly a cause of great concern. The style and quality of governance that the PPP is providing will certainly end in disaster if not corrected soon. On the other hand, the military leadership, impatient to put things right, may feel justified in expanding its influence. — Express Tribune

Genius Girl and elite-college mania S uper-achievers (and your uber-ambitious parents) — take a deep breath, go to the pool, have an ice mpop.

Do not take summer research statistics. Do not hire a robotics tutor. Do not start yet another thread on a parenting forum asking for advice on how to get your child into the much-sought-after Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Northern Virginia.

Because the great HarvardStanford admissions hoax of 2015 should tell you all you need to know about where Ivy League insanity can lead. And it’s pretty ugly. The hoax was concocted by a TJ student who claimed that she was so amazeballs brilliant at one of the country’s best public high schools that Harvard and Stanford universities were totally fighting over her.

She said Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg called her to persuade her to pick Harvard. (Um, which he never graduated from.) She waved around a letter from a Stanford dean who wrote (in the exact same, cute handwriting as the Harvard dean, oddly) “Go Trees!”

PETULA DVORAK

Then the two schools supposedly offered her dual enrolment — two years at one campus and two years at the other.

She was a media darling back home in South Korea, where she became known as “Genius Girl.”

Ouch when it all came crashing down, right? Her elaborate ruse was uncovered last week, and her dad, who has been described as a tech executive with a South Korean company, issued a poignant apology that acknowledged the pressure cooker that his daughter’s life had become.

“I am sincerely sorry for causing trouble with what is not true,” he wrote, according to Yonhap, the South Korean news agency. “I am deeply repentant that I failed to watch properly over how painful and difficult a situation the child has been in so far and that I even aggravated and enlarged her suffering... From now on, the whole family will live a quiet life, devoting ourselves to getting the child cured well and taking good care of her.”

Our college admissions death struggle has been building for years. Kids are taking the SAT

a dozen times, applying to two dozen schools and hiring college admissions coaches for their best shot at an Ivy League welcome letter. Now add to that madness students from an even more competitive culture 7,000 miles away from the Washington suburbs.

In South Korea, TJ — yes, a public high school in an American suburb — gets rock-star status.

The South Korean Embassy has the admissions requirements for TJ on its Web site. Preschools near Korean churches advertise that they can help kids get into TJ. There is an entire subculture of Korean parents who establish residency in Northern Virginia — one parent comes, while the other usually stays behind — with the sole purpose of getting their kid into TJ. South Korea’s college admissions mania makes our homegrown version look like amateur hour. Students there often have 14-hour school days, and the entire nation’s air traffic is grounded — to keep airspace quiet — on the national testing day for the one, big college entrance exam that can determine a student’s future. — The Washington Post

Taylor Swift defies Apple JUSTIN FOX

W

hen Steve Jobs knocked heads to get record labels on board with Apple’s new digital music store in 2002 and 2003, he had a huge negotiating advantage. Music sales were being hammered by online piracy, and the labels’ own competing attempts to build online music stores had been a disaster. What Jobs offered was something new and different.

Recalled Doug Morris, then the head of Universal Music Group (he now has the same job at Sony Music Group): “He proposed this complete system: the iTunes Store, the music-management software, the iPod itself. It was so smooth.

He had the whole package.”

That’s from Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs, which tells the story of how first the enthusiastic Morris and then his more reluctant peers at other companies fell in line with Apple’s grand plan for music.

They did because there was no alternative.

Nowadays, there are lots of alternatives. The iTunes Store is still the main way people buy digital musical downloads, but music has been moving to more of a rental model, and there Apple is just one of a bunch of also-rans trying to gain ground on Pandora and Spotify. Apple can no longer call all the shots, which explains why the company’s head of software and services, Eddy Cue, made this remarkable about-face Sunday night on Twitter: “#AppleMusic will pay artist for streaming, even during customer’s free trial period.”

This was in response to singer-songwriter Taylor Swift’s “To Apple, Love Taylor” Tumblr post, in which she

Swift has already been waging war with Spotify, pulling almost all her material from the streaming service last November because she felt it devalued her music.

That hasn’t changed Spotify’s approach, but it does mean that Apple really wants to keep her on board

explained that she was holding back her album “1989” from the new Apple streaming service scheduled to go live June 30. She was doing this, she explained, because Apple wasn’t planning to pay royalties during the three-month free trial period it was offering customers.

Swift didn’t need the money, she wrote, but she worried about “the new artist or band that has just released their first single,” the “young songwriter who just got his or her first cut” and so on.

Swift’s message had the desired effect. Cue called her up in Amsterdam, where she was on tour, then announced the shift in royalty policy. Swift tweeted: “I am elated and relieved. Thank you for your words of support today. They listened to us.”

This clearly speaks to the power of Swift -- “our future President,” as rocker Elvis Costello put it. Today, Twitter is full of suggestions for other injustices she should take on.

But her success is also a sideeffect of the happy reality for musicians that there’s no longer just one game in town.

Swift has already been waging war with Spotify, pulling almost all her material from the streaming service last November because she felt it devalued her music. That hasn’t changed Spotify’s approach, but it does mean that Apple -- which has benefited from Swift’s favoring of iTunes over Spotify -- really wants to keep her on board.

I’m pretty sure this is good news for music listeners as well as musicians. As Bloomberg View writer Leonid Bershidsky put it back in November, “No two artists’ fan bases are the same, and no single distribution method is universally good for all the artists and all the fans.” In the 1990s, expensive compact discs were just about the only way to get one’s hands on high-quality recorded music. In 2003 an ecosystem controlled by Apple was the only conceivable way to make paid digital music a success. In 2015 there are lots of different delivery mechanisms (including vinyl records).

As Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, who just released a “bundle” of new music on the file-sharing site BitTorrent, put it in an interview with TechCrunch: “It’s sort of like the Wild West out there. There is no main avenue that everybody is using. Everybody’s just sort of going out and trying different things, trying to figure out what works.”

The Wild West did eventually settle down, and in the future there probably won’t be quite as many different services competing to deliver music from artists to listeners. Let’s hope that there are at least enough that Taylor Swift will still be able to push them around from time to time. - Bloomberg News

Kurds take Syrian base near IS stronghold

TODAY IN HISTORY

Kurdish fighters and their allies have captured a key Syrian military base once held by IS , moving to within 50km of the extremists’ de facto capital of Raqqa

AREAS OF CONTROL (June 19) Syrian regime

IS

June 22, Liwa 93: Kurdish forces – backed by US-led airstrikes and other rebels – take army base and enter town of Ain Issa. Move further squeezes IS, who lost major supply line when Kurds took Tal Abyad on June 16

Jabhat Al Nusra

Kurdish People’s Protection Units Other groups

TURKEY

Tal Abyad

Kobane

Aleppo

Idlib

Ain Issa

Al Hasakah

Hama Tartus Palmyra LEBANON

Homs

SYR IA Golan Heights

Abu Kamal

Damascus

JORDAN Dera’a

IRAQ

Deir Al Zawr

Scottish forces, led by Robert the Bruce, win an overwhelming victory against English King Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn.

PLANNING UNDERSECRETARIES MEET

1497

Explorer John Cabot lands in North America in present-day Canada.

1812

Napoleon crosses the Nieman River and invades Russia.

1896

Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to receive an honorary MA degree from Harvard University.

1931

The Soviet Union and Afghanistan sign a treaty of neutrality.

MUSCAT: The Sultanate will participate in the 12th meeting of planning and development undersecretaries in the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (AGCC) to be held tomorrow and Wednesday at the AGCC Secretariat General in Riyadh. The Sultanate will be represented in the meeting by Rajiha bint Abdul Amir bin Ali, undersecretary for development affairs at the Ministry of National Economy. The meeting will discuss several topics, mainly approving recommendations of the seminars on activating the role of the Gulf labour force in the economic and social development, recommendations of the working team of the seminar, approving recommendations of the seminar on establishing a Gulf scientific and technical and advanced data base.

Raqqa

Latakia

FROM OUR ARCHIVES

1314

100km

As Suwayda

HISTORYNET.COM Source: Institute for the Study of War, wire agencies

Graphic News /

Graphics

A 14

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

B

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM THUR SDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

MARKE Muscat 6,449.07 - 1.91 - 0.03%

Dubai 4,164.48 + 19.67 + 0.47%

Abu Dhabi 4,821.52 + 65.92 + 1.39%

SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH THE VIDEO

DIGEST VIDEO Top stories in one minute with our new daily Digest

Kuwait 6,231.25 - 3.15 - 0.05%

Saudi Arabia

9,307.39 + 27.65 + 0.30%

Bahrain 1,364.34 + 0.66 + 0.05%

Qatar 12,162.04 + 71.60 + 0.59%

CRUDE OIL PRICE

CURRENCY RATES*

DRAFT RATES (OMR1)*

GOLD PRICES*

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

Forex rates vs OMR1* US Dollar ................................. 2.58 Euro ............................................ 2.29 Pound ...........................................1.64 Indian Rs .............................164.96 Pak Rs ....................................260.15 Bangla Taka.......................199.96

Indian Rs ................................... 165.10 Pakistan Rs ............................ 263.50 Sri Lanka Rs .......................... 344.90 Bangla Taka.............................201.70 Phil Peso .................................... 116.40

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) ........15.10

Oman Crude............. (Spot) .........$63.31 Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) .........$62.91 Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ........$65.24 Arabian Light ......... (Spot) .........$62.51 N.Sea Brent............... (Spot) ........ $64.77 West Texas Int ....... (Spot) .........$61.28

Small and medium enterprises, which currently contributes 20% to the GDP, is considered a potential driving force in the country’s non-oil real GDP growth, says CBO

MUSCAT: Small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, which currently contributes 20 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP), is considered a potential driving force in the country’s nonoil real GDP growth, according to the Central Bank of Oman (CBO).

The rise in the share of the SME sector in the GDP growth and the fact that it accounts for 40 per cent of the total workforce in

Oman will facilitate economic diversification in favour of the nonoil sector, the central bank said in its Financial Stability report.

According to the report, initiatives and measures by the government have increased in recent years to boost Small and medium enterprises growth to ensure enhanced economic growth, diversification, and job creation.

The CBO complemented these efforts by mandating all banks operating in the country to allocate

C AT E R I N G S E RV I C E

Renaissance subsidiary awarded BP Khazzan camp facilities contract Times News Service MUSCAT: Renaissance Services has announced that BP has awarded the contract for Consolidated Camp Facilities Management to Renaissance 100 per cent subsidiary - Tawoos Industrial Services Company (TISCO).

The contract is for the provision of catering, maintenance and related facilities management services to the BP Khazzan project camps in Oman, said a

company release.

The services are scheduled to commence in August, 2015. The contract duration being an initial 29 months with additional option periods of up to two years.

“Through Topaz, we provide offshore support vessel services for BP in Azerbaijan and Angola; so we are delighted to extend our services for BP to include onshore facilities management in Oman’s Khazzan field,” said a spokesman for Renaissance.

NEUTRAL ZONE

Saudi, Kuwait in talks to resolve oil dispute KUWAIT CITY: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have begun talks to resolve a dispute that halted oil production in the neutral zone between the Gulf neighbours, the Kuwaiti oil minister said.

“A joint committee formed by the two countries... has recently held its first meeting in Riyadh,” KUNA news agency quoted Ali Al Omair as saying late on Tuesday.

The dispute has seen the closure of the Khafji and Wafra oil fields in the neutral zone, which have been pumping for more than half a century. The two fields together produced more than 500,000 barrels per day which was equally shared between the two countries.

No timeframe Omair said there was no timeframe for the talks but that he expected a breakthrough shortly.

The offshore Khafji filed was shut down by the Saudi side in October over environmental issues.

Ali Al Omair. – Bloomberg News

Wafra was closed in May for a two-week maintenance and did not resume production.

Industry sources say Kuwaiti authorities were unhappy with Saudi Arabia for renewing an operating agreement for the Wafra field with Saudi Arabian Chevron for 30 years in 2009 without consulting them. In response, it stopped issuing or renewing visas for Chevron foreign employees.

The halt to output comes amid a worldwide supply glut that has driven down prices of crude. - AFP

BOOST TO SME SECTOR: Khalifa Al Abri, acting chief executive

officer of Riyada, said that most of the ministries have started to create a section dedicated to SMEs. - A. R. RAJKUMAR/Times of Oman

a minimum of 5 per cent of their total credit to SMEs by the end of December 2014.

The Al Raffd Fund of OMR70 million was established as a result of a Royal Decree promulgated in 2013 to further assist the development of this sector.

Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............142.25 Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) ............ 135.00 * Rates as of June 24

* Rates as of June 24 Source: Oman UAE Exchange

* Rates are as of June 24 Source: Bank Muscat

Growth of SMEs vital for country’s diversification Times News Service

Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......14.55

SME section in ministries In a recent interview with Times of Oman, a senior official at the Public Authority for SMEs Development (Riyada) said that around 10 government bodies have set up a section dedicated for Small and medium enterprise.

Most of the ministries have started to create a section dedicated to SMEs and Riyada is receiving the names of the heads of the section, said Khalifa Al Abri, acting chief executive officer of Riyada.

In a symposium at Sultan Qaboos University earlier this year, it was decided that a special sectionshould be created for SMEs in government bodies to follow up compliance with the allocation of 10 per cent of the governmental purchases and tenders for SMEs and accelerate the payment of their outstanding dues.

Al Abri said that hopefully by the end of this year, all of them will have this dedicated section.

In addition, certain mechanisms are being developed to receive reports on a regular basis on the progress made by different institutions on the implementation of the decisions made to support the SMEs, he added.

Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

ECONOMY

Saudi to sell bonds to cover budget deficit RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has the world’s lowest debt to economic output ratio — for now.

With oil prices tumbling and the Kingdom burning through currency reserves at a record pace, economists from Bank of America Merrill Lynch to Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) expect authorities to start raising money through the local bond market to cover a widening budget deficit.

The potential sales will help create a benchmark for corporate borrowers. They may also be a boon for investment bankers after bond issuances in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council dropped by 34 percent this year to $15.2 billion, data shows.

“At the moment, they’re tapping their reserves and it’s certainly something you could see coming,” said Monica Malik, chief economist at ADCB in Abu Dhabi. “You’d expect a gradual build-up in debt.”

The biggest oil exporter hasn’t sold securities with a maturity of more than 12 months. - Bloomberg News

B2

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

MARKET MSM index ends lower

OMAN STOCKS

MUSCAT SECURITIES MARKET

INDICES Index .................................................High .................Low..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff % MSM30 Index ....................................... 6,454.90 .............. 6,448.98 ................... 6,449.07 ...................6,450.98...................-1.91 .................. -0.03 Financial Index .....................................7,802.37 ...............7,782.68 ................... 7,782.90 ....................7,792.21...................-9.31 .................. -0.12 Industrial Index ....................................8,387.99 ...............8,375.66 ................... 8,383.25 ................... 8,375.66.................... 7.59 ...................0.09 Services Index .......................................3,489.37 ...............3,483.66 ................... 3,483.67 ................... 3,487.72..................-4.05 .................. -0.12 MSM SHARIAH INDEX........................997.15 ..................996.36 .......................996.77 ...................... 996.99..................-0.22 .................. -0.02 Trading Summary Volume ................Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded 52,752,979 ..................9,181,276 ................. 4,765 ............... 15,050,539,056 ................ 10 ......................11 .................... 15 .........................36

Galfar Engineering, up by 2.40 per cent, was the top gainer, while Al Sharqia Investment

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24

Holdings, down by 3.13 per cent, lost the most ISIN ..................................................SECURITY NAME ...............................................................................................VOLUME ..............TURNOVER...................TRADES ...........OPEN PRICE............. HIGH....................LOW...............CLOSE PR. ..........PREV. CLOSE..........DIFF (RO) .................DIFF %......................LAST PR...............LAST BID.....................LAST OFFER .................MARKET CAP ........PAR VALUE

MUSCAT: Oman’s general index - MSM 30 Index - ended lower at 6,449.07 points, down by 0.03 per cent. The MSM Shariah Index also decreased 0.02 per cent to close at 996.77 points.

Phoenix Power was the most active in terms of volume as well as turnover. Galfar Engineering, up by 2.40 per cent was the top gainer, while Al Sharqia Investment Holdings, down by 3.13 per cent, lost the most.

As many as 4,765 trades were executed in the session generating a turnover of OMR9.18 million with over 52.75 million shares changing hands.

Out of 36 traded securities, 10 advanced, 11 declined and 15 remained unchanged. Omani investors were net buyers to the tune of OMR771,000, while foreign investors were net sellers at OMR613,000, followed

by GCC and Arab investors, who sold equities amounting to OMR158,000.

Financial Index showed losses of 0.12 session to close at 7,782.90 points. Bank Nizwa, Ahli Bank,

Oman & Emirates Holding and NBO increased 1.39 per cent, 0.94 per cent, 0.85 per cent and 0.60 per cent respectively. Al Sharqia Investment, HSBC Bank Oman, Al Anwar Holding, Al Madina Takaful and United Finance declined 3.13 per cent, 2.24 per cent, 1.82 per cent, 1.10 per cent and 0.66 per cent respectively.

Industrial Index ended on a positive note at 8,383.25 points, up by 0.09 per cent. Galfar Engineering and Al Maha Ceramics gained 2.40 per cent and 0.36 per cent, respectively. Majan Glass, Construction Materials and Voltamp Energy declined 2.87 per cent, 2.50 per cent and 0.47 per cent, respectively.

Services Sector Index declined 0.12 per cent and finished at 3,483.67 points. Al Suwadi Power, OIFC, Phoenix Power and Omantel gained 1.50 per cent, 0.82 per cent, 0.67 per cent and 0.29 per cent respectively. Renaissance Services, Al Batinah Power and Ooredoo declined 2.08 per cent, 0.99 per cent and 0.51 per cent respectively. – United Securities

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

OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 995,519...........127,017..................... 49 ............0.125 ........... 0.129 ...........0.125 ........... 0.128 ............. 0.125............ 0.003.............2.400 ................0.127 ..............0.127...................0.128....................37,117,522 .........0.100 OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER .................................................. 334,013 ............67,695......................12 ........... 0.200...........0.205 ...........0.200 .......... 0.203 .............0.200 ........... 0.003............. 1.500 ................0.205............. 0.200...................0.205 .................145,024,487........0.100 OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK ..................................................................... 64,304 ............. 13,815........................6 ............0.213 ........... 0.215 ...........0.210............0.215 .............0.213............ 0.002............. 0.939 ................0.210..............0.210...................0.213..................306,382,771........0.100 OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING........... 620,550 ........... 73,038..................... 39 ............0.118 ........... 0.119............ 0.117 ............0.118 ............. 0.117 .............0.001 ............. 0.855 ................0.118 .............. 0.118................... 0.119 ...................14,381,250 .........0.100 OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE.............. 798,300 ......... 195,838..................... 36 ........... 0.246 ...........0.246 ...........0.243........... 0.245 .............0.243 ........... 0.002............. 0.823 ................0.244 .............0.243...................0.244 ..................49,000,000 ........0.100 OM0000001483............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN .................................. 50,000 .............16,798........................2 ........... 0.334 ...........0.336 ...........0.334........... 0.336 .............0.334 ........... 0.002............. 0.599 ................0.336..............0.332...................0.336..................450,478,644 .......0.100 OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS ................................................ 112,466 .............62,137..................... 34 ........... 0.550 ...........0.554 ...........0.550........... 0.552 .............0.550 ........... 0.002.............0.364 ................0.552..............0.552...................0.554...................28,980,000 ........0.100 OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 132,459 .........230,412.....................24 ............1.740 ........... 1.740............ 1.735 ............1.740 ............. 1.735 ............ 0.005.............0.288 ................1.740 .............. 1.740................... 1.770 ................1,305,000,000......0.100 OM0000001087............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ...................................2,000 .................. 574........................1 ........... 0.287 ...........0.287 ...........0.287........... 0.287 .............0.287 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.287..............0.287...................0.290 ..................28,700,000.........0.100 OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS ...............................................................5,000 ...............1,950........................1 ........... 0.390 ...........0.390 ...........0.390........... 0.396 .............0.396 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.390............. 0.000...................0.390 ..................19,800,000.........0.100 OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ..............................................................384 .................. 584........................1 ............1.520 ........... 1.520 ...........1.520 ............1.525 ............. 1.525............ 0.000.............0.000 ................1.520 ..............1.520...................1.530................. 305,000,000 .......0.100 OM0000001749 ............OMAN CEMENT .......................................................... 100,000 ........... 55,000........................2 ........... 0.550 ...........0.550 ...........0.550........... 0.550 .............0.550 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.550..............0.550...................0.560 ................. 181,979,991 ........0.100 OM0000001822............UNITED POWER .............................................................8,400 .............13,104........................3 ............1.560 ........... 1.560 ...........1.560 ........... 1.560 .............1.560............ 0.000.............0.000 ................1.560 ..............1.460...................1.560....................3,120,000 ..........1.000 OM0000001962............AL MADINA INVESTMENT .....................................81,443 ...............6,505........................6 ........... 0.080 ...........0.080 ...........0.079........... 0.080 .............0.080 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.080..............0.079...................0.080 ...................16,572,111..........0.100 OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ..........................8,022 ...............1,003........................1 ............0.125 ........... 0.125 ...........0.125 ............0.125 ............. 0.125............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.125 ..............0.122...................0.128.................... 3,750,000 ..........0.100 OM0000002549 ...........BANK DHOFAR ................................................................3,820 ................1,051........................1 ........... 0.275 ........... 0.275 ...........0.275........... 0.280 .............0.280 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.275..............0.275...................0.298 .................432,523,993 .......0.100 OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 983,551..........540,953.....................20 ........... 0.550 ...........0.550 ...........0.550........... 0.550 .............0.550 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.550..............0.546...................0.552................1,260,502,428 ......0.100 OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ......................... 532,675 ............ 71,911..................... 10 ............0.135 ........... 0.135 ...........0.135 ............0.135 ............. 0.135............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.135 .............. 0.135...................0.138.................... 7,943,834 ..........0.100 OM0000003000 ...........ALMAHA PETROLEUM PRODUCTS MAR. ............... 53 ...................115........................1 ............2.175 ........... 2.175 ...........2.175 ........... 2.190 .............2.190 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................2.175 .............. 2.175...................2.190.................. 151,110,000 ........0.100 OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 226,279 ........... 41,834......................16 ............0.185 ........... 0.185 ...........0.184............0.185 ............. 0.185............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.184..............0.184...................0.185................. 266,666,400 .......0.100 OM0000003711 ............SOHAR POWER................................................................ 2,790 ...............1,060........................3 ........... 0.380 ...........0.380 ...........0.380........... 0.380 .............0.380 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.380............. 0.000...................0.386...................83,983,800.........0.100 OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY ................................................... 184,378 ............78,176........................5 ........... 0.424 ...........0.424 ...........0.424........... 0.424 .............0.426 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.469 ...............0.424..............0.424...................0.426 ..................25,652,000.........0.100 OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 683,573 ......... 533,559......................31 ............0.784 ........... 0.784 ...........0.776 ........... 0.780 .............0.784 ...........-0.004 ........... -0.510 ...............0.776 .............. 0.776...................0.780..................507,736,499 ........0.100 OM0000002374............UNITED FINANCE ..................................................... 186,180.............27,910........................5 ............0.148 ........... 0.150 ...........0.148 ........... 0.150 ............. 0.151 ............-0.001 ........... -0.662 ...............0.150 ..............0.150................... 0.151 ................... 46,614,741 .........0.100 OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER.................................................. 76,341 ..............15,311......................13 ........... 0.200...........0.203 ...........0.200 .......... 0.201 .............0.203 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.985 ...............0.203............. 0.202...................0.205 .................135,652,373 ........0.100 OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL................................................. 5,890 .................. 530........................2 ........... 0.090 ...........0.090 ...........0.090........... 0.090 ............. 0.091............-0.001 ........... -1.099................0.090..............0.089...................0.090 ..................15,750,000 .........0.100 OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 1,565,550 ...... 338,212...................104 ........... 0.222...........0.222 ...........0.214........... 0.216 .............0.220 ...........-0.004 ............-1.818................0.214..............0.214...................0.215...................28,188,000.........0.100 OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES .......................................73,000 ............ 20,646..................... 10 ........... 0.289 ...........0.289 ...........0.280 .......... 0.283 .............0.289 ...........-0.006 ........... -2.076 ...............0.282..............0.282...................0.287...................79,832,730 .........0.100

INDIAN MARKETS

OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN ........................................................ 5,496 ..................720........................1 ............0.131 ........... 0.131............0.131 ............0.131 .............0.134............-0.003 ........... -2.239 ...............0.131 .............. 0.133...................0.134................. 262,040,975 .......0.100

Indian stocks fall; rupee steady

OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 307,868 ........... 38,022..................... 23 ............0.127 ........... 0.127 ...........0.122........... 0.124 .............0.128............-0.004 ............-3.125................0.122..............0.123...................0.126................... 11,160,000 .........0.100

MUMBAI: Logging its first fall in nine days, the benchmark BSE Sensex on Wednesday slipped by 75 points to 27,729.67 as market sentiment took a hit in last half hour on news that the creditors have rejected Greece’s bailout propoal.

