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‘Islam stands for peace, not for revenge’

REJIMON K [email protected]

MUSCAT: “Oh! Muslims stand up for Islam the religion of tolerance,” Sufyaan Khalifa, a religious schol-ar in Oman and a member of Aus-tralian National Imams Council (ANIC), said, adding that any act of violence or terror will only harm and spill innocent blood “from which we all will suff er”.

The respected Imam was speaking as the French magazine Charlie Hebdo courted controver-

sy again with its “All is forgiven” front page, the fi rst edition after terror attack on its newsroom in which 12 people were slain.

On Wednesday, Al Qaeda over the border in Yemen claimed responsibility for the shooting, which saw two gunmen force their way into the Paris headquar-ters of Charlie Hebdo, shooting 12, including staff cartoonists Charb,

Cabu, Honoré, Tignous and Wo-linski, economist Bernard Maris and two cops, and wounding elev-en, four of them seriously. It was an incident that sparked three days of fear in France.

While there were fears that the latest front page would reignite feelings across the Muslim world, religious scholars in Oman spoke out about Islam and called for its true believers to follow the path of peace.

“Let’s make it very clear to our fellow Muslims before our non-Muslim friends that “violence is not in the dictionary of Islam.” There is no place for violence, ei-ther in the Holy Quran or in the Sunnah (Prophetic traditions). It is mentioned at several places in the Holy Quran that Allah does not like those who spread mischief on this earth,” Sufyaan said quoting Quranic verses that the biggest violence – killing in-nocent people – is repudiated in such strong words the likes of which are found in no other reli-gious scripture. >A4

As ‘Charlie Hebdo’

magazine in Paris

courts controversy,

religious scholars

call for peace

And it has already come down to you in the Book that when you hear

the verses of Allah [recited], they are denied [by them] and ridiculed;

so do not sit with them” until they enter into another conversation.

Sufyaan Khalifa, a religious

scholar.

OMANROP to launch ePassport today

1 Royal Oman Police (ROP) will be launching the ePassport on Thursday at

the Offi cers Institute, under the patronage of Sayyid Hamood bin Faisal Al Busaidi, the Minister of Interior. >A5

OMANAl Irfan project master plan contract awarded

2A multi-disciplinary team led by Allies and Morrison has won the

competition to select a master planning consultant for Al Irfan urban development project.>A6

INDIA50 more bodies found in river Ganga

3 Curiosity is brewing with recovery of 50 more bodies from the river Ganga

in Uttar Pradesh, taking the number of such recoveries over the last few days to 100. >A9

T O P T H R E E I N S I D E S T O R I E S

C1Sayyid Khalid apologises to football fans

Council calls for better exchange with peopleMUSCAT: Improved channels of communication between govern-ment departments and citizens and comprehensive database for companies that are awarded gov-ernment projects were the focus of the meetings of the Council of Ministers held recently.

The Council on Wednesday issued a statement on various is-sues discussed at the meetings.

Acting in accordance with the Royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said to pro-ceed with economic and social development, the Council also approved the establishment of a comprehensive database for companies that are awarded gov-ernment projects.

The Council considered the allocation of special areas for agricultural investment and ap-proved the Regional Municipali-ties and Water Resources Min-

istry’s Food Safety Centre as a monitoring institution for food-stuff and agricultural products. The plan includes feasibility studies for agriculture and fi sh-eries projects and designation of areas for livestock sale.

During one of its recent meet-ings, the Council tackled other issues of concern to citizens. It supported recommendations made by the State Council on activating the role of museums as landmarks of human history, noting that the new Heritage Law covers all requirements for pro-tecting Oman’s heritage. It also supported the recommendations of the Majlis Al Shura on devel-oping the tourism sector.

It instructed public sector units to develop and utilise e-government channels to provide better communication between the government and citizens. >A5

C O U N C I L O F M I N I S T E R S M E E T I N G

HM sends greetings

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a ca-ble of congratulations to Presi-dent Kolinda Kitarovic of the Republic of Croatia on winning the presidential elections.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere congratulations along with his best wishes of suc-cess to President Kitarovic to achieve progress and de-velopment for the friendly Croatian people, wishing the bilateral relations between the two countries progress and growth. -ONA

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OMAN 70%of Sultanate’s residents suff er from some kind of ailment related to smoking

Anti-smoking drive shows results

FAHAD AL [email protected]

MUSCAT: Coming in at fi fth place usually sounds unimpressive, but when it comes to tobacco con-sumption rate among GCC coun-tries, it might be considered good news for Oman.

The Executive Offi ce of the Gulf Health Ministries recently

released a report putting Yemen on top of the list of tobacco con-sumers in not only GCC, but also among all Arab nations.

Saudi Arabia was second on the list followed by Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Oman. Qatar had the lowest tobacco consump-tion rate.

The report showed that the con-sumption of tobacco involved less

that 12.3 per cent of the Omani population.

Ban on smoking either ‘sheesha’ or cigarettes in public places was among the issues raised by a mu-nicipal council member recently eliciting a huge response from the public. Places such as beaches, parks and bus stations were main-ly targeted by the Muscat Munici-pality as they have a priority in

imposing the ban once the recom-mendations are approved.

Statistics released by the Min-istry of Health showed that 70 per cent of Oman’s residents suff ered from some kind of ailment relat-ed to smoking. The municipality needs to take necessary steps to reduce tobacco use, said a Munici-pal Council member, adding that laws banning smoking in public

places have had a positive impact on health, according to studies.

An order issued locally which bans smoking in enclosed public places such as shopping malls, cafes and enclosed restaurants, is already in place. It was issued on October 31, 2009 and came into ef-fect in April, 2010.

The municipal council mem-bers have suggested extending the

ban all over Oman, starting with the most congested public places with citizens and residents, espe-cially families.

Tobacco use According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), tobacco kills nearly six million people each year. More than fi ve mil-lion of these deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while more than 600,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. Unless urgent action is taken, the annual death toll could rise to more than eight mil-lion by 2030, according to WHO statistics.

As it costs millions of rials to treat smokers, the municipal council is pushing for stricter reg-ulations against smoking in public places. They have also been receiv-ing complaints from citizens who do not like being forced to become passive smokers.

Following the ban, the Muscat Municipality has been fi ning of-fenders between OMR100 and OMR300 for violating the ban.

Smoking is already banned on all public transport services and enclosed areas, including govern-ment offi ces, health centres and hospitals, clinics and dispensa-ries, educational institutions, in-dustries, commercial centres and markets, restaurants and coff ee shops and clubs.

Statistics released

by the Ministry of

Health show that 70

per cent of residents

suff er from some kind

of ailments related to

smoking. The recent

ban on smoking

‘sheesha’ or cigarettes

in public places has

elicited huge

public response

Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, WHO Graphics

Tobacco consumption in the regionPrevalence of smoking (countrywise in 2012) Daily cigarretes consumption

among smokers (highest %)

Jordan

43.4Men

Women

Palestine

41.3

Turkey

39

Egypt

36.1

1.1

Lebanon

33.6

21.2

Iraq

33

2.5

Kuwait

31.3

Bahrain

23.9

5.9

Iran

23.1

1.6

Afghanistan

22.9

KSA

22.1

2.2

Qatar

19.3

1.4

UAE

18.2

2.5

Oman

12.3

41

0.9no data no data no data

8.513.6

Mauritania

38Eritrea

36Rwanda

41Moldova

35Swaziland

35KSA

33Oman

32Taiwan

30Panama

30Yemen

20 cigarretes: 1 box

5,400,000 600,000Yearly deaths due to tobacco consumption

direct tobacco users non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke

%

%

Arab nations unite to take up school children’s health plan Times News Service

MUSCAT: A regional meet-ing of experts for improving the school health document in gen-eral education schools in Arab countries mooted continuation of its activities.

The meeting was inaugurated on Tuesday in Muscat under the auspices of Dr Humoud Al Harthi, undersecretary of Ministry of Education for education and curricula, in the presence of the secretary of the Oman National Commission for Education, Cul-ture and Science (ONCECS), and the participation of representa-tives from 10 Arab countries, ex-perts and specialists in the fi eld of nutrition and school health.

The meeting was organised by ONCECS, in collaboration with Arab League Educational, Cul-tural and Scientifi c Organisation (ALECSO).

The draft document to improve school health in general educa-tion schools in the Arab countries is one of ALECSO’s programmes within its general plan to develop education in the Arab world.

The programme aims specifi -cally to improve school health services to face current and fu-ture challenges and to develop them to refl ect positively on school achievement of students and professional performance of teachers and administrators, be-

sides consolidating the positive health behaviour for all members of the society. This meeting aims to develop school health in the Arab world so that it can meet the needs of learners and staff in the school environment and related community members.

After the opening ceremony, Dr. Humoud Al Harthy, under-secretary of the Ministry of Edu-cation for Education and Cur-riculum, made a statement in which he said, “We all know that a healthy mind is in a healthy body, so the availability of school health services eff ectively contribute to improving the academic achieve-ment of students. Health, both in terms of food and protection from diseases lead to students who are capable of academic achievement

as required since school health is one of the most important aspects of the educational process.”

Two presentations were given at the meeting. The fi rst was ti-tled ‘Improving School Health in Public Education Schools’ by Dr. Mohammed bin Fatima, pro-fessor of high education at the University of Tunisia. He dem-onstrated the overall goals related to improving school health in the Arab world, and provided an anal-ysis of a questionnaire to identify strengths and weaknesses in the Arab strategy for the monitoring of diffi culties facing school health organisation.

The questionnaire covered a number of goals and directives to improve school health by setting up a strategy for the purpose.

R E G I O N A L M E E T I N G

‘Holy Quran teaches us to fight evil with good’

“Allah does not love those who spread mischief…” (Sura Mai’dah 5:64). “…whoever kills a soul un-less for a soul or for corruption (done) in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely... And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely…” (Mai’dah 5:32).

“Muslims must realise the great responsibility upon our shoulders to represent Islam in its crystal and pure form, by fi rst of all being patient and by not re-futing false accusations with evil actions. Instead we have to be cautious in our actions and reac-tions. I advise my fellow Muslims to take advantage of any opportu-nity that arises to present Islam to our fellow non-Muslim friends, as it is the only way to fi ght the fear and the misconceptions they have about Islam,” he added.

Another religious scholar said that while printing a blas-phemous image of Prophet on a magazine cover was a condemn-able act, so was attacking those responsible.

“Holy Quran teaches us to fi ght evil with good. It teaches us to turn our foes into our lifelong friends. Islam is a religion of love and peace. It doesn’t teach us any-where vengeance,” Ummer VCP, the religious scholar, said.

“[The] magazine’s stand on freedom of expression is agree-able. But we should not forget the saying that your liberty to swing your fi st ends just where my nose begins. Moreover, the magazine should not have taken this kind of liberty by hurting the religious sentiments of believers,” Ummer added.

Islam teaches us to face criti-cism with broad-mindedness, an-other religious scholar said.

“Prophet has taught us the same. In his period also, Islam was criticised by many. But he has dealt all the attacks with patience and has taught us to follow the same,” Sayyid Ibrahim Khalil Bu-qhari, a religious scholar said.

“Prophet’s prominence and Is-lam’s values cannot be tarnished by criticisms. Nobody can tar-

nish the Prophet with a few car-toons or something else. So, true believers should ignore this and follow the path of peace and love. Prophet has never taught us to attack disbelievers by resorting to unwarranted means,” Sayyid Ibrahim said.

“By unleashing terror on disbe-lievers in the name of Islam is a devious plan designed by terror-ists to establish their ideology,” Sayyid Ibrahim added.

Meanwhile, another Islamic scholar, Nizar Saqafi , said that those who attacked the magazine and killed the people are not true believers of Islam.

“Even if they claim that they are Muslims, they are not,” he said.

Mohammed Osama Rawat, an orthodox Muslim, said that we should keep a distance from them who are ridiculing Allah’s commandments.

“As per Khalifa Umar Farooq (May Allah be pleased with him), we should keep a distance from them who are ridiculing Allah’s commandments,” Rawat said.

P A R I S T E R R O R

CHILDREN’S WELFARE : The programme aims specifi cally to im-

prove school health services to face current and future challenges

and to develop them to refl ect positively on school achievement

of students.–File photo

OMAN-INDIA JOINT ARMY EXERCISEThe Royal Army of Oman

(RAO) on Wednesday

began joint exercise (Al

Najah 1 or Success 1) with

the Indian Army as part

of the training plans with

friendly countries in order

to raise effi ciency of its

personnel.-ONA

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SAYYID ASA’AD MEETS ENVOYOn behalf of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, His

Highness Sayyid Asa’ad bin Tariq Al Said yesterday re-

ceived Mohammed Yousfi , ambassador of the People’s

Democratic Republic of Algeria to the Sultanate, to bid

him farewell at the end of his tour of duty.—ONA

ePassport launch today

ZAKRIYAH AL SOBHI

MUSCAT: Royal Oman Police (ROP) will launch the ePassport on Thursday under the patron-age of Sayyid Hamood bin Faisal Al Busaidi, Minister of Interior.

The new ePassport design is derived from Omani heritage of the dagger and Islamic and Arabic decorations as well as three dimensional drawings of the most prominent landmarks of Oman.

Brig Adullah Al Jabri, direc-tor of human resources at the ROP, said that ePassport in-cludes an electronic chip that allows offi cials to read the data of the passport electronically as well as verify its credibility.

It has reinforced biometrics including fi ngerprints of the passport holder, digital image, as well as the electronic sig-nature. It will make it easier and safer for Omani citizens travelling across the world, said Al Jabri.

I T T E C H N O L O G Y

Ministers focus on food safety

Stressing on the signifi cance of transferring new advanced in-ternational technology to the Sultanate, the Council approved the localisation of railway indus-tries as part of the country’s mod-ernisation policy espoused by the government.

The statement said, “Within the context of the attention ac-corded by His Majesty Sultan Qa-boos bin Said to further enhance the Sultanate’s economic and so-cial development and maximise benefi ts from services being of-fered to citizens, the Council re-cently held a number of meetings during which it discussed means of achieving the highest possible levels of growth.”

“In pursuance of the govern-ment’s keenness to ensure the availability of staple food and the stability of their prices, the Council of Ministers has stressed the importance of addressing hindrances posed to food safety projects. The plan includes the allocation of special areas for ag-ricultural investment, the draft-

ing of a comprehensive list of feasible agriculture and fi shery projects and the designation of suitable areas for the setting up of central livestock sale markets, along with related basic servic-es,” it said.

The statement further said, “In implementation of its previous decisions, the Council of Minis-ters has approved the activation of the Food Safety Centre at the Ministry of Regional Munici-palities and Water Resources. The Centre will be empowered to undertake analysis and moni-toring of foodstuff and consumer agricultural products in the local market. It also gave directives to enhance service and research laboratories at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, as well as agriculture and water labora-tories at the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Re-sources. It also directed the de-partments concerned to under-take legal and procedural steps to safeguard public health from the impacts of farm pesticides.” – ONA

P O L I C Y S T A T E M E N T

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Oman Air promotes delicious local dishesTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Oman Air’s Muscat-based catering unit is playing an important role in supporting the Omani Government’s promotion of authentic Omani cuisine to dis-cerning international audiences.

Oman Air’s Catering Business Unit, under the leadership of Gen-eral Manager - Oman Air Catering Jassim Al Balushi, recently host-ed a high-profi le event at which three of Oman’s leading chefs pre-sented a range of delicious new dishes. Each dish combined tradi-tional Omani cooking with the lat-est global culinary trends, and was created with the expert support of Oman Air’s in-house chefs.

The chefs created a range of soups, salads, appetisers, main courses and desserts which were not just pleasing to the palate but also had an overwhelming visual appeal.

The guest of honour at this spe-cial event was Mohsin Khamis Al Balushi, adviser to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and board member of Oman Air.

He was joined by senior manag-ers from Oman Air and offi cials from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, which is over-seeing Oman’s presence at the forthcoming Expo Milano 2015. Expo Milano 2015 will provide a global platform for increas-ing awareness of Omani cul-ture and heritage, including its distinctive cuisine.

Mohsin Khamis Al Balushi commented, “Authentic Omani cuisine deserves global recogni-tion and this event has been an important step towards achiev-

ing that goal. I am amazed by the outstanding skill and creativity shown by each of the guest chefs, as well as the expertise of Oman Air’s own catering specialists. My thanks go to all who took part and whose hard work made this event such a success. The eff orts of Jas-sim Al Balushi and his team in un-conditionally supporting the glob-al promotion of Omani cuisine are particularly appreciated.”

Showcasing talents In turn, the chefs thanked Mohsin Khamis and Oman Air for giving them the opportunity to show-case their talents globally. They

also thanked the catering team for giving them the opportunity to en-hance their pre-plating, presenta-tion and serving experience.

Omani cuisineAndrew Walsh, chief offi cer ser-vice delivery, added, “Oman Air has, for many years now, both in-fl ight and within our airport lounges, been proud to showcase Omani cuisine to millions of air travellers from around the world. We are therefore delighted to have played a further part in raising the global profi le of Omani culinary achievement and it has been a pleasure to off er the support of

Oman Air Catering to these most enterprising of Omani chefs.”

Jassim Al Balushi, general manager - Oman Air Catering, said, “We look forward to seeing Omani food gain even greater rec-ognition at Expo Milano 2015, and to taking Omani cuisine to many more destinations as Oman Air’s network continues to grow.

“In the meantime, I would like to thank His Excellency, our guests from the Ministry of Com-merce and Industry, our superb guest chefs and the Oman Air Ca-tering Unit for making this event such a great success,” he said in conclusion.

A U T H E N T I C O M A N I C U I S I N E

GOURMET’S DELIGHT: The chefs created a range of soups, salads, appetisers, main courses and des-

serts which were not just pleasing to the palate but also had an overwhelming visual appeal.

Authentic Omani cuisine deserves global recognition and this event has been an important step towards achieving that goal

Mohsin Khamis Al Balushi, adviser to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Erwin Schrott all set to perform at ROHMTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Exhilarating and pas-sionate sounds of tango will be brought to the stage of the Royal Opera House Muscat on January 18 in a concert featuring Uruguay-an opera singer Erwin Schrott with the Rojotango Ensemble.

Erwin Schrott is a bass-bar-itone who has starred in many operas, but his Uruguayan roots mean he also has a deep love of tango and in 2011 he recorded an album called Rojotango featuring the genre. He will share this music in his Omani debut, accompanied by the Rojotango Ensemble.

“Tango is branded into my soul. Tango has built up a space in my heart. Tango has the taste of life, and the fl avour of death,” Schrott said of the music which he grew up listening to. The programme will include pieces by tango com-poser Astor Piazzolla and songs by Latin American composers.

U R U G U A Y A N O P E R A S I N G E R

Al Irfan project master plan contract awarded

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Omran announced that a multidisciplinary team led by Allies and Morrison has won the competition to select a mas-ter planning consultant for Al Irfan urban development project in Oman, which will create a new downtown area for the Muscat capital district.

The new mixed-use project will be located on a site extending over 7.4 million square metres, with strategic links to the nearby Mus-cat International Airport and the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC). The selection process was managed by the Roy-al Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in partnership with the project developer, Omran. It fol-lowed the format of a competition via direct invitation, with fi ve par-ticipating teams including Allies and Morrison, Broadway Malyan, HOK, Nikken Sekkei Ltd. and Skidmore Owings & Merrill Inc.

Sustainable designEach of the competitors was tasked with developing a concept master plan proposal embrac-ing sustainable design principles which would refl ect Oman’s dis-tinctive identity.

The master plan proposals submitted by the fi ve teams were assessed by a multidisciplinary international judging panel com-prising Alan Baxter of Alan Bax-ter & Associates, Professor Salma Samar Damluji from the Depart-ment of Architecture and Design, American University of Beirut, Paul Finch, deputy chair of the De-sign Council, Robin Nicholson of Cullinan Studio, and Peter Oborn, vice president, RIBA Internation-al, in addition to Professor Awni Shaaban of the Department of Civil and Architecture Engineer-ing, Sultan Qaboos University, and Basem Al Shihabi of Omrania & Associates, Saudi Arabia.

The two highest scoring fi nal-ists were then invited to present their proposals and answer ques-tions from panel members at an

interview. While the panel con-sidered that all the participating teams had submitted compelling design concepts they found that the concept developed by Allies and Morrison provided a rich nar-rative together with a contextual, landscape driven response to the brief which had been designed to work with the topography while enhancing the site’s unique natu-ral setting.

Modern scheme The panel said the proposals had the potential to create a thorough-ly modern yet authentic and char-acteristic scheme, that would be recognisably Omani and distinct from other destinations in the wider Gulf region.

Eng. Wael Al Lawati, Omran’s chief executive offi cer, said, “Al

Irfan is the Sultanate’s largest mixed-use urban development project, and we wanted to ensure it is designed in a sustainable man-ner while refl ecting the unique-ness of Omani culture and aligns with the Sultanate’s long-term developmental strategy. We are delighted that the RIBA competi-tive process enabled us to achieve such a successful result, which has led to the appointment of Allies and Morrison, a world-class fi rm in architecture and urban design.”

Large-scale projectHighlighting the importance of the Al Irfan project, Eng. Wael Al Lawati added, “This large-scale project is a big step towards the future in terms of modern urban planning, not just for Muscat, but also as a model for planning mod-ern cities across the Sultanate in years to come.

“Al Irfan urban development will provide an exciting addition to Muscat’s new lifestyle off ering, complete with a new commercial centre which will be designed to best international standards in ur-ban planning. It will include resi-dential, commercial, retail, recrea-tion and tourist facilities and will also provide signifi cant employ-ment opportunities for Omanis, together with numerous down-stream business opportunities for Omani companies.”

Interesting projectGraham Morrison, partner at Al-lies and Morrison, said, “This is an extraordinarily interesting project for us to win. The project shares, in many ways, some of the same attributes of our other large scale master plans including London’s 2012 Olympic legacy plan, as it shares the same long term ambi-tions for a memorable, sustainable and vibrant new community. It will be a privilege to be working on such a dramatic site, to be work-ing with the Omran team and to be working in Oman.”

Allies and Morrison

has won the

competition to select

a master planning

consultant for Al Irfan

urban development

project in Oman

SPIRIT OF MUSIC: The aim of the Muscat Chamber Music Series

is to provide workshops and free concerts so that people in Oman

can learn more about the value of music. –Jun Estrada/Times of Oman

Grand opening of Muscat Chamber Music Series soonTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Grand opening of Muscat Chamber Music Se-ries will be held in either March or April, said organisers on Wednesday. The aim of the Mus-cat Chamber Music Series is to provide music workshops and free concerts so that people in Oman can learn more about the value of music.

“A country is known by the mu-sic and music knows no bounda-ries,” said Ahmed Abouzahra, general manager and founder of Arabesque International, a per-forming arts promotion company based in Oman, while announc-ing the third pre-launch event of the Muscat Chamber Music Series, which will take place at the Oman Auditorium Hall, Al Bustan Palace, on January 21, 2015, at 7.30pm.

This concert will be unique, bringing the spirit of Om Kolthoum to the series for the fi rst time. Some of her best songs will be performed by Egyptian musicians, namely by Rehab Omar, accompanied by the tal-ented ‘Maged Sorour Ensemble for Arabic Music’.

Its leader and conductor, Maged Sorour, is one of the most illustrious qanoon players of the Arab world, and Rehab Omar has been dubbed “The best artistic

successor of Om Kolthoum, since her passing.”

In addition to the vocal tribute to the great Om Kolthoum, the audience will be delighted with instrumental melodies from the Arabic repertoire.

A distinguished soloist, Rehab Omar became dedicated to music at an young age, and was able to gain much of her early on-stage experience as a member of the ‘Children’s Choir’ founded by Se-lim Sahab, and in collaboration with his National Arab Music Ensemble.

In 2005, she joined the Abdel Halim Nowera Ensemble for Arabic Music, and with them performed in numerous festivals and on stages including those of the Alexandria and Cairo Opera Houses, where she still performs regularly.

In her young career, she has already graced the stage in many Arab countries, and has also been called to perform in Europe.

The programme will be held under the patronage of the Egyp-tian Culture Offi ce to the Sultan-ate, and presented by the Oman Arab Bank.

The concert will be free of cost, and the Egyptian musicians will be doing a workshop with young Omani musicians from the Oud Association, which will be open to participants of all ages.

M U S I C W O R K S H O P S

MIXED-USE PROJECT: Eng. Wael Al Lawati, Chief Executive Offi cer

of Omran and Graham Morrison, Partner, Allies and Morrison, at the

contract signing ceremony. – Supplied picture

A7


Times News Service

MUSCAT: Showcasing pho-tos of Oman’s beauty on the rear panel of the buses, the Ministry of Tourism recently launched its Double Decker Tourist Bus Cam-paign in Paris.

The campaign is using 25 buses and was conducted from Decem-ber 30, 2014, to January 12.

These buses moved around the most important landmarks and attractions in Paris, including the Eiff el Tower, the Opera, Champs

Élysées, Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde.

France is considered one of the most visited countries in the world, and the campaign was run-ning throughout the period of Christmas and New Year. The im-pact of the publicity was quite high for both French and international visitors vacationing in Paris.

The weather in Paris during the campaign period was quite cold which made the images of Oman’s sunny beaches very appealing to prospective visitors looking for a

warmer getaway. Oman tourism buses were parked at the Champs Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe on New Year’s eve during the New Year countdown and were show-cased live on French TV.

This campaign helped the ministry’s numerous partners in France to ensure their sup-port, especially with current events that have caused much tension throughout Europe, and have stimulated the demand and the image of Oman in the French market.

It has also reinforced the ‘e- learning programme’ that they just launched. Simultaneously, the number of likes on the Min-istry of Tourism’s French page on Facebook increased from 5000 to 8157 during this two week period. There was also a 63.9 per cent in-crease of new visitors to the min-istry’s website in French (www.omantourisme.com).

France is considered one of the most visited

countries in the world, and the campaign

was run during Christmas and New Year

TOURISM TIME: The weather in Paris during the campaign period was quite cold which made the

images of Oman’s sunny beaches very appealing to prospective visitors.–Supplied photo

Entertainer Oman 2015 off ers savings worth OMR24,000

Times News Servcie

MUSCAT: Citizens and residents can make savings of OMR24,000 with the Entertainer Oman 2015 being launched in Muscat on Tuesday.

Speaking to Times of Oman, Donna Benton, founder and CEO of Entertainer, said that from din-ing at leading restaurants to being pampered in a spa, the Entertainer Oman 2015 has off ers for all your favourite activities.

“With over 700 ‘buy one get one free’ off ers for restaurants, attrac-tions, entertainment, spas, salons, fi tness and more, it off ers custom-ers over OMR24,000 in savings

throughout 2015,” she told Times of Oman at the sidelines of the launch. Every Entertainer Oman 2015 includes a complimentary copy of the Entertainer Travel 2015, which features over 250 Book One Night, Get One Free of-fers at leading 4 and 5-star hotels across the Middle East, Asia, Af-rica, Europe and the Indian Ocean.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, In-terContinental, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Marriott and Viceroy are just a few of the hundreds of international names included in the Entertainer Travel 2015.

Exciting new merchants include The Great Kebab Factory, 360 De-grees, VOX Cinemas, The Big Bus

Tours, Café Ceramique and Just Grilled. Hundreds of popular mer-chants are back for 2015, including TGI Friday’s, Burger King, Pizza Express, Chili’s, Fun Ville, Caribou Café and many more.

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With over 350,000 downloads to date, the Entertainer App has proved extremely popular with Entertainer customers – off ering convenient access to off ers, a sim-ple redemption process, location-based search and even a savings tracker. The Entertainer Oman 2015 includes over OMR24,000 worth of savings.

M A R K E T I N G P A C K A G E

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Paris buses pitch for sunny Oman

A8

REGIONT H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

UN and Arab League envoy for Syria Staff an de Mistura said that his focus is on Aleppo fi rst because it is an iconic example of where things could start sending the best signal

Palestinian ‘unity government’ on the brink of collapseGAZA: Escalating tension be-tween Hamas and its Fatah has pushed their “unity” government to the brink of collapse, harming eff orts to rebuild the Gaza Strip and complicating Palestinian statehood ambitions.

Five months after a devastat-ing war with Israel, Gaza’s resi-dents are still occasionally jolted by explosions. But the blasts now are more often the result of the internal confl ict tearing at the fabric of Palestinian politics. Ha-mas remains the dominant force in the Gaza territory - even after it agreed last June to a “recon-ciliation government” that would assert control and oversee post-war reconstruction. That govern-ment’s inability to fully carry out its work has stalled rebuilding in Gaza, where around 100,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in the war, and undermined a Pal-estinian statehood bid at the Unit-ed Nations.

Spiralling violenceIn recent weeks the Hamas-Fa-tah stand-off has spiralled into violence, although it is not always clear who is behind it. On Friday, bombs exploded at a major Gaza bank used by the unity govern-

ment to pay most of the 70,000 public sector workers hired be-fore Hamas took over the narrow, coastal enclave.

At the weekend, pictures emerged of Fatah activists in Gaza who said they had been stripped, beaten and left in freezing tem-peratures by Hamas security men. Hamas, meanwhile, accuses Fatah

of rounding up its party members in the occupied West Bank, where the Fatah-led Palestinian Author-ity (PA) prevails.

“Whenever Hamas is with its back against the wall, it reacts with some fi ghting,” said Mattia Toaldo, a Middle East expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, although he described

that as a worst-case scenario that remained unlikely for now.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, who is based in the occupied West Bank, says his technocrat government cannot begin to administer Gaza until Ha-mas fully relinquishes control, in-cluding over border crossings with Egypt and Israel.

But there is no sign of that hap-pening. For its part, Hamas accuses Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who leads Fatah and con-trols the PA budget, of trying to throttle the group into submission, including by refusing to pay its 50,000 public-sector employees. “Abbas must fi rst show solidar-ity with his own people, whom he deprives of salaries and rebuild-ing,” said Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas offi cial. The group has also lambasted Abbas for not visiting Gaza since the war with Israel.

The upshot is that the Palestin-ians are now as polarised as ever, with Hamas overseeing Gaza and its 1.8 million people, while Fatah is in charge in the occupied West Bank, just 60km (40 miles) to the northeast, where 2.8 million live.

Foreign governments that last October contributed $5.4 billion to a fund for the Palestinians, includ-ing Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and others in Europe, have indi-cated that they cannot fully follow through on their commitments until the unity government is in charge as a single authority.

The risk for Hamas is that if it gives up power now it may not re-gain it - while it won the last Pales-tinian elections in 2006, there are

no signs of a new vote being held.For Fatah, if it does not exert

itself via the Palestinian Author-ity, it cannot hope to be taken seri-ously by the rest of the world as it prepares to join the International Criminal Court and make another statehood attempt at the United Nations. What is more, even if that bid makes progress, opinion polls show Hamas will win the next elections, whenever they are held, greatly complicating the statehood agenda.

Hamas is formally sworn to Israel’s destruction and opposes the PA’s independence strategy because it would not mean a state in all of historic Palestine and it believes critical issues, such as the right of return for refugees, are not included. Hani Al Masri, an inde-pendent political analyst based in the occupied West Bank, worries that if the Hamas-Fatah tensions are not reined in, the results could be devastating, especially for the people of Gaza, desperate to re-build their lives after the war.

“It might lead to unrest and bring closer the moment of a potential explosion that neither Hamas nor anybody else could contain, and could even spread to the occupied West Bank,” he said. — Reuters

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

Woman dies of H5N1 bird fl u in Egypt

Kerry backs Russian bid for fresh Syria talks

CAIRO: A 65-year-old Egyptian woman has died from the H5N1 strain of bird fl u, the health minis-try said on Wednesday, the second victim of the virus this month.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says there has been a re-cent jump in the number of H5N1 infections in people in Egypt, but says there does not appear to have been any major genetic change in the fl u strain to explain the rise in human cases.

The latest victim came from the central province of Assiut, the health ministry said in a state-ment. Egypt’s H5N1 cases have largely been in poor rural areas in the south, where villagers tend to keep and slaughter poultry in the home.

Seven other cases are cur-rently being treated and three have recovered this year, the ministry said.

At least 10 people died from the disease in Egypt in 2014.

The Geneva-based WHO said on Tuesday that between Decem-ber 4 to January 6, there had been 18 new laboratory-confi rmed hu-man cases of H5N1 infection in Egypt, including four deaths.

This was the highest ever monthly number of human cases in Egypt, the UN public health agency said. — Reuters

GENEVA: US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday backed Russia-led bid for fresh talks to bring about a peaceful resolution to the catastrophic Syrian crisis.

Kerry voiced his backing for Russian eff orts during his meeting with UN and Arab League envoy for Syria Staff an de Mistura. “The United States is particularly concerned about the continued catastrophe that is unfolding in Syria where nearly three-quarters of the en-tire country are displaced peo-ple,” Kerry said.

“Russian eff orts could be helpful” for bringing about a peaceful solution to the Syr-ian crisis which has entered its fourth year,” he said.

De Mistura, who is heading to Damascus next week, said that his focus is on Aleppo fi rst be-cause it is “an iconic example of where things could start send-ing the best signal.”

“It is time for the Assad re-gime to put their people fi rst and to think about the consequences of their actions which are at-tracting more and more terror-ists to Syria,” Kerry said. — PTI

D E A D L Y V I R U S

C A T A S T R O P H I C C R I S I S

TUNISIAN REVOLUTION’S FOURTH ANNIVERSARYFamily members of protesters who died or were wounded during Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, hold pictures and shout slogans during celebrations marking the fourth

anniversary of the revolution, at Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis on Wednesday. — Reuters

Zarif seeks progress in talks on Iran nuclear programme

GENEVA: Iranian Foreign Min-ister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday his meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry was important to see if progress could be made in narrowing dif-ferences on his country’s disputed nuclear programme.

Zarif, asked whether the ses-sion was key to setting the stage for the more detailed nuclear ne-gotiations this week, told report-ers minutes before his encounter with Kerry in Geneva: “I think it’s important. I think it will show the readiness of the two parties to move forward and to speed up the process.”

Renewing the questIran and six world powers includ-ing Washington have renewed their quest for an elusive nuclear deal after negotiators failed for the

second time in November to meet a self-imposed deadline.

The sought-after agreement, whose new deadline is June 30, would gradually end sanctions

imposed on Iran in exchange for verifi able curbs on its uranium enrichment programme to ensure it cannot be put to developing nu-clear bombs. Tehran says it wants

only civilian nuclear energy.Zarif, asked if he hoped they

could reach agreement by July 1, said: “That’s why we are here. We’ll see.

“I think we would have a much safer, much more prudent world if we were to engage in serious dialogue, serious debate about our diff erences, and then we will fi nd out that what binds us together is far greater than what divides us,” he said.

NegotiatorsKerry, accompanied by a team of US negotiators including Acting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, did not speak to report-ers. Earlier on Wednesday, he held talks with the UN mediator for Syria, Staff an De Mistura, in the Swiss city.

Zarif, asked by reporters about the latest Charlie Hebdo last week’s deadly militant attack on the French satirical journal, said: “We believe that sanctities need to be respected.

“Unless we learn to respect one another, it will be very diffi cult in a world of diff erent views and diff er-ent cultures and civilisations, we won’t be able to engage in a serious dialogue if we start disrespecting each other’s values and sanctities,” Zarif said.

Respecting such “sanctities” makes it easier to have respectful relations, he added. — Reuters

Iran minister admits

his meeting with

Kerry is crucial

DISCUSSIONS: US Secretary of State John Kerry sits with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad

Zarif in Geneva on Wednesday. Zarif said his meeting with Kerry was important to see if progress

could be made in narrowing diff erences on his country’s disputed nuclear programme. – Reuters

UP IN ARMS: Palestinians hold kerosene lamps during a protest against power crisis in Gaza, in Rafah

in the southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian Energy offi cials said residents of Gaza, home to 1.8 million

people, have been experiencing up to 18 hours of electricity outage a day for nearly a month due to fuel

and power shortages. – Reuters

A9

INDIAT H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

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Long, tough road for Modi to make India ‘easiest’ place for businessGANDHINAGAR (India): Nar-endra Modi may have pledged to make India the “easiest” place to do business but experts remain sceptical about how the prime minister intends to overcome ob-stacles such as corruption, red tape and an arduous tax regime.

Hundreds of executives gath-ered this week in Modi’s longtime fi efdom of Gujarat to hear him promise to transform India’s busi-ness climate, with “unlimited” re-forms designed to attract foreign investment.

Everyone from World Bank president Jim Yong Kim to US Secretary of State John Kerry pub-licly heaped praise on Modi’s ef-forts to kickstart economic growth since his right-wing party stormed to power at elections in May.

Economists cautiousBut behind the scenes at the ma-jor “Vibrant Gujarat” summit, the mood among some was more cau-tious while economists rattled off a string of substantial reforms the government still needs to tackle.

India currently ranks 142 out of

189 on the World Bank’s “ease of doing business survey”, behind its rival Pakistan, and even dropping two places on the list last year.

Kerry hailed Modi as a “vision-ary” in his address at the summit, enthused by his government’s promises to cut a swathe through red tape and simplify a tax regime that often leaves foreign business in despair. But, speaking on the sidelines of the gathering, one of Kerry’s own offi cials struck a more cautious wait-and-see note.

“I think there are companies who are sort of watching to make sure that what’s projected actually happens,” a senior US State De-partment offi cial said in the Guja-rati capital Gandhinagar.

“And there’s no reason to believe it won’t, but at the same time these are very entrenched things that take a while to change,” he said.

Also speaking at the three-day gathering, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley defended his government’s pace of reforms so far and stressed that Modi’s pledge to make India the “easiest” place to do business was not an empty slogan.

Jaitley pointed to moves to fast-track changes to land purchases — a major business bugbear — and steps to introduce a national sales tax to replace myriad confusing duties imposed by state and na-tional governments. “I see invest-

ments signifi cantly moving up in days to come,” said Jaitley.

Economist Rajiv Kumar applaud-ed Modi’s eff orts but said more was needed to remove cumbersome and often opaque rules and regu-lations for every kind of business,

from private schools to major in-dustries, operating in India.Kumar also said India’s notori-ously inert and labyrinthine bu-reaucracy charged with impos-ing those regulations needed to be overhauled.

“It’s a paradigm shift that’s needed. It’s not incremental,” Ku-mar, a senior fellow at the Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research think-tank, said.

And he was brutal about India’s “completely arbitrary” taxation re-gime, which he blamed for keeping international investors away and which the government has also promised to fi x.

British mobile giant Vodafone is embroiled in a bitter, $2.4-billion battle with India’s tax authorities who are sometimes accused by business of acting capriciously, while Finnish company Nokia had a plant in India seized over a tax dispute.

While he agreed there was “still a long way to go”, Kumar said he was optimistic the government could transform the economy “because India will never have

another chance like this and Modi understands that”.

India needs $800 billion a year in investments, well above the current $200 billion, to help the economy accelerate to seven per-cent growth, the government’s fi nancial services secretary told the summit.

Asia’s third largest economy has been struggling through its worst slowdown since the 1980s, with growth at around fi ve per cent, too low to help create jobs for tens of millions of young people.

While some experts pointed to a need to overhaul dilapidated in-frastructure including pot-holed roads and unreliable power sup-plies to boost business, others sin-gled out endemic corruption.

