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THURSDAY, July 23, 2015 / 6 Shawwal 1436 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

HM lauded for his role as global peacemaker

SARAH MACDONALDsarah@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: As Oman celebrates its 45th Renaissance Day, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said is being hailed as an internation-al peacemaker for his role in the recent nuclear deal between Iran and the West.

In the years since the Blessed Renaissance, Oman has estab-lished itself as a neutral, mediat-ing nation in the Middle East for which it has received much ap-preciation and praise. His Maj-esty the Sultan came to power in 1970 with a foreign policy goal of having good relations with all of Oman’s neighbours and main-taining a neutral approach in other countries’ affairs.

Following the Camp David Accords signed in 1978 between Egypt and Israel, Oman was one of just three Arab states that didn’t cut ties with Egypt, and during the Iran-Iraq War it main-

tained diplomatic relations with both sides.

Now Oman’s neutral position has proven to be valuable yet again, thanks to its ability to bring the US and Iran to the negotiating table for the recently agreed nu-clear framework agreement.

US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke highly of the role Oman had in the talks. In Laus-anne, Switzerland on April 2 he said Oman “not only hosted a number of important meetings, but also played a critical role in getting these talks off the ground in the first place.”

In an article in International Policy Digest, Shohini Gupta, from the Gulf Institute, described Oman’s role as “instrumental.”

Oman had the trust of both the US and Iran since it had helped mediate for them before, such as in September 2011 when it facili-tated the return of three Ameri-can hikers who had been jailed in Iran on espionage charges.

Following this success, His Majesty offered Oman as a place for secret talks between the Americans and Iranians.

“Oman’s unique neutral po-sition enabled HM to mediate between the US and Iran, the motivations for which mainly regard regional security...Oman was instrumental in the easing of relations between the US and Iran, and was therefore incredibly important to the success of the deal... Oman has proven that it has greater credibility in working co-operatively with the United States to further mutual policy goals in a productive manner,” Gupta wrote.

Speaking in Vienna on July 14, the day the historic agreement was signed, Kerry included Oman among the countries he thanked for hosting the talks. Talks were held in Muscat in 2013 and 2014. He also thanked His Majesty for the role he played.

“And I am particularly grate-ful – we are particularly grateful, all of us, to the Sultan of Oman, for his very personal engagement and support for the possibility of an agreement. He and his govern-ment were there to help every step of the way,” Kerry said.

On July 17 Vice President Joe Biden spoke with His Majesty to express his and President Obama’s gratitude for the Sultan’s support of the nuclear negotiations with Iran that resulted in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The vice-president also thanked HM for Oman’s role in helping to advance a political set-tlement in Yemen. Both leaders pledged continued close cooper-ation between the United States and Oman to advance regional peace and stability.

That same day His Majesty Sul-tan Qaboos bin Said spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouha-ni, who appreciated Oman’s con-structive role aimed at resolving regional crises and said Oman and Iran can continue to work togeth-er to end ongoing conflicts.

Rouhani even mentioned the call on his Twitter feed: “In call w/ Sultan Qaboos-- who wel-comed #IranDeal & wished blessed #Eid-- thanked Oman for const role& emphasized coop to end regional crisis.”

Minister Responsible for For-eign Affairs Yousuf bin Alawi, spoke about the agreement and Oman’s role in an interview on July 14 on Oman TV.

“The entire process from the first phase to the end was cen-tred on one foundation, which was the Sultanate’s ability, [with] its distinguished relations with all parties…to establish trust be-tween the parties. Without trust, it wouldn’t have been possible to reach this agreement. The role of the Sultanate was, at the top levels, to build trust between the leaderships of these countries and Iran,” bin Alawi said. >A8

As Oman celebrates the blessed Renaissance

Day, the efforts of His Majesty the Sultan

to promote peace and tolerance have been

hailed by the international community

Two young boys die inside hot carFAHAD AL GHADANIfahadnews@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Two boys aged, five and six, have died after they locked themselves in a car, spark-ing a police investigation and a warning to parents not to leave their children in hot vehicles.

The incident took place in Ibri on Sunday.

“While one of the boys died in-side the car on Sunday, the other, who was in critical condition, died on Tuesday night,” a relative of the children said.

The boys’ parents were inside their home when they locked themselves inside the car.

“When the parents realised the boys were missing they looked for them in the neighbourhood and only at around 5pm discov-ered them inside the car,” said the relative.

SuffocatedThe children might have suffo-cated due to the high tempera-ture, according to the relative.

The temperature in Ibri has been hovering between 43° Cel-sius and 44° Celsius for the last couple of days.

The incident is being investi-gated, said a Royal Oman Police

(ROP) official. Urging parents to always monitor their children, the ROP official said, “Never al-low them to play inside a vehicle or leave them in a car with the en-gine running.”

The official reminded parents that leaving children locked in cars even for 10 minutes in hot temperatures can lead to suffoca-tion, and prove fatal.

He said the boys might have accidently locked themselves in, but it seems they were not monitored.

Constant monitoring Hamed Al Wahaibi, international rally champion and founder of Safety First, Oman’s leading road safety organisation, said, “Parents should monitor their children at all times. With nu-merous incidents such as this being reported in the region, parents should be more aware and see that such incidents are avoided.” “There is no excuse for parental negligence,” he added.

Speaking on the incident, Mark Pudwell, business devel-opment and training manager, Competence HR, said this event has once again highlighted the need for “ultimate vigilance”. >A8

P R O B E O N

Oman should do away with fuel subsidies: Experts SALEH AL SHAIBANYsaleh@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Experts have urged Oman to stop regulating fuel pric-es, and have instead advised it to switch to global prices, which the country should update monthly, to boost its economy.

The move, experts say, would not only increase revenues but would also pave the way for a cleaner en-vironment and make the private

sector much more competitive. “Government subsidies in pet-

rol do not make sense anymore when the fiscal budget is becom-ing tighter. Fuel prices in our petrol stations must not be reg-ulated but based on internation-al prices and updated monthly. This way, the government can diversify its funds to the develop-ment of much needed infrastruc-ture instead of making petrol cheaper in the country,” Ahmed Al

Habsi, economic analyst at Capi-tal Investment Company, told the Times of Oman.

Oman is among the cheapest countries in the world to buy petrol, but the government is subsidising it by as much as 50 per cent. Petrol prices in the Sultanate have been unchanged for more than a decade.

Other experts say removing petrol sale regulations would in-crease prices but it would lead to the diversifications of the

country’s resources.“People will pay more for each

litre of petrol, but they also know that the government cannot any-more afford to make it affordable to drivers. The common sense is that if you can afford a car then you can afford petrol. Hiking petrol prices would encourage the invest-ments of transportation systems and diversify the economy to open up employment,” said independ-ent economist Said Al Shihri. >A8

F U E L P R I C E C O N T R O L

His Majesty receives Renaissance Day greetingsMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received cables of greetings from State Council Chairman Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh Al Mantheri, Majlis Al Shura Chairman Khalid bin Hilal Al Ma’awali, Minister Responsible for Defence Affairs Sayyid Badr bin Saud Al Busaidi and Inspector General of Police and Customs Lt. Gen Hassan bin Mohsin Al Shrai-qi, on the occasion of the Blessed Renaissance Day, glorious July 23rd anniversary.

In his cable, Dr Al Mantheri said: “I am honoured, on behalf of myself and on behalf of the honourable members of the State Council and its employees, to extend to Your Majesty the sincerest greetings and best wishes on the 45th anni-versary of the Blessed Renaissance Day, praying to Allah the Almighty for the return of this and similar occasions while Your Majesty en-joys good health, happiness and a long life and our beloved country, under your wise leadership, enjoys glory, growth and prosperity”.

The State Council Chairman added: “Oman has been since ancient times and still a beacon of goodness and harmony, and a place for security and peace, and the Omanis have been the pulse of this harmony, the harmony on which they founded their majes-tic civilisation, and put the strong foundation of their state, and from which they drove off to all corners of the earth, as messengers of love and peace”. >A8See also >A4, 5, 12

C A B L E S

C7Echoes from eternity

WORLDUS-led air strike kills Qaeda leader in Syria

2A US-led coalition air strike earlier this month killed the leader of an Al

Qaeda offshoot in Syria that American officials accuse of plotting attacks against the United States and its allies.Muhsin Al Fadhli was killed in a “kinetic strike” on July 8 while travelling in a vehicle. >A16

MARKETOman bank credit grows 9.6 per cent

3Oman’s conventional banks have achieved a robust 9.64 per cent credit growth at

OMR17.45 billion for the first five months ending May, 2015 from OMR15.91 billion for the same period of last year, according to the Central Bank of Oman’s (CBO) latest statistics released here on Wednesday. >B1

OMANZanzibari royal portrait found in UK kitchen

1A portrait of a Zanzibari royal worth up to £1m has been found in a London kitchen by

an art expert who was evaluating the art in the home. The 1939 portrait of a bearded Arab man with a colourful Al Said mussar, a black ‘subaiya’ over his dishdasha, and an Al Said khanjar, was painted by Irma Stern, a renowned South African artist. >A6

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

RENAISSANCE DAY GREETINGSThe Chairman and staff of Muscat Media Group extend their heartiest greetings to

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said on the Renaissance Day.

RENAISSANCE DAY SUPPLEMENT INSIDE

Air temperature Inside a parked car with closed windows under the sun in sixty minutes

Elapsed time

20

27

32

38

43

Source: Temperature Sensor News Graphics

Celsiusdegrees

37

434650

5559

6366

69

5154

5760

64

5355 56

4345

48 49 50

37

31

4042

44 45

Inside air temperature

5048

10 20 30 40 50 60 mins

After one hour, the temperature inside a vehicle will be 26 °C degrees more than the outside temperature

Outside airtemperature

T I M E S O F O M A NT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5 T I M E S O F O M A NA4

OMANRenaissance heralds Oman as top

SARAH MACDONALDsarah@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: From an undeveloped, relatively unknown country in 1970, Oman has flourished during the Blessed Renaissance to be-come one of world’s top tourism destinations, gaining attention from top magazines, newspapers, websites and tour companies.

In the 1990s the government introduced long-term economic planning with a 20-year plan which included looking at sustain-able economic development, such as promoting Oman as a tourism destination. The Ministry of Tour-ism was established, hotels and restaurants were built, and Oma-nis were encouraged to study lan-guages like German and French so they could cater to European visi-tors, explained Dr Mohammed Al Muqaddam, from the Department of History at SQU.

“They knew oil would decline

one day so they started building tourism infrastructure. It worked well. In the wintertime now you don’t find a room available in Mus-cat, and during khareef there is lots

of tourism in Salalah. There are many jobs now related to tourism,” Al Muqaddam said.

From the New York Times and National Geographic, to Buzzfeed

and Lonely Planet, the spotlight has been turned on Oman again and again as it is touted as a must-visit destination. With its varied landscapes of deserts, beaches,

mountains and wadis, and richly authentic culture, Oman capti-vates those who visit it.

Including Oman in its list of destinations for 2015, the popular website Buzzfeed de-scribed the Sultanate as “a fresh and unexplored hotspot for curious travellers.”

Oman was even chosen as the “one place to visit in 2015” by Skift, the travel industry’s largest intel-ligence and marketing platform, while the New York Times ranked it 20 out the 52 must-visit places of 2015. Muscat was the number 2 choice for best city to visit in 2012, according to Lonely Planet.

Skift’s criteria include offbeat and adventurous with beautiful views, all the while still doable as an independent traveler.

“For travellers, Oman packs a lot in a small package, with desert, rugged coast and beaches, water sports and diving, forts-every-few-miles, green valleys, old school bazaars and old school Arabian hospitality. You can do a lot in a few days while staying in the cap-ital city of Muscat, but a 10-day driving trip would be make for a perfect holiday,” writes Rafat Ali from Skift.

According to Maitha Saif Al Mahrouqi, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism in Oman, the growth in tourism in Oman is thanks to the efforts not just of the government but all those involved in the tourism in-dustry who believe in what Oman has to offer its visitors.

“The Sultanate is now becom-ing the top choice for regional and international travellers who are looking to experience the modern aspects of the Arab World, even as they immerse themselves in its rich cultural heritage and tradi-tions,” she said.

In 2013 approximately 2.2 mil-lion people visited Oman, and as the tourism industry continues to grow and catch the world’s at-tention, the Sultanate will attract even more visitors who, as Lonely Planet so aptly describes it, are “seeking out the modern face of Arabia while wanting still to sense its ancient soul.”

With its varied

landscapes of deserts,

beaches, mountains

and wadis, and richly

authentic culture,

Oman captivates

those who visit it.

The spotlight has

been turned on Oman

again and again as

it is seen as a must-

visit destination

The Sultanate is now becoming the top choice for

regional and international travellers who are looking

to experience the modern aspects of the Arab World,

even as they immerse themselves in its rich cultural

heritage and traditions

Maitha Saif Al MahrouqiUndersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism

ROYAL PATRONAGE: The Sultanate of Oman has flourished during the Blessed Renaissance to become one of world’s top tourism destinations, gaining attention from top

magazines, newspapers, websites and tour companies.–ONA

T I M E S O F O M A N T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5T I M E S O F O M A N A5

global destination

MUSCAT: Oman today cel-ebrates the 45th anniversary of the glorious Renaissance of July 23, which has result-ed in an impressive leap for-ward in the life of the Sultan-ate and its people.

The occasion signals a new era as Oman has achieved pro-gress and prosperity under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Over the past 45 years, His Majesty has been very keen on making each Omani a contrib-utor to the development, as well as its main aim and goal.

Therefore, Oman’s celebra-tion of the blessed Renais-sance is a celebration of the contribution of each Omani to the achievements made over the past period and the success in building a modern nation that has made positive contributions at the Gulf, Arab and world levels. The Omani man now enjoys respect in dif-ferent parts of the world.

The uniqueness of the Omani leadership is that it has leveraged the potential of the Omanis and steered them towards building a modern Oman.

These achievements would not have been possible with-out proper planning and a leadership that dedicated its time and effort to the progress of this nation. The Omani leadership has been keen on ensuring equality among all Omanis and the rule of law. This was reflected in the Basic Law of the State promulgated on November 6, 1996, and its amendments.

The law highlighted the re-lationships among the differ-ent organisations, as well as

their rights, responsibilities, duties and obligations. It also ensured harmony and inte-gration between the Council of Ministers and the Council of Oman, which includes the State Council and Majlis Al Shura, in addition to the inde-pendence of judiciary. It also ensured going on the right track through the overview conducted by the State Finan-cial and Administrative Audit Institution (SFAAI), the Pub-lic Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP), besides other audit institutions.

Future challengesThe Omani march towards more socio-economic pro-gress is still going on in all fields to make Oman, as it has been always, an oasis for peace and security, thanks to the wise policies of His Majesty over the past 45 years. This is very clear from the events wit-nessed by the region, which pose many current and future challenges.

The five year plans, from the first one (1976-1980) to the eighth one (2011-2015) managed to complete the in-frastructure in different areas and in different parts of the Sultanate. This is manifested in the high quality road net-work, water, electricity, health and education, as well as high-er education services.

The Omani Government, as guided by His Majesty, takes initiatives to develop the qualified and specialised human resources. It also de-velops curricula at the various schools and higher education institutions. The Education Council, the Sultan Qaboos

University (SQU) and other institutions play an important role in this field. Work is also underway to complete the es-tablishment of the world class Oman University.

Despite the decline in oil prices since last year, His Majesty gave instructions to maintain the levels of services provided to citizens especially in the sectors of health, educa-tion and social security with-out any prejudice to the work at the major tourism, road, port and airport projects, as well as major projects in the Special Economic Zone in Duqm (SEZD). The road net-work, railway and airport pro-jects have made the Sultanate a logistical hub with great po-tential in the years to come.

After developing the main outlines of the 9th five-year plan (2016-2020), the Omani Government, represented by the Supreme Council for Plan-ning (SCP) and the Main Com-mittee for Oman Vision 2040, as well as other respective agencies, have already started preparing for the Vision 2040 as per the Royal Directives of His Majesty.

The symposium on the fol-low up of the progress made in implementing the recom-mendations of the Seih Al Shamikhat Symposium has issued a number of decisions that promote the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and ensure getting the stipulated percentage of the public tenders and purchases. Despite the decline in oil pric-es in the world markets, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) issued a report about the fi-nancial stability in 2015.–ONA

Oman’s impressive growth saga during 45 years of Renaissance

A6

OMANT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

The Khareef season attracts tourists annually

from various governorates of the Sultanate

and the GCC countries.

National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) >A8

Zanzibari royal portrait found in London kitchen

SARAH MACDONALDsarah@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: A portrait of a Zan-zibari royal worth up to £1m (OMR600,000) has been found in a London kitchen by an art ex-pert who was evaluating the art in the home.

The 1939 portrait of a bearded Arab man with a colourful Al Said mussar, a black ‘subaiya’ over his dishdasha, and an Al Said khanjar, was painted by Irma Stern, a re-nowned South African artist who spent time in Zanzibar in 1939 and 1945. The portrait still has its Zanzibari carved wood frame.

Though Zanzibar was formerly ruled by the Sultan of Oman, in 1861 the Sultanate of Oman and Zanzibar was divided into two separate countries.

There is no doubt that the por-trait is of a member of the Zanzi-bari branch of the Al Said family because of his mussar and other aspects of his clothing, said Mur-tadha Al Lawati, director of Gh-alya’s Museum of Modern Art in Muscat. “It’s definitely a royal family member because he’s also

wearing the Omani khanjar with the seven rings which the royals have. How I can say this man is ac-tually a royal family member is be-cause of the ‘subaiyah’ (black robe),” Al Lawati told Times of Oman.

The ‘subaiyah’ looks similar to a bisht but was only worn by members of the royal family, Al Lawati said. The man also looks like a member of the Al Said family because of his features, he added.

Hannah O’Leary, an expert in South African art from Bonhams auction house, made the discov-ery. “I spotted this masterpiece hanging in the kitchen covered in letters, postcards and bills. It was a hugely exciting find, even before I learned of its political signifi-cance,” O’Learly said in an inter-view with The Guardian.

The political significance of the painting goes beyond its sub-ject. Stern donated it to a charity auction in the late 1950s in South Africa to raise funds for Nelson Mandela and other activists from

the African National Congress (ANC) for the legal costs of their treason trial.

According to information about the painting posted on Bon-ham’s, Stern visited Zanzibar to pursue an interest in Islam and immersed herself in the local cul-ture: “taking tea with the Sultana, shopping in the bazaars, attend-ing a wedding, living in a house opposite a mosque.”

She painted a couple of por-traits of Zanzibar royalty, though she mistakenly titled one from 1939 as Sultan of Zanzibar, Sheik Said Bin Ali El Magheri. The sul-tan at the time was Sultan Khalifa bin Harub Al Said, who ruled from 1911 to 1960. El Magheri (Said bin Ali Al Mugheiry) most likely worked for the Sultan.

Stern also painted the women from Zanzibar and in 2010 her 1945 painting Bahora Girl, of an Indian woman in Zanzibar, sold for £2.4 (OMR1.44 million).

Stern was clearly impressed by the people she saw on the island. She published an illustrated jour-nal, Zanzibar, in 1948, in which she wrote: “bearded figures be-longing to another age - a thou-sand years or more back; gold glis-tening on their coats, silk woven into their rainbow-coloured tur-bans, wound artfully, each partic-ular race having a different tradi-tional way...their faces expressed depths of suffering, profound wis-dom and full understanding.”

According to The Guardian, the current owners of the painting in-herited it from their parents who bought it at the charity auction in South Africa and took it with them when they emigrated to UK.

The portrait of the Zanzibar royal, Arab in Black, will be auc-tioned at Bonham’s in London on September 9.

The 1939 portrait

of a bearded Arab

man with an Al Said

mussar, was painted

by Irma Stern, a

renowned South

African artistARAB IN BLACK: Irma Stern

painted a couple of portraits of

Zanzibar royalty, say experts.

–Photo from Bonhams website

A7T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

Ensure proper disposal of garbage.

Don’t litter a beautiful country like OMAN.

A8

OMANT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

His Majesty sends greetingsMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of con-gratulations to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt on the occasion of the July 23rd Revolution anniversary. In his cable, His Majesty expressed his sincere congratulations along with his best wishes of good health, happiness and a long life to President el-Sisi, praying to Allah the Almighty to grant him success to achieve aspira-tions of further progress and prosperity for the brotherly people of Egypt. – ONA

C A B L E S

His Majesty receives greetingsThe cable added: “Your Majesty come to fulfill the march of this generous and history-rooted coun-try to begin, with the guidance and help of Allah the Almighty, a new era that is more developed and more prosperous”.

In his cable, Al Ma’awali said “On the Blessed Renaissance Day, I am honoured, on behalf of myself and on behalf of the members of the Majlis Al Shura and its employ-ees, to extend to Your Majesty the sincerest greetings on this glori-ous occasion, as they stand united behind your wise leadership, with hearts overwhelmed with love, loyalty, giving and willingness to sacrifice to work and sacrifice for the homeland and the Sultan. Your

Majesty has taken the country over to the oasis of safety, security and stability, established the pil-lars of the modern state, achieved a comprehensive renaissance ac-cording to a leading model of sus-tainable development, caring for all citizens and safeguarding their rights and ensuring to them the values of Shura, justice, equality, equal opportunities, and promot-ing the national unity, social peace and safety of the nation”.

In his cable, Sayyid Badr said: “Oman is celebrating today the 45th anniversary of the Renais-sance Day while it enjoys a solid comprehensive development; thanks to Your Majesty’s civilized and humanitarian vision”.

“Oman, which has become an oasis for peace and cultural co-existence, is also a symbol of mo-dernity and authenticity. Oman is also making rapid steps towards a bright future that is full of achieve-ments made according to balanced plans and strategies,” he added.

In his cable, Lt.Gen Al Shraiqi and on behalf of the Royal Oman Police personnel extended sin-cere greetings on the Blessed Renaissance Day, praying to Al-lah the Almighty to grant His Majesty a good health and hap-piness, Oman and its people con-tinuous growth and prosperity. The Inspector General of Police and Customs also said: “Your Maj-esty the Sultan, the 23rd of July

has marked a new chapter in the history of this dear country as Your Majesty has been selected by Allah to bring mercy and prosperity to Oman and its people. The Omanis are fully aware of the great efforts exerted by Your Majesty to build this nation, therefore they believed in Your Majesty’s noble princi-ples and joined hands to achieve this impressive renaissance and unique human experience.

“Expressing their loyalty to Your Majesty, the leaders thanked Al-lah the Almighty for His bounties, praying to Him to protect Your Majesty, and grant you success, be-stow the blessings of security and prosperity on Oman during Your Majesty’s prosperous era.”–ONA

R E N A I S S A N C E D A Y

Don’t leave children alone

“Children must never be left alone in the vehicle under any circumstances even under the supervision of a maid or nanny,” he said.

Pudwell pointed out that “children, particularly young ones, are unable to understand how to regulate their core body temperatures and as such, expo-sure to relatively short periods of time in a vehicle when the am-bient temperatures are even as low as 25° Celsius, can be fatal.”

Adding that there is simply no justification for leaving chil-dren alone in a vehicle, he said, “If parents step out of a vehicle briefly, ensure the vehicle is switched off and windows left open approximately 5 centime-tres. This allows air to circulate and still prevents children from climbing out. Care must be tak-en when returning to the vehi-cle and closing the windows as small fingers could get trapped.”

Speaking on how others can help trapped children, “If you see a child obviously left in a sealed vehicle, try to open a door first and then call for an ambulance immediately. If the vehicle is locked, and there are no signs of the parents in the immediate vicinity, a large rock or suitably robust object should be used to break the window far-thest away from the child if the child appears to be sleeping or unconscious.”(Inputs from Tariq Al Haremi)

A C C I D E N T

HM hailedHere in Muscat, ambassadors from countries involved in the talks praised Oman’s role, too. Ira-nian Ambassador Ali Akbar Sibev-eih described Oman’s role bringing Iran and the P5+1 to the negotiat-ing table was “crucial.”

“The fact that these negotia-tions have come to fruition after so many years is because of the presence of His Majesty who has always been seeking peace, justice and truth,” said Sibeveih.

France’s ambassador to Oman, Roland Dubertrand, also had high praise for Oman. “The French au-thorities and the French govern-

ment want to pay tribute to the role of Oman for reaching the very positive agreement concluded be-tween the P5+1 and Iran today,” he said on July 14 at his country’s national day celebrations, which coincided with the historic nu-clear agreement.

In the past few years Oman has become a key player in region, helping bridge divides between Iran and the west. This is impor-tant to France, which a main par-ticipant in the nuclear talks with Iran. Oman also has a valuable job to play regarding Yemen, the am-bassador explained.

G L O B A L I M P A C T

Budget deficit increasing steadilyOman’s budget deficit has been increasing steadily in the last five years. It is has forecast an OMR2.5 billion deficit this year and that is likely to widen by the end of 2015 as oil prices have remained persis-tently on the lower side. Financial analysts said Oman would save significantly if petrol subsidies are dropped to trim future deficits.

“I would put the savings at around OMR1.2 billion a year if the gov-ernment drops petrol subsidies. If you look at the broader picture, fuel subsidies would help the gov-ernment manage power plants cheaper as well by passing on the costs to consumers,” explained fi-nancial analyst Fareed Al Ojaili. “The number of cars bought by in-

dividuals is increasing ten percent every year and that is our major concern. Increasing fuel prices would stop families from buying more than one car per household and that will certainly reduce car-bon emission. It will also encour-age people to start using carpools,” Jason Hallmark, a local environ-mentalist told the Times of Oman.

E C O N O M Y

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Your Majesty the Sultan, the 23rd of July has marked a new chapter

in the history of this dear country as Your Majesty has been selected

by Allah to bring mercy and prosperity to Oman and its people

Lt.Gen Al Shraiqi, Inspector General, ROP

Salalah Festival to spread charm

MUSCAT: Salalah Tourism Fes-tival 2015 begins on Thursday under the theme ‘Oman: Love and Peace’.

The festival, which will con-clude on August 31, is set to in-clude several activities on reli-gious, economic, heritage, and social themes, in addition to cul-ture, sport and entertainment.

The festival, considered one of the major festivals in the region, will also include many activities and programmes, such as the tra-ditional village, which highlights

traditional handcrafts, arts, and games, along with food stalls and costumes.

The festival will also include several exhibitions representing government and private sectors in various cultural, arts, technical and communication sectors.

The Khareef season attracts tourists annually from various governorates of the Sultanate and the GCC countries. The official and public agencies are prepared to ensure the success of the tour-ist season for this year and to re-ceive visitors as well as provide various facilities and services.

As many as 29,025 people visited Salalah from June 21 to July 13, this year as compared to 27,586 visitors in the same period last year, which marks a 5.2 per cent growth.

The National Centre for Statis-tics and Information (NCSI) sta-tistics showed that the Khareef season attracts tourists from vari-ous governorates of the Sultanate

and the GCC countries.The Khareef season is a climat-

ic phenomenon that affects most of the coastal wilayats and the neighbouring mountains in the Dhofar governorate from June 21 to mid-September every year. All coastal areas from Dhalkout in the west to Mirbat in the east come under the influence of this phenomenon during that period.

The National Records and Ar-chives Authority (NRAA) will open a historic documentary ex-hibition at the Municipality Rec-reational Centre in Salalah from July 28 to August 2, 2015, as part of the activities of the Salalah Tourism Festival under the pa-tronage of Sheikh Salim bin Ofait Al Shanfri, head of the Dhofar Municipality.

Through the exhibition, NRAA seeks to highlight the cultural and historic role of the Sultanate through a valuable collection of documents and manuscripts that will be showcased.–ONA

The Khareef season

represents a climatic

phenomenon that

affects Dhofar

A9

REGIONT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

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Tunisia debates new anti-terror bill

TUNIS: Tunisian lawmakers be-gan a three-day debate on Wednes-day on a new anti-terrorism bill aimed at beefing up powers to con-front a militant threat following a spate of deadly attacks.

President Beji Caid Essebsi im-posed a state of emergency after a student went on a shooting ram-page at a beach resort last month, killing 38 foreign tourists, most of them Britons.

Tunisia has come up with sev-eral drafts of legislation to deal with “the fight against terrorism and money laundering” since the 2011 revolution, but none reached parliament because of a lack of consensus.

The latest version would allow courts to impose death sentences for terror convicts and make it eas-ier for investigators to use phone-tapping against suspects.

Jailable offenceIt would also make public expres-sions of support for terrorism a jailable offence. The bill went be-fore lawmakers after it won ap-proval from a commission made

up of party representatives, in-cluding from the Ennahda party and Essebsi’s Nidaa Tounes. “This project is one of the measures among others” in combatting the militant threat, said lawmaker Khaled Chouket of Nidaa Tounes.

“It is a historical test, and we must win,” he added.

Sahbi Attig, a counterpart from Ennahda, called on parliament to amend the bill, arguing some of its measures were too repressive.

“We must be vigilant to ensure Tunisians aren’t faced with in-justice,” he said.

It would replace the 2003 ter-rorism law, passed under the dic-tatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben

Ali and widely criticised as being a tool to crush dissent, especially from then-banned Ennahda.

But advocacy groups, includ-ing Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have con-demned the latest bill.

They have described it as dra-conian, saying its definition of ter-rorist crimes is too vague and that it fails to adequately safeguard the rights of defendants and could un-dermine freedoms.

In a joint letter this month, nine human rights groups includ-ing Amnesty and HRW, criticised the bill, with the latter saying it was “flawed”.

“Tunisian authorities have

legitimate concerns about the growing influence of extremist groups and individuals and the threat they pose to Tunisians and foreigners,” said Eric Goldstein, HRW’s deputy Middle East and North Africa director.

“But laws to counter terrorism should meet -- not flout -- interna-tional human rights standards,” he said in a statement.

Critics say the bill would allow the authorities to detain suspects for 15 days without access to a lawyer or being brought before a judge, as well as put harsh restric-tions on journalists. Members of the opposition were among those to criticise the bill. — AFP

The latest bill would allow courts to impose

death sentences for terror convicts and make

it easier for investigators to use phone-

tapping against suspects

40 killed in southern Libya ethnic clashesBENGHAZI: At least 40 peo-ple have been killed in a week of ethnic clashes in southern Libya between rival gunmen from the Toubou and Tuareg minorities, a local official said.

The latest fighting centred on the oasis city of Sabha, the larg-est in the Libyan Sahara, the of-ficial said. Hundreds of families have been displaced, he added. There have been repeated dead-ly clashes between the two eth-nic groups since February. The Toubou, who mainly live in the southeast straddling the border with neighbouring Chad, were heavily discriminated against under former leader Muammar Gaddafi and fought in the 2011 protests that overthrew him.

The Tuareg, who mainly live in the southwest straddling the borders with Algeria and Ni-ger, largely backed the Gaddafi regime. The chaos that has fol-lowed the protests has seen mounting competition for scant resources in the desert south, with Tuareg, Toubou and Arabs all setting up rival militia.

Deadly fighting with Arabs in Sabha in 2012 prompted Tou-bou claims of ethnic cleansing.

Tensions have worsened since the establishment of ri-val governments in the capital Tripoli and the eastern town of Tobruk last year. The Tripoli au-thorities have armed the Tuareg while the Toubou have backed the internationally recognised government in the east. The To-bruk government issued a state-ment on Tuesday appealing to the warring sides sides to “stop fighting and resolve their differ-ences through dialogue”. — AFP

V I O LENCE

30 killed in Baghdad, Diyala car bomb attacksBAGHDAD: Car bomb attacks in Baghdad and the Iraqi prov-ince of Diyala, mostly claimed by the IS militant group, have killed at least 30 people, police and medical sources said on Wednesday.

At least 19 people were killed and 43 wounded when a car bomb exploded near a market there on Tuesday, a police colo-nel and hospital sources said.

Another four people were killed and 10 wounded in a simi-lar attack in the southern neigh-bourhood of Zafaraniya.

The IS group claimed respon-sibility for both attacks, saying they had targeted militiamen, a claim it often makes even when most of the victims are civilians.

A car bomb also struck a joint police and army checkpoint in Tarmiya, a town which lies on of the main highways north of Baghdad, police said. At least three members of the secu-rity forces were killed and nine wounded. Also on Tuesday, a car bomb went off in Mandali, a town in the eastern province of Diyala which lies near the border with Iran, killing at least four people. A huge suicide car bomb attack claimed by IS killed dozens of people in Khan Bani Saad, a town just north of Baghdad, on Friday. — AFP

BOMB INGS

A10

INDIAT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

CONGRESS WORKERS DEMAND RESIGNATION OF SUSHMA, RAJE, SHIVRAJWorkers of All India Mahila Congress wearing masks of BJP leaders demand removal of External Affairs Minister Sushma

Swaraj along with chief ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan in New Delhi on Tuesday. -PTI

BJP, Congress trade jibes over graft; houses stalled

NEW DELHI: The BJP and the Congress were on Wednesday locked in an all-out war over tit-for-tat corruption charges as con-tinuing uproar over the demand for the resignations of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the Madhya Pradesh and Ra-jasthan chief ministers again crip-pled parliament.

Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha witnessed turmoil for the second day as the Con-gress and other opposition parties joined hands to target the govern-ment, which hit back aggressively — both in parliament and outside.

The government flatly ruled out the resignations of Sushma

Swaraj, who has been linked to former IPL chief Lalit Modi, and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje — also for her links with Lalit Modi — and her Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is facing the heat in the Vyapam re-cruitment scandal.

ImpasseAs the impasse in parliament raged, the Bharatiya Janata Party opened a new front outside, ac-cusing Uttarakhand Chief Min-ister and Congress leader Harish Rawat and a close aide of corrup-tion vis-a-vis liquor barons — and demanded Rawat’s resignation.

Rawat denied the charges but the Congress said an FIR has been registered, the aide asked to go, and a time-bound inquiry would follow.

Later, the BJP raised the is-sue of a chargesheet filed against former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister P.K. Thungon of the Con-gress over a 1998 corruption case.

RuckusThere was ruckus in both hous-es of parliament all through Wednesday.

In the Lok Sabha, opposition members raised slogans against the Narendra Modi government.

Congress leaders Mallikarjun

Kharge and M. Veerappa Moily sought to move an adjournment motion on Lalit Modi, which Speaker Sumitra Mahajan re-jected. Opposition members, including those of the Congress and the Left, trooped near the speaker’s podium wearing black bands and carrying plac-ards. One placard in Hindi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his “silence” on Lalit Modi and the Vyapam scam.

An exasperated Mahajan first adjourned the house till noon, then again till 2 p.m. Later, as trou-ble continued, Deputy Speaker M. Thambidurai adjourned the Lok Sabha for the day.

The Rajya Sabha too wit-nessed ruckus throughout the day stalling business as the op-position pressed for the resig-nations of Sushma Swaraj, Raje and Chouhan.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said his party wanted “ac-tion”, not just a discussion. The opposition appeared united.

Sushma Swaraj set the tone for the government’s aggressive pitch in the morning when she tweeted that a Congress leader had pressed her to give a dip-lomatic passport to a Congress leader Santosh Bagrodia, a former central minister.

National issueChallenging the BJP that state issues cannot be discussed in parliament, Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati told the Rajya Sabha that Vyapam was a national issue.

Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav said he and BJP leader L.K. Advani had quit fol-lowing hawala charges, suggest-ing that Sushma Swaraj must follow suit. CPI-M leader Sita-ram Yechury said there can’t be a debate without the ministers concerned resigning.

Rajya Sabha leader and Fi-nance Minister Arun Jaitley accused the opposition of not wanting a debate and only being interested in making noise. He said the whole country wanted to hear Sushma Swaraj in par-liament. “Pomposity without fact is not acceptable... I dare you to start a discussion. You don’t have any facts, so you want to make noise,” he said. -PTI

Both Lok Sabha and

Rajya Sabha saw

turmoil for second

day as the Congress

and other opposition

parties joined

hands to target the

government, which

hit back aggressively

— both in parliament

and outside

No resignation over Lalit Modi and Vyapam row: BJPNEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government on Wednesday reasserted that Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and two BJP chief ministers will not resign over the Lalit Modi controversy and Vyapam scam and termed op-position allegations on the issues as “baseless”.

“We have decided to give a befit-ting reply to the misinformation campaign on these issues and BJP parliamentarians have been asked to strongly counter the opposi-tion,” Minister of State for Parlia-mentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters after a meet-ing of the BJP parliamentary party.

Naqvi said the opposition was attacking the NDA government “out of desperation as it had no is-sues to raise against the Centre”.

The opposition, particularly

the Congress, was not interested in holding discussions (in parlia-ment) and only wanted to disrupt the proceedings of both the Houses of parliament, Naqvi said.

Government initiativesPointing out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke at the meeting, Naqvi said, “The prime minister told the BJP parliamen-tarians that they should be proud of his government’s work for the betterment of the poor. He also asked the parliamentarians to take all government initiatives for the country’s development to the people.”

Finance Minister Arun Jait-ley said Sushma Swaraj gave her views at the parliamentary party meeting and satisfied all party par-liamentarians through her logic.

“We want the whole country to hear her logic (in parliament),” Jaitley told mediapersons.

Taking a dig at the Congress, Jaitley said, “Yesterday (Tues-day), the opposition was ready to discuss the matter but today they have started demanding an inquiry. Inquiry is done only when some legal provisions are violated as was done in the 2G spectrum case.”

