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TUESDAY, August 25, 2015 / 10 Dhul Qa’ada 1436 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certifi ed Company

Sayyid Asa’ad meets outgoing ambassadors

MUSCAT: On behalf of His Maj-esty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, His Highness Sayyid Asa’ad bin Tariq Al Said received on Monday am-bassador of Qatar to Oman Abdul-lah bin Mohammed Al Khatir and ambassador of Afghanistan Azim Nasser Zia, to bid them farewell at the end of their tenures in Oman.

The ambassadors expressed thanks to His Majesty the Sultan for the support they received dur-ing their stay in Oman from His Majesty the Sultan, the govern-ment and the Omani people, which enabled them to carry out their duties. They wished His Majesty good health, happiness and a long life and Oman further progress under the wise leadership of His Majesty. Sayyid Asa’ad expressed thanks to the ambassadors for the eff orts they exerted in serving the relations between the Sultanate and their countries, wishing them success and people of their coun-tries progress and prosperity. - ONA

Picture on >A4

HM cables on >A3

Q A T A R , A F G H A N I S T A N Global markets bloodbath hits Omani stocks

A E JAMESbusinesseditor@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Free-fall on the Mus-cat stock exchange continued on Monday, resulting in investors losing almost OMR926 million in share value in the last twenty-four days.

The local bourse’s general in-dex, which is the barometer of market performance, plunged 174.72 points or 2.96 per cent to close trading at 5,736.02 points on Monday, taking the total fall in in-dex to 12.54 per cent or 822 points since the beginning of the month.

As a result, the market capitali-sation (value of shares) of listed stocks, excluding bonds, on the bourse eroded by OMR925.69 million — from OMR13.742 bil-

lion on July 30 to OMR12.816 bil-lion on Monday.

A wave of selling gripped global markets as bourses from Europe to Asia plunged to touch new lows. All Gulf bourses were also aff ected severely, with Saudi lead-ing the plunge.

“The decline started from the beginning of August and there are two main reasons for the slump. Firstly, the sluggish trend in oil prices will aff ect regional econo-mies and the second reason is a sharp depreciation of Asian cur-rencies, which was triggered by China since the country wanted to boost exports,” Anil Kumar N, head of asset management, the Financial Corporation, told Times of Oman.

More than $5 trillion has been erased from the value of global equities since China unexpect-edly devalued the yuan on Au-gust 11, fuelling concern that the slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy is worse than anticipated. >A6

See also >A2, A8

Free-fall at the

Muscat bourse

continued as more

than $5 trillion worth

of equities have been

wiped out from world

markets since China

devalued yuan

OMANWorkers lose belongings in Ghala camp fire

1Around 100 workers lost their belongings worth hundreds of rials and documents in the fi re that occurred at the Muscat Municipality’s Ghala labour camp. >A2

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

TUESDAY, August 25, 2015 / 10 Dhul Qa’ada 1436 AH timesofoman

C7Little Indulgences:No-Bake teacup cakes

Omani woman student gets US award for work on gas monitorELHAM POURMOHAMMADIelham@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: A female Omani stu-dent has made history by winning an award from an organisation in the United States (US), with the development of a system that would help enhance health, envi-ronment and safety conditions in the oil and gas sector.

In a research paper, Sara Al Bulushi and her project supervi-sor, Dr Ahmed Onsy, described the development of a low-cost ad-vanced gas emissions monitoring system (GEMS) capable of moni-

toring hazardous gases at oil and gas production sites. The system output utilises Wi-Fi, GPRS and GSM data transmission to pro-vide information to control rooms and other monitoring sites using the Cloud space concept.

Best Student Paper AwardThe paper won her MFPT 2015 Best Student Paper Award (award named for SpectraQuest, Inc), making her the fi rst undergradu-ate student ever to be awarded the prize. It is also the fi rst time this award has been received by a stu-dent from outside the US. >A6

E N H A N C I N G S A F E T Y

Sara Al Bulushi.

OMANPIA eyes expats

2PIA is planning to start direct fl ights to Pakistan from the capital city of

the Dhofar Governorate. >A3

MARKETTakeover rejected

3United Finance has rejected a takeover off er from Al Omaniya

Financial Services. >B1

GraphicsSource: Arab Stock Markets Analysis

GCC STOCK MARKETS FALLBahrain Dubai Abu Dhabi Oman Kuwait Saudi Arabia QatarBSE DFM ADSM MSM KSE TASI DSMIndex

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0

From July 26 to August 24

1,304.51 3,401.624,264.8

5,736.02 5,815.6

7,024.6

10,572.50

A harried investor.

A2 T U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

OMAN

Fire destroys 12 porta cabins at civic labour camp in GhalaREJIMON Kreji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Around 100 workers lost their belongings worth hun-dreds of rials and documents as a fi re erupted at the Muscat Mu-nicipality’s Ghala labour camp yesterday morning, said workers.

“The fi re, which broke out at around 7am in one of the porta cabins, was doused by fi refi ghters at around 8:30am. In all, 12 cabins were gutted.

“Nine fi re engines were pressed into service to contain the fi re,” said workers. The workers belong to the municipality’s aff oresta-tion department.

At around 9am, the Public Au-thority for Civil Defence and Am-bulance (PACDA) tweeted that the fi re had been extinguished without any loss of life.

Stranded workers Meanwhile, the stranded workers said they did not know where they would be accommodated.

In July, a massive fi re which swept through 35 porta cabins, a workshop and a warehouse in Ghala Industrial Area, had caused damage to property worth thousands of rials. At least 15 fi re engines battled for fi ve hours to douse the fi re.

P A C D A A C T I O N

FIREFIGHTERS IN ACTION: The fi re which broke out at around

7am in one of the porta cabins was doused by fi refi ghters at

around 8:30am. – Supplied photo

Expats make hay as currency dips

REJIMON Kreji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Expatriates from Asian countries in Oman were seen rushing to make a ‘quick buck’ as their currencies were falling to their lowest in years on Monday.

A rout in the Chinese stocks has accelerated a fl ight from risky as-sets on intensifying fears of slow-ing global growth and the free fall of Asian currencies.

The Indian currency exchange rate for OMR1 was 173.3, the Paki-stan Rupee was 266.6 and Philip-pine Peso was 121.7, according to money exchange houses in Oman.

While, the Indian rupee on Monday weakened 1.3 per cent against the US dollar, the Pakistani rupee fell to its 17-month low and the Philippine peso slumped fur-ther to its newest 5-year-low. The Indian rupee ended 81 paise lower at 66.64 on Monday as compared to its Friday’s close of 65.83/dollar.

“India seems to be less vulnerable to China’s currency depreciation through direct channels, but the rupee may still weaken,” said Tonny George Alexander, chief executive offi cer of the Oman UAE Exchange.

Bloodbath in marketsEarlier in the day, amid a bloodbath in the stock and currency markets, Raghuram Rajan, Reserve Bank of India head, tried to allay fears, say-ing the country has strong macro-economic fundamentals and suf-fi cient foreign exchange reserves to contain volatility, while he also hinted at a rate cut if infl ation re-mains low.

“I just want to indicate that we have plenty of reserves, which was $355 billion (at the last count), plus $25 billion that exist because some of our forward sales. We have got $380 billion to play with,” said Rajan when the rupee plunged be-low 66.60 and the market tanked 4 per cent, its worst single-day fall in seven years.

Meanwhile, a few Indians in Muscat who were waiting for this opportunity have started to remit their savings.

“We have remitted money today morning. Heard that a few are even

looking for quick loans from the banks here to remit bulk amounts and make use of the opportunity,” Satish Kumar and his friends told the Times of Oman.

Most other Asian currencies were also trading lower. The Ma-laysian ringgit was down 1.4 per cent while the Taiwan dollar was down 0.61 per cent, Indonesian rupiah 0.54 per cent and South Ko-rean Won 0.34 per cent. The Japa-nese Yen gained 1 per cent in trade. The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 94.372, down 0.7 per cent from its previous close of 95.01.

Meanwhile, gold hovered near its highest level in almost seven weeks on Monday.

“The rate for one gram of 22Car-at is OMR14.35. The rates are gain-ing momentum,” said Jose Kak-kassery Francis, regional manager of Joy Alukkas in Oman. — With inputs

from agencies

The exchange market

was abuzz with

activity on Monday.

The Indian currency

exchange rate for

OMR1 was 173.3, the

Pakistan rupee was at

266.6 and Philippine

peso jumped to 121.7

FINANCIAL BONANZA: A rout in the Chinese stocks has accelerated

a fl ight from risky assets on intensifying fears of slowing global

growth and the free fall of Asian currencies.–File Photo

Dhahirah real estate deals boomTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Real estate contracts worth OMR5,077,488 were signed in Al Dhahirah Governorate in July, said Abdullah bin Talib bin Ali Al Hinai, director general of housing.

The dues collected during the same period reached OMR92,127 through 1,800 transactions in-cluding transactions of sale, exchange, grant, and mortgage,

apart from mortgage redemption, deed remarking and others.

He said there were 311 sale transactions recorded in Al Dha-hirah Governorate, in addition to 103 mortgages, 7 exchanges, 75 grants, and 8 inheritances, in addition to 36 mortgage redemptions.

The director general of housing in Al Dhahirah Governorate said the number of issued deeds dur-ing July totalled 1,212, which in-

cluded 14 title deeds for the Gulf Cooperation Council citizens, in keeping with the regulations of property titling in the Sultanate.

Al Hinai concluded his state-ment by saying that there were 48 transactions in the Geographic In-formation Systems section, 1,042 transactions in the Engineering Drawing Section, 1,308 transac-tions in Implementation and Fol-low-up Planning section, and 1,017 in the Surveying section.

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

India seems to be less vulnerable to China’s currency depreciation through direct channels, but the rupee may still weaken

Tonny George Alexander, CEO Oman UAE Exchange

A3

OMANT U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

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Health Expo to attract global drug companies

Times News Service

MUSCAT: In order to attract more drug companies to set up establishments in Oman, exhibi-tion and conferences organiser, Omanexpo will be organising the fi fth edition of Oman Health Ex-hibition and Conference from September 7.

Speaking to the Times of Oman, Dr Mahmood Al Rahbi, Senior Con-sultant Emergency Medicine, Al Nahdha Hospital, said the confer-ence aims to underline the current development in the sector, which is seeing considerable progress.

“It also aims to highlight the most important segments in the sector by showcasing emerg-ing product and service trends, healthcare equipment, technol-ogy and infrastructure,” he said.

From September 7 to 9, about 100 local and international com-panies, including hospitals and healthcare centres, will present a

diverse show of exhibits ranging from medical products and equip-ment, personal care products, diagnostic and laboratory equip-ment, pharmaceutical products, physiotherapy and orthopaedic technology to services that range from eye care, skincare, cosmetic, infertility treatment consultancy, and more, at the Oman Interna-tional Exhibition Centre. “Out of these 100 companies, a large num-ber have been invited to see the in-frastructure so that they can set up their industry here,” he said.

With 85 per cent of medicines imported from outside, Oman is trying hard so that drug compa-nies set up their base here.

“The Ministry of Health is try-ing very hard to achieve this as it will make drugs cheaper and readily available since these will be produced here,” he said.

The event will eff ectively con-nect multiple stakeholders, gov-ernment offi cials, international experts, and private organisations through a meaningful interaction and knowledge sharing within the parameters of local and global health agenda, specially aligned with the government’s health pol-icy ‘Health Vision 2050.’

Visitors will be off ered free con-sultations with specialists from some of the biggest clinics and hospitals in Germany, Iran, India, the UAE, Thailand, Malaysia and Turkey. Adding value to the exhi-bition will be the B2B meetings, which Omanexpo has incorpo-rated as a permanent feature to guarantee maximum returns for its exhibitors.

Of equal signifi cance will be the conference, supported by the Ministry of Health. Ahmed Sayed,

exhibition manager, Oman Health Exhibition and Conference, said, “We have been working closely with the Ministry of Health to ensure that the topics and ses-sions that will be presented are refl ective of the current issues in Oman’s health and medical sec-tor and aligned with the govern-ment’s strategies outlined in the Health Vision 2050.”

The conference, accredited by the Oman Medical Specialty Board (OMSB), will highlight in-vestment opportunities in Oman’s health sector, the future of medi-cal genetics, healthcare manage-ment, and emergency medicine.

Support of the Oman Medical Association, India Tourism and Oman Cancer Association and sponsorship of Muscat Eye La-ser Centre has been enlisted for the event.

With 85 per cent of

medicines imported

from outside, Oman

Health Exhibition

is trying hard to

attract global

drug companies

INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE: The event will eff ectively connect multiple stakeholders, government

offi cials, international experts, and private organisations – Jun Estrada/TIMES OF OMAN

PIA eyes expatriate fl iers with direct air service from Salalah

SHAHZAD RAZAshahzad@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Thousands of passen-gers in Salalah, particularly the 70,000 Pakistani expatriates, can expect better days ahead as Paki-stan International Airline (PIA) is planning to start direct fl ights to Pakistan from the capital city of the Dhofar Governorate.

Convenience is going to replace the cumbersome task of travel-ling all the way to Muscat to catch a fl ight home as soon as PIA gets permission and more aircrafts to

start operating from Salalah, pos-sibly in 2015 itself.

“PIA is focussing on Salalah and wishes to start direct fl ights from there as soon as it is able to strengthen its fl eet. We are look-ing to add fl ights to and from Salalah from Karachi, Islama-bad and, if possible, Sialkot too,” Shahzad Paracha, Country Man-ager Oman, PIA, told the Times of Oman on Monday.

The direct fl ights from Salalah will not come as a relief to Pa-kistanis alone. Nearly 100,000 Bangladeshis and other expatri-

ates are also going to benefi t from this long-awaited move.

When asked how PIA was going to benefi t from other expatriate communities in Salalah, Paracha said, “Salalah has a huge presence of Bangladeshis and Indians and we get the overfl ow since we oper-ate to Dhaka and Indian cities too. Our connecting fl ights are quite convenient with competitive fares which fetch us international pas-sengers from these communities.”

He said Dhaka was a fruit-ful destination for PIA and the airline was keen to increase the

frequency of fl ights to the Bangla-deshi capital.

Commenting on the future plans, Paracha said PIA was plan-ning to start direct fl ights from Muscat to Multan soon. It was also keen to increase the frequency of fl ights to Islamabad, taking the number to four in a week from the existing two, in the near future.

“We are also considering more fl ights to Sialkot and Peshawar and with its competitive fares and new incentives PIA is confi dent of serving its customers better,” he added.

C I V I L A V I A T I O N

Salalah has a huge presence of Bangladeshis and Indians

and we get the overflow since we operate to Dhaka

and Indian cities too. Our connecting flights are quite

convenient with competitive fares...

Shahzad Paracha, Country Manager Oman, PIA

Passenger traffi c grows by 12%at Muscat International AirportMUSCAT: Total passenger traf-fi c, including transits and trans-fers, through Muscat Internation-al Airport increased 12 per cent to 5,707,984 until July 2015, as com-pared to 5,106,159 for the same period in 2014. Statistics shows an increase in arrivals by 12 per cent to 2,838,265 until July this year as compared to 2,523,637 for the same period in 2014. The number of departures also in-creased 11 per cent to 2,849,237 until July 2015, as compared to 2,562,492 passengers for 2014.

The increase in arrivals and departures into Muscat Interna-tional Airport is attributed to the increase in the number of fl ights operated by existing airlines, such as Fly Dubai, Emirates, and Oman Air. In terms of air freight traffi c at Muscat International airport, aviation statistics indicate an 8

per cent increase in the total un-loaded and loaded freight, with total shipment of 77,423 tonnes, as compared to 71,938 tonnes in 2014. Salalah Airport witnessed

a 20 per cent increase in the total number of arrivals and departures totalling 539,065 passengers until July 2015, as compared to 450,967 in 2014. As for the movement of

air cargo at Salalah Airport, freight traffi c increased, bringing the loaded and unloaded freight to 993 tonnes until July 2015, as com-pared to 761 tonnes in 2014.– ONA

C I V I L A V I A T I O N

GROWTH TRAJECTORY: Aviation statistics shows an increase in

arrivals by 12 per cent to 2,838,265 until July this year.– ONA

Muscat governorate tops population chartMUSCAT: Oman’s population crossed 4.17 million at the end of July 2015, an increase of 0.3 per cent, comprising more than 2.35 million Omanis and a little more than 2.81 million expatriates.

The latest statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed that the majority of the Sultan-ate’s population is concentrated in Muscat Governorate.

The residents of Muscat in-creased 0.4 per cent to reach 1.28 million. The number of ex-patriates residing in Muscat to-talled 796,000 as compared to 488,820 Omanis.

Al Batinah North Governorate had the second largest population

of 683,475, an increase of 0.3 per cent. The Omanis residing Al Bati-nah North numbered 464,247 as compared to 219,228 expatriates living in the Governorate.

Al Batinah South and Sharqyiah South also showed an increase of 0.3 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively, in the population. There were 377,452 people living in Al Batinah South Governorate which included 281,550 Omanis. In Sharqyiah South there were 726,549 people, which included 188,906 Omanis.

The Dhofar Governorate’s popu-lation reached 387,471, an increase of 0.4 per cent. There were 197,055 Omanis and 190,416 expatriates making up that fi gure.– ONA

N C S I S U R V E Y

His Majesty the Sultan sends greetingsMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a ca-ble of congratulations to President Dr Tabare Vazquez of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay on the occasion of his country’s Independence Anniversary. In his cable, His Majesty expressed his sincere congratulations along with best wishes to President Vazquez and the friendly Uruguayan people.–ONA

HM receives thanks from King Philippe of BelgiumMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from King Philippe of Belgium in reply to His Majesty’s greetings cable on the occasion of his country’s Nation-al Day. In his cable, King Philippe expressed his utmost thanks and appreciation for His Majesty’s greetings and best wishes.–ONA

C A B L E S

Increase in arrivals and

departures into Muscat

International Airport

is attributed to the

increase in the number

of flights operated by

existing airlines

SAYYID ASAAD BIDS FAREWELL TO AMBASSADORSSayyid Asaad bin Tariq Al Said received in his offi ce here on Monday Abdullah bin Mo-

hammed Al Khatir, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Sultanate, and Adheemallah

Nasser Dheya, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.–ONA

A4 T U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

OMAN

Muscat girl bags top college seat

MRUDU NAIKmrudu@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Hard work and deter-mination to fulfi ll her dream bore fruit for Mitali Kishore Kothia, who now has the opportunity to pursue her studies at the All India Insti-tute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Patna in the Indian state of Bihar.

A former student of Indian School Wadi Kabir (ISWK), Mitali recently cracked the AIIMS MBBS 2015 national level undergraduate medical entrance exam conducted by AIIMS in New Delhi.

Out of the 200,000 or so aspir-ants who appeared for the entrance exam, Mitali ranked 449th, landing her an MBBS seat in Patna out of the seven AIIMS campuses, which include New Delhi, Bhopal, Bhu-baneswar, Jodhpur, Raipur and Rishikesh. Mitali’s story is inspir-ing not just because she made it to AIIMS but also because she beat the odds to emerge successful.

Students who seek to study medicine in India are up against many challenges, including fi erce competition, multiple rounds of en-trance exams, limited seat quotas in government colleges, and in many cases, “capitation fees” which are separate from tuition fees. Coming from a modest background, paying capitation fee to enrol in a private medical college was unthinkable for Mitali’s family.

Mitali had scored well in her class 12 examinations, but the fam-ily was aware that non-resident In-dians had to pay more than the nor-mal fee. One private college quoted over OMR60,000 to get a seat on a medical programme.

Her father, Kishore Kothia, who

works for a private fi rm in Oman, said, “When we found that the fee was high, we were disheartened. Not all NRIs are rich and can af-ford to pay. We knew it was impos-sible to pay this much. However, my daughter was adamant that she wanted to study medicine but with-out paying the exorbitant fees.”

Thus, Mitali decided to take a gap year and enrolled herself in one of the coaching institutes in Kota, Ra-jasthan, a city known for coaching students to help them crack IIT and medical entrance tests.

These coaching institutions are also expensive, charging students as much as OMR1,000 for training.

However, the institute Mitali had chosen off ered a payback scheme, where her tuition fee would be refunded if her scores ranked amongst the top fi ve in the monthly mock entrance tests organised by the institute. After training with them for 12 months she achieved her goal.

“We literally didn’t have to spend anything because through her hard work, she managed to get the top rank in all the monthly mock en-trance exams she attempted and won back the money we paid in fees,” said Kishore.

After her training was done, she scored well in the main exam and won a seat in AIIMS Patna, where she received a full scholarship, with the exception of minimal adminis-tration fees.

Urging aspiring students not to lose hope, Mitali said those who

cannot aff ord the capitation fees should not be disheartened.

“They must take it on as a chal-lenge and work hard to achieve their dreams,” she said.

On the factors that led to her suc-cess, Mitali said, “My parent’s con-stant support and encouragement and my determination to achieve my dream were the most important factors in helping me achieve this feat. I wouldn’t have gotten here without their support. They have always encouraged me and stood by me no matter what I chose to do. They had faith in me and my eff orts.

“Absolute determination, the courage to face any circumstances, faith in myself and God helped me,” she added. Advising those aspiring to crack the AIIMS or any other medical entrance exam, she said, “One must cover the syllabi for classes 11 and 12 from the perspec-tive of an entrance exam in addi-tion to studying for the board exam. Joining a good coaching institute is a good idea. I took a one-year course at Allen Career Institute in Kota, which helped me a lot.”

She added, “Students should fully understand the basic format of the entrance exam they’ll be taking. They should examine old question papers from the beginning of their training. It also helps to read refer-ence books. Physics and chemistry require constant practice. Biol-ogy shouldn’t be learned by rote but needs to be understood. One has to study constantly and not worry about anything else. Time management is crucial for cracking these exams.”

Stressing that success is always the result of a combined eff ort, Mi-tali said, “I would also like to thank all my teachers at ISWK and Allen, who helped me to handle this diffi -cult task.”

On her choice of medicine as a career, she said, “Initially, it was just my admiration and respect for doctors that made me want to be a doctor. Then, when I grew up, I was guided by sheer excitement and in-terest in the subject.

“My academic performance added to my confi dence that I could achieve my dream.”

She added, “I am the fi rst doctor in my family, and now, I am living not just my dream but that of my whole family.” Indeed, Mitali’s sto-ry proves that where there is a will, there is a way.

Mitali, a former

student of Indian

School Wadi Kabir,

recently cracked

the national level

undergraduate

medical entrance

ROP arrests fi ve teenagers for vandalising vehicles in SoharTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Five teenagers were arrested for vandalising vehicles in Sohar by the Directorate Gen-eral of Inquiries and Investiga-tions. An offi cial from the North Al Batinah Royal Oman Police said, “The Sohar ROP received several calls about an unidenti-fi ed person throwing stones at vehicles passing by.”

Investigations led to the arrest of the teenagers who confessed to their crime.

They have been referred to the Public Prosecution.

ROP deports 94 illegalsDuring last week, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) arrested 124 people of diff erent nationalities for entering the Sultanate ille-gally. They have also deported 94 people after completing legal procedures with the embassies of their countries.

ROP foils smuggling bidCustoms offi cers at the Sarfait

border post foiled an attempt to smuggle narcotics.

SUVA source from the ROP said that an SUV with three people on board pulled up to the inspection bay where offi cers found six pack-

ets of hashish weighing three kil-ogrammes hidden in the car.

The narcotics were hidden in the car’s sockets and under the seats. The vehicle has been con-fi scated by the ROP and the sus-pects have been referred to the Public Prosecution.

I N T E R N A L S E C U R I T Y

Mitali Kishore Kothia

Cultural forum in Salalah

SALALAH: Activities of the ‘Cultural Heritage and Concept of Citizenship’ Forum began at the Directorate General of Herit-age and Culture in the Governo-rate of Dhofar on Monday under the patronage of Sheikh Salim bin Uff ait Al Shanfari, Head of Dhofar Municipality. The three-day forum is being organized by Sultan Qaboos Higher Centre for Culture and Science.–ONA

O M A N ’ S H E R I T A G E

CONTRABAND HAUL: The SUV with three people on board pulled

up to the inspection bay where offi cers found six packets of hash-

ish weighing three kilogrammes hidden in it.– ROP photo

SQU joins Silk Road networkMUSCAT: Sultan Qaboos Uni-versity (SQU) participated in the founding meeting of the Silk Road Universities Network (SUN), a network of universities in coun-tries through which the Silk Road ran. SUN was formed during a four-day inaugural general as-sembly held from August 21 to 24 at Jeonju, South Korea. The Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, one of the participating universities from South Korea, hosted the inaugural assembly.

The SQU delegation was head-ed by Dr Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, vice chancellor. Dr Yousef bin Salem Al Hinai, dean of student aff airs, and Mahmood bin Said Al Abri, deputy director at the vice chancellor’s offi ce attended the meeting. The SQU was invited by Hankuk University of Foreign Studies to join this network and attend the founding meeting of the network. During the meet-ing, the universities approved the establishment of the network, re-viewed the draft of the constitu-

tion of the network and adopted it. The head of the network and a secretary-general were elected for a period of three years. The network aims to undertake a joint scientifi c research, student and faculty exchanges, and organise various events, competitions and

activities for students of these universities in diff erent scientifi c research and voluntary areas.

Meanwhile, the Sultanate’s Embassy in Korea is taking part in Silk Road Festival, which be-gan last Friday and will last till October 18.–ONA

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

ACADEMIC TIES: The SQU delegation was headed by Dr Ali bin

Saud Al Bimani, vice chancellor.–ONA

We literally didn’t have to spend anything because through her hard work, she managed to get the top rank in all the monthly mock entrance exams she attempted and won back the money we paid in fees

Kishore Kothia, Mitali’s father

Oman revenues clock OMR14bMUSCAT: As per the fi nal ac-counts of the state budget, the actual revenues of the Sultanate in 2014 stood at OMR14.1 billion compared to OMR11.7 billion of estimated revenues at the state budget in the same year.

The statement announced by the Ministry of Finance pointed out that the remarkable increase in the revenues is attributed to the increase in actual oil rev-enues, which hit OMR10.20 bil-lion compared to OMR8.15 bil-lion of estimated revenues in

the budget. The gas revenues stood at OMR1.68 billion com-pared to OMR1.50 billion of estimated budget.

The current revenues record-ed OMR1.98 billion compared to OMR2 billion at the state budget. The capital revenues and fi nancial recoveries recorded OMR15.8 million and OMR215 million respectively, as per the fi nal account.

The data pointed out that the public expenditure, which was set at OMR13.5 billion at the

last year’s budget, increased to OMR15.17 billion due to approv-ing additional allocations to cover the emerging needs, in addition to the OMR9.6 billion increase in current expenditure, which was estimated at OMR8.66 billion at the state budget.

The investment expenditure hit about OMR3.58 billion com-pared to OMR3.22 billion in the state budget. Other expenditure increased to OMR1.98 billion compared to estimated OMR1.61 billion at the state budget. –ONA

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

A6

OMANT U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

When there is a leak or the gas emission level is above the allowable average standard, an SMS will be sent to the HSE staff so that they can evacuate the place

Sara Al Bulushi, Omani student

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Websites volunteer to promote tourism in OmanTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Some websites are vol-unteering to promote the Sultan-ate and attract global attention to its unique tourist destinations.

One such tourist website, Oman Voice, is a good example of the success of volunteering to serve the tourism sector. The website provides photos and tourist infor-mation about the various sites in the Sultanate.

The website is administered by Badr bin Mohamed Al Nadabi, who said, “The website was actu-ally launched in February 2015. The tourist sites in the Sultanate have been divided into nine main divisions including museums, ar-chaeological sites, restaurants and fast food eateries, and recreational sites and cinemas, in addition to hotels and resorts, markets and commercial complexes, and tour-ist attractions.

“Also included are Afl aj, springs and valleys, and forts and citadels, in addition to plains, mountains and beaches.”

“Oman Voice also shows route maps. These maps provide com-prehensive information and in-structions about roads and options available to reach the site,” said Al Hadabi.

“My ultimate goal in creating the website was to promote and support tourism in the Sultan-ate. Our national duty is to en-rich tourist sites according to our abilities and capabilities,” he said in conclusion.

The Salalah Live website is an-other example of volunteering ac-tivities in a bid to promote tourism in the Sultanate.

It is the name of a campaign

launched on Snap chat in the Kha-reef season from July 20, 2015, by a young man called Majid Tabouk and his colleagues.

Tabouk said, “We wanted to show the world how Salalah looks in the fall and attract the world’s attention through Snap chat that became very popular on the so-cial media recently. Asa group of young people, we aim to pro-mote the Khareef season through

this campaign and take a part of the region as an example. There is an interesting segment in the programme called “Story Live” where we shoot live stories in a way that enables the person added on the programme to watch and share them.”

“We have set a specifi c day to start our tweets in Salalah and put them as live stories on the pro-gramme. We have posted 25,000

tweets, according to the latest sta-tistic we conducted. Those tweets received considerable response and follow-ups, and were shared by other countries like the King-dom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in general.

“They also received wide re-sponse from other countries like Australia and the United States

(US). This is a very encouraging development that compels us to increase the number of tweets and develop their content,in addition to visiting an indefi nite number of places in Salalah,” he added.

Short documentaryWalid Al Rashdi is another serious volunteer. He works hard along with fi ve of his colleagues to pro-mote tourism in Salalah.

The six of them have produced a short documentary that describes three projects in the Dhofar gov-ernorate which are the Traveller Oasis, Itin Oasis and a project to develop Dhariz beach.

The majority of the shots for the documentary were aerial ac-companied by commentary from a person who speaks about the place and encourages people to visit it.

These youngsters are also think-ing of producing documentaries about diff erent regions in the Sul-tanate and provide information on them.

The fi lms will be like journeys made by the six colleagues who will devise a scenario for them.

“I hope to broadcast this movie on various social networking web-sites and YouTube due to its posi-tive impact in attracting tourists to the Sultanate,” said Al Rashdi.

W O O I N G T O U R I S T S

GLOBAL ATTENTION: The Salalah Live website is another example of volunteering activities in a bid to promote tourism in Oman.

Foreign investors dumping sharesAlmost all blue chip stocks on Muscat bourse declined to touch recent lows, with select indus-tries like construction touching even limit down amid weak sen-timent due to serious concerns on oil price dipping below $39 a barrel, which will not only aff ect economic growth but also hit the ability of regional economies to meet defi cit target. “These factors are accelerating the slump in Gulf bourses,” Anil Kumar added.

Foreign institutional investors

(FIIs) have been dumping shares on the local bourse for the last couple of weeks. “Foreigners have been selling blue chip stocks like Bank Muscat and National Bank of Oman,” Anil Kumar said.

Apart from foreign institutions, retail investors are losing confi -dence, resulting in dumping of shares across the board, and there is hardly any sign of an immediate recovery across the region. Echo-ing a similar view, Tariq Abdel-Razaq, deputy general manager of

United Finance, said that the fall in US market on last Thursday and Friday also triggered the slump in regional bourses this week.

“People were worried about the fall in oil prices. But it got acceler-ated when they realised that the US market is falling and international institutional investors are pulling out their funds from emerging mar-kets. The selling pressure is mostly driven by weak sentiments,” noted Tariq AbelRazak. Kanaga Sundar, head of research at Gulf Baader

Capital Markets, earlier said that there was an outfl ow of funds from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Oman markets since FIIs started selling their holdings.

Tariq AbdelRazaq said that although the market slump as such would not aff ect corporate earnings, investment companies, holding fi rms and those fi rms which have portfolio investment on the Muscat bourse will lose their money, which will be refl ect-ed in the coming quarters.

S T O C K S T A N K

Anti-piracy ship docks in Muscat for supplies

TARIQ AL HAREMItariqh@times ofoman.com

MUSCAT: To refuel and replen-ish its supplies, the Italian frig-ate ITS Libeccio docked at the Sultan Qaboos Port in Muttrah as part of the European Union Naval Force Somalia (EU NAV-FOR) Operation Atalanta, which is fi ghting Somali pirates since December 2008.

The Italian frigate is in Muttrah as part of the scheduled rotation of the EU NAVFOR.

“We use Muscat and Salalah for re-supply and it is an excellent harbour for us. It also proves the will to provide maritime security in the area,” said Rear Admiral, Christoph Muller-Meinhard, dep-uty commander of EU NAVFOR Somalia, Operation Atalanta.

EU-Oman PartnershipEU NAVFOR operates in the Southern Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and a large part of the Indian Ocean including Seychelles, Mauritius and Comoros as well as the Arabian Gulf which is ap-proximately 3.7 million square miles of sea.

When asked about the part-nership the EU navy has with the Royal Navy of Oman, Rear Admiral Muller-Meinhard said, “We are partners and together we

are fi ghting maritime crime for maritime security. We visit your harbour frequently and we co-op-erate with the coast guard and the navy as well.” It is not out of the ordinary for naval ships to dock and train with fellow navy offi c-ers in order to gain experience and learn from one another.

Commander Daniele Matinuz-zi, commanding offi cer of ITS Libeccio said, “We took the op-portunity to train with the Royal Navy in Salalah where we dem-onstrated capabilities on board-ing and some procedures that are conducted as simulations.”

Other training methods are on how to board a pirate boat, how to check documents on board and how to perform security checks.

Anti-PiracyPirates have long been threat-ening merchants and travellers in open waters. Their activities have a huge impact on interna-tional trade and maritime se-curity as well as the economic activities and security of the countries of the region. Soma-li-based pirates take over ves-sels and demand ransom for the crew, vessel and cargo which is a textbook characteristic of organised crime.

The crew which is held hostage often faces long periods of cap-tivity. Some average fi ve months,

although some have been held for three years. The EU passed the Mandate of Operation Atalanta under the EU Council Joint Ac-tion 851, which is based on UN resolutions.

Operation Atalanta will protect vessels of the World Food Pro-gramme (WFP), African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and other vulnerable shipping, de-ter and disrupt piracy and armed robbery at sea, monitor fi shing ac-tivity off the coast of Somalia,and support other EU missions and international organisations work-ing to strengthen maritime secu-rity and capacity in the region.

As of November 21, 2014, the council of the EU extended the Mandate of Operation Atalanta until December 2016.

The EU NAVFOR Somalia has made a signifi cant reduction to pi-racy in the region of operations. In 2011, 174 merchant ships vessels were attacked and 25 ships were pirated with 736 seafarers taken as hostage. In 2013, 7 ships were attacked but none pirated and in 2014, only 2 ships were attacked, however, the 26 crew members remain in captivity.

When asked about the reasons for this success, Rear Admiral Mullar-Meinhard said, “We cre-ated tactics to fi ght piracy. Since 2012, we could not ask for a more successful tactic imaginable. So

with the tactics in place, we have had a lot of success. Every ship has specifi c task in this huge op-erational area and we are going on as scheduled.”

Captain Darwin Torres, com-manding offi cer of ARC ‘7 de Ago-sto’ of the Columbian Navy said, “Our contribution to maritime se-curity and stability in the world is our number one priority because good order in the sea is good order in the land.”

“I am happy that we all join to-gether, the navies of the world, to contribute in the best way to maritime security and protect organisations such as the World Food Programme in Somalia. Peo-ple deserve the best world.”

ITS LibeccioThe ITS Libeccio is an anti-sub-marine frigate which is built and designed by Fincantieri in Mug-giano in Italy under the standards of the Italian Navy. It is one of the eight ships of the Italian Maes-tral class which was launched on September 7, 1981, and commis-sioned on February 5, 1983.

It has two main diesel engines with a displacement of 3,100 tonnes including two gas turbine engines for extra power and speed.

It houses over 200 crew mem-bers comprising men and women of every rank as well as Marines onboard to assist the crew.

ITS Libeccio, which

docked at the Sultan

Qaboos Port, is part

of the European

Union Naval Force

Somalia Operation

Atalanta fi ghting

Somali pirates since

December 2008

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Harmful gases

MFPT is a non-profi t professional society headquartered in the US with a 47-year legacy of promoting failure prevention technology. An interdisciplinary technical organi-sation, MFPT is strongly oriented towards the practical application of health management across eve-ry engineering sphere.

Al Bulushi studied Well Engi-neering at the International Col-lege of Engineering and Manage-ment (ICEM) in Muscat for three years and then continued her studies at the University of Cen-tral Lancashire (UClan) in the United Kingdom.

The paper -- co-authored by her and Dr Onsy at the School of Com-puting, Engineering and Physical Sciences, Preston, Lancashire, in the United Kingdom(UK) -- is ti-tled ‘Development of an Advanced Gas Emissions Monitoring Sys-tem for Oil and Gas Production Sites’. In addition to the MFPT award, she was presented with the School Prize for Outstand-ing Performance by the School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences.

The inspiration for the research came from Al Bulushi’s back-ground in well engineering and her concern for the environment due to high levels of gas emissions at oil and gas sites. “The oil and gas industry involves an extensive va-riety of operations and supplies, and is a major source of gas emis-sions. Gases emitted from oil and natural gas extraction operations may be extremely toxic,” she wrote in her research paper.

“The proliferation of these gases in air creates an unsatisfactory

and risky working environment for crew at rig sites, and prolonged exposure may lead to serious long-term health problems,” she noted, while adding that these gases also negatively aff ect other organisms near the area.

“My system is unique because it transmits the data wirelessly using the Cloud space concept. For example, if you have a com-pany headquartered in Oman with branches in other parts of the world, you can see the data related to gas emissions in those locations from the main company,” she told the Times of Oman.

Al Bulushi added that another unique feature of the system is the fact that the data can be trans-mitted to several users, including driller’s console, rig manager, the head offi ce and HSE (health, safety and environment) staff .

“When there is a leak or the gas emission level is above the allow-able average standard, an SMS will be sent to the HSE staff so that they can evacuate the place,” she explained. According to her, the system is working in the UK and she plans to introduce it in the oil and gas sector in Oman as well.

It will not ‘eliminate’ the risk but would contribute to the eff orts to protect workers and the environ-ment, said Al Bulushi.

“The advanced GEMS system can also be used in other applica-tions, including industries, facto-ries, and laboratories,” she added.

She hailed the ‘valuable’ support of UClan, her project supervisor and her instructors at ICEM, who helped build up her knowledge of engineering.

U N I Q U E S Y S T E M

SECURING SEAS: The ITS Libeccio is an anti-submarine frigate which is built and designed by Fin-

cantieri in Muggiano in Italy under the standards of the Italian Navy. – Supplied photo

A7

REGIONT U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

Nuclear deal fosters better ties with West: Rouhani

TEHRAN: Iran’s President Has-san Rouhani said on Monday that world powers will eventually look back at last month’s nuclear deal as a wise precursor to better rela-tions with the Islamic republic.

His remarks came in a meet-ing with Britain’s Foreign Secre-tary Philip Hammond, who is on the second and fi nal day of a trip to Tehran. British and Iranian embassies reopened in Tehran and London on Sunday, the lat-est step in ending a diplomatic chill stemming from the nuclear crisis and Western-led sanctions against Iran. The nuclear deal is due to be implemented in the next few months.

“The negotiating parties will re-alise in the future that interaction rather than confrontation with Iran was the right approach,” the offi cial IRNA news agency quoted Rouhani as saying. “We consider this agreement as the start of a move toward creating a better

situation in international and re-gional relations.” Rouhani alluded on Monday to Britain’s historical role in Iran -- along with the Unit-ed States it led a coup that toppled Prime Minister Mohammad Mos-sadegh in 1953.

Curbs may ease by spring“Although a nation’s historical judgements cannot be changed quickly in a short period of time, we believe that one should not remain in the past. We should look to the future,” Rouhani said. “By moving forward on diff erent political, economic and regional issues we can guarantee long-term trust.”

Meanwhile, Britain’s foreign

minister on Monday that inter-national sanctions on Iran could start to be lifted as early as spring next year, as Tehran and the West rebuild their ties and potentially open up billions of dollars of trade deals. Six world powers agreed in July to lift sanctions in return for Iran accepting long-term curbs on a nuclear programme that the West suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb. Teh-ran has always denied seeking nuclear arms.

Hammond told Reuters he ex-pected Iran and the United States could endorse the deal by Octo-ber. Combined with Iran meeting its commitments in the deal, that could see the start of trade re-

strictions being lifted. “We could be talking as early as next spring to start to see sanctions lifting off ,” Hammond said in an inter-view, referring to the March to May period.

