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THURSDAY, August 6, 2015 / 20 Shawwal 1436 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of congratulations to President Juan Evo Morales of Bolivia on the oc-casion of his country’s Independ-ence Anniversary.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his sincere con-gratulations along with his best wishes to President Morales and the Bolivian people.

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has also sent a cable of con-gratulations to Dr. Patrick Linton Allen, Governor-General of Ja-maica on the occasion of his coun-try’s Independence Anniversary.

In his cable, His Majesty ex-pressed his sincere congratula-tions along with his best wishes of good health and happiness to Dr. Allen and his country’s people fur-ther progress and prosperity. -ONA

B O L I V I A , J A M A I C A

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria in reply to His Majesty’s congratu-latory cable on the occasion of his country’s 53rd Independence An-niversary. In his cable, President Bouteflika expressed his utmost thanks for His Majesty’s sincere feelings and best wishes, praying to Allah the Almighty to grant His Majesty continuous health and wellbeing to achieve aspirations of progress and prosperity for the Omani people. -ONA

A L G E R I A

FAHAD AL GHADANIfahadnews@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Calls from people trapped in vehicles trying to cross wadis are on the increase, but most of the incidents could have been averted if the public paid attention to flash flood warnings, said the authorities.

“In the past week, our forces have been out nearly every day and night trying to rescue people behaving irresponsi-bly,” said a Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA) official.

While stressing that they were still putting together the number of rescue operations conducted so far, the official reminded, “People should remember that we lost one member of the PACDA staff last year while he was trying to save a person stuck in a vehicle in a wadi. Every day we risk our lives rescuing the public, but behind the scene we have lost some of our finest staffers.”

“In all, we have lost more than

three emergency service person-nel last year during different mis-sions rescuing people who were trapped,” he said.

Besides, there are many who are injured during these rescue operations.

Paying the price“They had to pay the price for the mistakes of others,” said the of-ficer, and added that most of the people are rescued after hours of intensive efforts.

As it has been reported, people acted irresponsibly and contin-ued to enter areas where flash flood warnings had been issued.

While on Tuesday night sev-

eral people were rescued by the PACDA personnel from two trapped cars in Wadi Al Fiad in Al Buraimi governorate, last Fri-day four persons trapped inside a vehicle in Al Haja Wadi in Dahiar region were rescued. Also, two people lost their lives in Wadi Al Shahoom in Ibri.

The PACDA official said that besides all these incidents, video clips of people crossing wadis were being circulated on social media, which proves that they do not take the PACDA messages seriously. “Our officials try their best to spread awareness among the public but people do not seem to care,” added the officer. >A6

PACDA staffers risk

their lives rescuing

people behaving

irresponsibly and

some staff have even

lost their lives

A5Mobile outlets for Salalah tourists

INDIAHostages overpower terrorist after attack

2A suspected Pakistani militant was captured after a deadly attack

on a para-military convoy in the India-administered Kashmir region. This follows a recent attack on a police station in Punjab state in which seven people were killed. >A9

PAKISTANWasim Akram fired at, escapes unhurt

3Pakistani cricket legend Wasim Akram said he was lucky to escape

unscathed when a gunman opened fire at his car after a traffic collision. Akram, one of the best left-arm fast bowlers ever to play the game, was on his way to coach at a training camp. >A11

OMANBullet-hit Saudi girl is back home

1The father of Zainab Labbad, the Saudi girl who was struck by a stray bullet in Musandam Governorate more than a week ago, has praised the Omani authorities for taking care of his

daughter. >A2

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

FAHAD AL GHADANIfahadnews@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Private ferry opera-tors should be subject to strict safety regulations, urged resi-dents of Masirah.

“The 40 people were lucky to survive. All safety regula-tions were ignored on the ferry that sank between Shinnah and Masirah. There were no tow boats, no life jackets, and the boat was in very bad condi-tion,” said Khamis Abdullah, a Masirah resident.

He said once the ban on pri-vate ferry operators is lifted, licences should be granted

only to those who abide by all the regulations. “Their licence should be renewed on a yearly basis,” he said.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications con-firmed that the reasons for sink-ing of the ferry were overload-ing and the failure to distribute heavy loads evenly. >A6

S I N K I N G O F F E R R Y

Call to strictly regulate private ferry operators

Daily danger for Oman rescuers

MUSCAT: As delegated by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, His Highness Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al Said left for Egypt on Wednesday to attend the open-ing ceremony of the new Suez Canal on Thursday.

Sayyid Shihab is accompanied by Sheikh Khalid bin Omar Al Mar-hoon, Minister of Civil Service, Dr. Abdul Monem bin Mansour Al Hassani, Minister of Information and Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali Al Har-thy, Oman’s envoy to Egypt. -ONA

S U E Z C A N A L O P E N I N G

Sayyid Shihab leaves for Egypt

HM sends greetings

HM receives thanks cable

A2 T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

OMANBullet-hit Saudi girl is back home

Times News Service

MUSCAT: The father of Zainab Labbad, the Saudi girl who was struck by a stray bullet in Mu-sandam Governorate more than a week ago, has praised the Om-ani authorities for taking care of his daughter.

Zainab reached Dammam in Saudi Arabia after undergoing a successful surgery to remove the bullet that was lodged in her left cheek, reported Saudi news-paper Alyoum.

Upon their arrival at King Fahad International Airport in Dammam, the family and Zainab were greeted by airport officials

and members of the media, along with family and friends.

Zainab’s father, Mohammad Hussein Labbad, praised the Om-ani Ministry of Health for their constant attention towards his child’s health.

Ministry’s support“The ministry took the respon-sibility of transporting the child and family in a private plane from Musandam to Muscat. They also had doctors, consultants and nurses monitor the child con-stantly,” said Labbad.

He also added that Al Nahda

Hospital monitored the child from the time she was admitted till the time she was discharged. The hospital also granted Zain-ab’s family open visiting hours and said that they also threw par-ty to celebrate the child’s success-ful surgery. “She is much better now,” he assured.

The Saudi Arabian embassy is currently co-ordinating with the Sultanate’s authorities on the criminal case against the shooter.

The Royal Oman Police has arrested the accused and is ex-pected to complete legal pro-ceedings soon.

Zainab’s father,

Mohammad Hussein

Labbad, praised

Oman’s Ministry

of Health for their

constant attention

towards his child’s

healthRECOVERING: Representatives of the Public Relations Depart-ment at the Royal Oman Police (ROP) visited the girl at Al Nahdha Hospital.- ONA

Bid to smuggle people in car trunk foiledTimes News Service

MUSCAT: An attempt to smug-gle two people through Al Saara’a border post into the Sultanate, was foiled by the Royal Oman Police (ROP).

The two illegal migrants were found in the trunk of a vehicle

driven by a citizen who was help-ing them to enter the country. The two were found without legal documents.

Wadi Al Fiad rescuePeople trapped in two cars in Wadi Al Fiad of the Al Buraimi Governorate were rescued on

Tuesday night, tweeted the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance.

The rescuers and police per-sonnel managed to rescue those on board without any of the vic-tims suffering injuries.

They also managed to pull out the vehicle from the wadi.

R O P A C T I O N

The ministry took the responsibility of transporting the child and family in a private plane from Musandam to MuscatMohammad Hussein Labbad, Zaibnab’s father

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OMAN 7 mobile vehicles launched in Salalah will be used as outlets for the sale of fast foods, meals, juices, fruits and craft industries products.>A5

Asian arrested on murder chargeTimes News Service

MUSCAT: A man of Asian na-tionality was arrested by the Royal Oman Police (ROP) on the charge of murdering a fellow national.

A statement from the ROP said that the alleged killer was arrested by the Directorate General for Criminal Investigations within 48 hours of the murder as investiga-tions were launched immediately.

The incident took place in Khabourah.

Lt Col Abdullah Al Zaidi, direc-tor general of Criminal Investiga-tions and Inquiry from the ROP, North Al Batinah, said, “Search operations commenced immedi-ately to find the killer, who was of the same nationality as the victim. Investigations led us to his loca-tion in Wilayat Al Suwaiq where he was arrested.”

The suspect confessed to his crime, he added. “The victim was struck on the head with a steel bar which resulted in him collapsing.

The suspect then stabbed him to death,” said the official.

As for the motive, Lt. Col. Al Zai-di said, “He committed the murder because of “personal reasons” and there was no financial dispute or anything else on those lines be-tween him and the victim.”

Meanwhile, during the police operation, a group of labourers were also arrested after they were found violating the labour and residency laws.

R O P O P E R A T I O N

IMMEDIATE ACTION: The alleged killer was arrested within 48 hours of the crime.

BLAZE IN GHALA PESTICIDES STORE BROUGHT UNDER CONTROLA fire, which broke out in a store belonging to the directorate general of gardens and landscaping of Muscat Municipality in Ghala industrial area early this morning, has been brought under control, Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA) said. The store contained pesticides, PACDA informed. No injuries were reported. — Photos courtesy PACDA

Omani scholar breaks new research grounds

Times News Service

MUSCAT: An Omani researcher has been involved with a team of scientists from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, which has demonstrated for the first time how to generate magnetism in metals that are not naturally magnetic, which could end our reliance on some rare and toxic elements currently used.

The outcome of the study that has been published in the jour-nal ‘Nature’, detail a way to al-ter the quantum interactions of matter in order to ‘fiddle the numbers’ in a mathemati-cal equation that determines whether elements are magnetic, called the Stoner Criterion.

Fatma Al Ma’Mari, the co-lead author of the article, is a lecturer in the Department of Physics

of the College of Science at the Sultan Qaboos University, and is pursuing her PhD in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leeds.

Commenting on the research, Al Ma’Mari said, “being able to generate magnetism in materials that are not naturally magnetic

opens new paths to devices that use abundant and hazardless ele-ments, such as carbon and copper.”

Magnets are used in many in-dustrial and technological ap-plications, including power gen-eration in wind turbines, memory storage in hard disks and in medi-cal imaging. “Future technologies, such as quantum computers, will require a new breed of magnets with additional properties to in-crease storage and processing ca-pabilities. Our research is a step towards creating such ‘magnetic metamaterials’ that can fulfil this need,” said Al Ma’Mari.

Al Ma’Mari joined the Con-densed Matter Physics group at the University of Leeds in October 2012 to do her PhD in conjunction with Sultan Qaboos University.

Fatma’s research is to enable the fabrication

of devices that can be used for magnetic field

sensing for future data storage technologies

Fatma Al Ma’Mari

Bait Al Zubair exhibits ‘hands on heritage’ at Salalah festival

Times News Service

MUSCAT: For the second con-secutive year, Bait Al Zubair is holding an exhibition at the Sala-lah Festival from August 5 to Au-gust 9 in the Oman Hall at the mu-nicipality recreation centre.

Bait Al Zubair will be exhibiting their curated selection of pieces from the unique Omani heritage collection along with a panel ex-hibition about the museum. The exhibition is complemented by a ‘hands on heritage’ selection where people can hold, feel and examine the historical items. It will also include a selection of photographs taken by Moham-mad Al Zubair.

Titled ‘Moments’, the exhibition consists of a wide variety of land-scapes and seascapes both inside and outside Oman. Through this exhibition, Mohammad Al Zubair wanted to share with people his experience and enjoyment of the moments recorded by his camera.

In these moments, at differ-ent places and times, one sees the combination of the magic of nature, the ability of the creator and what he offered to humanity through arts and technology.

The photographer has chosen to present his scenes and moments in a new form using the latest im-aging techniques and printing on aluminium plates. As people see them, they feel as if they were pre-sent when it happened.

Fahad Al Hasni, exhibition and collection manager at Bait Al Zubair said, “Our participation at the Salalah Festival is aimed at highlighting the rich Omani herit-age and the role of Bait Al Zubair to link people with their heritage through our collection. We hope that through this exhibition peo-ple can get a feel of our wonderful collection, and be encouraged to visit and learn, and also be a part of

Oman’s rich heritage and contem-porary art.”

The wide range of collections and Omani artefacts displayed at Bait Al Zubair go back a number of centuries and are considered the finest privately owned collections in Oman. Bait Al Zubair consists of five separate buildings. These are Bait Al Bagh, Bait Al Dalaleel, Bait Al Oud, Bait Al Nahdhah and Gallery Sarah, as well as a garden with a number of traditional fea-tures, a café and a gift shop.

One of the best heritage sites in the country, Bait Al Zubair in Muscat is open to the public from Saturday to Thursday between 9.30 am and 6.00 pm.

A R T S H O W

ARTISTIC TREAT: Titled ‘Moments’, the exhibition consists of a wide variety of landscapes and seascapes both inside and outside Oman.–Supplied photos

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OMANT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

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Mobile outlets for Salalah tourists

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Agreements to launch mobile tourism services at Salalah Port were signed on Wednesday.

Among other elements, the agreement will finance the man-ufacture of seven mobile vehi-cles that will be used as outlets for the sale of fast foods, meals, juices, fruits and craft indus-tries products.

Maitha bint Saif Al Mahrouqi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Tourism, said that this project builds upon the success of the tourism services stations in Ja-bal Al Akhdar in the governorate of Al Dakhiliyah. The project

will be launched from Salalah Port to meet the needs of in-bound tourists and will be rolled over later to the tourist sites in Dhofar Governorate.

The finance agreement was signed on Wednesday at the Min-istry of Tourism by Al Mahrouqi, Awadh bin Hassan Al Shanfari, CEO of Salalah Methanol, Tariq bin Suleiman Al Farsi, CEO of Al Raffd Fund and Nassir bin Mubarak Al Alawi, Acting CEO of the Public Authority for SMEs Development ‘Riyada’.

The agreement will allow the private sector to support tourism initiatives and SMEs that will benefit the local community. It is also aimed at providing technical

support and training to owners of SMEs.

A team of the respective stake-holders will be formed to super-vise the implementation of the project and develop guidelines for financial facilities, their terms, beneficiaries and the criteria that should be met by applicants.

The team will select entre-preneurs as per the preset ob-jective criteria and after co-ordinating with the respective stakeholders to provide train-ing for entrepreneurs who will work on the project.

The team will submit regular progress reports and will follow up on the performance of the en-trepreneurs.

The mobile tourism

plan will be launched

from Salalah to meet

the needs of inbound

tourists

MOBILE FACILITIES: The pact will finance the manufacture of seven mobile vehicles that will be used as outlets for the sale of fast food, meals, juices, fruits and craft industries products.– Supplied photos

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OMANT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

As the national airline of the Sultanate, Oman Air enjoys a proud history of supporting a range of community-based and educational initiativesPaul Gregorowitsch, chief executive officer of Oman Air

Oman Air, partners to aid special students

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman Air is partner-ing with the Public Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises and the Al Raffad Fund to help empower students with special needs in Oman.

The partnership resulted in a workshop, held in Muscat, which emphasised the importance of providing financial backing for such students to develop their skills and provide them with a vo-cation. In addition, a presentation was made to the students.

In the course of the presenta-tion, the significance of economic independence, and the steps to create one’s own business were explained.

The availability of practical and financial support provided by the Al Raffad Fund was also outlined.

Participants expressed their gratitude for Oman Air’s efforts in creating opportunities for students with additional sup-port needs.

The event represented a con-

tinuation of Oman Air’s educa-tional and community engage-ment in Oman.

It was the latest in a series of ed-ucational activities and corporate social responsibility initiatives undertaken by Oman Air with the aim of promoting self-devel-opment, social entrepreneurship, and the creation of sustainable development solutions.

Paul Gregorowitsch, chief exec-utive officer of Oman Air, said, “As

the national airline of the Sultan-ate, Oman Air enjoys a proud his-tory of supporting a range of com-munity-based and educational initiatives. We are therefore very pleased to be continuing this work by joining with the Public Author-ity for Small and Medium enter-prises and the Al Raffad Fund to run this important workshop.

“The continued economic and industrial success of Oman de-pends on its young people. Iden-tifying their abilities, supporting their education and training, and empowering them to achieve their full potential are a priority,” he said.

“This workshop has aimed to raise awareness of the importance of meeting the needs of all our stu-dents. It has also provided practi-cal guidance and advice about independent living and where further support can be accessed. And it has highlighted the vital importance of Oman’s SME sec-tor in providing the economic and

social opportunities which will enable today’s students to develop thriving careers. We look forward to seeing all today’ students, in-cluding those with special needs, become tomorrow’s employment success stories,” he added.

Dr Khalid bin Abdul Wahab Al Balushi, senior manager, Govern-ment Relations and Sustainable Development at Oman Air, who organised the workshop said

Capabilities“Oman Air takes every available opportunity to develop the capa-bilities of young Omanis through training programmes. Wherever possible, this is achieved in col-laboration with partners such as government departments, charitable organisations and the private sector. Through these efforts and initiatives, Oman Air is proud to contribute to the enrichment and well-being of all Oman’s students, especially those with special needs.”

The national carrier

joined hands with

the Public Authority

for Small and

Medium Enterprises

and the Al Raffad

Fund to help

empower students

with special needs in

the Sultanate

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Participants expressed their gratitude for Oman Air’s efforts in creating opportunities for students with additional support needs. – Supplied photo

The event represented

a continuation of

Oman Air’s educational

and community

engagement in Oman

Inclusive education and motivation are key to better future of childrenTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Focus was on inclu-sive education at a one-day work-shop on the challenges and man-agement in inclusive education. The workshop was hosted by In-dian School Salalah at the school auditorium for teachers handling classes from Kindergarten to Class VIII on August 1.

A press release issued by the school said, inclusive education is concerned with removing all bar-riers related to learning, with the participation of learners vulner-able to exclusion and marginality. It addresses to common goals of decreasing or overcoming all ex-clusion from education.

Indian School Salalah has al-ways been instrumental in facili-tating learning, the release added.

The inaugural session was graced by Ram Santhanam, presi-dent of the school management committee (SMC), SMC members Dr Debashish Bhattacharya, C Vi-nay Kumar, and Rajput Dhanraj, Dr Lovely Eugene, occupational therapist at the Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah, T R Brown, principal, Omana Mathews, vice principal, S Srinivasan, assistant vice principal, Dr Aruna Shukla, counsellor, various department heads and in-charges.

Jane D’mello, faculty in Eng-

lish, welcomed the gathering and gave a detailed introduction of the resource person Simmi Santha, a behavioural therapist.

Outlining the purpose and im-portance of the workshop, Santha said that teachers face numerous challenges in implementing in-clusive education and urged the audience to think about it from their point of view.

In the first session, points such as intellectual difference, sensory disabilities, communication dis-abilities, and speech and language difficulties, in addition to physical and health difficulties, behaviour-

al disorders and development dis-abilities were discussed in detail.

The second session was con-ducted by Dr Eugene. She began with brain gym exercises and edu-cational kinesiology where the teachers enjoyed doing various exercises. The session was then continued by Santha.

She stressed on the importance of teachers’ attitudes towards special children. She also men-tioned that a special child should be placed with normal peers, and special services should be en-sured while such children are be-ing enrolled in regular classes, as

it would help them to interact as much as possible with his or her normal peers.

At this juncture, Dr Debashish added his opinion on a question asked by a teacher. He said that every teacher faces autistic chil-dren in his or her class and they should know each child.

Later, Santha conducted a ses-sion for parents of children with special needs. After a brief in-teraction with the parents, she asked them about their feelings of being a parent of a child with special needs.

Great careShe spoke to them about han-dling the children with great care, love and affection. She also motivated them by giving valua-ble suggestions and advised them individually to accept their chil-dren as they are.

Moreover, a formation of a Special Needs Children’s paren-tal group, who would meet once a month, was suggested.

At the end of the session, while thanking the resource person, Santhanam said, “the workshop on inclusive education is a ser-vice.” Santhanam and Brown presented a memento to Santha, while Mythili Narayanan, pri-mary in-charge, proposed a vote of thanks.

W O R K S H O P

REMOVING BARRIERS: Speakers stressed the need for taking care of children with special needs. Photo-Supplied

RIO DE JANEIRO: To showcase the Sultanate’s rich culture and heritage, as well as its diverse tour-ism and cultural potentials, “Oma-ni Cultural Days” was organised in Rio de Janeiro.

Under the patronage of Pedro Spadale, Deputy Minister for In-ternational Relations of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the opening cer-emony of the Omani Cultural Days was held at France-Brazil House in Rio de Janeiro.

The ceremony was held in the presence of Sheikh Hamad bin Hi-lal Al Ma’amari, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture for Cultural Affairs, Has-san bin Mohammed Al Lawatia, Advisor of Minister of Heritage and Culture, Dr. Khalid bin Said

Al Jaradi, Sultanate’s Ambassa-dor to Brazil and Dr. Mohammed Al Ma’amari, Scientific Advisor at the office of Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs.

Al Jaradi said that organising the Omani cultural days in Brazil coincides with the 450th anniver-sary of the establishment of Rio de Janeiro city.

On his turn, Deputy Minister for International Relations of the State of Rio de Janeiro said that his country looks forward to expand the relations with Oman to cover the cultural and intellectual areas.

He affirmed that this occasion is a great opportunity for the Bra-zilian people to get familiarised with the Sultanate’s heritage and civilisation. -ONA

O M A N I C U L T U R A L D A Y S

BOOSTING TIES: The cultural days highlight the Sultanate’s rich heritage as well as its diverse tourism and cultural potentials.– ONA

Omani heritage, tourism potential showcased in Rio

‘Act like responsible citizens’“We repeated calls made earlier this week to avoid areas where rains and flash floods have been reported,” he said.

Most wadis in several areas which have been receiving heavy rainfall are overflowing.

Sultan Al Abri, Majlis Al Shu-ra member from Ibri said, “We should not take our officials for granted. They are there to pro-tect us. We should not give them a chance to risk their lives for us. Instead we have to act like re-

sponsible citizens.” “It has been raining in different places in Oman. People should not enter the wadis well aware that there are in imminent danger. As ex-perts have been telling us vehicles behave differently when driven in water,” said Al Abri.

Mark Pudwell, business de-velopment and training man-ager, Competence HR, said that a weather event many kilometres away can affect wadis and that conditions may change rapidly,

so this requires everyone to be ex-tremely vigilant.

He also believed that failing to heed warnings is not only ir-responsible but could cost you your life and potentially that of a would-be rescuer.

R I S K I N G L I V E S

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Sinking of ferryFollowing the sinking of ferry on Tuesday, Ministry of Trans-port and Communications has banned all private ferries from operating until the investiga-tions are complete.

Masirah residents have also re-iterated the call for the early con-struction of the bridge connecting

Shinnah and Masirah.The bridge, which would be

around 18 kilometres long, was suggested by the government to ease the movement of people from Masirah to other areas.

“This will promote tourism and economic prospects in Masira Is-land,” he said.

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REGIONT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

Outages in the Libyan capital Tripoli lasting up to 18 hours a day have forced the country’s biggest steel company to close as well as dozens of bakeries and petrol stations.

Yemenis stock food and fuel after ships diversion order

SANAA/ADEN: Residents in the Yemeni capital Sanaa are stock-ing up on rare food and fuel sup-plies after the government in exile decided to divert aid ships from the Houthi rebel-held north to loyalist areas farther south.

Sources in Yemen’s govern-ment confirmed the move, though there has been no official an-nouncement, and Yemen’s exiled information minister said on Tuesday that commercial flights would be diverted from the capi-tal to the southern port of Aden.

The decisions come as south-ern fighters backed by weapons and air strikes by Gulf countries and allies have made rapid gains on southern battlefields against the Houthi rebels.

A Saudi-led alliance has been bombing Yemen’s dominant group since March in support of the country’s exiled leadership, which now seeks to reestablish its base from Aden.

Fears“Gas stations have closed, and there are fears that the coali-tion will impose a siege on Sanaa and the cities of the north. We’re afraid,” said Ali Saleh, who was searching for ways to fill up his taxi. “Everybody’s afraid of the possibility that fighting will break out in Sanaa, and we ask God to protect us,” he said.

Residents in the capital scram-bled to stock up on food from stores as the black market price for 20 litres of petrol jumped to $60 in recent days compared to an official price of $15.

The Arab coalition has enforced a near-blockade on the country to prevent arms shipments, but had for almost four months allowed trade and aid vessels to dock at Houthi-controlled ports to relieve hungry Yemenis in the north.

The Houthi movement seized Sanaa and much of the rest of the country in September in what they have called a revolution.

Southern forces loyal to the ex-iled government have been on the defensive in four months of fight-

ing and bombing that have killed over 4,000 people, but have made lightning advances northward, seizing Yemen’s biggest military base this week.

Ali Al Ahmadi, a spokesman for the anti-Houthi forces, said the Houthis were ejected from all of the key province of Lahej on Wednesday, bringing the number of southern provinces under anti-Houthi control to three.

The militia sources said 13 in-ternally displaced people return-ing to their homes in the area were killed by landmines planted by the Houthis amid the fight-ing. Meanwhile, pro-government forces pursued fleeing Houthi rebels in south Yemen, military sources said, as they looked to press recent gains against the re-bels, including the retaking of a key airbase.

Soldiers loyal to exiled Presi-dent Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi wrested control on Tuesday of

Al Anad airbase in Lahj province -- one of Yemen’s largest military facilities -- from the Houthis, and later advanced to take provincial capital Huta.

Military and medical sources said that at least 39 rebels and 17 loyalist fighters had been killed since Tuesday around Huta, which had been in Houthi hands since March.

“(The situation in) Huta is un-der control after search opera-tions last night and this morning,” a military source said.

Rebel fighters beat a retreat in the Wadi Al Husseini region around the road linking Al Anad and Huta, the source said, adding that Lahj’s provincial governor was expected to visit Huta.

The recapture of Al Anad is a major boost for the defence of sec-ond city Aden and paves the way for a possible return by the exiled government to the southern port which was its last refuge before

it fled into exile in neighbouring Saudi Arabia in March. Al Anad, 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Aden, is strategically located on the main road north towards both the battleground third city of Taez and rebel-held capital Sanaa. The vast complex housed US troops overseeing a drone war against Al Qaeda in Yemen until shortly be-fore the rebels overran it.

Its loss is a major blow to the in-surgents, whose leader Abdulma-lik Al Houthi claimed just Sunday that their ouster from Aden after four months of ferocious fighting was merely a “short-term” set-back that would be reversed.

To secure Yemen’s second city, pro-government forces are seek-ing to retake areas in Lahj and neighbouring Abyan province in a bid to prevent a rebel riposte.

A spokesman for the pro-Hadi forces said on Wednesday howev-er that “the liberation of Zinjibar is now close”. — Agencies

Yemen’s government

in exile decided to

divert aid ships from

the Houthi rebel-

held north to loyalist

areas farther south

Italian prime minister invites Iran’s president to visit RomeTEHRAN: Italy on Wednesday in-vited Iran’s President Hassan Rou-hani to Rome for an official visit, as its foreign minister held talks in Tehran following last month’s his-toric nuclear accord.

Paolo Gentiloni delivered the in-vitation from Italian Prime Minis-ter Matteo Renzi, Rouhani’s web-site reported, a week after France asked the moderate president to visit Paris in November.

Rouhani said he “hoped to visit Italy, which enjoys an ancient civilisation and culture, at the proper time”.

Several senior diplomats have shuttled in and out of Iran since July 14, when Tehran, after years of negotiations, struck an agree-ment with six world powers over its nuclear programme.

“We can use the atmosphere after this agreement to the ben-efit of both sides and the European Union,” Rouhani said in a meeting with Italian ministers and busi-ness leaders on Wednesday.

“Today, there are numerous grounds for Iran to attract foreign investments.”

The nuclear deal, which will see economic sanctions lifted af-ter years of poor relations with the West, has sparked a flurry of interest from countries seeking to deal with Iran.

Iranian Economy Minister Ali Tayebnia said that trade with Italy stood at $7 billion (6.4 billion eu-ros) a year before sanctions were

introduced. “That number had dropped to $1.5 billion due to the restrictions,” he was quoted as say-ing by Iranian news sites.

“We should try to reach our past historical record” of economic co-operation, he added.

Tayebnia said Italy had agreed to buy Iranian oil once sanctions were lifted.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who led the nego-tiations with world powers, met Gentiloni on Tuesday. The Italian told his counterpart he hoped the historic nuclear agreement would serve as “a successful example for resolving differences,” the IRNA official news agency reported.

Italy’s economic development

minister Federica Guidi met Wednesday in Tehran with Ira-nian trade and industry minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, it added. Last week, France’s for-eign minister, who had pursued a hard line during the nuclear talks, invited Rouhani to visit Paris in November, for what would be the first Iranian state visit to France since 1999.

Moualem meets ZarifMeanwhile, Syrian Foreign Min-ister Walid Al Moualem who ar-rived in Tehran on Tuesday met with officials from Iran and Rus-sia. Moualem on July 24 reiterated his government’s view that Iran’s support for Damascus would con-tinue after the deal. He held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Speak-ing about Moualem’s visit, Iranian

deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian suggested the chances of a diplomatic resolution of the war were growing.

“Fortunately we see a change in the strategy of regional players in the Syrian crisis. If four years ago they believed war is the only solu-tion, now they prefer to focus on diplomacy,” he was quoted as say-ing by Fars News Agency.

In an article published in four Arab newspapers on Monday, Za-rif suggested a regional dialogue committee be formed to tackle the multiple crises in the Middle East.

“Nowhere in the world needs this mechanism more than the Gulf region, and the Middle East ... No one can fight against extrem-ist groups like the IS in Iraq, while helping them grow in Yemen and Syria,” he said.

Russia has called for wider in-ternational cooperation to fight IS.

Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Bogdanov and Abdollahian, during a meeting in Tehran on Tuesday, “supported the formation of a wide anti-ter-rorist front.” — Agencies

B O O S T I N G T I E S

Libya to get electricity from Egypt, TunisiaTRIPOLI: Libya will import elec-tricity from Egypt and Tunisia and rent generators as it struggles with power outages that have plunged its main cities into darkness, the Tripoli-based prime minister said.

Four years of fighting follow-ing the ousting of leader Muam-mar Gaddafi has hobbled Libya’s oil industry and power grid, with damaged plants and foreign firms reluctant to deliver spare parts needed to repair them.

Outages in the capital Tripoli lasting up to 18 hours a day have forced the country’s biggest steel company to close as well as dozens of bakeries and petrol stations.

The blackouts are even worse in the east where the main city of Benghazi has seen only sporadic power in the past few days, shut-ting down the mobile phone net-work for much of the day.

Libya will get 250 megawatts (MW) (0.25 gigawatts GW) of electricity from neighbouring Tunisia and 75 MW from Egypt, Khalifa Al Ghwell told a televised news conference on Tuesday.

Al Ghwell said his government had also rented generators with a capacity of 240 MW, adding that the closure of steel firm Lisco would save 100 MW which will be fed into the Tripoli grid.

There are also plans to try to restart the Sarir power plant this week, he said.

Al Ghwell provided no details on delivery of the electricity nor on how the scheme would be funded.

In November, APR Energy Plc, which runs temporary power plants, said it had suspended its Libya operations, citing unfinished paperwork by Libyan authorities regarding renewal of a 450-MW power contract. Al Ghwell is prime minister of the National Salvation government set up in Tripoli after an alliance of armed factions from Misrata and other western regions called Libya Dawn took control of the capital in August 2014. — Reuters

E A S I N G B L A C K O U T S

JUBILANT: Fighters loyal to Yemen’s exiled President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi gather on a road in the country’s southern province of Lahj on Tuesday. – Reuters

PARLEYS: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, right, meets Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, left, in Tehran on Wednesday. – Reuters/President.ir/Handout

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Hostages overpower terrorist after attack

SRINAGAR (INDIA): A sus-pected Pakistani militant was on Wednesday captured after a dead-ly attack on a para-military convoy in the India-administered Kash-mir region, officials said.

This follows a recent attack on an Indian police station in Punjab state in which seven people were killed and intermittent clashes on their disputed border in Kashmir.

A group of militants attacked a Border Security Force (BSF) con-voy on Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Udhampur earlier on Wednesday, killing two BSF sol-diers and wounding 11.

A resident of Ghulam Musta-fabad (Faisalabad) in Pakistan, Mohammed Naved, believed to be in his early 20s, who along with another militant attacked the BSF convoy, was caught alive after he was pinned down by two of the five people he had taken hostage at a school, officials said.

Another terrorist involved in the strike on the BSF convoy was shot dead in retaliatory fire. Naved identified him as Noman alias Mo-min, who hailed from Bhawalpur in Pakistan.

Last week, gunmen stormed

a police station and killed seven people in India’s Punjab state, south of Kashmir. India said the gunmen had come from Pakistan, according to an analysis of a GPS tracking device they carried. Pa-kistan had rejected the assertion that the gunmen involved in the Punjab attack came from Pakistan, calling it “unsubstantiated and un-warranted”. There was no imme-diate word from Pakistan on the gunman captured on Wednesday.

OrderThe Indian government had last week ordered security forces to try to take alive the militants holed up in a police station during the Pun-jab attack to nail down evidence of their identities. But the men were killed in the day-long operation.

“Taking a man alive is a signifi-cant breakthrough. We need to know who these people are,” said A.S. Dulat, former head of India’s external spy agency. The develop-ment comes ahead of scheduled talks between the national secu-rity advisors of India and Paki-

stan later this month. The daring act of two hostages in overpow-ering their captor--a suspected Pakistani terrorist --after a tough struggle amid a hail of bullets helped in netting a terror catch that could give valuable leads.

The arrest“He was caught by those whom he took hostage. Two of them, besides some village defence committee (VDC) members, also helped in his arrest during the operation,” Commissioner (DC) Udhampur, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary told PTI. Naved, after the attack in Nassu-Samroli area, escaped and took five people hostage in a school building in a nearby hamlet.