He said the opposition was lack-ing in facts and that’s the reason it was shying away from a parlia-mentary discussion.

BJP president Amit Shah also addressed the meeting and ap-pealed to the party’s members of parliament to educate the peo-ple about the work done by the government in the last one year, sources said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said a senior Congress leader had pressed her hard to give diplomatic passport to a scam ac-cused Congress leader.

“A senior congress leader was pressing me hard to give diplo-matic passport to the coal scam accused Santosh Bagrodia,” Swaraj Swaraj tweeted, hours be-fore the second day of monsoon session in parliament.

The development comes a day after she had offered to give a state-ment in parliament about Con-gress’ allegations over her links with former IPL chief Lalit Modi. She also said she will disclose the name of the Congress leader in parliament.“I will disclose the name of the leader on the floor of the house,” she said in another tweet. -IANS

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

HITTING BACK: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley speaks in the

Rajya Sabha on the second day of monsoon session in New Delhi

on Wednesday. -PTI

Sushma back on Twitter as ‘FM’NEW DELHI: Is she quitting? Social media was agog with speculation that External Af-fairs Minister Sushma Swaraj may be thinking of quitting over the Lalit Modi episode after she deleted ‘Foreign Minister, Government of India’ from her Twitter bio. The bio was back on Wednesday afternoon.

Sushma Swaraj, who tweets from the handle @SushmaS-waraj, had apparently deleted the words ‘Foreign Minister, Govern-ment of India’, from her handle some time after her name was linked with former IPL commis-sioner Lalit Modi, who is accused of financial impropriety.

According to sources in the external affairs ministry, Su-shma Swaraj may have deleted the words because she wanted to keep the Twitter handle as a personal one, and not as an of-ficial one. She deleted the words after the Lalit Modi controversy erupted, the sources said.

Sushma Swaraj has been mak-ing several personal comments on Twitter after the Lalit Modi episode broke out, including tak-ing potshots at a media person-ality. The minister would not have been able to make personal comments from an official Twit-ter handle, was the argument in

official circles. However, by late Wednesday afternoon, the bio was back.

“Ok. Sushma Swaraj is reap-pointed as India’s Foreign min-ister in twitter,” commented one Twitter user.

“Why did Sushma Swaraj re-move Foreign Minister from her Twitter Bio ? PM Modi will handle kya ? Wid the no. of For-eign tours, its feasible!” con-templated another.

On Wednesday morning, she tweeted: “A senior Congress lead-er was pressing me hard to give diplomatic passport to the Coal Scam accused Santosh Bagrodia. I will disclose name of the leader on the floor of the House.” -IANS

P U T S S P E C U L A T I O N T O R E S T

External Affairs Minister

Sushma Swaraj. -PTI

LOGJAM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with party leaders leaves after the BJP Parliamentary Board

meeting at Parliament House in New Delhi on Wednesday. -PTI

Jung, AAP at loggerheads over DCW appointmentNEW DELHI: Escalating its confrontation with Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, a defiant AAP Gov-ernment on Wednesday refused to comply with his order cancel-ling appointment of Swati Maliwal as Chief of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) notwithstanding his assertion that ‘Government’ meant the LG in Delhi.

Reflecting government’s strong position on the issue, Transport Minister Gopal Rai said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had made the appointment in tune with constitutional provisions and laid down norms and there was no question of reviewing the decision.

“Whatever LG said today is not new. Such instances (LG’s inter-vention in government’s works) have now been old,” he said indi-cating government will reply to the LG on the issue.

Earlier, in a letter to the Chief Minister’s office, Jung said the notification appointing her was “ultra vires and infructuous” as it does not have his approval.

Maliwal, who had taken charge of DCW, is wife of Aam Aadmi Party leader Navin Jaihind and has been an advisor to Kejriwal on public grievances and handles his Janta Samwad. She has been associated with the AAP chief since India Against Corruption (IAC) days.

Referring to a Home Ministry order, the LG’s office insisted that ‘Government’ meant the “Lieuten-ant Governor of the National Capi-tal Territory of Delhi” appointed by the President and insisted that he was sole authority in deciding on major issues. -PTI

C O N F R O N T A T I O N

The prime minister told the BJP parliamentarians

that they should be proud of his government’s work

for the betterment of the poor

Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister

A11

INDIAT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

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Mortars found near rail tracks in Haryana; search operations on

KURUKSHETRA: Mortar bombs were found lying close to the rail-way tracks near Shahbad railway station in Haryana’s Kurukshetra district on Wednesday, following which rail traffic was briefly sus-pended on the route and a massive search operation was launched by the security forces.

A senior police officer said

that around eight 51 mm mortar bombs, were found lying near the tracks in the morning. Some boxes were also found lying alongside the explosives.

“These are very high grade ex-plosives, generally supplied to the Army and paramilitary forc-es,” Kurukshetra’s Superinten-dent of Police, Simardeep Singh said over phone.

He said that the bombs were live and Army experts from Ambala Cantonment had taken these into possession.

Asked if these bombs could have exploded and caused casualties, Singh said, “a mortar (a weapon which fires the explosives) would have been needed to fire these.”

Police said that some passersby noticed the explosives in Dolu Majra village near Shahbad after which the police was alerted.

Singh said the Government Railway Police (GRP) had regis-tered a case against unknown per-

sons under the provisions of the Explosives Substances Act.

He said it was being investi-gated how the explosives reached the spot. “The Army experts have taken note of the markings on the explosives,” he said.

The police officer further said that GRP team, Kurukshetra dis-trict police, Railway Protection Force were conducting a search over a large area from the spot where the bombs were found to see if any more explosives were lying around.

After the explosives were found, about dozen trains including Shatabdi Express were stopped on Delhi-Ambala rail track for some time. Later, the rail traffic on the route resumed. Twelve trains were stopped on the route for a while as a precautionary measure, police said. Among the trains which were briefly halted included Shan-e-Punjab, Delhi-Amritsar Express and Kalka-Delhi Shatabdi. -PTI

Eight 51 mm mortar

bombs were found

lying close to the

railway tracks near

Shahbad railway

station in the morning

LIVE BOMBS: One of the seven live rockets recovered between Shahabad and Dola Majra railway stations near Kurukshetra on Wednesday. -PTI

Curfew imposed in Jamshedpur after communal clashesJAMSHEDPUR: A day after cur-few was imposed in the city after group clashes over an alleged inci-dent of eve teasing at Mango area, security personnel on Wednesday staged a flag march here even as no fresh incident of violence was reported.

The personnel led by Senior Superintendent of Police Anoop T Mathew staged a flag march in the morning particularly in the af-fected localities of Mango to incul-cate confidence among the people, officials said.

Deputy Superintendent of Po-lice P Jascinta Kerketta said that situation was well under control as no fresh incident had taken place since last night.

“We have adequate forces in-cluding para-military forces which have already arrived from Patna,” she said assuring that the situation would return to normal soon.

The East Singhbhum district administration had imposed cur-few in Jamshedpur in the east Indian state of Jharkhand and its peripheral areas on Tuesday night following clashes between two communities in the last two days in Mango area of the city.

Meanwhile addressing a press conference here last night, Dep-uty Commissioner Amitabh Kaushal and Mathew said that six FIRs had been lodged after the clash broke out between two com-munities in Mango police station

area over an alleged eve-teasing incident on Monday.

FIRsAs many as 150 people were named accused in the FIRs and 103 people arrested in connection with the clash, they said.

An enquiry has been ordered to probe the clashes, Kausal said add-ing that the probe would be done by the Kolhan Division Commis-sioner Arun and DIG R K Dhan.

Stating that the priority of the district administration is to re-store peace, Kaushal said that they would initiate a multi-pronged ac-tion against the perpetrators and conspirators, many of whom had already been identified. -PTI

F L A G M A R C H

STRICT VIGIL: Security personnel patrolling in Mango area during curfew following clashes after an eve-teasing case, in Jamshedpur on Wednesday. -PTI

Space agency’s ‘BIG’ to help massesCHENNAI: Indian space agency officials are hoping their BIG of-fering would soon benefit the masses and gain popularity in the market.

“The BIG we refer to is actually an acronym for Bhuvan, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) and GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GA-GAN),” A.S. Ganeshan, project di-rector of GAGAN, ISRO Satellite Centre, told IANS.

On July 13, India launched its satellite-based air naviga-tion services and in the process joined a select group of nations comprising the US, European Union (EU) and Japan having a similar system.

GAGAN is meant to provide ac-curate navigation services over the Bay of Bengal, southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, Middle East and African regions.

The system works by augment-ing and relaying data from GPS satellites with the help of two aug-mentation satellites and 15 earth-based reference stations.

The process corrects any anomalies in the position data

and gives accurate routes, landing guidance and time saving infor-mation to the pilots. GAGAN also fills a vital gap between the EU’s European Geostationary Naviga-tion Overlay Service (EGNOS) and Japan’s Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS) coverage areas.

According to Ganeshan, the ob-jective of GAGAN is to establish, deploy and certify satellite-based augmentation system for safety-of-life civil aviation applications in India and this has been com-pleted successfully.

The system is inter-operable with other international satel-lite-based augmentation system (SBAS) systems like US-WAAS, European EGNOS, and Japanese MSAS, he added.

Apart from the airlines, ISRO is in talks with the Indian Rail-ways on the possibility of using GAGAN for safety at unmanned railway crossings.

Ganeshan said necessary re-ceivers can be installed on the train engines. As and when the train engine approaches an un-manned level crossing, its hooter

is automatically activated to warn the people.

According to Ganeshan, GA-GAN system should be compul-sorily installed in all emergency service vehicles and systems as was done in the West.

He said though GAGAN was primarily meant for aviation, it has its usage beyond that sector.

The system can be used for intelligent transportation, mari-time, highways, railways, survey-ing, geodesy, security agencies, telecom industry, personal users of position location applications and others.

ISRO will also hold an end-us-er summit where it will display the system to other industries in September.

The system is now operation-al. The payloads in GSAT-8 and GSAT-10 satellites are providing the signals and the third satellite with GAGAN payload will be on GSAT-15 to be launched later this year, Ganeshan said.

While GAGAN redefines navi-gation over Indian airspace, In-dian Regional Navigation Satel-lite System (IRNSS) shall provide

independent and self-reliant sat-ellite-based navigation services over Indian region, he added.

Simply put, the IRNSS is the In-dian equivalent of global position-ing system (GPS) of the US.

However, the coverage of IRNSS is India and 1,500 km around the Indian landmass.

The IRNSS will provide two types of services - standard posi-tioning service and restricted ser-vice. The former is provided to all users and the latter is an encrypt-ed service for authorised users.

India has launched four IRNSS satellites till date, and the Indian space agency has demonstrated the proof of its concept.

The full navigation system con-sists of a constellation of seven satellites. The remaining three are expected to be launched by ISRO soon.

According to Ganeshan, the full navigation services are expected to be offered mid-2016 onwards.

On the other hand, Bhuvan is a web-based geographic infor-mation system (GIS), offering 2D and 3D imagery of Indian locations. -IANS

A C C U R A T E N A V I G A T I O N

India to bear cost of Saarc satellite launchNEW DELHI: The expendi-ture on the ground system of the proposed Saarc satellite project will be borne by the regional bloc countries while India will bear the expenses on its building and launching, government said on Wednesday.

Union Minister of State for the Department of Space, Jitendra Singh said this in a written re-sponse to a question in Lok Sabha.

“While the cost towards build-ing and launching a satellite will be met by the government of India, the cost towards ground system is expected to be sourced by respec-tive Saarc countries,” Singh said in his reply.

“The objective of this project is to develop a satellite for the Saarc region that enables a full range of services to all our neighbours in the areas of telecommunications and broadcasting applications like television, DTH, tele-educa-tion and disaster management,” he said. Incidentally, India has maintained that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious Saarc

satellite project was a “gift” by the country to its neighbours.

India will be launching 28 sat-ellites of six countries between 2015-2017, the government also said. Singh said Antrix -- the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) -- has signed agreements for launching 28 foreign satellites of Algeria, Canada, Germany, Indo-nesia, Singapore and the US during the period.

He added, until now, 45 satel-lites from 19 countries have been launched by the Isro and the in-come generated through this amounts to around 17 million eu-ros and $78.5 million.

Singh also informed that the government has sanctioned 15 smaller PSLV launchers worth Rs 3,090 crore which would be built during 2017-2020.

In a response to another ques-tion, Singh elaborated on the initi-ation of chalking out a roadmap for the country’s space programmes in addressing short-term and long-term areas. -PTI

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Mohammed Mahfoodh Al Ardhi

As this year marks the 45th anniver-sary of the Renaissance Day and the ascension of His Majesty Sultan

Qaboos bin Said to the throne, it is worth re-flecting over the marked developments our country has achieved in the economic, social and political arenas. It is also important to remind ourselves that this year the Sultanate of Oman has started to implement its strate-gic vision and developmental plans with a number of projects that will contribute to the well-being of generations to come.

As a nation, we shared a precious occa-sion this March, gathering to celebrate the return of our beloved leader back to his home and family. He returned fully empowered through the hopes and prayers of Omani citi-zens for further prosperity and for a future of peace and security in the Arab world.

Renaissance Day truly reflects the beauti-ful bond between the Omani people and their leader, one that is based on transparency, trust and justice for all. It is indeed proof of how a shared vision and passion for pro-gression can translate into tangible results, when paired with the right combination of planning and hard work. With the current turmoil taking place in the region, our coun-try has shown unique stability and steadfast-ness thanks to the wisdom of our leadership. A country’s true renaissance is a reflection of its people’s ability to coexist regardless of re-ligions, sects, or schools of thought.

Furthermore, we have continued work-ing on crucial projects despite the economic challenges that the world and region are fac-ing, including the decline in oil prices that has led nations to reconsider their budgets for the coming years. Oman has always paid close attention to the various aspects that shape its future, in addition to economic goals. The future of our citizens is a top pri-ority, and as a result we are anticipating the implementation of a variety of projects in key sectors, such as transportation, trade, in-dustry and healthcare.

Under the leadership of His Majesty Sul-tan Qaboos, the Sultanate has reiterated its effective role in many regional and interna-tional issues. Our nation has always been a

catalyst of security and for resolving compli-cated issues, thanks to the excellent relations it enjoys with other countries regionally and internationally.

On Renaissance Day, Oman proves to the world that dialogue among nations and people can be an effective tool in achieving peace, and that wars and conflicts only lead to destruction and chaos. Our country em-phasizes time and again the importance of dialogue and prudence in handling issues, especially with the ongoing conflicts in many of the Arab countries.

With his comprehensive vision, His Maj-esty Sultan Qaboos has constantly enlight-ened us with the fact that not joining any alliance, while forging strong relations with all countries, is an excellent path to stabil-ity. Therefore, Oman adopts a policy that is based on credibility, honesty, transparency, rationality, and logic, while also seeking to achieve peace, enhancing relations with neighbouring countries, and not intervening in internal issues. This policy has consider-ably improved the country’s leading posi-tion and made it a role model, and a common point of reference globally.

Today, we should be proud of our accom-plishments under the auspices of our leader. The city of Nizwa has been named Capital of Islamic Culture due to its vital contribu-tions in areas like culture, literature, arts, sciences, and Islamic knowledge. Oman is also ranked second among Arab countries in the World Happiness Report. The Omani people are a global role model for tolerance and coexistence.

Such accomplishments would not have been possible had it not been for the wise vision of our leadership. His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has always put his people ahead, caring for them like a father cares for his be-loved children. We wish His Majesty a life full of health and happiness, and continued prosperity and stability for Oman.

The author is the Chairman of National Bank of Oman and an International Advisor to the Brookings Instituition. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of Times of Oman

Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects

(1980- 2050 evolution)AGE GROUPS POPULATION IN OMAN

Age group (%)

Years

1980 2015 2050

65+

15-64

5-14

0-4 19.9%

25.2%

2.7%

9%

13%

3%

64.4%

20.9%

52.2%

4.9%

9.8%

75%

Charities should help the needy with honestyThis refers to the news report, Donate, but don’t show-off: Experts (July 22). I completely agree that charity work should not be a source of pleasure or for the sake of public attention. Charity should be considered as an opportunity to assist someone who really needs the support of others. Those making donations should know this is a kind and sincere gesture towards humanity. Organisations involved

in these initiatives must ensure that the needy are helped with honesty. — Ramachandran Nair, Ruwi

Banks were not equipped to handle so many salary requestsThis refers to the online story, Firms in Oman defaulting on Eid wage to face action (July 21). Major banks were overloaded with salary requests and hence they took almost a week to transfer money. In case of my company, the staff got salary on a day before Eid as the bank was not equipped to carry this overload. — Vinesh Mandalia, Muscat

Learn to accept endurance limitsThis refers to the online story, Extra patrols after expat’s death at Oman tourist hotspot (July 21). This is indeed a very sad incident. Some time ago, I had saved an Asian man in Wadi Shab. In my opinion, unfortunately there are a lot of people who

fail to acknowledge their limits and understand that it is dangerous as they get so tired that they are unable to swim. Thus they put their own lives at risk. My advice to people visiting wadis is to learn to respect nature and know their own limits of endurance.— Nashwa Al Kindy, Muscat

T I M E S O F O M A NT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5A12

Oman a role model of tolerance, coexistence

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Oman succeeds in attracting foreign investments Rashid bin Salim Al Masroori, director general of commerce at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said the Sultanate had availed itself of the suitable atmosphere and incentives for foreign investment in the industry sector. He said in a state-ment that the incentives offered to foreign investment in this sector allowed for up to 49 per cent of foreign contribution in companies capita added to 65 per cent by a decision from the commerce and industry minister, on condition that the com-pany’s capital was not less than OMR150,000.

1298: King Edward I defeats Scots under William Wallace at Falkirk. 1789: Thomas Jefferson becomes the first head of the U.S. De-partment of Foreign Affairs.

1814: Five Indian tribes in Ohio make peace with the United States and declare war on Britain.

1894: The first car race takes place from Paris to Rouen, France

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Even before Greece reached its deal with European creditors this

month, few investors thought Greece would exit the eurozone.

Despite continuing turmoil, they still don’t as the market has confidence in the benefits of the

common currencybit.ly/goodprospectsforgreece

MATTHEW WINKLER

Conventional wisdom has it that Trump will burn up and implode literally any minute

now, and with each “gaffe” and malapropism observers start

writing political obituaries. But Trump’s resiliency has so far

been surprisingbit.ly/supportfortrumpinus

CHRISTOPHER INGRAHAM

Russian billionaire Yuri Milner helped create an anomaly that

only a market cataclysm can fix. So he has the right to use his proceeds to fund another dream,

that of finding extraterrestrial life by scanning radio signals from

the 1 million star systems closest to Earth

bit.ly/russiantycoonaliensearch

LEONID BERSHIDSKY

F R O M O U R A R C H I V E S

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

Dust storm led to poor visibility in different parts of Muscat on Sunday evening

JULY 2000

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4 Road deaths haunt Eid with spate of accidents in Oman bit.ly/roaddeathshaunteid

5 Gold price sinks to more than 5 year lowbit.ly/goldpriceshitlow

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A13

PAKISTANT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

Supreme Court suspends Asia Bibi’s execution

LAHORE: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday temporar-ily suspended the death sentence of a Christian woman accused of blasphemy, her lawyer said, in a case that hit global headlines after the murder of two politicians who tried to intervene on her behalf.

Asia Bibi, a farm worker and mother of four, became the first woman to be sentenced to death under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law in 2010.

The Supreme Court will soon begin hearing an appeal against her conviction, said lawyer Saiful Malook. “The execution of Asia Bibi has been suspended and will remain suspended until the deci-sion of this appeal,” Malook said. No date had been set for her ex-ecution, he added.

The prosecution lawyer was not available for comment.

The law does not define blas-phemy but stipulates that the penalty is death.

While convictions for blasphe-my are fairly common, with most cases involving members of reli-gious minorities, a death sentence has never been carried out.

But many people have been killed by angry mobs after being accused of blasphemy. Human rights activists say accusations of blasphemy are sky rocketing because the law is often abused to settle grudges and seize money or property.

Two politicians murderedAttacks on those who have ques-tioned the blasphemy law and called for reform, including the murder of two politicians who tried to intervene on behalf of Bibi, have stifled debate.

The governor of Punjab prov-ince, Salman Taseer, was shot dead by a bodyguard in 2011 after

he had sought a presidential par-don for Bibi. The judge who later sentenced Taseer’s killer had to flee the country.

Extremist militants claimed re-sponsibility for the murder later in 2011 of the then sole Christian government minister for chal-lenging the blasphemy law.

The case against Bibi followed accusations by two sisters who accused her of making deroga-tory remarks.

Her lawyers say her neighbours had a grudge against Bibi because of an earlier dispute.

Malook said key witnesses had not appeared during hearings by the High Court. “The real eyewit-nesses... never appeared before the court and backed out,” he said.

Lawyers who hear blasphemy cases are frequently threatened. — Reuters

Bibi, a farm worker

and mother of

four, became the

first woman to be

sentenced to death

under Pakistan’s

controversial

blasphemy law

in 2010

SIGH OF RELIEF: In this handout photograph taken and released

by the Governor’s House of Punjab on November 20, 2010, shows

Pakistani Punjab governor Salman Taseer, right, looking on as

Pakistani Christian mother Asia Bibi, centre, places a thumb

impression on her appeal papers against a death sentence before

handing them over to Taseer, after she was sentenced to hang

at the Central Jail in Sheikhupura. — AFP/PAKISTAN’S GOVERNOR HOUSE OF

PUNJAB/FILES

A14

GLOBAL EYET H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

UNITED KINGDOM: Visitors experience ‘Bounce Below’, a network of giant trampolines, walkways and slides suspended in the caverns of the 176-year old disused Llechwedd slate mine near Blaenau

Ffestiniog, North Wales, United Kingdom, on Tuesday. The adventure activity is a subterranean playground and features alongside ‘Zip World Caverns’, the world’s largest fully underground zip line course. — AFP

NORWAY: The bits of a vehicle, which Anders Behring Breivik used

in a bomb attack on a government building, are displayed at an

exhibition in Oslo on Tuesday. The planned exhibition about the

killings is angering some Norwegians, who fear it will turn into a

“hall of fame” for Breivik. Norway remembered the attacks on July

22, 2011, when Breivik killed 77 people, first setting off a bomb

in central Oslo, killing eight and then travelling to Utoeya island

where he killed 69 people. — Reuters/Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix

JAPAN: Cucumbers carved by Japanese sushi chef Okitsugu Kado

with the faces of, left to right, tennis player Kei Nishikori, Prime

Minister Shinzo Abe and figure skater Mao Asada are displayed

during a promotional event in Tokyo on Wednesday. Japan’s To-

hoku region’s farmers held the event to promote their cucumbers

as a good food for rehydration on hot summer days. — AFP

GERMANY: Asylum seekers from Syria sit outside tents which were

additionally set up at the reception centre for asylum seekers of

the federal state of Brandenburg in Eisenhuettenstadt, Germany, on

Wednesday. Picture taken through a fence. — Reuters

KENYA: A gardener tends to a tree planted in 2006 by then Senator and current US President Barack

Obama during his visit to the east African country in Nairobi on Wednesday. With his upcoming visit

generating excitement and disappointment in good measure, students of the University of Nairobi

have threatened through a letter to do the ‘unthinkable’, from burning down the tree to protesting in

the nude by urinating on the tree en-masse to committing mass-suicide should Obama fail to visit the

learning institution during his two-day visit to his father’s birth-country. — AFP

RUSSIA: Investigators, Emergencies Ministry members and medics work at the scene of a collision

between a bus and a truck on the M53 ‘Baikal’ highway near the settlement of Shushkovo, the

Kozulsky district of Krasnoyarsk region, Russia, on Wednesday. Eleven people were killed and at least

28 more were injured in the road accident on Wednesday, according to local police and media. — Reuters

A15

WORLDT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

Yemen loyalists retake Aden palace, airport reopened

ADEN: Yemeni pro-government forces recaptured the presidential palace in Aden on Wednesday and a Saudi military plane landed in the war-scarred southern city fol-lowing recent territorial losses by Houthi rebels.

The arrival of reinforcements freshly trained and heavily armed by the Saudi-led coalition has helped forces loyal to exiled Presi-dent Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to retake most of Aden after four months of fierce fighting.

Thirty rebels were killed in the battle for the Al Maashiq hilltop palace, where Hadi had taken ref-uge before fleeing to Saudi Arabia in March, a source in the pro-government Popular Resistance militia said.

Plane touches downUnderscoring the recent advanc-es by the pro-Hadi forces, a Saudi military plane touched down Wednesday in the city’s newly reopened airport.

The plane, carrying relief aid, will be followed by others in the coming days, according to trans-port minister Badr Basalma, one of two ministers who returned to the city after it was declared “lib-erated” by the exiled government on Friday.

“This is the beginning of opera-tions at the airport,” Basalma told reporters at the site, which Saudi-backed loyalists recaptured last week following fierce clashes with the Houthi rebels and their allies.

On Tuesday, a UN ship docked in Aden carrying much-needed relief supplies, the first UN vessel to reach the city in four months. Another ship sent by the UAE also delivered medical aid.

Saudi Colonel Ali Abu Da-hesh, who flew in on the mili-

tary plane, said an “air link with Yemen will be opened to deliver relief supplies”.

Basalma told journalists on Monday that a UAE technical team had arrived to repair the tower and passenger terminal at Aden international airport, heav-ily damaged in clashes.

The airport closed in late March, when rebels advanced on the city, where Hadi took refuge after escaping house arrest under the Houthis in the capital Sanaa, which is still in rebel hands.

The Houthis and allied forces loyal to ousted president Ali Ab-dullah Saleh overran Sanaa in September, and then advanced into several other regions.

Over the past week there has been a shift in the balance on the

ground in Aden in favour of pro-Hadi forces, which had previously struggled to halt the advance of better-equipped rebels.

“The freshly trained troops, equipped with modern weapons, triggered this shift,” Yemeni ana-lyst Majed Al Mathhadi said.

A force of about 1,500 former southern Yemeni soldiers have arrived in the city after being trained in Saudi Arabia, he said, adding that the heavy weapons they brought with them had made a huge difference.

“The light weapons that the (southern Popular) Resistance had were not enough to make a change on the ground... They needed heavy weapons like the ones that were sent,” he said.

Footage from Aden has shown

pro-Hadi forces using new ar-moured vehicles with mounted machine guns.

Military sources have said offic-ers from the coalition are in Aden coordinating operations.

But to secure the city, loyal-ists need to push the rebels out of the neighbouring provinces of Lahj and Abyan, according to Mathhadi.

Pro-government forces backed by heavy air power have set their sight on Al Anad airbase in Lahj, which is held by the rebels.

The conflict has had a devastat-ing effect on the Yemeni people.

More than 21.1 million people -- over 80 per cent of Yemen’s popu-lation -- need aid, with 13 million facing food shortages, according to the United Nations. — AFP

The arrival of

reinforcements

freshly trained

and heavily armed

by the Saudi-led

coalition has helped

forces loyal to exiled

President Abedrabbo

Mansour Hadi to

retake most of Aden

after four months of

fierce fighting

AID SHIP: A handout picture released by the World Food Programme (WFP) shows a UN aid ship docked in Yemen’s devastated port city

of Aden on Tuesday. - AFP/HO/WFP

Former PM of Mubarak imprisoned for corruptionCAIRO: An Egyptian court sen-tenced a former prime minister of ousted president Hosni Mubarak Wednesday to five years in pris-on for corruption and fined him millions of dollars.

Ahmed Nazif, whom Mubarak sidelined to appease protesters during the 2011 uprising that end-ed his rule, was convicted in his retrial of having used his position to make a fortune of $8.2 million (7.5 million euros).

The court also fined him $6.8 million.

Nazif had been accused of cor-rupt real estate deals and receiving illegal bonuses.

Mubarak and many of his for-mer ministers were placed on trial following his overthrow amid popular demands to hold them accountable for years of cor-ruption. Many of the former re-gime figures have been acquitted in retrials. — AFP

A H M E D N A Z I F

37 killed in three days in Brazilian citySAO PAULO: Thirty-seven peo-ple were killed in three days in the Brazilian city of Manaus, and one hypothesis being considered is a coordinated wave of attacks in-volving police, an official said.

Evidence has emerged over sus-pects in some of the killings that occurred from Friday to Monday evening in Manaus, a river port in the middle of the Amazon rainfor-est, said Sergio Fontes, secretary of public safety in Amazonas state, the capital of which is Manaus.

Of all the killings, 35 were by gunfire.

From Friday to Saturday alone 23 people died, Fontes said. — AFP

S A O P A U L O

A16

WORLDT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

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Kurd rebels ‘killed’ Turkish officers to avenge bombing

ANKARA: Kurdish militants claimed responsibillity for the assassination on Wednesday of two Turkish police officers in what they said was retaliation for a suspected IS group suicide bombing which killed 32 mostly young students.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said in a statement on one of its websites that the two police officers were killed at around 6am in the south-eastern town of Cey-lanpinar for “collaboration with the IS gangs”.

Security sources earlier said the officers were found dead with bullet wounds to the head in the house they shared in Ceylan-pinar, on the border with Syria some 160km (100 miles) east of Suruc, the site of Monday’s sui-cide bombing.

SuspicionMany of Turkey’s Kurds and op-position supporters suspect President Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling AK Party of covertly back-ing IS against Kurdish fighters in Syria, something the government has repeatedly denied.

Anti-government protests af-ter Monday’s bombing in Suruc erupted in several cities for a sec-ond night on Tuesday, with some of the demonstrators chanting “Murderer IS, collaborator Erdog-an and AKP”.

“Although IS has been held re-sponsible for this attack, Turkey’s AKP government, by resisting the taking of effective measures to prevent IS and other reaction-ary forces, bears the real respon-sibility,” the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), whose support base is mostly Kurdish, said in a statement.

Turkey’s NATO allies have ex-pressed concern about control of its border with Syria which in parts runs directly parallel with territory controlled by IS. The prospect of conflict spilling onto Turkish soil, embroiling Kurds, hardline militants and security forces will raise alarm inside and outside Turkey.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister

Ahmet Davutoglu rejected accu-sations that Turkey had tacitly supported IS and had unwitting-ly opened the door to the bomb-ing; but he said initial evidence suggested the radical group was responsible.

A senior Turkish official said there was “strong evidence” to suggest the bomber was a 20-year old man born in the southeast-ern province of Adiyaman and of Kurdish origin, who had travelled to Syria last year with the help of a group linked to IS.

“He was active in a Syria-linked group supporting the IS. We know that he went to Syria illegally. It was not possible to track him during his time there,” the official said, speaking on condition of an-

onymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation.

He had links with another al-leged bomber who attacked an HDP rally in the mostly Kurdish southeastern city of Diyarbakir days ahead of a June 7 parliamen-tary election, killing four people and wounding at least 200, the official said.

The Radikal newspaper quoted what it said was the man’s mother saying he was a former student at Adiyaman university who had worked as a painter with his 25-year old brother before going abroad. “I don’t know what they were doing abroad, they never said. They were just telling me they were fine,” Semure Alagoz told the newspaper. “I don’t know

where he is now. I don’t know if they joined ISIL, if they went for war. They are both good kids, they wouldn’t harm anyone.”

Parliamentary motionsTwo lawmakers from the HDP submitted separate parliamen-tary motions on Wednesday naming a 20-year old woman as a suspect, and asking why police had released her from custody last month. The turmoil comes at a difficult time for Turkey, with a caretaker government in charge while the AKP seeks a junior coa-lition partner after losing its ma-jority in the June election for the first time in more than a decade.

At least 51 people have been arrested in protests in Istanbul alone and police seized more than 200 petrol bombs and a rifle, the governor’s office in Turkey’s biggest city said.

There were also protests over-night in the capital Ankara, where demonstrators carried pictures of those killed in the Suruc attack as well as banners of the youth feder-ation of which many of the victims were members.

Anti-government groups have vowed further demonstrations and the HDP has called for sup-porters to converge in Istanbul for a mass rally this weekend.

The prospect of further un-rest has unnerved investors al-ready worried by the uncertain political outlook.

The lira was the worst per-former among major emerging market currencies on Wednes-day, falling more than one per-cent against the dollar, while Turkish stocks also fell. Access to Twitter was blocked for sev-eral hours after a court in Suruc ordered the removal of images of the blast and its aftermath. Face-book and YouTube avoided a ban after quickly complying with the court order, according to a state-ment from the Turkish union of internet access providers. — Reuters

Suruc suicide

bomber is believed

to have travelled

to Syria as dozens

detained after second

night of protests

US-led coalition air strike ‘kills’ Qaeda leader in SyriaWASHINGTON: A US-led coa-lition air strike earlier this month killed the leader of an Al Qaeda offshoot in Syria that American officials accuse of plotting attacks against the United States and its allies, the Pentagon said.

Muhsin Al Fadhli was killed in a “kinetic strike” on July 8 while travelling in a vehicle near the northwestern Syrian town of Sar-mada, said Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.

He did not confirm whether a drone or a manned aircraft had killed Fadhli, 34.

Fadhli was allegedly the leader of the Khorasan Group, a group of senior Al Qaeda members who have travelled from Central Asia and elsewhere in the Middle East to Syria to plot attacks on the West. The Kuwaiti-born mili-tant was so trusted by the inner circle of late Al Qaeda supreme leader Osama bin Laden that he was among the few who knew in advance about the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, according to US intelligence.

Death to hit operations“His death will degrade and dis-rupt ongoing external operations of Al Qaeda against the United States and its allies and partners,” said Davis, who heads the De-fence Department’s press opera-tions. Counterterrorism expert Bruce Riedel, however, a former

CIA analyst, called Fadhli’s death a “serious but not fatal” blow to Al Qaeda in Syria.

Davis said Fadhli was also in-volved in October 2002 attacks against US Marines on Kuwait’s Failaka Island and on the MV Limburg, a French oil tanker.

He was reported to have been previously targeted in a US air strike in September, but his death was not confirmed by US officials at the time.

Officials say Khorasan is part of Al Qaeda’s Syrian branch, Al Nusra Front, though experts and activists cast doubt on the dis-tinction between the two groups.

In a September interview, US President Barack Obama listed Khorasan among “immediate threats to the United States”, warning that “those folks could kill Americans”.

The US State Department had posted a $7 million reward for information leading to Fadhli’s death or detention.

He was wanted by law enforce-ment authorities in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United States for terrorist activities.

The diminutive fighter -- US in-telligence says he measured just five feet five inches (165 centim-eters) -- fought alongside the Tali-ban and Al Qaeda in Pakistan, ac-cording to the State Department.

The US National Counterter-rorism Center has said he had become Al Qaeda’s senior leader in Iran.

Fadhli was a major facilitator to late militant Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, who once led Al Qaeda in Iraq, and other fighters against US and multinational forces.

The US Treasury Department alleged that he provided financial and material support to Zarqawi’s network and Al Qaeda.

The UN Security Council’s Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee cited him in 2005 for his role in planning, facilitating and financ-ing Al Qaeda attacks, which trig-gered a freeze on his assets and a travel ban. — AFP

K I N E T I C S T R I K E

US team in Jordan to interrogate uncle of Tennessee shooterAMMAN: US investigators are in Jordan to interrogate the Jordanian-American uncle of a suspect in the fatal shooting of five US servicemen in Tennes-see last week, the uncle’s lawyer said on Wednesday.

The suspected gunman, 24-year-old Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, was killed in a gun-fight with police on July 16 after he sprayed gunfire at a military

recruitment center in Chatta-nooga and then at a nearby Naval Reserve Center.

Stay with uncleThe engineer’s family say he had long-standing psychological and substance abuse issues and was taken to stay with his uncle, As-sad Ibrahim Abdulazeez Haj Ali, in Amman for a short visit last year to help his recovery.

But investigators have evidence he had been searching for militant material that may have inspired the attack, a source close told Reu-ters on Monday.

Jordanian authorities arrested Haj Ali on Friday and he was be-ing interrogated by both Jordanian and US investigators, his lawyer Abdul Qader Al Khatib said by telephone. A Jordanian security source confirmed US investiga-

tors had arrived in Jordan and said they were involved in questioning Haj Ali, who is being held at a high security facility in the Jordan’s in-telligence headquarters. “We are gathering clues and we need to es-tablish whether this was a sole act or one that is linked to a wider ter-ror network,” the source said.

“At this stage of the interroga-tion we cannot rule out anything.”

Khatib called on the Jordanian

authorities to allow him to attend their interrogations, saying he feared his client could be forced to testify under duress.

Torture feared“I fear he may be tortured to ex-tract a confession,” he said. He had been told he could meet with his client next Sunday, but said this was not soon enough.

Jordan regularly denies claims

by human rights activists that it tortures confessions out of secu-rity detainees.

Khatib said there was nothing to indicate that uncle or nephew were militants. “They (the inves-tigators) are focusing on whether my client had influenced (his nephew) and if he had motivated him. There is no basis to this as both do not adhere to any religious ideology,” he said. — Reuters

C H A T T A N O O G A S H O O T I N G

Palestinians lay first brick for Gaza reconstructionGAZA CITY/OCCUPIED RA-MALLAH: Palestinian housing minister Mufid Al Hasayneh laid a brick on Wednesday for the first Gaza home to be rebuilt since the Israel-Hamas war a year ago, as frustration mounts over the slow pace of reconstruction.