Eyeing dealsEyeing deals between British fi rms and Iran, particularly in the oil and fi nancial sectors, Ham-mond said preparatory work should be done ahead of lifting sanctions so investment can start to fl ow as soon as the meas-ures are removed. “There is very clear pitch here not to wait until then,” he said.”

Underscoring the tentative na-ture of the rapprochement, Ham-

mond said Britain still had funda-mental diff erences with Iran over the long-running confl ict in Syria, where Tehran gives support to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.

“The thing we disagree on is the role of one single person, Bashar Al Assad, in this process,” he said.

“The Iranians take the view that for better or for worse with-out Assad there cannot be a po-litical process - he is the glue that holds much of Syria together.

Diff erent view“We take a diff erent view: That a man with so much blood on his hands cannot be part of the future of this country.” However, Ham-mond stressed that any form of dialogue between the West and Iran over Syria should be taken as a positive. He said Russia’s greater involvement in international talks signalled “a new phase” in discus-sions over its Syrian ally and that there was now an opportunity for Iran to seize upon this.

“If we are going to get to a po-litical solution we have to have the Iranians and the Russians en-gaged in that process too.” Ham-mond said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had sent strong signals that he wanted dialogue and Iran wanted to turn a page in its relations with the West. “I sense we are seen now more as part of Europe - a European country with whom Iran will be engaging alongside France, Ger-many, Italy and others - and less of the imperial Britain of the past with its legacy of involve-ment in Iran and the region,” Hammond said.

Turkey’s standHammond echoed sentiments expressed by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara who said that Turkey wel-comes Iran’s normalisation of ties with West, but says Tehran must change policies on issues includ-ing Syria and Yemen. -Reuters/AFP

International

sanctions on Iran

could start to be

lifted as early as

spring next year, as

Tehran and the West

rebuild their ties and

potentially open up

billions of dollars of

trade deals, said UK

Foreign Secretary

Philip Hammond

‘Houthi rebel rockets kill 14 civilians in Yemen’s Taez’

SANAA: Rockets fi red by Houthi militiamen killed 14 civilians, most of them children, as fi ghting inten-sifi ed for control of Yemen’s third largest city, Taez, residents said on Monday. The Saudi-led coalition op-posing the Houthis also launched air raids on military bases and Houthi positions in the southwestern city during the fi ghting, residents said, but no casualties were reported.

Awful situationFighters loyal to Yemen’s exiled government have been contest-ing control of Taez — known as Yemen’s cultural capital — with the Houthis since April. Hundreds of combatants and civilians have been killed. “The situation is awful and the fi ghting is happening on many fronts. All the hospitals have closed except for one, so there’s a shortage of medical care.

“Two rockets fell on the Deluxe neighbourhood, killing 14 people, among them women and children,” Taez resident Abdul Aziz Moham-med said. “Taez is being devastat-ed,” he added. The nothern-based Houthis took control of Yemen’s capital Sanaa last September. Arab countries intervened in the con-fl ict in March to halt a Houthi ad-vance into the south which caused the Saudi-backed government to fl ee to Riyadh from its refuge in the southern port of Aden.

Civilians take the bruntMonths of air strikes and arms de-liveries by the rich Gulf states to government loyalists began to pay off last month, when they seized back Aden and made surprise gains toward Yemen’s north and Sanaa. Gulf Arab states view the Houthis as a proxy for their archrival, Iran, but the group says it is fi ghting a revolution against a corrupt gov-ernment beholden to the West. Co-alition warplanes on Friday killed 65 people in Taez, most of them civilians, aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres said. -Reuters

C I V I L W A R

Offi cer injured as shots fi red at police patrol in JeddahRIYADH: Unknown assailants fi red on a police patrol in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea city of Jeddah late on Sunday, injuring an offi cer, the country’s offi cial media re-ported on Monday.

Saudi Press Agency quoted an unnamed Mecca police spokes-man as saying security forces were investigating the incident.

UnclearHe did not say whether extrem-ist militants, who have staged a series of attacks on police in Ri-yadh, were suspected. Jeddah is the second largest Saudi city and a major port.

Supporters of the IS group have shot at two Saudi police patrols,

bombed a mosque used by the security services and two others used by members of the minority sect, killing 40 people.

The Interior Ministry said

last month it had detained 431 suspected supporters of IS and thwarted other attacks on mosques, security forces and a diplomatic mission. -Reuters

C R I M E

REBUILDING TIES: A handout picture released by the offi cial website of the Iranian President Has-

san Rouhani shows him shaking hands with British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond, left, in the

capital Tehran on Monday. -AFP

ON DUTY: Saudi Press Agency quoted an unnamed Mecca police

spokesman as saying that investigations were on. -AFP fi le photo

Two rockets fell on the Deluxe neighbourhood, killing 14 people, among them women and children Taez is being devastated

Abdul Aziz Mohammed, Taez resident

A8

INDIAT U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

Once these transient trends are over, markets, particularly in India, will settle down... they will restore back

Arun Jaitley, Finance minister

MIG 21 FIGHTER JET CRASHESFirefi ghters douse fi re at the wreckage of MiG-21 fi ghter jet that crashed in a fi eld at Soibugh

in the Budgam district of Indian-administered-Kashmir on Monday. - PTI

SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

ARTICLE, PHOTOS

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M

BJP looks to bank on

package, development

agenda for Bihar polls

NEW DELHI: Running an ag-gressive campaign in the high stakes assembly elections in Bi-har, Bharatiya Janata Party will focus on the Rs1.25 lakh crore package in its second round of electioneering and hopes to cash on voters who it feels are no long-er swayed by issues like caste to trounce the Nitish-Lalu combine.

Highly-placed party sources said BJP would start its second round of ‘parivartan rath’ (cam-paign for change) from Wednes-day and highlight its develop-ment agenda centred around the massive package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week.

‘Parivartan raths’The ‘parivartan raths’ had cov-ered all of over 43,000 villages in the state during which it focused on Nitish Kumar’s “mis-govern-ance” following his split with BJP in 2013.

Pitted against the formidable JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance, BJP feels that close to 30 per cent of voters in the caste-ridden poli-tics of the state are no longer in-fl uenced by the identity politics.

In an informal interaction with journalists, a top leader made light of reports about the ruling

combine’s social strength, say-ing it was more on paper than on ground. He added that Kumar had lost his USP of good govern-ance by tying up with Prasad and the NDA’s campaign about his “mis-governance” following his split with BJP in 2013 was gener-ating a buzz.

Asked if the alliance of JD(U), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress had an edge as together they pulled over 9 per cent more votes than the NDA in Lok Sabha polls last year, he said the arith-metic was unlikely to hold good now as many people who had voted for Kumar were unlikely to vote him due to his alliance with Prasad and vice versa. - PTI

P O L I T I C S

India, Egypt agree to step up bilateral engagement

CAIRO: Seeking to inject new momentum in their ties, India and Egypt on Monday decided to put in place a bilateral framework for enhancing cooperation in key ar-eas of security, counter-terrorism, defence and investments.

Both sides agreed to step up en-gagement in a range of potential areas while underlining the need to combat terrorism particularly the threat of terrorist outfi t IS in an eff ective manner as visiting External Aff airs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on Egyptian Presi-dent Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The Indian side suggested that the IS should be fought in a “deter-

mined and collective manner”.Swaraj later met her Egyp-

tian counterpart Sameh Hassan Shoukry during which both sides reviewed entire gamut of relation-ship and decided to diversify de-fence cooperation from training of personnel to defence production.

Secretary East in Ministry of External Aff airs Anil Wadhwa, when asked about Swaraj’s meet-ing with the Egyptian President said a bilateral framework of coop-eration in all fi elds, particularly in the fi elds of security, counter- ter-rorism, defence and trade and in-vestments are being put in place to step up engagement in these areas.

“The President said, and Exter-nal Aff airs Minister agreed with him, that it is a question of en-

cashing on the goodwill that the people of the two countries have with each other into something concrete on the ground.

He said Egypt and India should be working together visibly on is-sues of common interests to show to the world that we are together on certain issues,” Wadhwa said.

Later Swaraj fi rst had an one-on-one meeting with Shoukry be-fore delegation-level talks.

Investment“We discussed the three pillars of cooperation which are politi-cal and security pillar, economic and investments and people-to-people contact. We have decided to deepen cooperation in all the areas. There would be a joint com-

mission meeting in January at the level of Foreign Ministers which will be preceded by a foreign of-fi ce consultation in November,” said Wadhwa.

Egypt has traditionally been one of India’s most important trading partners in the African continent. Trade between India and Egypt during the last fi nancial year (April 2014 — March 2015) has been recorded at $4.76 billion.

Most importantly, India is the sixth largest trading partner of Egypt — the second largest export destination.

India’s imports from Egypt were worth $1.74 billion during 2014-15. Indian businessmen have invested nearly $3 billion in about 50 companies in Egypt and

have given employment opportu-nities to around 35,000 Egyptians.

In the meeting between Swaraj and Shoukry, both sides agreed to expand trade ties, holding that there are huge untapped areas for expanding the ties.

In her meeting with the Presi-dent, Swaraj renewed the invita-tion to him from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the India-Afri-ca summit later this year.

She said Egypt has a special place for India.

Palestinian issue“They also had a discussion briefl y on the Palestinian issue. They also discussed situation in the region and on all these fronts I think our stands are similar. We will sup-port each other at the United Na-tions as well,” said Wadhwa.

Meanwhile, India on Monday conveyed to the Arab League that its policy on the Palestinian cause remains “unchanged” and that its support to the people of Palestine will be “undiluted” in the future.

External Aff airs Minister Su-shma Swaraj in her meeting with Secretary General of League of Arab States Nabil El Araby, said India remains committed to the Palestinian cause.

“We reiterated our support to the Palestinian cause. We said that there is no change in India’s position. The President of India will be visiting Palestine, Israel and Jordan together and our basic support for the Palestinian cause will remain undiluted in the fu-ture,” Wadhwa who is accompa-nying Swaraj said. - PTI

India and Egypt

agreed to step up

cooperation in a

range of potential

areas while

underlining the need

to combat terrorism

particularly the

threat of dreaded

terrorist outfi t IS in

an eff ective manner

BOLSTERING RELATIONS: In this photo provided by Egypt’s state news agency MENA, Egyptian

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, right, and his Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, left, meet with In-

dia’s Minister of External Aff airs Sushma Swaraj in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday. - PTI/AP

‘Global turbulence behind market crash; fundamentals still strong’NEW DELHI: Terming Mon-day’s market crash as “transient and temporary”, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said both the govern-ment and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are watching the situation and hoped it will stabilise as do-mestic macroeconomic indicators remain strong.

Jaitley attributed the big-gest ever drop in the benchmark Sensex to external factors and said that India is among the fastest growing economies of the world and the government is taking steps to further strengthen it.

“There has been for the last few days a great amount of turbulence in the global markets. Obviously, that turbulence has had impact on Indian market itself.

“The factors responsible for this are entirely external.

“There is not a single domestic factor in India which has either

contributed or added to it. These are external factors. I have not the least doubt that this turbulence is transient and temporary in nature.Markets will settle down”, he said.

In the worst-ever crash in stock markets, Sensex on Mon-day plunged by 1,624.51 points at 25,741.56 — its lowest level since August 2014 —and nearly Rs 7 lakh crore got wiped out from the inves-tors’ wealth.

Speaking earlier in the day, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said the central bank has resources to deal with the rupee volatility.

The government and RBI are closely watching the situation, Jaitley said, adding that eff orts would be made to further strength-en the economy to deal with the impact of global developments.

“Our fi scal defi cit fi gures are under control. Infl ation is very much under control. We stand by

the growth projections which we made at the beginning of the year and indirect taxation data actually supplements the idea of those pro-jections,” he said while addressing a conference of Chief Commis-

sioners and Director Generals of Customs, Central Excise and Ser-vice Tax.

The Economic Survey present-ed by Jaitley in February had pro-jected a growth rate of 8.1 to 8.5 per

cent for the current fi nancial year.Observing that the indirect

tax collections improved by 14.6 per cent in the April-July pe-riod after discounting for fresh revenue initiatives, the minister said Indian economy is in a re-vival phase though challenges ex-ist as far as global developments are concerned.

The total indirect tax collections during the fi rst four months of the fi scal rose by 37 per cent.

On the global front, Jaitley said developments like the possibil-ity of US Federal Reserve cutting rates, crisis in Europe and devalu-ation of the Chinese currency will have implications on India.

“Today, we are faced with mul-tiple challenges... as trends come up almost by the day... you can have an economy in Europe which is facing crisis.”

“And obviously being part of the

globally integrated economy, this would (have) at least some tran-sient impact as far as we are con-cerned,” he said.

He added that all the concerned authorities, including the gov-ernment and Reserve Bank “are watching the situation very closely and (are) conscious of the respon-sibility, as what is to be done.”

As far as India is concerned, the minister said, “Our response at this stage is very clear. We have to strengthen our own economy. We have embarked upon a path for one year and a quarter...even in the midst of global slowdown India should emerge as one of the fastest growing economies in the world.”

Observing that domestic indica-tors are extremely positive, Jaitley said, “Once these transient trends are over, markets, particularly in India, will settle down... they will restore back.” - PTI

E C O N O M Y

SPELLING OUT: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addresses the

two-day Annual Conference of the Chief Commissioners and Direc-

tor Generals of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in New

Delhi on Monday. - PTI

Centre asks states to crack whip on onion hoarders

NEW DELHI: With onion prices skyrocketing, the central govern-ment on Monday wrote to chief ministers of all states including poll-bound Bihar to take stringent action against hoarders and black marketeers to control rates of the kitchen staple.

Stating that the situation has “worsened” due to hoarding of onion by both retail and whole-sale traders, Union Food and Con-sumer Aff airs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the states should take action under the Essential Com-modities Act and impose stock holding limits.

Wholesale onion prices at La-salgaon in Maharasthra, Asia’s biggest onion market, have almost touched Rs60/kg, while retail prices across the country have risen up to Rs 80 per kg, adding to consumer woes.

As prices are ruling at higher level despite imports and restric-tion on exports, the Centre has asked the Maharasthra govern-ment to crack down on hoarders and black marketeers in various parts of the state to boost supply at Lasalgaon, which sets price trend across the country.

Concerned over the sharp in-crease in onion prices in the na-tional capital, Paswan blamed the Aam Aadmi Party-ruled Delhi government for inadequate action against hoarders.

The communique sent to the states on Monday by the ministry came amid the issue of rising on-ion prices inviting trenchant criti-cism from opposition parties. - PTI

P R I C E S S K Y R O C K E T I N G

UPBEAT: BJP workers taking

out a victory rally in Patna

after Prime Minister Narendra

Modi announced package of

Rs. 1.25 lakh crore for Bihar last

week. - PTI

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Lawmaker among six dead as truck hits train

ANANTAPUR: A Congress MLA from southern Indian state of Karnataka was among six people killed when a speeding granite-laden truck rammed into Bangalore-Nanded Express train after breaking the gate at a level crossing in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh in the wee hours of Monday.

Four bogies of the Nanded-bound train derailed as the truck broke the closed boom gate at Madakasira after “overlooking all safety warnings” and hit the H-1 coach at around 2.20am(IST), the Railways said.

Venkatesh Naik, Congress MLA from Deodurg in Raichur district of Karnataka who has been a four-time Lok Sabha MP, was among three passengers killed, offi cials said, adding the driver of the truck and two railway employees — an AC coach mechanic and an at-tender — also died in the mishap.

Two injured persons have been shifted to hospital in Bengaluru.

However, DIG of Anantapur,

K.Satyanarayana, said the truck cleaner was among those killed in the mishap while the driver fl ed.

He said it appeared the truck’s brakes had failed, but the actual cause of the accident will be ascer-tained after an inquiry.

The AC bogie was crushed and three sleeper coaches of the train derailed in the incident in Ananta-pur district, which borders Karna-taka and is located around 350km from Hyderabad.

Probe orderedRailways has ordered an inquiry into the mishap by Commissioner Railway Safety of Southern Circle who will submit the report at the

earliest, Railway spokesperson Anil Saxena said in Delhi.

Many trains were aff ected in the section and have been diverted, ac-cording to Railway offi cials.

Railway Minister Suresh Prab-hu said it was an unfortunate inci-dent and conveyed his condolenc-es to the families of the victims.

He said ex-gratia will be given to the aff ected. Comgress President Sonia Gandhi and party Vice Pres-ident Rahul Gandhi also expressed anguish over the loss of lives.

In a statement, Railways said the manned level crossing gate was closed to facilitate safe passage of Train No 16594 and red fl asher light showing danger was on and

continuous siren/hooter was sounded to warn the road users.

Besides, there are speed break-ers before the L C Gate and the area is well-lit, it said.

DerailmentThe loaded vehicle approached the level crossing at high speed, broke the closed boom gate and hit the H-1 coach of the running train.

The truck driver did not heed to any of the warnings, the Railways said, adding it resulted in derail-ment of four coaches.

The derailment was due to “road lorry hitting the train at closed Level Crossing Gate overlooking all safety warnings,” it said. - PTI

Railways said

four bogies of the

Bangalore-Nanded

Express train derailed

as the truck broke the

closed boom gate at

Madakasira after

‘overlooking all

safety warnings’ and

hit the H-1 coach

at around 2.20am

WRECKAGE: Rescuers looking at the mangled remains of a coach of the Bangalore-Nanded Express

which rammed into a lorry near Madakasira Railway Gate in Anantapur district on Monday morning.-PTI

Marines case: UN tribunal tells India, Italy to suspend court trialsHAMBURG: A UN tribunal on Monday asked both India and Italy to “suspend” all court pro-ceedings involving two Italian marines charged with killing of two Indian fi shermen in 2012 and also refrain from initiating new ones that might “aggravate or ex-tend” the dispute.

Hearing Italy’s appeal in the case, the President of the Inter-national Tribunal on Law of the Sea (ITLOS), Vladimir Golitsyn asked the two countries to submit the initial report in the entire in-cident by September 24.

The judge said pending a deci-sion by the arbitral tribunal, “It-aly and India shall both suspend all court proceedings and shall refrain from initiating new ones which might aggravate or extend the dispute submitted to the... ar-bitral tribunal or might jeopard-ise or prejudice the carrying out of any decision which the arbitral tribunal may render.”

He further said, “Italy and India shall each submit to the Tribunal the initial report...not later than 24 September 2015, and author-ises the President, after that date, to request such information from the Parties as he may consider appropriate.”

The 21-member UN-mandated court located in this German city issued the order with 15 in favour and six against.

Unhappy over India’s handling of the marine’s issue, Italy took the matter to the ITLOS challeng-ing Indian jurisdiction in the case.

It has pleaded that India must cease to exercise any form of ju-risdiction over the Enrica Lexie incident and the Italian Marines, including any measure of re-straint with respect to Sergeant Latorre and Sergeant Girone.

The two marines, who were on board ship ‘Enrica Lexie’, are ac-cused of killing two Indian fi sher-men on February 15, 2012 off the Kerala coast.

ITLOS is an independent ju-dicial body established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to adjudicate disputes arising out of the inter-pretation and application of the

Convention. Italy had requested the tribunal to make India refrain from taking or enforcing any judi-cial or administrative measures against the two marines in con-nection with the Enrica Lexie Incident, and from exercising any other form of jurisdiction over the case. It had also asked India shall take all measures necessary to ensure that restrictions on the liberty, security and movement of the Marines be immediately lifted to enable Sergeant Girone to travel to and remain in Italy and Sergeant Latorre to remain in Italy throughout the duration of the proceedings before the Annex VII Tribunal.

Italy maintained before the tri-bunal that it was only in late May of this year that it became clear beyond doubt that a negotiated settlement with India would not be possible.

India on its part contended that nothing happened in May to change what had been the status quo over the previous 14 months and recognised that in the spring of 2014, it was appar-ent that a diplomatic impasse had been reached.

The tribunal said that both par-ties agree that an extensive ex-change of views has taken place and that this did not lead to an

agreement between them regard-ing the settlement of the dispute by negotiation or other peace-ful means. The tribunal said that India argued that although Italy “pretends to act in order to pro-tect its own alleged rights, Italy in reality behaves as if it were es-pousing its nationals rights while clearly the conditions for exercis-ing its diplomatic protection are not fulfi lled.”

India maintained that Italy should have exhausted the local remedies available before the In-dian courts’ and that ‘an Annex VII tribunal can only exercise its jurisdiction and rule on the claims of Italy once all remedies available to the two accused have been exhausted, it said.

In the view of the Tribunal, since the very nature of the dis-pute concerns the exercise of ju-risdiction over the Enrica Lexie incident, the issue of exhaus-tion of local remedies should not be addressed in the provisional measures phase.

It said India stated that under articles 95 and 96 of the Conven-tion, immunity from the juris-diction of any State other than the fl ag State is available only to warships and Government ships operated for non-commercial purposes. - PTI

K I L L I N G O F I N D I A N F I S H E R M E N

Thousands of Jains protest right to fast until death rulingJAIPUR: Thousands of mem-bers of the austere Jain religion protested across India on Mon-day for the legal right to take part in an ancient ritual of starving themselves to death.

Dressed in traditional white kurtas and trousers and hold-ing banners that read “Suicide is crime. Santhara is religion”, they marched silently through the city of Jaipur in the western state of Rajasthan.

Jains have been campaign-ing after a Rajasthan High Court ruled this month that their volun-tary custom of fasting until death or Santhara was a form of suicide, which is illegal under Indian law.

“Our peaceful protest is against the judgement pronounced by the high court without understand-ing the concept and objectives” of the tradition, Jain leader Rajen-dra Godha said.

Godha said up to 100,000 devo-tees took part in the protest that snaked through Jaipur for several kilometres and also saw schools and businesses run by Jains close for the day.

Additional deputy commis-sioner of police Gyanendra Singh put the protest numbers much lower, at between 35,000 and 40,000. Smaller protests were also held in other cities including

in Mumbai, where an AFP pho-tographer said several thousand gathered peacefully under a tent to hear speeches by two priests.

Jain leaders have said they will appeal to the Supreme Court against the lower court’s ruling, saying the decision was against their religious right which is en-shrined in the constitution.

As part of their religion, Jains can take a vow to give up food and water as a way of embracing death. It is unclear how many deaths occur every year but local media put the number at a couple of hundred. The high court was ruling on a petition by an activ-ist in Rajasthan who argued the practice was against the law. He questioned whether elderly Jains were being encouraged to take the vow to free families of the burden of taking care of them, an argument Jains deny.

A Hindu-majority country, In-dia is also home to large numbers of religious minorities including 4.2 million Jains, according to 2011 census fi gures.

Jainism is thousands of years old, a nonviolent religion whose philosophical roots are based in ancient India and are inspired by the same principles of tolerance that infl uenced freedom fi ghter Mahatma Gandhi. - AFP

A N C I E N T R I T U A L

ACCUSED: The two marines, Salvatore Girone, right, and Mas-

similiano Latorre who were on board ship ‘Enrica Lexie’, are ac-

cused of killing two Indian fi shermen on February 15, 2012 off the

Kerala coast. - Reuters fi le photo

PROTEST AGAINST BAN: Women of the Jain community partici-

pate in a protest against the recent ban on ‘Santhara’ by Rajas-

than High Court, in Nagpur on Monday. - PTI

A10

PAKISTAN T U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

FRUIT STORAGEA boy carries bananas out of a fruit storage facility in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Monday. — Reuters

Siegel to record statement in Benazir assassination case

ISLAMABAD: US author Mark Seigel who had earlier refused to record a statement in Benazir Bhutto assassination case ex-pressed on Monday willingness to record a statement via a video con-ference, Express News reported.

Seigel, a close friend and con-fi dante of the late prime minister and an important prosecution wit-ness, earlier cited security reasons for his refusal to appear in person to record a statement against for-mer military ruler Pervez Mush-araf in the Benazir assassination case.

Earlier this year, the author said he was ready to record his state-ment through video link.

Scheduled for WednesdayAccording to sources, the video conference is scheduled to be held on Wednesday at 7:30pm, for which preparations are underway.

The video conference will be headed and witnessed by Anti-Terrorism Court-I Judge Muham-

mad Ayub Marth who will record Seigel’s statement. Further, sourc-es said that Marth will be able to question Seigel after he has made his statement.

Pakistan embassySiegel will record his state-

ment from Pakistan Embassy in Washington.

Former prime minister Benazir was assassinated outside Rawal-pindi’s Liaquat Bagh on Decem-ber 27, 2007 and according to Siegel, Musharraf had threatened Benazir with “dire consequences”

if she returned home before the 2008 election.

Along with fi ve other prosecu-tion witnesses, Siegel was sum-moned on January 5 by an anti-ter-rorism court to record statements in the high-profi le assassination case. — Express Tribune

The US author, a

close friend and

confi dante of the

late prime minister

and an important

prosecution witness,

earlier cited security

reasons for his

refusal to appear

as witness against

former military ruler

Pervez Musharraf

AWAITING JUSTICE: Supporters of slain premier Benazir Bhutto shout slogans as they gather on the sixth anniversary of Bhutto’s assas-

sination, at a rally in Lahore, on December 27, 2013. — AFP fi le photo

Army offi cer, six rebels killed in NW

ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistani soldiers including a senior offi cer were killed Monday in an exchange of fi re with extremist militants in a restive tribal district along the Af-ghan border, where the army last week began a ground off ensive.

The fi refi ght occurred in the Shawal valley of North Waziristan where the military has been bat-tling Taliban and other insurgents since June last year.

“During an exchange of fi re with security forces, six terrorists were killed in Shawal today. An offi cer, Lieutenant Colonel Faisal Malik and a soldier also embraced sha-hadat (martyrdom),” the military said in a statement.

The latest incident comes a day after militants launched a cross-border rocket attack on a checkpost in Khyber tribal area, killing four Pakistani soldiers and wounding four others. Pakistan’s foreign offi ce summoned Afghan ambassador Janan Mosazai on Sunday evening and lodged a strong protest over the shelling.

Pakistan’s seven semi-auton-omous tribal districts near the Afghan border are rife with insur-gents and are strongholds of Tali-ban and Al Qaeda operatives.

Pakistan has been battling a homegrown insurgency for over a decade following the late 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan. — AFP

I N S U R G E N C Y

Suspected bomber escapes from court

KARACHI: An under-trial prisoner accused of possessing explosives escaped on Monday from the premises of the Anti-Terrorism Court-IX (ATC) in Karachi.

According to reports, the un-der trial prisoner, Tanveer alias Jambu, who was under custody of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) was brought to the ATC from the Karachi Central Jail as a hearing in his case was fi xed for today.

The accused managed to re-move his handcuff s before fl ee-ing the court premises, sources told The Express Tribune.

Tanveer had been under in-vestigation over possession of explosives after he was arrested at the Ibrahim Hyderi area of Karachi in late 2014.

Following his arrest, the po-lice claimed to have recovered explosives from the possession of the accused.

According to police sources, the accused had to be presented today before Justice Farman Ali Kanatro of the ATC-IX as pros-ecution prepared to submit evi-dence against him in the court.

This is the fi rst such incident of an under trial prisoner’s es-cape from the ATC during the current year. A report is expect-ed to be lodged against the po-lice guards who were involved in the negligence.

Last year, three under-trial prisoners facing charges in kid-napping for ransom cases had managed to escape from the heavily guarded court within fi ve months. — Express Tribune

K A R A C H I

‘All terror networks operating from Pakistani soil dismantled’ISLAMABAD: A day after an im-provised explosive device blew up in Bajaur agency killing a Pa-kistan People’s Party leader, In-terior Minister Chaudhry Nisar on Monday claimed that all terror networks in the country, whether acting domestically or otherwise, had been dismantled.

Providing details of the National Action Plan (NAP) and action tak-en against extremism in the coun-try, Nisar said that the country was more secure today.

“For the fi rst time in 30 years, no terrorist network is operating from Pakistani soil,” the interior minister claimed while address-ing a press briefi ng after a cabinet meeting in Islamabad.

Urging the media to refrain from unnecessarily analysing the civil-military ties, he assured that the working relationship had never been better, adding it was their working relationship which had resulted in the successful imple-mentation of NAP.

Giving an historical overview, Nisar said militancy had been on the up since 2006, peaking after the army’s 2009 operations in Swat and Waziristan, with 2010 being the worst year in terms of terrorism, when 2,061 ter-rorist attacks were recorded in the country.

Attacks were down to 695 in 2015, compared to 1,444 in 2006.

Flanked by Information Min-

ister Pervaiz Rashid, Nisar said of the 20 points of NAP, they had recorded progress in registration of SIMs, action against armed militias, action against criminals in Karachi — where crime has gone down by 70 per cent, crack-down on proscribed organisa-tions, as well as progress on the Balochistan issue.

He said over 62,000 combing operations were conducted in the past nine months, in which over 68,000 suspects were detained.

The interior minister said the progress was achieved through almost 5,900 intelligence based operations (IBOs) across the country since the initiation of NAP. — Express Tribune

I N T E R I O R M I N I S T E R ’ S C L A I M A R T I S A N

WORKMANSHIP: A carpenter weaves strips while making a bamboo chair at a workshop in Karachi,

Pakistan, on Monday. — Reuters

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‘US, Turkey plan joint operation against IS’

ANKARA: Turkey and the United States will soon launch “compre-hensive” air operations to fl ush IS fi ghters from a zone in northern Syria bordering Turkey, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Reuters on Monday.

Detailed talks between Wash-ington and Ankara on the plans were completed on Sunday, and regional allies including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan, as well as Britain and France may also take part, Cavusoglu said in an interview. “The technical talks have been concluded, yesterday, and soon we will start this opera-tion, comprehensive operations, against Daesh (IS),” he said.

The United States and Turkey plan to provide air cover for what Washington judges to be moder-ate Syrian rebels as part of the operations, which aim to fl ush IS from a rectangle of border territo-ry roughly 80 km (50 miles) long, offi cials familiar with the plans have said.

Diplomats say cutting IS ac-cess to the Turkish border, across which it has been able to bring for-eign fi ghters and supplies, could be a game-changer. US jets have already begun air strikes from

Turkish bases in advance of the campaign.

Cavusoglu said the operations would also send a message to President Bashar Al Assad and help put pressure on his adminis-tration to come to the negotiating table and seek a political solution for Syria’s wider war. Ankara has long argued that lasting peace in Syria can only be achieved with Assad’s departure.

US offi cials, meanwhile, have made clear that the focus of the co-alition operations will be squarely on pushing back IS. “Our aim should be eradicating Daesh from both Syria and Iraq, otherwise you cannot bring stability and security ... But eliminating the root causes of the situation (in Syria) is also essential, which is the regime of course,” Cavusoglu said.

He also made clear that Syr-ian Kurdish PYD militia forces, which have proved a useful ally on the ground for Washington as it launched air strikes on IS else-where in Syria, would not have a role in the “safe zone” that the joint operations aim to create, un-

less they changed their policies.Ankara is concerned that the

PYD and its allies aim to unite Kurdish cantons in northern Syr-ia and fear those ambitions will stoke separatist sentiment among its own Kurds. “Yes, the PYD has been fi ghting Daesh... But the PYD is not fi ghting for the territorial integrity or political unity of Syria. This is unacceptable,” Cavusoglu said. “We prefer that the moderate opposition forces actually control the safe zone, or Daesh-free areas, in the northern part of Syria, not the PYD, unless they change their policies radically in that sense.” Both Ankara and Washington had given this message directly to the PYD, he said.

PKK strikes to continueTurkey’s relations with the PYD, whose forces control territory on the eastern fringe of the pro-posed safe zone, are complicated by what offi cials in Ankara say are the group’s deep ties with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought an insurgency against Turkey for three decades.

Cavusoglu said Turkey’s mili-tary operations against PKK tar-gets in northern Iraq and south-eastern Turkey, where Ankara has been carrying out air strikes over the past month, would con-tinue until the group laid down its weapons. The government says it launched the action against the PKK in response to an escalation in attacks on members of the se-curity forces. Cavusoglu said 61 soldiers and police offi cers had been killed by the group in recent months and that the military ac-tion would continue until it laid down its weapons.

Critics say Turkey is using what it calls its “synchronised war on terror”, including its greater role in the US-led coalition against IS, as a cover to attack the PKK and try to stem Kurdish political and territorial ambitions. Ankara de-nies those accusations.

Within weeks Diplomatic sources told Reuters on Friday that a second group of rebel fi ghters trained in Turkey by the US-led coalition could be deployed to Syria within weeks as part of the strategy to push back the IS.

The Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front said late last month it had detained some of a fi rst group of less than 60 weeks after they were deployed, and warned others to abandon the programme, high-lighting the fragility of the pro-gramme. “In the second group we have around 100 (fi ghters),” Ca-vusoglu said, but made clear that the ground forces were only part of the strategy.

“The train and equip pro-gramme (alone) will not be enough to fi ght Daesh, that is why we agreed with the United States to start joint operations soon,” he said. Asked whether Iran’s im-proving relations with West in the wake of its nuclear deal could help the prospects of a diplomatic solution in Syria, Cavusoglu was cautious.-Reuters

Regional allies

including Saudi

Arabia, Qatar and

Jordan, as well as

Britain and France

may also take part,

Turkish Foreign

Minister Mevlut

Cavusoglu said

Thai bomber hunt hampered by faulty security camerasBANGKOK: A week after a deadly bomb tore through central Bang-kok, Thailand’s police chief said Monday the frantic search for those responsible has been ham-pered by faulty security cameras.

The trail is growing increasing cold seven days after the bombing, which killed 20 people -- mostly Asian tourists -- in the capital’s commercial heart and wounded scores more. The main suspect is an unidentifi ed man in a yellow T-shirt seen on CCTV placing a ruck-sack under a bench at the Erawan

shrine minutes before the blast. He is still on the run, with police publicly no nearer to naming him or his motivation. National police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said his offi cers were working at “full capacity with no rest”.

BedevilledBut he added that the investigation was bedevilled by shortcomings, such as the fact that the majority of the city’s security cameras were not working. “Sometimes there might be 20 CCTV cameras on a

road but only fi ve of them work,” he told reporters.”

Police also say they lack modern facial recognition technology to decipher who the bomber is. So-myot is under intense pressure from both the public and the rul-ing junta to catch the perpetrators of an attack that sent shockwaves through the vital tourist sec-tor. The bombing was Thailand’s worst single mass-casualty attack and although the city’s inhabit-ants have tried to get back to their lives, tensions remain high. -AFP

C R I M E

Japan’s Abe shuns China’s World War commemorationTOKYO: Japanese Prime Min-ister Shinzo Abe will not attend events to mark the 70th anniversa-ry of the end of World War Two in China next month, Japan’s govern-ment spokesman said on Monday, amid concerns over China’s mili-tary ambitions.

More than 10,000 troops - mostly Chinese but with contin-gents from Russia, Mongolia and a few other countries - will march through central Beijing on Sep-tember 3 in a parade that will be the highlight of events marking the war’s end. Abe has tried to improve relations with China, but progress has been very slow due to Japan’s perceived failure to atone for its wartime aggressions and China’s increasingly assertive tone in ter-ritorial disputes in the South and East China Seas.

Parliament schedule“The prime minister has decided not to attend because of his sched-ule in parliament,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told re-porters. “He will not be travelling to China shortly before or after September 3. We will continue to seek out ways for our two coun-tries to communicate with each other.” Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier on Monday national broadcaster NHK said Abe would skip the ceremony in China to fo-cus on collective self defence bills currently being debated in parlia-ment. He also decided to side with Western leaders who are staying away from the military parade in China because of worries about its military expansion in the region, the Sankei newspaper reported earlier on Monday.

European and US offi cials have expressed concern that the show of military power could send the wrong signal in an already tense region. The expected presence of Russian President Vladimir Pu-

tin has also put off many Western leaders, diplomats have told Reu-ters. Tanks rumbled through Bei-jing and fi ghter jets fl ew overhead during the weekend in a parade rehearsal. In a statement on Mon-day, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the parade would be a gathering of people from around the world who “love peace”, add-ing that China only wanted to be a force for good in the world. He made no mention of Abe.

Dispute China has drawn criticism for reclaiming land in the disputed South China Sea, as neighbouring countries fear China could use the land as a military base. China and Japan also dispute islets in the East China Sea. Sino-Japan rela-tions have long been aff ected by what China sees as Japan’s failure to atone for its occupation of parts of the country before and during the war. Western and Chinese his-torians estimate millions of Chi-nese civilians were killed.

Ties have thawed slightly since Abe and Chinese President Xi Jin-ping met at multilateral gatherings in April and last November, but the diplomatic relationship between Asia’s two biggest economic pow-ers is far from friendly. -Reuters

D I P L O M A C Y

Typhoon Goni toll in

Philippines rises to 26

MANILA: Typhoon Goni killed at least 26 people in landslides and fl oods in the Philippines, offi cials said Monday, as the storm bore down on Japan.

Rescue teams clawed away at a mountainside near the remote mining town of Mankayan in the country’s north, after recovering the bodies of 13 miners buried by a landslide that struck the area two days earlier.

“The landslide buried miners sheltering in huts used as a rest area. The slope collapsed after be-ing saturated with rain,” Ivy Cara-si, a spokeswoman for the civil de-fence offi ce in the region, told AFP. Offi cials did not elaborate on how many miners were still missing in the landslide’s wake.

Missing miners“We don’t really know how many more miners are missing because the numbers compiled by the po-lice and local government do not tally,” said Carasi.

Goni hit parts of the northern Philippines hard over the week-end, destroying nearly a thousand houses and forcing more than 12,000 people to fl ee, the civil de-fence offi ce said.

More than a dozen other people in the mountainous region were killed by landslides, surging waters and a falling tree, the civil defence offi ce in Manila added.

Unaccounted forApart from the unspecifi ed num-ber of missing Mankayan miners, four people were still unaccounted for elsewhere in the country, in-cluding a fi ve-year-old girl.

The child disappeared after a river overfl owed and swept away her home near the coastal town of Subic late Sunday, killing her two siblings aged two and nine months, Vic Otero, a local civil defence of-fi cial, told AFP.

“The family had been advised to evacuate as early as last week. Apparently they did not heed the warning,” Otero said, adding their parents survived.

Goni is the ninth out of an aver-age of 20 storms that hit the Phil-ippines each year. -AFP

C A L A M I T Y

North Korea must apologise: SouthSEOUL: South Korea’s presi-dent vowed “no retreat” Monday in a tense military standoff with North Korea, and insisted Pyong-yang apologise as the two rivals struggled to negotiate their way out of the crisis.

With gruelling talks between top negotiators from both sides well into a third day at the border truce village of Panmunjom, Park Geun-Hye’s hardline stance un-derlined the challenge they face in striking a mutually accept-able deal. The North must make a “clear apology” for landmine blasts this month that maimed two patrolling South Korean sol-diers, Park said in televised com-ments to a meeting of senior aides.

Otherwise, she added, Seoul would continue the high-decibel propaganda broadcasts across the border that have infuriated the North and prompted threats of concerted military strikes by its army. The current standoff has already triggered a rare exchange of artillery fi re, with both sides ramping up the military rhetoric and fl exing their weaponry.

“There will be no retreat in the face of North Korean threats,” Park said, promising “stern retali-ation” for any further provocation.

Park has maintained a strong line on not appeasing North Korea

since she came to offi ce, and will push back hard against any com-promise that might be seen as re-warding its behaviour.

The talks that began Saturday in Panmunjom between top aides to both countries’ leaders have so far failed to thrash out a mutually ac-ceptable way to calm the situation,

despite two all-night sessions.The North has denied any role

in the recent mine blasts and ana-lysts say it will never accede to the apology demand.

“And President Park knows that, of course,” said Yang Moo-Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

“Both sides are really just trying to ramp up pressure on the other, looking for an upper hand in what are clearly very tough negotia-tions,” Yang said.

Pyongyang also appeared to be seeking greater leverage, with the South’s defence ministry saying the North had doubled the num-ber of its artillery units at the border and put two-thirds of its 70-strong submarine fl eet to sea.

“The North is adopting a two-faced stance with the talks going on,” said a Seoul defence ministry spokesman, who described the scale of the submarine deploy-ment as “unprecedented”.

The crisis is being eyed with mounting concern by neighbour-ing countries and beyond, with China and Japan calling for re-straint and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging both sides to “redouble” their eff orts to reach a compromise.

Meanwhile, the US, which has nearly 30,000 US troops perma-nently stationed in South Korea, has pledged its commitment to the defence of its key Asian ally.