“As I came out of my house af-ter hearing a gun shot, this mili-tant came and asked me to come with him. He had already taken three-four people along,” Rakesh Kumar, a youth who was taken hostage, said.

Army and Police then cordoned off the area surrounding the school to rescue the hostages. “We were

taken at gunpoint to the school. He asked us to show us the route to escape from the area,” another hostage, Vikramjeet said.

The militant threatened them that if they didn’t show him the route, he would kill their family, he said, adding that they also offered him some food.

While the other three, Desraj, Subash Sharma and Jeevan, man-aged to escape, Vikramjeet and Rakesh fought with the militant and caught him after a tough struggle. “I caught his neck and he (Rakesh) caught hold of the gun. He (the militant) fired a few rounds but we escaped narrowly and caught him,” Vikramjeet said.

Fortunately there were no stu-dents in the school in view of the strike for demand for an All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Jammu, the DC said, adding that large quantity of arms and ammunition have been recov-ered from the captured militant.

This is the first suspected Pa-kistani terrorist to be captured alive after Ajmal Kasab, who was nabbed during the terror attack in Mumbai in 2008 in which 166 people were killed. Authorities used his testimony to show that the assault was plotted by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) militant group. The gun-man was later executed.

Talks onMeanwhile, official sources in New Delhi told Press Trust of In-dia that India will go ahead with the National Security Advisor-level talks with Pakistan notwith-standing the terror strike.

“We are still awaiting a response from Islamabad to our proposal to hold the talks between the two Na-tional Security Advisors on August 23-24 here,” official sources said.

The recent terror attack in Gur-daspur and Wednesday’s incident in Udhampur had triggered specu-lation that India may call off the upcoming parleys. -Agencies

A group of militants

attacked a Border

Security Force

convoy on Jammu-

Srinagar national

highway in

Udhampur earlier on

Wednesday, killing

two and wounding 11

CAUGHT: Police with apprehended suspected Pakistani terrorist after an attack on a BSF convoy in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. -PTI

No verification needed for reissue of passports now

NEW DELHI: No police veri-fication is required for reissue of passports, the Indian govern-ment said on Wednesday.

“For reissue of passports, po-lice verification is not required, provided the first passport had been issued on the basis of clear police report,” Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh told Lok Sabha in a written reply.

The decision will have a signif-icant impact on applicants facing delay due to mandatory police verification for re-issuance of his or her passport.

As per existing provisions, mi-nors, government servants and senior citizens (65 years and above) are exempted from police verification subject to certain conditions, he said.

Singh said there was no pro-posal under consideration to dis-continue ‘Tatkaal’ system for is-suing passports for urgent travel needs. “It is a fact that with the overall improvement in delivery of passport services, the inci-dence of Tatkaal passport is com-

ing down progressively from 11 per cent in 2012-13 to six per cent in 2014-15.

“However, there is no proposal to discontinue Tatkaal system, as it serves the purpose of issu-ing passports for urgent travel needs,” the minister said.

Online verificationMeanwhile, the Home Ministry is working on a country-wide online police verification project for passports that will cut down the time required for issuing the travel document from a month, at present, to just a week.

The project is likely to be launched from Bengaluru in November.

Under the project the head of district police-- SP or DCP -- will be given access to databases of National Population Regis-ter, Aadhaar and the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network Sys-tem (CCTNS) to enable online verification of identity, address and criminal record, if any, of the applicant. -PTI

S T A T E M E N T

MUCH-NEEDED STEP: There is no proposal to discontinue Tatkaal system, as it serves the purpose of issuing passports for urgent travel needs, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh told Lok Sabha in a written reply. -Times of Oman file photo

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INDIA T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

Mozambique can be a large and a proximate source of natural gas, coal and other minerals that are so important to drive our growthNarendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

29 die as 2 trains derail on flash flood-hit bridge

HARDA (MADHYA PRADESH): Twenty-nine peo-ple were killed when two express trains passing each other derailed while crossing a railway bridge struck by flash floods in Harda district of central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh in the dead of night sending 17 bogies and one engine tumbling into a rain-swol-len river, officials said.

The twin derailment that oc-curred at around the same time at about 11:30 pm last night involved the Varanasi-bound Kamayani Express from Mumbai, which capsized first, and the Mumbai-bound Janata Express originat-ing from Patna that was coming from the opposite direction. Of-ficials said that 25 people were injured and over 250 passengers have been rescued. There were conflicting versions on the exact number of casualties in the acci-dent that occurred between Kh-irkiya and Bhirangi stations on Khandwa-Itarsi sections, 160 km from Bhopal after the 500-metre rail tracks over a small bridge sank in sudden surge of water caused by heavy rains in the area.

“29 bodies, including those of 13 men, 11 women and five children, have been recovered so far from the mishap site, about 160 km from Bhopal,” MP Government spokes-man Anupam Rajan told PTI. Rail-way Minister Suresh Prabhu, how-ever, told Parliament that as per available information 12 passen-gers were killed. Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Bhopal, Alok Ku-mar said that 11 passengers of Jana-ta Express and one from Kamayani Express were found dead.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minis-ter Shivraj Singh Chouhan said 25 passengers were killed in the mis-hap and 50 others injured. Twelve bodies were found inside the de-railed train bogies, he told report-ers at the mishap site.

Prabhu said that a flash flood caused the swollen Machak river to overflow and wash out a section of the rail tracks, leading to the derailment of the two trains. “The prima facie cause of the incident is stated to be ‘flash flood due to heavy rains’,” Prabhu told the Ra-jya Sabha amid the din by slogan-shouting opposition members.

Passengers said they were thrown awake by the falling bogies which quickly filled with muddy water. “We felt the jerk instantly. When we opened the door and checked, there was water every-where. In no time, the train tilted.

And we all got trapped and were stuck for three hours,” a survivor said. “The water level on the track was almost waist-high,” said an-other survivor.

A PTI correspondent at the site saw some bogies lay fallen on one side and others leaning in the mud. Tracks were broken, uprooted and scattered, and a detached train wheel was visible in one section.

Though the MP government said that 21 coaches of the two trains derailed, Alok Kumar said seven bogies of the Janata Express plus engine and 10 of Kamayani Express had derailed.

‘Unprecedented rains’“Prima facie it appears that the cause behind the mishap was heavy rains that was never wit-nessed in Harda region in my re-cent memory. Due to it, base ma-terial under the tracks got washed out and the overhead contact of the engine got disconnected because of which the trains got stranded on the tracks over the bridge on Machak river,” Chouhan said.

The Railway Ministry has or-dered an inquiry into the twin derailment and announced an enhanced ex-gratia of Rs200,000 each to the next of the kin of deceased.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed distress and pain

over the loss of lives in the twin derailment and said authorities are doing everything possible on the ground.

Railway Spokesperson Anil Saxena said just eight minutes be-fore the accident, two trains had crossed that section and their driv-ers did not detect any problem.

Commissioner Railway Safety (central zone) will conduct an in-quiry into the accidents, he added.

Services of more than 50 trains were affected due to the mishap as many were diverted and short-terminated. The 500-metre rail track which caved in not among the vulnerable sections identified by the Railways during monsoon, a top Railway official said.

Railways undertake pre-mon-soon preparation every year on vulnerable section as precau-tionary measure and the derail-ment spot was not among those identified sections, Chairman Railway Board (CRB) A K Mital said in Delhi.

Blaming the sudden surge of water as possible cause of the de-railment, Mital said, “One cannot rule out natural calamity and the flash flood caused extensive dam-age to the track which resulted in the derailment. The track was otherwise alright and two trains crossed the track just eight min-utes before the incident.” -PTI

The twin derailment

that occurred at

around the same time

at about 11:30pm

last night involved

the Varanasi-bound

Kamayani Express

from Mumbai and

the Mumbai-bound

Janata Express

coming from opposite

directionsDOUBLE TRAGEDY: Rescue work in progress at the site where Kamayani Express and Janata express trains derailed within minutes of each other while crossing a small bridge in Harda district of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. -PTI

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Government seeks Congress support to end deadlockNEW DELHI: There was no sign of end to the deadlock in the In-dian Parliament even as the gov-ernment on Wednesday made a fresh appeal to Congress to help ensure smooth functioning of the House and allow important legislations to be passed for “the country’s sake”.

“Not for the government or the BJP, please do a favour to the country. Allow legislations to be taken up in both houses. Don’t stall them... Opposition should leave politics aside for the coun-try’s sake and take it forward by allowing Parliament to function,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said.

He said India has great op-portunity for growth as its com-petitors are in bad shape and the climate is conducive for the country to grow faster and move forward. “No obstruction, no suspension. House should pro-ceed smoothly,” Naidu said.

Sources in the government said though the government was keen to ensure that the suspen-sion of 25 Congress MPs from Lok Sabha were revoked, the Congress had not shown any sign of blinking and had not come for-ward to give an assurance to the Speaker that they would not ob-struct the House.

They said though suspen-sions have taken place only after exhausting all options, the de-mand of some parties to revoke the suspension can only be dis-cussed after the consent of the suspended members. The gov-ernment favoured bringing nor-malcy to the House.

Obstructionists“People are overwhelmingly say-ing obstructionists are rightly sus-pended. People want legislative measures to be taken up for their welfare,” a senior functionary in the government said. In view of re-peated obstructions by opposition in Rajya Sabha where the ruling coalition is in minority, there are talks that the government could convert some bills into money bills that do not require the assent of the Upper House.

“We cannot convert every bill into money bills. But that op-tion is there. But, there have been precedents,” the top government functionary said. The government has maintained that the country

badly needs the GST bill, the land bill and also the Real Estate Bill as these bills are directly linked to the growth of the country.

Finance Minister Arun Jait-ley has said the growth rate can go up by another 1 to 2 per cent once the GST bill is passed. How-ever, the three key legislations are struck in Rajya Sabha pend-ing its approval. The government also criticised the Congress for its comments that it has “derived strength” and have gained by ob-structing proceedings, saying the opposition party has a record of hundreds of suspensions in the past when they have been in pow-er. Proceedings in Rajya Sabha continued to be paralysed and it has not transacted any business ever since it met for the Monsoon session on July 21.

Politics of povertyMeanwhile, BJP General Secre-tary Ram Madhav has charged the opposition with playing poli-tics over poverty. Measures like Land Bill and the Goods and Ser-vices Tax (GST) are pro-poor, but opposition parties are not letting the Indian government usher in these revolutionary measures as they are playing politics over pov-erty, he said on Wednesday.

He further said that while the government has had to make some changes in the Land Acquisition Bill due to some compulsions, it remains steadfast in its resolve to help the poor. “Today, the kind of laws that we want to bring, whether it the land Bill or GST, they can usher in an economic revolution in the country. But the opposition is making efforts to stop the government in some way or the other,” said Madhav. Stating that every year two crore youths are ready to join the workforce whereas only twenty lakh jobs are created, the senior BJP leader said the Narendra Modi government thought that the situation needs to improve and infrastructure has to be built and, hence, brought in the Land Bill.

“But working against aspira-tions of the youth, our rivals have not allowed that Bill to come up. It is correct that under compulsion, the government has had to re-move several things from that Bill. These are political compulsions, but our resolve is steadfast as to why we brought it,” he said. -PTI

P A R L I A M E N T

Nitish, BJP leaders spar over prime minister’s ‘DNA’ barb PATNA/NEW DELHI: Days before Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi’s second visit to poll-bound eastern Indian state of Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday raked up Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘DNA’ barb made against him at a recent rally, saying it was “an in-sult of people of Bihar” and asked him to withdraw it.

In an open letter to the PM, which was released on social media sites Facebook and Twit-ter, Kumar said the comment was “unbecoming” of the office he holds. “Your words have been taken as an insult by a large sec-tion of the people of the state and beyond. Most of us also feel that coming from you, the comment is rather unbecoming of the of-fice you hold,” he said.

The Bihar chief minister, whose running feud with Nar-endra Modi is no secret, referred to PM’s proposed Gaya visit on August 9 to drum up support for the BJP in state election and said he was writing this letter on behalf of those who felt hurt by the statement.

Kumar’s view was shared by Congress, a partner in Bi-har. Congress leader Renuka Chaudhry said in Delhi, “PM should not have said so. He should immediately withdraw the comment as he is no more a pracharak.”

Though no word has come from the PM so far, senior Bihar BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi reacted to the JD(U) leader’s charge and clarified that the PM meant to refer to “Kumar’s po-litical DNA.” Sushil Modi also hit out at Kumar for “considering

that he is Bihar and any protest against him meant that it was against the state.”

“Kumar, who is now in the company of Congress, probably is confused that he is Bihar like Congress leader D K Barua who had said ‘India is Indira and In-dira is India’,” Sushil Modi, who was deputy chief minister during the NDA regime, told reporters.

“Nitish Kumar’s DNA is that of betraying friends and allies whereas the DNA of Bihar repre-sents harmony and welcoming a guest with dignity.

“DNA of Bihar does not teach anybody to snatch a plate from in front of a guest after calling him for dinner,” he said referring to Kumar cancelling a dinner for BJP leaders in 2010 to express

anger over advertisement in newspapers highlighting dona-tion given by then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for re-habilitation of Kosi flood victims.

‘Supreme arrogance’ Meanwhile, in New Delhi Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad accused Nitish Kumar for equat-ing his “supreme arrogance with the identity of Bihar”.

The party also kept up its at-tack on Congress over the stall-ing of Parliament, saying the opposition party was sending a wrong message to the people and asked it to “introspect over and reconsider its belligerence” as they expect the legislature to pass pro-reform laws like goods and services tax (GST). -PTI

P O L I T I C S

India to ramp up ties with MozambiqueNEW DELHI: India and Mozam-bique on Wednesday decided to ramp up economic engagement, particularly in the energy sector with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the African nation can be a “large source” of coal and natural gas to drive the growth of Indian economy.

During his wide-ranging talks with President Filipe Nyusi, Modi hoped that Mozambique, with its estimated 180 trillion cubic feet of off-shore gas reserves, would pro-vide an “encouraging environment” for Indian investments in various key areas including hydrocarbons, minerals and infrastructure.

Both sides inked an MoU on Co-operation in the field of renewable energy. The two leaders deliber-ated on a range of issues including cooperation in defence, maritime security in the Indian Ocean region, agriculture and ocean economy.

“Mozambique can be a large and a proximate source of natural gas, coal and other minerals that are so important to drive our growth. It also offers huge opportunities in agriculture sector,” Modi said.

Calling the discussions “fruitful and positive”, Nyusi said it was de-cided to enhance cooperation in a number of areas including oil and gas. Trade between the two coun-tries has multiplied five times in the last five years. Mozambique hosts nearly 25 per cent of Indian investments in Africa.

“We spoke of our economic synergies and cooperation. I ex-pressed hope that Mozambique would continue to provide an en-couraging environment for invest-ments from India, including in the areas of hydrocarbons, minerals and infrastructure,” he said. -PTI

D I P L O M A C Y

Non-bailable arrest warrant for former cricket boss ModiMUMBAI: A special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act on Wednesday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant (NBW) against former Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket boss Lalit Modi in connection with a case of money laundering following a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), India’s financial crimes in-vestigating agency.

“Your (ED’s) application is al-lowed,” said Special Judge P R Bhavake while issuing the NBW. ED had moved the special court last week seeking NBW against Modi after he did not respond to summons sent to him. According to ED sources, this warrant will now be sent to the Ministry of Ex-ternal Affairs which in turn will be sending it to the United Kingdom.

Lalit Modi left the country shortly after the ED began its probe against him in 2009.

However, getting the NBW or-der did not come easy for the probe agency as the judge first ques-tioned ED’s delay in seeking the NBW and later raised the juris-dictional issue too. The court also wanted to know why the agency was not arresting him and had sought the NBW, and whether a warrant can be issued during the investigation.

A senior ED officer confirmed to AFP via text message that the war-rant had been issued by the court, which hears money laundering cases. “Yes, we have received the warrant for Lalit Modi’s arrest,” the official from ED said on condi-tion of anonymity.

Modi was instrumental in found-

ing and overseeing the money-spinning Twenty20 IPL in 2008 before fleeing to London two years later when tax and financial crime authorities raided his premises.

Enforcement Directorate offic-ers want to speak to him in connec-tion with allegations that proceeds from the TV deal were funnelled to unauthorised beneficiaries in Singapore and Mauritius. The Enforcement Directorate is prob-ing if part of this fee was allegedly siphoned off to unknown individu-als, at the behest of Modi who was then IPL chairman.

Modi has more recently been embroiled in controversy with Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj who is under pressure to resign over her role in helping him gain a passport in Britain.

Modi was removed as chair-man in 2010 and later banned for life from holding any positions in the sport by the powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). -PTI/AFP

M O N E Y L A U N D E R I N G

Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj is under pressure to re-sign over her role in helping him gain a British passport. -File photo

PLAYING THEIR HANDS: BJP leader Sushil Modi shakes hands with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during the first day of Monsoon session of Bihar Assembly in Patna on Monday. -PTI

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BRAZEN ATTACK: Pakistani policemen inspect the car of former cricket captain Wasim Akram after a gunman opened fire on his car in Karachi on Wednesday. — AFP

Akram escapes unhurt after being shot at

KARACHI: Pakistani cricket legend Wasim Akram said on Wednesday he was lucky to es-cape unscathed when a gunman opened fire at his car after a traf-fic collision. Akram, one of the best left-arm fast bowlers ever to play the game, was on his way to coach at a training camp at the city’s National Stadium when the incident happened.

“A car hit mine, I stopped him and then his guy stepped out and fired at my car,” he said on the Ex-press News channel.

“He was definitely an official, I have noted the number of the car and given it to the police.”

Identity revealedInitial reports had said the gun-man did not aim at the cricketer. But Akram later said the man had been about to shoot him when someone revealed who he was.

“He tried to shoot me, his gun was pointing at me, then peo-ple told him my identity and he fired at the side of my car,” Akram told reporters.

“Had the people not told him about me, he would have shot me.”

Karachi is one of Pakistan’s most violent and unpredictable cities, racked on a daily basis by ethnic, political, sectarian and criminal bloodshed.

The 49-year-old Akram, Pa-kistan’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker with 414 in 104 matches, is one of the country’s best loved sportsmen.

He retired from playing in 2003

and is currently running a Pakistan Cricket Board fast bowling train-ing camp at the National Stadium.

World Cup titleAlong with right-arm partner Waqar Younis, he formed one of the most fearsome fast bowl-ing partnerships in cricket his-tory, leading Pakistan to their sole World Cup title in 1992. — AFP

A car hit mine, I

stopped him and

then his guy stepped

out and fired at my

car. He was definitely

an official. I have

noted the number of

the car and given it

to the police, Wasim

told Express News

IN SHOCK: Pakistani former cricket captain Wasim Akram, right, gives his statement to a police officer at the National Cricket Stadium in Karachi on Wednesday, after a gunman opened fire on his car in the southern port city. — AFP

SC backs military courtsISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Su-preme Court on Wednesday ap-proved controversial new mili-tary courts set up to hear terror cases, rejecting an attempt to have them ruled illegal.

Lawmakers had voted in Janu-ary to amend the constitution to establish the military courts, as part of a crackdown on militancy following a Taliban massacre at a school which left more than 150 people -- mostly children -- dead.

The move prompted concern from rights activists and in April a group of lawyers challenged the constitutional amendment.

A 17-member bench of the Su-preme Court dismissed their peti-tion by 11 votes to six.

In his detailed judgment Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk said the court did not have the power to strike down constitutional amendments made by the elected parliament. But he said the deci-sion to send a case for trial by mil-itary court and “any order passed or decision taken or sentence awarded” could be subject to judi-cial review in a normal court.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sha-rif welcomed the ruling, saying the “unusual step” of setting up military courts was necessary to defeat militants.

“This decision will discourage terrorism in the country,” he told parliament.

Kamran Murtaza, a former

President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and a petitioner in the case, told AFP they would consider asking the court to re-view its decision.

Not in accordance“We stated in our petitions that the matter of military courts is not in accordance with the con-stitution and it is against human rights,” Murtaza said.

“It affects the basic struc-ture and independence of judi-ciary itself.”

Parliament has approved the use of the courts for the com-ing two years, and cases are referred to them by provincial governments. — AFP

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Mohamed A. El Erian

As our Eurostar train zipped from London through the Chunnel to Paris, I couldn’t help thinking about

the thousands of migrants languishing on both sides of the Channel. Once again, national and regional political systems are struggling to cope with a mounting human tragedy and its spillover effects involve disruptions to commerce; and all this is stoking a political crisis.

The economics of the Channel migrant crisis are quite clear, being basically about supply, demand and regulatory failures. It also sheds light on the potential solutions, though they will take time to materialise.

The supply of migrants to Europe is fueled by waves of people fleeing the economic and social misery of their home countries -- and, in some case, political oppression, persecution and violence. They do so in hopes of a better future for themselves and their children. The temptation for some to try and make it all the way to the U.K., often after a perilous sea crossing and a fraught trip through western Europe, is amplified by the attractiveness of an economy with low unemployment, comprehensive social services and a country where many already know the language.

Although the supply of migrants has increased, the demand for migrant labor has gone the other way. Tougher laws have made it harder and more dangerous for employers to hire undocumented workers. And with a European unemployment rate of more than 10 percent, the demand is further damped.

This imbalance in supply and demand isn’t one that can be sorted out by the markets’ normal equilibrating mechanism. The market-clearing wage -- that is, the price that would lower the migration incentive while facilitating the absorption of those still inclined to risk life and limb -- is well below the minimum wage prevailing in Europe; and any meaningful reduction in the wage would involve significant and unacceptable social disruptions to local

populations in Europe.The regulatory systems are not of much

help either, pressured at multiple stages, from the countries of origin, to the points of transit and entry to Europe, to the final destinations. And where the regulatory system is aided by physical barriers -- such as the English Channel -- there are visible signs for all to see of migrants’ deprivation and desperation. In the process, the road transportation of all sorts of goods is disrupted, causing considerable economic losses. Food rots on trucks waiting to cross the Channel. Vehicles are immobilized, undermining supply chains. Private transportation, including tourism, is subject to long delays on account of congested roads and stepped-up security checks. And, even if the willingness were there, the social safety nets are too weak to cope with the human tragedies that play out every day.

All this is increasing pressures on politicians to resolve the problem. Yet effective solutions continue to evade them, both at the national and regional levels.

This isn’t a problem that will go away anytime soon, and for a simple depressing reason: The economics of this tragic situation call for a comprehensive collaborative solution, but the best the political system is able to come up with is a piecemeal, weakly coordinated approach. It is an outcome that, at best, can alleviate some of the problems; it will not solve them in a decisive and durable fashion.

In a perfect world, revamped national approaches would be accompanied by meaningful cooperation, not just among European destination countries but also between them and the countries of origin and those through which undocumented migrants travel. But, unfortunately and tragically, this probably is too much to expect in a world in which Europe struggles to solve its internal issues, including the Greece crisis, while the countries from which so many migrants flee are fragile, with some on the verge of becoming failed states -- if they are not there already. —Bloomberg News.

SALALAH AIR TRAFFIC MOVEMENT

Source: NSCI

May 2014 May 2015

652

1,304

45,768

52,9151

98,683

709

1,418

55,858

66,695

122,553

International flights

Passengers

Arrival

Total

Departure

Landing

Take-off

Total

652 709

Hopefully, all Indian schools will follow the transport scheme launched by Indian School Darsait This refers to the news story, School-managed bus transport a big safety boost (August 5). The new transport system launched by Indian School Darsait is a very important move. This, in my opinion, is a great decision for expatriate parents. I hope all other Indian schools in Mus-cat follow this programme as early as possible.

— Shanmugam Mohan, Seeb

Parents have a big role to make ISD transport plan a successThis refers to the news story, School-managed bus transport a big safety boost (August 5). I congratulate the management of Indian School Darsait for introducing the school-managed transport system fit-ted with desired safety features. This has been a long awaited demand of the worried parents and it will be a great relief for them if all other Indian schools in Oman follow suit with out wasting any more time. How-ever apart from the school management, the parents too have to play a big role in making this initiative a success. — Mohammad Osama Rawat, Ruwi

Hotel rooms are too expensive This refers to the online story, Ministry plans to launch 1,500 hotel rooms (August 4). How many tourists pay OMR50 per

day? In a city like Dubai one can live in such a place for just OMR20. A very small fraction of tourists sponsored by companies can afford these costly rooms. Salalah tourism can increase sharply if the rates of rooms are regulated according to the facilities provided. — Bilal Fazal, Karachi, Pakistan

T I M E S O F O M A NT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5A12

Economics behind Europe’s migrant crisis

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Summer fun for children at Horizon MUSCAT: Kids looking out for summer fun need only head to the Horizon Fitness and Beauty Centre, Qurum. A ‘summer fun’ programme for kinds is currently on at the centre and will continue till August 23. The programme is on five days a week, from 9am to 12pm, Saturday to Wednesday, a spokeswoman from Horizon said. The two-week programme includes swim-ming/water games, cookery classes, aerobics, reading pro-grammes, field trips, art, face painting, story telling, Taekwan-do lessons, dancing classes, audio and video visions.

1762 Russia, Prussia and Austria sign a treaty agreeing on the partition of Poland. 1951: The United Nations suspends armistice talks with the North Koreans when armed troops are spotted in neutral areas.

1962: Actress Marilyn Monroe dies mysteriously.

1981: President Ronald Reagan fires 11,500 striking air traffic controllers

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Mullah Mansoor faces a serious challenge of establishing himself

as the legitimate leader of the Afghan Taliban. Moreover, he will need to put forward some explanations as to why he kept Mullah Omar’s death a secret

for so longbit.ly/talibanleadermansour

TALAT MASOOD

Vowing to keep the 2016 train on the tracks, the Republican National Committee last year

limited the number of debates. The intention was to keep the most volatile and unviable off

the stage. Then Donald Trump happened

bit.ly/republicandebatewoes

FRANCIS WILKINSON

If economic ambition were an Olympic event, Asia would be

sweeping the medals stand. But, in economics as in sports, it’s hard work that’s rewarded, not facile hopes for miracles.

Chances are Tokyo and Beijing will soon wish they had followed Boston in abandoning their bids

bit.ly/chinajapanolympics

WILLIAM PESEK

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T O D A Y I N H I S T O R Y

The video takes an undis-guised jab at Unilever for its failure to clean up mercury contamination or compen-sate workers affected by its thermometer factory in Kodaikanal in India

AUGUST 2000

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WORLDT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

Bangladesh court rejected a petition by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader and former prime minister Khaleda Zia to quash the case, which was filed by a military-backed government, and ordered her to surrender to a trial court within two months.

Afghan civilian casualties hit a record high, says UN

KABUL: Civilian casualties in Afghanistan hit a record high in the first half of 2015, the UN said on Wednesday, as Afghan forces struggle to contain the spread-ing conflict six months after the NATO combat mission ended.

In a worrying trend, ground combat is causing more deaths and injuries than improvised ex-plosive devices (IEDs), the UN said, adding that the conflict was taking a particularly heavy toll on women and children.

The growing insecurity as Af-ghan forces face their first sum-mer fighting season without full NATO support coincides with a faltering peace process, with the Taliban confronted by an increas-ingly bitter power transition.

Total casualties — the com-bined number of civilians killed and wounded — between Janu-ary and June increased 1 per cent compared with the same period last year, the United Nations As-sistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a report.

The report said 1,592 civilians were killed, a 6 per cent fall over last year, while the number of in-jured jumped 4 per cent to 3,329.

The figures represent an average of around nine civilians killed and 18 wounded every day.

Highest levelThe casualties have reached their highest level since the UN began issuing its authoritative reports in 2009. “The cold statistics of civil-ian casualties do not adequately capture the horror of violence in Afghanistan, the torn bodies of children, mothers and daughters, sons and fathers,” said UNAMA chief Nicholas Haysom.

“The statistics in this report do not reveal the grieving families and the loss of shocked commu-nities of ordinary Afghans. These are the real consequences of the conflict in Afghanistan.”

UNAMA attributed 70 per cent of civilian casualties to “anti-

government elements” including the Taliban, while highlighting a 60 per cent increase in casualties caused by pro-government forces compared to 2014.

Female casualties soared 23 per cent and child casualties in-creased by 13 per cent, the report added, as civilians are increasing-ly caught in the crossfire.

The statistics are a grim in-dicator of rising violence as the Taliban insurgency spreads north from its traditional southern and eastern strongholds, with Afghan forces increasingly battling the militants on their own.

US-led NATO forces ended their combat mission in Afghan-istan in December, leaving local forces to battle militants alone, but a 13,000-strong residual force remains for training and

counter-terrorism operations.“When the NATO combat mis-

sion was on, the Taliban mostly used guerrilla tactics,” Graeme Smith, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group in Af-ghanistan, told AFP. “Now they’ve grown bolder as they face Afghan forces directly. That explains why civilian casualties have risen, though not as dramatically as in previous years.”

But the Taliban face growing internal divisions after Mullah Akhtar Mansour was announced as the new head of the insurgent movement on Friday, after they confirmed the death of Mullah Omar who led the militant move-ment for some 20 years.

An increasingly bitter power struggle has broken out, casting a pall over a fragile peace process

aimed at ending Afghanistan’s long war. The Taliban distanced themselves from the second round of talks that were sched-uled for last Friday but were can-celled after the announcement of Omar’s death.

And there has been no let-up in insurgent attacks.

A suicide bomber late last month killed 19 people including women and children in a crowded market in the northern province of Faryab, as insurgents intensify their annual summer offensive launched in late April.

In mid-July 33 people were killed in a suicide attack at a military base in the eastern prov-ince of Khost, while a few days later 25 civilians were wounded in a bombing inside a mosque in northern Baghlan province. — AFP

Total casualties

— the combined

number of civilians

killed and wounded

— between January

and June increased

1 per cent compared

with the same period

last year

Myanmar rescuers struggle to deliver aidYANGON: Tens of thousands of people huddled on Wednesday in monasteries and other makeshift evacuation centres in remote ar-eas of Myanmar cut off by deadly floods, as rescuers struggled to de-liver desperately needed aid.

Heavy seasonal downpours have caused devastation across large parts of South and Southeast Asia in recent weeks, claiming hundreds of lives and displacing millions. In Myanmar, interna-tional aid efforts accelerated on Wednesday to meet the widening crisis following an appeal from the government for help.

Tens of thousands of people remain stranded in Myanmar’s rugged and mountainous west-ern border regions after relent-less rains caused flash floods and triggered landslides swept away homes, roads and bridges.

The official death toll rose to 69 with more than 260,000 affected, Phyu Lei Lei Tun of the ministry of social welfare said on Wednes-day. The floods severed commu-nications across large areas of the country, which is roughly the

size of France. But information is starting to filter back from remote regions where people are seeking food and shelter in monasteries, schools and mosques.

The hilltop Chin state capital of Hakha, home to about 40,000 people, is still only accessible by helicopter a week after a series of landslides saw walls of saturated

earth collapse onto homes and roads. “The mountainsides col-lapsed — in some areas the whole hill collapsed in the flood,” Jacob Thang, of the local rescue com-mittee, said by telephone.

About 6,600 people were taking refuge in temporary shelters ei-ther too afraid to go home, or with no house to return to, according to

Thang. They have food for the com-ing days, but illness is striking the overcrowded camps, he said. “Many people are traumatised. There are cracks across about a third of the city’s streets, so there could be more landslides. People are really afraid of more rain,” he added.

In cyclone-battered Rakhine state, where at least 41 people have died, whole communities remain cut off even after floods retreated, with waterways clogged with de-bris and roads waterlogged.

An AFP photographer travel-ling Wednesday with one mili-tary relief helicopter say scores of residents gathered as food and water was unloaded. Attention is now turning to the country’s low-lying Irrawaddy delta region as deluges from the north drain to the sea through the country’s rivers, with authorities relocating

residents from downstream areas. State media sounded the alarm for residents near the Irrawaddy riv-er, which was expected to exceed danger levels in parts of Magway region Wednesday. “Elderly peo-ple, women and children have be-gun evacuating from vulnerable areas,” according to a report in the state-run Global New Light of My-anmar newspaper.

Myanmar this week made a rare appeal for overseas help, in con-trast to Cyclone Nargis in 2008 that left 140,000 dead or missing and saw the generals running the country then refuse outside help for weeks. This time China, Japan, Australia and Norway have already pledged donations, as UN agencies stepped up their response to flood-ing they have described as a “major natural disaster”.

Speaking on the sidelines of a regional summit in Malaysia, US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed his condolences over the “extraordinary losses of peo-ple in the floods”, adding a US relief package would soon be an-nounced. — AFP

F L O O D - H I T N A T I O N

California firefighters ramp up battle against dozen wildfiresLOS ANGELES: Crews battling two dozen tenacious wildfires in drought-stricken California rushed in reinforcements on Tues-day, using a window of humid-ity and cooler temperatures to try quench the blazes ahead of a fore-cast spell of drier weather.

More than 10,000 firefight-ers are now tackling the fires that have forced thousands to flee their homes and ravaged large tracts of land in the most populous US state. The biggest blaze in north-ern California, dubbed the Rocky Fire, has drawn in 3,478 firefight-ers. Valiant efforts by fellow crews meanwhile had brought two other fires -- one in Shasta County and another in Los Angeles County -- under control, CAL FIRE said.

But new fires continued to pop up and quickly spread, abetted by one of the worst droughts in Cali-

fornia on record. “Tinder dry con-ditions from the drought continue to allow wildfires to burn at an explosive rate,” said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CAL FIRE.