The 50-day war in July-August 2014 killed 2,200 Palestinians, 73 on the Israeli side, and destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of homes in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Until now the only repairs have been to homes which were partial-ly damaged, while 18,000 totally destroyed houses remain in ruins.

Israel’s ongoing blockade of Gaza, now in its ninth year, has been blamed for the slow progress as well as a lack of international donor support for the territory, ruled by the Hamas movement.

Worst hitHasayneh laid the brick at the Ha-rara family’s home in Shejaiya, an area east of Gaza City that was one of the worst hit by Israeli shelling during the war. “The march towards real reconstruction of the Gaza Strip has begun, and nothing will stop it,” Hasayneh said.“We will see a lot of movement on the reconstruction front in the coming days. We will rebuild all homes destroyed by Is-rael,” he said, thanking several Arab countries including Qatar and Saudi Arabia for their donations towards Gaza’s reconstruction.

But the process is expected to take years in the war-torn coastal enclave, whose 1.8 million resi-dents have seen three wars in six years between Israel and Palestin-ian fighters. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has said that so far it only received enough money for 200 out of the 7,000 houses it is tasked with rebuilding. Donations pledged at an international confer-ence in Cairo in October have been slow to arrive, and the blockade that has choked Gaza for years is still in place. — Agencies

R E B U I L D I N G

TIGHT VIGIL: Turkish police stand near a building, where two police officers were found shot dead at

their home on Wednesday in the Turkish town of Ceylanpinar on the border with Syria. – AFP

THE TARGET: Muhsin Al Fadhli.

– AFP/hamdout/Al Watan Newspaper

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Iran competes with US hardliners to sell deal

DUBAI/WASHINGTON: Iran’s government tried on Wednesday to sell its nuclear agreement with world powers to hardliners at home, just as a US Congressional leader promised to do “everything possible” to sink the deal.

With both Tehran and Wash-ington facing stiff opposition to the accord, US Defence Sec-retary Ash Carter arrived in Saudi Arabia.

Last week’s agreement was a big success for both US President Barack Obama and Iranian Presi-dent Hassan Rouhani. But both have to promote it to influential hardliners in countries that have been enemies for decades.

In Washington, the Republican speaker of the House of Repre-sentatives, John Boehner, was deeply sceptical.

“Members of Congress will ask much tougher questions this af-ternoon when we meet with the president’s team, and because a bad deal threatens the security of the American people, we’re going to do everything possible to stop it,” Boehner said.

Secretary of State John Kerry, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz were scheduled to hold briefings for lawmakers in the US Capitol. House and Senate debates and votes to approve or reject the nuclear agreement are expected in September.

A warm glow following the Vi-enna agreement - under which

Iran accepted curbs on it nuclear programme in return for an eas-ing of sanctions that have crippled its economy - is fading.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran, told supporters on Saturday that US policies in the region were “180 degrees” opposed to Tehran’s, in a speech punctuated by anti-Amer-ica and anti-Israel chants.

The government that negoti-ated the deal also talked tough on Wednesday in an apparent at-tempt to blunt attacks from oppo-nents, including in the powerful Republican Guards.

Abbas Araqchi, a deputy for-eign minister, said Iran would do “anything ” to help allies in the Middle East.

Araqchi, Iran’s senior nucle-ar negotiator, also told a news conference that any attempt to re-impose sanctions after they expired in 10 years would breach the deal.

He was referring to a resolution endorsing the deal passed by the United Nations Security Council on Monday. This allows all UN sanctions to be re-imposed if Iran violates the agreement in the next 10 years.

If Iran adheres to the terms of the agreement - signed with the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union - all the provi-sions and measures of the UN resolution would end in 10 years.

However, the world powers told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier this month that after 10 years they planned to seek a five-year extension of the mechanism allowing sanc-tions to be re-imposed.

Carter said before his trip to Saudi Arabia that he aimed to discuss American strategy in the region, as well as the fight against the IS militant group.

Carter is to present Obama’s

argument that the deal will make the United States and its allies safer by removing the threat of a nuclear Iran.

This is the same message he gave during a trip this week to Israel, which also opposes the agreement.

Israel on Wednesday pressed US lawmakers to block the deal, with Ambassador Ron Dermer meeting privately with a group of about 40 House conservatives.

Kerry said he would seek to reassure Gulf Arab officials at a meeting in Qatar in the next two weeks that Washington will work with them to resist Iranian influ-ence in the region.

“We have negotiated a nuclear deal for the simple reason that we believe if you are going to push back against Iran, it’s better to push back against an Iran without a nuclear weapon than with one,” Al Sharq Al Awsat quoted Kerry as saying. — Reuters

Abbas Araqchi,

deputy foreign

minister, said Iran

would do ‘anything’

for regional allies

Decks cleared to revoke passports of Americans tied to terror groupsWASHINGTON: The House of Representatives has passed a measure that would allow the US government to revoke or deny passports to Americans linked to “foreign terrorist organisations.”

Passed by a voice vote Tues-day after a 15-minute debate, the bill aims to block the movement of “lone wolves” trained in Syria by the IS group for attacks in the United States.

Senate approval is required for the bill to become law.

It authorises the US secretary of state to revoke the US passport -- but not the nationality -- of any American determined to have “aided, assisted, abetted, or other-wise helped” a designated foreign terrorist organisation.

Likewise, the US passport can be denied under the bill to any Ameri-can that falls into that category.

US law currently allows pass-ports to be revoked for national security or foreign policy reasons.

But Republican congressman Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, ar-gued that the law is open to inter-

pretation, making a more explicit measure necessary.

About 180 Americans have traveled to Syria to join extremist groups, out of about 3,400 western foreign fighters, the director of na-tional intelligence, James Clapper, said in February. — AFP

F O R E I G N T E R R O R I S T O R G A N I S A T I O N S

Passed by a voice

vote Tuesday

after a 15-minute

debate, the bill aims

to block the movement

of ‘lone wolves’

trained in Syria by

the IS group for

attacks in the US

13 killed in Cameroon

suicide bomb attacksYAOUNDE: Two suicide bomb attacks killed at least 13 people in northern Cameroon on Wednes-day, the president’s office said, in what appeared to be the deepest incursion by Boko Haram mili-tants from neighbouring Nigeria.

The first explosion hit a market and the second a densely popu-lated neighbourhood, both in the capital of Cameroon’s Far North

region, Maroua, a military source said. No one claimed responsibili-ty, but Boko Haram has stepped up attacks on the countries bordering its northeast Nigerian stronghold - Chad, Niger as well as Cameroon.

All three have contributed troops to a regional offensive against the extremist militants who have allied themselves to IS rebels. — Reuters

B O K O H A R A M I N S U R G E N C Y

DIALOGUE: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, right, meets US Defence

Secretary Ash Carter, left, at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday. - Reuters

A18

WORLDT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

South Sudan troops ‘crushed civilians with tanks’: HRWNAIROBI/JUBA: South Sudanese government troops crushed fleeing civilians with tanks, then reversed to check they had killed them, car-ried out public gang rapes and burned people alive, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday.

The report by HRW has shocking allegations of atrocities committed by government forces in the ongo-ing 19-month-old war, documenting “deliberate attacks on civilians” that it said constitute war crimes.

“They were running with the tanks after the people, and then af-ter they hit them they would roll back over them, to confirm that they were dead,” one woman told HRW.

AttacksThe attacks were allegedly carried out by government troops and an al-lied militia from the Bul Nuer tribe. Another witness, a 30-year-old woman, said troops in a tank hunted down her nephew. “I saw him... he was crushed before he reached the river... we were running together, he ran in order to hide,” she told HRW.

Another described finding the squashed bodies of her two male relatives. “Their bodies had been grinded,” she said, one of a string of testimonies documented in the HRW report. — AFP

B R I T A I NWomen, children among 19 Afghans killed in bombing

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (AFGHANI-STAN): A suicide bomber killed 19 people including women and children Wednesday when he blew himself up in a northern Afghan market, as militants intensify their annual summer offensive despite nascent peace talks.

The attack in Almar district of Faryab province, bordering Turk-menistan, highlights the heavy toll of such attacks on civilians after 13 years of war.

No claim for responsibilityNo group claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, which comes just before another round of peace negotiations between the govern-ment and Taliban militants are due to start.

The suicide attacker detonated his explosives-laden vest in the

main market of the volatile district of Almar, killing at least 19 people, according to Faryab police chief Subhan Quli Ebrahimi and the United Nations.

“Women, children and at least one Afghan army soldier were among those killed,” Faryab gover-nor Abdul Sattar Barez told AFP, adding that around three dozen others were wounded.

Almar district chief Saleh Mo-

hammad Saleh said that some of the wounded were in a critical con-dition and had been taken to the provincial capital Maimanah.

“We had received intelligence re-ports that a suicide attacker has en-tered the market in Almar, so we set up a police check point to search for him,” local police commander Saif, who goes by one name, told AFP.

“We were looking for him when he blew himself up near an ar-

moured military vehicle,” Saif said, adding that the attacker was aged between 20 and 25. Almar has been tense for weeks after the Taliban launched a major offensive and took control of several villages.

Government forces launched a counter offensive earlier this week but have struggled to regain terri-tory, with skirmishes frequently reported between both sides.

Stepped up attacksTaliban insurgents, who launched their annual summer offensive in late April, have stepped up attacks on government and foreign targets despite official efforts to jumpstart peace talks.

Civilians often fall victim to such attacks, with almost 1,000 Afghan civilians killed during the first four months of the year, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

“(Wednesday’s) horrific attack against civilians in a market dem-onstrates an appalling disregard for human life,” UNAMA chief Nicho-las Haysom said in a statement.

“UNAMA has repeatedly called for an immediate ban on weapons which kill indiscrimi-nately and that are used in civilian-populated areas.”

President Ashraf Ghani’s gov-

ernment has drawn criticism for failing to end the spike in violence, which critics partly blame on the protracted delay in the appoint-ment of a defence minister.

The crucial post has not been filled since Ghani came to power last September. US-led NATO forces ended their combat mission in Afghanistan in December, leav-ing local forces to battle the Taliban alone, but a 13,000-strong residual force remains for training and counter-terrorism operations.

Afghan officials sat down with Taliban cadres this month in Mur-ree, a tourist town in the hills north of Islamabad, Pakistan, for their first face-to-face talks aimed at ending the bloody insurgency.

They agreed to meet again in the coming weeks, drawing praise from Islamabad, Beijing, Washington and the United Nations.

Afghan officials have not said when and where the next round of negotiations will take place, but they are widely expected to be con-ducted in the coming days.

Earlier this month 33 people were killed in a suicide attack at a military base in the eastern prov-ince of Khost and a few days later 25 civilians were wounded in a bombing inside a mosque in northern Baghlan province. — AFP

The suicide bomber

blew himself up in

a northern Afghan

market

Post reporter on trial for spying begins second year in Iran jailTEHRAN: Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent on trial for spying on Iran, began a sec-ond year behind bars on Wednesday with his family increasingly con-cerned about his health.

Rezaian, 39, faces charges includ-ing “espionage, collaboration with hostile governments, gathering classified information and dissemi-nating propaganda against Iran”, ac-cording to his lawyer.

After three trial sessions since late May, the “slow-motion judicial process” may soon come to an end, the Post’s executive editor Martin Baron said in a statement released on Monday.

His lawyer Leila Ahsan has been told by the Iranian authorities “that the next hearing will ‘almost cer-tainly’ be the last, though no date has yet been set”, he added.

“There can be no reason for fur-

ther delay,” Baron said. “Any fair outcome would clear Jason of these manufactured charges so that he can be released and reunited with his family.”

ArrestedRezaian was arrested with his wife Yeganeh Salehi, also a journalist, at their home on July 22, 2014.

Salehi and a photographer who was arrested on the same day were

released on bail after two and a half months in custody.

HopeJason’s American mother Mary has expressed hope her son will also be freed on bail. “He is not a murderer. He is not a spy. This type of deten-tion is hurting him. It’s hurting his family. We want him on bail, re-leased, with his family,” she told re-porters outside the court after the

latest trial session on July 13.

FearsRezaian’s relatives have frequently expressed fears for his health, citing his need for medication to combat high blood pressure.

His lawyer and media have been barred from revealing any details about the case.

Rezaian’s detention is politically sensitive because of his dual nation-

ality, which Iran does not recognise.The United States, one of six

world powers which recently struck a nuclear agreement with Iran, has repeatedly called for his release.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who led the negotiations with Iran to curb its disputed nuclear pro-gramme, told MSNBC he had raised the issue with the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif every time they met. — AFP

I N D E T E N T I O N

Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent’s lawyer Leila Ahsan has been told

by the Iranian authorities that the next hearing

will ‘almost certainly’ be the last, though no date

has yet been set.

SUICIDE ATTACK: Afghan medics help an injured man receive treat-

ment at a hospital after a suicide attack in Faryab province northern

of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Wednesday. – AP/PTI

MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5B

Muscat

6,590.86 + 18.36

+ 0.28%

Dubai

4,203.09+ 21.04

+ 0.50%

Abu Dhabi

4,902.09+ 50.40

+ 1.04%

Saudi Arabia

9,381.89+ 44.03

+ 0.47%

Kuwait

6,296.73- 7.66

- 0.12%

Bahrain

1,332.10 - 2.90

- 0.22%

Qatar

11,911.31- 98.23

- 0.82%

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

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

Euro ............................................ 2.35

Pound ...........................................1.65

Indian Rs .............................164.80

Pak Rs ...................................260.42

Bangla Taka.......................199.36* Rates are as of July 22

Source: Bank Muscat

Indian Rs .................................. 165.00

Pakistan Rs ............................ 263.30

Sri Lanka Rs .......................... 346.60

Bangla Taka.............................201.70

Phil Peso .....................................117.00

* Rates as of July 22 Source: Oman UAE Exchange

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) .......14.04

Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......13.60

Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ........... 134.00

Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) ............. 127.50

* Rates as of July 22

Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

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

Oman Crude ............. (Spot) ........$55.94

Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) .........$55.74

Murban Crude ........ (Spot) .........$57.60

Arabian Light ......... (Spot) ........$55.84

N.Sea Brent ............... (Spot) .........$56.61

West Texas Int ....... (Spot) ........$50.22

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 bank credit grows 9.6% to OMR17.45 billion

A E JAMESbusinesseditor@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Oman’s conventional banks have achieved a robust 9.64 per cent credit growth at OMR17.45 billion for the first five months ending May, 2015 from OMR15.91 billion for the same period of last year, accord-ing to the Central Bank of Oman’s (CBO) latest statistics released here on Wednesday.

It is more or less in line with last

year’s loan growth and was mostly driven by the private sector de-mand to fund their projects and working capital requirements.

Private sectorCredit to the private sector for the five-month period rose by 9.52 per cent to OMR15.18 billion. So far this year, the credit growth is con-tinuing at last year’s pace as the government is not slowing down its expenditure, despite a marked fall in oil revenues.

However, the incremental cred-it growth in the first five months of this year was lower than that of last year. “We saw banks adding net loans of OMR549 million through May this year as compared to OMR737 mil-lion added during the first five months of 2014. This indicates there is a slowdown in the rate of credit growth in Oman,” said Joice Mathew, head of research at United Securities.

Government-related projects“I think that the continued financ-ing of government-related pro-jects such as Liwa Plastic Factory, Oman Refineries expansion, fleet expansion of Oman Air, along with the project financing demand are

the drivers for corporate credit growth,” added Mathew.

Hamoud Sangour Al Zadjali, ex-ecutive president of Central Bank of Oman (CBO) earlier said that the credit growth for the whole year would be in double digits and would probably hover around 10 per cent.

However, Mathew had a differ-ent view. “Because of continued low oil prices, I think the banks will be more conservative in lend-ing going forward and focus more on the credit quality rather than quantity. Under such a scenario, we might see the overall credit growth slipping to mid-single dig-its in 2015,” he explained.

Total deposits of Omani banks also rose by 8.47 per cent for the first five months ending May,

2015 at OMR18.55 billion, from OMR17.10 billion for the same pe-riod last year, noted the CBO said in its monthly statistics.

Oman has seven conventional banks — Bank Muscat, National Bank of Oman, BankDhofar, and HSBC Bank Oman, in addition to Bank Sohar, Oman Arab Bank and ahlibank.

Islamic finance surgesOman’s Islamic banks and win-dow operations have also shown a robust growth of 105.48 per cent in financing at OMR1,324.1 million for the first five months of 2015, from merely OMR644.4 million in the same period last year.

Such robust growth in Islamic finance shows that Sharia-com-pliant banks are able to establish themselves in the market and able to overcome their teething prob-lems. Further, two Islamic banks and window operations of con-ventional banks have launched innovative products to attract Omani customers, besides open-ing several branches in different parts of the country.

Total customer deposits held by Islamic institutions also shot up by 229.5 per cent to OMR1,037.3 million by the end of May 2015,

from OMR314.8 million for the same period last year, according to the latest monthly bulletin released by the CBO.

Growth in Islamic productsThere have been considerable in-creases in the number of branches and assets held by these entities. Islamic banks are opening up new segments and players and, thus, adding to the competitive environment, not only in terms of efficiencies and innovations, but by also providing consumers the benefit of choosing between both conventional and Islamic banking products.

In Oman, two Islamic banks – Bank Nizwa and Alizz Islamic Bank – along with the window operations of six conventional banks, have scores of branches across the country. Islamic bank-ing entities provided financing of OMR1,049.5 million as of the end of 2014, compared to OMR434.3 million one year earlier.

Credit to the private

sector for the five-

month period rose

by 9.52 per cent to

OMR15.18 billion,

Central Bank of

Oman’s (CBO) latest

statistics reveal

Oman Flour Mills’ net profit risesto OMR8.11mTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Oman Flour Mills said its group net profit increased to OMR8.11 million for the year ended June 2015, from OMR7.02 million for the previous year.

Total revenue was also higher at OMR82.19 million, against OMR79.27 million during the pe-riod under view, the company said in a stock market filing.

Wheat subsidyOman Flour Mills’ net profit mar-gin was also higher at 9.87 per cent for the year ended June 2015, against 8.85 per cent for the pre-vious year. In the financial state-ment, wheat and feed subsidies have been accounted on accrual basis and in accordance with the methodology received from the ministry. Independent auditors appointed by the Ministry of Fi-nance have completed their verifi-cation of wheat subsidy until Sep-tember, 2013 and in respect of feed subsidy till June, 2015 and have submitted their report to the min-istry. As much as 80 per cent subsi-dy on feed for the quarter between January and March 2015 has been paid and on wheat till June, 2013.

P E R F O R M A N C E

S&P affirms ‘BBB’ ratings to Oman United InsuranceTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Standard & Poor’s (S&P) ratings affirmed the rat-ings of Oman United Insurance at ‘BBB’ with a stable outlook.

Oman United Insurance Co (OUIC) was viewed as one of the leading life, health and non-life composite insurers in Oman, with moderately strong capital and earnings underpinned by reported shareholders’ funds of

OMR 24.8 million at the end of March 2015.

OUIC has an adequate compet-itive position by global standards. Therefore, OUIC’s business risk profile was assessed as fair and its financial risk profile as moder-ately strong, the company said in a stock market filing.

“The risk-based capital mode-ling of OUIC indicated very strong capital adequacy ratios. Now OUIC’s risk position is assessed

as having improved to intermedi-ate from moderate. OUIC’s man-agement and governance are still viewed as fair, albeit improving,” the rating agency noted.

The stable outlook reflected S&P’s view that, despite competi-tive pressures, capital and earn-ings at Oman United Insurance Co will remain moderately strong and management will continue to favour bottom-line earnings over top-line growth.

S T A B L E O U T L O O K

Graphics

Incremental credit growth(In million rials)

January-May2014

January-May2015

737549

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Greece to vote on second bailout bill in test for TsiprasATHENS: Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday faced a new test of his authority in par-liament, where lawmakers were to vote on a second batch of re-forms to help unlock a bailout for Greece’s stricken economy.

The embattled premier last week faced a revolt by a fifth of the MPs in his radical-left Syriza party over changes to taxes, pen-sions and labour rules demanded by Greece’s EU-IMF creditors.

Tsipras had to rely on opposi-tion MPs to approve the law, a key condition for opening talks on a three-year bailout worth up to 86 billion euros ($93 billion).

Second billThe second bill covers civil jus-tice reforms, public auctions, and moves to shore up the liquidity of the nation’s banks, which only just reopened on Monday after a three-week closure that was im-posed to avert a bank run and a catastrophic collapse of the finan-cial system. The law also covers an EU directive that guarantees bank deposits up to 100,000 eu-ros ($108,000), and is expected to pass after opposition parties said they would back it.

But analysts say the debate will show whether Tsipras can avoid

another deep split within his own party and head off the risk of early elections after only six months in power. The prime minister re-ceived a boost on Tuesday when Standard & Poor’s raised its credit rating on Greece by two notches to CCC+ from CCC-, still in junk ter-ritory but a step in the right direc-tion. On Wednesday Tsipras met with executives from the banks, which have seen some 40 billion euros withdrawn since Decem-ber by customers anxious over the

safety of their deposits, seriously damaging their ability to function normally. “The priority right now is to normalise the (financial) sys-tem, but at the same time to pro-tect low-income citizens,” state news agency ANA quoted Tsipras as saying.

Parliamentary committees were debating the second bailout bill on Wednesday ahead of a full sitting of the 300 lawmakers late in the afternoon with a vote ex-pected around midnight. — AFP

E C O N O M Y

WHAT NEXT: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras meets with head

of the Greek bank association Louka Katseli (centre) and members

of the association’s board at his office at the Maximos Mansion in

this handout photo released by the Greek Prime Minister’s office in

Athens, Greece, on Wednesday. - Reuters

B2

MARKETT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

StanChart appoints top-level executives

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Standard Chartered group on Wednesday announced a simplification of its organisa-tional structure that will improve accountability, speed up decision making, reduce bureaucracy and play a key part in delivering the previously announced $1.8 billion of cost savings by the end of 2017.

The group has also announced a new management team to lead and run the group, led by Bill Winters, group chief executive. The management team will de-liver a plan to address the future performance of the group by the year end, and put in place the new structure. Standard Chartered’s new geographical structure will rationalise the eight existing regions into four new regional

businesses: Greater China & North Asia, including Hong Kong, China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, led by Ben Hung. ASEAN & South Asia, which includes Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh, led by Ajay Kanwal.

Africa and Middle East, which includes Southern, West and East Africa, Pakistan and the UAE, led by Sunil Kaushal. Europe & Americas, including the UK and the US, led by Tracy Clarke.

The simplified organisational structure will be phased in from October 1, 2015, and will be fully in place by January 1, 2016. The Group’s financial reporting will be based on the new structure from January 1, 2016.

Sunil Kaushal, currently India and South Asia CEO, will move to a new role as Regional CEO, Af-rica & Middle East, effective from October 1, 2015. He remains as India CEO until this date. A new CEO for India will be appointed and announced in due course.

Christos Papadopoulos, Re-gional CEO, Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (Menap) will leave the organisation by the end of the year once a smooth transi-tion has taken place. He remains the CEO of Menap until 30 Sep-

tember 2015. Over the last five years as the CEO for Menap, and under his leadership, Christos Pa-padopoulos has successfully posi-tioned the UAE as one of the top contributors of income and profit to the bank.

He led the establishment Standard Chartered’s Capital Markets business in Saudi and the bank’s strategic organic entry into Iraq; both these countries are now strong contributors to the regional performance. He led the turnaround of Pakistan and Jor-dan, and repositioned the busi-nesses on a strong growth trajec-tory. Christos is also Chairman of Saadiq, the bank’s Islamic Bank-ing business and under his leader-ship Saadiq is the leader in many of its markets. Prior to his cur-rent role, he was Global Head of Financial Institutions where he successfully navigated the busi-ness through the financial sector crisis and was the architect of our very successful FI business.

Having worked and lived in the Middle East for over 20 years, Christos is committed to the re-gion and its strong growth po-tential. He has decided to leave Standard Chartered and the Bank respects his decision. Christos

will be staying in the Middle East and the bank wishes him well in his future career.

On the new regional and busi-ness structure, Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive said: “The Group needs to kick-start performance, reduce its cost base and bureaucracy, improve accountability, and speed up de-cision making.

The new structure will help achieve all of these critical objec-tives and will be in place as we communicate a comprehensive plan to address the Group’s per-formance by the year end.”

“I am working with a talented and experienced Management Team to create a bank that deliv-ers strong returns and sustainable profitability,” he added.

The group’s current structure of three client businesses sup-ported by five product groups will be simplified, with each product now reporting into the client seg-ment with which it has the most relevant connection:

Corporate & Institutional Banking (C&IB) will include transaction banking, corporate fi-nance and financial markets, and will be led by Mark Dowie.

Commercial & Private Banking will include wealth management and will be led by Anna Marrs.

Retail banking will include re-tail products and will be led by Karen Fawcett.

C&IB will operate as a global business. Retail banking and commercial banking will be run on a country basis with regional oversight, with client and prod-uct strategy delivered by smaller and more efficient central teams under Karen Fawcett and Anna Marrs respectively.

Standard Chartered

has also announced

a new management

team to lead and run

the group, led by

Bill Winters, group

chief executive. The

management team

will deliver a plan to

address the future

performance of the

group by the year

end, and put in place

the new structure.

Yahoo swings to loss as revenues rise 15% to $1.24bSAN FRANCISCO: Yahoo swung to a loss in the second quarter, but revenues grew as the Internet pio-neer refocused its efforts on mo-bile and other growing sectors.

The $22 million loss in Tues-day’s earnings report compared with a profit of $270 million in the same period a year ago.

But chief executive Marissa Mayer said she was pleased with the revenue growth, saying, “Ya-hoo’s transformation continues to make great progress.”

Total revenues jumped nearly 15 per cent to $1.24 billion, led by what Mayer has dubbed the new emerging areas for Yahoo of “Ma-vens,” or mobile, video, native ad-vertising and social.

“Our Mavens investment busi-nesses across mobile, video, na-tive and social grew to nearly $400 million in revenue this quarter, de-livering 60 percent...growth year-over-year,” she said in a statement.

For overall revenues, it was the best top-line growth in nearly nine years, Mayer said.

Yahoo has been struggling in re-cent years since losing its lead in Internet search to Google, and has been aiming for new niches under Mayer’s leadership.

A key asset for Yahoo is its stake

in Chinese online giant Alibaba. That stake is to be spun off into a separate company later this year.

Spin-off on trackYahoo made no comment about its awaited ruling by the US Internal Revenue Service on whether the transaction will be tax-free but said the spin-off was on track to be completed by the end of the year.

Yahoo has warned in the filing that there could be tax implica-tions, potentially in the billions of dollars. The Alibaba stake is worth some $30 billion, and the spinoff is expected to add to pressure on Mayer and Yahoo to show growth in the core business.

Mayer said she sees Yahoo’s fo-cus on “search, communications and digital content that inform, connect and entertain our users.”

She especially expressed opti-mism about mobile search, where Yahoo has a better opportunity to gain market share. “Mobile has fundamentally changed the search landscape,” she said. With its own mobile search engine dubbed Gemini, Mayer said “we believe we can deliver a better, more intuitive experience...we will continue to innovate and we are very excited about the future.” - AFP

S E C O N D Q U A R T E R R E S U L T S

Marissa Mayer. — Bloomberg file picture

– Bloomberg file picture

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B4

MARKETT H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 22

REGULAR MARKET .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER ....................................................12,229 ...............2,752........................6 ........... 0.225 ........... 0.225 ...........0.225........... 0.225 ............. 0.219............ 0.006 ............. 2.740 ................0.225..............0.219...................0.225 ................. 160,741,427 ........0.100

OM0000002648 ...........NATIONAL FINANCE ............................................... 100,706.............15,307........................ 1 ............0.152 ........... 0.152 ...........0.152 ............0.152 ............. 0.148............ 0.004 ............. 2.703 ................0.152 .............. 0.146...................0.160 ...................40,010,734 .........0.100

OM0000001483 ............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ................................. 197,600 .............69,951......................16 ........... 0.350 ...........0.360 ...........0.350........... 0.354 .............0.346 ........... 0.008 ............. 2.312 ................0.360..............0.358...................0.370..................474,611,429 ........0.100

OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 234,062 ........... 28,876..................... 24 ............0.124 ........... 0.124 ...........0.123 ............0.123 ............. 0.121 ............ 0.002 ............. 1.653 ................0.123 ..............0.122...................0.124 ................... 35,667,618 .........0.100

OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 452,093 ........... 92,484..................... 25 ........... 0.204 ...........0.206 ...........0.204 .......... 0.205 .............0.203 ........... 0.002 ............. 0.985 ................0.205..............0.203...................0.205 ................ 295,495,200 .......0.100

OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE ................75,940 .............16,553........................7 ............0.218 ........... 0.218 ...........0.216 ........... 0.218 ............. 0.216............ 0.002 ............. 0.926 ................0.216 .............. 0.216...................0.218 ...................43,600,000 ........0.100

OM0000001087 ............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ............................... 868,225 ..........271,196..................... 58 ............0.312 ........... 0.314 ...........0.312 ........... 0.312 ............. 0.310............ 0.002 ............. 0.645 ................0.312 .............. 0.312...................0.314 ...................31,200,000 .........0.100

OM0000001145 ............PORT SERVICES CORPORATION .........................48,882 ...............9,525......................12 ............0.195 ........... 0.195 ...........0.194 ............0.195 ............. 0.194 ............0.001 ............. 0.515 ................0.194 .............. 0.193...................0.195 ...................18,532,800 .........0.100

OM0000001707 ............OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY ......................................46,598 ..........106,243........................6 ........... 2.280 ...........2.280 ...........2.280 .......... 2.280 .............2.270 ............0.010 ............. 0.441 ................2.280 ............ 2.280...................0.000 ................ 204,516,000 .......0.100

OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ...................................... 40,000 ............. 11,325........................4 ........... 0.285 ........... 0.285 ...........0.282........... 0.283 .............0.282 ............0.001 ............. 0.355 ................0.282..............0.282...................0.285...................79,832,730 .........0.100

OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS .............................................................47,000 .............18,322........................4 ........... 0.386 ...........0.390 ...........0.386........... 0.390 .............0.390 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.386 ..............0.382...................0.388...................19,500,000 .........0.100

OM0000001822 ............UNITED POWER ................................................................ 280 ..................440........................ 1 ............1.570 ........... 1.570 ...........1.570 ........... 1.560 ............. 1.560............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................1.570 .............. 1.550...................1.600 .................... 3,120,000 ..........1.000

OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ..............55,006 .............15,072........................5 ........... 0.274 ........... 0.274 ...........0.274 ........... 0.274 .............0.274 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.274 ..............0.274...................0.276.................... 5,754,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002168 ............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ............................... 209,413 ........... 85,862......................18 ............0.410 ........... 0.412 ...........0.410 ........... 0.410 ............. 0.410............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.412 .............. 0.412...................0.416 .................. 121,447,610 ........0.100

OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK ........................................................................ 5,000 ................1,110........................ 1 ........... 0.222 ...........0.222 ...........0.222 .......... 0.222 .............0.222 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.222............. 0.202...................0.222 .................316,358,024 ........0.100

OM0000002226 ...........AL JAZEERA SERVICES ..................................................102 .....................37........................ 1 ........... 0.366 ........... 0.366 ...........0.366........... 0.370 .............0.370 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.366 ..............0.366...................0.406 ..................22,645,581 .........0.100

OM0000002549 ...........BANK DHOFAR ................................................................... 400 .................. 108........................ 1 ........... 0.270 ........... 0.270 ...........0.270........... 0.281 ............. 0.281............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.270.............. 0.271...................0.285..................434,068,721 ........0.100

OM0000003000 ...........ALMAHA PETROLEUM PRODUCTS MAR. ............... 10 .....................22........................ 1 ............2.175 ........... 2.175 ...........2.175 ............2.175 ............. 2.175 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................2.175 ............. 0.000...................2.175 ..................150,075,000 ........0.100

OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION .......................... 31,005 .............54,101......................17 ............1.745 ........... 1.750............1.730 ............1.745 ............. 1.745 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................1.750 ...............1.745................... 1.750 ................1,308,750,000 ......0.100

OM0000003711 ............SOHAR POWER ......................................................................40 ..................... 15........................ 1 ............0.376 ........... 0.376 ...........0.376 ........... 0.380 .............0.380 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.376 ............. 0.000...................0.376 ...................83,983,800 .........0.100

OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO........................................................................... 9,700 ............... 7,635........................6 ............0.788 ........... 0.788 ...........0.784 ........... 0.788 ............. 0.788............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.784 ..............0.784...................0.788 ..................512,944,053........0.100

OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL .............................................. 20,000 ............... 1,912........................3 ........... 0.096 ........... 0.096 ...........0.095 ........... 0.096 .............0.096 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.095 ..............0.095...................0.096...................16,800,000 .........0.100

OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER .................................................... 5,000 ............... 1,125........................ 1 ........... 0.225 ........... 0.225 ...........0.225........... 0.222 .............0.222 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.225............. 0.222...................0.229 .................149,825,009 ........0.100

OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 145,550............84,249..................... 20 ........... 0.580 ........... 0.580 ...........0.578 ........... 0.578 .............0.580 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.345 ...............0.578 ..............0.574...................0.578 ................ 1,324,673,461 ......0.100

OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 1,848,583 ...... 430,931................... 139 ........... 0.235 ........... 0.235 ...........0.232........... 0.233 .............0.234 ...........-0.001 ........... -0.427 ...............0.232.............. 0.231...................0.234 .................. 34,967,475 .........0.100

OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ............ 30,000 ...............4,648........................6 ............0.154 ........... 0.156 ...........0.154 ............0.155 ............. 0.156............-0.001 ........... -0.641 ...............0.155 .............. 0.145................... 0.155 ...................13,950,000 .........0.100

OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ...........................36,400 ...............5,023........................5 ............0.138 ........... 0.138 ...........0.138 ............0.138 ............. 0.139............-0.001 ............-0.719 ................0.138 .............. 0.136...................0.138 .................... 8,120,364 ..........0.100

OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY .....................................................37,500 ............. 17,625......................12 ........... 0.470 ........... 0.470 ...........0.470 ........... 0.470 .............0.480 ...........-0.010 ........... -2.083 ...............0.470 ..............0.430...................0.470...................28,435,000 .........0.100

OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ....................... 26,800 ...............3,270........................4 ............0.122 ........... 0.122 ...........0.122 ........... 0.122 ............. 0.125............-0.003 ........... -2.400 ...............0.122 .............. 0.123...................0.125 ....................3,660,000 ..........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 4,584,124 ....1,355,719...................405 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......29........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000001301 ............DHOFAR CATTLE FEED ............................................10,000 ............... 1,810........................ 1 ............0.181 ........... 0.181............ 0.181 ............0.181 ............. 0.172............ 0.009 ............. 5.233 ................ 0.181 ..............0.180...................0.189 ................... 13,937,000 .........0.100

OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 2,252,239 ......355,755...................207 ............0.157 ........... 0.159 ...........0.157 ............0.158 ............. 0.156............ 0.002 ............. 1.282 ................0.158 .............. 0.157...................0.158 .................. 231,091,031 ........0.100

OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. .................. 302,090 ............12,668........................3 ........... 0.042 ...........0.042 ...........0.041 ........... 0.042 .............0.042 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.041 ..............0.041...................0.042 ...................3,570,000 ..........0.100

OM0000001400 ...........OMAN FLOUR MILLS .................................................. 11,511 ............... 5,779........................ 1 ........... 0.502 ...........0.502 ...........0.502........... 0.502 .............0.502 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.502..............0.490...................0.502 ..................79,065,000 .........0.100

OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES ......................................................... 4,140 .................. 228........................ 1 ............0.055 ........... 0.055 ...........0.055 ........... 0.054 .............0.054 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.055 ..............0.053...................0.054 ................... 6,750,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002564 ...........AL HASSAN ENGINEERING....................................20,065 ............... 1,986........................4 ........... 0.099 ........... 0.099 ...........0.099........... 0.099 .............0.099 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.099 ..............0.098...................0.099.................... 7,445,592 ..........0.100

OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 179,540.............13,990........................8 ........... 0.078 ........... 0.078 ...........0.077 ........... 0.078 .............0.078 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.078 ..............0.077...................0.078..................117,000,000 ........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 2,779,585 ...... 392,216...................225 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 7........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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 ........................................6,591.24 .............. 6,572.44 ................... 6,590.86 ...................6,572.50 ..................18.36 ...................0.28Financial Index .....................................8,159.25 ................8,137.81 .................... 8,159.11 ................... 8,138.60 ..................20.51 ................... 0.25Industrial Index ....................................8,347.34 ...............8,335.19 ....................8,336.81 ................... 8,335.19 .................... 1.62 ...................0.02Services Index .......................................3,529.12 ............... 3,517.34 ...................3,528.00 ....................3,517.34 ..................10.66 ...................0.30MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................993.69 ..................992.91 .......................993.57 .......................993.15 ....................0.42 ...................0.04

Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded7,364,095 ..................... 1,747,972 ..................... 631 ............... 15,250,281,956 ................ 12 ........................6 .................... 19 .........................37

Index rises marginally

MUSCAT: Gaining momentum continued on the Muscat bourse in a retail dominated, low-turn-over session. The benchmark MSM30 Index closed at 6,590.86 points, up by 0.28 per cent. This was the highest level since March 2015. The MSM Sharia Index closed at 993.57 points, up by 0.04 per cent. Phoenix Power was the most active stock in terms of trading volume while Al Anwar Holding stood as the most active in terms of turnover. Dhofar Cat-tlefeed was the highest gainer of the day while Al Batinah Devel-opment, which lost 2.4 per cent from yesterday’s closing price, topped the loser’s list.

