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FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN
On the occasion of the Opening of the Council of Oman, 1997
‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’ We renew our call to the Omani Women’s Associations and other social organisations, to give a higher priority to instilling awareness in female citizens about the need to adapt to the realities of today. This will enable women everywhere to fulfil their vital role in society - a role for which we have endeavoured to prepare them from the very beginning.
MONDAY, November 30, 2015 / 18 Safar 1437 AH
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HM receives greetings MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received more cables of congratulations on the occasion of the 45th Glorious National Day from the leaders of friendly countries. In their cables, they expressed their sincere congratulations and best wishes of good health, happiness and a long life to His Majesty the Sultan, and the Omani people further progress and prosperity under the wise leadership of His Majesty. His Majesty the Sultan received congratulatory cables from His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jabir Al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan, President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi, President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca of Malta and Mauritius Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth. -ONA
RAIN IN MUSCAT GOVERNORATE Muscat, Sidab and Qantab received light rains on Sunday morning while it rained heavily in Quriyat, Sur and Al Kamil in the afternoon flooding wadis and waterlogging roads.— Supplied photos See also >A2
New police hospital to help cut expat body repatriation time MUSCAT: Delays in embalming the bodies of expatriates who have died in Oman, before their repatriation, will speed up, say officials, as a new police hospital being built in Muscat will have a dedicated department for the purpose. “When the new Royal Oman Police (ROP) hospital comes up, there will be a special dedicated department to deal with such cases. It will surely ease the present situation,” the senior official said.
According to social workers from expatriate communities in Oman, often it takes 48 hours to have a body embalmed and complete other procedures before it is repatriated as there are only two embalming centres in Muscat. “At present, the main embalming facility is available only at the Muscat Royal Oman Police (ROP) hospital in Qurum. Every year, they are forced to deal with nearly 1,000 bodies. It means that approximately, three bodies are embalmed every day,” Shameer PTK, an Indian social worker in Oman who constantly assists in repatriating bodies, told the Times of Oman.
‘Oman a second home for Bangladeshis’
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Oman is a second home for Bangladeshis, a Bangladesh minister has said. >A2
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Tourism’s share in Oman GDP to rise
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Direct contribution of tourism to Oman’s GDP is expected to jump. >A4
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Tender for water projects floated
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A tender for supervisory consultancy services was floated. >B1
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An appetite for photographs of mouth-watering dishes HASAN SHABAN AL LAWATI
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hassan@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: For most photographers nature is the best location for a photo opportunity, but Omani photographer Khamis Al Ghailani finds inspiration at restaurants and cafes where he “cooks” fresh food photographs. Today, the Times of Oman proudly features yet another talented youngster for its #OmanPride initiative. After Al Ghailani orders his meal, the first thing he does is to capture its flavour, aroma, colour and texture through the camera lenses. “You should know how to see all these things together as a composite,” he explains. “It’s a matter of good taste,” says Al Ghailani who always tries to give his dishes a carefree summer feel. “Who doesn’t like food?” wonders Al Ghailani, who owns a mouth-watering Instagram page which exudes intimacy and a fine art of understanding food and beverage photography.
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Khamis got his first camera in 2004, and only used to click family photos. A year later, he started practicing portraits and close-up photography. “Food photography isn’t that easy for any beginner photographer,” Al Ghailani said, while adding that his favourite food picture
ever was a snap of mini burgers at Casper & Gambini’s. Asked about his role model, the young Omani artist said, “There are a lot of creative photographers who I am learning from. But the one in whose pictures I can see myself is a Kuwaiti photographer, named Ahmed Al Harbi.” Al Ghailani’s gallery on Instagram features a variety of cuisines and sweets including cheesecakes, macaronis, pistachios, spaghetti, ice creams, dates, Iranian sweets, French fries, luxury chocolates and his latest work, ‘karak’ tea. More than 3,000 fans follow the photographer and he has posted 388 images till date. Al Ghailani hopes to open his own exhibition sometime in the future to showcase his art in food, landscape and portrait photography.
“They are not to be blamed. But if the facility is expanded to regional government hospitals, it would be a great help and will speed up the repatriation process. Till the initial procedures are completed, the body is kept in one of the regional hospitals and only then is it transferred to Muscat,” he said explaining the process. “If somebody dies in the interior of the Sultanate of Oman at some place, the body has to be transported to Qurum. That itself takes time. If the facility is expanded to other government hospitals in Muscat, it would greatly help the expatriate community,” Shameer added. >A6
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designed to bring transparency to Oman’s real estate market, has been launched
HASAN SHABAN AL LAWATI
hassan@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: To protect people from unscrupulous brokers in the Sultanate a new electronic system has been launched, according to the Oman Real Estate Association. Labelling the new electronic system launched by the Ministry of Housing (MoH) as a ‘game changer’, the Oman Real Estate Association has said that it would regulate the real estate
industry in the country. “We hail the MoH’s role in executing the Royal Decree, so that brokers will only be able to practice Real Estate brokerage after obtaining a licence, receiving proper training and completing a set of formalities,” said Hassan Mohammed Juma, Deputy Chairman of the Oman Real Estate Association. Under the new rules, homeowners will still be able to buy and sell buildings, but only through a licenced real estate agent. “This system will help bring better policies and regulations to the real estate sector, as the market today is not well organised and lacks professionalism,” he added, while noting that the association is seeking to improve the standards of real estate brokerage, development and evaluation. “Many unprofessional brokers who have been practicing the profession in an unethical manner have given the industry a bad reputation. But thanks to the electronic system, the landscape of the profession is going to change for the better,” Juma said. >A6