The state is bringing in extra crews from southern California to the hard-hit north, and making fire-fighters already on the ground work overtime and cancel days off, CAL FIRE spokesman Daniel Berlant

told MSNBC. Resources from other states, including water-bomber planes from Colorado, were also being scrambled to the rescue, Ber-lant said. In Washington, President Barack Obama was briefed on the situation in California and other parts of the west, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, praising the bravery of the firefight-ers. “These are selfless individuals and we owe them a debt of gratitude for putting their lives on the line to fight these fires and protect their fellow Americans,” he said.

Many of the fires are actually made up of dozens of smaller fires

started by lightning, Berlant said.While temperatures cooled over

the weekend, they are expected to rise again Wednesday, followed by more thunderstorms on Thursday, CAL FIRE said. Thunderstorms tend to increase the threat of fires, often bringing lightning but vir-tually no water. “Right now, defi-nitely conditions are dry. We are continuing to see the effects of the drought as wildfires can more eas-ily spark and then they’re going to spread at these historically fast rates,” Berlant said.

The week-old Rocky Fire has forced more than 13,000 people to evacuate their homes in Colusa, Lake and Yolo counties north of Sacramento, the state’s capital, where it has consumed more than 67,000 acres (27,000 hectares) of land and destroyed around two dozen homes. Only about 20 per

cent of the inferno is under control, CAL FIRE said. State-wide, at least 142,000 acres of land have burned so far. California is in the throes of a severe drought, with much of the state completely parched and residents asked to make major cut-backs in water use. In the northern part of the state some forests were completely engulfed by the infer-nos, forcing the closure of several stretches of highway.

In areas where fires had been put out, charred cars dotted some roads and trees were left smoul-dering on the blackened earth. A state of emergency was issued Friday and the California National Guard has been called in, under-lining the scale of the threat fac-ing the Golden State. A firefighter from South Dakota, Dave Ruhl, 38, was killed last week in a forest out-side Alturas. — AFP

R A G I N G B L A Z E S

Bangladesh ex-premier Zia faces new graft trialDHAKA: Bangladesh’s high court on Wednesday ordered opposition chief Khaleda Zia to stand trial in a graft case dating back to 2007, heaping further pressure on the beleaguered former premier.

The court rejected a petition by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Zia to quash the case, which was filed by a military-backed government, and ordered her to surrender to a trial court within two months.

Zia and 12 others stand accused of costing the state $125 million by corruptly awarding contracts to an international firm to handle con-tainers in state-owned depots.

Zia had been trying to get the case thrown out on the grounds that it stemmed from a period of emergency rule and was there-fore no longer valid. “The court rejected two separate petitions by Zia challenging the legality of the case,” prosecutor Khurshid Alam Khan told AFP. “The court asked her (Zia) to surrender before the trial court within two months after she receives the order,” he added.

The leader of the country’s larg-est Islamist party Matiur Rahman Nizami, who is currently on death row after being convicted of war crimes dating back to the 1971 con-flict, is among Zia’s co-accused.

Zia, a two-times former prime minister, has argued that the case is politically motivated and aimed at keeping her out of politics at a time when she is trying to force a fresh general election under a caretaker government.

Were she to be convicted, she would almost certainly receive a lengthy prison sentence which would likely end the political ca-reer of the 69-year-old.

Zia is already facing four other graft cases and is also being pros-ecuted for her role in a series of anti-government marches at the start of the year which called for her arch rival Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to quit. — AFP

C O U R T O R D E R

FRAGILE SECURITY: An Afghan shepherd herds a flock of sheep at sunrise early in the morning in Kabul on Wednesday. Civilian casualties in Afghanistan touched a record high in the first half of 2015, according to UN figures released, revealing a fragile security situation six months after the NATO combat mission ended. – AFP

China has stopped reclamation work: MinisterKUALA LUMPUR: Chinese For-eign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that Beijing had halted land reclamation in the South Chi-na Sea, and called on countries in the region to speed up talks on how claimant states should conduct themselves in the disputed waters.

In June, China said it would soon complete some of its recla-mation in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, while add-ing it would continue to build fa-cilities on the man-made islands.

Defusing tensionsWang’s remarks at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur appeared designed to defuse tensions with other coun-tries that lay claim to parts of the sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Beijing claims most of the waters, while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims. — Reuters

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MAROONED: An aerial view of a part of Sittwe city at Sittwe, Rakhine state, on Wednesday. – Reuters

REINFORCED: Inmate firefighters return from setting a fire break along Highway 20 during the Rocky Fire in Lake County, California on Tuesday. – Reuters

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Turkey ‘ready’ to join US anti-IS offensive

ANKARA: Turkey on Wednes-day announced that it was ready to begin a “comprehensive” fight against IS extremists in Syria alongside the United States, after a months of staying on the side-lines of the US-led coalition.

Ankara, long criticised for fail-ing to stop the flow of extremists to-and-fro across its border with Syria, has so far concentrated an almost two-week “anti-terror” campaign on the bombing of Kurdish militants.

But Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu indicated after meet-ing US Secretary of State John Kerry in Malaysia that Turkey would be stepping up its cam-paign against IS after it gave per-mission for US forces to conduct armed missions from its Incirlik air base.

“The US planes have begun ar-riving and soon we will launch a comprehensive fight against Daesh all together,” he said, using an acronym for IS, quoted by the official Anatolia news agency.

Ankara is waging a two-pronged bombing campaign against Kurd-istan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels as well as IS militants, following a wave of violence inside Turkey.

But so far the raids have over-whelmingly targeted the Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and south-east Turkey, to the dismay of those who want to see Ankara play a fuller role in the US-led coalition against IS.

Cavusoglu said at the start of the meeting with Kerry that the operation would be helped by moderate Syrian rebels that the US and Turkey are hoping to jointly train.

“Now we are training and equipping the moderate (Syr-ian) opposition together with the United States, and we will also start our fight against Daesh very effectively soon,” Cavusoglu said.

“Then the ground will be safer for the moderate opposition that are fighting Daesh.”

The two top diplomats met at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of a regional security gathering hosted by the 10-mem-ber Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The United States, which desig-

nates the PKK as a terror group, has described Turkish airstrikes against Kurdish militants as self-defence.

Arab League chief Nabil Al Ara-bi, however, Tuesday condemned the Turkish army’s cross-border campaign, urging Ankara to rec-ognise its neighbour Iraq’s sover-eignty, in remarks Turkey labelled “unacceptable.” Turkey sum-moned the Arab League’s envoy in Ankara to the foreign ministry in a show of protest, the ministry said in a statement.

Qatar, Ankara’s main regional

ally and member of the Arab League since 1971, however gave Turkey its full support for air strikes.

Washington has long been pushing its historic ally Turkey to step up the fight against IS, some-thing Ankara had until recently been reluctant to do.

Kerry “welcomed Turkey’s re-cent decision to open its bases to US participation in air opera-tions against (the militants) and its support for Syrian refugees,” a senior State Department official told reporters. — AFP

Ankara, long

criticised for failing

to stop the flow of

extremists to-and-

fro across its border

with Syria, has so

far concentrated

an almost two-

week ‘anti-terror’

campaign on the

bombing of Kurdish

militants

IN AGONY: Relatives mourn during the funeral of 13 fighters of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey after their bodies were repatriated from Iraq on Wednesday. — AFP

ANKARA: Turkey appointed a new military chief of staff on Wednesday as it battles IS in Syria and Kurdish militants at home, promoting the former commander of its land forces, a figure seen as likely to pur-sue a hawkish line on both fronts.

General Hulusi Akar’s ap-pointment as head of NATO’s second-largest army comes amid a flare-up of attacks on security forces by Kurdish PKK insurgents, and as Tur-key takes on a frontline role in the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State.

Security analysts say Akar is approved of by President Tayyip Erdogan, and that his infantry experience and familiarity with Western allies made him a natural choice for the post.

“Hulusi Akar has a hawkish stance on the struggle against the PKK. He also has a tougher stance on smuggling on the border and terrorism,” said Metin Gurcan, a former sol-dier and security expert from Bilkent University.

“I think we can expect closer cooperation with the US, first of all on Incirlik. I

know that Akar has a clear position that IS is a terrorist organisation.”

Akar replaces Necdet Ozel, who retires after a traumatic period for Turkey’s once politically-influential military.

Akar’s main task will be to sooth simmering resentment, according to Gareth Jenkins, an Istanbul-based author and veteran researcher on Turkish security policy. “One of the big challenges for the new guy is whether he can restore confidence amongst the officer corp in the high command,” he said. — Reuters

Ankara appoints hawkish Akar as army chief

Paint on suspected MH370 plane part being examinedTOULOUSE (FRANCE): Ex-perts in France were examining a washed-up plane part Wednes-day which likely belonged to the MH370 plane that vanished mysteriously last year, hoping to find clues to one of aviation’s greatest enigmas.

The Malaysia Airlines jet dis-appeared on March 8 last year, inexplicably veering off course en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, sparking a colossal but ultimately fruitless multinational hunt for the aircraft.

But last week’s discovery of a two-metre-long wing part called a flaperon on the French Indi-an Ocean island of La Reunion raised fresh hopes for relatives desperate for answers.

French and Malaysian experts including Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the head of the Asian country’s civil aviation watch-dog, arrived at a laboratory in the southern French city of Toulouse on Wednesday for the tests.

French, Malaysian and Aus-tralian experts, Boeing employees and representatives from China -- the country that lost the most passengers in the disaster -- were all due to be present.

Paris prosecutors dealing with the probe into the wing part said they would hold a press confer-ence at 8pm (1800 GMT).

Jean-Paul Troadec, former

chief of France’s BEA agency that probes air accidents, said the analysis would focus on two issues -- whether the flaperon be-longs to MH370 and if so, wheth-er it can shed light on the plane’s final moments.

He said the paint on the piece was one key element of the probe.

“Every airline paints their planes in a certain way,” he said. “If the paint used is used by Ma-laysia Airlines... there may be more certainty.”

Pierre Bascary, former direc-tor of tests at the French Defence Procurement Agency, where the

analysis will take place, added that the airline may have written maintenance information on the piece such as “Do Not Walk”.

“The phrase used and the way it was written also gives an idea of the origin of the plane,” he said.

Australia’s Deputy Prime Min-ister Warren Truss, meanwhile, said drift modelling performed by the national science agency confirmed debris could have been carried by wind and currents to La Reunion, some 4,000 kilome-tres (2,500 miles) from the region where MH370 was thought to have gone down. — AFP

M Y S T E R I O U S D I S A P P E A R A N C E

ANGUISH: Relatives of passengers who were onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are stopped by policemen as they try to enter the building where the Malaysia Airlines office is located, in Beijing on Wednesday. — Reuters

25 dead as migrant boat sinks off LibyaROME: A boat packed with up to 700 African migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya on Wednesday and many are feared dead, officials and aid agencies said.

Italian Coast Guard spokesman Filippo Marini said first reports indicated there were between 400 and 600 people on board and that 25 bodies had been recovered so far. The operation, which also in-cluded Italian and Irish vessels, was continuing, he added.

The humanitarian group Me-decins sans Frontieres, whose rescue ship Dignity 1 was in the area, said in a tweet that the boat was believed to have been carrying about 700 people.

“The team on the Dignity 1 can confirm that there have tragically been many deaths but does not have figures at this stage,” one of its tweets said.

In another tweet, the U.N. refu-gee agency UNHCR said about 600 people had been on board and that about 250 had been rescued.

Significant lossesIrish Defence Minister Simon Coveney said in a statement he feared that “loss of life is likely to be significant”.

The Mediterranean Sea is the world’s most deadly border area for migrants. More than 2,000 migrants and refugees have died

so far this year in attempts to reach Europe by boat, compared with 3,279 deaths during the whole of last year, the Interna-tional Organization for Migration said on Tuesday.

In April, a fishing boat with up to 800 migrants sank, making it the deadliest shipwreck in the Medi-terranean for decades. — Reuters

T R A G E D Y

Italian Coast Guard spokesman Filippo Marini said first reports indicated there were between 400 and 600 people on board and that 25 bodies had been recovered so far

House of Cecil killer vandalised in Florida TAMPA: Vandals spray-painted “lion killer” on a tony Florida va-cation home that is owned by an American dentist who killed Zim-babwe’s best-known lion, authori-ties said on Wednesday.

The damage to the home of Min-nesota dentist Walter Palmer, a game hunter who last month killed

13-year-old Cecil, a rare black-maned lion, is being investigated as misdemeanour criminal mis-chief, said Marco Island police Captain David Baer.

It was reported on Tuesday morning, and authorities in south-west Florida have not determined when it occurred, he said. — Reuters

M I S D E M E A N O U R

MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5B

Muscat6,429.83 - 37.06 - 0.57%

Dubai4,164.69+ 68.06 + 1.66%

Abu Dhabi4,842.69+ 30.98 + 0.64%

Saudi Arabia8,790.77+ 21.29+ 0.24%

Kuwait6,238.49+ 14.40 + 0.23%

Bahrain1,331.51 - 1.06 - 0.08%

Qatar11,836.75+ 25.19+ 0.21%

CURRENCY RATES* DRAFT RATES (OMR1)* GOLD PRICES*Forex rates vs OMR1*US Dollar .................................2.58Euro ............................................2.36Pound ...........................................1.66Indian Rs .............................165.56Pak Rs ....................................260.01Bangla Taka.......................199.52

* Rates are as of August 5Source: Bank Muscat

Indian Rs .................................. 165.42Pakistan Rs ............................ 263.60Sri Lanka Rs .......................... 346.60Bangla Taka.............................201.70Phil Peso .................................... 118.50

* Rates as of August 5 Source: Oman UAE Exchange

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) .......13.95

Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......13.50

Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............ 131.00

Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) ............. 124.75

* Rates as of August 5

Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

Type ............................Delivery...........PriceOman Crude ............. (Spot) ........$48.59Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) ........$48.54Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ........$50.40Arabian Light ......... (Spot) ........ $48.47N.Sea Brent ............... (Spot) ........$50.52West Texas Int ....... (Spot) ........$46.20

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

Oman floats tender for temporary desalination projectsTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) has floated a tender for setting up temporary wa-ter desalination plants to meet the growing water demand in the country.

It appears that the selected company would produce water until a couple of major new pro-jects go on stream. There was a shortage in water supply re-cently as several areas in Mus-cat region did not get enough water, which prompted authori-ties to take measures on a war footing to resolve the crisis.

Demand for potable water in Oman’s northern region, which include Muscat governorate, is projected to grow by six per cent per annum in the next five years, from 238 million cubic metres in 2013 to 349 million cubic me-tres in 2020.

This compares to previous seven-year forecasts in which average annual growth was in the range of three to five per cent, according to a seven-year outlook for power and water demand released by Oman Power and Water Procurement Company. Population growth, new hotels and industries are all driving demand for water in the country.

Five companiesA tender announcement from Oman Power and Water Pro-curement Company said that five companies — Aflaj Al Khaleej Trading & Contract-ing Company, Ismoflow, Seven Seas, House of Trading and Services and Advanced Oilfield Technology – have submitted bids for providing temporary water solution services. The project could come up in one or two sites.

Several water desalination projects, including major pro-jects at Barka, Sohar, Quriyyat, Salalah and Duqm, are at differ-ent stages of implementation and tendering.

A new desalination plant at Qurayyat with a capacity of 200,000 cubic metres per day will start production in 2017 and another desalination plant in Salalahwith a capacity of up to 20 million imperial gallon per day is expected to start opera-tion in 2019.

W A T E R P R O J E C T Middle East airlines achieve robust cargo volume growth

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Middle East airlines saw the strongest growth in air freight movement with demand expanding by 15.3 per cent, and capacity rising 19.2 per cent in June this year, according to data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Airlines in the region have pur-sued a successful hub strategy connecting both long- and short-haul markets. “Although some ma-jor economies in the region have seen slowdowns in non-oil sectors, economic growth remains gener-ally robust, which is also helping

to sustain demand for air freight. Growth for the year-to-date is run-ning at 14 per cent,” noted a state-ment from the association.

Regional performanceRegional performance varied widely. Asia-Pacific, North Ameri-can and Latin American carriers reported year-on-year declines of 0.3 per cent, 3.3 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively, while Euro-pean carriers reported that mar-kets were flat. This was offset by the strong performance of Middle Eastern carriers at 15.3 per cent and African airlines at 6.7 per cent to keep growth in positive territory.

The IATA released data for glob-

al air freight markets showing a slowdown in overall growth for air cargo demand in June. Air freight volumes measured in freight tonne kilometers rose just 1.2 per cent compared to a year ago. This is consistent with falling trade ac-tivity and weaker than expected global growth.

The general trend of a weaker 2015 compared to 2014 can be seen in the half-year data. Air freight markets expanded by 5.8 per cent in 2014. However year-to-date growth for 2015 stands at 3.5 per cent.

“The half-year report for air car-go is not encouraging. With growth of just 1.2 per cent over June last

year, markets are basically stag-nating. Some carriers are doing better than others at picking up the business that is out there. But overall it has been a disappointing first half of 2015, especially con-sidering the strong finish to 2014. The remainder of the year holds mixed signals, said Tony Tyler, IATA director general and CEO.

Weak export orders“The general expectation is for an acceleration of economic growth, but business confidence and ex-port orders look weak. Air cargo and the global economy will all benefit if governments can suc-cessfully focus on stabilising

growth and stimulating trade by removing barriers,” he added.

Asia-Pacific carriersAsia-Pacific carriers saw a fall in freight tonne kilometers of 0.3 per cent in June compared to June 2014, and capacity expanded 4 per cent. The region has experienced a notable slowdown in imports and exports over recent months, and latest data shows emerging Asia trade activity down 8 per cent.

Growth for the year-to-date was 5.4 per cent. In addition to gener-ally weak trade growth, the region is the most exposed to the China market where government poli-cies are more focused on stimulat-ing domestic markets. European carriers reported flat demand in June, compared to a year ago and capacity rose 2.2 per cent. Improvements in Eurozone busi-ness confidence have not led to increased air freight demand, and consumer confidence has been hit by the Greek crisis.

Middle East airlines

saw demand

expanding 15% and

capacity rising 19%

in June this year,

according to IATA

OCCI trade team from Sharqiyah region visits Iran

MUSCAT: : Business delega-tion from the branch of Oman Chamber of Commerce and In-dustry (OCCI) in the Governo-rate of North Al Sharqiyah on Wednesday visited the province of Yazd in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

During the visit, members of the delegation met the chair-man and members of Yazd Chamber of Commerce.

Saud bin Ahmed Al Barawani, Sultanate’s ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran gave a speech during the meeting in which he stressed the im-portance of trade exchange between the two countries and enhancing the trade and invest-ment relations between the businessmen of both sides.

The delegation also held bi-lateral meetings. - ONA

B U S I N E S S T I E S

Central bank bond issue raises OMR360 millionMUSCAT: Competitive bids worth OMR360.39 million were received by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) for its development bond issue of OMR300 million. The total value of allotted bonds were OMR300 million.

The average yield equivalent per cent to the accepted price was 2.54 per cent at price of OMR100

and 150 baisas while the highest yield equivalent was at 2.980 per cent for OMR100 and 90 baisas and the lowest was at 1.960 per cent for OMR104 and 935 baisas

A CBO statement said that the five-year bond will be issued on August 9 and will mature on Au-gust 9, 2020, carrying a coupon rate of 3 per cent per annum. – ONA

E C O N O M Y

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

B2

MARKETT H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5

REGULAR MARKET .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................OM0000002168 ............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ............................... 495,000 .........196,800........................8 ........... 0.400 ...........0.400 ...........0.396 ........... 0.398 .............0.396 ........... 0.002 ............. 0.505 ................0.396 ..............0.392...................0.396.................. 117,893,045 ........0.100OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER ................................................ 105,000 ........... 23,950........................2 ........... 0.230 ...........0.230 ...........0.228........... 0.228 .............0.227 ............0.001 ............. 0.441 ................0.228..............0.225...................0.228 .................153,874,334 ........0.100OM0000001145 ............PORT SERVICES CORPORATION ........................... 5,000 .................. 950........................2 ............0.190 ........... 0.190 ...........0.190 ........... 0.190 ............. 0.190 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.190 .............. 0.185...................0.190 ................... 18,057,600 .........0.100OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING .............53,000 ...............5,807........................6 ............0.110 ........... 0.110............0.109 ............0.110 ............. 0.110 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.110 .............. 0.110................... 0.112 ...................13,406,250 .........0.100OM0000001707 ............OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY .........................................3,216 ............... 7,140........................2 ........... 2.220 ...........2.220 ...........2.220 .......... 2.270 .............2.270 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................2.220 ............ 2.220...................2.270 .................203,619,000........0.100OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ................2,000 .................. 524........................ 1 ........... 0.262 ...........0.262 ...........0.262........... 0.267 .............0.267 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.262..............0.262...................0.265.................... 5,607,000 ..........0.100OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK .........................................................................6,471 ...............1,390........................3 ............0.215 ........... 0.215 ...........0.214 ............0.215 ............. 0.215............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.214 ............. 0.200...................0.214 ..................306,382,771 ........0.100OM0000003281 ............TAAGEER FINANCE ..................................................... 8,600 ............... 1,247........................ 1 ............0.145 ........... 0.145 ...........0.145 ............0.145 ............. 0.145............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.145 .............. 0.145...................0.157 ...................36,770,550 .........0.100OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. ....................31,994 ............... 3,767........................7 ............0.116 ........... 0.118............ 0.116 ............0.118 ............. 0.118 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................ 0.118 .............. 0.118................... 0.119 ................... 34,217,715 .........0.100OM0000004248 ...........SMN POWER HOLDING ..............................................3,000 ...............2,184........................3 ............0.728 ........... 0.728 ...........0.728 ........... 0.728 ............. 0.728............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.728 ..............0.728...................0.000 ................. 145,334,717 ........0.100OM0000004669 ...........SHARQIYAH DESALINATION ......................................250 ...............1,000........................2 ........... 4.000 ...........4.000 ...........4.000 .......... 4.000 .............4.000 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ............... 4.000 .............3.650...................0.000 ..................39,120,864 .........1.000OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL ...............................................68,850 ...............6,059........................9 ........... 0.088 ........... 0.088 ...........0.088........... 0.088 .............0.088 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.088 ..............0.088...................0.090 ..................15,400,000 .........0.100OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER .................................................. 155,000 ............35,595......................13 ........... 0.229 ...........0.230 ...........0.229........... 0.230 .............0.230 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.229............. 0.220...................0.229 .................164,313,458 ........0.100OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS ........................................................830 .................. 459........................3 ........... 0.550 ........... 0.554 ...........0.550 ........... 0.562 .............0.562 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.554 ..............0.554...................0.560 ..................29,505,000 .........0.100OM0000001749 ............OMAN CEMENT .......................................................... 350,505 ..........179,134......................14 ............0.512 ........... 0.514 ...........0.510 ............0.512 ............. 0.514............-0.002 ........... -0.389 ...............0.510 ..............0.502...................0.510 ..................169,406,828 ........0.100OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 200,363 ..........157,034..................... 28 ............0.784 ........... 0.784 ...........0.780 ........... 0.784 ............. 0.788............-0.004 ........... -0.508 ...............0.784 ..............0.780...................0.784 ..................510,340,276 ........0.100OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ..........................20,092 ............ 34,960........................9 ............1.740 ........... 1.740............1.740 ............1.740 ............. 1.750 ............-0.010 ............-0.571................1.740 .............. 1.740................... 1.750 ................1,305,000,000 ......0.100OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ................6,135 .................. 801........................6 ............0.131 ........... 0.131 ............0.130 ........... 0.130 ............. 0.131 ............-0.001 ........... -0.763................0.130 ..............0.130...................0.137 ................... 11,700,000 .........0.100OM0000001533 ............OMINVEST .................................................................... 374,788.......... 179,898........................9 ........... 0.480 ...........0.480 ...........0.480........... 0.480 .............0.484 ...........-0.004 ........... -0.826 ...............0.480..............0.480...................0.484 .................177,800,304 ........0.100OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 604,420 ..........119,835......................15 ........... 0.200 ...........0.200 ...........0.194 ........... 0.198 .............0.200 ...........-0.002 ........... -1.000 ...............0.198 .............. 0.195...................0.198 ..................285,405,120........0.100OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 1,143,987 ......605,958....................115 ........... 0.528 ........... 0.532 ...........0.528........... 0.530 .............0.536 ...........-0.006 ............-1.119 ................0.530 ..............0.530...................0.534................ 1,214,665,976 ......0.100OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ........................................................43,536 .............64,172......................14 ............1.470 ........... 1.475............1.460 ............1.475 ............. 1.495 ............-0.020 ............-1.338................1.475 .............. 1.465................... 1.475 ................. 295,000,000 .......0.100OM0000001483 ............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ....................................11,855 ...............4,056........................3 ........... 0.344 ...........0.344 ...........0.342........... 0.342 .............0.348 ...........-0.006 ............-1.724 ................0.342............. 0.000...................0.342 ................ 458,522,906 .......0.100OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 2,040,797 ......443,274................... 130 ............0.216 ........... 0.219 ...........0.214 ............0.217 ............. 0.221 ...........-0.004 ............-1.810 ................0.214 ..............0.212...................0.216 ...................32,566,275 .........0.100OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ...................................... 22,000 ...............5,984........................2 ........... 0.272 ........... 0.272 ...........0.272........... 0.272 .............0.278 ...........-0.006 ........... -2.158................0.272..............0.265...................0.272................... 76,729,691 .........0.100OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ........................43,700 ...............5,036......................13 ............0.116 ........... 0.116 ............ 0.112 ............0.115 ............. 0.118 ............-0.003 ........... -2.542 ...............0.112 .............. 0.112................... 0.116 ....................3,450,000 ..........0.100OM0000001962 ............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ................................... 120,000 ..............7,920........................3 ........... 0.066 ........... 0.066 ...........0.066........... 0.066 .............0.068 ...........-0.002 ........... -2.941 ...............0.066 ..............0.065...................0.068................... 13,671,991 .........0.100OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ......................... 860,477 ..........107,657..................... 45 ............0.130 ........... 0.130 ...........0.124 ............0.125 ............. 0.132............-0.007 ........... -5.303 ...............0.125 .............. 0.125...................0.127 .................... 7,355,402 ..........0.100OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY ......................................................11,569 ...............5,090........................5 ........... 0.440 ...........0.440 ...........0.440 .......... 0.440 .............0.470 ...........-0.030 ........... -6.383 ...............0.440..............0.440...................0.460 ..................26,620,000.........0.100.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 6,792,435 ...2,207,681...................473 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ TRADED SEC. ......29........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000001046............PACKAGING CO. LTD ................................................ 165,000 ..........115,500........................ 1 ........... 0.700 ........... 0.700 ...........0.700 ........... 0.476 .............0.476 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.700 ............. 0.000...................0.000 ................... 1,428,000 ..........1.000OM0000001400 ...........OMAN FLOUR MILLS ................................................... 5,000 ...............2,510........................ 1 ........... 0.502 ...........0.502 ...........0.502........... 0.502 .............0.502 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.502..............0.492...................0.500 ..................79,065,000 .........0.100OM0000001897 ............MAJAN COLLEGE .......................................................... 1,270 .................. 636........................2 ........... 0.502 ...........0.502 ...........0.500........... 0.500 .............0.500 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.500..............0.500...................0.550...................15,000,000 .........0.100OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 427,390 ............ 31,415......................16 ............0.071 ........... 0.075 ...........0.071 ........... 0.074 .............0.074 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.073 ..............0.072...................0.073..................111,000,000 ........0.100OM0000004776 ...........TAKAFUL OMAN INSURANCE ..............................12,000 ...............1,344........................3 ............0.112 ........... 0.112............ 0.112 ............0.112 ............. 0.112 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.112 .............. 0.112................... 0.114 ...................11,200,000 .........0.100OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 2,719,353 ...... 415,463................... 139 ............0.153 ........... 0.155 ...........0.152 ............0.153 ............. 0.154............-0.001 ........... -0.649 ...............0.153 .............. 0.152...................0.153 ..................223,778,023 ........0.100OM0000001723 ............OMAN ORIX LEASING .............................................. 20,000 ...............2,890........................2 ............0.145 ........... 0.145 ...........0.144 ........... 0.144 ............. 0.147............-0.003 ........... -2.041 ...............0.144 .............. 0.143...................0.145 ...................34,759,302 .........0.100OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. ................... 40,000 ............... 1,560........................2 ........... 0.039 ........... 0.039 ...........0.039........... 0.039 .............0.040 ...........-0.001 ........... -2.500 ...............0.039 ..............0.038...................0.040 ................... 3,315,000 ..........0.100.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 3,390,013 .......571,318................... 166 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ TRADED SEC. ........ 8........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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 ....................................... 6,466.89 .............. 6,429.83 ................... 6,429.83 ...................6,466.89 ................ -37.06 .................. -0.57Financial Index ..................................... 7,888.13 ...............7,835.44 ................... 7,835.44 ....................7,888.13 ................-52.69 .................. -0.67Industrial Index ................................... 8,253.29 .............. 8,203.88 ...................8,203.88 ................... 8,249.77 ................-45.89 .................. -0.56Services Index .......................................3,494.14 ...............3,485.58 ................... 3,486.96 ................... 3,495.83 .................. -8.87 .................. -0.25MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................986.70 ..................983.95 .......................983.95 .......................986.71 .................. -2.76 .................. -0.28

Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded10,182,448 ................. 2,779,000 .....................639 ............... 14,934,130,167 .................. 2 ......................18 .................... 17 .........................37

MSM index in red zone

MUSCAT: Shares on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) de-clined on lack of support. MSM 30 Index remained in a bearish spiral to shed 0.57 per cent and close at 6,429.83 points. The MSM Sharia Index declined by 0.28 per cent to close at 983.95 points.

Phoenix Power was the most active in terms of volume as well as turnover. Al Batinah Power, up by 0.89 per cent, was the top gainer, while the top loser was DhofarCattlefeed, down by 5.47 per cent.

As many as 639 trades were executed during the trading session generating turnover of OMR2.7 million with more than 10.1 million shares changing hands. Out of 37 traded securi-ties, two advanced, 18 declined and 17 remained unchanged. Omani investors were net buy-ers for OMR269,000 followed by GCC and Arab investors for OMR68,000 while foreign in-vestors were net sellers for OMR337,000 worth of shares.

Financial Index edged down by 0.67 per cent to close at 7,835.44 points. Gulf Investment Services, Al Madina Investments, Al Bati-nah Investment and Develop-ment, Oman Orix Leasing and Al

Anwar Holding declined by 5.30 per cent, 2.94 per cent, 2.54 per cent, 2.04 per cent and 1.81 per cent, respectively.

Industrial Sector Index de-clined by 0.56 per cent and closed at 8,203.88 points. Al Anwar Ce-ramics gained by 0.51 per cent to close at OMR0.398. Voltamp Energy, Construction Materials, Raysut Cement and Oman Ce-ment declined by 6.38 per cent, 2.50 per cent, 1.34 per cent and 0.39 per cent, respectively.

Services Sector Index ended the day at 3,486.96 points, down by 0.25 per cent. Al Batinah Power, up by 0.44 per cent, was the only gainer in the sub-sector. Renaissance Services, Phoenix Power, Oman Telecommunica-tions Company and Ooredoo de-clined by 2.16 per cent, 0.65 per cent, 0.57 per cent, and 0.51 per cent, respectively. - United Securities

Al Batinah Power, up by 0.89 per cent,

was the top gainer, while the top loser was

DhofarCattlefeed, down by 5.47 per cent

Indian stocks rise; rupee steadyMUMBAI: After a brief pause, the S&P BSE benchmark Sensex once again continued its upward march by recovering 151 points to close at 28,223.08 on fresh buying follow-ing rise in India’s services sector activity last month coupled with higher overseas advices.

Capital inflows Persistent capital inflows from foreign funds also boosted the market sentiment. Services sec-

tor returned to growth in July, after two consecutive months of contraction, as new orders wit-nessed a surge and hiring gath-ered pace to hit a two-year high rate, a survey showed.

The Sensex resumed higher at 28,138.04 and firmed up further to a high of 28,315.71 on initial strong buying, but it declined afterwards to 28,135.68 before ending at 28,223.08 , still showing a gain of 151.15 or 0.54 per cent. The CNX

50-share Nifty rose by 51.05 points or 0.60 per cent to 8,567.95.

The Indian rupee recovered from initial against the American cur-rency and ended barely steady at 63.75 per dollar on fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters in view of sustained foreign capital in-flows into equitymarket. The rupee resumed weak at 63.90 per dollar as against previous closing of 63.74 and moved down further to 63.9350 on initial dollar demand. - PTI

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

Greece wants full bailout, not bridge loan, says ruling party ATHENS: The parliamentary spokesman for Greece’s ruling Syriza party urged it on Wednes-day to unite behind a new funding agreement, saying the country wanted a full bailout immediately rather than a bridge loan.

Nikos Filis said Greece was seeking a full agreement so that it could receive a first payment of €25 billion. “We are seeking to have a deal,” he said on state television station ERT. “The deal will have tough measures. What is important is that the financing of the Greek economy starts.”

Filis was speaking amid signs of progress in talks between Greece, the International Monetary Fund and European Union institutions on a new bailout worth up to €86 billion ($94.5 billion). A deal must be must be settled by August 20, or a second bridge loan agreed, if Greece is to pay off debt of €3.5 billion to the European Central Bank that matures on that day.

Both sides have said such a deal is possible, although the Europe-an Commission described the tar-get as ambitious, suggesting a lot of work remains to be done. Filis said Greece wanted the full deal, not a temporary measure.

“We will not accept new prior actions (reform conditions in place) in order to have a small bridge loan,” Filis said. “We want one final deal to be signed and then we will see what is needed to have a disbursement of €25 bil-lion as the first instalment.”