Major losers were Hindalco, Tata Steel, M&M, SBI, NTPC, Cipla, Gail India, Bharti Airtel, and Tata Motors. However, Bhel rose by 4.06 per cent followed by HUL, Lupin, Sun Pharma, Wipro and ICICI Bank.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, metal dropped by 1.57 per cent followed by realty 0.93 per

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......30........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

cent, oil and gas 0.90 per cent, auto 0.80 per cent and capital goods 0.57 per cent. The market breadth turned negative as 1,496 stocks ended in the red, 1,222 closed in the green and 134 ruled steady. Total turnover rose to Rs 2,629.33 crore from Rs 2,485.27 crore on Tuesday.

Rupee steady The rupee ended almost steady against the American currency at 63.60 per dollar due to uneven demand and supply of dollars from banks. The rupee resumed lower at 63.65 per dollar as against Tuesday’s level of 63.59. - PTI

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 8,150,304.......2,575,479 ...............462 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 104,076 .............. 7,593........................8 ........... 0.072 ........... 0.073 ...........0.072........... 0.073 .............0.072 ............0.001 ............. 1.389 ................0.073..............0.073...................0.074..................109,500,000 .......0.100 OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 42,841,413.6,431,064............... 4,277 ............0.148 ........... 0.152 ...........0.148........... 0.150 .............0.149.............0.001 ............. 0.671 ................0.149 ..............0.149...................0.150..................219,390,219 ........0.100 OM0000001723 ............OMAN ORIX LEASING ..................................................1,405 ...................211........................1 ............0.150 ........... 0.150 ...........0.150 ........... 0.150 .............0.150............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.150 ..............0.150...................0.000 ..................36,207,606 .........0.100 OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. ................... 49,000 ................1,911........................1 ........... 0.039 ...........0.039 ...........0.039........... 0.039 .............0.040 ...........-0.001 ........... -2.500 ...............0.039..............0.039...................0.040 ................... 3,315,000 ..........0.100 OM0000001855 ............MAJAN GLASS .............................................................. 43,200 ............ 10,224........................6 ........... 0.220...........0.244 ...........0.220 .......... 0.237 .............0.244 ...........-0.007 ........... -2.869 ...............0.244 .............0.230...................0.244 ................... 9,959,522 ..........0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 43,039,094...6,451,003 ............ 4,293 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 5........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

OM0000005971 ............B.MUSCAT COMPL. CONVR. B.B.3.5 ................... 1,563,581........154,795..................... 10 ........... 0.099 ...........0.099 ...........0.099........... 0.099 .............0.099 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.099..............0.099...................0.100...................32,092,000 ........0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 1,563,581........154,795..................... 10 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. .........1........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

ASSET QUALITY

Capital Intelligence affirms Bank Sohar rating at ‘BBB’ Times News Service MUSCAT: Capital Intelligence (CI), the international rating agency, has affirmed Bank Sohar’s Financial Strength Rating (FSR) at ‘BBB’.

This is underpinned by the bank’s good asset quality, its strong internal capital generation and its improving profitability ratios — notwithstanding the moderate decline in the first quarter of 2015.

The bank’s rating is also supported more recently by the completion of the rights issue, which has restored the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) to a solid level as well as improving the liquidity position.

The bank’s rating is, on the other hand, constrained by its still high-level of interbank borrowings, the declining trend of its net liquid asset ratio, the sharp increase in renegotiated loans and the concentrations in its deposit base. The latter is, however, a common feature among its peers and the sector.

Nonetheless, the bank’s overall financial profile remains sound and together with the sizeable combined direct and indirect ownership of the government, Bank Sohar’s Foreign Currency Ratings are affirmed at ‘BBB+’ long-term and ‘A3’ short-term.

The support rating is maintained at ‘2’, reflecting the high likelihood of support in case of need. Notwithstanding the more challenging operating environment given the lower oil price, the outlook for all the ratings is maintained at ‘Stable’.

That said, a deterioration and/ or an increase of the renegotiated loan book as well as a further decline of the bank’s net liquid asset

FOURTH LARGEST: Bank Sohar remained the fourth largest bank in Oman in terms of assets at the end of the first quarter of 2015.

Loan growth, which picked up in 2014, moderated in the first quarter of 2015. – Times file picture

ratio could put some pressure on the bank’s rating.

Bank Sohar remained the fourth largest bank in Oman in terms of assets at the end of the first quarter of 2015. Loan growth which picked up in 2014 moderated in the first quarter of 2015.

Asset quality Loan asset quality on the other hand was generally maintained notwithstanding an increase in non-performing ratios (NPLs) in both 2014 and the first quarter of 2015. The bank’s NPL remained one of the lowest among its peers and the more than full loan loss coverage was maintained. This and the bank’s good effective NPL coverage ratio continue to support the bank’s ratings.

A negative development, however, is the sharp rise in renegotiated loans – although some comfort was derived from the fact that the majority of these borrowers are contractors on government projects. The bulk of them was

classified as PDNIs in the one to 30 days past due bucket.

On the liquidity front, this tightened further as the pickup of customer deposits did not cover the continued strong loan growth in 2014 and there was a small contraction of customer deposits at the end of the first quarter of 2015.

Holdings of liquid assets also declined and the still high level of interbank borrowings led to the net liquid asset ratio declining to just a satisfactory level at the end of the first quarter of 2015.

Loan based and liquid and quasi liquidity ratios were, however, at acceptable levels – and as such, neither constrain nor support the bank’s rating.

Since the rights issue was planned in April, the bank took the opportunity to reduce the more expensive time deposits.

This positive development saw an improvement in the customer deposit mix which contributed to a notable fall in the cost of funds.

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

B3

MARKET NEW ROLE

Boeing names Muilenburg as new CEO CHICAGO: Boeing board of directors on Wednesday elected Dennis A. Muilenburg the company’s tenth chief executive, succeeding W. James (Jim) McNerney Jr, who held the position for the past 10 years. Muilenburg, who has served as Boeing president and chief operating officer since 2013, becomes president and CEO on July 1.

McNerney, who joined Boeing’s board of directors in 2001, continues as its chairman.

To ensure a smooth transition of his CEO responsibilities to Muilenburg, he will continue working as a company employee until retiring at the end of February 2016, and continue advocating on issues important to Boeing’s United States and global customers, partners and stakeholders, including ongoing Washington, engagement.

Kenneth M. Duberstein, Boeing’s independent lead director, continues in that capacity, and Muilenburg has been elected a member of the board.

“Dennis is an extremely capable, experienced and respected leader with an immense passion for our company, our people, and our products and services,” said McNerney, who made priorities of succession planning and leadership development at the outset of his tenure. - Agencies

Kuwait expects oil price to rise on better global growth Ali Al Omair, the oil minister of Kuwaiti, said that crude oil prices could also rebound due to drop in stockpiles and fewer drilling rigs

KUWAIT CITY: Oil prices are expected to extend a rebound thanks to improved global growth, a drop in stockpiles and fewer drilling rigs, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Ali Al Omair said.

“We have reached a stage where a drop in oil prices is unlikely,” he said, cited by the official KUNA news agency on Tuesday night.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), which earlier this month left its output target unchanged, has seen a decline in excess crude supply in the international market which will push prices up, Omair said.

There has also been a drop in rig count and crude inventories, the minister added.

As a result of a production glut and a weak global economy, crude prices plummeted by more than 60 per cent from June 2014 to January before recovering part of the losses. Oil prices extended their gains in Asia on Wednesday on expectations of a decline in

LNG PRODUCTION

UPBEAT: The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which left its output target unchanged, has seen a decline in excess crude supply in the international market, which will push prices up, said the Kuwaiti oil minister. - File picture

United States crude inventories and robust economic data from the eurozone.

Brent climbs United States benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery was up 12 cents at $61.13 a barrel and Brent climbed 11 cents to $64.56. Omair said that the oil sector had requested additional funding of more than one billion dinars ($3.3 billion) for the Gulf state’s new refinery after bids by international consortia exceeded budget estimates.

He said that the estimated cost of the 615,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Al-Zour refinery would now surpass 5 billion dinars ($16.5 billion), up from the initial cost of $13.2 billion. He said the new estimates would be presented to the Supreme Petroleum Council, the highest decision-making body on oil, to secure approval for the additional funds.

Together with the $12-billion project to upgrade two of the existing three refineries, Kuwait plans to raise its output of refined products to 1.4 million bpd from

930,000 bpd currently. Kuwait, a member of OPEC, pumps around 2.8 million barrels of oil a day.

Oil extended gains after advancing the most in two weeks as declining US crude stockpiles added to signs a supply glut is easing.

Futures advances Futures advanced 0.6 per cent in New York after the August contract rose 1 per cent on Tuesday.

Inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels in the week ended June 19, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute was said to have re-

Six-year low Oil is sustaining a rebound from a six-year low amid speculation that a prolonged retreat in drilling will slow US production and reduce a surplus.

Crude inventories in the world’s biggest consumer are still almost 90 million barrels above the fiveyear average for this time of the year, according to the Energy Information Administration.

“We are into the seasonal time of year where inventories naturally drop so anything but a reduction would negatively impact the price,” Ole Sloth Hansen, an analyst at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen, said by e-mail. “The question is what level inventories will reach before the expected pick up in September.”

West Texas Intermediate for August delivery rose 35 cents to $61.36 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract increased the past two days to close at $61.01 on Tuesday. The July contract expired on Monday. - Agencies

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GLOBAL GROWTH

Qatar Petroleum eyes overseas expansion DOHA: Qatar Petroleum plans to expand overseas after a restructuring that included the takeover of its foreign investment arm and the firing of some foreign workers.

“We are very ambitious internationally,” Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, chief executive officer at the world’s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), told reporters on Tuesday in Qatar’s capital, Doha.

“We are focusing on the upstream business,” he said, declining to provide details.

The unspecified job cuts were one part of an eight-month restructuring effort that has seen QP take over Qatar Petroleum International, divest non-energy units including a catering company, and impose stricter conditions on foreign partners.

Since leading Qatar’s transformation into the largest LNG supplier, QP has shifted its priority to managing a slump in the nation’s oil output while expanding inter-

ported. A drop of 2 million is forecast in a survey of analysts before government data on Wednesday.

US President Barack Obama has scope to extend talks with Iran that could ease sanctions on the nation’s oil trade beyond a June 30 deadline, the State Department signalled.

nationally. The change has made the Gulf emirate less attractive to foreign companies seeking to maximise output, according to a June report by Michael Barron, director of global energy at risk consultants Eurasia Group.

Al Kaabi said he expects construction of the liquefaction plant in Texas, known as Golden Pass, to begin next year if United States regulators approve an export license for the project.

“National oil companies are becoming more capable, more financially sound, and they have less need for international oil companies,” he said. Foreign investors have to “compete harder and offer more to get national oil companies to accept them.”

Wintershall, the oil and gas division of BASF, ended operations in Qatar after failing to secure access to local infrastructure, it said.

QP invited foreign cos. on May 6 to bid for the right to operate Qatar’s largest oil field. - Bloomberg News

Insurance sector recovers GENEVA: Insurance industry across the globe gained momentum last year, as economies improved and the long suffering life insurance sector returned to growth in Europe and Japan, a study showed on Wednesday.

Insurance premiums rose 3.7 per cent to $4.8 trillion, a sharp rise over the 1.4-per cent growth recorded in 2013, according to the Sigma study, conducted for the Swiss Re insurance group.

Developed countries saw growth of 2.9 per cent while insurance premiums shot up 7.4 per cent in emerging countries.

“There was a return to positive growth in the life sector, with premiums up 4.3 per cent to $2.7 trillion after a 1.8-percent decline in 2013,” the Swiss insurer said.

“Very strong growth in Oceania and solid results in Western Europe and Japan more than offset yet another year of contraction in North America, with falling sales of term and universal life products in the United States,” it said.

In the non-life sector, premi-

ums rose 2.9 percent to $2.1 trillion globally.

Financial crisis Swiss Re said since the financial crisis of 2008, life premiums in the advanced markets had stagnated while in emerging markets, average annual premium growth was slower than in the pre-crisis years. The insurer said it expected to see accelerated growth in 2015, with low oil prices likely to boost the global economy and

3.7% Was the rise in insurance premiums at $4.8 trillion, a sharp rise over the 1.4% growth recorded in 2013, according to the Sigma study, conducted for the Swiss Re group

lead to higher consumer spending and investment.

It said premium growth in the life sector was expected to remain fairly solid in the advanced economies this year and accelerate further in the emerging markets, especially in China and India, where government policies and new laws are expected to stimulate the market. The outlook for non-life insurance was bleak for Western Europe due to the sluggish economic recovery. - AFP

B4

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

FEATURE

INVESTORS GAVE A COLD SHOULDER TO GLOBAL WARMING

I

nvestor resolutions urging corporate leaders to be more environmentally friendly in how they run their businesses are being rolled out at a very high record pace this year for the energy industry. Just don’t expect them to pass.

Proposals meant to nudge Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. into nominating directors with environmental expertise, setting greenhouse gas targets, and compiling reports on minimising fracking risks are among seven such resolutions being voted recently when the two biggest US oil companies hold their shareholder meetings.

Institutional investors who control the biggest blocks of stock believe that the proposals are not needed because the companies already are motivated to minimise damage, said Vincent Piazza, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst.

Supporters as diverse as the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia and the As You Sow Foundation say that just having them on the ballot can spur important dialog that can advance their movement.

“Success doesn’t mean you have to get 50 per cent of the vote,” said Timothy Smith, a senior vice president at Boston- based Walden Asset Management who supports the proposals. “The goal is to start a dialog, and that moves things forward.”

Exxon and Chevron’s combined

market value of more than halfa-trillion dollars eclipses by the economies of about 90 per cent of the world’s nations. Exxon’s gathering in Dallas will also include three environmentally focused proposals; Chevron’s meeting in San Ramon, California, will be featuring four.

All are being opposed by the companies’ management.

Declining support Smith, who helps oversee $3 billion in investments, said support for the resolution urging Exxon to set goals for cutting greenhouse gases probably will decline from the 20 per cent it garnered last year. He attributed this to an about-face by Institutional Shareholder Services, an investor advisory service that supported the proposal last year, but this year has urged a “no” vote after saying Exxon already discloses sufficient emissions data.

“I have to laugh when these guys say they want to put a guy on the board or change the way they run their business,” said John CKornitzer, who manages more than $1.3 billion, including Exxon and Chevron shares, as chief executive officer of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. “Compiling a report isn’t going to prevent an industrial accident.”

Redundant effort In communications sent directly to shareholders and filed with the

Success doesn’t mean you have to get 50 per cent of the vote, The goal is to start a dialog, and that moves things forward Timothy Smith

Senior vice president Walden Asset Management

Securities and Exchange Commission, Exxon and Chevron both encouraged “no” votes. They said the proposals would be redundant to the existing corporate practices, that the sought-after data is already disclosed in other formats, and that the measures would hinder the managers and the directors in overseeing the business.

Richard Keil, an Exxon spokesman, and Chevron’s Kurt Glaubitz declined to make a comment and referred a reporter’s questions to the proxy filings.

The companies are increasingly willing to negotiate, said Gregory Elders, the Bloomberg Intelligence analyst who pointed to the record pace of these proposals. One-fourth of all the resolutions have been withdrawn as the management agreed to address the concerns, he said in an interview.

In 2014, Exxon convinced activists to pull resolutions seeking reports on assets threatened by carbon caps and risks associated with fracking. In exchange, the Irving, Texas-based company publicly released data on both themes.

“You’ve got to give the company credit; they are willing to talk to investors about these concerns,” said Walden Assets’ Smith.

Improving disclosure “The industry has done a lot to improve disclosure, to improve how

it fracks and completes wells, and that’s not taken into account in these resolutions,” added Piazza, Bloomberg Intelligence’s senior analyst for US oil and gas.

Kornitzer, who co-manages the Buffalo Flexible Income Fund from Shawnee Mission, Kansas, is voting against all seven of the proposals this week. Executive teams at the biggest oil companies have too much at stake to operate recklessly, he said.

“These CEOs all have skin in the game and it isn’t $500,000 worth of stock awards at risk if they mess up, it’s millions and millions,” Kornitzer said. Even as green resolutions face almost certain defeat, energy investors have been more willing to embrace New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s efforts to make it easier for climate-change activists to get on corporate boards. Stringer’s proposal would open annual meeting ballots to director candidates nominated by shareholders.

The proposal, which is separate from the resolutions to add an environmental expert to the board, is on the ballots of 20 oil and gas companies this year. Shareholders at Occidental Petroleum Corp., ConocoPhillips and 10 other companies have approved the proposal, while three rejected it.

Exxon and Chevron holders will vote on it this week; both companies are urging ’no’ votes.– Bloomberg News

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015 SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH FACEBOOK PAGE

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ROUND-UP

Lulu-Bank Muscat credit card now a big hit with customers The ďŹ rst retail co-branded card in Oman rewards customers on all transactions which add immense value to their shopping experience. The minimum monthly salary eligibility for the card is OMR250

MUSCAT: The unique â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Lulu Bank Muscat credit cardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; launched by Bank Muscat, the ďŹ&#x201A;agship ďŹ nancial services provider in the Sultanate, and Lulu Hypermarket, the largest retail chain in the GCC region with over 125 outlets, has evoked strong response with customers enjoying a range of beneďŹ ts and exclusive advantages.

Notably, the ďŹ rst retail cobranded card in Oman rewards customers on all transactions which add immense value to their shopping experience.

On the occasion of holy month of Ramadan, the Lulu Bank Muscat cardholders earn points were raised from 2 per cent to 4 per cent of the total transaction amount in points and for all purchase transactions done elsewhere they earn 0.5 per cent in points.

Here is a simple example, if OMR100 is spent in Lulu Oman,

Lulu Bank Muscat credit cardholders earn OMR4 in points. If they spend OMR100 elsewhere, they earn 0.5 per cent equal to 500 baisa.

Cash withdrawal transactions are not eligible for earning points.

The beneďŹ ts include exclusive check-out counters at all Lulu outlets in Oman.

The dedicated express checkout counters help cardholders avoid long queues. Customers will

also enjoy discounts and special offers at Lulu hypermarket, travel insurance, extended warranty and customer protection.

The minimum monthly salary eligibility for the card is OMR250 and the annual fee is OMR10. Supplementary cardholders are also eligible to earn points on usage of cards. The points will be credited to the primary account. Redemption of points is available at any

Lulu store in Oman.

The Chip & PIN card enhances security and gives peace of mind for all transactions. The card is designed for everyday shopping.

Transactions are authorised using Personal IdentiďŹ cation Number (PIN) instead of signature.

Lulu Bank Muscat credit card is issued under the MasterCard International brand. MasterCard global brand is accepted at millions of merchants worldwide and Lulu Bank Muscat credit card can be used for secure Internet shopping.

The card is loaded with a wide range of free travel insurance covers that includes travel accident insurance, lost baggage and money, cancellation, travel delay, delayed baggage, personal liability, legal expenses and loss of passport and access to free medical and legal referral services worldwide.

PREMIUM PRODUCT

Samsung unveils innovative SUHD TV MUSCAT: Samsung Electronics Co., the leader in home entertainment for nine consecutive years, unveiled an extensive lineup of SUHD TVs at a retailer conference in Muscat, setting a new standard in premium UHD content and elevating the viewing experience to new levels.

The innovative SUHD TV celebrates a major milestone in the UHD era. It surpasses the limitations of previous displays, delivering superior picture quality with stunning contrast, striking brightness and spectacular colour, says a press release. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our heritage of innovation is what drives us to deliver unparalleled depth, sound and even feeling to consumers through our state-of-the-art TVs. This year, we have taken things to another level by breaking down the last barrier to a truly immersive viewing experiencewith the SUHD TV,â&#x20AC;? said Raj Varma, general manager, Visual Display Group at Samsung Gulf Electronics. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our SUHD TV brings viewers closer to the story than they ever thought possible, and it does it in superb UHD detail. To watch a scene on, it is to live it, and we hope that it will bring many meaningful experiences to our customers in the Gulf region.â&#x20AC;?

Ajay Ganti, CEO at Sarco, added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are delighted to introduce

consumers in Oman to Samsungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ&#x201A;agship SUHD TV. Our consumers come to us for cutting-edge products that will get them excited and put new experiences within their reach. The SUHD TV does just that with technology that not only delivers breathtaking picture and realistic sound.â&#x20AC;?

Additionally, Samsungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SUHD TVs have a number of new and exciting features. Its SUHD remastering engine delivers an unrivaled viewing experience; its stylish curved design provides viewers with a more immersive viewing experience; and its Smart TV functions are now powered by Tizen, giving viewers easy access to their favourite content.

Unmatched picture quality SUHD TVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nano-crystal semiconductor transmits different colours of light depending on

their size to produce the highest colour purity and light efficiency available today. This technology produces a wide range of more accurate colours, providing viewers with 64 times more colour expression than conventional TVs. The SUHD re-mastering engine automatically analyses the brightness of images to minimise additional power consumption, while expressing the highest levels of contrast, producing images with much darker blacks, elevating brightness to 2.5 times brighter than conventional TVs, and expressing twice the colour adjustment points for the most accurate colour display.

Sophisticated designs When Samsung introduced the curved form-factor in 2013, it dramatically enhanced the home entertainment experience for

ACCOLADE

B5

up tailored content recommendations, adding to your entertainment options. Ä&#x160;Ĺ&#x2014; #."Ĺ&#x2014; /# %Ĺ&#x2014; )(( .Ä&#x2026;Ĺ&#x2014; 'sung Smart TVs automatically recognise Samsung smartphones once paired via BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) technology. Consumers can share video content from their Samsung smart phone to their Smart TV with the press of a button. Also, users can watch TV through their mobile devices without any apps or complicated pre-settings. Ä&#x160;Ĺ&#x2014; '-/(!Ĺ&#x2014; ' ,.Ĺ&#x2014; Ĺ&#x2014; )1(ers can wake up a bit easier with BrieďŹ ng on TV. Samsung Smart TVs now act as alarms, and sync Entertainment experience up with Samsung mobile devices, As of 2015, all of Samsungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to turn on and display important Smart TVs, including the new items such as the time, the weathSUHD TV, will be powered by er and your schedule, on the large Tizen, an open-source platform screen display. that supports the web standard Ä&#x160;Ĺ&#x2014; '-/(!Ä&#x201C;-Ĺ&#x2014;*& . ),'Ä&#x2026;Ĺ&#x2014;*)1 , Ĺ&#x2014; for TV app development. Thanks by Tizen, allows Samsung Smart to Tizen, Samsungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Smart TVs to become part of a much largTV platform not only has a bevy er content ecosystem, facilitating of new features, but it also grants easy collaboration with a number consumers intuitive access to a of partners for ultimate ďŹ&#x201A;exibility more integrated entertainment and unparalleled access. experience, and more choices for Ä&#x160;Ĺ&#x2014; #4 (Ä&#x201C;-Ĺ&#x2014; )'* .# #&#.3Ĺ&#x2014; 1#."Ĺ&#x2014; content than ever before. other devices establishes SamÄ&#x160;Ĺ&#x2014; " Ĺ&#x2014; ( 1Ĺ&#x2014; /- ,Ĺ&#x2014; #(. , Ĺ&#x2014; ),Ĺ&#x2014; sungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Smart TVs as the control Samsungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Smart Hub is more centre of any Smart Home. Samresponsive and allows users to ac- sungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Smart TV with Tizen cess the content they want with sets the standard for future Smart less fuss. It also displays your TVs, redeďŹ ning the entertainment most recent content and draws experience. consumers. Taking cues from contemporary art and architecture, Samsungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SUHD TVs were designed and enhanced with many modern and minimalist highlights.

The SUHD TV JS9500 will feature the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proprietary Chamfer bezel design, adding more depth to the TV screen, and an elegant frame that makes the TV look like a piece of art when mounted on the wall.

The SUHD TV JS900 model has a soft, textured Shirring design on the back, ensuring that the TV maintains its stylish edge from any angle.

AC A D E M I C PA R T N E R S H I P

MEC starts new engineering programmes MUSCAT: Middle East College (MEC) has started giving admission to its new two popular programmes, B.Eng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and MSc Electronic Engineering.

Both the programmes were designed in academic partnership with Coventry University, UK. With these new additions, Middle East College has built a strong academic base on diverse fields including engineering, technology and management, says a press release.

While speaking about the new programmes Prof. R. C. Bhattacharjee, Dean of Middle East College, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mechanical engineering is believed to be the most diverse and exciting of all the engineering disciplines. It is speciďŹ cally concerned with design, development, manufacture, installation, operation and maintenance of diverse systems that will produce graduates with the ability to develop appropriate solutions to engineering problems using existing and latest technologies.â&#x20AC;?

He further added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mechanical engineering graduates can work in all kinds of industries related to planning, design and manufacturing; implementation of new and existing production processes; project management; and research and development.â&#x20AC;?