Tackling corruption India-born economist Jagdish Bhagwati, a professor at Colum-bia University in New York, said the government must do more to tackle corruption among public offi cials that plagued the previ-ous left-leaning Congress govern-ment’s decade in power. - AFP

B U S I N E S S C L I M A T E

100 corpses recovered from Ganga in Unnao

UNNAO (UP): In a curious case, over 100 bodies have been fi shed out from river Ganga in this area of northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh over the past two days, prompting the Centre to rush a team of offi cials to enquire the reason behind it.

While about 30 bodies were recovered on Tuesday, 70 more were fi shed out on Wednesday.

“Around 100 bodies have been taken out from the river near Pariyar ghat in Safi pur area (of Unnao district),” Inspector Gen-eral of Police (Law and Order)

A. Satish Ganesh told reporters. With most of the bodies mutilat-ed, DNA sampling is being used to identify the bodies.

Badly decomposedA team of 10 doctors have taken the DNA samples of 80 bodies to ascertain their identities, while it was not possible to take samples from others as they were badly decomposed, Ganesh said.

As the curiosity was brewing over the mysterious recoveries, Ganesh said these were bodies ostensibly of unmarried girls and

children which were disposed off in the river by their kin as part of last rites. The bodies surfaced after water receded near Pariyar Ghat, he said.

“During preliminary investi-gation, local residents informed that instead of cremating the bodies of unmarried girls they are set adrift in the Ganga river,” the IG said.

“Most of the bodies were badly mutilated so it was diffi cult to as-certain their gender,” he said.

He said 45 villages have been identifi ed where people tradi-

tionally cremate their kin at Pariyar ghat. “Heads of these vil-lages have been asked to provide the list of those, who had died in the last six months to one year and later cremated at the ghat,” he said, adding the samples of all such families would be taken and matched with those of the bodies.

The IG said that since the bod-ies found have already been ritu-ally cremated, it has been decided in consultation with the local rep-resentatives that a mass crema-tion will be held and joint prayers conducted later. - PTI

During preliminary

investigation, local

residents informed

that instead of

cremating the bodies

of unmarried girls,

they are set adrift in

the Ganga river

Stalemate continues as PDP turns down NC support off erSRINAGAR: Prospects of an early resolution to political stale-mate in Indian-administered- Kashmir ended on Wednesday with NC slamming PDP and ac-cusing it of making every “com-promise” to come to power, after the latter showed no inclination to accept off er of support.

PDP, which has emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats in the House of 87 nembers, on Wednesday indicated that it may not accept the support off er of National Conference whose Working President Omar Abdul-lah wrote to Governor N. N. Vohra on Tuesday.

“The people have voted against the National Conference in the elections and with just 15 seats, they (NC) cannot decide on the government formation,” PDP Chief spokesperson Naeem Akhtar said.

Soon after, NC’s general sec-retary Ali Mohammad Sagar is-sued a statement, saying its off er was limited to outside support and attacked PDP, saying it was “ready to make every possible compromise and U-turn to come to power”.

Sagar pointedly targeted PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Say-eed, accusing him of “lording over countless massacres and being the architect of repression in the state”.

Insisting that NC was not in-terested in being a part of govern-ment, he said that “unlike” PDP,

his party is “guided by principles and a political ideology that is rooted in the aspirations and sen-timents of the people.”

Sagar said, “It should be amply clear that the NC’s off er to PDP was an off er of outside support for PDP to form the government in J&K...”

While slamming PDP, Sagar said, “We have put our ideology over the lure of power, something that quite understandably seems inconceivable for a party like the PDP which is ready to make every possible compromise and U-turn to come to power in the State.

“PDP wants to come to power at any cost, even if that means contradicting everything PDP leaders said during the campaign for the Assembly Elections.”

While slamming PDP, the NC

leader said, “The last we checked, neither had Mufti Mohammad Sayeed rendered a public apology for his crimes against Kashmiris during his tenure as the (Union) Home Minister and nor have the people of the state forgiven him for lording over countless mas-sacres and being the architect of repression in the state.

“So, the PDP Chief Spokesper-son should come out of his delu-sions and the party should stop taking the people of Kashmir for granted”, Sagar added.

Sayeed was the union home minister in the V. P. Singh-led government of 1989.

PDP emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats in the 87-member House.

BJP bagged 25 seats, NC 15 and Congress 12. - PTI

F R A C T U R E D M A N D A T E

OBSTACLES GALORE India needs $800 billion a year in investments, well

above the current $200 billion, to help the economy accelerate to 7% growth

Economy has been struggling through its worst slowdown since the 1980s, with growth near 5%

Experts pointed to a need to overhaul dilapidated infrastructure including pot-holed roads and unreliable power supplies to boost business

Most of the bodies

were badly mutilated

so it was difficult to

ascertain their gender

A. Satish GaneshInspector General of Police

CANDID : President of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba

Mufti addressing a Press Conference after her party’s win in as-

sembly elections in Srinagar recently. - PTI fi le photo

A10

FIND-IT-ALLT H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

PRAYER TIMINGS

Dhuhr 12.21pm

Asr 3.25pm

Maghrib 5.46pm

Isha 7.00pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 5.32am

OMAN

Max 25Min 17

Max 24Min 16

Max 24Min 16

Max 26Min 10

Max 26Min 18Max 25

Min 8

Max 26Min 10

Max 27Min 18

MAINLY clear skies over most of the Sultanate with chance of high clouds advection and chance of low-level clouds or fog patches during late night to early morning over governorates of Al-Dhahira and Al-Wusta. Chances of dust rising and wind over desert and open areas.EXPECTED WIND: Wind will be northwesterly light to moderate occasionally fresh over most of the Sultanate becoming light variable during night along the coastal areas of Oman Sea coast while it will be northeasterly fresh along coasts of Arabian Sea.SEA STATE: Moderate over Musandam and Oman Sea coasts with a maximum wave height of 2.0 metres and moderate to rough along the coasts of Arabian Sea with a maximum wave height of 3.0 metres.HORIZONTAL VISIBILITY: Good over most of the Sultanate becoming poor during fogdust rising and fog.THE NEXT 48 HOURS OUTLOOK: Mainly clear skies and relatively cold weather over most of the Sultanate.

W E A T H E R L I S T I N G S

WORLD

Max 1Min -1

Max 21Min 7

Max -7Min -9

Max 25Min 12

Max 22Min 10

Max 25Min 20

Max 1Min -2

Max 30Min 21

Max Min

Abu Dhabi 23 14Doha 20 10Dubai 24 11Kuwait 17 11Manama 20 11Riyadh 21 8Athens 14 7Baghdad 16 5Barbados 22 18Beijing 1 -3Berlin 7 4Boston -2 -7Brussels 8 -3Buenos Aires 28 21Cairo 18 9Chicago -2 -5Colombo 29 21Copenhagen 6 3Dublin 6 1Frankfurt 8 3Harare 27 16Hong Kong 18 14Istanbul 8 4Jerusalem 8 5Johannesburg 22 15

Max Min

Kuala Lumpur 30 23Lisbon 15 9London -7 -9Madrid 12 4Manila 30 21Mexico City 21 7Miami 23 17Moscow 1 -2New Delhi 21 7New York 1 -1Oslo 4 1Panama 31 24Paris 10 5Perth 31 15Prague 6 4Rio de Janeiro 33 26Santiago 31 13Seoul 6 -1Singapore 28 24Stockholm 3 2Sydney 25 20Taipei 20 18Tokyo 12 5Toronto -4 -7Vienna 8 5

PHARMACIESRound the clockAl Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24783334Appolo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24782666Muscat PharmacyRuwi: 24702542, Salalah: 23291635Atlas PharmacyGhubra: 24503585; Ruwi 24811715Muscat RegionAl Hashar, Ruwi1 24 Hr Br. Tel. 24537080Muscat, Al Sarooj. Tel: 24695536Belqees, Al Khoudh (OIB) Tel. 24535398Belqees, Ma’abelah. Tel: 24454624Dhofar RegionMuscat, Al Nahdha Road, Salalah. Tel. 23291635

HOSPITALS1st Chiropractic Centre: 24472274Al Amal Medical & Health Care Centre: 24485052Al Musafi r Specialised Medical Clinic: 24706453Hatat Polyclinic LLC,Ruwi: 24563641, Azaiba: 24499269, Sohar: 2683006Al Raff ah Hospital: 24618900/1/2Al Massaraat Clinic & Laboratory: 24566435Al Makook Medical Coordinance Centre: 24499434Apollo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24787766, 24787780Capital Polyclinic: 24707549Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic, Ruwi: 24799760/1/2Capital Clinic, Seeb: 24420740Ceregem National Raak: 24485633Dr Harub’s Clinic: 24563217Elixir Health Centre: 24565802Emirates Medical Centre: 24604540Hamdan Hospital: 23212340International Medical Centre LLC: 24794501/2/3/4/5Kims Oman Hospital: 2476010024 Hrs Emergency: 24760123Lama Polyclinic, Sohar: 26751128,

MBD: 24799077, Al Khuwair: 24478818Magrabi Eye and Ear Hospital: 24568870Muscat Private Hospital: 24583600Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, Al Khuwair: 24477666Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC: 22004000

ROYAL OMAN POLICEEmergencies and inquiries: 9999General Directorate of Passport and Residence: 24569603Directorate General of Customs: 24521109Traffi c violations inquiries: 24510228Public Relations Admin: 24560099

ACCOMMODATIONAl Bahjah Hotel: 24424400Al Bustan Palace: 24764000 Al Khuwair Hotel Apartments: 24478171Al Madina Holiday Inn: 24596400Al Maha International Hotel: 24494949Al Fanar Hotel: 24712385Al Falaj Hotel: 24702311Al Qurum Resort: 24605945Azaiba Hotel Apartments: 24490979Beach Hotel: 24696601Bowshar Hotel: 24491105Coral Hotel Muscat: 24692121Crowne Plaza Muscat: 24660660Crystal Suites: 24826100Golden Tulip Seeb: 24510300Grand Hyatt Muscat: 24641234Haff a House Hotel: 24707207Hotel Muscat Holiday: 24487123InterContinental Muscat: 24680000Majan Continental Hotel: 24592900Marina Hotel: 24711711Midan Hotel Suites: 24499565Mina Hotel: 24711828Muttrah Hotel: 24798401Nuzha Hotel Apartments: 24789199Oman Dive Centre: 24824240Park Inn: 24507888Qurum Beach House Hotel: 24564070Radisson Blu Hotel: 24487777Ramee Dream Resort Seeb: 24453399Ramee Guestline Hotel: 24564443

Ruwi Hotel: 24704244Safeer Hotel Suites: 24691200Sheraton Oman Hotel: 24772772Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa: 24776666The Chedi Muscat: 24524400The Treasurebox Muscat Hotel: 24502570

MUSEUMSBait Al Baranda: Corniche (seafront opp fi sh market), Open from Saturday to Thursday 9am to 1pm and 4 to 6pmNatural History Museum: Al Khuwair, Tel: 24604957, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm Thursday: 9am to 1pmMuseum of Omani Heritage: (former Omani Museum), Madinat Al Alam, Sat-Wed 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday - 9am to 1pm, Tel: 24600946Armed 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 96550606/96550707Children’s Science Museum: Shatti Al Qurum, Tel: 24605368, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmOman-French Museum: near Muscat Police Station, Tel: 24736613, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmBait Al Zubair, Muscat: Tel: 24736688, Al Saidiya St., [email protected] from Sat to Thurs: 9:30am to 6pm.National Museum Ruwi: Tel: 24701289, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmSohar Fort Museum: Tel: 26844758, Open from Saturday to Wed: 8 to 1:30pm Thurs: 9am to 1pmMuscat Gate Museum: At Al Bahri Road, Muscat open from Sat to Wed 8am to 2pm

E V E N T S

L I S T I N G S

LISTINGS

LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (Route 36)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 15:00 Quriyat 16:30 Daily15:00 Sur 18:00 Daily15:00 Jaalan 19:30 Daily

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (Route 36)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41)06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri13:00 Sohar 15:45 Daily13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41)07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (Route 62)06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (Route 62)12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily06:00 Dubai 11:30 Daily13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (Route 100)07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (Route 100)07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily19:00 Ruwi 07:30 Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily

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

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:30 Daily

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

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI) TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

Muscat Festival 2015, January 15 to February 14

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

3rd International Medical & HealthCare Exhibition & Conference (IMTEC Oman 2015) will be held during the period from 19 - 21 January 2015 at Oman International Exhibition Centre.

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

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

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

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

UNITED KINGDOM: Waves crash over the harbour wall as high

winds hit Porthcawl in south Wales. Britain’s Meteorological Offi ce

has issued warnings that parts country will be struck by gales and

snow. -Reuters—www.met.gov.om

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The Imitation Game (2D): (Biography/Thriller) (12+)Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew GoodeGold Class: 02:00 PMTaken-3 (2D) (Act/Thriller) (12+)Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker11:30AM, 07:45, 09:45 & 11:45 PMGold Class: 04:15, 09:00 & 11:15PM13 Sins (2D): (Horror/Thriller) (18+)Cast: Mark Webber, Devon Graye, 01:30 & 11:45 PMThe Theory Of Everything (2D): (Biography/Drama) (PG 12)03:15 PM & 05:30 PM.Gold Class: 06:30 PM Feng Shui (Tagalog) (2D) (Hor) (15+)06:30 PMI (Tamil) (2D) (Act/Thriller) (12+) 10:30 AM I (Hindi) (2D) (Actio/Thriller) (12+)Cast: ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram, Amy Jackson, 08:20 PM

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Seventh Son – 2D (PG12) (Adv) Cast: Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore 5:30pmSeventh Son – 3D (PG12) (Adv)10:00pmTaken 3 – 2D (12+) Crime | ThrillerCast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker03:30, 07:30, 09:30 & 11:30 PMThe Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirror – 3D (PG) Animation Cast: Anna Shurochkina, Ivan Okhlobystin, Anna Khilkevich03:30, 05:00 PMI (Hindi) – 2D (12+) Action | Cast: Anna Shurochkina, Ivan Okhlobystin, Anna Khilkevich06:30 &11:00 PMI (Tamil) – 2D (12+) Action |07:45 PM13 Sins – 2D (18+) Horror | ThrillerCast: Mark Webber, Devon Graye11:55 PMWe’ll Never Have Paris – 2D (PG12)Comedy | RomanceCast: Melanie Lynskey, Geoff rey Cantor, Nancy Marlowe03:30 , 07:15 PMThe Theory of Everything – 2D (PG12)Biography | Drama | RomanceCast: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Tom Prior04:00, 05:00, 09:00 PMTevar – 2D (PG12) Action

Snow Queen 2: Magic Of Ice Mirror (3D) (Animation | Adventure) (PG)Cast: Anna Shurochkina, Ivan Okhlobystin, Anna Khilkevich03:00, 05:00 PMTaken 3 ( Crime | Thriller) (12+)Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace4:30, 6:30, 9:45 & 11:45PMI (Tamil) (Action | Fantasy ) (12+)Cast: ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram, Amy Jackson, Upen Patel08:30 PMTevar (Action | Romance) (PG12)Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Manoj Bajpayee03:30, 08:00 PM13 Sins (Horror | Thriller) (18+)Cast: Mark Webber, Devon Graye03:15, 06:15, 11:45 PMI (Hindi) (Action | Fantasy) (12+)Cast: ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram, Amy Jackson 06:30 & 10:45PM

Seventh Son (3D) (Adv| Fan) (PG12) Cast: Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore11:15pmSeventh Son (2D) (Adv | Fa) (PG12) Cast: Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore5:30pmI (Tamil) (Action | Fantasy |

Taken 3 (2D/12+) (Action) Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace3:45, 07:45, 9:45, 11:45PM Seventh Son (3D/PG12) (Adv) Cast: Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore,8:45PMSeventh Son (2D/PG12) (Adv) 5:45PMThe Snow Queen: 2 (2D/PG) (Anima-tion/Adventure/Family) 11:15AM The Snow Queen: 2 (3D/PG) (Anima-tion/Adventure/Family) 2:00, 3:30, 5:00PM The Theory of Everything (2D/PG12) (Biography)Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity 2:45, 6:30PM 13 Sins (2D/18+) (Horror/Thriller) Cast: Mark Webber, Devon Graye, Tom Bower12:45 & 11:30PM I – (Tamil) (2D/12+) (Action) 5:00, 8:15PMI – (Hindi) (2D/12+) (Action) Cast: ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram, Amy Jackson, Upen Patel12:15, 10:45PM

Alone - Hindi - ( Horror) (TBC ) 11:45pmSCREEN 3P. K (Comedy | Drama | Social) (PG )9:15pmSharafat Gayi Tel Lene (Co) – (TBC) Cast: Zayed Khan, Rannvijay Singh, Tena Desae 3:15, 5:15, 7:15, 11:55 pm

Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Manoj Bajpayee11:15 PMThe Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirror – 2D (PG) AnimationCast: Anna Shurochkina06:15 PM

5:30PMI (Tamil) (Action | ) (12+) Cast: ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram, Amy Jackson, Upen Patel ; 08:00 PMTaken-3 (Action | Crime) (12+) Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace03:30, 07:30, 09:30, 11:30 PMThe Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirror (3D) (Anim/ Family) (PG) Cast: Anna Shurochkina, Ivan Okhlobystin, Anna Khilkevich

A11

PAKISTANT H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

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Imran faces the fury of Peshawar parents

PESHAWAR: Parents of chil-dren martyred in the Peshawar attack protested against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Im-ran Khan on Thursday as he ar-rived at the Army Public School, Express News reported.

The PTI chief, who was ac-companied by his wife Reham Khan, was forced to turnaround as mournful parents, overcome by grief and anger, refused to let him inside the premises of the school.

However, according to Express News, Imran managed to enter the school through a separate en-trance. Imran was earlier advised to postpone his visit to the army-run school as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif had to visit the school the same day.

“You were busy getting married without doing anything about my child who died less than a month ago,” said a weeping mother, out-side the school, while another parent said the PTI chief had de-serted them when they needed him the most.

Urging the PTI chief not to

politicise the Peshawar attack, a protester said, “We do not need anyone, whether it’s Imran Khan or Nawaz Sharif.”

“Imran came after one month to visit the school because he was busy with his wedding,” he added angrily, claiming Imran should be ashamed of himself.

Further, Imran was criticised for not doing anything despite be-ing elected as a member of nation-al assembly from the province.

‘Don’t understand the point’“I don’t understand what the point of the protests were … I am just a chief of a party and Pervaiz Khattak is the chief minister of the province, but the school is run by the army,” said Imran.

The PTI chief went on to add that he was caught off guard with protest since he only visited the school to stand with the par-

ents and to increase the morale of the students. “If I have come here to increase the morale of the parents then what kind of a protest can be there against us?” Imran questioned.

Further, Imran said if the par-ents’ anger is emanating from the lack of security at schools then he should not be held responsible. “There were over 65,000 schools in K-P and police could not pos-sibly provide security to all of them,” he added.

Imran also clarifi ed that he ini-tially got off his car to pacify pro-testers. “But I saw some people who did not look like parents, they responded with political com-ments so I sat back in my car.”

Meanwhile, the PTI has an-nounced that their provincial in-formation minister will shortly hold a press conference to “expose those behind today’s incident.”

Information minister strikes back Grabbing the opportunity to lash out at PTI chairman Im-ran Khan, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said what Imran had to face today was reminiscent of his style of politics against the PML-N.

‘Go Imran Go’“The nation chanted ‘Go Imran Go,’ today because Imran intro-duced them to these chants,” he said. He added that the chants against the PML-N made no dif-ference to them, but they should matter to Imran since they are coming from mournful parents who have lost their children.

Always the fi rst to speak against VIP culture, PTI chief Imran Khan was spotted travelling with a 21-car motorcade during his visit to the Army Public School in Peshawar. — Express Tribune

The PTI chief, who

was accompanied

by his wife Reham

Khan, was forced

to turnaround as

mournful parents

refused to let him

inside the premises

of the Army

Public School

DOORS SHUT: The sister of Asfand Khan, a student who was killed during an attack by Pakistan’s

Taliban gunmen on the Army Public School, carries his portrait while standing with her family

members, who were trying to get permission to enter the school during a visit by Pakistan Tehrik-e-

Insaf’s chairman Imran Khan (not pictured), in Peshawar on Wednesday. — Reuters

Pervez indicted in Bugti murder caseISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former dictator Pervez Musharraf was on Wednesday charged in connection with the 2006 killing of a top Ba-loch nationalist leader in an army operation, the fourth indictment against him.

The court in provincial capi-tal Quetta charge-sheeted the 71-year-old ex-military ruler in Nawaz Akbar Khan Bugti’s murder case and adjourned the hearing till February 4. The judge said that the case would be heard on a daily ba-sis from February 4 onward.

Bugti, former chief minister of Balochistan and head of his tribe, was killed in 2006 in a military operation ordered by Musharraf who was president and army chief at the time. His killing sparked nationwide protests and further fulled an armed insurgency that began in 2004 in Balochistan.

Two co-accused — Mushar-raf’s interior minister Aftab Khan Sherpao and ex-provincial home

minister Shoaib Nusherwan — were also indicted for their alleged role in the murder of the Baloch tribal leader. Musharraf has never appeared in the court during the entire legal process which has been in progress since 2009. This led to his indictment. He was ab-sent when the charge-sheet was read out in the court. — PTI

2 0 0 6 K I L L I N G

Pervez Musharraf

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Some analysts believe that 2014 ush-ered in a new era of Cold War-style ge-opolitics. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and an-nexation of Crimea was met with heavy economic sanctions from Eu-rope and the United States, weaken-

ing Russia’s ties with the West and leaving the Krem-lin eager to strengthen ties with China. The question is whether Russia will manage to build a real alliance with the People’s Republic. At fi rst glance, it seems plausible. Indeed, traditional balance-of-power theory suggests that US primacy in power resources should be off set by a Sino-Russian partnership.

Perhaps more convincing, there seems to be his-torical precedent for such a partnership. In the 1950s, China and the Soviet Union were allied against the US. After US President Richard Nixon’s opening to China in l972, the balance shifted, with the US and China cooperating to limit what they viewed as a dan-gerous rise in the Soviet Union’s power.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, that de facto US-China alliance ended, and a China-Russia rapprochement began. In 1992, the two countries declared that they were pursuing a “constructive partnership”; in 1996, they progressed toward a “stra-tegic partnership”; and in 2001, they signed a treaty of “friendship and cooperation.”

In recent years, China and Russia have cooperated closely in the UN Security Council and taken simi-lar positions on Internet regulation. They have used diplomatic frameworks — such as the BRICS group of major emerging countries and the Shanghai Coop-eration Organisation — to coordinate positions. And Putin has struck up a good working relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, based on their shared domestic illiberalism and desire to counter American ideology and infl uence.

Their economic relationship, too, seems to be pro-gressing. Last May, shortly after the annexation of Crimea, Russia announced a $400 billion deal to sup-ply 38 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to China an-nually for 30 years, beginning in 2019.

The contract, between Russia’s state-owned ener-gy giant Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation, entails the construction of a 2,500-mile gas pipeline to China’s Heilongjiang province (where, incidentally, the two countries nearly went to war a few decades ago). Though the exact price remains secret, it appears that Russia off ered major conces-sions, after nearly a decade of negotiations, to ensure the deal’s success.

Moreover, in November, Gazprom announced a framework agreement to deliver an additional 30 bcm of gas to China’s Xingjiang Province from west-

ern Siberia for 30 years via another new pipeline. If the “eastern” and “western” pipelines are completed as planned, the 68 bcm they deliver to China annu-ally would dwarf the 40 bcm that Russia exports to its current largest customer, Germany. This may seem to portend an ever-deepening bilateral relationship. But there is a hitch: the gas deals amplify a signifi cant bilateral trade imbalance, with Russia supplying raw materials to China and importing Chinese manufac-tures. And the gas deals do not make up for Russia’s lost access to the Western technology that it needs to develop frontier Arctic fi elds and become an energy superpower, not just China’s gas station.

In fact, the problems with a Sino-Russian alliance run even deeper. With its economic, military, and de-mographic heft — China generates considerable un-ease in Russia. Consider the demographic situation in eastern Siberia, where six million Russians live across the border from up to 120 million Chinese.

Furthermore, Russia’s economic and military pow-er has been in decline, whereas China’s has exploded. Anxiety over China’s conventional military superior-ity probably motivated, at least partly, Russia’s 2009 announcement of a new military doctrine explicitly reserving the right to fi rst use of nuclear weapons — a stance that resembles America’s Cold War force pos-ture, aimed at deterring superior conventional Soviet forces in Europe. These imbalances suggest that Rus-sia would resist a tight military alliance with China, even as the two countries pursue mutually benefi cial tactical diplomatic coordination.

China’s willingness to cooperate with Russia also has its limits. After all, China’s development strategy depends on its continued integration into the world economy — and, specifi cally, reliable access to Ameri-can markets and technology. The Chinese Commu-nist Party’s legitimacy depends on strong economic growth, and it will not risk this strategy for some “au-thoritarian alliance” with Russia.

Even within multilateral forums, the relationship between Russia and China is far from balanced. Giv-en that China’s economy is larger than the other four BRICS economies combined, the group’s initiatives — including its new development bank — are likely to refl ect a disproportionate Chinese infl uence. And though the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has facilitated some diplomatic coordination, China and Russia remain locked in a struggle for infl uence in Central Asia. The Sino-Russian alliance in the twen-tieth century was a product of China’s weakness fol-lowing World War II and at the beginning of the Cold War — and, even then, it lasted little more than a dec-ade. Today’s China is strong, and unlikely to get too close to a Russia whose decline has been accelerated by its leader’s poor judgment. - Project Syndicate

This may seem to portend an ever-deepening bilateral relationship. But there is a hitch: the gas deals amplify a significant bilateral trade imbalance, with Russia supplying raw materials to China and importing Chinese manufactures

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 ([email protected])

EMERGING FRIENDSHIP

It is time for the children of Peshawar to be brave again. And so brave they were, the students of the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar on January 12, their fi rst day back after it shut down fol-

lowing the carnage that killed more than 140 people on December 16. As students walked in through the metal detectors to enter the school premises, they were no longer just students; they were survivors of that nightmarish day.

The school that the children so bravely went to will now also be for-ever remembered as the school where children lay dead, lay slaugh-tered, where teachers could not be given a fi nal farewell because hur-ried burials were necessary, where for days and months and longer children will recount the horrors of arguably one of the greatest trag-edies this country has seen. At this time, we must also remember the children who would not have made it to school on January 12; those who are still injured, and whose wounds may never allow them to for-get the tragedy that struck.

The pictures of children smiling as they went to school were both heartening and heartbreaking, and as a country we can be proud of their courage. But beyond the smiles are some terrible, forever-wounding truths. Truth that the worst has happened, that memo-ries of school projects and sports days will now be overshadowed by memories of best friends killed, of playing dead when you are the only one left to play. Pakistan has taken pride in the courage of its children for far too long. Finding solace in children’s bravery, from Malala You-sufzai to Aitzaz Hasan, to the 132 whose names we will not remem-ber, is an escape too easy. The children of APS showed us the courage that it takes to move on. It is no longer enough to be just proud of our children; it is no longer okay to support them with hollow slogans and promises of bravery awards. It is time Pakistan’s adult population, its civil and military leadership, also has the courage to take ownership of their countless failings. Going to school should never again be an act of bravery. - The Express Tribune

The courageous children

The legacy of America’s war in Afghanistan, which nominally ended on New Year’s Eve, will come into sharper focus in the coming decade. Historians will spend years fi guring out what

went right or wrong and which of Washington’s programmes will prove to be of lasting value. There is one crucial piece of unfi nished business that will speak volumes at the end of the day: whether the United States kept its promise to Afghan military interpreters who were off ered the opportunity to resettle in America in recognition of the monumental risks they took.

Congress created special visa programmes for Afghan and Iraqi military linguists starting in 2006. Early on, it was managed with cal-lous disregard for its intended Afghan benefi ciaries; only a fraction of the petitions submitted were approved. Secretary of State John Kerry has taken commendable steps over the past two years to streamline the review process and approve a higher percentage of cases. But the State Department remains hamstrung by a problem of its own making that only Congress can fi x. About 12,000 Afghan linguists have pend-ing applications for the special visa. Under current law, however, the State Department has the authority to issue only 4,000 visas over the next two years. This logjam was entirely avoidable if only Washington bureaucrats had operated with greater dispatch. During some of the toughest years of the war, American offi cials in Kabul and Washington sat on, or rejected, the bulk of applications in the pipeline. In 2010 and 2011, for instance, only a few dozen Afghan linguists — an astonish-ingly small number — were allowed to immigrate.

At the time, some American offi cials in Kabul took the view that the programme would worsen the country’s brain drain and that enabling young, bilingual, educated Afghans to leave their homeland would send the wrong message about the state of a war that Washington portrayed with disingenuous optimism over the years. Many Afghan linguists actually received rejection letters that described them, inde-fensibly and without evidence, as suspected threats.

The sad result was more than 6,500 visa slots that Congress set aside for the early years of the programme expired, leaving brave Af-ghans and their families in limbo. Many are living in hiding today, un-able to return to their native provinces where the Taliban hold sway. As the scope of the problem became clear to lawmakers came together in an eff ort to undo a monumental wrong.

Failing to give all eligible and deserving applicants a fair shot at a new start in the United States would represent an abdication of a promise that helped persuade linguists to put their lives on the line. That would add a shameful chapter to the legacy of a war that has been grim enough for Afghans. - The New York Times News Service

Time to keep the promise made to the Afghans

J O S E P H S . N Y E

It is time now to penalise the careless jaywalkersThis refers to the news story, Daily dash of death on Oman’s road must end (January 14). I have so often seen people crossing the high-speed roads carelessly. Jaywalking is very dangerous as cars cannot stop suddenly due to high speed. There should be traffi c rules for pedestrians and such people should be fi ned for not crossing at zebra crossings or not using subways and overbridges. Anita PaiMuscat

Jaywalking most common in CBD and MBD areasThe news story, Daily dash of death on Oman’s roads must end (January 14) reminds us about safety norms that we all must ob-

serve on roads. The Sultanate has been doing everything possible to see that pedestrian overbridges are put in place in vulnerable areas. Yet, we often see jaywalk-ers crossing busy roads imperil-ling their own lives and that of many others as well. If one takes a cursory look at the CBD and MBD areas where enough pavements have been made for walkers, one would not miss seeing pedestrians wilfully or negligently walking on the main carriageway where accidents can happen anytime. Often many are seen walking or crossing roads while talking on phones. It will be impossible for the authorities to control and stop jaywalking un-less we pedestrians become more aware and responsible.Usha Devi Rao SuddapalliRuwi

Jaywalkers are the worst nightmare for motoristsI know someone who crosses a three-lane and sometimes four-lane busy roads in Muscat to reach the other side but never using the zebra crossing or the crosswalk up the street. And his logic is that it would take him three to four minutes of detour. He is never willing to allow him-self that small amount of time and is regularly taking a huge risk. On any day, if he is unlucky, he will die, adding yet another number on the growing list of people killed in road accidents. Jaywalking is one of the major reasons for road accidents in Oman. People appear out of no-where in front of fast moving ve-hicles and get knocked down and killed. And these people simply rush across busy streets throwing

all caution to the wind. They do not bother to take a small detour for safe crossing.Preetha RamachandranMuttrah

Jaywalkers are the most dangerous people on roadsBarring a few, most motorists in Oman are gentle enough to allow pedestrians to cross roads and they are very sympathetic towards women crossing roads. Yet, jaywalking accounts for roughly 15 per cent of the total number of people killed on the roads. We cannot deny that this irresponsible form of crossing roads and careless walking has played its part in the high rate of road accidents in Oman. Mihir AnandMuscat

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If you don’t risk anything you risk even moreERICA JONG

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A new Sino-Russian alliance on the cards?

PERSPEC IVET I M E S O F O M A N T H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5T I M E S O F O M A N A13

TODAY IN HISTORY

OPINION POLL

1624 Riots fl are in Mexico when it is announced that all churches are to be closed.

1811 In a secret session, the US Congress

plans to annex Spanish East Florida. 1919 Peasants in Central Russia rise

against the Bolsheviks. 1920 The United States approves a $150

million loan to Poland, Austria and Armenia to aid in their war with the Russian communists.

1949 Chinese Communists occupy Tientsin

after a 27-hour battle with Nationalist forces.

OCO TO CONTRIBUTE TO RE-HOUSING PROJECTMUSCAT: The executive bureau of the Omani Chari-table Organisation (OCO) held this week its 27th regu-lar meeting under the chairmanship of Mohammed bin Nassir Al Alawi, minister of legal aff airs and board chairman of the organisation. The offi ce reviewed the OCO activities during Ramadan and made a number of decisions including OCO’s contribution to a rehousing project for the residents of villages of Masdar, Wadi Ri-jma, Wadi Nima and Al Muaah in the wilayat of Shinas.

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Dogs and cats are fi ne, fi sh maybe, and snakes and other more exotic ani-

mals probably not. That’s about as close to a con-

sensus as we have for the do-mestication of animals, but they are judgements largely based on history and tradition and im-ply that freedom and space are more important to some animals than others.

Wittgenstein famously said that ‘If a lion could talk, we could not understand him’.

He meant that animal’s ex-perience of consciousness is completely diff erent to our own and will always be impenetrably alien to us.

That even if they could speak and we could translate their words, it would not mesh with our communications and under-standing of the world.

He might not have it totally right — various animals’ ability to convey messages and experi-ence apparently quite human feelings of excitement, enjoy-ment, pain and sorrow are clear to see — but this goes to show that exactly what it is animals feel and the quality of their be-

ing bothered by their situation is a matter neither philosophy nor science has as yet managed to settle.

If we strip away the factors that muddy the issue of domes-tication — cases of neglect, the way animals are removed from the wild, problems within breed-ing — we’re left with the core question of whether animals can live as full a life in our homes as they would in the wild.

Would dogs not be better off having the run of an entire forest and chasing prey than they are getting to stretch their legs when we can be bothered to take them out and feeding from a bowl?

Maybe the answer is no, but their subordination and any cor-responding negative eff ects are worth it for the joy they bring us? I love dogs, I love their loy-alty and aff ection (or at least what we perceive as loyalty and aff ection),

I like their propensity to jump around like a maniac and I’m fond of their intelligence and their utter stupidity, but am I putting my enjoyment for having a furry companion above their well-being?

We might be well beyond that now, with dogs being domesti-cated centuries ago, but I need to be able to look him in the eye, damn it!

PETA has criticised the way fi sh are treated as “mere mer-chandise”, as “decorative orna-ments” which “few people real-ize just how much they suff er”, the aquariums for which can never match up to an open ocean.

The organisation told me it does not oppose “kind people sharing their lives and homes with domestic animal compan-ions” (though at press time there was no defi nitive list of exactly which animals that does and does not include).

But that PETA fi nds it “amaz-ing that there are still people who think crocodiles, snakes, and other wild animals should be taken from their natural homes and put in some murky tank in a British back garden or con-fi ned to a small glass case like a trinket.”

The mystery of exactly what it is animals think and feel may forever elude us, as might our certainty that keeping pets is a justifi able practice. - The Independent

Under Jonathan’s watch, Boko Haram has killed thousands and left more than a million people displaced. When the president does acknowledge the carnage, the response is almost always the same

Boko Haram has recently murdered 2,000 people. Amnesty Interna-tional called it the “deadliest mas-

sacre” in the history of the extremist group. Homes were burnt down and buildings destroyed as corpses of men, women and children lay in the street.

A survivor harrowingly spoke of ‘step-ping on dead bodies’ as he escaped. The attack has been described as “heartbreak-ing,” “barbaric,” and “senseless”. And it is. But it won’t change anything in Nigeria.

The attack took place in Baga, a town in the non-oil producing, non-commercial north-east of the country, a region that has felt the brunt of the Boko Haram insurgen-cy. There’s an uncomfortable truth about Nigeria: division runs deep, and the lives of northerners are seemingly not as valuable as southerners.

Had these attacks taken place in Nige-ria’s oil hub Port Harcourt or the commer-cial centre, Lagos, would they slip under the radar so easily? Would the victims be so easy to forget? I doubt it.

Then there’s President Jonathan. He swiftly off ered his condolences to the French over the Charlie Hebdo attack, but has yet to make an offi cial comment on the slaughter of his own people.

But why would anyone expect anything less? This is after all the same President who took 98 days to meet the parents of the Chibok girls and who 48 hours after a bomb blast killed dozens in Nyanya, was photo-graphed dancing at a rally in Kano.

Under Jonathan’s watch, Boko Haram has killed thousands and left more than a million people displaced. When the presi-dent does acknowledge the carnage, the re-sponse is almost always the same. “We will bring justice to the savage terrorists known as Boko Haram,’ he said in his new year’s address. “They will be defeated.”

How and when, nobody knows, mean-while the bodies keep piling up.

There is seemingly no concrete strat-egy or plan to combat the insurgency. The army is in crisis. Soldiers have openly com-plained about corruption within the ranks, lack of equipment and low morale, to no

avail. 54 soldiers were recently sentenced to death for mutiny.

In an open letter to the president, an army offi cer warned that if these issues were not addressed ‘there will be no coun-try called Nigeria.’

Jonathan’s failures are clear but they will not make him unelectable. And what of Nigerians? Why no marches? No riots?

It’s not that no one cares. They do. But Nigerians, known for their collective for-getfulness, have the uncanny ability to ‘suf-fer and smile’ as the late Fela Kuti aptly put it. No one is more aware of the bloodshed than Nigerians, but hearing about raised towns and bomb blasts has become eerily routine. Bad things happen and it’s crazy, but hey, that’s Nigeria for you.

International condemnation has come in thick and fast with calls on the Western media to increase its coverage of the sav-agery, and for Western leaders to act.

Unless Boko Haram expand their reach, the West will not benefi t from intervening in the confl ict, so there will be more out-rage, more condemnation, more talk but little to no action.

But even if the West do get involved, at what cost? Are we really ready for another Libya or Afghanistan?

With the presidential election weeks away attention has already shifted away from Baga and the political manoeuvring is in full swing. The opposition is using the attack as proof of Jonathan’s ineptitude and the country’s need for change, and the presidency is arguing the statistics of the dead have been ‘exaggerated’ in a bid to de-rail Jonathan’s campaign. It is predicted to be a tight race.

And what of the dead? There will be no marches for them. No memorials. Like Damaturu, Gajihana, Gwoza and dozens before them, the names of the towns will be forgotten, the names of the victims will re-main unknown. In the south, life will go on.

A resolute few will continue to demand justice, until the victims are replaced by others and a new trending topic starts.

Nigerians have seen this movie before and sadly they will see it again. - The Independent

It should come as no sur-prise that the very fi rst move of the new Repub-

lican Senate is an attempt to push President Obama into approving the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil from Canadian tar sands. After all, debts must be paid, and the oil and gas industry — which gave 87 percent of its 2014 campaign contribu-tions to the GOP — expects to be rewarded for its support.