Country firstHe also called for members of his party, about a quarter of whom oppose the reforms and austerity linked to the bailout, to put the country first. “Differences should not prevail over the party’s unity and the country’s stability,” Fi-lis said, warning that a split could damage the government.

“The leftist government will

stay in power only if its leftist lawmakers vote in favour (of the bailout).” Talks between Greece and its international creditors will continue.

Early elections Early elections are ‘likely’ in Greece in the fall, a government spokeswoman said on Wednes-day as Athens races to hammer out a new bailout deal with its creditors by August 20. “Elections are likely in the autumn,” govern-ment spokeswoman Olga Gero-vasili told Vima radio. “It mainly depends on how steady this gov-ernment can be in the coming period,” she added.

The radical government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has seen its support dwindle in par-liament after agreeing to a third rescue package containing more austerity cuts on July 13. In two re-form votes, 30 lawmakers refused to approve measures. - Agencies

D E B T C R I S I S

PROTEST MARCH: Protesters from a trade union, PAME, shouting slogans during an anti-austerity demonstration outside the Labour Ministry in central Athens, on Wednesday. - Reuters

B3T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

MARKETStanChat cuts dividend as profit plummets 44%

LONDON: Standard Chartered halved its dividend and said it would raise capital from investors if needed, as new chief executive Bill Winters outlined his thoughts on reviving a bank hit by a 44 per cent slump in first-half profit.

Shares in the Asia-focused lender rose 4.5 per cent to 994.9 pence on Wednesday as investors welcomed Winters’ move to set a target to double return on equity to a minimum of 10 per cent. Net profit slumped 36.7 per cent in the six months to June compared to the same period in 2014.

That helped offset disappoint-ment over the cut to the dividend for the first half of the year to 14.4 cents a share from 28.8 cents a year ago. The bank said it had “rebased” the payout to reflect its “current earnings expectation and outlook”.

As a result of the cut, Standard

Chartered said its common tier 1 equity position, a key measure of capital strength, had risen 80 basis points to 11.5 per cent, six months ahead of target.

Winters, who became CEO in June, did not rule out raising capi-tal in future.

“If we decide we need capital for the long-term benefit of the

group, we will raise capital,” he said. The bank said its pretax profit in the first six months of the year fell to $1.82 billion, down 44 per cent from a year ago.

StanChart has suffered a trou-bled three years, hurt by problems including fines from US regula-tors for misconduct, strained relations with top shareholders, plunging commodities prices and a weakened trading environment.

Additional capitalOn his first day in charge, Winters told investors the bank needed to strengthen its finances and sim-plify operations to increase share-holder returns.

The lender has struggled to shake off concerns it will need to raise additional capital to bolster its balance sheet, especially if Asian economies that have tradi-tionally served as the biggest driv-

ers for its revenue growth contin-ue to falter. The lender is aiming for cost savings of $1.8 billion by the end of 2018.

Some analysts have said Win-ters needs to raise at least $5 billion from a rights issue and a dividend cut to strengthen the balance sheet and generate cash to grow lending and kick-start revenue growth.

Winters has already shaken up the bank’s management struc-ture, streamlining its eight geo-graphical regions into four units that will report directly to him. Winters said the bank faced some “very real challenges”. - Agencies

The Asia-focused

lender said it would

raise capital from

investors if needed,

as the new CEO

outlined his thoughts

on reviving a bank

hit by slump in profit

Shale gas production leads to pollution and global warming: StudyTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Production process of shale oil and gas results in high emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that contributes to global warming and pollution of the environment and groundwa-ter, potentially causing under-ground rock slides, says a study conducted by the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), a regional Arab fi-nancial organisation, established by Arab countries in 1976.

Furrther, given the prevailing conditions in global oil markets, the cost of shale oil and gas pro-duction are relatively high at the currently prevailing low crude oil prices, according to the research note on the growing shale oil and gas production and their impact on global oil markets as well as on the world’s production and consump-tion of crude oil.

The research, propelled by the fact that the global economy has been witnessing a decline in crude oil prices from the beginning of the second half of 2014, shows the im-pact of water consumption during the extraction process of shale oil and gas on water resources. Thus, shale oil and gas production in countries with limited water re-sources may not be not feasible.

This has been attributed to sev-eral factors, including the fall in global economic growth rate in 2014 and the shale oil boom. The United States has recorded an increase in shale oil production, which affected crude oil markets.

In addition, fossil oil extracted from land is available in large

quantities in the Middle East and Russia, and is considered a global competitor in terms of production and transportation costs com-pared to shale oil, it says.

Water resourcesThe study conducted by the Arab Monetary Fund mainly covers is-sues related to the shale oil and gas extraction process from un-derground sedimentary rocks, elaborating on water resources and chemicals used in the process. It highlights the environmental impact caused by the extraction process, alongside the US strategy on energy security.

Furthermore, the study address-es the changes in global reserves of fossil oil and shale oil and gas, and the ranking of countries according to global reserves.

It also presents data on global production and consumption of fossil oil, shale oil, and the world and US consumption of energy re-sources by economic sectors.

The study discusses the cost of shale oil production compared to other types of oils in several coun-tries, the prices of fossil and shale oil and gas, and the factors that contributed to the volatility.

S T U D Y R E P O R T

1,500 food manufacturers to discuss trends at Dubai expoTimes News Service

MUSCAT: More than 1,500 in-ternational food manufacturers, suppliers and industry service providers will participate in this year’s Gulfood Manufacturing, the Middle East’s biggest food manufacturing, ingredients, pro-cessing and packaging exhibition.

The high number of partici-pants, who will be attending the event at Dubai World Trade Cen-tre from October 27 to 29, is a strong indication of both market potential and demand.

Gulfood Manufacturing was established only last year but is already regarded as the most influential and largest industry show for its sector throughout the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia region.

In line with global food manu-facturing trends, Gulfood Manu-facturing 2015 will address issues including food security, sustain-ability, speed and efficiency of production, and logistics and

transport factors involved in ‘time to market’. National pavil-ions include representation from more than 26 countries including Germany, Austria, China, Egypt, France, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, India, Italy, the United States and the UK.

Local, regional and global trade professionals visiting the show are expected to exceed the 26,329 visitors from 156 countries re-

corded last year, while another 1,200 delegates will hear from an extensive line-up of international industry experts providing in-sights at a series of conferences.

Consumption patternsGlobally, food manufacturing and its associated industries continue to play a significant role in the growth of economies, whether de-veloped or emerging. Increasing global populations, rising living standards, changing consumption patterns and continued moderni-sation of the value chain in many parts of the world continues to drive growth and opportunities.

In the GCC region alone, the population is expected to reach 57.6 million by 2019, with a main-tained GDP growth percentage of 3-4 per cent annually translating to higher personal income levels and standards of living.

With the region’s primary agri-culture sector restricted because of harsh climatic conditions, lim-ited arable land and water scarcity.

E X H I B I T I O N

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

MULTIPLE ISSUES: StanChart has suffered a troubled three years, hurt by problems, including fines from US regulators for misconduct, strained relations with top shareholders, plunging commodities prices and a weakened trading environment. – Bloomberg News

Is the cost savings the bank is aiming by the end of 2018. Net profit slumped 36.7% in the

six months to June compared to the same

period in 2014

$1.8b

PARTICIPANTSPavilions include representation from over 26 countries, including Germany, Austria, China, Egypt, France, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, India, Italy, the United States and the UK

B4

FEATURET H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

et's step back and take a look at glob-al economic development. In the last two or three decades, we have seen a remarkable phenomenon. Since the Industrial Revolution, a few coun-tries in Europe, North America and

East Asia raced ahead of the global pack and maintained their lead for much of the 19th and 20th centuries.

That confounded the predictions of basic models of economic growth, which say that national living standards should converge over time. Only since the 1980s has the rest of the world been catching up, and catching up fast. Global growth has been strong — usually more than 3 per cent, often even higher. And devel-oping countries have grown much faster than developed ones, helping to make global income distribution much more equal. It looks like the old economic models are working after all.

But can it last? The main engine of global growth since 2000 has been the rapid industri-alisation of China. By channeling the vast sav-ings of its population into capital investment, and by rapidly absorbing technology from ad-vanced countries, China was able to carry out the most stupendous modernisation in his-tory, moving hundreds of millions of farmers from rural areas to cities. That in turn powered the growth of resource-exporting countries such as Brazil, Russia and many developing nations that sold their oil, metals and other re-sources to the new workshop of the world.

The problem is that China's recent slow-down from 10 per cent annual growth to about 7 per cent is only the beginning. The recent

drops in housing and stock prices are harbin-gers of a further economic moderation. That is inevitable, since no country can grow at a breakneck pace forever. And with the slowing of China, Brazil and Russia have been slowing as well — the heyday of the Brics (Brazil, Rus-sia, India and China) is over.

But the really worrying question is: What if other nations can't pick up the slack when China slows? What if China is the last country to fol-low the tried-and-true path of industrialisation?

There is really only one time-tested way for a country to get rich. It moves farmers to factories and imports foreign manufacturing technology. When you move surplus farmers to cities, their productivity soars — this is the so-called dual- sector model of economic develop-ment pioneered by economist W. Arthur Lewis. So far, no country has reached high levels of in-come by moving farmers to service jobs.

What is manufacturing's special property? It may be much easier to import foreign tech-nology in manufacturing than in other ac-tivities. Harvard economist Dani Rodrik has shown that if you just look at manufacturing, countries' productivity tends to rapidly con-verge — poor nations are very good at copy-ing manufacturing technologies from rich countries. But in services, productivity does not tend to converge. This may be because manufacturing technologies are embodied in the products themselves and in the machines that are used to make the products, while ser-vice businesses get their productivity from or-ganisational models, human capital and other intangibles that are harder for poor countries

to imitate, and harder to grow quickly. But here's the problem: manufacturing is

shrinking. Although the total amount of physi-cal stuff that humans make keeps expanding, the per cent of our economic activity that we put into making physical goods keeps going down. This is happening all across the globe, even in China. This may partly be because manufactur-ing has been a victim of its own success — the sector has grown so productive that it's now pretty cheap to make all the stuff we need. That is exactly what happened in agriculture, after all.

If manufacturing becomes a niche activity, the world's poor countries could be in trou-ble. China might have been the last country to hop on board the industrialisation train. In that case, India, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East might get left behind. This is the unsettling gist of a presentation by the afore-mentioned Dani Rodrik at the UK's Overseas Development Institute. Rodrik concludes: "As domestic rather than global trends drive growth, significant heterogeneity in long-term performance across developing countries is likely." In other words, the remaining poor countries might not be able to catch up, as China is doing.

So while the leaders of developing coun-tries, such as India's Narendra Modi, should continue their push to improve infrastructure, it may be even more important for them to fo-cus on education. As building things becomes less important and doing things becomes more important to the global economy, human capi-tal will be more crucial than ever. — Washington Post-Bloomberg News

By channeling the vast savings of its population into capital investment,and by rapidly absorbing technology from advanced countries,

China was able to carry out the most stupendous modernisation in history,moving hundreds of millions of farmers from rural areas to cities

B5T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

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Right time to buy sporty Maxima

MUSCAT: The Nissan Maxima is a great fusion between a sedan and the soul of a sports car. And this combination of sports sedan styl-ing along with ample comfort and luxury that the Maxima provides has made it a favourite among the youngsters in the Sultanate.

With a special offer for grabs, customers can now avail EMI rate starting from OMR171 on the Nis-san Maxima, says a press release.

Easy financing options Nissan customers can also avail easy financing option of a loan term up to 8 years with attrac-tive interest rates from Bank Muscat. Flexible EMIs can also be tailor made for any individual requirement from in-house auto finance team.

The mighty Maxima The breakthrough exterior design

of the Maxima imparts a feeling of powerful driving motion which combines an aggressive stance and the powerful 3.5L, V6 engine with 290 HP/64000 RPM Xtronic CVT transmission. The Nissan Maxima delivers quick accel-eration and lasting euphoria with paddle shifter, cruise control and Bluetooth technology for a better driving experience. Taking into consideration the driver’s com-fort, the vehicles comes with auto A/C with dual zone climate con-trol, stylish sunroof and 19” alloy wheels. The vehicle is enhanced by features like intelligent key push start button, ABS, EBD, BA, vehi-cle dynamic control (VDC) with traction control system (TCS) and xenon lights. Lastly, it comes with striking front and rear parking sensors and 6 SRS air bags.

Apart from its performance, Ni-ssan Maxima also offers maximum comfort and safety. Maxima pro-vides extremely nimble handling and leaves the driver feeling con-fident and in control. Braking is strong and the vehicle is relatively quiet as well, thanks to an im-proved engine-mounting system and more rigid body and six stand-ard airbag system is available to ensure safety of all the passengers.

Maxima’s unmatched comfort levels also feature 8-way power driver seat (which is a standard), 4-way power front passenger seat, a high end Bose sound system and for a premium look and feel it comes with leather appointed

seats and steering with character-istic stitch. The digital compass in rearview mirror makes revers-ing easy and convenient. The tilt-down of outside mirrors during reversing the vehicle comes with memory function and adds to the classic look of the new model.

The prestigious vehicle has re-ceived several accolades includ-ing the ALG’s residual value award for best full-size car and the best resale value in its class by Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com.

Quality of power, performance and safety shows in the eye-catching exterior of the Maxima with rear combination lights, a new front grille design, large glass

surfaces and 19-inch aluminium-alloy wheels. Key features include high intensity discharge (HID) Xenon headlights, smoked ap-pearance headlights, a compass in the rearview mirror, a rear spoiler, fog lights, dark satin chrome front grille, outside mirrors with inte-grated turn signals and metallic trim. And it’s the fine exterior ap-pointments that hint at luxury within the sedan.

A luxury sedan should ease both the body and the mind and keeping this thought central, the Nissan Maxima’s warm and roomy interi-or provides a quiet space to stretch out and discover the rewards of er-gonomic design.

All the information which one needs while driving is easily acces-sible with the rearview monitor and the interactive Nissan hard drive navigation system.

Care has been taken to ensure that all the controls are comfort-ably within the reach of the auto-mobilist and the wide range of fun youthful features include 2-DIN audio system featuring an AM/FM radio and seven speakers. Ni-ssan Maxima is engineered, built, tuned and aimed at young drivers who prefer sporty handling and a firmer ride as opposed to the soft-er, more luxurious rides associated with other cars in this class. To this end, four driver-selectable modes

are available: D-mode or the auto-matic mode; DS mode which is the drive sport automatic; Shift lever and Paddle shifter which is the manual mode.

The Nissan Maxima’s main USP is undoubtedly its comfort quo-tient — it provides the comfort of performance, smoothness and power as only a Nissan vehicle can. It also offers the comfort of design that is dedicated to quiet relaxation. And last but not the least, the comfort of knowing that one is safe with the advanced safe-ty features that are available in the all latest Maxima’s.

While at its core, the Nissan Maxima is a family sedan that seats five people, it offers enough per-formance and handling to please young drivers who really value these two qualities. In addition, the Maxima has abundant amount of standard features and a modern-ized, comfortable interior, together with the guarantee of customer-centric and outstanding services of the Suhail Bahwan Automobiles.

SBA is largely committed to supporting Nissan’s growth in the Sultanate through major emphasis on customer satisfaction and by providing world-class after-sales services in Oman. With a national network of more than 19 show-rooms, 22 service centres and 35 spare parts outlets, SBA has fur-ther built upon its legacy of trust, excellent customer service and providing value for money to each of its customers.

With a special offer

for grabs, customers

can now avail EMI

rate starting from

OMR171 on the Nissan

Maxima

Geepas introduces lightest flashlightDUBAI: Geepas, the flagship brand of Western International Group, introduces the Geepas Moonwalker — the world’s light-est and most powerful range of flashlights. This new innovation has various cutting-edge features to call its own. This new series of flashlights aims to make flash-lights more portable and durable, lasting much longer with superior quality and performance, says a press release.

Geepas has lightened up the lives of millions of people around the world and its new Moonwalker series looks forward to creating a new direction in the flashlight industry. The Moonwalker uses a special LIB Technology using Lithium-Ion batteries that pro-vide 3 times longer battery life and due to this the flashlight becomes completely weightless making it only as heavy as one-third of the weight of standard flashlights in the market. Its light-weight strong unbreakable body and heavy-duty power light offers more brightness and makes it the perfect tool for all

users, be it at home or while trav-elling. Also, a built-in universal charging port makes the Moon-walker highly convenient, reliable and user-friendly.

Geepas is known for its innova-tive product range and modern

strategies with excellent use of technology, and this new innova-tion does not fail to impress.

“Geepas is now taking on chal-lenges, and with over 1500 prod-ucts in our range across multiple categories, we have now decided to offer our customers a taste of something new and unique, while adding higher value to the cus-tomer’s use. The ‘Moonwalker’ is our first step in this new direction, and there will soon be many more such innovations,” said Nizar T. N., director of Operations, Western International Group.

Geepas has introduced the Moonwalker series of flashlights in two sizes. Along with strong battery backup and longer life, the flashlight also has battery level indicator that blinks red when in need of charge, and green when fully charged. The strong unbreak-able front glass makes the Moon-walker break-free when dropped from heights or hit with force.

Recently crowned as a Super-brand, Geepas is gaining popu-larity for its reliable and quality

products at cost-effective pricing, and is now one of the most promi-nent names in the world. Widely revered for their quality and reli-ability, Geepas Moonwalker is a cutting-edge innovation that is sure to set it a class apart from the rest, and promises to be a best-sell-er amongst the clutter available in the market today.

Geepas is a part of Western In-ternational Group and has one of the world’s largest Electronics product portfolio with over 1500 products in entertainment prod-ucts, home appliances, kitchen appliances, lighting products and personal care gadgets. Geepas thrives on its phenomenal after sales service, with an extraordi-nary 3-day service turnaround time period, virtually overshad-owing every other brand in the world. Geepas could be one of the few brands in the world which has retained its customers with figures showing up to 74.3% of its custom-ers having purchased more than three or more products from its brand stable.

N E W I N N O V A T I O N

Bank Sohar rewards Ramadan Facebook competition winnersMUSCAT: In a recent prize giv-ing ceremony, Bank Sohar pre-sented gift certificates to each of the 10 winners of its Ramadan Facebook Competition totalling OMR1,000.

The competition, which was launched in celebration of the holy month, saw Bank Sohar invite all its customers and fans to partici-pate by answering multiple choice questions posted on Bank Sohar’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/excel.banksohar from June 28 till July 9 revolving around at-tractive touristic locations within the Sultanate.

The ceremony was recently held at the bank’s head of-fice where the gift certificates worth OMR100 were presented to each of the 10 winners by Mazin Mahmood Al Raisi, the AGM & Head of Marketing and Publicity at Bank Sohar, says a press release.

The competition saw Bank Sohar post questions on its Fa-cebook page (www.facebook.com/excel.banksohar) in a mul-tiple choice based format every day from Sunday to Thursday from June 28 till July 9 revolv-ing around the various attractive touristic locations within the Sultanate.

As with its previous Facebook competitions, all participants needed to do was log into their Facebook accounts and visit Bank Sohar’s Facebook page. Once the page was ‘Followed’, they then needed to look for the question of the day and answer it. The first correct entry from each user per question was then en-tered into a computerised draw, where ten lucky winners were picked at random to receive a cash prize of OMR100.

Congratulating each of the winners of the contest, Mazin Mahmood Al Raisi said: “The contest was a grand success. We received a large number of indi-vidual entries over the course of two weeks. I would like to thank each and every fan for their par-ticipation as well as congratulate each of our 10 winners. These competitions together with the social media platform as a whole

have proved to be a great medi-um through which we can keep our customers and fans excited and engaged with the bank and we look forward to conducting many more similar competitions in the future.”

In the past year, Bank Sohar’s social media identities have wit-nessed a tremendous growth, in addition to a high level of engage-ment from fans through ques-tions, comments and responses. The bank has also conducted two previous highly successful competitions on its social media platforms this year – the #bank-sohar8 Instagram competition, launched in commemoration of the bank’s eighth anniversary; and, more recently, the Customer Service Competition #here4u on Twitter. Having started the of-ficial Twitter account and Face-book page in June 2013, followed by Instagram page thereafter, Bank Sohar has come a long way in getting closer to its customers and interacting with them.

S O C I A L M E D I A P L A T F O R M

Top Medanta nephrologist set to bring extensive expertise to Hatat PolyclinicMUSCAT: Leading nephrologist Dr Vijay Kher will be available for consultation at Hatat Polyclinic on August 8. Professional dedi-cation, academic excellence and social responsibility are what Dr Kher, an internationally recog-nised nephrologist at Medanta - The Medicity, will bring to Hatat Polyclinic in Oman.

Regular visits to Hatat Poly-clinic by Dr Kher, chairman of the Division of Nephrology, Medanta Kidney and Urology Institute, are planned as part of the tie-up be-tween the two top, old-established medical institutions.

An astute clinician, a teacher par excellence and a keen re-searcher, Dr Kher is all set to visit Hatat Polyclinic on August 8 to offer his knowledge and exper-tise in kidney transplantation, immunosuppression, progres-sive renal diseases, acute kidney injury and glomerulonephritis to patients in Oman.

Dr Kher has established aca-demic and clinical departments of Nephrology at Sher-e-Kashmir, Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar, SGPGIMS in Lucknow, Apollo Hospitals in New Delhi, For-tis group of hospitals in NCR, Delhi and most recently at Medanta.

He has been awarded fellowships of National Academy of Medical Sciences, Royal College of Physi-cians Edinburg and Indian Society of Nephrology. He has published more than 150 papers in peer re-

viewed journals and 24 book chap-ters and has edited five books.

Multi-speciality instituteDr Kher’s belief in research, com-bined with his friendly and inclu-sive demeanour, has long inspired the nephrology fraternity in India and his visits to Hatat Polyclinic will provide a link between the patients in Oman and Medanta - The Medicity, one of India’s larg-est multi-speciality medical insti-tutes, which is based in Gurgaon, Delhi. This will allow the patients to not only benefit from the exten-sive expertise of visiting doctors such as Dr Kher but also to access the state-of-the-art treatment facilities at Medanta. Medanta Institute of Kidney and Urology is determined to knit together pa-

tient care, research and teaching in a manner to provide the highest standards of care for all patients suffering from various kidney and urinary diseases. The institute provides cutting-edge care in all areas of nephrology with round-the-clock delivery of care for dialy-sis, transplant and chronic kidney diseases. Medanta - The Medicity is a unique resource for those with the diseases of the urinary system, including the kidneys, bladder and prostate gland.

“As the major tertiary and qua-ternary care centre, our goal is to deliver the highest level patient care, consistent with the Medanta - The Medicity’s philosophy of ‘Pa-tient First’,” said Dr Kher.

According to him, the institute,

which has brought together some of the region’s finest experts cov-ering every major urology and nephrology speciality, is seeking to break down the physical and ad-ministrative barriers to interdisci-plinary interactions between urol-ogists, nephrologists, medical and radiation oncologists. The Medan-ta is one of the premier centres in the world using minimally inva-sive surgical techniques includ-ing the modern Da Vinci robotic surgery to correct prostate, blad-der and kidney problems.

“Our institute will develop new directions for patient oriented management of cancer and benign urological diseases by integrating and leveraging our combined ex-pertise,” added Dr Kher.

S P E C I A L I S T

An astute clinician, a teacher par excellence

and a keen researcher, Dr Vijay Kher is all set

to visit Hatat Polyclinic on August 8 to offer his

knowledge and expertise in kidney transplantation,

immunosuppression, progressive renal diseases,

acute kidney injury and glomerulonephritis to

patients in the Sultanate

The contest was a grand

success. We received a

large number of individual

entries over the course of

two weeks. I would like to

thank each and every fan

for their participation as

well as congratulate each

of our 10 winners

Mazin Mahmood Al RaisiAGM & Head of Marketing and Publicity, Bank Sohar

B6 T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

ROUND-UPDeema Oman: Adding a touch of class to Omani jewellery designs

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Sultanate of Oman has never been short of home-grown talent and its artisans and entre-preneurs continue to impress in various walks of life.

Shadya Al Ismailiya, Oman’s budding and talented designer and owner of Deema Oman, began her journey in designing jewellery as a hobby back in 2008. She had the opportunity to attend specialised courses in designing and manufac-turing jewellery at Birmingham City University, and today she is recognised as an experienced and professional designer in the Sultanate with a lineup of awards and recognitions both locally and internationally.

Late 2014, her daughter Suad Al Riyami joined the journey bringing a wealth of legal experience with her into the business. Incubated at the National Business Centre (NBC) which falls under the um-brella of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE), Dee-ma Oman is the first Omani brand for high-end jewellery.

Role of NBCThe National Business Centre is playing a pivotal role in offering cutting-edge services and facilities for Deema Oman, said Shadya

“The NBC is undertaking ma-jor efforts to market and promote Deema Oman especially among de-cision makers in government enti-ties as well as in semi-government and private bodies. Other than that, we are receiving advisory services which pose a substantial importance for any entrepreneur. These services focus on major as-pects comprising business man-agement and development, and the opportunities available for the projects. All these services play a dynamic role towards the develop-ment of human resources, and in identifying methods to tackle ad-ministrative, technical and mar-keting challenges that are faced by the entrepreneurs during the foundation phase,” she explained.

“However, the centre requires innovation department that would be concerned in updating the in-cubated companies on the latest innovations that are triggered in other countries in the field of SMEs. In addition, the depart-ment has to do research or even share the published studies in the field across the region. This will ultimately result in developing the products and services of the incu-bated companies in one way or an-other,” she added.

When asked about the challeng-es facing entrepreneurship and SMEs in the Sultanate, Shadya had this to say: “The lack of con-fidence of the market towards the performance of the SMEs is one of the most vital issues that we are

facing. Therefore, these SMEs will not have the opportunity to prove that they can deliver efficient ser-vices to the market. I should not generalise in this matter because there are a few institutions that are offering great support to the SMEs. Moreover, the issue of high rents is another struggle that foils the abil-ity to establish a headquarters for a project. On the other hand, high rents lead to a significant financial burden that would slow down the growth of the project. In addition, the market lacks workshops that are based on global standards of production processes, which makes some entrepreneurs de-pend on factories based outside the Sultanate. This of course would result in raising production

cost on the one hand and slowing production process on the other.”

Funding initiativesThe government has made sig-nificant efforts to support en-trepreneurs in terms of funding initiatives, Shadya emphasised. However, she believed that the private sector should have a more active role in this matter.

“Developing projects should not be carried out solely by the gov-ernment and a few private institu-tions. There should be investors to support Omani entrepreneurs which would eventually contrib-ute to the advancement of the national economy. For instance, Al Rafd Fund alone will not be able to achieve the aspirations of

such projects. Deema Oman has definitely benefited from Al Rafd Fund, yet the funding was not enough to finance such a project that relies on expensive raw ma-terials including gold and gem-stones,” she pointed out.

“Since I worked in both public and private sectors, I must say that achieving one’s aspirations in any field is impossible without a clear vision, a proper research and a com-prehensive plan. Entrepreneurs should not give up easily. Starting a business requires sacrifices. If you are not able to find proper ingre-dients for a successful business, make them. You should never give up as we have to learn from our own mistakes,” Shadya added.

Deema Oman is currently plan-ning for expansion.

“An e-commerce website will be launched soon to attract more cus-tomers locally and globally, and an outlet will be initiated so that we can deal with customers face-to-face and they will be able to view and evaluate the products personally. There will also be a new production line for the project; more details will be announced soon,” she informed.

It should be noted that Deema Oman was offered the role of “Am-bassador of Innovation” by The Research Council (TRC) in 2014 as it received “Women Award of Excellency” in 2013. It was also spotlighted on “Jawharat Oman” Book for its outstanding efforts in 2012. Deema Oman was cho-sen in 2012 to represent design-ers of the Middle East region in the celebration of 150 years an-niversary of life and legacy of Sir Henry Royce. Moreover, it was shortlisted amongst 15 designers selected worldwide to attend 110 years anniversary of manufactur-ing Rolls Royce cars.

Starting a business

requires sacrifices,

a clear vision and

a comprehensive

plan, says Shadya Al

Ismailiya, owner of

Deema Oman

Renault’s Ramadan offer ends on August 9MUSCAT: Customers can still benefit from the exciting pack-age Renault Oman from Suhail Bahwan Group offers as exclusive Ramadan bonanza on their sleek range of vehicles. The offer ends on August 9, 2015.

Renault’s exclusive Ramadan of-fer comprises a plethora of benefits on most of their top selling models as well as their newly launched models in 2015. Renault’s sedan segment comprises a prestigious lineup of cars that include the sleek Renault Fluence, the strik-ingly good looking Renault Safrane and the newly launched Renault Symbol and Renault Megane. The SUV range comprises the Renault Duster, Renault Koleos and the all-new 2015 Renault Captur.

2015 Ramadan highlights:

gifts) 1. With a unique scratch and win

card, customers are eligible to win assured high value gifts from any one of the products comprising LG 65”Ultra High Definition LED Curve TV, Apple I phone 6-16GB, Lenovo Laptop-Intel Core i5 or a LG 42” LED TV.

2. Customers will also be eligible to win an assured service package gift up to 5 years/ 100,000 kms pe-riodic maintenance service (with minimum assured service pack-age of 2 years/ 30,000km periodic maintenance service)

also walk away with assured cash gifts up to OMR1000 (minimum assured of OMR400) on purchas-ing select models from Renault.

be entitled to receive free registra-tion for first year for Oman only

and free extended warranty period of up to 6 years / unlimited mile-age. Further, customers will also receive AAA roadside assistance card for the first year only and as supported by AAA Oman.

Customers purchasing any of the Renault models during the Ramadan month will also get a

which will be held on August 23. The grand prize winner will walk away with a new 2015 Renault Duster 2L PE.

The alluring FluenceThe Renault Fluence offers more generous passenger space than other vehicles in the same class. Interior measurements are highly impressive, with elbow room of 1,480mm in the front and 1,475mm at the rear.

The luxurious Safrane The Renault Safrane 3.5 V6 fitted with an automatic six-speed trans-mission comes equipped with the Carminat TomTom navigation system, a solution as efficient as it is easy to update and use, with the intuitive joystick. The hands-free card allows you to open and close the doors as well as start the engine, without even leaving your pocket. Bluetooth technology allows you to

make calls in perfect safety.

The soulful Symbol The Renault Symbol is a status-enhancing yet affordable family sedan. Its modern design and at-tractive equipment package, com-bined with its low fuel consump-tion make the new Renault Symbol the perfect sedan for families look-ing for value for money along with status and style.

The captivating CapturIt is a crossover packed with a tur-bocharged engine for those occa-sional bursts of controlled fun. The engine producing 120 BHP and 190 Nm of torque is mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox. Made in Spain, the Renault Captur stands out from the crowd by delivering the best of three different worlds: The expres-sive styling and driving position of an SUV, the cabin space and mod-ular interior of an MPV and the agility and driving enjoyment of a compact saloon car.

The mesmerising Megane The Megane hatch is equipped with dual side-impact sensors, which make it an incredibly ef-ficient option for any safety-con-scious Renault purchaser. With its unique aesthetic that turns heads at its sporty seduction, the 2016

Renault Megane 1.6 is a meeting place of practicality and passion for design.

The impressive Koleos The key highlights are the Renault Koleos reliability, with its power train of 2.5L engine, CVT trans-mission and 170 horse power is-sued from the Renault Nissan Al-liance; added safety, with its six airbags; hill start assistance and hill slope control; ESP with Anti Slip Regulation; comfort, with its dual zone air-conditioning, leather interior and electric panoramic sunroof; advanced technology, with Bose sound system; digital media connectivity- USB and iPod docks; bluetooth capabilities, Re-nault key-less smart card; naviga-tion assistance; 4WD differential lock, and roominess, with a seg-ment-topping cabin space.

The amazing Duster The Renault Duster, a strong and reliable SUV with genuine off-road ability is versatile and combines a spacious interior with saloon-car comfort. The Duster’s compact footprint and high ground clear-ance ensures that it is meant for all kinds of roads.

SBA is largely committed to sup-porting Renault Oman’s growth in the Sultanate.

P R O M O T I O N

Qatar Airways celebrates its expansion in PakistanMULTAN: Qatar Airways hosted a signature event at the Ramada Hotel Multan, to celebrate its rapid expansion in Pakistan, with new flights launched to Multan, Sialkot and Faisalabad on August 2, July 16 and 17 respectively.

The VIP dinner, which was at-tended by more than 150 guests from the corporate and travel trade spheres, featured the launch of a community initiative in Pakistan to commemorate the new route launches.

Qatar Airways joined hands with Qatar Charity to support the building of a medical centre, “Al Amal”, located in the Khanewal District in Pakistan.

The evening dinner featured a plaque reveal ceremony of the community initiative followed by live local entertainment.

During the event, Ihab Sorial, Qatar Airways vice president In-dian Subcontinent, highlighted the importance of Qatar Airways’ expansion in Pakistan.

“Multan is the latest gateway to join Qatar Airways’ family of ex-

panding destinations in Pakistan where we are so pleased to have launched three new destinations in a span of just a few weeks. From operating 45 flights a week to four cities — Karachi, Lahore, Pesha-war and Islamabad — we have now spread our presence to seven key gateways offering a total of 55 flights a week,” said Sorial.

“We are proud to highlight that Qatar Airways’ commit-ment to Pakistan will continue as we identify new opportunities to expand our presence to even more cities across the country. For those passengers who do business in different parts of the world or wish to visit friends and relatives, Qatar Airways is able to offer them an experience of won-derful hospitality,” he added.

“We are also humbled to be able to announce the opening of the “Al Amal” Medical Centre here in Pakistan. Qatar Airways endeavours to contribute to this community for the benefit of its people and will always strive to do so.”