As many as 631 trades were executed during the day’s trad-ing session generating turnover of OMR1.7 million with over 7.3 million shares changing hands. Out of 37 traded securities, 12 advanced, six declined and 19 remained unchanged. GCC and Arab investors were net buyers for OMR111,000 while Omani In-vestors switched to net sellers for OMR96,000 followed by foreign investors who were net sellers of OMR16,000 worth of shares.

Financial index gained by 0.25 per cent before closing at 8,159.11 points. National Finance, Na-tional Bank of Oman, Bank Sohar, and Oman united Insurance in-creased by 2.70 per cent, 2.31 per cent, 0.99 per cent, and 0.65 per cent, respectively. Batinah De-velopment, Gulf Investment Ser-vices, Sharqiya Investments, Al Anwar Holding and Bank Muscat declined by 2.40 per cent, 0.72 per

cent, 0.64 per cent, 0.43 per cent and 0.34 per cent, respectively.

Industrial Sector Index was relatively stable at 8,336.81 points. Dhofar Cattlefeed, Galfar Engineering, and Oman Cables increased by 5.23 per cent, 1.65 per cent, and 0.44 per cent, re-spectively. Voltamp Energy was the only stock that lost its value today and closed at OMR0.470, down by 2.08 per cent.

Services Sector Index closed at 3528 points, up by 0.30 per cent. Al Suwadi Power, Phoenix Power, OIFC, Port Services, and Renais-sance Service increased by 2.74 per cent, 1.28 per cent, 0.93 per cent, 0.52 per cent, and 0.35 per cent, respectively.

Emerging stocksEmerging-market stocks fell as lower-than estimated iPhone shipments dragged down Ap-ple Inc. suppliers and Chinese shares in Hong Kong extended the world’s biggest declines this month. Turkey’s lira weakened.

Hon Hai, which makes iPhones for Apple, slid 1.6 per cent in Tai-pei. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index sank to a one-week low. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index lost 0.6 per cent to 934.05 at 12:21pm in London. China’s H-share gauge has fallen almost 10 per cent in July, the worst among 93 global benchmarks tracked by Bloomb-erg, amid worries slowing eco-nomic growth will hurt earnings and state intervention in equities will delay market reforms.

– United Securities/Bloomberg News

Dhofar Cattlefeed was the highest gainer of

the day, while Al Batinah Development topped

the loser’s list on Wednesday's trading.

Huawei smartphone sales leap 39% on premium devicesHONG KONG: Huawei Technol-ogies increased first-half smart-phone sales 39 per cent as demand for high-end devices helped defy a slowdown in the Chinese market.

China’s largest maker of tel-ecommunications equipment sold 48.2 million smartphones in the first six months of the year, ac-cording to an e-mailed statement on Wednesday.

Shenzhen-based companyShipments of mid- and high-end devices surged 70 per cent, the Shenzhen-based company said.

Sales of smartphones in China contracted in the March quarter, the first decline since 2008, with annual shipment growth pro-jected to slow to just 4.4 per cent

from 2014 to 2019, according to researcher house IDC. The market had grown at an average of 88.8 per cent over the past five years.

Huawei’s shipmentsHuawei’s shipments compare with Apple’s sales of 47.5 million iP-hones in the June quarter alone.

Huawei trails Apple, Samsung Electronics and Lenovo Group in global smartphone sales, accord-ing to data compiled by Bloomberg.

On Monday, Huawei said its first-half sales rose 30 per cent to 175.9 billion yuan ($28.3 billion).

The company, founded in 1987 by former army engineer Ren Zhengfei, is one of several Chinese smartphone makers vying with Apple and Samsung for supremacy

in a hotly contested global market for mobile devices. Huawei this year took the wraps off its first smartwatch, accelerated a global marketing campaign and made inroads into European countries such as Spain and Italy. Revenue in its consumer business group surged 69 per cent to $9.09 billion in the first half, accounting for al-most a third of the company’s total sales, it said. Of that total, handset revenue climbed 87 per cent to $7.23 billion, it said. - Bloomberg News

F I R S T - H A L F R E S U L T S

SLEEK AND HANDY: Huawei trails Apple, Samsung Electronics and Lenovo Group in global

smartphone sales, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. — Bloomberg file picture

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B5T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

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Nissan Micra comes loaded with benefits

MUSCAT: Nissan Micra from Su-hail Bahwan Automobiles is a zip-py and smart compact hatchback in tune with today’s urban lifestyle. With standout looks, class-leading driving dynamics and an interior design offering both comfort and convenience, the Nissan Micra goes beyond the regular compact hatchback offering.

A refined vehicle in its own right, the Nissan Micra aims to attract a wider audience with its contemporary good looks, eye-catching exterior colour range, spacious and fashionable interior, in addition to a powerful high per-formance engine and a range of other options to make city driving easier, says a press release.

Benefit highlights Scratch & Win (two assured gifts): Customers buying the Nis-san Micra will receive a ‘Scratch & Win’ card which will entitle them to two assured gifts com-prising free service up to lifetime of the car (minimum assured one year/10,000km PMS) and free fuel up to OMR1,000 (minimum as-sured of OMR50).

walk away with assured cash gifts of OMR500.

-sures customers free registration, six years’ extended warranty, easy financing options, a loan term up to eight years and attrac-tive interest rates.

of 2015: This year Nissan has in-troduced another exciting line up of Ramadan benefit for their val-ued customers. Customers who already own a Nissan model and are making a second purchase will receive additional incentives from SBA where customers enjoy 10,000km additional service, they will receive special interest privi-lege card and also be eligible for any trade-in benefits.

from OMR71 on the Nissan Micra.Grand raffle draw The grand raffle draw from

Nissan is being held in associa-tion with Al Wisal and Merge FM

where participants can enter the draw to win a sleek Nissan Altima (2 vehicles to be won); just SMS <Nissan Altima> to 90448. The lucky winner can walk away with a brand new Nissan Altima.

Nissan customers can also avail easy financing option of a loan term up to eight years with at-tractive interest rates from Bank

be tailor made for any individual requirement from in-house Auto Finance team.

The stunning MicraKey features of the new Micra in-clude a characterful, sleek exte-rior design, eye-catching exterior colour range, user-friendly equip-ment and interior designed with convenience in mind, highly-ver-satile interior seat/stowage config-urations, efficient, largest-in-class 1.5-litre engine, nimble handling with best-in-class turning circle – ideal for city driving, high levels of safety equipment including dual

The new Micra with trim level ‘SV’ is available in Oman.

Expressive exterior The Micra’s exterior combines a feel of personality and character with agility. The body’s bold pro-portions have been achieved by lowering the center of gravity, po-sitioning the tires at the extreme corners of the car, expanding the sills outward and extending the rear tread. The side sections, which appear as if cylinders are mounted within, run through the body from the front to the rear pro-viding a secure feeling.

The sleek roofline, with a raised rear end, optimally adjusts airflow to the rear sides to help create ex-cellent aerodynamic performance.

-signed to reduce air resistance - such as door mirrors, a large front spoiler and the underbody config-uration. Micra’s coefficient of drag is just 0.32.

Micra’s raised front fenders aid the driver’s view ahead, while the low waistline provides superior side visibility to help make driving easier in traffic or tight road condi-tions. Rear window defroster w/timer, rear wiper and power oper-ated body coloured ORVMS makes the vehicle impressive. The Micra also comes with rear fog lamp, front chrome grille, body coloured door handles, body coloured side mouldings and 165/70/R14 tyres with full wheel covers.

Interior design

‘twin bubble’ shaped cockpit that gives a secure feeling for both driv-

er and passengers with convenient stowage compartments and gener-ous headroom. The arched lines and warm curved surfaces on ei-ther side of the instrumental panel create a distinctive bubble-shaped interior space that enhances driv-ing pleasure. A large and conveni-ent instrument meter with drive computer placed in the center of the meter cluster provides im-proved visibility.

Micra also gives the driver en-hanced visibility on their music collection with an MP3/WMA compatible CD player, which can display both artist and title on its

with four speakers. The sound sys-tem includes an AUX jack to con-nect your music player offering Micra owners access to their full music collection.

There’s no shortage of places to safely store music player and phones with pockets and cup hold-ers conveniently placed through-out the interior. User-friendly storage spaces include an instru-ment panel under box and glove box, front cup holders (two) & rear cup holder (one), front door pocket (with bottle holder), parking brake side pocket.

Micra also comes with anti daz-zle room mirror, headlamp lev-eliser, auto on/off, power steering with tilt adjustment, front power windows, central door locking, remote keyless, tachometer, drive computer, digital clock and air conditioner with pollen filter.

Driving performance The foundation of the Micra’s outstanding driving performance is the 99HP, 16-valve, four cylin-

largest capacity engine offered in its class. Offered with either a five-speed manual transmission (S) or four-speed automatic, the

-erful torque in the mid- to low- speed range is ideal around town but also offers impressive fuel economy and refinement out on the highway.

fabric of Micra with its lightweight roof panel contributing to reduced weight and higher fuel economy while its boomerang-shaped bead in the roof panel reduces boom-ing noise in the cabin otherwise caused by roof resonance. The structure also provides reduced weight and high-rigidity, which improves quietness.

This contributes to the reward-ing driving experience offered by Micra. Comfort has been further refined with increased shock ab-sorber travel and a newly designed soft-setting suspension that ab-

sorbs vibration, delivering a flat and comfortable drive even on bumpy roads. This has been in-novatively combined with a best-in-class 4.7m turning circle - ideal for getting in and out of those tight parking spaces and around town manoeuvres. Out of town, Micra’s agile and nimble handling will draw a smile from its driver. Mi-cra’s sure-footedness offers new-found levels of grip. Their stylish and eye-catching design also adds extra depth to Micra’s agile looks when it’s stationary.

Safety as a priority

Nissan pursues innovation as part of its Safety Shield concept, an advanced, proactive approach to safety issues based on the idea that cars should help protect people. This approach provides various measures to help the driver and passengers better avoid dangers in ways that are optimised to each of a wide range of circumstances that the vehicle may be in, from “risk has not yet appeared” to “post-crash.”

Micra ensure its occupants can enjoy its driving and lifestyle ap-peal with the assurance of high levels of safety features.

A broad range of safety systems are also fitted as standard across

Lock Braking System (ABS) and -

a collision while a High Mount Stop Lamp provides better visibil-ity to other motorists that Micra is slowing. They start with the Mi-cra’s Zone Body construction with highly-evolved safety technology, including a clearly defined crush-able zone to absorb and disperse impact forces and a high-strength cabin safety zone dedicated to pas-senger protection.

Along with its innovative pow-ertrain and outstanding exterior and interior designs, the Micra is extremely easy to live with day in and day out. For example, the large glass area ensures good all-around visibility. By increasing the size of the front windshield, both hori-zontally and vertically, it is easier to see traffic lights (even on the stop line) and to check around the vehicle when turning right or left.

Suhail Bahwan Automobiles offers wide range of after sales service with modern technology and state-of-the-art facilities in strategic locations.

Their practice of total owner-ship experience and customer-centric approach will ensure that customers of the all-new Nissan Micra 2015 are given professional services par excellence for all car related needs.

With standout looks,

class-leading driving

dynamics and an

interior design

offering both comfort

and convenience, the

Nissan Micra goes

beyond the regular

compact hatchback

offering

ahlibank’s Charity Drive comes to endMUSCAT: This Ramadan, as in the previous years, ahlibank supported several social insti-tutions throughout Oman by way of its annual campaign – ‘ahlibank Charity Drive’, says a press release.

-bank said, “Whilst many of us en-joyed the blessed month of Ram-adan and the festive occasion of

in a safe and joyful environment, thousands of others were slightly less privileged. We are blessed to have been able to lend them a helping hand.”

“This Ramadan we have wit-nessed yet again how a bank can unite to contribute towards a

-nity to thank our staff, volunteers and partner organisations behind the success of our Ramadan char-

ity campaign,” he aded.Amir Al Habib, department

head, Corporate Communi-cations at ahlibank, averred, “Through our Ramadan charity drive each year, we aim to imple-ment our religious principles of giving and sharing, and thus help develop empathy and sensitiv-ity to the needs of those around us not just within the bank, but in the community as well. We hope that our small contribution makes a difference in the lives of those who are less fortunate.”

C A R I N G A N D S H A R I N G

OHI shares spirit of Ramadan with its CSR initiativesMUSCAT:

Group of Companies initiated two CSR activities to uplift those in need. The group sponsored 28 Omanis from underprivileged backgrounds to perform Umrah. With all expenses of travel, food and accommodation undertaken by the group, they were able to realise a long cherished dream of this holy pilgrimage. This apart, the group also contributed to-wards the release of 40 prisoners

during the holy month of Rama-dan by paying their penalties aiding in a speedy release, says a press release.

Speaking about these initia-tives Maqbool Hameed Al Saleh,

-

holy month, we feel humbled as we reach out to the ones who

-sponsibility to uplift the needy and we feel privileged to fulfil their wishes.”

H E L P I N G H A N D

Taageer backs association for handicapped children

MUSCAT: Taageer Finance Company donated 15 split unit air-conditioners as charitable contribution towards the As-sociation for the Welfare of the Handicapped Children as part of its corporate social responsibility programme.

The support was targeted to empower and service the inter-est of the handicapped in our society. The association has a number of services that benefit

the children and their families across the Sultanate of Oman, says a press release.

Taageer strongly believes in the core values the association stands for. Mohammed Redha

is the company’s ongoing endeav-our to support worthy causes that make a difference to our society and that brings us the satisfac-tion and giving back what we can to society.”

S O C I A L R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y

B6 T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

ROUND-UPQatar Airways lands in Sialkot, Faisalabad

DOHA: Qatar Airways, the na-tional airline of the State of Qatar, has launched two new destina-tions in Pakistan on consecutive days — Sialkot and Faisalabad.

Beginning July 16, the airline commenced four weekly passen-ger services to Sialkot where it al-ready operates dedicated freighter services. A day later, on July 17, Qatar Airways added Faisalabad to its Pakistan network with three flights a week, says a press release.

Sialkot, which is in Pakistan’s Punjab province and is one of the country’s most populated cities, is famous for producing and export-ing textiles due to its close proxim-ity to Kashmir. With such a high volume of products being exported from the city, Qatar Airways Cargo has been operating a direct freight-er service to Sialkot since 2008.

Faisalabad is a city of more than seven million people located in the province of Punjab. A major centre of industry and manufacturing, the city which has seen rapid de-velopment is a major contributor towards the country’s GDP, con-tributing over 20%.

Sialkot and Faisalabad have joined Karachi, Lahore, Islama-bad, and Peshawar as Qatar Air-ways’ routes to Pakistan served by non-stop flights from the airline’s

Doha hub. In the coming weeks, Multan will also be added as the airline’s next Pakistani destina-tion with three flights a week com-mencing from 2nd August.

“Qatar Airways has a long-standing commitment to serve Pakistan and we are delighted to operate an exceptionally compre-hensive route network covering the length and breadth of the coun-try,” said Akbar Al Baker, group chief executive, Qatar Airways.

Qatar Airways currently oper-ates 45 flights a week spread across four cities in Pakistan – double daily flights to Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, and three flights a week to Peshawar. Karachi was first launched by the airline in 1995, Peshawar in 1998, Lahore in 1999 and Islamabad in 2004.

“There are a significant number

of Pakistani expatriates who are working in Qatar and the GCC. The launch of these new destina-tions will enable us to quickly meet the growing demand of these trav-ellers,” added Al Baker.

Qatar Airways is operating an Airbus A320 in a two-class con-figuration of up to 12 seats in Busi-ness Class and up to 132 in Econo-my Class on the two new routes to Pakistan.

With four new destinations on the horizon (Multan, Abha, Ras Al Khaimah and Durban) Qatar Air-ways will increase its global port-folio to 154 destinations across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, North America and South America. The carrier cur-rently operates a modern fleet of 162 aircraft.

The Doha – Sialkot schedules are:Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays

and SundaysDepart Doha QR 626 at 01:10, ar-

rive Sialkot at 06:50Depart Sialkot QR 627 at 09:35,

arrive Doha at 11:15The Doha – Faisalabad sched-

ules are:Mondays, Wednesdays and FridaysDepart Doha QR 622 at 01:10, ar-

rive Faisalabad at 06:35Depart Faisalabad QR 623 at

09:45, arrive Doha at 11:15

Faisalabad and

Sialkot have joined

Karachi, Lahore,

Islamabad and

Peshawar as Qatar

Airways’ routes to

Pakistan served by

non-stop flights from

the airline’s Doha hub

Golf cart service in MCC parking adds to mall’s attractionMUSCAT: City Centre Muscat, Majid Al Futtaim’s leading shop-ping mall in Oman, offers added convenience to customers with a golf cart service located at the West Wing entrance.

The transportation service, free of charge, will help visitors to get into the mall and back to their cars conveniently without a has-sle. Golf carts offer easy naviga-tion and increase visitors’ overall satisfaction with the shopping experience, says a press release.

“City Centre Muscat under-stands customer needs and pro-viding convenience to our guests is our top priority.

“With the ongoing works at our redevelopment project, the Golf Cart service will direct visitors to the new mall entrances.

“The initiative demonstrates the company’s vision to deliver great moments for everyone, everyday,” said Husam Al Mand-hari, senior mall manager of City Centre Muscat.

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

Extra large happiness with Toyota YarisMUSCAT: Toyota Yaris is an ex-citingly designed sedan. It offers an uncompromising blend of per-formance and style. Its excellent handling and ride stability are sec-ond to none!

Now, the Yaris is being offered with ‘Extra Large’ benefits. “What that means for you as a customer,” said the spokesperson, “Is that the Biggest Excitement has returned with Toyota Yaris now being avail-able with a host of exciting model-specific benefits.”

BenefitsThese include a service package for up to three years/30,000km service (whichever is earlier) cov-ering three services at 10,000km service interval for petrol models based on normal operating con-ditions, insurance for one year (Oman only), 1st year of registra-tion and 1,000 litres of fuel. In lieu of the above, customers can choose to avail of the cash gift of OMR500. These benefits are model specific and may vary accordingly.

To top it all, every Toyota cus-tomer gets a gift voucher and a chance to take part in an amazing raffle which has 9 units of 16YM Camry GL Executive to be won.

This exciting campaign will run until August 5. Benefits are ap-plicable for all purchases except those made by government organi-sations and ministries.

Raffle drawsWeekly raffle draws will be held until August 9, on all Sundays. Customers will be eligible for raf-fle only upon taking delivery of the vehicle during the campaign

period after completing necessary formalities and not against book-ing. Conditions apply. For further details please visit the nearest Toyota showroom.

“The earlier one buys and en-ters the raffle, the higher are the winning chances,” the spokesper-son adds.

“This makes it a real opportune moment to get yourself a Yaris and enjoy the benefits,’” advises the spokesperson.

Available in 1.5 L and 1.3 L en-gine choices, theYaris comes with a Smart Entry and Push Button Start System that locks/unlocks doors or the trunk. Toyota Yaris also has a lightweight and com-pact 4-speed automatic gearbox delivering excellent response and a smooth gear shift. There also is a 5-speed manual gearbox option where the gear ratios have been set to extract optimal engine per-formance. A EPS (Electric Power Steering) control has also been adopted which provides feedback to the steering wheel even in a near-neutral position.

The Yaris’ front design creates its bold stance. Following the line

of the cabin, the strong, taut hood emphasises the flare of the fenders and wheel arches. The large and impressive appearance of the front face accentuates the lower grille for a strong visual impact.

Each projector-type headlamp gives the impression of a single piece of metal piercing through from the side to the front. This highlights the wide stance, creat-ing a mechanical yet classy form. Following the line of the grille, the headlamps wrap far back around to the sides and are adorned by the chrome-accented bars of the grille, making the vehicle appear wide.

A uniquely shaped, high rigid-ity roof (catamaran roof ) has been adopted from an aerodynamic perspective. The shape around the rear of the roof helps to control the vortexes generated at the rear of the vehicle so that the air smoothly converges with the air flowing from the under floor area, reducing air resistance.

Roomy interiorThe Yaris has a comfortable and roomy interior. The instrument panel, set along a horizontal axis,

runs the entire width of the cabin, creating a spacious and distinctive presence. Lavish ornamentation has been used for various interior features and switches. Precision technology has been used to create moulded stitch-ing that looks like hand-stitching. Double stitching has been adopted on both the front and rear seats for an attractive appearance. The designs of the frequently-touched centre cluster and steering wheel incorporate ergonomic features for ease of use.

The Toyota Yaris offers one of the widest loading spaces in its class and more space between the wheelhouses, too. The larger trunk opening width and the , lower loading height further supports easy loading and unloading of even heavier, bulky items.

The Yaris has a strut-type sus-pension at the front, which has been designed for long-term reli-ability and a superior steering feel and ride comfort. The rear sus-pension has a torsion beam type suspension which ensures supe-rior rear grip and vehicle stability. Springs and shock absorbers that optimally enhance the rigidity of the body have been adopted.

To ensure a quiet and smooth ride, Toyota has used variety of sound absorbing and insulating materials. Moreover, in the case of the front windshield, an acous-tic glass with a three-layered con-struction has been used, minimis-ing wind noise and road noise.

In Oman, Toyota’s outstanding product quality is supported by the nationwide parts and service net-work of Saud Bahwan Automotive.

P R O M O T I O N

Centrepoint unveils ‘back to school’ collectionMUSCAT: Centrepoint, the re-gion’s largest retailer, has launched its fun and practical ‘back to school’ collection that is set to make all school children stars.

Adding the excitement to the start of a new academic year, Centrepoint is offering the widest range of licensed character mer-chandise in the market in addition to its smart and comfortable col-lection of accessories, shoes and cosmetics, says a press release.

Fulfilling every child’s dream to be a star, Babyshop’s latest selec-tion of merchandise, features the widest range of licensed character merchandise in the market that includes everything from school bags and water bottles to station-ary pouches and lunch boxes.

The exclusive range of Shaun the Sheep, Trash Pack, Ben 10, Spiderman and Minions back-to-school merchandise promises to win the interest of the boys, fol-lowed closely by the likes of Dis-ney’s Cars, Avengers, Smurfs, Dis-ney’s Mickey Mouse, Smurfs etc.

Young football fans can also pick

from exciting FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United themed school gear.

Favourites such as Disney Prin-cess, Hello Kitty, Barbie, Dora the Explorer, Marie the Cat (for pre-schoolers), Lulu Caty, Minnie, Frozen, and inside out are part of the colourful and trendy line-up for girls.

Appealing to the teens and tweens is Lifestyle’s latest back to school range with designs that are red-carpet worthy and bound to make every student’s year at school. With brands such as Mim-mie’s Teddy Bear, Ferrari branded school luggage and Happy House, it is the perfect accompaniment for every student to carry with

them this school year. The collection includes stylish

and colourful designs are bound to be every child’s dream accessory.

Extending the character range, Splash at Centrepoint is offering a full range of books, notes pads, pencils, mugs, back packs, pencil cases and many more items based on famous characters like Hello Kitty, Batman, Barbie, Smiley-World, Superman and Super Girl Neon capsule collections.

Head to Shoe Mart as the re-gion’s leading footwear and acces-sories brand unveils a delightful array of smart and comfortable styles that will go perfectly with school wear.

Girls will get to rock the classy school-goer look featuring floral accents, perforations, glaze-matt contrasts and embossed effects. Sturdy year-round materials bond with flexible soles to assure re-laxed wear day in and day out.

The boys will be spoiled for choice with an impressive range that’s durable enough to sail through the action-packed year.

W I D E S T R A N G E

NBO ‘Sadara’ lounge provides hassle free banking servicesMUSCAT: National Bank of Oman (NBO) announced that its ‘Sadara Shatti Lounge’, which was opened for extended busi-ness hours during the holy month of Ramadan, was visited by many customers.

Located in Shatti Al Qurum branch, relationship managers and wealth advisers were avail-able for Sadara customers during extended banking hours offering solutions that meet their bank-ing and investment needs, says a press release.

During the holy month of Ram-adan, the evening lounge marked the visit of many prominent per-sonalities, including retired Air Vice Marshall – Royal Air Force Oman, Sheikh Yahya Al Juma; and Sayyid Saud bin Ibrahim Al Busaidi. Commenting on the suc-cess of the Sadara evening lounge, Aziz Al Jahdhami, head of Sadara Wealth Management at National Bank of Oman, said: “The open-ing of ‘Sadara Shatti Lounge’ in the holy month of Ramadan is a testament to the bank’s strong commitment to offer hassle free and convenient banking services to our customers.

“Considering the great re-

sponse that we have received from our customers, we will look at opening more evening lounges for Sadara segment next year.”

Launched in 2009, the Sadara wealth management proposi-tion for high-net-worth clients offers products designed to give customers the very best possible banking experience.

Tailor-made servicesSadara customers enjoy a com-prehensive suite of tailor-made products and services, preferen-tial rates and fees on products, personalised real estate financ-ing, industry-leading financial advice, and special privileges and benefits including a dedicated personal relationship manager and wealth adviser to help them decide how to take their finances to the next level.

They also enjoy exclusive ac-cess to 13 dedicated Sadara cen-tres across the Sultanate for quick and comfortable service, as well as reserved parking at all National Bank of Oman branch-es, access to 500 airport lounges across the world through either their debit or credit card, and air-port pick-up and drop-off.

E V E N I N G L O U N G E

MUSCAT: Even the best, most careful drivers can end up in an un-expected crash. Chevrolet’s 2015 lineup provides key features that help protect drivers and passengers before, during or after a crash, but the focus is on new technologies aimed at helping avoid the crash in the first place, says a press release.

According to a 2012 US National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis-tration report, more than one in four police-reported vehicle crash-es each year are rear-end collisions between a driver and the vehicle they are following and, nearly one in 10 happen during lane changes made at the wrong time.

Chevrolet is using cameras, radar and ultrasonic sensor tech-nology to help drivers avoid these rear-end collisions and blind spot-caused sideswipes, as well as park-ing lot fender benders and more.

A driver can select vibrating rather than beeping alerts that intuitively ‘tap’ them on the left, right, or both sides of the seat bot-tom to help direct their attention to a possible crash situation de-tected by the vehicle sensors. The Safety Alert Seat is available on Silverado, Tahoe, and Suburban.

Chevrolet’s crash avoidance technologies are designed to help drivers in many everyday situa-tions, though none substitutes for careful, distraction-free driving, use of seat belts and child seats when appropriate, obeying traffic laws and driving sober and unim-paired. The focus on driver and pas-senger safety is a pillar of the Chev-rolet. Following are a few Chevrolet crash avoidance technologies:

Rear Vision Camera: When backing, it displays the scene be-hind that may be unseen by the driver, by using a rear camera. This feature is available across the 2015 Malibu, Impala, Camaro, Cor-

vette, Captiva, Traverse, Silverado, Tahoe and Suburban

Rear Cross Traffic Alert: This lets you know if a car is approach-ing from either side when revers-ing, such as when parked between two large vehicles. This feature uses two rear corner radars and is available on 2015 Impala, Trav-erse, Tahoe and Suburban.

Side Blind Zone Alert: This alerts the driver if a vehicle is in the left or right side blind spot – before a possible lane change. This feature uses two rear corner radars and is available on Cruze, Impala, Traverse, Tahoe and Suburban.

Forward Collision Alert: May ‘see’ a crash situation before you do, and can alert a driver when a crash into a vehicle you are following is imminent. This feature utilizes front camera and/or radar and is

available on 2015 Impala, Traverse, Silverado, Tahoe and Suburban.

Other crash-avoidance features include Front Automatic Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, and Lane Departure Warning are available on select Chevrolet models.

Front Automatic Braking auto-matically applies the brake when the system may see a crash situ-ation before you do, and can be thought of us a “backup” or “Plan B” if you do not respond quickly to Forward Collision Alert warnings, or if a rear-end crash situation quickly unfolds. At lower speeds, the feature may even help avoid the crash, while at higher speeds, it can reduce crash severity and in-jury. This feature uses front radar.

Adaptive Cruise Control works like regular cruise control unless you are following a vehicle ahead, when it automatically accelerates and brakes (up to moderate levels) to help follow at a driver-selected cruise speed and predetermined distance between you and the vehicle in front of you, while you steer and pay attention to the road.

This feature uses front radar.Lane Departure Warning can

alert a driver who drifts out of detected lane lines unintention-ally or without a turn signal, when travelling faster than 35 MPH, which can sometimes happen to distracted or tired drivers and this feature uses the front camera.

Chevrolet, one of the world’s largest automotive brands, has a strong heritage in the Mid-dle East, stretching back around eight decades and has long been a trusted partner in the region. Today Chevrolet brings the most comprehensive range of value and performance-oriented vehicles to customers in the small, compact, mid-size and large sedan and SUV segments, offering superlative ex-citement, strong personality, value for money, safety and security.

OTE Group is the exclusive dealer for Chevrolet in Oman with showrooms spread across the Sul-tanate and offering excellent after-sales service support at par with global standards, with a nation-wide service network.

MUSCAT: Oman Avenues Mall, the Sultanate’s largest shopping destination, will be hosting a unique art exhibition today con-ducted by prominent artist Sajeev Majeed in honour of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said coinciding with the 45th Renaissance Day of the Sultanate of Oman.

The exhibition titled ‘Soul of Oman’ is a unique initiative sup-ported by the mall to reiterate its dedication to the nation and as a gesture of gratitude, appreciation and loyalty to His Majesty for 45 years of his remarkable rule, says a press release.

Al Khalili Group, the develop-ers of Oman Avenues Mall, also congratulated His Majesty and the people of Oman on the occa-sion of the blessed Renaissance. Speaking on the occasion, Shiekh Mohammad bin Saud Al Khalili said: “As the nation celebrates 45 years of development, continuous stability and growing prosperity, we take this opportunity to salute His Majesty whose wise leader-ship was the reason behind the unmatched achievements of the Sultanate among world nations.”

“We also thank the govern-ment and all the officials for their support and cooperation towards Oman Avenues Mall which has been one of the prime inspira-tions behind this venture. With a favourable environment for busi-ness and a platform to nurture growth, we hope to successfully become one of the most attrac-tive shopping destinations in the region,” added Al Khalili.

The exhibition will showcase works by Indian artist Sajeev Majeed who has used his creative touch, combined with great love and care, to make his works of art more impressive. He will show-case his works at the mall during the seven-day solo exhibition as a genuine tribute to His Majesty.

“Sajeev who has voluntar-ily initiated the paintings and intends to give away all the 21 paintings to the Diwan of Royal Court as a gesture of his gratitude and appreciation which makes the cause even more noble,” said Ananth A. V., regional director of Lulu Group International.

Commenting on his work, Sa-jeev said, “I have been living in Oman for the past seven years. This beautiful country has been incredibly comfortable and hos-pitable and has left an indelible mark on my mind. His Majesty’s visionary leadership and his tol-erance and compassion towards the people of the nation have in-spired me and prompted me to give something back to the na-tion. Through these paintings I would like to express my thanks and gratitude to His Majesty and this wonderful nation.”

Sajeev, who works as an art de-signer, has delivered his unique style in presenting each of the portraits with a different look and feel. At present, he has a collec-tion of 21 paintings that he pro-poses as an endearing gift to His Majesty on the occasion of 45th Renaissance Day, after the seven-day exhibition.

MUSCAT: A top-seller in regions around the world, the Prado is a pride to own and a joy to drive.

Drivability, reliability and functionality are its legendary strengths. Superior on-road and off-road performance are its hall-marks. Born with the Toyota Land Cruiser DNA in its bloodline, the Prado takes Toyota’s enviable 4WD legacy way further.

Now, during Toyota’s ‘Extra Large Benefits, Extra Large Happi-ness’ campaign, the Prado is avail-able with a service package for up to three years/30,000km service (whichever is earlier; covering three services at 10,000km. Ser-vice intervals for petrol models based on normal operating condi-tions and six services at 5,000km. Service interval for diesel mod-els) and 1,000 litres of fuel (pet-rol or diesel as applicable), says a press release.

In lieu of the above, customers

can choose to avail of a cash gift up to OMR275.

Every Toyota customer gets a gift voucher and a chance to take part in an amazing raffle which has nine units of all-new 2016 Camry GL Executive as a part of the cam-paign. This exciting campaign be-gan on June 7 and will run until August 5. Benefits are applicable for all purchases except those made by government organisa-tions and ministries.

Weekly raffle draws will be held until August 9, on all Sundays. Customers will be eligible for raf-fle only upon taking delivery of the vehicle during the campaign peri-od after completing necessary for-malities and not against booking.

“It is one of the best times to own a Prado. It is a unique 4WD that builds on the outstanding legacy of its predecessors,” said an enthusiast.

Indeed, the Prado stands apart and looks quite bold doing so. An imposing grille and bumper guard

adorned with LED Headlamps/clearance lamps add to its macho stance. Toyota Prado’s thrilling power and performance are com-plemented by its class leading-fea-tures These include display audio with 9-speakers, steering-mount-ed audio, Bluetooth and MID con-trols, Optitron meter with TFT info display and cruise control. Its safety features include a rear view camera and driver+ passen-ger+ curtain+ side (front) + knee (driver) airbags.

Packed with a host of high-end luxury features, the Prado features leather upholstery, woodgrain panelling, chrome-coloured side protection moulding; muffler-cut-ter; chrome rear-lamp garnish and impressive alloy wheels.

Prado’s interior is not just re-fined but also has plenty of room to accommodate up to seven occu-pants. Cushioned seats offer won-derful under-thigh support.

Second-row seats fold in a 40:20:40 split, offer enhanced util-

ity with a slide function and walk-in accessibility for facilitating easy ingress and egress for the third-row seats. The third-row seats, fold in a 50:50 split.

The Prado also offers steering angle display, active headrest, electric tilt and telescopic steer-ing column, side step with illu-mination, smart entry and start/stop system, parking sensors and retractable outer mirrors with turn signal.

A reassuring combination of active and passive safety systems ensures optimum protection for occupants in a Prado.

Downhill assist control (DAC), hill-start assist control (HAC), airbags, vehicle stability control (VSC) and active traction control (A-TRC) are some of its advanced protection systems.

Prado’s strong chassis offers excellent impact protection while the long wheelbase and wide wheel track give excellent handling and stability. Prado’s unparalleled prowess is apparent on either the smooth or the rough. It has the power to hold its own and the per-formance to make its own path. In short, not much stands in the way of a Prado both on the road and off.

“All specifications listed above are standard Toyota equipment. Safety kit is a dealer installed non Toyota item provided on Toyota models as standard equipment. For further details and to ascertain availability of stocks, please visit your nearest Toyota showroom,” said a spokesperson.

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Toyota Prado available with attractive benefitsBorn with the Toyota

Land Cruiser DNA

in its bloodline, the

Prado takes Toyota’s

enviable 4WD legacy

to a whole new level

Oman Avenues Mall

hosts art exhibition

‘ S O U L O F O M A N ’

Chevrolet’s advanced technologies can help customers avoid collisions

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McDonald’s sponsors summer camp

MUSCAT: It’s that time of the year when children from age seven years old and above come together to take part in the an-nual summer camp, expressing their creativity and exploring various learning opportunities under one roof.

Sponsored by McDonald’s Oman (Al Daud Restaurants), the summer camp was held re-cently in Ruwi and attended by over 300 children and teens, says a press release.

“Summer camp is held to ex-plore the children’s aptitude. It provides them with a good op-portunity to express their creativ-ity with activities appropriate to

their age group, thus giving them fun-filled experiences.

Social skills“Through this activity, they dis-cover new interests, take on new responsibilities, gain confidence, and develop essential social skills and create lifetime memories. Thanks to McDonald’s for sup-porting us in this activity,” said Cedric from India, head of the summer camp, who was invited specially for this event.

L E A R N I N G O P P O R T U N I T Y

STOMO appoints first

Omani site manager

MUSCAT: STOMO (SUEZ-Tractebel Operation and Main-tenance Oman), an affiliate com-pany of ENGIE (formerly GDF SUEZ), a long-term investor in Oman’s power sector, recently announced the appointment of Abdullah Mohammed Salim Al Rawahi as Site Manager for STOMO’s Barka II Power and Desalination Plant in Oman, says a press release.

Abdullah is the first Omani site manager for STOMO and was promoted from operations man-ager of Barka II. He graduated in B.Sc Mechanical Engineering from Sultan Qaboos University and then earned a Masters in In-dustrial Engineering.

He started his career in 1994 as a shift charge engineer at Ru-sail Power Plant, where he was promoted to operations manag-er and deputy plant manager in 2001. In October 2007, he moved to Barka II Power and Desalina-tion Plant with a promotion to operations manager and now to site manager.

Commenting on his new role at

Barka II, Abdullah said: “I am ex-cited to undertake the site man-ager’s role. STOMO has gained a well-earned reputation in Oman as a leading operations and main-tenance provider in the Power and Desalinated Water sector and I feel privileged to become part of its senior management.