Seoul and Washington are re-viewing the possible deployment of “strategic US military assets” on the peninsula, the South Korean defence ministry said, without elaborating. -AFP

S T A N D O F F

IN THE THICK OF THINGS: Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut

Cavusoglu answers a question during an interview in Ankara, Tur-

key, on Monday. -Reuters

Shinzo Abe

TOUGH TALK: President Park Geun-hye of South Korea speaks

during a senior secretary meeting at the Presidential Blue House

in Seoul, South Korea, in this handout picture provided by the

Presidential Blue House and released by News1 on Monday. -Reuters

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NO BREAKTHROUGH: People light incense sticks as they pray at the Erawan shrine, the site of last

week’s deadly blast, in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday. -Reuters

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Shahid Javed Burki

It may seem a bit of a stretch to suggest a link between climate change and the rise of various forms of extremist activities in the developing

world. However, a little bit of refl ection will show that such a link does exist and that should worry policymakers in those parts of the world that are seeing both the rapid deterioration of environment and persistence of terrorism.

In the world’s hot and dry countries, and that include most of Africa, all of the Middle East and large parts of South Asia, there is growing unhappiness with governments that are not working hard to protect citizenry from heat and water shortages.

Michael Krugman of the Woodrow Wilson Center recently observed “that in Pakistan, more people have died from the heatwave than from terrorism this year. We would emphasise that there shouldn’t be a competition between ‘terrorism’ and ‘climate stress’ and that the resources spent on the former vastly outstrip the latter.”

It was not only the heat that killed so many in Pakistan. Floods also took their toll on lives and property. Both heat and fl oods were predicted for South Asia by the World Bank study of climate change, published a few months ago.

These are extreme events that will increase in frequency as the concentration of carbon dioxide in the upper layers of the earth’s atmosphere continues to increase.

Large emitters of this gas are developing their plans to reduce the amount they let out into the atmosphere. China and the United States have tabled their programmes; India has yet to do so. These are required as part of the preparatory work for the climate summit which will be held in Paris at the end of the year.

South Asians are remarkably resilient people, able to tolerate a great deal of mismanagement by those who rule. In the last couple of years, South Asians — fi rst in Pakistan in 2013, and then in India in 2014 — threw out the incumbents and brought in those who seemed to be credible when they promised relief. But patience has its limit; this is especially the case when those who have used elections to force change don’t have permanent political footing. A large number of them are

footloose; they will move to other political spaces if they don’t see the needed action. An uncomfortable citizenry is also a severely alienated one. It is alienation that leads people to fi nd other ways to express themselves when political and economic systems are not working from them.

This is not a new fi nding; it was pointed out decades ago by the Harvard University economist Albert Hershman in his book, Exit, Voice and Loyalty. Many in the countries deeply aff ected by climate change are choosing the ‘exit’ option. Some are just leaving and heading towards the places that off er better economic opportunities and better governance. This is what is driving tens of thousands of people to leave their homes in Africa and the Middle East and head towards Europe even when the chance of making it to their selected destinations is not all that great.

It is interesting that Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi removed all three vice presidents in his government and the offi ce of the deputy prime minister was abolished since the set-up over which he presided could supply electricity for only few hours a day.

His action followed a wave of protests.According to one newspaper account, people

walked through the centre of Baghdad “chanting and carrying signs about the lack of electricity and blaming corruption for it. The protest was unusual in that it did not appear to have been called for by any major political party.”

This reaction by the people should not surprise Pakistan’s citizens. They have now suff ered for years from the absence of regular supply of electricity to their homes and places of work.

What should governments do to address the problem posed by climate change? To begin with, they should work together to save ‘the commons’. This article is supposed to be published a day after the scheduled New Delhi meeting of the security advisers from India and Pakistan, whose fate, at the time of writing, looks to be in jeopardy. I am almost certain that even if the meeting did go ahead, the agendas by both sides did not include climate change and its consequences for the region. This is an area where the governments should be working together to protect their countries and their people from the uncertainties associated with climate change. - Express Tribune

in coins

10.1

CURRENCY INCIRCULATIONBY BILLDENOMINATION

1,675.3TOTAL

In Oman,as of June 2015(In million rials)

Source: Central Bank of Oman

in baizas

30.9

in OMR1 bills

35.4

in OMR5 bills

86.9

in OMR20 bills

302.8

in OMR10 bills

79.4

in OMR50 bills

1,129.8

Consumers are always aff ected by price increasesThis refers to the online story, Public Authority for Consumer Pro-tection in Oman okays 200 baizas hike for shaving service (August 23). Every increase in price of a service or product is passed on to the consumer. The consumer always pays. Moreover, this is just a petty increase. — Jaison Mathai, Muscat

Barbers have already started charging extra for haircutThis refers to the online story, Public Au-thority for Consumer Protection in Oman okays 200 baizas hike for shaving service (August 23). After this announcement by the authorities, barbers have started charging extra for haircut too. Shaving kits are not used for haircuts so there should be more clarity on this issue. — Aamir Hashim Shekhani, Muscat

More safety measures needed for the extreme hot weatherThis refers to the online story, Fire en-gulfs labour camp in Oman (August 24). I saw huge black fumes billowing into sky for hours. In light of fi re incidents at the petrol stations, safety measures should be taken during very hot weather. — Zoya Rehman, Al Amerat

Shane Warne’s criticism unfairThis refers to the online story, Lehmann

bats away Warne criticism (August 24). I believe the Aussie leg spinner is unfairly blaming the team’s coach. England won only due to home conditions. — Nuzhat Haideri, Barka

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

Terrorism, climate change may be linked

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SPECIALT U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

Defying limits: Hearing, visually challenged in race on the tarmac

LODZ (Poland): Motor-racing is not for the faint-hearted. But when you are deaf and blind, it takes on a diff erent dimension.

All 19 drivers who took part in this unusual race on the tarmac of the Lodz airport in central Poland earlier this month are hearing and visually impaired.

But like Helen Keller — the American author, activist and lec-turer who was the fi rst deaf and blind person to graduate from col-lege — they are pushing the enve-lope of their disabilities.

“Out of 19 participants, 12 had never driven a car before, while seven used to drive before they be-came disabled,” said Mateusz Kot-nowski, from Poland’s Deaf and Blind Aid Society (TPG).

“Some are completely deaf and blind. Those who can still see or hear a little wear masks and hel-mets to ensure an equal playing fi eld for all,” he said.

Each participant had to com-plete two timed laps of the circuit

while under the watchful eye of a co-driver.

First, though, they had two days of training to get a feel for the steering wheel. Three driving schools volunteered a parking lot, fi ve cars and a handful of instruc-tors -- who fi rst had to work out a language based on touch to com-municate with the drivers. Zbig-niew Palgan, the owner of a driving school, gave out a clear set of in-structions to his deafb lind driver, whose face showed a determined concentration.

“When I touch the left side of

your knee, turn left. When I touch the right side, turn right,” Palgan said while demonstrating the mo-tions. “When I touch the top of your knee, straighten the steering wheel, and when I press down, accelerate. When I pull on your knee, brake.”

For safety’s sake, the instructor could stop the car at any point. But with every kilometre, the drivers became more and more confi dent.

Kamila Dobrzynska, a 30-year-old who is blind in one eye and par-tially deaf, made it up to 50km per hour by the end of the straight.

“It’s a weird feeling. There’s

fear,” she said. “You don’t know where you are, so your ears and eyes are those of the instructor. You need to have total confi dence in him,” she said. Sylwek Slipek, who is deafb lind, drove for the fi rst time in his life — and with wife Ka-sia, born blind, along for the ride to cheer him on. Riding in the back

seat, she gave her husband a pat on the shoulder and said “Good luck” before a woman waved the check-ered racing fl ag and Sylwek set off on his fi rst lap.

Breaking stereotypesThe 30-something couple said that the event was a way for them to forget their everyday problems.

Sylwek once worked as a super-market clerk but has been on the job hunt for three years to no avail. The unemployment rate for disa-bled Poles is 16 per cent.

By taking part in the event, the

couple hoped to help break stereo-types of those with disabilities.

“Perhaps others will realise that if deafb lind individuals are able to drive a car, then they can just as well have a job and work,” said Ka-sia Slipek.

“Perhaps they’ll see us as nice people with good values — and not some good-for-nothings,” she said.

Sylwek completed his laps fl aw-lessly, earning sixth place overall.

But the trophy went to Kamila, who not only broke stereotypes of disabled people, but of women drivers as well. -AFP

All 19 drivers who

took part in this

unusual race on the

tarmac of the Lodz

airport in central

Poland earlier this

month are hearing

and visually impaired

FLAG OFF: A team’s car stands at the starting line during the fi rst TPG Deafblind Race on August 9, 2015, at the airport in Lodz, central Poland. According to the organiser, the Polish Deaf and Blind Aid Society,

the idea for the race is based on the desire of off ering deafblind people the opportunity to experience driving a vehicle. - AFP

GIVING INSTRUCTIONS: A driving instructor, left, communicates with a contestant touching his knee

during the fi rst TPG Deafblind Race on August 9, 2015, at the airport in Lodz, central Poland. - AFP

ELATED: Driving instructor, left, congratulates his contestant, right,

during the fi rst TPG Deafblind Race, at the airport in Lodz. - AFP

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GETTING ACCUSTOMED: A contestant, right, sits in a car during the fi rst TPG Deafblind Race. - AFP

AWARD CEREMONY: Participants wait for the award ceremony to start behind a table with trophies fol-

lowing the TPG Deafblind Race. - AFP

You don’t know where you are, so your ears and eyes are those of the instructor. You need to have total confi dence in him

Kamila Dobrzynska, Participant

A14

GLOBAL EYET U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

SWITZERLAND: Journalists walk through the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Sedrun, Switzerland, on Monday. Crossing the Alps, the world’s longest train tunnel should be-

come operational at the end of 2016, consisting of two parallel single track tunnels, each of a length of 57 km. — Reuters

ARCTIC OCEAN: This US Coast Guard photo obtained on August 24, 2015 shows a polar bear observed off Coast Guard Cutter Healy’s

stern, on Sunday, while the cutter is underway in Arctic Ocean in support of Geotraces. Geotraces is Healy’s second science mission of the

summer, and is an international eff ort to study the distribution of trace elements in the world’s oceans. — AFP/US COAST GUARD/CORY J. MENDENHALL

UKRAINE: A woman gives pastries to Ukrainian servicemen near Avdiivka, Donetsk region on

Monday. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused Russia of this week sending three military

convoys over the border into the separatist-controlled east with a total of up to 500 tanks, 400 artil-

lery systems and up to 950 military armoured vehicles to pro-Russian rebels, although he did not

specify the time period for these deliveries. — AFP

KENYA: Animal activists hold placards as they chant slogans during a demonstration in front of

Kenya’s Supreme Court in Nairobi, on Monday. Kenyan activists gathered to protest in opposition to a

ruling made by a Kenyan court in Mombasa on August 21, 2015, which granted a Kes10 million bond

to suspected Kenyan ring-leader of an ivory smuggling gang Feisal Ali Mohamed, also one of the nine

most wanted environmental crime fugitives worldwide listed by Interpol. Feisal was arrested with four

others for being in possession of 2,152 kg of ivory in Mombasa. — Reuters

BELGIUM: The living room of a house in the 1920s Bon Air (Good

Air) housing estate is pictured in this combination picture before

its renovation (top) in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday and in a

handout simulation image showing a prototype of a very low-en-

ergy home. With street names such as Temperance and Hygiene

and plenty of green open spaces, the 1920s Bon Air (Good Air)

housing estate in a working class district of Brussels was meant

to provide a healthy ‘garden city’ way of life. — Reuters

BEIRUT: Lebanese protest or-ganisers called for a fresh demon-stration against the government on Saturday after two days of ral-lies that turned violent in central Beirut and wounded scores of people. The “You Stink” campaign has mobilised against the govern-ment’s failure to solve a garbage disposal crisis, bringing thou-sands of people onto the streets in protests that have threatened the survival of the cabinet.

On Monday workers erected concrete blast walls around the government headquarters. Se-curity forces deployed heavily in central Beirut where some streets remained littered with broken glass and charred debris from clashes the night before.

Organisers at a televised news conference on Monday did not say where the weekend protest would take place. They had initially planned to rally on Monday but postponed following the violence.

Long-simmering frustrationThe “You Stink” campaign has

mobilised independently of the big sectarian parties that domi-nate Lebanese politics. It is a sign of how long-simmering frustra-tion at Lebanon’s political dead-lock has boiled over into anger.

The fractured cabinet and parliament are paralysed, the political class has been unable to agree on a new president for over a year while the Syrian civil war next door has whipped up sectarian tension.

The UN special coordinator for Lebanon on Monday urged “maxi-mum restraint” by all sides in the protests.

The interior minister said 99 members of the security forces and 61 civilians had been injured in the events.

Protesters blame political feud-ing and corruption for the failure to resolve the waste crisis that has in recent weeks left piles of uncollected trash festering in the summer sun. Environment Min-ister Mohamad Al Machnouk ear-lier on Monday named companies that had won waste management tenders in Lebanon’s regions.

Hamstrung governmentThe national unity government

led by Prime Minister Tammam Salam has been mostly ham-strung since it came to offi ce last year, paralysed by rivalries among politicians that have been exacerbated by crises in the wid-er region.

Salam, frustrated at the fail-ings of his government, on Sunday threatened to resign, saying the bigger problem in the country was its “political garbage”, in an attack on the politicians who are bicker-ing over top security posts.

Security forces used water can-nons and tear gas against dem-onstrators, some of whom threw stones and sticks at riot police during battles in central Beirut on Sunday. The organisers have blamed the violence on trouble-makers who they believe are con-

nected to rival sectarian parties.“Lebanon on brink of chaos”,

the headline of the Daily Star newspaper said.

“Infi ltrators hijack the You Stink revolution”, said the An Nahar newspaper. The As Safi r newspaper called it “the August 22 Intifada”, or uprising.

Confl ict in the Middle East, including the war in neighbour-ing Syria, has strained Lebanon’s sectarian system of government to breaking point.

The presidency is reserved for a Christian and has been left vacant for a year and parliamentary elec-tions have been postponed.

Complete vacuumThe Salam cabinet, formed last year with the blessing of regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, has avoided a complete vacuum in the executive arm.

It groups rival Lebanese par-ties including the Future move-ment led by politician Saad Al Hariri, Hezbollah, and competing Christians.

But it has struggled to take even basic decisions, including agree-ing a plan for Beirut’s waste when the city’s garbage dump was shut last month.

Tension in cabinet has escalat-ed in recent weeks over appoint-ments in the security agencies and army.

In the absence of any broad deal on who should replace outgoing security chiefs, the terms of in-cumbents including army com-mander General Jean Kahwaji were extended in recent weeks. That has infuriated one of the main Christian parties, the Free Patriotic Movement led by Michel Aoun, an ally of the powerful Hezbollah. Aoun is seeking the appointment of his son-in-law, a top army commander, as the next army chief.

The Free Patriotic Movement accuses Salam of usurping presi-dential powers but it has not quit his cabinet. — Reuters

A15

WORLDT U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

‘You Stink’ activists to rally over Lebanon garbage crisisThe campaign has

mobilised against the

government’s failure

to solve a garbage

disposal crisis,

bringing thousands

of people onto the

streets in protests

that have threatened

the survival of the

country’s cabinetFURY: Lebanese protesters chant slogans during a demonstration, in support of the ‘You Stink’ cam-

paign, to protest against the country’s ongoing trash crisis on Monday, in Lebanon’s southern port

city of Sidon. — AFP

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US military depot blast, plant blaze hit Tokyo

SAGAMIHARA (JAPAN): A blast ripped through a warehouse at a US military post on Monday and started a fi re, while a blaze broke out at a steel plant, in sepa-rate accidents around the Japa-nese capital.

The explosion at the US Army’s Sagami General Depot in the city of Sagamihara, some 25 miles (40 kilometres) southwest of Tokyo, sent sparks shooting into the sky and triggered a blaze that burned through the night, but there were no reports of injuries.

Japanese and US base fi re-fi ghters delayed battling the fi re while the contents of the building were assessed.

Initial fearsWitnesses said they initially feared a bomb had gone off at the military installation.

The fi re died out on its own about six hours after it started shortly before 1:00 am (1600 GMT), with fi refi ghters standing by.

“We coordinated with US fi re units, and did not spray water as we waited for information related to what was inside,” an offi cial at the Sagamihara fi re bureau told AFP, adding that more than a dozen fi re engines were sent to the scene.

Several hours later a huge blaze broke out at a steel pipe plant near Tokyo’s Haneda international airport.

The Kawasaki city fi re depart-ment said the blaze at the plant, owned by a unit of giant steel-maker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, may have been caused by workers who were using gas burn-ers to dismantle the site.

The fi re was put out shortly after 1:30 pm local time. — AFP

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France honours courageous heroes of deadly train attackPARIS: President Francois Hollande on Monday bestowed France’s highest honour on a group of Americans and a Briton who overpowered a Moroccan gun-man on a crowded train, saying the whole world “admires their cour-age and cool composure”.

Anti-terror investigators were questioning the alleged attacker, 25-year-old Ayoub El Khazzani, who boarded the high-speed train in Brussels bound for Paris on Fri-day armed with a Kalashnikov as-sault rifl e, a Luger automatic pis-tol, ammunition and a box-cutter.

Opened fi reWitnesses said he opened fi re, in-juring a man before being wrestled to the fl oor and subdued by three

young Americans -- off -duty ser-vicemen Alek Skarlatos and Spen-cer Stone and their student friend Anthony Sadler -- and a Briton, 62-year-old business consultant Chris Norman.

Real carnagePresenting them with the Legion d’Honneur at the Elysee presi-dential palace, Hollande said: “A terrorist decided to commit an at-tack. He had enough weapons and ammunition to carry out a real carnage, and that’s what he would have done if you hadn’t tackled him at a risk to your own lives.

“You have shown us that, faced with terror, we have the power to resist. You have given a message of courage, solidarity and hope.”

A French passenger who also tackled the gunman but chose to remain anonymous, and Eric Tanty, an off -duty train driver who happened to be on board and helped restrain Khazzani, were to be honoured too. Mark Moogalian, a 51-year-old Franco-American professor who was shot and is now recovering in hospital, and Michel Bruet, a train conductor who warned authorities, were also to be awarded medals.

Speaking as he left the Elysee, his medal pinned to his suit, Nor-man said it was “a little bit dif-fi cult to believe that it’s actually happened”.

“I think that one way or another, we are going to be facing this kind of problem quite a few times in the

future, and I would invite you all to think about ‘what would I do in that situation’.

“Act if the opportunity presents itself. Obviously you don’t want to throw yourself in a situation that is completely hopeless, but act if you can.”

January attacksFrance has been on high alert since extremist attacks in Paris in Janu-ary left 17 people dead.

Intelligence services in Bel-gium, France, Germany and Spain had previously fl agged Khazzani as an extremist.

But he is said to have told inves-tigators he is “dumbfounded” by accusations he was intending to carry out a terror attack. — AFP

C A R N A G E P R E V E N T E D

BRAVEHEARTS: French President Francois Hollande, centre, poses

with British businessman Chris Norman, left, US student Anthony

Sadler, second left, US Airman First Class Spencer Stone, second

right and US National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, right, during a

ceremony in Paris, France, on Monday. — Reuters

Syriza rebels in bid to form Greek government

ATHENS: Greece’s embattled ruling Syriza party suff ered an-other blow Monday when its sec-retary quit, as eurosceptic rebels were given a mandate to try to form a government.

Syriza secretary Tasos Koro-nakis stepped down in protest at Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ decision last week to call early elections, backtracking on an ear-lier proposal to hold a party con-gress in September to address the rebel faction.

Greece is likely headed for snap elections as early as next month after Tsipras resigned in the face of the internal Syriza revolt over his acceptance of the tough terms of a massive new international bailout deal. Tsipras on Monday told his party’s remaining po-litical secretariat that he did not want a “leftist civil war” to break out during the election campaign.

According to a government note, the outgoing PM said his aim remained to “gradually” take the country out of austerity, and ruled out cooperating with the conservatives and socialists after the election.

With the Athens stock ex-

change shedding over 10.5 per cent as global shares plunged over China economic worries, the ex-Syriza rebels on Monday formally received a mandate from Presi-dent Prokopis Pavlopoulos to at-tempt to form a government in the next three days.

The leftist hardliners, who call themselves the Popular Unity party after the victorious 1970 Chilean alliance of Salvador Al-lende, are the third and last party to receive a mandate under the terms of the constitution.

“We will use this mandate to

demonstrate the necessity of an anti-austerity government,” said party leader Panagiotis Lafazanis, a former senior Communist who has argued that Greece can hap-pily exist without the euro.

The main opposition New De-mocracy conservatives -- who have 76 seats in the 300-mem-ber parliament -- had earlier attempted and failed to form a government.

With just 25 lawmakers, Popular Unity cannot realisti-cally muster enough support for a majority in the 300-seat parlia-ment either.

Pavlopoulos is expected to ter-minate the procedure on Thurs-day and name a caretaker admin-istration under the head of the Supreme Court.

Tsipras’ coalition ally Panos Kammenos, head of the national-ist Independent Greeks party, on Monday branded the process “a waste of time.”

Tsipras resigned on August 20 after an anti-bailout mutiny by Syriza eurosceptics formally wiped out his parliamentary majority, leaving the party with around 124 seats. — AFP

T H R E E - D A Y E X P L O R A T O R Y M A N D A T E

BLOW FOR RULING PARTY: Greece’s former Syriza Energy Minis-

ter and leader of the new leftist ‘Popular Unity’ party Panagiotis

Lafazanis, left, meets with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos

to receive a three-day exploratory mandate for the creation of a

new government on Monday in Athens. — AFP

A16

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IS blows up temple in Syria’s PalmyraDAMASCUS: IS group militants on Sunday blew up the ancient temple of Baal Shamin in the UN-ESCO-listed Syrian city of Pal-myra, an offi cial said, the latest in a series of cultural relics to be de-stroyed by the militant group.

Famed for well-preserved Greco-Roman ruins, Palmyra was seized from government forces in May, fuelling fears the IS militants might destroy its priceless herit-age as it had done in other parts of Syria and Iraq. Until Sunday, most of Palmyra’s most famous sites had been left intact, though there were reports IS had mined them and the group reportedly destroyed a famous statue of a lion outside the city’s museum.

“IS placed a large quantity of explosives in the temple of Baal Shamin and then blew it up caus-ing much damage to the temple,” Syria’s antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told AFP. “The cella (inner area of the temple) was de-stroyed and the columns around collapsed,” he said.

The Syrian Observatory for Hu-

man Rights, a Britain-based group that monitors the country’s civil war, confi rmed the destruction of the temple. IS, which controls swathes of Syria and neighbour-ing Iraq, captured Palmyra on May

21, sparking international concern about the fate of the heritage site described by UNESCO as of “out-standing universal value”.

Baal Shamin was built in 17AD and it was expanded under the

reign of Roman emperor Hadrian in 130 AD. Known as the “Pearl of the desert”, Palmyra, which means City of Palms, is a well-preserved oasis 210 kilometres (130 miles) northeast of Damascus.

Its name fi rst appeared on a tab-let in the 19th century BC as a stop-ping point for caravans travelling on the Silk Road and between the Gulf and the Mediterranean. But it was during the Roman Empire — beginning in the fi rst century BC and lasting another 400 years — that Palmyra rose to prominence.

Prior to the outbreak of the Syr-ian confl ict in March 2011, more than 150,000 tourists visited Palmyra every year, admiring its beautiful statues, over 1,000 col-umns, and formidable necropolis of over 500 tombs.

IS had mined the ancient site in June before destroying the Lion Statue of Athena — a unique piece made of limestone that stood more than three metres high (10 feet) outside a museum. Funerary busts were also destroyed by IS in Palmyra. -AFP

E X T R E M I S M

DESTROYED: A fi le picture of the Temple of Baal Shamin as seen

through two Corinthian columns in the ancient oasis city of Pal-

myra, 215 kilometres northeast of Damascus. - AFP

Nine dead in Nepal charter protests

KATHMANDU: At least nine people were killed in Nepal on Monday when demonstrators attacked police with spears, knives, axes and scythes during a protest against proposals for ad-ministrative reform in the Hima-layan country.

State television reported au-thorities had mobilised the army to quell the protests in the low-lying far west of the country close to the border with India.

Thousands of people were pro-testing in the town of Tikapur against a government-backed plan to include their area in a hilly province, part of a regional overhaul envisaged in a new fed-

eral constitution expected to be fi nalised this month.

Raj Kumar Shrestha, chief administrator of Kailali district that includes Tikapur, said pro-testers had defi ed a curfew and had begun vandalising govern-ment buildings.

“We have nine people dead,” he said, adding that the dead includ-ed six police and three protesters.

Shrestha declined to elaborate, but told state television sepa-rately that the protesters had at-tacked the police with an array of sharp-edged weapons.

Bordering India, Kailali is a district in Nepal’s far-western region, some 432 km (271 miles) southwest of Kathmandu.

Under the constitutional pro-posals due to be fi nalised this month, the district will form part of a hilly province in the far west-ern parts of Nepal.

Protesters are demanding a separate province comprising eight districts in the southwest-ern plains for themselves.

The government and major political parties hope that the new constitution, which divides the nation into seven federal states, will boost economic de-velopment in Nepal, which is still reeling from two devastat-ing earthquakes that killed 8,900 people this year. But diff erent ethnic groups have been protest-ing against the plan demanding autonomy for their regions.

Four protesters have died in the past two weeks in violent pro-tests across Nepal. -Reuters

Raj Kumar Shrestha,

chief administrator

of Kailali district that

includes Tikapur,

said protesters

had defi ed a

curfew and had

begun vandalising

government

buildings

UNEASY QUIET: Pedestrians walk past closed shops in Kathman-

du during a strike called by the Nepal Federation of Indigenous

Nationalities demanding secularism in the new Constitution on

Sunday. -AFP

‘Maldives ex-president

Nasheed back in jail’

COLOMBO: The Maldives has put former president Mohamed Nasheed back in jail a month af-ter his 13-year prison sentence was commuted to house arrest, sparking clashes between his supporters and police in the hon-eymoon island nation.

Nasheed’s Maldivian Demo-cratic Party (MDP) said police and prison offi cials clashed with its supporters as they removed him from his home in the capital Male and took him to the high-se-curity prison island of Maafushi on Sunday night. “Nasheed’s transfer back to jail is in clear breach of the Maldives’ constitu-tion, which provides no provision for reversing a commutation of a sentence,” the MDP said in a statement Monday.

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, who is representing the former president, said the move showed “complete disregard for the rule of law”. “After subject-ing Nasheed to an unfair trial and outrageous conviction, this ca-pricious administration has now reversed its decision on house ar-rest,” the MDP quoted her saying.

“They have the audacity to claim that there was no com-mutation of Nasheed’s sentence even though we have offi cial doc-

uments and public statements confi rming the opposite.”

No commentThere was no immediate com-ment from the government. The MDP said it had fi led a complaint Monday with the criminal court challenging his transfer from house arrest. Nasheed, the ar-chipelago’s fi rst democratically-elected leader, was sentenced to 13 years in jail in March af-ter a court convicted him un-der tough anti-terror laws. The charges relate to the arrest of a judge accused of corruption when Nasheed, who was toppled in February 2012, was president. Supporters of the former leader maintain his conviction was a politically motivated attempt to silence him, and his legal team has already petitioned the United Nations over his conviction.

Nasheed’s sentence was for-mally commuted to house arrest on July 19 and it is not clear why he was taken back to prison. He had earlier been moved to the main island of Male to receive medical treatment under an ap-parent deal with the government after closed-door talks with the opposition MDP aimed at ending political unrest. -AFP

H U M A N R I G H T S

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

Muscat

5,736.02- 174.72

- 2.96%

Dubai

3,401.62- 49.86

- 1.44%

Abu Dhabi

4,264.80- 21.69

- 0.51%

Saudi Arabia

6,980.74- 482.58

- 6.47%

Kuwait

5,815.60- 93.89

- 1.59%

Bahrain

1,304.51- 10.55

- 0.80%

Qatar

10,606.71- 197.46

- 1.83%

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

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

Euro ............................................2.24

Pound ...........................................1.64

Indian Rs .............................. 171.79

Pak Rs ...................................260.76

Bangla Taka.......................199.44* Rates are as of August 24

Source: Bank Muscat

Indian Rs ...................................173.00

Pakistan Rs ............................268.00

Sri Lanka Rs ...........................347.20

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

Phil Peso .................................... 121.25

* Rates as of August 24 Source: Oman UAE Exchange

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) .......14.85

Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......14.30

Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............133.25

Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) .............140.25

* Rates as of August 24

Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

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

Oman Crude ............. (Spot) ........$43.55

Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) ........$43.50

Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ........$44.87

Arabian Light ......... (Spot) ........$43.43

N.Sea Brent ............... (Spot) ........$43.90

West Texas Int ....... (Spot) .........$39.17

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

United Finance calls off merger with Al Omaniya

Times News Service

MUSCAT: United Finance has rejected a takeover off er from Al Omaniya Financial Services, put-ting an end to the much-discussed four month-long acquisition bid.

In addition, United Finance has decided it will not pursue merger talks any further.

The United Finance board met on Sunday to discuss the proposal but decided that Al Omaniya had

not made an acceptable fi nan-cially binding off er, according to a disclosure statement posted on the Muscat Securities Market’s website by United Finance.

Al Omaniya’s off er was last one left on the table after an initial three-way battle among fi nancial institutions in Oman to gain con-trol over United Finance, which off ers leasing and hire-purchase

fi nancing and corporate deposits.

Bidding processIn May, United Finance invited National Bank of Oman, Bank Nizwa and Al Omaniya to partici-pate in an acquisition bidding pro-cess. The other two institutions later decided not to bid, leaving Al Omaniya as the solebidder.

Al Omaniya Financial Services

was looking at consolidating its-leadership position by acquiring the company as one way of achiev-ing inorganic growth. United Fi-nance has recorded a net profi t of OMR2.495 million forthe fi rst half of 2015 against OMR2.295 million for the same period last year.

Loan portfolioLoan portfolio of United Finance grew marginally to OMR115.85 million in the fi rst half of this year from OMR114.71 million by the end of December 2014.

“The nominal growth was mainly on account of the foreclo-sure of loans and the competitive market environment. The man-agement continued its prudent approach ofadopting cautious credit norms with a focus on spreading out risk and improv-ing asset quality. The market wit-nessed a decline in lending rates due to intense competition result-ing in the contraction of interest income,” the company reportedin its fi rst half results.

United Finance has

also decided that

it will not pursue

merger talks any

further bringing

an end to the

much-discussed

four month-long

acquisition bid

Tri-Star project gets $40m bank fundingTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Tri-Star on Monday said Strategic and Precious Met-als Processing has entered into defi nitive agreement for $40 mil-lion debt facility with Bank Nizwa for funding the Oman Antimony roaster project.

Strategic and Precious Metals Processing (SPMP) is developing a 20,000 tonne per annum antimo-ny processing facility in Oman, the Oman Antimony Roaster project. It has a 40 per cent equity interest in SPMP, said a press release. The shareholders of SPMP have also reached agreement as to the equity funding structure of SPMP.

Oman Antimony roaster pro-ject funding is confi rmed as $70 million. Of this, $15 million is equity being provided by the joint venture partners in proportion to their respective individual inter-ests. In accordance with the terms of the shareholders agreement, the company’s share, of $6 million, will be put aside into a designated account on fi nancial close. A mezzanine loan facility of $15 mil-lion and senior debt of the Omani equivalent of $40 million.

Regarding sale of certain of the company’s intellectual property rights (IPR) on fi nancial close Tri-

Star is to get the fi rst two tranches of consideration due under the Assignment Agreement dated June 5, 2015. The only remaining condition being the funding condi-tion which will be satisfi ed on the transfer of equity funds to SPMP.

Consideration for sale of IPR is up to $6 million in cash. The fi rst two tranches, totalling $4 million are to be received by Tri-Star on fi nancial close and will be off set against the company’s equity com-mitment of $6 million.A $2 million tranche remains payable to Tri-Star on the commissioning of an antimony roasting pilot plant, part of the overall OAR and will be used by Tri-Star for general corporate purposes.

“This is an important develop-ment for Tri-Star and its partners. Financial close of Roaster Project will enable SPMP to move on to the detailed engineering and technical work required in order to com-mence construction. Securing the debt facility also acknowledges all SPMP’s stakeholders’ confi dence in Tri-Star’s clean roasting tech-nology that Tri-Star has brought to Oman. We expect to be commis-sioning the plant during the course of 2016, with commercial produc-tion by 2017,” said EminEyi, Man-aging Director of Tri-Star.

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

DEAD-END: United Finance board met on Sunday to discuss the

proposal but decided that Al Omaniya had not made an accept-

able fi nancially binding off er, according to a disclosure statement

posted on the MSM website by United Finance. — Times fi le picture

Ensure proper disposal of garbage.

Don’t litter a beautiful country like OMAN.

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B2

MARKETT U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

Oman conference to shed light on in-country value

BUSINESS REPORTER

MUSCAT: In-Country Value (ICV) initiatives and their im-portant role in economic diversi-fi cation will be the focus of a con-ference scheduled to be held on September 14.

The conference will be held by Business Process Outsourc-ing Services (BPOS) in associa-tion with the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), under the patronage of Fuad bin Jaafar Al Sajwani, minister of ag-riculture and fi sheries wealth.

The ICV Conference 2015 will be held at the OCCI building and will focus on the ICV concept, which comprises human resourc-es, products and services and sup-port to small and medium enter-prises (SMEs).

At a press conference held on

Monday to announce the event, Anselm Perera, chief executive offi cer of BPOS, said that the con-ference is part of the company’s preparations to celebrate the 45th National Day, which marks a mile-stone in Oman’s history.

Faleh Al Abri, director of BPOS, and Frances Perera, the compa-ny’s general manager, were pre-sent at the press conference.

According to the company’s offi cials, around 150 people are

expected to attend the confer-ence, which aims at introducing a framework to drive the ICV initia-tive as a major contributor to eco-nomic diversifi cation through the private sector.

Speakers The conference will provide a platform for the participants to share knowledge and experience through interactive sessions with two local and two international

speakers. Mohsin Al Hadhrami, vice president and general man-ager, Schlumberger Oman and Company, will speak about shar-ing best practices on ICV in the oil and gas sector.

Dr Omar Al Jabri, assistant professor, department of natural resources economics at Sultan Qaboos University, will discuss achieving food security and sus-tainability through SMEs.

Parth Tewari, World Bank’s

lead private sector specialist, will share his views about the role of SMEs in economic development and the international perspective and experience.

Aubrey Joachim, a renowned strategist and fi nancial expert from Australia, will brief the par-ticipants on productivity – the source of generating ICV.

Awareness During the press conference, the chief executive offi cer of BPOS said that the main aim of the conference is to raise awareness about ICV and motivate the com-panies to participate in this kind of initiatives.

He pointed out that Oman has various other resources apart from oil and gas and companies should explore the potential of other sectors as well to help diver-sity the fi eld of ICV. It is important to not only initiate these projects but also to make them sustain-able, Perera added.

According to him, the possible impact of lower oil prices on ICV initiatives in this sector will also be discussed. “Through this con-ference, we plan to work closely with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Ag-riculture and Fisheries Wealth, the Capital Market Authority and the OCCI,” he said.

The conference

will focus on the

ICV concept, which

comprises human

resources, products

and services and

support to small and

medium enterprises

Iran plans to raise oil output to defend market share

DUBAI: Iran plans to raise oil pro-duction ‘at any cost’ to defend the country’s market share and backs calls for an emergency Opec meet-ing to help shore up crude prices.

“We will be raising our oil pro-duction at any cost and we have no other alternative,” said Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, according to his ministry’s news website Shana. “If Iran’s oil pro-duction hike is not done promptly, we will be losing our market share permanently.”

Iran had the second-biggest out-put in the Organisation of Petro-leum Exporting Countries (Opec) before United States-led sanctions banning the purchase, transport, fi nance and insuring of its crude began July 2012. Oil producers such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell have expressed interest in devel-oping the country’s reserves, the world’s fourth-biggest, once sanc-tions are removed.

Brent crude slid below $45 a bar-rel for the fi rst time since March 2009, falling as much as 3.2 per cent to $44 a barrel on the ICE Fu-tures Europe exchange in London. Prices have dropped 23 per cent this year, prompting hedge funds to cut bullish bets to a fi ve-year low.

Zanganeh was speaking during the fi rst visit by a British foreign secretary to Iran since 2003. Philip Hammond was accompanied by offi cials from Shell and BP as he re-opened the UK embassy, four years after it was shut following a mob attack, marking the improvement in relations since July’s nuclear accord. - Bloomberg News

C R U D E O I L S U P P L Y

‘Businesses at risk of losing 5 per cent of revenue due to fraud’Times News Service

MUSCAT: Anti fraud and forensic expert Mubeen Khan, who shared the recent occupational fraud cases in Oman and the region at a workshop, stated that globally business organisations may be los-ing 5 per cent of their revenue to internal frauds.

“If eff ective anti-fraud controls are not designed and implement-ed, the siphoning off of company funds would continue. This silent-

ly erodes the fi nancial health and ultimately collapses the business. Trust in people is good but control is better,” he said, at a workshop on fraud risk

Sohar sub-committee of the Muscat Chapter of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of In-dia (ICAI) organised a half-day workshop on fraud risk control at the Community Hall of Jindal Shadeed at Sohar. It was inaugu-rated by N. Sreedhar, the chairman of the Muscat Chapter.

Utsav Bansal , Group Internal Auditor of Jindal Shadeed Iron and Steel, emphasised the need to have strong internal control framework based on organisation-

wide risk assessment and Amar Shah demonstrated the integrated automated controls in the ERP environment. “If excessive control dilution is done at the implementa-

tion stage of the ERP, it may intro-duce higher chances of fraudulent transactions,” noted Amar Shah.

Risk managementPraveen Shetty made a presenta-tion on risk management high-lighting the need of eff ective risk management in achieving the business objectives in an effi cient manner. He also demonstrated the listing of critical business risks with a systematic rating mecha-nism thus making the business

strategy formulation integrated with the Enterprise Risk Manage-ment initiative.

The programme was planned and organised by Ravi Deora under the guidance of Ravishanker under the sponsorship of Jindal Shadeed. Avinsah Patodia of Jindal Shadeed stated that many more such educa-tional programmes at Sohar shall be conducted in future for the benefi t of professionals working in Sohar where global speakers shall be in-vited to conduct technical sessions.

O C C U P A T I O N A L F R A U D S

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GETTING SET: From left, Faleh Al Abri, director of Business Process Outsourcing Services; Anselm

Perera, chief executive offi cer; and Frances Perera, general manager. - TALIB AL WAHAIBI/Times of Oman

B3T U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

MARKET

Gaining an international advantage: Selling overseas

ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI elham@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Al Ajmi Marble, a lead-ing producer and exporter of natu-ral Omani marble, has its eyes set on new international markets as it believes that the Omani brand is in high demand.

Having evolved from a building material industry, Al Ajmi Marble was founded in 1997 with the aim of off ering the fi nest Omani mar-ble to both local and international markets. “We realised that there is potential in the Omani market and started investing in the mar-ble industry,” said Yasser Al Ajmi, general manager – marketing of Al Ajmi Marble.

Motivation Speaking to Times of Oman, Al Ajmi said that the availability of the raw material in the country, which is essential for industries, motivated them to establish the company. He believes that the lo-cal deposit gives Omani marble products a competitive edge as it refl ects their ‘unique identity’.

Another motivation for the founding of Al Ajmi Marble was the government’s eff orts to en-courage the establishment of in-dustries in Oman to give a boost to the economy.

Now, with natural Omani mar-ble mined from its three quarries located in Sohar, Ibri, and Mud-haibi, Al Ajmi Marble has proved that quality Omani products can compete with foreign products.

Al Ajmi said that the quarries situated in diff erent locations is one of the strength of the company as diff erent types of marbles with a wide variety of colours are being provided by the company for in-door and outdoor purposes.

Production facilities Ajmi Marble has three production facilities, including two manufac-turing and one fabrication facility, in Sohar and Muscat, and the prox-imity to Sohar Port is an added ad-vantage for the company. He noted that the company exports around 80 per cent of its products, mainly to Oman’s typical marble export markets. According to the Pubic Authority for Investment Promo-tion and Export Development (Ithraa), the Sultanate exported marble products worth OMR46 million last year, mostly to the Mid-dle East, North Africa and Far East.