C O M M U N I T Y I N I T I A T I V E

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Ferrari California T: Elegance at its best

MUSCAT: Alfardan Motors, the official importer of Ferrari in Oman and the country’s ex-clusive dealer of the innovative and stylish California T; a model that epitomises the sublime el-egance, sportiness, versatility and exclusivity that have distin-guished every California model since the 1950s.

It is a car brimming with inno-vation that will more than meet the expectations of discerning clients for whom fun behind the wheel is a priority, but who also demand a sumptuously comfort-able Grand Tourer they can use every day, says a press release.

The California T is a brilliant expression of Ferrari’s sporty DNA, while its retractable hard top (RHT) and 2+ configuration, amongst other features, make it supremely versatile. Like all Fer-

raris, the California T boasts cut-ting-edge technological solutions that make it absolutely unique, most notably the new turbo-charged V8 engine.

Turbo technology has an hon-ourable place in Prancing Horse’s engineering tradition, thanks to iconic models of the likes of the GTO of 1984 and the F40 of 1987. It is now also, of course, back at the heart of our latest F1 single-seater. Maranello’s engineers have managed to design a remark-able power unit that combines classic Ferrari engine qualities, such as razor-sharp responsive-ness, blistering performance, superbly powerful acceleration at all speeds and an exhilarating soundtrack, with the advantages turbo technology, such as dras-tically reduced emissions and fuel consumption, a high specific power output and compact di-mensions. A genuinely unprec-edented achievement that sets a new benchmark for the industry.

The California T sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds flat and from 0 to 200 km/h in 11.2 seconds. It is also more fuel effi-cient to the tune of approximately 15 per cent than the previous Cali-fornia despite punching out an extra 70 CV and 49 per cent more torque in 7th gear. Emissions have also been cut to 250 g/km on the combined cycle, the equivalent

of a 20 per cent reduction in the CO2/horsepower ratio (0.44 gr/cv). As a consequence the car’s range increases by 15 per cent.

All these results were achieved thanks to solutions adopted on the F1 single-seaters, including a low-inertia, flat-plane crankshaft combined with innovative twin-scroll turbines to minimise throt-tle response times.

Meticulous designCertain of the manufacturing phases, mostly regarding castings, also make use of the same plant and production processes em-ployed by the Scuderia. Thanks to meticulous design and sophis-ticated production techniques adopted for essential components, such as the flat-plane crankshaft and the three-piece cast exhaust manifold and turbo housing, the California T’s engine produces an enthrallingly powerful sound that becomes even more impressive as revs increase.

The new model also boasts true sports car dynamics, thanks to lower steering wheel activity and quicker steering courtesy of a new steering box and new suspension set-up. New springs and latest-generation Magnaride dampers (now more than 50 per cent fast-er), combined with body motion accelerometers, reduce roll and pitch to deliver more precise han-

dling whilst still guaranteeing an incredibly comfortable ride.

The car’s electronic systems are also the state-of-the-art in the sec-tor with the latest evolution of the F1-Trac and the ESP 8.0 Premium, both of which help make the car even more responsive, underscor-ing its nimble sports car dynamics.

The combination of the Cali-fornia T’s uncompromising ar-chitecture, dynamic controls and new engine guarantees consistent fun behind the wheel both in chal-lenging and more relaxed driv-ing conditions, in perfect Grand Tourer style.

Meticulous and in-depth de-sign work has retained the dimen-sions of the previous model yet endowed the California T with a whole new personality. The car’s proportions were penned by the Ferrari Styling Centre in collabo-ration with Pininfarina, and are very much in line with Ferrari’s front-engined ethos. The Cali-fornia T’s cabin exudes a sense of warmth and craftsmanship, and was designed to be as ergonomic as possible, with luxurious semi-aniline leather trim.

The space on-board is flex-ible too, and owners can make the most efficient use of its generous boot capacity even with the top down, thanks to the communica-tion between the luggage com-partment and rear seats.

The Human-Machine Interface encompasses the Ferrari steering wheel with integrated controls while the Turbo Performance En-gineer (TPE) takes pride of place between the two air vents at the centre of dash.

It is a car brimming

with innovation that

will more than meet

the expectations of

discerning clients for

whom fun behind the

wheel is a priority,

but who also demand

a sumptuously

comfortable Grand

Tourer they can use

every day

Al Mumayaz weekly draw heldMUSCAT: Bank Sohar’s Al Mu-mayaz Saving Scheme held its 19th weekly draw at the Saham branch under the auspices of Sheikh Ali Abdullah Al Badi, a member of the Shura Council, and was attended by Khamis Masoud Al Rahbi, the AGM of branches at Bank Sohar, Redha Al Lawatia, the senior chief manager of Liabilities and Sales at Bank Sohar, and Ibrahim Abdullah Al Balushi, branch manager of the Bank Sohar Saham Branch, in ad-dition to other members of the sen-ior staff from Bank Sohar and the bank’s VIP customers.

Continuing to offer more chances, more winners and more prizes for its customers as part of the 2015 Al Mumayaz Saving Scheme, the bank’s draws includ-ed the OMR5,000 weekly draw and the specific branch wise draw of OMR1,000. The lucky winner of the latest OMR5,000 draw was J. B. S. of the Salalah branch, while the OMR1,000 prize went to Salim Mohammed of the Saham branch, says a press release.

The event was inaugurated with a welcome speech followed by an

overview of the 2015 Al Mumayaz Savings Scheme by Redha Al La-watia. Following the presentation, the chief guest announced the names of the two winners. The event concluded with the hando-ver of a token of appreciation to Al Badi on behalf of the bank.

Commenting on the response the bank has received for the Al Mumayaz Savings Scheme Draws, R. Narasimhan, DGM and Head of Retail Banking said, “On behalf of Bank Sohar, I would like to con-gratulate J. B. S. Salim Mohammed on winning our 19th weekly draw. We at Bank Sohar are committed

to providing excellent services and best banking practices while at the same time finding better ways to encourage the habit of savings in our customers and the community at large. With the Al Mumayaz Sav-ings Scheme 2014, we can do just that. We continually receive posi-tive feedback from our custom-ers with many appreciating the increased number of winners and chances to win at both; our weekly and monthly draws. Many also ex-pressed their appreciation for the new dedicated branch draws that ensures we have winners spread across our branch network.

S A V I N G S S C H E M E

PDO ‘Tell A Friend’ drive set to participate in Salalah Festival MUSCAT: The nationwide ‘Tell A Friend’ road safety campaign spearheaded by Petroleum Devel-opment Oman (PDO) is featuring at the Salalah Tourism Festival next week, as part of the ongoing drive to educate people across the Sultanate about the importance of safe driving.

Volunteers are manning a stand from August 10-15 to ap-peal to visitors who are keen to learn more about staying safe on Oman’s roads, and to spread the message, says a press release.

The programme will include live discussions with visitors, contests, short plays and many other activities to appeal to all age groups. Visitors will also be able to try the seatbelt convincer device which simulates the im-pact of a slow-speed traffic ac-cident. Moreover, ‘Tell A Friend’ volunteers will give away free child car seats to a number of parents attending the event.

The five-year ‘Tell A Friend’

campaign was officially launched by PDO in Muscat in January 2013 with the aim of lowering the num-ber of road accidents in the Sul-tanate. It targets important areas of road safety such as responsible driving, speed management, vehi-cle safety, proper seat belt usage and fatigue and has used a multi-media approach, including televi-sion, cinema, radio, newspapers, Facebook and Twitter to get its message across to all generations.

Munira Al Balushi, Campaign Coordinator, said: “The Salalah Festival is a major event and pro-vides a great opportunity for us to

spread the word about safe driv-ing. Every year, hundreds die and thousands are injured on Oman’s roads and PDO, and our partners including the Royal Oman Police, want to do all we can to reduce this terrible casualty toll. The ‘Tell A Friend’ campaign roadshow has travelled all over the country in-cluding Ibri, Nizwa, Khasab, Shal-eem and Al Jazir and we have had a great response from the public who realise how important it is to make our roads safer.”

The campaign also visited the 2013 Salalah Tourism Festival and attracted about 5,000 visitors.

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MUSCAT: Best Cars, premium used cars showroom, continues to offer a wide range of quality cars to its valued customers. “There is an exciting range of vehicles to choose from at Best Cars which include Lexus, Toy-ota, Kia, Ford and many other models! Large stocks of sedans, 4WDs and premium models are displayed at the showroom. You can also visit ‘www.bestcarso-man.com’ for more details,” says the spokesperson for Best Cars - Oman’s trusted hypermarket for quality pre-owned vehicles.

“For those looking for a pre-owned vehicle, the wish-list usu-ally goes like this, I want a quality pre-owned vehicle from a known local car dealer who will give me a good deal, get me the right car and walk me through the process. And that is why when the subject of quality pre-owned cars comes up, no conversation is complete without mention of Best Cars, “ the spokesperson adds.

Superior qualityBest Cars offers a superior qual-ity of pre-owned cars with a wide range of models under one roof. Selected vehicles with GCC specs only are available here and Best Cars offers single-window docu-mentation, registration, finance, etc. reducing the hassle of required paperwork, says a press release.

No wonder that a previous cus-tomer has gone on record with his thank you note stating, “I must place on record the excellent ser-vice rendered by Best Cars sales staff. I was impressed because when I first gave them my re-quirement and a price range - they called me within a few days when another two cars were available for sale, one of which I ultimately purchased. The salesperson was friendly and explained all the features of the car to me and also helped me through the process of registration. He also took down the contact numbers of a friend of mine who came with me and who showed interest in purchas-ing a used car. In fact my friend also purchased a Prado from Best Cars and, like me, is happy with the service of Best Cars.”

Indeed, Best Cars receives many kudos from customers. The main showroom is prominently located at the most convenient

place in the heart of the automo-bile market in Wattayah, Muscat. Displaying a very large number of models at any given point in time, it is perhaps the biggest such facility in Oman.

In addition to the main show-room in Muscat, Best Cars also has 13 branch operations all over Oman in Seeb Al Mawelah, Sohar, Nizwa, Ibra, Barka, Salalah, Ibri, Sur, Sumail, Suweiq, Bidiyah, B.B. Ali and Sinaw.

Best Cars stocks prominent brands including Lexus, Toyota, Ford, Kia and Daihatsu, to name a few. While daily new arrivals are updated on the user-friendly award-winning website ‘www.bestcarsoman.com’, customers can also register their require-ment and be informed as soon as their desired vehicle is available. Best Cars also provides financing facilities for customers who want to purchase pre-owned vehicles on instalments.

MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services pro-vider in the Sultanate, in view of strong customer response, has extended till August 31 a fea-ture-packed automobile finance campaign launched during the Ramadan season.

The Sayyarati auto finance is available at low interest rates starting from 3.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent on a reducing balance basis which is equivalent to 1.91 per cent to 2.41 per cent on a flat basis. The Sayyarati Ramadan package includes financing up to eight years for new and used vehicles, the lowest monthly pay-ment option, on-the-spot approv-als and motor insurance with low premiums, says a press release.

Customers are also not required to furnish post-dated cheques, making Sayyarati the easy, con-venient and completely hassle-free way to own a new car. Notably, Sayyarati finance can be obtained from any of the 140 Bank Muscat branches spread across Oman. This offer comes as a boon for newly recruited employees in gov-ernment and quasi-government sector who can avail the auto fi-nance if they have been employed for one month and three months in the case of employees of ap-proved private sector companies.

Unique in all aspects with un-paralleled benefits, Sayyarati is the preferred auto finance facil-ity in Oman for both citizens and expatriates. The Ramadan offer includes various unique ben-efits, making it quicker, easier and more affordable to own one’s dream vehicle.

Due to strong partnership with leading auto dealers, Sayyarati significantly enhances the value proposition offered to customers, including motor insurance at low premium through the bancassur-ance channel of Bank Muscat.

Post-dated cheques are not re-quired and payment instalments

are automatically debited from customer account on a monthly basis. Customers can visit any auto dealership or Bank Mus-cat branches to avail Sayyarati auto finance offered to citizens and residents.

Oman is home to the world’s best known auto brands. By en-couraging people to buy top qual-ity vehicles, Bank Muscat reit-erates its commitment to road safety, thereby spreading safety and happiness in Oman.

BankDhofar receives STP Award from CITI

MUSCAT: In recognition of its outstanding performance in the execution of commercial and fi-nancial payments in US dollar, BankDhofar has received the pres-tigious ‘Straight-Through-Pro-cessing (STP) Excellence Award’ from CITI for the bank’s 97%+ treasury payments STP rate.

CITI presents the STP Award an-nually to banks and financial insti-tutions that showcase exceptional quality and also meet the highest global standards for automatic pro-cessing of international payments in US dollar. Earlier this year Bank-

Dhofar was presented another STP Award for automatic processing of international payments in Euroby the Germany-based Commerz-bank, says a press release.

The accolade was handed over to Kamal Al Marazza, chief wholesale banking officer by Mo-hamed Al Hammadi, vice presi-dent of Correspondent Banking Group at CITI, at BankDhofar head office in CBD area, and was attended by Bashir Said Al Subhi, BankDhofar AGM, Treasury & In-ternational Banking, and Cynthia Oueiss from CITI.

Upon receiving the award, Ka-mal Al Marazza said: “We are very delighted to receive such a pres-tigious award, and we are proud to see BankDhofar leading the market in e-channels conveni-ence and security of financial pay-ments in foreign currencies. We at BankDhofar are committed to offer best customers experience, and we work to ensure that our transfers are instant, less costly, and simple. That, for sure, makes banking with us more convenient, faster and easier.”

Aspiring to be the best bank in the Gulf, BankDhofar has directed all its efforts and resources towards these objectives. Today it is consid-ered one of the best banks in the re-gion, catering for customers’ needs and requirements, and setting the standards for the best customers experience within the banking in-dustry in the Sultanate through creative solutions and innovation.

The combination of the thor-ough vision of the bank’s executive management, the comprehensive operational strategy that revolves around following best internation-

al banking practices and providing best customer experience, as well as commitment to community de-velopment and contribution to the growth of the national economy, placed BankDhofar on top of the list of best banks in the region.

In 2015 alone, BankDhofar re-ceived a number of prestigious awards from leading international organisations, including ‘STP Award 2014’ by Commerzbank, Germany, ‘Best Mobile E-Com-merce Bank 2015’ and ‘Best SME Bank Oman 2015’ by Global Bank-ing & Finance Review, ‘Islamic Bank of the Year – Oman 2015’ by The Banker, ‘Best Mobile Banking Oman 2015’ and ‘Best Islamic Win-dow – Maisarah, Oman 2015’ by International Finance Magazine, ‘SME Bank of the Year – Oman’ and ‘Website of the Year – Oman’ in the ABF Retail Banking Awards 2015, ‘Oman Domestic Project Fi-nance Bank of the Year’ and ‘Oman Domestic Cash Management Bank of the Year’ in the ABF Wholesale Banking Awards 2015, ‘Best Branch Automation Project in Middle East 2015’ by The Asian Banker.

CITI presents the STP Award annually to

banks and financial institutions that showcase

exceptional quality and also meet the highest

global standards for automatic processing of

international payments in US dollar

B8

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Bank Muscat extends Sayyarati Ramadan campaign till Aug. 31

A U T O M O B I L E F I N A N C E

The Sayyarati auto

finance is available

at low interest rates

starting from 3.5% to

4.5% on a reducing

balance basis which

is equivalent to 1.91%

to 2.41% on a flat

basis. The Sayyarati

Ramadan package

includes financing up

to eight years for new

and used vehicles,

the lowest monthly

payment option, on-

the-spot approvals and

motor insurance with

low premiums

Exciting range of vehicles now available at Best Cars

P R E - O W N E D V E H I C L E S

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

SPOR SY O U R G A M E

SECTIONC T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

INDIA HOPE RAINS STAY AWAY IN COLOMBOLooking for a proper tune-up before the three-match cricket Test series against hosts Sri Lanka gets underway, India would be hoping that rain stays away from their one and only three-day practice game beginning at the R Premadasa Stadium on Thursday. >C3

Inconsistent England eye glory

NOTTINGHAM: England head into the fourth Test against Aus-tralia at Trent Bridge starting on Thursday knowing they are just one win away from recapturing the Ashes yet being equally aware they’ve yet to string back-to-back victories together in Tests in 2015.

Since drawing their series open-er against the West Indies at Anti-gua in April, England’s next seven Tests have seen them alternate be-tween winning and losing.

Indeed their eight-wicket win in the third Test at Edgbaston, which put England 2-1 up in the five-match Ashes series followed a de-feat by the huge margin of 405 runs in the second Test at Lord’s.

England will also be without all-time leading wicket-taker James Anderson, who took an Ashes-best six for 47 at Edgbaston but was subsequently ruled out of the fourth Test with a side strain.

It is the first time Anderson has missed a Test in three years and means he won’t be able to add to his exceptional record at Notting-hamshire’s headquarters which has seen him take 53 wickets in eight Tests, including 10 during England’s thrilling 14-run win in the corresponding Ashes clash in Nottingham in 2013.

England would like to recall Durham quick Mark Wood, whose absence through injury paved the way for Middlesex fast bowler Steven Finn to take a Test-best six for 79 on his return to the side at Edgbaston.

However, they will have to de-cide if he Wood is over the ankle trouble that forced him out at Edg-baston, with Liam Plunkett and uncapped Derbyshire left-armer Mark Footitt standing by.

Australia left-arm quick Mitch-ell Johnson insisted Anderson’s absence would leave a huge hole in England’s attack.

“It’s a massive loss for them,” he said. “Whoever they bring in will have big pressure on them.”

Meanwhile England opener Adam Lyth is set to keep his place despite managing 72 runs in six innings at an average of 12 so far this series.

Stuart Broad, set to lead Eng-land’s attack in the absence of longtime new-ball partner An-derson, is just one wicket away from joining Test cricket’s ‘300 club’ on his Nottinghamshire home ground.

But that is not his main concern.“We are consistently the most

inconsistent side,” said Broad.“There is no point ignoring and

pretending it has not happened.He added: “It is all about break-

ing it down into the simplest form as players, so focusing in on our in-dividual jobs on Thursday morn-ing and not thinking about the ex-terior things like 300 wickets.”

Hunger and willFor Australia, captain Michael Clarke is desperate to end a me-diocre run of form.

Scores of 10 and three at Edg-baston left Clarke with a meagre series aggregate of 94 runs in six innings at an average of under 19.

But a defiant Clarke dismissed suggestions he no longer has the desire to do well in Test cricket.

“People can certainly have a shot at me about my performance, but they can’t have a shot at me about my hunger and my will to play this great game,” he wrote in his Sydney Daily Telegraph col-umn published Tuesday.

It is Adam Voges, averaging 14.60 this series, however, who is in greatest danger of being re-placed by reserve batsman Shaun Marsh.

Australia would dearly love more of the aggression from John-son that saw him produce two rip snorting deliveries that yielded the wickets of Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes in the space of three balls during England’s first innings at Edgbaston.

“I’m scratching my head a lit-tle bit about not continuing on from that (first over), and that’s something I’ll look at this game,” said Johnson.

Meanwhile Nottinghamshire groundsman Steve Birks is under pressure too after last year’s Test pitch at Trent Bridge was officially classed as “poor” after a run-glut draw between England and In-dia proved heart-breaking for any bowler above medium-pace.

But Broad said overhead condi-tions often held the key to the out-come of matches at Trent Bridge.

“If it is blue sky, it is good to bat. If it is cloudy it can be good to bowl.”

England (probable): Alastair Cook (capt), Adam Lyth, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wkt), Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Steven Finn

Australia (probable): David Warner, Chris Rogers, Steven Smith, Michael Clarke (capt), Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Pe-ter Nevill (wkt), Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon

Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK), S Ravi (IND). TV umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA). Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI). - AFP

Stuart Broad, set to

lead England’s attack

in the absence of

longtime new-ball

partner Anderson, is

just one wicket away

from joining Test

cricket’s ‘300 club’ on

his Nottinghamshire

home ground AT TRAINING: From left, England’s Ian Bell, Joe Root, Alastair Cook and coach Trevor Bayliss during a warming-up session. – Reuters

NOTTINGHAM: Australia captain Michael Clarke and England counterpart Alastair Cook have played more than 200 Tests between them but both are perplexed by the to-and-fro nature of this season’s Ashes series.

England won the first Test in Cardiff by 169 runs only for Australia to bounce back with a mammoth 405-run victory in the second Test at Lord’s.

Then England responded with an eight-wicket win inside three days in the third Test at Birmingham’s Edgbas-ton ground last week.

As a result, England take a 2-1 lead into the fourth Test of a five-match series at Not-tingham’s Trent Bridge ground starting on Thursday.

“I can’t explain that -- it’s a rollercoaster ride,” Clarke told reporters on Wednesday.

“We played some not so great cricket at Cardiff and Edgbaston and then, at Lord’s, we were outstanding. We have seen that from both teams. I don’t know the reason.”

Cook perhaps got closest to an explanation by observing how a team that had taken an early advantage in a match had retained a strong position until the end of the game.

“When both sides got on top, they’ve been pretty ruthless at staying on top and not allowing the other side to come back,” Cook said.

Cook, whose side will look to break a seven-Test streak of alternating wins and losses by

recording their first back-to-back victories of 2015, added: “I’ve seen a shift from one side to the other side taking the lead, but I haven’t seen it shift back and forward in three games like this. Hopefully, that can stop.”

No side since Australia were inspired by batting great Don Bradman back in 1936/37 have come from 2-1 down to win the Ashes, with Bradman’s side 2-0 down at one stage.

But Clarke said his team could record a landmark achievement of their own this Ashes.

“We showed that at Lord’s,” he said. “We can take confi-dence that we bounced back after Cardiff... we’ve got to have the same attitude now.” - AFP

See-saw Ashes baffles skippers

RIVALS: England captain Alastair Cook, left, Australian skipper Michael Clarke. – Reuters

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There’s life after James Anderson

NOTTINGHAM: Stuart Broad has been backed by captain Alastair Cook to lead the attack in the absence of James Anderson as England try to show they can win a major Test match without their all-time leading wicket-taker.

Anderson has been ruled out of Thursday’s fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, Broad’s home ground, with a side injury suf-fered during England’s convincing eight-wicket win over Australia in the third Test at Edgbaston last week that put them 2-1 up in the five-match series.

That match saw Anderson take an Ashes-best six for 47 in Aus-tralia’s first innings as he again un-derlined his worth to England.

Since March 2008, when Ander-son and Broad replaced Matthew Hoggard and Stephen Harmison in Wellington, England have played five Tests without Anderson, win-ning two, losing one and drawing two — with both of those victories coming away to lowly Bangladesh.

No wonder many Australia play-ers have likened Anderson’s injury to the moment Australia pace great Glenn McGrath trod on a stray ball before the start of the 2005 Edg-baston Test and was ruled out with an ankle injury which also side-lined him from the fourth Test of that series, at Trent Bridge.

England won both matches McGrath missed that series as they regained the Ashes 2-1.

Broad, however, is no callow novice, with the 29-year-old hav-ing taken 299 wickets in 82 Tests.

“I don’t think there’s been too many cases in history where a guy has 299 wickets and played 80-odd

Tests and he’s waiting to lead the attack,” Cook said Wednesday.

“It’s a great moment for him in terms of his homeground and stuff.

“Clearly Jimmy is going to be missed, we can’t sit here and deny that. You don’t play forever and think ‘who is irreplaceable’? There’s always someone who can come in.”

Middlesex fast bowler Steven Finn was the man who stepped up at Edgbaston, marking his first appearance at this level in two years with a Test-best six for 79 in Australia’s second innings after replacing the injured Mark Wood.

Now Durham quick Wood in turn is set to replace Anderson provided he passes a fitness test on a longstanding ankle problem.

As for the comparison between McGrath’s plight a decade ago and Anderson’s situation now, Cook ‘blocked’ that question with all the de-termination you would expect from an experienced opening batsman.

“I suppose it has its similari-ties in one sense,” he said. “But we don’t know how the result is going to go.”

ProactiveMeanwhile Broad said on Wednes-day he did not aim to alter his game too much in Anderson’s absence.

“That (leading the attack) doesn’t change my role particular-ly,” the Nottinghamshire paceman explained. “It will be important the bowling unit talk proactively in this game and that is what I will try and lead. That is what Jimmy and I do naturally so I will have to be a bit more conscious of that this week.”

Broad urged England as a whole to concentrate on their own game saying undue focus on Australia had probably contributed to the hosts’ 405-run defeat in the sec-ond Test at Lord’s.

“Cooky has made it quite clear it is all about us this week,” said Broad, the son of Ashes-winning former England opener Chris Broad.

“We had a great week at Car-diff (where England won the first Test by 169 runs) and, looking back, maybe in our minds was the thought that the Aussies would come back hard at us.

“We have to just focus on what we have to do.” - AFP

Stuart Broad urged

England as a whole

to concentrate on

their own game

saying undue focus

on Australia had

probably contributed

to the hosts’ 405-run

defeat in the second

Test at Lord’s

It will be important the bowling unit talk proactively in this game and that is what I will try and lead

Stuart BroadEngland

SYDNEY: Defiant and angry Australian captain Michael Clarke on Wednesday vowed to keep playing after the Ashes series with England, with those suggesting he was fin-ished talking “a complete load of rubbish”.

Pressure has been building on Clarke, who has a meagre Ashes series total of 94 runs in six innings at an average of under 19, with Austral-ian media Tuesday saying he looked “lost” and knew the end was near.

But the 34-year-old, who has scored 28 Test centuries, said he was going nowhere, with the desire to play still burning strongly.

“The criticisms of my game at the moment are deserved and I wouldn’t expect anything different, especially as the captain of the team,” he said in a column for Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.

“But I’ve heard there have been a few articles questioning me for not having that hunger inside me. I think somebody said they could ‘see it in my eyes’ that I was finished after this series.

“That’s a complete load of rubbish.”

The Sydney Morning Her-ald’s chief sports writer An-drew Webster said on Tuesday Clarke’s expression “with each cheap dismissal is undeniable:

it is a blank expression of utter bewilderment. He isn’t an-noyed but lost”.

Peter Lalor, cricket writer for The Australian, added to Clarke’s woes by saying that failure in the fourth Test in Nottingham starting Thursday “spells an almost certain end to his career”.

‘Desire and will’Clarke said: “People can cer-tainly have a shot at me about my performance, but they can’t have a shot at me about my desire and my will to play this great game.

“To this day, I’m the first to training and the last to leave, so don’t tell me that I don’t have the desire and the hun-ger,” he said.

“I have no intention to walk away from cricket.

“Chris Rogers waited until 35 years of age to play his second Test. I’m 34 not 37 and I want to keep playing for Australia beyond this series, however I will be judged on performance like everyone else.”

He added: “To question me on my hunger kills me, it abso-lutely kills me, because I pride myself on trying to get better every single day. After 13 years in this team I still think I can improve.”

Australia are 2-1 down in the five-Test series and while Clarke has admitted that his

poor form meant the team had been “playing with 10 players”, he is confident his touch will soon return.

“Under pressure is how I’ve stood up in the past and that’s the challenge I face now,” he said.

“I feel like the one time I got in this series, I declared in the second innings at Lord’s, and I need to have another innings like that where I get in.

“I just need to find a way through hard work, self-belief and a bit of luck to get to 30 and I think I’ll be in a much different place.”

England captain Alastair Cook knows all about a form slump.

In May, the opener scored his first Test century in two years — a gap between three-figure scores of 35 innings — with 105 against the West Indies in Barbados.

Cook was in no doubt a lack of runs could affect a batting captain’s performance in the field as well.

“It’s one of those things that when you score runs ... naturally your confidence is up a bit more and you’re probably more decisive in your decision making,” Cook told reporters in Nottingham on Wednesday.

“When things go well, you get the praise for it and, when things don’t go quite so well, you’re the fall guy.” - AFP

I won’t quit, says defiant Australian skipper

PRACTICING HARD: Australia skipper Michael Clarke vows to talk with his bat. – Reuters

Australia A thrash South Africa ACHENNAI: A superlative all-round performance from Aus-tralia A helped their side to a nine-wicket victory over South Africa A in the triangular one-day series at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadi-um here on Wednesday.

Opting to bat did not turn out well for the Proteas as they were bowled out for 171 in 48.4 overs. In reply, Australia A made full use of their experience here as they romped home to victory with 114 balls to spare.

Unlike South Africa A, the Aus-tralian side has been in India for some time as they had also played two four-day first class matches against India A prior to the 50-over tournament. They also beat the hosts in the second game to take the series 1-0.

Continuing their form here, Australia A bowlers did well to take all 10 wickets in the first ses-sion of play.

South Africa A started well with opener Reeza Hendricks (43) and captain Dean Elgar (28) striking a 73-run first wicket partnership to provide their team a good plat-

form to build on.But thereon, South Africa kept

losing wickets at regular inter-vals to lose all 10 wickets in the next 98 runs scored. Apart from the openers, only Theunis de

Bruyn (17), Khaya Zondo (21) and Wayne Parnell (10) managed to reach double digits.

Australia A pacers James Pat-tinson (2/41), Nathan Coulter-Nile (3/31) and Sean Abbot (1/25)

performed their roles perfectly well to not just take wickets at regular intervals but also kept the run rate low.

Tweakers Ashton Agar (2/26) and Cameron Boyce (2/34) also played their part by scalping four wickets together to slow down the South Africa A innings.

In reply, Australia A openers Usman Khawaja (73) and Joe Burns (63 not out) almost com-pleted the job on their own by scoring a 142-run opening wicket stand. After skipper Khawaja got out, Travis Head (27 not out) just needed to guide his team to a com-fortable victory.

The next match of the series will see Australia A take on hosts India A on Friday.

Brief scores: South Africa 171 all out in 48.4 overs (Reeza Hen-dricks 43, Dean Elgar 28, Khaya Zondo 21; Nathan Coulter-Nile 3/31, Ashton Agar 2/26, Cameron Boyce 2/34) lost to Australia A 175/1 in 31 overs (Usman Kha-waja 73, Joe Burns 63 not out, Travis Head 27 not out; Hardus Viljoen 1/54). - IANS

T R I S E R I E S

FINE START: Australia ‘A’ openers Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns steal a run during the first unofficial match of Triangular Series against South Africa ‘A’ at MAC Stadium in Chennai. – PTI

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India hope rains stay away in their only warm-up game

COLOMBO: Looking for a proper tune-up before the three-match cricket Test series against hosts Sri Lanka gets underway, India would be hoping that rain stays away from their one and only three-day practice game begin-ning at the R Premadasa Stadium here Thursday.

India’s first practice session was moved indoors at the Nation-al Cricket Club after rain played spoilsport on Tuesday and with thundershowers predicted for tomorrow, Virat Kohli’s side will only pray for some play against Sri Lanka Board President’s XI.

It is Kohli’s first full-fledged assignment as Test captain after

the rain-affected one-off Test in Bangladesh and the ace bastman is keen to make to it count for him-self and the team.

If the batting looks good with Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay doing well at the top then the bowl-ing, especially the spin depart-memt, promises results as well.

The experience of Harbha-jan Singh and Amit Mishra has certainly added value to the Indian spin force and they are expected to make full use of Sri Lankan wickets.

Kohli though may be going through a lull in his batting form but the Delhi player has always defied his critics when the chips

are down.The young captain has himself

admitted that even though it’s a young Indian Test side, it prom-ises to live up to the expectations of millions of fans.

At the onset though, Kohli and company will face the Board

President’s XI, which is led by young Sri Lankan batsman Lahiru Thirimanne.

The side boasts of quite a few international names in veteran left-handed batsman Upul Tha-ranga, batsman Kaushal Silva, wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal

Perera, rookie medium-pacer Lahiru Gamage and all-rounder Sachith Pathirane.

It will also be interesting to see if the Indian think-tank gives it’s young players like Lokesh Rahul and Varun Aaron a go in the playing XI. - PTI

India’s first practice session was moved

indoors at the National Cricket Club after

rain played spoilsport on Tuesday and with

thundershowers predicted for Thursday,

Virat Kohli’s side will only pray for some play

against Sri Lanka Board President’s XI

GEARING UP: Indian captain Virat Kohli catches the ball during a practice session in Colombo. – AP/PTI

Vijay dispels talks of ‘extra pressure’ on batsmen

COLOMBO: Skipper Virat Koh-li’s strategy to field five bowlers would mean that six specialist batsmen can hardly afford to re-lax but opener Murali Vijay said there won’t be any extra pressure on them when they clash with Sri Lanka in a Test series, starting next week.

Vijay is coming into the se-ries after making a strokeful 150 against Bangladesh in the one-off Test and the opener is eager to ce-ment his place in the side.

“It’s actually not demanding. It is actually our role and if any one of us clicks, it’s going to be good for the team and we are going to be in a much comfortable position on most times. So it is a good chal-lenge,” Vijay told reporters when asked about the pressure on the top-order batsman in the face of Kohli’s five-bowler theory.

“It is a good responsibility to have on your shoulder to go in and bat and these are good things. If you are looking to dominate in a Test match, you have to per-form as a team. You should have the plans and work according to them,” he added.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan also made a blazing 173 in Bangladesh and with Lokesh Rahul also in line for a spot in the playing XI, the competition is intense. Vijay though is not too worried.

“It (the competition in the top-order) is going to add more chal-lenge for everybody to pull up their socks and do their bit for the team. Be as consistent as possible and it’s a good challenge and good thing to have in a team,” he said.

With two fairly young sides up against one another starting Au-

gust 12, Vijay hopes the challenge will be worth everything.

“There are a lot of youngsters, like Angelo Mathews is doing well, there is (Lahiru) Thira-manne, so there is a lot of talent in the team and it is going to be a tough series for us. We are also a young bunch of players and it is going to be a challenging series,” he said.