“STOMO has given me great opportunities to develop my skills, knowledge and experience and now demonstrates that they have faith in my abilities by en-trusting me with a role that has the responsibility for delivering a significant proportion of Elec-tricity and Desalinated Water for the Country. This underlines STOMO’s strong desire and com-mitment to recruit, train and develop local people and I thank STOMO and my general manager Mike Maudsley for this opportu-nity and the constant support.”

Mike Maudsley stressed the Sultanate’s highest priorities to provide sustainable employ-ment for citizens and the gradu-al aim to reduce dependence on expatriates.

N E W R O L E

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Discover all-new power-packed 2015 Dodge Charger, Challenger

MUSCAT: Dhofar Automotive has always been known for bringing best-in-class, high-performance vehicles to Oman, and the brand’s recently launched 2015 Dodge Charger and Challenger are testi-mony to this. Both vehicles are in a class of their own and continue to impress customers throughout the Sultanate, says a press release.

The Dodge brand, which cel-ebrated its 100th anniversary in 2014, moves into the next century of its history by giving the Charger four-door sedan a full-body make-over and offering an impressive lineup of expanded powertrains

for 2015. The 2015 Dodge Charger is totally updated and features a new state-of-the-art eight-speed automatic transmission.

New for 2015, the Chrysler Group’s Torque Flite eight-speed automatic transmission is stand-ard on every Dodge Charger model, and the 2015 Charger also offers a full range of powerful yet fuel-efficient engine options, including the award-winning 3.6-litre V6 Pentastar engine, which delivers up to 31 mpg (7.58 L/100km) on SE and SXT models — the legend-ary 370hp 5.7-litre HEMI V8 on the R/T — the 6.4-litre HEMI V8,

which punches out a best-in-class. A naturally aspirated 485hp in the SRT 392 and the new 6.2-litre supercharged HEMI Hellcat V8 engine will be arriving soon to the showrooms.

The chassis of the all-new 2015 Dodge Charger has been designed, engineered and fine-tuned to de-liver world-class performance and efficiency, thanks to advanced technological solutions includ-ing Electric Power Steering (EPS) and all-new lighter weight axles. To help Charger keep its edge, Dodge has loaded the new sedan with new technologies and a host

of premium features, such as high-end interiors, the latest technolo-gies and impressive powertrain options, along with a new exterior design that is distinctly Dodge.

For 2015, Dodge has gone deep with the remake of the Dodge Challenger. The iconic 1971 Chal-lenger inspired the design of this modern day muscle car, but the recreation of this classic styling extends well beneath the surface of the sheet metal. Dodge has com-pletely re-engineered the Chal-lenger with a new best-in-class 485hp 392 HEMI and Torque Flite eight-speed transmission pow-

ertrain, an upgraded suspension, new class-exclusive technologies and a completely new interior.

Chris Edwards, general man-ager for Dhofar Automotive, sole distributors of the Dodge range in Oman, averred: “The 2015 Charger and Challenger are a knockout punch from Dodge in the ongoing fight for muscle-car supremacy, and continue to rejuvenate buyer interest in the segment. Both cars are extremely refined and com-fortable on the inside; and unlike some of the muscle cars of the past, won’t drain your wallet at the gas pump.”

The 2015 Dodge

Charger is totally

updated and features

a new state-of-

the-art eight-

speed automatic

transmission

Exciting dinosaur exhibit

at MGM attracts attention

MUSCAT: Muscat Grand Mall (MGM) is currently home to a unique exhibition, the Dinosaur Jungle, which will continue for a month.

As part of its support to Omani entrepreneurs, Muscat Grand Mall in cooperation with Arabian Gate Exhibitions have organised and managed a truly unique ex-hibit which started in time with the Eid ul Fitr celebrations and will continue for a month, says a press release.

Commenting on the project, Ruqayia bint Hilal Almani, pro-ject executive manager at Arabian Gate Exhibitions, said: “With the state of technology and entertain-ment today, it’s not enough to just tell children about the dinosaurs that used to roam the Earth, they

want the real experience. The ex-hibition at MGM is sure to take visitors — young or old on a jour-ney of discovery of these majestic creatures through an exhibition which will have details on each of the species.”

Five speciesThe exhibit will include five spe-cies of Dinosaurs varying from carnivores to herbivores, demon-strating their varied body sizes and characteristics.

For the first time in Oman, visitors to a mall are having the opportunity to witness the mind-blowing magnificence of a dinosaur exhibit.

The activities within the exhib-it will keep visitors engaged with thrill and adventure making it a

memorable experience. MGM is Oman’s most dynamic

shopping destination. It is the fastest growing lifestyle hub in the Sultanate, offering choice and convenience for shoppers and residents, as part of a combined leisure experience.

Boasting more than 142 stores, a three-screen cinema, high-end residences and office space, in ad-dition to hosting the largest food court in Oman, Muscat Grand Mall is also home to leading global brands such as Carrefour, Happy Land, City Cinema, Sharaf DG, HomesRUs, PAUL and Chili’s and Patchi among others. Enjoy the ultimate shopping experience at Muscat Grand Mall along with variety of dining, recreation and fun activities take place.

U N I Q U E E V E N T

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SECTIONC T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

AHMED SHEHZAD HELPS PAKISTAN SEAL SERIESPakistan defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the fourth ODI in Colombo on Wednesday to take a decisive 3-1 lead in the five-match series. Opener Ahmed Shehzad hit 95 off 90 balls as the tourists surpassed Sri Lanka’s 256 for 9 in the 41st over. >C3

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One step away from history

Times News Service

DUBLIN: Thursday is the blessed Renaissance Day of Sultanate of Oman and the entire nation is ex-pecting a history-making act by the national cricket team.

Oman will take on Namibia in the final qualifying play-off of the ICC World Twenty20 Quali-fier 2015 on Thursday, the win-ner qualifying for the ICC World Twenty20 2016 in India. Both the teams know very well that a de-feat will be the end of the world as there will be know more chance. A win means the victor will play for the fifth-sixth play-off but all the more is that they can make it to the World Cup for the first time.

Oman finished fourth in Group B with three wins, one no result, two losses from six matches, while Namibia also won three of its six games in Group A with one match washed out by rain.

However, Namibia though hav-ing two chances, squandered one of them by losing to Netherlands,

who qualified for the prime event.Now the African team will have

to put across the Gulf outfit to re-alise their dreams, but Oman could be a tough customer, given the way they have performed in the group matches.

Top scalps for Oman had been Afghanistan and the Netherlands,

while they also subdued Canada. The seven-run loss to Kenya has some what proved costly for the Sultan Ahmed-lead side. In ad-dition they also lost a point in the rained-off match against United Arab Emirates.

Namibia started its Group A campaign with a loss to Ireland

and a washout against Nepal, but turned the tables quickly with three consecutive wins against United States of America, Jersey and Papua New Guinea.

It headed into its last league match with a chance of directly qualifying for the ICC World T20, but a big loss to Hong Kong meant

it finished third in its group. A large part of Namibia’s suc-

cess in this tournament is due to the form of its openers — Stephan Baard and Gerrue Snyman — both of whom are among the top run-getters. The bowling has revolved around left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz, whose bowling against

the Netherlands on Tuesday, has encouraged the Oman spinners.

Scholtz was able to turn the ball square on the pitch which will also be used for the Oman-Namibia qualifier. Oman must have done the homework by now and if they can strike early the game will be within grasp. Coach Duleep Men-dis have not rested since they got a big break and all the players have been put to strenuous practice to keep the boys match-fit.

Wednesday’s training at North County Club was all-round with importance given to all aspects and the good news was the pres-ence of skipper Sultan Ahmed, who had left the team base briefly to attend his mother’s funeral.

Teams (from): Oman: Sultan Ahmed (capt), Yousuf Ab-

dulrahim, Zeeshan Ahmad, Amir Ali, Kha-war Ali, Munis Ansari, Aamir Kaleem, Meh-ran Khan, Ajay Lalcheta, Sufyan Mahmood, Zeeshan Maqsood, Mohammad Nadeem, Rajeshkumar Ranpura, Jatinder Singh, Vai-bhav Wategaonkar.

Namibia: Nicholas Scholtz (captain), Stephen Baard, Sarel Burger, Christopher Coombe, Jason Davidson, Michiel du Preez, Gerhard Erasmus, Louis Klazinga, JP Kotze, Bernard Scholtz, JJ Smit, Christiaan Sny-man, Gerrie Snyman, Raymond van Schoor, Craig Williams.

Oman will take on

Namibia in the final

qualifying play-off

of the ICC World

Twenty20 Qualifier

2015 on Thursday,

the winners

qualifying for the

ICC World Twenty20

2016 in India

WARMING UP: Oman cricketers preparing at the North County Club in outskirts of Dublin. – Supplied photos IN FOCUS: Oman skipper Sultan Ahmed being interviewed.

DUBLIN: Following a spir-ited display at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Afghanistan came into the ICC World Twen-ty20 Qualifier 2015 carrying plenty of hope and expectation.

It lived up to its reputation by notching up three consecu-tive wins — against Scotland, Netherlands and United Arab Emirates — in Group B, but a loss to Oman and rained out games against Canada and Kenya pushed it to third on the table by the end of the group stage, meaning it would have to

take the play-off route to qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 2016 in India.

Afghanistan needed to get the better of Hong Kong on Tuesday (July 21) to seal its berth but went down off the last delivery of the game. However, it still has another shot when it takes on Papua New Guinea, which finished fourth in Group A, on Thursday (July 23), with the winner going through to India.

The first of those two en-counters, between Afghanistan and PNG in the third qualifying

play-off, will be played at The Village in Malahide, Dublin, to be followed by the match between Namibia and Oman at the same venue later in the day.

Afghanistan will hope for yet another good display from its batting unit and a more disci-plined show from the bowlers.

On the batting front, Moham-med Shahzad, the third leading run-scorer in the tournament with 199 runs, Samiullah Shenwari and Asghar Stanikzai, the skipper, are in fine fettle. Hamid Hassan and Mohammed

Nabi have been the pick of the bowlers and there is plenty of quality within the ranks, but Afghanistan will have weigh up its options at the death.

Afghanistan has had a taste of the big stage and high-pressure games in the past, so it will look to call on all its experience to put it past PNG, for whom this is one of the biggest games.

PNG can take positives from an impressing run in the group stage, but with so much hinging on this result, it will be as much about nerve as about skill. — ICC

Do or die qualifier for Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea

C2

SPORTST H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

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Bangladesh steady after 50s by Tamim & Mahmudullah

CHITTAGONG: Half-centu-ries by Mahmudullah Riyad and Tamim Iqbal gave Bangladesh the edge over top-ranked South Af-rica Wednesday as the unfancied hosts reached 179-4 before rain stopped play on the second day of the first Test.

Mahmudullah made 67 while Tamim added a patient 57 as Bangladesh reduced their deficit to 69 runs after the Proteas were dismissed for a modest 248 in Chittagong.

Vernon Philander trapped Mah-mudullah leg-before just before rain ended the day’s play in the third session, swinging the game back towards the visitors after lowly Bangladesh appeared to have taken the advantage.

Mahmudullah, who hit 10 fours off 138 balls, put on 89 with Tamim for the third wicket, providing the backbone of the Bangladesh in-nings after the hosts resumed on Wednesday on 7-0.

Tamim, who faced 129 balls, scored his first fifty against South Africa in five Tests before he was bowled by a full toss from left-arm

spinner Dean Elgar on the stroke of the tea break.

South Africa’s bowling coach Charl Langeveldt believes Bang-ladesh have a slight advantage in the game. “I think it is 60-40 in their side,” he said after stumps. “The game is fairly even. If they get a 100-run lead against us, we will be struggling.

“Bangladesh really batted well. They were patient. Normally they

have the second highest scoring rate. I think our guys bowled really well and Bangladesh batted well.”

Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah said the third day’s opening ses-sion would be crucial for both the teams. “I think if we can spend first session tomorrow without losing any wicket we will be in the driv-ing seat,” he said. “Anything close to 400 runs will be good score in this wicket.”

Earlier in the morning session Tamim and fellow opener Imrul Kayes mixed aggression with cau-tion to blunt the new ball, scoring 41 in the first hour.

But occasional medium pacer Stiaan Van Zyl dragged Imrul out of his crease for Quinton de Kock to complete a stumping, breaking a resolute 46-run opening stand.

Imrul departed for 26 after lead-ing the initial charge with three

fours. Spinner Simon Harmer then took out Mominul Haque’s off stump to leave Bangladesh strug-gling on 55-2 before Tamim and Mahmudullah rebuilt the innings.

Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim was unbeaten on 16 when rain stopped play for the second time with 25 overs still left in the day.

Shakib Al Hasan, on one not out, will resume with his skipper on Thursday as Bangladesh push for an unprecedented Test victory against the Proteas.

Bangladesh, who have a dismal Test record, had made an impres-sive start to the match on the open-ing day on Tuesday.

Paceman Mustafizur Rahman claimed 4-37 in his Test debut and leg-spinner Jubair Hossain added 3-53 as Bangladesh bowled out the visitors for 248.

The second match of the two-Test series will be played in Dhaka from July 30-August 3. - AFP

Mahmudullah made

67 while Tamim

added a patient

57 as Bangladesh

reduced their

deficit to 69 runs

after the Proteas

were dismissed for

a modest 248 in

Chittagong

BANGLADESH STARS: Mohammed Mahmudullah, right, and Tamim Iqbal, left, run between the wickets

during the second day of the first cricket Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. – AFP

South Africa 1st innings 248 all out (T. Bavuma 54; Mustafizur Rahman 4-37, Jubair Hossain 3-53)Bangladesh first innings Tamim Iqbal b Elgar 57Imrul Kayes st de Kock b van Zyl 26Mominul Haque v Harmer 6Mahmudullah lbw b Philander 67Mushfiqur Rahim not out 16Shakib Al Hasan not out 1Extras (lb-5, nb-1) 6Total (for four wickets; 67 overs) 179To bat: Litton Das, Jubair Hossain, Mo-hammad Shahid, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman.Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Imrul), 2-55 (Mominul), 3-144 (Tamim), 4-178 (Mah-mudullah)Bowling: Steyn 13-3-46-0, Philander 12-1-22-1 (nb1), Morkel 11-2-28-0, Harmer 19-3-59-1, van Zyl 9-2-13-1, Elgar 3-0-6-1Toss: South AfricaUmpires: Richard Kettleborough (ENG) and Joel Wilson (WI)Third umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS)Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

S C O R E B O A R D

Battle for third spinner’s slot heats upMUMBAI: The third specialist spinner’s slot will be the subject of much deliberation when the national selection committee, headed by Sandeep Patil, meets here on Thursday to announce the squad for the three-Test away series against Sri Lanka starting August 12.

Barring this one aspect, the five wise men on the selection panel would have very little to fret on while picking the squad for the longer format where at least 13 players will automatically select themselves. Apart from third spinner’s position, it will also be interesting to find out whether it will be a 15 or 16-member squad for the three-match series.

The six specialist batsmen who

are automatic choices are openers Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dha-wan, skipper Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and A team captain Cheteshwar Pujara. Young KL Rahul, who missed out against Bangladesh due to dengue, is likely to come back as the seventh bats-man. Wriddhiman Saha is another automatic selection as first-choice wicketkeeper while an additional

16th member might make provi-sion for Naman Ojha or Sanju Samson as the second wicketkeep-er. The three pacers, who are likely to make the cut are Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Pacer Varun Aaron is also a certainty if he recovers from his bout of influenza.

While the two off-spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Harb-hajan Singh are sure to retain their places, it remains to be seen whether the selection committee opts for a left-arm spinner in Axar Patel or a veteran leg-spinner in Amit Mishra. With Karn Sharma sustaining a fracture before Zim-babwe series, it brings 32-year-old Haryana leggie Mishra into the picture. Mishra has 43 wickets

from 13 Test matches but he has last donned whites for India way back in 2011 against England at the Oval, in which he excelled as a bats-man with scores of 43 and 84 while going wicketless for 170 runs in 38 overs. But his selection in the India A squad for longer format makes it clear that he is there in the mix.

Ravindra Jadeja is unlikely to be considered as he was dropped owing to poor form and with no matches in the interim and his non-selection in the India A team for two first-class matches is an indicator that he is not there in the scheme of things. Axar, on his part, was impressive in his restrictive role with five wickets from 3 ODIs and 4 scalps from two T20s in the Zimbabwe series. — PTI

I N D I A ’ S T O U R O F S R I L A N K A

CHIEF SELECTOR: Sandeep Patil.

Rahul, Pujara shine on Day OneCHENNAI: Opener Lokesh Rahul missed out on a hundred while captain Cheteshwar Pu-jara struck a solid fifty to take India A to 221 for six on a rain-affected day one of the first ‘unofficial’ cricket Test against Australia A, here on Wednesday.

Rahul (96 off 185 balls) and Pujara (55 off 122) held the in-nings together before the tour-ing Australians fought back on day when 77.1 overs were bowled due to rain towards the end of day’s play.

Young Shreyas Iyer was an-other batsman who contributed 39 off 58 balls. Andrew Fekete and Steve O’ Keefe took wickets each for the visitors.

Rahul, playing his first com-petitive match after missing out on the one-off Test in Bang-ladesh due to dengue, was cau-tious from the beginning after his team opted to bat.

The Karnataka batsman played well but missed out on a century by giving a simple catch at mid-on to Usman Khawaja off pacer Sean Abbott. His gritty knock saw him hit 14 boundaries besides sharing a crucial 107-run stand with skipper Pujara.

Pujara, who is leading the A side after being overlooked from the playing eleven in the one-off Test in Bangladesh last month, spent substantial time at the crease, collecting seven fours in the process.

Feteke, who claimed 2 for 38 in 17 overs, later said the wicket was slow, helping him get rid of Pujara. “Due to slowness of the wicket it is difficult to score runs,” he said.

India lost opener Abhinav Mukund cheaply before Rahul and Pujara steadied the innings.

The quick fall of Pujara and Karun Nair (0) put the hosts in a spot of bother but Rahul and Iyer stemmed the rot and at tea, India were 175 for 3 in 57 overs. Iyer was looking good for a big knock but was clean bowled. - PTI

C R I C K E T

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SPORTST H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

Yasir in Pakistan Twenty20 squadKARACHI: Fast-rising spin-ner Yasir Shah is set to make his Twenty20 comeback in Paki-stan’s upcoming series against Sri Lanka while injured pacer Wahab Riaz could also make a return subject to fitness, chief selector Haroon Rasheed said Wednesday.

All-rounder Shahid Afridi will lead the squad for the two match-es to be played in Colombo on July 30 and August 1.

Shah, 29, took 24 wickets in Pa-kistan’s 2-1 win in the three-Test series, taking him to third posi-tion in the official world bowlers’ rankings after just ten matches.

The leg-spin bowler, who has won praise from Australian leg-end Shane Warne, then helped Pa-kistan win the third one-day with figures of 4-29 to give the visitors a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Both teams were playing the fourth one-day in Colombo on Wednesday.

Strike bowlerChief selector Rasheed said: “Shah has emerged as a strike bowler who takes wickets, and in T20 cricket a bowler having this ability is a big plus. That is why he has been included.”

Shah played the last of his two Twenty20 internationals in Zim-babwe in September 2011 but has so far failed to pick up a wicket in the format.

Explaining Riaz’s inclusion, Rasheed said he hoped the left-

arm paceman, who has been the pick of Pakistan’s pacers in recent months, would soon be bowling after hurting his hand during the second Test.

“Riaz is expected to start bowl-ing from July 24 after recovering from hand injury and would be included in the squad upon clear-ance that he is injury free and bowling freely.

“Otherwise Ziaul Haq, a bud-ding young fast bowler having toured recently with Pakistan ‘A’, would take his place in the team.”

Tanvir recalledLeft-arm paceman Sohail Tanvir was recalled after being axed from the squad for the two T20 match-es against Zimbabwe in Lahore — Pakistan’s first international series at home for six years.

Talented but temperamental batsman Umar Akmal was also included despite team manage-ment complaints about his atti-tude during the 2015 World Cup, which forced his omission from the one-day squad. Umar featured in both the Twenty20s against Zimbabwe, scoring four and 30.

Squad: Shahid Afridi (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Nauman Anwar, Mohammad Hafeez, Mukhtar Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Sar-fraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz or Ziaul Haq. - AFP

T 2 0 S E R I E S

MAKING A COMEBACK: Fast-rising spinner Yasir Shah is set to

make his Twenty20 comeback. – AFP

Shehzad leads Pakistan to series win

COLOMBO: Ahmed Shehzad smashed 95 off 90 balls as Paki-stan thrashed below-par Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the fourth one-day match in Colombo on Wednes-day to clinch the five-match series.

Mohammed Hafeez chipped in with 70 as the tourists surpassed Sri Lanka’s 256-9 in the 41st over at the Premadasa stadium to take a decisive 3-1 lead in the series.

The series win kept Azhar Ali’s Pakistan in contention for a place in the eight-nation Champions Trophy in England in 2017.

Pakistan are two points ahead of the West Indies at number eight in the rankings, but both teams are due to play a tri-series in Zimba-bwe next month that will deter-mine the final spot.

Pakistan’s one-day success fol-lows their 2-1 victory over Sri

Lanka in the preceding Test series under Misbah-ul Haq’s captaincy.

Sri Lanka are assured of tak-ing part in the Champions Tro-phy, but their lacklustre display did not do justice to the former world champions.

Shehzad and Azhar put Paki-stan on the road to victory with an opening stand of 75 in 11 overs before the skipper was removed by sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga for 33.

Hafeez helped Shehzad build on the fine start by adding 115 for the second wicket, but Sri Lanka hit

back to remove both batsmen in the space of 23 runs.

Shehzad fell five runs short of his fourth one-day century when he cut seamer Suranga Lakmal to a diving Kusal Perera at third man. He hit 12 boundaries and a six.

Hafeez was caught behind by Dinesh Chandimal off spinner Milinda Siriwardana to leave Pa-kistan on 213-3, but Sri Lanka’s recovery came too late.

Shoaib Malik hit a 16-ball 29 and ended the match by lofting Siriwardana over mid-wicket for his fourth six. Sarfraz Ahmed re-

mained unbeaten on 17.Earlier, Lahiru Thirimanne top-

scored with 90 for Sri Lanka after skipper Angelo Mathews won the toss for the first time on Pakistan’s current tour and elected to bat.

The left-hander put on 109 for the second wicket with Tilla-karatne Dilshan (50) after Perera had been dismissed by Moham-mad Irfan off the second ball of the match.

Thirimanne missed his fifth one-day century when he swept leg-spinner Yasir Shah to deep square-leg, where Shehzad picked

up a low catch to make amends for a dropped catch in the bowler’s previous over.

Besides Thirimanne and Dilshan, none of the other top-or-der batsmen settled in as Mathews fell for 12 and Dinesh Chandimal was dismissed after making 20.

Tailender Malinga smashed 17 off 13 balls at the end to ensure Sri Lanka crossed the 250-run mark.

Irfan finished with three wick-ets, while fellow seamer Anwar Ali took two.

The fifth match will be played in Hambantota on Sunday. - AFP

The series win kept

Azhar Ali’s Pakistan

in contention for a

place in the eight-

nation Champions

Trophy in England

in 2017

MATCH WINNER: Pakistan’s Ahmed Shehzad plays a shot during the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa International

Cricket Stadium in Colombo. – AFP

SRI LANKAK. Perera c Imad b Irfan 0T. Dilshan b Imad 50L. Thirimanne c Shehzad b Yasir 90A. Mathews c Yasir b Rahat 12D. Chandimal c Yasir b Irfan 20A. Priyanjan c Hafeez b Anwar 18M. Siriwardana c Rizwan b Anwar 19S. Pathirana run out 14L. Malinga c Rizwan b Irfan 17S. Lakmal not out 1N. Pradeep not out 0Extras: (b-4, lb-1, w-8, nb-2) 15Total (for nine wickets, 50 overs) 256Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Perera), 2-109 (Dilshan), 3-143 (Mathews), 4-170 (Chandimal), 5-186 (Thirimanne), 6-215 (Siriwardana), 7-228 (Priyanjan), 8-243 (Pathirana), 9-252 (Malinga).Bowling: Irfan 10-0-50-3 (nb2, w2), Anwar 7-0-41-2 (w4), Rahat 7-0-39-1 (w2), Yasir 10-0-50-1, Azhar 2-0-13-0, Imad 10-0-43-1, Malik 4-0-15-0.PAKISTANAzhar Ali c sub (Senanayake) b Malinga 33Ahmed Shehzad c Perera b Lakmal 95M. Hafeez c Chandimal b Siriwardana 70Sarfraz Ahmed not out 17Shoaib Malik not out 29Extras: (b-4, w-9) 13Total (for three wickets, 40.5 overs) 257Fall of wickets: 1-75 (Azhar), 2-190 (Shehzad), 3-213 (Hafeez).Bowling: Malinga 9-2-46-1, Lakmal 8-0-50-1 (w3), Pathirana 10-0-81-0, Pradeep 2.2-0-9-0 (w1), Mathews 2.4-0-9-0 (w2), Siriwardana 5.5-0-28-1, Dilshan 3-0-30-0 (w3).Series: Pakistan lead 3-1.

S C O R E B O A R D

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SPORTST H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

Hamilton is the clear favourite but watch out for the FinnsBUDAPEST: The head says Lewis Hamilton but those willing to take a more adventurous punt might fancy the chances of Valt-teri Bottas or Kimi Raikkonen as Formula One regroups in Hungary with a heavy heart this weekend.

Hamilton, winner at the Hun-garoring four times in eight years and twice in the past three, is the clear favourite as the double world champion seeks to stretch his 17-point overall lead into the August break.

The Briton and his rivals will also be racing with Jules Bianchi in their thoughts after attend-ing the French driver’s funeral in Nice on Tuesday.

“Saying goodbye to Jules was incredibly hard for everyone,” said Hamilton of a promising talent who died on Friday, nine months after a Japanese Grand Prix crash left him in a coma.

“I wished I had known him bet-ter. Hungary is a beautiful place, one of my favourites. I will be car-rying Jules with me in my prayers and thoughts, not only this race but for the rest of my driving days. I know he’d want us to race hard as he did, and so I will.”

The form book points to anoth-er battle between Hamilton and Mercedes teammate Nico Ros-berg, with the pair chasing their seventh one-two in 10 races, but

history offers some hope of a dif-ferent outcome.

The race, now in its 30th edi-tion, threw up a surprise last sea-son when Australian Daniel Ric-ciardo won for Red Bull, and has done so before.

It may be just a statistical cu-riosity but the fact remains that only English, Australian or Finn-ish drivers have won in Hungary for a decade.

Finnish successRaikkonen, who could be replaced by Bottas at Ferrari next season if speculation is correct, won with McLaren in 2005 while compatri-ot Heikki Kovalainen triumphed in 2008.

“I always have a lot of support — it’s almost a Finnish Grand Prix,” said Williams’s Bottas, who has yet to win in Formula One but was third in Canada. We should be

looking to have a strong weekend and to build on the good momen-tum we have built.”

Raikkonen was second in Bah-rain, his first top three finish since he won with Lotus in 2013, and apart from last season, the 2007 world champion has been on the podium in Hungary every year he has raced there since 2006.

Ricciardo is the only Austral-ian on the grid, and Red Bull have lost hope of winning until Re-nault provide a more competitive engine, and may have to grin and bear it.

Jenson Button took his first Formula One win in Hungary with Honda in 2006 from 14th on the grid, which remains the low-est winning start for the race, but even starting that low will be a challenge this time with Honda-powered McLaren.

Bianchi’s death, the first since 1994 of a driver resulting from a race incident, has put everything into perspective.

“Last weekend’s sad news... means that the grand prix circus heads to Budapest with heavy hearts,” McLaren boss Eric Boullier said.

“We’ll all remember his life in our own personal way, but For-mula One will come together on Sunday to silently and respect-fully mark his passing.” - Reuters

F O R M U L A O N E

‘Scala winning

support to head Fifa’s

reform task force’

ZURICH: Swiss businessman Domenico Scala has been asked by heads of at least three regional confederations to take on the role of ‘neutral chairman’ of Fifa’s new reforms task force, sources familiar with the situation said.

Scala is not an elected Fifa of-ficial but already holds two roles at soccer’s global governing body, which is facing a massive cor-ruption scandal following the indictment by U.S. authorities of 14 current and former soccer offi-cials and company executives for bribery-related offences.

He is chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee and chairman of the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee, handling the process for February’s vote for a new Fifa president to replace Sepp Blatter. His involvement inside Fifa will lead to questions about whether he qualifies as a neutral party.

Scala has already been working on reform plans which were pre-sented to Fifa’s executive com-mittee meeting on Monday.

Fifa has said that the chairman of the task force would be decided in consultation with the confed-erations’ presidents.

Those confederation heads, who attended Monday’s meeting in Zurich, held informal sound-ings with Scala about the role and a source said he is expected to decide later this week whether or not to accept their proposal.

One of the sources, who is close to Concacaf — the confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean — said that it backs him becoming the task force head.

However, Michel Platini — who is head of the European con-federation Uefa — would prefer to see someone well-known, from outside Fifa circles, to lead the task force and has not given any formal backing to Scala, a source close to Platini said.

“He has no major problem with

Scala and could entertain the idea but he would prefer a high-profile independent person for this role,” said the source.

Platini has emerged as the front-runner to replace Sepp Blatter in February’s presidential election but he has yet to decide whether he will run.

Fifa has not made any deci-sion on who will make up the ten-person task force, other than stating that the members will be drawn from the six continental confederations.

“This is a work in progress,” said a Fifa spokeswoman.

Countdown to 2018Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Blatter will be putting aside their troubles when they take centre-stage and kick off the countdown to the 2018 World Cup on Saturday.

Putin has been cast as a villain in the West because of Russia’s mili-tary involvement in Ukraine, while Blatter’s presidency is ending next year in the wake of a huge scandal over alleged Fifa corruption.

But any doubts that Russia will host the World Cup because of alleged vote-rigging in their winning bid five years ago now appear irrelevant, with huge con-struction programmes going on in all 11 venue cities and the draw heralding the official start of the countdown to the finals in 2018.

A worldwide TV audience of around 100 million people in 170 countries will watch as the two men open proceedings at the draw for the qualifying round of the competition which has involved 206 of Fifa’s 209 member nations.

The draw has become some-thing of an extravangza in its own right. Played out against a back-ground show of Russian culture, the real business will be con-ducted by Fifa Secretary General Jerome Valcke. - Reuters

F O O T B A L L

SAYING GOODBYE: British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton

pays his last respect to late French Formula 1 driver Jules

Bianchi’s coffin after his funeral ceremony outside Cathedrale

Sainte Reparate in Nice, southeastern France, on Tuesday. – AFP

Froome retains leadas Contador drifts

PRA LOUP: Chris Froome emerged unscathed from a treach-erous 17th stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday, retaining his lead while Alberto Contador lost a lot of ground and Tejay van Garderen abandoned the race.

American Van Garderen, who was third overall at the start of the 161-km trek from Digne les Bains, pulled out because of sickness with the day’s laurels going to Ger-man Simon Geschke after a brave solo raid.

Spaniard Contador’s hopes of achieving a rare Giro d’Italia-Tour double suffered another major knock when he lost touch with the group of top guns after crash-ing in the dangerous descent from the col d’Allos.

The Tinkoff-Saxo rider lost over two minutes on Froome and Colombian Nairo Quintana, who finished together after the final as-cent to Pra Loup, a 6.2-km climb at an average gradient of 6.5 percent.

Froome leads Quintana, who attacked him several times in the climbs, by three minutes and 10 seconds and his Movistar team mate Alejandro Valverde of Spain by 4:09.

Contador is now fifth overall 6:40 off the pace, six seconds be-hind Froome’s compatriot and team mate Geraint Thomas.

In 1975, Frenchman Bernard Thevenet snatched the yellow jer-sey from the great Eddy Merckx in a stage finishing in Pra Loup, but Froome was not to be overthrown on Wednesday.

The Briton showed fine de-scending skills and his usual pow-er in the climbs to stay in control on another searing hot day on the Tour. Peter Sagan was again in the day’s breakaway as part of a group of 28 that also featured France’s

Thibaut Pinot and American Andrew Talansky. In a nervous start to the stage, Van Garderen dropped out of the main pack early on suffering from a headache.

Shortly after making contact with the peloton again, he stepped off his bike and abandoned the race about 73km from the finish.

World champion Michal Kwiat-kovski of Poland also abandoned the Tour later in the stage.

Contador jumped away from the peloton with teammate Michael Rogers in the ascent to the Col de la Colle St Michel but was quickly reined in and the Team Sky-led

pack let the breakaway build a nine-minute lead.

Geschke powered away from that leading group before the tough ascent to the Col d’Allos — at 2,250 metres the highest point of this year’s Tour.

Lagging two minutes behind, Pinot launched the chase and at the top of the Col d’Allos had halved the deficit.

But in the descent the French-man skidded off and crashed. He quickly remounted but had cut his legs and only managed fourth behind Talansky and Colombian Rigoberto Uran respectively. - Reuters

Froome leads

Quintana, who

attacked him several

times in the climbs,

by three minutes and

10 seconds and his

Movistar team mate

Alejandro Valverde of

Spain by 4:09

IN CONTROL: Team Sky rider Chris Froome, left, of Britain climbs followed by Astana rider Vincenzo

Nibali of Italy during the 161km 17th stage of the 102nd Tour de France cycling race from Digne-les-

Bains to Pra Loup in the French Alps mountains, France, on Wednesday. – Reuters

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SPORTST H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

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Al Harthy focussed on Spa 24 Hours success

MUSCAT: Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium hosts the biggest race of the GT endurance racing calen-dar on July 25 and 26, where Oman Racing Team (ORT) driver Ahmad Al Harthy is resolutely committed to overturning the squad’s recent misfortune.

Round four of the Blancpain En-durance Series, the Total 24 Hours of Spa, brings an immense chal-lenge for the near 60 car entry and the annual twice-round-the-clock race is always a major highlight of the season for the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 driver.

Having competed in the big race twice before, the Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Oore-doo, National Bank of Oman and Al Hashar Group-supported driver is well aware of the task which awaits a few days from now.

Ahead of this weekend’s action, though, there have been some no-table changes for the Oman Rac-ing Team — the squad has been re-graded in the Pro-Am category with Australian driver Jonathan Venter joining Ahmad and regular British teammate Daniel Lloyd.

“This is the big one,” said the 33-year-old Omani. “The 24 Hours is obviously the biggest race of the year and it’s an unbelievable chal-lenge, there are so many factors to take into consideration and it re-quires so much commitment and dedication. We’re all really looking forward to the weekend and, per-sonally, I’m determined for this to be a turning point of our year.

“We’ve had quite a bit of mis-fortune in 2015, both in Blancpain and the British GT Championship, and we’ve certainly been on the back-foot compared to the compe-tition with the extra weight we’ve had to carry due to the regulations. We know what we have to do, though, we know we have a strong car and everyone at the Oman Rac-ing Team will be giving 100 per-cent as always.”

Despite a problematic third

round of the Blancpain campaign last time out at Paul Ricard in France, Ahmad and British team-mates Daniel Lloyd and Jonny Adam produced a superb fightback to claim their first Pro Cup points finish of the season. Then, last weekend, Ahmad and Lloyd were in action at Spa in British GT but the race was again compromised by factors out of their control.

So, on the team’s return to Belgium, which brings a fresh challenge in Pro-Am with Aston Martin Evolution Academy mem-ber Venter racing as the team’s ‘Bronze’ driver, the desire has never been stronger to deliver on all fronts.

“We’ve never been hungrier for success than we are right now”, said Ahmad, “Our car is good and the team continues to do a fantas-tic job, we’ve just had more than

our share of bad luck this year. With our move to Pro-Am the weekend will be a different chal-lenge and it’s going to be great rac-ing with Jonathan (Venter) for the first time — especially at such a high-profile event.”

Ahmad’s first track time at Spa will come on Thursday, during free practice at 12.00 (local time) with pre-qualifying set to follow at 18.10 (local time) and qualify-ing scheduled to get underway at 20.30 (local time). Night qualify-ing will then take place at 22.15 (local time).

Should the Oman Racing Team qualify for the Super Pole ses-sion, they will return to action at 15.30 (local time) on Friday. After a warm-up session at 09.05 (local time) on Saturday, the Total 24 Hours of Spa will get underway at 16.30 (local time).

The annual twice-

round-the-clock race

is always a major

highlight of the

season for the Aston

Martin V12 Vantage

GT3 driver

The 24 Hours is

obviously the biggest

race of the year. We’re

all really looking

forward to

the weekend

Ahmad Al HarthyORT driver

Tokyo expects IOC

to welcome decision

TOKYO: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) may well welcome Japan’s decision to scrap and completely revise plans for its controversial Na-tional Stadium since the move will save money, the head of the Tokyo Games organising group said on Wednesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said last week that he had decided to take the stadium plans back to square one in the face of growing public outrage over ballooning costs, as his sup-port rates took a hit over unpopu-lar defence bills.

The sudden decision over the stadium, designed by U.K.-based architect Zaha Hadid and set to be the centrepiece for the 2020 Summer Olympics, took many by surprise and became the latest in a series of broken promises con-nected to the event.

But Yoshiro Mori, president of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said substantial savings on the stadium — projected to cost some $2 billion, nearly twice original estimates — fit right in to the IOC’s new cost-cutting poli-cy, Agenda 2020.