Main markets South Korea, Singapore, China, India and Saudi Arabia have been some of the main target markets, Al Ajmi said, adding that North African countries such as, Egypt, Libya and Algeria have presented good potential over the past sever-al years despite the political situa-tion in the region.

Al Ajmi Marble is now seeking to expand the scope of its exports and is targeting new markets. Viet-nam and some countries in South America and Eastern Europe have huge potential that can be utilised, Al Ajmi said.

Central Asia is another target market which the company is seeking to expand into, especially through Iran.

Al Ajmi Marble has been in-volved in a number of projects in-side the country, including some

ministry buildings in Oman and Al Baleed hotel in Salalah.

A number of projects have also been implemented by the com-pany outside the country, such as King Abdullah Financial District in Saudi Arabia, Sheik Zayed De-sert Learning Center in the United Arab Emirates, the Qatar National Archive building, and Msheireb Properties’ downtown regenera-tion project in Doha.

The company’s products have also been used in several Omani embassies abroad, including the embassy building in South Korea, which Al Ajmi says is a true refl ec-tion of fi ne Omani architecture.

Local community Al Ajmi Marble has been contrib-uting to local companies, especial-ly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), by awarding contracts to

them in various fi elds including transportation and logistics. The company’s activities have created many jobs opportunities as well, Al Ajmi said.

Al Ajmi Marble has also been participating in a number of cor-porate social responsibility (CSR) projects in various locations, in-cluding the regions where its quar-ries are situated, and has been supporting a number of social and charity organisations. Contribu-tion to public buildings in wilayat structures is part of the company’s activities as well.

Exhibitions Al Ajmi Marble has been promot-ing its products in various exhibi-tions abroad, including the Omani Products Exhibition known as OPEX, where it has been showcas-ing its products for the past four

years. Al Ajmi said that they have received support from the Minis-try of Commerce and Industry, the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Ithraa to promote their products.

Challenges He added that lower oil prices would have an impact on the mar-ble industry in exporting coun-tries but, on the other hand, would support projects in importing countries. “The market is becom-ing very dynamic,” Al Ajmi said, adding that he sees challenges as opportunities. Expensive tariff s imposed by some importing coun-tries are another issue facing mar-ble exporters.

“Some of the markets are impos-ing unfair tariff s on us. For exam-ple, India is imposing very expen-sive tariff s. This situation has been

there from the past 7 or 8 years,” he noted, expressing hope that bilat-eral negotiations between the gov-ernments would resolve the issue.

Expansion Al Ajmi Marble will be working on new projects and is seeking to ex-pand and improve its production, Al Ajmi said.

In order to enhance the contri-bution of the non-oil sector to the economy, the government should support exports and industries, especially mining, and continue its good eff orts to develop the area of logistics, Al Ajmi concluded.

This article is part of a monthly series focussing on Oman’s non-oil products and services, prepared in co-operation with the Pubic Au-thority for Investment Promotion and Export Development (Ithraa).

Al Ajmi Marble is now

seeking to expand the

scope of its exports

and is targeting

new markets. South

Korea, Singapore,

China, India and

Saudi Arabia have

been some of the

main target markets

and Egypt, Libya

and Algeria have

presented good

potential over the

past several years

Yasser Al Ajmi, general manager

– marketing of Al Ajmi Marble.

– O. K. Mohammad Ali/Times of Oman

Sheik Zayed Desert Learning building. – Picture courtesy: Chalabi Architekten & Partners

Oman embassy in Seoul (interior). – Picture courtesy: D.P.J. & Partners Architects

B4

MARKETT U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 24

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

OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN ..................................................... 50,000 ............... 5,750........................3 ............0.115 ........... 0.115 ............ 0.115 ............0.115 ............. 0.115 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................ 0.115 .............. 0.112................... 0.115 ..................230,035,971 ........0.100

OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS ............................2,000 .................. 378........................ 1 ............0.189 ........... 0.189 ...........0.189 ........... 0.210 .............0.210 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.189 .............. 0.191...................0.199 ...................26,228,572 .........0.100

OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK ........................................................................... 300 .....................60........................3 ............0.199 ........... 0.199 ...........0.199 ........... 0.199 ............. 0.199............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.199 ..............0.190...................0.199 ..................283,582,193 ........0.100

OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ........................10,000 ..................900........................ 1 ........... 0.090 ...........0.090 ...........0.090........... 0.090 .............0.090 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.090..............0.087...................0.094 ...................2,700,000 ..........0.100

OM0000003141 ............ACWA POWER BARKA .................................................2,300 ............... 1,895........................ 1 ........... 0.824 ...........0.824 ...........0.824........... 0.832 .............0.832 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.824.............. 0.752...................0.828 .................133,120,000 ........0.100

OM0000004248 ...........SMN POWER HOLDING ............................................15,000 ............ 10,920........................ 1 ............0.728 ........... 0.728 ...........0.728 ........... 0.728 ............. 0.728............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.728 ............. 0.000...................0.728 .................. 145,334,717 ........0.100

OM0000004735 ...........SEMBCORP SALALAH .............................................. 390,466 .........983,688..................... 26 ........... 2.520 ........... 2.525 ...........2.510 ........... 2.520 .............2.530 ...........-0.010 ........... -0.395 ...............2.515 .............. 2.515...................2.550..................240,552,131 ........1.000

OM0000003000 ...........ALMAHA PETROLEUM PRODUCTS MAR. ..... 109,872.......... 217,846......................14 ............1.985 ........... 1.985 ...........1.980 ............1.985 ............. 1.995............-0.010 ........... -0.501 ...............1.980 ..............1.980...................2.050 .................136,965,000........0.100

OM0000003281 ............TAAGEER FINANCE ................................................... 10,565 ................1,511........................ 1 ............0.143 ........... 0.143 ...........0.143 ........... 0.143 ............. 0.144 ...........-0.001 ........... -0.694 ...............0.143 ..............0.130...................0.144 ...................36,263,370 .........0.100

OM0000003125 ............GLOBAL FINANCIAL INVESTMENT ................ 3,800,000 .... 448,400........................2 ............0.118 ........... 0.118............ 0.118 ............0.118 ............. 0.119 ............-0.001 ........... -0.840 ............... 0.118 ............. 0.000................... 0.117 ...................23,600,000.........0.100

OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER ................................................ 503,547 ......... 106,075..................... 49 ............0.211 ........... 0.212 ...........0.208 ...........0.211 ............. 0.213............-0.002 ........... -0.939 ...............0.208............. 0.208................... 0.211 ..................142,401,248 ........0.100

OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY .....................................................54,100 ............22,402........................6 ............0.414 ........... 0.418 ...........0.414 ........... 0.414 ............. 0.418............-0.004 ........... -0.957 ...............0.414 ..............0.410...................0.414 ...................25,047,000 .........0.100

OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING ............ 45,000 .............. 4,490........................6 ........... 0.099 ........... 0.100 ...........0.099........... 0.100 ............. 0.101 ............-0.001 ........... -0.990 ...............0.100 ..............0.099...................0.100................... 12,187,500 .........0.100

OM0000002275 ...........SHELL OMAN MARKETING ...................................10,000 ............20,000........................4 ........... 2.000 ...........2.000 ...........2.000 .......... 2.000 .............2.020 ...........-0.020 ........... -0.990 ...............2.000 ............. 1.950...................2.020 ................ 190,000,000 .......0.100

OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ............ 121,500............ 30,008........................9 ........... 0.250 ...........0.250 ...........0.245........... 0.247 .............0.250 ...........-0.003 ........... -1.200 ...............0.245............. 0.240...................0.247 ................... 5,187,000 ..........0.100

OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 192,633.......... 311,930..................... 49 ............1.625 ........... 1.625 ........... 1.610 ........... 1.620 ............. 1.650............-0.030 ............-1.818 ................ 1.610 .............. 1.605................... 1.610 ................1,215,000,000 ......0.100

OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS ............................................................... 6,880 ...............2,092........................3 ........... 0.304 ...........0.304 ...........0.304 .......... 0.304 ............. 0.310............-0.006 ............-1.935................0.304..............0.308...................0.312 ...................15,200,000 .........0.100

OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ......................... 1,063,130 ...... 104,521..................... 56 ........... 0.098 ........... 0.100 ...........0.097 ........... 0.098 .............0.100 ...........-0.002 ........... -2.000 ...............0.097 ..............0.096...................0.097.................... 5,766,635 ..........0.100

OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 207,810............ 34,914..................... 28 ............0.170 ........... 0.170 ...........0.168 ............0.168 ............. 0.172............-0.004 ........... -2.326 ...............0.168 .............. 0.166...................0.168 ..................242,161,920........0.100

OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER .................................................. 253,892 ........... 52,922..................... 27 ........... 0.209 ........... 0.210 ...........0.204 .......... 0.208 ............. 0.213............-0.005 ........... -2.347 ...............0.207..............0.207...................0.208 .................148,596,519 ........0.100

OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ..................................... 446,950 ........... 74,054......................18 ............0.165 ........... 0.170 ...........0.165 ............0.166 ............. 0.170............-0.004 ........... -2.353 ...............0.170 .............. 0.167...................0.170 ...................48,248,069.........0.100

OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 375,013 ........... 181,719......................81 ........... 0.490 ...........0.490 ...........0.480........... 0.484 .............0.496 ...........-0.012 ........... -2.419 ...............0.480..............0.480...................0.484 ............... 1,109,242,137 ......0.100

OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 413,397 .........283,996......................21 ........... 0.700 ........... 0.704 ...........0.680........... 0.688 ............. 0.716 ............-0.028 ............-3.911 ................0.680..............0.660...................0.680 .................447,849,630........0.100

OM0000001749 ............OMAN CEMENT .......................................................... 252,338 ..........117,590........................9 ........... 0.466 ........... 0.466 ...........0.466 ........... 0.466 .............0.490 ...........-0.024 ........... -4.898 ...............0.466 ..............0.466...................0.484 .................154,186,683 ........0.100

OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ...................................................... 106,060 ......... 129,972........................6 ............1.230 ........... 1.230 ...........1.200 ........... 1.225 .............1.290 ...........-0.065 ........... -5.039 ...............1.200 ..............1.200...................1.230 ................. 245,000,000 .......0.100

OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS .................................................. 14,463 ...............6,865..................... 20 ........... 0.490 ...........0.490 ...........0.470 ........... 0.474 .............0.500 ...........-0.026 ........... -5.200 ...............0.470 ..............0.470...................0.484 ..................24,885,000.........0.100

OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL .............................................. 34,262 ...............2,473........................7 ............0.071 ........... 0.075 ...........0.071 ........... 0.072 .............0.076 ...........-0.004 ........... -5.263 ...............0.075 ..............0.075...................0.079...................12,600,000 .........0.100

OM0000001707 ............OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY ..................................... 40,500 ............ 81,000........................8 ........... 2.000 ...........2.000 ...........2.000 .......... 2.000 ............. 2.115 ............ -0.115 ........... -5.437 ...............2.000 ............ 0.000...................2.000 .................179,400,000........0.100

OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 446,963 ........... 45,800..................... 34 ........... 0.100 ........... 0.104 ...........0.099........... 0.102 ............. 0.108 ...........-0.006 ........... -5.556 ...............0.104 ..............0.102...................0.104.................... 9,180,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002549 ...........BANK DHOFAR ............................................................ 500,000 .........122,000........................5 ........... 0.244 ...........0.244 ...........0.244 .......... 0.244 .............0.260 ...........-0.016 ........... -6.154................0.244 .............0.234...................0.244 ................. 376,913,765 ........0.100

OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 5,056,240...... 814,777...................247 ............0.160 ........... 0.165 ...........0.157 ............0.161 ............. 0.172............ -0.011 ........... -6.395 ...............0.162 .............. 0.161...................0.162 ...................24,162,075 .........0.100

OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 724,761 .............62,746..................... 73 ........... 0.088 ...........0.090 ...........0.084........... 0.087 .............0.093 ...........-0.006 ........... -6.452 ...............0.090..............0.089...................0.090 ..................25,228,315 .........0.100

OM0000001087 ............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ............................... 195,206 ............47,787..................... 29 ........... 0.240 ...........0.250 ...........0.240 .......... 0.245 .............0.262 ...........-0.017 ........... -6.489 ...............0.240 .............0.236...................0.243 ................. 24,500,000 ........0.100

OM0000001962 ............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ................................... 232,000 ............ 11,745......................12 ........... 0.050 ........... 0.052 ...........0.050............0.051 .............0.055 ...........-0.004 ............-7.273................0.052 .............. 0.051...................0.052................... 10,564,721 .........0.100

OM0000001483 ............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ................................. 1,401,781 .......403,476..................... 60 ........... 0.308 ...........0.308 ...........0.282........... 0.288 ............. 0.312............-0.024 ............-7.692................0.282............. 0.000...................0.282 .................386,124,552 ........0.100

OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE .............. 3,561,412 .......567,130...................210 ............0.165 ........... 0.165 ...........0.158 ............0.159 ............. 0.175 ............-0.016 ............-9.143................0.158 ............. 0.000...................0.158 ...................31,800,000 .........0.100

OM0000001319 ............NATIONAL ALUMINIUM PRODUCTS ............. 202,400........... 45,540........................3 ........... 0.225 ........... 0.225 ...........0.225........... 0.225 .............0.250 ...........-0.025 .......... -10.000 ..............0.225............. 0.000...................0.225 ................... 7,553,576 ..........0.100

OM0000003711 ............SOHAR POWER .............................................................. 26,710 ............... 9,135......................12 ........... 0.342 ...........0.342 ...........0.342........... 0.342 .............0.380 ...........-0.038 .......... -10.000 ..............0.342..............0.342...................0.360 ..................75,585,420 .........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 20,879,451 5,368,506................ 1,145 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......38........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. ...................171,811 ............... 5,702..................... 10 ........... 0.033 ........... 0.034 ...........0.033 ........... 0.033 ............. 0.031............ 0.002 ............. 6.452 ................0.034..............0.033...................0.034 ...................2,805,000 ..........0.100

OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 13,659,642 2,003,357...................472 ............0.145 ........... 0.148 ...........0.144 ............0.147 ............. 0.146.............0.001 ............. 0.685 ................0.147 .............. 0.146...................0.147 ..................215,002,415 ........0.100

OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 1,720,308 ...... 109,396..................... 55 ........... 0.062 ...........0.064 ...........0.062........... 0.064 .............0.064 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.063 ..............0.062...................0.063...................96,000,000 ........0.100

OM0000001723 ............OMAN ORIX LEASING ...............................................10,000 ...............1,420........................ 1 ............0.142 ........... 0.142 ...........0.142 ........... 0.142 ............. 0.144 ...........-0.002 ........... -1.389................0.142 ...............0.131...................0.142 ...................34,276,534 .........0.100

OM0000004511 ............ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK................................................55,900 ...............3,685........................5 ........... 0.067 ........... 0.067 ...........0.065 ........... 0.066 .............0.067 ...........-0.001 ............-1.493................0.065 ..............0.064...................0.065...................66,000,000 ........0.100

OM0000001400 ...........OMAN FLOUR MILLS ............................................... 824,970 .........406,635..................... 24 ........... 0.494 ........... 0.494 ...........0.490........... 0.492 .............0.500 ...........-0.008 ........... -1.600 ...............0.494..............0.490...................0.494 ..................77,490,000 .........0.100

OM0000002234 ...........NATIONAL SECURITIES ..........................................22,670 ............... 3,831........................ 1 ............0.169 ........... 0.169 ...........0.169 ............0.169 ............. 0.172............-0.003 ............-1.744 ................0.169 ............. 0.000...................0.170 ....................3,380,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002564 ...........AL HASSAN ENGINEERING.................................. 131,021 .............10,690......................13 ........... 0.080 ........... 0.085 ...........0.080........... 0.082 .............0.087 ...........-0.005 ............-5.747 ................0.085 ..............0.083...................0.085.................... 6,167,056 ..........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 16,596,322 .2,544,717................... 581 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 8........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

ISIN ......................................SECURITY NAME .................................................................. VOLUME ..... TURNOVER ............TRADES ......OPEN PRICE ......HIGH ............. LOW ........ CLOSE PR. ...PREV. CLOSE...DIFF (RO).........DIFF % ............. LAST PR .....LAST BID .............LAST OFFER ........MARKET CAP .PAR VALUE

O M A N S T O C K S

INDICESIndex .................................................High .................Low ..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff %MSM30 Index ....................................... 5,906.53 ...............5,736.02 ................... 5,736.02 ....................5,910.74 ..............-174.72 .................. -2.96Financial Index .....................................7,047.88 ...............6,859.88 ....................6,861.37 ................... 7,055.89 ............. -194.52 .................. -2.76Industrial Index ....................................7,685.22 .............. 7,504.09 ....................7,504.19 ................... 7,702.30 .............. -198.11 .................. -2.57Services Index ...................................... 3,243.06 ............... 3,177.69 .................... 3,177.69 ...................3,246.21 ................-68.52 ...................-2.11MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................931.34 ...................910.11 ........................910.11 .......................931.98 ................ -21.87 .................. -2.35

Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded37,598,103 ...................7,925,017 ..................1,733 ...............14,452,788,254 .................. 2 ..................... 38 ..................... 8 ..........................48

Crude price slides below $39 a barrel

LONDON: World oil prices sank to six-and-half-year lows on Monday, with New York crude sliding under $39 on fears over Chinese energy demand and global oversupply.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for October delivery tumbled to $38.69, strik-ing a level last seen in February 2009. Brent North Sea crude for October dived in morning Lon-don deals to $43.28, last seen in mid-March of the same year.

“For the fi rst time since March 2009, Brent costs less than $45 per barrel and WTI less than $40 per barrel,” said Commerzbank analysts in a research note to clients. “There is no end in sight to the nose dive that oil prices have been experiencing for eight weeks now.

“As far as today’s price slide is concerned at least, fundamen-tal data play only a subordinate

role, as concerns about China are chiefl y responsible this time.”

Chinese equities plunged fur-ther on Monday, sparking a fresh rout on global markets as Bei-jing’s latest intervention failed to boost investor sentiment over China’s slowing economy.

Beijing announced over the weekend that its state pension fund — which had 3.5 trillion yuan of assets at the end of 2014 — will be allowed to buy stocks, in the latest attempt to calm the stock market.

However, Shanghai stocks tumbled almost 8.50 per cent in value, wiping out this year’s gains and sparking heavy losses in Asia and Europe, as investors remained gripped by panic.

Before the weekend, WTI prices had plunged briefl y below $40 on the back of a global equi-ties selloff rooted in poor Chinese manufacturing data. — AFP

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate

(WTI) for October delivery tumbled to $38.69,

striking a level last seen in February 2009

Rupee tumbles against dollarMUMBAI: Indian rupee wit-nessed a near-term rout and tumbled sharply by 82 paise — its biggest single day fall in this year to end at 66.65 against the US dol-lar as global meltdown fears re-mained unabated.

Wide-spread panic sell-off in Chinese equities predominantly tipped emerging market curren-cies into turmoil even as the US currency weakened overseas.

A sudden gust of dollar demand from importers and state-run banks in the face of sustained capital outfl ows amid mounting risks of a hike in US interest rates pressurised the home currency to hit fresh two-year low.

The domestic resumed sharply lower at 66.47 per dollar against last Friday’s closing level of 65.83 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market on the

back of heavy dollar demand.Reacting to market specifi c

developments, the domestic unit touched a low of 66.74 in day trade before concluding at 66.65, show-ing a steep fall of 82 paise, or 1.25 per cent.

The home currency has lost 202 paise or 3.17 per cent in the last two-week correction after Beijing stunned the world by de-valuing the yuan. — PTI

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

STEEP FALL: An attendant cleans the window of a car near a sign

displaying the petrol station’s current fuel prices in yen in Tokyo,

on Monday. Oil prices hit 6-1/2-year lows on Monday. - Reuters

B5T U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

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Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell Mirai sets record

MUSCAT: If you’ve been wonder-ing about the future of automo-biles and the technologies to come, then Toyota’s Mirai will give your imagination a direction.

Mirai, which means future in Japanese, off ers the promise of a world that is safer, greener and easier for everyone. This ground-breaking vehicle has the cruising range of a conventional sedan, can be refuelled in less than fi ve min-utes and emits only water vapour, says a press release.

In Toyota Motor Corporation’s President Akio Toyoda’s words, “This is a car that lets you have it all with no compromises.”

The new Toyota Mirai hydro-gen fuel cell vehicle has proved it can go the distance, achieving 67 miles (108km) per gallon in offi cial US combined city/highway driv-ing calculations, and an estimated driving range of 312 miles (502km) on a single tank – a distance fur-ther than for any other zero-emis-sions car on the market.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) fuel economy rat-ing for the pioneering fuel cell car confi rms that Mirai is the only zero emissions vehicle on the mar-ket capable of exceeding 300 miles (483km) on one fi ll.

The Toyota Mirai is the world’s fi rst mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, a four-door saloon with performance that competes with traditional internal combus-tion engines.

The Mirai’s motor is powered by electricity generated through a chemical reaction between air-borne oxygen and hydrogen in an on-board fuel cell.

According to Takayuki Yoshit-sugu, Chief Representative, Mid-dle East and North Africa Rep-resentative Offi ce, Toyota Motor Corporation, said, “Toyota Mirai is a ground-breaking vehicle that de-livers tomorrow’s driving experi-ence today, ushering in a new era of effi cient, hydrogen transportation. Instead of using petrol, Mirai runs

on electricity created on demand by hydrogen fuel and oxygen, with water vapour being the only emis-sion produced by this process.”

The Toyota Mirai captured the world’s attention recently when it was selected by Popular Science, the world’s leading science and technology magazine, as a “Best of What’s New” winner in the auto-motive category, describing it as “a revolution in its fi eld”.

“Toyota’s commitment to envi-ronment-friendly vehicles such as the Mirai is based on three basic principles: embracing diverse en-ergy sources; developing effi cient, low-emission vehicles; and driving real and positive environmental change by popularising these vehi-cles,” Yoshitsugu said.

“We thank our customers for their trust and continued patron-age which further encourages us to create ever-better cars. At Toyota we always put our customer fi rst and by uniting tradition with inno-vation we are constantly striving to develop next-generation vehicles. The Mirai is a result of this global vision of Toyota and has been well received by customers. With car buyers around the world becoming increasingly eco-conscious, we are confi dent that the Mirai will set a precedent for future vehicles that will redefi ne the auto industry,” Yoshitsugu added.

The Mirai amassed an excep-tional 1,500 orders in its fi rst

month on sale in Japan – a number that far exceeded the expectations of Toyota; the automaker’s initial plan was to sell about 400 units by the end of 2015.

Earlier this year, in a landmark move that could open the door to the hydrogen future, Toyota made 5,600 hydrogen fuel cell and re-lated patents available for com-mercial use royalty-free, including critical technologies developed for the new Toyota Mirai.

The hydrogen fuel cell patents will be made available to automak-ers who will produce and sell fuel cell vehicles, as well as to fuel cell parts suppliers and energy com-panies who establish and oper-ate fuelling stations, through the initial market introduction period, anticipated to last until 2020.

These early adopters of Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell technology will be the fi rst to experience a new chapter in zero-emissions driving.

Toyota has a long history of opening its intellectual proper-ties through collaboration, and was instrumental in facilitating the widespread adoption of hy-brid vehicles by licensing related patents.

In Oman, Toyota’s outstanding product quality is supported by the nationwide parts and service network of Saud Bahwan Au-tomotive. No wonder then that today, Toyota is one of the most trusted and well-known brands.

This ground-breaking vehicle has the

cruising range of a conventional sedan, can

be refuelled in less than fi ve minutes and

emits only water vapour

New Ford Expedition honoured with J.D. Power APEAL AwardMUSCAT: By now many SUV buyers would agree that the Ford Expedition is one of the largest SUVs in the market today.

Built with a purpose to re-ward its owners with unmatched power, space and comfort, the Expedition is one SUV that your family will love to spend time in on your weekend journeys. Re-cently the Ford Expedition has been honoured with J.D. Power US Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) award, says a press release.

According to J.D. Power, the APEAL study, now in its 20th year, is the industry benchmark for new-vehicle appeal, examin-ing how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive.

Owners evaluate their vehi-cle across 77 attributes, which combine into an overall APEAL Index score that is measured on a 1,000-point scale.

The 2015 Expedition is the most powerful and fuel-effi cient Expedition yet, off ering custom-ers a full-size utility vehicle with a stylish design and fresh interi-ors across a diverse line-up that includes new Platinum trim level.

The 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6, gen-erates 365 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft. of torque, and with an EPA-estimated rating of 16 mpg city and 22 mpg highway with two-wheel-drive. Expedition also of-fers best-in-class maximum car-go space for the extended-length version, and available best-in-class towing of up to 9,200 pounds when properly equipped. It all adds up to a truly useful util-ity vehicle.

The 2015 Ford Expedition of-fers drivers comprehensive safe-ty systems that include Advance-

Trac with Roll Stability Control, Safety Canopy side-curtain air-bags, SOS Post-Crash Alert Sys-tem, tyre pressure monitoring system and traction control.

The 2015 Expedition now has driver-assist technology features that are new to the nameplate. These technology upgrades make Expedition the full-size utility vehicle for customers who want capability, style and modern con-veniences.

Expedition has a myriad of standard safety features aimed at protecting drivers and occu-pants, as well as driver-assist fea-tures that are new to the vehicle.

The 2015 model debuts driver-assist technologies to the Expedition nameplate, like available radar-based Blind Spot Information System with cross-traffi c alert. Using sensor-based radar technology, BLIS can help detect when a vehicle is in a driver’s blind spot and fl ashes a warning light in the appropriate sideview mirror.

Cross-traffi c alert uses radar to help detect vehicles approach-ing from the side when a driver is slowly backing out of a parking spot or driveway. When a vehicle is detected, an audible warning sounds and a visual cue will be is-sued in the message centre.

Ford vehicles are known the world over for their exceptional safety, luxury and unsurpassed technological superiority. Ford ploughs in millions of dollars into R&D each year to ensure that every Ford off ers maximum safety and motoring pleasure for its customers.

In Oman, Ford vehicles are brought to you by Arabian Car Marketing Co.

R E C O G N I T I O N

Infi niti gives Saudi student F1 career opportunity of lifetimeDUBAI: A university engineering student from Saudi Arabia has been awarded the career opportunity of a lifetime in Formula One, as Infi niti announces them as one of the win-ners of the Infi niti Performance Engineering Academy 2015.

Beating seven other fi nalists from around the country in an in-tense shoot out event, 20-year-old Muhammad Usman Zafar from Al Faisal University will move to England, UK in September to be-gin a 12-month placement work-ing with the four-time Formula One World Championship-win-ning team Infi niti Red Bull Racing, as well as for Infi niti itself, says a press release.

Zafar will spend eight months working as an Infi niti Placement Design Engineer (Vehicle Design), at the team’s headquarters in Mil-ton Keynes, UK, and four months working at Infi niti’s European Technical Center in Cranfi eld on road car development projects. With F1 technology more relevant to the automotive industry than ever, they will play a key role in the ongoing transfer of technical knowledge and expertise between the race team and Infi niti.

The academy, now in its sec-ond year, is a one-of-a-kind global search for the world’s best up-and-coming engineers. For 2015, fi ve placements were made available with one winner chosen each from Russia, Western Europe, China, Saudi Arabia and the United States to work in roles spanning vehicle dynamics, vehicle design, aerodynamics and electronics.

Thousands of students regis-tered their interest in this year’s programme, and after a series of

interviews, 10 fi nalists in each re-gion were selected to attend a re-gional fi nal event where they were put through their paces in a struc-tured assessment day by a panel of judges from Infi niti and Infi niti Red Bull Racing.

Commenting on his win, Zafar said: “I was delighted on hearing that I was selected and am hugely excited for this opportunity! I have

always been passionate about Au-tomotive and Motorsports engi-neering and I look forward to join-ing the academy and making the most of my time in the UK.”

Tommaso Volpe, Global Director, Infi niti Formula One, added: “The calibre of entrants this year was very high which made for a tough selection process, but if last year’s winners are anything to go by, it

will not be long before all of them are making a signifi cant contribu-tion both to us and to the race team. With F1 becoming more and more relevant to the automotive industry and an increased focus of the place-ments this year being on the road car development, we are training a new generation of engineers who will play a key role in the crossover between the two industries.”

D E S I G N E N G I N E E R

Electricity and Water Consumption Award held at Ajman PalaceAJMAN: The Ajman Palace Ho-tel recently hosted the Emirates Conservation Award for Elec-tricity and Water Consumption, organised under the patronage of Suheil Al-Mazroui, minister of energy and chairman of Board of Directors of the Federal Electric-ity and Water Authority.

The Federal Electricity and Wa-ter Authority (FEWA) honoured 18 families for their eff ective par-ticipation in the nationwide ra-tionalisation award, and cutting consumption by up to 80 per cent during the fi rst three months of 2015, says a press release.

The competition, held under the theme “Change Is Possible,” witnessed substantial participa-tion from the FEWA consumers. The most rationalising FEWA consumers were awarded with lucrative prize money ranging from Dh10,000 for the fi rst prize to Dh7,000 for the second prize and Dh5,000 for the third prize.

The event was attended by a number of senior offi cials from

various government depart-ments and strategic partners who lauded FEWA’s eff orts to con-serve precious natural resources.

Ferghal Purcell, general man-ager of the Ajman Palace Hotel, said that such concerted eff orts will help reduce the average con-sumption of water and electricity in the country, which is extreme-ly high compared to the average consumption rate worldwide.

He said, “The Emirates Con-servation Award is a commend-able eff ort made by the Federal Electricity and Water Authority to promote conservation of wa-ter and electricity, and instil the values of rationalisation in young generations. This eff ort should be supported by one and all as it will play a signifi cant role in pre-serving these precious natural resources for the future genera-tions. I am confi dent it will grow further to become one of the must-attend campaigns for eve-ryone who believes in their civic responsibilities.”

A C C O L A D E

B6 T U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

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Nissan introduces exciting off ers on wide range of powerful SUVs

MUSCAT: Nissan from the house of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles introduces brand new seasonal of-fers on SUV models until October 16. Their exclusive vehicle promo-tions are enticing and one-of-a-kind promising unlimited benefi ts to valued patrons.

Nissan has a heritage of show-casing some of the most amazing benefi ts for its customers by intro-ducing unique off ers on its prestig-ious line-up of vehicles.

In an eff ort to make Nissan ve-hicles aff ordable and accessible to all, Suhail Bahwan Automobiles has taken up this unique initiative, says a press release.

What’s on off er? Auto enthusiasts can now avail exciting benefi ts on Nissan’s SUV range of vehicles as its sea-sonal off ers include cash gift up to OMR1,000, free insurance, free service for two years or 20,000km (periodic maintenance only), free

registration, six years unlimited mileage warranty and easy and con-venient fi nancing options. Flexible EMI’s can also be tailor made for any individual requirement from in-house Auto Finance team.

Interactive social media Customers can also get unlim-ited access to Nissan’s prestigious vehicle line up at the comfort of their homes or offi ces. Simply visit Nissan Oman’s Facebook page i.e http://www.facebook.com/Sban-issanoman or send an SMS to get updated information on any of the vehicles from the house of Nissan.

The Nissan SUV range provides customers with a comprehen-sive product line up and an op-portunity to choose from. Nissan Oman’s world-class service facili-ties, equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic tools and trained manpower enable them to fulfi l the promise of ultimate ownership experience towards their valued customers. Nissan’s line up of SUV range comprises the mighty Nissan Xterra, Nissan Classic Pathfi nder, Nissan Armada and Nissan Patrol.

Nissan XterraXterra’s signature exterior styl-ing features include large fl ared fenders, a versatile roof rack with

latchable lid and a rear bumper design with side steps for easy ac-cess to the roof rack. It also off ers a large, powerful looking hood and headlights and Nissan SUV-style angled strut grille. The vehicle also features Chrome ORVM and Fr. foglamps. The new Xterra looks good on the road with its enhanced styling that includes a roof rail with attachments and side step.

The Xterra also features a youth style dashboard, shift on the fl y – 4WD System, Navigation, Rear-view camera, a steering switch for bluetooth, audio and cruise controls.

Xterra’s long wheelbase gives a smooth ride and ample interior room, yet overall length is highly manageable due to the short front overhang – helping to enhance manoeuvrability in off -road hill climbing and trail situations.

Classic Pathfi nder With a powerful V6 engine, a rug-ged truck frame underneath and available four-wheel drive, the Classic Pathfi nder lives up to its reputation as an authentic, rug-ged adventure vehicle which has maintained an iconic exterior de-sign, while also remaining fresh and dynamic. The exterior is de-fi ned by its unique combination

of sophistication and rugged, go-anywhere looks.

The Classic Pathfi nder contin-ues to be built on a high-strength, fully boxed, all-steel ladder frame based on the full-size Nissan Ar-mada SUV. Pathfi nder’s long-travel front suspension is an all-steel dou-ble-wishbone design with coil-over shocks and large stabiliser bar. For smooth ride quality and optimised handling, the rear suspension is an independent double-wishbone design with the coils located on the toe control link (off set spring and shock) with stabiliser bar. Standard underbody component protection puts a plate under the radiator, and all models are equipped with an in-tegrated tow hitch.

Nissan Armada The vehicle combining unbridled power, premium interior comfort and a wide range of available tech-nology, the Nissan Armada con-tinues to stand out in the full-size SUV segment. The Armada model is equipped with a standard 5.6-li-tre Endurance V8 engine rated at 320 horsepower and 54.3kg/m of torque, along with an advanced 5-speed automatic transmis-sion, heavy-duty fully boxed ladder frame and comfortable double-wishbone suspension. Ar-

mada has a towing capacity of up to 4,000 pounds (when properly equipped). The vehicle is perfect for a big sized family and a perfect option for family getaways, off -road outings etc.

Nissan Patrol Meticulously engineered for over 60 years, the Patrol is Nissan’s fl agship SUV model with a rich heritage and passionate following in the Middle East that dates back to the 1950s. With refreshed styl-ing enhancements of the region’s iconic SUV, the all-new Nissan Pa-trol adds more style to its already impressive ‘go anywhere’ versatil-ity, technology and comfort.

The 2015 Nissan Patrol comes with a new front bumper and new vigorous and muscular front grille pattern with chrome. New 20” machining cut alloy wheels, LED headlamps with day time running light and pop-up headlamp washer with new LED rear combination lamp and roof rails add to the range of new features. The Patrol also possess a 3rd generation Around View Monitor with parking assist display and Back-up Collision In-tervention (BCI) which alerts the driver when a moving object is de-tected behind the vehicle when in reverse mode.

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

Nationwide presence Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, the exclusive importers and dis-tributors of all Nissan vehicles in Oman, have their Nissan show-rooms spread across the Sultanate. Their showrooms are strategically located all across the country in Muscat, Sohar, Sur, Salalah, Shi-nas, Samail, Ibra, Ibri, Nizwa, Buraimi, Barka, Bahla, Jalan Bani Bu Ali, Seeb, Mabelah, Sinaw and Bidaya. This goes to show that Nissan Oman has been success-fully growing in operations and is consistently spreading its network throughout the Sultanate of Oman.

Reliability For every customer purchasing a Nissan vehicle, it is the begin-ning of a fulfi lling experience as Nissan’s top class after sales ser-vice makes sure every customer is happy and satisfi ed. Nissan’s after sales service provider for all Nissan cars in Oman ensures cus-tomers get the advantage of fac-tory trained expertise and genuine Nissan replacement parts always. Customers can expect reliability and assistance, which will help re-tain Nissan’s performance and re-sale value for years to come.

Nissan has a heritage

of showcasing

some of the most

amazing benefi ts

for its customers

by introducing

unique off ers on its

prestigious line-up

of vehicles

All-new Beetle R-Line joins Volkswagen R family in MEDUBAI: Volkswagen Middle East welcomes a new addition to the Volkswagen R family this Sep-tember, with the arrival of the sporty Beetle R-Line.

The new model joins the Volk-swagen Middle East sporty Volk-swagen R model line-up, which currently includes the iconic Golf R, the Scirocco R, and the Touar-eg, Tiguan and CC R-Line mod-els, developed by Volkswagen R GmbH, a division of Volkswagen responsible for developing sport-tuned models with bold detailing that are aggressive by design, says a press release.

The Beetle R-Line exhibits the sporty Volkswagen R GmbH rac-ing heritage, the bumper features added air intakes front and cen-tre to feed more air to the turbo-charged 210 HP 2.0-litre engine. The rear of the car presents a lower diff user and a large spoiler in addi-tion to R-Line door entry sills. Ty-ing together the powerful look of the R-Line model are the 20-inch “Monterey” alloy wheels, tucked under the muscular fenders.

To match the sporty exterior, Volkswagen has fi tted the R-Line with a bold interior, includ-ing two-tone cloth sport seats, a multi-function leather-wrapped steering wheel with R-Line

badging and a set of sport gauges mounted on the top of the centre console adding racing fl air to the statement R-Line model.

Thomas Milz, managing direc-tor of Volkswagen Middle East, said: “Volkswagen motorsport heritage has enabled us to har-ness racing technology and de-signs to develop models that are at home both on the track and the roads of the region. The addition of the Beetle R-Line to the Volk-swagen R model line-up extends our family of cars developed for people with a taste for the ex-traordinary.”

The new R-Line is available

as standard with panoramic tilt/slide sunroof, Xenon headlamps with LED separate daytime run-ning lights, a multi-function leather-wrapped steering wheel with gear shift and composition media radio systems, enabling greater in-car connectivity than ever before with touch screen technology based on proximity sensors, intuitive ergonomic in-terfaces, multi-phone connection utilising bluetooth technology and USB connection.

The Beetle R-Line will be avail-able at Volkswagen retailers in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Ku-wait and Qatar from September.

S P O R T Y

GPDC organises key fi rst aid workshop for HCT studentsMUSCAT: Ghubra Power and De-salination Plant (GPDC) — Part of Nama Group — recently held a fi rst aid workshop in the company’s training centre, where students from the Higher College of Tech-nology (HCT) were invited to learn the basics of fi rst aid.

This workshop is a part of the campaign launched by the sustain-ability committee at Nama Group and is responsible for identifying, supporting and launching local community and initiatives, says a press release.

This is one of the community support initiatives launched by the electricity sector and it aims to train the residents of the Wilayat Bausher and providing them with the necessary safety equipment that should be available at home. The campaign also aims at edu-cating teachers, local sports team members, families on social secu-

rity, students and volunteers from institutions and associations. The campaign started last March and will continue till December 2015.

The workshop at GPDC lasted for three days which included training seminars fi re control, fi rst aid and home safety.

Sultan Al Adawi, one of the members of the project at GPDC said, “The group aims to sponsor and initiate diff erent volunteer projects under the sustainability

policy that the company adopts. We focus on projects that give an environmental, developmental and human return to the Sultan-ate, is a great example of that; we as an organisation believe that the volunteer work of individu-als and a community is essential and important. We have seen a rise in the past years in home fi res which have resulted in a lot of pre-ventable loss of life and property, this is why we want to work with the community to increase the culture of safety, the knowledge of fi re handling and fi rst aid. We hope that this campaign will give the proper tools to the community to reduce injury and preventable loss of life.”

This project will aim to train 200 people from the Bausher dis-trict in fi re training as well as pro-vide them with fi rst aid and fi re protection equipment.

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Bank Muscat highlights employment prospects for Omani students abroad

MUSCAT: The appeal of Bank Muscat as the ‘best place to work in Oman’ attracted prospective job seekers at the fi rst job fair organised for Omani students studying abroad. The job fair was

organised at Sultan Qaboos Uni-versity by the Omani Student Or-ganisation in Long Beach, USA, in the presence of Dr Talal Moham-med Al Balushi, Cultural Attaché in the USA. The initiative was

aimed at providing Omani stu-dents studying abroad an opportu-nity coinciding with their holidays to explore job opportunities in Oman, says a press release.

The bank highlighted the career development and training op-portunities available to qualifi ed Omani nationals. Omani students from the USA, the UK, Australia, Malaysia and other countries sub-mitted CVs, expressing keen desire to work with the Sultanate’s lead-ing fi nancial institution.

The bank utilised the oppor-tunity to promote products and services targeted at youth, includ-

ing Shababi savings account and Shahadati educational fi nance for higher education.