But why is this environ-mentally troubling project an urgent priority in a time of plunging world oil prices? Well, the party line, from peo-ple like Mitch McConnell, the new Senate majority leader, is that it’s all about jobs. And it’s true: Building Keystone XL could slightly increase US employment. In fact, it might replace almost 5 percent of the jobs America has lost because of destructive cuts in federal spending, which were in turn the direct result of Republican blackmail over the debt ceiling.

Oh, and don’t tell me that the cases are completely dif-ferent. You can’t consistently claim that pipeline spending creates jobs while govern-ment spending doesn’t.

Let’s back up for a minute and discuss economic principles.

For more than seven years — ever since the Bush-era housing and debt bubbles burst — the United States economy has suff ered from inadequate demand. Total spending just hasn’t been enough to fully employ the nation’s resources. In such an environment, anything that increases spending cre-ates jobs.

And if private spending is depressed, a temporary rise in public spending can and should take its place. That’s why a great majority of economists believe that the Obama stimulus did, in fact, reduce the unemployment rate compared with what it would have been without that stimulus.

From the beginning, how-ever, Republican leaders have held the opposite view, insisting that we should slash public spending in the face of high unemployment. And they’ve gotten their way: The years after 2010, when Republicans took control of the House, were marked by an unprecedented decline in real government spending per capita, which levelled off only in 2014.

The evidence overwhelm-ingly indicates that this kind of fi scal austerity in a depressed economy is de-structive; if the economic news has been better lately, it’s probably in part because of the fact that federal, state and local governments have fi nally stopped cutting. And spending cuts have, in partic-

ular, cost a lot of jobs. When the Congressional Budget Offi ce was asked how many jobs would be lost because of the sequester — the big cuts in federal spending that Republicans extracted in 2011 by threatening to push America into default — its best estimate was 900,000. And that’s only part of the total loss.

Needless to say, the guilty parties here will never admit that they were wrong. But if you look at their behaviour closely, you see clear signs that they don’t really believe in their own doctrine.

Consider, for example, the case of military spending. When it comes to possible cuts in defense contracts, politicians who loudly pro-claim that every dollar the government spends comes at the expense of the private sector suddenly begin talk-ing about all the jobs that will be destroyed.

They even begin talking about the multiplier eff ect, as reduced spending by de-fence workers leads to job losses in other industries. This is the phenomenon for-mer Representative Barney Frank dubbed “weaponised Keynesianism.”

And the argument being made for Keystone XL is very similar; call it “carbonised Keynesianism.” Yes, approv-ing the pipeline would mobi-lise some money that would otherwise have sat idle, and in so doing create some jobs — 42,000 during the con-struction phase, according to the most widely cited es-timate. (Once completed, the pipeline would employ only a few dozen workers.) But gov-ernment spending on roads, bridges and schools would do the same thing.

And the job gains from the pipeline would, as I said, be only a tiny fraction — less than 5 percent — of the job losses from sequestration, which in turn are only part of the damage done by spend-ing cuts in general. If Mr. Mc-Connell and company really believe that we need more spending to create jobs, why not support a push to up-grade America’s crumbling infrastructure?

So what should be done about Keystone XL? If you believe that it would be en-vironmentally damaging — which I do — then you should be against it, and you should ignore the claims about job creation. The numbers be-ing thrown around are tiny compared with the country’s overall work force.

And in any case, the jobs argument for the pipeline is basically a sick joke coming from people who have done all they can to destroy Ameri-can jobs — and are now em-ploying the very arguments they used to ridicule govern-ment job programs to justify a big giveaway to their friends in the fossil fuel industry.- The

New York Times News Service

For the love of carbon

Is it right to keep any animal as a pet?

PA U L K R U G M A NY E M I S I A D E G O K E

C H R I S T O P H E R H O O T O N

New antibiotics is “game-changer”

GraphicsGraphic News /Source: Nature, WHO, wire agencies

Ichip Bacteria Incubator

Performance Of Teixobactin (Compared To Similar Antibiotic,Vancomycin)

Cultures grown in soil as most soil-based bacteria cannot be grown in laboratory

Central plate

Soil

Side panelSemi-permeablemembranesseparate centralplate from soil

Hours2412 16 200 4 8

876543

Side panel

Bacteria in pods

Vancomycin

Microbes becomingincreasingly resistant

Teixobactin

73m

m

US scientists have used a novel method for growing bacteria that has yielded 25 new antibiotics, with one deemed “very promising”.

Penicillin Cephalosporin Carbapenem Fluoroquinolones Teixobactin

1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Century Of Antibiotic Discoveries (Selected) No discoveries

Houses growingmicro-organisms held inindividual pods

BurialiChip buried in soil,

allowing uniquechemistry of earth to

permeate each podResult

Chemicals producedby microbes tested.

25 new antibioticsdiscovered – including

Teixobactin

Bacteriacell coloniesper millilitre

Why aren’t we talking about massacre by Boko Haram?

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SNOWBALL FIGHTChildren have a snowball fi ght in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, United

Kingdom, on Wednesday. More than 100 schools closed on Wednesday

after heavy snowfall in northern Ireland, local media reported. — Reuters

You risk anarchy, Hong Kong leader warns the protesters

HONG KONG: Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying warned pro-de-mocracy protesters on Wednes-day they risked “anarchy” as he sought to bolster his support in his fi rst policy address since dem-onstrations rocked the fi nancial hub last year.

Before Leung gave his annual speech, opposition lawmakers disrupted proceedings, calling on him to step down. Some held up banners demanding full democ-racy and then walked out of the legislature under yellow umbrel-las - a symbol of the protests.

The session had be adjourned briefl y as security guards hauled off two democratic lawmakers. About 70 pro-democracy protest-ers gathered outside the Legisla-tive Council, along with dozens of Leung’s supporters.

Policy blueprintThe policy blueprint has been a key platform for leaders in the Chinese-controlled city to hand out billions to the less-advantaged

in the form of tax breaks, or to sig-nal shifts in economic, property and political policies.

“As we pursue democracy, we should act in accordance with the law, or Hong Kong will degenerate into anarchy,” Leung, dressed in a dark suit and sky-blue tie, told city legislators.

The former British colony re-turned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” for-mula that gives it some autonomy from the mainland and a promise of eventual universal suff rage. Beijing has allowed a free vote for

city leader in 2017, but insists on screening candidates.

Protesters demanding full de-mocracy occupied parts of the city for more than two months late last year with Leung himself a target of their anger.

He must now try to boost his ratings among a population that knows that, under Beijing’s watchful gaze, he is unable to off er anything signifi cant in the way of democratic reform.

At the same time, he must per-form a balancing act by healing divisions, maintaining strong ties

with Communist Party rulers in China, on which Hong Kong’s economy overwhelmingly de-pends, and ensuring that the city’s economy - expected to grow about 2.2 per cent this year - remains on a steady keel.

Leung reiterated that Beijing leaders had absolute author-ity over the city, and the screen-ing of candidates for Hong Kong leader by a nominating committee stacked with Beijing loyalists was the only option.

The opposition wants open nominations.

“Hong Kong autonomy under ‘one country, two systems’ is a high degree of autonomy, not an absolute autonomy,” Leung said.

In a speech lacking major ini-tiatives, Leung focused on bread-and-butter issues including hous-ing - an important topic in the densely populated city of 7.2 mil-lion - and said he would seek to boost the supply of land in one of the world’s costliest markets.

“Increasing and expediting land supply is the fundamental solu-tion to resolve the land and hous-ing problems,” he said. — Reuters

Before Leung Chun-

ying gave his annual

speech, opposition

lawmakers disrupted

proceedings, calling

on him to step

down. Some held up

banners demanding

full democracy and

then walked out of

the legislature

SCUFFLE: People Power party lawmaker Albert Chan is surrounded by security guards after shouting at Hong Kong’s Chief Executive

Leung Chun-Ying (not pictured) during Leung’s annual policy address at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on Wednesday. — Reuters

Al Qaeda in Yemen claims French attack

DUBAI: Al Qaeda in Yemen claimed responsibility for the at-tack on French satirical newspa-per Charlie Hebdo according to a video posted on YouTube.

Gunmen killed a total of 17 people in three days of violence that began when they opened fi re at Charlie Hebdo last week in revenge for publication of satirical images.

This was the fi rst time that a group offi cially claimed respon-sibility for the attack, led by two brothers who had visited the poor Arabian peninsula country in 2011. As for the blessed Battle of Paris, we ... claim responsibility for this operation,” said Nasser bin Ali Al Ansi, a leader of the Yem-eni branch of Al Qaeda (AQAP) in the recording.

Ansi, an AQAP ideologue, said the “one who chose the target, laid the plan and fi nanced the op-eration is the leadership of the organisation”, without naming an individual.

He added without elaborating that the strike was carried out in “implementation” of the order of overall Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahri, who has called for strikes by Muslims in the West using any means they can fi nd.

Ansi also gave credit for the op-eration to slain AQAP propagan-dist Anwar Al Awlaki, a preacher cited by one of the gunmen in remarks to French media as a fi -nancer of the attack.

It was not clear how Awlaki, killed by a US drone in 2011, had a direct link to the Paris assault, but he inspired several militants in the United States and Britain to acts of violence.

The group mocked a big solidar-ity rally in Paris on Sunday for the victims, saying the shock on dis-play showed feebleness.

“Look at how they gathered, rallied and supported each other; strengthening their weakness and dressing their wounds,” it said of Western leaders who attended the event. — Reuters

P A R I S R A L L Y D E R I D E D

FOR

MORE

PHOTOS

Ammonia leak forces space station astronauts to evacuateCAPE CANAVERAL: Astro-nauts evacuated the US section of the International Space Sta-tion on Wednesday and moved into the Russian side after a sig-nal raised concerns of an ammo-nia leak, though early analysis suggested it was a false alarm, NASA said.

NASA’s Butch Wilmore, the station commander, together with Terry Virts, a fl ight engineer with NASA, and Samantha Crist-oforetti, a fl ight engineer with the European Space Agency, aban-doned the US side of the orbital outpost after an alarm sounded around 4 am (0900 GMT).

The trio joined three Russian crewmates on the Russian side of the station, which is a partner-

ship of 15 nations, overseen by the United States and Russia.

The precautionary move came as ground control teams detected increased pressure in a water line in one of the station’s two cooling loops, a possible indication that ammonia many have leaked into the line. The crew of the $100 bil-lion research laboratory, which is in orbit about 260 miles (418 km) above Earth, was never in any danger, NASA said.

No hard dataLater, NASA mission commenta-tor Rob Navias said there was no hard data to indicate a leak.

False indication“It’s becoming a stronger

case that this is a false indica-

tion, which is great news,” Jim Kelly, an astronaut at Mission Control in Houston, radioed to the crew shortly before 8:30 am (1330 GMT).

“Outstanding news,” replied Wilmore. “We’ll be ready to do whatever you need us to do when the time comes.” NASA said.

Kelly told the crew Mission Control is assessing the situation to determine if the three could return to the US section later on Wednesday. — Reuters

O R B I T A L O U T P O S T

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A15

WORLDT H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Indonesia’s national search and rescue chief Bambang Soelistyo said divers would head to the fuselage on Thursday.

Ensure proper disposal of garbage.

Don’t litter a beautiful country like OMAN.AirAsia plane’s

fuselage found

J A K A R TA / S I N G A P O R E : Doomed AirAsia jet’s fuselage was found in the Java Sea on Wednesday, raising hopes of re-trieving the missing bodies of the 162 people killed in the tragedy, as investigators downloaded the contents of black box record-ers and were likely to crack the crash’s mystery.

The main fuselage of the crashed AirAsia Flight QZ-8501was found by a Singaporean Navy vessel. Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said he hoped that locating the main wreckage of the Airbus A320-200 could help bring “some form of closure” to families of victims.

“Chief of Navy (Singapore) RADM Lai Chung Han just in-formed me that one of Singapore Armed Forces ships, the MV Swift Rescue, has located the fu-selage of the AirAsia plane in the Java Sea,” Ng said on Facebook.

The words “now” and “eve-ryone” are visible in the photos, apparently from AirAsia’s motto “Now Everyone Can Fly” painted on the plane’s exterior.

“Images taken by the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) show part of the wing and words on the fuselage. We have informed Ba-sarnas (The Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency, who

can now begin recovery opera-tions,” he said. “The accident is a tragic event resulting in the loss of many lives. I hope that with the fuselage located, some form of clo-sure can come to the families of the victims to ease their grief,” Sin-gapore’s Defence Minister added.

Indonesia’s national search and rescue chief Bambang Soelistyo said divers would head to the fu-selage on Thursday.

“It is already dark so we will carry out the dive tomorrow (Thursday) morning with the target to fi nd the victims which may still be around it or trapped in the body. If the divers have any diffi culty, the next step will then be to lift the body and the wing,” Soelistyo said.

He said two more bodies were found on Wednesday, taking the total number of corpses recov-ered so far to 50. Finding the fu-selage is seen as crucial as most of the victims are believed to be

still trapped inside. The sonar on board the MV Swift Rescue de-tected the wreckage of the plane that crashed on December 28 en route from Indonesia’s Surabaya city to Singapore about 2km from where the tail was found earlier. The wreckage with wings was about 26 metres long.

The fl ight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, retrieved from the bottom of the sea this week, were being analysed by the experts.

Investigators say they have successfully downloaded the contents of both devices. But an Indonesian offi cial, however, cau-tioned that interpreting the infor-mation requires much more time.

After the download, investiga-tors should have “a pretty good idea within a couple of days” of what happened aboard the plane, Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general of the US Department of Transportation, said. — PTI

Investigators

successfully

downloaded the

contents of black box

recorders and were

likely to crack the

crash’s mystery

An Indonesian official cautioned that interpreting

the information requires much more time

CRUCIAL LINK: An Indonesian offi cial looks at the cockpit

voice recorder of AirAsia QZ8501 during a news confer-

ence at the National Transportation Safety Committee

offi ce in Jakarta on Monday. – Reuters

MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMT H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5B

Muscat

6,432.80+ 63.16

+ 0.99%

Dubai

3,814.05- 0.49

- 0.01%

Abu Dhabi

4,533.10 + 23.04

+ 0.51%

Saudi Arabia

8,561.55 + 69.87

+ 0.82%

Kuwait

6,587.71+ 15.48

+ 0.24%

Bahrain

1,426.06+ 3.83

+ 0.27%

Qatar

11,987.17+ 49.59

+ 0.42%

CURRENCY RATES* DRAFT RATES (OMR1)* GOLD PRICES*Forex rates vs OMR1*

US Dollar ................................. 2.58

Euro .............................................2.18

Pound ........................................... 1.70

Indian Rs ...............................161.21

Pak Rs .....................................257.14

Bangla Taka.......................199.52* Rates are as of Jan. 14

Source: Bank Muscat

Indian Rs ................................... 161.20

Pakistan Rs .............................260.75

Sri Lanka Rs ........................... 341.85

Bangla Taka............................201.80

Phil Peso .................................... 115.60

* Rates as of Jan. 14 Source: Oman UAE Exchange

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) ....... 15.75

Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) ........15.15

Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ........... 149.00

Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) ...............141.21

* Rates as of Jan. 14

Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

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

Oman Crude ............. (Spot) ........ $43.47

Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) .........$43.74

Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ........$45.89

Arabian Light ......... (Spot) ........$46.69

N.Sea Brent ............... (Spot) ........$45.90

West Texas Int ....... (Spot) ........$45.30

CRUDE OIL PRICE

DIGEST VIDEO

S CA N T H I S Q R CO D E TO I N STA N T LY L AU N C H T H E V I D EO

Top stories in one minute with our new daily Digest

Sur desalination project set to expand capacity

Business Reporter

SUR: Sur desalination plant’s production of potable water has reached 100 million cubic metres, with offi cials reiterating commit-ment to ensure continued delivery of drinking water to the Sharqiyah region through expansion plans.

Veolia, through Sharqiyah De-salination Company and in part-nership with Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), announced the mile-stone production at Sharqiyah desalination plant at a ceremony held in Sur, on Tuesday.

Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Mahrooqi, chairman of the Public Authority for Electricity and Wa-ter (PAEW); Ahmed bin Saleh Al Jahdhami, chief executive offi cer of OPWP, and other offi cials at-tended the ceremony.

The event also marked the ex-tension of Veolia’s build-own-op-erate contract signed in 2007, to cover the expansion of the plant.

Oman’s Sharqiyah Desalination Company signed an agreement to expand the 80,000 cubic metres per day at Sur desalination plant, located 160 kilometres southwest of Muscat. Under the amended

Water Purchase Agreement with state-owned OPWP, the Veolia-led company will add 51,000 cubic metres to what is already the larg-est Independent Water Project in the Sultanate of Oman.

Reverse osmosis“We are delighted to work on the expansion of the plant. The op-portunity allows Veolia to demon-strate once again our loyalty and strong commitment to the pro-ject,” said Xavier Joseph, chief ex-ecutive of Veolia Gulf Countries.

“Sharqiyah Desalination Com-pany has played an important

role on meeting some of the Shar-qiyah region’s demand and with the upcoming expansion, its role will grow,” said Al Jahdhami. He Jahdhami also said that the gov-ernment will focus more on water projects this year.

The plant, which produces 80,000 cubic metres per day of de-salinated water through a reverse osmosis process, provides 350,000 local people of Sharqiyah region with clean drinking water. The process, which forces high pres-sured water through a semi-per-meable membrane, separates salt, bacteria and other particles allow-ing clean water to fi lter through.

The Sur desalination plant was built by a consortium composed of OTV, a Veolia subsidiary and Bahwan Engineering Company in 2007 and is currently operated by Bahwan Veolia, a joint venture be-tween Bahwan and Veolia.

The expansion project will be developed on a build-own-operate basis and will be located adjacent to the existing reverse osmosis project at Sur to benefi t from syn-ergies. Veolia owns 35.75 per cent stake in the project with Oman’s National Power and Water Com-pany holding 29.25 per cent and the remaining equity free fl oating on the Muscat Securities Market.

Renewable energy Speaking to reporters on the side-lines of the event, Al Mahrooqi said that renewable energy is an area that the government is look-ing into, but noted that any invest-ment in this area should be stud-ied appropriately.

He said that the impact of the high cost of generating power from renewable energy resources on the economy should be taken into account given the fact that electricity is heavily subsidised in the Sultanate of Oman.

“Any additional cost should be analysed with caution,” he added.

Commenting on the proposals to slash energy subsidies, he said that the government regards these subsidies as a means to support citizens. “There is no decision at the moment as far as I know.”

Asked about the pipe burst inci-dents, he said that such incidents happen when the network is large but noted that the problem will be curbed as the government is in-vesting a lot in new pipelines.

Production of potable

water has reached

100m cubic metres,

with a commitment

to ensure continued

delivery of water to

the Sharqiyah region

NBO logs 21% growth in net profi t in 2014

Times News Service

MUSCAT: National Bank of Oman (NBO) has achieved a re-markable 21 per cent growth in net profi t at OMR50.3 million in 2014, from OMR41.4 million in the pre-vious year, according to prelimi-nary results posted by the bank on MSM website.

Net interest income and income from Islamic fi nancing grew 8 per cent to OMR80.7 million, from OMR74.7 million during the pe-riod under review. National Bank of Oman is the fi rst Omani bank to declare the fi nancial results for last year.

Loans and advancesNet loans and advances also moved up 12 per cent to OMR2,316.8 mil-lion in 2014 from OMR2,068.2 million. However, customer de-posits and unrestricted invest-ment accounts inched down to OMR2,177.7 million, from OMR2,179.2 million.

Operating expense of the bank in 2014 rose 12 per cent to OMR54.4 million, while total assets edged up 3 per cent to OMR2,976.1 million by 2014-end.

The fi nancial results are subject to the approval of board of direc-tors, Central Bank of Oman and the shareholders of the bank.

P E R F O R M A N C E


AGREEMEMT: Oman’s Sharqiyah Desalination Company signed

an agreement to expand the 80,000 cubic metres per day of water

at Sur desalination plant, located 160 kilometres southwest of

Muscat. – Times of Oman

B2

MARKETT H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Crude likely to recover in second half: Kuwait

LONDON: Oil oversupply that sent prices to a fi ve-year low prob-ably will persist until at least the second half when demand is set to recover, according to Kuwait’s oil minister and the Opec governor of the United Arab Emirates.

Faster global economic growth will be needed to help absorb the oil surplus estimated at 1.8 million barrels a day, Kuwait Oil Minister Ali Al Omair told reporters in par-liament. A demand-led recovery is seen in the second half, the UAE’s governor to Opec Ali Al Yabhouni told reporters in Abu Dhabi.

Oil fell about 40 per cent since the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) maintained its production target at a November 27 meeting, seek-ing to defend market share rather than prices. The UAE and Ku-wait are Opec members. Slowing economic growth contributed to lower prices, Al Omair said.

“We are expecting that this sit-uation will continue until the sur-plus oil is absorbed and the world economy improves,” Al Omair said. “Forecasts indicate that this will not happen before the second half.” Brent crude dropped for a fi fth day, declining 0.8 per cent to $46.24 a barrel in Dubai.

The price was $77.75 before the Opec meeting. Opec produced 30.2 million barrels a day of oil in December, down from 30.36 mil-lion barrels in November, data shows. China’s gross domestic product climbed 7.4 per cent last

year, the slowest expansion since 1990, according to economist es-timates. Demand for oil is seen rising in China and elsewhere in Asia, UAE energy minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said in Abu Dhabi. It is shale oversupply that needs to

be corrected, and Opec will stand by its decision not to cut its crude output, he said.

Crude tumbled into a bear market last year as oil extraction soared at shale formations in Tex-as and North Dakota. - Bloomberg News

Oil oversupply that

sent prices to a fi ve-

year low probably

will persist until

at least the second

half when demand

is set to recover, say

Kuwait and UAE

GCC states cutting subsidies as crude prices still sinkingDUBAI: Gulf states are gradu-ally losing perks from free water to cheap fuel as governments hit by the slump in crude prices trim their budgets.

Kuwait, Oman and Abu Dhabi reduced subsidies on diesel, natu-ral gas and utilities this month. The plunge on oil markets has added to pressure on the region’s rulers to implement spending cuts proposed before the drop. Coun-tries in the six- member Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) have used subsidies to mollify citizens and keep unrest at bay.

The subsidies will be gradually removed “as long as there is no ma-jor blowback from citizens,” said Jim Krane, author of Dubai: City of Gold and a research fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston. “Gov-ernments have genuine fi scal pres-sure that adds punch to their call for everyone to tighten their belts.”

Spending on subsidies in the GCC surged in the past four dec-ades to reach as much as 10 per cent of economic output in Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil ex-porter, according to the World Bank. Gasoline sells at 45 cents a gallon (12 cents a litre) in the king-dom, the cheapest after Venezuela among 61 countries.

Consumption surgeCheap energy has led to a surge in consumption, which risks reduc-ing the oil available for export. State-run Saudi Arabian Oil Com-pany warned in May that it will have ‘unacceptably low levels’ of oil to sell in the next two decades if domestic power use keeps rising at 8 per cent a year.

“With energy demand in the GCC doubling every seven years, these countries can no longer af-ford to keep subsidising domestic consumption of their chief ex-port,” Krane said.

The Middle East and North Af-

rica accounted for about 50 per-cent of global energy subsidies in 2011, according to the Internation-al Monetary Fund.

Brent crude below $47 That year Brent crude averaged $111 a barrel. It was trading at be-low $47 on Tuesday.

Even if crud oil recovers to av-erage $65 a barrel this year, the GCC nations will post a combined budget defi cit of 6 percent of gross domestic product, according to Arqaam Capital, a Dubai- based in-vestment bank.

“This is the perfect occasion, really, for policy makers to say, ‘Oil prices are down so we remove the subsidies,’” said Nasser Saidi, president of Nasser Saidi & Asso-ciates and former chief economist at the Dubai International Finan-cial Centre. “We haven’t had as good an opportunity in years.”

Abu Dhabi, which sits on about 6 per cent of the world’s proven oil reserves, raised electricity prices starting January 1. - Bloomberg News

S P E N D I N G C U T S

Emirates NBD, Mashreqbank seeking to acquire

Citigroup’s consumer banking business in Egypt

LONDON: Emirates NBD and Mashreqbank, two Dubai-based lenders, are among banks seek-ing to acquire Citigroup’s con-sumer banking business in Egypt, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.

The two submitted off ers in the fi rst round of bidding, the people said, asking not to be identifi ed be-cause the process is private. The value of the bank’s portfolio in the Arab world’s most populous econ-omy may be about $500 million, with a second round of bids to be-gin shortly, one of the people said.

Barclays Bank, Commercial International Bank Egypt and Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank also

bid for the assets, according to a report in Egypt’s ‘Al Borsa’ news-paper yesterday, which cited a person it didn’t identify.

Citigroup, based in New York, is exiting its consumer-banking business in 11 nations to focus on markets where it has the greatest scale and growth potential. The bank has said it expects to com-

plete most of those sales this year.Competitors including BNP

Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA also sold consumer businesses in Egypt to boost returns.

Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank, bought BNP Paribas’ Egypt unit in a $500 million deal in 2013, while Qatar National Bank ac-quired SocGen Egypt for $1.97 bil-

lion the same year. A spokesman for Citigroup in Dubai declined to comment as did spokesmen for Emirates NBD and Mashreqbank.

Egypt’s economic growth is expected to accelerate as politi-cal stability returns after more than three years of turmoil that began with the Arab Spring up-rising and continued with the military’s ousting of Islamists from power, which led to the elec-tion of President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi in May.

North Africa’s biggest economy will grow 3.4 per cent this year, ac-cording to the average of 10 econ-omist estimates, compared to 2.2 percent last year. - Bloomberg News

A C Q U I S I T I O N

LESS DEMAND: Oil fell about 40 per cent since the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries

maintained output target at a meeting, seeking to defend market share rather than prices. – File photo

HONG KONG: Commodities tumbled to a 12-year low, led by copper’s biggest decline in almost six years, as slowing global growth curbs demand. United States equity-index futures and Asian stocks fell, while the yen rose with Treasuries.

The Bloomberg Commodi-ties Index slid 1.1 per cent in Tokyo as copper tumbled 6.6 per cent. Nickel fell to an 11-month low as oil in New York and London declined. The MSCI Asia Pacifi c Index slipped 0.4 per cent, as Stand-ard & Poor’s 500 Index futures

lost 0.8 per cent. The yield on 10-year Treasuries retreated four basis points, matching a 20-month low, and the yen rose a fourth day.

The more-than 57 per cent plunge in crude prices since June is spreading to the metals market, dragging a Bloomberg gauge of commodity prices to the lowest levels in 12 years. The World Bank cut its global growth outlook, citing weak expansions in Europe and China, the world’s biggest con-sumer of raw materials. Data is projected to show a gain in US oil inventories.

“The drop in oil prices is quite severe, so whenever there’s some weakness in oil we tend to see risk aversion,” Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager at SMBC Nikko Securities in Tokyo, said by phone. “It’s also heightening concerns of a negative infl uence on materi-als and infrastructure-related industries in the US, which would lower infl ation and push out the timing of a pos-sible interest-rate hike.”Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange dropped as much as 8.7 per cent. - Bloomberg News

Commodities plunge to 12-year low

Kuwait, Oman and

Abu Dhabi reduced

subsidies on diesel,

natural gas and utilities

this month. Spending

on subsidies in GCC

surged in the past four

decades to reach 10%

of economic output

in Saudi Arabia

Drop in US budget defi cit

WASHINGTON: Refl ect-ing revival of the United States economy, the country’s budget defi cit has dropped by $72 billion in 2014 than the previous year, according to a report. Capped off by a $2 billion surplus in De-cember, the government ended the calendar year with a defi cit of $488 billion, $72 billion less than the 2013 tally, it was reported. - PTI

E C O N O M Y

B3T H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

MARKET

Tata Sons gets central bank nod to buy DoCoMo stake

MUMBAI: India’s central bank has allowed conglomerate Tata Sons to buy Japanese telecom fi rm NTT DoCoMo’s stake in their struggling Indian venture, paving the way for the completion of the long-delayed $1.1 billion deal.

In a memo to the Finance Min-istry dated December 22, the Re-serve Bank of India (RBI) said it was ‘inclined to accept’ the pro-posal from Tata to buy DoCoMo’s stake of around 26 per cent in Tata Teleservices at half the price DoC-oMo originally paid for the invest-ment. The RBI has requested for the Finance Ministry’s view.

The RBI approval, also con-fi rmed by a source directly involved in the process, is part of the govern-ment’s bid to simplify and scrap some of the more obscure rules that have curbed foreign investment.

Foreign investorsA rule change brought in last year prevented foreign investors from selling stakes in Indian fi rms at a pre-determined price. “The larger issue here is of a fair commitment in the contracts in relation to an in-vestment and a downside protec-tion of an investment, rather than assured return,” the central bank said in the memo.

“Besides, our strategic relation-ship with Japan in recent times in relation to FDI (foreign direct in-vestment) fl ows is also a matter to be kept in view,” it said.

DoCoMo said in July last year that it would sell its stake in Tata Teleservices. The seventh-biggest mobile phone carrier in India has been losing money in a hugely crowded market for years.

Under the original deal signed in 2009, when DoCoMo invested $2.2 billion in the mobile carrier, in the event of an exit it would get the higher of either half the original in-vestment or a fair value.

Tata Sons told the central bank that it had been unable to fi nd a buyer for the DoCoMo stake. - Reuters

J O I N T V E N T U R E Sohar freezone eyes firms to set up packaging units

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Sohar Port and Fre-ezone plans to take full advantage of the expansion of its petrochem-icals industries in order to attract downstream plastics manufactur-ers to the logistics hub ahead of the construction of Oman’s fi rst dedicated agricultural terminal.

This was the message delivered by Sohar offi cials to industry lead-ers and experts at Arabplast 2015 and GPCA PlastiCon 2015 trade shows, both held in the UAE’s emirate of Dubai this week.

“With the planned construc-tion of an agricultural terminal and anticipated infl ux of grain products that will accompany its completion, our aim is to attract new investment in food and food processing industries and create a cluster than can feed the region. Grain silos and a sugar refi nery are already in the pipeline, and as this sector grows, the opportuni-ties for packaging companies to serve multinational businesses will grow,” it said.

“We are pleased to see the re-sponse that we have had to the news that more than 1.5 million

tonnes of environment-friendly packaging materials will soon be produced at Sohar, led by Oman International Petrochemical In-dustry Company. This will centre on production of PET (polyethyl-ene terephthalate) typically used in the manufacturing of single-serve beverage and soft drink bot-tles,” said executive commercial manager, Edwin Lammers.

Liwa plastics projectIn addition, the Liwa Plastics Project will provide polyethylene and polypropylene to packaging companies interested in setting up operations at Sohar. This $3.6 billion steam cracker project is being developed at Sohar by Oman Oil Refi neries & Petroleum Indus-tries and will be integrated with

the existing refi nery, aromatics plant, and polypropylene plant. But packaging is not the only op-tion, according to Lammers.

“The link between food and plastics is clear. The global pack-

aging industry will generate $975 billion in sales by 2018, and 60 per cent of that will be created in the food industry. Thirty per cent of packaging is made from plastics, and 90 per cent of the region’s foodstuff s are imported. Much of this is pre-packaged elsewhere at a higher cost and our aim is to lever-age our low-cost energy resources to reduce that cost,” he added.

“However, packaging is not the only option available to potential investors. High density polyethyl-ene and PET can be extruded for use in large-scale water and other types of piping, for example. This bodes well for the region’s con-struction industry, though we do not envision Sohar being able to supply this industry just yet. Nev-ertheless, all of the plastics that

will be produced at the port re-main extremely versatile,” he said.

On show at Dubai World Trade Centre from January 10 to 13, the Sohar stand at Arabplast 2015 was a joint construction under-taken with Oman Oil Refi neries & Petroleum Industries. More than 25,000 visitors from over 100 countries attended the event, with hundreds enquiring about the in-vestment opportunities on off er. A similarly positive response was received at PlastiCon 2015, held between January 11 and 12.

Freezone plans to

take full advantage

of the expansion of

its petrochemicals

industries in

order to attract

downstream plastics

manufacturers to

the logistics hub

Ithraa trade delegation to explore opportunities at summit in IndiaTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Led by Dr Salem bin Nasser Al Ismaily, chairman of Ithraa, a top-fl ight Omani trade and investment delegation will head for India today, to partici-pate at the Partnership Summit in Jaipur between January 15 and 17.

The Confederation of Indian Industry has been organising its fl agship international investors meet in association with India’s Ministry of Commerce and In-dustry for over 20 years, said a press release. The three-day event attracts over 1,000 international business leaders and policymak-ers to discuss events shaping to-day’s world, the challenges that need global policy attention and the responses required to eff ec-tively manage them.

This year’s event is particu-larly signifi cant as it marks the Confederation of Indian Indus-try’s 120th anniversary. With the theme ‘Partnerships for Shared New Realities,’ the summit will be inaugurated by India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Nirmla Sitharaman and Rajasthan state’s chief minister Vasundhara Raje.

World Trade Organisation di-rector-general Roberto Azevedo; Asian Development Bank vice-president Wencai Zhang; Organi-sation for Economic Cooperation

and Development deputy sec-retar-general William Danvers and World Intellectual Property Organisation director-general Francis Gurry will also be among the top representatives of multi-lateral organisations attending the Jaipur event.

“The country’s 50 million strong market of English-speak-ing middle-class consumers is

predicted to multiply tenfold over the next 15 years, off ering Omani companies opportunities in In-dia’s education, food, healthcare, power, renewable energy, enter-tainment and retail sectors. The attraction of India for Omani businesses is also underscored by the two countries’ shared his-tory and deep investment links,” remarked Dr Al Ismaily.

“We recognise that it’s not al-ways easy for Omani small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to enter a new market such as India, but the opportunities are there for those prepared to seize them. However, businesses need to un-derstand that India is a series of interconnected regional markets where the legislative and invest-ment climate may change from one state to another. In this re-gard, the Ithraa team can help fi rms compare local laws, gov-ernment incentives, the available infrastructure and workforce,” added Dr Al Ismaily.

Emerging marketsLike many economies around the world, India suff ered economically in 2013, but now looks set to be one of the best emerging markets re-covery stories of 2015. Its econom-ic turnaround is being helped by the decline in oil prices, since it is heavily dependent on imported oil.

Infl ationary pressures have also fallen recently, and India’s central bank governor, Raguram Rajan, is signalling that monetary easing is likely in early 2015. The combination of monetary policy stimulus and the economic re-forms of the new Narendra Modi government could drive a signifi -cant Indian economic recovery over the medium-term.