Commenting on the postgraduate programme, he said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The MSc electronic engineering is the ďŹ rst of its kind offered in Oman. The programme is designed to further develop studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; knowledge and expertise in specialist engineering subjects associated with the main application areas of electronic engineering with particular emphasis on microelectronics applications, mathematics and control, sensors and measurement technology, digital systems design and digital signal and image processing.â&#x20AC;? Bhattacharjee added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The course enables the students to understand advanced principles of electronic engineering and their relationship to contemporary, real-world applications. It also ensures that the students are able to plan, execute and critically evaluate projects in the ďŹ eld of electronics engineering at a professional level including contemporary research projects.â&#x20AC;?

Middle East College offers several undergraduate and postgraduate programmes to about 5,500 students belonging to about 25 nationalities. By cosmopolitan nature, its creative teaching and learning approach and extra-curricular opportunities, Middle East College has become a popular destination for the aspiring youths.

SPECIAL OCCASION

Muscat Electronics bags Best Marketing Award from Ricoh

Berger Paints celebrates 15th anniversary

MUSCAT: Muscat Electronics (ME) bagged the Best Marketing Award from Ricoh International for their efforts in promoting the Ricoh brand in Oman, at the Ricoh International Partners Conference held at Lisbon, Portugal earlier this month. Considering the fact that Ricoh International has more than 200 partners across Europe, Middle East & Africa, this is a major achievement for ME. ME and Ricoh share a very long and friendly relation since 1994 and market a wide range of products and solutions including digital copiers, laser printers, fax machines, digital duplicators, networked printing and document management solutions, says a

press release.

Muscat Electronics is also its only partner in Oman and one of the few in the region who has been certiďŹ ed as a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Solutions Partnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of Ricoh. This certiďŹ cation is given after a thorough evaluation of the capabilities in providing Print Management Solution and Managed Print Services to customers.

Customers of Muscat Electronics get the beneďŹ t of not only using one of the best multifunction equipment in the world, but can also avail customised solutions to manage their prints/documents. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a very special moment for Muscat Electronics as this award is a testament to our commitment in promoting Ricoh brand

in Oman and the trust that our customers have in us. Being a solutions partner for Ricoh is in-line with our strategy; we have long evolved from the days of being just a box seller to a provider of medium to long term solutions to our customers. We are in a constant pursuit of optimising the office automation part of our customers business to achieve the best output for them at the least cost and thereby our customers can focus on their core business,â&#x20AC;? said Faisal Al Yousef, CEO of Muscat Electronics. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I would like to congratulate our entire team for all the hard work put in by them since we started our partnership with Ricoh,â&#x20AC;? added Faisal.

MUSCAT: This year marks 15 signiďŹ cant years of Berger Paints operations in Oman. To celebrate the milestone, the team held a special event for its key channel partners who have supported the company to grow from strength to strength, at Millennium Resort Musannah.

Regional Vice President, I. K. Jaiswal specially ďŹ&#x201A;ew down for the occasion. Going down memory lane, Jaiswal described the journey of how Berger Paints initially started with imports, built its ďŹ rst factory in 2000 at Ghala, Muscat and this year has expanded into operations with a second factory coming online in Sohar.

He described how despite being a small part of the $2 billion, Asian Paints Group, the 4th largest decorative company globally, the Oman operations have always surpassed expectations.

Reiterating the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s faith

in the business environment in Oman, he wished the unit greater successes in the future.

In continuation of the theme, the evening also saw the introduction of three new products, specially designed for the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s climates and requirements.

Weathercoat Ultra, a premium exterior paint for outside, is the ďŹ rst product in Oman with a 10year performance promise covering ďŹ lm integrity, crack bridging and temperature reduction.

The paint introduces superior DPUR (Dirt Pick Up Resistance) technology to the market aimed at reducing dirt accumulation on buildings which make even new buildings look old after a couple of years. This paint has been thoroughly tested at labs (Laboratory) in UK for performance and is the result of three years of R&D. Also, introduced was Tuff Shy-

ne, an economy exterior paint from the one million tonnes Tuff brand umbrella. Based on Nanotechnology, which gives it a four year performance promise, this product is aimed at budget conscious consumers who are looking for a silky ďŹ nish for outside.

Completing the portfolio was the introduction of Mumtaz economy emulsion for interiors which has been designed keeping in mind the painting practices in the budget conscious segment of the market.

Amidst the introduction of these new products that was welcomed by all present, Jaiswal along with the general ganager P. K. Raj feted select dealers who have been part of the 15 years journey and shared sentiment that there would be getting together to celebrate many more landmarks in the future.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

ROUND-UP

All-new Chery Tiggo5 launched in Sultanate ... for a perfect ride

Chery customers can be assured of nothing less than superb service in the shortest possible time from OTE Group’s state-of-the-art sales and aftersales network spread across the Sultanate

Since its launch in 2006, the Tiggo series of SUVs has won the trust and preference of over 800,000 consumers worldwide for its outstanding quality and performance

MUSCAT: The all-new Tiggo5, a stylish SUV, was launched in Oman recently in the presence of Ching Tung Wong, vice president Chery International, Anil Dua, managing director OTE Group, Malay Saha, senior general manager, Chery-OTE Group along with other officials from Chery International and OTE Group, says a press release.

Speaking on the occasion, Ching Tung Wong said: “Chery is the largest automaker in China and has achieved an impressive cumulative sales figure of over 4.5 million units including cumulative exports of over 1 million units.”

“Chery customers can be assured of nothing less than superb service in the shortest possible time from OTE Group’s state-of-

the-art sales and aftersales network spread across the Sultanate,” said Anil Dua. Since its launch in 2006, the Tiggo series of SUVs has won the trust and preference of over 800,000 consumers worldwide for its outstanding quality and performance.

All-new Tiggo5’s bold road presence was designed and built by a team of globally renowned designers with vast experience. The body inherits the fine genes of the CheryTX concept car, which won the Grand Award at the Geneva International Motor Show. Design inspired by ‘water’, the Tiggo 5 perfectly combines fluid lines with solid style to make it look spirited and trendy. Swept back headlamps, wrap-around tail lamps, muscular character lines, rounded edges, roofline flowing into the integrated spoiler all enhance the overall exterior appearance.

The all-new Chery Tiggo5 features a versatile and a flexible modern passenger cabin which can accommodate upto five persons comfortably.

A rich dual tone interior, wingshaped central console, multifunctional leather steering wheel, double barrel shaped dashboard and overall a highly optimised interior design provides maximum comfort to the driver.

The wide body and ultra-long wheelbase of Tiggo5 creates a large and comfortable interior space with generous legroom and headroom both in the front and rear. Added to that is a plenty of storage amenities. All these are designed to offer a comfortable drive and ride experience both during

short trips within the city and also during long trips for the driver as well as the occupants.

Furthermore, the Tiggo5 offers a 370L oversize luggage compartment with a large tailgate and neat interior access that allows easy loading of large objects. Additionally, the cushion and backrest of rear seats can be folded and even flattened in a proportion of 4:6 to extend the trunk space, thus enhancing the utility of interior space, and making the room arrangement more flexible.

The luxury variant Tiggo5 is equipped with high-definition touch screen, reverse image and cruise control. In addition, the Tiggo5’s hi-tech features include electrically-controlled headlamps, reversing radar, remote key etc., adding to the premium class of the vehicle.

All-new Tiggo5 is equipped with an efficient ACTECO 2.0L DVVT engine to deliver robust power and is coupled with a 7 speed CVT gear box to help deliver an excellent balance of performance and fuel economy. Front and rear independent suspension with a ground clearance of 163mm, excellent hill-climb and electronic power steering add to the capabilities of the vehicle.

Tiggo5 has undergone rigorous testing which include road simulation test for about 1.8 million km, validation bench test for reliability for nearly 100,000 hours, engineering and quality assessment tests including the vehicle corrosion test and nine other rigorous tests such as acceleration durability test, cyclic transmission test

Anil Dua Managing director, OTE Group

Chery is the largest automaker in China and has achieved an impressive cumulative sales figure of over 4.5 million units including cumulative exports of over 1 million units Ching Tung Wong Vice president, Chery International

etc. All these guarantee Tiggo5’s outstanding quality.

All-new Chery Tiggo5 has been designed to provide high levels of safety through a range of advanced safety features. The body also uses plenty of ultra-high-tensile steel sheets and advanced laser welding processes to ensure strong rigidity and minimise the risk of body deformation in order to protect its

All-new Tiggo5’s bold road presence was designed and built by a team of globally renowned designers with vast experience. The body inherits the fine genes of the CheryTX concept car, which won the Grand Award at the Geneva International Motor Show. Design inspired by ‘water’, the Tiggo 5 perfectly combines fluid lines with solid style to make it look spirited and trendy.

Swept back headlamps, wrap-around tail lamps, muscular character lines, rounded edges, roofline flowing into the integrated spoiler all enhance the overall exterior appearance

occupants, in case of a crash.

Tiggo5’s safety design also incorporates multiple airbags, pre-tensioning safety belts, antidescending seats and two-stage collapsible steering column etc.

Also, Tiggo5 is equipped with electronic stability programme system (ESP) and hill hold control system (HHC), to adequately ensure driving and riding safety.

Recently, in the C-NCAP crash test conducted by Chinese automotive safety test institution, Chery’s new-generation SUV Tiggo5 was awarded the 5-star safety certification, illustrating its outstanding safety performance and making it one of the safest SUVs in the segment.

Chery Automobile Co. Ltd, founded in 1997, is one of China’s largest automakers and has rolled out more than 4 million vehicles since then. At present Chery is exported to more than 80 countries and regions in Eastern Europe, South America, Southern Asia, Middle East and Africa.

Chery has also overseas production / CKD assembly facilities in about 15 countries and regions such as Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Thailand and Uruguay.

With an excellent network of OTE Group’s sales and aftersales outlets spread across the Sultanate, Chery customers can be assured of nothing less than a perfect care.

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

ROUND-UP

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Suzuki unveils irresistible ‘Ramadan Bonanza’ offer MUSCAT: In what is surely going to be an irresistible offer, Suzuki has launched Ramadan Bonanza promotion comprising ‘Super Price’ plus cash gift up to OMR1,500 plus a free Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone and a wireless charger with every purchase, says a press release.

Defining the “Super Price”, Anil Sethi, general manager of Suzuki, said: “Our offer is very clear and transparent, with no strings attached.

“Our prices are amazing for a Japanese brand, which is why we have boldly announced the prices of different models in our advertisements for every prospective customer to see, compare and evaluate as to what true value he/she is getting for the money being spent, even prior to visiting our showroom.”

“Most of the Suzuki models come out of Japan, so you can rest assured of an even superior quality, workmanship and reliable engineering. Furthermore, the entire range of Suzuki vehicles is equipped with dual airbags and ABS brake system for the safety of you and your loved ones, besides other safety and security features.

“Also the service intervals of all Suzuki models are at every 10,000km and multiples, thus reducing down-time and saving money for you on maintenance,” Sethi explained.

“So hurry and take full advantage of Suzuki’s Ramadan Bonanza and be a proud owner of a Suzuki, one of the most reliable and economical Japanese brand.

For more information please call 94108012 and we will be happy to be of service to you. For fleet/ bulk purchases customers can call 95207827,” he added.

Moosa Abdul Rahman Hassan & Co is the exclusive distributor of Suzuki vehicles in Oman with branch and service network covering all major cities across Oman.

TeO inks pact with M1; names new CCO

Seow Tiong Wong will be responsible for the commercial strategy planning and development in the company

MUSCAT: Integrated Telecommunications Oman (TeO) staff recently celebrated the signing of the investment agreement with Singapore’s M1 Limited (M1) by organising a cake-cutting ceremony in their office premises.

The occasion coincided with the appointment of Seow Tiong Wong as the new chief commercial officer (CCO) of TeO. Seow Tiong Wong will be responsible for the commercial strategy planning and development in the company, says a press release.

Last month, M1’s wholly owned

subsidiary M1 TeliNet Pte Ltd has entered into an agreement to acquire 15% interest in TeO on a fully diluted basis. M1 is a leading telecommunication service provider in Singapore providing mobile and fixed services to close to 2 million customers.

Elaborating the new developments, a senior spokesperson of TeO said: “This deal has brought in a lot of excitement and we look forward to learning from M1’s focus on network quality, customer service, value and innovation.

We welcome Seow Tiong Wong to TeO. He brings a wealth of industry experience from a very advanced part of the world. We are sure he will play a key role in realising our goal of providing an outstanding experience to our customers in Oman.”

TeO is Oman’s first private Class I licensee international gateway operator, a mobile services reseller and international calling card services provider in the Sultanate of Oman. TeO currently operates with its consumer product brand ‘Allo’ and its endorsed brands ‘TeO Globe’ and ‘TeO Business’.

H O LY M O N T H

Zubair’s ‘Collaborations’ team spreads happiness at hospitals

AL HILAL RAMADAN CAMPAIGN

Mazin Al Adawi, Assistant Branch Manager of Al Hilal Islamic Banking Services Samail Branch presents a cheque to an official (left) from Omani Women’s Association, Samail as part of the bank’s annual Ramadan campaign. — Supplied image

H E A LT H C A R E

Aster opens new MRI unit MUSCAT: The Collaborations team of The Zubair Corporation launched its programme of the holy month of Ramadan by visiting a number of hospitals and holding Iftar for the medical and administrative staff at hospitals with the presence of some community figures and members of the Social Advisory Committee from The Zubair Corporation.

The programme is launched within the framework of fostering partnership with the local community; highlight the value of Collaborations between the staff of The Zubair Corporation, its subsidiaries and the society and to express thankfulness and appreciation to the medical and administrative staff in hospitals for their efforts to provide excellent medical care to patients in hospitals, says a press release.

During the holy month in particular, the medical crew double their efforts and care to ensure the comfort and ease of patients, as well as their attendants, while being away from their families and the comfort of their homes. This initiative is organised by the Zubair Corporation staff volunteers to confirm the partnership between the pub-

lic sector and the private sector.

The Collaborations Team consists of a number of The Zubair Corporation staff who organises various voluntary events and activities for the service of the community. This team is organised to be on a parallel line with the community initiatives undertaken by The Zubair Corporation for the community through the Social Advisory Committee which consists of a variety of prominent figures engaged in voluntary work in various fields from within the Omani community.

The Collaborations Team, after the Iftar gathering with the medical and administrative staff, visits, with his guests, the inpatient children and hands over educational and recreational gifts to bring joy and happiness to the hearts of the children, especially during these blessed nights of Ramadan and spread the spirit of giving through such good deeds among the community.

Amaal bint Ahmed Al Lawati, member of the Collaborations Team, said: “The Collaboration Team commenced its Ramadan programme by visiting Rustaq Hospital followed by Ibra Hospital to include eight central hospitals in the Sultanate to simply express

appreciation and thankfulness to hospitals staff on duty during this most beautiful times of Ramadan, whether medical or administrative staff.”

She added: “After the gathering around the Iftar table with the administrative and medical staff, the team visits the hospital inpatient children and paediatric section to pray and wish them a speedy recovery, long healthy life and to be among their families once again very soon during this blessed holy month of Ramadan. The team then gives away educational and recreational gifts to children and kids to be a beautiful memory treasured by the children during Ramadan times.”

Sultan Said Al Jabri, Head of public relations in Rustaq Hospital, commented on this event saying: “Staff in any establishment needs to interact and interrelate with the community, and this visit hosted by the collaboration Team of The Zubair Corporation established the importance of the value of cooperation and collaboration between the various sectors, especially that this gathering comes during the beautiful times of Ramadan and its beautiful meanings known to every Omani home.”

MUSCAT: In continuation of its efforts to provide best health care services under one roof to the people of Oman, Aster Al Raffah hospital (Muscat and Sohar) announced the launch/installation of Magnetom (a single-digit 3D MRI with a new parallel imaging technique) and further enhancing the skills of the medical team of Al Raffah hospital.

The new MRI unit was inaugurated by Dr Azad Moopen, chairman of Aster DM Healthcare, alongside management staff Seeniya Biju, Dr Ashik Sainu, Dr Sarfraz Ahmed, Radiologists – Dr Suhad, Dr Uma, Dr Shruti and Aster family members recently, says a press release.

MRI scanners are among the most exciting and talked about developments in radiology and nuclear medicine and represent the next generation of imaging technology. The scanner will be used by the professionals to help improve the diagnosis and treatment of our community’s major health challenges such as cardiovascular disease, neurological disease and mental illness. The new PET/MRI scanner opens the door to early disease detection and superior patient care.

Aster Al Raffah has set anoth-

er benchmark in the history of medical facilities by expanding the already existing pharmacy and shifting it to a bigger unit. Dr Azad Moopen, also unveiled the new pharmacy set up and opened doors to a modernised and upgraded facility. The pharmaceutical team has done their utmost to complete the project and bring into operation.

Commenting on the inauguration, Dr Azad Moopen said,” The opening of Aster Al Raffah MRI unit and an advanced pharmacy are yet another illustrious milestones in our journey and the presence of Aster as a brand is

now wide-spread both in terms of reach and offerings.”

Dr Ashik, medical director, Al Raffah, said: “This latest achievement of our imaging research program epitomises our core value of bench to bedside. I predict that this new technology will soon be used in patients to determine who will benefit from which therapy to lessen the burden of stroke and dementia in our country.”

Talking on this occasion, Seeniya Biju, COO, said, “I am proud of our tradition of bringing the best possible health care services to our country that makes a difference for our patients.”

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

ROUND-UP

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Volkswagen’s hot new value offers

Value packages provide customers of Volkswagen vehicles four years or older with greater choice, flexibility and assurance that investment in vehicle maintenance is in keeping with the age of the vehicle

MUSCAT: Volkswagen Oman, represented by Wattayah Motors, is keeping its customers and their cars on the road for longer, while ensuring greater value-for-money, through the introduction of value packages.

Value packages, a component of Volkswagen Genuine Parts, are now available at dealerships across the Volkswagen Oman retail network, providing customers of Volkswagen vehicles four years or older with greater choice, flexibility and assurance that investment in vehicle maintenance is in keeping with the age of the vehicle, says a press release.

Thomas Milz, managing director, Volkswagen Middle East, said: “Volkswagen models truly stand the test of time thanks to worldclass German engineering. By introducing value packages, we can maximise the life span of Volkswagen vehicles at a cost that ensures greater value-for-money for the remainder of the car’s service life.”

“Delivering service excellence is one of our foremost priorities, we offer Volkswagen drivers greater choice and flexibility in knowing that their vehicles can be maintained to the highest standards at a low cost, even after four years on the roads,” added Andrew Squires, general manager, Wattayah Motors.

Volkswagen Genuine Parts, developed for value packages are built to unique technical specifications and are subject to a stringent development and testing process to guarantee a high quality and durable product range. The lower cost of the range is partially due to adapting the production materials to an older vehicle’s residual value.

The introductory value packages line includes silencers, exhaust pipes, dust and pollen filters, windscreen cleaners, starter batteries, brake pads and discs, alternators, spark plugs, wiper blades, shock absorbers and drive shafts for a limited range of models.

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S AV I N G S S C H E M E C A M PA I G N

Al Mazyona continues to fulfil customers’ dreams MUSCAT: Offering the biggest prize money of OMR9 million in Oman and the region, the 2015 al Mazyona savings scheme campaign has gained momentum with Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services provider in the Sultanate, fulfilling the financial aspirations of customers through high value weekly, monthly and special prizes.

Over the years, al Mazyona has provided the largest banking family in Oman a means of fulfilling their financial aspirations and improving lives. The legacy of al Mazyona is winning the hearts of customers and rewarding them. al Mazyona strategy is simple and consistent as the customerfocused scheme offers winning chances for all segments, including ladies, youth, children and high savings balance customers, says a press release.

The 2015 al Mazyona scheme celebrates Oman’s 45th Renaissance anniversary. Structured on the thematic ‘45’ reflecting the Sultanate’s 45 years of Renaissance under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the 2015 al Mazyona campaign reaches out with a powerful call to action ‘Save more, Dream big’. al Mazyona encourages customers to save and achieve their as-

pirational dreams, including children’s higher education, homes, vacation and everything that creates a lifetime change.

Special prize al Mazyona prize money is shared by more winners as customers from all regions are guaranteed to win prizes ranging from OMR45,000 a week to OMR450,000 a month and OMR1.5 million at the end of the year. A special prize draw offering OMR450,000 in celebration of the 45th National Day is another highlight.

The 2015 al Mazyona scheme reaches out to all individual segments with exclusive prizes earmarked for ladies, youth, children and high savings balance customers in all regions where the Bank Muscat branches are located.

The bank understands customer expectations and al Mazyona

reflects innovative customer segmentation based on two principles — region and demographics — ensuring a higher winning chance to all customers across the Sultanate, including ladies, youth, children and high savings balance customers.

Winning with al Mazyona has never been simpler as customers are not required to block their money for long or wait for a long time to win big prizes.

Over the years, al Mazyona has succeeded in inculcating a strong savings culture in Oman. The objective of al Mazyona is to create a lifetime change for winners and allow them to invest the prize money in things that will make a lasting difference and the wellbeing of their families.

The flexible scheme makes regular saving easier and is available across the largest network of 140 branches in Oman.

VA L U E - A D D E D B E N E F I T S

Bank Nizwa launches special auto finance campaign for Ramadan MUSCAT: Bank Nizwa launched a special campaign called ‘CARnival’, offering customers’ on-the-spot approval for auto finance throughout the holy month of Ramadan. Offering a fixed profit rate of 4.59 per cent, the bank’s auto finance product is based on the Shari’a concept of Murabaha and is available with value-added benefits.

During Ramadan, the bank’s hours have been extended well into the evenings from 9pm to 11pm at most of the branches with special car display opportunities at Al Ghubra and Nizwa branches conveniently located next to major car dealerships, says a press release.

“Having competitive solutions in place is integral to meeting

market demand and specifically in the case of auto finance,” said Asad Batla, head of Consumer Banking at Bank Nizwa.

Reliable “We are committed to serving our customers in a way that is seamless and reliable, while adapting our services to their needs. The ‘CARnival’ campaign combined with the extended evening hours in Ramadan significantly increases our accessibility and capacity, providing customers with effective Shari’a-compliant solutions that also help them lead financially secure lifestyles.”

Qualified staff He added, “Our highly qualified branch and sales staff are avail-

ANNUAL OFFER

Free Takaful life insurance Applicants are not required to transfer their salaries and can avail financing of up to OMR75,000 and a payment period reaching seven years for new vehicles. In addition, the product offers two months deferment on instalments and a free Takaful life insurance, while catering for self-employed customers as well.

E N T E R TA I N M E N T

Keep your car cool with free ‘Mazda summer check’ MUSCAT: Keeping your car cool in this blistering heat can be a daunting task, but thanks to Mazda’s free ‘summer check’ offer, you can now ensure that both you and your car are cool and comfortable this summer!

“Under the ‘Mazda summer check’ offer, you don’t just get a free AC check up for your Mazda; you get a whole lot more.

During the course of the offer, you can get a free engine performance check-up, full washing on every service and repair and free BG engine oil with engine oil flush and AC evaporator cleaning. This offer is valid until July 31.

Mazda Oman has also announced new business timings from 7.30am–1pm and 2pm– 5.30pm to create greater convenience for their customers, says a press release.

A senior spokesperson of Towell Auto Centre (TAC), sole distributors of Mazda in Oman, said: “In this harsh summer, the AC of an automobile can take a beating and make driving tough.

With our summer check offer, we are giving our customers a never before opportunity to get their ACs and engines checked and serviced with a lot of other advantages. We want our customers to feel cool inside their Mazda cars irrespective of the weather outside and we think that this special offer will give them just that!”

Mazda is a brand that always believes in going that extra mile to give its customer

able to help customers throughout the process and are committed to support them purchase their car of choice in the fastest time possible.”

Available to Omanis and residents alike, Bank Nizwa’s auto finance solutions provide transparent pricing with no hidden charges or processing fees.

Mazda Oman has also announced new business timings from 7.30am–1pm and 2pm–5.30pm to create greater convenience for their valuable customers

the best. So don’t forget, to ensure a cool driving experience this summer, all you need to do is to make your way to the nearest Mazda service centre and avail of Mazda’s exciting free services.

Offering the trendiest of Japanese cars, Mazda has brought in a lot of excitement in Oman’s automobile industry with their ‘stylish, spirited and insightful’ branding. These three unique qualities lie at the core of each Mazda you spot on the streets and form the brand’s DNA and TAC makes owning a Mazda extra pleasant with its efficient after sales service and quick response time.

With a network of 11 showrooms, 13 service outlets and 10 parts outlets spread across Oman, TAC is the only Mazda distributor in the world to win the Mazda Customer Service award five years in a row.

OSN announces Ramadan offer MUSCAT: OSN announced the most exciting Ramadan limited time offer for any valid credit card holder. Customers with a valid credit card can avail free OSN HD box and one month free viewing with 31 unique paid channels including some of the most viewed channels like OSN YaHala HD, OSN First Comedy, Food Network, Nat Geo HD, etc.

After 1 month, customers can choose to upgrade their package and have a choice to pay monthly on credit card or upfront cash payment as per OSN business rules.

The offer is limited while stocks last, says a press release.