Over the years, Bank Muscat has adopted innovative strategies to equip Omani employees to take up leadership positions in tandem with future challenges. The bank has developed a comprehensive Learning & Development strategy for skill and knowledge enhance-ment vis-à-vis the requirement of various departments.

The bank continuously invests to build human capacity and create career opportunities for highly-qualifi ed Omani nationals.

The bank has been able to derive maximum mileage out of its HR processes as most of its middle and senior management cadres are drawn from within the bank.

Bank Muscat has achieved qualitative advance in the human resources sector as it attracts the best Omani cadres for employ-ment at all levels. The bank’s wom-en empowerment strategy is also notable as 42 per cent of employ-ees are women holding various positions, including senior man-agement positions. Bank Muscat is keen to develop its leadership pool from among the young Omanis,

and thereby contribute to Oman’s future by investing in talent which is the real wealth of the nation.

Bank Muscat is the fi rst bank in the world to win the prestigious Level 3 People Capability Matu-rity Model certifi cation by Carn-egie Melon University, USA. The PCMM certifi cation groups Bank Muscat with an elite group of global organisations which have achieved benchmark HR standards.

Bank Muscat is also an Investor in People certifi ed organisation, renowned for benchmark inter-national standards in human re-sources management practices.

A job fair was organised at Sultan

Qaboos University by the Omani Student

Organisation in Long Beach, USA

Joyalukkas givesAudi to ‘Drive Your Dream’ winnerMUSCAT: The mega winning opportunity at Joyalukkas Drive Your Dream received an over-whelming response from cus-tomers across GCC, Singapore and Malaysia.

The 60-day campaign’s win-ner was announced recently. The Joyalukkas ‘Drive Your Dream’ was off ering every customer shopping for OMR50 worth of jewellery, the opportunity to win 12 Audis + 3kg gold.

Audi was presented to the winner Sonali Mukewar by Us-ama Al Rawas, head of Loyalty & Retention Omantel commu-nication and Alaa Halawi, sen-ior consultant, Omantel, in the presence of Joyalukkas offi cials and various customers, says a press release.

Sonali Mukewar, proud win-ner of the Audi, was thrilled to say the least. Sonali said, “I’ve been a proud customer of Joy-

alukkas since many years. And winning this fantastic prize has made Joyalukkas jewellery my favourite jeweller for life!”

Joy Alukkas, chairman, Joy-alukkas group says, “As the ‘World’s Favourite Jeweller’ we are committed to giving our cus-tomers the best in quality, value, choice and service at all times. And the Joyalukkas Drive Your Dream was one of the many ways in which we make the jewellery shopping experience of millions of customers, a truly rewarding one. The luckiest one drove away in an Audi car.”

“It’s a pleasure to see such an overwhelming response for Joy-alukkas Drive Your Dream. This mega winning opportunity made many dreams come true and we feel happy to be able to enable this,” said John Paul Joy Aluk-kas, executive director, Joyaluk-kas Group.

PROMOT I ON

Hassle-free purchases can now be made with Ooredoo ‘Charge to Mobile’ serviceMUSCAT: Introducing another fi rst to the Omani market, Oore-doo’s new ‘Charge to Mobile’ ser-vice allows smartphone users to buy premium apps by charging apps using their prepaid or post-paid accounts, rather than need-ing to use a credit card.

Hassle-free purchases can now be made with deductions from recharge balances or by allocat-ing additional fees to monthly bills, off ering customers an easy convenient way to access the lat-est apps across a number of app stores, says a press release.

“Needing to use a credit card and even having to enter personal data, or use online payment gate-

ways, is not always possible or convenient to customers.

“Mobile payments are the latest way to pay for a number of ser-vices globally and we have already secured several of the most popu-lar platforms, including Gameloft and Microsoft’s Windows Store,” said Feras Al Shaikh, director of Consumer Sales at Ooredoo.

“Frequent users of mobile apps will feel the impact of this imme-diately, with the market overall experiencing greater convenience as we partner with a diverse vari-ety of stores.

“Charge to Mobile not only means that credit cards are ceas-ing to be a barrier for downloading

priced apps, but also ‘in app’ pur-chases have never been easier.”

Al Shaikh added, “The level of credit card use in Oman is quite low when it comes to purchasing apps, compared to other countries across the region; therefore this new service is not only a convenience driven development in our service, but a strategic advancement for the Omani market overall.”

This market fi rst from Ooredoo comes as the Sultanate contin-ues its drive towards becoming a knowledge-based society, and as preparations enter full-swing to drive further growth within the mobile app market.

CONVEN I ENT

Feras Al ShaikhDirector of Consumer Sales at Ooredoo

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NBO announces Al Kanz winnersMUSCAT: National Bank of Oman (NBO) announced the sum-mer winners of its fl agship Al Kanz prize draw, with a lucky customer taking home the grand prize of OMR100,000.

The draws for June and July were held at the bank’s New Sala-lah branch, where the winners were selected at random by Amur Kashoub, Wali of Al Mazyoona in the presence of the CEO of the Bank, Ahmed Al Musalmi and members of the bank’s senior man-agement team, says a press release.

During the special prize ceremo-ny, 102 lucky customers won priz-es worth a total of OMR735,000. Six winners, one from each region of the Sultanate, won OMR50,000 each, 60 children (Al Amaal ac-

count holders) won OMR5,000 each, and 35 youth won OMR1,000 each and a grand prize winner of Fnaja branch won OMR100,000.

John Chang, general manager

and chief retail banking offi cer of National Bank of Oman, said: “Through Al Kanz, National Bank of Oman has taken the lead in de-signing a savings scheme that en-

courages customers to adopt good savings habits, while at the same time giving them the opportunity to win exciting prizes.

“All the winners are great exam-

ples of customers who have wisely chosen our retail banking prod-ucts to achieve their long-term fi -nancial goals. We congratulate the latest winners and wish all of our customers the best of luck in next month’s draw.”

Under NBO’s Al Kanz campaign, customers who have maintained a minimum monthly average bal-ance of OMR100 or above are eli-gible to participate in the monthly prize draws.

The earlier a customer deposits and the longer they retain their deposits, the higher the chances of winning the monthly and grand prize draws. The Al Kanz savings account is currently one of the most rewarding schemes available in the market.

The draws for June

and July were held

at the bank’s New

Salalah branch.

During the special

prize ceremony, 102

lucky customers won

prizes worth a total of

OMR735,000

Almouj Golf receives HACCP accreditation

MUSCAT: Almouj Golf recently received the internationally rec-ognised Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) certifi -cate for its stringent implemen-tation of food safety measures.

The new accreditation, which is the fi rst of its kind for a golf club in Oman means Almouj Golf continues to lead the way as a world class destination for golf and leisure.

Almouj Golf ’s team underwent six months of training, work-shops, and certifi cations to en-sure successful implementation of the HACCP’s scientifi c and hy-gienic guidelines.

Additionally, Almouj Golf completely upgraded its entire kitchen facilities and plans to in-troduce new F&B menus as part of its best-in-class services, says a press release.

F O O D S A F E T Y M E A S U R E

Hyundai picks 4th promotion winner

MUSCAT: In the recently held raffl e draw for half kilo gold, as part of the Hyundai Ramadan promotion, the fourth lucky win-ner was picked up.

A bouquet of benefi ts was of-fered as part of the promotion and was well received by custom-ers across Oman. Hyundai show-rooms all over Oman witnessed steady increase in customer walk-ins.

In the recently held raffl e draw for half kilo gold Khalil Moosa, a customer from Sumail, was picked up as the winner, says a press release.

Khalil Moosa had recently purchased the popular Hyundai Elantra from the OTE- Hyundai showroom at Sumail. Upon hear-ing the news of winning half kilo gold, he was throughly delighted and thanked god for showering the luck on him.

Hyundai’s award-winning Elantra has sold over 10 millionu-nits globally. Elantra is Hyundai’s fi rst model, and one of the only 10 cars in the history of the auto in-dustry, to reach 10 million sales. Elantra was launched 24 years ago in 1990 and has therefore sold an average of 420,000 per year or approximately 1,100 cars every day for 24 years.

Elantra exemplifi es Hyundai’s emotional ‘Fluidic Sculpture’ design principles. ‘Fluidic Sculp-ture’ considers the interplay of wind with rigid surfaces to create the illusion of constant motion. The side profi le of the Elantra showcases these fl owing lines, with the addition of a strong un-dercut feature line starting at the front door. These lines, along with the muscular wheel arches and a sleek roofl ine, create the unmistakable Elantra styling. The fl owing lines also enhance the vehicle aerodynamics.

Inside the Elantra, customers are treated to Hyundai’s exper-tise in interior packaging, light-ing, leading-edge design and craftsmanship.

The Elantra is off ered with 2 engine choices 1.8 L & 2 Land is mated with a six-speed auto-matic transmission, delivering smoother acceleration as well as better fuel economy.

Safety is at the core of Elantra’s design. Elantra was named “2014

Top Safety Pick” by the IIHS and is also the holder of a NHTSA fi ve-star overall crash safety rat-ing,

The current version of Elantra continues its high value propo-sition as a leading player in the highly-competitive compact car segment. This has been validated by several coveted accolades over the model’s lifecycle, including ranking the highest in its seg-ment for initial quality in the in-fl uential J.D. Power 2014 US Ini-tial Quality Study.

Elantra is also the three-time recipient (2011, 2012 and 2013) of the ALG Residual Value Awards and remains one of the top-shopped vehicles in the seg-ment. The combination of looks, reliability and robust build qual-ity make Elantra the preferred choice for used car buyers. The ALG Residual Value Awards also reinforce the choice.

Hyundai as a brand has made signifi cant strides on the back of sophisticated product design, quality, safety technology and exceptional value. No wonder, Hyundai has become one of the top automotive brands in the world. One has to test drive and discover what millions of satisfi ed Hyundai owners already experi-ence and enjoy — Hyundai stands for uncompromising quality.

Hyundai has a strong pres-ence in the passenger vehicles category in Oman with its wide range of sedans and SUVs, each in various trim variants. Hyundai sedan range in Oman include: Ac-cent, Elantra, Sonata and Azera, apart from the trendy Veloster and Veloster Turbo. The Grand i10, i20, i30 and i40 form the cut-ting edge ‘i’ series range that is designed to meet global customer needs. Hyundai’s range of SUVs: Tucson, Santa Fe and Grand Santa Fe are defi nitely the pick of the lot. Centennial and Genesis in the luxury car segment have been well received and are going from strength to strength.

OTE Group is the exclusive dealer of Hyundai’s range of ve-hicles in Oman. With a nation-wide network of showrooms and service centres, OTE Group ensures that Hyundai customers are never far from getting high quality service.

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India spoil Sangakkara’s farewell

COLOMBO: India spoiled Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara’s farewell party with Ravichandran Ashwin bowling the visitors to a series-levelling 278-run victory in the second Test on Monday.

Ashwin (fi ve for 42) and his spin colleague Amit Mishra (three for 29) ran through the Sri Lankan bat-ting order as the hosts, chasing 413 for an improbable victory, collapsed to 134 all out in their second innings.

Resuming on 72 for two, Sri Lan-ka lost skipper Angelo Mathews to the fi rst ball of the day, a setback that completely unhinged them

and they collapsed soon after to give Virat Kohli his fi rst Test vic-tory as India captain.

“A commendable eff ort by the boys, coming together nicely af-ter that kind of loss (at Galle), re-grouping very quickly and putting a performance like this,” Kohli said after the victory.

“We were pumped up to get wickets and we got a perfect start.

From there on, the bowlers real-ised it’s time to squeeze in now and build up some really good pres-sure,” he added.

Sri Lanka’s day begun in the worst possible fashion when India paceman Umesh Yadav struck with the fi rst ball of the morning which Mathews (23) edged for stand-in wicketkeeper Lokesh Rahul to take a diving, one-handed catch.

Rahul was keeping in place of regular India stumper Wriddhi-man Saha, who has been ruled out of the remainder of the series with a hamstring injury.

Mishra struck the next blow, pulling off a classical leg-spin-ner’s dismissal by bowling Dinesh Chandimal around his legs.

Ashwin and Mishra maintained relentless pressure on the hosts to

reduce them to 130-9 when rain brought a premature lunch, but the relief proved short lived as the hosts folded soon after the break.

“We did not play our best crick-et,” Mathews rued at the presenta-tion ceremony. “More disappoint-ing is we could not do it for Sanga, who deserved to leave the fi eld with a high and a win. We prom-ise him we will play our best in the

next game and win it for him.”Rahul, who struck a century

in the fi rst innings, was adjudged man of the match. Ashwin has been equally impressive and with 17 wickets from the fi rst two tests, he is likely to trouble Sri Lanka again in the third and fi nal test in Colombo starting on Friday.

Sangakkara, who made 32 and 18 in his 134th and fi nal Test, was given a rousing reception with the Indians shaking hands with him and the former captain be-ing hoisted by his teammates for a round of the stadium. - Reuters

Resuming on 72 for

two, Sri Lanka lost

skipper Mathews to

the fi rst ball of the

day, a setback that

completely unhinged

them and they

collapsed soon after

to give Virat Kohli

his fi rst Test victory

as India captain

India 1st innings: 393 Sri Lanka 1st innings: 306 India 2nd innings: 325 for 8 declared Sri Lanka 2nd innings:K. Silva c Binny b Ashwin 1 D. Karunaratne b Ashwin 46K. Sangakkara c Vijay b Ashwin 18A. Mathews c Rahul b Yadav 23D. Chandimal b Mishra 15L. Thirimanne c sub b Ashwin 11J. Mubarak c Kohli b I. Sharma 0D. Prasad c Mishra b Ashwin 0R. Herath not out 4T. Kaushal lbw Mishra 5D. Chameera lbw Mishra 4 Extras (lb-4, w-1, nb-2) 7Total (all out, 43.4 overs) 134 Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-33, 3-72, 4-91, 5-106, 6-111, 7-114, 8-123, 9-128.Bowling: Ashwin 16-6-42-5, Yadav 7-1-18-1, I. Sharma 11-2-41-1 (nb-2, w-1), Mishra 9.4-3-29-3.

SCOREBOARD

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Ku-mar Sangakkara said a tearful farewell to international cricket on Monday and was immedi-ately off ered the post of the island’s top envoy in Britain, where he plays county cricket.

Several thousand cheering fans, many of them schoolchil-dren waving Sri Lankan fl ags along with VIPs, turned out to salute Sangakkara at the end of the second Test against India in Colombo. “You have been a great honour to Sri Lanka,” President Maithripala Sirisena said in a televised ceremony at the P. Sara Oval for the formida-ble cricketer after the match.

Sangakkara, who turns out for Surrey in English county

cricket, did not directly address Sirisena’s announcement about the diplomatic post, later telling reporters he had been unpre-pared for the gesture.

“It was a surprise, I have to go and think about it and discuss with his excellency (the presi-dent)” Sangakkara said.

During the formal sendoff , the 37-year-old broke down as he thanked his parents for standing by him during his 15 years of cricket.

“All the support and love they showed over the years, whether I played cricket or not, whether I did well or not, the only place I could go and feel safe was home. So thank you ‘amma’ (mother) and ‘apachchi’ (father),” Sang-

akkara said, fi ghting back tears as fans cheered and clapped.

He also praised Indian captain Virat Kohli and his team for their tough opposition during his farewell match.

“Thank you for not giving any quarter,” he told the Indian team. “And thank you for really making it a privilege of mine to play against you.”

Hours after the emotional send-off , Sangakkara said he was looking forward to a “new innings” with his family.

“Thank you for the wonderful farewell,” he said on Twitter. “I will miss the cricket. But my amazing wife (Yehali) and children await my innings with them. Time for family.”

Thousands turned out on Sunday to see Sangakkara’s fi nal international innings. But he was denied a dream end to his career when he was caught tapping a full toss to the short mid-wicket fi elder for 18.

ICC chief executive David Richardson paid tribute to Sangakkara as “one of cricket’s greatest ever players and am-bassadors”.

“By scoring a total of 28,016 runs across all three formats, he puts himself in the higher echelons of players to ever grace the game. Sangakkara will rightly go down as one of cricket’s greatest-ever players and ambassadors,” Richardson said in an ICC statement. - AFP

Tearful Sanga offered diplomatic post

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India’s bowlers didn’t take much time to level the se-ries as they bundled out the

remainder of Sri Lanka’s bats-men a few minutes after lunch. The Lankan capitulation was a big surprise but once the skipper Angelo Mathews was dismissed off the fi rst ball of the day, the rest of the batsmen just didn’t seem to have an idea of how to stick around and delay the ending.

There was some rain before the game started and then just before lunch but by then India had only one wicket to take to win the Test. There was some more rain just after the presen-tation ceremony but whether that would have helped Sri Lan-ka is open to doubt.

However, it was the attitude of the batsmen that should

worry the Lankans and give In-dia the hope that just like Paki-stan, they too can go on to win the series.

With Sangakkara’s retire-ment the Lankan batting will be even weaker and the manner in which the Indians have bowled it will take an extraordinary in-nings like Dinesh Chandimal’s in the fi rst Test for the Lankans to spring a surprise on India.

The top order batsmen just don’t seem to have a clue how to play spin bowling and with Ashwin and Amit Mishra com-bining well India will be looking

to win the next Test too.Kohli didn’t take a false step

in this Test match and how quickly he had learnt from the defeat in the fi rst Test.

He confronted the Lankans with Ashwin straightaway on the fourth evening and Ashwin got two wickets including the retiring Sangakkara.

Ashwin has had such a hold over the left-handed legend that he has demoralised the rest of the Lankan batting too and made them shivering wrecks.

Only Chandimal in the fi rst Test attacked and got away but

when he tried to do that in the second innings again he missed out as the attempted sweep shot bowled him behind his legs.

No praise can be too high for the way Ashwin has bowled in the two Test matches so far. His variation in fl ight and the tra-jectories he has used has been exceptional and he just hasn’t allowed the Lankans a mo-ment’s breather. The new ball bowlers also have done a good job and Mishra is getting better the more he bowls.

It has been a team perfor-mance indeed and while this is usually a cliche, just have a look at how each member has made a contribution to the win and you will see that its been a con-certed eff ort.

With Sangakkara now not available the Lankans will have to show deep reserves of energy if they are hoping to salvage the series. It was in this aspect the Indians led by the indefatigable Virat Kohli were clearly more than a cut above the Lankans in this Test and thus levelled the series. - PMG

Kohli didn’t take a false step in this Test matchC O M M E N T A R Y

Kohli confronted the Lankans with Ashwin

straightaway on the fourth evening and Ashwin got

two wickets, including that of retiring Sangakkara.

Ashwin has had such a hold over the legend that

he has demoralised the rest of the team

ICC cannot revive Indo-Pak cricket ties: Zaheer Abbas

LAHORE: Zaheer Abbas, the pres-ident of cricket’s governing body, said on Monday his organisation could not intervene to revive regu-lar matches between India and Pa-kistan after the two countries can-celled high-level talks last weekend.

The arch-rivals were tentatively scheduled to play their fi rst full-series since 2007 in the United Arab Emirates, from December to January.

But the cancellation of high-lev-el talks between the two countries’ national security advisers that were scheduled to begin Sunday has put the tour in serious doubt.

Lowest pointIndia-Pakistan relations are at their lowest point in over a decade, with the two regularly trading fi re over the disputed de facto border of Kashmir in recent months.

Former batting great Abbas said the matter was out of the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s hands.

“What is the meaning of bilat-eral?” Abbas said.

“If both the countries decide then only it will happen, which is bilateral, otherwise it won’t and ICC cannot do anything.”

India stopped playing series fea-turing only the two countries fol-lowing the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were planned by militants inside Pakistan.

Last year both countries agreed to play six series from 2015 to 2023 with Pakistan hosting four, sub-ject to clearance from the Indian government.

Abbas, who assumed the hon-orary post in June this year, said world cricket sorely missed the decades-long Indo-Pakistani sporting rivalry.

“It’s imperative that the whole world watch (Pakistan play India), it’s like Australia playing England in the recent Ashes series, but all depends on the two countries,” said Abbas.

Abbas was at his best as a bats-man when India toured Pakistan in 1978, the fi rst series between the two countries after a 17-year hiatus due to political tensions, scoring 583 runs in three Tests.

Pakistan and India teams also stopped playing cricket matches against each other between 1989 and 1999. - AFP

R I V A L R Y

Oman Karting Team qualify for fi nal in Belgium

BRUSSELS: Oman Karting Team will conclude its participation in BNL Karting Series when it takes part in the sixth and fi nal round of the championship being held in Belgium.

The team had fi nished the fi fth round of the championship in the fi fth place as Sanad Al Rawahi managed to come fi fth.

Abdullah al-Rawahi had an ac-cident and was disqualifi ed on the 15th lap.

Shihab Al Habsi and Mo-hammed Al Habsi continued to gain experience in their fi rst participation in the European championships. - ONA

B N L S E R I E S

Lehmann bats away Warne criticism over team selection

LONDON: Australia coach Dar-ren Lehmann has dismissed criti-cism from Shane Warne that the selectors made a mistake in pick-ing Peter Siddle for the fi fth and fi nal Ashes Test against England.

Siddle, playing his fi rst match of the series, was far and away Aus-tralia’s best bowler at The Oval, taking four for 35 in England’s sec-ond innings as Australia won by an innings and 46 runs on Sunday.

But it was all too late to sway the destiny of the Ashes, with Australia’s win merely reducing the margin of England’s series vic-tory to 3-2.

Warne, commentating for Sky

Sports television, repeatedly sug-gested that 30-year-old paceman Siddle should have been picked for the fourth Test when the series was up for grabs and that come a dead runner at The Oval the se-lectors would have been better off having a look at a younger bowler such as Pat Cummins.

Certainly the way Siddle bowled at The Oval made his omission from the previous four Tests look

all the more bizarre with Warne, a close friend of retiring captain Michael Clarke, alleging that the skipper and Lehmann both want-ed Cummins to play at The Oval only to be over-ruled by chairman of selectors Rodney Marsh.

“Someone like Shane Warne always has his opinion because he loves an opinion full stop,” said Lehmann.

“That’s fi ne but he doesn’t know

what goes on behind the scenes and we’ll keep it like that. I’ll probably stop there. Peter bowled really well, I’m really pleased for him. Hats off to him, he was absolutely brilliant.”

Although not as fast as other members of Australia’s pace attack, Siddle provided a much-needed el-ement of control in the fi eld.

“We’re not saying we pick out and out fast bowlers all the time, obviously it may seem that way, but we pick the best team to try and win every game,” former Aus-tralia batsman Lehmann said.

As for Warne’s suggestion that Clarke hadn’t got his preferred team, Lehmann said: “In my time I can’t remember the captain not getting the side he wants.

“I think the captain has a really important part to play and he’s got to be really comfortable with the side he plays with.

“It’s our job to pick that fi nal XI but you always consult the cap-tain, that’s important.”

Home advantage Meanwhile this Ashes continued the modern trend of home teams dominating Anglo-Australian contests. Only once in the past eight Test series clashes between the arch-rivals have the away

team come out on top -- when An-drew Strauss’s England side won 3-1 in Australia in 2010-11.

And what is true of the Ashes is true of Test cricket as a whole, with just three of the last 14 com-pleted Test series won by the away team — Pakistan in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and Australia in the West Indies.

England’s Ashes win will cer-tainly be put into greater context by how Alastair Cook’s men fare on tough tours later this year that see them face Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates before trav-elling to South Africa.

“I think winning away from home for every Test country is the big thing now,” said Lehmann.

“That’s the challenge for the world game because there’s a huge advantage playing at home.

“We haven’t adapted well enough here, so it’s a big challenge when we come back here in 2019, but you can’t look that far ahead.

“What we’ve got to look at is a tough series against Bangladesh...we’ve got an away series against New Zealand, who are going to be tough over there.

“The team that plays well away from home will be the best team in the world.” - AFP

Warne suggested

that Siddle should

have been picked

for the fourth Test

when the series

was up for grabs

Someone like Shane

Warne always has

his opinion because

he loves an

opinion full stop

Darren LehmannAustralia coach

England rest Root for T20 and ODIsLONDON: England have rested Ashes-winner Joe Root, with the star batsman left out of the squads for both the upcoming lone Twenty20 international and fi ve One-day Internationals (ODI) against Australia.

Root, the Ashes player of the series after his 460 runs played a central role in England’s 3-2 win over the fi ve Tests, has been a key player in all three international formats in recent times.

But with England facing tough Test series away to Pakistan and South Africa later this year, Eng-land’s selectors have decided to give the 24-year-old a break from international duty.

Also omitted are senior bowl-ers James Anderson, currently out with a side strain, and Stu-art Broad, whose stunning eight

for 15 at his Trent Bridge home ground saw Australia skittled out for 60 in the third Ashes Test.

Neither Anderson nor Broad have played a 50-over one-day international since this year’s World Cup, which Australia won on home soil. Test skipper Alastair Cook, dropped from England’s squad before the global showpiece, was again omitted from white-ball duty.

Eoin Morgan will again cap-tain both squads, having led England in their miserable fi rst-round exit from the World Cup before overseeing a thrilling one-day series win at home to World Cup fi nalists New Zealand.

Left-arm seamer Reece Topley was the only uncapped player in either squad after being named in the Twenty20 party only.

England fi ned Meanwhile, England found themselves fi ned on Monday for a slow over-rate in the fi fth and fi nal Test at The Oval.

International Cricket Coun-cil match referee Jeff Crowe, the former New Zealand bats-man, ruled that Alastair Cook’s men were two overs short of the required rate in an innings-and-46-run loss in south London which, nevertheless, saw Eng-land emerge with a 3-2 series win over Australia. Cook, in his position as captain, was fi ned 40 percent of his match fee, and the remainder of his England team-mates 20 percent each

England T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, capt), Moeen Ali (Worces-tershire), Sam Billings (Kent), Jos But-tler (Lancashire, wkt), Steven Finn (Mid-

dlesex), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Sur-rey), Ben Stokes (Durham), Reece Top-ley (Essex), James Vince (Hampshire), David Willey (Northamptonshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).

England ODI squad: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, capt), Moeen Ali (Worces-tershire), Sam Billings (Kent), Jos But-tler (Lancashire, wkt), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Alex Hales, (Notting-hamshire), Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), David Wil-ley (Northamptonshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

Fixtures: Aug 31: Twenty20, Cardiff ; Sep 03: 1st ODI, Southampton (D/N); Sep 05: 2nd ODI, Lord’s; Sep 08: 3rd ODI, Old Traff ord (D/N); Sep 11: 4th ODI, Headingley; Sep 13: 5th ODI, Old Traff ord. - Agencies

A G A I N S T A U S S I E S

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SPORTST U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

Fraser-Pryce emulates Bolt

BEIJING: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce became the fi rst woman to win three world 100m titles and completed a Jamaican sprint dou-ble as she emulated Usain Bolt by storming to victory on Monday.

The pint-sized Jamaican, un-missable with a yellow fl owered garland on top of her bright green braids, shot out of the blocks and eased home, right arm raised, in 10.76 seconds.

Dutchwoman Dafne Schippers took silver in a national record of 10.81sec with American Tori Bowie claiming bronze (10.86) in the climax to day four at the World Athletic Championships.

Double Olympic champion Fraser-Pryce also won world gold in 2009 and 2013, and sealed her third title a day after Bolt won a thrilling 100m duel with America’s Justin Gatlin.

It came seven years after Fraser-Pryce came to the Bird’s Nest as an outsider at the 2008 Olympics, and left with 100m gold.

“When I ran the heats, I remem-bered when back in 2008 at the Olympic Games I was 21 years old,” Fraser-Pryce said.

“I expected nothing then. I came out here again tonight — with a gold medal.”

Fraser-Pryce, however, was out-done by Ezekiel Kemboi, the fl am-boyant Kenyan who held his nerve for a remarkable fourth consecu-tive world gold in the 3000m stee-plechase — an event he has domi-nated for the best part of 11 years.

“I’m so happy about my fourth consecutive title,” said Kemboi, who attacked the fi nal hurdle like a high hurdler when he sensed team-mate Conseslus Kipruto closing on him down the fi nal straight.

Kipruto eventually took silver with another Kenyan, Brimin Kip-rop Kipruto, completing the po-dium with bronze.

“The race was really fast. On the last lap nobody could follow me. I will be celebrating tonight with my teammates.”

Kemboi also won Olympic golds in 2004 and 2012, and was clear what his aim for next year would be.

“My next big goal, of course, are the Rio Olympic Games,” the 33-year-old said.

Mother of all comebacks Another champion to defend their title was Colombia’s Caterine Ib-arguen, who leapt 14.90 metres for triple jump gold and stretched her amazing winning streak to 29 competitions.

There was a second Kenyan track gold when Vivian Cheruiyot regained the women’s 10,000m ti-tle, producing a commanding last-lap surge for victory just a year af-ter starting a family.

Cheruiyot, who previously claimed the 10km title in Daegu in 2011 and is also a two-time world 5000m champion, clocked a win-ning time of 31:41.41.

“This is my real comeback,” beamed the Kenyan, who said will not attempt the double here.

“I had many thoughts in my head during the race but I told myself I want to win, no matter how hard it is. It is even more precious now af-ter I became a mother a year ago. I dedicate this medal to my son.”

But there was to be no happy ending for pole vault world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie, who had to settle for a share of bronze as his world championship jinx continued.

Canada’s Shawnacy Barber, 21, snatched gold with a best of 5.90 metres, winning on countback from defending champion Raphael Holzdeppe of Germany.

Olympic champion Lavillenie could only clear 5.80 for a share of third with Polish pair Piotr Lisek and Pawel Wojciechowski.

Lavillenie had previously won a silver in Moscow and two bronzes in the Berlin and Daegu worlds, but he was unable to claim a long-overdue gold as he came unstuck at 5.90m.

“I don’t know what went wrong,” he said. “5.90 usually is not diffi cult for me, but it happens to every-one. If it doesn’t want to go, it just doesn’t. I tried. I cannot hide my deception. Pole vault is like this.”

The contest came down to a bat-tle between Barber and Holzdeppe, the Canadian coming out victori-ous on countback.

“It’s been a crazy year,” said Barber. “I don’t think it has quite hit me yet, but I’m sure that will come tonight when we start celebrating.” - AFP

The pint-sized Jamaican, unmissable with a

yellow fl owered garland on top of her bright

green braids, shot out of the blocks and eased

home, right arm raised, in 10.76 seconds.

Double Olympic champion Fraser-Pryce

also won world gold in 2009 and 2013,

and sealed her third title

HISTORIC TREBLE: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, right, sprints on her way to winning the

women’s 100 metres fi nal at the IAAF World Athletic Championships at the National Stadium in

Beijing on Monday. – Reuters

I’m clean and FIFA isn’t corrupt: Blatter

LONDON: Sepp Blatter de-fended FIFA’s battered reputa-tion on Monday as the outgoing president insisted he is clean and there is no systemic corruption at world football’s governing body.

Blatter will offi cially step down in February amid two criminal investigations into the allegations of bribery and cor-ruption at FIFA.

Seven FIFA offi cials, includ-ing the now suspended vice president and executive com-mittee member, Jeff rey Webb, were among 14 people accused by the US justice department in May of taking bribes of more than $150 million.

The bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, controversially awarded by FIFA to Russia and Qatar respectively, are also be-ing probed by authorities in the United States and Switzerland.

Blatter, who has been FIFA president since 1998, was elect-ed for a fi fth term in May, but then shocked football by stand-ing down as the corruption scandal intensifi ed.

But the 79-year-old Swiss remains adamant he has done nothing wrong, claiming FIFA had been dragged down by the actions of rogue individuals.

“I know what I have done, what I have not done, I have my conscience and I know I’m an honest man. I am clean. I am not a worried man,” Blatter told the BBC. “I did it because I wanted to protect FIFA. I can protect myself. I am strong enough.”

Asked if FIFA had corruption at its core, Blatter said: “That’s not true. This has been created.

“The institution is not cor-rupt, there is no corruption in football. There is corruption with individuals, there is not a general organised corruption.

“It is with people. The institu-tion FIFA is not corrupt. People they are in FIFA, or they serve in FIFA, they may be.

“We have started with our re-forms in 2011. It’s not the insti-tution. That’s why I can’t under-stand when the media, the world media, say FIFA is corrupt.

“On the fi eld of play it’s easy to control all the players be-cause you have boundaries, a time limit, you have a referee. Outside of the fi eld of play you don’t have that. Who can con-trol 300 million directly, 1.6 bil-lion indirectly? It’s impossible.”

Blatter also defended him-self when quizzed about why he hadn’t exposed the behaviour of his FIFA colleagues. “I cannot take the moral responsibility for the behaviour of people.” - AFP

F O O T B A L L

Oman overcome Qatar for second successive victory

MUSCAT: Hosts Oman recorded their second victory in as many matches when they overcame a battling Qatar in the ongoing GCC Under-18 Volleyball Champion-ship at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Monday.

The Sultanate spikers, who be-gan their campaign with a three-set victory over Saudi Arabia

on Sunday, defeated Qatar in a thrilling encounter 29-27, 20-25, 30-28, 25-20.

Meanwhile, Kuwait accounted for Saudi Arabia 25-16, 25-16, 25-16 to hand their latter their sec-ond defeat. It’s Kuwait’s second win after their success against the UAE on the opening day.

In another match played on

Monday, Bahrain outlasted the UAE for a 25-16, 25-19, 28-30, 25-15. Bahrain had defeated Qatar in their fi rst match.

After a rest day, the action in the six-team round robin league tournament resumes on Wednes-day, when Kuwait face Oman, Qatar meet the UAE and Bahrain play Saudi Arabia.

G C C U - 1 8 V O L L E Y B A L L

ON A ROLL: Action from the match between Oman and Qatar in the GCC Under-18 Volleyball Cham-

pionship at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Monday. – JUN ESTRADA/Times of Oman

Ali to joinOman campon Aug 29

MUSCAT: Captain and star custodian Ali Al Habsi is ex-pected to join Oman team at the ongoing training camp on August 29.

According to information provided by the Oman Foot-ball Association (OFA), Paul Le Guen-coached Omanis are cur-rently preparing for the their next World Cup and Asia Cup qualifi er against Turkmenistan on September 3.

Besides Ali, who is busy with his English league engagements with Championship side Read-ing, Eid Al Farsi and Ahmed Mubarak ‘Kanu’ will also join-ing on the camp on the same day.

Appeal to fansPaul Le Guen has already called up 22 players for the camp. The team are scheduled to play a friendly match against Yemen on August 28 at Seeb Sports Stadium.

Meanwhile, former star Badr Al Maimani has urged the fans to support the team.

A member of Oman’s Gulf Cup-winning squad of 2009, Badr has recently joined the na-tional team setup in the admin-istrative capacity.

He appealed to all the soccer fans of the Sultanate to turn up in large numbers to support the team during their match against Turkmenistan.

F O O T B A L L

C4

SPORTST U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

MUSCAT: Oman Racing Team (ORT) driver Ahmad Al Harthy de-parted Snetterton 300 Circuit on Sunday, bitterly disappointed after an almost guaranteed victory in round seven of the Avon Tyres Brit-ish GT Championship went begging as a result of contact from a back-marker midway through the race.

Having qualifi ed on the front row for the fi rst of the weekend’s two 60-minute contests, just miss-ing out on pole position by a mere 0.026 seconds, the 33-year-old As-ton Martin Middle East and North Africa ambassador had justifi ably high hopes of a podium return at the very least.

Taking the opening stint of race one, Ahmad held third position into the fi rst corner and main-tained the placing over the course of the fi rst third of the race close behind the lead pair. At the end of lap 12, the Omani seized his chance on the brakes into Murrays to take second and when the pit-stop window opened shortly after, with 25 minutes having elapsed, he went on to inherit the lead.

Remaining on track a lap longer than the two lead Astons, Ahmad

pumped in an impressively com-mitted and quick lap in his Oman Air, Ministry of Sports Aff airs, Ooredoo, National Bank of Oman and Al Hashar Group liveried car to give new teammate Alex Mac-Dowall the best possible chance of emerging from their driver-change stop still ahead.

After great work by the team in the pits, MacDowall joined the track in the eff ective lead — with one car ahead still to serve its stop — and when all of the pit visits had been completed, the Briton held an advantage of around two sec-onds in the No.2 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.

Despite close attention from the pursuing McLaren of Andrew Watson, MacDowall remained in the lead untroubled but on lap 21 the race took an incredibly dra-matic turn for the worse when the Oman Racing Team entry was hit by an errant GT4 backmarker as MacDowall lapped the car.

Resulting in a signifi cant loss of time and damage to the steering and tracking, MacDowall did man-age to coax the Aston to the fi nish in ninth place but the result was far from what the team deserved after such a strong performance.

“That was a win there for us”,

said a thoroughly disappointed Ah-mad. “My pace was strong, Alex was too, and we had quite a good start. I maintained third for a while and then had a chance to make a pass for second which worked out well. We knew we had a good pit-stop turna-round time, so we didn’t go with the rest and decided to pit one lap later.

“I put a really hard lap in to try and give us the best chance, after the stop when Alex came out in the car we had the lead and it was looking very good. The car was good, everything was good, and then a GT4 car just lost control and hit Alex – there was nothing he could do. He managed to get the car home, so we got some points, but we’re here to win and today we had a great chance to do that.”

From the warmth and dry con-ditions of race one, round eight later in the day took place in the wet and from 12th on the grid the Oman Racing Team duo aimed to hit back strongly. MacDowall took the fi rst stint and worked his way into ninth place prior to the driver-change at the halfway point.

When Ahmad got behind the wheel, he rejoined in 12th position but made excellent progress as the rain worsened at the Norfolk track. With a quarter of an hour to

run he held seventh position but, a few moments later, race offi cials opted to bring the contest to an early conclusion as a result of the amount of standing water on the track — seventh marking the duo’s best result of the weekend.

There is now a three week break in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship calendar with the fi nal race of the season, round nine, set to take place at Don-ington Park Grand Prix Circuit on September 13.

Snetterton 300 Circuit, Rd7 Re-sults: 1. Oman Racing Team – Liam Grif-fi n/Rory Butcher – Aston Martin; 2. TF Sport – Andrew Jarman/Jody Fannin – Aston Martin; 3. TF Sport – Derek John-ston/Matt Bell – Aston Martin.

Snetterton 300 Circuit, Rd8 Results: 1. Beechdean AMR – Andrew Howard/ Jon-ny Adam – Aston Martin; 2. Team Russia by Barwell Racing – Jon Minshaw/Phil Keen – BMW Z4; 3. 22GT Racing – Mark Farmer/Jon Barnes – Aston Martin.

Provisional 2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship GT3 Driver Stand-ings: 7. Ahmad Al Harthy, 54 pts.

Provisional 2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship GT3 Silver Cup: 1. Ah-mad Al Harthy, 103 pts.

Provisional 2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship GT3 Team Standings: 2. Oman Racing Team, 189.5 pts.

The car was good,

everything was good,

and then a GT4 car

just lost control and

hit Alex – there was

nothing he could do

Ahmad Al HarthyORT Racer

Errant backmarker ends Ahmad’s victory hopesHaving qualifi ed

on the front row

for the fi rst of the

weekend’s two

60-minute contests,

the 33-year-old Aston

Martin Middle East

and North Africa

ambassador had

justifi ably high hopes

of a podium return

at the very least

SO NEAR YET SO FAR: Ahmad Al Harthy in action at Snetterton. – Supplied photo

F1 counts its lucky stars

Formula One can count its lucky stars after Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg

escaped unscathed from high-speed tyre blowouts at the Belgian Grand Prix. Had the incidents in-volving Germany’s top two cur-rent drivers happened moments earlier, the sport could have been heading for a very dark place in-deed so soon after the death of French racer Jules Bianchi.

Bianchi’s demise, nine months after he suff ered severe head in-juries in a Japanese Grand Prix crash last October, put safety back in the spotlight and the dramatic events at Spa raised more concern.

“Things like that are not al-lowed to happen. Full stop. If it happened 200 metres earlier, I am not standing here now,” said four times world champion Vet-tel after his Ferrari’s right rear tyre exploded on Sunday’s penul-timate lap.

Moments before, the German had blasted through the famed and feared Eau Rouge at more than 300kph.

Compatriot Rosberg, second in the championship and battling Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamil-ton for the title, also suff ered a right rear failure in Friday practice.

“For either of us — for me on Friday or for him (Vettel) — if that would have happened a couple of metres earlier or later we would have had huge shunts,” he said. “I mean the biggest shunts ever, be-cause this track is just so fast.