J A I P U R S U M M I T


DIVERSIFICATION MOVE: A $3.6 billion steam cracker project is being developed at Sohar by Oman Oil Refi neries & Petroleum Indus-

tries and will be integrated with the existing refi nery, aromatics plant, and polypropylene plant. – Supplied photo

Is the sales the global packaging industry will generate by 2018, and 60 per cent of that will be created in the food

industry. Thirty per cent of packaging is made

from plastics

$975b

The country’s 50 million

strong market of English-

speaking middle-class

consumers is predicted to

multiply tenfold over the

next 15 years, offering Omani companies opportunities

in India’s education, food, healthcare, power, renewable

energy, entertainment and retail sectors

Dr Salem bin Nasser Al IsmailyCairman, Ithraa

B4

MARKETT H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14

REGULAR MARKET .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ............ 1,001,513 ........181,412..................... 37 ............0.170 ........... 0.182 ...........0.170 ............0.181 ............. 0.166.............0.015 ............. 9.036 ................0.182 .............. 0.178...................0.182 .................... 3,801,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 3,145,696 ......467,232................... 179 ............0.144 ........... 0.150 ...........0.142 ........... 0.149 ............. 0.137 .............0.012 ............. 8.759 ................0.150 .............. 0.150...................0.000 .................. 12,891,480 .........0.100

OM0000002226 ...........AL JAZEERA SERVICES .......................................... 699,011 ..........236,837..................... 49 ........... 0.322 ...........0.344 ...........0.322........... 0.338 ............. 0.314............ 0.024 ............. 7.643 ................0.344..............0.344...................0.000 ..................20,687,044 .........0.100

OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 2,336,373 ......443,375................... 149 ............0.178 ........... 0.194 ...........0.178 ........... 0.190 ............. 0.177 .............0.013 ............. 7.345 ................0.187 .............. 0.186...................0.187 ................... 50,087,565 .........0.100

OM0000002614 ............ONIC. HOLDING .......................................................... 313,000 .......... 117,673..................... 28 ........... 0.366 ...........0.380 ...........0.366........... 0.376 .............0.354 ........... 0.022 ............. 6.215 ................0.374 ..............0.374...................0.376 ................... 65,207,142 .........0.100

OM0000001822 ............UNITED POWER ..............................................................1,089 ................1,719........................2 ............1.500 ........... 1.595 ...........1.500 ........... 1.580 ............. 1.495 .............0.085 ............. 5.686 ................1.595 .............. 1.595...................1.640 .................... 3,160,000 ..........1.000

OM0000001087 ............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ............................... 865,326 ......... 257,633..................... 85 ........... 0.290 ...........0.304 ...........0.290 .......... 0.298 .............0.282 ............0.016 ............. 5.674 ................0.298..............0.297...................0.298 ..................29,800,000.........0.100

OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING ........... 1,154,096 ...... 155,888................... 112 ............0.134 ........... 0.137 ...........0.132 ............0.135 ............. 0.129............ 0.006 ............. 4.651 ................0.135 ..............0.134...................0.135 ................... 16,453,125 .........0.100

OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 4,175,784 ......878,258...................302 ........... 0.207 ........... 0.213 ...........0.207........... 0.210 .............0.201 ........... 0.009 ............. 4.478 ................0.210 ..............0.210................... 0.211 ...................27,405,000 .........0.100

OM0000001962 ............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ................................... 321,447 ........... 24,263..................... 29 ........... 0.074 ........... 0.079 ...........0.073 ........... 0.075 .............0.072 ........... 0.003 ............. 4.167 ................0.076 ..............0.075...................0.076................... 15,536,354 .........0.100

OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ......................... 1,695,333 .......257,913................... 130 ............0.150 ........... 0.155 ...........0.150 ............0.152 ............. 0.146............ 0.006 ............. 4.110 ................ 0.151 ...............0.151...................0.152 .................... 8,944,169 ..........0.100

OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE .............. 2,580,865 ......594,370...................144 ........... 0.225 ........... 0.233 ...........0.223........... 0.230 ............. 0.221 ........... 0.009 ............. 4.072 ................0.228..............0.228...................0.231 .................. 46,000,000 ........0.100

OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ..................................... 697,324 .........346,594..................... 97 ........... 0.486 ...........0.500 ...........0.486 ........... 0.498 .............0.480 ............0.018 ............. 3.750 ................0.494..............0.494...................0.498..................140,483,038 ........0.100

OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 2,224,928 .....532,900..................... 69 ........... 0.235 ...........0.242 ...........0.235 ........... 0.240 .............0.233 ........... 0.007 ............. 3.004 ................0.238 .............. 0.231...................0.237................. 274,560,000 .......0.100

OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK .................................................................... 211,039 .............49,614........................8 ........... 0.235 ........... 0.236 ...........0.235 ........... 0.235 .............0.230 ........... 0.005 ............. 2.174 ................0.236 ..............0.237...................0.239................. 304,439,540 .......0.100

OM0000001319 ............NATIONAL ALUMINIUM PRODUCTS ............. 122,450 ........... 38,669......................16 ............0.312 ........... 0.318 ...........0.312 ............0.316 ............. 0.312............ 0.004 ............. 1.282 ................0.318 .............. 0.316...................0.318 ...................10,608,578 .........0.100

OM0000001483 ............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ................................. 661,517 .......... 210,433......................16 ............0.318 ...........0.320 ...........0.316 ............0.318 ............. 0.314............ 0.004 ............. 1.274 ................0.316 ..............0.310...................0.320 ................. 387,587,145 ........0.100

OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 164,002 ......... 288,017..................... 58 ............1.740 ........... 1.765 ............1.740 ............1.755 ............. 1.740 .............0.015 ............. 0.862 ................1.760 .............. 1.760................... 1.765 ................ 1,316,250,000 ......0.100

OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN .................................................... 223,000 ........... 32,568......................12 ............0.146 ........... 0.147 ...........0.146 ........... 0.146 ............. 0.145.............0.001 ............. 0.690 ................0.146 .............. 0.143...................0.146 ..................292,045,667 .......0.100

OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 400,187 .........266,247...................104 ........... 0.664 ........... 0.668 ...........0.664........... 0.664 .............0.660 ........... 0.004 ............. 0.606 ................0.668 ..............0.668...................0.676 ................. 432,226,969 .......0.100

OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 6,165,043 .. 3,404,574...................294 ............0.556 ........... 0.556 ...........0.550 ........... 0.552 .............0.550 ........... 0.002 ............. 0.364 ................0.554 ..............0.554...................0.556 ................1,204,843,880 ......0.100

OM0000001145 ............PORT SERVICES CORPORATION ........................... 1,000 .................. 346........................ 1 ........... 0.346 ........... 0.346 ...........0.346........... 0.336 .............0.336 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.346..............0.342...................0.368...................31,933,440 .........0.100

OM0000001400 ...........OMAN FLOUR MILLS ................................................... 1,000 .................. 528........................ 1 ........... 0.528 ........... 0.528 ...........0.528........... 0.586 .............0.586 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.528 ..............0.528...................0.584...................92,295,000.........0.100

OM0000001509 ............DHOFAR INT.DEV.AND INV. HOLD. .....................10,000 ...............5,300........................8 ........... 0.530 ........... 0.530 ...........0.530........... 0.530 .............0.530 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.530 ..............0.530...................0.000 .................116,600,000 ........0.100

OM0000001707 ............OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY ........................................ 4,700 ...............9,400........................2 ........... 2.000 ...........2.000 ...........2.000 .......... 2.000 .............2.000 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................2.000 ............. 1.975...................2.000 .................179,400,000........0.100

OM0000001749 ............OMAN CEMENT ................................................................. 700 .................. 365........................ 1 ........... 0.522 ........... 0.522 ...........0.522........... 0.522 .............0.522 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.522.............. 0.510...................0.520 ................. 172,715,555 ........0.100

OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS .............................7,330 .............. 2,402........................4 ........... 0.328 ........... 0.328 ...........0.326........... 0.328 .............0.328 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.326..............0.326...................0.328 ..................40,966,531 .........0.100

OM0000002275 ...........SHELL OMAN MARKETING ..............................................1 ....................... 2........................ 1 ........... 2.000 ...........2.000 ...........2.000 .......... 2.000 .............2.000 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................2.000 ............ 0.000...................0.000 ................ 190,000,000 .......0.100

OM0000002572 ...........OMAN OIL MARKETING ...........................................11,100 ............24,864........................2 ........... 2.240 ...........2.240 ...........2.240 .......... 2.240 .............2.240 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ............... 2.240 ............ 0.000...................2.240 .................137,256,000 ........0.100

OM0000003141 ............ACWA POWER BARKA .............................................. 40,400 .............33,128........................4 ........... 0.820 ...........0.820 ...........0.820........... 0.820 .............0.820 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.820..............0.804...................0.820 .................131,200,000........0.100

OM0000003281 ............TAAGEER FINANCE ....................................................17,776 ...............2,653........................3 ............0.149 ........... 0.150 ...........0.149 ........... 0.149 ............. 0.149............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.150 .............. 0.149...................0.150 ................... 37,784,910 .........0.100

OM0000003711 ............SOHAR POWER ................................................................ 6,898 ...............2,594......................21 ............0.376 ........... 0.376 ...........0.376 ........... 0.376 .............0.376 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.376 ..............0.376...................0.390 ..................83,099,760 .........0.100

OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS ............................................................ 30,000 ............. 17,056......................14 ........... 0.566 ........... 0.570 ...........0.566 ........... 0.568 .............0.570 ...........-0.002 ............-0.351................0.570 ..............0.554...................0.568...................25,878,883 .........0.100

OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY ........................................................7,558 ...............2,955........................6 ........... 0.388 ........... 0.392 ...........0.388........... 0.390 .............0.392 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.510 ...............0.388 ..............0.392...................0.400 ..................23,595,000 .........0.100

OM0000001301 ............DHOFAR CATTLE FEED ........................................... 42,252 ............... 7,593........................7 ............0.180 ........... 0.180 ...........0.176 ........... 0.180 ............. 0.181 ............-0.001 ........... -0.552 ...............0.180 ..............0.180...................0.199 ...................13,860,000 .........0.100

OM0000002168 ............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ................................ 23,000 .............10,790........................9 ............0.476 ........... 0.476 ...........0.466 ........... 0.470 .............0.476 ...........-0.006 ............-1.261 ................0.466 ..............0.466...................0.468.................. 116,017,025 ........0.100

OM0000003000 ...........ALMAHA PETROLEUM PRODUCTS MAR. ......... 9,420 ............ 20,253........................8 ............2.150 ........... 2.150 ...........2.150 ........... 2.150 .............2.205 ...........-0.055 ........... -2.494 ...............2.150 ..............2.150...................2.300 .................148,350,000........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 29,372,158 .8,926,418................2,012 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......37........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ...................... 118,529 .............14,863......................17 ............0.124 ........... 0.128 ...........0.124 ............0.125 ............. 0.117 ............ 0.008 ............. 6.838 ................0.125 ..............0.124...................0.125 .................... 3,750,000 ..........0.100

OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS ................................................ 210,048 ..........115,820...................210 ........... 0.538 ........... 0.560 ...........0.538 ........... 0.552 .............0.522 ........... 0.030 ............. 5.747 ................0.544..............0.544...................0.550...................27,600,000 .........0.100

OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. ......................6,224 .................. 237........................2 ........... 0.038 ........... 0.038 ...........0.038........... 0.038 .............0.036 ........... 0.002 ............. 5.556 ................0.038 ..............0.036...................0.037....................3,230,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002564 ...........AL HASSAN ENGINEERING.................................. 196,360 ........... 20,438..................... 30 ............0.103 ........... 0.106 ...........0.103 ........... 0.104 ............. 0.101 ............ 0.003 ............. 2.970 ................0.103 ..............0.103...................0.104.................... 7,821,632 ..........0.100

OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL ............................................. 257,168 .............23,148.....................40 ........... 0.089 ........... 0.091 ...........0.089........... 0.090 .............0.088 ........... 0.002 ............. 2.273 ................0.090..............0.090...................0.091 ................... 15,750,000 .........0.100

OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 375,840 ........... 30,592..................... 24 ........... 0.080 ........... 0.082 ...........0.080........... 0.081 .............0.080 ............0.001 ............. 1.250 ................0.082..............0.082...................0.083..................121,500,000 ........0.100

OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER ................................................ 215,794 ............. 37,148.....................44 ............0.171 ........... 0.173 ........... 0.171 ............0.172 ............. 0.170............ 0.002 ..............1.176 .................0.173 .............. 0.172...................0.173 ..................116,080,638 ........0.100

OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER .................................................. 219,268 ............37,989..................... 48 ............0.172 ........... 0.175............0.172 ............0.173 ............. 0.171 ............ 0.002 ............. 1.170.................0.174 .............. 0.174................... 0.175 ..................123,592,297 ........0.100

OM0000004735 ...........SEMBCORP SALALAH ...................................................7,387 .............16,389........................4 ........... 2.200 ...........2.220 .......... 2.200 .......... 2.220 .............2.200 ........... 0.020 ............. 0.909 ................2.220 ............ 2.220...................2.300 ................. 211,914,973 ........1.000

OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES .......................................................73,650 ................5,211......................11 ........... 0.070 ........... 0.071 ...........0.070............0.071 ............. 0.071............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.070..............0.069...................0.072....................8,875,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002580 ...........OMAN EDU. & TRIN. INV. HOLDING....................10,000 ...............1,400........................ 1 ............0.140 ........... 0.140 ...........0.140 ........... 0.140 .............0.140 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.140 .............. 0.136...................0.140 ....................9,800,000 ..........0.100

OM0000004669 ...........SHARQIYAH DESALINATION ................................14,269 ............ 45,960......................16 ........... 3.290 ........... 3.290 ...........3.100 ........... 3.220 .............3.290 ...........-0.070 ........... -2.128 ...............3.200..............3.100...................3.200 ..................31,492,296 .........1.000

OM0000001053 ............OMAN TEXTILE HOLDING .......................................4,000 ............... 1,093........................3 ........... 0.285 ........... 0.285 ...........0.269........... 0.273 .............0.295 ...........-0.022 ............-7.458 ................0.269..............0.266...................0.280 ................... 1,638,000 ..........1.000

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 1,708,537 ......350,287...................450 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ...... 13........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BONDS MARKET ........................................................................................................................................................................................OM0000004602 ...........BANK MUSCAT CONV. BONDS 4.5 ...........................1,623 ...................170........................ 1 ............0.105 ........... 0.105 ...........0.105 ........... 0.106 ............. 0.106 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.105 .............. 0.105...................0.107 ...................32,091,406 .........0.100

OM0000004628 ...........BANK SOHAR BONDS 4.5 ............................................ 2,259 .................. 230........................ 1 ............0.102 ........... 0.102 ...........0.102 ........... 0.103 ............. 0.103............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.102 ..............0.102...................0.105 .................... 7,364,500 ..........0.100

OM0000004867 ...........BANK MUSCAT C C B 4.5 .......................................... 24,504 ...............2,597........................2 ............0.106 ........... 0.106 ...........0.106 ........... 0.106 ............. 0.107............-0.001 ........... -0.935 ...............0.106 ..............0.106................... 0.113 ...................33,882,124 .........0.100

.............................................SUM: ....................................................................................28,386 ...............2,998........................4 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 3........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

O M A N S T O C K S

INDICESIndex .................................................High .................Low ..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff %MSM30 Index ....................................... 6,433.28 ...............6,376.81 ...................6,432.80 ...................6,369.64 ..................63.16 ................... 0.99Financial Index .....................................7,826.56 ............... 7,691.38 ................... 7,826.54 ...................7,684.26 ............... 142.28 ................... 1.85Industrial Index ................................... 8,544.13 ...............8,484.16 ....................8,537.96 ................... 8,478.57 ..................59.39 ................... 0.70Services Index ...................................... 3,546.95 .............. 3,523.62 ................... 3,546.79 ................... 3,521.63 ..................25.16 ................... 0.71MSM SHARIAH INDEX....................................................... 975.51 ....................... 971.21 ...................... 975.28 ................971.21 ................... 4.07

Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded31,109,081 ...................9,279,703 ................. 2,466 ...............14,630,404,755 ................30 ........................8 .................... 15 .........................53

MSM ends in the green

MUSCAT: MSM 30 Index re-versed its Tuesday’s loss to end in the green at 6,432.80 points, up by 0.99 per cent. MSM Shariah index also up by 0.42 per cent at 975.28 points.

Bank Muscat was the most ac-tive in terms of volume as well as turnover. Gulf International Chemicals, up by 9.04 per cent, was the top gainer, while Oman Textile Holding, down by 7.46 per cent, was the top loser.

Altogether 2,466 trades were executed in the day’s session gen-erating a turnover of OMR9.27 million with more than 31.11 mil-lion shares changing hands. Out of 53 traded stocks, 30 advanced, 8 declined and 15 remained un-changed. Omani investors were net buyers to the tune of OMR1.38 million followed by GCC & Arab investors at OMR209,000. For-eign investors, who were net sellers, sold stocks amounting to OMR1.59 million.

Financial Index showed strong gains of 1.85 per cent to close at 7,826.54 points. Al Sharqia In-vestments, DBIH, ONIC Hold-ing, Oman United Insurance and Oman & Emirates Holding in-creased by 8.76%, 6.84 per cent, 6.21 per cent, 5.67 per cent and 4.65 per cent respectively.

Industrial Index increased by 0.70 per cent and ended the day at 8,537.96 points. Gulf In-ternational Chemicals, Galfar Engineering, Al Maha Ceramics, Construction Materials and Al Hassan Engineering increased by 9.04 per cent, 7.34 per cent, 5.75 per cent, 5.56 per cent and 2.97 per cent respectively. Oman Tex-tile Holding, Al Anwar Ceramics, Dhofar Cattlefeed and Voltamp Energy decreased by 7.46 per cent, 1.26 per cent, 0.55 per cent and 0.51 per cent respectively.

Services Sector Index closed at 3,546.79 points, up by 0.71 per cent. Al Jazeera Services, United Power, OIFC, Renaissance Ser-

vices and Al Batinah Power in-creased by 7.64 per cent, 5.69 per cent, 4.07 per cent, 3.75 per cent and 1.18 per cent respectively. Al Maha Petroleum, Sharqiyah De-salination and National Gas fell by 2.49 per cent, 2.13 per cent and 0.35 per cent respectively.

Emerging stocks dipThe lowering of the World Bank’s forecast for global-economic growth underscored weakness in Asia and Europe, sending emerging-market stocks toward a one-week low. Russia’s rouble weakened for a fourth day.

Shares of commodity produc-ers and consumer-durables mak-ers led the declines as copper and oil headed for their lowest prices since 2009. Jiangxi Copper and KGHM Polska Miedz tumbled at least 5.9 per cent, while Hyundai Mobis fell with auto-industry companies. The rouble slid 1.4 percent versus the dollar amid growing concern Standard & Poor’s will cut the sovereign’s credit rating to junk. Stocks in the Philippines, a net oil importer, rose to a record.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index dropped 0.5 percent to 955.42 in London. The gauge is little changed since the start of 2015 as Brent crude lost a fi fth of its value, off setting a better-than-forecast increase in Chinese ex-ports. The measure has declined for the past two years.

“There are still too many mov-ing parts that blur the investment picture, including the drop in commodity prices and uncer-tainty on the global-growth out-look,” Simon Quijano-Evans, the London-based head of emerging-market research at Commerz-bank, said.

The World Bank said the global economy resembles a train pulled by a single engine, the United States, with other regions drag-ging. - United Securities/Bloomberg News

Gulf International Chemicals, up by 9.04 per

cent, was the top gainer, while Oman Textile

Holding, down by 7.46 per cent, lost the most

Indian bourse, rupee declineMUMBAI: Indian stock markets on Wednesday fell for the second straight session with benchmark Sensex dropping nearly 79 points to end at 27,346.82 as ITC shares tanked on worries related to pro-posed ban on sale of loose ciga-rettes while metal stocks tracked weak global cues.

Selling was seen in metal, FMCG, healthcare, realty, bank-ing, oil & gas, consumer durables,

PSU and power sector stocks. There was, however, some buying in IT, teck, auto, power and capital goods sector stocks which capped the losses.

WPI infl ation rose marginally to 0.1 per cent in December. After Tuesday’s over 159-point fall, the 30-share BSE Sensex yesterday opened in positive terrain but slipped into the negative zone to touch the day’s low of 27,203.25.

It settled down by 78.91 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 27,346.82.

Rupee depreciatesThe Indian rupee yesterday snapped its fi ve-day uptrend against the greenback, ending four paise lower at 62.18 on fresh dollar demand. The rupee re-sumed higher at 62.08 per dollar as against the last closing level of 62.14 per dollar. - PTI

I N D I A N M A R K E T S


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Meethaq conference reiterates support for quality education

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Private education that faces many challenges received much needed support at a confer-ence hosted by Meethaq, the pio-neer of Islamic banking in Oman from Bank Muscat, as part of its commitment to the national objec-tive of quality education for Omani children. The conference was held under the auspices of Dr. Madiha bint Ahmed Al Shibaniya, Minis-ter of Education, at the Bank Mus-cat head offi ce.

The conference titled ‘Private education with Meethaq fi nance solutions’ was attended by digni-

taries and senior offi cials from the government, the Royal Oman Po-lice and leading educational insti-tutions. Key topics covered at the conference include the challenges and opportunities within the pri-vate education sector in Oman and safe school transportation system.

Presentations covered a gamut of issues relevant for private edu-cational institutions, including Shari’a-based fi nancing solutions for development of infrastructure and facilities. Representatives from the ROP and Oman Nation-al Transport Company (ONTC) focused on issues related to safe school transport system. The Min-

istry of Education made a presen-tation on student registration por-tal for private schools.

After the opening ceremony, Dr. Madiha Ahmed Al Shibani, Minister of Education, said: “The ministry believes in partner-ship with various stakeholders to achieve positive results, espe-cially the private sector. We com-mend Meethaq Islamic banking

from Bank Muscat for this leading initiative, which aims to provide support and fi nancing for private schools. Private education faces a number of challenges associated with access to suitable locations and other resources. We hope that this conference will be translated into initiatives that will contribute to the empowerment of the private education sector, and enhancing

the quality and level of services provided to this important sector. “

Sulaiman Al Harthy, Group Gen-eral Manager – Islamic Banking, said: “Meethaq is proud to host the conference on private education as part of its commitment to off er world-class Islamic banking ser-vice to customers. Ensuring a solid foundation for quality education is key to guaranteeing a bright future for Omani children. In line with the Meethaq brand values of true Part-nership, Transparency and Trust, new products and services serving the requirements of private edu-cational institutions are available to complement the unique Islamic banking experience.”

“Meethaq is focused on rede-fi ning Islamic banking operations in Oman with unique products and services benefi ting citizens and complementing the econo-my. Meethaq strives to fulfi l the needs of customers with innova-tive Shari’a based products and is well positioned to provide Islamic fi nancial expertise to diverse seg-ments and thereby promote the good of society as a whole,” Al Har-

thy added. Meethaq off ers a full suite of Islamic banking products and services, including savings account, current account, home fi nance, auto fi nance, credit card, mobile banking etc. Meethaq has adopted the best practices in Is-lamic banking and fi nance world-wide to combine a robust model which protects customers and complements the Islamic banking industry. Every Meethaq product goes through the process of Shari’a compliance certifi cation by the Shari’a Supervisory Board and is created in line with the guidelines of the Central Bank of Oman.

As the pioneer of Islamic bank-ing in Oman, Meethaq stands out for its independent Shari’a Super-visory Board, separate capital allo-cation from shareholders’ money, unique risk management tools, complete fund segregation, sepa-rate books of account, core bank-ing system which supports Islamic banking operations, stand-alone Islamic banking branches and proper profi t distribution mecha-nism among investment account holders/depositors.

Presentations covered a gamut of issues

relevant for private educational institutions,

including Shari’a-based fi nancing solutions

for development of infrastructure and facilities

TAC off ering guaranteed cash gift on Higer pickupsMUSCAT: Higer Pickup, a high-grade light duty vehicle, with new generation appearance, is now available with a guaranteed cash gift on all 2015 models from Towell Auto Centre, the sole dis-tributors of the Higer buses and pickups in Oman.

Available at a starting price of just OMR4,749, the Higer pickups are known for their performance and safety. Moreover, TAC is of-fering its customers a guaranteed cash gift of OMR450 on all 2015 models, says a press release.

“At TAC, we believe in off ering

our customers maximum protec-tion and maximum benefi ts. Higer is a popular award-winning brand within China, known mainly for its buses and coaches. And now with its pickups, Higer is off ering a high performance reliable workhorse, equipped to meet varying busi-ness needs. We are confi dent our consumers will enjoy the benefi ts of this lightweight, effi cient and aff ordable pickups,” commented a senior spokesperson of TAC.

The Higer pickups are available in single and double cabins with new enhanced interiors. The pow-

erful 2.2 litre 4 cylinder engine, 5 speed manual transmission helps drivers in long drives to faraway destinations or even for hauling heavy loads. Its remote control key, power windows, 3 point seat belt, rear parking sensor with plush fabric interiors ensures that each drive is a comfortable one.

The guaranteed cash gift will be off ered until February 28 on 2015 models only. With a network of 11 showrooms, 13 service outlets and 10 parts outlets spread across the Sultanate, TAC is the sole distribu-tor of the Higer range in Oman.

P R O M O T I O N

Khimji’s Watches showcases rare

limited edition Chopard timepiece

MUSCAT: A discreet, ultra-thin model made in platinum and featuring a grey-blue dial, the Chopard L.U.C XPS timepiece is produced in a 25-piece limited edition and complies with the cri-teria of the 'Poinçon de Genève', of which the hallmark is hand-en-graved on the back of each watch, is being showcased at the Khimji’s Watches, says a press release.

Since 1886, the “Poinçon de Ge-nève” has been guaranteeing an exceptional standard of quality by requiring all manufacturers wish-ing to stamp it on their timepieces to duly perfect all the parts com-posing such calibres. It thereby ensures a high level of precision of the products bearing it, while perpetuating manual watchmak-ing skills.

To power this new L.U.C XPS, the Chopard watchmakers have equipped it with the in-house made L.U.C Calibre 96.01-L. This choice has enabled them to achieve the feat of accommodat-ing within an ultra-thin case a self-winding movement fi tted with two barrels ensuring a 65-hour power reserve and driving central hour and minute hands along with small seconds at 6

o’clock and the date at 3 o’clock.The beauty of this exception-

al timepiece is accentuated by the open case-back providing a chance to admire the Chopard L.U.C 96.01-L calibre equipped with the L.U.C collection’s char-

acteristic integrated rotating module: the micro-rotor.

“This platinum timepiece with its pure, elegant lines features a blue sunburst satin-brushed dial bearing the “Poinçon de Genève” logo at 12 o’clock. Its elegance is accentuated by its silver-toned hands echoing the remarkably restrained hour-markers. To fur-ther personalise this edition, the case-back of each model has been individually hand-engraved with the “Poinçon de Genève” logo. Surely this timepiece is an epito-me of perfection and symbolises Chopard’s deep-felt attachment to watchmaking tradition,” stat-ed Madhursinh Jesrani, general manager, Khimji’s Watches.

The timepiece can be viewed by visiting the Khimji’s Watches showroom located at Way No. 3036, Building No. 2825, Al Ufouq Building in Shatti al Qurm. Kh-imji’s Watches is one of Muscat’s leading franchisees for luxury watches, jewellery, accessories and writing instruments. It off ers global designs from Rolex, Carti-er, Chopard, Piaget, Mikimoto, Girard Perregaux, Tudor, Oris, Frederique Constant, Bell&Ross and Caran d’Ache.

P R I Z E D P O S S E S S I O N

Complex surgery at KIMS Oman saves life of a pre-term babyMUSCAT: Expert medical staff at KIMS Oman Hospital (KOH) saved a pre-term life after con-ducting a successful emergency surgery to open the bony plate in the back of the nose by endoscopic method, recently.

The Emergency Unit at KIMS Oman Hospital received a pre-term baby who was referred to the hospital with acute diffi culty in breathing after birth, where the EU paediatrician immediately in-tubated the baby and put him on ventilator, says a press release.

Consultants from diff erent medical departments at the hos-pital were called to examine and evaluate the case, where they re-vealed that the preterm baby suf-fers from a rare condition called Bilateral Choanal Atresia which was confi rmed by nasal endoscopy and CT scan, and advised an ur-gent surgery to save the baby’s life.

Bilateral Choanal Atresia is a rare condition where the back end of the nose is completely blocked by bony or membranous plate where the baby can’t breathe through the nose.

It is thought to occur when the thin tissue separating the nose and mouth area grows during fetal de-velopment and remains after birth.

The condition can be bilateral or unilateral in newborn infants, af-fecting about 1 in 7,000 live births. Females get this condition about

twice as often as males. Bilateral Choanal Atresia is a serious defi -ciency which can be life threaten-ing for the baby.

Delighted“KIMS Oman hospital is delighted at the success of this rare opera-tion and very proud of our profes-sional medical staff who saved the life of this baby. It was a pretty tough surgery, as babies in this age are very delicate and fragile,” said Dr Hussam Akoum, chief operat-

ing offi cer at KOH."KIMS Oman Hospital is com-

mitted to providing world-class health care services with care, compassion and courtesy to its pa-tients at an aff ordable price.

"We strive to give our very best to the patient in clinical as well as non-clinical aspects of health care. For KIMS the patient is the sole cause of existence and they reciprocate the faith and trust that patients exhibit in their brand," he added.

R A R E S U R G E R Y

Consultants from

different medical

departments at KIMS

Oman hospital were

called to examine and

evaluate the case,

where they revealed

that the pre-term

baby suffers from a

rare condition called

Bilateral Choanal

Atresia which was

confirmed by nasal

endoscopy and CT

scan, and advised to

conduct an urgent

surgery to save

the baby’s life

Indian School Rustaq

celebrates Oman

Environmental Day

MUSCAT: Joining hands with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Aff airs, Indian School Rustaq organised a cultural pro-gramme recently as a part of Oman Environmental Day cel-ebrations at Rustaq Park.

The school choir sang beauti-ful songs praising the Mother Earth. The students of Class VII had presented a mime with an aim to raise the importance of the theme ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recy-cle’. Children also demonstrated various ways of making useful

things from the waste materials, says a press release.

They participated in a drawing competition with great enthusi-asm. The ministry organised an exhibition upholding the impor-tance of preserving and protect-ing Sultanate’s natural resources.

The students were given prizes as a token of apprecia-tion for their cooperation in the Sultanate’s eff orts related to the protection of the environment reminding the society that it is a collective responsibility.

C U L T U R A L P R O G R A M M E

B6 T H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

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New Porsche models arrive in style

DUBAI: The 911 Targa 4 GTS and Cayenne Turbo S are celebrating their world premieres at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. For the fi rst time, the 911 Targa 4 GTS com-bines the successful GTS moniker with the classic Targa concept, says a press release.

With a more powerful 430 hp engine and standard Sport Chrono package, the model produces even more dynamic performance. Ad-ditional GTS-specifi c features for this model, include matt black 20-inch wheels with central wheel locks, sport design front end, black air intake screen. GTS logos are also prominent throughout the car, with signage on the doors, rollover protection bar and on the rear of the car. Inside, black Alcantara is applied to the steering wheel, seats and trim accents made of black brushed aluminium accentuate the sportiness of the car.

Showcasing a new engine charg-ing concept with turbochargers in-tegrated in the exhaust manifolds, the new Turbo S is the top model of the latest Cayenne generation. An increase of 20 hp from the previous model means that the new Cayenne Turbo produces a total of 570 hp. The car’s maximum torque, which has also increased by 50 Nm (36.8

ft lb) to 800 Nm (590 ft lb), enables superlative performance, com-bined with the new turbochargers, ensures even better responsiveness of the biturbo engine.

Both new models deliver maxi-mum driving enjoyment due to their top levels of sportiness and are perfect examples of the sus-tained success of Porsche in pro-ducing cars.

Exquisitely styled 911 Targa 4 GTSIn celebration of the 50th anniver-sary of the 911 Targa and for the fi rst time, Porsche is now also of-fering this distinctive model, in a more powerful and dynamic GTS version. The Targa concept of the 911 Targa 4 GTS delivers very safe driving enjoyment with all-wheel drive and a rollover protection bar; it also delivers open-air fun with a Targa top that stows fully auto-matically. The unique design of the Targa 4 GTS is underpinned by the dynamic performance of the GTS engine, which together with the standard Sport Chrono package, PASM chassis, 20-inch wheels and a sport exhaust system; deliver a driving experience like no other.

Despite the addition of new fea-tures, the weight-to-power ratio with the 430-hp engine was im-proved from 3.9 kg to just 3.6 kg per horsepower compared to the S model. This lets the Targa 4 GTS

reach a top speed of over 300 km/h (186 mph) with a PDK transmis-sion, and 4.3 seconds for the zero to 100 km/h (0 – 60 mph in 4.1 sec-onds) sprint. Although the engine produces an additional 30 hp, its fuel consumption – which ranges from 9.2 to 10.0 l/100 km, depend-ing on the type of transmission – is exactly the same as that of the 911 Targa 4S.

The latest Targa can be recog-nised at fi rst glance as a GTS mod-el with all-wheel drive, because – compared to the two-wheel drive 911 Carrera models — the rear wheel arches are fl ared an addi-tional 22 millimetres, and the rear tires are ten millimetres wider. The front view is defi ned by the sport design of the car’s front end with an opening for the auxiliary middle radiator and the smoked bi-xenon headlights that feature the Porsche Dynamic Light Sys-tem (PDLS).

The side profi le of the car fea-tures further GTS characteristics, including silky gloss black 20-inch 911 Turbo S wheels with central lock, sport design door mirrors and the “targa” logo on the silver rollo-ver protection bar also painted in silky gloss black. Black accents are also visible at the rear of the car, with glossy trims on the air inlet screen, the model logo and the chrome tailpipes.

The iconic GTS fl air also dic-

tates the interior of the 911 Targa 4 GTS, with the Sport Chrono pack-age stopwatch, four-way adjust-able Sport Plus seats – featuring black GTS logos on the head rests – provide additional lateral sup-port and long-distance cruising comfort for driver and passenger. The dominant interior material is black Alcantara, which is half the weight of leather.

The Targa has been an estab-lished member of the 911 line-up since its debut back in 1965. In the past, around one out of eight 911 cars ever sold was a Targa. The market share of the latest gen-eration is 13 percent and growing. With the 911 Targa 4 GTS, Porsche is extending its line-up of the mod-ern classic by adding a top model with extensive package of stand-ard features and appealing pricing.

The top athlete among SUVsAt the 2015 North American In-ternational Auto Show in Detroit, Porsche is also introducing the new Cayenne Turbo S — the top model of the sporty SUV model series. Its re-engineered 4.8-litre V8 biturbo engine now delivers 570 hp and 800 Nm (590 ft lb) of torque. A chassis that is tuned for maximum driving dynamics and packs a wide range of control systems also makes the Cayenne Turbo S a genuine top per-former. It can turn a lap of the North Loop of the Nürburgring in 7:59.74

minutes, setting a new record for SUVs, and further roving that every Porsche is a genuine sports car – re-gardless of vehicle segment.

The surprising response of the biturbo engine is primarily a ben-efi t of the integral turbochargers, which are now housed directly in the exhaust manifolds. This new approach also improves combus-tion. The high-performance en-gine off ers 20 hp more power and 50 Nm (36.8 ft lb) more torque than the previous engine. The Cayenne Turbo S accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds – which is 0.4 seconds faster than the previous model (0 – 60 mph in 3.8 seconds). Its top speed is now 284 km/h (176 mph).

The Cayenne Turbo S also un-derscores its position as a top athlete with its chassis systems. Its standard Porsche Composite Ceramic Brakes (PCCB) include 420mm front brake discs and for the fi rst time, ten-piston calipers. The rear brakes have 370 mm discs and four-piston calipers.

The active roll stabilisation sys-tem and Porsche Dynamic Chas-sis Control (PDCC) proactively reduces side tilt when driving through curves early on. Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus) increases dynamic handling and stability by making specifi c brake interventions at the right or left rear wheel – this noticeably im-

proves steering into curves and steering precision.

The active hang-on all-wheel drive system Porsche Traction Management (PTM) permanently drives the rear wheels, while off er-ing fully variable power distribu-tion to the front wheels. All these systems combined result in excel-lent driving dynamics, lots of trac-tion, as well as high level of agility at any speed.

Standard featuresStandard features of the Cayenne Turbo S refl ect the top level sta-tus of this model. They include 21-inch wheels in distinctive 911 Turbo design with black painted edges, LED headlights including Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus (PDLS Plus), full-leather in-terior with Porsche logo embossed on all head restraints as well as interior carbon accents. Interior styling in a black/crème colour combination is makes its debut in the Cayenne Turbo S.

Exterior visual accents include air inlet surrounds painted in high-gloss black, the undersides of the door mirrors in the same col-our and the roof spoiler and wheel arch mouldings in car colour.

A sport exhaust system is avail-able as an option in combination with a switchable sound symposer, which optimally transmits the V8 sound experience into the interior.

The 911 Targa 4 GTS

and Cayenne Turbo

S deliver maximum

driving enjoyment

due to their top levels

of sportiness and are

perfect examples

of the sustained

success of Porsche

in producing cars

Rehana to preside over tomorrow’s MushairahMUSCAT: Renowned poetess Rehana Qamar will preside over the Mushairah being organised by Alpha Events Oman on Friday, January 16 at 8.30pm at Wadi Tower behind Sana Centre near Indian School Wadi Kabir.

Ayaz Hussain, Ambassador of Pakistan to the Sultanate of Oman will be the chief guest at the function, says a press release.

Rehana Qamar was born in Pa-kistan and has been settled in the USA. Her book Kaash Tum Say Koi Bewafaai Karay was a big hit among lovers of Urdu literature.

Her other poetry books include Soch Ki Dehleez Per, Magar Tum Apna Khiaal Rakhna, Hum Phir Nah Milain Shaayad, Tum Ho To Main Bhi Hoon and Mar Kay Bhi Tumhaaray Hain. Looking at the names of her books, one can easily guess that her poetry targets love and aff ection.

Her kulliyaat (collection of poetry books) Seepiaan Chuntay Shaam Hui is also published. She is also well known for her out-standing contribution towards promotion of Urdu language and literature abroad.

Apart from her world wide popularity as a leading Urdu poet-ess she has also played a vital role for the welfare of human being as a social worker.

Holder of UNO Peace Award, Saheta Award India and a num-ber of national awards in Paki-stan, Rehana has participated in Mushairahs in many countries.

The event is supported by Ad-ams Son’s Jewellery. Qamar Riaz, honorary chief coordinator of the Mushairah said that the family

oriented poetry evening will be free for all poetry lovers. He can be contacted on 98985106.

Talking about upcoming events, Fahad Awais Munir, managing director of Alpha Events Oman, said some mega shows were being planned in the coming months.

R E N O W N E D P O E T E S S

Rehana Qamar’s book

‘Kaash Tum Say Koi

Bewafaai Karay’ was a

big hit among lovers of

Urdu literature. Apart

from her world wide

popularity as a leading

Urdu poetess she has

also played a vital role

for the welfare of human

being as a social worker

Allo conducts roadshow in Sohar, Nizwa and Rustaq

MUSCAT: Allo International Calling Cards, recently con-ducted roadshows in Sohar, Nizwa and Rustaq to promote its latest international calling promotion and received a great response from the public on the attractive rates off ered to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lan-ka, Philippines and many other countries, says a press release.

AppreciationThe promotions have received great interest from all corners of the country with people ex-pressing their appreciation for the aff ordable interna-tional calling rates off ered by Allo which off er upto 60 min-utes of international talk time for OMR1.

Off er extensionThe response has prompted Allo card to extend the off er upto March 18. The Allo service is available from any mobile, land-line or payphone in the country and does not require obtaining any new lines or SIM Cards.

Customers can simply buy OMR1 or OMR5 Allo Card, available across all over Oman and make international calls in-stantaneously.

P R O M O T I O N


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OMR600 cash gift with Kia Cerato till Jan. 16

MUSCAT: The 3rd Generation Kia Cerato, designed by Kia’s chief design offi cer Peter Schreyer, is a coveted and prized possession of many. And there are others who

dream of owning the sedan at an opportune moment. Now, a cash gift of OMR600 on Cerato makes it the best time to own one, says a press release.

“Until January 16, every Cerato customer will have the choice of either carrying off a cash gift of OMR600 or use it to meet pay-ment commitments towards ve-hicle fi nancing. However, there is a need to be quick-on-the-feet to

get this deal…it will end soon,” re-marks the Kia spokesperson.

The Cerato is a wonderful vehi-cle not merely in terms of its looks but also in terms of the features it packs and the performance it de-livers. Premium additions include LED daytime running lights, touch-screen audio with camera, steering controls — audio, cruise, bluetooth, paddle shifter, trip computer, front & rear parking sensors, power driv-

er lumbar support and rear A/C vents (features that are usually pre-sent only in higher segment cars).

Kia’s new Flex Steer system provides three diff erent settings for the steering to match cus-tomer preference with Normal, Sport and Comfort modes. The eff ort required to turn the wheel varies with mode, but the gearing remains the same. Comfort mode is ideal for city driving whereas Normal and Sports are suitable for high speeds and long drives.

The ergonomically designed driver space makes every drive truly comfortable and stress-free. A multi-function 4-spoke steer-ing wheel off ers precise fi ngertip control, together with class-lead-ing comfort. Taking centre-stage is a hi-tech supervision cluster that displays a comprehensive range of vehicle information such as service interval reminders, welcome light, etc.

The Cerato is a

wonderful vehicle

not merely in terms

of its looks but also

in terms of the

features it packs and

the performance

it delivers

Sohar Aluminium celebrates Oman Environment Day

SOHAR: Continuing its com-mitment towards preserving and enhancing the surrounding envi-ronment, Sohar Aluminium (SA) celebrated Oman’s Environment Day by inaugurating ‘Landscap-ing Plantation Project’ at its Pow-er Plant recently.

SA employees and contractors kicked off the project by plant-ing the fi rst 15 of over 900 tree saplings to be planted along the Sohar Aluminium Power Plant (SAPP) operational area perim-eter fences, says a press release.

The remaining tree saplings will be planted around the fence line during January. The saplings will utilise process effl uent waste from the steam generating plant

and irrigation water from the sewage treatment plant.

As these trees grow in size, they will prevent dust particles from entering the site. This will mini-mise the dust ingress into the Gas Turbines air intake and auxiliary system air fi lters thereby protect-ing the operating equipment.

Since its inception Sohar Alu-minium fl uoride emissions have been well within international standards in compliance with the Sultanate’s environmental regulations. Nevertheless, SA has always been keen on minimising its environmental footprint and in 2014, SA managed to further reduce its fl uoride emissions to air by 20 per cent.

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

IMTEC Oman set to start on January 19MUSCAT: The 3rd Interna-tional Medical and HealthCare Exhibition and Conference ‘IM-TEC Oman 2015’ which will organised in cooperation with Global Healthcare Travel Council (GHTC) which will be held during the period from January 19 to 21 at Oman International Exhibition Centre in Seeb.

IMTEC Oman 2015 will be in-augurated by Dr Ali bin Talib Al Hinai, undersecretary for Plan-ning Aff airs, Ministry of Health, at 11am on January 19, says a press release.

The mega event is supported by Turkish Healthcare Travel Coun-cil (THTC), Ukraine Health-care Association, Oman Medical Association and sponsored by Apollo Hospitals (Oman), Malay-

sian Healthcare Travel Council ( MHTC ), Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd (UAE), Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, Thailand ) as main spon-sors, by Bangkok International Rehabilitation Center (Oman), Medical Network Hessen as platinum sponsor, and BY Ming Medical Services SDN BHD (Ma-laysia), Acıbadem Hospital group (Turkey), Aster Medcity (India), Bangkok Hospital (Thailand), Medicalpark (Turkey), Memorial Hospitals Group (Turkey), So-beh Vascular and Medical Center (UAE) as gold sponsor. The con-ference, B2B meeting will be sponsored by Travel Point Oman.