OSN, the home of the latest series, will offer an unparalleled breadth of blockbuster drama, returning and new series to mark this Ramadan. With this offer, OSN now provides entertainment for the entire family. Exclusive Arabic drama with the biggest stars is now shown exclusively on OSN YaHala HD. OSN also offers some of the best lifestyle programmes with a variety of channels including Food Network, Nat Geo Wild and Discovery world. Audiences looking to laugh out loud can tune into OSN First comedy and enjoy a variety of series such as Glee and Mistress.

Mustafa Sultan Enterprises Entertainment Factory (Pay-Tv) division is pioneer in Pay TV business for more than 20 years and is the distributor for OSN in Oman.

Besides OSN, MSE-EF is a leading distributor for beIN Sports. They have a showroom in Al Khuwair and three kiosks at Qurum City Centre, Muscat City Centre and MGM. MSE-EF also offers the Pay-Tv services through their sub dealers spread across in all major towns of the Sultanate.

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OMAN’ TOP GOLFER AZAAN AAN UNDERGOES KNEE SURGERY GERY The experienced golfer had been facing trouble with a meniscus tear in right knee since January this year, r, but he had chosen to delay going through a surgery in order to ensure he didn’t miss out on the action leading up to the summer. >C4

India deny Bangladesh sweep SCOREBOARD

Opener Dhawan’s 73ball 75 and Dhoni’s 69 off 77 balls laid the foundation for India’s 317-6 in their 50 overs and later bowled the hosts out for just 240

DHAKA: Brisk half-centuries from India’s Shikhar Dhawan and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni helped set up a 77-run victory against Bangladesh in the third and final One-day International and stave off a 3-0 whitewash.

Opener Dhawan’s 73-ball 75 and Dhoni’s 69 off 77 balls laid the foundation for India’s 317-6 in their 50 overs after Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and put the visitors in to bat with threat of rain in the evening.

The rain, however, did not arrive and Bangladesh, who had comfortably won the first two ODIs of the three-match series, were bundled out for 240 in 47 overs.

Soumya Sarkar gave Bangladesh a rollicking start in their chase despite losing his opening partner Tamim Iqbal (five) in the second over and the hosts crossed 50 inside seven overs.

But paceman Dhawal Kulkarni, who also dismissed Tamim, pegged Bangladesh back by sending back the dangerous Sarkar after his 34-ball 40, that included five fours and two sixes.

PROUD WINNERS: Jubilant Bangladesh players pose with trophy after the presentation ceremony. – AFP

Barring Tamim, most of Bangladesh’s recognised batsmen got starts but none of them managed to convert them into meaningful contributions and got out trying to keep up with the required run rate.

Suresh Raina, whose 21-ball 38 ensured a 300-plus total for India, was the most successful bowler with his part-time off-spin and picked up 3-45 in his eight overs.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up two wickets while giving away 35 runs in his full quota of 10 overs. Earlier, India lost Rohit Sharma (29) after a decent start but managed to maintain a healthy run rate on the slow Mirpur surface through a 75-run stand for the second wicket between Dhawan and India’s Test captain Virat Kohli (25).

Left-handed Dhawan looked in

sublime touch and hit 10 fours in his knock before he mistimed a pull shot against Mortaza straight to Nasir Hossain at mid-wicket where the fielder timed his jump perfectly to complete the catch over his head.

Dhoni then combined with Ambati Rayudu (44) for a fruitful stand of 93 for the fourth wicket before falling to Mortaza, caught well by Mustafizur Rahman in the deep.

Raina then provided the late assault with three fours and two sixes to help set up a steep chase for the hosts.

Mashrafe took three wickets but gave away 76 in his 10 overs while left-arm paceman Mustafizur picked up two more wickets to take his tally to 13 wickets in his debut series. — Reuters

MAN OF THE SERIES: Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman. – AFP

INDIA R. Sharma c Das b Mustafizur 29 S. Dhawan c Nasir b Mortaza 75 V. Kohli b Shakib 25 M. Dhoni c Mustafizur b Mortaza 69 A. Rayudu c Das b Mortaza 44 S. Raina b Mustafizur 38 S. Binny not out 17 A. Patel not out 10 Extras (b-4, lb-3, w-3) 10 Total (for six wickets, 50 overs) 317 Did not bat: R. Ashwin, D. Kulkarni, U. Yadav Fall of wickets: 1-39 (Rohit), 2-114 (Kohli), 3-158 (Dhawan), 4-251(Rayudu), 5-268 (Dhoni), 6-301 (Raina) Bowling: Mustafizur 10-0-57-2, Mortaza 10-0-76-3 (w2), Sunny 6-0-42-0, Rubel 9-0-75-0 (w1), Nasir 6-0-27-0, Shakib 9-1-33-1 BANGLADESH Tamim Iqbal lbw b Kulkarni 5 Soumya Sarkar c Ashwin b Kulkarni 40 Litton Das b Patel 34 Mushfiqur Rahim c Dhoni b Raina 24 Shakib Al Hasan c Kulkarni b Raina 20 Sabbir Rahman b Binny 43 Nasir Hossain c Rayudu b Ashwin 32 Mashrafe Mortaza b Ashwin 0 Arafat Sunny not out 14 Rubel Hossain c Patel b Raina 2 Mustafizur Rahman lbw b Rayudu 9 Extras (lb-3, w-13, nb-1) 17 Total (all out, 47 overs) 240 Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Tamim), 2-62 (Sarkar), 3-112 (Rahim), 4-118( Das), 5-148 (Shakib), 6-197 (Sabbir), 7-205 (Mortaza), 8-216 ( Nasir), 9-222 (Rubel), 10-240( Mustafizur.

Bowling: Binny 6-0-41-1 (w4), Kulkarni 8-0-34-2 (w3), Yadav 4-0-33-0 (w5), Ashwin 10-1-35-2, Patel 9-1-44-1, Raina 8-0-45-3 (w1), Rayudu 2-1-5-1(nb1) Result: India won by 77 runs Series: Bangladesh won the series 2-1 Toss: Bangladesh Umpires: Rod Tucker (AUS) and Enamul Haque (BAN) TV Umpires: Sharfuddoula Saikat (BAN) Match Referee: Andrew Pycroft (ZIM)

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

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Vibrant New Zealand deserve all the plaudits LONDON: They came, they saw and they did not conquer but New Zealand put everything out there on a magnificent five-week tour of England in which they earned many plaudits for the way they played the game.

Brendon McCullum’s side drew a high-quality Test series 1-1, lost a stunning one-day battle 3-2 and went down in the only Twenty20 international, making friends all along the way for the brand of cricket they played and their attitude.

They also single-handedly dragged their opponents into a new era.

England, reeling from a dismal World Cup campaign and

a disappointing 1-1 test series draw in West Indies, simply had to hit the ground running in the first test at Lord’s with the Ashes series looming.

An hour into the match, they had slumped to 30 for four and the doom-mongers were poised.

But a brilliant counter-attack from Joe Root and Ben Stokes changed the game around and captain Alastair Cook’s gutsy second innings century set up a superb England victory.

New Zealand, however, fought back in the second test in Leeds and BJ Watling’s fine hundred backed up by superb bowling and catching sealed a well-deserved draw in the series.

Brendon McCullum’s side drew a high-quality Test series 1-1, lost a stunning one-day battle 3-2 and went down in the only T20 international, making friends all along the way for the brand of cricket they played

New Zealand, World Cup runners-up, started the one-dayers as strong favourites against a side who had failed to get past the first round in the global tournament.

But England had a new mind-set and the shackles were off.

Sparking centuries by Root and Jos Buttler powered them to 408 for nine in the first game in Birmingham.

New Zealand could not respond but through the immaculate batting of Kane Williamson and Ross

Taylor they won the next two highscoring matches.

More fireworks from Williamson and Taylor inspired new Zealand to 349 for seven in the fourth game in Nottingham, only for Root and Eoin Morgan to compile superb centuries to lift England to their target with six overs to spare.

With the series dead-locked, England appeared to revert to type in the decider.

Chasing a revised target of 192 following rain disruption, the hosts slumped to 45 for five and a New Zealand series win looked inevitable.

But Jonny Bairstow, replacing the injured Buttler, conjured 83 not out off 60 balls to seal

an unlikely victory.

England proved too strong in the one-off Twenty20 international but McCullum was happy with his side who are far too good to be given only a two-match test series by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

“I think overall we have played very well on this tour and we have introduced some new faces since the World Cup and installed them in,” he told the BBC. “I think that the England team will be very exciting if they stay true to that style that they showed today and through the rest of the series.

“They reminded us that we need to keep on our game.” - Reuters

England can ‘beat the best’, says Morgan come off, but we can beat the best in the world in any game of cricket,” said Morgan, not currently in England’s Test side.

Having defeated New Zealand 3-2 in a thrilling oneday international series, Morgan’s men inflicted a 56run thrashing upon the Black Caps in Tuesday’s tourending Twenty20 international

MANCHESTER: England limited overs captain Eoin Morgan said the national side had shown they “could beat the best in the world in any game of cricket” after ensuring New Zealand’s tour ended on a losing note.

Having defeated New Zealand — who thrashed England by eight wickets at Wellington in February en route to the World Cup final — 3-2 in a thrilling one-day international series, Morgan’s men inflicted a 56-run thrashing upon the Black Caps in Tuesday’s tourending Twenty20 international at Old Trafford.

“This felt a million miles away after the World Cup,” said Morgan of a global tournament where

TIME TO CELEBRATE: England’s captain Eoin Morgan celebrates

with teammates. – Reuters

England suffered a humiliating first-round exit without beating a single rival Test nation.

“This is a fantastic way to finish what has been a great month of cricket,” he added.

“When you’re trying to implement change within a group it’s important to have successes along the way and these guys have had that. We’ve done it the way we said we would and that’s important too. I want these guys to play with as much freedom as possible.”

Man-of-the-match Joe Root top-scored with 68 in England’s 191 for seven, but New Zealand were well-placed at 88 for two and requiring 104 off the last 12 overs for victory.

However, they suffered a bat-

ting collapse that saw their final five wickets lost for just four runs in 12 balls.

New Zealand were dismissed for 135, with Kane Williamson’s typically elegant 57 a rare highlight. England Twenty20 international debutants David Willey, who also ran out Williamson with a brilliant pick-up and throw from cover, and Mark Wood took three wickets apiece.

For England, who shared a twomatch Test series 1-1 with New Zealand earlier in the season, it was an ideal way to sign off before they begin their bid to regain the Ashes from Australia next month.

“Now we have won this game and the ODI series it reinforces to the guys that, it might not always

Outstanding Root By contrast, at the age of just 24, Yorkshire batsman Root is now an England mainstay in all three international formats.

“Joe has been outstanding again,” said Morgan. “Although he’s still very young he’s a very senior player in our squad and the guys don’t have to look very far for the ultimate professional in the way he goes about his business.”

Root said he was enjoying England’s increasingly bold approach, even if he could not quite understand how it had come about.

“It’s hard to explain, everyone has gone out this summer with a freedom and it’s really refreshing to see everyone commit to it and absolutely go for it,” Root told Sky Sports.

For New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, whose typically rapid 35 off 15 balls gave the crowd a taste of what they can expect when he returns to Old Trafford on Friday with Warwickshire for a Twenty20 county match against Lancashire, it was a desperately disappointing end to what had otherwise been a closely contested tour. “Some of our batting was pretty amateurish,” McCullum said. “We got ourselves in a good position and we should have been able to chase down the total.

“Credit to England, they put us under pressure and looked for wickets as they have done throughout the series and they were able to get hold of them.” - AFP

NO RE-SALEW

Rogers’ Ashes ticket scheme shut down LONDON: A company in which Australia opener Chris Rogers is a partner has been banned from selling tickets for next month’s Ashes Test at Lord’s at up to £2,910 apiece (AUS $5,914), the ESPNcricinfo website and the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday. As a former captain of Middlesex, who play at Lord’s, Rogers received 10 tickets for the showpiece match, with officials believing they would go to family and friends.

However, Rogers and business partner Tom Scollay, a former Middlesex colleague, then tried to re-sell the tickets as part of a hospitality package offered by

their company, Inside Edge Experience. Prices started at £1,756, while the most expensive, which included hotel accommodation in London, cost £2,910.

However, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the owners of Lord’s, are opposed to the re-sale of tickets and have a limited number of approved hospitality package operators, a list that doesn’t include Inside Edge Experience.

“We are opposed to the secondary ticket market,” a MCC spokesman said. “In this case, we understand that no tickets have changed hands and we were assured that it was simply a case of naivety and over-enthusiasm.”- AFP

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

C3

SPORTS Pakistan eager to mark Younis Khan’s 100th Test with victory Misbah wants his team to perform equally well in the 37-year-old Younis Khan’s landmark Test at the P. Sara Oval and take an unbeatable lead in the threematch series — a feat which has eluded them on Sri Lankan soil since 2006

COLOMBO: Pakistan are eager to celebrate senior batsman Younis Khan’s 100th Test appearance with a series-clinching victory against Sri Lanka in the match starting Thursday in Colombo.

Misbah-ul Haq’s tourists are riding high after a 10-wicket triumph in the opening Test in Galle even though the first four sessions of the match were washed out.

Misbah wants his team to perform equally well in the 37-yearold Khan’s landmark Test at the P. Sara Oval and take an unbeatable lead in the three-match series — a feat which has eluded them on Sri Lankan soil since 2006.

“Younis is the backbone and a very special member of the Pakistan team,” Misbah told reporters on Wednesday. “Playing 100 Tests is a huge achievement for any cricketer.

“He brings a lot of value to the team and brings a lot of good, positive energy. We all wish he

SET FOR MILESTONE TEST: Pakistan’s Younis Khan stretches during a practice session. – Reuters

can make his 100th Test memorable with a lot of runs. And we want to honour him by winning the match.”

Khan will become only the fifth Pakistani to play 100 or more Tests after Javed Miandad (124), Inzamam-ul Haq (119), Wasim Akram (104) and Salim Malik (103). Khan’s 8,594 runs put him in third place among Pakistan’s leading run-getters in Tests behind Miandad, who scored 8,832 runs, and Inzamam, who had 8,829.

Khan’s 29 Test centuries, the same as Australian legend Don-

ald Bradman, are the most by any Pakistan batsman. Inzamam is in second place with 25.

Khan said it was a “dream come true” to be playing his 100th Test, but he still has goals to fulfil before hanging up his boots.

“It’s like a dream come true because I wished for it,” he told the Cricinfo website. “When I played my first Test, I got a taste of this format and started developing a desire to play 100-plus Test matches. “I will call off my career with grace, but I still have some goals in my mind and I am close

to achieving those goals as well. I can’t share that goal at this point, but you will know very soon.”

Misbah said the tourists were hungry for further success after they fought back from 96-5 in their first innings to record an emphatic win in Galle.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah ripped through Sri Lanka’s second innings with figures of seven for 76, leaving Pakistan a modest victory target of 90 runs.

‘Fresh start’ “We gained a lot of confidence

CRICKET

Sangakkara still undecided on Test future, says Mathews COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s batting great Kumar Sangakkara is still in talks with selectors to discuss his retirement from Test cricket, captain Angelo Mathews said on Wednesday.

Local media had speculated that the 37-year-old will only play three more home Tests — two in the ongoing series against Pakistan and one against India in August — before ending his glittering 15-year career.

But Mathews, speaking to reporters ahead of the second Test against Pakistan starting at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Thursday, said the team’s senior pro had still not made up his mind.

“Kumar has still to confirm his retirement plans,” the Sri Lankan captain said. “He was supposed to meet the press over the last few days, but he has not done that yet.

“I know he is still talking to the selectors.”

Left-handed Sangakkara is the leading current Test batsmen.

His 12,271 runs and 38 centuries far exceed second-placed Alastair Cook of England, who has 9,000 runs and 27 hundreds.

The 131-Test veteran is unlikely to catch up with record-holder Sachin Tendulkar’s Test tally of 15,921 runs and 51 hundreds, but his 11 scores of 200-plus are just

STILL TO MAKE UP MIND: Kumar Sangakkara arrives at a practice

session ahead of their second Test against Pakistan. – Reuters

one short of Australian legend Don Bradman’s record of 12.

In the first Test against Pakistan in Galle, Sangakkara hit a 50 in the first innings — his 52nd half-century — and 18 in the sec-

ond when Sri Lanka were shot out for 206.

Sangakkara had hammered 203 against New Zealand in Wellington in January, to continue a prolific streak that saw him make 221

against Pakistan and 319 against Bangladesh last year.

Mathews denied that Sangakkara had delayed the announcement because of Sri Lanka’s stunning 10-wicket defeat in Galle which put Pakistan ahead in the three-match series.

“He had been speaking with the selectors even before the series began,” Mathews said, adding the uncertainity had not affected the team morale.

“I think Kumar has earned the right to decide when he should go.” said Mathews. “He has served Sri Lanka well over the years and he will obviously be missed when he goes.

“But it now up to the younger players to step into the shoes of Kumar and Mahela (Jayawardene). It won’t be easy but they have a great opportunity to make a name for themselves.”

Mahela Jayawardene retired from Tests and Twenty20 cricket last year and quit the one-day format after the recent World Cup where Sri Lanka made the quarterfinals.

Sangakkara followed his close friend and long-time team-mate in quitting one-day and Twenty20 cricket at the same time, but remained keen to play some more Test matches. - AFP

IMPROVING FLEXIBILITY: Sri Lanka’s captain Angelo Mathews, right, jumps over a rope during a practice session. – Reuters

from the first Test and just want to carry that momentum in the remaining games,” the 41-year-old Misbah said. “Everyone is focused on tomorrow’s Test. We can’t afford to live in the past. Every new match is a fresh start.”

Misbah hinted that all-rounder Mohammed Hafeez was likely to bowl in the match even though umpires reported his action after the Galle Test for a second time in seven months.

Hafeez, who was cleared to bowl in April after being reported for the first time last November, is ex-

pected to undergo mandatory testing next week. But regulations allow him to bowl till the test results are declared.

If his action is found to be illegal after testing, Hafeez will not be allowed to bowl for a year.

“It’s very disappointing that he is under the radar again,” said Misbah. “It can be so frustrating for the bowler to be reported a second time.

“But the good thing is that he can still bowl in this match and that’s a plus point for us. He has an important role to play.” - AFP

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

SPORTS PSC OMANTEL RAMADAN CRICKET

Masters, Chaikwal cruise MUSCAT: Masters XI and Chaikwal Strikers hammered Pak Palcon and Tajamul Trading respectively to advance to the next round of the Pakistan Social Club organised Omantel Ramadan Cricket Tournament, being played at the Pakistan School Ground on Tuesday night.

In the first match of the night, Chaikwal Strikers scored 133 for 5 in 8 overs. Abu Baker (39), Umar (35) and Imran (24) contributed with the bat. For Tajmul Trading Nasir (2/31) was the pick of the bowlers for Tajamul Trading, who in reply were all out for 60.

Khalid (12) and Salam (10) were the batsmen in double digits, while Zaka (3 for 8) and Imran (1 for 7) were the wicket takers for the winning team.

Chaikwal Strikers won by a

whopping 73 runs and Abu Baker was declared the man of the match.

In the other match, Masters XI openers Fayyaz (61 not out) and Adnan (45 not out) amassed 130 runs in 8 overs. Pak Palcon could only make 89 for 8 in their eight overs with Irfan and Azam claiming a wicket each.

Brief scores: Monday night matches: Marala XI 71 for 6 in 8 overs (Tahir 2 for 14) lost to United Enterprises 74 for 1 in 3.4 overs (Jameel 26, Qamar 25) by 9 wickets.

Man of the match: Jameel.

Nafeesa Jewellers 100 for 4 in 8 overs (Usman 43, Naveed 27 runs, Islam 2/25) beat Barka XI 87 for 4 in 8 overs (Rizwan 28, Yasir 20 runs, Farhan 1/10, Rizwan 1/8) by 13 runs. Man of the match: Usman.

Sunday night matches: Mardan XI 117 for 2 in 8 overs (Faisal 49, Saeed 28) beat Modern Exchange 57 for 3 in 8 overs (Karim 20) by 60 runs. Man of the match: Faisal.

Shanfari CC 66 for 6 in 8 overs (Shahid 28, Imran 3/18, Haqnawaz 2/12) lost to Abiya CC 67 for no loss (Wajid 36 not out, Adeel 15 not out) by 10 wickets. Man of the match: Wajid Yahya Construction 73 for 6 in 8 overs (Rashid 2/4, Jahnzaib 2/12) lost to Holiday Travel 74 for no loss (Jahnzaib 48 not out) by 10 wickets. Man of the match: Jahnzaib.

Bisiya CC 70 for 6 in 8 overs (Aamr 25, Adnan 15, Zeeshan 2/7) beat Aramex CC 45 for 4 in 8 overs (Bronal 13, Mohsin 2/12) by 24 runs. Man of the match: Aamr.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Abu Baker of Chaikwal Strikers receiving the man of the match award as offi-

cials and organisers of the PSC Omantel Ramadan Cricket Tournament look on. – Supplied photo

Oman’ top golfer Azaan undergoes knee surgery

FOOTBALL

The experienced golfer had been facing trouble with

32 teams in fray as Sohar Port annual football kicks-off SOHAR: Sohar Port and Freezone officially kicked off its annual football tournament. Sohar Port CEO, Andre Toet was on hand to welcome players to their first game.

A mammoth 32 teams, including defending champions, OICT, who won last year’s competition, have signed up to take part. The tournament will see Sohar’s tenants and contractors go head-to-head to win the all-important 2015 trophy.

The tournament ties in with this month’s Ramadan celebrations and the matches will take place in the evening once players have broken their fast. The tournament aims to promote teamwork and a healthy lifestyle. 63 games will take place over the space of three weeks and the final will be held on July 13.

“We are thrilled that so many teams have signed up for the tour-

nament again, this year. It is wonderful to see our employees and those of our tenants come together as a team — once we have all taken Iftar — in a fun and relaxed environment. Football is a sport that encourages players to act selflessly in order to benefit the entire team and this is what Ramadan is all about,” said Toet.

He added “Football is a worldfamous sport which teaches a number of invaluable skills such as teamwork, dedication and healthy competition, an approach which has help us sustain double-digit growth as a business.

“All employees across Sohar Port and Freezone are testament to our success as a company and that of our tenants, this tournament exemplifies just how great a team we have here.”

a meniscus tear in right knee since January this year, but he had chosen to delay going through a surgery in order to ensure he didn’t miss out on the action leading

OUT FOR SIX WEEKS: Azaan Al Rumhy undergoing physiotherapy session in Sultan Qaboos Sports

complex. – Supplied photo

up to the summer

MUSCAT: Oman’s top golfer Azaan Al Rumhy underwent a knee operation on Monday. The surgery was conducted by Dr Ram in Muscat Private Hospital and it has ruled out the Sultanate’s No 1 golfer out of action for a 6-week period. The experienced golfer had been facing trouble with a meniscus tear in right knee since January this year, but he had chosen to delay going through a surgery in order to ensure he didn’t miss out on the action leading up to the summer.

Azaan, who is now recuperating, said: “Frankly, the niggle had been causing problems since last winter. But I couldn’t afford a break from action at that stage.

The Oman Amateur Open here and then the GCC Golf Cup in Kuwait were lined up. I didn’t want to miss out on such competitive action and

The knee troubled me throughout the first half of the year.

It even affected my play somewhat and had an impact on the results. The break gave me the chance to undergo the surgery and I will need six weeks to recover

Azaan Al Rumhy, Oman’s top golfer I played.” The Muscat-based golfer pointed out that he played in those two key tournaments despite battling constant pain.

He said: “Of course, the knee troubled me throughout the first half of the year. It even affected my play somewhat and had an impact on the results.”

He added: “Now I decided to

undergo surgery because there is a break on the OGC’s (Oman Golf Committee) playing calendar.

I will need six weeks to recover and get back to full swing at what I enjoy doing best.” Azaan is currently visiting the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex for daily sessions of physiotherapy under Dr Abdul Hameed Al Kitani. “Dr Kitani is

closely monitoring my condition and my recovery process. I hope to be back at the golf course in quick time:” Azaan Al Rumhy said.

The Oman Golf too, is keenly following Azaan’s case and is confident the player will return to full fitness by the time the golfing calendar re-opens.

Mundhir Al Barwani, the Chairman of the OGC, opined: “We are keeping an eye on Azaan’s recovery. The surgery went off well.

His recuperation has begun and it will be for 4 to 6 six weeks that we won’t get to see him in action.

However, once the next tournament is round the corner, sometime in September, he could be seen in action, and hopefully, at his best. “We at the OGC wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.”

Azaan Al Rumhy has been Oman’s most consistent performer over the past few years, taking top honours in tournaments both at home and abroad, Al Barwani explained.

S TA D I U M B R O T H E R S T O H O S T

First Al Rehwan TPL 2015 begins today MUSCAT: Stadium Brothers Sports Club will conduct their first edition of seven-a-side Thalassery Premier Football Tournament in association with United Thalassery Sports Club at Al Ahli Sidab club. The tournament will have 12 teams taking part and will kick off at 9.30pm on Thursday and will continue on Friday and Saturday in the round robin format.