“The next track is Monza, the fastest track of the year, so they have to think of something to try and improve that situation,” added Rosberg, whose wife is due to give birth to their fi rst child this week and will not have been calmed by events in Spa.

Bad newsVettel, who lost out on a podium fi nish, did not hold back on the expletives and said the drivers would have to discuss matters before the Italian Grand Prix.

Monza is a home race for both Ferrari and Pirelli, the sport’s sole tyre supplier, and the timing is bad news for the latter.

The Italian-based company are bidding against French rivals Michelin, who want to provide a bigger and much more durable tyre, for a new contract from 2017.

Commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone will ultimately de-cide who gets the contract and while it may come down to other factors, safety concerns cannot be ignored.

While some questioned Fer-rari’s aggressive strategy in try-ing to get Vettel to the fi nish on just one stop, others felt the tyres should have been able to last.

Certainly, Vettel was over-heard remonstrating with Pirelli motorsport head Paul Hembery after the race: “Forty laps, you told us,” he said.

Pirelli issued a subsequent statement to point out that, after a spate of six failures at the 2013 British Grand Prix, their request

for a maximum number of laps to be allowed on the same set of tyres had been rejected.

“These conditions, if applied today at Spa, would have limited the maximum number of laps on the medium compound to 22,” it added. Vettel had done 28.

Lotus trackside operations manager Alan Permane, whose French driver Romain Grosjean fi nished third, questioned wheth-er tyre wear was really the reason.

“They (the tyres) would gen-erally get to being undriveable before they became unsafe; you would pit stop way before any-thing like that happened,” he told reporters. “I’d be very surprised if it was a wear-related failure, because they lose performance as you wear them down.”

Ferrari principal Maurizio Ar-rivabene said the team’s strategy was “absolutely right” and based on data.

“We are not so stupid or so crazy to take a risk for the driver,” he added, pointing out that Pirelli had an engineer embedded with the team. “Don’t worry, our job was done right.”

Vettel was one of several, along with Hamilton and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, to voice con-cerns about the tyres in the pre-race drivers’ briefi ng.

“I don’t know what else needs to happen,” the German said af-ter the race. “It’s probably not as bad as it was in Silverstone some years ago but it’s not acceptable.

“If Nico tells us he didn’t go off the track, he didn’t go off the track. Why should he lie to us? Same with me. I didn’t go off the track. It’s just out of the blue, the tyre explodes.” - Reuters

M O T O R S P O R T

Had the incidents

involving Germany’s

top two current drivers

happened moments

earlier, the sport could

have been heading

for a very dark place

indeed so soon after

the death of French

racer Jules Bianchi.

Bianchi’s demise,

nine months after he

suffered severe head

injuries in a Japanese

Grand Prix crash last

October, put safety

back in the spotlight

C5

SPORTST U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

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The Wave make it three in a row, Oman Air finish in fifth place

MUSCAT: The Wave, Muscat made it three in a row on Sun-day when Leigh McMillan and his team added the St Petersburg crown to the 2015 Extreme Sail-ing Series set with an emphatic win achieved with a race still to go while Oman Air put another steep arc in their learning curve.

Pulling out all the stops in front of massive crowds on the River Neva, McMillan and his trium-

phant crew of Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Ed Smyth and Nasser Al Mashari started the day with a win and kept the pressure on right up to the end.

Resounding winA sixth place in the penultimate race was enough to secure them

the Russia title which was fortu-nate since they incurred a penalty for starting early in the fi nal race.

Their overall win was a re-sounding one, with second placed Lino Sonego Team Italia trailing by 18 points.

It was one of their fi nest wins this year, said a delighted McMil-

lan who fi rst won the Extreme Sailing Series in 2012 then re-tained the title the following year, and edges them one step closer to winning the title for the third time.

“Everything seemed to go our way from the moment we arrived and it felt good,” said McMillan.

“It doesn’t often happen like that

and it has been a long time since everything clicked in the way it has in Russia so yes, I would say this was the best event so far this year for us.

“But there are still two events to go this year in Istanbul and Sydney so we are not getting carried away but this has been a game changer

and if we keep on sailing well and confi dently, it would be fantastic to win a third title.”

Their success comes on the back of wins in Cardiff in June and Hamburg last month and refl ects a lot of hard work and a growing confi dence, said Al Mashari.

“The win in Cardiff was impor-tant for us and we have been a lot more confi dent and relaxed since then which has been refl ected in our performances and results. But we are happy with this result. Very happy and proud to add another win for Oman.”

Oman Air fi nished in fi fth place after a day of mixed fortunes which included a win in the second race and a string of fourth places.

It left them nine points off the podium but served as a valuable learning experience, said skipper Stevie Morrison.

“We are sailing well and had we pulled off something special in the last double points race, could have fi nished on the podium because it was very tight between third and sixth. But it wasn’t to be this time even though we tried our best.”

“Our teamwork is good and we loved this venue because it was such a challenge with the light winds and strong currents but experience pays in this sort of racing and we are still a rela-tively new team so we are already looking ahead to Istanbul and making plans.”

The next event in the 2015 Ex-treme Sailing Series takes place in Istanbul from October 1 to 4.

Pulling out all the

stops in front of

massive crowds

on the River Neva,

McMillan and his

triumphant crew of

Sarah Ayton, Pete

Greenhalgh, Ed

Smyth and Nasser Al

Mashari started the

day with a win and

kept the pressure on

right up to the end

HAT-TRICK: The Wave, Muscat crew celebrate after their triumph. – Supplied photo

Pirelli hit back in war of words with Ferrari over ‘unacceptable’ tyresSPA-FRANCORCHAMPS: A war of words over tyre safety be-tween Pirelli and Ferrari raged on Monday in the aftermath of Sun-day’s Belgian Grand Prix, won in consummate fashion by defending two-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

The Italian rubber suppliers hit back after being told by Fer-rari driver four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, who was victim of a high-speed blowout on the pe-nultimate lap, that their tyres were “unacceptable”.

The German was running third in the race behind Briton Hamil-ton and his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg at the time. His tyre failure, on the Kemmel Straight, cost him his fi nish and his points and, he claimed afterwards, that it could have cost him his life.

“If this had happened 200 me-tres earlier, I am not standing here answering your questions now,” he said. “I am with 300 kph in the bar-riers at Eau Rouge,” he said. “This is unacceptable.”

Pirelli, however, heaped the blame for Vettel’s terrifying high-speed puncture on Ferrari for choosing to use a one-stop strat-egy in a race in which most teams stopped twice for new tyres.

Vettel had completed 28 laps since his pit stop when his right rear tyre disintegrated. Ferrari said their strategy was sound and based on team data approved by a Pirelli technician.

“All the teams have an engi-neer from Pirelli, and what do you think that engineer is doing?” said Ferrari team boss Maurizio Ar-rivabene. “He’s not there to chew chewing gum. He’s there to check the tyres and to read the data from the team.”

As the dispute intensifi ed, Pirel-li issued a statement in which they

claimed that Formula One’s teams had rejected a proposal that would have prevented the Vettel incident.

The statement said: “Since No-vember, 2013, Pirelli requested that there should be rules to gov-ern the maximum number of laps that can be driven on the same set of tyres, among other parameters to do with correct tyre usage.

“This request was not accepted. The proposal put forward a maxi-mum distance equivalent to 50 per cent of the grand prix distance for the prime tyre and 30 per cent for the option.

“These conditions, if applied to-day at Spa, would have limited the maximum number of laps on the medium compound to 22.”

Vettel left the circuit soon after the race without conducting his usual media work with Ferrari, following on the heels of German Nico Rosberg of Mercedes, who was the victim of a similar high-speed tyre failure in practice on Friday afternoon.

“We had something similar on Friday,” said the furious Vettel. “Nico said on Friday he didn’t go off track, I didn’t go off track, so there is no explanation for what happened. And as a matter of fact it is not safe.”

Vettel’s Ferrari team boss Mau-rizio Arrivabene had defended his team’s decision to give Vettel a one-stop strategy, insisting it was “nothing stupid or crazy” and it was based on data from Pirelli.

“The strategy was absolutely right,” he said. “I want to clear that up immediately, because when we do the strategy we have the data, and the data is based on the strategy.

“Seb is of course disappointed. When you have one and a half laps and you can see the third position on the podium and you are going to lose it suddenly of course you are disappointed.”

Although Vettel was vociferous in his criticism of Pirelli, Arriva-bene said he preferred not to com-ment on their products.

“I don’t want to open any kind of fi ght. I don’t want to start a story going back and forwards,” he said.

It was a forlorn hope. Pirelli motorsport director Paul

Hembery said he was surprised by Ferrari’s strategy.

He said: “It (Vettel’s tyre) was at the end of wear life. Any time in the world, when it gets to the end of its wear life then you’re going to have a problem. We thought the strat-egy was going to be based on two, three stops as you saw the majority do. They (Ferrari) felt clearly they could make it work on the one-stop.

“The wear life was indicated at around 40 laps, but it’s an indica-tion. You don’t guarantee because it’s variable car-to-car, on the race conditions, race situation. Some-times it’s not a precise data.”

Hamilton’s 39th career vic-tory lifted him 28 points clear of Rosberg in the drivers’ title race with eight races remaining. The next event is next month’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza. - AFP

F 1

‘END OF WEAR LIFE’: Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel steers his car into the safety area after a tyre failure

during the Belgian F1 Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, on Sunday. – Reuters

Lotus hoping for Renault takeoverS PA - F R A N C O R C H A M PS : Romain Grosjean’s third place in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix was just what Lotus needed as they wait for Renault to decide whether to buy back the troubled Formula One team.

With bailiff s seeking to im-pound the team’s cars after the race at Spa, trackside operations director Alan Permane was open about the situation.

“We would welcome them back with open arms obviously,” he said of speculation about a Re-nault move. “We’ve got a great re-lationship and a great partnership with Mercedes but to be a works team again would be fantastic.

“To build on what we have got now, to build on the chassis we have done this year and then try to emulate what we did in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, that’s what we want to do,” he told Sky television.

Renault, currently engine suppliers to Red Bull and sister team Toro Rosso, sold their title-winning team after a Singapore GP race-fi xing scandal erupted in 2009. They are assessing their future in the sport with the main options being to quit or return as team owners.

Lotus have the pedigree, their Enstone factory home to cham-pions Benetton — who won the 1994 and 1995 drivers’ titles with Michael Schumacher and then became Renault. They took the 2005 and 2006 crowns with Spaniard Fernando Alonso.

“We haven’t actually really been developing,” said Permane of their current woes. “We brought a new front wing here, that’s about the only thing we’ve done. With a bit of input this third place would have been an easy third place.

“We could have done an awful

lot better this season with a little bit more investment and funding. Having said that our owners have kept us going.

“Through the hard times they’ve put money in,” added Permane. “They’ve kept the team running and kept us coming to the races.”

In Belgium, a legal dispute with former French reserve Charles Pic explained the presence of bailiff s. At the previous race in Hungary, Pirelli withheld tyres until a bank payment had been processed while a separate wind-ing-up petition brought against them by a supplier in Britain was settled out of court.

“This is the worst season we have had fi nancially and we have scrimped and scraped for parts and to get the cars on the track is a massive eff ort each week,” said Permane. “So to be able to stick it on the podium is just unbelievable.” - Reuters

T R O U B L E D

Renault, currently

engine suppliers to

Red Bull and sister

team Toro Rosso, sold

their title-winning

team after a Singapore

GP race-fixing scandal

erupted in 2009. They

are assessing their

future in the sport

C6

SPORTST U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

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about it

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Sai Prem dazzles at ISC tourneyMUSCAT: Thirteen-year-old M.V. Sai Prem has put in daz-zling performances at the An-nual Table Tennis Tournament organised by the Indian Social Club Muscat and co-sponsored by Muscat Insurance Services (MIS) and Oman United Insurance Company (OUIC).

Sai Prem has emerged as a threat not only to players in his age-group but in the senior cat-egory as well.

Sai Prem has entered the semi-fi nal of the boys under-13 after upsetting second seed Sanskar Dubey in a fi ve-game thriller 11-7, 11-88-11, 9-11, 11-5.

He followed it up with a spirited performance in the boys under-17 singles where he gave highly rated Armaan Sattikar a scare before going down fi ghting with Armaan edging to a narrow 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-13, 11-8 victory.

Sai Prem was brilliant in his

match against fancied Yash Tanna in the boys under-15 round-robin league. Sai Prem played with con-viction and self-confi dence to defeat fancied Yash Tanna in fi ve

thrilling games 14-12, 11-4, 6-11, 10-12, 11-9 but the crowning point of his performances so far has been his brilliant victory over sea-soned campaigner Anoop Bheda

that came in the fi rst round of the men’s singles.

Sai Prem played with unin-hibited confi dence and held his nerves in the fourth game to claw back and score a brilliant 11-4, 11-7, 7-11, 13-11 morale boosting victory.

Men’s top second seed Armaan Sattikar coasted into the second round with a fi ghting 11-7, 12-10, 11-9 victory over Sanjeev Vyas while third seed Subash Pillai downed Rajesh Mehta with a con-vincing 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 victory.

Fourth seed P. Sai Saran over-came Shounak Kelkar 7-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4.

In other fi rst round matches of the men’s singles, Yash Tanna got the better of Pranav Vinod 11-2, 6-11, 11-5, 11-6.

R. Subramanian, meanwhile, ousted Percy Pereira 11-7, 11-2, 11-6, Simon Joseph beat Sagayaraj 11-6, 11-6, 11-6.

T A B L E T E N N I S

IN FINE TOUCH: M.V. Sai Prem

Anxious last week for managers as big clubs eye their starsLONDON: With just over a week to go until the British transfer win-dow closes for four months, several Premier League clubs are steeling themselves to resist raids on their young stars from bigger rivals.

The managers of West Brom-wich Albion, Everton and South-ampton, to name but three, fear new bids for players they have in-sisted they want to keep.

And all three have criticised the way the window will still be open four matches into the new Premier League season, which started a week earlier than usual because of next summer’s European Champi-

onship fi nals. Southampton’s man-ager Ronald Koeman described the Sept 1 deadline as “crazy” and said it should be on Aug 1, before any matches are played.

He is concerned about specula-tion linking his Senegalese winger Sadio Mane to Manchester United and Kenyan midfi elder Victor Wanyama to Tottenham. After Southampton’s 0-0 draw at Wat-ford on Sunday he insisted “no-body is for sale”.

One of the problems has been that playing three or four games while the window is still open ena-bles rich clubs to identify weak-

nesses in their squad, sometimes caused by additional injuries or suspensions.

Tottenham fall into that catego-ry and manager Mauricio Pochet-tino, who was in charge at South-ampton before leaving last year, is reported likely to be reunited with Wanyama. The fi rst three games have also exposed his team’s over-dependence on striker Harry Kane and Pochettino confi rmed last week he wanted another forward.

Without naming West Brom-wich’s England Under-21 inter-national Saido Berahino, who is widely believed to be the main tar-

get, the Spurs manager said at the weekend that “maybe in the next few days we can strengthen the team a little bit more”.

Tottenham’s chairman Daniel Levy has a reputation for leaving deals until the last minute and the selling club has little or no time to fi nd a replacement.

Albion have already paid a club record fee for a new striker of their own in Salomon Rondon from Ze-nit St Petersburg. The continuing rumours about Berahino, however, have annoyed manager Tony Pulis, who left him out of Sunday’s home defeat by Chelsea.

“Saido’s a great lad but this can be disruptive,” he said. “There’s loads of things going on and there’s peo-ple saying things and doing things. It’s the transfer window that caus-es the problem. There are still seven days to go. The kid shouldn’t have this problem. Nobody should. The season has started.”

Everton have been aware for some time of Chelsea’s interest in young England defender John Stones, which is likely to have increased after the champions conceded seven goals in their fi rst three games and now have captain and centre-half John Terry sus-

pended following his sending-off at West Bromwich.

Everton’s captain Phil Jagielka, who plays alongside the 21-year-old Stones, said in interviews be-fore Sunday’s defeat by Manchester City that the present system led to uncertainty and “unsettles people”.

“I cannot get my head round why it works the way it does,” he added.

Everton manager Roberto Mar-tinez reiterated after the match how keen the club were to keep Stones.

But like Tony Pulis, Ronald Koe-man and others, he faces an un-comfortable wait until 1700 GMT next Tuesday. - Reuters

T R A N S F E R W I N D O W

Mourinho ‘convinced’ Pedro to join Chelsea

Madrid: Spanish international Pedro Rodriguez has admitted that Jose Mourinho played a major role in convincing him to join the Eng-lish champions ahead of Premier League rivals Manchester United and Manchester City.

Pedro played a starring role with a goal and an assist on his debut as Mourinho’s men got their fi rst victory of the season at the third attempt in a 3-2 win at West Brom on Sunday.

Diego Costa and Cesar Azpili-cueta got Chelsea’s other goals at the Hawthorns and Pedro also said their presence and that of former Barca teammate Cesc Fabregas pushed him towards a move to Stamford Bridge.

“Mourinho phoned me and the truth is I liked what he had to say and he convinced me,” Pedro said at a farewell press conference in Barcelona on Monday.

“It wasn’t just Mourinho. I would say to the Barca fans I also liked the club, the chance to live in London and having friends already in the team.

“There was interest from many clubs in England. We already know

about Manchester United’s inter-est and they are a great club.

“When the best teams in the world like (Manchester) City, United or Chelsea are interested in you it is fl attering. In the end I think Chelsea were ones that were most interested and found the quickest solution to my situation.

“I don’t regret it because Chel-sea are a great club with very good players and where we want to win titles like at Barcelona.”

Pedro scored 99 goals and won

20 trophies with the Catalans, in-cluding fi ve La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues.

However, he found himself down the pecking order as Barca won the treble last season behind the lethal front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

“The most important factor in my decision to leave was the lack of opportunities. I wanted to feel important, to have minutes on the fi eld and play in important match-es,” he added.

“There are many good memo-ries. I have had the luck to experi-ence a very good era in which we have won many trophies and I have scored in fi nals.

“I am left with those moments of euphoria and happiness when we won titles.

“I go with my head held high and having learned a lot from leg-ends of the club like Andres (Ini-esta), Xavi (Hernandez), (Carlos) Puyol and the best player in the world (Messi).” - AFP

Pedro played a

starring role on his

debut as Mourinho’s

men got their fi rst

victory of the season

in a 3-2 win at West

Brom on Sunday

FAREWELL MEET: Barcelona’s forward Pedro Rodriguez pictured during a farewell press conference

for his departure from the club to English football team Chelsea at the Sports Center FC Barcelona

Joan Gamper near Barcelona on Monday. – AFP

Wawrinka rant earns Kyrgios suspended ban

PARIS: Australia’s tennis bad-boy Nick Kyrgios was on Monday handed a suspended ban and fi ne by the ATP for his lurid verbal attack on Stan Wawrinka at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

In a statement the ATP found 20-year-old Kyrgios guilty of “ag-gravated behaviour” and served

him with a 28-day ban and $25,000 fi ne. But both punish-ments will be waived if Kyrgios avoids any fi nes for verbal or physical abuse at ATP events over the next six months.

“Once the player has met those conditions the penalties will be formally dismissed,” the ATP said.

“If the conditions are not met the penalties will be invoked after any appeals process is exhausted.”

Kyrgios made headlines around the world after crude remarks concerning Wawrinka’s reported girlfriend, teenager Donna Vekic, during a match against the Swiss ace in Montreal.

Kyrgios, who was fi ned $10,000 by the ATP for his courtside sledge at the time, issued a state-ment apologising for his remarks, insisting they were made “in the heat of the moment”.

Wawrinka had called on the ATP to take “major action this time” against Kyrgios. - AFP

T E N N I S

Benitez dogged by lack of Real goalsMADRID: Real Madrid’s new coach Rafa Benitez said last week he was not concerned about his side’s relative goal drought in their fi nal warm-up matches before they began their latest La Liga campaign at promoted Sporting Gijon.

Those words came back to haunt him on Sunday as his ex-pensively assembled team were held to a 0-0 draw at Gijon’s Molinon stadium, with the likes of FIFA Ballon d’Or winner Cris-tiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, the world’s most expensive play-er, drawing a blank.

It was a triumph for modest Gi-jon, whose annual budget in 2014-15 was more than 100 times small-er than Real’s, while Benitez was left bemoaning a lack of shooting accuracy from his players but in-sisting he was still optimistic Real can secure silverware this term.

Benitez, who was a player and coach in Real’s academy before stints in charge at clubs includ-ing Valencia, Liverpool, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Napoli, replaced the sacked Carlo Ancelotti after

Real failed to win the Champions League, La Liga or the King’s Cup last season.

“We fi nished up playing a 4-3-3 formation to try to keep the play-ers who could score high up the pitch, have more control in the middle and have the fullbacks off er width,” Benitez told a news conference.

“I think that we managed all that but we lacked precision in the fi nal ball and weren’t clinical enough in front of goal,” added the 55-year-old. “It’s a matter of steadily improving our precision, our physical fi tness and the way we function as a unit.”

Real’s next La Liga outing is at home to Real Betis on Saturday, when the demanding fans at the Bernabeu will be expecting en-tertaining football and a resound-ing victory.

Anything less and Benitez could already be subjected to the angry whistling that dogged An-celotti’s second and fi nal season.

Captain Sergio Ramos said there was no need to worry about the recent lack of goals. - Reuters

L A L I G A

‘Mahrez is priceless’LONDON: Leicester City man-ager Claudio Ranieri cannot put a price on Riyad Mahrez, the mid-fi elder who has emerged as the Premier League’s leading scorer after three matches.

The Algerian has four goals to his name — the same number as he scored in 30 appearances last sea-son. “Riyad Mahrez is worth noth-ing because we don’t sell him,” Ra-nieri told a news conference ahead of Tuesday’s League Cup tie at League One (third tier) club Bury.

“There is no price for him. We don’t want to sell him.

“I try to help Mahrez to be a complete player. I want to help him improve defensively. I think he can get better, he’s young.”

Mahrez, 24, signed from Le Havre in January 2014, has scored in each of Leicester’s three league games so far, help-ing them take seven points. They are second in the table after being tipped by many pundits as relega-tion material. - Reuters

T O P S C O R E R

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

DiningSECTIONC L I F E S T Y L E T U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

R E C I P E S P A L L A V I N I G A M

P H O T O G R A P H Y S H A B I N E .

LITTLE INDULGENCESNo-Bake Teacup Cakes

I, for one, don’t need the excuse of a special occasion to bake a cake.

The moist, crumbly confections make even a typical night at home feel a bit more

celebratory. But my family and I also don’t need a big cake sitting around tempting

us for the rest of the week. So, I came up with a sweet solution: single-serving

cakes “baked” in cups. The best part about the pretty little midweek treats? They

take mere minutes to make and you won’t even need to turn on your oven.

LIFESTYLEC8 T U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

PHOT

OGR

APH

Y: S

HA

BIN

E

PallaviNigam

Even the best of cooks can get hung up when it comes to cooking fi sh.

Here are four tips to help you avoid common seafood snafus.

By Swati Dasgupta

Fussy Fish

1. If you are cooking fi sh fi llets in stock or other liquids, take care to simmer rather than boil, as intense heat can leave you with fish that’s overcooked on the outside and undercooked on the inside, or simply overcooked. The violent boiling can also break the delicate flesh.

2. Over-turning and flipping fish fillets is a sure way to end up with broken pieces. Let the fil-

let get a good sear on one side (at which point it will release easily from the pan) and then flip and cook briefly on the other side (it will take half as long as the first side).

3. While frying fi sh make sure that the pan and the oil are hot enough. If you do not pre-heat the pan well before adding your fi sh pieces, they are likely to stick and tear when you try to fl ip them.

4. For frozen fish fillets, be sure to defrost completely (and safely, by running under cold water) and pat dry before frying to ensure even cooking.

Struggling with a kitchen

calamity of your own? Want

advice? Share your horror stories

and your cooking tips with

swati@timesofoman.com

KITCHENCALAMITIES

TEACUP APPLE-CINNAMON CRUMBLEMore crunchy crumble than cake, this brown sugar and apple teacup treat goes great with vanilla ice cream. Makes 1 mug cake.

Ingredients• 3tbsp fl our• 1 heaping tbsp brown sugar• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon• 1/8 tsp baking powder• 1 tbsp apple sauce• 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil• 1/2 tbsp milk• 1/8 tsp vanilla extractFor crumble topping• 1 tbsp butter• 2 tbsp fl our• 1tbsp brown sugar

Preparation• In a small mug, mix the dry ingredi-

ents — fl our, brown sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder — then add apple sauce and mix until just combined (it will be thick and sticky).

• Add vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla; stir until wet (do not over mix).

• In a separate bowl, combine butter, fl our, and brown sugar, with a fork.

• Add to the mug and microwave on high for about 45 seconds (Take care not to overcook the cake or it will dry out fast).

• Top with ice cream and serve.

TEACUP VANILLA SPONGE CAKEThis rich, buttery sponge cake is topped with vanilla buttercream frosting. I love it alongside a cup of Earl Grey tea. Makes 2 cakes. Ingredients• 2tbsp butter• 1 large egg• 2tbsp milk• 1tsp vanilla• 1/4 cup granulated sugar• 6tbsp of self-rising fl ourFor the icing• 1tbsp of soft butter• 2tbsp of icing sugar (powdered sugar)• 1/8 tsp of vanilla extract• 1 drop of blue colour

Preparation• Melt butter in a mug in the microwave.

After it cools a bit, add the egg, milk, va-nilla, and sugar; whisk.

• Fold in the fl our until well incorporated and smooth. Divide the mixture into 2 mugs and microwave separately for 30 seconds each. Cool and then do the icing.

• To prepare the icing: Beat the butter until smooth, adding the icing sugar a little at a time.

• When well-mixed and smooth, mix in vanilla and colouring.

TEACUP RED VELVET CAKEThis chocolaty mug cake is spiked with cinnamon and topped with a luscious cream cheese icing that goes great with a glass of cold milk. Makes 1 large mug cake.

Ingredients• 3tbsp oil• 3 tbsp buttermilk (substitute sour cream

or yoghurt if not available)• 1 egg• 1tsp vanilla extract• 4tbsp fl our• 4 1/2 tbsp sugar• 1/8 tsp baking powder• 1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder• Pinch of salt• Pinch of cinnamon• 1/2 tsp red food colouringFor the icing• 1tsp of cream cheese• 1tbsp of icing sugar• 1/8 tsp of vanilla extract

Preparation• Mix all the wet ingredients — oil, but-

termilk, egg, and vanilla extract — until smooth in an oversized mug using a fork.

• Combine the dry ingredients — fl our, sugar, baking powder, unsweetened co-coa powder, salt, cinnamon, and food colour —and add to wet ingredients, mixing until well combined.

• Cook in microwave for about 50 seconds. Check for doneness by piercing, knife should come out clean. Be careful not to overcook as batter will become dense and rubbery.

• For icing: beat cheese, sugar and vanilla together until smooth.

Let cake cool slightly before icing.

Pallavi Nigam completed her

culinary education at ICIF in

Italy and worked as a chef for

Grand Hyatt, Mumbai. She is now

based in Muscat where she writes

recipes and takes cooking classes.

Contact her:

pallavi_nigam@hotmail.com

twitter @pallavizza

pallavizza.com

Easy to make and as

pretty to look at as they

are delicious to eat,

these individual cakes

are great for parties.

MASTERCHEF

LIFESTYLEC9T U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

If you ask me how I will make your meal special I will say maybe by making a new version of Nolen Gurer Sondesh (milk cake with jaggery) or Chicken Shukto (Chicken with bitter mixed veg-etables), one that is quite unheard of,”

Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor said, clearly playing to my East Indian roots. I couldn’t help but smile. The chef who had charmed the whole world with his food, was just as adept at charm-ing with his words.

With the longest running cookery show and the distinction of being the fi rst chef in the world to start his own 24x7 television channel, Sanjeev Kapoor is the most celebrated and recognisable face in the arena of Indian cuisine. He was here in Muscat to launch his latest venture, a chain res-taurant called The Yellow Chilli, which he opened at The Wave Muscat.

The phenomenal chef began his journey with everything but fame on his mind.

“People do credit me for changing the face of Indian cuisine globally and I do thank them for that but I never did anything with the intention to become famous. I did what I liked doing with immense sincerity and honesty,” he explained, de-scribing his passion for authenticity and making the entire process of cooking a pleasure. “I don’t know how much successful I have been in my journey but one thing that makes me feel good is that I have been able to bring honour and respect to this profession.”

During his initial years as a chef, Sanjeev often wondered why most of the Indian food served in restaurants was limited to North Indian and South Indian cuisines.

“Indian food is so diverse. What happens to the exotic food from the other regions? Why does no one get to know about them? This was a chal-lenge for me and that’s how Khana Khazana, the culinary show in Indian television, gained so much popularity as it show-cased food from unknown parts of the country,” he said.

Today Sanjeev continues to spread knowledge of regional Indian cuisine both as a member of the board of the Singapore Airlines’ International

Culinary Panel, where he makes sure that when it comes to Indian cuisine, all the

regions of India are represented, and as a teacher and mentor to young

chefs at his SK Culinary School. “Be authentic, be original and the rest automatically falls in place,” he said of his cooking ideology. And

when it comes to striking a balance between health and taste, Sanjeev Kapoor breaks the myth that Indian food tastes better only when you

add oil or laden it with spices. “It’s a complete wrong notion. The best of the recipes can be made with least oil. If not

so, the humble idli from south India, would not have been a favourite of most Indians,” he said.

While taste is the most important aspect of food, how it is made, the

smell of it, and the way it is presented makes all the diff erence. “The whole

process of eating involves all our senses, not just the taste buds. Think of eating a papad or a wafer without the crackling sound? Have you ever tried to make ro-

tis (roasted Indian bread) with the same pre-cision as you have with puris (fried

Indian bread)?” Sanjeev loves to

churn out the best dish-es for people, which re-

cently included Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for whom

he made an innovative ‘liquid chaat’. “It’s not just about the prime minister or any

other celebrities. When it comes to cooking I make sure every moment remains memorable

for whoever I am cooking.” But, when it comes to his own personal tastes he is most fond of

simple home-cooked foods. “It doesn’t have to be my home only. Here in Oman if I am off ered an Omani dish prepared at home I will savour it with the same interest as I would do for food made at my home.”

The Master Chef who is very precise and metic-ulous in his work, does not believe over-planning, but prefers to follow his heart. Still uncomfortable with the celebrity status his path has earned him, he humbly explained, “I do things with integrity and there lies all the success.”-swati@timesofoman.com

Go try a taste of Sanjeev Kapoor’s creations at his new restaurant, The Yellow Chilli (The Wave Muscat, +968 2454 1717).

BY SWATI DASGUPTA

A M E E T I N G W I T H T H E

PHOTOGRAPHY SHABIN E.

FIND-IT-ALLC10 T U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

ROYAL OMAN POLICE

Emergencies and inquiries: 9999

General Directorate of

Passport and Residence 24569603

Directorate General

of Customs 24521109

Traffic violations inquiries 24510228

Public Relations Admin 24560099

EMBASSIES IN OMAN

Afghanistan 24698 791/4

Algeria 24605 593

Bahrain 24 605 074/133

Bangladesh 24 698 660

Brazil 24640100

Brunei 24 603533

China 24 696782

Cyprus 24 699815

Egypt 24 600 982/411

France 24681 800

Germany 24835000

India 24684500

Indonesia 2469 1050

Iran 24 696 944/7

Iraq 24603642

Italy 24693727

Japan 24 601 028

Jordan 24692760/1/3

Kazakhstan 24 692418

Kenya 24 697664

South Korea 24 691490

Kuwait 24 699628

Lebanon 24 693208

Libya 24603466

Malaysia 24698329/643

Morocco 24696152/3

Nepal 24696177

Netherlands 24603706

Pakistan 24603439

Palestine 24601312

Philippines 24605335

Qatar 24 691 153/2/4

Russia 24602894

Saudi Arabia 24601705

Senegal 24694139

Somalia 24697977

South Africa 24647300

Spain 24691101

Sri Lanka 24697841/2

Sudan 24697875

Switzerland 24603267

Syria 24697904

Tanzania 24601 174

Thailand 24 602684/5

Tunisia 24603486

Turkey 24697050/1/2

UAE 24400000

United Kingdom 24609000

United States 24643400

Yemen 24600815

PHARMACIES

Round the clock

Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi 24783334

Apollo Medical Centre,

Hamriya 24782666

Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi 24702542

Salalah 23291635;

Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra 24503585

Muscat Region

Apollo, Al Hamriya 24787766

Muscat, A Seeb Market 24421691

Muscat, Al Khuwair 24485740

Muscat, Al Hail South 24537080

Dhofar Region

Muscat, Al Nahdha Road,

Salalah 23291635

HOSPITALS

Al Amal Medical & Health Care

Centre 24485052

Atlas Hospital

Ruwi 24811743/

Ghubra 24504000

Al Musafir Specialised

Medical Clinic 24706453

Hatat Polyclinic LLC,

Ruwi 24563641

Azaiba 24499269

Sohar 2683006

Al Raffah Hospital 24618900/1/2

Al Massaraat Clinic &

Laboratory 24566435

Al Makook Medical

Coordinance Centre 24499434

Apollo Medical Centre,

Hamriya 24787766, 24787780

Capital Polyclinic 24707549

Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic,

Ruwi 24799760/1/2

Capital Clinic, Seeb 24420740

Ceregem National Raak 24485633

Dr Harub’s Clinic 24563217

Elixir Health Centre 24565802

Emirates Medical Centre 24604540

1st Chiropractic Centre 24472274

Hamdan Hospital 23212340

International Medical

Centre LLC 24794501/2/3/4/5

Kims Oman Hospital 24760100

24 Hrs Emergency 24760123

Lama Polyclinic, Sohar 26751128

MBD 24799077

Al Khuwair 24478818

Magrabi Eye and

Ear Hospital 24568870

Muscat Private Hospital 24583600

Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment

Centre, Al Khuwair 24477666

Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC 22004000

AIRLINE OFFICES

Muscat Airport Flight information

(24 hours) 24519456/24519223

Aeroflot 24704455

Air Arabia 24700828

Air France 24562153

Air India 24799801

Air New Zealand 24700732

Biman Bangladesh Airlines 24701128

British Airways 24568777

Cathay Pacific 24789818

Egypt Air 24794113

Emirates Air 24404400

Ethiopian Airlines 24660313

Gulf Air 80072424

Indian 24791914

Iran Air 24787423

Japan Airlines 24704455

Jazeera Airways 23294848

Jet Airways 24787248

Kenya Airways 24660300

KML Royal Dutch Airlines 24566737

Kuwait Airways 24701262

LOT Polish Airlines 24796387

Lufthansa 24796692

Malaysian Airlines 24560796

Middle East Airlines 24796680

Oman Air 24531111

Pakistan International

Airlines 24792471

Qatar Airways 24771900

Qantas 24559941

Royal Jordanian 24796693

Saudi Arabian Airlines 24789485

Singapore Airlines 24791233

Shaheen Air 24816565

SriLankan Airlines 24784545

Swiss International

Airlines 24796692

Thai Airways 24705934

LISTINGS

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

CINEMA SCHEDULE

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

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)

06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily

06:00 Dubai 11:30 Daily

13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur

13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur

15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily

15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily

07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily

07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

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

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

CITY CINEMAContact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68. www.citycinemaoman.netfacebook.com/citycinemaoman

SHATTI

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Action)(12+)Cast : Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer3:00, 7:15, 9:30, 11:45 pmFantastic Four (2D)(Action)(PG12)Cast: Miles Teller, Kate Mara, 1:00, 5:15, 11:45 pmMission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2D)(Action, Adventure) (PG12)Cast: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy 4:45, 9:15 pm The Nutcracker Sweet (Animation)(PG)1:00, 3:00 pmAll Is Well (Comedy, Drama)(PG)Cast : Rishi Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Asin9:30 pmSinister 2 (Horror)(15+)Cast : James Ransone, Shannyn Sossamon 1:00, 11:55 pmWelad Risk (Action, Crime)(18+)Cast : Ahmed Ezz, Amr Youssef, Karim Qassem3:00, 7:15 pmSelf/Less (Mystery,Sci fi)(18+)Cast : Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez, Matthew Goode5:00, 7:15 pm

MUSCAT GRAND MALLThe Man from U.N.C.L.E. 2D (Action ) (12+)Cast : Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer10:15AM, 9:45 & 11:55PMGold Class: 4:15, 9:00 & 11:15PMThe Nutcracker Sweet 2D (Animation) (PG)10:00AM, 1:45 & 3:30PMThe Love Affair 2D (Drama, Romance ) (TBC)Cast: Bea Alonzo, Richard Gomez, Eda Nolan5:15 & 7:30PMAll Is Well 2D (Comedy, Drama) (TBC)Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Asin12:30 & 7:15PMFantastic Four 2D (Action, Sci-Fi ) (PG12)Cast: Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael Jordan5:15PM & 9:45PM

Gold Class : 12:15 & 2:15PMInside Out 3D (Animation) (PG)11:15PMMission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 2D 2:45 & 11:45PMGold Class: 6:30PM

AZAIBA

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. – 2D (12+) ActionCast: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer4:30, 6:45, 9:00, 11:15 PMKick 2 – 2D (PG12) Action, Romance Cast: Ravi Teja, Rakul Preeti singh, Ravi Kishan12:45, 7:45, 10:30 PMVaalu – 2D (PG) Action, Comedy, RomanceCast: Hansika Motwani, TR Silambarasan, 12:00 PMSelf/Less – 2D (18+) Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez, Matthew Goode2:50, 8:00 PMThe Love Affair - 2D (12+) Drama, Romance Cast: Bea Alonzo, Richard Gomez, Eda Nolan5:00 PMAll Is Well 2D (PG) Comedy, Drama Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Asin

7:15, 9:35 PMMission: Impossible - Rogue Nation – 2D2:00, 11:55 PM (PG12)The Nutcracker Sweet – 2D (PG) Animation1:00, 4:30 PMSinister 2 – 2D (15+) Horror Cast - James Ransone, Shannyn Sossamon 2:30, 10:10 PMWaled Rizk– 2D (18+) Crime, Action, Thriller Cast - Ahmed Ezz, Amr Youssef, Karim6:00 PMFantastic Four – 2D (PG12) (Action)12:00, 5:45, 11:55 pmMadhura Naranga – 2D (PG) Comedy, Cast - Kunchacko Boban, Biju Menon 3:00 PM

RUWISCREEN 1All Is Well (Drama/ Comedy) – PGCast: Abhishek Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Asin and Supriya Pathak3.30 PMDrishyam (Thriller/Drama ) – PG126.30 PM Brothers (Drama/ Sports) – 12+Cast: Akshay Kumar, Jackie Shroff, Sidharth M9.30 PM

SCREEN 2Brothers (Drama) – 12+3.45 PMBajrangi Bhaijaan (Action/Drama ) – PG6.45 PMAll Is Well (Drama/ Comedy) – PG9.45 PM

SCREEN 3Karachi To Lahore - Urdu (Comedy) – PGCast: Shehzad Sheikh, Ayesha Omer3.45, 9.45 PMBaahubali: The Beginning (Act ) – 12+6.45 PM

SOHARMission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - 2D (PG12) Action; 4:20, 11:55 PMFantastic Four-2D (PG12) (Action )2:30, 5:15, 11:45 PMBrothers - 2D (TBC) Action, Drama 11:30 PMThe Man from U.N.C.L.E. - 2D (12+) Action, Cast: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia3:00, 7:15, 9:30, 11:45 PMSelf/less - 2D (18+) Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez, 2:15, 7:45 PM

The Nutcracker Sweet - 2D (PG) Animation2:30, 4:30 PMSinister 2 - 2D (15+) Horror Cast: James Ransone, Shannyn Sossamon, 4:00, 10:00 PMAll Is Well - 2D (TBC) Comedy, Drama, 9:35 PMWelad Rizk - 2D (Arb) (18+) Action, Crime, Cast: Ahmed Ezz, Amr Youssef, Karim Qassem5:45 PMMadhura Naranga - 2D (M) (PG) Comedy, Cast: Kunchacko Boban, Biju Menon 6:00 PMKick 2 - 2D (Telugu) (TBC) Action, Romance6:45, 8:45 PM

BURAIMI

The Man from U.N.C.L.E – 2D (Action) 7:15, 9:30, 11:45PM (12+)Return to Sender – 2D (Thriller) (TBC)Cast: Rosamund Pike, Nick Nolte,5:30, 10:00PMThe Nutcracker Sweet – 2D (Animation) 5:45PM (PG)Fantastic Four -2D (PG12) (Action) 4:30, 7:15PMMission Impossible: Rogue Nation - 2D11:30PM (Action) (PG12)All Is Well – 2D (Comedy, Romance) (PG)

Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Asin 9:15PMBrothers (Hindi) (Thriller) 2D11:45PMMadura Naranga – 2D (Action) (PG)7:15PM

SURThe Man From U.N.C.L.E (Action ) (12+) Cast: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, 9:45, 11:55 PMFantastic Four (Action|Sci - Fi) (PG12) 7:45 PMMission Impossible - Rogue Nation 6:00 PM (Action) (PG12)Brothers (Hindi) (Thriller) (12+) CP#Cast: Akshay Kumar, Jackie Shroff, Sidharth5:00 PMThe Nutcracker Sweet ( Animation) (PG) 4:30 PMMadura Naranga (Mal)( Comedy ) (PG)Cast: Kunchacko Boban, Biju Menon, Parvathy10:45 PMAll Is Well (Hindi)(Comedy ) (PG)Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Asin.8:30 PM

SALALAH

Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation (2D) 10:15AM, 5:00, 11:30PM (PG12) Fantastic Four (2D)(PG12) (Action) 12:45, 3:45, 9:45PMThe Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2D)(12+) (Action) 10:15AM, 2:45, 7:30, 9:45, 11:55PM Return to Sender (2D) (12+) (Thriller) Cast: Rosamund Pike, Shiloh Fernandez, Nick Nolte2:00PMThe Nutcracker Sweet (2D)(PG)(Arabic) (Animation) 10:30AM, 3:15PMPound of Flesh (2D) (15+) (Action/Thriller) Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Darren12:00, 11:35PMAll Is Well (2D) (PG) (Comedy/Drama) 7:30PMBrothers (2D) (12+) (Action/Drama) Cast: Akshay Kumar, Jackie Shroff, Sidharth M12:30PMMadhura Naranga (2D) (PG) (Mal) (Comedy) Cast: Kunchacko Boban, Biju Menon, Parvathy4:45PMKick 2 (2D) (TBC) (Telugu) (Action/Romance) 5:45, 8:35PM

BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking 24540855Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation 2D (Action, Adventure, Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy9.30 pmCP No: 1953 (PG12)Return To Sender (Thriller)Cast: Rosamund Pike, Nike Nolte2.00, 4.00 & 11.55 pmCP No: 2112 ( 12+ )The Nutcracker Sweet (Animation) Voice Overs: Alicia Silver stone, Edward2.00 & 6.00 pmCP No: 2119 (PG )Brothers (Hindi )( Thriller )Cast: Akshay Kumar, Jackie Shrof6.30 pmCP No: 2110 (PG)MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (Action /Adventure) Cast: Alicia Vikander, Henry Cavil4.00, 7.45, 9.45 & 11.55 pmCP NO: 2121 (12+)

STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776Website: www.isurf.co.om

Madura Naranga (Mal) ( Rom/com )

Cast : Kunchako Boban, Biju Menon &

3-45 pm at Cinema-4; 6-30 & 9:30 pm at Cinema

Main

Vasuvum Saravananum ( Tamil ) ( Com )

Cast: Arya, Tamanna & Santhanam

3-30 & 9-30 pm at Cinema -2

All Is Well (Hindi ) ( Com/Drama)

Cast: Abhishek Bachan, Rishi Kapoor & Asin

6-45 & 9-45 pm at Cinema - 3

Kick 2 ( Telugu ) ( Rom/Act) ( From Friday )

Cast: Ravi Teja & Rakul Preet Singh

3-00 pm At Cinema Main; 6-45 & 9-45 at Cinema-4

Vallu (Tamil) 6:30pm Cinema -2

Brothers (Hindi) 3:45, 6:45pm Cinema-3

NEXT CHANGE: Thani Oruvan (Tamil) Loham (Mal) Programmes are subject to change

5:00 , 7:15 PM 6:00 PM 3.30, 9.45 PM

@MGM @SHATTI @SOHAR @RUWI

Self/Less (Mystery,Sci fi)(18+)Cast : Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez, Matthew Goode

10:15AM, 9:45 & 11:55 PM

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Action)(12+)Cast : Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer

Madhura Naranga - 2D (M) (PG) Comedy, Cast : Kunchacko Boban, Biju Menon

All Is Well (Drama/ Comedy) – PGCast: Abhishek Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Asin and Supriya Pathak

PRAYER TIMINGS

Dhuhr 12.14pm

Asr 3.41pm

Maghrib 6.37pm

Isha 7.51pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 4.28am

WEATHER

44Maximum

36Minimum

TEMPERATURE

25-75%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

SREEYA SUNILRAJAugust 25, 2009

ANGEL MARY BABENAugust 25

Dunkin’ Donuts, the international leader in coff ee and baked goods, unveils the fresh and refreshing

Frozen Fudgaccino, cool chocolate goodness in a glass, for its custom-ers across the UAE this summer.