According to the organisers, the participants in the IMTEC 2015 will be the specialists and profes-sionals from both global and local

health sector, international hos-pitals, healthcare centres, medi-cal tourism sector companies and sellers of medical equipment and technology representing coun-tries such as Turkey, India, Thai-land, Germany, Malaysia, Austral-ia, Iran, Austria, Ukrania, Tunisia, Pakistan, UAE and Oman.

“The visitors will have an op-portunity to view and interact on the latest services, specialities and future projects rendered by the representatives of diff erent participating countries in the medical tourism sector. The con-ference will also see the introduc-tion of stem cell treatment that is now available,” organisers added.

Conference and exhibitionThe conference and B2B meeting

will be arranged inside the exhibi-tion centre hall within the frame-work of a programme specially prepared for this purpose for a period of two days.

On January 19, the fi rst day, the programme will last from 4pm till 7pm which will be B2B meeting with authorities from the Ministry of Health and traders from inside and outside Oman who will visit the event. Next day, the confer-ence will start at 11 am at the open-ing ceremony. Kavitha Mathuvay, manager of Market Development at Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council, will deliver a special talk on future of medicine titled “De-velopment of Malaysia healthcare towards medical tourism’.

The exhibition timings will be from 10am till 8pm.

H E A L T H C A R E E X H I B I T I O N

BankDhofar now more visible at Muscat and Salalah AirportsMUSCAT: Central to its eff orts to expand its outreach as one of the leading banks in the Sultan-ate, BankDhofar recently signed an exclusive strategic partnership agreement with JC Decaux, the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, to exclu-sively reserve strategic advertising and media spaces at Muscat and Salalah international airports.

The 5-year exclusive partner-ship agreement was signed bilat-erally by Abdul Hakeem Omar Al Ojaili, Acting CEO of BankDhofar, and Sebastien Soares, Managing Director of JC Decaux Oman, at BankDhofar’s head offi ce in Mus-cat and was attended by senior offi cials from both sides, says a press release.

“BankDhofar is working con-tinuously and constantly to reach out to customers through various and diverse channels. We as a lead-ing banking brand in the Sultanate are proud to have achieved a lot in terms of unique customer ex-perience and innovative banking solutions, products and services. BankDhofar brand has always been associated with the best cus-tomer experience and we aspire to always be the best in all our opera-tions and business practices,” stat-ed Abdul Hakeem Omar Al Ojaili, highlighting the signifi cance of this strategic tie-up.

“This agreement with JC De-

caux is an opportunity for us to further amplify our communica-tion channels in order to share our values with BankDhofar cus-tomers wherever they are. This emphasises our commitment to be the best bank in Oman and in the Gulf, and goes in line with our continuous eff orts to meet our customers’ needs and exceed their expectations,” he added.

“We are delighted that JC De-caux Oman and OAMC have been selected by BankDhofar as key partners in their communication plan. The exceptional advertising opportunities off ered by Muscat International Airport and Salalah International Airport are a stra-tegic choice for BankDhofar to reach to their target audience and to demonstrate their brand’s val-ues. This remarkable partnership also underlines JC Decaux Oman’s commitment to provide its clients with premium advertising solu-tions,” said Sebastien Soares.

According to Samer Ahmed Al

Nabhani, Chief Commercial Of-fi cer of Oman Airports Manage-ment Company (OAMC: “More than 9 million passengers use Muscat and Salalah airports every year as their gateway to the Sultanate. OAMC airports con-tinue to expand with ambitious infrastructure developments in line with the passengers growth. We are pleased to have BankDho-far on board with the right of air-port branding, and we believe this opportunity will give BankDhofar an extended reach to local and in-ternational audience. This long-term partnership also means that BankDhofar will be the fi rst brand promoted at the new Muscat and Salalah airports.”

BankDhofar’s commitment to provide the best customer expe-rience manifests in a wide range of customised products, service and innovative banking solutions. All of this is available through 65 BankDhofar branches across the Sultanate.

P A R T N E R S H I P A G R E E M E N T

B8

ROUND-UPT H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

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NBO ensures safer online shopping for customers

Times News Service

MUSCAT: National Bank of Oman customers can rest easy as it introduces three dimensional (3D) security to enhance their online shopping experience.

As the region witnesses an in-crease in e-commerce transac-tions, the bank has partnered with MasterCard and Visa to off er its debit card customers a more se-cure shopping experience.

Customers shopping online with a 3D secure merchant will be provided authentication via a one-time-password (OTP), valid

for one transaction. In addition, to simplify the process, there will be no upfront registration required when shopping online, thus saving customers the hassle of remem-bering a username and password.

E-Commerce transactions have increased in Oman, as in the rest of the Middle East with the estab-lishment of online shopping sites well as travel and hospitality book-

ings online, using credit or debit cards. According to a recent study, e-commerce transactions in the region are estimated to reach $15 billion by 2015. “As we live in an increasingly digital world, Nation-al Bank of Oman is committed to proactively off er customers digital banking solutions that respond to their needs and lifestyles,” said Abdul Karim Al Hinai, head of Al-

ternative Channels. “3D security provides our debit card customers a safer and more secure shopping experience as they will receive an OTP via SMS or via SMS and e-mail as protection against fraudu-lent online use. In addition, the new system does away with static user names and passwords that have a lower security threshold,” added Abdul Karim.

The bank has

partnered with

MasterCard and

Visa to off er its debit

card customers 3D

security for a more

secure shopping

experience

3D security provides

our debit card

customers a safer and

more secure shopping

experience as they will

receive an OTP via SMS

Abdul Karim Al HinaiHead of Alternative Channels

ISC Kerala Wing Youth Festival begins tomorrowMUSCAT: The Kerala Wing of the Indian Social Club will hold its art and literary competitions of youth festival as a prelude to Indian Community Festival 2015. The various competitions gauging the participants’ talent in dance, music and literature will be held at various venues starting from tomorrow, says a press release.

The winners of the various competitions will be awarded during Indian Community Festi-val slated for April. An eminent panel of judges from India as well as Oman will choose the best per-formers in each category.

To encourage participants as a team from a school, Rolling Trophy will be awarded to the school that scores the maximum. This year the number of entrees crossed the previous records and stand at more than 1,000 partici-pants. The participants will be informed on the dates for various items over telephone and the de-tails are also updated regularly on Kerala Wing website www.isck-eralawing.org.

Painting, drawing and liter-ary events like poem writing, es-say writing, short story writing in both English and Malayalam

languages will be held tomorrow at 9am onwards at Indian Social Club Hall in Darsait. Spot entries are available for these events.

The Kerala Wing of the Indian Social Club founded in the year 2001 is a unique organisation in the socio-cultural scenario of Sultanate of Oman.

The organisation is an alert respondent to the Malayali com-munity in Oman and is active in the humanitarian and socio-cul-tural activities in Oman.

More details about the events can be had from Santhosh Kumar (92338105/ 96099769) or Mad-havan (92844722).

L I T E R A R Y C O M P E T I T I O N S

Ooredoo Group wins award for global employee initiativeDOHA: Ooredoo Group’s Global Talent Mobility Programme has been voted as the best in the Technology and Media sector for the Europe, Middle East and Af-rica region (EMEA) at the Expa-triate Management and Mobility Awards (EMMAs) held in Lon-don recently, says a press release.

In 2013, Ooredoo’s Global Tal-ent Mobility Programme under-went a major transformation enabling the delivery of talent de-ployment strategies and solutions to accelerate corporate initiatives and tackle business challenges.

With operations in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia, Ooredoo has benefi ted by investing in mobility, enabling business leaders to tap into the Group’s employee pool and ac-celerate the deployment of func-tional and technical experts to transfer knowledge and build lo-cal capabilities. Employees have also benefi ted, gaining signifi cant experience in new markets, while receiving strong support from their company.

“Ooredoo is a truly global com-pany today, and a major part of our successful transformation has been our investment in our team. By providing our employ-ees with the resources to transfer across our footprint, we have sig-nifi cantly enriched their career development and ensured that our operations have access to the experience they need,” said Mo-hanna Al Nuaimi, Group Chief Human Resource Offi cer.

Ooredoo has worked closely with business leaders across the Group to drive a demand-driven approach, by introducing mobil-ity in the business planning and budgeting cycle. Ooredoo has also worked to build a consistent mobility experience by introduc-ing assignment feedback surveys, to improve the programme, and launching health insurance, des-tination services and online cul-tural training to support employ-ees while on assignment.

By deploying the best talent across the Group, the Global Tal-ent Mobility Programme has ena-bled Ooredoo to provide support for major business initiatives in 2014, including the roll-out of the Ooredoo brand in Oman and Kuwait, and the commercial launch of its newest operation in Myanmar. Experts in branding, consumer sales and technology transferred to each operation for the launch periods.

With Ooredoo’s increased fo-cus on enabling digital lifestyles, the company is benefi ting by en-hancing mobility and increasing knowledge transfer. Ooredoo’s experience in launching 3G and 4G services in its established markets, as well as deploying fi -

bre, has practical applications for newer markets, and speeds up the time-to-market for new services.

The mobility programme has provided an important opportu-nity for Ooredoo to inculcate a shared culture across its opera-tions, and enable employees to experience life and work in dif-ferent markets. As Ooredoo has increasingly grown into a global enterprise, the programme has worked to translate the organi-sational transformation into em-ployees’ careers.

Demand by both employees and business leaders to partici-pate in the mobility programme continues to rise, and Ooredoo has plans in place to enhance the programme in 2015. The aim is to introduce mobility readiness assessments to enhance the se-lection process, develop a Group-wide mobility cost estimation structure to accelerate business leaders’ mobility decisions, and create expert mobility pools to provide just-in-time support for future business initiatives across the group.

The “Best mobility program in Technology and Media Award” celebrates and recognises how an in-house mobile team has deliv-ered the best services within the industry. The winning categories were chosen by a panel drawn from some of the most highly-re-garded names in global mobility industry. Ooredoo won the recog-nition against strong competition from a number of leading multi-national organisations.

The EMMA judges commented that, “Ooredoo demonstrated an incredible, passionate and dedi-cated journey in creating a global function which is backed up by strong evidence of achievements and benefi ts to the company.”

The Expatriate Management and Mobility Awards have be-come one of the most prestigious awards event of the mobility in-dustry calendar.

Now in its eighth year, the most recent awards attracted more entries and higher profi le at-tendance than ever before. The awards are hosted by the Forum of Expatriation Management.

G L O B A L T A L E N T M O B I L I T Y P R O G R A M M E

Painting, drawing and

literary events like essay

writing will be held

tomorrow 9am onwards at

Indian Social Club Hall in

Darsait. Spot entries are

available for these events

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

SPOR SY O U R G A M E

SECTIONC T H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

BAHRAIN READY TO STIFLE UAE STRIKING DUOBahrain coach Marjan Eid believes his players can shut down the United Arab Emirates’ dangerous forwards ahead of their crucial AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 tie against their regional rivals at Canberra Stadium on Thursday. >C3

0 1 5

Green Falcons take flight

MELBOURNE: Saudi Arabia’s strikers feasted on a chaotic North Korea defence to fi re the Green Falcons to a 4-1 victory and stave off elimination from the Asian Cup on Wednesday.

Mohammed Al Sahlawi scored a brace of second-half goals af-ter Naif Hazazi netted before the break, and Nawaf Al-Abid com-pleted the scoring in the 77th minute after swooping on his own botched penalty kick to fi re home his side’s fourth.

Ryang Yong Gi ended North Ko-rea’s 23-year goal drought at the tournament with a 11th minute strike at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium but his team crumbled af-ter halftime as the Saudi forwards attacked in waves.

With both teams desperate af-ter having lost Group B openers, the match was played at a frenetic pace on a windy, overcast day, with North Korea midfi elder Jong Il Gwan receiving a yellow card after 15 seconds for a heavy challenge on Omar Howsawi.

Ryang made the most of his chance early, swooping into the area to hammer his shot into the net after keeper Waleed Abdullah could only parry forwards a sear-ing long-range eff ort from striker Pak Kwak Ryong.

Saudi Arabia drifted until the 37th minute, when a midfi eld in-terception and a chain of slick passes ended with Hazazi fi ring the ball low through North Korea keeper Ri Myong Guk’s legs, spark-ing the Green Falcons into life af-ter they were listless for most of the half.

Al-Sahlawi scored his brace in a three-minute burst, latching on to a cut-back pass from Abdulla Aldossary in the 52nd minute and capitalising on a farcical defensive

error moments later.Jang Kuk Chol put a clearing

kick straight into the forward’s chest and he duly thumped the ball into an unguarded goal.

Al-Sahlawi missed out on a hat-trick 17 minutes later when he slid the ball left of the post when clean through on goal, but Salem Aldawsari set up the fourth with

fi ne work in the area.After dribbling into the box, the

midfi elder’s chipped shot hit the crossbar and the rebound struck Ri Yong Jik’s raised arm on the

goal-line. Ri was red-carded and although Al-Abid missed the spot kick, he pounced on the rebound to seal the contest for the ecstatic Saudis. - Reuters

Mohammed Al

Sahlawi scored a

brace of second-

half goals after Naif

Hazazi netted before

the break, and Nawaf

Al Abid completed

the scoring in the

77th minute after

swooping on his own

botched penalty kick

to fi re home Saudi

Arabia’s fourth

ONE OF THE FOUR: Saudi Arabia’s Nawaf Al Abid, left, scores a goal with assistance

from Taiseer Al Jassam, centre, past North Korea’s goalkeeper Ri Myong Guk. – Reuters

MARCHING ORDERS: Referee Abdullah Mohamed Al Hilali, left, of Oman shows the red

card to North Korea’s Ri Yong Jik. – Reuters

MELBOURNE: Saudi Arabia coach Cosmin Olaroiu was a relived man after his decision to adopt an admittedly risky attacking strategy paid off in Wednesday’s 4-1 win over DPR Korea as the three-time winners kept their AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 quarter-fi nal hopes alive at Melbourne Rec-tangular Stadium.

Knowing defeat would result in a second consecutive group stage exit, Olaroiu brought in full-backs Abdulla Al Dossary and Hassan Maaz following the weekend’s opening 1-0 loss to China, while Mohammed Al Sahlawi joined Naif Hazazi in a new-look two-man forward line.

And with Al Sahlawi scoring twice in the second half after Hazazi had equalised before half-time, Saudi Arabia are still in the hunt to qualify from Group B ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Uzbekistan.

“I was confi dent because it is diffi cult to play the way (DPR) Korea play for the entire game. They make a lot of pressure in front, but I know step-by-step they cannot make this and then our ball possession will make them tired and they will con-cede more space,” said Roma-

nian coach Olaroiu.“We chose to play with two

strikers so we lost something in the middle and there was a problem there at the beginning of the game as we conceded a lot, and that’s why they scored and had a few dangerous coun-terattacks. But sometimes you have to take a risk as the only way we had was to win and we have to assume this risk.

“We scored goals, it was good. We used the qualities that we had and now we have to forget this quickly and think about the next game against Uzbekistan.”

But despite seeing Saudi Ara-bia end a fi ve-game losing streak at the AFC Asian Cup, Olaroiu remained far from happy with the performance from the 2007 fi nalists. “We made a lot of mistakes especially in the build-up, but it was a little bit diffi cult as the confi dence was very low after what has happened and the pressure they have, and they are not used to playing this way, so it is diffi cult to fi nd the mecha-nism in a short time,” added Olaroiu, who only took over as Saudi Arabia coach last month following November’s Gulf Cup fi nal defeat.

“We played better against

China. If we scored the penalty things would have been diff er-ent. We have to look at every op-ponent and look at the good and the weak points and sometimes we have to change our strategy for each game, and that is why we used a diff erent system and diff erent players.

“We saw North Korea and we knew that they make danger-

ous counterattacks and they made a lot of trouble for us and we made more mistakes than the game against China, but we scored and played good football. Everybody enjoyed it and that is the most important (thing).”

Football developmentCoach Jo Tong-sop has urged North Korea’s football develop-ment to be made a top priority after Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia ended the former semi-fi nalists hopes of a return to the knockout stage of the AFC Asian Cup.

Jo’s side conceded three times in the second half at Mel-bourne Rectangular Stadium after Ryang Yong-gi had handed 1980 semi-fi nalists DPR Korea a fi rst AFC Asian Cup goal since 1992 in the 11th minute before Naif Hazazi equalised for Saudi Arabia in the fi rst half.

And after Jo’s side also lost Saturday’s opener 1-0 to Uz-bekistan in Sydney, DPR Korea again exited in the group stage of the AFC Asian Cup having picked up just one point from their three games in 2011 in Qa-tar after also failing to progress in 1992. “It would be good to be part of the fi nal matches, but

our skills and level is not high enough,” said Jo. “We are in a process of development and we need to make it better as quickly as possible to make better play-ers for the future.”

DPR Korea had been re-warded for an aggressive start as Ryang turned home a rebound inside the opening quarter of an hour. But after being caught cold by DPR Korea’s start, Saudi Arabia grew into the contest as the half progressed and Hazazi pulled the three-time winners level before the break.

“I think the start of the match was okay, but in terms of the defence it worked well until we conceded the second goal,” added Jo. “For the second goal the play-ers did not concentrate enough and that is the main reason, also they had some mental stress as the second goal came so easily.”

North Korea will round off their campaign against China in Canberra on Sunday. “Today’s match was a decisive one for both teams and the result was not very happy for our team,” said Jo. “Although we know the fi nal result in the competition for our team, we still have one match and we will do our best to win the match.” — AFC

Saudi joy after attacking policy pays off ; North Korea’s Jo eyes brighter future

Sayyid Khalid apologises to Oman football fansNISHAD [email protected]

MUSCAT: Sayyid Khalid Al Bu-saidi, chairman of Oman Football Association (OFA) has apologised to the fans in the country after the national team crashed out of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia.

Oman’s 4-0 loss to Australia on Tuesday, coupled with a 1-0 defeat against South Korea meant the Omanis have no chance to advance to the knockout rounds and will re-turn home after their fi nal Group A clash with Kuwait at the weekend.

Speaking to Times Sport from Sydney yesterday, Sayyid Khalid apologised for the disastrous per-formance Down Under.

“We apologise for the perfor-mance in Australia. This shouldn’t have happened but that is football and you have to accept the reality,” the OFA chief said.

Upset with the 4-0 defeat at the hands of Australia, football fans in the country took to social media websites including Twitter to vent their anger.

However, Sayyid Khalid asked the fans to understand the reality and challenges of football.

“I appreciate and understand the public anger but football im-poses itself and my colleagues who are in the sports fi eld recognise this reality and its challenges,” Sayyid Khalid pointed out.

Sayyid Khalid also said the na-tional team still has to go a long way before it reaches to match Australia’s prowess. “Our Profes-sional League is still young and we need to become more professional on and off the fi eld. To do that our boys have to work really hard and

I am sure in the coming years they will make us all proud. They are very young. Give them sometime,” Sayyid Khalid said.

The football chief however promised for a better show from the players when they face Kuwait on January 17 in Newcastle. “I

wish success for the national team in the last game against Kuwait. I am sure they will bounce back from these defeats. This is foot-ball. Those who know its secrets can absorb its concerns and pain but those who don’t may Almighty help them,” Sayyid Khalid added.

S O R R Y F O R T H E S H O D D Y S H O W

We apologise for

the performance

in Australia. This

shouldn’t have

happened but that is

football and you have

to accept the reality

Sayyid Khalid Al BusaidiOFA Chairman

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman’s French coach Paul Le Guen called for more professionalism in Oman football after the defeat against hosts Australia.

According to a report in theroar.com website, Le Guen said that the only way to bridge the gap between Oman and top Asian nations was to ‘become more professional’.

Oman has only Al Al Habsi in their ranks to be termed clear professional and the domestic professional league in the country is yet to take off in the real aspect. The current league is still amateurish.

In his post-match com-ments, Le Guen said that Oman need to become more professional on and off the pitch. “The players have to experience the life of a profes-sional player. If you’re playing a match three days after facing South Korea, you need

to be prepared,” Le Guen was quoted as saying by roar.com.

“There is a gap between us and Australia. The only way to bridge that gap is to be humble and work hard.”

Le Guen stated, “We were not able to cope with such presence, such pace, three days after our game against Korea Republic; it was too much for us. We have to recognise the superiority of our opponents.”

Oman has another match in hand as they take on Kuwait in Newcastle on Sat-urday. Only recently in a Gulf Cup match, Oman had beat Kuwait 5-0 and would like to keep that dominance intact.

Le Guen said: “We need to approach the game with pride. Each game is important. We need to keep our chin (up) and play with pride.”

On the contrary, Kuwait, who are also out of the reckon-ing, will look to exact revenge for their Gulf Cup defeat.

Oman football must be more professional, says Le Guen

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Country P W D L F A GD Pts

Group A

Australia 2 2 0 0 8 1 +7 6

South Korea 2 2 0 0 2 0 +2 6

Kuwait 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0

Oman 2 0 0 2 0 5 -5 0

Group B

China 2 2 0 0 3 1 2 6

Saudi Arabia 2 1 1 0 4 2 2 3

Uzbekistan 2 1 1 0 2 2 0 3

North Korea 2 0 2 0 1 5 -4 0

Group C

UAE 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3 3

Iran 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3

Bahrain 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0

Qatar 1 0 0 1 1 4 -3 0

Group D

Japan 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 3

Iraq 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3

Jordan 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0

Palestine 1 0 0 1 0 4 -4 0

A S I A N C U P S T A N D I N G S

China sneak into quarterfinals

BRISBANE: China scored twice in 13 minutes to come from be-hind and upset Uzbekistan 2-1 at the Asian Cup on Wednesday to book themselves a spot in the quarter-fi nals.

China started the tournament as an outsider for the title but af-ter winning their fi rst two Group B matches in dramatic fashion, they are now assured of fi nishing top of their pool with a game to spare.

Trailing 1-0 at halftime against the group favourites, China drew level after 55 minutes when Wu Xi scored then snatched the lead with a spectacular solo strike from sub-stitute Sun Ke.

Uzbekistan, who took an early lead through an opportunist goal from Odil Ahmedov, could not fi nd a late equaliser and now face Saudi Arabia in their fi nal group game in Melbourne on Sunday

to decide the pool runner-up. As Group B winners, China will play the runner-up in Group A, either Australia or South Korea.

The Group B runners-up will play the Group A winners.

The Saudis, beaten 1-0 by Chi-na on the weekend, stayed in the

hunt earlier in the day with a 4-1 win over North Korea, who were eliminated.

Ahmedov gave Uzbekistan the lead after 22 minutes with a goal against the run of play. The central midfi elder took a speculative long-range shot from outside the box

that took a wicked defl ection off the legs of the Chinese defensive midfi elder Wu.

The Chinese goalkeeper Wang Dalei, who saved a penalty in the win over the Saudis, was helpless to stop the ball from fl ying into the top corner of the net.

Wu made amends by scoring the equaliser in the second half after Jiang Zhipeng’s cross from the left fl oated over the head of Uz-bekistan goalkeeper Ignatiy Nest-erov, who over-committed, leaving the goal open.

Zhang Chengdong and Gao Lin

played the ball back in for the un-marked Wu to blast it into the back of the net.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, China scored again, when Sun, who had come off the bench a few minutes earlier, got the ball in-side the Uzbekistan and dribbled downfi eld.

He got as far as the edge of the box before unleashing a ferocious shot that curled past the out-stretched arms of Nesterov and decided the match.

CelebrationsMeanwhile, China coach Alain Perrin has promised to celebrate to the maximum reaching quar-terfi nals after his charges beat Uzbekistan 2-1 in Brisbane on Wednesday to seal a spot in the second round.

“After our fi rst win (against Saudi Arabia on Saturday), we cel-ebrated just amongst the coaching staff but tonight, I want the players to join us.

“We played a beautiful match and now we move to the knockout phase. I thought we would have to play all three games before se-curing qualifi cation but now we are through.

“The players were a little bit nervous today but we kept playing our style. They (Uzbekistan) had problems with stamina so we were able to fi nd more space to work with in the second half.”

Wu Xi added: “All the players were very excited in the dressing room, singing songs and high-fi v-ing. Our interpreter was dancing on a table and fell into an ice buck-et full of water. All his clothes were wet; he was very wet.

“The pressure is off us a bit now that we are through to the knock-out stages. We can relax just a little for our next match.” - Agencies

China started the

tournament as an

outsider for the title

but after winning

their fi rst two

Group B matches in

dramatic fashion,

they are now

assured of fi nishing

top of their pool with

a game to spare

JUBILANT: China’s Sun Ke celebrates his goal with team mate

Jiang Zhipeng, left, during their Asian Cup Group B soccer match

against Uzbekistan at the Brisbane Stadium. – Reuters

ECSTATIC: China’s Wu Xi, right, celebrates his goal with team mate

Ren Hang as China shocked Uzbekistan to qualify for the Asian Cup

quarterfi nals in Brisbane. – Reuters

Kasimov off ers no excusesBRISBANE: Uzbekistan coach Mirdjalal Kasimov tipped his hat to China after his side lost 2-1 in a crunch AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 Group B tie at Brisbane Sta-dium on Wednesday.

The Uzbeks took the lead in the fi rst half through Odil Ahmedov but allowed China to storm back in the second half, man of the match Wu Xi equalising shortly before the hour and Jiangsu Sain-ty livewire Sun Ke coming off the bench to net the deciding goal in the 68th minute.

Uzbekistan, who advanced to the semifi nals at Qatar 2011 and had been tipped by many as group favourites, must now beat Saudi Arabia in their fi nal group game on Sunday in Melbourne.

The Saudis are ahead of the Uzbeks on goal diff erence after thrashing DPR Korea 4-1 earlier Wednesday.

Kasimov was a gracious loser, making no excuses for the slip-up.

“We did everything we could to beat China but after we conceded for the fi rst time in the second half, they became stronger and changed the game,” said the coach. “I thought my team played well but China were the better team after their fi rst goal. It was a very, very hot to play in this situation but China were in the same boat.”

Kasimov denied Uzbekistan

underestimated China, who are ranked ninth in Asia, fi ve slots be-hind Uzbekistan.

“We respect all our opponents,” said Kasimov. “There are no easy games in this competition. It was our mistake that we lost today, it was our fault. We have to play until the fi nal whistle. One of the reasons we conceded was because there was a misunderstanding in the defence.”

Like his coach, captain Server Djeparov credited China with the win but did say the heat and hu-midity, the worst since the tour-

nament started in Brisbane, did take their toll on Uzbekistan.

“Today China were better than us,” Djeparov said. “(The conditions) were very diffi cult. We sweated a lot. It aff ected the whole team.”

Added China-based midfi elder Anzur Ismailov, “Today I don’t know what happened in the sec-ond half; we just went down.

“We must win our next game so we will go and play anyway we have to. We play again in three days so we will do everything to win this game.” — AFC

G R A C I O U S L O S E R

NOTHING TO SAY: Uzbekistan coach Mirdjalal Kasimov denied

underestimating China. – AFC

Jordan striker Ahmed Hayel mistreated in drug test: JFAMELBOURNE: Striker Ahmad Hayel was mistreated during a doping test following the 1-0 loss to Iraq in the Asian Cup on Mon-day, the Jordanian Football Asso-ciation said on Wednesday.

Hayel arrived back at the team hotel “suff ering from semicoma, general weakness, and hypother-mia”, the Jordanian Football As-sociation (JFA) said in a state-ment, adding they had fi led a complaint to the Asian Football Confederation. The 30-year-old “tired” player vomited in the dop-ing room, which was too cold, and failed to complete the test after playing the full 90 minutes in the Iraq loss, the JFA said.

Citing evidence from their medical offi cer who accompanied Hayel, the JFA added the player and was only given water to drink, “without salts or electrolytes” in

the four hours he spent waiting to give a sample. “He was in a semi-coma status suff ering low blood pressure, and at the end the player was sent to the hotel by a car and not with an ambulance and car-ried to a wheelchair while he was unconscious,” the JFA said.

The AFC defended the anti-doping procedure and said the player should not have consumed so much water. “The AFC Medical Offi cer always recommends play-ers selected for doping control to drink water as per normal prac-tice, especially for the player who has played for 90 minutes,” said doctor Paisal Chantarapitak who attempted to conduct the test.

“It is at the player’s discretion to follow the recommendation or not. The player is not forced to drink plenty of water in short time.”

The AFC added that the doctor

decided to cancel the test after Hayel experienced “some dizzi-ness, felt nausea and vomited af-ter his second attempt, which was an hour after his fi rst”.

Earlier, a JFA spokesman said Hayel had been ruled out of Fri-day’s Group D match against Palestine in Melbourne after the “cancelled” doping test but the player could yet feature.

“Due to previously mentioned conditions that resulted in Hayel’s bad condition and the lack of med-ical care at the doping room, the player might be unable to play Jor-dan’s next match,” the body said.

Experienced striker Hayel has represented his country more than 60 times and plays his club football in Kuwait with Al Arabi.

Fifa presidential candidate Prince Ali, the head of the JFA, wished Hayel a speedy recovery. - Reuters

P R O T E S T

C3


RHRC to host Oman Derby, first leg of Ladies World Championship

Times News Service

MUSCAT: The Royal Horse Rac-ing Club (RHRC) is all set to or-ganise a major horse racing event, including the ‘Omani Derby Cup’ and the fi rst leg of the Sheikha Fa-tima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR), at Al Rahba Farm on Friday.

This was revealed during a press conference organised at Hormuz Hotel on Wednesday in the pres-ence of Brig. Abdul Razaq bin Abdul Qadir Al Shahwarzi, Com-mander of the Royal Cavalry and Supervisor General of the horse races organised by the Royal Horse Racing Club.

Lara Sawaya, Executive Direc-tor of the Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival and Chairman of the International

Federation of Horse Racing Acad-emies (IFHRA),was also present on the occasion.

The day’s events comprise eight rounds, the seventh of which will be the fi rst leg of the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Cham-pionship while the fi nal round will be the ‘Omani Derby Cup’.

In the World Championship leg, ten international riders, including Oman’s Azhar Al Wardi be vying for top honours. Speaking on the occasion, Lara Sawaya said that the aim of the establishing Sheikha Fa-tima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship is to promote and

support the Arab women horse rid-ers to participate in the equestrian races, as well as supporting the world women horse riders to fairly compete and to highlight their abil-ities in horseback riding.

Lara Sawaya also expressed her happiness to launch the fourth edition of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Champi-onship in the Sultanate.

“The Sultanate is a major sup-porter of equestrian activities in the world and has a long history in the fi eld, including the annual fes-tivals organised by the Royal Cav-alry, thanks mainly to the govern-

ment’s interests,” she said. After the fi rst leg in Muscat, the

World Championship participants will travel to Australia to race at Sportingbet Park ten days later. The third leg will take place in Bahraini capital of Manama in February which will be followed by competitions in St. Moritz in Switzerland (February 22), at Sam Houston Park in Houston, Texas (March 8), at Casa Anfa in Moroc-co (April 11), at Hippodrome Race-course in Toulouse, France (April 17), at AW track at Lingfi eld in the UK (May 9), in Warsaw (May 31), in Stockholm (June 6), in Dun-

dight in Netherlands (June 28), at Pleasanton, California (July 6), at the Ostend racecourse in Belgium (August 17) and at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club (November 8).

In the ladies world champion-ship leg, the top fi ve fi nishers will receive OMR6,750, OMR2,400, OMR3,300, OMR1,500 and OMR1,050 respectively.

Meanwhile, the Omani offi -cials announced that total prize-money for the Oman Derby Cup will OMR10,000. While Azhar Al Wardi will be representing the Sultanate, the others taking part in the event are Tracy O’Hare (Aus-tralia), Natalie Turner (U.S.), Jane Foley (Ireland), Gabriella Vonc-zem (Hungary), Josefi n Landgren (Sweden), Marie Artu (France), Jodie Hughes (U.K.), Carolin Stummer (Austria) and Silke Bruggemann (Germany).

Riding on home turfAzhar Al Wardi, who will be astride fi ve-year-old Altyko Du Cayrou, said it will be a great experience to compete in Oman and hoped to learn from the experience of com-peting with the best in the world.

Azar, who had previously par-ticipated in three World Champi-onships, said. “I am confi dent but it will be a challenging race. There are many professionals riders. So it will be a great learning experi-ence for me.”

The World

Championship

leg will see ten

international

riders, including

Oman’s Azhar

Al Wardi vying

for top honours

Qatar determined to bounce backSYDNEY: Djamel Belmadi is hoping his Qatar team can put their disappointing 4-1 loss at the hands of the United Arab Emir-ates behind them as they prepare to take on three-time AFC Asian Cup winners Iran at Stadium Aus-tralia on Thursday evening.

The Algerian coach was still at a loss to explain the Group C defeat in Canberra on Sunday as the Gulf Cup champions prepared for the crucial meeting with Team Melli off the back of their fi rst defeat in 11 games.

“We lost the opening game be-cause we played (it) like a friendly game,” said Belmadi.

“It was not our day or our real level, especially after the good competition in the Gulf Cup.

“We expected something diff er-ent. But now it’s the past and we have to make a reaction. Of course we are all disappointed. They have got the ambition to make a diff er-ent game tomorrow.

“My main job was to work more psychologically than something else. Of course, we had to analyse what happened in this game and to correct it.

“But I know this group that I have. I have chosen them and I know that we are able to change things and we can do much, much better even when things look diffi -cult, even for some people impos-sible. But for us, it’s not impossible and we’ll try to show it tomorrow.”

The Qataris face an Iran side that won their fi rst game 2-0 against Bahrain and for whom

victory in Sydneyon Thursday evening would mean securing a place in the quarterfi nals.

With Carlos Queiroz’s side hav-ing impressed at the Fifa World Cup fi nals in Brazil in June, Bel-madi knows his team face a tough challenge to pick up their fi rst win of the tournament.

“It will be a decisive game against a big team that quali-fi ed for the World Cup and who played against strong teams at the World Cup. We are prepared and we know it’s going to be a tough game,” he said.

“But we’re also used to playing against teams that are stronger on paper than us, like Morocco and Australia. The team is relatively young and the average age is 23 years old and even though we’re here for the competition we’re here to learn and to learn fast.

The same team played at the Gulf Cup and we ended up winning the competition.

“We have a plan and like al-ways we will try to fi nd the so-lution because it’s a good team, well organised, really aggressive and they don’t give you too much space, so we will have to fi nd a solution. Every team has some weakness, like the others. We will try to fi nd this weakness and try to fi nd the way to score and to win this game.”

Iran readyQatar’s heavy defeat at the hands of the United Arab Emirates has not lulled Iran coach Carlos Quei-roz into expecting anything other than a challenging encounter.

The UAE handed the Qataris a 4-1 thrashing in their clash in Canberra on Sunday while Iran

earned a 2-0 victory over Bah-rain in Melbourne that leaves Team Melli knowing victory over Djamel Belmadi’s side will take them into the quarterfi nals.

“The game was one of those games, it’s a result that happens. It could go in both directions,” said the former Real Madrid coach.

“UAE played well. They played the aces they should play, but the result does not show exactly what happened in the game. We don’t follow that trend.

“Qatar are a good team with good players, good coaches and in the last 14 games they won eight games and drew four and only lost against UAE and in another game.

“That shows that the team is very strong, they are a good team that will create a lot of problems for us for sure. We know the qual-ity of the Qatar team.” — AFC

Q A T A R V E R S U S I R A N P R E V I E W

We are prepared and

we know it’s going to

be a tough game

Djamel BelmadiQatar coach

Bahrain ready to stifl e UAE striking duo

CANBERRA: Bahrain coach Marjan Eid believes his players can shut down the United Arab Emirates’ dangerous forwards ahead of their crucial AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 tie against their regional rivals at Canberra Stadium on Thursday.

“The UAE play in a system-atic group but the dangerous points in this team are their at-tack,” said Eid, who took over the Bahrain head coach role after the departure of Adnan Hamad in November.

“We also have a style to stop this situation and style of play and (as) with any team we have good players and strong points like in midfi eld, attack or defence.

“I know the UAE team, they have a lot of good players, but it’s important we trust my players. We want the three points because this is important for the team and we are looking for them.”

Since 2013, Bahrain have changed the head coach position four times with Argentine Ga-briel Calderon and Englishman Anthony Hudson having been in charge for spells before Hamad was appointed in August.

Eid, though, has been a main-stay amongst the senior team national set-up having appeared as an assistant coach for Bah-rain in international competi-tions since the 2004 Asian Cup, where the West Asians fi nished in a hugely impressive fourth place in China.

“Change to the coach is al-ways eff ort and gets negative things on the team because they play diff erent style and diff erent training,” said Eid, who spent his playing career with Bah-rain’s Al Riff a. “That’s why we need stability in the next period and I hope for this in the next period to build a new team with young players who don’t have a lot of experience.”

Meanwhile, UAE coach Mahdi Ali has warned Bahrain that his star playmaker Omar Abdulrah-man will be “even better” than in their opener against Qatar.

“Omar is a talented player and one of the main players in the team, I am very happy for him playing a full 90 minutes after one and a half months of injury,” said UAE coach Ali.

“Of course, for him to do his best and show all his quality and ability he needs support from the team. He did very well in the last game because all the team did our best – that’s why he was very good.

“For us we don’t want to speak about quarterfi nal or semifi nal or whatever now.” —AFC

A S I A N C U P P R E V I E W

STAGE SET: Offi cials and participants of the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship during the draw ceremony at Al Rahba Farm. – Times of Oman / ISMAIL AL FARSI

PICKING THE LOTS: Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival and Chairman of the International Federation of Horse Rac-

ing Academies (IFHRA) picking a rider during the draw ceremony. – Times of Oman / ISMAIL AL FARSI

SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

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

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ISD sprinters script new record

MUSCAT: The spirited sprinters of Indian School Darsait (ISD), who won gold with their record breaking performance in 4x100m relay in the under-19 category at the CBSE National Athletic Meet held at Divine Child School, Meh-sana, Gujarat from January 8 to 12, were accorded a warm welcome on their return on Wednesday.

According to a press release issued by the school on Wednes-day, the team emerged victorious breaking the national record of 44.01 seconds set by MES Qatar at Cochin in 2010 with a pulsating timing of 44 seconds and made the school proud.

The relay team comprising Sachin Murali who made a bril-liant start, with Suhail T.N. taking an excellent early lead, Haseen Ahmad increasing the advantage

and Rafeek T.A. giving an amazing fi nish, turned their race to a stun-ning and spectacular one.

The team was also morally sup-ported by Sooraj Francis who at-tended the meet as a substitute team member.

Earlier, the team had show-cased an impressive performance bagging the fi rst position in the semifi nals.

School Principal Dr. Sridevi P. Thashnath, along with Abdul Ra-him Kassim, President of SMC, Biju Samuel, convener of SMC, Sunil Dath Sankaran, Head Sports Committee, Ajayan Poyyara, Head Purchase Committee, Nikhila An-ilkumar, member of SMC, parents and well wishers thronged the Muscat International Airport to welcome the victorious team.

The School Management Com-

mittee expressed their elation and conveyed their happiness at the remarkable feat that the school had attained.