The knock out stages and the

final will be played on July 2 and 3 next weekend.

The teams which are taking part in this mega event are: UTSC Oman, Cosmos club, Wadi Kabir FC, Smashers Tellicherry, Tely boys, Stadium brothers, Ponnmanichi Sports Club, Al Nehla Solutions, Coorg Club, Foodlands Qurum Football Team, Chalembeez and Athletico Mahe FC, who will be making their debut on the football field.

The teams are divided into

three groups and will play league matches for the first three days and the best two teams from each group will qualify for quarterfinals. Two best teams coming in third position of each group will also qualify for the quarterfinals.

Apart from amazing football the organisers are arranging spot quizzes and fun games for the children and women to keep the ground alive. Rizin Hasshim, founder member of Stadium

Brothers Sports Club said: “We thank Al Rehwan United LLC for being very supportive since the formation of our club in 2012. We are very grateful to Shiraj Abdullah, Managing Director of Al Rehwan United for supporting the tournament. We also thank Asian Express Exchange for the kind support extended to us”.

The event is sponsored by Al Rehwan United LLC and Asian Express Exchange.

FOOTBALL

India FA eye origin players for short-term solution MUMBAI: In the wake of a humbling World Cup qualifying defeat

by Guam, India’s football association has approached the government to allow players of Indian origin to join the national squad, a top official said on Wednesday.

Insisting it was a short-term measure, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has written to the sports ministry seeking an exception to the existing rule which states only Indian passport holders can represent the country.

“Two years ago, Guam had no team but their new coach went around the United States looking for players of Guam origin and found 10 who play in Major League Soccer,” AIFF vice president Subrata Dutta told Reuters.

Dutta said India’s national team standards have declined and needed “emergency treatment” to achieve short-term goals.

“For the long-term we have a grass-root and youth football development plan, aided by Fifa,”

the administrator added. “But we also need our national team to do well or everybody will lose interest and football will lose attention.

“Our youth teams will also need time to be groomed for the next level but we can’t let our national team keep losing. But reinforcing the team with home-grown players is not giving us the desired result.”

Local media has reported that India’s English coach Stephen Constantine has already identified several footballers of Indian

origin and the AIFF will approach them if they receive approval from the government.

While the list includes former Newcastle United striker Michael Chopra, 24-year-olds Luciano Narsingh of Netherlands and Harmeet Singh of Norway are also on the radar.

The 31-year-old Chopra, who represented England in age-level tournaments, was approached by the AIFF in the past but things did not progress. — Reuters

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SPORTS

Djoko looks to heal at Wimbledon The world number one has stayed resolutely out of the spotlight since his Roland Garros upset

by Stan Wawrinka ended his latest bid to complete the career Grand Slam

LONDON: Three weeks after his heartbreaking French Open final defeat, Novak Djokovic resurfaces to defend his Wimbledon title and prove that his Paris scars have healed.

The world number one has stayed resolutely out of the spotlight since his Roland Garros upset by Stan Wawrinka ended his latest bid to complete the career Grand Slam.

Even his usual prolific social media activity has been reduced to scraps with a mere half-dozen postings on Twitter, only one of which pictured him working out on a grass court.

Despite his recent low profile, his rivals have no doubt that the Serb will be fired up to defend his Wimbledon crown just as he was in 2011 when he captured his maiden title in London.

“I’m sure after losing the French Open final he wants more, he wants to come back and win the next big one,” said Wawrinka.

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, defeated by Djokovic in the 2014 final, also sees the Serb as favourite.

“He is the champion, the world number one and plays well on grass,” said Federer.

Djokovic’s loss to Wawrinka in Paris was just his third in 44 matches this year.

With the Australian Open already under his belt, the shattering loss also ended his chances of going on to become just the third man in history — and first since 1969 — to clinch a calendar Grand Slam.

Such Paris disappointments have previously worked in his favour.

His 2011 semifinal loss to Federer at Roland Garros ended a 41-match win streak that year.

However, just four weeks later, he defeated Rafael Nadal to secure a first Wimbledon title and then went on to his maiden US Open triumph.

Djokovic is also the most consistent of the top players at the majors — the last time he failed to make at least the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam was at Roland Gar-

ros in 2009. But he argues that his record sometimes works against him. “I think people tend to create more of a story where it’s just me,” he said. World number two Federer, who won the last of his 17 majors at Wimbledon in 2012, will be seeded to meet Djokovic in the July 12 final.

He will be 34 in August — the oldest man to win Wimbledon in the modern era was Arthur Ashe who was 31 years and 11 months when he triumphed at the All England Club in 1975.

‘Good omen’ However, despite the weight of numbers suggesting that his best years are behind him, Federer fervently believes that another Wimbledon is not beyond him and he was buoyed by his eighth Halle title at the weekend.

It was his 15th career grasscourt title and 86th of his career.

“I hope this is a good omen,” he said. Andy Murray, the 2013 champion, saw his 2014 campaign sabotaged by a combination of back pain and an inspired Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals.

But the 28-year-old world number three, fresh from a recordequalling fourth Queen’s Club title, believes he’s playing better than when he secured his historic Wimbledon triumph.

“Physically I’m definitely in a better place than I was then and I’m using my variety much better,” said Murray.

Two-time champion Rafael Nadal is likely to be seeded outside of the top eight, making him a potentially dangerous fourth round opponent.

But the Spaniard, down at 10 in the world — his lowest ranking for a decade — is struggling to rediscover the form and on-court presence which once made him the sport’s most formidable obstacle.

The nine-time French Open champion was beaten for only the second time in his Paris career

by Djokovic in a morale-sapping quarter-final loss.

He then clinched the Stuttgart grass-court title which only proved to be a false dawn as just days later the 29-year-old was losing to Alexander Dolgopolov in his Queen’s opener.

His recent trips to Wimbledon have also been chastening affairs, featuring losses in the second, first and fourth rounds.

Despite Wawrinka’s second major title at the French Open, the dominance of the sport’s four heavyweights is unlikely to be seriously threatened at Wimbledon where Lleyton Hewitt, in 2002, was the last champion from outside the “Big Four”.

Wawrinka, now at four in the world, has never got beyond the quarter-finals, while fifth-ranked Kei Nishikori can only boast a fourth-round best. - AFP

Despite Novak Djokovic’s recent low profile, his rivals have no doubt that the Serb will be fired up to defend his Wimbledon crown just as he was in 2011 when he captured his maiden title in London

Calendar girl Serena targets sixth Wimbledon title LONDON: Serena Williams has set her sights on moving a step closer to an historic calendar Grand Slam as the world number one launches her bid for a sixth Wimbledon crown.

Williams returns to the All England Club next week for the first time since her distressing meltdown midway through a doubles match last year in which she was so badly affected by an apparent virus that she could barely hit the ball over the net.

Those bizarre images of a dazed Serena stumbling around Court One -- coming just days after her lacklustre third round defeat in the singles at the hands of Alize Cornet -- prompted some to suggest the American’s glittering career was heading for a painful final chapter.

But the 33-year-old’s response has been typically dramatic and decisive.

Serena won the US Open to end 2014 on a high and then swept to Australian and French Open triumphs this year, bringing her back to the All England Club within two major titles of achieving the first calendar

Grand Slam since Steffi Graf claimed the four top titles in 1988. “Obviously I would love to win a Grand Slam. I think it would be awesome,” said Serena, who defeated Lucie Safarova to clinch her third Roland Garros title earlier this month. With 20 Grand Slam titles to her name, Williams sits third on the all-time list and is closing fast on Margaret Court’s record of 24, with the possibility of equalling second placed Graf’s tally of 22 by the end of the year.

But for now, Serena, who has only won three Grand Slams in

WIMBLEDON

Djokovic, Serena get top Wimbledon billings as Nadal seeded low at tenth LONDON: Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams were named top seeds for Wimbledon on Wednesday as two-time champion Rafael Nadal was seeded at 10, his lowly status reflecting his recent struggles.

Defending champion Djokovic and five-time winner Williams are both current world number ones and their top billing was a formality.

Former number one Nadal, the Wimbledon champion in 2008 and 2010, has endured a miserable record at the All England Club in recent times, losing in the second, first and fourth round on his last three visits.

He was dethroned as French Open champion this season and despite winning the grass-court title in Stuttgart, he was then bundled out of Queen’s by Ukrainian journeyman Alexander Dolgopolov in his opening match.

As 10th seed, Nadal could play one of his major rivals such as Djokovic, seven-time champion Roger Federer or 2013 winner Andy Murray as early as the fourth round at Wimbledon which gets under way on Monday.

Federer, fresh from his eighth Halle grass-court title, is seeded two with Murray at three.

Behind Williams, who is bidding to clinch her third major of

the year after winning the Australian and French Opens, defending Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is seeded second.

Romania’s Simona Halep takes the third seeding ahead of Maria Sharapova, the 2004 champion.

With the exception of Canada’s Milos Raonic, a semi-finalist in 2014, being seeded one spot above Spanish veteran David Ferrer, the seedings remained true to the current top 10 rankings in both the men’s and women’s tournaments.

Top 16 men’s seeds: 1. Novak Djokovic (SRB), 2. Roger Federer (SUI), 3.

Andy Murray (GBR), 4. Stan Wawrinka (SUI), 5. Kei Nishikori (JPN), 6. Tomas

Berdych (CZE), 7. Milos Raonic (CAN), 8. David Ferrer (ESP), 9. Marin Cilic (CRO), 10 Rafael Nadal (ESP), 11 Grigor Dimitrov (BUL), 12 Gilles Simon (FRA), 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA), 14 Kevin Anderson (RSA), 15 Feliciano Lopez (ESP), 16 David Goffin (BEL) Top 16 women’s seeds: 1 Serena Williams (USA), 2 Petra Kvitova (CZE), 3 Simona Halep (ROM), 4 Maria Sharapova (RUS), 5 Caroline Wozniacki (DEN), 6 Lucie Safarova (CZE), 7 Ana Ivanovic (SRB), 8 Ekaterina Makarova (RUS), 9 Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP), 10 Angelique Kerber (GER), 11 Karolina Pliskova (CZE), 12 Eugenie Bouchard (CAN), 13 Agnieszka Radwanska (POL), 14 Andrea Petkovic (GER), 15 Timea Bacsinszky (SUI), 16 Venus Williams (USA). - AFP

a year once in 2002, is focused solely on making a good start to her Wimbledon campaign after failing to get to the quarterfinals for the last two years.

“I haven’t done great at Wimbledon the past two years, so I’m going to take it a day at a time there,” Williams said.

“My goal is just to do better than the last couple of years, do one more and one more and one more.” One of the main threats to Serena was expected to come from defending champion Petra Kvitova, who clinched her second Wimbledon title with a ruthless rout of Eugenie

Bouchard in the final 12 months ago. But the 25-year-old Czech is not yet certain she will be fit enough to defend her crown after she was forced to withdraw from this week’s Wimbledon warm-up event at Eastbourne due to a virus.

“It doesn’t really make sense to play and not be ready for Wimbledon. I may get more sick than I am now. So I hope I can just recover now,” the world number two said.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova will be expected to emerge as a major contender for the title she won as teenager 11 years ago.

But the 28-year-old Russian, the world’s richest female athlete, has yet to prove she can master Serena, who routed Sharapova in this year’s Australian Open final to extend her dominant record to 17 wins in their 19 meetings.

Bouchard was widely tipped as the heir apparent to Sharapova as the sport’s glamour girl when the Canadian, whose mother named her after British royalty, captured the hearts of the Wimbledon fans during her run to the final last year. - AFP

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UNSTOPPABLE SUPERGRANNY With preparations underway for a weekendlong event 87-year-old Brigitta Sinka calls a ‘final push’, she hopes to play the final few hundred games needed to overtake a total — 13,545 — attributed to Capablanca (1888-1942), one of the world’s best-ever players

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N 87-year-old Hungarian woman aims this weekend to set a world record by beating 1920s Cuban chess grandmaster Jose Raul Capablanca at his own game: simultaneous play.

Since the 1950s, Brigitta Sinka, a former top amateur player, has played around 13,000 documented games of simultaneous chess across Hungary, usually on dozens of boards at the one time, taking on all-comers, many of them schoolchildren. With preparations underway for a weekend-long event she calls a ‘final push’, she hopes to play the final few hundred games needed to overtake a total — 13,545 — attributed to Capablanca (18881942), one of the world’s best-ever players.

Hungarian chess master Brigitta Sinka, presents a game in her home. Her long series of games started in 1957 and may continue the aim to overcome Jose Raul Capablanca’s famous record of 13545 games that were played by the Cuban world champion between 1901-1940. - AFP

“I love seeing the twinkle in the children’s eyes when they play, chess develops their brains like no other game,” says Sinka, who gives each of her young opponents a miniature rosette she sews at home as a memento.

“She always sees ahead where I’m going to move, it seems the older you are, the better player you become,” the schoolboy told AFP. Neither Sinka’s energy nor ambition has been deterred by three heart operations in recent years. In hospital — where she recorded 14 simultaneous games with the nurses — she recalls the doctors advising her to quit playing.

Sinka however has meticulously recorded in scrapbooks every game she has played — where, when, opponent, and result — each signed off by a witness.

Hoping for Guiness acknowledgement She hopes the Guinness Records adjudicators will acknowledge her feat as an official world record.

Born in 1928 and raised on a remote farm on the Great Hungarian Plain, her father taught her the chess moves by the age of four.

She was twice selected to play at the women’s Chess Olympiads, but missed out both times.

EYEING WORLD RECORD: 87-year-old

Hungarian pensioner Brigitta Sinka smiles while her simultaneous chess game in the Budenz school in Budapest on May 29, 2015, as she is on the brink of setting a world record by beating 1920s Cuban chess grandmaster Juan Capablanca. – AFP

“Chess is my life, simultaneous play is my passion,” grey-haired Sinka told AFP during a short break from a playing excited teenagers inside a circle of 16 tables in a Budapest high school.

“In one hour, I’ve gone round 30 times, you can count how many metres that is, soon it will be kilometres,” she laughed.

Aunty Bitzi Sinka, whose nickname is Auntie Bici (pronounced “Bitzi”), clocked up thousands of games around Hungary playing at summer camps for schoolchildren hosted by her employer for many decades, a communist-era metal recycling firm.

“They gave me a walking stick, but it kept falling over when I leant on the tables with one hand and made my moves with the other, then they realised chess keeps my body strong and my mind sharp”.

In 2010, with her total around 9,000 games, a chess historian told her that he had spotted Capablanca’s total in a biography of the Cuban great.

“I was unaware of it before then, so I thought I’d have a go at beating it,” she said.

Around a century ago Capablanca played high-speed simultaneous exhibition chess for money but his games, despite being counted, were undocumented.

At the inaugural event in 1957 her passport to leave her then-communist homeland was delayed in the post, then in 1960 Hungary was part of an Eastern Bloc boycott. Arriving too late to compete in the 1957 event in the Netherlands had a silver lining however, as she was invited to play in a sidelines chess event, her first ever six simultaneous games.

“She’s been unstoppable ever since,” smiles Eszter Erdei, her childhood friend now helping her document the game details.

And her victory rate? A whopping 86 percent, with your correspondent — although it won’t count for the record — added with impressive ease to her many scalps. — AFP

The Hungarian pensioner Brigitta Sinka plays her simultaneous chess game in the Budenz school in Budapest as she is on the brink of setting a world record set by chess grandmaster Juan Capablanca. - AFP

Hungarian chess master presenting a game in her home on May 7, 2015 in Budapest as she has recently played her 12000th simultaneous game that is the highest number of games ever completed by a woman master in simultaneous play. - AFP

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WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

How much did Arnold Schwarzenegger miss acting while governing? And how much does he miss politics now that he’s back in front of the camera?

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he Austrian star quit acting to serve as governor of California from 2003 to 2011, appearing only briefly in The Kid & I and The Expendables during that time. Since completing his second - and, by law, final - term in office, however, The Governator has starred in The Expendables 2, The Last Stand, Escape Plan, Sabotage, The Expendables 3, Maggie and the upcoming Terminator Genisys, in which he reprises his iconic role as the relentless T-800. All of which begs two questions: How much did he miss acting while governing? And how much does he miss politics now that he’s back in front of the camera?

During a recent conversation via cell telephone, as he sat by a fire pit in the backyard of his Los Angeles home, Schwarzenegger tackled both questions head on. “Overall I would say not at all, either way,” said Schwarzenegger, who also endured some well-chronicled personal travails during the past several years.

"When I was governor, I was so busy. When you serve 38 million people and are the leader of the (world’s) seventh-largest economy and all of this, it’s a huge undertaking, a huge job, and I, of course, was very aggressive with moving the agenda forward. “I’m not one of those politicians who tries to do things that are safe so that I keep my poll numbers up,” he said. “I really went to battle to get things done that I wanted to get done. Half of it got done, half of it didn’t, but it was an all-out kind of a thing, 24 hours a day. You have to be very passionate, and there was really no room and no desire to do a movie the whole seven years.”

There were, however, occasional phantom pains. Call them pangs, even.

“I did miss it a little when, for instance, I’d visit Spielberg on a set,” Schwarzenegger admitted. “I’d see them shooting and say, ‘Oh, God, that reminds me of the good old days and how much fun we had on a set.’ It was great to visit a set and hang out for an hour, but then I’d click right back again and do my work of gov-

erning. So I did not miss my movie career.”

Though he’s acting again, Schwarzenegger noted, he remains politically active. He still lends his voice to Republican causes on a regular basis. In fact, he said, acting and politics have some aspects in common.

“The whole idea about politics is that you want to get a feeling of what the people want,” Schwarzenegger said. “They change their minds from moment to moment, and you’ve got to go with that. Is the budget the most important thing? Is job creation the most important thing, or is it environmental issues or equal education? What is it? And you’ve really got to attack all of them at the same time.

“It’s the same with movies,” he said. "You want to be in touch with the audience. Do they want action movies? Do they want sciencefiction movies? Are the bigger movies in? Are the smaller movies in? So it’s the same thing: You’ve got to please the people out there.

“That’s why I say that there are similarities in some ways,” Schwarzenegger continued, “but they are quite different jobs.

Schwarzenegger returns to his most famous role for his latest film, Terminator Genisys, which will open nationwide on July 1. Terminator Genisys re-imagines the franchise’s “It seems to me a reboot, right?,” Schwarzenegger said. "It’s definitely not a sequel, because it’s not an ongoing story. It’s also the first in a series of three new Terminator movies. That’s the way that (producer) David Ellison sees it, and that’s the way I see it too.

“The terminator is a machine that is very destructive,” the actor continued. “He destroys anything in his way. Sometimes he’s programmed to be just the villain and to work for the machines, and sometimes he’s programmed to help the human race win the war.

So it really depends on what programme he’s on. “But he’s pretty much the same character, who is struggling after all these years to adopt human behaviour,” Schwarzenegger conclud-

ed. “He’s working very hard at it. Some things work, some things don’t. That makes for some humorous scenes. He’s trying to fit in. But at the same time, when he’s on a mission, he’s on a mission. He doesn’t really care much then if he fits in or not. He just wants to succeed.”

There’s a younger T-800 in Genisys, but Schwarzenegger plays his version at his own age, appearance-wise. No special effects were used to “youngify” him. Sometimes, the star explained, it’s best to confront a situation head on. “I do look different than I did in 1984,” he said. "Even though I have the same kind of body and body size, facially I look different. My eyes look different. Your hair looks different.

So that was the No. 1 reason, and the second reason was that it works so well, storywise, when the two terminators meet, the younger version and the older version. The contrast is there, the 30-year contrast, and that really plays well.

“It’s still the same machine underneath,” he added. “It’s the same skeleton. Everything is the same, except the body, human flesh, ages the same as everybody else’s does. So we wanted to play that and, like I say, it actually really worked, storywise.”

The T-800 is an iconic figure, so it would make sense to assume that Schwarzenegger who also is tentatively set to reprise his roles from Conan the Barbarian and Twins in upcoming projects - had a blast that first day back in costume and on the set.

That assumption would be wrong, though.

“The first day in front of the camera is not so much what it seems to be,” Schwarzenegger said. “What I mean by that is that they did something very smart. “You kind of work your way up and, by the time it’s the official first day, you’ve done enough work now with everybody that there’s really not this first-day feeling,” Schwarzenegger concluded. “I just felt like I was eased into this whole thing.” -Ian Spelling/The New York Times News Service

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MANGANIELLO’S physique is amply on display in Magic Mike XXL, a sequel to Magic Mike (2012) that’s set to open on July 1. Gregory Jacobs takes over the director’s chair from Steven Soderburgh, who helmed the original. Channing Tatum stars as the title character with Manganiello. “We rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed my finale dance routine,” Manganiello said, “and on the day cameras rolled, in front of 1,000 screaming women in the audience, my partner did something unrehearsed.”

Thrown off balance, Manganiello knew at once that something was wrong.

“I heard a loud rip in my shoulder,” he recalled, “followed by an explosive pop.

It was my bicep, and I knew that, during a normal bicep rip, it rolls into your shoulder and your arm turns black.

“When that didn’t happen, I knew it was a bone injury.”

That might seem to call for a shutdown, but Manganiello thought otherwise.

“I was lying on a table crying,” the actor recalled, “and Channing said, ‘You can do your routine tomorrow. I’ll move mine to today.’ I said, ‘My arm won’t be able to move by tomorrow, and this is my last dance. So there is no tomorrow - I have to do it right now.’

“It was like ‘Rocky,’” Manganiello said, laughing. “Channing is standing over me saying, ‘Come on, man! You can do it!’”

For the next four hours, Manganiello performed the athletic routine, which required him to toss his body around on monkey bars. “My brain didn’t allow me to visualise landing each time,” he said.

“Sofia was there that day. As soon as we wrapped, she said, and I quote, ‘If I see you at the gym tomorrow, I’m going to leave you. We’re done.’”

That would be actress Sofia Vergara, Manganiello’s fiancée, and her opinions carry a great deal of weight with him.

JOE MANGANIELLO’S CAREER IS TAKING OFF Everything about Joe Manganiello is XXL.

Standing 6-foot-5, and arms the size of tree trunks, the actor loomed larger than life as he arrived, sporting a beige, formfitting shirt, pressed black pants and a rugged beard and moustache, t v w at a Hollywood yw d hotel for an interview

“I haven’t been to the gym since then,” he said. “I don’t even think about gyms.”

For Manganiello, who is best known for playing Alcide Herveaux on True Blood (2010-2014), the whole film had a slightly surreal feel.

“I think you have to give a lot of credit to our director,” he said. “At the start (Jacobs) promised, ‘We’re going to get

to the end of this movie and people will have tears in their eyes when they say goodbye to these guys.’

Born in Pittsburgh, Manganiello grew up as a sports star, captain of his school’s football, basketball and volleyball teams. In his spare time he made films with his friends for fun, kindling a lifelong interest in acting.

Manganiello graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh - as did Bomer, his Magic Mike costar - with a degree in drama and then moved to Los Angeles. He was cast as Flash Thompson in Spider-Man (2002), reprising the role in Spider-Man 3 (2007), and appeared on One Tree Hill from 2008 to 2010. His breakout role, however, came when he was cast as Alcide Herveaux in True Blood.

Alcide’s demise shocked fans of the series, but Manganiello claimed to have expected it.

“I knew it was going to have a bad fate for a long time before we shot it,” he said.

“I knew, the minute I got the girl, that they would kill me off. You can’t be too happy on a TV show.”

Next up for Manganiello is Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups, which will star Christian Bale and Natalie Portman. Beyond that, however, Manganiello won’t say anything about the project.

“Terrence was a big fan of True Blood,” he explained. “When he called me, I asked, ‘What is the scene?’ He wouldn’t answer. I said, ‘Who do I play?’

He wouldn’t answer. I asked to see the script and heard, ‘No.’ “I do have to say it was the most wonderful acting experience.”

He also has a role in the television movie Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, due in 2016.

On the personal front, Manganiello popped the question to Vergara last Christmas. There has been no announcement of a wedding date, but rumours abound.

And no, the actor said, she doesn’t mind sharing his physique with the moviegoing public via Magic Mike XXL. “She’s seen a full cut and loves it,” Manganiello said. “She’s amazed at the comedy of this world.”

-Cindy Pearlman/The New York Times News Service

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ETCETERA BRIEFS

TV actor Sanjit Bedi dead

TV ACTOR Sanjit Bedi, who won millions of hearts through his character Dr Omi of TV show Sanjeevani, died on Wednesday morning due to a viral condition of the brain, his friend and actor Karanvir Bohra said. “He was in the ICU of Bombay Hospital here for the past one-and-half months. He had a brain virus for the last yearand-a-half. He breathed his last this morning and his cremation was performed in the afternoon,” Karanvir said. Sanjit appeared in a slew of shows like Jaane Kya Baat Hui, Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasman and Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa, among others. However, the actor was missing from the scene for quite some time.

Sanjit, in his late 30s, is survived by his wife.

I’m not a comedian: Rajpal Yadav

EMMYLOU HARRIS AND RODNEY CROWELL

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hen it comes to collaborating, Emmylou Harris said, she and Rodney Crowell “are going to keep at this a long time before we get sick of each other.”

Who can blame them?