After Kumar Sangakkara’s re-tirement post the second Test, Sri Lanka will be without two of their most experience batsmen — Mahela Jayawardene is already retired — and Vijay opines that India will have the upperhand on that count.

“With Mahela retired and San-gakkkara about to (retire), there is a big hole in their batting line-up when these two greats retire. Overall I have seen Sri Lanka’s series with Pakistan and watched quite a bit of them. They are a talented side. We are looking for-ward to the challenge and hope-fully we can pull it off,” he said.

India Test cricket is going

through a transformation pe-riod with Kohli at the helm and Vijay has high hopes from the young team.

“We are a close unit now and it has two seasons that we have been playing abroad. The first time for us to play in the sub-continent and the home series coming up, so it’s going to be exciting time as a team and for every individ-ual because it’s going to test our character and will be challenging overall,” he said.

Vijay made a strong comeback with a wonderfully crafted 150 at Fatullah against a rejuvenated Bangladesh pace attack and the opener wishes to take take the momentum forward.

“I think I have always been that way, it just the run quotient had to be a little more consistent and now with more opportunities in the team I am really enjoying my game. I am mentally ready much more than before,” said Vijay on being asked about his new-found fearless way of batting.

“Just enjoy the game and give your best, keep it simple.

I don’t like to go much deep into anything, I like doing my stuff and if it helps the team then I am going to do the same, he added.

India will be playing a lot of their cricket at home after the Sri Lanka tour, but Vijay feels even home series are full of challenges.

“Playing international cricket is itself a challenge, there is no home and away in my personal view. Every aspect has it’s own charm and challenges, so obvi-ously we as a player have to lift our game according to the situa-tion,” he said. - PTI

T O U R O F S R I L A N K A

Test opener Murali Vijay is coming into the series

after making a strokeful 150

against Bangladesh in the

one-off Test and the opener

is eager to cement his

place in the side

Aaron, Yadav must bowl ‘fast and accurate’COLOMBO: Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun is confident that the team’s speed merchants Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav will take up the challenge to “maintain speed as well as be ac-curate” in the upcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka starting August 12 at Galle.

Asked if India’s fast men need to sacrifice a bit of pace in order to be more accurate, Arun said, “Sacrificing pace, I would not definitely want. I believe it is a wrong concept that people who generally bowl fast are erratic. It’s about efficient action and thought process, you can be fast as well as accurate. So the chal-lenge for these two (Aaron and Umesh) would be to not com-promise on speed and be a lot more accurate.”

The former Tamil Nadu seam-er also seemed excited about Bhu-vneshwar Kumar “rediscovering himself” after a lean patch. Arun also seemed ecstatic about the current bowling group. “There is great potential in our fast bowl-ing unit. We have couple of bowl-ers, who can clock 145 plus on a consistent basis. We have Ishant (Sharma) who is pretty experi-enced and can extract the bounce off the wicket. — PTI

C R I C K E T

Oman Cricket appoints marketing specialistMUSCAT: Oman Cricket (OC) has appointed an Australian marketing specialist in order to build its brand and promote fu-ture projects.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the cricket gov-erning body of the Sultanate said: “Oman Cricket in its en-deavor to improve its services have recently employed Wilfred Paul as a Marketing Specialist.”

“Wilfred, of Australian na-tionality is a Health and Exer-cise Science, and Marketing Graduate from the Swinburne University in Australia,” it said.

“He will be assisting Oman Cricket with building its brand and promoting its upcoming projects and development,” the statement added.

C R I C K E T

Wilfred Paul

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RIO GAMES — ONE YEAR TO GO

RIO DE JANEIRO: Foreign coaches, big investment and a focus on new sports are Brazil’s weapons as the 2016 Olympics hosts target a top-10 place in the medal table for the first time at the Rio de Janeiro Games a year from now.

Brazil hopes to win medals in at least 13 different sports with a quantum leap in performance.

The 10th spot on the medals ta-ble at the last two summer Games was held by France and Australia, both of whom won medals in more than 10 disciplines.

But finishing in the top 10 is a big challenge for a nation that devotes most of its time and money to foot-ball. “It’s a tough challenge but it’s not impossible,” Erika Miranda, a silver medallist at the world judo championships in Rio two years ago, said.

“Judo is one of the sports that must weigh in with medals if we are to finish in the top 10. But when you prepare, you are confident and I am confident we will do well.”

Brazil has historically won gold, silver and bronze medals in fewer than 10 disciplines, with most coming in volleyball, judo, athlet-ics and sailing.

But as it prepares to wow the world and its home fans in 2016, the South American nation has given special attention to individ-ual sports that offer more bang for their buck.

“We can highlight canoeing, handball, water polo, shooting,

amongst others, as sports that have developed during this Olympic cycle and are coming to Rio with excellent performances,” said Mar-cus Vinicius Freire, the executive director of sports with the Brazil-ian Olympic Committee (COB).

Canoer Isaquias Queiroz was world champion in the 500 me-tres event in 2013, teenage archer Marcus Vinicius D’Almeida was runner-up in the world champion-ships last year, and the women’s handball team will defend their world title in December.

Other sports such as judo and sailing are events in which Brazil hopes individual competitors will score big. Coaches in rugby from New Zealand, gymnastics from Russia, and wrestling from Cuba are among the dozens of outsiders brought in to share their expertise in sports not traditionally associ-ated with Brazil.

Australia debacleSince Brazil’s Sydney 2000 Olym-pics debacle, when it failed to win any golds and finished 52nd, per-formances have improved and the country was 22nd in the medal ta-ble at London 2012.

It won 27 medals in world cham-pionships in all sports in 2013 and 24 the following year — both re-cord hauls.

The COB said it would spend one billion reais (around $287 million) on high performance ath-letes in the four years to 2016 and officials are optimistic about the country’s prospects.

“This is the best four-year period in Brazilian Olympic history,” said Freire. “Today the COB is working with around 17 sports (that offer) potential results in 2016 in order to get a podium finish in around 13 of them.”

Brazil has already guaranteed athletes 353 places for their home Olympics and hopes to increase that number to about 400 by the time the Games begin on August 5, 2016.

More than two-thirds of the athletes who went to the Pan American Games in Canada last month were taking part in their first multi-sports event, a statistic that shows how Brazil is bringing through young prospects.

But it also leaves a question mark over whether they will have the maturity to handle fanatical crowds on home soil.

“I don’t feel the pressure, all my best results have been at home,” said Miranda. “But the athletes that feel the pressure, they are working on it. There is a year to go and they have time to work on the nerves and the anxiety.” - Reuters

While launching

one year countdown

to Rio Olympics,

Brazil are turning

to foreign coaches,

big investments and

focussing on new

sports in an attempt

to finish in top-10 in

the medal table for

the first time

“We are still one year away from it, but Brazil’s heart is already beating faster. The Brazilian generous heart leaps up when confronted with two of its pas-sions: welcoming people from all over the world and competing with enthusiasm and fair play in a superb sport performance.

We have seen it happening during the FIFA World Cup. It will be like that again, begin-ning on August 5 in 2016, when we will light with the Olympic flame our passion for sport and will hoist the flag bearing the five interlocking rings at our magnificent Maracanã stadium.

It is not by chance that Brazil was given the honour of being the first South American coun-try to host the Olympic Games.

Brazil is worldwide known for its impressive and diversi-fied landscape. We are also a country with a history of toler-ance and respect for diversity which has become an interna-tional symbol of sociability.

Indeed, we have welcomed different peoples and cultures with hospitality and happiness.

Our people — our workers, businesspeople, students, sci-entists and artists — managed to build one of the most open nations in the world, thanks to their creative capacity, friendli-ness and solidarity. We have built a vigorous culture of peace and work. That set of values guides our hard work to turn these coming Olympics into the best ever world sports festivity.

We have achieved it during the FIFA World Cup and we have everything it takes to re-peat it at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. This is a major chal-lenge which we are overcoming day after day, hour after hour, long before the competitions actually start. The preparation process for the Games began with investment in the most im-portant asset of all: our athletes.

It went on with massive investments in sport infra-structure and will reach its peak with the great ongoing urban restructuring of Rio de Janeiro — doubtlessly the most beautiful natural landscape for the Olympic Games since Ancient Greece.

Throughout the last years we made huge public investments to ensure adequate material support to our athletes, their coaches and teams, with such programmes as the “Athlete Scholarship” and the “Brazilian Medals Plan”.

Our outstanding athletes have succeeded in continu-ously improving their perfor-mances with each competition. They are our great stars and source of inspiration.

The results achieved by Brazil in the last Pan American Games are a concrete example of the drive of our athletes. These investments in people and infrastructure will bring far reaching results in future years, beyond the time frame of the Olympic Games.

Indeed, we are disseminating sport practice in our country among the young, with invest-ments in sport facilities for a wide range of sport modalities throughout the country. This will be the greatest legacy which we will reap from the Rio 2016 Games. We believe that education and sport are our best allies to ensure social inclusion and integration. Through them we stimulate young people to fight for their goals, to experi-ence the joy of breaking limits,

to learn teamwork and respect for their competitors.

Sport inspires in us a culture of cooperation, of honoring, ethic and hard work as means to reach our goals and celebrate our achievements. Combining it to the natural joy and self-esteem of our hospitable and welcoming people will produce the greatest legacy of the Rio 2016 Games. We will also have the monumental legacy of urban modernisation of Rio de Janeiro, one of the most beauti-ful cities in the world and our national postcard.

Two thirds of the financial resources allocated to the Rio 2016 Games are being invested in urban infrastructure works for the city. A wide range of infrastructure works are under way: a new metro line, a tramway connecting the whole of downtown Rio and express lanes for buses which will interconnect all competition venues. The aim of much of this investment is to improve public transportation and commut-ing for people during and after the games, in particular people who live in the most remote quarters and need public trans-portation of high quality.

Urban transformation is not all. The Rio Harbour area, for example, will become a new leisure and culture quarter for local population and for thousands of tourists which we receive each year.

In the future, “Porto Mara-vilha” will house new office and residential buildings. We are recuperating the brightness of the Marvelous City which has enchanted the world ever since it was the capital of our country. The Rio 2016 Olympic Games strongly attracted investments from the Brazilian private sec-tor — and not only for sponsor-ing or for building and modern-ising the new hotel network.

For example, the Barra Olympic Park, was built to a great extent with private investment, including works on local infrastructure.

The Olympic Village, that will host athletes from all over the world, is also being constructed

by the private sector, which has begun to sell these apartments. It is possible to state, therefore, that the Rio 2016 Games will re-ceive one of the highest levels of private investment if compared to previous Olympic Games in the last 20 years. The Deodoro Sport Complex, one of the com-petition venues, located in the middle of a deprived area and having the largest concentration of youngsters of Rio de Janeiro, will become a space for local population to practice radical sports. It will also be a training stage for our best athletes.

The Barra Olympic Park will be the foundation for the future Olympic training center, responsible for preparing the country’s future high level athletes. It will also enhance sport cooperation with other countries, especially with our neighbors from South America.

This effort is being stimu-lated by investments all over Brazil. In total, there are 12 training centers and 261 sport initiation centers, in addition to the 46 official athletics tracks. The investment on the sport legacy in Rio and in the country sums up to $1.2 billion.

We are also providing for the cost-efficiency as well as the sustainability of the facilities. One example is Future Arena, the venue of the handball com-petitions at the Olympic Park. The Arena is made with tem-porary modules, which will be dismantled after the Games and converted into four schools.

Ensuring the smooth opera-tion of this great project has required constant attention and a joint effort by the local, state and federal government, as well as the Organising Com-mittee and the Olympic Public Authority. All parties will re-main fully committed until the end of the Paralympic Games in September 2016.

An event with such com-plexity also requires constant attention to details. Rio’s infra-structure and Olympic projects are already being tested with the first events taking place throughout the city. By early 2016, we will have held compe-titions in 40 sports modalities.

Brazil is fully prepared for the upcoming Games. In coop-eration with the event’s organ-isers, we will proudly show the world the recent accomplish-ments of a strong and well-functioning democracy which is committed to reducing social inequalities through economic development and investment. This is the collective effort of an entire country.

Our energy to overcome challenges will be demonstrat-ed to all the 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes, the thousands of spectators and the billions of viewers.

Athletes and tourists will be warmly welcomed by the Bra-zilian society, as it happened in the 2014 World Cup, when the country charmed the world with its festive atmosphere and overall safety and efficiency.

At that time, all those watching our festivities on TV certainly wanted to be here in Brazil. In 2016, do not just long to be in Brazil — come enjoy all the good that the Olympic Games can give you during this one-time event — and all that a country like Brazil can offer you at any time: peace, love, joy, and lots of happiness!

We are waiting for you with open arms and hearts”.

Greatest sport festivity in the heart of Brazil

As Brazil begins one year countdown to 2016 Rio Olympics, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff says ‘we are waiting for you with open arms and hearts’. Here is the text of her message to the world

A COUNTRY’S DREAM: International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach talks with journalists on Barra da Tijuca beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday when he met with current and former Brazilian Olympians during the event. Rio de Janeiro marked the one-year countdown to hosting the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Wednesday. – Reuters

FOCUS ON FUTURE: An aerial view of the Rio 2016 Olympic Park construction site in Rio de Janeiro. – Reuters

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Oman squad face big challenge at Oman Optimist Championships

MUSCAT: Oman’s Optimist Na-tional Sailing Squad will have to fend off the challenge from bright new young sailing talent when the 2015 Oman Optimist Cham-pionships get underway in Sur next week. The eight members of the squad, fresh from their recent training camp in Greece, will gath-er for a further week of prepara-tion in Sur before racing starts on August 13, and are expected to be at the peak of their form.

But with more than 40 other youngsters, representing Oman Sail’s four sailing schools, eager to make their mark and putting incum-bents under pressure, higher levels of competition and performance are anticipated across the fleet.

“The Optimist squad will be re-newed in part this year because some sailors will graduate due to their age and move on to other classes, so there will be at least three places up for grabs,” ex-plained Marina Psichogiou, Man-ager of Oman Sail’s Omantel Youth Programme which is co-sponsored by Oman Shipping Company.”

Gaining experience“This is a big incentive for the youngsters who want National Sailing Squad places. We are one year further down the line and the National Optimist Sailing Squad have been all over the world com-peting in competitions and train-ing camps. They have gone back to

the sailing centres and shared that knowledge and experience with their peers, so we expect to see a higher levels of performance and skills this year.”

Among squad members looking to impress is Zakariya Al Wahabi, the first Omani youth to be crowned National Optimist Champion at the inaugural event last year, who has

gone on to represent his country at international Optimist competi-tions around the world.

He will be keen to retain his crown but will have stiff competi-

tion from other squad members looking to impress ahead of the World Optimist Championships in Poland later this month, the IODA Optimist African championships in Algeria in September and the Asian and Oceanian Championships in Doha in October.

Coveted prizeThree individual podium places are up for grabs as well as the Un-der-11 prize which last year was won by Saud Al Abri.

In addition, there is the coveted sailing school prize and The Wave, Muscat has plenty to do in 2015 to prevent Sur, Marina Bandar Al Rowdha and Mussanah from wrestling the schools trophy away from them.

The 2015 Oman Optimist Championships will be held at Oman Sail’s newest sailing school at Sur, which was opened last year and funded by Oman LNG. The competitors will arrive on August 11 with a practice race scheduled the following day.

Racing, which will be man-aged and officiated entirely by Sur coaches, will start on August 13 and continue through to August 16, culminating in a major prize-giving ceremony.

The eight members of the squad, fresh from

their recent training camp in Greece, will

gather for a further week of preparation in

Sur before racing starts on August 13, and are

expected to be at the peak of their form

BIG TEST: A file photo of action from 2014 Oman Optimist Championship. – Supplied photo

New doping claims ‘declaration of war’ on athletics, says CoeLONDON: New doping claims against athletics are a “declaration of war” on the sport, British Olym-pic great and International Asso-ciation of Athletics Federations (IAAF) presidential candidate Se-bastian Coe said on Wednesday.

“The fightback has to start here,” said Coe in a statement after the Sunday Times and German broad-caster ARD published evidence of hundreds of allegedly suspicious blood tests.

“It is a declaration of war on my sport. There is nothing in our his-tory of competence and integrity in drug-testing that warrants this kind of attack.”

Coe, a two-time Olympic gold medallist at 1,500 metres, is vy-ing with former Ukrainian pole-vaulter Sergey Bubka to succeed Lamine Diack, the head of world governing body the IAAF, in an election on August 19.

Doping practicesThe doping claims came to light following the leak of an IAAF da-tabase. It allegedly shows details of over 12,000 blood tests between 2001 and 2012 that revealed “ex-traordinary” levels of doping, with over 800 athletes producing suspi-cious blood tests.

The IAAF dismissed the allega-tions on Tuesday as “sensational-ist and confusing” and said the test results did not constitute concrete proof of doping.

While Coe, currently an IAAF vice-president, has attacked the claims, he accepts that some coun-tries need to address longstanding concerns over doping practices.

“I don’t think anybody should underestimate the anger that is felt in our sport. We have led the way on this,” he told BBC Radio 4.

“To suggest that in some way we sit on our hands at best, and at worst are complicit in a cover-up, is not borne out by anything we have done in the last 15 years.”

The 58-year-old added: “As a

sport we have led the way on out-of-competition testing, on accred-ited laboratories; we were the first sport to have arbitration panels.

“Yes, we have countries out there that are causing a problem and an inordinate amount of dif-ficulty across our sport, but to say we are not investigating or turning a blind eye to this could not be fur-ther from the truth.”

‘Disingenuous’Six-time world champion Bubka, 51, has called for athletics to stiff-en its resolve against the scourge of doping.

“Athletics is the most funda-mental of all sports and the way the world sees athletics influences the way it views all sports,” he said in a statement, without directly addressing the new allegations.

He called for the current anti-doping system to be “simplified”, saying it was “too complex and takes too long”.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Times has released a statement question-ing the IAAF’s commitment to rooting out drug cheats.

“It is disingenuous of the IAAF to spend just two days conducting what it describes as a ‘thorough’ investigation into the serious is-sues we raised and then to attempt to dismiss the story as sensational-ist,” the newspaper said.

The paper added: “Its refusal to accept any criticism raises serious questions as to whether the IAAF is truly committed to its primary duty of policing its sport and pro-tecting clean athletes.”

The two experts who investigated the data for the Sunday Times, Mi-

chael Ashenden and Robin Parisot-to, said they stood by their claims.

“We note the concerns raised by the IAAF with regard to the analyses we undertook of the data. We have rebutted each and every one of their so-called ‘serious reservations’,” they said in a joint-statement.

“We followed the same pro-cedure as IAAF expert panelists when reviewing ABP (athlete biological passport) profiles, clas-sifying results as ‘likely doping’ when we were able to confidently exclude all other potential causes or instead ‘suspicious’ when there was genuine evidence of blood manipulation however further in-vestigation such as target testing would have been required.

“We stand by the evaluations we submitted to Sunday Times and ARD/WDR.” - AFP

F U R T H E R F R O M T R U T H

The fightback has

to start here. It is a

declaration of war

on my sport. There is

nothing in our history

of competence and

integrity in drug-

testing that warrants

this kind of attack

Sebastian Coe

Retaining title will be tougher for Chelsea, feels MourinhoLONDON: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho feels it will be more difficult for his side to retain the Premier League title with the other contenders having made strong additions to their squads.

Chelsea won the title at a can-ter last season, finishing on 87 points, eight ahead of second-placed Manchester City.

“A year ago we got immediately Costa and Fabregas which was a quick reaction to the fact that we didn’t win the title,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.

“This year you can see from the reaction of Liverpool, Arsenal Man City, Man United.

“They’ve bought strong they’ve bought well. They are trying to make an impact because they couldn’t get the title.”

The 52-year-old Mourinho expects a close title race and low scoring season with smaller teams also attracting strong players.

“Maybe I am wrong but I have the idea that less points will win the title this season,” the Portu-guese added. “Other teams are investing very well and this is not normal. Smaller teams are get-ting some of the best players from some countries. Those players usually only leave their counties for the best clubs but now they go to the promoted teams.

“Now it is their competitive nature and their quality that top teams have to play against. It is more difficult.”

Mourinho, currently in his sec-ond stint as manager with Chelsea, has won three Premier League ti-tles, two League Cups, one FA Cup and one Community Shield with the London-based club.

Terry’s desireMeanwhile, Chelsea defender John Terry said he has worked hard on his fitness in the last few years and wants to have a long play-

ing career like former Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs.

Giggs called time on a remark-able 23-year, trophy-laden Unit-ed career at the age of 40 to take on the role of assistant manager to Louis van Gaal last year.

The 34-year-old Terry played a big role in Chelsea’s title run last season and has no plans to stop anytime soon.

“In the last four or five years I’ve done a lot of extra work, not just at the training ground,” Terry told Sky Sports News.

“Putting the effort in the gym, training ground, off the pitch and eat the right food, I’m hoping to carry on as a long as possible.

“There’s an opportunity you see with players like Giggs of playing until a very big age.”

Terry quit international foot-ball in 2012 after the Football Association banned him for four matches when he was accused of making a racist remark to Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand. He was cleared of the allegation in a London court.

The central defender believes quitting international football helped keep his fitness at a level where he was able to play every minute of the London club’s tri-umphant league season.

Only four players, three of them goalkeepers, had previously featured in every game of a Pre-mier League title-winning cam-paign before Terry. - Reuters

F O O T B A L L

Mourinho expects a

close title race and

low scoring season

Di Maria ‘delighted’ with move to PSGPARIS: Argentina winger Angel Di Maria said he is “delighted” to be joining French champions Paris-Saint Germain (PSG) in an interview screened on BeIn Sports on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old has yet to of-ficially sign for the Qatari-backed Parisians ahead of a move from Manchester United.

But in an interview with BeIn Sports, who are owned by the same Qatari Sports Investments group that includes PSG in its portfolio, Di Maria spoke of his joy at securing a move to the big-spending outfit.

“I’m delighted to sign for PSG because the club has done every-

thing to bring me here,” Di Maria, who passed a medical in Doha on Tuesday, said.

“I’ll try to do my best, I’ll work hard to give my utmost and if eve-

rything goes well, we’ll win a lot of trophies.”

The former Real Madrid star said his goal was to bring more than just domestic glory to last year’s French treble-winners.

“Paris won all the trophies in France and that’s important for such a big club. My aim is to help Paris get past the Champions League quarterfinals.”

PSG have been knocked out in the Champions League quarterfi-nals the last three years (twice by Barcelona and once by Chelsea) and their best result in Europe’s premier club competition remains a semifinal appearance in 1995.

Di Maria’s arrival will be PSG’s biggest in the current off-season following those of German goal-keeper Kevin Trapp from Eintra-cht Frankfurt and French mid-fielder Benjamin Stambouli from Tottenham. The Argentine spent just one season at Manchester United, who have agreed a £44.3 million (63 million euros; $68.9 million dollars) fee with PSG.

Having helped Real win the Champions League in 2014, Di Maria moved to Old Trafford for £59.7 million. Di Maria — who has 65 caps for Argentina — scored four goals in 32 appearances for United. - AFP

F O O T B A L L

Argentina winger

spoke of his joy at

securing a move to the

big-spending outfit

WILL DO MY BEST: Angel Di Maria

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

CultureSECTIONC L I F E S T Y L E T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

Story T. A. Ameerudheen

LIFESTYLEC8 T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

Fan clubs are best known as platforms for celebrity wor-ship. They celebrate individuals who have

carved a niche for themselves as movie icons, singing sensations, and soccer stars. But the Japan Fan Club (JFC) is a different sort, as its aim is to promote and share the rich cultural heritage of Japan here in Oman.

The Embassy of Japan in Oman launched JFC in 2012. “Our activi-ties help people know more about Japan, the land of rising Sun, and improves bilateral ties with Oman,” says Mitsuhiro Imamura, Head of the Cultural Section at the Embassy of Japan in Oman.

There are a very few Japanese expatriates in Oman, but plenty of residents adore the country for its multi-faceted culture and technological advancements. So it is of little wonder, then, that JFC has been making its presence felt since its inception. “JFC members actively participate in the events organised by the embassy, includ-ing Japan Day celebrations, Origa-mi workshops, Calligraphy work-shops, and sushi presentations. We have seen steady increases in the membership.”

One thing that attracts people to Japan is the way in which the country has adapted to moder-nity while preserving its tradi-tions, which date back thousands of years. The country strives to maintain its rich cultural herit-age, including architecture, gar-dens, castles, Shinto shrines, pot-tery, calligraphy, and other folk art crafts. At the same time, Japan embraces and promotes modern cultural phenomenons like Manga animation and J-Pop.

“The embassy wants to show-case both faces of Japan through cultural events and we send the invitations to our members. We know the popularity of Sushis, Manga animation and J-pop among youngsters in Oman.”

In 2012 Fan club members had the opportunity to watch Japanese Pop (J-Pop) sensation May Hashi-moto, popularly known as May J, perform at the Scientific College of Design in Seeb. “We also joined for the dinner with May J, the Japan Ambassador, and a group of Japa-nese language students. It was fun night,” wrote Mahmood Al Farsi on the JFC Facebook page. One of the JFC’s biggest events to date was a photography exhibition held in 2014 at the Muscat Grand Mall en-titled ‘Hiroshima, the City of Peace’.

“Works of prominent photog-raphers from Hiroshima, a city that bore the brunt of a nuclear bomb dropped during World War II, were on display at the exhibi-tion. It showcased how the city bounced back after the worst-ev-er disaster in world history.” This year there have already been many events, from a food festival to several art exhibitions.

“Members actively participat-ed in ‘Winter Garden’ art exhibi-tion in March 2015 in which 30 artists showcased their paintings and sculptors at the Omani So-ciety of Fine Arts Hall. And they

showed great enthusiasm at the Japan Design Exhibition at the Zubair Museum last year,” says Imamura. Imamura feels that Oman and Japan share a rare cultural binding when it comes to preserving the tradition and embracing modernity.

“Japan has a long history of 2000 years. We have a rich tradi-tion and we strive hard to preserve it. However, we never hesitated to adopt the modern trends. Ja-pan is at the forefront of technol-ogy innovations and is the home to world’s top automobile brands. Oman too has a rich cultural tradi-tion, but they embrace modernity like Japan. It is a common binding factor between the two countries.”

The Japan Fan Club currently has 150 members. Upcoming cultural events will include a Manga animation workshop, Japanese film festival, book exhibition and Japan Cultural Day celebrations.- ameerudheen@timesofoman.com

HISTORIC AND ECONOMIC TIESHistorical ties between Japan and Oman can be traced back more than 400 years and Oman-Japan diplomatic relations were established in 1972, a year after the Sultanate joined the United Nations. A decade later, in 1983, Japan established an embassy in Muscat. Oman is a key country for Japan’s security, since Oman holds the Strait of Hormuz through which over three quarters of Japan’s oil imports pass, and Japan is one of the largest importers of crude oil and natural gas from Oman. Japan also imports a large quantity of vegetables and fish products from the Sultanate. Oman imports a large array of con-sumer products from Japan as well, most notably automobiles and auto parts, machinery, and electronic appliances.

JOIN THE JAPAN FAN CLUBLaunched by the Japanese Embassy in Oman in 2012, the JFC aims to promote Japa-nese tradition and culture in the Sultanate. Membership is open to Omani citizens and expatriates who want to learn more about Japan culture. Membership forms are avail-able at the embassy and registration is free of cost. Once the registration process is completed, members will receive invitations to special events from the embassy.

Contact: Aya Fujimoto+968 2460 1028, Ext.24

LEARN JAPANESE LANGUAGEThe Oman Japan Friendship Association is conducting a three-month Japanese language course starting August 16 at Al Assalah Towers in Ghubrah. The course offers lessons for beginners and intermediate level learners for OMR150. Contact the Embassy of Japan for details: +968 2460 1028, Ext: 38

Photography courtesy of the Japan Embassy M

uscat

LIFESTYLEC9T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

SO TO SPEAK

SALEHAL-SHAIBANY

Blame Game: Out of Control KidsI was shocked the other day

to see a ten-year old boy rolling a cigarette in his mouth. Behind him, two other kids were helping

each other light another one. They did not have a care in the world. It shocked me not only because of their tender ages, but also because they did not even bother to con-ceal their disgusting act.

The group stood in a busy car park, challenging adults who looked their way by blowing smoke in their direction. I am sure this habit was not encouraged by their parents; at least not know-ingly. Banning advertisements and forcing cigarette companies to include warnings on packets is not really working. The kids still see smoking on television or perhaps copy teenagers they see smoking in public places. The sad thing is that children find such a bad habit romantic.

I am not attempting to blame parents for not instilling good be-haviour in their children. Some-times, children behave perfectly at home only to run riot once they

are alone outside. Smoking is just one of many bad behaviours. Now that the schools are closed, many get into all kinds of mischief.

Recently I watched a gang of five kids kicking a lamppost, and when they got bored with that, they went on to overturn a rubbish bin on the road. On the next street, kids, include one of my own, broke somebody’s window while play-ing football. It is no wonder that most of the vandalism is done by kids with nothing better to do. But who do you blame?

One of my neighbours said he had a solution. “Buy them comput-ers and intelligent programmes so they can learn something,” He said. “You can keep them out of mischief that way.”

I immediately thought, you can’t hold them up in their rooms all day; they need some space of their own...but then again, there are risks when they are out un-supervised too. It is not really healthy for them to stay indoors all the time to interact with a phosphorous screen with nobody to talk to. Computers are great

but they don’t teach kids to han-dle physical problems like talking your way out of a fight. It is impor-tant that they venture outside the protective walls of their houses. But you don’t want them to run wild when they are on their own either. Even if they don’t cause problems, they are in danger of falling into bad hands. Young chil-dren have become the targets of criminals who don’t think twice to abuse them. They are easily co-erced into engaging in the illegal trade of banned substances. Our

kids are not even safe at school. Criminals hang around waiting to entice them with promises of making quick money.

How do you prepare your chil-dren not to fall in bad ways? It is difficult to raise children the way we were raised. Those days, it was acceptable to slap them, but now it is against the law. We were taught to respect our elders, but children these days are encour-aged to challenge them so they can learn something. And modern pressures have us so busy that we sometimes fail to notice problems in our children.

Perhaps it is time to redefine the role of parents. I am not sure how you do that. One thing is for sure, kids need a little more privacy and to be trusted to a certain degree. I don’t know about you, but it is be-coming increasingly confusing for me as a parent. Perhaps it is best to follow our instincts and hope you are doing the right thing for your kids. I guess the true meas-ure of how successful we have been as parents will only be re-vealed many years from now.

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Banning advertisements

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Gigi is world’s most connected supermodel

Gigi Hadid has been named The World’s Most Connected Supermodel by W Magazine because of her “incredible influence” on social media with five mil-lion Instagram followers. “All the companies I work for want me to guarantee how much I’ll post for them. But I’m not going to force my career onto the people who follow me. I refuse to do 40 Instagram posts about any campaign,” said Hadid. The model is also adamant she’s more than just a pretty face, reported femalefirst.co.uk.

Bruce Willis to star in Woody Allen’s next film

Actors Bruce Willis, Kris-ten Stewart, Jesse Eisen-berg and Blake Lively have come on board for veteran director Woody Allen’s next film, which will go on the floors later this month. The makers have announced the cast of the film recently, add-ing that the untitled project will be shot in New York, re-ported Efe. The film will also star Parker Posey, who was in Allen’s Irrational Man, Jeannie Berlin, Corey Stoll and Ken Stott. The Blue Jas-mine director’s new project will reunite Stewart and Eisenberg, who starred together in Adventure-land and will also appear in the action comedy American Ultra. However, the plot of the film is not out yet with the storyline shrouded in secrecy.

Bieber granted more time for social service

An ankle injury has led to an extension of the time-frame for singer Justin Bie-ber to complete the five-day community service and other tasks he was sentenced to in a vandalism case. The 21-year-old singer was sen-tenced to the community service as well as a hefty fine and an anger management session in July in a vandal-ism case after he threw eggs at a neighbour’s property.