Speaking on the occasion, the Principal congratulated the win-ners in glowing terms for bringing a long cherished laurel.

She also said: “It is no sheer luck but hard work determination with dedication and regular prac-tice that helped the participants exhibit their best in them.”

She commended the relent-less efforts of all involved in this dazzling victory including Lal A Pillai, HoD, Co-Scholas-tic, who also accompanied the team and the Physical Educa-tion teachers whose guidance and assistance aiding them in their glorious triumph.

Conveying his joy, Mr Sunil

Dath Sankaran, Head of Sports Sub Committee, said that ‘the ac-complishment was very special as the team had achieved this feat braving the constraints of a spacious ground and other infra-structure facilities’.

A special assembly was organ-ised in the school to honour the winners in the presence of the senior school students, parents and esteemed members of SMC.

In his speech SMC President ‘appreciated the winners and commented that the achievement had really boosted the moral of the ISD family’.

He also thanked the trainers and Thampi Raja, a well wisher, in particular under whose exper-tise and guidance the school reg-istered yet another success story and scaled the zenith of glory.

C B S E N A T I O N A L M E E T

Countdown on for security-tight and evenly-matched World Cup

SYDNEY: The countdown is on for the 11th Cricket World Cup and the likely winner is still guesswork a month out in one of the most evenly-matched and security-con-scious tournaments staged.

Australia will share the host-ing of next month’s cricket show-piece with New Zealand, 23 years after they co-hosted the event when Pakistan beat England in the fi nal at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Hosts Australia and defending champions India may be the top two ranked teams but any of a half-dozen sides could lift the trophy on March 29 at the MCG.

The Australians, under the ag-gressive coaching of Darren Leh-mann, are gunning for their fi fth World Cup, while India stopped the Aussies from winning a fourth straight title in the quarter-fi nals of the last tournament in India in 2011 and have winning recent ODI form.

There may be fi tness doubts over skipper Michael Clarke, with an imposed deadline of February

21, but the Australians possess some of the biggest names in world cricket — David Warner, Steve Smith, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson.

It will be how the team han-

dle the external pressures as the host nation that will decide their winning chances. The Austral-ians didn’t cope in 1992 and they missed out on the semifi nals.

Sri Lanka, the 1996 champions,

have by far the most experienced squad with Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tilla-karatne Dilshan all playing more than 300 ODIs.

South Africa, who have come

close but have yet to win the World Cup, are always a threat under the captaincy of AB de Villiers, while New Zealand and Pakistan have the fi repower to cause problems in this format.

The jury is out on England’s chances after they stripped Alastair Cook of the captaincy less than two months out from the World Cup and installed Eoin Morgan in his place.

But former Australia Test bats-man Mike Hussey rates England as a ‘dark horse.’

“They’ll fl y under the radar a lit-tle bit, no one’s really giving them a lot of chance,” Hussey said.

“They’ve got some really experi-enced, quality players but they’ve also got some really good under-rated players, guys like Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes, very under-rated and if they can just get their confi dence up and move through the tournament, they can be a bit of a dark horse.”

Australia’s rising pace star Josh Hazlewood believes the sub-con-tinent teams will struggle with the bounce of the Australian wickets.

“Their conditions are a lot fl at-ter and spin friendly and their games are quite high scoring over there,” Hazlewood said. “So I think bounce is the key. It’s the thing I look for against those sub-conti-nent teams.”

Joining the 10 Test-playing na-tions will be four associate coun-tries — Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Scotland and Ireland — to add some unpredictability to the pool games.

Matches in Australia will be played in all the major cities — Syd-ney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and Hobart — with many of the grounds upgraded and renovated in recent years.

Security fears New Zealand will host 23 games across seven grounds with the Black Caps playing all their pool games on home pitches while Aus-

tralia must cross the Tasman to play the Kiwis in Auckland.

The other New Zealand venues are Christchurch, which hosts the tournament opener between New Zealand and Sri Lanka on Valen-tine’s Day, Wellington, Hamilton, Napier, Dunedin and Nelson.

All grounds have been declared ready with the purpose-built Hagley Oval in Christchurch re-cently rated a quality venue by the New Zealand and Sri Lanka play-ers after they staged a dress re-hearsal for the World Cup opener.

A focus on the build up to the World Cup has been on security with New Zealand World Cup chief executive Therese Walsh warning it will be tight.

“There will be security profi l-ing, there’ll be random pat downs, there will be bag searches,” she said.

Martin Snedden, a former New Zealand cricket international and chief executive for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, said recent terror attacks in Paris and Sydney would create a sense of urgency.

“You’re not working with theory, you’re working with something that can defi nitely happen and the examples in Sydney and France prove that you’re not just ticking a box here — you’re actually doing something because we may need it,” he said.

Match-fi xing is the other risk hanging over the tournament.

Players are being warned of the possibility of being approached by match-fi xers, possibly using “honey traps” where glamorous women lure players into compro-mising situations and then black-mail them.

“I have no doubt that match-fi xing groups will be looking at New Zealand and that they have had people on the ground in New Zealand previously,” New Zealand Players Association Chief Execu-tive Heath Mills told the Herald on Sunday. - AFP

Australia will share

the hosting of next

month’s cricket

showpiece with

New Zealand, 23

years after they co-

hosted the event

when Pakistan beat

England in the fi nal

at the Melbourne

Cricket Ground

HAVE THE FIREPOWER: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq, right, and Shahid Afridi watch all-rounder

Mohammed Hafi z bowl during a World Cup training camp in Lahore. – AFP

C5


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OAA gears up for super weekend

MUSCAT: It is going to be an action-packed weekend for the motorsports enthusiasts in the Sultanate as the Oman Automo-bile Association (OAA) will host three hugely popular competitions at its facility in Seeb on Friday and Saturday.

The activities will begin with the Oman Rotax Max Challenge at the Muscat Speedway. The third and fourth rounds, organised along with United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Championship, is ex-pected to attract top karting driv-ers from the two countries.

The fi rst two rounds, held last week, saw tough fi ght between Team Birel Art drivers - Oman’s Sanad Al Rawahi and UAE’s Oliver George - for the top spot, though the former emerged winner in both the

rounds. It also saw Oman’s favourite driver Hamed Al Wahaibi making a comeback to competitive karting.

The organisers expect more than 100 drivers on both days.

“We are ready to host the big event at the Muscat Speedway. We hope it will attract a lot of young-sters to motorports,” Suleiman Al Rawahi, Managing Director, Oman Automobile Association, said.

Martin Bean, Clerk of Course, too expressed happiness at the preparations.

“I am happy with the arrange-ments for the Oman-UAE com-bined event. The marshalls are ful-ly trained and we hope to organise an error-free event,” said Martin.

The drivers, meanwhile, said they are aware of the tough compe-tition ahead. “Yes, it is going to be

very tough. But I had a good prac-tice session during the fi rst two rounds. Hope I can continue the momentum this week too,” said Sanad Al Rawahi.

UAE’s Oliver too expressed op-timism that he could perform well against seasoned campaigners.

“Drivers from UAE will fi ght hard to increase their points tally in the national championship. I am

happy with my runner-up perfor-mances in the fi rst two rounds. I hope to make amends to my show this week,” he said.

Youngsters will showcase their daredevilry in the refurbished motocross arena during the third round of the Oman Motocross on Friday.

Around 20 riders from Oman and the UAE will vie for the top po-

sitions in one of the hugely popular motorsports in the region.

Oman’s promising motocross siblings, Faisal Al Busaidi and Hood Al Busaidi, veteran riders, Daryl Hardie and Richard Russell are the top riders to watch out for from Oman in the competition.

“We expect experienced rid-ers, Benjamin, Hussei and Oliver, among others, from the UAE,” Ali Nasser, OAA Motorcycle event of-fi cer, said.

According to Ali Nasser, the competition will test the competi-tiveness and technical skills of the participants.

“The new track is challenging. It is technical too. Only those with good skills can emerge winners. Spectators will be in for a treat with more jumps and twists,” Ali said.

Competitions will be held in four categories. The PeeWee sec-tion will see children between 6 and 8 years of age, while those be-tween 8 and 15 will compete in the junior category.

The other two remaining cat-egories are clubmen (above 15) and experts.

Top drivers from the region will scorch the Drift Arena during the fourth round of the drifting cham-pionship on Friday evening.

Drifters from Oman will fi nd the going tough against top names in the Middle East circuit.

Ahmad Daham (Jordan), Noor Daud (Palestine), Rafat Haroon, Mohamed Naoufal (both Jordan) and Haitham Sami (Egypt) and Oman’s Tariq Al Shihani, Ali Al Shihani, Mohammed Al Hinai and Mohammed Al Fawzi are some of the top names to watch out for in the competition.

The event will begin at 6.30 pm on Friday.

Exciting action is

store as the OAA

is set to host three

popular events

starting with a two-

day Oman-UAE Rotax

Max Challenge on

Friday which will

be followed by third

round of motocross

and the drift event

EXCITING ACTION: A fi le photo of a motorcross event organised by Oman Automobile Association.

ISM girls clinch relay gold, bronzeat CBSE National Athletic MeetMUSCAT: The Indian School Muscat (ISM) students made his-tory at the 19th CBSE National Athletic Meet held at Divine Child School, Mehsana in Ahmedabad in India winning a gold and a sil-ver in the relay events.

According to a press release is-sued by the Indian School Mus-cat on Wednesday, 620 selected schools from more than 12,000 CBSE affi liated schools in India,

the Gulf Countries and Nepal took part in the meet.

ISM’s U-16 girls’ relay team, comprising Rithu Cheriyan (X L), Samantha Pinto (X G), Bernice Thambiraja (IX G) and Anoushka Punja (VIII K), clinched the gold medal in the 4x100m relay.

The 19th CBSE National Ath-letic Meet becomes singularly momentous for ISM as the same team members won the bronze in

the 4x400m relay race, the press statement said.

“This is the fi rst time in ISM’s athletic history, the same team getting medals both in 4x100m and 4x400m relay races at the na-tional level,” it said.

It is a proud moment as Indian School Muscat is the only team in Oman which has secured 91 med-als in total in all the 19 National Athletic Championships since

1996, the statement added.Recently another milestone

was reached when Nishita Karnik of Class XI K won the silver medal in mixed doubles of the under-19 category in the CBSE National Badminton Tournament held at Chennai.

ISM Principal Srinivas K. Naidu and the entire ISM frater-nity congratulated the partici-pants and their coaches.

P R O U D S T U D E N T S

Man City complete Bony signing from Swansea

LONDON: Champions Manches-ter City have bolstered their at-tacking arsenal with the signing of Ivorian forward Wilfried Bony from Swansea City for a sum be-lieved to be in the region of £30

million ($45.48 million), the club confi rmed on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old, who scored 20 goals in the 2014 calendar year, more than any other Premier League player, joined Swansea

from Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem for £12 million in 2013.

“As a player it’s always good to be part of one of the biggest clubs in the world and it’s a good oppor-tunity for me to be in that situation

now - I’m really proud,” Bony, who is preparing for the African Cup of Nations, told City’s website.

“I felt excited to wait for this moment and now it’s come, it’s fantastic.” - Reuters

F O O T B A L L

Ronaldo says his son is a Messi fanZURICH: Cristiano Ronaldo’s son Cris Junior is a Lionel Messi fan, the boy’s father said after they met up with the Argentina captain at the Ballon D’Or ceremony in Zu-rich on Monday.

After Ronaldo was named 2014 Ballon D’Or winner, beating four-time winner Messi into sec-ond place, the two players had a friendly exchange in the lobby of Zurich’s Kongresshaus when Cris pointed at Messi and then stood up to greet him.

Real Madrid’s Portugal captain Ronaldo told his arch-rival Messi: “He watches a video on the inter-net of all of us and he talks about you,” prompting a coy reaction from his son.

Barcelona forward Messi chuck-

led and asked the young Cristiano how he was doing.

“You are embarrassed now!” Ronaldo then laughed to his son.

Ronaldo received his third Bal-lon D’Or on Monday with the Por-tuguese or Messi having won the award every year since 2008. - Reuters

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Oman Amateur Open attracts 150 golfers

MUSCAT: The sixth edition of the Oman Amateur Open 2015, one of the most prestigious tournaments on the Sultanate’s golfi ng calendar, will be organised at the Muscat Hills Golf & Country Club on Jan-uary 16 and 17.

For the fi rst time in the history of the competition, more than 150 golfers from home and abroad have registered for the event, which clearly highlights the grow-ing importance of the Oman Ama-

teur Open in the Gulf region.In another fi rst for the champi-

onship, the winner will get an en-try into the European Challenge Tour event in Oman.

Oman will fi eld a total of 96 play-ers in this event, which is being or-ganised by the Oman Golf Commit-tee. The competition will be played in the individual strokeplay format.

The maximum fi eld of the tour-nament is of 120 players among which 26 are registered from GCC

countries like Bahrain, Qatar, Ku-wait and the UAE. The fi eld will feature 90 men, 20 women and 10 junior golfers, all competing for the coveted annual crown. For par-ticipation, priority will be given to the players with the lowest handi-cap, making it an intense battle.

Vanguard Systems & Services International LLC and A’Saff a Foods are supporting the event. Jeff Campbell had won the previ-ous two editions.

Mundhir Al Barwani, the chair-man of the Oman Golf Committee, is overwhelmed with the response of the players.

He said: “I am delighted that so many quality golfers from four oth-er countries are coming to partici-pate in this tournament. Frankly, we hadn’t expected so much turn out. This huge response is, indeed, good for the tournament. We have got sponsors, too, and I must thank Vanguard Systems & Services and A’Saff a Foods for their support.”

Azaan Al Rumhy and Hamood

Al Harthy, along with other mem-bers of Oman’s national team, will take part in the event.

Al Rumhy, Oman’s top golfer, is hopeful of a solid show.

He said: “I am looking forward to take part in this tournament. I had won this event in 2012 and I would love to win it again this year. But it will be more challenging this year since so many quality golfers from the region will participate.”

Ahmed Al Jahdhamy, the vice-chairman of the Oman Golf Com-mittee, said: “It’s good to see that the level of competition is going to be higher this year than it has been in the previous editions. We hope our golfers will give their best.”

Al Barwani is confi dent that Omani players are ready to take up the challenge.

He said: “The competition will be a tough one because there are so many brilliant golfers from other countries. Bahrain is the toughest competitor and UAE is also there. So our golfers will have a tough time.”

The sixth edition of the championship is

scheduled to be hosted at Muscat Hills from

Friday and the winner will get a direct

entry into the European Challenge Tour

event in the Sultanate

PICTURESQUE VENUE: A view of the Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club course. – Supplied photos

Azzan Al Rumhy

Hamood Al Harthy

SLSM team cruise to nine-wicket victory over ISG

ISM and ISWK in title showdown

MUSCAT: Sri Lankan School Muscat (SLSM) recorded a thumping nine-wicket win against Indian School Al Ghubra (ISG) in a Junior League T20 match played at the Municipality Ground No. 4 in Al Amerat during the weekend.

Invited to bat fi rst, ISG scored 170 runs for the loss of three wickets at the end of their quota of 20 overs thanks to a brilliant unbeaten 90 off 77 balls from skipper and opening batsman Aryan Shinde. Vrishab Dhavale chipped in with a run a ball 29.

SLSM lost opening batsman with 30 runs on the board but recovered to reach their target without further loss thanks to a second-wicket partnership of 141 runs between opening bats-man Yazid Nabil Makoonm who scored an unbeaten 83 and Dian Kurukulasuriya who remained unbeaten on 63.

Brief scores: ISG 170 for 3 in 20 overs (Aryan Shinde 90 n.o., Vrishab Dhavale 29) lost to SLSM 171 for 1 in 17.4 overs (Yazid Makoon 83 n.o., Dian Ku-rukulasuriya 63 n.o). Points: SLSM - 2 (6 games, 6 pts), ISG - Nil (6 games, 5 pts).

Sameer, Saud lift ISASMohammed Sameer remained unbeaten on 134 and fellow opening batsman Saud Qureshi scored 119 not out, putting to-gether 291 runs, to help Indian School Al Seeb (ISAS) register an emphatic 219-run win against Muscat Cricket Coaching Centre B (MCCC B) in a Junior League T20 Under-13 match.

Opting to bat after winning the toss, ISAS scored a mammoth 291 for no loss in their quota of 20 overs. MCCC B faced with a daunting 292 for victory were bowled out for a measly 72 off 18.2 overs. Anulome Kishore scored a run a ball 20 with three boundaries.

Saud Mohammed Rafi k and Neel Pinal Kumar bagged two wickets each.

Brief scores: ISAS 291 for no loss in 20 overs (Mohammed Sameer 134 n.o., Saud Qureshi 119 n.o.) bt MCCC B 72 all out in 18.2 overs (Anulome Kishore 20; Saud Mohammed Rafi k 2/4, Neel Pinal Kumar 2/4). Points: ISAS - 2 (8 games, 15 pts), MCCC B - Nil (4 games, Nil).

BOC trounce GCCBosher Olympic Centre (BOC) trounced Gulf Cricket Centre (GCC) in an Al Turki Enterpris-es-sponsored Junior League 25 overs-a-side Under-16 match.

After electing to bat fi rst, GCC were bowled out for 95 runs in 22.2 overs. Nikhar Jain claimed three wickets while Vikram Nabira and skipper Aswin Un-nikrishnan bagged two each.

In reply, BOC were given a solid start by openers Vikram Nabira (52) and Krishna Srivasthsav (24 not out), who put on a 92-run partnership in 9.5 overs.

Brief scores: GCC 95 all out in 22.2 overs (Nikhar Jain 3/22, Vikram Nabira 2/10, Aswin Unnikrishnan 2/19) lost to BOC 96 for 1 in 9.4 overs (Vikram Nabira 52, Krishna Srivasthav 24 n.o). Points: BOC – 2 (7 games, 8 pts), GCC – Nil (6 games, Nil).

MUSCAT: Indian School Mus-cat (ISM) defeated Indian School Al Ghubra (ISG) by fi ve wickets to earn a place in the fi nal of the Al Turki Enterprises-sponsored Girls Inter-school T20 Under-19 tournament.

Electing to bat fi rst, ISG did well to reach 139 for the loss of four wickets in 20 overs. Priyan-ka M. remained unbeaten on 32 whilst opener Aditi B. chipped in with 29. Wides totaling 44 helped swell the score.

ISM in reply scored 140 for the loss of fi ve wickets with four de-liveries to spare thanks to an un-beaten 42 from Sneha Bhat.

Opening the batting Sujana Sunder scored a valuable 28 runs.

In the fi nal, the ISM girls will clash with Indian School Al Wadi Al Kabir, who recorded a 52-run win over Pakistan School Muscat (PSM). The star performer for the ISM was skipper Akshadha Gunasekar, who opening the bat-ting scored a brilliant unbeaten 81 off 56 balls.

Opting to bat fi rst in a match reduced to 19 overs-a-side, ISWK lost two wickets with 67 runs on the board in eight overs.

But recovered to reach 175 without further loss at the end of the 20 overs thanks to an unfi n-ished 108-run third-wicket part-nership between Akshadha and Bubli Soniya (29 not out).

The PSM girls also conceded 54 wides. In reply, PSM managed to score just to 123 for the loss of four wickets. Skipper Hina Javed remained unbeaten on 39 while ISM bowled 41 wides.

The fi nal will be played on Jan-uary 17 at the Ministry Ground No. 1 during the morning session.

Brief scoresISG 139 for 4 in 20 overs (Priyanka M. 32 n.o., Aditi B. 29) lost to ISM 140 for 5 in 19.2 overs (Sneha Bhat 42 n.o., Sujana Sunder 28).

ISWK 175 for 2 in 19 overs (Akshad-ha Gunasekar 81 n.o., Bubli Soniya 29 n.o.) bt PSM 123 for 4 in 19 overs (Hina Javed 39 n.o).

J U N I O R C R I C K E T

G I R L S C R I C K E T

OOC HONOURS SWIMMING COACH AL KULAIBIThe Oman Olympic Committee (OOC) on Wednesday honoured the swimming coach

Ahmed bin Khamis Al Kulaibi who successfully completed an international swimming

coaches course held in Hungary from September 15 to December 5 in 2014. The ceremony

was presided over by Taha bin Sulaiman Al Kishry, OOC Secretary General and Oman

Swimming Association chief. Hussain bin Ali Al Balushi, OSA Executive Director, and

Hisham Al Adwani, OOC Director, were also present on the occasion. While congratulating

Al Kulaibi, Taha Al Kishry stressed the need to provide opportunities for national cadres

for training and upgrading their knowledge. — Supplied photo

Del Potro, Kvitova claim three set winsSYDNEY: Former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro stepped up his comeback from an-other wrist surgery by toppling top seed Fabio Fognini at the Sydney International on Wednesday.

The 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory was only the second match the tow-ering Argentine had played in 11 months since surgery to fi x an is-sue with his left wrist and he felt the burn. The defending champi-on, competing on a wildcard after his ranking slumped to 338, was given a code violation after taking

too long at a change of ends.“This is my second match

on tour after one year. I need to breathe more than the other play-ers,” he told reporters.

Del Potro hit 11 aces against one double fault in a solid serving dis-play but admitted his backhand, still shaky following the surgery, needed work.

“My game is to serve strong and try and make winners with my forehand,” he said.

“If my backhand is okay, I will be aggressive with it in the future.

“But now I think I just need to hit the ball as well as I can and don’t try to make winners with my backhand. I just need to play a lot of backhands during the point, and if I do that I will get confi dence very soon to play aggressive as well.

He will face qualifi er Mikhail Kukushkin in the quarterfi nals af-ter the Kazak overcame sixth seed Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 7-5, 7-5.

The ATP 250 event is one of the fi nal tournaments before the Aus-tralian Open, the fi rst grand slam of the year, gets underway on Monday.

In the women’s tournament, Tsvetana Pironkova continued her winning run in Sydney to 14 matches after she reached the semifi nals with a 6-4 6-1 win over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

The Bulgarian world No. 67 was a shock winner in Sydney last year after coming through three qualify-ing rounds to make the main draw.

She will now face Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova who sur-vived a two-hour epic duel with Australian wildcard Jarmila Gaj-dosova 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. - AFP

S Y D N E Y I N T E R N A T I O N A L

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n ageing actor who’s losing his grasp of his craft and possibly his grip on his sens-es. Along the way he

dives into the orchestra pit while performing on stage, is sent to a psychiatric hospital and, upon his release, seeks solace in the arms of Pageen (Greta Gerwig).

The story may vaguely echo Birdman (2014), but The Hum-bling actually is Barry Levinson’s adaptation of Philip Roth’s 2009 novel of the same title. As for the

The Humbling that blurs the line

between fact and fiction. In need

of money but fearful of return-

ing to the stage after his gossip-

worthy stage dive, Axler consid-

ers an offer to represent a line of

hair-care products. Some peo-

ple may ask if that’s the film’s

equivalent of Pacino starring

with Adam Sandler in Jack and

Jill (2011), a critically reviled

comedy that bombed at the box

office.It also begs the following

question: Does every film Pa-

Axler character, he may strike some as hitting a little too close to home for Pacino, who will turn 75 in April.

The Humbling will open in theatres on January 23 (US) and be available on video on demand that same day. Dur-ing a recent telephone call from

cino makes need to be The God-father (1972), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Sea of Love (1985), Scent of a Woman (1992), Heat (1995), Insomnia (2002), You Don’t Know Jack (2010) or Phil Spector (2013)? Isn’t he entitled to goof around if he feels like it?

“You’ll find, no matter what, peo-a Los Angeles hotel, the charm-ingly loquacious Pacino down-played the inevitable compari-sons between himself and the film’s central character.“I relate to any part I play if I really want to play it,” he said. “I’ve lived through the world of this film, so that’s what I relate to. I found my own way to adapt myself to Simon. I’ll give you an example: Simon has this block,

ple will ask those questions, be-cause I have done a lot of things,” Pacino replied. “Some of the things I’ve done have been broad-based, and you’re compared to every-thing else you’ve done. People like to talk about (Jack and Jill), and I don’t mind it, but, when people are watching it, it’s a comedy and they laugh.“Also, sometimes, your fame precedes you,” he said. “I once

but, when Philip Roth wrote this, I’m sure he was relating to writer’s block. Actors don’t really do that. They don’t have ‘actor’s block’ and suddenly don’t want to act anymore.

“We’re all about ‘Action’ and it’s ‘Let’s get in there’,” he said. “Things go wrong, especially with age. It’s more obvious with athletes, but actors are emo-tional athletes and you have to have the energy, the stamina, to handle the rigours of live theatre. That stamina is so important.”

had a very young interviewer ask me, ‘You’re so famous. When you do a part, how do you over-come that?‘ I said, ‘I really don’t know how one does that. I guess plastic surgery? Maybe Greek theatre, with the masks, would be fun.‘“

Up next for Pacino is China Doll, a new play by David Ma-met that will open on Broadway in October. Pacino and Mamet go back a long way: Pacino has starred in the play American Buf-falo (1983), the film version of

Pacino cited The Dresser (1983), which starred Albert Finney, as a film about acting which captures something of the nature of the art. Finney “oozes exhaustion,” he said, as the past-his-prime star of a travelling acting troupe that performs Shakespeare in city after city.

“It’s so deep and so profound,” Pacino said. “It’s in his marrow, and he literally dies of it in the movie. I think part of what’s happening with Simon that he’s

Glengarry Glen Ross (1991), the Mamet-scripted HBO film Phil Spector and the Broadway reviv-al of Glengarry Glen Ross in 2012.

Also on the way are two more independent features, David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn and Dan Fogelman’s Danny Collins. Pacino described Manglehorn as a drama about a lonely, lovelorn small-town Texas locksmith and Danny Collins as a romantic com-edy about an aging rock star. He hastened to add that, despite the

pushing 70 and taking on these enormous roles, and he’s losing the capacity, both in energy and mental capacity. I know actors younger than I am who don’t do stage anymore because they can’t remember the words. That fear of eroding tools, it’s some-thing I understand.

fact that he’s playing an over-the-hill singer in Danny Collins, it and The Humbling are “very, very different films.”

Robert Altman often declared that he wanted to “die with his boots on,” to work until his last breath, and he did almost ex-actly that. Pacino, on the other “I know people will compare

me to Simon and think it’s au-tobiographical,” Pacino added, “but I have children, I have fam-ily, and I’ve done many things in my life. Simon is not me, but I understand him. The fact that this was about an actor who was losing his interest in acting and wanted to have another kind of life-he calls it a ‘civilian life’—not only did I find it amusing, but I found it doable.”

As for Gerwig, Pacino sang the praises of his 31-year-old co-star.

“Barry suggested her,” he re-called. “She came on and I thought, ‘This is it.’ Not only is she such a wonderful actress, but she cap-tures this world. There’s the big age difference, but you don’t think they don’t belong together because they’re both eccentric and they’re in a world that pro-

hand, insists that he can imag-ine himself, one day in the not-too-distant future, walking away from it all, forever forgoing act-ing on either stage or screen.

“Oh yeah, I can,” he said. “There are so many other things in my life, and maybe that’s one of the reasons why I can imagine it.

“I have young children,” said Pacino, the father of 14-year-old twins Anton and Olivia, with Bev-erly D’Angelo, and also of 25-year-old Julie, with Jan Tarrant. “That’s a big thing, and you’re engaged with it at all times. So your time is filled arranging things for them, and for work, like getting places, rehearsing, doing inter-views. I don’t want to go away for too long.

“There are all these variables,” he said. “I’m a single dad half the time. Their mom takes them

vides them with all these pos-tures and thoughts and proclivi-ties. They’re maybe 40 years apart, but that doesn’t matter here, somehow.“Greta’s mother and father raised her in the theatre,” Pacino added, “so she had that connec-tion to that art form. She had a sense of herself and what she’s doing. That’s a hard find, don’t

you think? But we found her.”There’s another situation in

half the time and I take them half the time. It shocks me that I did these three movies. I’ve been do-ing the HBO movies, and they’re always interesting projects, well scripted and shot pretty quickly.“So, sure, yeah, yeah, I can imagine it,” Pacino concluded. “It’s going to happen one way or the other.” -Ian Spelling/The New York Times News Service

ETCETERAC8 T H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

“DON’T expect ‘I Dreamed a Dream,’” Anne Hathaway said, comparing her Oscar-winning performance in Les Miserables (2012) to her modest singing scenes in Song One. “This movie is more about musicians, and my char-acter is not a musician. It would have been an ego-based choice for her to suddenly sound like a trained singer.”

Hathaway won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Fantine, so she knows how to command the stage when the role requires it. In this case, though, Song One needed her character, Franny, to be closed up, confused and regretful.

The fi lm, which is about a family dealing with a crisis, shows how music can connect and transform people. Also starring Mary Steenburgen and British musician/actor Johnny Flynn, the drama is scheduled in the US on January 23.

The story begins when Franny’s younger brother (Ben Rosenfi eld), a budding musician, is hit by a car and winds up in a coma. The two siblings have been estranged, and Franny comes home from her PhD research program in Morocco to be with him. Trying to understand his life, she starts reading his notebooks to see how he had been spending his time. Then she retraces some of his steps, and in the process meets James Forester (Flynn), her brother’s musical idol.

“Franny is an icicle that is thawing,” Hathaway said. “In the fi rst half of the movie, she is very introspective and very tightly wound, and gradually she becomes more fl uid.

“She had dismissed James Forester as being a hipster and a poseur,” she continued. “Then she would listen to one of his songs and hear a line that expressed exactly where she was at, and it would root her to the fl oor.”

Franny seeks out James after a concert, and the two de-velop a relationship.

“These characters are riding the edge of tragedy,” Hath-away said, “and we don’t know which way they will fall. The stakes are so high.”

The actress was speaking by telephone from her Los Angeles home, where she occasionally was interrupted by the barking of her two dogs. However, they weren’t enough to distract her from the task at hand.

Song One is a personal project for Hathaway, who has formed a production company with her husband, Adam Shulman. Song One is their fi rst fi lm.

She chose to act because it scared her, Hathaway said, and a passion project like Song One is a particularly fright-ening endeavour.

“I’d love to say that I’m less scared as time goes on,” the actress said, “but I don’t think that’s true. However, I work with the fear diff erently. Fear keeps you on your toes, and it keeps you honest. Occasionally you break through, and things that seemed really terrifying you can take in stride more easily.

“I was very scared for people to see this movie,” she con-tinued, “because it’s the fi rst thing I’d ever fully backed. I believed it should exist. Now I have to show it to people and say, ‘I hope you agree with me.’”

Hathaway became famous through big-budget, main-stream films such as The Princess Diaries (2001), Brokeback Mountain (2005), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Les Misera-bles, but she chose to make her first producing effort on a limited budget.

“This is not a $60 million movie with explosives, which would be so far outside my experience,” she said. “I loved how small it was. It was the story that got me. We would be creating music that had never existed before. That totally appealed to me.” Music has been important to Hathaway since childhood, when her mother-stage actress Kate McCauley Hathaway-and her elementary-school music teacher in New Jersey were formative infl uences.

“Mrs. Russo made music really fun and not intimidat-ing,” she said. “That, coupled with having a mom singing all the time, made singing as natural as breathing.”

As a result Hathaway felt comfortable taking the lead in obtaining the music for Song One, which obviously would be a pivotal part of the movie.

“My husband and I knew (singer/songwriters) Johna-than Rice and Jenny Lewis socially,” she said, “and we asked Johnny if he wouldn’t mind reading the script. We wanted his input on what it was like being a musician and a musician on tour. They asked us, ‘Who’s doing the music?’

“We said, ‘You, if you want to.’”One particular lyric from the fi lm has stayed with Hath-

away. “It really got me as Franny,” the actress said, “but also in my life as well: ‘I still leave the porch light on, but the curtains are gone./It’s so easy loving nothing. You feel nothing when it’s gone.’

“That is a capsule of where Franny is at the beginning of the movie,” she said. “Her brother’s accident forces her to confront the truth in that lyric, and she realises that she is 100 per cent wrong in her stance on him. She doesn’t know if she’s ever going to be able to make it right.

“Franny is a person in crisis, feeling very isolated,” she continued, “and suddenly a stranger comes into her life. It’s the exact right moment and the exact right stranger. It’s that moment in your life when only a stranger will do.”

Another aspect of the fi lm that appealed to Hathaway was the brother/sister relationship.

“It’s not a requirement to have the relationships that you have in the movie in real life,” she said, “but it does help when there’s a live vein there. I love my brothers (Mi-chael and Tom) so much, and I was able to tap into that feeling that already exists.”

Writer/director Kate Barker-Froyland originally envi-sioned a younger actress in the role, Hathaway added.

“She wrote Franny as 24,” said Hathaway, who is 32, “but, when I asked her to consider me for the part, I knew that she’d have to push the age up a little higher.”

Hathaway laughed, then tried to explain the laugh, then apologized that she was joking about being worried that she was past 30.

“I thought it was an interesting opportunity to raise Franny’s age,” she said, “because she always felt protec-tive of her brother. The movie doesn’t go into it too much, but my thinking was that they had lost their father when they were very, very young. We decided that their mother fell apart and Franny had to step in and be a full-time par-ent when she was 15. That’s why she had such a strong negative reaction to her brother’s decision to drop out of college. It’s very deep and fear-based.”

Hathaway could relate to that feeling.“I have a little brother,” she said. “I wish I could say that

I’ve always been 100% supportive of him and uncritical. That’s something I woke up to in the last few years, and now I really appreciate him exactly the way he is.” — NANCY MILLS/THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

ETCETERAC9T H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Five years after Peter Andre and Katie Price split, their legal

wrangling is still grabbing the headlines

PETER ANDRE’S GOT A MYSTERIOUS SECRET

HE WON’T TELL

He’s had six hit albums, number one singles like Mysterious Girl and Flava, is soon to

fl y to Los Angeles to record a new album as part of a $3 million deal, has vast property interests is in demand as a record producer and is readying a new single which he is convinced will go to the top of the charts.

But at 41, happy and settled with a long-time girlfriend Emily MacDonagh and a baby daughter, Peter Andre has had to come to terms with the fact that however successful he is, it’s inevitably overshadowed by the legal wran-gles with ex-wife, glamour model Katie Price, aka Jordan, which have continued non-stop since the couple were divorced fi ve years ago.

Soon the couple will once again appear at London’s High Court when Jordan sues Peter and his manager for what she claims is a misuse of private information. The hearing, which will take weeks, will cost the couple at least $800,000 plus damages for the winner.

Peter claims that he has always tried to avoid legal confrontations, fearing that the disclosures of the couple’s private lives will upset their children and he wants to keep his version of events to himself.

He told a TV chat show: “Something big happened to end the marriage which I won’t re-veal, but Katie knows the reason why I left.”

Both in public and private life it’s been something of a roller-coaster ride for Peter Andre. At 20 the pop world was at his feet. He had two number one singles and his fi rst album went straight to the top of the charts.

Peter, it seemed, could do no wrong. Then it seemed, he couldn’t do anything right. Boy bands had burst on to the pop scene and suddenly no one want-ed to know about the singer whose teenage hero was Elvis, Presley.

He moved to Cyprus, wrote songs for other singers and went into record production, but al-ways hoped that one day he would relaunch his singing career. Now Peter admits. “Never in a thou-sand years could I have guessed how it would happen.”

Then his agent persuaded a UK TV network to include Peter in the unlikely assortment of per-sonalities making I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, a reality show in the Australian jungle in which celebs go through testing ordeals and are voted out by viewers.

“I thought it would be fun but I didn’t think I had a hope of getting on the show,” Peter remembers.”I was amazed when I was picked - and even more amazed by what happened later.”

Peter came third in the show - but got the lion’s share of publicity, mainly by becoming romantically involved with another contestant, glamour model Jordan. And from that moment his career soared in spectacular style and he was of-

fered three major recording con-tracts within hours of leaving the Australian jungle. “

Born in Australia, of Greek-English parents, Peter has three brothers and a sister. He now has invested in luxury apartments in

London’s Docklands and also has business interests in Australia.

Peter is the fi rst to admit that during the fi rst time round as a pop star he certainly enjoyed life. He had a secret aff air with Spice Girl Mel B — they met when Peter was still a big star and Mel was in the newly formed fl edgling girl group.

Peter was also romantically involved with All Saints star Mel Blatt. "We were together for about a year but it got to the point where our relationship wasn’t progress-ing and I went back to Australia.”

It was there that Peter fell mad-ly in love with Home and Away ac-tress Laura Vazquez. “The prob-lem was that my career had really taken off and I was travelling all the time and Laura wanted us to settle down.

But all those days are long gone.” Two years ago, Peter met medical student Emily and they have a year-old daughter Amelia. They live in a period farmhouse near England’s Sussex coast but currently Emily is completing her medical studies at Bristol University.

“Life is very hectic at the mo-ment,” Peter says. “I am promot-ing my perfume range and am on tour, but I do want Emily to pursue her career as a doctor and give her every bit of support I can. I don’t mind becoming a stay-at home dad for a while if that would help.

“With a wonderful family and a great career, I guess — despite all those legal headaches — I’m still the luckiest guy alive.” -Judson Bennett/Tony James Features

Life is very

hectic at the moment,

I am promoting my

perfume range and am

on tour, but I do want

Emily to pursue her

career as a doctor and

give her every bit of

support I can. I don’t

mind becoming

a stay-at home dad

for a while if that

would help

Beyonce not pregnant, says former band mate

THE FORMER Destiny’s Child singer Michelle Williams has de-nied rumours that her friend Be-yonce Knowles is pregnant. Beyonce sparked rumours she is expecting her second child with husband Jay Z Sunday after she posted the pho-tograph of a baby bump sculpted out of sand, but now Michelle has shot down the speculation saying it’s a silly conclusion to jump to, reports

mirror.co.uk. Speaking on the TV show The View, Williams said: “First of all, if you look at the picture, the baby bump is probably where her knees probably really are... Just stop it, stop it.” The 34-year-old singer also mentioned how Beyonce is always secre-tive with her personal life, with rumours suggesting she wasn’t pregnant circulating when she was expecting her fi rst child, Blue Ivy, who was born three years ago. She added: “You know, when she was pregnant, people said that she wasn’t pregnant. There’s just no truth to it. Sorry!”

Brad Pitt, Gosling, Bale to star in ‘The Big Short’

ACTORS Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling are teaming up to star in the adaptation of Michael Lewis’s best-seller The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. The three actors are in various stages of talks to star in The Big Short , the adaptation of Lewis’s chronicle of the housing and credit bubbles of the 2000s that led to the 2007-2008 global fi nancial crisis, reports holly-

woodreporter.com. Following the success of Moneyball, Pitt is producing the fi lm, which is scripted by Adam McKay. McKay is expected to direct the drama, although there is no announce-ment yet. The project is not expected to be Bale’s next, though it is still unclear what the Oscar winner is currently eyeing.

New ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’

trailer is action-packed

TRAILERS from the highly-antic-ipated fi lm Avengers: Age of Ultron was released during a college football match in Los Angeles. The College Football Playoff National Champion-ship on ESPN on Monday witnessed the second trailer from the fi lm which promises more battles and destruction as the Earth’s mightiest heroes fi ght the villainous Ultron, re-ports aceshowbiz.com. It sees Ultron

walking into a room, meeting the Avengers. One can also witness Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man being slammed into the wall and a battle between the Hulkbuster and Hulk.