The two veteran country/folk musicians have been kindred spirits since the 1970s, when Crowell played guitar in Harris’ Hot Band before starting his own recording career in 1978. They became musical partners with Old Yellow Moon (2013), which debuted at No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and won a Grammy Award as Best Americana Album.

It should come as no surprise, then, that they’re back at it again with a second effort, The Traveling Kind, which came out on May 12 and made another Top 10 debut on the country chart.

“I think I knew (Old Yellow Moon) was going to be successful,” the 68-year-old Harris said, speaking by telephone from Nashville.

“Rodney and I haven’t broken any records as far as album sales, either one of us, but we have really loyal fans who have stuck with us over the years, allowing us to do what we want and what we love. “There was never a question that there wouldn’t be enough success to succeed, and it does help to have a record company (Nonesuch) that says, ‘Why don’t you go and do another one?’” The 64-year-old Crowell agreed.

“I think my experience was, ‘Yeah, let’s do it,’ because we’d talked about it for a long time,” he said. “Then we just keep having fun. I think it’s just human nature - had we not been having fun, we probably wouldn’t have done it again.”

“I can’t imagine not having fun, Rodney,” said Harris, who began her career

working with Gram Parsons before going solo in 1969.

The two pursued a different kind of agenda for The Traveling Kind than they had on Old Yellow Moon, however. The earlier album primarily featured covers of songs

by Matraca Berg, Kris Kristofferson, Roger Miller and others, along with three Crowell originals. This time the majority of the songs are originals.

“The honeymoon’s over,” Crowell said.

“There was a lot of goodwill for (Old Yellow Moon), but I think it’s human nature that now, being that we’re on a second record ...

I’m sure the goodwill is still there, but I don’t think it would be the same kind of goodwill.

It’ll be, ‘OK, they did that and here’s another one.’ It’s not unique or surprising anymore.

“So hopefully the record we made is true enough to us that it goes on the merit of what it is, more than the novelty of who we were at the time we did the first one.”

To accomplish that, Crowell said, he wanted The Traveling Kind to feature more original songs — and not only ones by him.

“I wanted to get Emmy’s poetry involved in it,” Crowell said. Six of the album’s 11 tracks are indeed Harris-Crowell collaborations, sometimes in tandem with other writers such as Corey Chisel and Will Jennings.

“Rodney pulled me, kicking and screaming, into the writing room,” Harris recalled with a laugh. “Rodney is the real writer. He’s been writing for, God, well before I even met him. I’m more of a reluctant ... I don’t mean casual. When I set my mind to it, I’m pretty serious. But I’ve been an interpreter most of my career, and so I was a little nervous about going into the writing room, except that it was Rodney and he’s so supportive of me, and I knew he was right. I knew that it was like, ‘OK, you’ve got to come up with some-

thing else. We can’t just ride on our laurels.’

“We picked some great cover songs for the first record,” she continued, “but we are writers, so it was important that we brought that aspect of who we are as artists into this record. And kudos to Rodney for saying, ‘Get yourself in there!’”

Favourite collaboration Crowell called Harris “a slow starter and a strong finisher, once you get her going.

She always downplays her writing, and the truth is that she’s an excellent writer. It’s kind of my favourite collaboration we’ve done yet, putting these songs together for this album.”

One of their first sessions with Chisel yielded the title track. “I said, ‘Corey, you got any melodies?,’” Crowell recalled, “and he sent me a telephone text of the beginning of that melody. I said, ‘Come on over!’ We were somewhere on the road and, when we got home, Corey had that melody started and we went from there.”

Harris acknowledged that it took her awhile to get into the process.

“As it was unfolding I kind of got caught up in it and came up with ideas,” she said.

“It’s very interesting to be in that collaborative space where sometimes you’re chasing down something and you don’t even know exactly what it is, but you’re following it.

“Somebody said to me, years ago, that the best way to catch a horse was to build a fence around it, so I think we kind of built a fence around the idea of The Traveling Kind.”

The song makes reference to what Crowell calls “the ravages of time” and to mortality, especially in their chosen field of endeavour. “I knew that we were headed toward creating a narrative out of love, artists that we loved and had relationships with who

had gone on,” Crowell said, “and also artists we admired. Suzanne Clark and Gram Parsons were the spirits that we were going for with it. And there was Hank Williams, all the great artists who have gone before that we deemed the travelling kind.

“Our lives here are temporary,” he continued, “but the thing we leave behind as artists, if we’re lucky and we’ve done our work, is the music and the songs, and the poems, the books, the films. That’s basically what that song’s about.”

The Traveling Kind also features some older material, including covers of Lucinda Williams’ I Just Wanted to See You So Bad (1988) and Amy Allison’s Her Hair Was Red (2006). No Memories Hanging Around is an older Crowell song that had been looking for a home. “I always thought it was one of my better songs,” Crowell said. “I meant to do it on some of my solo records, but didn’t for whatever reason. Maybe because it was waiting for now.”

Harris and Crowell will spend much of the rest of the year on the road to support The Traveling Kind. With a track record as a duo behind them, however, they’re already entertaining the idea of a third album. “I’m ready,” Harris said. “Put me in, coach!”

For his part, Crowell pondered what direction they might take next time. “We made a record of songs we had known and had around a long time,” he said thoughtfully, “and then we basically wrote most of this one ourselves. So the next one ... ” “Let’s do a reggae record next, Rodney,” Harris interjected.

“Yeah, we could do all our songs reggae,” Crowell said readily. “I remember, on one of those TV shows, we did Leaving Louisiana reggae-style, so that’s not beyond the realm of possibility.”-Gary Graff/The New York Times News Service

ACTOR RAJPAL Yadav has always been considered a comedian despite playing serious roles in films like Darna Mana Hai, Darna Zaroori Hai and Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon. And he isn’t too pleased with the tag. At the trailer launch of his upcoming film Thoda Lutf Thoda Ishq, Rajpal told reporters: “This fight about a comedian has been going on since 10 years. I never wanted to become a comedian and I’m not a comedian either. And I don’t want any tag of a comedian. “Rajpal considers himself merely a “student of acting”. He also feels privileged for doing theatre for almost 15 years, acting in almost 500 plays. “I seek pleasure in my roles. I accept roles which give me pleasure and refuse the ones which don’t,” he said.

I’ve learnt a lot from Priyanka, Parineeti, says Mannara

NEWBIE actress Mannara, who made her Hindi film debut with the thriller Zid last year, says she has gained significant learning from her cousins Priyanka and Parineeti Chopra.

“I’ve definitely gained a lot of experience from my sisters. I’ve learnt how to carry myself in the industry and how to behave with Bollywood celebrities. Since my sisters have already established themselves, they’ve set up a platform for me to learn a lot,” Mannara said in an exclusive talk. “The most important factors are hard work and luck to achieve success,” she said.-IANS

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t’s hard to describe the drama Eden and do it justice. The movie is less concerned with telling a tale than conveying an atmosphere — the look, feel and sound of the Parisian techno scene from the early 1990s until 2013. You just have to experience it.

The story, such as it is, follows Paul (newcomer Félix de Givry), a French teen enamoured with garage, a type of electronic dance music that has a funky disco streak. Paul is a low-key guy, and his coming of age isn’t particularly eventful as he tries to make it as a DJ. The movie occasionally jumps forward in time by a few years, but Paul never changes much. He continues to love garage music; he spins records; he always has some lovely girlfriend (played by a revolving cast of talented actresses, including Greta Gerwig and Golshifteh Farahani); he’s perpetually low on cash.

His mother (Arsinée Khanjian) is also never far away, waiting to scold him for abandoning his studies and wondering who in their right mind would want to be a “DG” anyway. “It’s DJ,” her son replies, with some exasperation.

And yet Paul isn’t really the point of the movie, so much as our mildly likeable guide to another world. All around him are colourful characters, but neither Paul’s looks nor does his personality stand out. The movie is most electric whenever the camera takes us into a discotheque.

There, we find a rawness and innocence, as dance-floorr revellers shed their inhibitions

‘Eden’ is a look into the 90’s French underground music scene through the tale of a meandering DJ in Paris

and let the music guide them. The strobe lights flash to the thumping bass, and suddenly the movie audience is there, too. The effect is hypnotic, and it’s easy to see how Paul could get so carried away, putting garage above everything else.

Director Mia Hansen-Løve wrote the movie with her brother, Sven Hansen-Løve, and the story is inspired by his experiences working as a DJ alongside the now hugely successful duo of Daft Punk. In one of the movie’s funniest scenes, which is based on an actual event, a club bouncer refuses to grant the Daft Punk guys entry and chastises them for not dressing better. (And when the bouncer finds out who they are and feels understandably horrified, the DJs are nothing but gracious.)

But comedy is otherwise sparse in this meandering odyssey of an unmoored man, as he drifts along, trying to stay afloat. His mother is right: He’s kind of a fool. It would be easy to turn his story into a cautionary tale about drug use or giving up on a perfectly good thesis. But those moral arguments seem as superfluous as the character himself.

Instead, the movie’s most affecting mestransience. Like all trends, garage sage is about tran forever. Eden serves as a time wouldn’t last fo capsule, giving us u some sense of what it feels midst of a musical high. like to in the mid —Stephanie Merry/The Washington Post

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ETCETERA H O L LY W O O D B U Z Z

‘Eight is Enough’ actor Dick Van Patten dead ACTOR Dick Van Patten, who played the role of paterfamilias on the comedy-drama Eight Is Enough is dead. He was 86. Patten died on Tuesday at Saint John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California, due to complications from diabetes, reports variety.com. The actor also appeared in Disney films including Freaky Friday (the original, Jodie Foster version) as well as Mel Brooks comedies High Anxiety, Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Space Balls. Though long associated with television and film comedies, the actor spent a great deal of time on stage, making the first of his two dozen or so appearances on Broadway as a child back in 1937, in Kurt Weill’s The Eternal Road. He also appeared on screen in a guest role as Lester on TV Land’s Hot in Cleveland. The actor is survived by wife Pat, to whom he was married since 1954; three sons, actors Nels Van Patten, James Van Patten and Vincent Van Patten; a sister, actress Joyce Van Patten; and a much younger half-brother, director-producer Timothy Van Patten.

Why Taylor Swift says she admires Angelina Jolie SINGER Taylor Swift says she admires the way actress Angelina Jolie manages her family with stardom. The singer also said that she wants to have her own family soon. She shared her views about family while talking to ITV News, reports aceshowbiz.com. Jolie, who is married to actor Brad Pitt, has six children — Maddox, 13, Pax, 10, Zahara, 9, Shiloh, 8, and five-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox. Swift said that she considers Jolie as someone who knows what it’s like to raise a big family despite the fame she and her husband have. The Shake It Off hitmaker added that she also admires how the Maleficent actress lives “her life not just for the purpose of making money or coming up with the most lucrative business deals”. -IANS

‘Fame is the worst thing in the world’ The celebrity who hates fame more than anything, is back in the spotlight

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hen Kristen Stewart was one of the biggest movie stars in the world thanks to the Twilight movies, she always looked miserable on any red carpet. She was never shy about how much she hated being a celebrity, especially in the glare of the rabid Twilight fan base.

“Fame is the worst thing in the world,” she told UK Harper’s Bazaar, adding, “Having that much human energy thrust at you and then being critically analysed is obviously disarming.”

Stewart began her career in 1999 and came to prominence playing Jodie Foster’s daughter in the 2002 thriller Panic Room.

She has since starred in a range of films. Stewart was listed as the highest-earning female actress in the Vanity Fair “Hollywood Top Earners List of 2010”, with an estimated earning of $28.5 million.

Forbes also named her as the

highest paid actress in 2012, with total earnings of $34.5 million.

She won the Rising Star BAFTA Award in 2010, and became the first American actress to win a Cesar Award, when she won Best Supporting Actress in 2015 for her role opposite Juliette Binoche in Clouds of Sils Maria (2014).

Let’s recall that she has good reason to despise fame: Stewart was thrust into a particularly intense spotlight early on when she started dating her Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson when the movies started filming around 2008. Their fans were obsessive and chronicled every move they made.

They were a very private couple at first, and only confirmed they were dating by accident in 2011, when she let it slip to British GQ that “my boyfriend is English.”

When the reporter asked her to elaborate on that, Stewart replied: “So much of my life is so easily

Having that much human energy thrust at you and then being critically analysed is obviously disarming

Googled. I mean, it’s like, come on guys, it’s so obvious.”

She and Pattinson split for good in 2013. He’s now engaged to British singer FKA Twigs. She starred in Still Alice and got raves for her performance in Clouds of Sils Maria; in February, she became the first American actress to win the best supporting actress prize at the Cesar Awards, the French equivalent to the Oscars.

Now, her private life is the centre of attention once again.

She notably skipped the red carpet while attending the Women in Film 2015 Crystal and Lucy Awards this week, but that won’t stop the questions for long.

Just a reminder that no matter how many awards Stewart racks up, and how far removed she is from the Twilight franchise, people will always be especially interested in any relationship she’s in.

-Emily Yahr/ The Washington Post

C 1 2 THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

ETCETERA H O L LY W O O D

MARTIN SCORSESE ON ‘THE THIRD MAN’

THE BEST REVELATION IN ALL CINEMA

Tom Holland named new Spider-Man MARVEL STUDIOS and Sony Pictures have announced that after an exhaustive search, Tom Holland has been named to star as the beloved superhero Spider-Man. Holland’s first film as Peter Parker and Spider-Man will land in theatres on July 28, 2017, and will be directed

by Jon Watts, reports eonline. com. Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman, said in a statement that “it’s a big day here at Sony...

I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent. For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special.”

Adele is a masterful writer: Pharrell Williams SINGER PHARRELL Williams has praised Hometown glory hitmaker Adele, calling her a “masterful writer”. “She (Adele) is a masterful writer. You listen to her albums and the intention is living and breathes,” Williams told Ryan Seacrest at Cannes Lions advertising festival on Tuesday, reports femalefirst.co.uk. The 42-yearold had dreamt of working with Adele and previously said: “I have been excited about her since I first heard Rolling in the deep. If the opportunity comes up in 2015 for us to work together, then I am totally down with that.”

Jennifer Aniston gives Selena Gomez ‘maternal advice’ SINGER SELENA Gomez says Friends star Jennifer Aniston gives her a lot of “maternal advice” and she has had chats with the star over pizza at her house. The Come and get it hitmaker and the actress have been friends since meeting through their management in 2009 and Gomez has often been at Aniston’s house to chat over a pizza. “Yeah... we met through my management — they manage her as well — so it was kind of like a friendly meeting and instantly she’s, like, inviting me to her house. She’s very cool and very sweet. She kind of gives me a lot of, like, maternal advice,” Gomez said talking on a radio station, reports femalefirst.co.uk. The singer has had a long mother-daughter type relationship with Aniston, 46.-IANS

Martin Scorsese reveals how Carol Reed’s classic British noir from 1949 has influenced him and why it feels as fresh as ever

I

saw The Third Man for the first time on television in New York, with commercial interruptions. I think I was about 15 years old, maybe 16. I saw Citizen Kane around the same period. I remember that I wanted to see the film on its first release, but was unable to do so, which created a mystique about the film. The theme was a radio hit, but my first viewing was on TV, around ‘56 or ‘57. But even with commercial breaks on a 16-inch screen, the power of the picture, the surprise, the entertainment, the film-making itself… a revelation. Expressive style, virtuosity – I became fixated, obsessed.

I couldn’t wait to see the film again, but I had to wait until it was shown on television, maybe four or five months later. It wasn’t the optimum viewing condition, I still lived in a small apartment with my family, so it was difficult to find the concentration and quiet I needed to figure out why the picture affected me so much.

I was becoming aware of filmmaking itself around this time, about storytelling, about extraordinary cinematic experiences.

Simultaneously, a young priest who was a mentor to me and some friends gave us Graham Greene’s books to read. The Power and the Glory had quite an effect on me. I was very much aware of Graham Greene’s contribution to The Third Man before seeing it. And I had seen his name on the credits of The Fallen Idol, in particular, the combination of Graham Greene and Carol Reed.

I also admired Odd Man Out, as both of these films were shown on TV constantly.

I remember going to a place on 14th Street called Movie Star News where they had 8 by 10 glossies, production stills, and I bought a beautiful set of The Third Man, including some great artwork, and a great shot of Anton Karas under a table in the recording studio. They heard him playing his zither in a nightclub in Vienna, and when they went into the studio in London it didn’t sound the same. They figured out that acoustically it would sound more like it had in the nightclub if they had him play under a table.

About four months ago, I screened a beautiful 35mm print of the picture for my daughter and her friends. “Why do we keep watching this?” For instance, the scene where Holly Martins (Cotten) finally goes to her apartment. He’s a little drunk, and he tells her he loves her and he knows he doesn’t have a chance.

That’s when she says, “The cat only liked Harry.”

So that leads right into the great revelation of Harry Lime in the doorway with the cat – which is iconic. But it’s more than that – it’s one of the great epiphanies in movies: the cat turning the corner and nestling itself on those wing-tip shoes, and then Harry Lime being revealed when the light is turned on in the doorway and it shines in his face.

Remember Walker Percy’s great novel The Moviegoer? He refers to that moment in such a beautiful, special way. It became a moment internationally, a shared experience for a vast audience seeing that film. It’s not just a dramatic revelation – there’s something about Orson Welles’ smile at that point that

It’s more than the plot twists and surprises of the story. Certainly, it’s the characters, the world they inhabit, the love stories, the trust and betrayals – the human heart shifts everything to another level, and it sustains no matter how many times you see it.

Welles comes into the picture about halfway through. That’s the first time you actually see him, after you’ve spent so much time picturing him in your mind because everyone has been talking about him and thinking about him. So that might be the best revelation - or the best reveal, as they say - in all of cinema.

When Holly Martins finally meets Harry face to face on the Ferris wheel, you expect Harry Lime the criminal. Instead, he just jauntily walks up, says, “Hey, come on, let’s take a ride.” It’s just a casual conversation… about all those dots moving around down there, and do you mean to tell me that if somebody came to you and said you could make a lot of money, but the only catch is that every once in a while, one of those dots might stop moving, you’d really say no?

You can’t talk about The Third Man without recognizing the incredible contribution of [cinematographer] Robert Krasker.

Those night scenes, the streets they wet down, the reflective surface it creates. Mad magazine did a memorable parody of The Third Man, picturing water trucks all over the city with massive hoses watering down every street.

Then there’s the city of Vienna itself, split up into four sections, with people living in beautiful baroque apartments, the camera pans and we see half of it in ruins. There’s this extraordinary sense of a world that’s come apart, accentuated by the offcentred cameras, the canted angles. It depicts the emergence from mass psychosis, 60 million people killed in the war, a civilisation destroying itself: the camera style expresses that. The images never feel grounded. There’s a story about when William Wyler, the great director, saw the picture and, as a joke, sent Carol Reed a level to keep his camera straight.

When the picture was released, the music became popular all around the world. That Third Man theme was a part of our lives. That sound was so strong, raw, yet jaunty. The sound of the zither itself feels ironic and pro-

vocative. I later found the actual soundtrack of the picture on an LP – it still sounds better than the CD. The zither music is a character in The Third Man, reflecting the madness and the desperation of that ruptured world, the feeling that anything can happen at any time. The upbeat irony of it…

Has it had an influence on my career? When I saw it, I was ripe for it – ready to understand what you can do with the camera. The themes of the picture made me feel comfortable about dealing with similar kinds of characters, characters you’d consider undesirable - the charm of evil. I did a paper on the film when I was 18 at NYU. The professor had different ideas. He wrote a note on the paper: “Remember, it’s only a thriller.” I disagreed. We know what happens in Psycho or Vertigo or The Red Shoes. So why do we keep watching? If some dismiss a work because it “fits” into a genre, then why does it sustain repeated viewings? It’s more than the plot twists and surprises of the story. Certainly, it’s the characters, the world they inhabit, the love stories, the trust and betrayals – the human heart. Each presented with intelligence, wit, and a very real joy of film-making, while still feeling fresh. - The Independent

MUSIC

The scale of ‘Parklife’ does not suit Damon Albarn and friends anymore IF YOU went to Blur’s 2009 comeback gig at Hyde Park, you were spoiled. That felt emotional, it felt like an “event”. This feels like just another gig, albeit a very good one.

“Let’s have it,” Damon Albarn demands before the opener, the tangy (Too many Western men, top buttons left undone) new track Go Out, but unfortunately we rarely reach “it” tonight.

The elements - the rain, the early curfew (they’re finished by 10.10pm, while it’s still light) are against them, which is a pity as their new record, The Magic Whip, their first as a foursome in 16 years, is a psychedelic (or “sci-fi folk”) treat.

It probably needs to be showcased in a more intimate venue, but the fortysomething quartet (bar drummer/lawyer Dave Rowntree, who’s 51) clearly couldn’t resist a hefty pay cheque. Albarn, in a sweet gesture, dishes out free 99 ice cream cones to the front row, it’s a slightly clunky moment, however, acknowledged by the charismatic frontman who admits “it’s all going horribly wrong.”

The performance itself doesn’t of course, with a fabulous back catalogue like Blur’s it couldn’t and there are more than enough highlights, including the sinister Beetlebum, the anthemic Song 2, End of a Century and Coffee and TV, on which the once shunned

Graham Coxon excels. Blur’s mercurial guitarist, who appears to have been sporting the same striped T-shirt for the past 20 years, is thunderous on the punky, PiL-like I Broadcast and Lonesome Street, a new track that would fit snugly on 1995’s The Great Escape.

Is Phil Daniels wheeled out for Parklife?

How many more times will the Quadrophenia star be required to do this? The grin-inducing Girls & Boys has always been a superior pop track, and it induces the biggest crowd reaction and sing-along.

This Is a Low sparks less bois-

terousness, but this melancholy track from 1995’s Parklife, has matured exquisitely and foreshadowed Albarn’s more reflective, introspective material. The best of which being the heartrending Tender, which induces a spine-tingling, Hey Jude chantalong: “Come on, come on, love’s the greatest thing”.

Blur were always a pop band that strived - especially their lead singer - to remain relevant and their new songs, from the perky, Madness-like Ong Ong to the dreamy Thought I Was a Spaceman do feel vital, but they are crying out for a smaller venue. -Ben Walsh/The Independent

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DAILY GUIDE

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

FOR RENT

New two B/R flat diretly from owner in bank Dhofar bldg Bausher.

Contact: 92158031 One & two bedroom apartment available for rent, near Grand Mall, close to Atlas hospital next to Diwan building. Contact: 99833747 Small old house for rent Al Ghobrah.

Contact 95112461 2 BHK commercial / residential flat at Honda Road.

Contact: 99342733/99795241 Room for rent in CBD (near Costa coffee). Contact: 96568110 Showroom available 250sqm – near bank Sohar, CBD area ideal for pharmacy, clinic, Travel agency, money exchange, fast foods, departmental store etc. Contact: Tel: 24707088 fax: 24706099 GSM: 98283633 Email: alyounistrading@gmail.com 3000 sq mtrs Industrial landß, in Barka Sanaiya, with electricity 400KW, shed, staff accommodation and office. Ready to start any kind of factory. Contact 99384255.

Apartment in Al Khuwair 33/1, 4 bedroom 550/-R.O. Contact : 99340055 / 97557555 Flats, shops and basement for rent in Khuwair, behind RAWASCO. Contact: 99441122 , 95893518

2BHK flat + store room in CBD, Ruwi with Split A/c’s, secured access, car parking. Rent 400/.

Contact 99603696

2 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair. Contact 99792181

3BHK & 2BHK in Darsait.

Contact 94268564

Furnished room for rent at Al Khuwair R.O 225/- for family only.

Contact: 99251975

4 BHK single villa in Al Khuwair.

Contact: 97616158

Deluxe 3&4 bedroom, hall, kitchen spacious living area with split AC, at Ghobrah. Contact: 95282986

Villa AL Ghobrah, 6 bedroom 1200/R.O. Contact: 99340055/97557555

4 & 5 BHK villa in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

Basement Store, 146 SQM, Wadikhabeer, Opposit Al-Hassan.

99441193, 93004802

New building in Wadi Kabir, 2 bedroom flats. Contact: 99313274 Workshop for rent Ground floor 126 SQM. Workshop first floor 108 SQM furnished office with storage accommodation for 50 Labors.

Contact: 92410691

5BHK villa available for rent, near Hamriya roundabout.

Contact-99366191 For rent brand new villa 4BD. Contact: 91963034 Flat for rent in Mabellah 8th.

Contact: 97147240

1.2.3 BHK flats. Contact: 92144045 1BHK with A/C Mumtaz. R.O 250/-.

Contact 9779175 2BHK for commercial M.B.D R.O 300/-. Contact: 92144045 2BHK with A.C Darsait R.O 300/-.

Contact: 92144045 2BHK Wadi Kabeer R.O 300/-.

Contact: 92144045 2BHK without A.C Ghobrah R.O 325/- Contact: 92144045 Shop /Comn /Resi building 1 & 2 bed flat available in Wadi Kabir (near Lulu). Contact: 99451168 One bed rooms flat RO 200/Wadi Al Kabir. Contact: 99451168 Misfa land for rent 1000 SQM. Contact: 99451168 1 BHK flat in Al Khuwair, 2 months only. Contact 99792181 3 BHK Flat in Azaiba.