— IANS

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SHATTI Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2D)(Action, Adventure) (PG12)Cast: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner 11:30am, 1:45, 6:30, 9:00, 11:30 pmEXISTS (Horror)(15+)Cast: Samuel Davis, Dora Madison5:00, 11:45 pmTHE GIFT (Mystery, Thriller)(12+)Cast: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, 3:00, 6:45 pmCOP CAR (Thriller)(12+)Cast: Kevin Bacon, Shea Whigham, Camryn11:15 am, 2:00, 7:45 pmINSIDE OUT (Animation)(2D) PGVoice Overs: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis1:00 pmINSIDE OUT (Animation)(3D)PG3:45, 5:45 pmAnt Man (3D)(Action, Adventure) (PG12)Cast: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll4:15, 9:30, 11:45 pmAnt Man (2D)(Action, Adventure) (PG12)11:30 amBAJRANGI BHAIJAAN (Drama)(PG)Cast: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, 8:45 pm

MUSCAT GRAND MALLInside Out 3D (Animation) (PG)Voice Overs: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis12:45PM, 5:00PMGold Class: 2:00PMInside Out 2D (Animation ) (PG)10:45AMCop Car 2D (Thriller) (12+)Cast: Kevin Bacon, Shea Whigham, Camryn2:15PMEldonia Ma2looba 2D (Comedy) (12+)Cast: Bassem Samra, Ola Ghanem, Ahmed7:00PM

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 2D (Action, Adventure, Thriller ) (PG12)Cast : Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy 11:45AM, 4:00, 9:30, 11:55PMGold Class: 11:30AM, 4:00, 8:45, 11:15PMAnt-Man 3D (Action) (PG12)Cast : Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll11:45PMGold Class: 6:30PMAnt-Man 2D (Action, Sci-Fi ) (PG12)2:45PMDrishyam 2D (Drama, Mystery) (PG12)Cast : Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran6:30PMMinions (3D) (Animation, Comady) (PG)10:00AMBajrangi Bhaijaan (2D) ( Action ) (PG)Cast: Salman Khan, Kereena Kapoor, Harshaali8:45PM

AZAIBAMission: Impossible - Rogue Nation – 2D (PG12) (Action, Adventure, Thriller)Cast: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy11:45 AM, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30, 11:55 PMBajrangi Bhaijaan - 2D (PG) (Drama, Action)3:45, 08:30, 11:15 PMInside Out – 3D (PG) (Animation, Adventure)

2:00, 4:00 PMInside Out – 2D (PG) (Animation, Comedy) 12:00 PMThe Gift – 2D (12+) (Mystery, Thriller) Cast - Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel12:45, 6:45 PMBangistan – 2D (Comedy)Cast: Jacqueline Fernandez, Rajesh Sharma, Riteish Deshmukh2:45, 8:45 AMIdhu Enna Maayam (Tam) – 2D (Romantic) Cast: Vikram Prabhu, Keerthy Suresh, Kavya6:00, 8:55 PMExists – 2D (15+) Horror Cast: Samuel Davis, Dora Madison, Roger5:15, 11:45 PMCop Car – 2D (12+) Thriller Cast: Kevin Bacon, Shea Whigham, Camryn 2:00, 6:45 PMAnt-Man – 2D (PG12) Action, Sci-Fi 11:45 AMAnt-Man – 3D (PG12) ActionSci-Fi 2:45, 11:30 PM

RUWISCREEN 1Bangistan (Comedy) – TBCCast: Riteish Deshmukh, Pulkit Samrat2.30, 8.30 PM

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (Action, Adventure, Thriller) – PG 12Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg5.30, 11.30 PM

SCREEN 2Bajrangi Bhaijaan (Action/Drama ) – PG3.15, 9.00 PMDrishyam (Thriller/Drama ) – PG12Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran6.00 PMBangistan (Comedy) – TBC11.45 PM SCREEN 3Baahubali: The Beginning (Action) 12+3.15, 6.00, 9.00 PMBajrangi Bhaijaan (Action/Drama ) – PG11.45 PM

SOHARBajrangi Bhaijaan - 2D (PG) Drama, Action8:30 PMBaahubali - 2D (Hindi) (12+) Action4:00 PMAnt-Man- 2D (PG12) Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi 4:15 PMAnt-Man- 3D (PG12) Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi 7:00 , 11:30 PM

Drishyam- 2D (Hindi) (PG12) Drama, Thriller9:00 PMMission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - 2D (PG12) Action, Adventure, Thriller2:00, 4:30, 6:00, 9:15, 11:45 PMInside Out - 3D (PG) Animation, Adventure, 2:15, 4:00 PMCop Car - 2D (12+) Thriller Cast: Kevin Bacon, Shea Whigham, Camryn2:35, 11:55 PMThe Gift - 2D (12+) Mystery, ThrillerCast: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel2:00 ,09:30 , 11:30 PMBangistan - 2D (TBC) ComedyCast: Jacqueline Fernandez, Riteish 6:30 PMIdhu Enna Maayam - 2D (TBC) Romantic, Cast : Vikram Prabhu, Keerthy Suresh, Kavya6:45 PM

BURAIMIMission Impossible: Rogue Nation - 2D3:00,4:45,7:15,9:20,11:45PM (Action) (PG12)Ant Man - 3D (Horror, Thriller) (PG12)5:00,7:15,11:30PMInside Out - 3D (Animation, Comedy) (PG)3:00,5:20PMCop Car - 2D (Thriller) (12+)

3:00, 9:45PMThe Gift- 2D (Mystery, Thriller) (12+)7:00, 11:45PMBajrangi Bhaijaan - 2D (Drama, Action) (PG)9:00PM

SURMission Impossible - Rogue Nation (Action / Adventure / Thriller) (PG12)4:30, 9:15, 11:45 PMCop Car (Thriller) (12+) Cast: Kevin Bacon, Shea Whigham, Camry 2:45, 09:45 PMANT MAN (3D) (Action / Sci-Fi) (PG12) 7:00 PMInside Out (3D) (Animation) (PG) 3:00, 5:00 PMBajrangi Bhaijaan (Hindi) (Action ) (PG) 11:30 PMDrishyam (Hindi) (Action) (PG12) 6:50 PM

SALALAHMission: Impossible- Rogue Nation (2D) 11:55AM, 2:00, 9:30, 11:30, 11:55PM (PG12) Ant-Man (2D)(PG12) (Action/ Sci-Fi ) 10:00AM Ant-Man (3D)(PG12) (Action/Sci-Fi ) 4:20/9:15PMInside Out (3D)(PG) (Animation/Comedy) 12:10/4:50PMInside Out (2D)(PG) (Animation/Comedy) 10:00AMCop Car (2D)(12+) (Thriller) 10:15AM/ 8:40 PMBajrangi Bhaijaan (2D) (PG) (Drama/Action) 6:30/11:45PMExists (2D) (15+) (Horror) Cast: Samuel Davis, Dora Madison, Roger2:45/ 10:15PMEldonia Ma2looba (2D)(12+)(Arabic) Cast: Bassem Samra, Ola Ghanem, Ahmed4:15PMBangistan (2D)(TBC) (Comedy) 6:45PMDrishyam (2D)(PG12)(Hindi) (Drama) 11:45AMWrong No. (2D)(PG)(Urdu) (Romantic) Cast Javed Sheikh, Danish Taimoor, Nadeem 2:15PMIdhu Enna Maayam (2D)(PG)(Tamil) (Romantic/Comedy) Cast: Shruti K. Haasan, Mahesh Babu, Brahmanandam6:00PM

BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking 24540855Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 2D (Action, Adventure, Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy11.30am, 2.00, 4.30, 7.00, 9.30 & 11.55 pmCP No: 1894 (PG12)COP CAR (Thriller) Cast: Kevin Baccon, Shea Whigham, Camryn11.30 am, 3.15 & 10.15 pmCP No: 1895 ( 12+ )THE GIFT ( Horror/Thriller)Cast: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel1.15 & 6.30 p.m. CP No: 1896 (12+)EXISTS ( Horror )Cast: Samuel Davis, Dora Madison Burgue 5.00 & 11.55 p.m.CP No: 1897 ( 15+ )The Night Crew ( Action/Thriller) Cast: Danny Trejo, Jason Mewes, Luke Goss8.30 pm; CP No: 1886 (15+) STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776Website: www.isurf.co.om

Baahubali (Tamil) (Action) 3:00 & 10:00 pm Cinema Main (Thurs); 6-30 Pm Cinema -2 (Thurs); 10-00 Pm Cinema Main (Friday) 3-45 & 6-45 Pm Cinema-3Idhu Enna Maayam (Tamil) (Drama)6-30 pm Cinema Main (Thurs); 3-30 & 9-30 Pm Cinema -2; 3-30, 6-30 & 9-30 Pm Cinema -2 (From Friday)Bhaubali (Telugu) (Thurs); 3-45 Pm Cinema -3Drishyam (Hindi) (Drama); 6-45 & 9-45 Pm Cinema -3 (Thurs); 6-45 Pm (From Friday) Cinema -4Srimanthudu (Telugu ) ( Act )Cast: Mahesh Babu & Shruthi Hassan3-00 & 6-30 Pm Cinema Main (From Friday )9-45 Pm Cinema -3 (From Friday )Acha Din (Mal) (Drama/Act)3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 Pm Cinema -4 (Thursday)3-45 & 9-45 Pm Cinema -4 (From Friday) (Programmes are subject to change)

TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily05:30 Ruwi 10:00 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 Daily 13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily 17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily12:30 Ruwi 17:30 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 16:30 Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Salalah 07:00 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

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily 16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

11:15 am, 2:00, pm, 7:45 pm 6:45 pm 11:45am, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30, 11:55pm

@MGM @SHATTI @SOHAR @AZAIBA

COP CAR (Thriller)(12+)Cast: Kevin Bacon, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim

12:45 pm, 5:00 pmGold Class: 2:00 pmINSIDE OUT (Animation)(3D) PGVoice Overs: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis

Idhu Enna Maayam - 2D (TBC) Romantic, Cast : Vikram Prabhu, Keerthy Suresh, Kavya

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 2D (Action) (PG12)Cast: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson

CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF 3 YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE CINEMA | BOX-OFFICE COUNTER OPENS 30-MINUTES PRIOR TO THE SCREENING OF THE FIRST SHOW

WEATHER

390

Maximum

320

Minimum

TEMPERATURE 45-80%RELATIVE HUMIDITY

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to extra@timesofoman.com

WITH LOVE

VRINDA AJAYANAugust 6, 2008

NAKUL VINODAugust 6, 2009

NATHANIEL BAIJUAugust 6, 2012

P. SHIVA GOWTHAMAugust 6, 2012

ATHARV LAJITHAugust 6, 2011

LIFESTYLEC11T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

GHAWIBAZAAR

BUY LOCAL: OMANI MANDOOS These traditional boxes, decorated with beautiful brass or silver designs and glass art work, find pride of place in Omani homes. Known as Mandoos or Sanduk in the traditional market, these Omani chests were used to store valuables in traditional homes with no wardrobes or built-in closets. Most historians believe that the Portuguese introduced these boxes to Oman in the 16th century.

MORNING RITUAL

V I K I N G S C H O O L

PHOT

OS: O

.K. M

OHA

MM

ED A

LI

WHATThese ornamental chests are now commonly used to present the Mehr (women’s dowry) and perfumes, clothes and jewellery that are presented to the bride on her wedding day, and thus they have acquired the name, “bridal boxes”. They are popular decoration pieces in Omani homes. WHOArtisans in Nizwa and Sur produce quality chests made out of teakwood. Their surfaces are inlaid with brass in Arabesque/Islamic geometric designs and are also sometimes decorated with precious stones. The boxes are available in different sizes, the smallest boxes currently available in the market are 12-inches in length while the biggest ones are 60-inches. Cheaper varieties made of plywood and processed wood are also available.

WHEREChests of different size, colour, and decoration are available in souqs across the Sultanate. Eastern Galaxy shop in Muttrah is a preferred shop where customers can find both the high-quality teak boxes and the cheaper, decorative ply-wood options (Call +968 9350 5092 for directions).

HOW MUCHArtisans normally take three weeks to manufac-ture bigger boxes decorated with brass, while they complete smaller boxes in just one week, and prices range from OMR15 to OMR300, according to the quality of the wood and decorative work.

Have a favourite Omani product or shop? Tell us about it: ameerudheen@timesofoman.comThis is a familiar early

morning scene from the wadi close to the Muscat Securi-ties Market. Bird

lovers from different parts of the city visit the place with tiny bags full of grains to feed hun-dreds of pigeons scattered all over the wadi bed. These lovely birds have been living along the sidewalks, streets and the roofs of buildings waiting for the feeders’ visit. Mohammed Iqbal, a Muscat resident, said: “I come to this place after dawn prayers every day. It gives me great pleasure to feed these lovely birds. I love to look at them, meditate and listen to their sounds.”

Photographs: Shabin E

Norway starts school for VikingsA NORWEGIAN college is starting a programme for wan-nabe Vikings where students will learn essential Viking crafts, such as sword forging, jewellery making, and roof thatching.

Vikings were seafaring ma-rauders. They were scattered over Scandinavia and across northern and central Europe. They spoke the old Norse lan-guage. During the course at Seljord Folkehogskule, 150km west of capital Oslo, students — many inspired by famous tel-evision series Game of Thrones — will celebrate Norse ritu-als of the year, going so far as to make animal sacrifices during the winter feast, The Local news portal reported.

“We see a large number of ap-plicants who have applied for different reasons,” the school’s principal, Arve Husby, told Nor-wegian broadcaster NRK.

“Some have become interest-ed through TV series and others want to learn handicraft.”

The school’s leading Viking teacher is Jeppe Nordmann Gar-ly, a Dane who describes himself as a “recreational Viking”.

Students at the school will also have the opportunity to row Viking ships, learn ceramics and woodworks. -IANS

LIFESTYLEC12 T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 6, 2 0 1 5

The rapidly developing

countries of the Arabian Gulf

are architectural playgrounds,

launching all kinds of iconic

structures from theme parks to

mosques. In a region where

creative plans are churned

out on a daily basis, these five

buildings stand out from the

rest for their beauty, unique

concepts, and eco-friendliness.

SULTAN QABOOS GRAND MOSQUE, MUSCAT, OMANIt is awe-inspiring to see the solid arches crowned by a strip of

Quranic verses rising over the sunlight filled corridors upon entering the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in Oman.

Major attractions: Pay special attention to the decorative marble and the contrast between the colour of the stone and the blue-stained

glass of the windows in the main hall. The Mihrab (the prayer niche of the Imam, one of the most sacred parts of the mosque) is decorated

with tiles bearing flower patterns, taking a cue from the Persian style of ornamentation. A 14-metre high chandelier contains 1,122 lamps and

the Persian prayer carpet has unique design with 28 colours.

FERRARI WORLD, ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES The world’s largest indoor theme park offers plenty of thrills

and inspiration for kids and adults alike thanks to a variety of rides and exhibits based around the famous Italian car.

Major attractions: For families: Speed of Magic, Made in Ma-ranello, Galleria Ferrari, Driving with the Champion, Fast Lane,

Tyre Twist, Viaggio in Italia, Bell’Italia, Driving Experience. For kids: Junior GT, Junior Grand Prix, Khalil’s Car Wash, Jun-

ior Training Camp. For thrills: Formula Rossa, Scuderia Chall-lenge, Fiorano GT Challenge, Karting Academy.

BURJ KHALIFA, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATESAt over 828 metres and more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa holds

plenty of records as the tallest building and tallest free-standing structure in the world. It boasts the highest number of stories and highest outdoor occupation floors in the world as well as staking

claim to the elevator with longest travel distance in the world. Major attractions: The iconic structure gives you access to the

highest outdoor observatory in the world, spread across levels 148 and 125. The world’s highest outdoor observation deck

is at level 148 and at level 125, you can get a stunning 360-degree view of Dubai.

WORLD TRADE CENTRE, BAHRAINThe state-of-the-art structure that overlooks

the Manama waterfront is the world’s first skyscraper to incorporate wind turbines into its design, which generate

the building’s electricity using the wind. Major attraction: The 44-storey sail-shaped office towers that

double as wind turbines.

KING ABDULLAH PETROLEUM STUDIES AND RESEARCH CENTRE, RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIAFrom a distance, the structure looks like a sketch of a Hollywood

sci-fi blockbuster. Award-winning Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid designed the building so that the grey, cellular outer shell emerges

as a crystalline form in the middle of the desert. The fluid design also makes the building expandable.

Major attractions: The building is composed of a network of three-dimensional, six-sided cells with many junctions and bonds.

Its design is based on the concept of connection. The modular, adaptive Research and Office Complex (ROC) is made up of a series of shaded

outdoor spaces, courtyards, entrances, meeting areas, indoor gardens, corridors, underground tunnels and roof terraces.

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, a u g u s t 6 , 2 0 1 5

RENT d2

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

for rent

3BR villa, sitting, dining & hall, Azaiba behind Al Meera H- Market. Contact: 99259977 / 95033008 1BHK, Darsait, walking distance to ISM , neat and clean building, ground floor, OMR 260/- per month rent Call IQRAR on 99076557 3 BHK Flat in Azaiba. Contact 99792181 1 BHK Flat in Honda Road (Ruwi). Contact 99792181 1 & 2 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair. Contact 99792181 4 & 5 BHK villa for rent in Al Khuwair. Contact 99792181

840 sqr mtrs Store & Staff accom-modation for Rent in Misfah. Contact 99792181 Flat for rent near Al Nahdha Hospi-tal in Hamriya. Contact: 97380548 / 99680499 Flats, shops & store for rent in rent MBD Honda road. Contact: 97293708 / 92433127 2BHK with Split AC. AL-KHUWAIR Near MARS HYPERMARKET – 92880107 Villa 2 bedrooms + hall + sitting room in Al Hail South R.O 300/- Monthly. Contact: 93993354

d2 t h u r s d ay, a u g u s t 6 , 2 0 1 5

1bedroom in Al Hail South RO 150/- monthly. Contact: 93993354 1BHK R.O 190/- & 2BHK R.O 240/- near Medical Darsait. Contact 98748925 3 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair 33. Contact 99792181 Well maintained spacious 2 BHK at Rex Road. Contact: 92227165 2BHK & 1BHK flats available in Darsait. Contact : 99357586 / 97500025

Daily guiDE

For rent new apartment in Al Mawaleh close to Al Bahja Center consisting of 3 bedrooms, 1council, kitchen, hall, 3 bathrooms, 1 com-puter room, parking for car. Contact: 93214010 / 92602050 For rent in South Al Hail 1 bedroom, sitting room, bathroom, kitchen, bal-cony, car parking 175/- R.O Monthly. Contact: 92602050 / 93214010 Room attached, bath room, kitchen in Muscat O.R 65/-. Contact: 98049086

One & two bedroom apartment available for rent, at South Ghubra near Atlas hospital next to Diwan’s Office. Contact: 99833747 Flats for rent near Indian School in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99777122

1BHK, 2BHK, 3BHK new flat available at Mabela in front of Modern English School Contact: 96239126 Fully furnished 3 BHK accommo-

dation with all spacious rooms in a villa at Darsait near ISD.Contact: 9526 5289 / 9604 8422

Furnished room for rent at Al Khuwair R.O 225/- for family only. Contact: 99251975 3BHK , 3 bathrooms, 2 balconies, nr. Al Hassan, W/ Kabir 330/- R.O. Contact: 99384640 Villa for rent in Al Khuwair 33, 8 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms with parking area near Taimur Mosque. Contact: 99366624 2 BHK Apartment for rent near MSQ area. Contact 93193109. 2 & 3 BHK big Flats with Big hall, Kitchen & new split ACs at Al Khoudh 6, Close to express way, from owner. Tel 97600322 alnehang@gmail.com

Readymade office space for rent (100sm) in Bank Melli Iran building, MBA area Ruwi opposite Center Point. Contact: 99011352 Flat for rent in Wadi Al Kabeer be-hind Muscat club. # 92222922 2 BHK Flats for rent in Muttrah near Oman house. Contact: 97009734 / 92629232 2BHK near Oman house behind Khimji H.O. Contact: 95865686 Flats for rent at Darsait near to Min-istry of Sports. Interested candidates please Contact : 00968-92225523 Spacious 2BHK Flat with Split A/c’s behind Sultan Center, Azaiba – RO.425/- p.m. Contact: 99824803 / 99849325 2BHK flat available behind Majan College / Darsait. Contact 24705742

We have 2BHK flat in Mabella 7 for family. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

We have 2BHK, flats available in Ghala for families, staff & Execution. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

We have 2 BHK flats in AL Khuwair near Rawasco, can use as office or for families. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

We have offices in Ghala new building affordable price. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

We have 230 sqm showroom in Ghubra main road, prime location suitable for wholesale business or bank or insurance company. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

We have 5 BHK villa in Al Khuwair can use as commercial or residence villa with large sitting hall , 5 rooms, 6 toilets & kitchen with 2 cars park-ing. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

We have 2 BHK flats in Ghubra 18th November near new Mars hypermar-ket, flat with 2 rooms, large sitting hall, kitchen & 3 bathrooms. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

We have 1BHK flat in Wadi Kabir good price. Contact 93782735 / 99208033

We have shop for rent in Al Khuwair near Rawasco prime location. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

We have small building for rent in Bowsher suitable for staff accommo-dation & store building have4 flats & 1 shop commercial building. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

Daily guiDEt h u r s d ay, a u g u s t 6 , 2 0 1 5 d3

for sale

Motor Vehicle for sale

Mitsubishi 10 ton, truck 2006 model for sale. Registration valid. Contact: 99366474 Honda Accord 2010, 10,5000 kms, expat lady driven, dealer maintained, new tyres. Contact 99330509 Honda CRV 2008 model, expat driv-en, 2.4L, 78000 kms, OMR 5200/- (Negotiable). Contact: 99867670 Touareg 2011 Oman cars, 114000 KM, silver, 8500/-R.O. Contact 92857111

Hyundai Tuscon 2.4 Full option (including Moon roof) for sale in Muscat, Model 2013 , Single Owner (University Lecturer) driven, 39,600 kms, in excellent condition, for sale. Contact 99653760. Mazda 3, 2007 KM 1,43000, full automatic R.O 1900/-. Contact 99781671 Prado ,2012. Contact : 99336093 Land Cruiser 2012. Contact 99336093 Sportage, 2013. Contact:99336093

acc. aVailable

acc. aVailable

for rent

for rent

Furnished room for Indian Bachelor in Al Falaj area (Ruwi) & Lady in Wadi Kabir (near Al Maya). Contact 96761960 Sharing accommodation available with Kerala family, nr. Wadi Kabir Indian School. Contact 95882866 / 96575016 Furnished single /sharing room for EXE bachelor at Rex Road near Ka-mat with WIFI. Contact 92873832 Room with A/C, independent toilet & sharing kitchen (4th floor) for Indian Ex. Bachelor near Majestic hotel, Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99242984 New rooms available in Seeb for couple / ladies only. # 96996938 Sharing accommodation available for a family near Ruwi Church. Contact: 92308110 / 92837206 Furnished single room attached bath in Mumtaz area. #95212017 Acc available single room with attach bathroom, kitchen at Mabella near BP Petrol Pump rent R.O 100/- near Indian School. Contact: 91516775 Fully furnished room for a decent expatriate. independent kitchen, bathroom in Wadi Adai. Contact 96243086 at 5p.m.

aVailable

Party & Wedding equipment rentals. Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirting, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery, Crock-ery, Glassware, Chafing Dishes, Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound Systems and spectacular lighting. Call Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering and Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound & Light. www.tunesoman.com, E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

Running Polyclinic, 20 yrs, with VISAMEDICAL, available for SALE/LEASE. Contact.94596677 / 99343280 Workshop sale / rent Full fledge workshop for / sale at prominent location at Misfa near Cement fac-tory around 900 sq meter along with tools, equipments and manpower. Also 5 Nos Volvo / Mercedes /Man /Putsmiester concrete pump 2004/2005 model for sale. Contact: 93681107 / 96051565 / 98541936 Ice Cream & Juices shop Ruwi good location for sale suitable for beauty parlor also. Contact: 92150455 Wall papers, grass carpets sale & fixing. Contact: 99834373 / 96642500 Ladies beauty Saloon for sale at Amerat on prime location with two clearances. Contact : 95867900 400 sq mtrs Commercial/Residen-tial land in Maabela Phase 5 Block 2. OMR 140 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 3 floor 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 floor and 6 flats. OMR 207 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

for hire

Volvo 12 Ton Truck for monthly rent. Contact: 98713900

550 sqm built up area Deluxe villa 7 BR with 3 sitting halls located at prime commercial location North Al Ghobrah. Contact: Owner 99411607 / 99892238

2BHK, 2 Baths, Split A/C, Wadi ka-beer, near Indian Elementary School. Contact 99441193, 93004801

Flats for rent in Al Khuwair, Al hail, Wadi Kabir, Al Falaj, MBD, and Mut-trah. Contact: 99119699 / 95250300 / 24813002 1 &2 BHK flats for rent at Wadi Kabir, Wadi Adai, Hamriya and Al Khoud areas, shop for rent at Wadi Adai Round about. Contact: 24834644, GSM 93994401 /02/03 lines 2BHK ground flr in Darsait Near Muscat Municipality, walkable distance from Indian School Muscat, Rent: OMR.275/- Contact : 99451845 2BK Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti Mosque. Contact: 97007934 / 92629232 500 sq mtrs office space on mez-zanine floor near Royal Hospital. OMR 6.500 per sq mtr. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Godown for rent Approx: 4500 sqm area with building materials in Barka for rent with workers accommodation etc. Showrooms also for building ma-terials available. Contact: 99808868 House for rent in Sidab at reasonable rent. Contact: 95555162 / 95755953 Flats shops for rent in Ruwi MBD area Mumtaz area. Contact: 97293708 / 92433127 Flat for rent with AC in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 95555162 /95755953 Flat for rent in Mabellah 8th. Contact: 97147240

Fabulous AC flat at Al Khoud 3 bed-rooms, hall and kitchen RO 270/- for rent. Contact: 99334699 3 Bedroom flat in Wadi Kabeer and 2 bedroom villa in Sidab- Muscat. Contact: 95755953 Flat for rent in Wadi Kabir with 3 rooms. Contact : 98555580 / 92800007 BHK Flat in Azaiba. Contact 99385835 / 99428143 600 sqr mtrs showroom in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99792181 250 sq mtrs restaurant for rent in Plaza Hotel, Walja Ruwi. Contact 99326339 Two bedrooms flats in Wadi Kabir near Indian School. Contact 99313274 Commercial Space 68 SQM, Wadi kabeer, near Indian Elemen-tary School. Contact 99441193, 93004802 For rent if require flats for rent in Wadi Kabir please send me mes-sages through Whatsapp. Contact: 99376454 1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in Misfah Industrial area near to Khanco. OMR 1,500 Monthly. It has Electricity and boundary wall. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 House in Amerat near to Makah hypermarket with three room, 5toilets, kitchen and hall 430/-. Contact: 92747078

1 BR flat at Darsait, near ISM. Contact 99237971 / 99320633 Flat for rent in Darsait near Indian School 1 bedroom, living room, 2 bathrooms & kitchen. Contact: 95806611 / 94694662 Flat for rent in Ruwi, 1 bedroom (Walja) 1 bedroom, living room , 2 bath rooms, kitchen. Contact: 95464607 / 95464608 Furnished offices for rent in prime location in Ruwi (Mumtaz) with free electricity, water and internet for lease long & short term. # 99331181 Shop for rent prime location in Ruwi Mumtaz near Al Burj hotel. Contact: 99331181

Bath attached room for rent Al Khuwair. Contact 99743569 At Al Hail 2BHK 260/- & 1BHK 180/- , shop or store space RO 240/-. Contact: 96072686 4 BHK single villa in Al Khuwair. Contact: 97616158 Villa with two floors in (Hay Al Arjan) in AL Khoud with 4 bedrooms, hall, Majles, kitchen & one room in ground floor. Contact: 93219597 Brand new villa Bosher 37, 4 BHK. Contact: 91936034 1 Villa & 3 big Flats of 2/3 BHK with hall, Kitchen & ACs Al Khoudh 6, Close to express way, from owner. Tel 97600322 alnehang@gmail.com

3bed room well maintained flat (villa type only 2 flats in one bldg) in Al Khuwair behind Al Akhtam Restaurant, Villa no 1839, Way No 3922, block No 239. Contact: 99253125 2BHK available Mumtaz area Ruwi. Contact: 99269751

sell/buy

Used furniture & Electronic items, office & house. Contact: 99834373 / 96642500

A fully equipped furnished and licensed private polyclinic for sale or rent in excellent location in Sohar - Falaj al Qabail opposite to life line hospital Departments are GP clinic, Dental, Medical lab, X-ray And Work-ing Pharmacy. Contact 95603395 Running established for sale includ-ing industrial licenses for marble & granite, fully furnished kitchen showroom and fully equipped fac-tory. Contact: 99337670 / 92623665 House hold items. Contact: 97094797 Brand new Panasonic 60” full HD LED, TV TH60A430M R.O 350/- . Contact: 99628819 2560 sq mtrs industrial land in Wadi Kabir main road, First line on way to Al Bustan hotel. Possible to make petrol station or hotel. OMR 990 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Shop for sale in Ruwi High street, Contact 96078411 New villa at Qurum, 6 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, sitting, dining and open sitting on the terrace. Contact: 99342733 60,000 Sq Mtrs Agriculture Land in Misfah, can be changed to Industrial Land. OMR 29 Per Square Meter. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 5 Flats of 1 bedroom for Sale in Boushar: OMR 35 Thousand each. Monthly income OMR 270 Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture land with water well in Al Salwa, Barka. OMR 260 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Contd on Pg 6

Independent rooms in Qurum / Al Hail. Contact 95529970 Room for rent available in CBD near Papa John’s Restaurant. # 96568110 Fully furnished 1BHK with all house-hold items in Darsait near Lulu on monthly Basis. Contact : 99378397 Large room with separate bathroom and sharing available in Al Khuwair. Contact: 95250161

Daily guiDEd4 t h u r s d ay, a u g u s t 6 , 2 0 1 5

situation Wantedsituation Vacant

situation Want-ed

sit. Wanted

situation Want-ed

sit. Wanted

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DOMESTIC HELPER

ENGINEER

EDUCATION

SKILLED / UNSKILLED

IT

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETINGACCOUNTANT

BEAUTy

Urgently required housemaid. Contact: 96339339 Email CV on info@eigllcoman.com Require qualify caregiver for an orderly mother. Contact 99425200 Indian House Maid with experience required to work in Sohar, visa ready. Contact 99417418

Urgently required Junior Account-ant. Please send CV: hr.azatllc@gmail.com Urgently required male Account-ant & Office Admin. Contact: 96339339 Email CV on info@eigllcoman.com Urgently required Jr. Accountant/Purchasing Manager (preferably In-dian) 3-5 yrs Exp. to work with food stuff market. software/hardware knowledge would be an advantage, valid Omani D/L with NOC Contact 99417418 Urgently required cash investors for company’s profitable projects. Contact: 92950082

DRIVER

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Wanted experience Beautician for beauty parlor in Muscat. Contact: 94241385 Urgently required gulf experienced female professional Beauticians and storekeeper for a reputed high end beauty centre in the capital area. Interested please ensure release letter and send your CV to email: linnujiya@gmail.com or contact 99500330 Wanted experience henna designer for beauty parlor. Contact 93571312 Urgently required beautician with min 3 years. Contact 93231403 Email: rainbowfurnishing156@gmail.com

CATERING

Urgently required house maid for Malayalam family in Rustaq. Contact: 99810765 Established real estate company looking for male or female prop-erty agents for leasing and sales of the property. Applicant must be Graduate, possess Omani or GCC driving license. Having oman market experience. Apply with NOC. Attractive salary +commission. Send your CV: property@ labdmarkmuscat.com Required Indian or Pakistani calligrapher & Painter (staff accommodation) Contact# 24480487/24483493

Required heavy duty truck driver holding Omani driving license w/ 5 years experience please contact 92001111 Wanted driver. Contact: 95112461 Driver heavy duty required urgent-ly for trailer. Oman / GCC experience must. Those ready for immediate joining. Contact: 99310859

MEDICAL

MEDICAL

MISCELLANEOUS

Urgently required Pharmacist (B. Pharm) with MOH license for a reputed organization in Oman. Email Id: goodpharma2015@gmail.com Wanted laboratory Technician with MOH License to work in medical center in capital Area Contact 99340135

A leading trading group is looking for Sales Executives having experi-ence in building materials / tools with driving license & release / NOC. Email CV to alhajoil@omantel.net.om or Fax: 24701683 A leading building materials Trading CO. Urgently required (1) Business Development Manager – (minimum 10 years experience in same field in Oman / GCC with driv-ing license (2) Branch Incharges & Salesman, with minimum 3 years experience in building materials sales in Oman / GCC. Contact Fax: 24704921 Email: hilalbm@omantel.net.om Spare parts (Heavy Equipment) Salesman with 3 years experience. Please send your CV to info@almisfat.com or call 96996938 Outdoor Salesman (heavy Equip-ment) Sales man with 3 -5 years experience. GCC driving license required Please send your CV to info@almisfat.com or call 96996938 Sales Executive with valid D/L & 5 year experience in office furniture and interior fit out projects inter-ested candidates can apply by mail: info@smartvisionoman.com Fax: 24818818

Required English Teacher , Hindi teacher, Science Teacher. Contact: 99705799 Arabic speaking Female Vice Prin-cipal/Arabic Teachers / Secretary / Computer Teacher / PRO s wanted for a Bilingual (Arabic – English) school in Azaiba. Knowledge of Eng-lish preferred. Please apply to email : burj@alhakkim.com Kindergarten in Seeb looking for (female) English Teacher bachelor in English language. Contact: 99319259 / 93972775 Email: saif123.s171@gmail.com

Software developer with experience in asp.net, sql server and crystal reports required for a software development firm. Email CV to hr@ promisworld.com

Civil Construction company in Muscat looking for SUB Contractors for 3 floor commercial building (4 Nos – 3000 m2 each) project at Mabellah ready to start. For enquir-ies mail to awahaibitrad@gmai.com

A leading civil construction com-pany in Muscat requires Project Manager (BE. Civil) with minimum 10 years experience (Gulf experi-ence preferred). Please send C.V to hr.azatllc@gmail.com Service & Parts Manager with 3-5 years GCC experience in heavy Equipment / cranes, good communi-cation skills, Mechanical Engineer-ing background. Please send your CV to info@almisfat.com or call 96996938 AC Technician with minimum 5 years experience, should have experience in installation & commis-sioning of Ductable & split AC units, with knowledge of GI ducting & pre insulated ducting, experience in interior fit out industry is preferred Interested candidates can apply by mail: info@smartvisionoman.com Fax: 24818818 Heavy Equipment Mechanic (sports) & (classic) (bicycle) 2No. Contact : 99550084 Required Architectural Engineer for consulting company. Contact: 99077856 Email: rgeorge@omantd.com MEP Engineer on urgent basis required for immediate placement. Please contact tgi17@omantel.net.om