‘Transformers: Age of...' tops Razzie nominees

MICHAEL BAY'S fi lm Trans-formers: Age of Extinction has been nominated for seven awards at the 35th Golden Raspberry Awards, also known as the Razzies. The popular sci-fi Transformers franchise is nom-inated for worst picture along with Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas, Left Behind, The Legend of Hercules and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, reported aceshowbiz.com. -IANS

BR I E FS

At 33 he had the critics raving with his epic performance in Kenneth Lonergan’s hit movie You Can Count On Me and Hollywood’s moneymen

were beating a path to his door.“I had been waiting for ten years for this

break, and it had fi nally come,” Mark re-members. “I had almost given up acting four times. Now the struggle seemed worth it.”

He didn’t know at the time that the struggle was only just starting. In the summer of 2000 Mark Ruff alo’s year-long secret hell began. He was diagnosed as having a brain tumour but he swore the surgeon to secrecy and tried to carry on with his career.

“Hollywood hears ‘illness’ and they start running for the hills,” he says. “I knew if this got out my career would be over whatever happened to me health-wise. When things got worse, Mark pulled out of Signs, with Mel Gibson, saying he had an ear problem, but still not even his family knew the truth.

But Mark had no doubt about the se-riousness of the situation: “When you’re being wheeled in there’s that moment

when you’re like: ‘This really might be it, my friend.’”

It wasn’t. The tumour was benign and was removed and today at 47, happily married with three children, Mark says he has never been healthier, more successful or more contented. His latest movie, Fox-catcher, co-starring Channing Tatum and Steve Carrell is already being tipped for an Oscar nomination.

Based on a true story, Mark plays one of two Olympic wrestling brothers who get involved with a mysterious heir to an indus-trial fortune who persuades them to train on his estate. “I did most of my own action scenes,” Mark says. “Boy was that tough!”

“Channing, who plays my brother, and I, trained for seven months. We’d shoot a scene and then we’d go and train some more. When we shot the last wrestling scene, Channing and I just held each oth-er and actually cried. We were so relieved that the worst was fi nally over!”

Things haven’t been easy off -screen either. Mark’s brother was murdered in 2008 — no one has been arrested for the crime — and as an active peace and en-vironmental campaigner he has had fre-

quent brushes with the authorities and the law.

“I’m really proud of Foxcatch-er,” Mark says. “The characters are really complex. And it was one of the biggest challenges of my acting career.” He is even being hailed as the new Marlon Brando, but refuses to let it all go to his head. “I’ve heard it all before,” he grins. “Very early on I got a TV show and thought I had made the big time — then I didn’t work again for seven years! It’s still a struggle. You never really arrive.”

But Hollywood thinks he has. Mark has four movies lined up for this year and will once more play Bruce Banner in the new Avengers movie Age of Utron.

It was his role in the Oscar nominated You Can Count on Me that brought him to the attention of director Jane Campion when she was casting In The Cut.

“I was very nervous to meet her — I’d heard she was really tough — but she was great and off ered me the part over lunch.” When his co-star Nicole Kidman dropped out, Meg Ryan agreed to step in — and take over some of the most contro-

versial scenes of the year.Married to French-American ac-

tress Sunrise Coigney since 2000 — they have a son and two daugh-ters — Mark divides his family’s time between Los Angeles and

New York. “Being with my fam-ily is the most important thing,” he

says. “I’ve spent too long being a loner.”He says he had a lonely childhood.

Growing up in Wisconsin, he moved to Virginia then San Diego in quick succes-sion, leaving behind his friends.

His parents’ divorce and the suicide of a new close friend sent him into deep depression. “I was a teenage outsider and just didn’t know what to do with my life,” Mark says.”Getting involved in the theatre was a lifeline — it gave me a sense of purpose.”

Now in the $10 million a movie brack-et and with a new Spanish-style home in Los Angeles, Mark is beginning to believe that he might have fi nally hit the jackpot. “Now I’m just going to enjoy the good times while they last. Knowing my record,” he smiles,” it would be crazy not to!” -John Graham/Tony James Features

C10

ETCETERAT H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

After years in

the show-business

wilderness, it seems

Mark Ruff alo has

fi nally arrived

On the way to an in-terview at a Beverly Hills hotel, Kevin Hart ran into a problem. Dozens of

problems, actually, in the form of a throng of fans wanting to share a moment with him.

Hart was running late, but nonetheless he shooed aside his security detail to wade into the crowd, shaking hands, posing for selfi es, standing still for hugs and, in a steady stream of patter, plug-ging his upcoming fi lm.

“Did you hear I have a mov-ie coming out on January 16? Write it down,” he said cheerfully. “That’s January 16. Did I mention it’s January 16?”

When the 35-year-old actor/comedian fi nally sat down to be interviewed, he was a half-hour behind schedule but far from apologetic.

“I’m always approachable,” Hart said, still looking fresh in a gray business suit with a tan shirt. “As I get more popular or go international, I don’t see myself putting up a fence to keep people away. The minute you separate yourself from people, you lose touch with people. I need people. I need to know what the people are thinking, I need to know what the people like and what they don’t like. “I need to be here for a long time.”

That fi lm he mentioned, and which he was at the hotel to pro-mote, is The Wedding Ringer. He plays Jimmy Callahan, a guy who hires himself out as a best man to prospective grooms who have no friends to stand up for them at their weddings.

Jimmy meets his toughest chal-lenge in Doug (Josh Gad), who in an eff ort to impress his fi ance Gretchen (Kaley Cuoco-Sweet-ing) has raved about his best friend: Bic Mitcham, a military priest stationed in Afghanistan whose only drawback is that he doesn’t exist. Doug is a geek su-preme who doesn’t actually have any friends at all, and needs Jim-my not only to become Bic but also to produce a corps of groomsmen as well.

Writer/director Jeremy Garelick

originally wrote the script, in 2001, for Vince Vaughn, only to see it languish in development for more than a decade.

“We wrote hundreds of drafts,” Garelick said in a separate inter-view. “The funny thing is that we wrote it for Vince Vaughn, and had the main character de-scribed as someone who was tall and handsome.”

Eventually the script found its way to Hart, however, and he thought it a perfect fi t for him-well, except for the “tall” part, since he stands only 5-foot-4.

“Everything in life happens when it’s supposed to happen,” Hart said. “There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears poured into creat-ing this script, and then it just lin-gered. Then it was brought to my attention and I loved it. We threw Josh Gad’s name into the pot, and the project came together quickly.

“I believe you need to get the right people together and then you can make an amazing comedy.”

Hart was eager to make his fi rst R-rated comedy, he added.

“I really wanted to be able to cut loose in a fi lm,” he said, “and press the envelope in a fi lm that was broad in scope and multicultural.

“I also wanted to do that in a fi lm that was still tasteful and not just raunchy,” Hart added. “I thought that this movie would be so much more than what people would expect it to be. Yes, there’s raunchy stuff in it, but there’s a lot of heart involved.”

Jimmy is confused about the meaning of friendship, he ex-plained. “I’m a guy who just wants to be hired as a friend,” Hart said, “and the last thing I want to do is to become involved with these grooms. Then I meet Josh’s char-acter and we really do become friends. In that way it’s a bro-mance with a great, raunchy bach-elor party too.

“Come on,” he said. “We have the word ‘wedding’ in the title. You need the bachelor party!”

Hart grew up in Philadelphia in straitened circumstances: He and his older brother were the chil-dren of a single mother, their fa-ther in and out of jail throughout their childhood.

For Hart, refuge lay in comedy.“I grew up loving Richard Pryor

and Eddie Murphy,” Hart recalled. “I coped by telling jokes.”

Soon he found himself aspiring to follow in their footsteps.

“Murphy and Pryor, those two were pioneers in standup com-edy,” Hart said. “I’d look at them and go, ‘Wow, I want that!’ Later I grew to love Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Martin Lawrence. But there were so many other infl uences. I loved Bernie Mac, Steve Harvey and Cedric. They’re great comedians who made me believe that I could get up there and do it.

“The list goes on and on,” he continued. “You can’t beat Wanda Sykes if you want to laugh. I want-ed to stand on a stage and make people laugh that hard.”

After graduating from commu-nity college, Hart moved to Brock-ton, Mass., where he worked as a shoe salesman and, in his spare time, did standup in local clubs and back home in Philadelphia under the name Lil Kev. As his fame grew, he toured in his own shows, I’m a Grown Little Man (2009) and Seriously Funny (2010). His Laugh at My Pain tour grossed more than $15 million in 2011 and was fi lmed.

Meanwhile the young comic was forging a career as an actor

on television and in the mov-ies, beginning with small roles in Undeclared (2002-2003), The Big House (2004) and Barber-shop (2005). The roles gradually got bigger in such fi lms as Scary Movie 3 (2003), Along Came Polly (2004), Soul Plane (2004), The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and Epic Movie (2007), but he didn’t score his breakthrough until the ensemble comedy Think Like a Man (2012). That got him a lead role in Ride Along (2014) along-side Ice Cube.

When that fi lm brought in more than $100 million at the box offi ce, Hart was on his way. Since then he’s worked nonstop in such fi lms as About Last Night (2014), Think Like a Man Too (2014) and Top Five (2014). He has a huge slate of upcoming projects that includes Ride Along 2, the kid fl ick Captain Underpants and the comic thriller Central Intelligence with Dwayne Johnson and Ed Helms. First, though, he’ll be seen in Get Hard, a comedy about a millionaire (Will Ferrell) who, after being convict-ed of fraud, hires an ex-con (Hart) to prepare him for his new life in San Quentin.

Off the screen Hart has two children, 9-year-old Heaven Lee and 7-year-old Hendrix, with his ex-wife, Torrei Hart, and is en-gaged to model Eniko Parrish.

His main focus, though, is to capitalise on his current hot streak to take things to the next level.

“I just want to do things that propel me,” Hart said. “I don’t want to appeal to just one audi-ence. I want to be broad and multi-cultural. I can be an international box-offi ce star.”

His goal, though, is not simply to be rich and famous.

“Believe it or not, I don’t feed into the fame aspect of it,” the ac-tor said. “I’m not in it for the popu-larity. I’m in it to accomplish new goals as an actor.

“When it comes to people ap-proaching me, I welcome it, be-cause that’s where I live,” Hart concluded. “I’m one of the people. So I speak back, I stop and talk.

“I still hang out, because that’s what keeps it real.” -Cindy Pearlman/The

New York Times News Service

ETCETERAC11T H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

I just want to do

things that propel me,

I don’t want to appeal

to just one audience.

I want to be broad and

multi-cultural. I can be

an international

box-office star

Reese compares upcoming fi lm to ‘Thelma and Louise’

ACTRESS Reese Witherspoon has com-pared her upcoming untitled comedy fi lm to 1991 classic Thelma & Louise. The 38-year-old, who will play an uptight po-licewoman who fi nds herself on the run with a prisoner, a drug dealer’s wife (played by Sofía Vergara) in the fi lm, says that her co-star is one of the funniest people she has

ever met, reported eonline.com Speaking at Sean Penn’s annual pre-Golden Globes benefi t for Haiti relief organisation J/P HRO, Witherspoon said: “It’s (the fi lm is) defi nitely like a Thelma & Louise kind of thing.” Talking about Vergara, she added: “She is one of the funniest people I have ever met in my entire life. But working with her I could literally not stop laughing. I think peo-ple are going to love her in this movie.”

Grande, AC/DC, Sheeran to perform at Grammy Awards

SINGERS Ariana Grande, AC/DC, Ed Sheeran, and Eric Church have been roped in to perform at the upcoming 57th annual Grammy Awards. The announcement was made on Tuesday, reported aceshowbiz.com. Madonna is also a star performer at the event, which will be held on February 8 at the Staples Centre, Los Angeles. This

will be Madonna’s fi fth time performing at the Grammy Awards, and for Sheeran, it will be his second time as a musical guest at the show. As for Grande, Church, and AC/DC, they will be per-forming on the Grammy stage for the fi rst time.

Taylor Swift sends $1,989 cheque to a loyal fan

SINGER Taylor Swift has sent a surprise gift to one of her fans — a cheque of $1,989 for her to pay off her student loans. Re-bekah Bortniker took to social networking platforms Monday evening to share some photographs and a video of her opening a gift box of personalised presents from her idol. The gesture made her burst into

tears, reports aceshowbiz.com. The gift was sent by Swift after Rebekah created a video collage featuring the singer and her friends with the theme song of “Friends”. In the video, posted on video-sharing site YouTube, Rebekah fi rst read Taylor’s hand-written card. “Hi you. I was thinking about you today, and how you have been there cheering me on in the most thoughtful and creative ways. I love the video you made of me and my friends,” the 25-year-old pop star wrote.

Chris Brown cancels some future nightclub shows

CHRIS BROWN is reportedly planning to cancel some of his future nightclub shows after fi ve people were shot during his re-cent performance in San Jose. An emer-gency meeting after the incident was held and Chris ordered his manager to cancel his upcoming appearances at clubs, re-ported tmz.com. -IANS

S T A R B U Z Z

C12

ETCETERAT H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 1 5, 2 0 1 5

You can star in one

of the most beloved

sitcoms of the last

quarter century, win

an Emmy, be paid $1

million per episode,

fi nd as much success

in movies and still

have more than a

little something to

prove, along with a

whole lot to lose

In the seconds before the fi rst public showing of Cake at the Toronto International Film Festival in Septem-ber, Jennifer Aniston was a

wreck inside.“It didn’t hit me until the lights

went down that the most people who’d seen it were eight people, and all of a sudden we were in a 1,500-seat theatre,” she said, her eyes wid-ening at the memory. “I just didn’t know how it would be received. It’s a vulnerable, terrifying moment.”

Cake, about a devastated woman’s uncertain recovery, does away with pretty, peppy Aniston and installs a pill-popping harridan in her place. She has scars on her face, fl ab on her body, an anguished gait and an acid tongue. It’s a kind of glamour-for-grit statement just familiar enough to raise the possibility of eye rolls in lieu of applause. It’s a plea of sorts, and Aniston had no guarantee of a charitable answer.

But when the lights rose in To-ronto, the audience did, too, giving

her a standing ovation. And while the movie, which opens in the US on January 23, got mixed notices from the handful of critics who weighed in, she got just enough positive rec-ognition to essentially muscle her-self into the awards season.

She has been an indefatiga-ble whirlwind over the last few months, following the media script of a publicist known as an Oscar whisperer and attending more than a dozen question-and-answer ses-sions at special screenings in Cali-

fornia and New York. And it’s work-ing. In December she picked up Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Critics’ Choice nominations for best actress.

She recognises this moment as perhaps her best chance to “take away the cloak of Rachel,” she said, referring to her part on the sitcom Friends. The intensity of her desire to do precisely that was suggested by her reaction when, toward the start of our interview recently at the Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan, I not-ed that a reviewer for The Guardian had called Cake a showcase for her “hitherto hidden acting chops.”

“Hmm, yes, very deep under-

neath,” she said of these ostensibly buried gifts, adding that the notion was “kind of head-scratching — wow.”

A few minutes later, she returned to the critic’s “hidden” phrase, again registering frustration with its in-sinuation that something other than talent and craft had gone into her work in Friends and about two doz-en movies, not all comedies, since the mid-1990s.

And she alluded to the phrase twice more after that. In each in-stance, her otherwise smooth, af-fable manner took on the slightest of edges. “You have to do something really dark to be taken seriously, I

guess,” she said. Then, referring to both the duration of Friends and its popularity in syndication, she added: “If you’re in someone’s liv-ing room every week for 10 years and every day on God knows what network, people are going to have a hard time saying, ‘OK, we’re going to see you do what now’ without mak-ing associations. It’s a Catch-22. It’s like: ‘I know I can play this part, you just have to let me.’ And then it’s ‘I can’t let you play that part, because I’ve never seen you do it.’ There were jobs that I really wanted and would fi ght and fi ght for and then the obvi-ous previous Oscar winners would get them.”

For example?She shook her head. No go. She

knows too well how much the me-dia loves to pit one celebrity against another. To believe the tabloids, she has spent the last decade in a grudge match with Angelina Jolie, whose husband, Brad Pitt, was of course married to Aniston fi rst.

“It’s ridiculous — that the two names have to go into the same sen-tence and there has to be a compare-and-despair thing,” she said.

But fate keeps nudging the names together. One of the surprising sub-plots of the Oscar race is the way Jolie’s much-discussed, doggedly promoted prospects for a best di-

rector nod, for Unbroken, dimmed just as Aniston’s odds for a best actress nomination brightened. Along the way, there was also that Sony nastiness, including disparaging emails from producer Scott Rudin about Jolie.

Aniston beat back any discussion of that. “I don’t want to give any fuel to the fi re,” she said. She is practiced and game enough to permit 30 seconds of conversation about Jolie and Pitt. But a full minute is pushing it. Her pos-ture stiff ens.

For a long time now, Aniston, 45, has been one of Hollywood’s most mercilessly chroni-cled celebrities, pressing on through a cease-less storm of gossip and a constant swarm of paparazzi.

“They would interrupt our shots,” recalled Daniel Barnz, the director of Cake (whose credits include Beastly and Won’t Back Down), describing takes of outdoor scenes ru-

ined by the whistling of photographers trying to put a startled expression on Aniston’s face and get her to look their way. “We didn’t have the budget or manpower to keep them at bay.”

And she has clearly developed strategies for the fi shbowl. She surrenders just enough so that she doesn’t have to give up too much. She scatters tidbits of apparent revelation amid anodyne lines.

Before I asked, she mentioned Justin Ther-oux, the star of the HBO series The Leftovers and her fi ancé of more than two years, drop-ping him into a story about an unappreciated boyfriend who died years later of a brain tu-mour.

“He was my fi rst love — fi ve years we were together,” she said, referring to that boyfriend. “He would have been the one. But I was 25, and I was stupid. He must have sent me Justin to make up for it all.”

I took note of her engagement ring, with its gargantuan diamond.

“It’s a rock, I know,” she said, sounding abashed but not really. “He rocked it up. It took me a while to get used to it. I’m not a diamond girl. I’m more Indian jewellery and stuff .” Her outfi t wasn’t regal: bluejeans and a black, open-collared shirt.

I noted the din of speculation about why she and Theroux hadn’t tied the knot yet, and she said they’re still fi guring out what kind of ceremony they want. She didn’t volunteer any more detail than necessary.

She bristles at the scrutiny that her private life gets, in part, because it underscores what she believes to be a double standard, one that came up the night before our interview, when she talked with an audience after a midtown Manhattan screening of Cake.

A woman noted that Aniston had repeat-

edly fi elded the question of whether she was concerned about the likability of her Cake character. “That’s something men don’t get asked,” the woman said.

Aniston interjected before it was even clear the woman was done.

“They don’t get asked a lot of things,” she said.

“I really do think you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” she added. “You either are too fat - ‘Oh my God, she’s gained weight, getting chubby, mid-40s spread!’ - or ‘She’s so skeletal, get some meat on her bones!’ I’ve been on too-thin lists. I’ve been on what-happened-to-her lists.”

She has in fact churned out movies at an unfl agging pace. And while many have been romance-tinged, conventional Hollywood comedies, she has routinely built in excep-tions. -Frank Bruni/The New York Times News Service

first Cake about a devastated woman’s her a stan

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

CONNECT H E D A I LY G U I D E

D

D4 VACANCY CARGO D7

T H U R S D AY, J A N UA R Y 1 5 , 2 0 1 5

RENT D2

DAILY GUIDEEmail: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

2 BR fl at for rent in Wadi Kabir next

to Al Maha Petrol Pump.

Rent RO 300 pm. contact 99440826

Fully furnished rooms for rent for

family. Contact 99251975,

Al Khuwair

Offi ce space for rent in Ruwi,

OMR 500. Contact 91120552

Flats in Muttrah near Oman House

per fl at RO 230. Contact 92815855 /

95181077

500 Sq Mtrs industrial land, lev-

eled, ready to use with boundary

wall, in Misfah industrial Area, block

2 near Baladiyah Camp, RO 600/-,

monthly. Contact 94030814

1000 Sq Mtrs, Industrial Land for

rent in Ghala suitable for warehouse

workshop etc. Contact 24700120,

92584715

2 BHK Flat in Mumtaz.

Contact 99792181

1, 2, 3, BHK in Al khuwair.

Contact 99792181

2 BHK in Bowsher, Ghobra.

Contact 99792181

1 & 2 BHK in Ruwi. Contact 99792181

200 Sqr mtrs Showroom in CBD.

Contact 99792181

Well maintained spacious 1 BHK at

Rex Road from 1st February.

Contact 92227165

1 & 2 BHK in Wattaya. Contact

99792181

New warehouse for rent at Ghala

ind. area. 578 & 1200 sqms near.

hotel al-madinah holiday, Ghala.

Container can enter, immediate

access to roads & highways.

Contact : 92078090

Furnished room with attached bath-

room for Executive bachelor behind

Al Meera Hypermarket, Azaibah RO

150. Contact 99455735

Villa in Al Khuwair 33 close to

Technical College with 3 bedrooms,

1 sitting room and shaded balcony.

Directly from owner not for brokers.

Contact 92814242

Flat for rent in Al Hail, North

near The Wave, Muscat. Contact

99353433, 99271017

For rent at Al Khuwair, 4 bedrooms,

3 bathrooms, sitting, dining, kitchen

split A/C near Rawasco, 1st fl oor.

Rent 480 PDC. Contact 99879939

1 BHK with A/C, Mumtaz Area,

RO 250/-. Contact 92144045

D2 T H U R S D AY, J A N UA R Y 1 5 , 2 0 1 5

For rent at Al Khuwair, 1 room with

bathroom (Independent), near Raw-

asco with split A/C, 2nd fl oor,

rent RO 125 PDC. Contact 99879939

For rent at Ruwi, 2 bedrooms, 2

bathrooms, sitting, dining, kitchen

with A/C near Al Falaj Hotel, Ruwi,

Way 2116 building 577, rent RO 275,

PDC. Contact 99879939

Family villa & fl ats at Al Ansab and

Awabi. Contact 98458542

2 BHK with split A/C in Wadi Kabir,

Sana Building furnished.

Contact 96635026

3 BHK with AC, Al Falaj, RO 425/-.

Contact 92144045

Offi ce space (3 BHK fl at – Ample

space) located in prime area at 18th

November street, Al Azaiba (nr. To

Sultan Center). Contact 99261522

2 BHK Commercial, Al Khuwair,

RO 375/-. Contact 92144045

1 BHK, commercial, Darsait.

Contact 92144045

3 rooms, 3 bath fl at. Darsait coast

near Indian School like new.

Contact 99715042

Flat, shops, basement, Ruwi-MBD

Area, Honda Road.

Contact 96942749, 92433127

2 BHK available in Mumtaz area,

Ruwi & Ghubra, nr Indian School.

Contact 99269751

6 shops in Mabela Industrial Area.

Each Front Shop OMR 400 and Side

Shop OMR 300Monthly.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Spacious 2 BR fl at in MBD.

Contact 99713489

1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in

Misfah Industrial area near to Khan

co. OMR 1,500 Monthly. Electricity

and boundary wall will be provided.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Family room available for rent at

Muttrah Souq. Contact 24712088 /

99022790

Offi ce space & store, CBD 20059.

Contact 99024730

2 BHK, Al Khuwair. Contact

99024730

Spacious well maintained 2 BHK at

Rex Road from 1st February.

Contact 92227165

2 BHK, CBD. Contact 99024730

2 BHK, Darsait near Kims Hospital.

Contact 99024730

1 & 2 BHK & villa 3 BR-Darsait near

ISM & ISD. Contact 99024730

1 BHK, 2 BHK, Ghala, new bldg.

Contact 99024730

1 BHK, Wadi Kabir. Contact

99024730

Flat for Rent in Ruwi, Bareeq

Shatti, Mawalah. Contact 92521080,

98899916

Flat for rent Ghubrah South, ground

fl oor fl at, 3 bedrooms, majlis, family

hall, RO 425/-. Contact 94669711

6 bedroom villas at Al Ansab

(nr Express highway).# 99199365

Fully Equipped Restaurant / Indus-

trial Kitchen for Sale with existing

catering orders, CR & Labour Clear-

ance, Restaurant space and Outdoor

sitting area on Sale at Mawaleh

Call: 9906 4589

Offi ce space with cassette type A/C’s

with free internet at al Khuwair near

KM Hypermarket. Contact 99460330

2 Bedroom Spacious fl at for rent at

Al Khuwair 25 for OMR 400/- per

month . Contact: 99379988.

2 BHK Pent House with split A/C

in all rooms, very spacious balcony

with sea & city view RO 350, 2 BHK

RO 340, Bldg #1619, Way #1322

adjacent to Indian Nursery Darsait.

Contact 99476728 / 99831047

1 BHK bedroom fl at in Wadi Kabir

neat Kuwaiti Mosque RO 200/-.

Contact 95094028

2 BR deluxe fl ats at Ghubrah and

Ruwi. 2 BR furnished fl at at Ghubrah.

Contact 99885391 / 99354010

Abu Adnan Tower - fl at for rent

available at Al Mabelah, 2 B/R,

1 hall, 2 toilets, 1 kitchen.

Contact 95566475 / 99654252

Rent, new fl at Wadi Adai, 2 big

bedrooms, 1 big toilet, 1 big hall, 1 big

kitchen. Contact 99345137

1 / 3 BHK Flat Ghobrah, close to ISG

Way 4041, building 4390.

Contact 99319880

New bldg 3 BR fl ats located at

Darsait, Muscat close to Kims Pvt

Hospital. Contact 92020004 /

99800838

Fully furnished one bedroom

penthouse Wadi Kabir behind Sana

Hassan, weekly RO.140/- Monthly

RO 350/- Contact – 99349990

OFFICES FOR RENT

Contact: 97377355 / 95530121, Email id: [email protected]

- Premium offices to let a very good location on the main road very close to Zakher Mall, Al Khawiar. Business Center has offices with sizes of 50m2, 110m2, 180m2, 207m2, 230m2, 437m2.- Showroom also available at Business Center, Area 500m2 with central A/c. - Offices with Central Air-conditions, Security System with CCTV cameras, and Security presence in the building.

2 BHK available in Darsait, 1 B/R

and hall, 2 B/R and hall. Contact

99357586, 97500025, 97884787

3BHK, (3 bathroom and big hall)

opp. Apollo Hospital, Hamariya R/A

(OMR 300/-) Contact 91181761

DAILY GUIDET H U R S D AY, J A N UA R Y 1 5 , 2 0 1 5 D3

FOR RENT

FOR RENT

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

2 BHK fl at for rent RO.350/- at

Al Khuwair near Sultan Taimur

Mosque. Contact – 98893294

1 BHK residential fl at at Honda road.

2 BHK residential fl at opposite to

Al Nahdha hospital. Contact93219590

Villas & fl ats & stores. Contact

99776071 / 99057348

1 BHK fl at Qurum RO.270/- with

split A/C. Contact – 99358589 /

95570288 /97079146

2 BHK fl at at Al Khuwair RO.370/-

with split A/C. Contact – 99358589 /

95570288 /97079146

If require fl ats for rent in Wadi

Kabir please send messages through

Whatsapp or call – 99376454

Luxury 2 bed room villa at Bausher-

AL Ansab Phase 3.Call. 99324456

Fabulous A/C fl at Al Khoud, 3 rooms,

280 rials. Contact 99334699

BHK fl ats Muttrah near Oman House.

Contact 97007934 / 92629232

2 BR, 2 toilets, kitchen at

Al Mawaleh. #99444786, 99747560

We have 1 BHK, 2 BHK, 3 BHK fl ats,

4, 5 bedrooms villa, open space offi c-

es & shops available in Ghala, Gho-

brah, Qurum, Mabela, Ruwi, Darsait,

Mumtaz, Wadi Kabir. All brand new

buildings & very aff ordable prices.

Contact 93782735 / 99208033

Flat for rent 2 bedrooms one hall in

South Al Hail. RO 270. #93221474

House in North Al Hail with 3 rooms,

Majlis & 3 toilets. Contact 99439568

Flats and shops. Contact 93009999

Villa, ground fl oor in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99743569, 97004265

2 BHK fl ats for rent behind Kims

Hospital. #93161573 / 97769759

Apartments in Al Khuwair new area

each apartment contains (2 bedrooms

+ living room) for RO 365. # 93181111

Penthouse near Sultan Centre

Al Amerat with 2 A/Cs. #99612270

3 bedroom furnished Execu-

tive Apartment @Al Khuwair 25,

2 BR fully furnished Executive

Apartment @Azaiba near Zubair

Showroom, 2 BR fully furnished

executive Apartment @Al Khuwair

33 near Zakher Mall. Please con-

tact : Atlas Real Estate & Rent A

Car LLC, 99249069 / 92888376 /

93201688,

email : [email protected]

2 BHK with A/C near ISM RO.325/-

1BHK Al Falaj without A/C RO.200/- 2 BHK with A/C near Kims hospital

RO.300/- Darsait commercial or residential with A/C RO.230/- Stu-dio at Al Falaj RO.170/-. 2 BHK with-

out A/C at Wadi Kabir RO.300/-

Contact - 92144045

For rent apartments: An apartment

in old Muscat at Oman Arab Bank’s

building. 3 bedrooms + 3 bathrooms,

dining room, living room and a

kitchen. Air conditioned apartments.

2 bedrooms + 2 bathrooms, living

room, dining room area and kitchen

in an excellent location in Al Khuwair

opposite the court of fi rst instance. For

further information call 97072976

2 BHK fl at Muttrah / Mabelah.

Contact 95915154

For rent (fl ats), 2 bedrooms

+hall+kitchen, location: South

Al Mawaleh. Contact 99870020

1 / 3 BHK Flat Ghobrah, close to ISG

Way 4041, building 4390.

Contact 99319880

Show room on the main road Saham

center total area 450 m sq.

Contact: 99366558 / 99334226

1 BHK with attached toilet & bath-

room behind Bank Muscat at

Wadi Kabir.# 99373290, 24815012

Flats/villas owned by ROP pension

fund available for rent in Muscat.

Contact 99349526

New Villa for Rent Two fl oors

newly built villa in Maabillah, 8 Full-

fl edged Residential Area

6 Rooms, 8 Toilets, excellent fi nish-

ing spacious Kitchen, Big Dining

Rooms in Both Floors, Easy Access

to Muscat and Sohar using Maabil-

lah Bridge. Contact 92828303

Restaurant about 250 SQM @

5/- SQM, heart of Ruwi Market in

Plaza Hotel for sale / rent. Contact

99326339 / 24833314

Shop for sale near ONTC bus

stand Ruwi near Sun City Hotel on

main road. Contact 99326339 /

24789801

A running supermarket for sale in

Wadi Kabir. Contact 95113037

Running Medical Centre with

full equipments is available for

sale. Those interested can contact

98994208.

Clinic for sale. Contact 99824232,

email : modern.medicalclinic@gmail.

com

Industrial shed / warehouse for

immediate lease in Rusayl Industrial

Estate. Contact 99263196 /

[email protected]

New fully equipped 2 chair dental

clinic in Seeb area for immediate

sale. MOH approved. # 94514045

Well running pharmacy. Contact no . 93240949

Flats ground fl oor, 3 Rooms & AC,

kitchen, hall, in Al Mabaila South.

Contact 99377290

2 B/ R Fully Furnished Executive

Apartment @ Al Khuwair 33 Near

Zaker Mall. 3 Bedroom Furnished ex-

ecutive apartment @ Al Khuwair 25

5 B/R Luxury Fully Furnished villas

at Azaiba with servants, 3 Bedroom

Unfurnished Villa @ Mawalah South

Area 6 with Servant Quarter,

5 Bedroom Unfurnished Villa @

An Apartment that resembles a pent-

house has 2 rooms with 2 toilets,

living room & an elegant balcony.

Fully furnished, suited for families.

Final price RO.300/- Mabela 8 near

German University.

Contact 99888400

Studio fl at Darsait. RO 150/-.

Contact 92144045

Industrial Land in Misfah.

Contact 93009999

1 BHK at Ghobrah - Near Indian

School. Contact: 99014885

Al Qurum heights Sea view.

Contact 99249069 / 92888376/

93201688

2 BHK at Al Azaiba, Building No.5145

Way 4470. Contact 99224748,

99425665

2 BHK with A/C, commercial

Al Khuwair. Contact 92144045

Flat one bedroom at Al Khuwair 33,

owner. Contact 92800007

Flats for Sale in Bowshar: OMR

35 Thousand 1 bedroom. OMR 45

Thousand 2 bedroom. Monthly

income 1 bedroom OMR 270 and 2

bedroom OMR 350. Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

Dental clinic for sale in

Sohar. Contact immediately

99705760,92625962

23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture land

with water well in Al Salwa, Barka.

OMR 260 Thousand. Tel: 99333479

or 95215360

3 fl oor commercial building in

Muttrah behind Police. Generating

income of OMR 18 Thousand annu-

ally. Neat and well maintained. Built

on 197 sq mtrs land. 2 tailor shops

on ground fl oor and 6 fl ats. OMR

207 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

Used furniture bedroom sofa dining

A/Cs Majlis washing machine, table

keyboard, Expat leaving.

Contact 99353978

Building material shop for sale,

near Mars Hypermarket, Al Ghoubra.

Contact 93797343 / 99881647

Running establishment for sale, industrial license, marble & granite,

aluminum workshop, fully equipped

showroom. Serious buyers please

Contact 99334540

Household items on sale.

Contact 93833107

A newly opened Barber Shop for

sale at upcoming industrial zone

in Misfah. Expat leaving Oman.

Genuine buyers call 93833107

(Sale Price Negotiable)

Port cabins – New & refurnished

Porta cabin for sale and rent.

Contact 96723468

Running Workshop for Tiles /

Marble & Granite cutting & skirting

in Wadi Kabir for immediate sale.

Contact 99105492

Sale!, all household items, like

fridge, freezer, cooking range, wash-

ing machine, window/split A/Cs,

LCD TV, Laptop, tab and many more

for attractive prices. Location : near

Toyota service Center, Honda Road.

Contact - 97048983, 95293643

Restaurant for leasing/sale in

Al Hail. Contact 94148970,

94148972, 97820877

Darsait Business Offi ce furniture,

Isuzu 4 ton brand new. # 91391363

ACC.WANTED

ACC. AVAILABLE

2 rooms with 2 bathrooms and

sharing kitchen for couple or

executive bachelors at hamriya

r/abt. ( on the main road side, opp.

Apollo hospital ) RO 150.

Contact 98232567

Single room at Walja, opposite

MBD area available for execu-

tive bachelors or single working

woman for OMR 100 including

Electricity and Water.

Contact 93079877

Single furnished room in Ruwi.

Contact 24833609

Single room available for a work-

ing lady with separate bathroom

& sharing kitchen with a family @

Rex Road. Contact 95423572

Flat sharing, big two rooms, inde-

pendent bath near Al Falaj, semi

furnished quiet area, small family,

OMR 150, call 93218110

Sharing accommodation for family

in Wadi Kabir. Contact 97167857

Sharing accommodation available

at Mumtaz area, Ruwi.

Contact 97612335

Independent room furnished

Executive at Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99336206

Furnished room in Wadi Kabir.

Contact 94012930

Accommodation available for

rent in SEEH AHMER FANJA near

Oman Oil, only 10 mtrs drive from

Rusayl industrial area, Please Call on

95200429 or 99224352

Room with A/C, furniture for expats at

Al Khuwair. # 97004265 / 99689315

Room with separate entrance & A/C

in Al Khuwair near Rawasco for non-

cooking Indian Bachelor, rent RO

125/-. Contact 97201100, 95397442

Single room or studio fl at required

in Ruwi area. Contact : 95405033

Contd on pg 4

DAILY GUIDED4 T H U R S D AY, J A N UA R Y 1 5 , 2 0 1 5

DOMESTIC HELP

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

MEDICAL

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

Need cutter for Tailoring shop.

Contact 99825211

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

DRIVER

Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

Chartered Accountant, 10+ yrs

experience, B.Com, CA, CIA. Imme-

diate availability. Audit, Finance.

Contact 94641805

Indian male, 25 yrs, 3 yrs experi-

ence, Diploma in foreign & Indian

accounting, Diploma in fi re & safety

eng, looking for suitable position in

Oman. Contact 96582370

Pakistani male, 25 yrs, MBA

Finance, 1.6 yrs exp in Accounts

seeking placement in Accounts,

Administration or Business Manage-

ment. Contact 92651927 / 94250149

Indian Male, looking for job in Ac-

counts & Administration previously,

experience 1 yr in Oman, now on

visit visa. Contact 97424337

Indian accountant with more than

30 years of experience in construc-

tion (fi nancial / cost accounting)

with experience in material manage-

ment ,HR and general administration

seek part time/full time assignment.

Ready to work any where in Oman.

Contact 98598099

ADMIN/HR

ENGINEERS

ENGINEERS

EDUCATION

MANAGER

Light Driver having own visa

looking for job as driver

Contact 92303692

Pakistani male, having one year exp

as light vehicle driver looking for job.

Contact 96342684

Bangladeshi Driver seeking job,

3 yrs exp. Contact 99063175

Light Driver looking for job.

Contact 92787245

Driver with vehicle, Keralite.

Contact 94251067

Driver seeking job. Contact

99805236

Bangladeshi male driver, exp 12 yrs

looking for job in any company &

offi ce. Contact 99165961

6 Years experience light duty driver.

Contact – 96736744

Light driver looking for job.

Contact 92791678

EDUCATION

Indian male MBA 32 yrs having

10 yrs of exp seeking suitable place-

ment in Admin/ HR/ Operations/

Coordination/ Logistics etc. Holding

valid Oman D/L .Contact - 99054786

Graduate Indian female having

5+ Years Oman experience in Ad-

min/Procurement/Logistics with

excellent computer skills(PGDCA).

Seeking suitable Placement.

NOC available.Contact:95382966

Indian male 32 years, B.A Tourism

& Travel Management. 2 and Half

years Dubai experience in Front

offi ce & reservation in a 3 star hotel

with good command over English &

Hindi, seeking placement in HR or

Admin. Contact - 9454 1041.

Indian male having NOC with 7 yrs

Oman experience in recruitment / on

boarding general admin. Immediate

joining. Contact 96684424

Indian female with 10 yrs of experi-

ence in HR/Banking/Operations

seeks a suitable placement. Can be

contacted on 98919015 or

[email protected]

Indian female with excellent

communication skills, confi dent,

dedicated to work and enthusiastic.

Knowledge about ms offi ce. Has

6 years of experience in cus-

tomer service, telecommunication,

HR.Looking for immediate place-

ment. Contact # 97348819

Indian male, Graduate expert in ad-

min and purchase for 9 yrs holding

Omani D/L looking for suitable job.

Contact 99626821, NOC available.

Omani with 6 yrs experience as

PRO, 3 years Admin / Procurement

Offi cer, excellent English can travel

out of Oman, PDO D/L seeks job.

Contact 96996938

Indian female, MBA, HR 1 yr experi-

ence in India seeking suitable op-

portunity. Contact 99257214

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ARCHI./ DRAUGHTSMAN

Required Physiotherapist. Contact: 91453024

Dentist required to work urgently in

dreams clinic at Al Khoud and must

be resident in Sultanate of Oman.