Contact 99792181

Two bed room flat with attached bathroom near Omani Boys School Ruwi . Contact: 91214537 Spacious room with bathroom (separate) available for small family or couples near Oman Boys School Ruwi. Contact : 91214537 Ruwi near Police Station: Flats with 4 Rooms, 1 Kitchen & 2 Bathrooms.

Contact 93387962 Seeb Souq opposite HSBC: Flat with 3 Rooms, 1 Kitchen & 2 Bathrooms and Studio at Terrace.

Contact 93387962 506sqm space with mezzanine available for rent in AL Wadi Al Kabir, Suitable for carpentry / Auto workshop and / or electrical shop interested parties may.

Contact: 24703981 AL Khuwair 2 rooms, toilet & Kitchen sharing prefer Indian couples or execute lades rent 200/- R.O include Elect & water. Contact: 99546410

1BHK flat one room, kitchen, bath room near Wadi Adai R/A. Contact : 96464598 3 Bedroom flat with 3 attached toilets, split A/C, brand new available, behind Kims Hospital.

Contact 95225662 Apartments near Al Nahdha Towers/ Vachas Hypermarket Azaiba – Ghala (1 & 2 BHK with split AC units).

Contact 94652485 / 99273774 / 99202278 1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in Misfah Industrial area near to Khanco.

OMR 1,500 Monthly. It has Electricity and boundary wall. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 500 sq mtrs office space on mezzanine floor near Royal Hospital. OMR 6.500 per sq mtr. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

2BHK 230/- south Hail near Caledonian collage. Contact: 97717962 PL 24538790 Deluxe 1, 2 BHK flats in Darsait, AL Khuwair 1deal for office & residence. Contact 99369081 /99142314

Flat at Darsait. Contact 99326879 Furnished flats for rent in Al Buraimi, daily, weekly, monthly.

Contact 97819981 / 93593336

For rent in Darsait new flats.

Contact: 99777351

2 BHK Flats for rent Muttrah near Oman house.

Contact: 97009734/92629232

Luxury 3 BHK flat in Al Wattaya with split A/C & private parking.

RO.500/- Contact – 93191111

Shop/Office 68 SQM, Wadi kabeer, Opposite Al-Hassan. Contact 99441193, 93004802

Villa of 5 BHK in Al Ansab with split A/C. RO.650/- Contact – 93191111

3BHK flat for rent in Al Khuwair.

Villa type building with only 2 flats, separate entrance, fully renovated.

Way No. 3922, building No 1839, behind Al Aktham Restaurant.

Contact: 99462980 Flat for rent in CBD Ruwi.

Contact : 92820734 New flats for rent in Wadi Kabir.

Contact : 92130703 / 96045478

Villa for rent (family residence) : New 4 bedroom villa with majlis, family hall and outside kitchen. With split AC in Al Khoudh phase 7 close to Seeb polyclinic. Call 99332525 (owner).

Brand new 6 BHK villa in Al Azaiba with split A/C & lift. RO.1200/Contact – 93191111

Apartments near Indian School Ghubra (2 BHK with 5 split AC units).

Contact 94652485 / 99273774 / 99202278

Flat in South Al Hail, 2 bedrooms, Majlis, 2 bathrooms, kitchen RO 250/-. Contact 93221474

3 rooms with attached bath room, hall Brand new in Mabelah near Sharahe Noor. Contact 99663905/ 99415119

FOR SALE

1BHK, 2BHK, 3BHK new flat available at Mabela in front of Modern English School Contact: 96239126

2 bedroom flat at Hamriya, main road with A/C. Contact 99331448

Flat in Ruwi Mumtaz 2 BHK RO 300 or 1 BHK 250 RO. Contact 98588240 Flats for rent behind Indian School.

Contact 99777122

Labour Camp for Rent in Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99792181

Villa for rent in Al Khuwair 33, 8 bedrooms & 5 bathrooms with parking area near Taimur Mosque.

Contact: 99366624

Three bedroom flats for rent near NIT Institute Darsait.

Contact: 93494098

2 BHK, 2 baths, Split A/C, Wadi kabeer, Near Indian Elementary School.

Contact 99441193, 93004802

Shops at Muttrah opposite Port Service Building on Main Road.

Contact 93387962

Luxurious villa in Mumtaz area, Ruwi with 3BR, 2 Lounges, Dining, car park, kitchen. Contact: 99430943

Room with bath AC furnished AL Khuwair.

Contact: 97004265/99643569

Shop/Office, 56 SQM, Wadikabeer, Opposite Al-Hassan.

Contact 99441193, 93004802

2 BHK flat in Al Ansab with split A/C. RO.250/- Contact – 93191111 Villa for rent - Al Seeb/Al Mawelah - Block 5 - 4 bedrooms with attached bathrooms, Majlis, 2 halls, kitchen and storeroom. split Ac and carpark.

Contact 99564616 Bath attached room for rent Al Khuwair. Contact 99743569 Commercial 3 BHK flat in Al Ghobra 18 Nov Street. RO 700/Contact 93191111 2 BHK flat in Al Azaiba near sea, with split A/C. RO.340/Contact – 93191111 For rent 3 industrial land.

Contact 92702891/ 95490842 Flats shops and store for rent in Ruwi, MBD Honda road.

Contact 97293708 / 92433127 For rent in Darsait, new flats.

Contact: 99311525 Flats/villas owned by ROP pension fund available for rent in Muscat. Contact 99349526

Clinic for sale in al amerat.

Contact:93753655 Fully decorated & Equipped kitchen cabinet and marble showroom for sale at Mabela industrial area road no – 10 only serious buyers can.

Contact: 99337670/97763560 Household furniture for sale.

Contact: 97094797 2,560 sq mtrs industrial land in Wadi Kabir main road, First line on way to Al Bustan hotel. Possible to make petrol station or hotel. OMR 990 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 60,000 Sq Mtrs Agriculture Land in Misfah, can be changed to Industrial Land. OMR 29 Per Square Meter.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Villa for sale in Al Khoudh close to Dan super market, 3room , 3 bathroom , 1 hall ,1 setting room, 1 store , kitchen & maid room with garden plot 600sq with car parking selling price 135.000/-. Contact: 91010668 5 Flats of 1 bedroom for Sale in Boushar: OMR 35 Thousand each.

Monthly income OMR 270 Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture land with water well in Al Salwa, Barka.

OMR 260 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

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ACC. AVAILABLE

BUSINESS

Furnished room with attached bathroom in W/K. Contact: 97167857 Single furnished room.

Contact: 24833609

NRI

AVAILABLE 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

Ready / under construction apartments / villas. Near guruvayur.

Contact: 00919846877773

FOR SALE 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 Well furnished meat shop in Amerat. Contact: services customers. Contact 92454250/96374850 Training center with license.

Contact: 91121277 Commercial land for sale 3000 m in quriyat road main high way can use as a petrol station license available asking price 350,000 For more information please call on 99070701 with out name

ACC. AVAILABLE Bed space available for exbachelors at Al Khuwair.

Contact: 94143636 Furnished bedroom with Sep – bathroom, sharing, and kitchen for ex- bachelors at AL Khuwair.

Contact: 99636550 A/C attached furnished single room with separate bathroom available for executive bachelor near Grand Hypermarket Ruwi.

Contact: 95149047/96567139

Furnished bath, attached sharing accommodation available behind AL Nahdha hospital. Contact: 99030037 Sharing for non cooking executive bachelor in CBD area WIFI free, Advance deposit. Contact: 95094504 Excellent room, with A/C kitchen available near ONTC bus station for family / bachelor (Ruwi).

Contact 95569740 Single room attached toilet & bath for Executive bachelor rent including electricity & water. Contact: 99327158 Independent rooms in Qurum / Al Hail. Contact 95529970 Acc. opp. OK Center for non cooking bachelor. Contact 95126452 between 2 pm & 4 pm only.

Contact 95126452 Sharing flat in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 99335057

MOTOR VEHICLE FOR SALE

General Investors. Contact 99674870

ACC. WANTED Required a room or studio flat in Darsait / WadiKabir /Ruwi area.

Contact : 95405033

TRANSPORTATION Transportation. Contact 99508282

One room separate bathroom for Indian Executive bachelor near Al Khuwair R/A. Contact: 99659513

Pick & drop any time. Contact: 98522914 / 99512270

Furnished attached bathroom at Mumtaz area. Contact: 93103337 / 95212017

Transportation. Contact: 98178135

Fully furnished 1BHK with all household items in Darsait near Lulu on monthly Basis. Contact : 99378397

Furnished single rooms available for Executive bachelors at Ruwi.

Contact: 98049288

Transportation. Contact: 98244078

One room for rent (A/C +bed +bath) at Al Khuwair. Contact: 99382008

Furnished room attached bath for lady in Wadikabir (Mars Hypermarket) – 95941515

Pick & Drop anytime Contact: 91653903

Large room Sep/ Entrance furnished Wadi Kabir. Contact 99336206 Furnished single /sharing room for ex bachelor at Rex Road with WIFI available. Contact 92873832

Single room with sharing kitchen available for executive bachelor near Saud Bahwan Residency Complex, Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99024362, 93166353.

Transportation. Contact: 98505294

Transportation. Contact: 95190627

Nissan Altima 2.55, 2008 Model, Metallic Gold Colour, 60, 000 K.M, Excellent condition, all routine maintenance updated & all four tyres new, owned by diplomat & driven by owner. Contact 24684534/91382680

Echo 2002 for sale 300.000 km only last price R.O 1000/-.

Contact: 95119655

Dodge Challenger SRT Gulf spec.

Expat owned Warranty and insurance by the end of 2015 Perfect exterior and interior. All service done at the original Dodge service Price slightly negotiable 65750 km 2010 Automatic, price: 9500/- OMR. Contact - 95909465

Land Cruiser 2012. Contact 99336093

For Sale Toyota Echo 2004 Model, Registration up to Dec. 2015 Please Contact: 99038311

Peugeot 206-2007 Model, expat driven. Contact 99209285

Expatriate driven Yaris 2008 model 100,000 kms & land rover 2005 model 93000 Kms, excellent conditions. Contact : 97094797 2 Prime Movers Man 2008 with 40 ton petrol tank each working at the moment in Al Maha. Price OMR 35 Thousand each. Contact 97000155 or 92688692

*Classified Advertisement Pick & Drop any time. Contact: 97014786

space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon

Pick & drop with car & driver available any time. Contact: 9615828/ 96502406/92218001

for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

LOST Muhammed Ashker has lost Indian Passport No. J 5808282. Finder please handover to ROP

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SITUATION SITUATION WANTED VACANT

ADMIN

DRIVER

SITUATION WANTED SIT. WANTED

Vacancy for Omani PRO Email: abid673@yahoo.com Mob 94192526

Required Heavy Duty Truck Driver holding Omani driving license w/ 5 years experience please contact 92001111

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Urgently Required: Administration with an experience minimum in 3 years in building construction, required immediately join and MUST have NOC. Apply, fax 00968–24605955, emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeoman@yahoo.com.

Urgently Required: Administration with an experience minimum in 3 years in building construction, required immediately join and MUST have NOC.Apply, fax 00968–24605955, emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeoman@yahoo.com.

Vacancy for Omani PRO for Customs duties in Sohar. Email: arabianseabridge@gmail.com, Mob: 97990844

ACCOUNTANT Reputed Construction Company required Accountant experience in Construction Company with accountancy degree. Email: jvacancy05@gmail.com Required Accountant with 3 yrs. exp. in construction company.

Email : wadcocareers@gmail.com Urgently required Junior Accountant.

Please send CV: hr.azatllc@gmail.com

BEAUTICION Required Beautician for Beauty Saloon at Ghubra. Clearance / visa available. Contact no. 95924910

CATERING Chinese/ Arab/ continental cook & helper wanted. Contact 95529970 Requires experience Cook for an Omani family 1Nos. Contact: 99228046 Email: oman518@gmail.com Chinese / Arab / Continental cook & helper wanted. Contact 95529970 Family in Muscat seeking to hire an experienced butler. Hotel experience is preferred. Candidate must hold a valid driver’s license.

Please send CV’s on vacancyinmuscat@gmail.com

DOMESTIC HELPER Cook required for an Omani family having experience in preparing all kinds of Omani & Arabic food.

Minimum 5 years experience. Send CV to abfarsi@omtel.net.om or fax to 24706990, Tel. 24786072 Housemaid wanted for an Indian family in Al Hail. Must be able to cook and take care of baby. Full-time position. 96532872 Small Omani family wanted educated female House maid visa is available. Contact - 98500222 Keralite family in MBD area (near pizza hut) want a Keralite housemaid on fulltime basis. Contact 94736916.

Urgently needed full time, live-in house maid for cooking Indian nonveg. food. Visa will be given. Maids with release will be preferred.

Contact 99349924.

Required looking for full time Housemaid for Omani family at Mabela, visa available. # 92454170

Male 24, B.Com /PGD having 2 years experience in accounts and inventory field looking for suitable job on visit visa. Contact: 94129550

Indian driver required for light vehicle with construction experience.

Contact: 92888337

Accounts part time, up to finalization of monthly accounts. Handled by a CA. contact 96293120

DESIGNER Required Large format printer operator – for HP. Graphic Designer.

Send CV to hr.oman@yahoo.com

EDUCATION Teachers required: Teachers for KG, Grade I to IV class in English, Maths, Science, Computer & Art. Qualification: Degree in relevant subjects & B Ed; IELTS or TOFEL plus two years experience preferred. Please apply to: burj@alhakkim.com Required professional Teachers for teaching Science, Mathematics, Accountancy, Business Studies & English IELTS/ TOFEL in schools & Universities. Contact 99674870

ENGINEER Urgent requirement Civil Engineers Nos for Supervision 8 yrs experience. Contact: 99244481/24551029 Email: secons.engineers@gmail.com Leading Construction Company requires Project Engineer, Degree holder with minimum 5 to 6 years experience in building construction line. (NOC require) Send your CV to – degree.engineer2015@gmail.com Required Site Supervisor with 5 yrs. exp. in construction company, electronic technician with 3 yrs experience in gate motors systems.

Email : wadcocareers@gmail.com Leading Construction company requires HSE Officer with minimum 4 to 5 years experience in building construction line. Send your CV : hseoman2015@gmail.com (NOC require).

Construction Company in Oman urgently requires following candidates: BE Civil Engineer, minimum 3-5 years gulf experience & Civil site foreman, minimum 5 years gulf experience, diploma not required.

Email: applyforoman@gmail.com Construction Company in Oman urgently requires the following: B.Sc Civil Engineer, minimum 3-5 yrs Gulf experience.

Civil Site Foreman, minimum 5 yrs experience with operating knowledge of Tally. Please Email CV ; applyforoman@gmail.com Urgently required for a first grade construction company Graduate Civil Engineer (5 years experienced) shuttering carpenter mason (Block, Plaster, Tile Fixing) Civil Foreman building work. Contact: 24700373/ 99427674 Fax: 24701368 Email: rajma@omantel.net.om

HOSPITALITY Chef for Yacht. International cuisine.

Minimum 15 years chef experience. alibadawy@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS Mason, C.C.T.V, Technician, Electrician cum Plumber.

Contact - 99383044

MISCELLANEOUS

SALES / MARKETING

Well established company in selling chocolate, Arabian sweets and fresh flowers, opening ITS first branch in Muscat seeking: 1- sweets and chocolates Sales man 2- flower arranger (Asian/ Filipino Nationality) Contact: 94490011 Email: labelleoman@gmail.com

Minimum 2 years of experience with valid gulf light driving license interested candidates please Contact: 99222086 /98585851

JCB operator -2 JCB operator with GCC valid license expect Saudi Arabia & Egypt, min.3 yrs exp. Required & L/D driver-1 min, 5 yrs exp with valid GCC driving license & site Engineer civil -1 diploma with 5 to 8 years experience & foreman civil-1- 5 years experience of multistory building.

Contact: Fax: 24501448 Email: rajesh@almatllc.com or accounts@almatllc.com

Marketing Executive for digital printing company. Contact: 94356769 / 96936564

A company from UAE require 2 merchandisers in retail food supply, store keeper with English and invoicing experience. Email: yesterdaysun@hotmail.com Urgently required: (1) female dermatologist with minimum 3 years experience (2) female Omani reception coordinator for a medical center in Qurum. Contact: 96062933

MANAGER Urgently Required: Male – handles overall store operations of the Supermarket, Prior Experience a MUST, knowledgeable in MSOffice. Send CV to chanda@dolphin-oman.com or fax to 244-92718.

MEDICAL Required Gynecology, General Physician, Dentist, Staff Nurses, Lab technicians, Pharmacists, X Ray technicians.

Contact : 95133572 / 96064925 Email: kunoozghala@gmail.com Urgently required G.P doctor with or without MOH license for one month from 01/07/2015.

Contact 93824902

SALES / MARKETING Marketing Executive for printing press. Contact 93201718 Email: alqariyaprintingpress@gmail.com A leading trading company is looking for Sales Executives & outdoor sales coordinators with driving license & release /NOC. Email CV: alhajoil@omantel.net.om or fax: 24701683 Urgently required outdoor Sales Executive for furnishing company with valid Oman D/L and minimum 3 years experience. Contact 93231403 / rainbowfurnishing156@gmail.com Required male or female candidate with 5 years experience in renting of properties. Interested candidates may please mail to alqurumprop@gmail.com

Need crane operator having two years experience & need salesman for mobile shop having two years experience. Contact: 92891888

Required sales man for spare parts shop preferably with driving license.

Contact : 96378289 Required Sales man - 1 Person Qualification. Gulf Experienced - Minimum 5 Years with Oman Driving Licence Language - English Education:- Any Degree Further Contact :Mr. Abdul Hameed Nashabat - Mobile No: 97414307 and -92807399 amn@yaqeeneng.com Required Salesman, Tailor and Barber. Contact: 96964767 Looking for Outdoor Salesman for heavy equipment spare parts.

Contact - 93292015, Email: mail.om@gulfcenter.co Wanted Sales man with Oman driving license in advertising company visa ready. Contact: 96440587 / 94055643 Urgently required Sales and Marketing Executive for Graphic designing company. Contact: 96727631 mail: smartgraphic518@gmail.com

SKILLED Urgently required a silk Screen printer with good knowledge and release letter or NOC. Contact: 93280288 or send CV to albayanstamps@gmail.com

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE Required Office Assistant 160+25+Acc, Contact 99454425

SITUATION WANTSIT. WANTED ED ACCOUNT. & FINANCE Tanzanian male, 25 yrs Accountant successful experience in Tanzania looking for suitable placement in any field. Contact : 96710154 Tunisian lady has Professorship in social and economical sciences and accounting, diploma in Experimental Sciences degree in English for media. Contact 95391050, aysser2013@gmail.com Indian male, B.Com, 1 year Exp in Accounts/ Sales, on Visit Visa,..

Contact – 98295101 Senior Accountant 13 years experience FMCG & retail Noc available.

Contact: 93473942

Accountant 8 yrs experience looking part time job. Contact 99867456 Looking for accounting and Administration job have two and half years experience in United Arab Emirates in a trading company and I have bachelor degree in Administration nationality Indian. Contact: 93016252 Indian male, well experienced in accounts and Admin looking for a suitable vacancy Noc available.

Contact: 98717938 Senior accountant Indian male 35 years, MBA (finance) 8 years experience in a multinational FMCG company with valid Oman D/L NOC available can join immediately, looking for suitable position finance.

Contact: 95645945 Young, energetic 24, ACCA finalist, Advanced diploma in Accounting and business, seeking suitable placement in accounts, finance or audit.

Contact: 92430152 Email: rau_dey@yahoo.com 13 years exp (7.5 years gulf exp) B.Com Graduate, looking for Accountant job, GSM No:-92957064 with NOC. Indian male, 30 years, CMA (Inter), M.com.4 out of 7 years experience in Oman in Auditing/Accounts/Finance.

Having NOC and valid Oman D/L. Contact: 96746420 Email: sijuthampi@ymail.com Sudanese female MBA experience 5 years in Banking sectors, 1 years exp. as Accountant in Oman seeking for a suitable job. Contact : 92962621 Email: hindkameir@gmail.com Indian male, with B.Com 1 year experience in Accounts or Sales, on visit visa, Cont... 98295101 Senior Document Controller MCA Indian male 9+ year’s total experience 5+ years experience in Gulf in oil & gas sector and construction field on visit visa in Oman. Contact: 95388197 Email: rojanchristopher@gmail.com Indian male, B.Com, well experienced in Accounts & Admin, knowledge of Tally ERP 9 experience in Oman with valid Oman driving license. NOC available, looking for suitable job in Oman, join immediately.

Contact 94245039 Sudanese Accountant seeking job in Nizwa state experience 10 years 3 years in Saudi Arabia, 7 yrs in Sudan.

Contact : 97796394 / 94003247 Accounts & finance Indian male B.com M.B.A (F) Tally ERP9, 35 years, 8 years experience 1.5 years Oman family visa N.O.C available.

Contact: 93257426 Email: sibigeorp@gmail.com Accounts part time works up to finalization on monthly basis. Profit & loss A/C and financial statements, MS Reports Etc. Contact: 96247295 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

MBA Indian male looking for suitable position having 2 years working experience as an accountant now in Oman a visiting visa.

Contact 99424803 Indian male 22 yrs B. Com Graduate 1 year exp in Accounts, currently on visit visa. Looking for suitable job.

Contact 94341848 / Email – mohdhaji7272@gmail.com MBA Graduate with 6 yrs exp in finance/accounts/ auditing. Specialized in accounts payable dept, Oracle app user, proficient in Sap (fico) end user & tally 9.0. lean &six sigma certified trainer on visit visa.

Contact – 91967213 / 99064780 Finance Manager, CPA, with more than 15 yrs. of experience in GCC. Fully knowledgeable in Finance, General & Management Accounting . NOC available. Contact 96209331 ACCA affiliate , BSc Honors in applied Accountancy advance diploma in Accounting and Business, CAT Affiliate 1 year hand on working experience of Oman, with Oman driving license looking for a suitable placement in Audit firm. Having NOC can join immediately. Contact : 98989970 Motivated and energetic male 25 having 4 years of experience in finance with Master’s degree in Economics and CAT Certified seeking opportunity in Accounts/finance/ audit in a reputable organization.

Cell no: 00968-94626209 E-Mail: omerjawedshah@gmail.com Indian male with total 5 year experience (2 years experience in Accountant cum sales co ordinator in a FMCG Company in Oman) in accounts field and NOC available. Looking for suitable job Contact 92130188 Indian Accountant: Male, M com, 7 Yrs experience in Accounts up to finalization, having knowledge of ERP, Tally, seeks suitable placment.Contact 93950138 Email: lijinrajan123@gmail.com

ADMIN Indian Female: B.Com & MBA-HR. looking for full or part time job immediately. Prior recruitment experience in Muscat and India.98460262.

System administrator with 3 years experience hold a degree, MCITP, CCNA , CCTV biometric , seeking job in a company.

Contact: 99630084/98129845 Indian male 2+yrs oman exp in HR. joing immediatly. release available.

Contact :93671437 MBA (international business) from London, 4 years of UK experience in operations with D/L, looking for suitable position. Contact 91710075 Male admin/ HR office 6 years exp with NOC. Contact: 93275467 Buyer / Purchases / Administration / Stores with 7+ years local experience seeking suitable placement.

NOC available. Contact – 94045405 Indian Male 27Yrs, Having 6+ yrs (3 India + 3 Oman) experience in HR/ Admin looking for suitable position Contact 91507099.

Indian Female 25 MBA in HR looking for a suitable opening in Admin/ Hr. Contact 97013375

T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 5 , 2 0 1 5

D5

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED ADMIN

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

SALES / MARKETING

Over 14 years of gulf experience in Admin /HR /Logistics, fluent in Arabic & English with D/L looking for suitable position.

Contact 95824598

B.com, diploma in material management having 12 years experience in overseas / local puritans, logistics ware house seeks suitable placement NOC available.

Contact: 96477638

Content Executive, freshers with good communication skills and willingness to learn may apply on job@socioholics.com

Indian female with 10 yrs of experience in HR/Banking/Operations seeks a suitable placement.

Can be contacted on 98919015 or sherianne.coelho@gmail.com Indian female 29 MBA (HR) BSc, 4 yrs exp in HR& Admin looking suitable placement.

Contact : 95619537

AUTO CAD/DRAUGHTS20 Years exp Auto Cad 3DS Max available for teaching part time.

Contact - 94412557 Electrical draftsman AutoCAD switch gear & MEP control panel 7 years experience Qatar. Contact: 92546203/96228100

DESIGNER Interior Designer: Indian male 31, 8 years exp. in GCC, NOC available.

95217586 Architect designer experience in Architecture design in 2D, 3D visiting to site : 2 years experience (in Oman), fluent Hindi & English. Email: zhussain9950@gmail.com Contact: 94253074

DRIVER Driver with15 years experience in Oman; speak Arabic & English & Hindi, visa available.

Contact: 99191270 Looking for driving job.