Mori acknowledged that the futuristic stadium design had

probably helped Tokyo beat off Istanbul and Madrid to be award-ed the Games in 2013 but that the International Olympic Commit-tee was likely to approve the re-vised plans at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur later this month.

“If the decision was made to save money, it should go right in line with the IOC’s Agenda 2020,” Mori told a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Many nations have downsized stadium projects but it is highly unusual to change plans com-pletely at this stage and risks damaging the can-do reputation that was one of the reasons Tokyo won the games.

New rugby homeIOC President Thomas Bach said last week that he had con-fidence Tokyo would build the new stadium in time but the deci-sion means that the 2019 Rugby World Cup, which was also set to use the arena, will have to find a new home.

Tokyo has already backed away from another pledge that helped it win the hosting rights, that most of the venues will be located within 8 km of the Olympic Vil-lage, to save money by using pre-existing venues. - Reuters

O L Y M P I C S T A D I U M

Pacquiao to lobby for

Philippines’ Cup bid

GENERAL SANTOS: Boxing hero Manny Pacquiao said on Wednesday he would promote the Philippines’ bid to host the 2019 International Basketball Federation (Fiba) World Cup.

“Yes, I’m going to Tokyo with the Philippine delegation to help in our bid to host Fiba 2019,” he said in a statement.

Pacquiao, 36, said he would travel next month to the Japa-nese capital where Fiba would announce the host.

The basketball-crazy Philip-pines qualified for last year’s Fiba World Cup in Spain, finishing 21st. It faces stiff competition from Asian giant China as host for the 2019 event, according to the Fiba website.

Pacquiao, who has gained worldwide fame for holding box-ing world titles in eight weight divisions, is also an avid basket-ball fan. Last year he controver-sially signed on as playing coach of a neophyte team in the highly-competitive Philippine profes-sional basketball league.

However the 1.69-metre (5 foot 7 inch) Pacquiao has been under-whelming on the hardcourt, play-ing just for a few minutes in each game despite cheering fans in the bleachers. Pacquiao has parlayed his boxing fame into a fortune in showbiz, as a commercial en-dorser and even in politics, win-ning election as the congressman of a district in the poverty-strick-en southern Philippines. - AFP

B A S K E T B A L L

Al Jazira’s Lanzini joins West Ham on loan

LONDON: Argentinian mid-fielder Manuel Lanzini has joined West Ham on a season-long loan from United Arab Emirates club Al Jazira.

The 22-year-old is the Premier League side’s seventh signing of the close season and the club hold

an option to make the deal perma-nent at the end of the season.

Lanzini has played four times for Argentina Under-20s and came through the same River Plate youth system that produced the likes of Ariel Ortega and Javier Mascherano.

“This is very emotional because it is one of the best teams I have ever signed for,” Lanzini told West Ham TV on Wednesday.

“This is a new challenge for me and that can only help in the fu-ture. It will test my ability in one of the best leagues in the world,

so I am looking forward to get-ting started. Lanzini became the youngest foreign player to play in the UAE Arabian Gulf League, making his first appearance aged 21, and he helped Al Jazira finish runners-up last season with eight goals in 24 league games. - AFP

F O O T B A L L

Absentees add to uncertainty at world aquatic championshipsSINGAPORE: The absence of a handful of the world’s best swim-mers, including Michael Phelps, has added an air of uncertainty to the 16th world aquatic champion-ships, starting in Russia on Friday.

Taking place in Kazan from July 24 to August 9, the champi-onships were meant to be a full dress rehearsal for next year’s Olympics in Rio but a spate of high-profile withdrawals has di-luted the competition.

The highest-profile no-show is Phelps, who came out of retire-ment in 2014 but was subsequent-ly banned from representing the United States at the world cham-pionships after being convicted of drink driving late last year.

Australia’s James Magnussen, who won the 100 metres freestyle gold at the last two world champi-onships, will also be missing after electing to undergo shoulder sur-gery, giving up his chance to be-come the first man to win the blue-riband sprint three times in row.

France’s Yannick Agnel, the

reigning world and Olympic champion for 200m freestyle, is also skipping the world champion-ships, because of a lung infection.

Japan’s Kosuke Hagino, who has emerged as one of the major threats to Phelps in the individual medley events, withdrew earlier this month after slipping over on his way to training and fracturing his elbow.

The spotlight for the men’s events in Kazan is now likely to fall on South Africa’s Chad le Clos and China’s Sun Yang.

One of the few men to have beaten Phelps at the Olympics, Le Clos will defend the 100m and 200m butterfly titles he won at the 2013 world championships in Barcelona and is also targetting the 50m, hoping to complete a unique treble.

“This is the most important event outside of the Olympics, everything after this is just warm-ups,” the 23-year-old said. “The Olympics are like the Wimbledon tennis, you play against the same

field as in other events but it is just that the prestige is greater. So the World Championships will be a vital test for me.”

Sun, the undisputed king of men’s long distance swimming, has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons since he became the first Chinese man to win an Olympic swimming gold medal at London in 2012.

In 2013, he was suspended by Chinese swimming officials from engaging in commercial activities after missing training and breach-ing team rules. Later that year he was ordered to spend a week in detention after crashing a car that he had driven without a licence.

In 2014, he secretly served a three-month ban after testing positive for a banned stimulant.

He could have faced a much longer penalty but Chinese dop-ing officials ruled that Sun had made an innocent mistake and never intended to cheat.

Unfazed by the extra attention, Sun is targetting the 200m, 400m,

800m and 1,500m individual free-style events, plus relays, a feat no other swimmer has achieved.

“When I was little, I watched Michael Phelps compete in five or six events at a worlds, so I want to try it as well,” he said.

American Katie Ledecky is also trying to win the same four free-style events in Kazan.

The 18-year-old has been smashing world records at will for the last year and seems a sure bet to win the three longer races, but the 200m is her toughest chal-lenge. Among Ledecky’s big ri-vals will be her team mate Missy Franklin, who won four gold med-als at the London Olympics as a 17-year-old.

Franklin won six gold medals at the last world championships in 2013 but has her heart set on seven this time, and at Rio as well.

The powerful U.S. are again expected to win the lion’s share of the medals with Australia and China looming as their biggest rivals. - Reuters

S W I M M M I N G

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SPORTST H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

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England’s Campbell backs former player to fix FifaMUMBAI: Former England de-fender Sol Campbell believes a retired player would be the ideal candidate to take charge of Fifa and lead a successful cleaning up operation at the corruption-taint-ed world governing body.

Charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering are hanging over Fifa and outgoing president Sepp Blatter has seven months to instigate reforms in re-sponse to the worst crisis to hit the organisation in its 111-year history.

Blatter, who has not been ac-cused of any wrongdoing, was re-elected for a fifth term but an-nounced he would step down last month just days after his victory at the Fifa Congress in Zurich in the wake of a scandal that has en-gulfed the body since the arrest of several senior officials on the eve of the vote.

When asked if it was time for someone who has played the game at the highest level to succeed Blat-ter in February’s presidential elec-tion, Campbell said that it was a logical course of action.

“There are lot of intelligent guys out there who have played football... it’s just picking the right character,” the former England and Arsenal skipper said in Mum-bai, where he is attending the launch of his former club’s new home and away kits.

“The right footballer with the right character, they are good team builders. They have been in pressure situations. They understand getting deals and getting deals over the line.

“They have played around the world, they have met a lot of people and they are used to talking to peo-ple with different backgrounds. That’s what you want.”

Uefa chief Michel Platini is re-garded as one of the most gifted players of his generation and the former France captain is expected to garner strong support should he decide to run for the top job early next year.

Empathy neededThe 40-year-old Campbell, who started his career at Arsenal’s north London rivals Totten-

ham, felt the person replacing the 79-year-old Blatter should be comfortable in dealing with all the stakeholders of the game.

“Someone who can shake a hand

of someone from the streets and shake a hand of a president or a queen,” Campbell added.

“That’s what you want in that position, people who have empathy

for football and want to bring foot-ball back to where it should be.”

Another issue needing to be tackled by the next Fifa president is racism in Russia after Brazil and

Zenit St Petersburg forward Hulk was the latest player to claim he was the target of racial abuse by spectators in the country that will host the 2018 World Cup.

Campbell, born in east London to Jamaican parents, is himself no stranger to allegations of discrimi-nation and claimed in his biogra-phy that he would have captained England more than the three times he led the side if he had been white.

However, the former central de-fender was confident Russia would work hard to resolve the issue.

“Russia will have to do a lot of work on that. Usually when you have competitions like that (World Cup) it kind of allows the country to focus and deal with their prob-lems internally,” Campbell, who was capped 73 times by England, added. “Hopefully, the government and the football association in Russia will start working together to kind of appease the players and take this out of the game.

“If it (racism) does happen, then it’s a big problem but I think they should be fine.” - Reuters

F O O T B A L L

There are lot of intelligent guys out there who have

played football... it’s just picking the right character.

The right footballer with the right character, they

are good team builders. They have been in pressure

situations. They understand getting deals and getting

deals over the line

Sol CampbellFormer England captain

Bolt sacrifices fast food to prolong stellar career

PARIS: Jamaican track star Usain Bolt has admitted to sacrificing fast food in a bid to extend his stel-lar sprinting career.

In an interview with the IAAF Inside Athletics programme re-leased on Tuesday, Bolt said curb-ing off-track activities as the years rolled by had been easy compared to having to watch his diet.

“I’ve cut back on a lot of things,” said the 28-year-old six-time Olympic gold medallist who had a growing reputation in his younger years for liking the nightlife and, famously, eating chicken nuggets.

“When I really realised I was getting older was last season when I got injured. Trying to get back was much harder than the years when I was younger. Now it takes time for me to get going and I need a lot more races.

“I’ve noticed that I have to be

very careful and I just have to be aware of everything around me and make sure I’m on point.

“I’ve started eating healthy. That’s the hardest thing for me right now is the sacrifices, eating vegetables all the time. Everything else is easy to give up, but eating healthy is really hard!”

Bolt, who has been struggling with a pelvic injury but is slated to

compete at the Diamond League meet in London on Friday, made no mention in the programme about next month’s world champi-onships in Beijing.

But he did talk about what will be his third Olympic Games, in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, insisting he felt no pressure from the weight of expectation of a public who have seen him win an unprecedented

double-treble gold haul.“I want the best for myself,” said

Bolt, who has also won eight world gold medals. “That’s the way I look at it to try not to feel pressure.

“I focus on what’s necessary and what I want out of it and work to-wards that.”

Training under coach Glen Mills’ watchful eye alongside co-stars like fellow sprinter Yohan Blake was nothing but helpful, Bolt acknowledged.

“It definitely really helps to compete and train with these guys every day. You know you have to step up your level,” he said, adding that Mills had sometimes to step in and split up the group if it became too competitive.

“You learn not to compete too hard in training. But we’re men, so we compete.”

Bolt, however, was quick to put an end to any talk of him potential-ly stepping up to the 400m, insist-ing the one-lap race was too drain-ing, but hinted he might have a shot at making the 4x400m relay team for the 2017 worlds in London.

“It’s definitely the pain,” he said of his reason not to step up.

“I don’t want to do that! I told the coach we’re not going to do it. He also expressed that maybe I should try, but I’ve already talked him down -- it’s not going to happen.

“I think I’ll go through my career with my 100 and 200 metres.

“I’ve said to a few of the 4x400m guys that in 2017 I’ll just do the 100m and then try the 4x400m.

“I’ll train myself, probably run a few (less races) in 2017 and then see if I’ll be ready. It would be nice to run a 4x400m at a championships.” - AFP

In an interview with

the IAAF Inside

Athletics programme,

Bolt said curbing off-

track activities as the

years rolled by had

been easy compared

to having to watch

his diet

AWARE OF EVERYTHING: Usain Bolt

Barca make encouraging start to North America tourPASADENA: Goals from Luis Su-arez and Sergi Roberto lifted Bar-celona to a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Tuesday that manager Luis Enrique called an encouraging start to the European Champions’ North American tour.

Uruguay international Suarez came out on top in a clash with for-mer Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard — the Galaxy’s latest ac-quisition from Europe.

His 45th-minute strike and Roberto’s 56th-minute goal en-sured that even without such stars as Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazilian Neymar — let off the pre-season tour after Copa America duty — Barcelona got the win their dominant performance deserved in front of 93,226 fans at Pasade-na’s Rose Bowl.

It was the largest crowd ever to watch a match featuring a Major League Soccer club.

“Based on what a first game of the pre-season looks like, consid-ering we’ve only had about seven days of practice, a lot of traveling, overall I feel very positive,” the coach said. “Overall, our players look good.”

Barcelona, preparing to defend their La Liga, Copa Del Rey and Champions League treble, effec-

tively neutralized any threat from Gerrard and Galaxy teammate Robbie Keane, while pressing re-lentlessly themselves.

They were finally rewarded in the 45th minute when Suarez fired a left-footed shot past Galaxy keeper Brian Rowe after Rafinha’s deflected cross was moved on by Marc Bartra.

Suarez had been off-target from the center of the area in the 11th and from long range in the 23rd, while Rowe made a diving save of Roberto’s attempt from outside the box in the 35th.

“I’m happy with the way the team played, with the level, the intensity,” Luis Enrique said, while stressing that “everything can be better.”

Both teams made wholesale changes at the break, with Su-arez among the seven Barcelona players to depart and Andres Ini-esta and Gerard Pique entering the game.

Galaxy coach Bruce Arena went even further, but Luis Enrique said such sweeping changes were “logical” for both teams. His moves allowed him to give more of his men a chance to get back into the groove, while he felt his opposite number Bruce Arena was wise to

avoid excessive wear and tear on key players like Gerrard and Keane with his team in the midst of their MLS title defence.

Arena was delighted to give his younger players — many of them second-teamers — the experience.

“I don’t think Keane and Ger-rard need these games as much as the young kids need the experi-ence,” Arena said.

“You can tell them a lot of things, but until they actually step on the field and experience it against quality players, they don’t fully comprehend. Tonight for our young players it was an invaluable experience.”

The changes didn’t slow Barca, with Douglas going close in the 47th minute and Pique testing substitute Galaxy keeper Andrew Wolverton in the 53rd after a pass from Munir.

Munir also helped set up Rob-erto’s 56th minute strike from the edge of the box — which brought joyous cheers of “Barca! Barca!” from the crowd.

The Galaxy now head back into MLS action, visiting the Dynamo in Houston on Sunday. Barcelona next travel up the coast to take on Manchester United on Saturday at Levi’s Stadium. - AFP

F O O T B A L L

POSITIVE START: Luis Suarez, second right, Barcelona celebrates with teammates after scoring

against the Los Angeles Galaxy during their International Champions Cup game at the Rose Bowl

Stadium in Pasadena, California on Tuesday. – AFP

Sterling up to speed

for City: Pellegrini

MELBOURNE: Manager Ma-nuel Pellegrini says record signing Raheem Sterling will benefit from playing with the technical players in Manchester City’s squad this English Premier League (EPL) season.

Sterling gave a glimpse of what he can bring to the 2014 EPL champions with his searing pace and link play with Span-ish star David Silva in the pen-alty shootout win over Italy’s AS Roma in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Sterling, the most expensive English footballer in history, took just two minutes and 17 seconds to open his account for the big-spending English club in the In-ternational Champions Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

It was the 20-year-old Jamai-ca-born Londoner’s first game for Manchester City since his move from Liverpool last week in a five-year deal worth an initial £44 million that could rise to £49 million ($76 million).

Sterling played only the first half but in that time he showed Pellegrini why he will be an ex-cellent acquisition for his all-star squad when the new season kicks off next month.

“It’s important to score, par-ticularly early in the game, and he just played 45 minutes after hav-ing just a few days working with the team,” Pellegrini said after Tuesday’s match.

“I’m happy with the way he played. He demonstrated why he’s here, not only his value as a player, he’s a very young player so I think he will improve a lot in the future, playing with Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero.”

“I’m very happy with him and I’m very happy that we’ve bought him,” Pellegrini added.

Explosive pacePellegrini was particularly im-pressed with Sterling’s instinc-tive link-up play with Spanish in-ternational midfielder Silva and how he injected extra pace into the City attack.

“Always good players link im-mediately when they know how to play. We bought him as a young player with a very good future.”

“Good players link immedi-ately (with others) when they know how to play. David is a very good player, he makes good move-ments,” he said.

“I think at the moment we have a complete midfield with very technical players and I think he (Sterling) will benefit from that so I am very happy with the fu-ture we are going to have with the team. He has the speed that we didn’t have so he will be another different way of playing.

“I am sure he is the player that we need in our team, that’s the reason why we bought him.”

Sterling showed his explosive pace to swoop on a defence-split-ting pass from Kelechi Iheanacho, leaving Roma goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis flailing as he slotted the ball into the empty net.

Iheanacho put City ahead again on 51 minutes. Roma equalised with an exquisite free-kick from Adem Ljajic in the final minutes of normal time before England goalkeeper Joe Hart saved pen-alties from Seydou Doumbia and Seydou Keita in the shootout to get the English club home. - AFP

F O O T B A L L

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

CultureSECTIONC L I F E S T Y L E T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

HEADING

FOR THE

ABANDONED

TOWN

OF MANAH,

WE PASS

HIS MAJESTY’S

COUNTRY

CASTLE,

HISN A’ SHUMOOKH.

THE CASTLE

STANDS

ON THE

OPEN PLAIN

IN STATELY

SPLENDOUR,

SIGNALLING

THE CONTINUING

RELEVANCE

OF PAST

TRADITIONS.

ECHOES FROM ETERNITY Story Dr Patricia Groves Photography Enrico D’Errico

We were on an expedi-tion to see the results of the conservation work undertaken by

the Ministry of Heritage and Cul-ture, headed by His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq in Manah and in the old town of Adam.

Everyone involved in the man-agement of the Manah and Adam restorations are working under the personal guidance of Sayyid Haitham, who is ensuring that the project strictly adheres to the Unesco principles of philological conservation – ‘restoring’ build-ings in an authentic way that pre-serve their original state.

“Nothing is hypothetical. With a building restored in this authen-tic manner, you can appreciate the substance of the materials, the true colours of the elements, the nature of the original architectural forms and volumes, the traces of fingers from the manual application of mud plaster on surfaces. You can read through the pages of a building in order to under-stand its history, and you will experi-ence its civilisation existentially pre-served in marks that speak of eternity. 

This approach has prevailed since our conservation work on Jabreen Castle in the late 1970s and has con-tinued through the restoration of monuments such as Al Hazm Cas-tle, the Bibi Maryam mausoleum at Qalhat, Mutrah Fort, Mirani Fort and many others. Under the inspir-ing guidance of Sayyid Haitham, the Ministry of Heritage and Culture is deeply committed to preserving not simply the buildings, but also the at-mosphere and the essential bloom of old monuments in the eloquent stillness of the ages,” explained an expert in the Ministry of Herit-age and Culture.

Oman is the only country in the Middle East that employs Unesco’s painstaking methodology, a crucial factor in ensuring the authentic conservation of heritage.

Manah About two hours from Muscat, just south of Nizwa in the Dakhliyah region, we arrived in old Manah. We walked through the town in its substantially restored state and the old spirit of the settlement seemed palpable. The walls and inner spaces seemed to whisper their hidden his-tories: Kitchen arches still black-ened from cooking fires; sitting rooms empty, but far from lifeless. In each space it felt as though the old inhabitants might appear at any moment. I could almost hear the hub-bub of communal life; the constant bleating of goats, the ex-cited cries of children playing.

The wonderful arched canopy over the main street had been re-turned to its original state of grace, the beautiful curves of the arches materialising again in hand-worked mud, timber, and saruj (plas-ter). There was no suggestion of a smooth, pottery-like finish, instead, the handcrafted walls had a hand-some textured look, finished in the greyish colour of desert earth, which highlighted the fanned traces of the human fingers, creating a natural grain. The finger tracings in the saruj were as eloquent as paintings.

Old timbers served as beams or inner ribs in the structures just as they did in the past. Nothing was new, except the mud-brick and plaster which was fashioned us-ing methods that are thousands of years old.

We journeyed on to see Burj Juss, the remnants of which were only a few metres high when I last saw the tower – but on this visit, once again, soared majestically into the sky. And, not far away, were shallow trenches where saruj was freshly made with clay-rich earth, lime, water, and straw.

I noticed that in a number of

places the form and character of the ruins was retained, allowing us to experience the town both as it once was, and in the beauti-ful decline in which it now exists. The natural enchant of this aban-doned settlement is enhanced by the magic of its re-birth.

LIFESTYLEC8 T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

HERITAGE CONSERVATION

The United Nations

Educational, Scientific

and Cultural Organisation

(UNESCO) seeks to encourage

the identification, protection

and preservation of cultural

and natural heritage around

the world considered to

be of outstanding value to

humanity. This is embodied

in an international treaty

called the Convention

concerning the Protection

of the World Cultural and

Natural Heritage, adopted by

Unesco in 1972.

Learn more about Unesco,

visit whc.unesco.org

MANAH’S ANCIENT HISTORY

Manah is understood to

be one of the oldest oasis

settlements in Oman. Legend

would have it that Manah’s

first falaj was built by the

famous Omani hero Malik bin

Fahm and his followers when

they arrived from Yemen in

the first century AD. Though

this story is up for debate,

what we do know as a matter

of record is that early in

the last millennium Manah

evolved into a prosperous and

wealthy centre for agriculture

and commercial goods.

Over time, Manah also

became a significant

cultural hub, renowned for

scholarship, learning, and

practical achievement in the

sciences as well as the arts.

In the early sixteenth

century, a school of craftsmen

developed the art of

decorating mihrabs (prayer

niches) to such an extent that

the school influenced artisans

throughout central Oman.

A multi-purpose fort,

Husn Manhia, and four

mosques constituted the

main public buildings

of Manah. The town was

enclosed and safeguarded by

a mud-brick wall with heavy

gates stationed in the four

directions of the compass.

Additional protection was

provided by two impressive

towers, one of which, Burj

Juss, consisted of six tiers.

The town was loosely

organised in a grid pattern of

lanes and pathways. While

the main arteries generally

facilitated commercial

and public or communal

activities, housing was

accommodated more

privately in interconnected

neighbourhood clusters.

It is these intimate

enclaves that I find to be the

most evocative, as this is

where people lived out their

daily lives.

AdamWe journeyed on towards Adam and soon were bumping along an old dirt road under palm-fringed shadows. We gazed into the cool, mysterious depths of the date-palm planta-tions. Adam’s groves are an earthly paradise, shaded from the heat of summer. Eventually we came upon a huge tower that guarded the gate to the old settlement. The archway was just wide enough for our Land Cruiser to slip through.

Once inside the gate we circum-navigated the town on a narrow road cutting through the orchards before disembarking to wander on foot through the organic, labyrin-thine lanes.

The silence and faded myster-ies of the old settlement engulfed our sensibilities. And as we walked deeper and deeper into the heart of the town, I felt as though I was in an ethereal realm where time has long since vanished.

We came upon a door festooned with carved decoration and fine cal-ligraphy running across the lintel in

elegant curves. “What does it say?” I asked. “This is the Imam’s House,” my

companions replied.We were on the doorstep of

Imam Ahmad bin Said (1710 -1783), the founder of Oman’s Al Busaidi Dynasty of which His Maj-esty Sultan Qaboos bin Said is the fourteenth ruler.

Imam Ahmad bin Said, one of the great heroes in the history of Oman, united the tribes into a na-tion and succeeded in ending the Persian occupation. Maintaining a permanent army and navy, Imam Ahmad encouraged the develop-ment of agriculture and maritime trading. During a peaceful reign lasting almost forty years, Imam Ahmad re-established Oman’s pre-eminent position as a regional maritime power.

His corner house was larger than the others, but still relatively modest, and by no means grand. There were eight rooms, some of which featured by tall niches with shelves, presumably for books and other valued items, but were oth-erwise unadorned.

The beauty of these renovations lies in the fact that historic sites are preserved as they were, not as we might imagine them to be, and therefore offer a window through which we might catch a glimpse of the past, and of the lives of those who came before us. —PG

LIFESTYLEC9T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

SO TO SPEAK

SALEHAL SHABANY

The Solitary LifeDespite the longing

way married men sometimes remi-nisce about their single days, men are

rarely good at being away from their better halves. I was remind-ed recently that I’m no exception.

When I found the empty house too gloomy, I decided to go out and mingle with the crowd. I made a short trip to the nearest shopping mall, and though the strangers walking past were a comfort, I still looked fervently for a familiar face.

My prayers were answered when I noticed a friend wander-ing around on his own as well. He was as glad to see me as I was to see him, and I readily accepted his invitation to share a meal.

We walked against the tide of the crowd until we reached the food court. As we ate, he men-tioned that his wife was on a two-year tour of duty somewhere abroad. Though my own wife was not on a long haul tour of duty, she was nonetheless away from home, making us both temporary bache-

lors, sharing a particular lost feel-ing along with our dinner.

The prospect of going back home with no one to receive you is not a welcoming one. Despite this, since neither of us were big on the nightlife, so we parted company in the parking lot, driv-ing away in our separate cars to our solitary homes.

As I manoeuvred the vehi-cle away from the heavy traffic, I automatically reached for my mobile phone to call my wife to ask if she wanted me to get her anything on my way home, as I always do when I stay out a lit-tle late. Habits die hard. I slung my phone on the seat and shook my head. Feeling a bit dejected, I thought about visiting my sister, but quickly dismissed the idea, driving straight home instead.

The silent house greeted me as I entered and I proceeded to the living room to switch on the tele-vision. At least, the electronic box would imitate the noisy clamour of a house full of children. I mar-velled at the way even the phone falls silent when you are alone.

When kids are around, you con-stantly asked them to shut up, but how badly you miss their sound when they are no longer there.

I consoled myself with the fact that perhaps I could get caught up on my backlog of work. My laptop had become my constant companion; sit-ting on my lap while I type

away late in the night, the hum-ming in the background, work-ing away until my eyes see the characters double, and I realise that it is time for bed. I doubt I would have been allowed to in-dulge in such a habit if my wife were around.

Again, the prospect of turn-ing in to an empty bed is not a very good one, but at least the dark hours of the night pass quickly when one is knocked out by exhaustion.

The advantage of living alone without the wife is that no one asks what time you are coming back home, you are free to do as you please. But this too is the disadvantage (apart from loneli-ness): There’s nobody to check on you. No one to notice when you over eat, dress badly, or go without a shave for just a bit too long. In short, no one to take note or care about the everyday trivialities of your life. Take it from this tem-porary bachelor, if you’re married, then don’t let anyone tell you that single men living the single life are better off.

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I marvelled at the way even the phone falls silent when you are alone

Cate Blanchett to direct TV series ‘Stateless’

ACTRESS Cate Blanchett is set to develop and direct an Australian TV series, Stateless, which will centre on “the tragic and true story of Cornelia Rau which made headlines in 2004”. Rau, a German citizen and permanent resident of Aus-tralia, escaped a frightening cult only to be trapped in a bizarre labyrinth of psy-chiatric and legal systems, landing her in the notori-ous Baxter Immigration Detention Centre, reported variety.com.

Robert Downey Jr.’s firm working on a presidential film

The team behind Ameri-can drama film The Judge is taking on the political scene next as actor Robert Downey Jr., wife Susan Downey, and screenwriter Bill Dubuque are develop-ing an untitled presidential debate comedy-drama for Warner Bros. The film is set in the high-stakes backdrop of three presiden-tial debates where millions of dollars and months of campaigning come down to 270 minutes of highly scru-tinised political theatre. Dubuque will pen the script with Downey Jr., Downey and David Gambino pro-ducing for Team Downey, along with Mark Williams. Gambino and Rob Hackett will oversee for Team Downey while Courtenay Valenti and Julia Spiro are overseeing for Warner Bros.

Nicole Kidman is in love with black tights

Nicole Kidman is in love with black tights. When asked what her favourite fashion trend of all time is, Kidman replied: “Black tights”. The Moulin Rouge star also said that her big-gest fashion icon is model Lisa Fonssagrives, the late Swedish beauty, who is widely considered to be the first ever supermodel. “(My fashion icons) are probably all of the women that (the late photographer) Irving Penn photographed, but especially his wife Lisa,” Kidman told vogue.com. -IANS

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FROM MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (ROUTE 36)

15:00 Quriyat 16:30 Daily

15:00 Sur 18:00 Daily

15:00 Jaalan 19:30 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily

06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily

08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri

13:00 Sohar 15:45 Daily

13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily

16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily

16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily

14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily

08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily

14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (ROUTE 62)

06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily

06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (ROUTE 100)

07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily

10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily

10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily

19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily

SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

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06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily

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13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur

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15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily

15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily

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07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily

07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily

07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

CITY CINEMAContact (10 am to 6pm) 24567664 | 68. www.citycinemaoman.net facebook.com/citycinemaoman

SHATTI Bajrangi Bhaijaan (Drama)(PG)Cast: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Harshaali11:30 am /3:30 pm /8:30 pm /11:30 pmTerminator: Genisys (Action, Adventure)(3D)PG12Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke 9:15 /11:45 pmTerminator: Genisys (Action)(2D)PG122:30 pmMinions (Animation, Comedy)(3D) PG1:30 pm /5:00 pmMinions (Animation, Comedy)(2D) PG11:30 pmHayaty Mebahdela (Comedy)(PG)Cast: Mohamed Saad, Nicole Saba7:00 pmThe Gallows (Horror, Thriller) (15+)Cast: Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos6:15, 10:00 pmThe Vatican Tapes (Horror, Thriller) (12+)Cast: Michael Peña, Kathleen Robertson, Djimon Hounsou, 4:30, 11:45 pmPixels (3D) (Action, Comedy) PG12Cast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle2:30, 6:30, 8:00 pmPixels (2D) (Action, Comedy) PG1212:15 pm

MUSCAT GRAND MALLA Royal Night Out 2D (Drama)Cast : Sarah Gadon, Emily Watson, Jack3:45PM (15+)Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! 2D (Horror) (15+)Cast: Tara Reid, Bo Derek, Frankie Muniz7:45PMTerminator Genisys (3D): (Action) (PG12)9:30 PM, 11:55 PMGold Class: 12:30 PM, 11:15PMTerminator Genisys (2D) (Action) (PG12)4:15 PM

Minions (3D) (Animation, Comady) (PG)12:30 PM, 02:00PMBajrangi Bhaijaan (2D): ( Action) (PG)11:00 AM, 08:45 PM, 11:45PMGold Class 03:00 PM, 08:15 PMPixels (3D) (Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi ) (PG12)Cast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle 2:15 , 06:45 PMGold Class: 6:00 PMHayaty Mebahdela (2D) (Comedy)(PG)Cast : Mohamed Saad, Nicole Saba, Hassan Hosny5:45 PM

RUWISCREEN 1Bajrangi Bhaijaan (Action/Drama ) – PGCast: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Harshaali2.30, 5.30, 8.30, 11.30 PM

SCREEN 2Baahubali: The Beginning (Action) – (12+)Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka3.15, 6.00 PMBajrangi Bhaijaan (Action/Drama ) – PG9.00, 11.45 PM

SCREEN 3Masaan (Romance/Drama) – (12+)Cast: Richa Chadda, Sanjay Mishra, Saurav Choudhary3.30, 6.30, 8.45, 11.00 PM

SOHARTerminator Genisys - 2D (PG12) (Action) 3:30 PMTerminator Genisys - 3D (PG12) (Action) 12:30 , 09:00 , 11:45 PMBajrangi Bhaijaan - 2D (PG) Drama, Action4:00 , 06:00 , 08:45 , 11:30 PMMinions - 2D (PG) (Animation)11:45 AMMinions - 3D (PG) (Animation)2:15 , 05:00 PMBaahubali - 2D (Telegu)(12+) (Action)3:15 PMHayaty Mebahdela - 2D (Arabic)(PG) (Comedy) 6:45 PMPixels - 2D (PG12) (Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi) 6:15 PMPixels - 3D (PG12) (Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi) 12:15 , 3:00, 7:00 PMThe Vatican Tapes - 2D (18+) (Horror)1:30 , 11:55 PM

Nom El Talat - 2D (12+) Comedy 8:15 PMMasaan - 2D (12+) (Drama)Cast: Hany Ramzy and Hassan Hosny10:00 PMIvide - 2D (M) (12+) (Crime, Drama)12:45, 9:05 PMBaahubali - 2D (12+) (Action)11:45 PM

BURAIMITerminator Genisys - 3D (Action) (PG12)12:30, 6:45, 11:50PMBajrangi Bhaijaan– 2D (Drama, Action) (PG)12:45, 2:45, 7:00, 9:00, 11:30PMIvide– 2D (Crime/Drama) (12+)Cast: Prithviraj Sukumran, Nivin Pauly 7:30PMMinions– 3D (Animation) (PG)12:15, 2:00, 6:00PMBaahubali: The Beginning – 2D (Thriller) Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka3:45PM (12+)The Vatican Tapes– 2D (Horror) (18+)Cast: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Michael Pena, Dougray11:45PMSharkando 3: Oh Hell No– 2D (Horror ) (15+)

Cast: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Cassie Scerbo, 5:45, 10:00PMThe Gallows– 2D (Horror/Thriller) (15+)Cast: Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan3:45, 10:00PM

SURTerminator Genisys (3D) (Action) (PG12) 6:45, 11:45 PMMinions (3D) (Animation) (PG) 12:45, 05:00 PMBajrangi Bhaijaan (Hindi) (Drama) (PG)2:00, 09:00 PMBahubali (Hindi) (Action) (12+) Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka3:25 PMThe Vatican Tapes (Horror | Thriller) (18+) Cast: Michael Peña, Kathleen Robertson, 11:50 PMIvide (Mal) (Crime | Drama) (12+) Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Nivin Pauly, Bhavana12:45, 9:10 PM

SALALAHTerminator (3D)(PG12) (Action) 9:00, 11:55PM

Terminator (2D)(PG12) (Action) 2:45PMMinions (3D) (PG) (Animation) 10:30, 2:15PMMinions (2D) (PG) (Animation) 1:00PMPixels (3D)(PG12) (Action/Comedy/Sci-Fi ) 10:15AM, 12:15, 5:00, 7:00PMCast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle MonaghanBajrangi Bhaijaan (2D) (PG) (Drama/Action) 10:00AM, 12:30, 4:00, 9:00, 11:15PMCast: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, HarshaaliHayaty Mebahdela (2D) (PG)(Arabic) 5:00PMThe Gallows(2D)(15+) (Horror/Thriller) Cast: Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos3:30, 11:30PMMasaan (2D)(12+) (Drama) Cast: Richa Chadda, Saurabh Chadhary, Sanjay Mishra7:00PMMahra Story (2D)(PG) (Drama) Cast: Salim Bahwan, Raniya alali7:00PMIvide (2D) (12+) (Crime/Drama) Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Nivin Pauly, Bhavana, 8:45PM

BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance

Booking 24540855

Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

Terminator: Genisys (Action / Adventure)

Cast: Arnold Schwarznegger, Emily Clarke

3.30, 7.30, 9.45 & 11.55 pm

CP No: 1714 (PG 12)

The Gallows (Horror/ Thriller)

Cast: Cassidy Gifford, Pfiefer Brown, Riyan

Shoos

8.00 & 10.00 pm

CP No: 1730 (15+)

Minions ( Animation/ Comedy )

12.00 & 5.45 pm

CP No: 1731 (PG)

Max (Adventure/ Family)

Cast: Thomas Harden Church, Josh Wiggin

4.00 pm

CP No: 1732 ( PG)

Vatican Tape ( Horror/Thriller )

Cast: Katheleen Roberston, Djimon Hounsou,

Dougrey Scott

12.00, 1.45 & 11.55 pm

CP No: 1835 ( 18+ )

Sharknado 3 : Oh Hell No ( Horror/Sci: Fic )

Cast: Tara Reid, Bo Derek, Frankie Muniz

2.00 & 6.00 pm

CP No: 1836 ( 15+ )

STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776

Website: www.isurf.co.om

Baahubali (Tamil) (Action)

Cast: Prhabas, Rana Daggubatti, Anshka

Shetty, Tamannaah & Satya Ra

3-00, 6-30 & 10-00 Pm At Cinema Main

Baahubali (Telugu) (Action)

3-30, 6-30 & 9-30 Pnm At Cinema -2

Ivede (Mal ) (Thriller)

Cast: Prithviraj, Nivin Pauly & Bhavana

3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 Pm At Cinema – 3

Premam ( Mal ) ( Rom )

Cast: Nivin Pauly & Anupama

3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 Pm At Cinema -4

(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 Daily

05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily

05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily

07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily

13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri

13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily

13:00 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 Daily

06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily

15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily

14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily

12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100)

07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily

10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily

10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily

19:00 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 Daily

07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily

13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri

13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri

15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily

15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily

16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily

16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

9:15 pm, 11:45 pm 2:30, 5:30, 8:30, 11:30 pm 5:45 & 10:00 pm 10:15 am, 12:15, 5:00, 7:00 pm

@MGM @SHATTI @RUWI @BURAIMI @SALALAH

TERMINATOR: GENISYS (3D) (Action, Adventure) (PG)Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke

3:45 pmA ROYAL NIGHT OUT 2D (Drama)Cast : Sarah Gadon, Emily Watson, Jack (15+)

BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN(Action/Drama ) Cast: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor,

Harshaali Malthotra

SHARKANDO 3: OH HELL NO (2D) (Horror ) (15+)Cast: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Cassie Scerbo

PIXELS (3D) (PG12) (Action/Comedy/

Sci-Fi ) Cast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan

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

340

Maximum

310

Minimum

TEMPERATURE

70-90%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

AMIR HAMZA BETGERIJuly 23, 2003

S. PAVITHRANJuly 24, 2011

LIFESTYLEC11T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

GHAWIBAZAAR

WHATWomen in Dhofar have inherited art of mejmar making

over generations, crafting them from their homes in

southern Oman. Dhofari mejmars are traditionally made

from terracotta, fired in palm frond covered pits where

the pottery bakes at around 400 degrees Celsius. Apart

from the popular square shaped mejmar, other common

varieties include colourful Sudasi and Kanoon.