Chinese/ Arab/ continental cook & helper wanted. Contact 95529970

Filipino Male 26 years old, Certified Public Accountant, Bachelor of Sci-ence in Accountancy with 5 yrs of experience now on visit visa, Look-ing for suitable opening. Contact: +968 91278583 Email: kennethalcedo07@gmail.com Accountant Indian male B.Com with 2 years of experience currently on visiting visa seeks suitable place-ment. Contact: 94649272 Email ID: sherin.am01@gmail.com Indian female Inter CA, strong in Tally ERP 9, MS Office, 7 years expe-rience in accounts upto finalization looking for suitable position. Contact 91759501 Indian male, 30 years, CMA (Inter),M.com.4 out of 7 years experience in Oman in Auditing/ Accounts/ Finance. Having NOC and valid Oman D/L. Contact: 96746420 , Email: sijuthampi@ymail.com Indian female, B.com with 2 years of work experience, currently on family visa in Oman and seeking suitable placement for immediate joining. Contact 94647421 Looking for a job in UAE as a Senior Accountant Indian male, 31 yrs, CA Inter 8 yrs exp good in all aspects of accounts. Good command over English valid driving license (Oman) Contact: 94737231 Indian male M.Com holder with one year working experience as an Accountant in Kerala looking for suitable opening now on visiting visa. Contact: 96947500 Email: mohamaedshafikk5@gmail.com Indian female B.Tech (EEE) MBA finance with 1and half years experi-ence as Bank Officer in India seeking suitable placement. Contact: 91358676 / 98157895 Email: sujivu88@gmail.com MBA finance Indian male (Account & finance), seeking suitable place-ment. Contact: 97372624 Email: sivaraj.gurukripa@gmail.com Female (Filipina) Accountant / auditor /bookkeeper seeking for job Contact: 96944976 Indian male, 27 years, M. Com, hav-ing 2years experience in Accounts looking for suitable position. Present-ly on visit visa. Contact 93455055| gibingeorge88@gmail.com 23 yrs, Indian B.Com, Graduate male ‘Fresher’ well versed in English, Hindi, Arabic & Malayalam with D/L looking for a suitable job. Now on visit visa valid for 1 more month only. Contact 97660518

Part time accountant services avail-able to handle all accounts related work up to finalization. Contact: 96247295

Accountant Indian male 31 yrs Accounts up to finalization, 9 yrs experience (7 yrs in Oman) with D/L & NOC seeks suitable placement. Contact: 99582979 An Indian Lady Chartered Account-ant with five years experience (in-cluding articleship), on family visa in Oman looking for a suitable job. Please Contact 9621 0347 / 9943 5346, shincycrajan@gmail.com CA , Inter, M.Com Indian 7 years ex-perience in Audit / finance handled independent audit / finance assign-ments on visit looking for suitable placement. Contact: 91148139 Email: smurug@live.com Accountant having 4 yrs experience looking job. Contact: 99867456 Email: ashkar7673@gmail.com Indian male, B.Com, MBA, having 5 years experience(3 years in U.A.E) is currently seeking suitable oppor-tunities within finance/accounts/admin dept. Contact:93953613, allen.mathew83@gmail.com Part time Accountant with 15 yrs exp in accounts, finance audit taxa-tion. Contact: 95857199 Indian female Accountant with 5 yrs Gulf exp in accounts, audit, Admin payroll. Contact: 96263157

Indian male Accountant B.Com 8 yrs in Oman exp with N.O.C, valid driving license. Contact: 95052969 Email: chetansmma@yahoo.co.in / chetansmma@gmail.com Seeking for a job completed B.Tech in ECE under Anna Uni-versity knowledge in hardware troubleshooting ready to work with accounting & software section hold-ing one year experience in India. Contact: 96142153 Indian National, male, 41 years, CA Inter, persuing CA final. Now on express visa. 7 years of Experience in OMAN as Finance and Accounts Manager in Trading, Construction and Firefighting industry. Total 21 Years of Experience seeking suitable Manage-rial positions. No visa issues. Immedi-ate joining. Phone no: 98469311 Email:sebin30@yahoo.co.in MBA (Finance) with NOC, 6 years accounting and finance experience in Oman, knowledge of Tally ERP9 having Omani driving license seeks suitable placement. Contact: 97205715 Email: ammar_uh@hotmail.com 13 years exp (7.5 years gulf exp) B.Com graduate, looking for Account-ant job, GSM No:-92957064 with NOC. Energetic Finance & Audit Manager / Chief Accountant, C.A , MBA ,ACCA , CPA..15 yrs in GULF , Expert in Bank-ing, Financing, Profit Maximizations, Admin, Biz Developments ,All ERPs Software’s, 15yrs Audit Exp. with Big 5 , NOC & Driving License Call 94403270 – 94504505 Indian 24 years MBA finance 2 years experience seeking suitable placement. Contact: 9822253 Indian female 25 yrs B.Com MBA / 3months experience looking for job in Accts /Mktg. Contact: 94657403 / 99355931

Sales Executive with valid D/L & 5 year experience, in the field of de-mountable aluminum & glass parti-tion systems. Interested candidates can apply by Fax: 24818818 mail: info@smartvisionoman.com Required Chinese / Biryani cook / Sales person for restaurant. Contact : 95395378 / 94053449 Sales Executive Industrial products : 2-3 yrs of exp. with good commu-nication & computer skills. D/L is must. Send resume to salescvv@hotmail.com Urgently required : Counter Ser-vice Assistant (male) for a fast food outlet in a food court in Sohar. Email: aliyanational@gmail.com Wanted Marketing Managers and Executives, candidates with mini-mum 2 years experience in Oman holding valid driving license May only Apply 94151791/ 22050729 or Email: sales@dewdropoman.com Wanted designer & Salesman for Advertising CO. With Oman D/L. Contact: 96440587 / 94055643 Urgently required out door Sales Executive for furnishing company with Oman D/L and min 3 years experience. Contact : 93231403 / rainbowfurnishing156@gmail.com Building Material Sales man required at Al Amerat shop. Contact: 99467054 A leading Tissue paper & food stuffs company requires Sales & Marketing person with minimum 5 yrs exp. in Oman with good com-munication skills & valid Oman D/L. Candidate with interior market knowledge & experience preferable. Send CV : allub@alhosnigroup.com, fax: 24451430 Wanted male written & spoken Ma-layalam & Bengali as freelancers to conduct corporate & individual markets surveys on temporary basis, Must be fluent in English with driving license. Contact: 24701242 A leading building materials shop required Marketing Executive (Omani National only) 1No with minimum 2 years experience and driving license. Contact: 99808868 Email: aalfarsi2020@gmail.com Experienced Marketing represent-ative – interlock blocks with light Omani driving license is required. Contact 99222086

Indian Family looking out for the following experienced candidates 1) House maid (Indian) 2) Driver (Indian) Contact : 92800073 / 99247040

Need urgently MBBS Doctor with or without MOH license. #95395070 Required MBBS Doctor with or without MOH license. # 95395070 Wanted female Staff Nurse with MOH license for a dental clinic in sur. Email : dentoman2000@gmail.com Urgently required for MOH license Gynecologist specialist & Staff Nurse clinic at Sumail, Muscat. Kindly sends C.V to saemomar@gmail.com or GSM: 95498105 Wanted Lab Technician, Staff Nurse, Pharmacist for a polyclinic in Sohar. Contact 99767605 Required Pharmacist for 2 months for a Pharmacy. Contact: 99705799 Staff Nurse for 2 months for a clinic in Muttrah.( LOCUM). # 99330385 Immediately required lady Doctor (DGO) or GP with Gynecology experi-ence & lab technician. #99310590. Email : tjmaluke@gmail.com

Looking for Outdoor Salesman for heavy equipment spare parts. Contact - 93292015, Email: mail.om@gulfcenter.co Salesman required for a well estab-lished building materials company. Oman D/L required. Contact: 93698385 Email: united@omantel.net.om

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

Daily guiDEt h u r s d ay, a u g u s t 6 , 2 0 1 5 d5

situation Wantedsituation Wanted

DOMESTIC HELPER

MEDICAL

MEDICAL

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Indian with license looking job safety officer, camp boss. Supervisor or marketing. Contact: 94003617 Facility / Project Mgmt, 4+ yrs of exp holds B.E (ECE) Indian visit visa looking for suitable opening. Contact: 98580569 Email: arafacareer@gmail.com

DESIGNER

DRIVER

Medical - Staff Nurse (male) with NOC and license, experience 6+ yrs. Contact: 98680299 Email: georgevaikom@gmail.com Female Nurse- Indian, Total 14 yrs. experience,6 yrs. in KSA, Prometric passed, ready to join immediately. Contact 95525004 & 98146565 Looking for job as office boy + driv-er going to visit within this month Oman Muscat working experience 10 years. Contact: 968 97859837 Indian male MDS Doctor special-ized in Endodontist with 7 years ex-perience prometric passed, seeking suitable placement. #98843139 Email: ppdr2020@gmail.com Indian male Nurse, prometric exam passed, require suitable placement. Contact 97284508 Doctor seeking job an experienced female Indian Doctor (DHMS NAET USA), 49 yrs, specialist in Home-opathy and Allergy Elimination Technology seeks suitable place-ment. Contact: 919447110003 Oman 96439091 Email: anithabaydr@gmail.com Male Staff Nurse looking for job passed Prometric 63% + 3 years experience. Contact: 94035637 / 95068075 BA degree Nursing professional having excellent looking for suitable placement. #: 92955453 /91213269 GP Doctor yemeni national-male, with 4 years of work experience. Mobile:00966531598754 Email: alsyaniramzy@gmail.com

TOURS & TRAVELS

B.Com IATA MCSE working for Qatar Airways, Sales Reservation, ticketing English, Hindi, and Malay-alam, Marathi NOC is available. Contact: 92954613

SALES / MARKETING

EDUCATION

ADMIN

ADMIN

B.C.A, 7 years Operations Manage-ment procurement supply chain team handling lean six sigma certified on visit visa. Contact: 99826634 Email: nairsatheesh1984@gmail.com Indian female MCA, 24 years seek-ing suitable job. Contact 93439467 Indian male MBA (Marketing, IT with CCNA) seeks suitable place-ment in the field of IT - Networking. Contact: 92801084 email: arvindpinto90@yahoo.com Male, 28 years IT Engineer from India having good hands on experi-ence in networking, switches and routers. Moreover having certifica-tion Redhat, Linux (RHCE) and Ora-cle DBA (OCP). Contact: 95406864 Email Id: saad.m.ali79@gmail.com IT System Support: Indian Male 2 years exp in Oman & 3 years in India. Contact 91937060

Communications networks, Technician specializing in the main divider and ADSL VDSL system ex-perience of STC. Contact 93398796 Indian visit visa, Network / System Engineer switches, routers, servers, load balancers 5 yrs of exp holds B.E (ECE), CCNA looking for good op-portunity. Contact: 91911792 Email: arafakdnl@gmail.com

IT

MISCELLANEOUS

DRAUGHTSMAN

Experienced Indian lady is looking housemaid job looking full time job for European family total experience : 9 years, 2 years exp. with European family 6 years worked with Indian family language English & Hindi. Contact: 93392788 Housemaid (full time / part time) looking for job. Contact: 95799643

Filipina ESL Teacher for 13 years BEED major in English knowledge in IB, PYP and independent school curriculum computer literate, IELTS qualified, looking for reputable school. Contact: 98938272 Email: m.ann7875@gmail.com

Indian lady M.Com, B.Ed looking for openings in teaching. #97668603 Female 24, with 6 yrs of experience in teaching Montessori & kindergar-ten grade. Currently in Salalah on visit visa, seeks suitable placement. Contact 97306607 Email Id: amna.ast@gmail.com

7 years Purchase experienced total 17 years Oman with driving license looking for suitable position, Indian with N.O.C. Contact: 96574390

Indian male with 14 years of experi-ence in Business development / sales & marketing seeks suitable placement, 6.5 years of work experi-ence in Oman. Contact: 93400177 Sales man, experience in Saudi, Good in Arabic. Ph: 97103168 Indian male B.Com & MBA Gradu-ate 11 years experience airline travel & tourism, Sales & Marketing in Dubai & Oman with driving license NOC available. Contact: 92552612 Email: mazmanu1@gmail.com Indian male 27 years, B.Tech Grad-uate having good work experience with valid Oman D/L looking for a suitable opening as Sales Engineer. Contact: 91472953 Email: harees.rasheed.2014@gmail.com Procurement / Purchase Executive 1.6 yrs exp in Oman construction industry Indian male 27 yrs, MBA with valid Oman D/L, available for immediate placement. Contact: 96300958 / 24796010

Business intelligence / Global Mar-keting management specialist with 9 years of experience developing brand value & managing overall pro-jects to achieve business objectives seeking suitable position on family visit. Contact: 91902154

Indian male 35 yrs, 10 yrs experi-ence in FMCG Sales & Marketing in UAE with valid GCC license looking for suitable position on visit. Contact: 93438747 / 93033252 Indian male MBA (Marketing) 26 on visit visa, with experience in stores looking for suitable position in warehouse stores logistics or in sales. Contact: 96915871 Email: ajanadoor@yahoo.com Indian female 35 years MCA, MBA six sigma black belt, 14 years Gulf experience in business analytics, Marketing business development qualities seeks placement. NOC available, Omani driving license available. Contact: 95783792 Indian 44 yrs, 16 yrs Indian Army 5 and Half years in Oman exp ware house, seeks suitable placement in store, ware house or sales having Oman driving license. #94050311 Sudanese Business development Manager, long experience Interna-tional trade in Oman (import /export / marketing) seeking suitable place-ment full / part time in reputable company. Contact: 91173146

Indian female (M. Tech – power system) having Gulf experience, currently on family visa seeking suitable placement in Oman. Contact: 94306164

Indian female 26 yrs, B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics with two years experience in Ministry of Electricity Kerala govt , as Operat-ing Assistant Engineer presently on visit visa seeks placement. # 98657132 / Email: pinks1819@gmail.com Civil Project Engineer exp 10 yrs. Contact: 92673432 Email: arifjamalkhan8@gmail.com Telecommunication Maintenance Engineer Sudanese male 2 years ex-perience in HUAWEI hardware field cabins good communication English & Arabic. Contact :+ 968 96433495 / +968 94756295 Email: muzamila-wadalla@gmail.com 2 years experienced Electrical Engi-neer looking for suitable placement. Contact: 98480509 Engineer with 4 years Oman experi-ence in telecom operations, having valid Oman driving license looking for a suitable opportunity, interested in Marketing also. Contact 98513495 Looking for job as Electrician, Gulf 7 years exp. Contact: 93015630 Mechanical Engr, B. Tech, exp in QA/QC, In Piping Design, Its soft-wares Ph:96539085 Indian male 23, Mechanical Engi-neer, 1 year experience, knowledge in HVAC currently on visit visa look-ing for suitable placement. Contact: 95434381 Email: shuhaibusman313@gmail.com Male, BE (Mechanical holder) 1 yr exp in Indian & 4 months in Oman NOC available, embassy attested certificate . Contact: 95721521 / 96625245 (Salalah) Email: sajukoippallil@gmail.com Indian male B.Tech (ECE) CCNA 1 yrs exp in broadcast Engg having hands on exp in harris ADC,PPC, Velocity & Invenio, avid inews, vizrt,nexio farad, grass, valley kayak HD 300. also having on practice in PLC (AB,ABB, Siemens) DCS & scada systems. Contact: 00919846990093 / 99235291

Indian job in procurement & contract, have “12” years purchase & contract experience in infrastruc-ture & energy sector. NOC is avail-able. Contact-98009274 Engineer BE (Electrical, Electronics), Indian male 24 years, having 2 plus years of experience, seeking for suit-able placement. Contact: 98201244 Indian male 24 years B.E mechani-cal 2 years exp. or visit visa. Contact: 99247326

Indian (M) B.Tech (civil) with 2 yrs exp in Structural Designing using Etabs, Staad, Safe, excel looking for suitable position. Contact: 96698342 / 98768045 Email: qadeertom@gmail.com Civil Diploma Engineer 6 years ex-perience in Oman Indian male with valid Oman D/L. Contact: 93356736 Electrical Engineer, B.Sc. degree/ B.Tech, 4 years experience. Looking for suitable placement. Available in visit visa. Contact: 94739355, Email: mahin.eee@gmail.com Indian male B.E Electronic and Communication Engineering & have 2 years experience in oil & gas sec-tor (maintenance & construction). Contact: 98848077 5+ years experience BE Electrical Engineer having knowledge in exe-cution & basic knowledge in electri-cal design looking for suitable post. Contact: 99704742 / 97469689 M Tech Computer Science Engineer, female seeking suitable placement. Contact : 93035521,96439645 Email : anzilav@yahoo.co.in Indian male 27 years, Mechanical Engineer (B.E) having experience seeks suitable placement holds valid Oman driving license, on visit visa. Contact: 98847638

Indian male 23 B.E mechanical & AutoCAD 1 year experience current-ly on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact: 92835957 Email: rafeekmohammed84@gmail.com

Indian male 25MBA having 4years Gulf experience in Coordination with contracting company .NOC Available. Looking for(Store,Coordination,Admin,Backoffice) Jobs Ph:95405885 Indian male Electrical Engineer with 7 years experience (electrical, marine, fire fighting) valid Oman driving license seeking suitable placement. Contact 93396338 Email: syamsk2255@gmail.com B.Tech CCNP certified, Network Engineer 1 year experience in Oman & 1.4 years in CMC (Indian) pre – sales, post – sales experience in Oman look-ing for opportunity. # 99370911 Email: chatrapal07@gmail.com Indian male 25, BTech (Mechani-cal), CSWIP 3.1, Welding Inspector, 3 years experience in Oil & Gas (pip-ing and Equipment as QC inspector) now on visit visa seeking suitable opportunities. Contact: 98228262 Email: megbinvetticattu@gmail.com Electrical Engineer 2 years experi-ence (Indian) construction (build-ing) looking suitable placement. Contact 00968 9259662 Email: kundara.renjith@gmail.com M. Tech, Applied Electronics Indian female looking for full time or part time job presently on family visit visa. Contact: 92499312 Email: ann.ashhy@gmail.com Indian male B.Tech Mechanical Engineer 1 year experience seeking suitable placement, available im-mediately. Contact: 93907707 Email: jubinkasim@gmail.com Computer Engineer Iraqi National-ity 7 years experience seeking suitable placement. #94694146

Indian male diploma Civil Eng with 2 yrs experience on site as QS & AutoCAD seeking on site or - off site position. Contact: 94756183 Email: indianexpat1@gmail.com Sudanese male Telecommuni-cation Engineer looking for job. Contact: 94537607 Electrical Engineer bachelor de-gree having 6+ years experience of Gulf and professional license avail-able to join. Contact: 98063081 Email: imran.engr08@gmail.com Indian 24 yrs male, 2 years experi-ence in Site Engineer (Diploma in Civil Engineering), Now on visit visa in Oman. Contact: 94050311 Civil Engineer B.E, 5.5 years experi-ence with Omani D/L. # 96785311 Indian Male, Diploma in Civil Engi-neer working as a Project engineer with 7years of experience looking for suitable job. Contact- 92636569 Electrical Engineer Indian male 29 years, having 5 years of experience in industrial automation and utility maintenance in India (MRF Tyres) seeking suitable placement. Contact: 92789995 Email: akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com SAP – SCM.MM Consultant B.Tech. (Chemical), from NIT, working with oil industry, seeks employment. Contact: 98049288 Btech computer science graduate 2015 passout.. Android application marketing.. Having good communi-cation skills and mindset to work in a team. Contact 91024385 Engineer with 3 yrs experience in Indian in MEP, HVAC& mechanical maintained field on visit visa looking for suitable job. # 99191535 Email: fareed029@gmail.com Indian Male, IT Support Engineer, 2 yrs in Oman & 5 yrs Indian experi-ence. Contact 97311847 Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need suitable job of construction 12 yrs exp. Email: mohd.ateeq.khan@gmail.com

HSE Admin experience for 10 years in GCC with valid D/L seeking to join a reputed firm. NOC available. Contact: 99626821

Indian male MBA having 10 years experience as Document Controller and 2+ years experience as Project Assistant/ Executive Secretary in Oman seeks immediate placement. NOC available. Contact: 95373198 Indian Male 18 years ( 7 years in Oman ) experience in HR / Admin in Oil & Gas , construction fields with Oman D/L seeks suitable position. Visa Transfer / NOC available. Call 92854993. Keralite 47 years, having 20 years of rich experience in office admin-istration and 6 years of Warehouse Management looking for a suitable opening. Email: rajeshkorathatt@gmail.com MSW HR female professional with 3+ years work ex, UGC net qualified, looking for a suitable position in Muscat. Contact- 99579874. rubitah@gmail.com Training coordinator Indian male, 17 yrs experience with Training & Con-sultancy Company. Well knowledge in admin works. Release available and have D/L. Contact: 99573353 Indian male 36 years MBA experi-ence as AS. Manager seeking suit-able job in HR/ Marketing in Oman on visit visa. Contact : 98200741, Email: phmnsudheesh857@gmail.com Indian male having 15 years Gulf experience in purchase Admin on visit. Contact : 95435370 Indian male B.Com & Tally with 2.5 years Admin/HR Experience in Oman with 2 years employment Visa seeking placement. Release Available 96796477 14 years of Gulf experience in HR / Admin & logistics fluent in Arabic / English with D/L looking for suitable position. Contact: 95824598

Indian male 2+yrs oman exp in HR. joing immediatly. release available. Contact :93671437

Indian female 24 years MBA (HR) having 3 years experience in HR Administration, payroll seeking suit-able placement. Contact: 91104352 / 99012861 Indian male looking for company job, 2 years visa light Oman D/License experience in office works also & driving. Contact: 92233068

Driver available with car. Contact: 96652352 Sri Lankan driver. # 97387112 Light duty driver 9 years experi-ence wanted visa. #97313542 Light duty driver seeks job. Contact: 99748264 Indian light driver having 1 year experience in Oman knowing English, Hindi & Arabic, need job. Contact: 95214332 Looking for light driving job, In-dian, 4 years experience & language knowing Arabic, English & Indian. Contact: 94241385 Light duty driver, 8 yrs exp. Contact: 96736744 Looking job for driver, experience 6 years. Contact: 96246794 Driver for job experience 1 year. Contact: 94071286 Bangladeshi male looking for job in any company or family, speak English, Hindi & Arabic, exp 3 years in Dubai taxi and 3 years in Oman in company. Contact: 93822195 Light duty driver looking for job. Contact: 96995762 Pakistani Light Duty Driver seeks placement. Contact: 95746203 Looking for driving job light driver. Contact : 96913836 Looking for driving job light driver. Contact :92787245 Looking for driving job light driver. Contact :94648986 Driver with Car. Contact: 99716938 Driver with 2 yrs exp looking for job. Contact: 98487511 Light duty driver ,driving license, Experienced. Ph: 92814816 Driver with car (Fortuner). Contact: 95365938 Looking for driving for job. Contact: 98219182

Light driver, 10 yrs experience look-ing for job. Contact 93060050 Experienced LTV driver available. Contact: 99514703 / 96943902 Driver with car 3 yrs exp looking for part time job. Contact: 92041902

3D Draughtsman 25 years Indian male having 4 years experience. Contact: 93746877

Land surveyor: Indian male having two years experience, well handled total station, auto level and Auto cad, seeking suitable placement. Contact: 95140761 /99208290 Email: binu.brijiv@gmail.com

Sr Designer, Civil & Structural (oil & gas) / Site Supervisor Indian male, 21 years experience in design field with driving license seeks suitable placement N.O.C available. Contact: 92684051 Email: babyshibu@yahoo.co.in

Indian female, having 9 years experience in Logistics and Sales co ordinator. Experience in SAP, MS office, holding Oman driving license. Currently on Visit Visa, looking for suitable placement. Contact 95251911 Indian Female POST GRADUATE . One Year experience seeking suitable Job Contact :97792820 Email: pnjli.1991@gmail.com Management Professional ac-countable, responsible for profitable management can handle the entire operations, HR/Recruitment, Business development & Sales & marketing & etc, Great organizational skills with over 23+yrs exp. in Bombay, Saudi Arabia, Dubai-UAE & Oman(11yrs) as General Manager - Publications, Printing,Media. open to any industry, can Join immediately w/NOC. Contact : +968 98864706/99574638 Mail : akdas_uae@yahoo.com Seeking for job fire and safety com-pleted 2.5 years experience language known Hindi, English & Tamil seeking suitable job. Contact: 98431032 Indian material controller / store keeper with 9 years exp , seeking job in Oman NOC/ Release available. Contact: 91946174

Accountant, Indian male, 10 years experience in Oman, having knowl-edge of Tally ERP9 & able to do upto finalization and can be joined imme-diately with NOC. Contact: 94134085 Email: muscatoman95@yahoo.com Well experienced and hard working Restaurant Manager seek immedi-ate placement. Release available. Contact: 92953199 Jordanian Accountant (ACPA) with more than 15 yrs experience in Oman (Accounts, Purchase & finance). Contact: 92881223 Email: kamal_sarhan@yahoo.com MBA, B.Com CA (finalist) 7 years ex-perience (2 years in Oman) looking for suitable placement in a reputable organization. Expertise in ERP, Tally Quickbooks, peachtree and Excel. NOC available. Contact: 97736404 Email: adnantahir1990@gmail.com Motivated and energetic male 25 having 4 years of experience in finance with Master’s degree in Eco-nomics and CAT Certified seeking opportunity in Accounts/finance/au-dit in a reputable organization. Cell no: 00968-94626209 E-Mail: omerjawedshah@gmail.com

5 years experience in store and admin department with Omni driv-ing license looking for suitable job, release available and can join im-mediately. Contact : 95860170 Indian female, 29 yrs, MBA (HR) 4 yrs exp in HR & Admin seeking suit-able placement. Contact: 95619537 Master degree HRM professional having excellent experience in fi-nance and management and having 8 yrs experience looking for suitable placement. # 92955453 / 91213269

A Pakistani lady, having M.A Islamiyat at B.ED Degree, 7 years Teaching experience. All documents are ready, looking for job in school or private firm. Contact: 96534115 Email: alex_ali1@yahoo.com

Daily guiDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

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acc. aVailable

nri

Please call 99341156 to buy plots near Kims Hospital in Trivandrum, Vytila hub in Cochin, Chertala and Nagercoil. Please call 99341156 to buy plots.

situation Want-ManpoWer

situation WantedserVices

House shifting & transporting. Contact 92490422 MARBLE CRySTALLIzATION restore the original shine of your marble. Contact 24793614/ 99314807 House shifting. Contact 99708138 Split window cassette AC unit servicing, maintenance. Contact: 99540621 House shifting packing. 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 Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance.Contact ABU QABAS- 99320217 /24788722

Website

WEB, ERP and Business Intel-ligence (BI) creation and man-agement at rock bottom price. Contact: http//webviewoman

coMputer

Split & window A.C servic-ing & maintenance. Contact 93769089/95323517 GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/24792998

Air condition maintenance split and window A/C split a/c ducted and package type units. # 98667326 Pest control Treatments, Cockroaches, Ants ,Rodents & Termites. Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99357908 / 99344723. Water proofing ABUQABAS- Contact 99320217/24788722 General cleaning & Shampooing. Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723 / 99357908 Civil maintenance - plumbing, elec-trical, painting, and tiling, interior decorations, shop furnishing and all other maintenance works. Contact: 97897831 / 92112094 (Indian, Keralite)

Seeking financial investor / part-ner for short term Governmental construction projects of 1.5 million R.O. Contact: 99881303 The investor is required for suc-cessful Educational project to pay 25,000/- Thousand. Email: bussiness.om9@gmail.com New company seek partnership. Contact: 96996938 General Investors. Gsm-99674870 Serious investor needed for suc-ceeded furniture company for expansion purposes. #99041337

situation Want-ed

business

good neWs

lost

change of naMe

Rakhees Raksha Bandhan available thousands Designs. Also special of-fer at Haridas Nensey Ruwi. Contact 24750784 Ayurvedic treatment for backache, paralysis, arthritis etc & massage, All Season (Vaidyaratnam). Contact 24475280 / 95371664 / 92504980 www.siddhayur.com FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know more about Islam, please call: 99425598, 99250777, 99353988, 99253818, 99341395, and 99379133. For ladies: 99415818, 99321360, 99730723 Orvisit: www.islamfact.com Genuine Ayurvedic treatments & massage, Ayurvedic clinic at AL Khuwair. Contact: 24478618 / 97263637 / 93309131

classes

Split & widow unit A.C servicing & repairing. Contact: 99557080

Split & window unit A.C servicing & maintenance. Contact: 96236476

Admission started in a private school, Darsait (Mount Zion Group of Institutions CBSE 1) for KG and grade 1 to 4 please register soonest. Contact: 92088325 / 24799938

MatriMonial

Roman Catholic girl 31 yrs Indian origin working in U.A.E seeking alliances from Christian family well settled in Oman or Middle East. Contact: 97622011 24 years old, Sunni Muslim girl Bombay origin, BSc, Hons (Accts) with religious values seeking alliance. Email: morning_star9128@gmail.com Keralite Roman Catholic girl, 27 yrs, M.Fam seeks suitable alli-ance. Contact: 99253120 Kerala Hindu boy 28 (star – Chitra) Engineer with MBA working in a reputed co. in Oman looking for alliance from good looking, well educated , religious and veg. girl of reputed family. Contact : 99426627 Christen boy 31-170. Contact: 95131495 Sunni Muslim girl, Indian origin, 20 yrs BA graduate from Oman, good looking homely with good religious values, seeking alliances from Muslim professionals, well settled in Oman or Middle East. Contact: 99644760 or Email: ghulamuzma23@gmail.com

driVing

Driver for Automatic Transmis-sion. Contact: 99040813

Room for rent with Electricity, water & A/C kitchen RO 115/- RO, RO 130/- Al Khuwair. Contact: 95423391 Sharing accommodation available for working lady or couples near Ruwi Church. Contact: 92837206 Room attached toilet and kitchen near Indian School Wadi Kabir. Contact: 95345537

Mohammed Khaliur Rahman has lost Bangladeshi Passport No. E 1503468. Finder please handover to ROP. Shjee Wzheeshaa has lost Indian Passport No. J 3826771. Finder please handover to ROP

I Azeem Abdul Rawoob (holder of Indian passport No. J 1341176) son of Azeem having permanent resi-dence in 55 Anai Katti Maidanam Beema Nagar Trichy DT Tamil Nadu (complete postal address in India) and presently residing in P.O Box. No 390 P.C 118 Sultanate of Oman (complete postal address in Oman) intend to change my name from Azeem Abdul Rawoob (old name) to Azim Abdul Rauf (new name) for all practical purpose. Any objection to-wards my name change may please be communicated to Embassy of India, Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters, Al Khuwair, P.Box No. 1727, Postal Code 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman.

situation Want-ed

sit. WantedIndian female, B.Sc, PGDCA, cur-rently on family joining visa, 2 years working experience in oman as cus-tomer care / sales co-ordinator, im-mediate joining seeks suitable place-ments. Contact no. (968) 95573205 / 95949230 / 95800792 ACCOUNTANT, Indian male,29 years.8 years experience .Presently working in Oman as a Senior Ac-countant with oman Driving license. NOC available seek suitable opportu-nity. GSM: 97705854 29 years Indian female (MBA-Finance) with 4+yrs experience (Oman) in Accounts, seeking suit-able placement in Accounts/Admin. Contact:96141283 B-tech Electrical engineer with more than 2 years of experience in erection and designing of HT and LT electri-cal systems. Seeking for suitable job in Muscat. Contact:98269366. Email:sijincleetus@gmail.com INDIAN MALE 23 yEARS, B. Tech (Electrical & Electronic) having 4 years working experience as an Electrical site Engineer. Looking for suitable job in Oil Gas Sector or in related industries. #98045482 Indian male , 14 yrs Experience in maintenance & Supervisor in hotel field ( Electrical . Ac Mechanical & Plumber ) N O C available mob : 95 25 36 40 . email = hareeshma24@yahoo.com Indian male 28yRS, 7Years exp. in Architectural & structural Draughts-man & 3d visualization, looking for a suitable Post GSM: +971551965944. Email:aboosufiyan@gmail.com Indian, male, 41 years, CA Inter, Persuing CA final. Now on express visa. 7 years of Experience in OMAN as Finance and Accounts Manager in Trading , Construction and Firefight-ing industry. 21 Years of exp. seeking suitable Managerial positions. No visa issues. Immediate joining. #98469311 Email:sebin30@yahoo.co.in

Window & split unit A.C servicing & maintenance. Contact: 93769089 / 95323517 General cleaning, cleaning contract, cleaner supply. Contact: 95764290 /95113037

A/C Maintenance & servicing, fridge, washing machine & dish washer repairing, painting & clean-ing services, electrical & plumbing. Contact: 99447257 / 97014234 / 24504281

Daily guiDEt h u r s d ay, a u g u s t 6 , 2 0 1 5 d7

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine Tours Contact- 98029602, 92808636

rent a car

tours

Car for rent. Contact: 92516090 Silver Car, car for rent. Contact: 96166155 / 98402662

Butter cup rent a car competitive prices new car 2016. Contact: 97249449

situation Wantedcargo

situation Want-cargo

transportation

Transport. Contact: 93637289 Transportation available. Contact 95570429 Transport. Contact: 95190627 Transportation. Contact: 91310107 House shifting, transporting. Contact : 94229277 Pick & drop anytime in Al Khuwair. Contact 99764307 Transportation. Contact: 96538078 Transportation. Contact:98522914 Transportation. Contact 99508282 Transportation. Contact: 98244078 Pick & Drop any time. Contact: 97014786

Daily guiDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

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