Contact: 98219182 Male driver is available 7 years in Oman 3 years experience as a driver 7 month is Muscat driving license holder. Contact: 92046159 Pakistani male light vehicle driver, looking for job. Contact - 94435912 Light driver looking for job.

Contact: 99704122/ 97762303 Light driver looking for job.

Contact: 96435795 Pakistani light duty driver 2 yrs experience seeks placement.

Contact: 96342684 Light driver looking for job.

Contact: 98219599 Light driver. Contact: 99035942 Light driver looking for job, 4 yrs exp in Oman. Contact: 94241385 Driver looking for job. Contact 94195818 Driver looking for job. Contact: 99507039 Paksitani Driver with 6 yrs experience looking for job. # 93985087 Driver with car 3 years experience looking for job. Contact: 92041902 Light driver. Contact: 96313100 Driver available with car and without car. Contact 96771598 Pakistani male light vehicle driver with 2 yrs exp looking for job.

Contact : 96342684 Pakistani, male light vehicle driver looking for job. Contact 97943750 Driver with car. Contact: 97705694/98988208 Looking for job driving Bangladeshi. Contact: 97418036 Light driver for job.

Contact 95779594 Pakistani driving available.

Contact : 96913836

ENGG. / TECHNICAL Omani Mechanical Engineer, has 3 years experience ,has HSE, H2S, Riggers/Banks men Permit, Drawing / cad, SCBA, Safety Leadership and Initial Fire Response Courses. good with computer and English language looking for suitable job.

Contact 99224319-98454500 Indian male 22 Mechanical Diploma holder Engg with HVAC certified, having 1 year exp. seeking suitable position. Currently available on visit visa. Contact - 92835952

ENGG. / TECHNICAL Quantity Surveyor with 5 Years experience (one year in Oman) looking for job. Contact 91090036 Mechanical Engineer, Indian, 24 years with Piping Engineering, Autocad, Ansys NX- Cad, pro-e, Catia & PDMS now on visiting visa seek suitable placement. Contact: 99168054 / 96684345 Email: : mbkishore@hotmail.com BE ,Electrical Engineer with 5 Years Gulf Experience in Underground cable & Overhead line in HT and LT, Distribution Substation, MEP. Oman D/L available. NOC available.

Contact: 95054644, 00918807888109, speninsam@gmail.com Diploma in Electrical Engineer exp 5 years any type of industrial maintenance and installation, building wiring system. Contact: 94544663 Email: motiurrahaman1989@gmail. com B.Tech mechanical Engineer, Indian 1 years experience HVAC (MEP) available in Muscat on visit visa seeking suitable job.

Contact 93670280 Email: jinu.avm@gmail.com Indian male , diploma in electrical Engineering with 10 years of successful experience , presently available on visit visa seeking suitable positions in projects and maintenance electrical fields.

Contact: 91270686 Email: ajithgopa@rediffmail.com Iraqi male B.ch civil Engineering, 17 yrs experience in Oman experience in project management with valid Oman D/L NOC available and can join immediately looking suitable position in Muscat area.

Contact: 93809093 Email: mohanad_kuba@yahoo.com Controls & automation Engineer with 7 years experience in ( RO BOT /PLC/CNC programming , LV panel building , Installation & commissioning service & support of machines) mostly overseas experience for complete execution of Machine projects in China, USA, Thailand ETC. Contact : +97430847848, Email: bensonvar@gmail.com Indian male Mechanical Technician with 22 year experience (6.5 year in Oman)-as mill Wright fitter & maintenance fabrication work seeks suitable placement NOC available.

Contact: 95922696 Chemical Engineer with 04 years experience in petrochemical refinery sector seeking for & suitable position in petrochemical oil & gas, refinery EPC Companies.

Contact : 00968-91748400 A male Civil Engineer is available holding 10 years experience 2.5years in Oman in Building projects, quantity canton, project billing, extension of time, variation and in execution of project interested person can. Contact: 968 91320917 Indian male Electrical Engineer seeking for a job good core technical knowledge as well as fluent communication skill. Contact: 95980857 Electrical Engineer Indian male having valid driving license and NOC, BE 1 yrs experience sealing suitable placement. Contact: 96347995 Email: shyjalpk@gmail.com Indian seeking oilfield HSE fire & safety rigs studied 10SH risk assessment fire safety on visit.

Contact: 98723292 Civil Engineer, Female, 3 years experience on visit visa seeking suitable openings. Contact: 99195433 Indian male 24 yrs B. Tech (Mech.

Eng) on visit 1 yr experience in production field looking for suitable placement. Contact: 98925685 BSc Civil Engineer, 6 months working experience in UAE as a Site Engineer currently in Oman on visit visa and looking for a job.

Contact : 98157833 Email: waqas.pasha22@gmail.com

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

EDUCATION

Egyptian Civil Engineer, total experience 7 years - 2 years experience in Oman. I am looking for Project Engineer, I have good experience in site & office works. Contact :91148708

English Teacher female (M. A. B. Ed) Having 14 years experience with 11 years experience in Oman with reputed institute and school.

Contact: 92289080 / 99318276 Email: babujosev@yahoo.com

Mech Eng 10 yrs Oman exp P&M / logistics in oil & gas industry.

Contact : 95774585 Project Coordinator (B.E Civil) 6.5 yrs in Oman having 9+ years relevant experience working in MOD & ROP project need suitable placement. Contact : +986 91129192 Email: azmot.uuet@gmail.com Indian male B.Tech (ECE), MBA (HR) 2 years of experience in CCNA, CCNP and hands on practice in Linux and MCSE, looking for suitable job.

Contact: 93487225 Quantity Surveyor or Site Engineer in civil, 5 years experience in Oman have valid Oman driving license looking for suitable posts, NOC available. Contact: 96394948/ 98294919.

Email: asvinsha@gmail.com Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need suitable job of construction 12 yrs exp.

Email: mohd.ateeq.khan@gmail.com Civil Engineer, Expatriate Female, 3 yrs experience, on visit visa seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 99195433 Iraqi Engineer specialized in telecommunication net working & PC experience in nuking network and security systems. Contact: 92898329 / 99249124 Electronics & communications Indian male, 2 years experience seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 99456725 / 94678625 Indian male, 28 yrs, Electronics & Instrumentation Engineer with 4 yrs experience in Industrial Automation (SCADA) seeking suitable job.

Contact 93154156 / 98416190 Electrical Engineer Pakistani male 4 years B. Tech & 3 years’ diploma seeking a suitable placement.

Contact: 96752080 Email: ilyasoader97@gmail.com Indian Male, IT Support Engineer, 2 yrs in Oman & 5 yrs Indian experience. Contact 97311847 Indian male, B.Tech Mechanical having 4 years experience with QA/ QC / CSWIP looking for a suitable position. Contact: 99447106 Email: dhanubhasi87@gmail.com Btech computer science graduate 2015 passout.. Android application marketing.. Having good communication skills and mindset to work in a team. Contact 91024385 D.A.E Civil 4 years exp in land surveyor and building work worked on AutoCAD, T.S and G.P.S 1 year exp in Oman looking for placement.

Contact: 92140890 / 98780156 Email: engrsafiullah91@gmail.com Engineer with 3 yrs experience in Indian in MEP, HVAC& mechanical maintained field on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact 99191535 Email: fareed029@gmail.com Indian female, B.Tech biotechnology with strong computer skills and 2 years experience as associate research analyst (Media Monitoring) in Nasdaq Oman seeking growth oriented jobs. Contact 92044603 /918056169148 or angeline.babithac@gmail.com.

Indian male Diploma, civil engineer 4.3 year experience at building construction and consulting company with Oman driving licence and N.O.C available seeking suitable placement contact 95989500 email cv.shihabedappal@gmail.com

EDUCATION MBA, B.Com Indian female having two yrs exp as lecturer seeks placement in teaching filed. Presently on family visit visa. Contact – 96259171/ Email: bhumipandya@gmail.com Indian female MCA, Three years experience in teaching field, seeks placement currently on visit visa.

Contact: 93431567 Email: fivona.mel@gmail.com

IT Indian male, B.E ( computer science engineer), MBA (finance), OCA certified, having 5 years of experience in oracle Dba/ oracle apps Dba, seeks a suitable position in the field of IT. Contact: 96212062 email: zubairkhan11@gmail.com B.E IT Eng, 6 yrs exp TCS with oil & Gas Industry (Java /Oracle).

Contact : 97835922 Omani Citizen searching a job in the field of computer especially in data base professional in operating Oracle SQL, PL/ SQL, form6i, Report 6i. Contact 96977368 Email: talaloml@yahoo.com Indian male 25 yrs exp in Administration, Telecom, Off, Networking, MS Office. Seeks any job. On visit visa. Contact – 91385373 / sridharbsnlma1455@gmail.com

Indian male, with 8 yrs exp. in Oman (BA- Graduate) working as a project Sales Coordinator, with Oman D/L, looking for suitable job, ready to join immediately with NOC. Contact 95245057

MEDICAL Well experienced MOH Licensed Indian GP Doctor looking for locum / permanent position in the Capital area. Contact 98140024 email:drgpoman@yahoo.com Indian female Dentist MOH Oman passed seeking a suitable placement in capital region. Contact– 91377681 hashimsarawat@gmail.com Indian male Nurse, 31 years Oman prometric passed 6 yrs ICU experience. Contact : 94195150 / 92758895 Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf experience) looking for a suitable job (NOC available) Contact-93344378 Indian female looking for suitable position 2nd rank in MSC microbiology, fresher now on visiting visa.

Contact : 91633089 Email: mansytk4@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

Business development Manager/ Executive. Preferably minimum of 2 years experience. Valid driving licence can apply on job@socioholics.com Sales /marketing experience 24 years old Indian male having valid Omani license seeking suitable position in FMCG company, presently working as a Supervisor of the leading hypermarket in Oman.

NOC available. Contact: 91993785 / 93089757 Looking for good job 2 years experience Oman sales marketing valid driving license Indian Kerala.

Contact : 98626682 Pakistani male 34 yrs Intermediate 2 yrs exp in sales & marketing in Oman. Looking for suitable job.

Contact - 92146864 Omani female exp in PRO with Oman D/L. Contact: 91161736 Outdoor salesman with car looking for job. Contact 91615715 Indian male, 39 yrs having 15 yrs Gulf experience (UAE, Qatar, Oman) in sales & marketing looking for a suitable position with NOC. Contact 94054730 8 years store experience Indian male looking for placement. N.O.C available. Contact: 98456535 8 years purchase experienced Indian male looking for job. N.O.C. available. Contact: 98161323

CERTIFIED (CCNA) NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR 4 years experienced looking for Suitable placement.

Contact: 99002390

Indian female (MTECH) having Gulf experience in family visa seeking suitable placement in Oman.

Contact : 94306164 / 91001194

Indian male 26 years B.Tech (IT) M.Tech CCNA certified MCSE certified 3 yrs experience currently a visit visa looking for suitable job.

Contact: 91006851

Indian male MBA 7 years experience in Hospitality industry, operation, sales & marketing looking for suitable vacancy. Contact 92115860 Email vibin.py@gmail.com

Indian male, B.Sc (Mathematics) PGDBM (Marketing). 9 yrs of Oman experience in sales in midlevel management, NOC available.

Valid Oman D/L. Contact: 95278838 Email: anup2p4p@yahoo.com

B.E Computer Science, Indian lady, with 2 years experience in Oman looking for suitable job in Muscat having valid GCC driving license.

Contact: 97738624

Indian male Science Graduate 11 yrs of sales exp in India & Oman, having valid D/L seeking job in sales with family benefits. Contact – 94255249

Indian Male, B.Com Graduate, 23, with experience in Sales looking for suitable placements. .

Contact 98371144

A Graduate degree holder 4 years experience in Marketing (mobiles) in Oman & U.A.E and as well has driving license with car. Interested person can. Contact: +968 94164657

Pakistani Female Bachelor of Information Technology with 8 years’ experience in Banking, Sales, business development, retail & customer service seeking for a suitable placement. Having valid D/L& NOC available. Contact 94699970 shehla.chohan@gmail.com

Computer Networking/Facility Mgmt 5 Yrs of Exp Holds B.E(ECE), CCNA Looking for Good Opportunity, Indian - Visit Visa. Contact 91911792/ arafakdnl@gmail.com IT Desktop Support Engineer 2 years Oman 3 years in Indian Exp. Contact 91937060 Network system Engineer B.E / ECE + CCNA & Ms certified with 4+ yrs exp looking for a job. Currently in Oman on visit visa. Contact: 92589502 Email: careersjegan@gmail.com Indian male, completed diploma in Computer technology fresher, seeking suitable position, currently on visit visa. Contact : 93596096

MISCELLANEOUS Warehouse in charge with 14 years gulf experience 1.5 years in Oman NOC available looking for suitable placement contact 97440902 MCA Indian male 6 month experience India seeking suitable placement. Contact 00918547068891 Email: koneeradh@gmail.com Filipino Male looking for a job & have experience in sales, waiter, barista, technical support / customer service with good communication skills. # 91789465

MBA graduate having 6 years exp in sales & marketing, presently working in PepsiCo India seeks suitable placement in Oman.

Contact: + 91 9895388937 Email: samir.pag@gmail.com Indian female B.com Graduate having 8 years experience in Indian & 2 years experience in Oman as sales coordinator, secretary, customer service seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 95433987

Experience skilled candidate with driver license seeks position in sales in Salalah. Contact: 98579382

Indian male. 27, Post Graduate, 5+ yrs exp in Oman in Sales & Credit Control, with valid Oman driving License, NOC available, looking for suitable placements. Ph: 9199 3376

TOURS & TRAVELS

Indian Female having more than 8 years of experience in oil and gas industry in sales and marketing & as commercial manager, now in family visa looking for a suitable placement No. 94187012, Email mvrajagd_d@yahoo.com

Indian material controller/ store keeper seeking job in Oman NOC / Release available. Contact: 91946174 Indian Female with over 9 yrs experience with good communication skills seeks jobs in customer service or sales field. Contact : 96108289, shijipaul84@gmail.com

Procurement Manager with 17 years experience looking suitable position. (Electrical Diploma Holder with Oman D/L) Contact: 95979029. pavithranmv@gmail.com

MCA, BCA with 2 yrs relevant experience seeking suitable opportunity.

Contact: 96377039

Indian worked MNC 15 years Oman experience as Marketing FMCG / TRAD Purchasing with visa license.

Contact: 98796982

13 Years UAE experienced in MNC & reputed firms logistics distribution looking for a suitable placement, on visit visa contact 99838743, gani.dawood@gmail.com

SKILLED/UNSKILLED

Indian male with 5 years experience in building material sales and marketing education qualification BA electronics. Contact: 92228538

Indian Lady 24 yrs with five years experience as cabin crew in National & International airlines seeking suitable job vacancy in good position.

Contact: 97623267

Part- Time Accountant, well experience senior accountant ,doing all type of accounting works, Finalization, Budgeting available.

Contact :98803439

Indian male 45+ yrs , 20 yrs exp as sales supervisor in India looking for indoor sales /stores /cashier or any suitable placement can speak Hindi , English, Malayalam, Tamil, kannada can join immediately on visit visa.

Contact 93086105/33016546

MBA Graduate with D/L looking for sales or marketing jobs.

Contact 94143154 Email: rinojnathen008@gmail.com Male BA with D/L having 6 years exp Oman wanted suitable job in sales, inventory, procure.

Contact : 92191026 Indian female MSc, MPHIL (Chemistry) 3 years Teaching experience currently on visit visa seeking suitable position. Contact : 96916534 / 91969756

25 Indian female B.S.C. Fashion Technology. 5 years experience in textile industry as a merchandiser and good in fashion marketing. Currently available on visit visa, seeking for a suitable job. Contact 96990368.

Email: simmy.missy@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS Innovative Indian Male 29, B.E & M.Tech Web designer / developer with over 5.5 years of work experience in HTML 5, CSS 3, SEO, Digital marketing (DFP & DCM), Magento, CMS, Photoshop and Dreamweaver.

Can join ASAP. Mobile: 00968 9630 3055 / email: aditya.khandkar@gmail.com 10 YEAR Experienced PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER. Currently working at Kerala, India.

Seeks placement.

Contact: - +968 95872030 , email: - sajith3969@gmail.com Indian male 48yrs with driving license looking for a job to work as driver / salesman. Residing at Al Khoudh. Contact: 99551310 Tunisian women looking for a job, khnows english,frensh, italian and arabic. Contact: 91171838 Young Indian Chartered Accountant, female, Having 6 years experience in Oman and India. Accounts and Finance Manager, Auditor. Urgently seeking suitable positions.

Contact-92530131, jobcareer44@gmail.com

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T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 5, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

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

SITUATION WANTED SERVICES

ACCOUNTANTS AND CONSULTANTS

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WE ARE PROVIDING ACCOUNTING/ AUDITING TAX/ CONSULTING CONTACT: 24 567 251 / 95 498 033

WEBSITE

Indian female Nurse with 5 yrs of experience, presently working in Oman, seeking for suitable placement. NOC available can join immediately. Contact: 98329941 Email: ancyanish2011@gmail.com Looking for part time jobs in Muscat, Auto cad Draughtsman (Civil). contact:-+968-99070584 email: remluvp@gmail.com Indian female MA. B.Ed. with one year three months teaching experience. Subject: English Seeking for a Better placement. Now working in Oman # 93961142, 92184408 Email:anoopkesavan78@gmail.com B.Sc. Mechanical Engineer Sudanese 3 yrs of exp. In industrial field available in Muscat on visit visa seeking suitable job .

Contact: 95868922, Email: almouthanaosman@yahoo.com Indian Male MBA with two year experience in H.R as a H.R Assistant, Now in India, Seeking for an urgent suitable position.

Contact:-98620260 / 93895992 , Email:-deepakmb4@gmail.com Indian male auto cad draughtsman (civil) 8 years experience, seeking for part time job mobile no: 0096899070584 email: remluvp@gmail.com 8 years successful experience.

Senior Accountant, Indian male, 29 years, presently working in oman as a senior accountant with oman driving license. NOC available. seek suitable opportunity. gsm: 97705854 Indian Male 28 years MSM, B. Com having 6years experience in Gulf and India as a HR and Admin looking for suitable placement.# :97914340.

Email: rajkv30@gmail.com B.Sc. Mechanical Engineer Sudanese 3 yrs of exp. In industrial field available in muscat on vist visa seeking suitable job .

Contact: 95868922, Email: almouthanaosman@yahoo.com IT system and Printer engineer ME, 5Years bank IT Management exp in India looking for full time job visit visa contact 94462150 24 year Indian Chartered Accountant male with 3yrs of experience is seeking suitable placement in Muscat, currently on visit visa & ready to join immediately. Contact him on 98201476 or email at lokeshkaluri@gmail.com MCA IT Professional Indian Female seek placement in Teaching/ Non Teaching field. Presently on visit visa. 9588 7051, ashwininakod@gmail.com ACCA Affiliate, Indian, 2.5Years experience in Audit/ Finance in Big 6 Audit Firm and Oil Accounting in PDO, For Permanent Placement for Finance or Accounts or Audit. Release NOC Available on hand.

Contact #95140445, a.saran891@gmail.com Finance ACCA Affiliate, Worked as an Auditor with 2.5 Years Experience in reputed firm, Handled independent audit/finance assignments, Looking for permanent placement, NOC available. #95140445. a.saran891@gmail.com Piping Design Engineer, Indian male 27, looking for suitable placement in Piping Design & Engineering. Having 7 years of experience in AutoCAD. Also familiar with PDMS (11.6 Version),CAESAR ll. Contact : 97351786 / 96143708, E-mail : mohammednazeer07@gmail.com

Admission Open: CAMBRIDGE / BILINGUAL CURRICULUM admission started in Al Burj Private School, Azaiba for KG and Grade I to IV. Please register soonest.

Contact: 93211417 / 92887809.

Learn Cup cakes, exotic cakes, Icing decorations, handicrafts.

Contact 95941515

SITUATION WANTSIT. WANTED ED Filipino Male looking for a job & have experience in sales, waiter, barista, technical support / customer service with good communication skills. # 91789465 PART TIME ACCOUNTANT, Indian male, M. Com, 35 years, 12 Years exp. in Accounts, 8 years in Oman. Knowledge upto finalization. Having valid D/L, seeks suitable Placement.GSM: 96249124 Egyptian Civil Engineer, total experience 7 years - 2 years experience in Oman. I am looking for Project Engineer, I have good experience in site & office works.

Contact number:91148708

WEB, ERP and Business Intelligence (BI) creation and management at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

COMPUTER

Indian Male 24 years, Looking for a Suitable Job in Telecom / Networking. 1 year sales experience. MSc. Communications Engineering & Valid Driving license.

Ph: 91280121.

Email: jackrprasad@yahoo.com.

ACCOUNTING – Indian male seeking accounting job with 2 years experience in accounting.

Contact: 94263445, E mail – contactantonyxavieranand@gmail. com

Carpet, curtain, sofa, floor, cleaning, shampooing, marble & mosaic tiles grinding, polishing and painting. Contact : 93630133 / 95821193

Sudanese male: 27 yrs, 2 years experience in accounting, other experience (purchasing – HR - Coordinating and Office Management), looking for a job Omani Driving License, NOC. Contact: 94174403

House shifting packing.

99657644 / 98518013

24 year Indian Chartered Accountant male with 3yrs of experience is seeking suitable placement in Muscat, currently on visit visa & ready to join immediately. Contact him on 98201476 or email at lokeshkaluri@gmail.com Sudanese male (B.Sc, computer science) (diploma computer engineering), 6 yrs. experience DBA oracle PL-SQL, MS SQL - Server, MS visual studio vba, network.

Contact 91415886 Syrian male 3yrs. exp in IT support, Networking, Security systems, Server support, IT sales and marketing.

Valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement. Contact 91055584 PRODUCTION OPERATOR – Indian male seeking production operator or related jobs with 4 years of experience in oil & gas field. #94263445.

Email: tonyxavier4u@gmail.com

SITUATION WANTMANPOWER

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile polishing, pest control & anti-termite treatment, general cleaning painting, Plumbing, Electrical, shifting. Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C. # 24810137, 99450130

SITUATION WANTSIT. WANTED ED Indian Keralite Male 35 looking for Scaffolding supervisor post having 5 years of Supervisor and HSE experience in GCC Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Fluent in English Arabic and Hindi . Contact 96155921, or mail fysal.nellaya@gmail.com Indian Male 28 yrs, having 7 years Gulf + Indian experience in HR and Admin field, looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 97914340, Email: rajkv3086@gmail.com

Water proofing ABUQABASContact 99320217/24788722 Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance.Contact ABU QABAS99320217 /24788722 Pest control Treatments, termites, cockroaches, bedbugs Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723 Carpet, Sofa Shampooing. Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99884591 AC servicing maintenance fixing.

Contact: 99540621

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/24792998 MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your marble. # 24793614/ 99314807 House shifting. Contact 99708138 Split & window A.C servicing & maintenance. Contact 93769089/95323517 Air condition maintenance split and window services AC specialist ducted and package type unites.

Contact: 98667326

MATRIMONIAL Hindu Ezhava family, settled in Muscat looking for suitable groom working within Oman for their daughter 25 yrs (MBA) working with a reputed company in Muscat. Contact 98689663

MATRIMONIAL Alliance invited for a Nair girl 24 yrs, 5ft, 1”, fair, slim, B.Tech graduate reputed family of Ernakulam dist. (Star Thiruvonam Sudhajathakam) financially sound, from parents of B.Tech nair boys from Trissur, Palakkad and Eranakulam dist. . Contact 00919495924302 email: raveendrandr@yahoo.com Kerala Nair girl, B.Com, 22 yrs, 5.2” very fair, slim, (Star Uthrattathi) Presently working in infosis, Chennai. Financially sound, from parents of nair boys from Trissur, Palakkad and Eranakulam & Calicut dist. . Contact : 0091 8301865688 email: raveendrandr@yahoo.com

T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 5 , 2 0 1 5

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DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED CARGO

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

TOURS

RENT A CAR

RENT A CAR

Butter cup rent a car presents fantastic offers all vehicles are model 2016.

Contact : 97249449

GOOD NEWS Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain, backache, paralysis massage, steam bath, obesity, spondylitis IDEAL , CARE Ayurvedic Clinic 18 November street, Azaiba. Contact 99639695 / 99117987

Available car with driver daily, weekly and monthly basis.

Contact : 95518612

GOOD NEWS Genuine Ayurvedic treatments & massage, Ayurvedic clinic at Al Khuwair. Contact 24478618 / 97263637 /93309131

Ayurvedic massage backache, joint pain & neck pain etc.

Contact: 98254909

DRIVING

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know more about Islam, please call: 99425598, 96050000, 99353988, 99253818, 99341395, and 99379133.

For ladies: 99415818, 99321360, 99730723 Orvisit: www.islamfact.com Ayurvedic treatment for backache, paralysis, arthritis etc & massage, All Season (Vaidyaratnam).

Contact 24475280 / 95371554 / 92504980 www.siddhayur.com

Learn driving with professional only automatic. Contact 94022250

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T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 5, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

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