WHEREDhofari mejmar can be purchased from almost any souq

in Oman, from Haffa Souq in Salalah to Muttrah Souq in

Muscat, but we like to buy ours from the Omani Heritage

Gallery (+968/2469 6974).

WHOOmani Heritage Gallery is a not-for-profit organisa-

tion that actively promotes Omani artisans and their

products. The first company in Oman built on corporate

social responsibility, their profits are used to cover over-

heard expenses and then kept as a reserve to ensure

artisans can be paid a consistent, sustainable income

for their traditional handiwork.

HOW MUCHThe cost of the incense burners at Omani Heritage Gal-

lery cost more than those available in the souqs because

the gallery pays all its partners what they consider to be

fair, sustainable prices for their work. The price is also

reflective of the quality and the integrity of the product.

Mejmar burners at OHG ranges from OMR6 to OMR12.

Have a favourite Omani product or shop? Tell us about it: ameerudheen@timesofoman.com

You have likely seen the traditional four-pointed,

cube-shaped frankincense burners in markets

and homes across the Sultanate. Known as Me-jmar in Arabic, they are a symbol of Omani cul-

ture and hospitality. Believed to have originated

from Dhofar, the land of frankincense, the iconic

burners have since transcended geographical

boundaries, finding pride of place in the Mu-

seum of Natural History in New York, the British

Museum in London, and at the Lourvre in Paris.

BUY LOCAL: DHOFARI MEJMAR

Tell us about it: ameerudheen@timesofoman.com

Offbeat GCC MuseumsMuseums in the Gulf region trace thousands of years of Arab history. They are

filled with everything from rare artefact to cinema exhibits to fabulous collections

of modern art. When travelling in the GCC, visit these five fantastic museums to

be inspired by the glorious past and the exciting future of the Arabian Gulf.

KuwaitTareq Rajab Museum(+965 2531 7358; trmkt.com)

Established by Kuwait’s first minis-ter of antiquities to display his col-lection of musical instruments, jew-ellery, and paintings, TRM was one of the few fortunate enough to escape looting during the Iraqi invasion in 1990. The museum hosts lectures on local art and culture and hosts exhi-bitions throughout the year.

Don’t miss: Traditional costumes from Kuwaiti sheikhs to shepherds, and an extensive collection of ancient musical instruments.

OMANSultan’s Armed Forces Museum(+968/2431 2655; omantourism.gov.om)

The Armed Forces Museum was opened in 1988 following a Royal Decree, and it has exhibits divided by military branch, with displays dedi-cated to the Army, Air Force, Royal Guard, and Navy. Located at the his-toric Bait Al Falaj fort, the carefully curated collection showcases the country’s rich military history and the evolution of its weaponry.

Don’t miss: Spears, shields and swords from the time of the Sassan-ids and the early Islamic era.

United Arab EmiratesDubai Moving Image Museum(+971 4421 6679/ +971 56171 1464; dubaimovingimagemuseum.com)

The only museum of its kind in the region, the DMIM is dedicated to the history of the human fascina-tion with the moving image and the development of visual enter-tainment from its inception to modern-day cinema.

Don’t miss: Exhibits on the original cinemas, including the magic lan-tern, a 17th century image projec-tor, and a great, interactive display on Chinese shadow puppets.

QatarMuseum of Islamic Art, Doha(+974 4422 4444; mia.org.qa)

Designed by world renowned ar-chitect I. M. Pei (he renovated the Louvre museum in Paris), the MIA is worth a visit simply to take it in as an architectural wonder. On top of that, the museum boasts the world’s largest collection of Islamic art, displaying marvellous pieces from three continents.

Don’t miss: The world’s finest col-lection of Persian rugs and Turkish mosaics.

BahrainQal’at al-Bahrain (Bahrain Fort)(+973 1756 7172; qab_sitemuseum@moc.gov.bh)

Exhibits on five historical periods are arranged chronologically in sep-arate galleries set throughout the Bahrain Fort. Excavations around the fort have unearthed dwellings and military forts from 2300 BCE onwards, and the site is consid-ered the country’s most impor-tant example of archaeological antiquity in Bahrain.

Don’t miss: 500 ancient artefactsdisplayed on a single wall of the fort.

Five of a Kind

PHOT

O: S

habi

n E

Photo: Wires

Photo: Wires

Photo: Wires

Photo: Wires

Photo: Isidore Vic Carloman

LIFESTYLEC12 T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5

Super Markets

Muttrah

Salalah

Al Wafi

FanjaSeeb

Nizwa

Phot

ogra

phy:

Clo

ckw

ise

from

top

left

: Ven

ecio

Dat

an (2

); A

R R

aj K

umar

; Ism

ail A

l Far

si; S

habi

n E;

AR

Raj

Kum

ar

Gleaming shopping malls are no substitute for the traditional souqs that bustle in every major city in the Sultanate selling fresh produce, dried dates, traditional pottery, hand-woven mats, rare artefacts along with modern beauty products and imported toys.

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

C

C4 VACANCY CARGO C7

T H U R S D AY, J U LY 2 3 , 2 0 1 5

RENT C2

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon

for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

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

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

Villa AL Ghobrah, 6 bedroom 1200/-

R.O. Contact: 99340055/97557555

For rent in Qantab European style 4

bedrooms, 4 baths, Guest toilet, fully

equipped modern kitchen, covered

car park for two cars, approximately

150 meters from the beach. For

enquiries, please Contact: Yasser at

92606005

Small old house for rent Al Ghobrah.

Contact 95112461

House for rent 4 bedrooms, 2 bath-

rooms, hall, kitchen Muscat Sidab

opposite the sea 250/-.

Contact: 99277377

1BHK without A.C Ghubra R.O 275/.

Contact: 97799175 / 92144045

2 BHK with A.C Mumtaz R.O 300/-.

Contact: 97799175

3BHK, 3 bathrooms, 2 balconies,

nr. Al Hassan W/ Kabir R.O 350/-.

Contact: 99384640

Flats shops for rent in

Ruwi MBD area Mumtaz area.

Contact: 97293708 / 92433127

2BHK at Al Khodh, 2BHK at Wadi

Kabir 2 room, 1hall, dining, 2

bathrooms. Contact: 99224748 /

99332297

Store in Wadi Kabir 1900 SQM.

Contact: 99473751 / 91471067

1BHK close to ISWKG Wadi Kabir

Bldg # 1690 R.O 250/-.

Contact 99476728

1BHK Darsait R.O 225/-. Contact: 92144045

1BHK Wadi Kabeer, RO 225/-.

Contact: 92144045

2BHK Darsait R.O 300/-.

Contact: 92144045

2BHK Ghubra R.O 350/-. Contact: 92144045

1,2,3 BHK. Contact: 97799175

Spacious 2- BR flat in MBD.

Contact 99713489

C2 T H U R S D AY, J U LY 2 3 , 2 0 1 5

2 bedrooms apartments for rent in Al

Khuwair and Ghubra. Call Yellow Bird

property on 24615375 / 97137989

or visit

www.muscat-realty.com

One & two bedroom apartments

available for rent, near avenue mall,

close to Atlas hospital next to Diwans

office, South Ghobrah.

Contact 99833747

250 sq mtrs restaurant for rent in

Plaza Hotel, Walja Ruwi.

Contact 99326339

3 Bedroom flat in Wadi Kabeer and

2 bedroom villa in Sidab- Muscat.

Contact: 95755953

Villa with two floors in (Hay Al

Arjan) in AL Khoud with 4 bedrooms,

hall, Majles, kitchen & one room in

ground floor. Contact: 93219597

For rent office CBD flat in Ruwi.

Contact: 92820734 / 95345909

House in Amerat near to Makah

hypermarket with three room,

5toilets, kitchen and hall 430/-.

Contact: 92747078

Room with A.C AL Khuwair

R.O 120/- Contact: 97799175

3000 sq mtrs Industrial landß,

in Barka Sanaiya, with electricity

400KW, shed, staff accommodation

and office. Ready to start any kind

of factory. Contact 99384255.

FOR SALE

BUYING/SELLING

DAILY GUIDE

FOR RENTBuilding In Rusail Industrial

comprising a store divisible area 266 sq. meters.

The building includes Studios

residence.Preferably to be leased to

one company.

Mob + 968 96177505

All type of car scanner available

easy car diagnostic for professional

and self use Authorize LAUNCH

and Autel dealer. GSM:92393972

www.omancartools.com

Used furniture & Electronic items,

office & house. Contact: 99834373

For rent if require flats for rent in

Wadi Kabir please send me mes-

sages through Whatsapp.

Contact: 99376454

Bath attached room for rent

Al Khuwair. Contact 99743569

Flat with A/C in the South Al Ma-

bella close to the Mosque Al Tawab

consists of 2 rooms, hall, 2 bathrooms

and kitchen. Contact: 99388995

4 BHK single villa in Al Khuwair.

Contact: 97616158

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

Fabulous AC flat at Al Khoud 3 bed-

rooms, hall and kitchen RO 270/-

for rent. Contact: 99334699

2 BHK flat in Al Ansab with

split A/C. RO.250/- Contact – 93191111

2BHK near Oman house behind

Khimji, H.O. Contact: 95865686

506sqm space with mezzanine

available for rent in AL Wadi Al

Kabir, Suitable for carpentry / Auto

workshop and / or electrical shop

interested parties may.

Contact: 24703981

Equipped kitchen showroom

company for sale at Ghubrah, Muscat.

6 visa available,

Contact owner at 96303747

Computer set up for sale. Contact

94412557

A parlour well settled / well

equipped in running position at

Ghobrah for sale. Contact immedi-

ately on 97498898

Darsait near labor card Medical

business furnished office for sale,

rent R.O 260/- p/m.

Contact: 91211117

Ladies beauty parlor sale in Mut-

trah, above Ahla supermarket.

Contact: 93231403

Used Super market Gandola RO

40.000 PER meter, double tube light

RO 2.000 per piece.

Contact: 96441670

Total Station Survey Instrument

S3 2” / Servo/ Trimble access

bundle - batch 9101025 – not used.

Contact: 94282782 / 95425747

6 bedroom, 6 bath rooms, sitting &

dining villa at Qurum.

Contact: 99342733

Turkish MDF door with frame for

sale, size 210 x 100 Price: RO 75/-.

Contact: 95899296 / 92141514

Sale & repair of Tyres 315/80

R 22.5 & 12.00 R 24.

Contact: 97477128

Brand new 4 BHK plus Maids room

in Barka, 2 Kms from Lulu.

Contact: 99347089

Commercial land for sale 3000 m

in quriyat road main high way can

use as a petrol station license

available asking price 350,000

For more information please call on

99070701 with out name

Villa for rent in Al Khuwair 33,

8 bedrooms & 5 bathrooms with

parking area near Taimur Mosque.

Contact: 99366624

2BHK with split AC at Al Khuwair

33. Contact: 94057023

Office space at Alasfoor Plaza

Qurum. Contact : 24566217

/24564686

For rent if require flats for rent in

Wadi Kabir please send me mes-

sages through Whatsapp.

Contact: 99376454

Luxury 3 BHK flat in Al Wattaya

with split A/C & private parking.

RO.500/- Contact – 93191111

Flat for rent in Mabellah 8th.

Contact: 97147240

Flat in South Al Hail, 2 bedrooms,

Majlis, 2 bathrooms, kitchen RO

250/-. Contact 93221474

Flat in Ruwi Mumtaz 2 BHK

RO 300 or 1 BHK 250 RO.

Contact 98588240

2BHK with split AC near PDO Gate

no -2 at Qurum. Contact: 94057023

2 bed rooms, kitchen, toilet & car

park in Al Khuwair R.O 200/- .

Contact 95154331

Deluxe furnished / unfurnished

flats Qurum. Contact: 24566217 /

24564686

Commercial 3 BHK flat in Al Ghobra

18 Nov Street. RO 700/-

Contact 93191111

2 BHK flat in Al Azaiba near sea,

with split A/C. RO.340/- Contact

93191111

Villa of 5 BHK in Al Ansab with split

A/C. RO.650/- Contact – 93191111

For rent in Qantab European style 4

bedrooms, 4 baths, Guest toilet, fully

equipped modern kitchen, covered

car park for two cars, approximately

150 meters from the beach. For

enquiries, please Contact: Yasser at

92606005

1BHK, 2BHK, 3BHK new flat

available at Mabela in front of Mod-

ern English School

Contact: 96239126

Deluxe 1, 2 BHK flats in Darsait,

AL Khuwair 1deal for office &

residence. Contact 99369081

/99142314

Flat at Darsait. Contact 99326879

2 BHK Town house at Assarain

complex Al Khuwair for rent.

Contact 96365824 Rent RO 750

2 BHK near Kuwaiti Masjid Wadi Ka-

bir. Contact: 24816774 / 97608564

2 BHK, 2 bathrooms behind Abu

Nabil, Honda Road R.O 240/-.

Contact: 99737562 / 93887852

2BHK, 2 bathroom behind Sana

Wadi Kabir R.O 300/-.

Contact: 99737562 / 93887852

Luxurious room, fully furnished

with free WIFI and gas at Ruwi.

Contact : 95586937

Shop for rent/ sale in Ruwi near

Dish market good location, behind

City Cinema. Contact: 91318111

Flat for rent in Wadi Kabir with

3 rooms. Contact : 98555580 /

92800007

Flat for rent 2 bedrooms, sitting

room, store gym in ground floor in

Mumtaz area-Ruwi.

Contact 95135445

1BHK flats at Muttrah near Oman

house. Contact : 93231403

DAILY GUIDET H U R S D AY, J U LY 2 3 , 2 0 1 5 C3

FOR SALE

MOTOR VEHICLE FOR SALE

Urgent sell KIA CERATO 2012,

63200 KM Run Expat family

used,1.6L, Price R.O. 3300/-. Excellent

Condition. GSM 92286477

Volvo prime mover model 1998 for

inspection Contact: Mr. Mohammed

Al Harthy 99427071

Doctor driven, Toyota Corolla 2009,

Honda CRV 2009, low mileage

available at Bombay Medical, behind

Ruwi Police Station.

Contact 99326339

Toyota Corolla 1.8 ltr GLI excellent

condition 28,000 kms.

Contact: 97717152

Touareg 2011 Oman cars, 114000

KM, silver, 8500/-R.O.

Contact 92857111

Prado ,2012. Contact : 99336093

Peugeot 206-2007 Model, expat

driven. Contact 99209285

Sportage, 2013. Contact:

99336093

Land Cruiser 2012. Contact:

99336093

2 Prime Movers Man 2008 with 40

ton petrol tank each working at the

moment in Al Maha. Price OMR 35

Thousand each. Contact 97000155

or 92688692

2 Rooms & 2 bathrooms with

kitchen near al meera hyper mar-

kets, azaiba for executive bachelors

/ family. Gsm : 942 888 63

ACC. WANTEDACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE ACC. AVAILABLE

Required a room in Darsait /

WadiKabir /Ruwi area.

Contact: 95405033

Fully furnished 1BHK with all

household items in Darsait near Lulu

on monthly Basis.

Contact : 99493500

Self contained furnished room for

executive bachelor in a decent Ghu-

bra North villa. Contact 92595830

1BHK sharing in Ruwi. Contact:

91214537

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

Single furnished room, attached

bathroom in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 92155261

Fully furnished room in Ruwi for

non cooking ex- bachelor.

Contact 94412557

Room with bath, kitchen Al Khuwair.

Contact: 99743569/ 97004265

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication.

* Subject to space availability

Accommodation available with

Keralite family near W.K main

school. Contact: 95882866

/96575016

Rooms for rent in Seeb for couple /

single/ working ladies.

Contact: 96996938

Furnished room AL Khuwair for In-

dian Sri Lankan. Contact: 96536307

Furnished room for Indian couples

or family near Honda Road (Walja).

Contact 98952904

Furnished room attached bath for

lady in Wadikabir (Mars Hypermar-

ket) – 95941515

Independent rooms in Qurum /

Al Hail. Contact 95529970

3 cents plots-(12nos.) at walk-

able distance from Kovalm

Jn.,Trivandrum,Lorry site near to

main road-Bus route, for immediate

sale. 3 cents- 15 lakhs only.

Call 00968-95036240,

0091-9961034763 or

email- cfhd1@ yahoo.com

Centre For Housing Development-Trivandrum: Group of senior and

retired Engineers and Architects

provides service in the field of

Design and Supervision of buildings

in Kerala.For appointments, E-mail

your site location and building

requirements to cfhd@ymail.com. or

call 00968-95036240,

0091-9961034763.

38 cents plot with 2BHK house by

the river bank in Thrissur Dist. near

Irinjalakuda (Karavanoor).

Contact: 99347089

500 acre agricultural land suitable

for rubber plantation for sale in Rat-

nagiri Maharashtra. price 2 lakh per

acre, rubber board approved land,

minimum purchase 20 acre.

We provide care taking by expe-

rienced Malayalee team for your

plantation. please call ,

prasad 95760790

NRI

Well established medium size con-

struction company for sale. Equip-

ments, 30 employees &

ongoing projects.

Serious buyers only 99412020

Wall papers, grass carpets sale

& fixing. Contact 99834373 /

97102699

Coffee shop at Liwa main road.

Contact : 99515419

BUSINESS

New company seek partnership.

Contact: 96996938

General Investors. Gsm-99674870

2013 NISSAN MAXIMA FOR SALE.Single Owner,10 Months full cover

Insurance (UAE & Oman), 15,000

Km only. Intrested buyers can Call/

Whatsapp on 95692099

AVAILABLE

Party & Wedding equipment rentals.

Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirting,

Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery, Crockery,

Glassware, Chafing Dishes, Ice Sculp-

tures, to Large Sound Systems and spec-

tacular lighting. Call Andrea 9606 2222

for Catering and Croyden 9623 5555 for

Sound & Light. www.tunesoman.com,

E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

Fully furnished room for a decent

expatriate. independent kitchen,

bathroom in Wadi Adai.

Contact 96243086 at 5p.m.

Furnished room with attached bath-

room in W/K. Contact: 97167857

Sharing for non cooking executive

bachelor in CBD area WIFI free,

Advance deposit. Contact: 95094504

FOR HIRE

Silver Car, car for rent. Contact:

96166155 / 98402662

Volvo 12 Ton Truck for monthly

rent. Contact: 98713900

DAILY GUIDEC4 T H U R S D AY, J U LY 2 3 , 2 0 1 5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

CATERING

DESIGNER

ADMIN

ENGINEER

ENGINEER

EDUCATION

SALES / MARKETING

DESIGNER

AUTO CAD/DRAUGHTS-

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

Secretary (Female), Experience:

Minimum 1 - 2 years. Forward CV

to hr@barikgroup.com

Required Office Assistant

160+25+Acc, Contact 99454425

Mechanical Engineer, Indian 24

with 2 yrs experience in HVAC- MEP

Revit – MEP, AutoCAD – MEP Navis

solid works Catia PRO-E primavera.

Contact: 96975382

Email: bonny491@gmail.com

2 years experienced Electrical Engi-

neer looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 98480509

SAP – SCM.MM Consultant B.Tech.

(Chemical), from NIT, working with

oil industry, seeks employment.

Contact: 98049288

Indian female 23, B.Tech (Electrical

& Electronics) & Diploma in

Electrical CAD on Visit Visa seeks

suitable placement.

Contact: 99278410 / 94027398,

Email: renju.raghavan7@gmail.com

ACCOUNTANT

BEAUTY

Indian CA with 15 yrs exp working

as Finance Head of MNC looking for

Job. NOC Available. 94047434

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 male 32 years MBA, 6 out

of 14 years experience in Oman in

accounts / finance having NOC and

Valid Oman driving license last date

in Oman 01/AUG/2015.

Contact: 94051463

Email: gkvenkatesh83@gmail.com

Indian male, B. Com having experi-

ence in Accounts or Sales on visit

visa. Contact - 98295101

Indian Male B.com, 11 Year (8 Years

in Oman as a Senior Accountant) ex-

perience in accounts having 5+ year

experience in construction industry.

Working knowledge with SAP,

AS400 & Tally –with valid Oman D/L, presently working in Qatar,

will be available in Oman form 17th

July-21st July-2015 looking for a

suitable position in reputed

organization. Contact 00974

77181323 / 98065641,

email: bennybaby1982@gmail.com

Finance Manager, 10 years Oman

experienced MBA-Finance graduate

seeking suitable placement.

Contact 97745764

Assist Accountant Indian (m) 2

years experience in Oman looking

for a job immediate joining, cur-

rently working in Oman. Contact

Shaheed Shamsadin : 98427810

Accountant, Indian male, 10 years

experience in Oman. Can do upto

finalization and knowledge of Tally

ERP9 can be joined immediately

with NOC. Contact: 94134085

Email: muscatoman95@yahoo.com

Married lady 25 years, Master

Accounts having 5 years experience

in Indian looking for full / part time

job. Contact: 95140332 /93223050

family visa holder.

Contact 95140332

Indian male, well experienced in

Accounts and Admin looking for a

suitable vacancy. Contact : 98717938

Indian female, M.Com Finance, DCA,

3 years experience in Accounts /

finance& knowledge in ERP & Tally

seeking suitable position in corpo-

rate finance / banking / consulting.

Email: prapullasuvarna@gmail.com

Contact: 96953705 now in family visa.

Indian male with total 5 year

experience (2 years experience in

Accountant cum sales co ordinator

in a FMCG Company in Oman) in

accounts field and NOC available.

Looking for suitable job

Contact 92130188

Indian male, B.Com, Accountant,

10 yrs in Oman experience in

Accounts, knowledge of Tally ERP 9,

focus RT having NOC & D/L,

looking for suitable job.

Contact 93086105

Male 26 yrs, MBA in Accounts

and Finance, 2 years Experience in

Management and Accounts Fields,

and 1 year experience in Operations

in Oman Looking for a suitable job.

Contact 94374745

Indian male 22 yrs B. Com Graduate

1 year exp in Accounts, currently on

visit visa. Looking for suitable job.

Contact 94341848 /

Email – mohdhaji7272@gmail.com

MBA Graduate with 6 yrs exp in

finance/accounts/ auditing. Special-

ized in accounts payable dept, Ora-

cle app user, proficient in Sap (fico)

end user & tally 9.0. lean &six sigma

certified trainer on visit visa.

Contact – 91967213 / 99064780

Finance Manager, CPA, with more

than 15 yrs. of experience in GCC.

Fully knowledgeable in Finance,

General & Management Accounting .

NOC available. Contact 96209331

Sudanese Accountant seeking job

in Nizwa state experience 10 years

3 years in Saudi Arabia, 7 yrs in

Sudan. # 97796394 / 94003247

Chinese/ Arab/ continental cook & helper wanted. Contact 95529970

Required experience Waiter / Supervisor/ Juice maker, Shawarma maker. Contact: 95395378

Urgently required Accountant B. Com with 4-6 years Gulf experience

in construction field and good knowl-

edge in FOCUS accounting software.

Send CV : pccllcoman@gmail.com

Urgently required a part – time female Accountant fluent in English

with 2-3 years experience in Tally.

Email: mhca@mhabibgroup.com

Fax: 24564459

Urgently required female accountant with an experience

minimum 3years Email CV on

cv.hrcharity@gmail.com

Urgently required Junior Account-ant. Please send CV:

hr.azatllc@gmail.com

SKILLED

IT

DRIVER

Indian female B.Sc- Fashion De-

signer 21 years, fresher, One month

internship in a garment industry

2015 University best designer award

holder. Now looking for a creative

job, currently on residential visa.

Contact: 98297940 / 99741604.

Email : zintasabu@gmail.com

Architect and Interior designer, 8

years exp capable of managing turn

key projects, design, BOQ, Execution.

NOC available. Contact : 95273166

AutoCAD Draughts man seeks

Employment. Contact: 91889873

Electrical draftsman AutoCAD

switch gear & MEP control panel

7 years experience Qatar.

Contact: 92546203/96228100

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

SITUATION WANT-ED

SIT. WANTED

Looking For office support staff with driving license and having

good knowledge of all official duty.

Contact .. 91624908, 93540898

Urgently required Male with 2

years’ experience in Admin Works,

fluent in Arabic and English,

Computer knowledge,

preferably with driving license.

Working hours 6am to 2pm or 2pm

to 10 pm daily

Email: jayan@ra.cc or 99661980

Vacancy for lady Receptionist

at Sinaw Hala Medical Center - Flu-

ency in English and Arabic Omani

or non Omani. Contact: 25524180 /

91362141 Email:

halamedicalgroup@gmail.com

Urgently Required: Administration with an experience minimum in

3 years in building construction,

required immediately join and MUST

have NOC.Apply, fax 00968–24605955,

emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com,

sbeoman@yahoo.com.

MANAGER

A vending Machine for sale of coffee products and Derivatives Company in Muscat having opera-

tions in Oman is on the lookout for

quality staff for the below positions:

Sales & Marketing Staff, Mechani-

cal maintenance mechanic, General

electric maintenance machines with

D/L. Send CV to

service@arabianvending.com

Urgently required Sales Executive and interior designer for furnish-

ing company with Valid Oman D/L

and minimum 3 years experience.

Contact: 93231403/

rainbowfurnishing156@gmail.com

Experience building material Salesman required in Amerat shop.

Contact : 99641900

Required Sales man - 1 Person Quali-

fication. Gulf Experienced - Minimum

5 Years with Oman Driving Licence

Language - English Education:- Any

Degree Further Contact :

Mr. Abdul Hameed

Nashabat - Mobile No: 97414307 and

-92807399 amn@yaqeeneng.com

Urgently required female Sales Promoters individual with pleasant

personality, excellent communica-

tions & presentation skills & experi-

ence in selling perfumes cosmetics

and skincare products would be

preferred. Send your CV & details

with recent photograph to

info@mawaridoman.com

or fax no 24127484/ Tel: 24127485

Tyre / Spare parts outdoor Sales Executive with experience required

driving license and NOC. Send CV to

ptf_25@hotmail.com

Wanted part time female Sales Executive with D/L for a reputed

company. Contact 94688874

A leading marketing company is

looking for outdoor Sales Execu-tives on part time or full time basis

in Salalah. Contact 92760281 /

96436719

Looking for Outdoor Salesman for

heavy equipment spare parts.

Contact - 93292015,

Email: mail.om@gulfcenter.co

Urgently required Sales and Marketing Executive for Graphic de-

signing company. Contact: 96727631

mail: smartgraphic518@gmail.com

Minimum 2 years of experience

with valid gulf light driving license

interested candidates please

Contact: 99222086 /98585851

Required male or female candidate with 5 years experience in renting

of properties. Interested candidates

may please mail to

alqurumprop@gmail.com

DRIVER

Urgently Required: Male – handles overall store operations of the Su-

permarket, Prior Experience a MUST,

knowledgeable in MSOffice. Send CV

to chanda@dolphin-oman.com or

fax to 244-92718.

Mason, C.C.T.V, Technician, Electrician cum Plumber. Contact - 99383044

Indian Female MBA, 3 years experi-

ence in Admin MIS, Family Visa.

Contact 98234427,

jkjsmith01@gmail.com

A Lady with 5 years experience in

HR/Admin is looking for suitable job

and can join immediately.

Contact : 94465835

Indian (male) MBA (MHA) with 5+

years of experience in HR. Looking

urgently for suitable position.

Ph-96395254, 24813065

Email-shm1691@gmail.com

Indian female with 1 half years ex-

perience in MBA / HR seeks suitable

placement. Contact 99257214

Indian female with 10 yrs of experi-

ence in HR/Banking/Operations

seeks a suitable placement.

Can be contacted on 98919015 or

sherianne.coelho@gmail.com

Quantity Surveyor for Mechani-cal, Electrical BOQ preparation and

verification required for part time as-

signment on immediate basis. Please

Contact-tgi17@omantel.net.om

MEP Engineer on urgent basis

required for immediate placement.

Please contact

tgi17@omantel.net.om

Urgently required: HSE Engineer with an experience minimum in

5 years in building construction,

MUST have NOC and immediately

join. Apply, fax 00968–24605955,

emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com,

sbeoman@yahoo.com

Urgently required Project Engineer for a reputed Construction Company

in Muscat with Civil Engineering

Degree/Diploma, 6 to 10 years expe-

rience, holding Oman/GCC Driving

License.E.mail: assaud@omantel.net.

om or FAX: 24953530

Fire and Safety Technician with

NIFE or equivalent Diploma holder

preference to those having D/L. Send

CV to visionansara@gmail.com

Required a part time steel Struc-tural Design Engineer for a reputed

steel fabrication company in

Muscat. Interested person may

Contact : 99451158

Required Civil Engineer (build-

ings) Oman experience 5+ years,

BOQ+ Tendering + site supervision.

Contact: 95218004

Email: alhilalint@yahoo.com

IND male WEB developer 5 yrs exp

B.Tech (comp science) PHP, HTML

MYSQL Java script CSS.

Contact: 95990529

Email: renjith341@gmail.com

Required Beautician for a parlor

in Ghubra. Contact: 94241385 /

97244766

Wanted experienced Beautician

for beauty parlor in Al Amerat 3.

Contact: 91107337 Indian male 2+yrs oman exp in HR.

joing immediatly. release available.

Contact :93671437

ADMIN

CATERING

Urgently Required: Civil Engineer with an experience minimum in

5 years in building construction,

MUST have NOC

and immediately join. Apply,

fax 00968–24605955,

emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com,

sbeoman@yahoo.com

Construction Company in Oman

urgently requires following candi-

dates: BE Civil Engineer, minimum

3-5 years gulf experience & Civil site foreman, minimum 5 years gulf

experience, diploma not required.

Email: applyforoman@gmail.com

Leading Construction Company requires Quantity Surveyor (QS)

with 4-6 yrs Gulf experience. Send

your CV : qsmuscat2015@gmail.com

(NOC required).

Construction Company in Oman

urgently requires the following:

B.Sc Civil Engineer, minimum 3-5

yrs Gulf experience. Civil Site Fore-man, minimum 5 yrs experience

with operating knowledge of Tally.

Please Email CV ;

applyforoman@gmail.com

Grade”A” company in interior

Designing looking for: Operations manager Sales executive Qs Inte-rior Designer CVs to be emailed to :

alzahi.oman@gmail.com

Designer required for wooden

joinery company with excellent

knowledge of 3D Max, 2D Autocad.

Contact: 94249047

Email: mfqazi@gmail.com

Professional Teacher Qualified

M.Com Post Graduate in finance for

teaching Accounting subject.

Contact: 91251210

English Teachers wanted imme-

diately locations Muscat, Salalah,

Ibri, Nizwa, Buraimi, Khabourah and

Khasab. Contact : 91979343

Email: eaglesmuscat@gmail.comIndian male 38 yrs Senior Chef de.

De. Party pastry exp 15 yrs in five

star hotels, 10 yrs exp Oman get NOC

looking for job in hotel & bakery.

Contact: 96460519

MISCELLANEOUS

Required urgently experienced Gardener and building care taker. Contact: 99231676

Well established company in

selling chocolate, Arabian sweets

and fresh flowers, opening ITS first

branch in Muscat seeking:

1- sweets and chocolates Sales man 2- flower arranger (Asian/

Filipino Nationality)

Contact: 94490011

Email: labelleoman@gmail.com

A company from UAE require 2 merchandisers in retail food

supply, store keeper with English

and invoicing experience. Email:

yesterdaysun@hotmail.com

Driver with 8 years experience

looking for job. Contact: 98130645 /

94342106

Indian (Kerala) light driver seeking

for job, 12 years experience Oman.

Contact: 98175321

Pakistan male (27) light driver

seeking job, 4 years experience in

Oman. Contact 96346582

Light duty driver with 2 yrs experi-

ence looking for job. #96342684

Light driver. Contact: 96961993

Indian (Kerala) light driver seek-

ing for job, 5 yrs experience in

Oman. Contact: 98029273

Looking for driving job. Contact: 98219182

Driver: 15 years Driving Experi-

ence in Saudi Arabia, Looking for

suitable place, Contact.. 91624908,

93540898

Driver available with car and with-

out car Education, B. A exp. 5 years,

language Hindi, Arabic, English.

Contact: 98522914

Bangladeshi male light driver seeking suitable placement 1 yr

experience. Contact: 94158238

Driver available with car driver &

without car. #96771598 / 94039796

Driver, 42 yrs seeks for suitable

job KSA, 12 years Oman 4 years,.

Contact: 95796030

Heavy duty driver with PDO

license, 5 yrs Intl. exp. # 95546585

Light driver. Contact:95779594

Driver looking for job. #99507039

Pakistani driving available.

Contact : 96913836 Wanted driver. Contact: 95112461

Driver heavy duty required urgent-ly for trailer. Oman / GCC experience

must. Those ready for immediate

joining. Contact: 99310859

MEDICAL

Require Quality Caregiver for an

elderly Mother. Contact: 99425200

Required MOH licensed lady G.P Dentist Pharmacist, Asst Pharma-cist for Salalah based pharmacy

and clinic. Contact: 92732491 Email:

clinicrecruitment2015@gmail.com

Urgently wanted Lady Ayurveda

Therapist. Contact: 91590083 /

92798678

Vacancy Lab Technician for inquiry

or send CV zmczahara@yahoo.com

Contact 24571094 Fax: 24571097

Required Prometric passed nurse to

join clinic from end August.

Contact: 99352793

ADVERTISING

Looking for JOB. I have done BS

Hons in Mass communication and

media, Specialised in Public Rela-

tions and Advertising. I have upto

1 year of experience. Immediate

Available. Open for any JOB.

Sultan Zafar #97034134

Accountant 8 yrs experience

looking part time job.

Contact 99867456

Indian Accountant: Male, M com,

7 Yrs experience in Accounts up to

finalization, having knowledge

of ERP, Tally, seeks suitable

placment.Contact 93950138

Email: lijinrajan123@gmail.com

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/

audit in a reputable organization.

Cell no: 00968-94626209

E-Mail: omerjawedshah@gmail.com

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Urgently required experienced sub-contractors for Marble Flooring /

Marble Cladding / Grinding / Carving

works. Contact 92884177 / 99485595

Urgently required a silk Screen printer with good knowledge and

release letter or NOC. Contact:

93280288 or send CV to

albayanstamps@gmail.com

DAILY GUIDET H U R S D AY, J U LY 2 3 , 2 0 1 5 C5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

MEDICAL

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

Indian male, B.E ( computer science

engineer), MBA (finance), OCA certi-

fied, having 5 years of experience in

oracle Dba/ oracle apps Dba, seeks

a suitable position in the field of IT.

Contact: 96212062

email: zubairkhan11@gmail.com

Well experienced MOH Licensed

Indian GP Doctor looking for locum /

permanent position in the

Capital area. Contact 98140024

email:drgpoman@yahoo.com

Indian male, B.com, diploma in ma-

terial management, 12+ years exp in

international / local purchase, ware

housing 4 logistics seeks suitable

placement NOC available.

Contact: 96477638 / 96477638

Production Manager 13 years

experience in cast Aluminium fab.

field and good track record seeking

for a suitable job. NOC ready in Hand.

Contact: 96392319

Indian male, with 8 yrs exp. in

Oman (BA- Graduate) working as

a project Sales Coordinator, with

Oman D/L, looking for suitable job,

ready to join immediately with NOC.

Contact 95245057

ENGG. / TECHNICAL HOSPITALITY

Female Dentist Indian, Prometric

passed 63%,4 years of work experi-

ence, immediately available to join.

Contact 97469553,

nazianbaig@gmail.com

Indian male GP doctor, 12 years

experience parametric passed with

74% seeks suitable post.

Email: ppdr2020@gmail.com.

Contact 97985325

Indian female Dentist MOH Oman

passed seeking a suitable place-

ment in capital region.

Contact– 91377681

hashimsarawat@gmail.com

Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf ex-

perience) looking for a suitable job

(NOC available) Contact-93344378

TOURS & TRAVELS

25 Indian female B.S.C. Fashion

Technology. 5 years experience in

textile industry as a merchandiser

and good in fashion marketing.

Currently available on visit visa,

seeking for a suitable job.

Contact : 96990368.

Email: simmy.missy@gmail.com

Civil Engineer, Diploma, Male 25,

3 years experience in site, CAD, 3d,

MS Project, Seeking job in Oman. #

92875345, jubincivileng@gmail.com

Indian male accountants, 12 years

experience, tally also. Looking for a

part time/ full time job in accounts

or purchase. Contact- 98983122

Indian Female 2yrs exp. in

Accountant 5 yrs exp. in Electronics,

seeking suitable Job.