The new drink, the latest in the irresistible selection of fro-zen drinks from the quick serve specialists is a must-try for any espresso fan with a penchant for chocolate. With just the right amount of chocolate swirled in-side and around the cup, this delicious frozen espresso treat provides pure pleasure in every blend. This ice-cold concoction is ideal with Dunkin’ Donuts’ fresh-baked cookies.

“The Frozen Fudgaccino is a delectable combination of the goodness of espresso and the fl a-vour of chocolate, brought togeth-er in a refreshing tall glass, ideal to stave off the summer blues,” said David Rodgers, General Manager of Dunkin’ Donuts Mid-dle East. “The Frozen Fudgaccino is the latest in our range of qual-ity products aimed at meeting the varied tastes of our loyal custom-ers across the UAE,” he added.

Dunkin’ Donuts has been a leading provider of donuts for more than 60 years, selling ap-proximately 2.4 billion donuts and munchkins worldwide last year. Dunkin’ Donuts restau-rants around the world offer dozens upon dozens of different varieties of donuts, including global favourite flavours such as Boston Kreme, Glazed and Chocolate Frosted.

Beginning with a single res-taurant in Quincy, Massachu-setts, the Dunkin’ Donuts story has been one of epic success. Over the years the international quick serve giant, part of the Dunkin’ Brands Group head-quartered in Canton, Massachu-setts, has captured the loyalty of a worldwide following and is today present in over 33 coun-tries and operates nearly 11,000 restaurants worldwide.

With 74 outlets across the UAE, Dunkin’ Donuts serves up a wide spectrum of popular products, including their wide variety of doughnuts, delicious hot and iced coff ee, hot and iced lattes, cap-puccinos, coolatta slush drinks, munchkins and other baked goods and beverages.

LIFESTYLEC11T U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

CHILLI PASTETake 100g dried red chilli, and soak it in hot water for about 20 minutes. Drain and in a blender make a smooth paste with 2 medium onions, chopped 10 cloves garlic and 1tsp palm or white sugar. Heat oil and cook the chilli paste on simmer for an hour or so. Store it in a glass jar.

I f health is on your mind and saving money too then it’s time to get a little more active in the kitchen. No, don’t get us wrong. We

aren’t suggesting you to slog in the kitchen for hours to prepare extravagant dishes. But there are few things that you can certainly try making at home and not buy it from the stores.

So next time you load your carts with umpteen number of bottles and cans, take a look at some of them that you can easily prepare at home. A lit-tle extra time is all that you need and you get the healthier options which are not laden with extra sugar and preservatives. Here we go…

BREADCRUMBS We often buy breadcrumb tins from the supermarkets. Have you ever thought of mak-ing them at home? It’s sim-ple. All you need to do is to trim the crusts of the bread, chop it with a knife or blend into uniform crumbs and dry roast. For those who want them to be fl avourful add spices and herbs.

SALAD DRESSINGSIt’s so simple to grab a bot-tle of salad dressing while buying groceries. But there are many who do not use salad dressings so fre-quently. So instead of clut-tering your refrigerator by storing bottles that you are not sure when you would need, why not make it when needed? Homemade dress-ings are a treat and all you need is vinegar, mustard, olive oil and the season-ings. Add chopped fruits and herbs of your choice. Stir them thoroughly and add it to your salad.

YOGHURTHomemade yoghurt tastes great and ensures you get a delicious as well as healthy product as you can use the best milk. The recipe is simple. All you need to do is boil milk, cool it, add a table-spoon of yoghurt and pour it in a jar. Cover it with a cloth and keep it for few hours. If you have yoghurt maker you can use that too.

LEMONADEWalk into any supermarket and you will see juices and drinks corner stacked with bottles of lemonade. Easy to pick up one. But have you ever thought it can be laden with excessive sugar? An easy option at home can be you mix water, lemon juice, mint and honey. Lemonade is ready.

FRENCH FRIESTalk of French fries and we immediately get deterred thinking of the calories that it’s laden with. But we all know in our hearts that there’s nothing quite like a pile of hot, fresh French fries. Why not try this per-fect potato snack at home? Peel the potatoes. Rinse and cut into vertical sticks. Soak it in cold water for a while and pat dry with paper towel. Fry in a heavy bottomed pan, sprinkle salt and enjoy the crispy delight. If you have an air fryer at home you can have the no oil option too.

ICE CREAMIce creams are a perfect summer treat. And the pleasure of the treat doubles up if they are homemade. Be it the simple vanilla ice cream or the mix and match ones, enjoy your favourite scoop. Take 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk, 1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk, 2tbsp sugar, 2tsp va-nilla, and 2 cups whole milkWhisk all ingredients in a 2-quart pitcher or large bowl until blended. Cover and freeze for 1 hour.

KETCHUPIf you have children at home you know how important it is to have a bottle of ketchup. Any bland goes down well with fussy children if they are served with ketchup. So why not make them at home than buy the ones which are full of preservatives? Cut the tomatoes into halve. In blender, combine 1 can crushed tomatoes; 1 small onion, chopped; 1/2 cup ap-ple cider vinegar; 1/4 cup syrup; 11/2” piece ginger, peeled and chopped; 1 clove garlic; 1/2 tsp kosher salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1/2 tsp dried thyme; 1/4 tsp cinna-mon; 1/4 tsp allspice; and 1/8 tsp ground cloves and puree until smooth. Place in me-dium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, stirring, until reduced by half, for about 30 minutes. Cool. Store in air-tight container, chilled, for up to 1 month, or freeze.

BAKED BEANSNext time before you open the can bought from the stores, try making this. Com-bine onion and olive oil into a pan and sauté for 3 minutes until lightly golden.

Add chopped tomatoes and toss through. Cover and reduce the heat slightly then cook for about 8 minutes. Add Roman beans, sea salt and maple syrup then cook for a further 5 minutes un-til the beans have heated through. Add butter and parsley then mix through until butter has emulsi-fi ed through the tomato sauce. -swati@timesofoman.com

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DUNKIN’ DONUTS UNVEILS THE FROZEN FUDGACCINO

LIFESTYLEC12 T U E S DAY, AU G U S T 2 5, 2 0 1 5

RUB GARLIC CLOVESover warm, olive oil-brushed

toast for easy garlic bread.

MINCE GARLIC CLOVESand fresh parsley leaves, and

toss together with freshly grated lemon zest and a little lemon juice for a refreshing

topping for meat or pasta.

SAUTÉ SLICED GARLICin olive oil until crispy and drain on paper towels. Use “garlic chips” to top soups

and salads.

ROAST GARLICcloves for a sweet ingredient that is delicious on its own or combined with yoghurt and

salt for a simple dip.

PUREE GARLIColive oil, vinegar, and dill, and mix-in grated feta cheese and

fresh buttermilk for a fl avour-ful salad dressing.

ONE

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FIVE WAYS

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Foodies in India now have a reason to rejoice as celebrity chef Jamie Oliver announced recently that two of his restaurants, Jamie’s Italian and Jamie's Pizzeria, will soon be launching in Delhi and in Gurgaon.

Jamie’s Italian will open in Am-bience Mall in the capital’s Vasant Kunj area and Jamie’s Pizzeria is set to open in Ambience Mall in capital suburb Gurgaon.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be bringing Jamie’s Italian and Jamie’s Pizzeria to India. Delhi is a vibrant, colourful, buzzing city with an already incredible food scene, so to be opening two res-taurants there is a huge honour,” Oliver said in a statement.

“Right now we’re recruiting for two brilliant new teams who will be-come part of our ever-growing family. When we open the doors of both res-taurants, they’ll be serving up some really beautiful, simple, great-value Italian food, all made with the very best-quality ingredients we can get our hands on,” he added.

Both restaurants will open within the next few months.

Explaining the approach to his restaurants, Oliver said: “Since I was a teenager, I’ve been totally besotted by the love, passion and verve for food, family and life itself that just about all the Italian peo-ple have, no matter where they're from or how rich or poor they may be. And that’s what I'm passionate about - good food for everyone, no matter what.”-IANS

CELEBRITY CHEF JAMIE OLIVER’S RESTAURANTS NOW COMING TO INDIA

I N T H E N E W S

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O MSECTION

CONNECT H E D A I LY G U I D E

D

D4 VACANCY CARGO D7

T U E S D AY, A U G U S T 2 5 , 2 0 1 5

RENT D2

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifi eds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

3BHK well maintained fl at (villa

type) G. fl oor split A/C separate en-

trance, parking, and compound avail-

able in Al Khuwair behind Sagar

Polyclinic Way no. 3922, Block 239,

Villa No. 1839. Contact: 99253125

2BHK with split A/C in MSQ Opp.

Al Fair. Contact : 96708000

1 BHK with split A/C in Darsait,

opp. Muscat Municipality.

Contact : 96708000

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

fl oor, OMR 260/- per month rent

Call IQRAR on 99076557

Deluxe 1, 2, 3 bedroom fl ats in

Wadi Kabir, Ruwi, Al Khuwair area.

Contact: 24707340 / 95282986

/99472457

2 BHK Ghubra R.O 325/-.

Contact: 97799175 / 92144045

1,2,3 BHK fl ats. Contact: 92144045 /

97799175

2BHK Mumtaz R.O 300/-.

Contact: 92144045 /97799175

House for rent in Sidab 8 rooms, 6

toilets RO 550/-. Contact: 96606679

/ 99856551

2 BHK Apartment for rent near MSQ

area. Contact 92888063

Darsait next to ISM, 2 bedroom

brand new building R.O 300/-.

Contact: 93393967

2 BHK available Mumtaz area Ruwi

1BHK , Ghubra near Al Maha hotel.

Contact: 99269751

Commercial / residential 2 BHK fl at

and 1BHK at Honda road residential

2BHK fl at at opposite to Al Na-

dha hospital. Contact: 99342733 /

99795241

2BHK near Indian School Darsait

RO 275/-. Contact: 95094028

4 bedroom villa with 3 maid room,

big compound & parking area. Ideal

for kindergarten or expat tenants

residency. Contact:24566217 /

24564686

D2 T U E S D AY, A U G U S T 2 5 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

Offi ce & retail space available -

Alasfoor Plaza, Qurum.

Contact: 24566217 / 24564686

1BHK in Darsait, RO 220.

Contact: 99342661

2BHK in Ghubra South 330 R.O

with A/C. Contact: 99342661

2 BHK close to Indian School

Kindergarten Wadikabir RO 320.

Contact: 99476728 / 98484415

2 BHK pent-house having very spa-

cious balcony with sea & city view

RO 325 and 1BHK RO 240, adjacent

to Indian Nursery Darsait.

Contact : 99476728 / 98484415

1bedroom attached toilet, kitchen,

family in Al Khuwair RO 140.

Contact: 95154331

1BHK, 2BHK, 3BHK new fl at available

at Mabela in front of Modern English

School Contact: 96239126

Showroom for rent at prime

location, Ruwi. Contact 94151791

Flats in Al Khuwair 33 &

Wadi Al Kabir. Contact: 92800007

Full fl edge workshop/warehouse &

yard with tools for rent/sales.

Also 5 nos. Volvo/ Mercedes/ Man/

Putsmiester concrete pump

2004/2005 model for sale.

Contact 93681107 / 96051565

4 bedrooms villa with 2 halls, 4

bathrooms in Darsait, behind Khimji

Mart. Contact 92584715 / 24700120

Flat for rent in Amerat.

Contact 99209264

Flat for rent near Al Nahdha Hospi-

tal in Hamriya. Contact: 97380548 /

99680499

Flat in Al Khuwair 3 rooms + Majlis

ground fl oor. Contact: 99242119

Flat 2bedrooms+majlis in Ghubra.

Contact:99242119

4 bedrooms villa with 2 halls, 4

bathrooms in Darsait behind Khimjis

mart. Contact: 24700120 / 92584715

Spacious 2 BR fl at in MBD.

Contact 99713489

Brand new 2 BHK fl ats/offi ces for

rent behind Honda Road.

Contact 91165807

Single & double bedroom with

toilets at Ghala Industrial area, Coco

cola road (for family/ Exec bach-

elors). Interested parties contact on

92854747

5 BHK villa for Rent in Azaiba near

Sultan Centre. Contact 99792181

40,000 Sqr mtrs Open Land for Rent

in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99792181

1BHK R.O 185 + 2BHK R.O 230 before

Medical Darsait, Muttrah House.

Contact: 98748925

840 sqr mtrs Store & Staff accom-

modation for Rent in Misfah.

Contact 99792181

3 bedroom fl at with 3 attached

toilets, split A/C, brand

Kims Hospital. Contact: 95225662

2 BHK villa for rent in Azaiba, near

Sultan Centre. Contact 99792181

3BHK Flats & 6BHK Villa in Azaibah.

Contact : 96775026

250 sq mtrs restaurant for rent in

Plaza Hotel, Walja Ruwi.

Contact 99326339

1 BR fl at at Darsait, near ISM.

Contact 99237971 / 99320633

Readymade offi ce space for rent

(100sm) in Bank Melli Iran building,

MBA area Ruwi opposite Center

Point. Contact: 99011352

Furnished room for rent at

Al Khuwair R.O 225/- for family only.

Contact: 99251975

Flats for rent in Al Khuwair, Al hail,

Wadi Kabir, Al Falaj, MBD, and Mut-

trah. Contact: 99119699 / 95250300

/ 24813002

Villa for rent, 4 spacious bath

attached bed room, private swimming

pool, gymnasium (common) electrical

equipment with free maintenance

secured command at

Madinat Al Illam. Contact: 98027975

Spacious 1 BHK fl at opp. Muscat

Municipality Darsait with 2 bath-

rooms available for rent OMR 250

per month direct from owner from

Sept1st onwards. Contact 97785037

Two fl ats for rent 3 bedroom & 1

setting room all with split a/c at &

fl at 1bedroom Al Ghubra North near

Indian school (hot pargur restaurant)

Tel - 99766103

Apartments for Rent in Nizwa

behind Nizwa Hospital. 99530985

92513668

Fully furnished 3 BHK accommo-

dation with all spacious rooms in a

villa at Darsait near ISD.

Contact: 9526 5289 / 9604 8422

DAILY GUIDET U E S D AY, A U G U S T 2 5 , 2 0 1 5 D3

FOR SALE

FOR RENT

FOR RENT

1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in Mis-

fah Industrial area near to Khanco.

OMR 1,500 Monthly. It has Electrici-

ty and boundary wall. Tel: 99333479

or 95215360

A fl at for rent in Al Khuwair 33, 2

rooms and sitting room and all the

necessary things. Contact:92277419

2BHK with A/Cs Muttrah, near

Oman House. Contact: 95915154

3 BHK, 3 bathrooms, 2 balcony,

nr. Al Hassan W/Kabir RO 330/-.

Contact :99384640

3 Bedroom fl at with 3 attached toilets,

split A/C, brand new available, behind

Kims Hospital. Contact 95225662

Flats shops & stores for rent at

Al Amerat. Contact: 96278724

4 BHK single villa in Al Khuwair.

Contact: 97616158

SELL/BUY

Used furniture & Electronic items, offi ce & house. # 99834373 /96642500

JCB boom loader 540/170, 17 MTR

2008 model excellent condition.

Contact: 97677133

Fully equipped Beauty Parlor for

sale in Amerat behind Sultan Center.

Contact : 98600130 / 24881211

Running laundry CBD.

Contact 92841089 / 92868123

Newly built twin villa in Al Ansab

Phase 3 for rent or sale, each villa

consist of 5 bedrooms, 6 toilets,

drawing, dining, kitchen outside,

maid room with kitchen.

Contact 96917566

Used Fabrication machinery for sale

: Fabrication machinery and tools

in excellent condition for immediate

sale. Contact 94652485/ 99273774/

99202278

400 sq mtrs Commercial/Residen-

tial land in Maabela Phase 5 Block 2.

OMR 140 Thousand. Tel: 99333479

or 95215360

Wall papers, grass carpets sale

& fi xing. Contact: 99834373 /

96642500

I BHK Flat -4 Nos at Hamriya – R.O.

200/- . 2 BHK - 2 Nos / 1 BHK- 2 Nos,

at Wattayya R/A near the mosque-

for Families. Contact 96457757 -

9 am to 7 Pm.

Shop at Azaiba. Contact 99024730

Fully furnished 2 bedroom luxury

fl at for rent at Ghala for short or

long term basis.

Contact 91786526 / 99881653

1 & two bedroom fl ats available for

rent in wadi-kabir (opp: pencil bldg),

ideal for company staff / families -

bulk corporate deal possible.

Contact 97677170

1 BHK, 2 BHK & shop at Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99024730

2 BHK, 3BHK at Qurum.

Contact 99024730

House for rent in Sidab at

reasonable rent. Contact: 95555162

/ 95755953

1 BHK Flat in Honda Road (Ruwi).

Contact 99792181

1 & 2 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

1 BHK, 2 BHK at Al Khuwair.

Contact 99024730

2BHK & 1BHK fl ats available

in Darsait. Contact : 99357586 /

97500025

3 BHK Flat in Azaiba.

Contact 99792181

Flats for rent at Darsait near to

Ministry of Sports. Interested candi-

dates please

Contact : 00968-92225523

4 & 5 BHK villa for rent in

Al Khuwair. Contact 99792181

3 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair 33.

Contact 99792181

1 &2 BHK fl ats for rent at Wadi Kabir,

Wadi Adai, Hamriya and Al Khoud

areas, shop for rent at Wadi Adai

Round about. Contact: 24834644,

GSM 93994401 /02/03 lines

Flats for rent near Indian School in

Wadi Kabir. Contact 99777122

BHK Flat in Azaiba. Contact 99385835 / 99428143

For rent if require fl ats for rent in

Wadi Kabir please send me

messages through Whatsapp.

Contact: 99376454

3 Bedroom fl at in Wadi Kabeer and

2 bedroom villa in Sidab- Muscat.

Contact: 95755953

2 fl ats single bedroom available in

Wadi Kabir, RO 100/- including Elec-

tricity & water. Contact 99441798

5 fl ats single bedroom available,

including Electricity & water RO 75/-

in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99441798

Shop/ offi ce, near Khimji H.O.

Muttrah. Contact 99233116

Spacious 2BHK Flat with Split

A/c’s behind Sultan Center, Azaiba –

RO.425/- p.m. Contact: 99824803 /

99849325

2 BHK near Khimji H.O. Muttrah.

Contact 99233116

2BK Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti

Mosque. Contact 97007934 /

92629232

Brand new bldg in Walja 1 BHK, 2

BHK & shops. Contact 98218279

2 rooms, 2 toilets, kitchen in Al

Ansab. Contact 94229023

Basement available in MBD, Ruwi.

Contact 99713489

Flat for rent in Wadi Kabir near

Indian Primary School 2 B & 1K.

Contact 92222922

Pent house for rent 1 sitting, 1

bedroom, 2 bathrooms, 1 kitchen

RO 225/-, location Al Khuwair, near

DHL Courier. Contact 95620900 /

92976722

Brand new fl at 2 bedrooms with

1 Majlis, 3 bathrooms, kitchen in

South Ghubra behind Oman oil RO

350/-. Contact 95367767

3 bedrooms villa excellent area at

Mobilah. Contact 99879872

Fabulous AC fl at at Al Khoud 3 bed-

rooms, hall and kitchen RO 270/-

for rent. Contact: 99334699

600 sqr mtrs showroom in Wadi

Kabir. Contact: 99792181

Flat for rent with AC in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 95555162 /95755953

Flat for rent in Mabellah 8th.

Contact: 97147240

Brand new villa Bosher 37, 4 BHK.

Contact: 91936034

Bath attached room for rent

Al Khuwair. Contact 99743569

Shop for sale in Qurum.

Contact 96964767

2,560 sq mtrs industrial land in

Wadi Kabir main road, First line on

way to Al Bustan hotel. Possible to

make petrol station or hotel. OMR

990 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

Restaurant for-sale Very good

location, Al khuwayer, 300+sqm,

Equipped big kitchen (+bakery),

many parking, separate entrance.

OMR50,000 Call 99788291

Forklift sale. Contact: 99763831

Shop for sale in Ruwi High street,

Contact 96078411

60,000 Sq Mtrs Agriculture Land in

Misfah, can be changed to Industrial

Land. OMR 29 Per Square Meter.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

5 Flats of 1 bedroom for Sale in

Boushar: OMR 35 Thousand each.

Monthly income OMR 270

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture land

with water well in Al Salwa, Barka.

OMR 260 Thousand. Tel: 99333479

or 95215360

3 fl oor commercial building in

Muttrah behind Police. Generating

income of OMR 18 Thousand annu-

ally. Neat and well maintained. Built

on 197 sq mtrs land. 2 tailor shops

on ground fl oor and 6 fl ats. OMR

207 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

A well settled/ well equipped ladies

beauty parlor in running position

located in Ghubra for sale. Contact

immediately on 97498898

Sharing accommodation for Filipina

on Seeb for couple / working ladies.

Contact: 92959251

Fully furnished room with attached

bath for Executive bachelor, behind

Al Meera Hypermarket, Azaiba,

RO 150/-. Contact 99455735

Semi furnished 2 BHK sharing in

Al Khuwair. Contact 92888337

Semi furnished 2 BHK in

Al Khuwair. Contact 92888337

1 bedroom, hall, kitchen & toilet

available for family near ISD Darsait

(Indians only) with wi-fi facility.

RO 150/- per month + Electricity &

Water. Contact 93661570

Furnished room for rent at

Al Khuwair RO 225/- for family only.

Contact 99251975

Furnished room in new building for

working Muslim lady/muslim couple

only. Location: AINT, Darsait

Contact 99008069

Room for bachelor couples, Ruwi,

Mumtaz on main road. Ruwi tower

80/100. #95084850/ 92230581

Fully furnished 1BHK with all

household items in Darsait near

Lulu on monthly Basis. Contact :

99378397/99493500

Single rooms with attached bath

available at Ruwi.

Contact 98049288 / 8091089

Sharing accommodation in CBD

area for non cooking Executive

bachelors, wifi free, advance deposit.

Contact 91852710

Sharing accommodation available

for working lady or couples near

Ruwi Church. Contact: 92837206

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

Furnished master room Ruwi.

Contact : 99794399

Room for rent with sharing

bathroom & kitchen at Al Khuwair,

behind Golden Spoon Restaurant.

Contact 92994415

Furnished room for Indian Bachelor

in Al Falaj area (Ruwi) & Lady in

Wadi Kabir (near Al Maya).

Contact 96761960

Fully furnished room for a decent

expatriate. independent kitchen,

bathroom in Wadi Adai.

Contact 96243086 at 5p.m.

Room attached toilet and kitchen

near Indian School Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 95345537

TRANSPORTATION

Pick & drop anytime in Al Ghubra.

Contact: 97681599

Transport available in Ghala, Ruwi ,

Ghubra, Al Khuwair & Azaiba.

Contact: 91495819

Transportation. Contact 99664703

Transportation available.

Contact 95570429

Transport. Contact: 95190627

Transportation. Contact: 96538078

Transportation. Contact:98522914

Transportation. Contact 99508282

Transportation. Contact: 98244078

Pick & Drop any time. # 97014786

DAILY GUIDED4 T U E S D AY, A U G U S T 2 5 , 2 0 1 5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifi eds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DOMESTIC HELPER

ENGINEER

EDUCATION

SKILLED / UNSKILLED

ACCOUNTANT

ADMIN

BEAUTY

Wanted housekeeper at a Nursery –

Muscat – Amerat, skill and commit-

ment and behavior. Fax: 24700677

Tel: 99085844 /99010504

Email: school.oman@yahoo.com

Housemaid required, part time, preferably Keralite for looking after

2 yr old child at Jibroo.

Contact 98162545

Urgently looking for an Expatriate House Boy with Cooking knowledge

and experience.

Contact Immediately: 99460564

Require qualify caregiver for an

orderly mother. Contact 99425200

Urgently required Junior Accountant. Please send CV:

hr.azatllc@gmail.com

DRIVER

DRIVER

DESIGNER

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Required experienced Hairdressers / full beauticians with

exp in Ghubrah. Contact:97964519 /

94241385

ADMIN

Light duty driver. Contact: 92341826

Experienced Expat Driver with

valid Oman driving license required

immediately for an Omani fam-

ily in MSQ. Contact 24607772 /

99054998

H.V. Driver for trailer. Contact 92131483

MEDICAL

MEDICAL

MISCELLANEOUS

A private school located at

Al Mawaleh Seeb looking for an

English Teacher. Contact 98982088

Urgently required for a printing press in Wadi Kabir must have at

least 5 years experience in Oman

Printing press Manager, Sales Manager & Sales Reprehensive. With well knowledge and experience

in printing press, holding valid

driving license. Send your CV to:

info@albatnapp.com

Sales & marketing experience needed, but does not really have to

be in the printing industry. Oman

driving license will be of an advan-

tage. Send resumes to

print@thaibaprintingpress.com

IT – pre sales & marketing in Oman

Governmental organizations. Send

CV to masoud@iranrayaneh.com

Accomplished Sales/Business Development Executives & Lady Telemarketing Executives for lead-

ing digital media company. Send CV

to: jobs@interacoman.com

A reputed printing & advertising fi rm in muscat urgently requires

male / female sales executives

Contact : 99619552 ,

email : hocsigns@gmail.com

Required urgently Energetic Marketing executive for acquiring

new customers. Should possess a

Valid Omani DL. Contact 96545020.

Required Marketing Executive. Contact 24816774 / 99020458

Urgently required outdoor sales-man for building material, shop.

Contact 99867456 / 24501882

An excellent grade company wishes to recruit for the post of

Marketing Executive for science

products. Male candidates only,

preferred candidates with bachelors

degree in life sciences. Interested

candidates may send their CV’s to

Email : medical@omanmed.com

Looking for Outdoor Salesman for

heavy equipment spare parts.

Contact - 93292015,

Email: mail.om@gulfcenter.co

Sales Executive Industrial products

: 2-3 yrs of exp. with good commu-

nication & computer skills. D/L is

must. Send resume to

salescvv@hotmail.com

Accomplished Sales Executives/Telemarketing Executives for

leading Digital Media Enterprise.

jobs@interacoman.com

Furniture fi eld experienced Salesman with license.

Contact - 99345159, 91398378 ,

E-Mail - agsan2005@gmail.com

Urgently required for a Medical Centre GP doctor, Gynecologist, Male Nurse, female Nurses, Assis-tant Pharmacist with MOH license,

salary negotiable. Send your CV:

moc.hrd2015@gmail.com,

Contact 92681842

Urgently Required Experienced GP Doctor, Gynecologist, Female Nurses with MOH license & NOC for

a reputed specialized center based

in Muscat. Please forward your CV to

alqaimtrd@gmail.com

A private clinic in Oman requires a Staff Nurse & Lab Technician with

MOH license or prometric passed

(Indian female preferably) salary

negotiable. Interested candidates

kindly mail their resumes / CV with

contact details :

medicalclinic2014@gmail. Com

or call 00968 99049381

Wanted female Nurse for clinic in

South Sharkiya. Contact 94783831,

medicaljobsoman@yahoo.com

Immediately required lady Doctor (DGO) or GP with Gynecology experi-ence & lab technician. Contact 99310590.

Email : tjmaluke@gmail.com

SITUATION WANT-

EDSIT. WANTED

SITUATION WANT-

EDSIT. WANTED

K.Design LLC requires “2d & 3d Draftsman” with minimum 3 yrs

experience. Send CV to

k.designoman@gmail.com

Leading Civil construction com-pany requires “MEP DRAFTSMAN”

with 4-6 years gulf experience. Send

your CV to mep.oman2015@gmail.

com. (NOC required).

DRAFTSMAN

BINDERS

IT

A fast growing chain of omani

fusion restaurants in Muscat is look-

ing to hire experienced waiters and chefs (2 yrs exp).Applicants should

have NOCs if applicable.

Forward resume

to creativefoodsllc@gmail.com

Indian Cook required. Should know

Omani traditional foods.

Contact 99209264

CATERING

Leading IT Company in search of

computer professionals with hands

on experience in PC & laptop repair.

Send CV to

vacancyready@gmail.com

Indian male, 31 years, looking for

job IT/marketing. Experience 7 years

(Microsoft certifi cate)

with Hardware & networking.

Contact no: 95693351,

Email: tmintu10@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

Urgently required Network & Security Engineer with minimum

experience of 5 years, valid driving

license & NOC, the candidate should

have experience in the following

data & voice cabling design struc-

ture, network project management,

Data Center cabling installation,

CCTV & Security Systems installa-

tion, operation, and maintenance.

Email: hussainmrj@gmail.com

Leading construction company requires two Civil Engineer with

minimum 5 years site experience in

gulf. require gulf license and NOC.

Send your CV to

degree.engineer2015@gmail.com

Required Foreman (MEP) with 4

to 5 Years experience, for main-

tenance of Building, Having valid

Omani Driving License.

Contact 94422083

Automatic block factory requires qualifi ed Engineer (Electrome-

chanical) degree & diploma to

operate new stationary block

factory. Contact 97092070,

email : alomranmcpllc@yahoo.com

Urgently required for leading

company: Civil Engineer : 8 yrs experience, Planning Engineer : 8 yrs experience, Surveyor : 8 yrs experience, Draftsman & AutoCAD : 5 yrs experience. Fax: 24478522,

email : gh1.careers@gmail.com

Smartphone Technician Required

ftt@futuretarget.net

GSM: 99110080/9669066

MEP Engineer on urgent basis

required for immediate placement.

Please contact tgi17@omantel.net.om

Accountant with more than 6 years

experience in SAOG company look-

ing for middle management position.

Strong English/Arabic correspond-

ence. Valid DL. NOC available.

Contact 91116924

Indian CA with 15 yrs exp. working

as Head of Finance for US MNC. NOC

Available - 94047434

Filipino, 29 years, Male, BS Com-

merce major in Financial Account-

ing, 5years experience: Accounts

PAYABLE/RECEIVABLE/PAYROLL,

Excellent Communication/MS

Offi ce/Accounting Software skills.

Contact: 95057206/

patrick110486@yahoo.com

Accountant Indian male B.Com

7 years experience (Accounting)

fi nance costing, auditing with NOC

& valid driving license seeking

placement. Contact: 96722257

Email: mudassir.pal@gmail.com

Indian CA 10yrs of Oman experi-

ence in treasury, fi nancial report-

ing, consolidation, ERP implemen-

tation in Trading, construction,

Oil & Gas sectors. NOC available.

Email: caramdas.s5@gmail.com

GSM: 91310237

10+ yrs UAE experienced Fin.

Controller looking for a job change.

Contact 98006226

Email: devan801@gmail.com

C.A article ship completed Indian

female presently on visit visa looks

for opening in Sur, fi nance/ Audit /

Accounts. Contact: 93915733

ACCA and MBA (fi nance) from UK,

3.5 years experience in opera-

tion, holding D/L (Oman) looking

for suitable position ready to join

immediately. Contact : 95575614,

Email: ahammadmds@gmail.com

Indian male MBA Finance / HR 1

yr experience in Indian currently

on visiting visa seeks suitable

placement. Contact: 93416031

Email: ashin.shams@gmail.com

Indian male B.Com looking for

Accounts, indoor sales,

Offi ce Assistant, Store keeper,

Contact - 98295101

Indian Male MBA with Experience

in Accounts, Admin, Sales,

Contact – 91520930

Audit / fi nance partly qualifi ed

chartered accountant (ACCA),

female, completed 12 papers out

of 14, seeking suitable opportunity.

Contact 92615144

shincythomas02 gmail.com

Finance Manager, 22 yrs Oman

experience. NOC available. Contact

91302906 / 91335205

Indian male MBA Graduate 24 yrs, 1

yr. experienced Accountant seeking

suitable job. Contact: 94083260-

jithinnambiar777@gmail.com

Part time accountant services avail-

able to handle all accounts related

work up to fi nalization.

Contact 96247295

7 yrs experience as Store keeper

in Pakistan, 2 yrs experience as

Accounts Assistant, B.Com from

Karachi University, MS Offi ce,

operating system 98,2000, XP

professional Windows 7, Internet.

Contact 91235746

Urgently required for an Insurance broker (preference will be given to

Nationals) General Manager, Accountant, Marketing Manager, Marketing Executives & underwriter. Send your CV’s to

enquiry@unitedinsuranceoman.com

Established real estate company looking for male or female property agents for leasing and sales of the

property. Applicant must be Graduate,

possess Omani or GCC driving license.

Having oman market experience.

Apply with NOC. Attractive salary

+commission. Send your CV:

property@ labdmarkmuscat.com

Required Salesman, Tailor & Barber. Contact 96964767

Looking for a foreign staff with ex-

perience in Oman in real estate & real

estate valuation. Contact 99109094,

email : aburashid94dd@gmail.com

Required Indian or Pakistani calligrapher & Painter (staff accommodation)

Contact# 24480487/24483493

Rig Operator/Technician/Driver/Security Positions in Musandam.

Must have Oil fi eld experience

Good Communication Skills. Please

email your resume in Arabic and

English to HR@petroteloman.com

Interior design & fi t-out company

based on Muscat Grand Mall looking

for : (part/Fulltime) Project manager , Site Engineer , Site Supervisor CVs to be sent to :

alzahi.oman@gmail.com

INTERIOR DECORATING

Wanted GP Doctor for clinic.

Ph 98115439

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Certifi ed Public Accountant, Filipino Male 26 years, Bachelor

of Science in Accountancy with

5 yrs. of experience now on visit

visa, Looking for suitable opening.

Contact: +968 91409308 Email:

kennethalcedo07@gmail.com

Female (Filipina) Accountant, Audit,

Finance, Bookkeeper, 15 yrs experi-

ence, on tourist visa,

looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 96944976,

email: precyr_tupasi@yahoo.com

Accounts fi nance Indian male 35

yrs B.Com, M.B.A tally exp 9.7 yrs

exp 1.5 yr Oman family visa N.O.C

available. Contact : 93257426.

Email: sibigeorgep@gmail.com

Part time accountant services

available. Contact:93438100

Part Time Accounting, Accounts

Finalization, Audit Preparation,

Internal Audit, Monthly Profi tabil-

ity Reports, Onsite Tally Training,

Contact : 96975454,

email :ibfc.gcc@gmail.com

Chief Financial Offi cer 16 yrs of

Management exp with MNCs in Pa-

kistan, expert in fi nancial reporting

sap/oracle implementing & optimi-

zation, Treasury, taxation, team work

and change Management.

Contact: 91936637/

Email : rizwanfarooq.pk@gmail.com

M.com, female, good knowledge

in computer & tally 1 yr experience

in Sales & Accounts seeks suitable

placement. Contact 99363721

Indian male, B.Com Diploma in

offi ce Automation, pursuing ICWA

having 6 yrs (India, Oman) exp in

Accounts, Audit Finance seeks suit-

able positions. Familiar with tally,

ERP & focus. NOC available

Contact : 94706954.

E mail:ajurn33@gmail.com

Indian 24 years MBA fi nance

2 years experience seeking suitable

placement. Contact: 98222753

Email - shemeejup@gmail.com

Management fi nance professional,

36 yrs experience, 20 yrs in Oman

with oil & gas & mining companies

can work independently or head

the division, Sudanese Nationality.

Contact 98531303

Fresh Graduate B.Com with CIMA .

U. K. (Partly Qualifi ed ) looking for a

suitable position in the Middle east.

Contact 9470 5767

Finance/ Audit professional with 18

yrs Gulf experience can work inde-

pendently or head the division look-

ing for opening. Contact 92787747 /

92168401.

FMCG professional with 18 yrs Gulf

experience in commercial / opera-

tions looking for opening.