Please send your CV to the following

email – [email protected] /

[email protected] /

[email protected]

Mobile – 99882340 / 24545914

DESIGNER

DESIGNER

CATERING

Interior Designer, Indian male,

have 5 yrs experience with Oman

License looking for a suitable job.

Email : [email protected],

93779308

AutoCAD Designer D/man 2D/3D/

Revit/Photoshop, experienced.

Contact : 97103168

Interior Designer, Gulf Exp, Auto-

CAD 2D/3D/ Corel draw.

Contact : 97103168

Wanted driver. Contact 95112461

An excellent company seeking

for experienced male Light Duty Driver to work in Salalah. Contact

92322588 / 99653350, email :

[email protected]

Good growing Company in Muscat is looking for 2 Heavy duty drivers. English language needed. Email :

[email protected]

DRIVER

Required experienced Account-ant Tally, excellent English &

driving license. Contact –

[email protected] /

24497762 / 92192510

ADMIN

MECHANICAL

LAWYER

Urgently required: Receptionist (Omani) - 01 no with 2-4 years

experience Marketing Executive - 01 no; with 5 years experience

(Location - Mawelah, Muscat) . PRO

-02 no with min 10-15 years expe-

rience (Location - Muscat & Sohar).

Interested candidates may send

CV to [email protected]

A leading foodstuff company

requires the following : Offi ce Coordinator – with experience in

related fi elds, female. Interested

candidates may send their

resumes at [email protected]

Construction Company requires female executive assistant, with

good computer and communica-

tion skills, advanced English,

fl uent Arabic. Please send your CV

[email protected]

Indian female, 25 yrs, bachelors of

businesses management, having

experience of 5 years as a fund/

fi nancial administration, on visit

visa,looking for suitable placement.

Contact 94662416

[email protected]

UPVC Doors and Windows Company

urgently require Sales and Market-ing Person, experience 3-5 yrs in

same industry with Oman Driving

License. Contact 99475701,


Required Salesman, Tailor, Barber. Contact 91114884

A leading Company in Oman look-

ing for – (1) Customer Care Service – male (1 no.), (2)Customer Care Service – female(1 no.), (3) Driver – (2 no.) Contact 97461515 / 99101733

Salesman for Sales of Printing Press

supplies urgently required in Dubai.

Must be knowledgeable about Print-

ing Presses and have a valid GCC

Driving License. Email CV to

[email protected]

Highly reputed Perfume Company requires Omani Sales girl promoters. # 95663682, 92956876

Pentagon Oman a leading world-

wide logistics company with over 40 offi ces worldwide off ers a CAREER OPPORTUNITY for a Busi-ness Development Manager. A good

standard of written and Oral English

is a must. Candidates, preferably

Omani – and with experience, are

requested to email their CV to

[email protected] and

[email protected]

Urgently required Sales Managers & Sales Executives for the following

fi elds: 1) Information technology,

2) Gifts & promotion 3) Readymade

Garments & textile. Experience

required minimum 3 yrs & having

valid Oman Driving license.

Contact 99322373 ,

[email protected],

[email protected]

Leading Construction company

requires young purchase assistant

with Oman driving license.

Contact 99108425

Looking for outdoor salesman for heavy equipments.

Contact- 93292015, 99656542

Required an experienced person who has ideas to start a new business

in electrical fi eld or supply with mini-

mum cost. Contact 99426421

ARCHITE. / INTERIOR

Indian Male 25 years B.Com hav-

ing 3 years of exp of Oman in Ac-

counts/Administration.Well versed

with computer knowledge looking

for suitable position. Immidi-

ately available. Contact:93207867

email: [email protected]

Indian female, 25 yrs, B.Com with

computer Application, 1 yr experi-

ence as Accountant, looking for

suitable job. Contact 98847165

2-3 years experienced electrical

panel technician. Contact Mobile

No:93838449/98987386

Indian male having 14 years of ex-

perience in Various dept. (stockbrok-

ing Dealing, Back Offi ce Accounts,

Dmat, Settlement, Risk management,

Maintaining Books of accounts ETC).

Having Good Computer Knowledge

seeking suitable placement

Email Id: [email protected],

+91 9820240094

Urgently required Senior Account-ant (exp. required minimum 5 yrs

having driving license), Assistant

Accountant (exp. req minimum

3 yrs). Contact 99322373 ,

[email protected],

[email protected].

An Accountant with minimum 3 yrs

experience in managing fi nancial

records & administration functions

is required for an IT company in

Muscat. Send your CV with updates

photo to [email protected]

Indian male, working Bakery Pas-

try as Sr. Chef De Party, 15 yrs expe-

rience in Oman, 10 yrs exp in one of

the 5 star Hotels, still working, get

release. # 96460519, 99063817

Construction Company requires Civil Engineer with degree only with

10 yrs of local or GCC Experience.

Email : [email protected]

We are looking for :- 1) Firefi ghting equipment Engineer / Technician, 2) Marketing Executive, 3) Crane Maintenance Technician. Email :

[email protected]

Urgently required Mechanic Supervisor (B.Tech in Mechanical

/ Automobile Engg) for a reputed

company in Muscat with min of 5 yrs

experience in Grader, Dozer etc with

GCC/Oman License. Those interested

may email CV along with certifi cates

to [email protected],

[email protected] or #99288717

Required urgently Civil Engineer with minimum 5 years experience

driving license must. If you interest-

ing send your CV on email:

[email protected]

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER (full

time) Responsibilities: To work with

architect, To provide of construction

issue documentation for a projects.

Desired candidate Profi le: min of 3-5

years experience in Structural De-

sign, Should be AutoCAD competent.

Please send your CV to

Email: [email protected]

Tel. 99196733, 99419766

Urgently required an experienced Pharmacist with MOH License for a

reputed Pharmacy in Muscat.

Please send CV to

[email protected]

Doctor needed for a rehabilita-

tion centre in Muscat. Kindly call

92130498

1 Lady Doctor (Internist) with 3 yrs

experience in Oman. One female

Nurse with atleast 3 yrs experience

in Oman. For newly established

clinic in Ruwi. Send your detailed CV

to [email protected],

Tel : 91283188

We are looking for an Optometrist for an Optical with minimum 3 yrs

experience. Please contact 99340769

or email : [email protected]

Wanted MBBS Doctor, Staff Nurse and Lab Technician for a Clinic

in Capital Area. Please contact

93431024, send CV to

[email protected]

SALES / MARKETING

Architect ( Autocad 3D / 3D Max /

photoshop / presentation )

in a reputed offi ce. Tel 24794481

fax 24794482

[email protected]

Part time Accountant, up to fi na-

lization, looking for job after 5 pm

(Location prefer – Qurum to

Al Khoudh). Contact 92917574

Accountant B.Com & CIMA Part

qualifi ed, 8 yrs experience currently

in Sri Lanka. Contact +94777222392

or 91126314

Female Accountant with 4 years

experience in Oman seeking suitable

placement. Contact 98721909

ACCA, 24 yrs, female, looking for

a suitable position, Accounting/

Finance in a reputed fi rm.

Contact 91710657

Indian female, having 9 yrs experi-

ence in Administration & 4 yrs in

Accounts seeks suitable placement,

preference for the straight shift. Re-

lease available. Contact 92239617

Chartered Accountant & company

Secretary : currently in Oman, Indian

male, 34 yrs, 10 yrs experience in

Finance, accounting, consulting,

MIS looking for position in fi nance.

Release available. Contact 96731642

Indian Accountant: male, B.Com, 6

out of 10 yrs experience in Oman.

Having NOC & valid Oman D/L. Can

join immediately. Contact 95740191,


B.Com Graduate, 3 yrs experience

in Accounts, Indian male, looking

for accounts or suitable job. Contact

[email protected], 93975526

Part time Accountant with 15

yrs exp in Accounting, Auditing,

Taxation Management. Contact

95857199

Finance Manager, CPA, with more

than 15 yrs. of experience in GCC.

Fully knowledgeable in Finance,

General & Management Accounting .

NOC available. Contact 96209331

Finance Manager, MBA (Finance)

with more than 20 yrs of experience

in GCC/India, involved in Construc-

tion Contracting, Manufacturing,

fully knowledgeable in Finance

General and Management

Accounting, NOC available.

Contact 93245973

Accounts part time works upto fi na-

lization & fi nalization works.

Contact 96247295

M.Com with MS Dynamics and

Tally, 8 yrs experienced Accountant

requires Accountant (Senior Ac-

countant) position (NOC available).

Contact 93687011

Indian, MBA, Graduate specialized

in Finance, Marketing with GCC, D/L

looking for good job opportunity.

Contact 93197431

Pakistani Male, 26 yrs, MS-Supply

Chain & Project Management, BS-

Finance & Business Administration,

+2 yrs experience in Trading Firm

responsible for Supply Chain &

Accounts. Skills including strong

operation managerial Communica-

tion & interpersonal,

fl uent in English, SAP and EPM.

Contact 94663827,


Accountant / Auditor, Srilankan

male 27, having 3+ yrs experience

looking for suitable placement.

Contact 93556320

Indian male, 32 years, M. Com.7 out

of 9 years experience in Oman in

Accounts/fi nance. Having NOC and

valid Oman D/L.

Contact 98277143,


Indian Male, MBA 2 yrs experience

in Accounts, Admin & HR on visit

visa. Contact 92045306

India Accountant: Male, M com,

7 Yrs experience in Accounts up to

fi nalization, having knowledge of

ERP, Tally, seeks suitable place-

ment. Contact:93950138


Indian female MSc costume

design & fashion having 3 yrs exp

in teaching seeking suitable job.

Contact: 97614456 / 95918968

BSc Architectural Engineer,

7 yrs experience (6 yrs in Oman) site

work. Contact 99178218, 92579358,

email: [email protected]

BE (Elec and Tele Engg), Experi-

enced as Application Engg, Certifi ed

in BMS SCADA Ph: 94037935/

97103168

Civil Engineer with 12 years Experi-

ence Looking For Job.

Contact 98162295

Quantity Surveyor (Civil Building)

looking for Part time job Contact

no:-94391712 E-mail address-

[email protected]

Industrial Electrician with Oman

Driving license. Contact 96348016

Indian male, 26 yrs B-Tech (ECE)

with MBA in Marketing / HR looking

for a suitable placement. Currently

on visit visa valid up to 30 January

2015. Contact 93754428,


Diploma of Associate Civil Engi-

neering, Diploma of AutoCad, having

3.5 yrs experience, 2 yrs experience

of Oman in Building Construction,

valid transferrable ID Card.

Contact 94378581

BE Civil Engineer, 5 yrs experience.


Diploma in Civil Engineer, 15 yrs

Oman experience (total 28 yrs) look-

ing for senior position with valid D/L,


DAE (Civil) having 3.5 years Experi-

ence 2 years from Oman with driv-

ing licences, seeking for suitable po-

sition in Construction fi eld NOC and

release available Contact 96968554

[email protected]

M. Tech Electrical Eng. Female, now

in visit visa.

Contact +968-94654481.

B. Tech Civil Eng. 3 yrs exp in Oman

with driving license. Contact 93733627.

Mail id : [email protected],

[email protected]

Indian Male, IT Support Engineer,

2 yrs in Oman & 5 yrs Indian experi-

ence. Contact 97311847

Jordanian Engineer Electrical 7 yrs

exp. Consulting, site & shop drawing

works. Ready to join immediately.

Worked in UAE & Saudi Arabia.

Contact - 00971555594733

Civil Engineer B Tech, Site Engineer

Experienced, Drafting on Visit Visa

Ph : 91642050

Sudanese Mechanical Engineer,

3 yrs experience as Sit Engineer,

HVAC System, and driving license,

easy to transfer immediately.

Contact 91135140

Looking Part time Job in HVAC-

93198128

Experienced female Electrical

Engineer.Contact 93800906

URGENTLY REQUIRED a leading construction

Company requires B.Tech

Electrical Engineers with 5-10 yrs Gulf experience.

Interested candidates who are willing to join immediately may

send their CV to [email protected]

ARCHITECT/DRAFTSMAN/SITE

ENGINEER: Indian, Male.5 Years’

Experience; In Edu Trust, and Com-

mercial Complexes.

Currently in Oman In Visit Visa Cont.

No.93957502 / 97899661

Civil Draughtsman, Indian Male,

23 yrs with 3yrs experience in Au-

toCAD 2D & 3D, MEP, HVAC, 3Ds Max

and Photoshop looking for suitable

position, presently in Muscat, Oman

on visit visa. Contact 91764358,

[email protected]

Required English teacher for

KG 1 / KG II. Contact 97163777,

99429352

Required Teacher for ISWK stu-

dent studying in VII & III at Honda

Road Ruwi. Contact 99471699

Male Accouuntant required in

Ghala. Candidates present

in Oman only. # 99454425,


General practitioner Doctor is

required to work urgently in Dreams

Clinic at Al Khoudh and must be

resident in the Sultanate of Oman.

Please send your CV to the following

email: [email protected],

[email protected] &

info@towersinternationalgroups.

com, Mobile 99882340,

Tel: 24545914

MEDICAL

A well reputed steel fabrication &

machining Workshop company in

Oman requires experienced petrol & diesel mechanic for trucks.

Contact email : oman518@gmail.

com, 99228046

Required urgently a Legal con-sultant /Lawyer for reputed law

fi rm for SOHAR offi ce. Candidates

should have 5-7 yrs exp. as a Legal

Consultant/ Lawyer with good

knowledge of Computer & should

be fl uent in English. Email C V to

[email protected] or

Contact 99153620

between 8am to 5.30 pm.

SIT.WANTED

Urgently required Biomedical Engineer with 5 yrs experience with

Laboratory Diagnostic instruments

for a Medical Diagnostic Company.

Candidate with Omani Driving

License preferred. Contact

[email protected]

Indian male, 8 yrs GCC experience

in 3D & Architectural Designing

with D/L. Contact 97263199

Indian male 23 yrs, 4 yrs experi-

enced in Architectural Draughts-

man looking for a suitable Post

GSM:96023726, Email :jayan.

[email protected]

INDIAN, B.E Mechanical En-gineer, 2 years job experience

in Oman in pipeline fi eld, fl uent

in English, Hindi, Gujarati and

Marathi, with valid Omani driving

license (light) searching for job.

#99871470

Male 28, seven & half an year ex-

perience. Worked as maintenance

division co-ordinator, purchaser’s

assistant, and offi ce administra-

tion works. Valid driving license.

Contact 94454847

Indian male, 25yrs, MBA in mar-

keting from Delhi with 1 year ex-

perience in operation department,

currently on visit visa seeking

suitable placements. Ph 97334359


DAILY GUIDESITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

Jordanian Civil Engineer with 4 yrs

experience in Construction Field (re-

lease available). Contact 95157199 /

92866288,


B.Sc, Civil Engineer, over 19 yrs

experience in construction fi eld with

project management skills, seeks

suitable placement. NOC available &

can join immediately. #92198264,


Indian male Mechanical Engineer (M.Tech), Manufacturing Engineer-

ing, having 2 yrs Exp with Oman D/L

- seeking suitable placement . NOC

available. Contact: 98681278;


Civil Engineer, Diploma, Sudanese,

5 yrs experience in Oman, have driv-

ing license. Contact 96618918

Electrical Engineer, Sudanese male,

8 yrs experience in Construction,

operation, maintenance, electrical

plants, responsible for electrical

installation coordination.

Contact 94549609

Civil Diploma Engineer, Indian

male, 5 yrs experience in Oman with

valid Omani D/L. Contact 98518370

Sudanese Female, Mechanical

Engineer with 5 yrs experience in

Oil and Gas Engineering, looking

for a job. Fluent in French, English

and Arabic available now. Contact

98814569 / 96058018

Civil Engineer, 14 yrs exp, 5 yrs in

Oman, driving license, NOC release

available. Contact 91101892

Telecom Engineer with Bachelor

Degree, CCNA female, 1 yr experi-

ence in Sales & Marketing seeking

suitable job. Contact 97269189

IT Network Engineer with Bachelor

Degree, CCNA, RHCSA, RHCE seek-

ing suitable job in good Company.

Contact 99818601

B.E (Civil) Engineer looking for a

suitable placement, driving license


Civil Engineer (Diploma) looking for

an urgent placement.

Contact 95200650

Mechanical Engineer, B.Tech 4

yrs MNC experience, installation

commissioning & on-site repairs

/ maintenance of heavy mechani-

cal equipment. Contact 93387867,

mamgain9806@rediff mail.com

B.E Production / Diploma Fab-

rication, 2 yrs experience valid

PDO permit holder visa expiry on

26/01/2015. Contact 94270360,

+91 9925140499,

[email protected]

Mechanical Engineer, Indian male,

seeking suitable job on visit visa.

Contact 99796730, 92031312, email

: [email protected]

Indian male, B.E. Electrical Engineer

having 15 months experience in a

leading Indian Company, seeking

suitable placement. Now in Oman on

visit visa. Contact 92453891,


Civil Engineer (Pakistani) holding

light and private light license of

Oman. Contact 95980506

Mechanical Engineer, B.Tech, 3+

yrs exp. (2 yrs. in Oman) looking

for better prospects. NOC available.

Email : myopportunities2015@

gmail.com, 968 94403484

Civil Engineer, male, 25 yrs, 3 yrs

experience in site, CAD,3D, MS Pro-

ject, now in India, seeks job in Oman.

Contact 92887561,

[email protected]

B.Tech Civil Engineer since 9 yrs

in Oman experienced in Project

coordination / Quantity surveying,

looking forward to work with con-

tractor/ consultants/client. Email:

[email protected],

Contact 93457995

26, female, B.Tech in Electronics &

biomedical engineering with 1 And

Half yrs experience in medical fi eld

is seeking suitable job openings.


ph : 94652908

B.E, Civil Engineer, 7 yrs experience

(3 in UAE & 4 in Pak), skilled – MS

word. Excel, AutoCAD. # 98499008


MEDICAL

SECRETARIAL/OFFICE

Female 24 yrs Indian MBA and

IATA,1yr experience Ticketing &1.6yr

experience in Front offi ce looking

suitable jobs Travels, Admin& Front

offi ce .Oman on Family visa .

Contact 94614318

Indian female, well experienced

in secretarial, administration,

customer care & supervisory jobs.

5 years experience in Muscat.

Immediately available for joining.

Contact: 92139298

Civil Engineer, BE, 5 yrs experience,

minimum 2 yrs in Oman.

Contact : [email protected]

Indian male, 25 yrs, Electrical &

electronics Engineer, 7.8 CGPA, his-

tory of no backlogs, Zonal topper

in English Communication, with

Cambridge certifi cation, looking for

suitable position, 2 yrs experience.

Contact 93918271,

[email protected]

MSc. UK Graduated Indian Male

26yrs Looking for Research As-

sistant Post. MSc. Agriculture For

Sustainable Development (UK)

B.tech. Biotechnology. Currently on

Visit Visa Email: nithinalex@gmail.

com Contact: +968 91709479

Mechanical Engineer, Indian male,

6 yrs exp (3 yrs in GCC) seeks suit-

able openings. Have valid GCC driv-

ing license. Email : msfebco@gmail.

com. Contact 91228398

Telecommunication Engineer with

5 yrs experience in the Gulf.

Contact 95219822

Electrical Project Engineer, 4 yrs

experience OHL, Substations, Oil &

Gas fi eld, AutoCAD. D/L available.

Contact 95120225

Indian male, B.Tech (Electron-

ics & Electrical) working in Saudi

Arabia as Plant Manager for more

than 2 yrs, seeks suitable opening

in Oman. Contact +966593599187,

Email: [email protected].

Oman : 98875103, 99480523

Indian B.Tech Mechanical Engi-neer, 26 yrs, 4 yrs experience in

HVAC/MEP. Contact 94669629,

[email protected]

TOUR / TRAVELS

TECHNICIAN

SKILLED / UNSKILLED

Omani Man looking for a job with

experience in HR/ Admin/

accounting. # 99767666

Civil foreman maintenance D/L,

12 yrs in Oman, 2 yrs in Kuwait.

Contact 96405865, 99534138,

India - +91 7589248550,

+91 9464255409, email:

[email protected]

3 Years experienced Administra-

tive Executive seeking for Virtual

Admin Opportunities. Can work for

6 hours/day from a virtual location

for 100 RO/month. Call: 95811820

Seeking job, BTech Instrumenta-

tion, 12 years experience Design,

FEED, Detailed engineering, Oil

& Gas, Instrumentation systems,

Oman Driving license.

Email :- [email protected]

Mobile:- 00968 99048130

Graduate, Indian, having 6 yrs

experience in Sales with D/L, NOC


Sales & Marketing Indian male

MBA (marketing & sales) business

development experience at all levels

of management. Currently on visit

visa. Contact – 91272819

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

Skipper, fi shing vessels, 33 yrs

experience as Captain in Indian and

International waters, oceanography

and fi shery related research activi-

ties and management.

Contact 95775380 / 99616823

Indian male, 27 yrs, B.A. Economics,

Diploma in Fire & Safety, NEBOSH,

IOSH Certifi cation, 4 yrs experience

as Safety Offi cer in India, on visit

visa. Contact 97209656

BCA Gratuate, Indian male with 1yr

of exp in System Admin, IT Support,

Network Admin and 1yr exp as sales

Executive.CCNA,MCSE .looking for

suitable job. # 95938303

email- [email protected]

IT Professional, 7 yrs exp in Sys-

tem Administration, IT Support,

Networking etc. currently on visit

visa. Contact 94064579,


Female dentist with MOH license

and with Noc looking for suitable

placement in Muscat region

Contact no. 99147426

Indian female Pharmacist, 28 yrs

MOH license holder with 3 yrs expe-

rience seeking suitable placement.

Contact 94037178

Home nurse. Contact 99156191

Veterinary Doctor 4 years experi-

ence in Military Cattle farm, Pet

Animals & butchery, looking for a

suitable placement.

Contact: 97892349

Indian male Pharmacist (B.Pharma) 5 1/2 years experience

in Oman seeking suitable placement

in Muscat. NOC from the present

employer available.

CONTACT +968 98525100

Indian Female, Dentist fresher look-

ing for suitable placement.

Contact 98857686,


Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf

experience) looking for a suitable

job (NOC available)

Contact-93344378

Indian male, Instrumentation

Technician with 3 yrs Diploma &

1 yr exp in Maintenance Dept,

seeks job. Call +971554275155

Instrument Technician (M.Sc

Instrumentation) with 2 yrs experi-

ence (1 yr Indian + 1 yr in SABIC

Petro Chemical Plant, Saudi Arabia),

currently available in Muscat on

visit visa looking for a suitable posi-

tion in Oman. Contact 97165988,


IATA Certifi ed experienced Indian

Lady looking for job. Currently on

visit. Contact 94613747, 91339846

MBA Graduate 10+ exp FMCG food

serv. Sales channel/ Branch Man-

ager. Contact - 99185205

Indian male Graduate with 20+

years of Administration, Operations

& Management experience in IT,

Oil & Gas & Hospitality Industry. 12

years in Oman with vast contacts,

very strong management, operation-

al, communication and interper-

sonal skills, can handle any size of

business and projects whether it’s in

initial stage or established. Can join

immediately. Local release available

on request. Contact: 9906 4589

MBA, male, 31 yrs, 5 yrs Production

management exp, 1 yr sales experi-

ence, 4 yrs admin & accounts exp.

strong IT team management skills,

immediately available for joining.

Contact 94670691,

[email protected]

Indian male Graduate with 20+

years of Administration, Operations

& Management experience in IT,

Oil & Gas & Hospitality Industry. 12

years in Oman with vast contacts,

very strong management, operation-

al, communication and interper-

sonal skills, can handle any size of

business and projects whether it’s in

initial stage or established.

Can join immediately. Local release

available on request.

Contact: 9906 4589

Qualifi ed Manager: (12+ yrs. Oman

Exp.) Vast knowledge in A/c & Admin,

Costing, Banking, Credit Control,

Insurance, International Purchase/

Logistics & Finance, With D/L

looking for suitable position.

Gsm: 93826090


Indian female with nine years of

experience in 5 Star hotels as

Assistant Food & Beverage Manager

looking for a suitable placement

in a reputed Star hotel.

Contact: 91219787

General Manager / working partner

20 years in Dubai adverting agency

experience. Contact 93031168

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

B.E Mechanical Engineer, Indian

Male, 29, 5 years experience in

steel fabrication fi eld (piping and

structural) as site engineer. Look-

ing for suitable placement.

Contact 96115463.

[email protected].

INFORMATION TECH

IT Engineer, Indian male, 25 yrs

having 3 yrs experience in Techni-

cal Support (IT) Networking, Sales

Marketing, looking for a job.

Email ID : [email protected],

91687294

B.Tech IT, 1 yr experience pro-

gramming with asp.net visual

basic network certifi ed.

Contact 96748154

Indian Male 23 yrs – IT / Pre-

post Sales Consultant / Business

Analyst / Web Designing. 2 yrs. exp.

Languages-HTML5, WebRTC, Java,

CSS, C++, .Net, SQL, Oracle, ERP-Mi-

crosoft Dynamics CRM. Looking for

suitable job. Contact: 98802504,

email:[email protected]

IT support Technician, B.Sc computer science, 1 yr

experience in Desktop support &

3 months experience as System

administrator, Indian male, 25 yrs.


Contact 94525218

MCA Graduate, Offi ce mgmt typ-

ing speed 45-50 wpm, 5+ yrs of

experience in UAE & India.

Contact 98762816

Indian Male M.Sc electronics,

having 7.5 years of experience in IT

Hardware and Networking, seeking

placement. Contact: 97202522 mail:

[email protected]

B.Tech IT Professional, Indian

Male with 3 yrs of Exp. In System

Admin, IT Support, Networking,

Installing Active Directory, DHCP,

DNS,RAS, confi guring maintaining

and managing servers, confi gur-

ing cisco routers, Exp in handling

SQL database, With Valid Driving

Licence. Contact - 968 98863507

IT Prof, MCA having 6+ yrs exp,

seeks suitable position. #94543668

IT Professional, Indian male, B.Sc

Graduate with 4+ yrs Gulf (UAE)

good exp in System Administration,

IT Support, Server Desktop, laptop,

smartboard, datashow biometric,

CCTV, currently on visit visa.

# 98936548, [email protected]

MBA Finance, 6 yrs exp in Sales

& Marketing with Omani Driving

License seeks suitable placement.

Contact 94685706

Indian male, MBA 9+ yrs Oman exp

in Sales & Marketing in FMCG (F &

B) sector on a Supervisor / manage-

rial role with D/L & Local NOC avail-

able. Contact 97912789

Young female, having experience

of working in Oman with expertise

in the fi eld of Event Management,

Advertising, Marketing and Hotel

Management. Currently on a visit

visa. Seeking for a suitable Job.

Contact 96153578

Sri Lankan Salesman cum driver

with NOC. Contact 97265733

MBA Marketing Pakistani Male,

38 yrs having 10 yrs experience

in Oman, sales & marketing of

industrial equipments and cars with

Oman Driving License on visit visa.

Contact 99189286

Indian male, Diploma in Automobile

& BBA, 8 yrs experience in Sales

looking for a job in Sales.

Contact 94480382

MBA Professional with Omani

Driving License seeking Sales or

Marketing job. Contact 94143154,

[email protected]

Indian male, 25yrs, MBA in HR/

Marketing.6yrs exp with MNC and

pharma. Presently in family visit

visa looking for suitable placements.

Contact no-94657379/ 96645182

Indian male, 7 yrs Gulf exp in Sales

(Indoor – Outdoor), looking for job.

Contact 99433816 / 93159202

15 years experience in Business

Development , marketing, purchase –

UAE & Oman-staff coordination, doc-

umentation, civil & technical main-

tenance, -valid GCC license-looking

for working partnership or manage-

ment post. Contact:91568362 /

Email [email protected]

Indian Male, MBA in Marketing and

Finance, 10 years’ Sales & Business

Development Experience with valid

D/L of Oman & UAE looking for a

suitable placement. NOC Available.

Contact: 93969961

e-mail [email protected]

Indian Male, 7 yrs experience in

building materials trading having

Oman D/L, immediate release avail-

able. Contact 98676713

18 yrs Oman experience in Building

Materials seeking suitable placement,


Indian male, 22 yrs, BBM Gradu-

ate looking for suitable job in sales/

marketing, currently on visit visa.

Contact 91757222, email :

[email protected]

SALES / MARKETING

ACC. AVAILABLE

SIT.WANTED

SIT.WANTED

Room with separate toilet and WiFi,

Wadi Kabir near pencil building.

Contact 93416854

Offi ce space near KFC, Al Khu-

wair, offi ce basement near Mars, Al

Ghubrah, double & single bedroom

fl at Al Ghubrah near Mars and Wadi

Kabir near Lulu. Contact 95755551 /

92222045

Furnished single room with

attached bathroom near Mars

Hypermarket, Al Ghubrah. Contact

97312111, RO 150/- per month

2 Bedroom fl at for offi ces with

furniture near Al Manaf Hotel, Ghala.

Contact 99525743, 99439705

Excellent 3 bedrooms , 2 sitting

rooms, 3 bathrooms, kitchen & store

with A/C. 92817777

Quality Assurance Offi cer, ISO

Quality System Internal Auditor, BSc

Graduate, female 27,

with 4 years experience seeks

suitable placement.

Contact [email protected]

Microbiologist & Quality Assurance Executive, BSc Graduate,

female, 27 with 4 yrs experience in

food industry looking for a

suitable placement.


Logistics Offi cer, Experience in

Store keeping.

Contact : 99505934

Graduate, Indian, having 6 yrs

experience in Sales with D/L, NOC


MATRIMONIAL

Keralite girl, 26 (160), BSC Nurse at

South America seeks suitable alli-

ance. Contact 94413100, 98335340

Proposals are invited from parents

of professionally qualifi ed Nair Boys

for 24 year old Upper Middle Class

Nair girl hail from Trivandrum, (171

cm, Star-Bharani) employed in a

reputed Company in Oman. Contact:

0968-9950 2593 /99798041.

(KM ID.2844689)

MANPOWER

NRI

For NRI’s only : 9 cents plot for

sale in Akshra Nagar, Chittur Road,

2 KM from Palakkad Town.

Contact 99529304

35.6 cents residential land (plus

4.5 cents area) high profi le gated

community, 7.2 kms from sims

park, Coonoor kothagiri highway

Tamil Nad, granite wall built fac-

ing main road, premium property

breathtaking view of valley, for

sale price rs.750/per sq.ft.

Contact Sukumar Menon -

+968-94080269

For Astrological consultation,

Jathakam. # 99860435 / 97102599

Villa for sale 2200 sq ft in 8 cent.

Kottayam. Contact: 92652534

Land for sale, 13.2 cents prime

residential land near Perourkada

Junction on Vattiyoorkavu Road,

Trivandrum at 12L per cent.

Contact 92973928

Furnished house for sale near

Vattiyoorkavu, Thiruvananthapu-

ram, 5 cents, 220 SQ Ft. Contact

96099215 / 99016230

Indian female, Accountant. having

+5 years experience in Oman till

Nov 2014. seeking suitable place-

ment. NOC available. currently in

family visa. Contact :98447045,

email:[email protected]

28 year Indian male with 7yrs of

experience in Accounts & Finance

up to fi nalisation in Construction

Oil & Gas and also in Manufactur-

ing industries with Oman D/L seek-

ing suitable placement. Contact me

on 97104364 .

email:[email protected].

Indian male, 26 yrs - MBA Gradu-

ate with 3 yrs of Experience in

Banking ( Standard Chartered Bank

Scope International - Operations)

&Coff ee Vending Machine (Fresh

& Honest Cafe ltd - Operations)

on Visit Visa seeking placement.

Contact 91267867

Genuine Ayurvedic treatments &

massage, Ayurvedic clinic at Al Khu-

wair. Contact 24478618 / 97263637

/93309131

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

Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain,

backache, paralysis, massage, steam

bath, obesity, spondylitis, ideal

care Ayurvedic Clinic, 18 November

Street, Azaiba. Contact 99639695 /

99117987

GOOD NEWS

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624





BUYING/SELLING

Looking for purchase of Used Portable Compressor (350 CFM,

7 Bar Pressure) powered

with Diesel run Generator.

Kindly Contact 99014686 or

[email protected]

Used household & offi ce furniture and

electronic items. Contact 99834373,

97102699

Looking for commercial lands for

sale in Al Ghobrah North (urgent

serious buyers, commercial lands in

al Ghobrah North (corners prime loca-

tion). Contact 91155779

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SITUATION WANT-SERVICES

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing,

Contact 99314807/24792998

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your

marble. # 24793614/ 99314807

Cheapest Prices, all types win-

dow, curtains and blind.

Contact 99539521

Computer service/ AMC/ Net-

working. Contact 93552434

Pest Control Treatments!!! Termites! Cockroaches! Bedbugs!

Ocean Centre LLC. #99344723

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QA-

BAS- 99320217 /24788722

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QA-

BAS- 99320217 /24788722

Door to Door Computers repair

specialist laptop software Website

cartridges. Contact 99199376

A.M Trading Pest control.Contact 99067923

Split & window A/C servicing &

maintenance. Contact 93769089

Carpet & Sofa Shampooing.

Ocean Centre LLC. # 99884591

Maintenance – 1) A/C Mainte-

nance, 2)fridge, washing machine

& dish washer repairing, 3)paint-

ing & cleaning services, 4)electri-

cal & plumbing carpentry work.

# 99447257 / 97014234 / 24504281

GULF INTERNATIONAL LLC

all kind of pest control.

Contact 92326955

For All Your Maintenance Solu-

tions, A/c Servicing & Fixing,

Painting, Cleaning, Electric. Contact

99002390

Carpet & sofa cleaning, house clean-

ing. Contact 99542979 / 98855815

Building Caretaker, Gulf Experi-

enced, knows Arabic, Hindi English

Ph : 94304348

For All Your Maintenance Solutions,

A/c Servicing & Fixing, Painting,

Cleaning, Electric. # 99002390

Water proofi ng ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

Civil Maintenance, Painting Elec-

tric, Plumbing, Decor, Tile Fixing,

Lecithin Copra Board fl at stifl ing ,

Carpet Cleaning and A/C Servic-

ing. Contact 97897831 (Indian

keralite)

Waterproofi ng, light weight Screed,

Antitermite and MS Fabrication.

Contact 92888337

Electrical Plumbing Painting

Contract and Maintenance.

Contact 98456535

House shifting transport. Contact

99657644, 98518013

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile

polishing, pest control & anti-ter-

mite treatment, general cleaning

painting, Plumbing, Electrical,

shifting. Contact Mundhir Al-

Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C. # 24810137,

99450130

CLASSES

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intelli-

gence (BI) creation and man-

agement at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

COMPUTER

LOST

CHANGE OF NAME

Al Manar Vocational pleased to an-

nounce at vocational short and long

term courses in tailoring, cooking

and internal design. Contact us now :

24698070 or 91144335

PRO services. Contact 99368907

Fast & Right Way - For all PR relat-

ed works – permanent Visa stamp-

ing, family visiting visa holders,

clients contacts – with NOC letter

with signed & sealed photocopy

documents . # 91568362

Catering services We do industrial

catering service, Canteen/ mess,

3 times packed meals,

and all types of catering events.

Contact 92188777/99249899

For HT cable jointing and

termination works 33KV/11KV.

Contact 99056438 /


Painting Interlock plumbing

maintenance. Contact 92142319

BUSINESS

My client needs to buy Residential

land or villa in Al Ghubra Bahar

Factory area. Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

Excellent investment, business and

earning opportunity in Sultanate

of Oman and other GCC countries.

Looking for investors and sponsors

(Omani Nationals only). For meet-

ing and discussions please call on

91285860

Wanted dentist or investor to buy a

well-running dental clinic in Sohar

immediately. Contact 92625962,

95904234

We assist in new business set up

local sponsorship, real estate ser-

vices, assist in company formation

services. Contact - 93166088

AVAILABLE

Established Restaurant for rent

with sponsorship. # 97628242

Party & Wedding equipment rent-

als. Full line, from Tables, Linen

& Skirting, Chairs & Chair covers,

Cutlery, Crockery, Glassware, Chaf-

ing 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: [email protected]

We, Parameshwaran Ravi (name

of father as per the passport, holder

of Indian Passport No. L3320623)

and Sangeeta Parameshwaran

(name of mother as per the pass-

port, holder of Indian Passport No.

L3320622) having permanent

address in H.No.2, Gayatri Niwas,

Ajabpurkala, Saket Colony, Dhar-

ampur, Dehradun, 248001 (com-

plete postal address in India) and

presently residing at the following

address in P.B.No 792, P.C.No 133,

Sultanate of Oman, hereby solemn-

ly affi rm and declare to change the

name of our child Miss Sara (name

as per present passport), holder

of Indian Passport No. L9527861,

date of issue 22/05/14 issued at

Muscat. The name of our child will

be henceforth known as Yanti Rani

(new name) for all purposes. Any

objection towards change of name

of our minor child may please

be communicated to Embassy of

India, Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters,

Al Khuwair, P.B. No 1727, Postal

Code 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman.

Rosnaeni has lost Indian Pass-

port No. AS117224. Finder please

handover to ROP.

Nurul Alam has lost Bangladeshi

Passport AC6124643. Finder

please handover to ROP.


DAILY GUIDE

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with

Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine

Tours # 98029602, 92808636

TOURS

TOURSRENT A CAR

DRIVING

M.V. FOR SALE

Tucson V-6, 2007, automatic

RO 2500/-. Contact 99384640

Expat Prado VX6, model 2008,

excellent condition, 2 fuel tanks, 180

ltrs, cool box, leather seats, 122500

kms, last Toyota Service in Jan

2015. Contact 99435226

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation. Contact 93405941


Transportation available.

Contact 95570429

Pick & drop anytime in al Khuwair.

Contact 99764307


Transportation with car & driver.

(VIP’s only). Contact 95040768

Pick & Drop any time. # 97014786


Transportation available 99159277


Transportation Available

Contact 97180655

L/R Discovery, 2003,

KM 1,60,000. Contact 99238877

Prado 2012. Contact 99336093

FOR HIRE

FOR HIRE

TRUCK FOR HIREIsuzu 10 ton cargo body truck

(2012 FVR) with UAE experienced driver

available for long term / short term rent.

Contact: 95346950

Five tower cranes with operators.

(50 m height, 55m boom length

and 2.5 tons lifting capacity at Jib).

Please contact : ravin0225@gmail.

com or call 96529679

Pajero 3.8 v6 full option, 2008

model expat driven single owner,

excellent condition, accident free,

217k. Contact - 92590781

Lexus GS300, 2006.

Contact 93218349

Running truck wash for rent in

Ouhi Sunia Sohar. Serious people

can. Contact on 97864747

50 seater bus with PDO specifi ca-

tion for rent or lease. # 99839898

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text,

should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication.

* Subject to space availability

M.V.WANTED

Required Nissan Tida / Toyota

yaris / Suzuki swift / hyundai/Kia

hatchback car in good condition.

Contact 95405033






Party booking & sugges�ons 99320065, 99341643

Indian, Arabic, Chinese dishes, Buffet Lunch

(On Friday)Indoor & Outdoor, Catering, Party hall

availableTake Away & Home Delivery

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