Contact: 97162705,93705090

Indian male, 14 years Experience in

maintenance & Supervisor in hotel

field (Electrical, Ac Mechanical &

Plumber). NOC available #95253640

email = hareeshma24@yahoo.com

Female Candidate: Having experi-

ence (ISRO India) in Administration

(seeking suitable opportunities

&presently in Oman Mob:97239854,

Mail:asherlalitha@yahoo.com

Diploma civil Engineer seek-

ing jobs(positions suits me:

civil engineer ,site engineer,qa/qc

engineer,land surveyor ,total sta-

tion, auto level,draftsman (autocad,

microstation) mob:97239854,

Mail:asherlalitha@yahoo.com

MOH Indian Dentist 10 years experi-

ence in Oman. Can speak Arabic, has

driving license. Contact 98995321

or ventureoman007@gmail.com

BRANCH-HEAD, MBA-BBA, Indian

Male having experience in UAE,

India, Oman total 5 years (including

MNC), looking for similar or same

openings.NOC available.

Mobile :92700670,

E mail:catanalur131@gmail.com

Qualified Native speaking male

English Teacher with 18 years

experience seeks position. Salary

Negotiable. Whatsapp on +968 9334

1047 / +968 93952732 or e-mail me

on nadgov@gmail.com

Indian female, IATA, B. Sc, look-

ing for suitable placement.Con-

tact-95514305, E mail id-

raveendranmala@gmail.com

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: 98184170

Iraqi Civil Engineer, 12 years expe-

rience with Omani driving license.

Contact: 94695595

Degree holder Civil Engineer hav-

ing 10 years experience with driving

license looking for better position.

Contact 98451844

Email: zahid_ruet@hotmail.com

Indian male, 38 years old, DME –

Mechanical Maintenance Technician

11 years Oman experience. Ready for

NOC, VISA transfer, ready to join im-

mediately, Mob +968 95612870,

Email: seeniselvan@gmail.com

Indian male, 34 years old, DEE –

Electrical Supervisor 10 years Oman

experience. Ready for NOC , VISA

transfer and valid Oman driving

license light, ready to join imme-

diately. Contact +91 9740679094,

kulasekar1980@gmail.com

MBA having 4years Gulf experience

in Coordination with contracting com-

pany .NOC Available. Ph: 95405885

Indian female, BE, Civil engineer

with 1 year experience looking for

suitable vacancy, on visit.

Contact 95139583,

Email : aisushetty09@gmail.com

Indian male Safety Officer, 4+

years experience diploma in fire &

safety Eng seeks suitable post.

Contact: 98843139

Electrical Engineer, B. Sc degree,

Filipino, 15 years experience in oil

& gas, power plant, substation, EPC

projects, testing & commissioning,

O & M with Oman D/L light.

Contact: 97090934

Electrical Engineer Indian male 29

years, having 5 years of experience in

industrial automation and utility main-

tenance in India (MRF Tyres) seeking

suitable placement.#92789995

Email: akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com

Structural Engineer of 2 years &

7 months experience, specialized

in Structural Design and Site Su-

pervision looking for a job. Contact:

94634906 / 94370767

Email: muazomer45@gmail.com

Indian Civil Engineer (buildings)

available immediately as supply

contract. Contact: 93263834

Indian Male, IT Support Engineer,

2 yrs in Oman & 5 yrs Indian experi-

ence. Contact 97311847

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. Contact 99191535

Email: fareed029@gmail.com

B.E in ECE worked as Junior Scientist

Trainee in Chennai worked as System

Admin in Berik Honda Nagger coil

worked at Technical Support in Sam-

sung Service, presently in Bangalore.

Contact : 0091 7026267513

Indian female, B.Tech biotechnology with strong computer

skills and 2 years experience as

associate research analyst (Media

Monitoring) in Nasdaq Oman seek-

ing growth oriented jobs. Contact

92044603 /918056169148 or

angeline.babithac@gmail.com.

Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need suit-

able job of construction 12 yrs exp.

Email: mohd.ateeq.khan@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS

SKILLED / UNSKILLED

SALES / MARKETING

12 yrs exp FREELANCE 2d, 3d

Draughtsman (holding Omani driv-

ing license). Contact : 93790601

Sudanese male, 31 year, have 3 year

Diploma in Electrical Engineer, 6

years experience in construction and

electrical plant.

Mobile No ; +96894549609

Freelance Graphic Designer availa-

ble to assist in Photoshop, Illustrator,

InDesign and Corel Draw Projects.

Contact : 95811820

Indian Female Lawyer 36 Yrs

having 11 yrs experience presently

working in Oman as Legal Advisor

seeks placement in Legal/HR/Admin

NOC available Contact-94436960

Email: famidakhan123@gmail.com

23, Male, ACCA Affiliate, 2 years+

experience in Audit and Finance

in audit firm, Looking for suitable

permanent placement, NOC release

Available. Contact: #95140445

a.saran891@gmail.com

MBA - (F), M.Com, B.COM. Indian fe-

male having knowledge of accounts

with Tally looking for part time or

full time job. Presently on family

visa. Contact :- 91892264.

Email:- yashicapandya@gmail.com

Indian Female 10 years exp as cook

in Oman. South Indian & Gujarati

special looking for part-time job

Contact 96733187.

Indian male-28 Years, Diploma in

Electrical Egg, having gulf experi-

ence. Specialization on Electrical

Installation and Maintenance, Opera-

tion. 7 years experience seeks for

suitable placement.

Mob – 968-95334580. E-mail

-sunilkumar257.sk23@gmail.com

Seeking Teaching Position. Quali-

fied and experienced Native English

speaking teacher seeking posi-

tion in Muscat, I have a Teaching

Diploma , two Honours Degrees

and a CELTA Certificate. Position

at Language school will be suit-

able. Will e-mail CV. Whatsapp only

+96893952732

MBA (F), B.COM. Indian female

having knowledge of accounts with

Tally looking for full or part time

job. presently on family visit visa.

Contact :- 96259171.

Email:- bhumicapandya@gmail.com

Indian female MCA, 24 years seek-

ing suitable job. Contact 93439467

IT professional MCA Oracle certi-

fied 6 months training of PLSQL

data warehousing, PHP, 3 months

trained seeking job at good com-

pany. Contact: 95694330 Email:

monakashyap001@gmail.com

B.E Computer Science, Indian male

looking for suitable job in the field

of software or information technol-

ogy having good knowledge in Java,

ASP. Net, MS Sql, MS Word.

Contact: 91986919 Email:

dileep2468.a@gmail.com

Indian male 25 yrs exp in Adminis-

tration, Telecom, Optical Fiber Com-

munication, Networking, MS Office.

Seeks any job. On visit visa.

Contact 91385373 /

sridharbsnlma1455@gmail.com

Network system Engineer B.E / ECE

+ CCNA & Ms certified with 4+ yrs exp

looking for a job. Currently in Oman

on visit visa. Contact: 92589502

IT

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian male MBA 7 years experi-

ence in Hospitality industry, opera-

tion, sales & marketing looking for

suitable vacancy. Contact 92115860

Email vibin.py@gmail.com

MBA from UK with 9 yrs experience

in London, Dubai & Mumbai. Special-

ized GCC experience in top real estate

co & bank with driving license. NOC

available. #968 95168205,

dubaihomes1@gmail.com

B. Com & MBA Graduate on visit

visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact : 97372624 ,email :

sivaraj.gurukripa@gmail.com

Indian male 27yrs , diploma,3yrs

exp in oman in sales & supervisor ,

oman driving license holder, looking

for suitable placements.

GSM -96489211

B.Tech (MECH) MBA (Marketing)

having 20 years of experience in

sales, marketing, projects presently

working in Oman seek suitable place-

ment N.O.C available and ready to join

immediately. Contact: 91257781

email: rajrathsing@yahoo.com

Indian male 45+ yrs , 20 yrs exp as

sales supervisor in India looking for

indoor sales /stores /cashier or any

suitable placement can speak Hindi

, English, Malayalam, Tamil, kan-

nada can join immediately on visit

visa. Contact 93086105/33016546

Young Bangladeshi male 26 know-

ing coffee shop work as watering

sandwich making juice marking

etc presently in Bangladesh if any

employer need please Contact

behalf of candidate with his brother.

Contact: 92278538

Indian male 31 visionary business

strategist having over 8+ years of

global experience seeking a chal-

lenging position that utilizes my

years of experience currently on

visit. Contact: 91902154

Management professional experienced in profitable manage-

ment with organization skills with

over 21+yrs exp. in Bombay, Saudi

Arabia, Dubai, UAE & in Oman11 yrs

as GM Publications, Printing, Media

& Advertising in entire operations,

Sales marketing & etc. Looking for a

reputed organization for a challeng-

ing position any industry, can Join

immediately with NOC. Contact :

+968 98864706/99574638

Mail : akdas_uae@yahoo.com

4 Years experienced (Money

exchange services & Hospitality

services in Oman & India) - Indian

male 27 years, graduate in Hospital-

ity science, fluent in English, Hindi

& Arabic seeks suitable placement.

Contacts: 91383167

Female Postgraduate searching

suitable job. Contact 97792820

Filipino Male looking for a job &

have experience in sales, waiter,

barista, technical support / customer

service with good communication

skills. Contact 91789465

Indian Female with over 9 yrs

experience with good

communication skills seeks jobs in

customer service or sales field.

Contact : 96108289,

Email - shijipaul84@gmail.com

Part- Time Accountant, well experi-

ence senior accountant ,doing all

type of accounting works, Finaliza-

tion, Budgeting available.

Contact: :98803439

13 Years UAE experienced in MNC &

reputed firms logistics distribution

looking for a suitable placement, on

visit visa contact 99838743,

gani.dawood@gmail.com

Male Indian BBM Graduate 8 years

experience in logistics and ware

housing in a reputed company valid

driving license NOC available

looking for suitable position.

Contact : 96311786

Email: ubinfs@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

Looking for Sales Assistant job

(having Oman driving license).

Contact: 95872634

Pakistani male 34 yrs Intermedi-

ate 2 yrs exp in sales & marketing

in Oman. Looking for suitable job.

Contact - 92146864

Indian male seeking job, 8 years

experience in Qatar in clerical/ad-

ministration/documents controlling

fields. Willing to work in customer

care or sale also. Qatar driving

license available. Job preferred in

Sohar and surrounding cities.

Contact 93285117

Indian male. 27, Post Graduate, 5+

yrs exp in Oman in Sales & Credit

Control, with valid Oman driving

License, NOC available,

looking for suitable placements.

Ph: 9199 3376

Indian Male, B.Com Graduate,

23, with experience in Sales looking

for suitable placements. .

Contact 98371144

Market research / Hospitality In-

dian male Graduate with nearly 30

yrs experience in Market research &

hospitality industry. NOC available.

Contact: 99347089

Looking for job as Mason, pipe fit-

ter, Electrician and Aluminum fixer

available. Contact: 93015630

Indian male Diploma, Civil engineer

4.3 year experience at building

construction and consulting

company with Oman driving licence

and N.O.C available

seeking suitable placement

Contact 95989500

email cv.shihabedappal@gmail.com

Indian Male, Diploma in Civil Engi-

neer working as a Project engineer

with 7years of experience looking for

suitable job. Contact- 92636569

BE civil Engineer with a vast

experience of 18 years in Oman

seeks immediate placement as

General Manger /Partner. contact @

joboman2015@gmail.com.

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

C6 T H U R S D AY, J U LY 2 3 , 2 0 1 5

Electrical Engineer, 29, Indian

Male, having 7+ years exp. in re-

puted companies. Seeking suitable

placement in any Oman.

Contact - 97693456.

Mail ID : venkatbadri23@gmail.com

BE. Biomedical Engineer, 5 years

experience in the same field

(Hospital/company)looking for suit-

able placement. Contact:92084807

Email:bonnygeorge1005@gmail.com

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER – Indian

male seeking Electrical Engineer job

with 2 years’ experience.

Contact: 94263445, E mail –

janardhanan53@gmail.com

32 years, Filipina with experience

in Teleperformance, Manila call

centre, now working as Waitress in

Qatar seeking suitable post.

Contact 99022484

Sudanese/ 26 years/ master of

clinical pharmacy(1st class)/ 1 year

experience/live in India/excellent

communication in English(IELTS

Certificate) and arabic/pharmacist

license/hassan_kassala@hotmail.

com 00919600413966-96387227

24 Years, indian male 2.5 Years ex-

perience in admin & accounts, dubai.

Currently on visit visa. Seeking suit-

able placement in admin & accounts.

M: 93016252 EMAIL:

shahabaskp@gmail.com

Indian male, MBA with 20 years of

experience in back office operation,

risk and operational management,

financial management for Finance

and Trading companies. Presently

available on visit visa.

Contact 91276221

CCNA MCITP network support /net-

work technician with 2 years experi-

ence indian male having bachelors

degree on visit visa. #93080871

sean.f.peters@outlook.com

SITUATION WANT-ED

SIT. WANTED

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of

your marble. Contact 24793614/

99314807

House shifting. Contact 99708138

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

Water proofing ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

AC servicing maintenance fixing.

Contact: 99540621

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intelli-

gence (BI) creation and man-

agement at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

CLASSES

CLASSES

COMPUTER

IELTS preparation course, unlock

your educational and career oppor-

tunities with eagles to; achieve your

required band. Contact 91979343.

Split & window A.C servic-

ing & maintenance. Contact

93769089/95323517

Air condition maintenance split

and window services AC specialist

ducted and package type unites.

Contact: 98667326

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet

& sofa shampooing, Contact

99314807/24792998

Split & widow unit A.C servicing &

repairing. Contact: 99557080

Split & window unit A.C servicing &

maintenance.

Contact: 96236476

Window & split unit A.C servicing &

maintenance. Contact : 93769089 /

95323517

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance.Contact ABU QABAS-

99320217 /24788722

Carpet, Sofa Shampooing. Ocean

Center LLC. Contact: 99884591

A/C Maintenance & servicing, fridge,

washing machine & dish washer re-

pairing, painting & cleaning services,

electrical & plumbing.

Contact: 99447257 / 97014234 /

24504281

Pest control Treatments, termites,

cockroaches, bedbugs Ocean Center

LLC. Contact: 99344723

Hair dressing, facial massage &

other beauty treatment for women.

Contact: 94689448

FOR LADIES

SITUATION WANT-MANPOWER

SITUATION WANT-MATRIMONIAL

Syrian CSI boy 30/184, working in

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C8 T H U R S D AY, J U LY 2 3 , 2 0 1 5

Renaissance Day

45th

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 S P E C I A L S U P P L E M E N T WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

Oman: A business case for investment

The SAF success

MOTC doing its best to keep the country well connected

2 3 6

Whenever the world gets time to think about the greatest leaders of this era, His Majesty Sul-tan Qaboos bin Said is sure to be counted

among the very best.He is widely admired, respected

and revered at home and abroad for his pragmatic policies and ex-

emplary leadership. He has also become an icon of peace because of his efforts to broker peace in nu-merous regional and international conflicts. If anyone ever asks me where does His Majesty actually live? I would instant reply: “In the hearts and prayers of his people.”

Two reasons are enough to tes-tify his exalted stature:

1. His Majesty’s highly effective and appreciable role in bringing Iran and the world powers to the table of talks, leading to the historic deal last week.

2. Unprecedented expressions of apprehension and admiration by the people of Oman who spent months praying for their beloved leader’s health and complete re-

covery when he was hospitalised, followed by months of celebration after he returned home hale and hearty.

The people of Oman, both citi-zens and expatriates, adore him for his great role in building a nation and constructing Modern Oman. That admiration is the biggest un-spoken tribute to him. — Shahzad Raza

AN ICONICLEADER

T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 52

Renaissance Day

BY NOAMAN ABDUL MAJID

As the world economic growth flattens and competition for for-eign investment in-creases only those

countries with strong political and economic fundamentals will be able to attract increasingly competitive investment flows. Oman has fortu-nately established itself as a strong candidate for foreign investors from across the world in a range of sec-tors. Today, Oman boasts of invest-ments from emerging economies of South America and Asia to de-veloped western countries. Oman is bestowed with a range of natural resources, pivotal geostrategic loca-tion, a well-entrenched GCC con-nection and favourable business environment to make it an ideal business and economic hub.

Oman has been wisely investing its petrochemical windfalls towards long term capacity building of the country. This is reflected in massive infrastructure development in the road network, airports, free zones, and education, in addition to health-care and services sector. The infra-structure investment is creating a trickle-down effect in the economy and boosting other sectors like con-sumer and retail, travel, food and beverages, hospitality etc.

Oman is all set to invest several billion dollars in the near future to substantially upgrade its physi-cal and services infrastructure. In addition to the US$78 billion five-year (2011-2015) spending plan, the government announced in October 2013 that the country will spend over $50bn in infrastructure pro-jects in the next 15 years.

One of the main drivers of invest-ment activity in the coming decades will be several free zones which have been established in partnership with international players. While Sohar and Salalah are already estab-lished business destinations, Duqm will be the major driver for getting

foreign investors on board once it is fully operational. According to some top geopolitical analysts, Duqm has the potential to be the Singapore of the 21st century.

It could be the catalyst for general economic growth in Oman includ-ing job creation, foreign investment and economic diversification in the post-oil boom era. Duqm boasts of a world-class infrastructure, several specialised business zones for pet-rochemicals, logistics, aquaculture, and manufacturing, apart from ser-vices and tourism and an investor friendly business framework with a one-stop shop facility that cuts time and cost to set up business in Oman.

One of the most encouraging facts about Oman is that it continues to be the preferred investment desti-nation for local investors, whether

sovereign or private, which would prove pivotal for sustained eco-nomic activity in the country. Sov-ereign investors like Omran, Oman Oil and Oman Investment Fund are taking the lead in setting up green field projects in partnership with international players in energy, petrochemicals, food, hospitality and other sectors. These projects would not only strengthen investor confidence in the country but also substantially improve the exports as well as further consolidate the geo-strategic significance of the country.

The regulatory framework in Oman is one of the most business-friendly in the region, with foreign investors allowed to own up to 70 per cent of the projects in many business sectors. The remaining 30 per cent can easily be arranged from

strong and reputed local partners. The regulators in Oman have always been quite accommodating for any investor as long as it contributes to the national economy. Capital mar-kets have shown a great appetite for IPOs in various sectors as indicated by the fact that most of the IPOs have been oversubscribed many times. This provides much needed liquidity to the foreign and domestic investors who are always concerned about their exit strategy while mak-ing any investment decision.

Some of the most emerging and promising sectors in Oman include hospitality and aquaculture which will go a long way towards economic diversification and attracting for-eign investment. Both these sectors have the potential to add billions of dollars to the Omani economy.

Oman Tourism Development Com-pany (Omran), the investment arm of the government to develop tour-ism infrastructure and its joint ven-ture affiliates will add more than 3,000 new hotel rooms in four and five star categories in the next five to seven years.

The tourism sector is currently contributing 2.4 per cent to Oman’s GDP and it is well set to exceed 3 per cent as the Sultanate strives to achieve Vision 2020. Similarly, government has allotted more than $1.3 billion for the development of the fisheries sector till 2020 to in-crease fish production by 200 per cent from aqua culture and natural fisheries.

Although Oman has fared sig-nificantly well in terms of foreign investment, it will have to make

strong efforts in the coming years to retain its investment momentum from domestic and international sources as the oil revenues drop and budgetary constraints prevent peak level infrastructure spending. This would require more efficiency in the economic system and greater participation of the private sector to drive economic growth which has hitherto been driven primarily by government spending. Investments and new projects are keys to eco-nomic diversification, job creation and economic stability.

Oman has two key advantages in the unfolding scenario on which it should capitalise fully in the coming years. Firstly, Oman has success-fully executed many infrastructure projects under Public Private Part-nership (PPP) model. This can form the basis of mega projects in the future without putting undue pres-sure on the budget. Secondly, Oman is a highly unleveraged country. The debt to GDP ratio is one of the low-est in the world – around 4 per cent, which allows Oman ample room to borrow from regional and interna-tional markets at very good rates. Oman should capitalise on this opportunity for long-term project financing as it grapples with the ef-fects of low oil prices.

Oman is rightly referred to some-times as the Hidden Jewel of Arabia. Keeping in view the stiff competi-tion among regional and emerging markets to attract foreign invest-ment, it is important to establish Brand Oman as the destination of choice for the global business frater-nity. Since the global economic hub is increasingly moving towards Asia including contribution towards global GDP growth, market size, po-litical weight and technological ad-vancements, Oman and other GCC countries should appropriately realign their economic policies and position themselves to capitalise on this opportunity. — (The author is Country Manager, Pak Oman In-vestment Company)

Oman: A business case for investment

HIGHLIGHTS Oman boasts of

investments from

emerging economies

of South America and

Asia to developed

western countries

One of the main

drivers of investment

activity in the coming

decades will be

several free zones

which have been

established

The regulatory

framework is one of

the most business-

friendly, with foreign

investors owning up to

70 per cent of projects

The tourism sector is

currently contributing

2.4 per cent to Oman’s

Oman has established itself as a strong

candidate for foreign investors from across

the world in a range of sectors, and the

massive infrastructure development taking

place in the Sultanate could be the catalyst

for economic growth

T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5 3

Renaissance Day

Times News Service

The Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF) have done their Supreme Commander His Maj-esty Sultan Qaboos bin

Said proud, and won the admiration of the people of Oman for their role in the Renaissance of the Sultanate, along with the manner in which it has advanced to become a modern, technologically advanced army.

July 23 is a date that will be re-membered for the Renaissance led by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Supreme Commander of the armed forces, with his vision-ary and powerful determination and wisdom and with the deter-mination, strength and will of the soldiers, to maintain progress and prosperity of Oman and its people.

The Sultan’s Armed Forces are one of the glories of this prosper-ous era and a pillar of the modern renaissance of Oman, as it has con-

stantly developed and updated its capabilities and facilities with am-bitious and thoughtful planning.

This is due to the national respon-sibility thrust upon it to defend the homeland and protect its security and stability; to maintain the gains

of development, and to savour the fruits of the Renaissance’s trium-phant march led by His Majesty.

The trained and efficient human element is the most important as-pect of the development, training and armament plan of the Ministry of Defence and the Sultan’s Armed Forces. This element is based on targeted training to achieve maxi-mum efficiency.

The result is a modern, organised army that has within its ranks all the elements of a common weapons sys-tem, and a brave staff that is efficient enough to accept what is produced by modern technology in various fields.

Here are some of the key achieve-ments:

The Sultan’s Armed Forces are the impregnable fence protecting the achievements of the blessed Renaissance march and its pre-cious gains.

“Al Shamekh”, “Al Rahmani” and “Al Rasekh” are great additions to

the Omani Royal Navy fleet.Military bands of the Sultan’s

Armed Forces confirm their out-standing presence in national events and international partici-pation.

Continued efforts to absorb Omani youths and graduation of several batches of soldiers to con-tribute with their predecessors in the service of this country.

The medical services of the Sul-tan’s Armed Forces (SAF) provide the best care to employees of the Sultan’s Armed Forces and their families.

The “Sihab” project for e-portal development is at the forefront of projects adopted by the e-govern-ment transformation plan by the Ministry of Defence.

The Military Mall project aims to provide basic goods, supplies and other needs at prices subsi-dised by the Ministry of Defence for the employees of the ministry and the Sultan’s Armed Forces.

The SAF success

T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 54

SMEs — Backbone of Oman’s economy

Times News Service

MUSCAT: The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Oman have been the subject of increased focus over the last several years as the government is seeking to increase their contribution to the economy through various initiatives.

The SMEs, which are considered to be the backbone of the economy, make up around 90 per cent of the firms registered in Oman, but the combined contribution of these businesses to the gross domestic product (GDP) is only around 15 per cent.

Establishments A number of institutes have been established to support the SMEs

and new regulations have been in-troduced to contribute to the devel-opment of these business units and help them overcome challenges.

New rules and regulations are also coming up to further regulate the SME sector in the Sultanate.

The Oman Chamber of Com-merce and Industry (OCCI), which represents the private sector in Oman, has been working to im-prove the business environment for SMEs and promote the culture of entrepreneurship through its SME committee.

RiyadaOne of the major authorities estab-lished to focus mainly on the SMEs is the Public Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Develop-ment (riyada).

Its objective is to help in the de-velopment of the SME establish-ments and enable them to get fi-nance and services by planning and coordinating with authorities in both the public and private sectors.

Riyada prepares long-term strat-egies, plans and policies related to the SME sector and submits them

to the Council of Ministers for endorsement. The authority also organises exhibitions in a bid to provide a platform for small and me-dium business units to market their products inside and outside Oman.

Integrated database Riyada has also been tasked with creating an integrated electronic data system with a communica-tion centre to provide information that supports activities related to these establishments. In addition, it is preparing a track record for the SMEs to bring more order to the sector and hold training courses for entrepreneurs to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to make their business sustainable.

SME Development FundAnother milestone in the SME sec-tor in Oman has been the creation of the SME Development Fund, also known as the Al Namaa Fund, which was launched in 2014. The fund, set up with a capital of OMR100 mil-lion, has added fresh impetus to the government’s efforts to provide stronger support to the SMEs.

Al Raffd FundAlong the same lines, the Al Raffd Fund has been established pursuant to a Royal Decree to enable Omani youth to establish their business.

The fund’s targetted categories that include job seekers, profession-als, craftspeople, at-home manufac-turers and rural women as well as any other categories specified by its board of directors.

Call centre The Al Raffd Fund recently launched the Entrepreneurs’ Call Centre, which aims at facilitating services provided by the fund, an-swering the queries of callers on how to benefit from the fund and receiving their proposals and views in this regard. Many companies, banks and educational institutions have also developed special pro-

grammes for funding and training of the SMEs.

SharakahIn another demonstration of the government’s commitment to sup-porting SMEs, Sharakah was es-tablished by a Royal Decree in 1998. The closed joint stock company spe-cifically encourages and supports the development of entrepreneurs and SMEs in the Sultanate.

According to Sharakah, the gen-erous donation by His Majesty

Sultan Qaboos bin Said along with those from the business community and private individuals have created the share capital that enables it to operate and render its services.

E-governance As Oman is shifting to e-govern-ance, the Information Technology Authority (ITA) has developed a Sas Programme, designed to provide the foundation for creating a new and vibrant ICT industry. The pro-gramme is a public-private partner-

HIGHLIGHTS A number of institutes have been established to

support SMEs with new regulations to contribute to

their development

The Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry has

been working to improve the business environment

for SMEs

The creation of the Al Namaa Fund in 2014 was done

to provide stronger support to SMEs

Al Raffd Fund was established to enable Omani youth

to establish their business

SME owners believe that some of the challenges

facing the sector are related to restrictive manpower

rules and regulations

With small and

medium enterprises,

which make up

around 90 per

cent of the firms

registered in Oman,

contributing just

around 15 per

cent to the GDP,

the government

is doing all it can

to contribute to

their development

and help them

to overcome the

challenges

Renaissance Day

ship model and seeks to contribute to the development of an interna-tionally competitive ICT industry, self-employment and job creation as well as introduction of new tech-nologies to create innovative prod-ucts, solutions and services and generate commercially viable and technology-based SMEs in Oman.

Challenges Entrepreneurs and SME owners in Oman believe that some of the chal-lenges facing the sector are related

to restrictive manpower rules and regulations. Other issues that they believe need to be addressed include lengthy procedures, lack of data, fi-nancing and insufficient incubation centres. They also argue that the concept of social entrepreneurship should be promoted in Oman and SMEs should be encouraged to di-versify their products and services.

‘Invest Easy’In order to make the registration of the SME companies faster and

easier, the government recently launched the ‘Invest Easy’ initia-tive, an e-commercial registration service, which is part of the compre-hensive development project for a single window clearance.

Also, it was recently decided that the new SMEs will be exempted from Omanisation for two years while existing ones can plan on replacing their expatriates with nationals over the next four years. Around 135,000 SMEs are likely to benefit from this decision.

Stock market for SMEs Plans are also underway to establish a stock market for the SMEs.

According to the Capital Market Authority (CMA), the objective of the exchange will be to support the development of the SMEs across a wide range of growth enablers, pro-vide fair and attractive returns to investors and market participants, and provide clients and suppliers of the SMEs with better access to and information on the opportunities of doing business with them.

Lending to SMEs The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has asked commercial banks to pro-vide five per cent of their total credit to SMEs. In addition, a number of awards have been launched to hon-our successful entrepreneurs.

Symposium outcomes The outcomes of the latest Sympo-sium to Assess Implementation of Saih Al Shamikhat Decisions dedi-cated to the SMEs are also a signifi-cant step forward.

Based on the decisions made at the symposium, a department should be dedicated at each public organisation to follow up compli-ance with the allocation of 10 per cent of the government purchases and tenders for the SMEs.

Tenders for SMEs For government contracts and with effect from 2016, the companies that implement such projects will be mandated to submit detailed lists of the projects that have been awarded to the SMEs and their value. The symposium also addressed payment issues for the SMEs and introduced certain measures to accelerate pay-ment to these businesses.

SME law In addition, a law for the SMEs

will be introduced in 2016 and new measures have been taken to regu-late the allocation of a percentage of the planned land plots for com-mercial, industrial, agricultural and tourism use by the authorities con-cerned to the SMEs.

Efforts are also underway to en-courage companies in which the government owns not less than 40 per cent of the capital to dedicate a percentage of their total purchase and tenders to the SMEs.

Entrepreneur CardDuring the symposium, it was em-phasised that the Entrepreneur Card, issued by Riyada, should be treated as a document that enables its holder to receive the required fa-cilities and be awarded tenders and purchases on priority.

Follow-up mechanism In order to follow up on the im-plementation of all the decisions taken by the symposium, riyada has formed a team called ‘Mohima’ (Mission).

‘Mohima’ will expedite the im-plementation of the symposium’s decisions and will help overcome the challenges that might hinder the implementation of some of the decisions and devise unconven-tional solutions.

T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5 5

New SMEs will be exempted from Omanisation for two years while

existing ones can plan on replacing their expatriates

with nationals over the next four years.

Renaissance Day

T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 56

Renaissance Day

Times News Service

In order to cope with upcom-ing challenges and quicken the pace of economic de-velopment, the Ministry of Transport and Communi-

cations (MOTC) is pulling out all stops to ensure that the Sultanate is well connected by enhancing the road network, pushing for an ambi-tious rail network and improving sea and air connectivity besides shoring up the telecom sector.

Transportation sector The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) is act-ing expeditiously and taking well studied steps to expand and up-grade main and secondary roads network by turning single lane roads into dual ones, as well as building flyovers and paying great care to traffic safety in designing and implementing road construc-tion plans.

The MOTC is working on linking rural and urban centers by expand-ing the road network, which will reflect positively on the national economy and facilitate communi-cation between the urban and rural areas.

Asphalt roads The MOTC oversaw the implemen-tation of this as a result of which by the month of October 2014, there was approximately 13,875 km as-phalt road length in the country, while dirt roads’ length amounted to approximately 16,414 km. The MOTC is also working to enact reg-ulations organizing road transport activities.

Railway projectThe Railway project is one of the most important strategic projects in the Sultanate that will contrib-ute to the achievement of sustain-able development at all levels. Oman Rail Company was estab-lished and supplied with quality national cadres.

The pre-qualification tender was announced, for which 18 consor-tiums have qualified as main con-tractors for infrastructure works and five consortiums of companies specializing in systems technol-ogy also qualified. A detailed design and implementation tender has also been announced for the first part from Buraimi to Sohar.  It is worth mentioning that the length of railway line extends 2,244 km from Buraimi governorate up to Dhofar governorate.

Ports sectorThe government is paying great attention to the ports sector for its role in diversifying the sources of national income, thus reducing dependence on oil as well as creat-ing jobs. Upon the directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, may Allah protect him, Sultan Qa-boos Port was converted to a tour-ism port on August 31, 2014 and business activities were trans-ferred to the Sohar Industrial Port.

Telecommunications sectorTelecommunications sector plays a key role in economic and social development in the Sultanate, con-tributing towards raising the effi-

ciency of the economic sectors in general. Perhaps the most impor-tant achievements of this sector are the revision of the Telecommu-nications Regulatory Law to cope with the changes and requirements of the domestic and global market and to regulate the market sector in accordance with best international practices, as well as to enhance competitiveness to provide world-class services.

Civil aviation sectorAs for the civil aviation sector, the Ministry is currently implement-ing several projects, most notably a project for international airports in Muscat and Salalah.

MOTC doing its best to keep the country well connected

T H U R S DAY, J U LY 2 3, 2 0 1 5 7

Renaissance Day

BY RAHUL DAS

With Bollywood films going in for the “inter-national” look more aggres-

sively, just foreign locales are not enough. Now filmmakers are look-ing for more and more Omani ex-tras in other scenes to “improve” the look of the film. A case in point is untitled film of leading producer Himanshu Mehra and director Fa-rooq Kabir, which will go on the floors from October 2015.

“For this, we are looking at Oma-ni lead actors, junior artistes (both Omani and expatriates) and all logistical support from citizens,” Mehra told the Times of Oman in an exclusive interview, when he came down to the city to finalise the lo-cales where they will shoot for the film.

Mehra has produced several films in Bollywood including the latest Besharam whose star cast in-cluded Ranbir Kapoor and Pallavi Sharda. He had also worked in Da-bangg, Pehla Sitara and Welcome

to Sajjanpur. Kabir, who directed the critically acclaimed Allah Ke Banday in 2010, said, “Though the lead actors and actresses are yet to be signed, we are looking at sign-ing famous actors like Naseerud-din Shah, Boman Irani, Rajkumar Rao and a new actress for the film. To support them we are looking at all Omanis,” he told the Times of Oman.

From being enchanted by Bolly-wood rhythms to providing all lo-gistical and production support for the film, the locals are involved in everything whenever a film is being shot in Oman.

“There are a large number of Omanis who regularly take part whenever a Bollywood film is shot

in Oman,” says Gautam Roy owner of V4 Entertainment, which pro-vides logistical and production support to Bollywood film crew in Oman.

V4 Entertainment had provid-ed support to films like Gunday, Naach, Awara Pagal Deewana, Aaan and many more whenever they shoot in Oman.

In the recently released Bolly-wood movie, Gunday, which was shot in the last week of November in 2013 in places like Nizwa, Quri-yat and Bandar al Khiran, more than 30 Omanis were involved in various ways in the film.

“While some were involved in production others were involved in providing logistical support during

the shoot,” he says. Written and directed by Ali Ab-

bas Zafar and produced by Aditya Chopra, the stars included Priyan-ka Chopra and Ranveer Singh. The film released on February 14, 2014, and did extremely well at the box office. According to boxofficeindia.com, the movie collected US$19 million worldwide.

Gautam Roy said that they are looking at employing at least 300 people who would be required when they shoot in Nizwa, Old Muttrah, Old Muscat City, and Sidab, in addition to Shiv Mandir, Muttrah Souq, Wahiba Sands and surroundings around the Indian School in Darsait for their upcom-ing film in October.

“That is one of the reasons the director and the producer spent around six days in Oman to scour the exact locations for the film and looking for the locals who can work in it,” he said.

“It makes sense to take locals because it cuts down on the huge costs and does not require flying in everybody,” said Kabir.

Himanshu says that he plans to wrap up the entire shooting in Oman within 40 days.

“For this, we are optimistic about the support from the different min-istries including the Ministry of Tourism,” he said, before taking the flight to Mumbai.

Roy said they want to employ a large number of Omanis for this

film as Oman will be the epicentre of this film.

“Employing the local crowd has now become very easy. Earlier, the involvement was just 5 to 10 per cent, but now almost 80 per cent of the people who help out in the shooting are Omanis,” he said.

Filmmakers reveal that Oman is slowly becoming a hotspot for Bol-lywood films as it has much to do with both — getting picture-perfect locations as approach of the well as the friendly government.

“It was great to be part of the Bol-lywood industry. After all, who does not want to rub shoulders with the top actors and actresses,” said Mo-hammad, who handled the logistics of Bollywood stars like Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Kapoor during their five-day stay in the Sultanate.

He went on to add that he was completely in awe of the actors and their humble nature.

“This is the first time I had en-countered actors from Bollywood shooting in my country. I am over-whelmed thinking that my country is chosen and has been taken on to a global platform that puts us in the glitter of tinsel town, and hence-forth more and more films will be shot here,” he says.

In Once Upon a Time in Mum-baai Again, the extras for the shoot also included non-Indians from Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Ka-zakhstan and Tanzania, apart from Germany and Canada. They, too, were excited at getting the chance to make it to the silver screen.

Twenty-year-old Mohammad said he was excited to be an extra in Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Again because he loves old Indian movies.

“Almost all the movies are trans-lated into Arabic, so I have loved Bollywood movies since I was a teenager - the music, the singing and even the acting. Of course, they always have a love story. And, I al-ways wanted to be a movie star,” he said with a laugh.

HIGHLIGHTS Locals are involved in

everything whenever

a film is being shot in

Oman

Omanis also roped in

as extras to give films

a slick international

touch

Sensible to take locals

because it cuts costs

and does not require

flying everybody in,

say producers

Filmmakers optimistic

about support from

different ministries

during the shooting

Filmmakers have

revealed Oman is

becoming a hotspot

for numerous

Bollywood films

Bollywood bucks and glamour beckon Omanis as movie starsIndian filmmakers

reveal that Oman

is slowly becoming

a hotspot for

Bollywood films as

it has much to do

with both — getting

picture-perfect

locations as well as

the friendly approach

of the government