Contact 92787747 / 92168401

Senior Document Controller, male,

Indian, MCA 9+ yrs experience as

Document controller in oil & gas

sector seeks job as Senior Document

controller. Contact 95388197,

Email : rojanchristopher@gmail.com

Indian female B.Tech (EEE) MBA

fi nance with 1and half years experi-

ence as Bank Offi cer in India seeking

suitable placement.

Contact: 91358676 / 98157895

Email: sujivu88@gmail.com

Jordanian Accountant (ACPA)

with more than 15 yrs experience

in Oman (Accounts, Purchase &

fi nance). Contact: 92881223

Email: kamal_sarhan@yahoo.com

Motivated and energetic male 25

having 4 years of experience in

fi nance with Master’s degree in Eco-

nomics and CAT Certifi ed seeking

opportunity in Accounts/fi nance/

audit in a reputable organization.

Cell no: 00968-94626209

E-Mail: omerjawedshah@gmail.com

Indian Female Chartered Account-

ant [ACCA] looking for suitable

placement. Contact: 99342077

Indian male, 10 yrs experience, 6

yrs in Oman, with Oman driving li-

cense, having NOC, seeking suitable

job. Contact 96012973

Accountant, Indian male, B.Com,

PGDSE with 12 yrs of experience cur-

rently on visiting visa seeks suitable

placement. Contact 92750853,

email : vinoykjospeh@gmail.com

12 yrs of Oman experienced Chief

Accountant looking for immediate

placement. Contact 99513082

Graphic designers: full knowledge

of using Indesign and Illustrator pro-

grams, creative and should be able

to work in pressure. Prior experience

will defi nitely be of advantage.

Send resumes to

print@thaibaprintingpress.com

Experience in Binding works. Send

resumes to

print@thaibaprintingpress.com

A well established organization

in Muscat is looking for an experi-

enced lady Administrative Assistant.

Candidate with around 6 years of

experience and excellent command

of English language is requested to

send CV to:

recruitmentmuscat@yahoo.com

Driver heavy duty required urgent-ly for trailer. Oman / GCC experience

must. Those ready for immediate

joining. Contact: 99310859

Business intelligence / Global Mar-keting management specialist with

9 years of experience developing

brand value & managing overall pro-

jects to achieve business objectives

seeking suitable position on family

visit. Contact: 91902154

Salesman & Merchandisers urgently required for a reputed

FMCG Company engaged in manu-

facturing & trading in Oman. Candi-

date must have minimum

1-2 yrs experience in the similar

fi eld & valid Oman driving license.

Interested candidates may send

their CV to sunnex3@gmail.com

Indian female, 29 yrs, MBA (HR)

4 yrs exp in HR & Admin seeking

suitable placement.

Contact: 95619537

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

IT

DAILY GUIDET U E S D AY, A U G U S T 2 5 , 2 0 1 5 D5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

DOMESTIC HELPER

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

PROJECTS

M.Sc Microbiologist, Indian female,

3 yrs experience seeking suitable

placement in Medical Lab food or

water. Contact 92302719

Male Nurse, B.Sc Nursing, experi-

enced, passed prometric exam

PH : 93837973

Indian Dentist couple seeking for an

opportunity, both Prometric passed,

BDS male (80%), BDS female (81%).

Email ppdr2020@gmail.com,

Ph: 97985325

Veterinary Doctor with 10 yrs

experience, looking for job.

Contact 92533579

BA degree Nursing professional

having excellent looking for suit-

able placement. Contact 92955453

/91213269

SALES / MARKETING

EDUCATION

IT

MEDICAL

DRIVER

ADMIN DESIGNER

Indian female MCA,24 years seek-

ing suitable job. Contact 93439467

Looking for a job as IT Adminis-

trator having 3 yrs exp in Oman.

Contact : 95850691

Indian female, B.Tech, IT (now in

Muscat on visit visa) with total

2 yrs experience (1.3 yrs in TCS,

India) seeks suitable placement.

Contact 93949541 / 93738083,

email : joantoms91@gmail.com

B.E (Computer) degree Engineer, complete schooling in Muscat, male,

Indian with 1 yr experience needs

job in software / networking / Java/

Web design or Marketing.

Contact 97136248 / 99313821

Indian (f) with 7 yrs exp in software

development (2.5 yrs Oman exp)

good knowledge in .net and MSSQL

Server seeks suitable placement.

Contact : 93276784

email: sanalkumar63@gmail.com

Sudanese female IT Tech. Support,

Demographic, English fl uent exp.

11.6 yrs. Contact: 96659392

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

DRAUGHTSMAN

HOSPITALITY

Indian male 8 yrs experienced con-

struction purchase seeks suitable

placement with NOC.

Contact 95621614

Dynamic professional in consumer

business/ sales with over 20 yrs of

experience in Oman fi eld, FMCG con-

sumer electronics consumer telecom

looking for suitable placement. NOC

available. #99360975 / 99049536.

MBA (Marketing and HR) Indian

male looking for a suitable job

2 years experience in Oman with a

valid GCC driving license

Contact : 97353936

Email: shimithpg@gmail.com

US, MBA, looking for job in Sales

and Hospitality, 2 years experience

in Oman with driving license and

NOC Currently on notice period.

Contact: 95585345

Email: jobyisaac@gmail.com

Indian male with fi ve years experi-

ence of call centre in customer ser-

vice and sales looking for suitable

position. Contact: 90198176

Sales and marketing - male 27 yrs,

2 years experience seeking suitable

placement with Oman D/L.

Contact: 95642740

Email: shaijichakkara@gmail.com

Post graduate 6+ yrs of experience

in credit controller marketing look-

ing for suitable job, valid Oman driv-

ing license, own car. NOC available.

Contact 95327018

Indian male, MBA, Marketing

having 5 yrs experience in Sales/

Marketing in Oman seeks suitable

placement. D/L & NOC available.

Contact 93815477

Indian male 27 yrs, Diploma, 3 yrs

exp in Oman in Sales & Supervi-

sor, Oman driving license holder,

looking for suitable placements.noc

available. Contact 93725995

Marketing/Sales, having work

experience of 6 years in the hotel

sales and tour operations seeking

for immediate job placement.

Contact 98078305

Diploma holder in Aviation Hospital-

ity & travel management, Indian male

seeking for suitable position, pres-

ently in Oman. Contact 97309707

4 Years experienced (Money

exchange services & Hospitality

services in Oman & India) - Indian

male 27 years, graduate in Hospital-

ity science, fl uent in English, Hindi

& Arabic seeks suitable placement.

Contact 91383167

Indian male 2+yrs oman exp in HR.

joing immediatly. release available.

Contact :93671437

14 years of Gulf experience in HR /

Admin & logistics fl uent in Arabic /

English with D/L looking for suitable

position. Contact: 95824598

Purchase, Admin, Indian male, 15

yrs Gulf experience.

Contact 95435370

Indian female MBA, 3 Year Experi-

ence in Admin MIS , Family Visa.

Contact 98234427,

jkjsmith01@gmail.com

Female 25, MSc (Wood Science &

tech) MBA HRM, fresher well versed

in English, Hindi and Malayalam,

seeking for suitable placement in

any related industries.

Contact: 98401389

Email: thajnakp@gmail.com

An Indian lady, MBA in HR &

marketing with 4 yrs experience in

teaching, seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact 91108766 / 97447825

8 yrs exp in Admin & Accounts

(3 yrs in Oman), MBA, Indian female,

seeks placement. Contact 97243806

Oman/Qatar experienced Indian

lady available for immediate place-

ment HR / Admin/ front offi ce/

reception/document controller/

insurance coordinator.

Contact : 0097470057238

shinuemil@gmail.com

Indian 16 yrs exp in admin, Offi ce

management and have knowledge in

accounting looking for job. Release

available and have D/L.

Contact: 99573353

Chartered CIPD HR Professional

having 5 years of experience in

Oman seeking suitable job.

Call +971552071501.

Master degree HRM professional

having excellent experience in fi -

nance and management and having

8 yrs experience looking for suitable

placement. # 92955453 / 91213269

Autocad Dman , Diploma in

civil, exp, knows 2d, 3d, revit

PH:98195161

17 yrs Oman experienced MEP/

Civil Senior Draftsman /

Designer seeking placement.

Contact 93130104,

Email : designjob2014@gmail.com

NETWORK/NETWORK SECURITY ENGG. Graduate in B.Tech CS. Have 5.3

years of experience in Network and

Security devices. Certifi ed on CCNA,

CCNP, MCITP and CCIE Sec. Written

passed. NOC available. Can join imme-

diately. Contact +974-55297089,

e-mail: rejad.hashim@gmail.com

Electrical Engr, female, B Tech

(Elec), experienced in all LV/

HV systems, currently working,

NOC available for local transfer.

phone-92109335

Jordanian Mechanical Engineer, Expertise in Manufacturing, Design,

Steel Work, AutoCad, SolidWork

3D. Nesting/ Plasma Cutting,

Sales. Speaking English & Russian.

GSM#90198575/99201710

Indian fresher BE Mechanical

engineer having work in project

of design and development of

biodiesel plant seeks immediate

placement. At present on visit visa.

Mo- 96636035

email - ashishthanki14@gmail.com

(BS Electronics) Electronics Engi-

neer searching for job experience

with Huawie & HNL as Intern in site

maintenance. Contact: 91803545

A male Civil Engineer with 10 years

experience (03 years in Oman) in

building projects execution, billing,

contractual correspondence &

tendering of projects is available.

The interested person can

Contact: 968 91320917

Indian male 24 years B.Tech com-

puter science & Engg fresher, having

valid Oman D/L fl uent in English &

Hindi, smart & dedicated to work

seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 97327551 / 99330159

Indian job in procurement & con-

tract have “13” years purchase &

contract experience in infrastructure

& energy sector. NOC is available.

Contact-91237036

Indian Mechanical Engineer with

PG diploma in Quality & Manage-

ment, 3 yrs experience seeks place-

ment. Contact: 99493890 mail:

subashpalamittam@hotmail.com

B.Tech Mechanical Engineer with

2 years experience in HV AC and

plumbing - nikhilchandpm@gmail.

com ; GSM: 97654489

Civil Engg, B.Tech fresher Indian

male currently on visit visa seeks

suitable placement.

Contact: 91702450

Email: tijoct2015@hotmail.com

B.E in Mechanical Engineering with 2 years experience seeking for

suitable job. Contact 919946739156

Email: ram332096@gmail.com

B.Tech Electrical & electronics with

1 year experience seeking for suit-

able job. Contact: +91 949788348

Email: rakesh1.mohan@gmail.com

Pakistani B.E (Chemical) Engineer

having more than 02 years experi-

ence in process Industry seeks im-

mediate placement in any industry

at present on visit visa. Contact:

94350586 / 97637840

Indian BE (Mech) Engineer having

P.G diploma in oil &gas piping and

level two NDT seeks immediate

placement in any industry at pre-

sent on visit visa.

Contact: 92013757/ 99774956

Civil Engg, B.Tech, Indian male,

having 3 yrs of experience in Con-

struction & EPB looking for suitable

placement. Contact 91430851.

Civil Engineer (B. Tech) Indian fe-

male, 2 yrs exp (1 yr in Oman) seeks

suitable position. Contact: 93911895

Indian Civil Engineer, B.Tech, 13

yrs experience in building pipes.

Contact 91342325

WELDER, TIG, ARC, 6G experienced

in GCC PH :95068064

Upholsery / Sofa makers GCC well

experienced, knows Hindi and

Arabic ph :99506977

Indian looking for Supervisor,

Safety offi cer, Camp boss or Sales

Executive. Contact 94003617

Management Professional account-

able, responsible for profi table man-

agement can handle the entire op-

erations, HR/Recruitment, Business

development & Sales & marketing &

etc, Great organizational skills with

over 23+yrs exp. in Bombay, Saudi

Arabia, Dubai-UAE & Oman(11yrs)

as General Manager - Publications,

Printing,Media. open to any industry,

can Join immediately w/NOC.

Contact : +968 98864706/99574638

Mail : akdas_uae@yahoo.com

TOURS & TRAVELS

SKILLED/ UNSKILLED

Five years experience in Travel

fi eld ,BCom., IATA & pursuing MBA,

Presently working in the Travel

Desk of (ITC managed) Five Star

Hotel in India, looking for a suitable

position in the Middleeast.

pls contact 9470 5767

11 yrs experience in travel fi eld

B.Com, IATA, MCSE working for

Qatar Airways, Sales reservation

ticketing driving license & NOC

available. Contact 92954613

Car audio system technician with

package experience in car, fi bre

glass & wood work designing, sub-

woofer box repairing & accessories

installation. Contact 94346977.

Whatsapp 98818931

Building construction supervisor looking for small Omani company

to handle independently or suitable

placement in good company with

Oman D/L. Contact 93061107

TIG+ARC Welder Indian with 16 yrs

Middle East exp. in Copper Nickel,

Duplex, Inconel, S.S, CS Now on visit

visa seeks suitable placement..

Contact : 96502282.

Email: manuangola88@gmail.com

Indian male, with 8 yrs exp. in

Oman (BA- Graduate) working as

a project Sales Coordinator, with

Oman D/L, looking for suitable job,

ready to join immediately with NOC,

open for Sales & Marketing also.

Contact 95245057

House maid cum cook Keralite .

Contact: 94297839

Philippina Maid is looking for

Domestic job or Baby seater with

experience on Nursing age and all

work in the house. Call : 96369299

Procurement Manager 25+ yrs ex-

perience Indian with NOC+ D/L seeks

placement. Contact: 97073942

Indian Male 13 years experience in

Purchase/Store seeks urgent place-

ment Contact -99609696

Project Program & Service Man-

agement Indian male looking for

suitable placement having 15 years

of experience. Contact : 9686678027

Email: dileepmnair@yahoo.com

Supervisor fabrication. 30 years

experienced in oil and gas industry

with thorough knowledge of PDO

procedures. contact 99365694,

92362946, 99208102 email:

tapasroy21@yahoo . com

Supervisor / Forman interior / elec-

trical with Oman driving license.

Contact: 98767559

MIB Post Graduate /male – more

than 9 years of experience in

shipping & Logistics in middle

east (Liner Section) looking for a

suitable job in Oman. .Mob :( India)

91-9400043894, Oman 99899627

Email: jaise81@gmail.com

Instrumentation Engineer, nearly

4 yrs experience in oil &

gas industry, seeks job in Oman.

Contact 90198210,

Email : terinsam@gmail.com

Indian male 31yrs BE. Mech. 8 yrs

exp Sales & marketing. Valid D/L

NOC available. Contact : 97116858

Indian male, B.Tech, Mechanical En-

gineer having 2 yrs experience seek-

ing suitable job. Contact 94768977,

syedomer363@gmail.com

Indian Male, 24, UK Graduate - MSc

(Eng.) Environmental Engineering

and Project Management with B.Eng.

Biotechnology. Holding Valid Omani

Driving License, looking for suitable

placement. Contact +968 99452305

Civil Engineer Pakistani 12+ 2 yrs

Oman exp. Oman D/L seeks place-

ment. Contact: 94392616

Mechanical Engineer, 23 yrs, male,

having knowledge in HVAC seeks

suitable placement.

Contact 95434381, Email :

shuhaibusman313@gmail.com

Sudanese Electrical Engineer.

Email : mohamedkarrar.mk@gmail.

com, contact 97452159

BE Mechanical Engineer, 22 yrs,

Indian male on permanent visa &

valid driving license looking for suit-

able job in Oman. Contact 91652927

/ 99680181,

Email : fawaris.09@gmail.com

Bangladeshi male, BSC Engg in

Civil, total 3 years experience, 2

years in Oman, looking for job.

Contact: 00968 94038642 ;

email: shaikhhasib.ce@gmail.com

Pakistani male, Diploma in civil,

total 6 years experience , 4 years in

Oman, with valid D/L, looking for job.

Contact: +968 98568934;

Emai: eng.arfan54@yahoo.com

SUPERVISOR: Indian male site

supervisor (AIR CONDITIONING) 25

years of experience with valid Oman

Driving license, seeking suitable

placement. Contact: 97498809,

93391910

Email: hilariankj@gmail.com

Civil Engineer BSc-Total Experience

6 years-2 years in Oman, experience

in site work & Structural Design &

Technical offi ce. Contact 97983610

Indian male, Supervisor Electrician

Diploma 8 yrs in Oman. NOC avail-

able. Contact 95057068,

jratheesh@yahoo.com

Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need

suitable job of construction 12 yrs exp.

Email: mohd.ateeq.khan@gmail.com

Indian male, B.Tech, B.Tech (Elec-

tronics) MBA (Marketing) having

1 yr experience as Deputy Manager

Sales in Fortune 100 MNC currently

on visit visa seeks suitable job.

Contact 96967234,

Email: lijotitus111@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer, Indian male,

29 yrs having 5 yrs of experience in

industrial automation & utility

maintenance in India (MRF yres)

seeks suitable placement.

Contact 92789995, Email :

akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com

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

Civil Engineer B.E, 5.5 years experi-

ence with Omani D/L.

Contact 96785311

Indian male, 15 yrs experience

in GCC looking for HSE job, NOC,

local transfer available. Contact

93099578, Email :

abdulsamad1966@yahoo.com

Indian male, 29 yrs, BE Electronics

& Communication Engg (5 yrs exp.

in Oman) with valid D/L.

Contact 96652145

M.A, B.Ed Indian female 27 yrs, look-

ing suitable teaching profession hav-

ing 2 years experience. # 95838183

Email: manslyas916@gmail.com

Driver with car. Contact 91452930

Light Duty Driver with 2 yrs exp. in

Oman. Contact 96420742

Looking for driving job driving

experience more than 3 years.

Contact: 97459022

Indian light duty driver. Contact: 94269229

Indian driver, 30 years, 8 years in

Oman exp GCC, D/L with NOC.

Contact: 93100297 / 92547440

Driver with car able to do documen-

tation work & documents delivery.

Contact : 95365938

Looking for driver job English, Ara-

bic, and Hindi Lang, 8 years Muscat

experience. Contact: 98802079

Looking for a job as light driver 3

years experience in Oman, lan-

guages Arabic, Hindi, and English.

Contact 97311715

Driver light. Contact: 94182497

Light duty driver with 3 months

experience requires suitable place-

ment. Contact: 96409814 / 97384115

Driver available with car.

Contact 96771598

Light Driver. Contact 95779594,

Ruwi

Light Driver with 2 yrs experience

looking for job with visa.

Contact 96794309

Indian male, looking for Heavy

Driver job, holding Kuwait driving

license. Contact 98136170

H.T. V Driver, Pakistani experience,

6 yrs, seeks work in company only.

Contact 93985087

Indian male 2 yrs exp in (D/L in

sales seeker suitable placement.

Contact: 92055093

Looking for a job as Driver,

with 9 yrs experience in Oman,

language : Arabic/ English/ Hindi.

Contact 92517532

Light Driver, 5 yrs experience look-

ing for job. Contact 92617293

Sri Lankan driver. Contact: 97387112

Light duty driver, 8 yrs exp.

Contact: 96736744

Indian male, 24 years Graphic

designer one year experience, B. Sc

Multimedia Animation on visit visa

in Oman, seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact: 93681417

Rent a car Incharge 39 yrs, Indian

15 yrs experience in UAE with UAE

D/L seeks placement in any suitable

post. Contact 99431708

36 yrs, Indian, male, X Ray, Welder

looking for job, 8 yrs experience

in TIG & ARC Welding, presently

on visit visa.Contact 91360190 /

91843992

29 years femaile (MBA-Finance)

with 4 + years experience (India &

Oman) in administration & teaching

seeking suitable placement in an

established organization.

Contact GSM 96371655.

Civil Engineer BSc -7 years experi-

ence with constructions companies

- 2 years in Oman - qualifi ed as a

project Engineer- Fluent in Arabic &

English - Contact 98078095

Civil Engineer Indian male 10 yrs

exp having Omani D/L looking

for suitable placement. Contact:

94194399 (shiblyrock@gmail.com)

Indian male, 30 yrs, Diploma in Civil

Engineer, 5 yrs exp. at building con-

struction & consulting company with

Oman driving license. NOC available

seeks suitable placement.

Contact 95989500,

cv.shihabedappal@gmail.com

Indian male 25MBA having 4years

Gulf experience in Coordination with

contracting company .NOC Available.

Looking for(Store,Coordination,Admin

,Backoffi ce) Jobs Ph:95405885

HSE Logistics Site Coordination

with 10 yrs exp. in Oman seeks

placement, with Oman D/L.

Contact 92825053 / 92565093

Mechanical Engineer, 2 yrs

experience in Automobile services.

Contact 98182081

Indian Mechanical Engineer (QA/

QC) Engineer with 5 yrs of experi-

ence in oil & gas, mining & manu-

facturing sector, keyskills – NDT,

Welding Inspection, Quality control,

inspection etc. Contact 91176122,

Email : khajanaseer07@yahoo.co.in

Indian male MBA 13 yrs exp in

Oman (8 yrs in Tech Documentation

5 yrs in Project coordination) Ad-

ministration, seeks suitable place-

ment. Visa transfer / NOC available.

Contact : 93069441

Engineer with 3 yrs experience in

Indian in MEP, HVAC& mechanical

maintained fi eld on visit visa looking

for suitable job. Contact 99191535

Email: fareed029@gmail.com

Civil Engineer, more than 6 yrs

experience in Supervision, site man-

agement, QS, Engineering software

with valid Oman driving license.

NOC available. Contact 91761364,

Email : a-shaqfa@hotmail.com

Mechanical and Manufacturing Engi-

neer, 26 yrs, Masters from Singapore,

Bachelors from India. Having 2 yrs

work experience in Oman, with Valid

Oman driving license. available

immediately. Contact: 95498953

Electrical and Electronics Engineer with one year experience and GCC

licence holder seeking a job

mail – shyjalpk@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer bachelor degree

having 6+ years experience of Gulf

and professional license available to

join. Contact: 98063081

Email: imran.engr08@gmail.com

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

Indian visit visa, Network / System

Engineer switches, routers, servers,

load balancers 5 yrs of exp holds B.E

(ECE), CCNA looking for good op-

portunity. Contact: 91911792

Email: arafakdnl@gmail.com

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

D6 T U E S D AY, A U G U S T 2 5 , 2 0 1 5

SIT.WANTED

SIT.WANTED

Indian male, 14 yrs Experience in

Maintenance & Supervisor in hotel

fi eld ( Electrical . Ac Mechanical &

Plumber ) N O C available

mob : 95253640 . email =

hareeshma24@yahoo.com

Indian-22 years Male, Mechanical

Engineer, B.Tech, has done intern-

ships, born and brought up in Oman,

with Omani Driving License, seeking

suitable jobs. Contact 92791637.

E-mail:

ashwinsureshkotturethu@gmail.com

Senior Accountant Indian male

Graduate CA Articleship completed

18 years of experience currently on

visit visa seeks suitable placement

contact.97498809,93391910

Email.hilariankj@gmail.com

Indian male, 30 yrs, B.Com with

Tally, 8 yrs experience with Oman

driving license experience in Ac-

counts & sales seeks suitable place-

ment. Contact 96470171

Electrical Maintenance Engineer,

29, Indian Male, having 7+ years exp.

in reputed companies. Seeking suit-

able placement in Oman.

Contact - 98440637. Mail ID :

venkatbadri23@gmail.com

Indian male 22 years, Looking for

suitable placement in Hardware and

Networking fi eld, 1 year exp. in india

an have done training in al ameen

computers. With good communica-

tion skill, Qualifi cation is Diploma

in Electronics and Communication.

Contact : - 95632209,95068075,

Email- fairozhuded13@gmail.com

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

Sudanese 29 male (Bsc com-

puter science, diploma computer

engineering), 6 yrs. experience ,

dba oracle pl-sql , ms sql-server ,ms

visual studio vba, network, Omani

Driver licence language English,

Arabic. Email:chastity643@gmail.

com, Mob:91415886

Indian Male, 28, B.Com, 6+ yrs exp

in Accounts, 2 yrs in Oman with

Valid Oman D/L, NOC available.

Contact: 9719 4864

Having 9+ years exp. in Admin &

HR in reputed companies. Presently

working in Muscat and seeking for

suitable placement.

Contact No.: 97693456. email :

muralimahdav77@gmail.com

Pakistani, Male, Pak, Exp 14 Years

in Accounts, IT & Administration,

looking for a better position in Oman,

already working in Prestigious

Construction Company. Contact:-

95983711.Join.mtmali@gmail.com

Indian male 24 years,B. Tech (Elec-

trical & Electronic) having 2 years

working experience as an Electrical

site Engineer, currently on visit visa.

Seeking suitable placement. Contact

no. 98045482, Email: mastan-

shaik1008@gmail.com

Indian male 23 years, B. Tech (Elec-

trical & Electronic) having 4 years

working experience as an Electrical

site Engineer, currently on visit visa.

Seeking suitable placement.

Contact no. 98045482 Email:

mastanshaik1008@gmail.com

Male, 32, having 7 years experience

in New Car sales and rental. Cur-

rently working for one of the most

reputed Brand in India is seeking a

suitable change.

Contact +91 9045232273

Looking for managerial post (full

time ) ,More than Ten years of

experience in Team Development

,Training ,Planing, Administration,

Sales & Marketing, Advertisement

and Credit Control and Logistics.

Contact 91076608 /+919048648108

NOC available

Sales Representative or Purchase

offi cer. Indian male 31 years,

Looking for suitable placement in

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES and

OILFIELD INDUSTRIES. Having 7

years of gulf experience in

FASTENERS and BUILDING MATE-

RIAL. Having a valid D/L.

Contact: 00968 92480985,

Email: fayubeig@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,

email:catanalur131@gmail.com

Accounts Head/Manager looking

for job with Gulf Experience (NOC

available). Contact : 94164650.

email: msaleem.kr@gmail.com

Indian Male, 28, B.Com, 6+ yrs exp

in Accounts, 2 yrs in Oman with

Valid Oman D/L, NOC available.

Contact: 9719 4864

Pakistani, Male, Pak, Exp 14 Years in

Accounts, IT & Administration, look-

ing for a better position in Oman,

already working in Prestigious

Construction Company. # 95983711.

Join.mtmali@gmail.com

Sales Representative or Purchase

offi cer. Indian male 31 years,

looking for suitable placement in

construction industries and oilfi eld

industries. Having 7 years of gulf

experience in fasteners and building

material. Having a valid driving

license. Contact: 00968 92480985,

Email: fayubeig@gmail.com

Indian male MBA fi nance and mar-

keting. Having 2 year experienced in

accounting, looking for suitable job

opportunities. Available on visit can

join immediately. Cont: 94676974

Email: anfalruk@gmail.com

SALES MANAGER (MECHANICAL

ENGINEER)-Over 5 yrs in Oman, with

experience in Industrial Products &

Services with Noc & driving license

looking for the challenging oppor-

tunities. Notice period Ends on 27th

August -2015 . GSM - 95291830

ACCOUNTANT, Male, 8 years expe-

rience .Presently working in Oman

as a Senior Accountant with Oman

Driving license. NOC available seeks

suitable opportunity. GSM: 98184170

Sales Representative or Purchase

offi cer. Indian male 30 years,

Looking for suitable placement in

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES and

OILFIELD INDUSTRIES. Having 5

years of gulf experience in FASTEN-

ERS and BUILDING MATERIAL. with

good communication skills.

Contact: 00968 97756269,

Email: razzakbmt@gmail.com

INDIAN MALE 23 YEARS,B. Tech

(Electrical & Electronic) having

4 years working experience as an

Electrical site Engineer, currently on

visit visa. Seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact no. 98045482

21 years, B. Com, graduate male

‘fresher’ well versed in English,

Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam with

Driving license looking for a suitable

job. Contact: 96799287

24 years, ACCA affi liate, 2.5 years

of experience in audit, fi nance in

Big6 and oil industry, looking for

suitable placement, NOC release

available. Contact 95140445,

Email: a.saran891@gmail.com

Indian male, B.com, MBA, having

5 years experience (3 years in U.A.E)

is currently seeking suitable

opportunities within fi nance/

accounts/admin dept.

Contact:93953613,

allen.mathew83@gmail.com

Filipino (male), 37 yrs. old, having

8yrs. experience in Operation

(Shipping & Logistics) currently on

visit visa looking for suitable job.

GSM: 97121525

Male available for a part time

accounting & admin job,

Contact:99196621.

INDIAN MALE 24 YEARS, B. Tech

(Electrical & Electronic).Having 2

years experience as Electrical Site

Engineer in Constructions. Done

IOSH & NEBOSH- IGC certifi cations.

Seeking for suitable placement in

constructions or in any

related industries.

Contact no: 98045482/

mastanshaik1008@gmail.com

Indian male, 29 yrs, B.Tech Elec-

tronics & Communication Eng. +

diploma in SAP, 7 years professional

experience, looking for a job in Oman

/ other GCC countries.

Contact: 0091 973 928 5790,

Email: rahul.rn198@gmail.com

Indian male MBA fi nance and mar-

keting having 2 year experienced in

accounting. Having good knowledge

in Tally ERP and advanced excel.

Looking for suitable job opportuni-

ties. Available on visit visa can join

immediately. Contact:94676974,

Email : anfalruk@gmail.com

Mechanical Engineer : Indian , male

23 years, 2 years experience, on visit

visa . Seeking suitable placement.

Contact : +968 91409712 ,

Email : nibin.nani@gmail.com

Babar Ali Male, Pak, Exp 14 Years

in Accounts, IT & Administration,

looking for a better position in Oman,

No need of Visa, already working in

of the Omani Construction Company.

Contact:- 95983711.

Advertising/media executive with

15 years gulf experience with oman

driving license. Seeks good opening.

Contact 93031168

Masters in Information Systems

and IT with more than 12 years ex-

perience seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 98502793,

email:jobsrs6@gmail.com

Indian Female, 25 years, M.Sc Elec-

tronics + Multimedia, having one year

teaching experience in Government

college in India, seeks suitable place-

ment. Contact GSM 99367448

SALES / MARKETING

Sales man , experienced , knows

arabic , hindi ph : 99506977

Indian male, 30 yrs, 6 yrs Oman

exp. outdoor supplier & sales with

D/L. Contact 93100297 / 92547440

Indian male Graduate with 2 yrs

exp in sales advertising, presently

on visiting visa looking for suitable

opening. Contact: 95462921

Male, 29 yrs, MBA, Marketing

having 9 yrs experience in Sales,

Marketing, customer services seeks

job. Contact 98163254, Email :

shujaat_ali2014@hotmail.com

Graduate, Indian male, 39 yrs, GCC

experienced 9 yrs in Sales logistics

with D/L. Contact 98826959

Indian male, Graduate with 18 yrs

experience in Sales & Marketing 3

yrs in UAE currently on visit visa,

seeks suitable placement.

Contact 91996486 / 99732070

Sudanese young man looking for

job with suitable fl uent in comput-

ers & experience in Sales.

Contact 91318822

MBA Graduate with 1 yr experience

in Sales, having D/L seeks suitable

placement. Contact 97620084,

email : gautamacchu13@gmail.com

Bangladeshi male, looking job for

salesman. Contact 97756028

Indian male, 2 yrs exp. in Sales

with D/L seeks suitable placement.

Contact 92055093

MBA, HR & Marketing, Indian, male,

25 yrs, fresher, on visit visa seeks

placement. Contact 94736649 /

98207564,

Email : dvengels8191@gmail.com

Indian male 27 years, B.Tech Grad-

uate having good work experience

with valid Oman D/L looking for a

suitable opening as Sales Engineer.

Contact: 91472953 Email:

harees.rasheed.2014@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS

AutoCad Civil Draftsman – Having

3 years- experience, looking for a

placement.(Full- time or Part time)

99627427 / 96154564.

Indian Male, 37 Years , B Tech

Graduate Electrical. Having 12 Years

Experience of DCRP Works / Jobs in

Oman with Driving License, Looking

for an suitable opening, NOC Avail-

able. Contact – 92122338, Email -

saiviharvasanth@gmail.com

Part- Time Accountant, well experi-

ence senior accountant ,doing all

type of accounting works, Finaliza-

tion, Budgeting available.

Contact : 98803439

Indian Female Lawyer having 11

yrs experience presently working in

Oman seeks placement in Legal/HR/

Admin etc. NOC available

Contact-94436960

Email: famidakhan123@gmail.com

Filipino (male), 37 yrs. old, hav-

ing 8yrs. experience in Operation

(Shipping&Logistics) currently on

visit visa looking for suitable job.

GSM: 97121525

Quantity Surveyor-MEP (Estima-

tion/Project) ,Total 10 Years Experi-

ence (3 years in Oman).

Having NOC & Oman D/L, Looking for

suitable job, Contact - 97906551

Indian female with MBA in fi nance

on visit visa seeking immediate

placement. Contact :968-93316493

Sales Representative or Purchase

offi cer. Indian male 30 years ,

looking for suitable placement in

construction industries and oilfi eld

industries. Having 5 years of Gulf ex-

perience in FASTENERS and build-

ing material. with good communica-

tion skills. Contact: 97756269,

Email: razzakbmt@gmail.comIndian

Indian male 23 years Graduate,

working as a sales coordinator cum

purchase & offi ce coordination 2

YEARS in oman Having oman li-

cense & NOC looking for suitable job

in Muscat. GSM:97475860

Email:yadhukrishnan08@gmail.com

B.E Mechanical engineer,2 years job

experience in Oman in pipeline fi eld,

having ASNT level ll in UT,RT,MT and

PT, fl uent in English, Hindi, Gujarati

and Marathi, with valid Omani driv-

ing license (light) searching for job.

Contact +968 92745691

ACCOUNTANT: Indian male senior

Accountant, Graduate & CA Article

ship completed. 18 Years of experi-

ence. Currently on visiting visa.

seeks suitable placement. Contact:

97498809, 99769743,

Email: hilariankj@gmail.com

Indian male executive secretary

having vast experience in admin,

logistics & procurement well versed

with computer seeks suitable place-

ment. Contact : 99514286

Well qualifi ed Indian Female Bsc,

Computers diploma 9 years of

experience as Executive Secretary

seeks placement.

Contact 95423692,91374217

Indian male 35 yrs, 10 yrs UAE ex-

perience in FMCG, looking for a suit-

able position in sales and market-

ing, valid GCC license on visit visa.

Contact 93438747, 95723635.

Indian Male 28 years MSM, B. Com

having 6years experience in Gulf

and India as a HR and Admin look-

ing for suitable placement.

Contact : 97914340.

Email: rajkv30@gmail.com

Having exp in the following, MS

Windows Server 2003 & 2008, Red

Hat Enterprise Linux 5 & E-Mail Cli-

ent Administration,Linux Adminis-

tration, Service Desk Administration,

Network Management, Technical

Support. Presently the candidate in

India.Mob:97239854

Available for a part time accounting

job. Contact 99196621

Software Developer, Indian female,

B.Tech (AE & I), M.Tech (VLSI

Design), asp.net, C#,.net, C++, Core

Java, Android Java, looking for suit-

able placement. Contact 95906935,

Email : amalpkku@gmail.com

Electronics / Instrumentation En-

gineer, Indian female, M.Tech (VLSI

Design), B.Tech (applied Electronics

& Instrumentation), ASP.Net, C++.Net,

C++, Android Java, looking for suit-

able placement. Contact 95906935,

Email : amalpktu@gmail.com

DAILY GUIDET U E S D AY, A U G U S T 2 5 , 2 0 1 5 D7

Seeking fi nancial investor / partner

for short term Governmental

construction project of 1.5 million

Riyal Omani. Contact : 99881303

Looking for Investor to start steel

fabrication unit. Contact 98314531

Invite business proposals on profi t

sharing basis. Email :

contact@absmct.com/ 99221683

New company seek partnership.

Contact: 96996938

General Investors. Gsm-99674870

SITUATION WANT-

ED

BUSINESS

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

Split & widow unit A.C servicing &

repairing. Contact: 99557080

Split & window unit A.C servicing

& maintenance. Contact: 96236476

Window & split unit A.C ser-

vicing & maintenance. Contact

93769089 / 95323517

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of

your marble. Contact 24793614/

99314807

Split window cassette AC

unit servicing, maintenance.

Contact: 99540621

One stop shop business services : Public Relation (PRO) formation new

companies, LLC companies, Investor

visa, business setup, prepare

businesses & companies accounts,

legal services, representing

you and your company.

Contact: Saleh : 96723485

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

General cleaning & Shampooing.

Ocean Center LLC.

Contact: 99344723 / 99357908

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS-

99320217 /24788722

Split & window A.C servic-

ing & maintenance. Contact

93769089/95323517

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet

& sofa shampooing, Contact

99314807/24792998

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intel-

ligence (BI) creation and man-

agement at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

COMPUTER

CLASSES

Admission started in a private

school, Darsait (Mount Zion Group

of Institutions CBSE 1) for KG and

grade 1 to 4 please register soonest.

Contact: 92088325 /

24799938

GOOD NEWS

MATRIMONIAL

A respectable Sunni Muslim family

from Hyderabad, India invites pro-

posal for their daughter, 26 years,

MSc, very fair. Contact 93671857

Sunni Muslim girl, Indian origin,

20 yrs BA graduate from Oman,

good looking homely with good

religious values, seeking alliances

from Muslim professionals,

well settled in Oman or Middle East.

Contact: 99644760 or

Email: ghulamuzma23@gmail.com

All maintenance & repairs. Contact Rizwan: 99429071,

RMPM Trading.

Civil maintenance - plumbing, elec-

trical, painting, and tiling, interior

decorations, shop furnishing and all

other maintenance works.

Contact: 97897831 / 92112094

(Indian, Keralite)

Pest control Treatments, Cockroaches, Ants ,Rodents &

Termites. Ocean Center LLC.

Contact: 99357908 / 99344723.

Air condition maintenance split

and window A/C split a/c ducted and

package type units.

Contact: 98667326

General cleaning in buildings villas

all types interior, exterior, polishing

dry cleaning carpets, rugs, marble

etc. #94134784 / 98598280

Maintenance working interlocks,

tiles, fi xing painting & others work-

ing. Contact: 92179395

Water proofi ng ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

House shifting & packing. Contact: 99657644 /98518013

A/C Maintenance & servicing,

fridge, washing machine & dish

washer repairing, painting & clean-

ing services, electrical & plumbing. #

99447257 / 97014234 / 24504281

DRIVING

Driver for Automatic Transmis-

sion. Contact: 99040813

NRI

Ayuredic massage backache, joint

pain, neck pain etc. # 98254909

Fresh fl owers Jasmine Roses Mari-

gold & Garlands for Onam & other

festivals, advance booking accepted.

Haridas Nensey. Contact 24750784

Ayurvedic treatment for backache,

paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,

All Season (Vaidyaratnam). Contact

24475280 / 95371664 / 92504980

www.siddhayur.com

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know

more about Islam, please call:

99425598, 99250777, 99353988,

99253818, 99341395, and 99379133.

For ladies: 99415818, 99321360,

99730723 Orvisit:www.islamfact.com

AVAILABLE

FOR EXPATS

Party & Wedding equipment rentals.

Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirting,

Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery, Crockery,

Glassware, Chafi ng 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. ww.tunesoman.com,

E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

From owner plot of land near

Zanzibar, airport price RO 15000.

Contact 99348943

FOR HIRE

Prime mover, 98, 4 wheel on hire.

Contact 95120774

Volvo 12 Ton Truck for monthly

rent. Contact: 98713900

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

D8 T U E S D AY, A U G U S T 2 5 , 2 0 1 5

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine

Tours Contact- 98029602, 92808636

RENT A CAR

RENT A CAR

TOURS

Car for rent. Contact:

92516090

Butter cup rent a car competitive

prices new car 2016.

Contact: 97249449

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

MOTOR VEHICLE FOR SALE

Diplomat used car for sale Toyota

Corolla 2010 model, mileage 19,950/-

, price R.O 3500 /- (negotiable).

Contact: Mohamed Azgar 95751844

/ 95863739

Nissan Xterra 2010 Expat owned

90,000 k, clean car.

Contact: 93393967

Sportage, 2013. Contact 99336093

Prado ,2012. Contact : 99336093

PAJERO 2015 km1400.

Contact 99336093

Mazda 3,1.6, 2008 Automatic,

accident free, single owner.

Contact: 92030516

Land Cruiser 2012.

Contact 99336093

Toyota Camry 2006, new tyre & new

engine, very good condition, location

Sohar. Contact 91110270